House back to full face-to-face work

By Maricel V. Cruz

THE House of Representatives will revert to full faceto-face operations on Monday, July 31, after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. lifted the declaration of a nationwide public health emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaker Martin Romualdez, through Memorandum 19-091, said "plenary sessions shall be conducted face to face," House Secretary General Reginald Velasco confirmed.

"In line with this, every member shall be present in all sessions of the House

QC solon Atayde, Maine Mendoza marry in Baguio

By Nickie Wang

ACTOR and QCD1 Representative Arjo

Atayde and TV host Maine Mendoza have officially tied the knot, as they exchanged vows in Baguio City, Benguet, on Friday afternoon, surrounded by their dear friends and loved ones.

As of press time, specific details and images from their wedding have not been made public. However, the couple allowed attendees to take pictures, with a strict request to refrain from sharing them on social media until July 29.

Additionally, the new couple asked guests not to geotag or include location information in their posts.

Before their wedding day, Arjo and Maine delighted their fans by sharing some charming retro-themed photos on Instagram.

The pictures, skillfully captured by Jaja Samaniego and Pearl Studios, featured the couple strolling through the streets of Los Angeles in a vintage car, having a blast at an arcade, exploring a museum, and donning suits for an exciting indoor skydiving adventure. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

‘Falcon’...

From A1 said areas, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

The weather bureau said the hoisting of storm signals over any part of the country was unlikely but added that it might enhance the southwest monsoon and bring occasional or monsoon rains over western portions of Luzon and the Visayas starting on Saturday or Sunday.

The habagat is also expected to bring occasional rains over Metro Manila, Pangasinan, Occidental Mindoro, Cavite, Batangas, Rizal, Northern Palawan including Calamian, and Cuyo Islands, and the rest of Central Luzon.

Flooding or landslides due to moderate to heavy rains are seen in these areas.

The southwest monsoon will likewise bring cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms in the Visayas, Cordillera Administrative Region, the rest of CALABARZON, the rest of Ilocos Region, the rest of Central Luzon, and the rest of MIMAROPA, Batanes, and Babuyan Islands.

The trough of Khanun will bring cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms in Mindanao, the weather bureau said. Rio Araja

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From A1

Department of Energy director for the Oil Industry Management Bureau as provided under Section 71 of the House Rules Registration of attendance in plenary sessions and nominal voting through mobile phones or other accounts previously registered with and verified by the Secretary-General may be allowed subject to Sections 89, 90 and 91 of the

Rino Abad confirmed the possible oil price hike due to the movement of prices in the world oil market.

"This is just for the four-day trading. There is still one day (Friday) so we are hoping that the estimated bigtime hike will go down," Abad said.

Abad said world oil prices went up after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) continued to implement its oil output cut of one million barrels per day.

On the other hand, he said pump prices may soften next week to reflect the impact of the US Fed's decision to hike interest rates.

The expected oil price hike next week will be the fourth consecutive week increase for diesel and kerosene and the third for gasoline.

On July 25, the oil firms hiked the price of gasoline by P1.35 per liter, diesel by P0.45 per liter, and P0.35 per liter for kerosene.

On July 18, the oil companies also increased the price of gasoline by P1.90 per liter, diesel by P2.10 per liter, and kerosene by P1.80 per liter.

Storm’s...

From A1

Mountain Province both approved the recommendation of their respective disaster councils to declare a state of calamity to speed up relief and rehabilitation efforts.

Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur provinces and Dagupan City in Pangasinan had earlier declared a state of calamity due to Egay.

Damage to infrastructure was estimated at P656.3 million in Ilocos, Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, Davao region, Soccsksargen and BARMM, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said.

The Department of Agriculture said the value of production lost due to Egay had gone up to P512.9 million, up from the previous tally of P62 million.

The amount reflects a volume of production loss of 19,488 metric tons, affecting 58,104 hectares of agricultural land and 51,926 farmers, the department said.

Affected commodities include rice, corn, high value crops, livestock and poultry.

Damage to agriculture was placed at P58.3 million in Western Visayas and the Cordillera regions alone, the DA added.

Mountain Province's disaster office said Egay left an estimated P350 million worth of damage in 10 towns.

One casualty was recorded in Bontoc, while two were injured in Bauko and Tadian towns.

Around 179 families or 542 individuals were affected by the typhoon in Mountain Province, the local government said.

Super typhoon Egay has so far killed 13 people, eight more than the initial tally on Thursday, the country's state disaster risk reduction and monitoring agency said yesterday.

The DA said assistance to farmers and fishers includes rice, corn, and assorted vegetable seeds, drugs and biologics for livestock and poultry, and fingerlings to affected fishers.

In its latest bulletin, the NDRRMC said six deaths have been validated – five in the Cordillera region and one in West-

DFA:...

From A1

Former President Rodrigo Duterte earlier ended negotiations with China over a possible partnership for oil and gas exploration in the West Philippine Sea.

But in his second State of the Nation Address, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said that his administration would push for more gas exploration in other parts of the country aside from

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From A1

He said the captain of the vessel could be held liable for exceeding the 42-seat capacity of the motorized outrigger.

He added that the Philippine Coast Guard could also face investigation for failing to monitor the number of passengers boarding the vessel.

The PCG relieved two of its personnel in Binangonan on Friday after the accident.

PCG Commandant Artemio Abu confirmed the PCG's decision during a press briefing in the Coast Guard Headquarters

House Rules (Conduct of Plenary Sessions through Electronic Platforms)," the memorandum read.

However, the recording of attendance in sessions and nominal voting through registered mobile phones and other accounts shall still be allowed.

The memorandum stated that the Speaker may authorize the conduct of sessions through electronic platforms in cases when the attendance of members becomes "extremely difficult or impossible."

The live streaming of the plenary sessions through the official online accounts of the House of Representatives will still be allowed.

"Virtual/Hybrid mode will be used on a case-by-case basis and upon the approval of the Speaker," it added.

Malacañang earlier issued Proclamation 297 lifting the nationwide declaration of a public health emergency due to the pandemic.

The proclamation stated that it is time to transition to the long-term management of the COVID-19 virus.

It also stated that despite COVID-19 remaining a danger to select subpopulations and still requiring an immediate public response, the country has maintained sufficient healthcare system capacity and low hospital bed utilization rates even after the liberalization of COVID-19 health protocols.