twitter.com/ MlaStandard
facebook.com/ ManilaStandardPH
Missed your copy of Manila Standard? Call or text our Circulation
instagram.com/ manilastandard
manilastandard.net Hotline at 0917-8848655 or email: circulation@manilastandard.net
For advertisement: email: advertise@manilastandard.net • 85646229
SPEAKER: SENIORS, PWDS TO GET P500 GROCERY DISCOUNT BY MARCH
Story below
Marcos to Quiboloy: No ‘threats’; Duterte to pastor: Just surrender PRESIDENT Marcos on Wednesday categorically denied his alleged involvement in a slay plot against controversial televangelist Apollo Quiboloy, founder, and leader of the Davao-based Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC).
VOL. XXXVIII • NO. 19 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 29, 2024
Meanwhile, former President Rodrigo Duterte has advised Quiboloy to prepare for his arrest, unless he changed his mind about defying a Senate inquiry on his alleged sexual abuses.
Next page
PH, Australia boosting ties
President makes historic address to Parliament, to sign 3 deals By Charles Dantes
P
RESIDENT Marcos will address the Parliament of Australia today—becoming the first Filipino leader to do so— and provide his vision to strengthen the two nations’ commitments and vision for the future. The President arrived in Canberra on Wednesday and is expected to sign three agreements during his trip to the Australian capital and meet its leaders. He is set to address the bicameral Parliament of the Commonwealth, made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives, at 10 a.m. local time (7 a.m. in Manila). On board PR001, Mr. Marcos landed in Canberra at 7:20 p.m. (4:20 pm Manila time). “As part of this visit, I will have the opportunity to address the Parliament of Australia and provide greater detail on the commitments that we place in this partnership and our vision for the future of the Philippines,” the President said in his departure speech yesterday. “I will also have the opportunity to expand our wide-ranging cooperation with Australia through the formalization and signing of three agreements,” Next page
WELCOME DOWN UNDER. President Marcos and First Lady Lisa Araneta-Marcos are all smiles after being welcomed by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and his fiancée Jodie Haydon at The Lodge on the Philippine leader’s arrival in Canberra on Wednesday. PPO photo
• China warships in WPS ‘worrisome’ • Decision on PhilHealth hike ‘soon’ PRESIDENT Marcos said Wednesday the presence of Chinese warships in waters off the Southeast Asian country’s coast was “worrisome.” His comments came after the Philippine Coast Guard said Chinese navy
Rody backtracks on secession, denies drug yarn on successor FORMER President Rodrigo Duterte backtracked on several issues in a press conference on Tuesday night, including his call for his home region Mindanao to secede from the Philippines, saying that he “does not want any part of the country to be taken away.”
Duterte also denied accusing President Marcos of using illegal drugs and said his successor should adhere to the guidance of his own legal counsel about the International Criminal Court’s investigation into the drugNext page
vessels were detected last week during a government resupply mission to fishermen near China-controlled Scarborough Shoal. “It’s worrisome,” Mr. Marcos told Next page
PRESIDENT Marcos on Wednesday said he will decide “very soon” on the implementation of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp.’s (PhilHealth) 5-percent premium rate increase. “It’s still under study but we’ll come
to a conclusion very, very soon,” Mr. Marcos told the media before leaving for Canberra, Australia, when asked if he is in favor of increasing PhilHealth’s contributions. Next page
PBBM wants plebiscite simultaneous with elections By Charles Dantes, Maricel Cruz, and Macon Ramos-Araneta PRESIDENT Marcos on Wednesday said the government is looking for ways to hold the plebiscite on the proposed economic Charter changes alongside the 2025 national elections. In an interview before his flight to Can-
House to parry ‘Cha-cha’ legal queries THE House of Representatives is Rep. Rodge Gutierrez of 1-RIDprepared to confront any challenge ER party-list asserted this Wednesin the effort to amend the 1987 Con- day as he acknowledged the inevistitution, especially concerning its tability of facing legal scrutiny in economic provisions. Next page
Next page
Speaker: P500 discount for seniors set
NEW PAG-IBIG RATE. President Marcos unveils on Tuesday the dividend rate and return rate of Pag-IBIG Fund’s Regular Savings and MP2 Savings during the Pag-IBIG Fund’s Chairman’s Report for 2023 at the PICC in Pasay City. Looking on (from left) are Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, Housing Secretary Jose Rizalino Acuzar, Pag-IBIG CEO Marilene Acosta, and Special Assistant to the President Antonio Ernesto Lagdameo Jr.
Beware bedbugs in NAIA terminal seats; MIAA apologizes, cleans, pulls out chairs BEDBUGS in the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) terminal seats? That’s currently the rage on social media by people claiming to have been bitten by the insects there – which also prompted the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) to do something about it. Following an investigation, MIAA general manNext page
SPEAKER Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez on Wednesday revealed that senior citizens and persons with disabilities will be able to enjoy the increase to P500 per month in discounts on groceries and other prime commodities before the end of March. Officials of the Department of Trade and Industry, led by Usec. Carolina Sanchez, met with Speaker Romualdez Tuesday night and informed him they are amenable to his request for additional discounts for the elderly and PWDs, and
#ANONGBALITA
that this would be implemented by next month. Romualdez earlier sought a hike in the 5-percent discount seniors and PWDs enjoy each week on groceries, currently capped at a total purchase value of P1,500, which translates to a weekly discount of P65, saying this is no longer appropriate given the increasing cost of living. “I am delighted to welcome the imminent implementation of increased discounts for our senior citizens and PWDs,” said Romualdez, leader of the Next page
Salceda wants Singapore embassy to explain Taylor Swift ‘exclusive’ deal
Agency says Sam Milby, Catriona Gray working out ‘relationship challenges’ WHERE there’s smoke, there’s fire, right? Catriona Gray and Sam Milby’s talent agency, Cornerstone Entertainment, has spoken out about the recent rumors surrounding Next page
“BAKIT sila lang? (Why just them?)” House ways and means panel chair Rep. Joey Salceda on Wednesday asked the Department of Foreign Affairs to make the Singaporean Embassy in Manila explain the alleged exclusive deal the rich city-state made for music superstar Taylor Swift’s “Eras” concert tour. Thailand Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin had alleged Next page