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President inks EO 32 streamlining permits for telecom, internet infra PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Wednesday issued Executive Order No. 32, streamlining the permitting process for the construction of telecommunications and Internet infrastructure in the country.
VOL. XXXVII • NO. 141 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • THURSDAY, JULY 6, 2023 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
The President’s order also mandates all cities and municipalities to set up one-stop shops for construction permits, which will provide frontline services to applicants securing building Next page
Inflation hits 13-month low PSA: 5.4 percent in June as price hikes for food, beverages ease
By Julito G. Rada, Charles Dantes, Maricel V. Cruz and Othel V. Campos
FOUNTAIN RELIEF.
A child cools off under water jets in a fountain during a heatwave in Montpellier, southern France, on June 26. The Philippines is also feeling unusually warm for its rainy season, with the heat index expected to hit 43 degrees in Metro Manila today (see story on A2). AFP
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NFLATION in June 2023 slowed to a 13-month low of 5.4 percent from 6.1 percent a month ago, as price increases for food and non-alcoholic beverages eased, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Wednesday. This was also slower than the 6.1 percent posted a year ago in June, and brought the first half average to 7.2 percent, still much higher than the government’s target range of 2 percent to 4 percent for the entire year. “This is the fifth consecutive month of deceleration in the headline inflation and the lowest in the past 13 months,” National Statistician Dennis Mapa said in an online briefing. From a peak of 8.7 percent in January 2023, inflation eased to 8.6 percent in February, 7.6 percent in March, 6.6 percent in April, and 6.1 percent in May. Mapa said the decline in overall inflation in June was mainly due to the slower increase in food and non-alcoholic beverages, which was at 6.7 percent, down from 7.4 percent in May. Slower increases in transport costs Next page
July 3 world’s hottest day, with mercury rising past 17°C on average PARIS—Monday, July 3, was the world’s hottest day on record, exceeding an average of 17 degrees Celsius (62.6 degrees Fahrenheit) for the first time, according to initial measurements taken on Tuesday by US meteorologists. The average daily air temperature
on the planet’s surface on July 3 was This measurement surpasses the prelogged at 17.01C by an organisation at- vious daily record (16.92C) set on July tached to the US National Oceanic and 24 last year, according to data from Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Prediction going back to 1979. (place ruled insert here) The world’s average air temperature, Next page
Heat index hits 44°C in Luzon NEWS / A2
By Othel Campos
Marcos: Crops to bear brunt of El Nino in PH By Charles Dantes PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. warned crop production will bear the brunt of the El Niño phenomenon that may last until the first half of 2024 as the National Water Resources Board said water and power supply could also be affected, especially in Luzon where the Angat Dam water reserve is nearing critical level. “The problem with the water, I think, is solvable when it comes to livestock. But we will have difficulty when it comes to crops,” Mr. Marcos said in a chance interview during the sidelines of the Livestock Philippines Expo 2023 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City yesterday. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) on Tues-
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DA: Masagana program to pull rice farmers in
POST-LEDAC GAB. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (fifth from left) is flanked by House Speaker Martin Romualdez, Senate President
Juan Miguel Zubiri, and several lawmakers after they finished discussing the priority bills covered by the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) discussion in Malacanang on Wednesday. PCO Photo
THE Department of Agriculture said it expects more farmers to join the government’s Masagana Rice Industry Development Program (MRIDP) after the average farmgate price of palay at the national level reached P19.06 per kilo. DA undersecretary for Rice Program Leo Sebastian said the May farmgate price was about 10.6 percent higher from the P17.24 per kg price in May 2022. As the overseer of the MRIDP, Sebastian estimates palay production to reach 8.605 million metric tons (MT) this year, or about 5.6 million MT of milled rice. This volume, in addition to the 1.8 million MT carryover stocks of milled rice and the arrival of 1.8 MMT imported rice, would be sufficient to meet the demand of 7 million MT from January to June, he said. “By the end of June, the available stock would be good for more than 2 months, in addition to the incoming supply from new harvest and imports,” Next page
LEDAC OKs 20 bills; MIF to be signed before SONA Tourism to keep By Charles Dantes, Maricel Cruz and Macon Ramos-Araneta
chaired by President Ferdinand Marcos Bank to open accounts for cases involvJr. on Wednesday approved 20 bills that ing money laundering and terrorism. must be passed by the end of the year, “Apparently, we’re the only country THE Legislative Executive Devel- including the Bank Deposit Secrecy left in the world who hasn’t passed bank opment Advisory Council (LEDAC) measure that will allow the Central Next page
PBBM: No deadline on onion cartel probe, warns vs. ‘half-baked’ result By Charles Dantes, Maricel V. Cruz and Macon Ramos-Araneta
‘CHEAPER ENERGY FROM MALAMPAYA’ NEWS / A2
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Wednesday that there’s no deadline on his order to probe the onion cartel. In an interview, the President told reporters that he’s not a fan of giving deadlines, adding that he would not accept a half-baked result. Marcos said the probe will focus on
those who took part in the hoarding and controlling of various agricultural products, saying that many cartels are still operating. He also doubled down on his previous statement that this was tantamount to economic sabotage. President Marcos doubled down on his previous statement of economic sabotage. Next page
‘Love PH’ slogan despite fiasco By Macon Ramos-Araneta THE government will keep the new ‘’Love the Philippines’’ slogan despite the ridicule that the campaign drew after it released a promotion video using stock footage of foreign locations, Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco said Wednesday. Frasco has since terminated the Department of Tourism’s contract with the DDB Philippines ad agency responsible for the video. However, at a tourism forum, she said the DOT would keep using the tourism slogan that was launched Next page