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SABUNGERO CASE: 6 SUSPECTS FALL IN PARANAQUE
NCRPO SACKS 8 NAVOTAS COPS IN JEMBOY SLAY
NEWS / A2
NEWS / A2 VOL. XXXVII • NO. 214• 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2023 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
Halt to online SIM listup eyed PAOCC says system takes fake IDs; Senators say just enforce the law By Macon Ramos-Araneta
T
HE online registration of SIM (subscriber identity module) cards should be temporarily stopped as the system accepts fake identities and information, the Presidential AntiOrganized Crime Commission (PAOCC) said on Friday. But Senators Grace Poe and Alan Cayetano said backing down against scammers who used SIMs illegally was not an option, as the solution was stricter enforcement of the new SIM Registration Act. In a related development, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has launched the Consumer Application Monitoring Systems (CAMS) platform, an initiative of its Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC). Next page
Pump prices rising by P2/l next week By Alena Mae S. Flores CONSUMERS must brace for a bigtime oil price hike next week of as much as P2 per liter, which reflects the movement of prices in the world market. Industry estimates based on the four-day Mean of Platts Singapore benchmark showed that diesel may go up by P1.80 to P2 per liter, kerosene by P1.70 to P1.90 per liter, and gasoline by P1.15 to P1.35 per liter. The expected increase next week
ESSENTIAL WORK. A farmer transplants rice seedlings in Sumapang Matanda, Malolos, Bulacan on Thursday. Transplanted rice seedlings are grown in nurseries before they are transferred into fields, either manually or by machine, and experts say they have higher yields and less weeding. Joan Bondoc
Farmers want Diokno, Balisacan fired over rice tariff cuts FARMERS groups on Friday called for the resignation of Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan for their support for moves to cut tariff rates on rice imports from 35 percent to 10 percent.
“Today, we stand together to oppose, in the strongest terms, the efforts of Secretaries Diokno and Balisacan to serve the death sentence on rice farmers and other industry stakeholders by cutting or eliminating tariffs – our last refuge,” said a joint statement of the groups read by Samahanag Industriya
ng Agrikultura (SINAG) executive director Jayson Cainglet, during a public hearing of the Tariff Commission. Diokno did not comment on calls for his resignation. “Have a wonderful weekend!” he said on Viber when Manila Standard asked to get his side.
The Tariff Commission hearing was called to consider a proposal by the Foundation for Economic Freedom to reduce the tariff rate on rice from 35% to 10% temporarily for six months to bring down rice prices, which have been surging. Next page
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OFW Ranara’s killer gets 15 years; PBBM, Speaker laud Kuwait ruling By Rey E. Requejo, Charles Dantes, Maricel V. Cruz and Vito Barcelo THE killer of overseas Filipino worker Jullebee Ranara has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for her murder in Kuwait, the Department of Foreign
MARCOS, INDIAN FIRM DISCUSS PH INVESTMENTS NEWS / A2
Affairs (DFA) said Friday. The killer, the employer’s son, was also given an extra year in jail for driving without a license. The DFA said because the killer, Turki Ayed Al-Azmi, was a minor, the penalties were less harsh. He has 30 days to appeal the judgment of the Court of First Instance. Next page
INDIAN INTEREST. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (seated, second from left) meets with the leaders of the GMR Group, an Indian conglomerate, to discuss the administration's 'Build Better More' program at the sidelines of the 2023 Asia Summit in Singapore on Friday, With the President is Speaker Martin Romualdez (seated second from right). PIA Photo
Expert says local law not needed to boost WPS claims By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Vince Lopez A MARITIME expert told a Senate panel Friday there is no need for the Philippines to enact a maritime zone bill to fortify its claims over the West
Philippine Sea (WPS). "I would argue and I suspect that the attorneys here at the table would say that the Philippine claims are already well-fortified under international law," Gregory Poling, director of the Southeast Asia Program and Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, said.
He noted that domestic legislation only further clarifies the issue, but doesn’t change the nature of Philippine claims. Poling was among the resource speakers during the first hearing of the Senate special committee on Philippine maritime and admiralty zones chaired by Senator Francis Tolentino. Next page
PH firms make TIME’s World’s Best Companies list By Jenniffer B. Austria
Companies. the 750 top-performing companies in the Ayala Corp., San Miguel Corp., world for 2023. The World's Best Companies 2023 SIX Philippine corporations were Jollibee Foods Corp.. PLDT Inc., included in TIME Magazine’s new Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., and ranking, TIME said, is a comprehensive Next page annual ranking of the World’s Best BDO Unibank Inc. were named among
PHILIPPINES' BEST. Pictured are the logos of Ayala Corp., San Miguel Corp., Jollibee Foods Corp., PLDT Inc., Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., and BDO Unibank Inc., which TIME Magazine named to its new annual rankings of the World's Best Companies announced Friday.