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PRIVACY BODY PROBES PHILHEALTH LIABILITY IN ‘MEDUSA’ BREACH By Rio Araja and Macon Ramos-Araneta
liability of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) after hackers began exposing data of the state health THE National Privacy Commission yes- insurer on the dark web after failing to get terday said it was looking at the possible US$300,000 in ransom payment.
“In this case, we’re investigating tos said in a television interview. whether or not there was possible neg“If that would not amount to negliligence in the processing of personal gence, maybe it would amount to posinformation,” NPC Complaints and In- sible administrative fines,” Santos said. vestigation Division head Michael SanOn Tuesday, PhilHealth senior vice
VOL. XXXVII • NO. 232 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2023 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
president and spokesman Israel Pargas said only the identification cards of some of their employees have been leaked online so far after the Medusa Next page
Rice price caps lifted ‘Agri still needs fixing’
Marcos: Poll rating drop ‘not surprising’ By Charles Dantes
By Charles Dantes, Darwin Amojelar, Macon Ramos-Araneta, and Joel Zurbano
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday said the 15 percentage-point drop in his approval rating in the recent Pulse Asia survey was “not surprising” given the gut issues, including high prices of basic commodities, that his administration is trying to address. “People are having a hard time. The rice issue – that is a burden really. It’s a different story when it comes to rice. It’s different from anything else, from any other agricultural product. I completely understand it,” Mr. Marcos said in an interview on the sidelines of a rice distribution program in Taguig City yesterday. “You can’t blame the people. They are suffering... That’s perfectly natural. It’s not a surprise – let’s put it that way,” he added. President Marcos said the survey results were not as important as ensuring that people’s plights are addressed. “That’s why we’re working very, very hard – not because of the survey, that’s not important to me. What’s important to me is that we make sure that people have enough to eat and that it is affordable to them,” he said. From a high of 80 percent in June, President Marcos’ approval rating dropped by 15 percentage points to 65 percent in September in the latest Pulse Asia survey. Vice President Sara Z. Duterte’s rating also fell from 84 percent to 73 percent in the same period. Mr. Marcos’ biggest score loss came
P
RESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. lifted the temporary price ceiling on rice Wednesday, four weeks after capping the cost of the staple to support poor households.
CHANGING SIGNS. A rice seller places
the new signs for regular and well-milled rice at his stall in Valenzuela City on Wednesday, just after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (inset) lifted the price caps on the staple grain. He announced the move as he distributed rice seized by the Bureau of Customs to the beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) in Taguig City. Andrew Rabulan/PCO Photo
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On Sept. 5, Mr. Marcos set the maximum retail price per kilo of regular milled rice at P41 and for the higherquality well-milled rice at P45. “As of today, we are lifting the price caps on rice, both for the regular milled rice and for the well-milled rice,” Marcos said at an event in Taguig City, where a thousand sacks of smuggled rice seized in a raid were distributed to poor families. The President, who also sits as Agriculture chief, said it was the “appropriate time” to remove the cap since the government was “giving away rice.” “So, we are removing the controls but it doesn’t mean that we will just leave it like that because we still need to fix the agricultural sector. We still need to help the poorest and the hungriest so that they can somehow rise above their situation,” he said. The price cap on rice was criticized by some economists, who warned it could distort the market and lead to shortages. Rice is a staple in the country of 110 Next page
Marcial reaches Asiad final, secures 3 PH fishers die as foreign vessel rams boat in WPS Olympic berth with KO of Syrian foe THREE Filipino fishermen died after their boat was “rammed” by a foreign commercial vessel in the West Philip Philippine Sea, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Wednesday. The incident happened before dawn on Monday about 160 kilometers (100 miles) north-
By Riera U. Mallari HANGZHOU, China—Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Eumir Marcial is headed back to the sport’s biggest stage next year in Paris, thanks to the power of his right fist that claimed another victim in the 19th Asian Games boxing competitions at the Hangzhou Gymnasium here on Wednesday. Slowly earning a reputation as a knockout artist in the Asiad, Marcial scored his second straight win via the short route, this time in the semifinals against Syria’s Ahmad Ghousoon. Next page
Representative Matt Gaetz (left) of Florida filed the motion that eventually ousted partymate and US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (right). AFP
Eleven other crew members used smaller fishing boats to retrieve the bodies and took them to Infanta municipality in Pangasinan province. Filipino Fishing Boat ‘Dearyn’ was moored about 85 nautical miles northwest off Bajo de Masinloc or 180 nautical miles from Agno, Pangasinan when it was Next page
Eumir Marcial
McCarthy axed as US House Speaker
SPEAKER OUSTED. US Republican
west of Scarborough Shoal, off the main island of Luzon. The fishing vessel was moored to a floating device known as a payao, which is used to catch fish. “The mother boat submerged, resulting in the death of its three crew members, including its boat captain,” the Coast Guard said in a statement.
WASHINGTON—Kevin McCarthy was axed Tuesday as speaker of the US House of Representatives in a brutal, historic rebellion by far-right Republicans accusing him of a string of broken promises and furious at his cooperation with Democrats. The maneuver laid bare the chaotic levels of infighting among Republicans heading into the 2024 presidential election, with its likely candidate Donald Trump making history of his own as the only former or sitting president to face criminal indictment. The first ouster of a speaker in the Next page
RAMMING CASUALTY. Fishermen of the FFB Dearyn carry the remains of one of three of their comrades who died when a commercial vessel rammed their fishing boat off Scarborough Shoal in the West Philippine Sea early Wednesday. PCG Photo
‘Chinese ships still harassing local resupply missions’ By Vince Lopez and Rey Requejo
Shoal for this month’s resupply mission nalists as he shared videos of the incito BRP Sierra Madre, Senate President dent from the Philippine Coast Guard. BRP Sierra Madre was deliberately A CHINESE Coast Guard ship maneu- Juan Miguel Zubiri said yesterday. “Dangerous maneuvers once again in grounded on Ayungin Shoal to serve as vered dangerously close against PhilipNext page pine vessels on their way to Ayungin today’s resupply mission,” he told jour-
‘PH ECONOMY VIBRANT DESPITE SLOWDOWN’
U.S. SEEKS COMELEC AID ON EX-CHIEF’S CHARGES
BUSINESS / B4
NEWS / A4