Speaker, solons see hikes in rice, onion prices

By Maricel V. Cruz

SPEAKER Ferdinand Martin G.

Romualdez and two party-list legislators on Monday visited two markets in Quezon City to assess the spikes in the prices of onion and rice.

Romualdez and ACT-CIS Reps. Erwin Tulfo and Edvic Yap went to Nepa Q-Mart in Cubao, and Commonwealth Market to conduct surprise market visits to assess the prices of rice and other basic commodities.

“We came here due to reports that prices are rising again and to ask onion, rice and garlic vender what caused the increase,” Romualdez told reporters.

He said the House is treating the fight against hoarders and price manipulators “very seriously.”

P100 to a maximum of P150.

“So they’ll give them higher wages, but they’ll reduce everything to the bottom. They will reduce workers, that’s a fact,” Claudio said.

He said the manufacturing sector will likely take a hit as he urged the government to allow companies, particularly those with labor unions, to work out the wage issue among themselves.

“Most companies have their own labor unions. Let them work it out,” he said.

He said retailers and manufacturers are more likely to cooperate and comply with the wage board or the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Boards (RTWPBs) decision on wage concerns.

Claudio said with the legislated wage hike, “everybody will be obligated to follow the law no matter how dire a company’s financial status is.” that any supposed deal on its removal was rescinded.

However, senators, led by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, are pushing for a P150 legislated wage hike across the country.

“I know many businessmen will be mad at me, but they also need to share their blessings with workers,” Zubiri said.

The latest Pulse Asia survey conducted from June 19 to 23 shows that the two most urgent national concerns overall were controlling inflation and increasing the pay of workers.

Pulse Asia also surveyed Filipinos on how much they spend on regular monthly household expenses such as housing, food, electricity, water, communications, transportation, and the like.

Some 38 percent of the respondents answered P15,001 or more, while 17 percent answered P14,001 to P15,000 and only 13 percent said they spent lower than P8,000.

Respondents were likewise asked whether or not they are in favor of the proposal to increase by P150 the daily minimum wage of workers in the private sector.

Senator JV Ejercito, meanwhile, blasted Manila Times columnist Bobby Tiglao for claiming that President Estrada had, in fact, agreed to remove the BRP Sierra Madre.

But Ejercito pointed out that it was his father who had ordered the Sierra Madre be grounded on Ayungin Shoal to block Chinese forces from entering Philippine territory.

“That’s very inconsistent and common sense tells us it was President Joseph Estrada who ordered that BRP Sierra Madre be grounded in Ayungin shoal. So how come it will be him to say it should be removed.?” said Ejercito.

“I don’t know where the statement of Tiglao came from,” said the senator.

He said only his father “had the balls” to fight for the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“He has the balls to claim our territory against the superpower,” he said.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. previously said he was rescinding any deal with China to move the rusted 80-year-

Department of Energy director for the oil industry management bureau Rodela Romero said the high pump prices were due to “Saudi’s production cut, US government agency projected a rosier outlook on the economy and Ukraine’s threat to retaliate if Russia continues to block Ukrainian ports. These offset concerns about slow demand from China.”

On August 8, the oil companies implemented an increase of P0.50 per liter for gasoline, P4 per liter for diesel, and P2.75 per liter for kerosene. These price adjustments resulted in a old ship from the shoal, which is just 40 kilometers from Chinese-occupied Mischief Reef.

This developed as an informant could be giving the Chinese Coast Guard intel on the schedule of resupply missions to the Sierra Madre, a spokesman of the National Task Force on the West Philippine Sea said Monday.

In the interview on TeleRadyo Serbisyo, Philippine Coast Guard Commodore Jay Tarriela said the six Chinese Coast Guard vessels involved in the Aug. 5 water cannon incident against Filipino boats were not stationed at Ayungin Shoal but came from Mischief Reef, Pag-asa Island, Bajo de Masinloc, and Subi Reef.

The BRP Sierra Madre is a World War II-era ship that was deliberately grounded at Ayungin Shoal in 1999 to serve as a military outpost over the contested waters.

A day before the water cannon incident, the six Chinese vessels suddenly converged at the shoal to stop the Philippines’ resupply mission and then returned to their areas immediately after the incident.

“What we can see from here is that they were really prepared to block the resupply mission,” he said in a mix of pay increases as part of the mandated salary increase by the Department of Budget and Management. year-to-date net increase of P11.50 per liter for gasoline, P7.10 per liter for diesel, and P2.60 per liter, respectively.

The higher oil prices followed last week’s decline in profits by Petron Corp. and Shell Pilipinas Corp. for the first half due to rising financing costs and declining global oil prices.

Petron’s net income fell 20 percent in the first half of 2023 to P6.14 billion from P7.7 billion in the same period last year even as sales volume went up 13 percent to 57.61 million barrels from 51.41 million barrels sold a year ago.

Filipino and English. “Maybe they had intel on the ground. Maybe there was an informant that told them of the movement of our resupply operations.” personnel,” she said in Filipino.

Tarriela also disputed claims by proChina apologists that the Chinese were “humanitarians” who allowed one resupply boat to get through to the dilapidated BRP Sierra Madre last week, and that Filipino boats were not really affected by the water cannons.

“The video of us being bombed with water is said to have been edited because China released a video that did not hit the resupply ships. If you are Filipino, why would you believe the video released by China? That’s what you will spread to the people?” he said.

He also repeated his stand that Filipinos who are taking the side of China and spreading lies about the West Philippine Sea dispute are traitors.

Tarriela said he was surprised to find himself being bashed online for calling out China’s aggressive behavior in the West Philippine Sea and for calling proChina apologists traitors.

He noted that pro-China apologists have always sided with the Chinese government and echoed Beijing’s explanations on the Chinese swarm in disputed reefs.

“To the hoarders, I hope you will not hide your stocks. Open up your warehouses,” the House leader said. “They should not abuse our seeming leniency because will go hammer and tongs against them.”

He said the market inspection is also a warning to government agencies to do their jobs.

Romualdez also noted that the House is also closely monitoring global market developments that could affect prices and supplies in the local market.

The Speaker earlier directed the officials of the Bureau of Plant and Industry (BPI) to explain to legislators how hoarders managed to reemerge and once again manipulate the price of onions.

Chinese...

From A1 of China’s Nansha Islands.

The embassy official said that China and the Philippines are neighbors that “can’t move away from one another,” thus disputes between both countries should be managed through dialogue and consultations (see related story -- Editors).

“China has repeatedly expressed its willingness to resolve differences with the Philippines through bilateral dialogues. We hope that the Philippines side will abide by the existing consensus and cherish the hard-won situation in our bilateral relations. Meet the Chinese side halfway and find an effective way of managing the situation on the sea through diplomatic consultations,” Zhou said.

The Chinese embassy official also said that China has lodged “solemn representations immediately requesting the Philippine side to tow away the vessel,” referring to the BRP Sierra Madre. He insisted that the Philippines agreed to remove the ship that has been grounded in Ayungin Shoal since 1999.

During a “Brigada Eskwela” activity in San Miguel, Manila City, President Marcos accompanied by Vice President and concurrent Education Secretary Sara Duterte-Carpio told reporters the government’s plan to provide higher pay for teachers.

“We have an increase under the Salary Standardization Law, which is in tranches every year,” Duterte said when asked about teachers’ pay.

Under the Salary Standardization Law, government employees receive

The fourth tranche or the last phase of the Salary Standardization Law took effect Jan. 1, 2023, while the first tranche was back on Jan. 1, 2020.

Duterte added that the President has tasked her and the Department of Education to conduct research to provide a long-term approach to increasing the salaries of teaching and non-teaching DepEd personnel.

“When we came in last year, when I took the post, President Marcos ordered us to procure a study to look for a longterm way how to increase the salaries of our teaching and non-teaching DepEd is a big help for the daily expenses of our public servants,” Pangandaman said.

On July 16, the approved P40 minimum wage hike in Metro Manila took effect to aid workers against rising prices of commodities.

At the same event, Mr. Marcos expressed his support for the DepEd’s “Matatag Curriculum.” there is a need to adjust them.

President Marcos and Duterte joined Victorino Mapa High School teachers in San Miguel, Manila in preparation for the upcoming school year.

Asked about his thoughts on the Matatag Curriculum, Mr. Marcos said that the curriculum would be a significant addition to improving the country’s education system.

Republic Act 11466 or the Salary Standardization Law.

“The Philippine side also made explicit commitments to do so. The representations were put on record and well documented,” Zhou said.

“It’s been 24 years and the Philippines side has yet to honor its commitment. The Chinese side, however, has always exerted the utmost restraint, with a view to maintaining the relations with the Philippines and safeguarding regional peace and stability,” he added.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. last week denied that the Philippines had promised China to remove BRP Sierra Madre from Ayungin Shoal and said if such an agreement existed he would rescind it.

“We know that any amount of increase

In January, the fourth and last tranche of salary hikes for government employees was implemented. The said increase was mandated by

“We have offered an arrangement that would benefit the students. But Taguig rejected it,” Certeza said.

In accordance with RA 11466, the modified salary schedule for civil personnel shall be implemented in four tranches, from FY 2020 to FY 2023.

Reflecting a proactive approach to employee welfare, the DBM has also allocated P1.368 billion in the proposed 2024 National Expenditure Program to fund the additional P1,000 in the uniform or clothing allowance of over 1.3 million government employees.

In a meeting with Taguig City local officials led by Mayor Laarni Cayetano and Department of Education officials in July, Makati Mayor Abigail Binay proposed a status quo where Makati will continue its services in the affected schools to ease the worries of the students and their parents and avoid disruption in school operations.

While Taguig officials rejected the proposal, Makati said the offer still stands as it will greatly ease the worries of both parents and students in the affected barangays.

According to Certeza, Taguig officials told the local government of Makati to stop distributing the students’ school needs starting this school year.

Cayetano, for her part, has pledged to provide full support to the public schools that were previously under the jurisdiction of Makati City.

Cayetano said the local government of Taguig has already prepared school kits which will be distributed to the students soon.

Since the 1990s, Makati has been providing all public school students with free school uniforms and school supplies.

Under the administration of Binay, Makati students also receive sneakers, white socks and black leather shoes, reusable water tumblers, and Japaneseinspired Randoseru bags. Students also receive hygiene kits, dental kits, antidengue kits, hard hats, and Emergency Go Bags, rain gear including raincoats and rain boots, and jackets.

“For the sake of the youth and the residents of the 10 affected barangays, please let us provide free school gear and supplies to the students. Let us make them our priority,” said Certeza.

“May compassion for the residents prevail and work together so that their welfare and lives will not be affected,” he added.

Cayetano, for her part, appealed to members of officers of the General Parents Teachers Association for understanding and patience as the transition takes place.

“I will earnestly and diligently contact the officials of the Department of Education so that I can make sure that at the opening of the school year your fears, your doubts, your questions, will gradually be answered, clarified, and will be met,” she said.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government on Monday called on the local governments of Makati and Taguig to ensure the smooth delivery of services while fixing issues arising from their territorial row.