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PBBM certifies proposed 2024 national budget bill as urgent PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has certified as urgent the passage of the proposed P5.768-trillion national budget for 2024. In a letter addressed to Speaker Martin Romualdez on Wednesday, Mr. Marcos said the immediate enactment of the
General Appropriations Bill (GAB) was needed to maintain continuous government operations following the end of the fiscal year 2023 and to expedite the funding for various programs. Certifying the bill as urgent would Next page
VOL. XXXVII • NO. 218 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P20 • THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2023 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
PH eyes new case vs. China
Remulla says WPS coral damage ‘sin against humanity’ By Rey E. Requejo and Macon Ramos-Araneta
T
HE Philippines is considering filing a new complaint against China before the United Nations-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration following reports of damage to the corals in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), supposedly by Chinese vessels that swamped the area.
FISHERFOLK DIALOGUE. Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez (seated, third from right) talks to leaders of fisherfolk affected by the oil spill in Mindoro at the Speaker’s office in the House of Representatives on Wednesday. He assured them the House would help alleviate their plight. With the Speaker in the meeting are Majority Leader Manuel Jose ‘Mannix’ Dalipe, Senior Deputy Majority Leader Sandro Marcos, Deputy Majority Leader Erwin Tulfo and Assistant Minority Leader Arlene Brosas. Ver Noveno
Speaker assures fishers displaced by oil spill of P200m cash aid assistance for some 8,000 fishermen who lost all sources of livelihood as a result of the oil spill in Oriental MindTHE House of Representatives will oro, Speaker Martin Romualdez said on help secure P200 million in direct cash Wednesday.
By Maricel V. Cruz and Othel Campos
Romualdez met with the leaders of Empress. the fishermen’s group in his office The tanker, which was carrying where they expressed their desire to 800,000 liters of fuel oil, sank in the seek remuneration from the owners of waters off Naujan, Oriental Mindoro on the ill-fated motor tanker M/V Princess Next page
By Julito Rada
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Lawmakers urge Customs to charge rice smugglers
ADB lowers growth forecast for PH to 5.7% THE Asian Development Bank lowered on Wednesday its growth forecast for the Philippines this year to 5.7 percent from the 6 percent it made in April 2023, mainly taking into account the risks posed by higher inflation and global headwinds. The bank, however, kept the GDP forecast for 2024 at 6.2 percent, with household consumption and public spending on infrastructure and social services seen contributing to the economy’s expansion. The latest GDP assumptions were contained in its Asian Development Outlook for September 2023. “[The] Philippine economic growth
“The OSG (Office of the Solicitor General) is in the midst of a full-blown study on our legal options regarding the West Philippine Sea, including the filing of a new complaint with the Permanent Court of Arbitration,” Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said. Guevarra did not specify the concerns that would be raised in a new complaint, saying state lawyers were still gathering relevant information from all available sources. The Philippines first filed a complaint against China in 2013 for its massive claims in the South China Sea under its nine-dash line claim. On July 12, 2016, the arbitral tribunal ruled overwhelmingly in favor of the Philippines, determining that major elements of China’s claim—including its nine-dash line, recent land reclamation activities, and other activities in Philippine waters—were unlawful. China rejected the PCA ruling.
By Maricel V. Cruz and Julito G. Rada
THE FACE OF POVERTY. People walk past makeshift houses in Manila on September 20, 2023. More Filipinos rated themselves as poor in the second quarter of 2023, a survey conducted by OCTA Research showed. AFP
LAWMAKERS on Wednesday urged the Bureau of Customs (BoC) to file charges against rice smugglers, including those behind the illegal entry of the staple through ports in Mindanao. Speaker Martin Romualdez made the appeal as he supported the decision of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to distribute confiscated smuggled rice to thousands of residents of the Zamboanga peninsula. The President, accompanied by officials, distributed the rice on Tuesday. “This significant gesture demonstrates more than just an act of genNext page
Comelec exempts fuel subsidy from poll spending ban By Vito Barcelo and Maricel V. Cruz THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has exempted the fuel subsidy program for public utility vehicles (PUVs) from the spending ban in relation to the
2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE). Comelec Chairman George Garcia signed and approved the recommendation of the Comelec Law Department to exempt the Department of Transportation and Land Transportation Franchis-
ing and Regulatory Board’s Fuel Subsidy Program, PUV Service Contracting Program and PUV Modernization Program. The move will allow the government to provide assistance to PUV drivers even Next page
Environmental activists may face perjury raps—solon their sworn statement that they surrendered and insisting instead thay they THE Armed Forces of the Philippines were abducted. During the plenary debates on the plans to file perjury raps against two proposed budget of the Department of environmental activists for recanting
By Rio N. Araja and Vince Lopez
National Defense, Negros Occidental Rep. Mercedes Alvarez revealed the military would file perjury raps against Jhed Tamano and Jonila Castro.
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NEXT MOVE. Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro confirms the military is planning to file perjury charges against two activists who claimed they were abducted by soldiers.