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DTI: Fuel subsidies dealt within 2 days; Diesel up by 40c/liter, gasoline by 20c By Alena Mae S. Flores
VOL. XXXVII • NO. 209 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2023 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
THE Department of Transportation said it will distribute P3 billion in fuel subsidies to 1.36 million public utility vehicle drivers nationwide affected “within the next 2 days, the latest would
be September 15.” Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said the subsidy will help PUV drivers and operators following nine straight weeks of oil price increases. Diesel prices went up by P14.80 per Next page
Rice price cap off after 2 weeks Finance, Trade chiefs stress support for EO 39, call it a ‘lifeline’
By Othel V. Campos, Julito G. Rada and Macon Ramos-Araneta
T
HE government may lift the price caps imposed on regular and well-milled rice after two weeks and allow market forces to determine the right pricing for the staple, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said Monday.
• Imee: Don’t delay giving agrarian titles to farmers NEWS / A4 At the same time, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, who was quoted earlier as saying he was shocked by the announcement of price ceilings on Sept. 1, said the economic team fully supports the decision of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to impose them. “Executive Order No. 39 was issued by the President as the chief executive and the concurrent secretary of the Department of Agriculture. EO 39 serves as a lifeline, extending much-needed relief to Filipinos grappling with the high rice prices,” Diokno said. Diokno, who was also quoted as saying the economic team was not consulted before the price caps were imposed, said they now viewed EO 39 as an “essential stop-gap measure.” Under EO No. 39, the mandated price of regular milled rice was set at P41.00 per kilogram while wellNext page
RICE PADDY ART. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (center, with sunglasses), First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, their family, and students grace the official launching of the 2023 Mariano Marcos State University-Philippine Rice Research Institute Rice Paddy Art at the MMSU campus in Batac, Ilocos Norte on Monday. The school unveiled the rice paddy art to honor the elder Marcos’ legacy on his 106th birth anniversary (see story below). Alfred Frias
Diokno, economists in favor of Balisacan taking over Agri post By Julito Rada FINANCE Secretary Benjamin Diokno and private sector economists are in favor of seeing National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan lead the De-
NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan
partment of Agriculture. At present, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is the Diokno, the head of the economic team, said it concurrent Agriculture secretary. was a “sound proposal.” Security Bank Corp. economist Robert Dan “He [Balisacan] has heard it many times, and Roces said it would be advantageous should BalArsi’s undergrad degree is in Agriculture Eco- isacan take over the Agriculture portfolio in a conNext page nomics,” Diokno said.
Envoy says US, PH military officials planning fresh large-scale exercises By Rey E. Requejo and Vince Lopez
NEW GUNBOATS. US Ambassador MaryKay Carlson (second from right) walks by the former USS Monsoon (PC-4) and USS Chinook (PC9), which were donated to the Philippine Navy and rechristened the BRP Valentin Diaz (PS-177) and BRP Ladislao Diwa (PS-178), in rites led by Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr. (center, inset) and other military officials at the Philippine Navy headquarters Naval Station Jose Andrada on Roxas Boulevard in Manila on Monday. Danny Pata
SENIOR Philippine and US military officials are scheduled to meet in the coming days in Manila to discuss assistance programs and large-scale exercises, US Ambassador to the Philippines MaryKay Carlson said Monday. In her speech during the commissioning ceremony of two Philippine Navy patrol vessels, Carlson said the meeting is part of the annual Mutual Defense Board and Security Engagement Board (MDB-SEB) activity. The US ambassador said the meeting is intended to set “a course of action through assistance programs, largescale exercises, and hundreds of smaller
PBBM marks dad’s 106th birthday with vow for better public service
NEWS / A2
• US turns over P250m training facility to PCG NEWS / A2 exchanges between our two militaries.” She said these engagements will help strengthen the US-Philippine alliance, build trust, and enhance interoperability for the protection of the two allied countries. Next page
Gloria prodding Rody back into politics, says Go
By Charles Dantes
ebrating his late father’s birth anniversary, President Marcos said that his faIN CELEBRATING his father’s 106th ther served as his mentor and gave him birth anniversary, President Ferdinand guidance whenever things got tough. “I think the best way to honor his Marcos Jr. vowed to honor his father’s memory will be [to] stay true to the pasmemory through public service. In a brief speech after a mass celNext page
By Macon Ramos-Araneta
Morocco quake toll rises to 2,497 RABAT—The death toll from MoAnother 2,476 people were inrocco’s devastating earthquake has jured, the ministry said, updating risen to 2,497, the interior ministry a previous toll of 2,122 dead and said on Monday, as search and rescue 2,400 wounded. Next page efforts continue.
• US, Vietnam warn China on use of force in SCS
REUNION. In a photo posted on his Facebook page, Senator Christopher “Bong” Go (right) takes a selfie with (from left) former Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, former President and Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, former President Rodrigo Duterte, and former Senate President Vicente Sotto III following an ‘informal gathering’ over the weekend.
FORMER President and Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo prodded former President Rodrigo Duterte to be active again in politics, Senator Christopher Go disclosed on Monday. Arroyo’s photo with Duterte made the rounds on social media two days after she also posted a photo of her with former Vice President Leni Robredo on Saturday. “I recently had a social dinner with Next page