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P1-b jackpot makes lotto history—PCSO THE Ultra Lotto 6/58 jackpot has breached the P1billion mark, the highest in lotto history, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office general manager Alexander Balutan said on Monday. Next page
VOL. XXXII • NO. 236 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2018 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@manilastandard.net
Traders to import more rice NFA okays 350K tons, hikes palay buying price to P20.70/kilo
HARVEST TIME. Farmers in Carigara, Leyte, thresh newly harvested palay. Carigara town is considered as rice granary in Region 8. As an incentive to rice farmers, the National Food Authority Council approved an increase in the NFA’s palay buying rate effective Oct. 12, 2018.
Palace squashes rumor on Rody’s Hong Kong trip By Nat Mariano, Maricel V. Cruz and Macon RamosAraneta THE Palace sought to squelch rumors Monday that President Rodrigo Duterte had gone to Hong Kong for a medical checkup, and said he visited only to unwind with his family. “That’s just gossip. We saw his pictures roaming around and browsing for yellow clothes,” Communications Secretary Martin Andanar told the Radio Mindanao Network. “I think, the President deserves some break, family time, given how hard he has been working,” he added, amid rumors that Duterte, who admitted undergoing an endoscopy for a growth in his digestive tract, had gone to consult a Chinese expert. Next page
Pageant veteran is Miss World-PH By Eton Concepcion MODEL and former video jockey Katarina Rodriguez will be wearing the Philippine sash in the Miss World 2018 pageant in China later this year after besting 39 other candidates in the national pageant held Sunday night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. Next page
Oil firms raise pump prices big time; diesel up by P1.45 By Alena Mae S. Flores OIL companies jacked up diesel prices Tuesday by a hefty P1.45 per liter to reflect the movement of oil prices in the world market. The oil firms also increased gasoline prices by P1 per liter and kerosene by P1.35 per liter. “We’re entirely dependent on the world oil price as we import 99.99 percent of oil requirements. Of course, the deterioration of peso [visa-vis the US] dollar contributed P0.18 per liter for every peso drop while VAT [value added tax] will be added. The higher the price, the higher the VAT since it’s 12 percent regardless of the base prices. Added is the ex-
cise tax in diesel, which used to be exempted,” Independent Petroleum Philippines Companies Association president Fernando Martinez said. Eastern Petroleum Philippines, Flying V, Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp., Seaoil Philippines and PTT Philippines issued separate announcements of the latest oil price hike. Other oil companies are expected to follow suit. The oil companies encouraged consumers to take advantage of promos and discounts to mitigate the impact of the higher oil prices. Unioil Philippines urged consumers to take advantage of the new S&R savings and save P2.50 per liter on Euro 5 diesel and up to P5 on Euro 5 gasoline at participating stations. Next page
By Othel V. Campos
T
HE National Food Authority Council on Monday approved the importation of 350,000 metric tons of rice by major retailers to form part of the country’s rice reserves.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said the council adopted the proposal of the Department of Trade and Industry provided that “the DTI and its partners will not sell the rice beyond P38 per kilo.” The council also approved a national procurement program that raises the amount that the government will pay farmers for their palay or unhusked rice. “The NFA council will no longer tolerate a messy rice industry. We will have to put things in order, we will have to protect the consumers and at the same time, ensure that the farmers are also given their rewards if they produce good quality rice,” he said. The program, which will be launched Friday, Oct. 12, keeps the P17 per kilo buying price for palay, but adds incentives of P3.70 a kilo to bring the maximum buying price to P20.70 a kilo. Farmers who sell palay at 14 percent moisture content are entitled to the incen-
tive, while associations or cooperatives that bring in paddy rice will get machinery and farm equipment like tractors, harvesters and even solar powered irrigation systems as incentives, depending on the volume. “All these will be done in provinces where the buying price for palay is low to ensure that farmers will not be disadvantaged even when the government and private sector embark on a huge importation program to stabilize the price of rice in the market,” Piñol said. All palay procured by the government in 2018 harvest season will be used to beef up the government’s buffer stock for 2019 as part of the program to create wellstocked and stable rice reserves. During the Monday meeting, the NFA Council also approved the proposal of the Trade department to start a rice distribution program in partnership with the private sector. Next page
Top Metro cop upbeat on dialog with CHED over ‘Red October’ plot By Francisco Tuyay POLICE authorities on Monday expressed optimism over an eventual dialogue with officials of universities and colleges tagged to have been infiltrated by the communists for the supposed “Red October” ouster plot against President Rodrigo Duterte. Metro Manila police chief Guillermo Eleazar had a meeting with acting Commission on Higher Education chief Prospero de Vera III on Sunday and discussed the possibility of dialogues with the presidents of some universities on the matter. Next page
Kemberly Luna
Christine Puche
Recca Noelle Monte
Tanya Domingo
RED-TAGGED. The military released names and photos of several students who had allegedly joined the communist movement and were ‘killed in action’ to bolster its charges that several schools have become recruitment hubs for the NPA-CPP.
Du30 to join ASEAN summit in Jakarta
Roque goes on leave; Palace in the dark
PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte will fly to Bali, Indonesia on Wednesday to attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Leaders’ Gathering, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Monday. “The President will be attending the meeting at the invitation of Indonesian President Joko Widodo,” DFA Assistant Secretary for ASEAN Junever Mahilum-West said in a Palace press briefing. West said Duterte will join other ASEAN leaders in the one-day event, where they will showcase the region’s
PRESIDENTIAL Spokesman Harry Roque on Monday went on leave and decided to skip Palace press briefings for a week after he thought about resigning for being out of the loop on President Rodrigo Duterte’s whereabouts. “Please be advised that the presidential spokesperson will be on leave starting today, Monday, October 8,” a Presidential Communications Operations Office official told reporters. The official made the statement even as former Communications Assistant Secretary Margaux Uson finally confirmed she
Next page
By Nat Mariano
Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque
would run in the 2019 midterm elections. “Yes, I will run,” Uson announced at the Senate on Monday. The controversial blogger’s announcement came following a report that President Rodrigo Duterte had sacked her. The PCOO official, who was assigned to Roque, said Roque would be going on a personal trip overseas, adding Roque would not be able to join Duterte for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Leaders’ Gathering in Bali this week. Special Assistant to the President Christopher Go said Duterte was not told about Next page Roque’s sudden leave.