twitter.com/ MlaStandard
facebook.com/ ManilaStandardPH
instagram.com/ manilastandard
manilastandard.net
Missed your copy of Manila Standard? Call or text our Circulation Hotline at 0917-8848655 or email: circulation@manilastandard.net For advertisement: email: advertise@manilastandard.net • 85646229
Ombudsman suspends MIAA head, assistant GM for ‘abuse of authority’ THE Office of the Ombudsman has slapped a six-month suspension on Manila International Airport Authority acting General Manager Cesar Chiong and acting Assistant General Manager Irene Montalvo for grave abuse of authority, grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial
to the best interest of service. The complaint stemmed from an anonymous sender regarding the decision of Chiong to transfer 285 workers of MIAA a month after his assumption into office.
Biden: US to defend PH Next page
VOL. XXXVII • NO. 77 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • WEDNESDAY, MAY 3, 2023 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
Says ‘can’t think of better partner’ than PBBM amid challenges Harris, Marcos W vow to boost partnerships
By Vince Lopez
ASHINGTON D.C.—US President Joe Biden underlined America’s “ironclad” commitment to defending the Philippines as President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. referred to “difficult times” as the country finds itself in a region with “arguably the most complicated geopolitical situation in the world right now.”
WASHINGTON—President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and US Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday vowed to boost mutually beneficial partnerships between Manila and Washington in a wide range of areas, such as digital inclusion and a clean energy economy. The two leaders made the commitment in a meeting at the US Naval Observatory in Washington, DC. President Marcos thanked Harris, who visited Manila last November, for “laying the groundwork” for his meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House last Monday. “I think that has given us the very attractive opportunity to continue to strengthen that relationship between our two countries in the face, in the context of all of the difficulties and complexities, the rising tensions in our region and the world. And once again, we turn to our American partners, our only treaty partner in the world,” Mr. Marcos said. The President also admitted he was “as concerned as you could be” with China’s aggressive actions in the South China Sea
White House: US to provide additional air and maritime assets to PH military. “It is only natural for the Philippines to look to its sole treaty partner in the world to strengthen, to redefine, the relationship that we have and the roles that we play in the face of those rising tensions that we see now around the South China Sea and Asia Pacific,” Mr. Marcos said during his bilateral meeting with Biden at the White House Monday (Tuesday, Manila time). Next page
Next page
‘PRODUCTIVE MEETINGS.’
Marcos vows ‘much better PH,’ urges Fil-Ams to come home By Vince Lopez WASHINGTON -- Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Tuesday (Philippine time) that his administration is working on measures that will ensure Filipinos who are working and staying abroad could return home and retire in the Philippines. President Marcos made this announcement during his meet and greet with the Filipino community of Washington in The Ritz-Carlton Hotel. The President is in the United States for a five-day official visit
that aims to strengthen ties between the two countries. “It’s my hope that some of you will come home for good and retire in a much better Philippines — a Philippines with better airports, a Philippines with better roads, better internet, better governance. That is my wish,” Mr. Marcos said in his speech. “And that’s why that is what my administration is working for.” The President said protecting the welfare of the overseas Filipino workers is a priority of his administration. Next page
President Ferdinand President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. shakes hands with US President Joe Biden during a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office at the White House Monday afternoon (Tuesday, Manila time). (Second row photo, left) President Marcos introduces Speaker Martin Romualdez who accompanied him during the bilateral meeting with President Biden that was followed by an expanded dialog with Cabinet officials of both leaders. (Second row photo, right) Mr. Marcos and his wife, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, are greeted by US Vice President Kamala Harris and US Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff at the Number One Observatory Circle at the US Naval Observatory in Washington D.C. before their meeting. (Last row) Mr. Marcos is warmly received by members of the Filipino community in Washington at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. Ver Noveno and PCO
US, PH widen trade, economic ties, Biden to send investment mission By Vince Lopez and Maricel V. Cruz
• $7.5m energy deal • $65m electric motorcycles pact
Washington—US President Joe Biden said he will send a “first of its kind” presidential trade and investment mission to the Philippines as he and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. expanded their countries’ agricultural, trade, and even nuclear ties following their bilateral meeting at the White House on Monday (Tuesday in Manila). friendship, one that has been enriched by The US leader noted Manila and Wash- millions of Filipino-Americans and the Next page ington’s “strong partnership” and “deep
IATF: No need to reimpose mandatory face mask
By Macon Ramos-Araneta
THERE is no need to reimpose the mandatory use of face masks, Department of Health officer-in-charge Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire
said Tuesday. “We already recommended to the Office of the President, based on agreements coming from IATF discussions, that we don’t need to bring back the mandates,” said Vergeire,
who recommends wearing masks even if they are not required. In a media briefing, Vergerie also told the public to learn to adjust to the presence of the virus.
Next page
PAGASA raises El Niño alert, likely to start June June and July this year rose to 80 percent and could persist until the first THE weather bureau formally issued quarter of 2024. On April 18, the Philippine Atmosan El Niño alert on Tuesday, saying the probability of it emerging between pheric, Geophysical and Astronomi-
By Rio N. Araja
cal Services Administration said the chances for an El Niño between June and August have increased from 55 percent to 80 percent. Next page