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CRAFT LAWS FOR BENEFICIAL A.I. USE —SC
PAGCOR SHIFTING TO REGULATOR-ONLY ROLE—TENGCO
NEWS / A3
NEWS / A2 VOL. XXXVII • NO. 216• 2 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2023 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
NFA hiking palay buying price To P22-23/kilo in time for wet season cropping, to boost buffer stocks By Othel V. Campos, Julito G. Rada and Macon Ramos-Araneta
PBBM AT LUCKY PLAZA.
HE National Food Authority (NFA) is poised to raise the price at which the government buys palay or unhusked rice by as much as P3 to P4 per kilo, or about P22 to P23 per kilo, in time for the ongoing wet season cropping.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (center, in white shirt) wades through a throng of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) who came out in droves to meet him on Saturday afternoon at Lucky Plaza in Singapore, where the Chief Executive is on a 5-day official visit. Behind Mr. Marcos is Speaker Martin Romualdez and their security entourage. PCO Photo
T
“The P19 (buying price) is not competitive. We need to increase it. But we have to do it properly, not too high and not too low, lest we won’t be able to buy anymore,” an NFA statement issued over the weekend said. “We recognize the need to adjust the buying price since the price of farm inputs has also gone up as inflation sets in.” The NFA said the proposal to raise the buying price has been with the NFA board, chaired by President Ferdinand Next page
Speaker: Big meeting on oil price shocks slated today By Rio N. Araja and Alena Mae Flores LAWMAKERS, government officials, and representatives from the big oil players are meeting today to consider ways to cushion consumers from oil price shocks,
Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez said Sunday. “No one is spared from the ill effects of the high cost of living due to oil price hikes. Everyone is struggling. But this is beyond anyone’s control. If the price of crude oil in the world market increases, so do prices in the rest of the world,” Ro-
mualdez said. “But we want to sit down with these oil companies and discuss ways or suggestions on how we can alleviate the hardships of our countrymen due to the constant rise in petroleum prices, and find common ground in areas that are within our control," he added.
The solution can come from a united front of all stakeholders, the oil companies and the government, he said. “On our part in the government, we can compromise… Perhaps what we can initially offer is a possible review of excise tax or the value-added tax on oil Next page
SC: Bar exam results out before Xmas By Rey E. Requejo THE results of the 2023 online Bar examinations will be released before Christmas and the oath-taking of the new lawyers will be held before New Year, the Supreme Court (SC) announced on Sunday. Associate Justice Ramon Paul Hernando, chairperson of the 2023 Bar exams committee, said this during a press briefing at the San Beda College Alabang (SBCA), which serves as the national headquarters for the three-day Bar exams that Next page
BAR EXAMS DAY 1. Security is tight on the first day of the 2023 Bar Examinations on Sunday, as safety personnel check the permits and bags of examinees entering the testing center at University of Santo Tomas in Manila. Hours before, the Philippine Coast Guard deployed working dogs, K9 handlers, and bomb disposal technicians to sweep the testing sites for any dangers. But the tightest grips were shown by the parents – and pets – of the examinees, as they wished the law students luck in passing the first phase of the rigorous exam (inset photos). Danny Pata and Norman Cruz
DepEd taps 35 schools for pilot run of new Matatag curriculum Sept. 25 THIRTY-FIVE schools will participate in the pilot run of the new MATATAG K to 10 curriculum starting on September 25, the Department of Education (DepEd) said on Sunday, up from the 20 it initially announced. The department said five of the schools are in the National Capital Region (NCR), particularly in Malabon
House will still debate OP, OVP budgets—solon
City, and five schools each from the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Central Visayas, Soccsksargen, and Caraga will also join the pilot run. DepEd deputy spokesperson Assistant Secretary Francis Bringas earlier said the department will consolidate all
By Rio N. Araja
Next page
Romualdez, Harvard align on donation By Rio N. Araja SPEAKER Ferdinand Martin Romualdez has maintained his silence on his reported donation of $2 million (P113.4 million) to Harvard University
for its first-ever Filipino language course. “In light of recent speculations regarding my alleged donation to Harvard University, I choose to respect the institution's gift policy,” he said in a statement. Next page
PRICEY SPICE. A woman cleans dried wild chili or ‘siling labuyo’ at the Divisoria market in Tondo, Manila on Sunday. These spices will be sold to restaurants after drying thoroughly, but their prices have skyrocketed to P800 per kilo due to scarcity following recent typhoons. Danny Pata
MARIKINA City Rep. Stella Quimbo on Sunday said the House of Representatives will still take up and debate the proposed budgets of the Office of the President and Office of the Vice President in plenary deliberations that begin Tuesday. In a radio interview, Quimbo said the P10.7 billion budget of the OP and the P2.38 billion budget of the OVP were passed at the committee level with no questions asked out of parliamentary courtesy. Next page