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Quad countries make thinly veiled swipe at Beijing’s actions in SCS

THE leaders of the Quad group—Australia, India, Japan and the United States—delivered a thinly veiled swipe at Beijing's behavior at a summit in Hiroshima.

US President Joe Biden and his three partners in the group did not mention China by name but the communist superpower was clearly the target of language in a joint statement calling for "peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific maritime domain."

"We strongly oppose destabilizing or unilateral actions that seek to change the status quo by force or coercion," the statement said, using diplomatic language that appeared to refer to China's economic tactics to gain leverage over poorer countries and also its military expansion in the Pacific.

"We express serious concern at the militarization of disputed features, the dangerous use of coastguard and mari-

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Agenda of the Marcos administration," NUP chairperson Ronaldo Puno said.

"Through the darkest of storms and greatest of tribulations, we have proven time and again that our unity will never be torn down," said Lakas-CMD cochairperson Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr. said. Romualdez, for his part, said Congress cannot be distracted from finding legislative solutions to issues that affect the lives of ordinary Filipinos.

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“Last time we extended the Malampaya service,” he said.

“We also support new technologies such as battery storage to make our renewable sources of energy more sustainable and reliable,” he added.

Aside from monitoring and mitigating the effects of the El Niño in the agriculture, energy and health sectors, the government has also begun preparing for a possible La Niña after the dry spell, the President said.

“Despite the severe drought, we are also preparing for La Niña or severe rainy season which also brings other problems,” he said.

“This requires the participation of every one of our fellow Filipinos,” he said.

Mr. Marcos, during the inauguration of the 160MW wind farm in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte, emphasized the need to tap renewable energy to meet the power needs of the industrializing economy.

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“With prices set at the cold storage rate, traders can sell onions at a wholesale price of P140 to P150 per kilo,” Evangelista added.

Evangelista said the traders themselves have agreed to post the wholesale price of onions in cold storage facilities.

In a recent price monitoring, the DA reported that local red and white onions sell at P160 to P200 per kilo in select markets in Metro Manila.

The DA announced earlier it may release the suggested retail price (SRP) for onions today, May 22, and enforce the updated pricing by Tuesday May 23.

The DA has given the green light for traders to bring in 22,000 metric tons (MT) of imported onions to manage the demand as the local harvest is not sufficient to cover the domestic requirement.

But food producers expressed concern that the planned 22,000 MT onion importation will not be enough to meet the 70,000 to 80,000 MT demand for the year.

Also on Sunday, Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez called on concerned authorities to pursue the leads uncovered by the House probe into the alleged onion cartel and file appropriate charges.

He issued the statement after Marikina City Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo named interconnected personalities and business entities involved in onion trade that --taken together with their operation, resources and influence — bear the hallmarks of a cartel.

“I call on the concerned authorities like the National Bureau of Investigation, the Philippine Competition Commission and

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From A1 democratic ideals, institutions and mechanisms, and the rule of law,” Mr. Marcos said at the commencement exercises at Fort del Pilar in Baguio City on Sunday.

time militia vessels, and efforts to disrupt other countries' offshore resource exploitation activities," the statement added, clearly referring to Chinese construction of bases on former offshore reefs and harassment of non-Chinese vessels in disputed waters.

The Quad leaders held their meeting while already gathered in Hiroshima for a Group of 7 summit.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had been meant to host Biden, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Sydney next week. However, Biden pulled out, saying he had to return to Washington from Japan on Sunday to negotiate with Republican opponents on

“I would rather that we, in the House of Representatives, remain focused on more urgent matters. The Uniteam, which the House Leadership has always been a part of, must continue to focus on finding immediate solutions to problems of ordinary Filipinos. The House chooses to focus on addressing low power supply, high electricity rates, telco issues and unstable commodity prices, instead of political destabilization,” he said. House Deputy Speaker and Batangas Rep. Ralph Recto, for his part, said he is confident that what he described as “political tampuhan” shall pass.

Meanwhile, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said he is not expecting a surge in food prices in the coming months because a weak to moderate El Niño phenomenon will not significantly affect the agricultural sector.

Diokno said among the proposed short-term measures to mitigate food inflation is strengthening the implementation of biosecurity and hog re-population programs through continuous monitoring of the African swine fever and implementation of the Integrated National Swine Production Initiatives for Recovery and Expansion or INSPIRE.

In the medium-term, Diokno said the solution to food inflation is to boost productivity and resiliency of the agricultural sector. This can be done by promoting private investment in facilities, transport, and logistics systems to bring safe and nutritious food closer to consumers.

“In preparation for El Niño, NEDA [National Economic and Development Authority] presented the latest forecasts, potential impacts, as well as proposed ac- the Department of Agriculture to work together to stamp out this cartel and spare our people from further suffering caused by their unscrupulous trade practices,” Romualdez said.

“The extensive hearings conducted by the House have already provided good leads which our authorities can follow to build an air tight case and prosecute those involved,” he added.

Unfair trade practices may be prosecuted under the Philippine Competition Act penalizing businesses found to have engaged in anti-competitive agreements with a fine of up to P100 million, and imprisonment of up to seven years.

The fines may be tripled if trade of basic necessities, including agricultural products identified by the Price Act, are involved in cartel or abuse of dominance violations.

Romualdez said Congress remains committed to the task of protecting the public against unfair trade practices such as price fixing.

“The Filipino people deserve to have access to affordable food. We will not rest until we achieve this goal,” he said.

When prices of onion surged to over P700 a kilo in December 2022, he called for a congressional investigation in aid of legislation to address the issue.

He commended Quimbo for her painstaking work that led to the unmasking of onion cartel key players.

Quimbo tagged Lilia or Leah Cruz as the “Sibuyas Queen” who is at the center of her onion cartel, as well as the Philippine VIEVA Group of Companies and its allied firms, which she said had a stranglehold on the entire supply chain.

Class valedictorian Warren Leonor of Lipa City, Batangas, will join the Air Force. Leonor received the Presidential Saber, along with the Award of Excellence (cum laude), Philippine Air Force Saber, and the Joint United States Military Assistance Group Saber. Of the total 310 graduates, 158 (123 the US debt ceiling.

Biden apologized for forcing the change in plans and has invited Albanese to make a state visit to the White House.

In their statement, they stressed the Quad's support for infrastructure improvements across the vast Asia-Pacific region, while saying, in another apparent dig at China, that they wanted to assist such investments but would "not impose unsustainable debt burdens" on recipients of assistance.

China, for its part, expressed "strong dissatisfaction" with a communique issued by G7 leaders that took aim at Beijing on issues including the South China Sea, human rights and alleged interference in their democracies.

The bloc issued a statement calling on China "not to conduct interference activities" and expressed concerns about alleged human rights abuses in China,

“This is a tempest in a teacup that will not wash away a strong alliance between close partners who share a common vision of a prosperous and peaceful country,” he said.

“The fog of miscommunication will soon clear, the vow of cooperation will be renewed and attempts to drive a wedge between them shall have failed,” Recto added. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Friday shrugged off insinuations that there is more to the movement at the House other than being "just a run of the mill" reorganization. "I think we should be careful to tivities to cushion its effects, especially on food security,” he said.

“A weak to moderate El Niño is projected until the first quarter of 2024. Because of this, we do not expect a significant reduction in local production –especially for rice and corn. As a result, we do not foresee a surge in food prices,” Diokno said.

Inflation reached a 14-year high of 8.7 percent in January 2023, before easing to 8.6 percent in February, 7.6 percent in March, and 6.6 percent in April.

The slowdown in the annual increases in consumer prices prompted the monetary authorities to keep the 6.25 percent policy rate last Thursday.

Diokno said the transition to El Niño is expected in the next months, with over 90 percent chance of persisting up to the first quarter of 2024. However, he said most models showed that the El Niño will be weak to moderate.

The latest forecast indicates that most parts of the country will likely receive below normal rainfall in October 2023. Forecasts further show that an enhanced

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