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PBBM: AFP FACES MORE SECURITY CHALLENGES
GREENPEACE, QC TO START ‘TINGI’ FOR SARI-SARIS
NEWS / A2
NEWS / A4 VOL. XXXVII • NO. 125 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • TUESDAY, JUNE 20, 2023 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
DoTr approves LRT fare hike
Higher fees start Aug. 2, end-to-end tickets to cost up to P35 By Darwin G. Amojelar, Joel E. Zurbano and Rio N. Araja
T
HE government has approved a fare increase at the Light Rail Transit’s Lines 1 and 2 starting Aug. 2, raising the minimum boarding fee by 21 percent to P13.29 from the current P11, and P1.21 for every kilometer traveled, up from P1.
‘Fake news has no place in society’: Marcos backs FOI
For the LRT-1 line, the end-to-end adjusted fares would rise by P5, from P30 to P35, for a single-journey ticket (SJT) on LRT-1 and by P6, from P29 to P35, for stored value card (SVC) holders. LRT-2 riders will see end-to-end fares go up from P30 to P35 for SJTs and P28 to P33 for SVCs, the DoTr explained in a presentation. Transport Assistant Secretary for Railways Jorjette Aquino said Transport Secretary Jaime Bautista approved the fare hike after a Cabinet meeting on June 6. The Department of Transportation’s (DOTr’s) rail regulatory unit previously approved the petitions to increase the train boarding fee by P2.29 and the cost per kilometer traveled by 21 centavos. Aquino said the fare adjustment allows the Light Railway Transit Authority (LRTA) to enhance the services, amenities, and technical capacities of
By Vince Lopez
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said fake news has no place in society as he affirmed his administration’s commitment to the Freedom of Information (FOI) program. Next page
BUSY DAY FOR PBBM. President Ferdinand
R. Marcos Jr. receives a token after speaking at the formal opening of the 14th edition of the International Conference of Information Commissioners (ICIC) at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City on Monday. He later huddles with Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro and Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin (inset, backs to the camera) after the oathtaking ceremony of 40 newlypromoted generals at Malacañan Palace. PCO Photos
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DSWD: Food stamp pilot-testing could start July, cover 3,000 families PhilHealth tries
THE Department of Social Welfare and Development said it will begin pilot-testing its food stamp program as early as next month or in August at the latest, with the first 3,000 beneficiary families identified from three impoverished sites.
“By July or August, we are going to do a pilot that is fully funded by the Asian Development Bank – $3 million to identify three sites with 3,000 families as pilot beneficiaries,” DSWD Sec. Rex Gatchalian said in an interview
with CNN Philippines. The food credit can be used to purThe food stamp program, also known chase a select list of food commodities as the “Walang Gutom 2027,” will from DSWD-accredited local retailers. provide electronic benefit transfers It intends to target the bottom one that will be loaded with food credits million households who belong to amounting to P3,000. Next page
front-loading Konsulta funds
DEPARTURE HONORS FOR BIAZON. Members of the Philippine Marines carry the
THE Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) will pilot-test the frontloading of funds instead of the usual reimbursement scheme to the first seven primary care networks that will be established across the country. PhilHealth on Monday formalized its partnership with five local government units and two private sector groups to form a Primary Care Provider Network (PCPN). Under the existing setup, PhilHealth’s Konsultasyong Sulit at Tama (Konsulta) primary care benefit package covers patient consultations, any of 13 laboratory and diagnostic tests as ordered by the doctor, and 21 common medications that can be prescribed according to their medical needs. Konsulta providers are then paid, on the average, P500 to P750 per patient per year on a reimbursement basis after services have been rendered.
P3m reward up for info leading to Bantag, Zulueta arrest—DOJ By Rey E. Requejo THE Department of Justice has offered a P3 million cash reward to anyone who can provide credible information that could lead to the arrest of former Bureau of Corrections chief
Gerald Bantag and former deputy officer Ricardo Zulueta. DOJ spokesperson and Assistant Secretary Mico Clavano revealed that the DOJ and the National Bureau of Investigation are offering P2 million Next page
FE.1 Omicron subvariant detected in PH; NCR positivity going down THE Department of Health has detected ing on 2,340 samples conducted from the country’s first case of FE.1 subvariant May 29 to June 12. of the COVID-19 Omicron strain. “Currently available evidence for the The lone case of the XBB sublineage variant does not suggest any differences was recorded through genome sequencNext page
Ecuador woman dead, then alive, then dead again QUITO, Ecuador—An elderly Ecuadoran woman who woke up inside a coffin at her own wake -- sparking a viral video, of course -- has now died for real, authorities said Sunday. A video posted on social media last week shows Bella Montoya, 76, in her open coffin breathing heavily while two men assist her. Her son, Gilbert Barbera, said she had been banging on the inside of the casket, desperate to get out as her relatives mourned her. She had been erroneously declared dead on June 9. Next page
casket bearing the remains of former Sen. Rodolfo G. Biazon out of the Senate building after the necrological service held in his honor on Monday (see story on A4). Senate PRIB
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Over 600 getting sick at Mayon evacuation centers By Rio N. Araja, Charles Dantes and Joel E. Zurbano
sought medical attention for respiratory and other problems, disaster officials said Monday. As of June 19, 10,146 families or MORE than 600 people who were moved to evacuation centers as a result 38,961 people from 26 barangays have of the unrest in Mayon Volcano have been affected by Mayon’s volcanic ac-
tivity. About 5,466 families or 18,892 people are in 28 evacuation centers, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said. Next page
RIZAL’s 162ND BIRTHDAY. Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna leads members of the Gran Logia Soberana Del Archipielago Filipino in the flag-raising and wreath-laying ceremony at Rizal Park in commemoration of the 162nd birth anniversary of Dr. Jose Rizal on Monday (see related story on A3). Norman Cruz