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PBBM TO NEW DOH CHIEF: CRAFT COVID EXIT PLAN, FOCUS ON TB, HIV CASES By Macon Ramos-Araneta PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has instructed Dr. Ted Herbosa to craft a COVID-19 exit plan for the country and focus on tuberculosis and HIV cases, the new Health Secretary said Thursday. Herbosa, a former Special Adviser to the National Task Force Against COVID-19, said this was among the marching orders of the Chief Executive when he appointed him to lead the Department of Health.
“(Mr. Marcos) told me that we need a COVID exit plan and we must continue to administer the needed vaccines, the ones we call bivalent vaccines," Herbosa said in a televised briefing. Conceding that the country currently does not have enough bivalent COVID-19 vaccines, the new Health chief said a program is already in place to acquire more of these anti-coronavirus shots. “The 390,000 doses (we received) are not enough, we need to get more,” said Next page
VOL. XXXVII • NO. 114 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • FRIDAY, JUNE 9, 2023 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
ASEAN naval drills up in SCS Bloc's first-ever joint exercises to focus on maritime search and rescue
OUTHEAST Asian nations have agreed to hold their first-ever joint military drills in the South China Sea, Indonesian officials said Thursday, as tensions grow over China's increasing assertiveness in the region.
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"We will hold joint military drills in the North Natuna Sea [in the South China Sea]," Indonesian military chief Yudo Margono said after a meeting of Southeast Asian defence chiefs in Bali, state news agency Antara reported. They will take place in September involving all 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc and observer member TimorLeste, he said. That would include junta-ruled Myanmar, where the military has overthrown a civilian leader and overseen a bloody crackdown on dissent that has resulted in wide-ranging US and EU sanctions. Margono said the exercises will focus on maritime security and rescue, and will not involve combat operations. "It is about ASEAN centrality," he said. The bloc's members have held naval drills with the United States before but
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ALL SMILES. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. gamely poses for a selfie with Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian (in blue suit), Association for PhilippinesChina Understanding chairman Raul Lambino (left) and other guests during the Award for Promoting Philippines-China Understanding ceremony on Thursday, June 8, 2023. Alfred Frias
Marcos: No shift from China to another superpower with the United States under his admin- nese diplomatic relations. fundamental sense." istration, President Ferdinand Marcos In an ambush interview, President "Some people have said that the THE Philippines has not shifted away Jr. said on Thursday after an event on Marcos said the ties between Manila Philippines has shifted its policy away from China despite its deepening ties the 48th anniversary of Philippine-Chi- and Beijing "have not changed in any Next page
By Vince Lopez
Alert Level 3 raised over Mayon: House leaders call for end to ‘political bickering’ ‘Hazardous eruption’ possible By Maricel V. Cruz
By Charles Dantes, Rio N. Araja, Vince Lopez and Joel E. Zurbano VOLCANOLOGISTS on Thursday raised the alert level status on Mayon Volcano from a 2 to 3 due to the steady increase of rockfall and an “increased tendency towards a hazardous eruption.” Hundreds of families living around Mount Mayon in central Albay province
are expected to be moved to safer areas after the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) raised the alarm that an eruption could be days or weeks away. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. assured the public the government is doing the necessary preparations and watching closely the ongoing restiveness of Mayon as well as Taal volcano. “Right now, what we are doing is Next page
ERUPTION LIKELY. This
handout photo shows Mayon Volcano spewing white smoke as seen from Legazpi City on June 8, 2023. Hundreds of families living around Mount Mayon in central Albay province are expected to be moved to safer areas after the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology raised a 'hazardous eruption' alarm. Arren Christian Ventura / AFP
LAWMAKERS Said they remain focused on efforts to improve the lives of Filipinos as they called for an end to "useless" political bickering. Santa Rosa City Rep. Dan Fernan-
dez, Senior Deputy Speaker and Pampanga Rep. Aurelio Gonzales Jr., Majority Leader and Zamboanga Rep. Jose Manuel Dalipe, and Surigao del Sur Rep. Johnny Pimentel said the House of Representatives is committed to passing the legislative agenda of the administra-
tion and supporting the unity agenda of the President. "We can achieve these goals, which we all want for our people, if we do away with political bickering. We should instead work together and keep a laser focus on Next page
‘Unity key to improved growth forecast’ By Maricel V. Cruz SPEAKER Martin G. Romualdez on Thursday said the united effort of the executive and legislative branches of the government is a major contributing factor to the country’s strong economic performance as he elcomed the latest World
Bank forecast indicating faster than expected growth this year. According to the World Bank, the Philippines' gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow 6 percent this year, upgrading its previous forecasts of 5.4 percent in December and 5.6 percent in April.
“This upgraded forecast reinforces the positive trajectory of the Philippine economy and demonstrates that we are on the right track towards recovery and progress. It is a testament to the resilience of our people, the dynamism of our businesses, and the stability of our economic fundaNext page mentals,” Romualdez said.
Non-monetary benefits eyed for soldiers By Vince Lopez AMID grumbling over a government plan to cut military pensions, Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said Thursday that non-monetary benefits that soldiers and their families get would entice them to stay longer and wait for their mandatory retirement from the service. Teodoro was addressing concerns that military personnel would opt for early retirement before the new pension plans for military and uniformed personnel (MUP) are put into place. But in a press briefing, Teodoro said non-monetary benefits such as health care and skills upgrading initiatives in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) would serve as a prime consideration for enlisted personnel not to retire early. "I mean, it's a matter of getting an amount now, without the continuing nonmonetary benefits that you will enjoy in your career path,” Teodoro said. Next page
READY FOR THE BIG ONE? Students take part in a nationwide earthquake drill at an elementary school in Manila on June 8, 2023. AFP
The ‘Big One’: Over 60k fatalities, 120k missing By Charles Dantes DISASTER officials warned the country could suffer over 60,000 fatalities and 120,000 people could go missing if a 7.2-magnitude earthquake hits Metro Manila.
During a simultaneous earthquake drill, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said the numbers were based on studies as the country prepares for “the Big One.” The administrator of the Office of Next page