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
VOL. XXXVII • NO. 196• 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • TUESDAY, AUGUST 29, 2023 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
22.7m students troop back to school • Bare classrooms to welcome learners • Last year of ‘congested’ curriculum By Macky Solon, Gabriellea Pariño and Rio N. Araja
O
N the eve of the school year's opening today, close to 22.7 million public school students have enrolled, still short of the initial target of the Department of Education's (DepEd's) target of 28.8 million.
The department, however, expects the number of enrollees to rise during the first week of classes. "We are accepting late enrollees since it is usual that many students enroll on the first day of classes and the days that follow," said DepEd Undersecretary Michael Poa. As students prepare for their second year of faceto-face classes after the COVID-19 pandemic, they are stepping into classrooms devoid of decorations and "clutter," as schools comply with an order issued by Vice President Sara Duterte, who concurrently
serves as DepEd secretary. This academic year marks the final phase of the current "congested" curriculum for students from kindergarten to 10th grade. The succeeding academic years will implement a phased introduction of the revamped "Matatag" curriculum, which streamlines the foundational subjects from seven to five. The urgency of curriculum reform becomes evident in light of a 2021 World Bank study, which Next page
FIRST DAY HIGH. File photo shows elementary students from M.H. Del Pilar Elementary School in Quezon City lining up during the first day of classes. Some 22.7 million public students will troop back to schools today for their second year of face-to-face classes after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Marcos: Unleash inner hero, act genuinely for good of other people By Charles Dantes and Maricel V. Cruz
the nation marked National Heroes' Day. "We unleash the hero in us when we act genuinely for the good of another, impelled by the "ALL of us can be heroes, one way or another," causes and motives greater, more noble than mere President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Monday as personal interest or vain glory," he added.
In his message, President Marcos also urged Filipinos to honor the efforts of today's unsung heroes in shaping the country, even as they remember the nation's forebears' sacrifice and courage in attaining freedom. Next page
REMEMBERING THE GREATNESS OF HEROES. President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. calls on Filipinos to 'unleash the hero in us' as he led the celebration of National Heroes Day at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Taguig City Monday morning. With him are (from left) Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Gen. Romeo Brawner, Executive Sec. Lucas Bersamin, and Speaker Martin Romualdez. Ver Noveno
OVP spent P125m in confidential Challenge Chinese incursions—US Navy official funds in just 19 days— lawmaker By Vince Lopez By Maricel V. Cruz VICE President Sara Duterte spent P125 million in confidential funds in the last 19 days of December 2022, an
CHAOTIC.
Election hopefuls who intend to run for barangay or Sangguniang Kabataan positions are seen in a chaotic queue as they wait for their turn to file their certificate of candidacy (COC) at a mall in the City of Manila on August 28, 2023. The Commission on Elections will accept COCs until September 2, 2023. Screen grab from TV Patrol
opposition lawmaker said Monday. House Deputy Minority leader and ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro cited documents from the Next page
CHINA'S aggressive behavior in the South China Sea must be challenged and checked, the commander of the US Navy's Seventh Fleet said on Sunday. “My forces are out here for a reason,” said US Navy Vice Admiral Karl
Thomas, as he assured the Philippines of US backing in the face of “shared challenges” in the region. The largest of the US Navy's forward-deployed fleets, the Seventh Fleet, stationed in Japan, operates as many as 70 ships, has about 150 aircraft and more than 27,000 sailors and it operates over an area of 124 million square
New storm to enter PH this week as ‘Goring’ weakens into typhoon “GORING” has now weakened into a typhoon but a new tropical cyclone is likely to enter this week, the weather bureau said Monday. PAGASA said a tropical storm was tracked 2,230 km east of Northern Luzon, outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR). The agency said it may enter PAR by Wednesday night or Thursday morning and will be assigned the local name “Hanna.” In its 5 p.m. bulletin yesterday, PA-
GASA also said Goring was around 260 kilometers east of Tuguegarao City, Cagayan, packing maximum sustained winds of 155 kilometers per hour near the center. PAGASA said the typhoon is expected to dump between 50 to 100 millimeter of rainfall over Babuyan Islands and the northeastern portion of mainland Cagayan until Tuesday afternoon. "Under these conditions, flooding and rain-induced landslides are possible Next page
kilometers from bases in Japan, South Korea and Singapore. "You have to challenge people, I would say, operating in a grey zone. When they're taking a little bit more and more and pushing you, you've got to push back, you have to sail and operate," Thomas said in an interview with Reuters. Next page
DFA: 4th Filipino fatality in Maui fires identified By Rey E. Requejo THE number of Filipinos who died due to the massive wildfires in Maui, Hawaii has risen to four, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Monday. The Philippine Consulate General in Honolulu said Rogelio Mabalot, a 68-year-old resident of Lahaina in Next page