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DICT ON PNP SITE: NO HACK, JUST A DATA LEAK
DISASTER AGENCY FORMS EL NINO RESPONSE TEAM
NEWS / A2
NEWS / A4 VOL. XXXVII • NO. 70 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26, 2023 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
SIM listup extended 90 days PBBM orders DICT to prevent Pinoys from losing telco services By Rey E. Requejo, Vito Barcelo, Vince Lopez, Darwin G. Amojelar, Macon Ramos-Araneta and Maricel V. Cruz
T
HE government has extended for 90 days the April 26 deadline for the registration of subscriber identity module (SIM) cards, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said on Tuesday.
Remulla, who attended a Cabinet day, said the government found the excluster meeting at Malacanang on Tues- tension necessary as “most of the services that come with the cell phones that EXTEND THE DEADLINE. are not registered will be cut off with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. directs the telcos.” the Department of Information and Mandatory SIM registration is proCommunications Technology (DICT) to vided for under Republic Act no. 11934, start a 90-day extension period for SIM the SIM Registration Act. registration after the initial April 26, 2023 RA 11934 provides that public teledeadline during a Cabinet cluster meeting communications entities (PTEs) should at Malacanang on Tuesday. PCO Photo
DOH: Get vax booster amid COVID uptick By Macon Ramos-Araneta
set up their respective registration platforms for users who present valid identification cards. Data from the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) showed that as of April 23, only 82,845,397 SIMs have been registered. These registered SIMs represent only 49.31 percent of more than 168 million all over the country. Of the 82 million registered SIMs, more than 37 million are Globe subscribers, more than 39 million are Smart subscribers and over 5 million are Dito subscribers. SIM holders were originally given until April 26 to register or face the risk of deactivation. Next page
Biden, 80, bids for reelection, likely to face Trump in rematch WASHINGTON -- President Joe Biden announced Tuesday he is running for reelection in 2024, plunging at the record age of 80 into a ferocious new White House campaign “to finish the job.” “Every generation has a moment where they have had to stand up for
democracy. To stand up for their fundamental freedoms,” Biden wrote on Twitter, along with a video. “I believe this is ours. That’s why I’m running for re-election as president of the United States. Join us. Let’s finish the job.”
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is set to meet with Biden on May 1, saying Monday that his government will seek a review of the treaty agreements signed with its long-time ally, while seeking more partnerships and enhance current deals on climate
change mitigation and adaptation. Mr. Marcos said through Mr. Biden, Manila and Washington will discuss commitments to the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT), a 70-year-old accord between the two allies. Next page
A DEPARTMENT of Health (DOH) official said Tuesday more Filipinos must get their COVID-19 booster doses amid an uptick of cases in the country. The Philippines recorded 3,148 COVID-19 cases in the past week. From April 17 to 23, an average of 450 daily infections were logged in the country, which is 32 percent higher compared to the previous week, according to DOH Epidemiology Bureau Director Dr. Alethea De Guzman. “We need more boosters for our targeted population--among senior citizens, only 82 percent are fully vaccinated, and only 30 percent of our target population have received boosters,” De Guzman told TeleRadyo as she attributed the increase in cases to additional mobility.
REMEDIAL MEASURES. With their
In related developments: * People eligible to receive the second COVID-19 booster dose were called on by a medical professional to take the jab amid the reported rise in COVID infections. In a public briefing Tuesday, Dr. Benito Atienza, Philippine Federation of Professional Association Vice
regular classroom lacking sufficient ventilation amid the smothering summer heat, a group of Alternative System Learning students at the Aurora Quezon Elementary School in San Andres, Malate, Manila hold their class at the school’s covered court on Tuesday. It was the same at Rafael Palma Elementary School in Manila, where a student is allowed to take a test along the classroom corridor (inset). Danny Pata and Norman Cruz
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Insurance firm vows to retrieve 300k liters of oil from sunken tanker By Rey E. Requejo and Maricel V. Cruz
oil in the MT Princess Empress, which sank off the cost of Oriental Mindoro on Feb. 28. Justice Undersecretary Raul THE Department of Justice (DOJ) on Tuesday said an insurance firm pledged Vasquez said Valeriano Del Rosario to retrieve the remaining industrial fuel and May Valles, representatives of
Shipowners’ Protection and Indemnity Club (P&I), gave the commitment during the insurance firm’s first appearance in the inter-agency dialogue on the oil spill held last week. “There is a big breakthrough. The
P&I committed to do the retrieval operations, and the possibility of raising the vessel itself. But it’s up to their technical assessment whether that would be considered,” Vasquez said. Next page
Napolcom to review 36 ‘ninja cops,’ clears 917 By Charles Dantes THE Philippine National Police said Tuesday the fiveman advisory group has recommended 36 senior police officials for further evaluation by the National Police Commission (Napolcom). PNP spokesperson Colonel Jean Fajardo told a news conference the advisory group cleared the remaining 917 senior police officials, who also submitted their courtesy resignations, from any involvement in illegal drugs. “For the remaining 36, they will undergo further evaluation by the Napolcom,” Fajardo said. “And eventually, once the findings are submitted to the President, it will be the authority and discretion of the President whose resignations will be accepted,” she added. Meanwhile, PNP chief General Benjamin Acorda Jr., who assumed his post this week, said there was still no plan to implement a revamp in the police force. Next page
CULTURAL LANDMARK. The Malate Church pictured here was recently declared an important cultural property by the National Museum of the Philippines in accordance with Presidential Decree No. 374 and Republic Act No. 10066. The 435-year old Mexican-Baroque styled church was considered a qualifier under the law, under the category of Spanish colonial era church complexes. Norman Cruz
DFA: 50 Pinoys in Sudan evac’d, ceasefire helps By Rey E. Requejo, Vince Lopez, Macon Ramos-Araneta and Vito Barcelo THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Tuesday said 50 Filipinos were evacuated out of Khartoum, Sudan on Monday night amid the ongoing clashes between the Sudanese military and a paramilitary group. DFA spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza said the first batch of Filipino evacuees left Khartoum by land at 8 p.m. on Monday (Manila time). From there, the Filipinos were expected to reach Aswan in Egypt, and then its capital, Cairo. The department earlier said that Filipinos in Sudan have sought the Philippine government’s help for their repatriation. Earlier, three Filipinos, through their employers and the Saudi Arabian government, had been evacuated from the conflict-torn country to Jeddah. The violence in Sudan erupted between the forces of the two generals who seized power in a 2021 coup: the Next page