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EU chief: Human rights situation in PH ‘much better’ under PBBM By Rey E. Requejo
sula von der Leyen. Von der Leyen on Tuesday said the THE human rights environment has be- government under President Ferdinand come “much better” under the Marcos Marcos Jr. has become more cooperaadministration, according to visiting tive with the United Nations and other European Commission President Ur- groups regarding human rights.
VOL. XXXVII • NO. 168 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2, 2023 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
Marcos: Rice supply enough Next page
But ‘quadruple whammy’ looms for PH staple grain, solon warns By Charles Dantes, Julito G. Rada, Othel V. Campos, and Maricel V. Cruz
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RESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Tuesday the country’s rice supply was “okay” as he assured Filipinos of the government’s continued efforts to stabilize the price and supply of the staple grain. “For now, the supply is okay,” Mr. Marcos said in a video message in a mix of English and Filipino. “We are looking at the cost of agricultural inputs to make sure the price of rice will not increase that much.” But India’s rice export ban, Vietnam’s move to halve its exports, typhoon damage to crops, and the scuttling of the Ukraine deal are a “quadruple whammy” that will deliver a gut punch to the Philippines, the world’s second-largest importer of rice and sixth-biggest buyer of wheat, Deputy Speaker Ralph Recto
said Tuesday. “That’s a punch in the gut for everyone,” Recto said in a mix of English and Filipino. “These developments are the sound of empty pots clanging.” He said the President’s warning that rice prices could go up was “refreshing honesty” that could spur action on how to meet the crisis ahead. In a video message after he met with Agriculture officials at the Palace yesterday, Mr. Marcos assured the public of the government’s continued efforts to Next page
Gov’t focuses on water needs; DA, NWRB bare plans to blunt El Niño By Charles Dantes, Vito Barcelo, and Joel E. Zurbano
LIFE UNDER FLOOD WATERS. A man wades through neck-deep floodwaters at Barangay San Miguel in Calumpit, Bulacan, while
neighbors partake of their breakfast in the water and on their roofs in another part of Calumpit on Tuesday. The town, and most of northern and central Luzon, still suffers from the floodwaters brought about by Typhoons Egay and Falcon and the southwest monsoon or ‘habagat’. LOJF Facebook page
THE current water level of Angat Dam, which was filled by recent typhoons “Egay” and “Falcon,” is not yet enough to fulfill the water needs of Metro Manila amid the threat of El Niño, the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) said Tuesday. This was as the Department of Agriculture bared its plan to mitigate the
possible impact of the El Niño weather phenomenon on crops. NWRB Executive Director Sevillo David said he is not yet comfortable nor confident even if Angat Dam’s water level is currently way beyond the rule curve of 180 meters. David said the government needs to prepare for the expected effects of El Niño, as he justified the allocation for Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage Next page
5 Agri officials suspended over Kadiwa onions OMBUDSMAN Samuel Martires has meted out a six-month preventive suspension on several officials of the Department of Agriculture and the Food Terminal Incorporated over an ongoing probe into the purchase of onions for the Kadiwa Food Hub project. In an order, Martires slapped the preventive suspension without pay against DA Assistant Secretary Kristine Evangelista, DA Administrative Officer V Eunice Biblanias, DA OIC-Chief Accountant Lolita Jamela, FTI Vice President for Operations John Gabriel Benedict Trinidad III and FTI Budget Division Head Juanita Lualhati. While Agriculture Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban and FTI President Robert Tan were included in the complaints for grave misconduct, gross neglect of duty, Next page
JAPANESE GUESTS. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. meets with Hon. Moriyama Hiroshi, Chairman of the Japan-Philippines Parliamentarians Friendship League (JPPFL), and other
Japanese lawmakers who are working together to improve their country’s relationship with the Philippines. They met earlier with Speaker Martin Romualdez and members of the House of Representatives. PCO Photos
Teves, 12 others tagged as ‘terrorists’; Lawmaker: That is stupidity By Rey E. Requejo, Maricel V. Cruz the alleged killings and harassment in who is abroad and refuses to come paign to discredit him. Negros Oriental. home citing threats to his safety, said. Meanwhile, the House ethics comand Vince Lopez Teves laughed off the tag in a virtual THE Anti-Terrorism Council has desig- press conference, maintaining that he nated suspended Negros Oriental Rep. nor his brother had anything to do with Arnolfo Teves Jr., along with 12 others, the killing of Degamo last March. “That is stupidity,” the lawmaker, as “terrorists” for their involvement in
US hits Chinese firm working in Manila Bay Senators unite behind resolution blasting China harassment in WPS
THE United States government on Tuesday expressed concern over the “potential negative long-term and irreversible impacts” of reclamation projects in Manila Bay, particularly those involving China Communications Construction Co. In a statement, the US said the projects would have ill effects “on the environment, the resilience to natural hazards of Manila and nearby areas, and to commerce” in the area. US Embassy spokesperson Kanishka Gangopadhyay said they are Next page
By Macon Ramos-Araneta SENATORS unanimously adopted Resolution 718 that strongly condemns the continued harassment of Filipino fishermen and the incursions in the West Philippine Sea by Chinese Coast Guard and militia vessels. The resolution also listed options that the Philippine government may undertake to assert and secure the country’s sovereign rights over its exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, namely: - Bringing international attention to China’s harassment of Filipino fisher-
men in the Philippine EEZ and its continued violation of the Hague Ruling and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea; - Utilizing international fora to rally multilateral support for the enforcement of the Hague Ruling and raise awareness on the real situation in the West Philippine Sea; - Engaging like-minded countries in various international organizations, meetings, and other fora to call on China to respect the Hague Ruling and the UNCLOS; Next page
“There is no such thing.” His camp also denounced the move, accusing the government of abusing the congressman’s constitutional rights and embarking on a massive media cam-
mittee will resume its probe of Teves for the third time after his second 60day suspension from Congress expired yesterday.
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AGAINST VIETNAM TOO. Members of Makabayan Alyansang Makabansa protest in front of the Vietnamese embassy in Manila on Tuesday following reports that Vietnam has tapped a private company to build an artificial island in the West Philippine Sea as part of its militarization efforts in areas that it claims. Danny Pata