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DTI: 25K SMALL RICE RETAILERS TO GET P15K AID BEFORE WEEKEND By Othel V. Campos, Macon Ramos-Araneta, Joel E. Zurbano, Vince Lopez and Rio N. Araja
VOL. XXXVII • NO. 204 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2023 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
AN INITIAL batch of 25,000 resellers of regular and well-milled rice in Metro Manila markets will get a P15,000 subsidy to offset losses from having to sell their rice at government-imposed price ceilings before the week is over, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said Wednesday.
In an interview, Trade Assistant Secretary Agaton Uvero said the DTI has an initial list of 25,000 legitimate resellers who qualify for government assistance. He said the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) said it will be able to distribute the financial assistance within the week. After the verification and validation process by the DTI with the help of LGUs and the Department of Agriculture (DA), the retailers on the list Next page
‘Fight hegemonic ambition’ • Marcos rallies ASEAN to let rule of law prevail • PBBM meets China’s Li, Canada premier Trudeau • PH leader meeting US VP, Japan PM too
SIDELINE TALK. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and China’s Prime Minister Li Qiang talk face to face at the sidelines of the 43rd ASEAN Summit, which also drew global leaders such as (inset from left) US Vice President Kamala Harris, Australian Premier Anthony Albanese, Japanese Premier Fumio Kishida, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. AFP
By Charles Dantes and Maricel V. Cruz
J
AKARTA—President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to protect the rules-based international order against countries with a “hegemonic ambition” at a gathering of the regional bloc’s leaders.
Mr. Marcos Jr. then met with Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang on Wednesday on the sidelines of the 43rd ASEAN Summit here -- the first high-level pullaside discussion between leaders of the two nations amid heightened tensions in the West Philippine Sea. “History will ultimately judge whether the supremacy of the rule of law prevails, ushering in an era where all nations truly stand as equals, independent and unswayed
$22m in pledges secured from Indonesia firms
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Chinese PM: Major powers must keep cool to avoid ‘new Cold War’ CHINA’S premier said on Wednesday that major powers must keep their differences under control and avoid “a new Cold War,” in a thinly veiled reference to Washington, as top Asian and US officials gathered for talks in Indonesia. Beijing has expressed concern about
US-backed blocs forming on its doorstep while facing disputes with other powers in the region over the South China Sea and other issues. “Disagreements and disputes may arise between countries due to misperceptions, diverging interests, or exter-
nal interferences,” Li Qiang said at the start of an ASEAN-plus-three meeting with Japan and South Korea in Jakarta. “To keep differences under control, what is essential now is to oppose picking sides, to oppose bloc confrontation, and to oppose a new Cold War.”
By Charles Dantes and Othel Campos
Qiang also claimed that China has been working with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to “preserve regional stability,” asserting that “mutual trust” between the two parties has “grown deeper.”
THE country’s capacity to improve on artificial intelligence (AI) and digital connectivity as well as to manufacture animal vaccines got a boost after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. secured some $22 million worth of investment pledges from Indonesian companies. The Presidential Communications
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Risa warns DepEd not to use intel funds to surveil teachers, students By Macon Ramos-Araneta
LEADERS WITH GLADWELL. Iconic author and speaker Malcolm Gladwell (middle, seated) meets with corporate leaders, including SMPHI Chairman Hans Sy and SM Investments Vice Chairperson Teresita Sy-Coson, before serving as the Keynote Speaker of SM Supermalls’ Tenant-Partners Summit at the SMX Convention Center. The summit marks the start of the 65th-year celebration of SM in the Philippines.
NBI uses monkey photo on ID to register SIM card By Joel E. Zurbano SENATORS have expressed disappointment with telecommunication regulators after learning that the National Bureau of Investigation successfully registered a subscriber identity module (SIM) using a photo of a monkey. The lawmakers are now planning to amend the implementing rules and regulations of the SIM Registration Act. Senator Grace Poe, who chairs the committee on public services, asked
what identification card the NBI team used. NBI Cybercrime Division chief Jeremy Lotoc said they tried to register SIMs bought from different telecommunications companies as part of their investigation. He added it is easy to craft government IDs online and just put a picture on it. Lotoc said they entered the face of the monkey and different names, and it was still accepted for registration Poe requested the cooperation of the National
Telecommunications Commission to amend the SIM Registration Act rules, with Commissioner Ella Lopez promising compliance and addressing spurious registration issues in the post-registration validation mechanism. Previously, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said it confiscated a large number of illegal China-made “text blast” machines used by organized syndicates for text scams via mobile phone messaging. Next page
SENATOR Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday cautioned the Department of Education against using its confidential funds for surveillance operations on teachers and learners in a bid to stop alleged recruitment attempts of the New People’s Army in public schools. Hontiveros noted that Vice President and DepEd Secretary Sara Duterte herself admitted during the Senate’s budg-
et deliberations Tuesday that “learners, and our teaching and non-teaching DepEd personnel” could be included in their surveillance operation. “This raises a lot of alarming questions. Who were collecting and conducting surveillance in schools?” Hontiveros said. “Keeping our children safe includes keeping them away from the potential abuse associated with Next page
MONKEY BUSINESS.
In this screengrab from an NBI presentation at the Senate on Wednesday, a picture of a monkey is placed inside a Philhealth ID, proving it was easy to fake a registration for a SIM card as required by law.