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DICT admits President ‘impatient’ over long-delayed nat’l ID rollout PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has become impatient over the long-delayed release of the national IDs or the Philippine Identification System IDs (PhilIDs), the Department of Information and Communications Technology admitted on Wednesday.
VOL. XXXVII • NO. 211 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2023 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
“So, a lot of delays have already happened and there are many of our countrymen who have been complaining that up to this date, they have not yet received their national ID,” said DICT Secretary Ivan John Uy during a press Next page
‘Explore PH for investments’
PBBM woos bizmen in Singapore, touts Maharlika Fund as ‘gateway’ By Charles Dantes and Maricel Cruz
P
RESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday asked foreign businessmen “to explore” the Philippines as a destination for investment.
During his speech at the 10th Asian Summit in Singapore, President Marcos said through the Maharlika Investment Fund (MIF), the Philippines would be a gateway of possibilities in the area of investment.
Mr. Marcos signed the MIF Bill into law last July, erecting the sovereign wealth fund. The President, who celebrated his 66th birthday yesterday and is on an official visit to Singapore for five days until Sept. 17, cited its importance in re-
viving the country’s economy. The wealth fund will serve as a longterm source of investment capital to be used to finance the government’s projects, Mr. Marcos noted. Next page
SELLING MAHARLIKA. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. explains the Maharlika Fund to a group of chief executive officers and top investors at the 10th Asia Summit hosted by the Milken Institute in Singapore on Wednesday. Mr. Marcos is the first sitting PH Chief Executive to address the summit. PCO Photo
Pinoy CEOs see prices going up toward yearend By Joel Zurbano and Othel Campos PRICES of goods and services are only going up toward the end of the year as companies account for more expensive raw materials, higher salaries, and the spike in petroleum products, a survey of local business owners revealed. Despite this, most of the country’s chief executives are confident about their industries’ prospects for the next 12 months, according to the Philippine CEO Survey 2023 released recently by PwC Philippines and the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP). The survey by PricewaterhouseCoopers or PwC showed that 83 percent of CEOs are optimistic for the next 12 months despite the threats of inflation, macroeconomic instability, cyber risks, and supply chain constraints, said MAP president Benedicta Du-Baladad. “Philippine business leaders have faced serious threats, but they have risen to the occasion and found new Next page
P33 wage hike for C. Visayas workers okayed
RICE AID. Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo (seated, left) hands a local rice retailer P15,000, part of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Sustainable Livelihood Program and the government’s response to help small retailers cope with the current price cap, on Friday. The scene was replicated in Mandaluyong and Makati, where hundreds of other retailers also received the cash aid (inset). Manny Palmero
By Vito Barcelo
There is no need for major rice imports at the moment, since the harvest is about to peak, he added,
MINIMUM wage earners in Central Visayas will receive a salary increase of P33 per day, which will take effect on Oct. 1, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) announced yesterday. A P40 minimum wage hike in the National Capital Region took effect on July 16. Workers in the Calabarzon region will also receive a P35 to P50 hike in their daily minimum wage this month, the DOLE said. The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board in Central Visayas granted a pay increase of
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Farmers say gov’t zero-tariff plan for imported rice ‘ill-timed, a farce’ By Othel V. Campos and Vince Lopez ill-timed, given the wet season harvest discourage them from increasing their (FFF) chairman Raul Montemayor. has started and the country’s granary THE country’s biggest farmers union will be topped-up soon. “If we reduce the tariffs now, it will says the government’s plan to floor tariffs on imported rice to zero percent is send the wrong signal to our farmers and
production. Then, we will have our supply problems again next year,” said Federation of Free Farmers
LTFRB seeks NEDA help on fare hike By Rio N. Araja
granting a P1 provisional fare hike for public vehicles before the year ends. At a news conference, LTFRB chairperson TeoTHE Land Transportation Franchising and filo Guadiz III said the agency is set to hear two Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on Wednesday said it will ask the National Economic and Develop- petitions filed by various transport groups seeking Next page ment Authority (NEDA) to study the effect of
Fishers say no PCG escort to Scarborough By Vince Lopez and Macon Ramos-Araneta
cort them to Scarborough Shoal, where Chinese ships routinely keep them away from rich fishA FISHERMAN’S group on Wednesday said ing grounds. the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) does not esNext page
iPhones with USB-C charging ports debut NEWS / A2
Over 2,300 dead from Libya flood NEWS / A2
DOJ: ‘Warlords’ protecting Teves NEWS / A3 IPHONE 15. Apple CEO Tim Cook holds up a new iPhone 15 Pro during an Apple event on Tuesday in Cupertino, California (Wednesday in Manila). AFP