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OIL SHEEN SEEN IN TUBBATAHA —COAST GUARD
GOV’T TO STEP IN TO END POWER WOES IN VISAYAS
NEWS / A4
NEWS / A3 VOL. XXXVII • NO. 76 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • TUESDAY, MAY 2, 2023 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
Marcos meets Biden, talks on PBBM seeks closer US ties as he rejects ‘provocative action’ in WPS
By Vince Lopez
W
ASHINGTON D.C.—President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and US President Joe Biden met at the White House as of press time Monday afternoon (early Tuesday dawn, Manila time) to discuss efforts to further strengthen economic and political ties as well as keep the peace in the Indo-Pacific region.
OFFICIAL VISIT. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. arrives in Washington Sunday afternoon (Monday, Manila time) for a five-day visit. In a media interview, Mr. Marcos says the main focus of his official visit is to promote the Philippines’ agriculture and energy industries and affirm the maintenance of peace in the Indo-Pacific.
The dialog with Biden, which happened a day after Mr. Marcos arrived in Washington, is also set to cover possible changes to the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT) between the two longstanding allies. It will followed by an expanded meeting with key Cabinet officials. This is the second meeting for the two leaders after they attended the UN General Assembly in New York in September last year. Mr. Marcos will also meet with members of the Filipino community in Washington D.C. Next page
China, PH discuss near-collision, agree to SCS fishing rights talk By Maricel V. Cruz and Charles Dantes
of Philippine and Chinese coast guard ships in the West Philippine Sea with Chinese officials. The Philippines has accused the ChiPRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Monday he has raised the near-collision nese coast guard of “dangerous maneu-
vers” when one of its ships sailed into the path of a Philippine Coast Guard vessel carrying journalists near Ayunging Shoal, causing a near-collision. “You know, this is the kind of thing
that we are hoping to avoid. But this time it was a little more dangerous, because they were close and they almost collided with us. And that will cause Next page
PBMM to study mask mandate, renew vax push
By Joel E. Zurbano, Macon Ramos-Araneta, and Darwin Amojelar
By Vince Lopez ON BOARD PR001—President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. thinks a vaccination push, especially for the youth, instead of mandatory face mask use will help stem the tide of rising COVID-19 cases in the country, he said Sunday before leaving for an official trip to the United States. “It looks like, we will have to conduct again, especially for young people, we’ll have to conduct again a vaccination push to lessen that (COVID cases), especially with people being a little bit, shall we say, getting sick of the heat, that brings down the immunity of the body and that will make Next page
8-hr brownout hits NAIA-3, 46 flights canceled
CHAOTIC QUEUES. Passengers flock at the check-in counter area of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 following the power outage on Monday, May 1, 2023, that resulted in the cancellation of over 30 flights. Danny Pata
THOUSANDS of passengers were stranded at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on Monday due to the cancelation of at least 46 domestic flights following an eight-hour brownout at Terminal 3. Authorities identified a “fault current” as the cause of the power outage on Labor Day – just as people were coming and going from a long weekend -- but an investigation is still ongoing to determine the root of the issue, which impacted some 9,000 passengers. Later, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) ordered a full electrical audit on NAIA Terminal 3, and possibly for Terminals 1 and 2 as well. Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said the MIAA will implement the electrical audit as recommended by the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and added he will ask the National Intelligence Coordinating Next page
LPG price up by P10.15 per 11-kilo tank By Alena Mae S. Flores
WARM WELCOME. SM Investments Corp. vice chairperson Tessie Sy-Coson
(right) welcomes President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. during the biggest DOLE Job Fair at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City over the weekend. Joining them in the photo are DG Danilo Cruz of TESDA and Sec. Jose Acuzar of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development.
THE country’s oil firms cut pump prices by as much as P1.50 per liter effective today but raised the price of cooking gas or liquefied petroleum gas by P0.85 per kilo or P10.15 per 11kilo tank to reflect the higher contract price of LPG in the world market. The oil firms cut the price of gasoline by P1.50 per liter, kerosene by P1.40 per liter, and diesel by P1.30 per liter effective 6am Tuesday. “Petron will implement the following price rollbacks effective 6 a.m. on May 2: P1.50 per liter for gasoline; P1.30 per li for diesel and P1.40/li for kerosene. These reflect movements in the international oil market,” the company said in its advisory. Next page
STRUGGLE FOR LABOR RIGHTS. Thousands of militant workers march along España during their Labor Day protest rally on Monday, May 1, 2023. Norman Cruz
Workers demand P100 wage hike, end to contractualization, more aid By Vito Barcelo, Vince Lopez, Macon Ramos-Araneta and Maricel V. Cruz
P100 increase in the minimum wage, an end to contractual work as a way to avoid paying benefits to regular employees and assistance for the poor as THOUSANDS of workers marched the the nation observed Labor Day. Next page streets of Metro Manila demanding a