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NEWS | A2 VOL. XXXVIII • NO. 352 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES FEBRUARY 2, 2025
‘CITY-KILLER’ ASTEROID MIGHT HIT EARTH— HOW WORRIED SHOULD WE BE? WORLD | A4
TRUMP TO HIT CANADA, CHINA, MEXICO WITH FRESH TARIFFS www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
WORLD | A4
DOLE: 1.24M MSMES TO BEAR BRUNT OF P200 WAGE HIKE
GOV’T, MILF PANELS APPROVE IMT REVIVAL, SECURITY TRANSITION
WARNS LESS THAN 1% OF BUSINESSES LARGE ENOUGH TO ADJUST PAY
By Charles Dantes and Vito Barcelo
2ND AIR DISASTER.
M
This handout videograb courtesy of @lika_449 shows fires, plumes of smoke, and emergency responders after a small aircraft crashed in a neighborhood in Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on January 31, 2025. A fireball was followed by the ignition of several fires on the ground in a northeastern neighborhood of the east coast US city. Photo by @lika_3639 / AFP / Videograb from Michael Schiavone via NBC New York
ICRO, small and medium enterprises – which account for over 99 percent of all business enterprises – must be taken into consideration before making a decision on the proposed P200 legislated daily wage increase, the Department of Labor and Employment said on Saturday. “Whether it’s doable or not doable, perhaps, to put it in its proper context, out of the more than one million enterprises in the Philippines, more than 95 percent are MSMEs. So let’s see,” Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said. Laguesma clarified the Labor department is not opposing the proposed measure. “Congress is the one that has the mandate or responsibility to pass or propose laws. If there is a law, we will implement it,” Laguesma said. He said together with the National Economic and Development Authority and the Department of Trade and Industry, DOLE provided technical inputs on the proposed wage hike’s possible impact on employment and economy. Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed that 1,246,373 business enterprises were operating in the country as of 2023. MSMEs comprised 99.63 percent or 1,241,733 of the total, while only 0.37 percent or 4,640 were large enterprises. Micro enterprises constituted 90.43 percent or 1,127,058 of total establishments, followed by small enterprises at 8.82 percent or 109,912, and medium enterprises at 0.38 percent or 4,763. MSMEs accounted for a total 6,351,466 jobs or 66.97 percent of the country’s total employment, with micro enterprises producing the biggest share (33.95 percent), closely followed by small enterprises (26.26 percent) and medium enterprises (6.77 percent). Earlier, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the proposed wage hike needs further study, citing concern over its possible impact on the MSMEs. The House Committee on Labor and Employment on Thursday approved a substitute bill mandating a P200 daily acrossthe-board wage increase for private sector workers. Under the bill, employers are prohibited from offsetting the increase with previous wage adjustments unless explicitly anticipated under collective bargaining agreements.
MEDEVAC CRASH MARKS 2ND US AVIATION DISASTER PHILADELPHIA — A medical jet with six Mexican nationals on board crashed into a busy Philadelphia neighborhood Friday (Saturday, Manila time), authorities said, marking another US aviation disaster after a passenger plane and a military helicopter collided midair in Washington earlier this week. Video footage appeared to show the twin-engine plane descending at a sharp angle towards a residential area, sparking a huge fireball upon impact and showering wreckage over homes and vehicles. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said the aircraft was a Learjet 55 — an AmericanFrench business jet — that had taken off shortly before from Northeast Philadelphia Airport bound for Branson, Missouri. A young girl who had been in the United States for medical care, her mother, and members of the flight and medical crews accom-
panying her onboard were killed in the crash, the children’s hospital that treated her told AFP. “The patient had received care from Shriners Children’s Philadelphia and was being transported back to her home country in Mexico on a contracted air ambulance when the crash happened,” said Mel Bower, a spokesman for Shriners Children’s. All six of those onboard were Mexican citizens, the country’s foreign ministry said in a statement. “The airline company... confirmed to the consulate that six people of Mexican nationality were traveling on the aircraft,” the ministry wrote on X. The operator, Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, confirmed in a statement to US media that there were two passengers and four crew, adding, “At this time, we cannot confirm any survivors.” Dozens of emergency workers were on the scene outside RooRoo
‘FIGHT FOR THE WEAK.’
sevelt Mall, a strip mall in Northeast Philadelphia with retailers and food outlets. US President Donald Trump posted Friday on his Truth Social platform that he was “sad” to see “more souls lost” in the Philadelphia tragedy. He praised first responders, adding: “God Bless you all.” Witnesses told local TV crews that they saw body parts in or near the wreckage, as Philadelphia City Council member Mike Driscoll said he feared residents or others on the ground may have been killed. “It doesn’t look good. And it’s a sad situation here,” he told CNN. The FAA said it was launching an investigation with the National Transportation Safety Board. Both agencies are already probing the deadliest US air disaster in almost a quarter century, after a passenger jet operated by an American Airlines subsidiary collided with a Black Hawk helicopter on Wednesday. AFP
By Charles Dantes and Nash Maulana THE peace implementing panels of the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front have agreed to revive the International Monitoring Team as part of efforts to protect the peace gains in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. During their 36th meeting on January 31, both sides reaffirmed their commitment to fully implement the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro and sustain the peace gains in the region. Among the key agreements reached were a framework for security transition plans, a phased redeployment process for the military in the Bangsamoro and steps to support the amnesty application process for MILF members. Both panels also endorsed a roadmap for transitional justice following the Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Commission’s recommendations. Discussions included managing small arms and weapons decommissioning. They also explored safe passage for MILF members seeking amnesty, awaiting action from the National Amnesty Commission. In light of recent ceasefirerelated incidents, the GPH-MILF Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities and the Ad Hoc Joint Action Group (AHJAG) were tasked with conducting joint investigations and intensifying information campaigns to strengthen support for the peace process. The panels also extended their condolences to the families of two soldiers who were killed during an armed encounter in Sumisip, Basilan on Jan. 22. “These incidents underscore the critical need for strong coordination, mutual respect, and unwavering commitment to the parallel and commensurate implementation of the peace process,” BARMM Education Minister and chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said.
Hans Sy, SM Prime Holdings Inc. chairman of the executive committee, is conferred as ‘Adopted Son and Honorary Mayor of the City of Bacolod’ as part of its Chinese New Year celebration and in recognition of his 18 years of contributions to economic development, business leadership and philanthropy in the city. Also in photo are Bacolod Mayor Albee Benitez and Sy’s children Harvey and Hanna.
SPEAKER: DEFEND CONSTITUTION, FIGHT FOR THE WEAK
Speaker Martin Romualdez exhorts his fellow lawyers to defend and protect the Constitution and the rule of law during the Integrated Bar of the Philippines’ 20th National Convention of Lawyers in Lahug, Cebu City. Ver Noveno
By Maricel V. Cruz Speaker Martin G. Romualdez urged his fellow lawyers to be defenders and protectors of the Constitution, justice, rule of law, and the weak who cannot afford the cost of legal service. “What kind of legal profession will we pass on to the next generation? One that is driven merely by profit, or one that remains a beacon of hope for the nation? One that is transactional, or one that is
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transformative?” he said the Integrated Bar of the Philippines’ 20th National Convention of Lawyers in Lahug, Cebu City Friday night. “We must ensure that every Filipino, whether rich or poor, educated or unlettered, knows that the law is not the instrument of the powerful, but the protector of the weak. That justice is not a privilege, but a right. And that lawyers are not mere advocates of clients, but guardians of the nation’s moral and legal compass,” said
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Romualdez, a UP law graduate. He said the legal profession today “demands more than expertise, it demands courage.” “Courage to uphold the Constitution when it is most inconvenient. Courage to speak the truth when silence is the safer path. And courage to stand for justice, not just for the privileged, but for those who cannot afford representation, whose voices are drowned out by wealth and influence,” he said.
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