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IN MET R MANILAO
VOL. XXXVII • NO. 215 • 2 SECTIONS 12 PAGES SEPTEMBER 17, 2023
www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
CLOUD TECH TO ENSURE ‘SEAMLESS’ HANGZHOU ASIAD SPORTS | A7
MEXICO SENDS SON OF CARTEL KINGPIN ‘EL CHAPO’TO THE US WORLD | A3
URGENT MESSAGE. A light display created using drones is performed before the city skyline and United Nations headquarters as part of a campaign to raise awareness about the Amazon rainforest and the global climate crisis ahead of the 78th United Nations General Assembly and Climate Ambition Summit, in New York City on September 15, 2023. AFP
‘ALARMING’: ROZUL REEF STRIPPED OF ITS CORALS
AFP SAYS CHINESE MILITIA VESSELS SWARMING AREA IN WPS By Charles Dantes and Joel Zurbano
US-PH MILITARIES EYE 500 BILATERAL ACTIVITIES IN 2024
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HE Armed Forces of the Philippines on Saturday reported massive coral harvesting in Rozul Reef in the West Philippine Sea where Chinese militia vessels were seen swarming. AFP Western Command head Vice Admiral Albert Carlos said the area was completely stripped of its corals. “The areas where there was swarming, we have pinpointed these. And then when they left, we sent out our divers to do a water survey and we saw there were no more corals. There we only debris,” Carlos said. Rozul Reef, also known as Iroquois Reef, lies within the country’s 200 nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone and continental shelf. “This is alarming because as far as WesCom is concerned, it is our duty to protect sovereign rights for Filipinos. Our fellow countrymen should be the ones enjoying the resources in our EEZ,” he added. The military official, however, said they are not yet officially blaming the Chinese militia vessels even if they have their own suspicions. “It is just our suspicion for now. We are not saying they are harvesting our corals. But we suspect that somebody is harvesting our corals and that means they are violating our sovereign rights,” he said.
By Charles Dantes and Maricel Cruz
A map of the West Philippine Sea shows the location of Rozul Reef, also known as Iroquois Reef, which lies within the country’s 200 nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone.
THE Philippines and the United States militaries are planning for at least 500 bilateral engagements in 2024, the Armed Forces of the Philippines said yesterday. The AFP and the US Indo-Pacific Command reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen ties amid tensions in the Indo-Pacific region during the annual Mutual Defense Board - Security Engagement Board (MDB-SEB) meeting on September 14 at Camp Aguinaldo. The two countries discussed the inclusion of exercises and highlevel exchanges for next year’s activities, which include maritime security, information sharing, and capacity and capability development among others.
THERAPY DOGS HELP STUDENTS COPE WITH UNIVERSITY STRESS PETS | B4
BE ‘WISE’ IN BUYING FUEL, DOE SAYS AS PRICE HIKES TO HIT P2.40/L NEXT WEEK By Alena Mae S. Flores and Joel Zurbano BURDENED with the oil price increases for 10 consecutive weeks now? The Department of Energy has this advice: Be “wise” in buying fuel. As pump prices are expected to go up by P2.40 per liter next week –higher than the original forecast –DOE director for the oil industry management bureau Rodela Romero said consumers should look for retail stations that offer lower pump prices. “Let’s be wise and use the power of choice,” she said in a television interview, noting that based on the monitoring of the DOE, some stations offer discounts of as much as P4 per liter. Romero said there were “price war areas” such as in Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City where some small or independent oil firms offer cheaper fuel.
DBP REMITS P25B TO TREASURY FOR MAHARLIKA FUND By Julito G. Rada
INVESTMENT PLEDGES. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (fourth from left) meets with representatives of the Singapore-based multinational technology firm Dyson which has committed to invest about P11 billion in the Philippines that is expected to generate more than 1,000 jobs by 2024. Mr. Marcos was joined by (from right) Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Medardo Antonio Macaraig, Speaker Martin Romualdez, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, and Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual during the meeting in the city-state. Mr. Marcos also met Malaysian retail specialist Valiram Group which is eyeing to expand its operations in the Philippines by developing airport outlets for duty-free retail tourism. Text by Charles Dantes
THE state-run Development Bank of the Philippines has remitted P25 billion to the Bureau of Treasury as its share in the initial seed capital of the country’s pioneering sovereign wealth fund. DBP President and Chief Executive Officer Michael de Jesus said the bank deposited the amount ahead of the Sept. 17 deadline set by Republic Act No.11954 or the Maharlika Investment Fund Act of 2022.
“DBP is enthused with our full contribution to the MIF,” De Jesus said. “We are one with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in ensuring the immediate establishment of the Maharlika Investment Corporation which would shepherd the initiatives that would reshape and redefine the country’s economic landscape,” he added. Under the law, the national government, DBP and Land Bank of the Philippines are man-
dated to provide the initial capital of the MIC, contributing P25 billion and P50 billion each, respectively. LandBank said on Friday it has already remitted to the Treasury its P50-billion contribution to the Maharlika Fund. Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said the completion of the remittance of the two largest state-owned financial institutions in the country would pave the way for the full operationalization of the MIC.