@mnlstandardph
@ManilaStandardPH
@manilastandard
@ManilaStandardYT
Missed your copy of Manila Standard? Call or text our Circulation Hotline at 0917-8848655 or email: circulation@manilastandard.net . For advertisement: email: advertise@manilastandard.net • 09173382170 / 85646229
Ex-poll chief Bautista not yet in custody—US Justice official VOL. XXXVIII • NO. 182• 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P20 •FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2024 •
FORMER Commission on Elections chairman Andres Bautista, who was recently indicted in Florida for allegedly taking bribes from Smartmatic, is not in US custody, a US Department of Justice official said. "Mr. Bautista is not in US custody,
PCSO guarantee can now be used for doctor’s fees Speaker says move brings PH closer to free healthcare goal By Maricel V. Cruz
T
HE Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office will now allow indigent patients to use its guarantee letter to cover the professional fees of doctors starting October 30.
Next page
PBBM MOVES NINOY DAY TO AUG. 23 NEWS / A2
DA: ASF VAX DRIVE STARTS NEXT WEEK NEWS / A2
BSP rate cut seen to boost economy By Ralph Harvey Rirao THE Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) Monetary Board on Thursday slashed its overnight borrowing rate by 25 basis points to 6.25 percent, signaling its shift from monetary tightening cycle which started in 2022. BSP Governor and Monetary Board chairman Eli Remolona Jr. said while the 25-basis-point reduction would not have an immediate impact because of the lag between the BSP policy and banks’ actual interest rates, it would help support economic activity in 2025 by making the lending rates lower and credit easier. This would help drive consumption and investments in the Philippines next year, he said. Banks’ interest rates remain elevated, discouraging households from taking out loans to buy homes, cars and big items. The high interest rates also deter companies from funding their expansion plans.
“PCSO’s guarantee letter is applied after the final billing – meaning after PhilHealth, DSWD and other health coverages. But what usually happens is that almost the entire medical bill is already covered by PhilHealth, and what’s left are the professional fees of doctors,” PCSO General Manager Mel Robles told Manila Standard in an interview. “Before, the guarantee letter cannot be used to cover doctor’s fees, but now we are changing that policy. We can pay the professional fees now and in a timely manner. This will address the situation wherein the patient is stuck at the hospital and you accumulate a larger amount of bill just because you are yet to settle the professional fee dues,” he added. For example, a patient who receives a guarantee letter worth P50,000 from PCSO can use it to settle the remainder of his or her medical bill. Next page
Next page
Romualdez eyes more funding for Filipino athletes
Transport groups suspend strike due to fatigue
By Maricel V. Cruz
By Rio N. Araja, Joel Zurbao and Darwin Amojelar PROTESTING members of the transport sector decided not to push through with the second day of their supposedly 3-day strike on Thursday because they were “too tired” from their activities the previous day. In an interview, Malayang Alyansa ng Bus Employees at Laborers (Manibela) president Mar Valbuena said it was still uncertain whether
and we decline to comment beyond our press release," US DOJ spokesperson Nicole Navas Oxman told GMA News. In a separate statement sent to ABSCBN News, Oxman said there is no date yet for Bautista’s hearing in the US.
STRENGTHENING COLLABORATION. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. leads Singapore President
Tharman Shanmuragatnam back to the Malacanang Palace for their bilateral meeting after trooping the line during the arrival ceremony yesterday at the Kalayaan ground in Malacañan Palace. President Shanmugaratnam is in the country for a three-day visit (see story on Page 2). PPA Pool
Next page
CLOSE MONITORING. A Coast Guard officer watches over the oil spill boom at the partially floated Motor Tanker Jason Bradley off Mariveles, Bataan. The Coast Guard has begun siphoning of fuel from the bigger Motor Tanker Terranova which sank near Limay, Bataan. PCG
THE House of Representatives is moving to strengthen the support system for Filipino athletes by revisiting and potentially amending Republic Act (RA) 10699, the National Athletes and Coaches Benefits and Incentives Act. Speaker Martin Romualdez made this announcement on Wednesday as lawmakers welcomed returning Filipino Olympians, who made waves at the recently concluded 2024 Summer Games in Paris. In recognizing the athletes’ achievements, he stressed the need to improve existing legislation to better serve the Philippine sports community. Romualdez tasked Isabela Rep. Faustino Michael Carlos Dy III, chair of the House Committee on Youth and Sports Development, to lead the legislative review. Next page
No letup in hunt against Guo, Quiboloy, says Interior chief By Maricel V. Cruz INTERIOR and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos has assured legislators that law enforcers will catch fugitive Pastor Apollo Quiboloy and Bamban,Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo. "Whoever they are, we will catch for them," Abalos told the House Committee on Appropriations during the agency’s 2025 budget deliberation on Thursday. Abalos made the statement in response to Rep. Raoul Manuel of Kabataan party-list group who expressed dismay over the Philippine National Police's inability to arrest "big per-
sonalities" like Quiboloy and Guo. The DILG supervises the PNP, which is headed by General Rommel Marbil. "When it's really big personalities, it seems like it's hard for the PNP to arrest them. When ordinary people, it's easy to get caught and even become a victim of red-tagging that still continues today," Manuel told the committee headed by Rep. Elizaldy Co of Ako Bicol party-list. "So they should really get their act together and not neglect this," added Manuel. In response, Abalos stated: "I would Next page