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Senate approves on final reading bill on self-reliant defense posture program

PHILIPPINE STAR/EDD GUMBAN

THE SENATE on Monday passed on third and final reading a bill that seeks to boost the country’s defense program through investments in local defense equipment manufacturing, amid increasing tensions with China.

All 20 senators present voted in favor of Senate Bill 2455, which will task the Department of National Defense to develop a self-reliant defense posture program that will encourage manufacturers to produce weapons and defense systems in the country for local use and exports.

The measure will give the agency P1 billion in funding.

Senator and former national police chief Ronald M. Dela Rosa said the proposed law would allow the Philippines to “protect every square inch of the country’s territory.”

The bill will complement state efforts to modernize the Armed Forces of the Philippines through the development of naval shipyards, military bases and camps.

“We should not always be dependent on our allies in furthering our national interests,” Mr. Dela Rosa told the plenary. “Having our own domestic supply of defense equipment gives us peace of mind that we are no longer dependent on the availability (of equipment) from foreign sources.”

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives defense committee approved a similar measure, endorsing it for plenary debates.

“Our country, as a matter of national survival, cannot totally rely on the supplied armaments of other countries,” Iloilo Rep. and committee chairman Raul C. Tupas said in a speech.

“We need to develop our manufacturing capabilities and utilize to the fullest our natural resources to meet the country’s defense needs,” he added.

Mr. Tupas said the country’s national defense program has “lost its momentum” in recent years due to insufficient funding and incentives for the private sector, lack of strategic direction and a weakening local market due reliance on foreign assistance.

The proposed Philippine Self-Reliant Defense Posture Program would ensure that local components and indigenous materials are affordable and readily available, Mr. Tupas said.

It would also encourage private sector participation through co-production or joint venture agreements, as well as fiscal incentives.

The program should be given more strategic oversight, Mr. Tupas added.

Oriental Mindoro Rep. Arnan C. Panaligan in his sponsorship speech said a self-reliant defense program would provide employment opportunities and generate revenue from exports of locally made defense equipment.

Defense Undersecretary Salvador Melchor B. Mison, Jr. proposed that the bill include investments in disruptive technologies with long-term applications.

These include artificial intelligence, quantum-based technologies and robotics and autonomous weapons, according to the European Defence Agency.

“Legislation will indeed bolster the local defense industry and lessen our reliance on foreign sources,” Mr. Mison told the committee.

Senate President Juan Miguel F. Zubiri in August said the Philippines is one of the top importers of defense equipment in Southeast Asia, having spent $338 million (P19.15 billion) in 2021.

China claims more than 80% of the South China Sea based on a 1940s map, which a United Nations-backed arbitration court voided in 2016.

The Philippines has been unable to enforce the ruling and has since filed hundreds of protests over what it calls encroachment and harassment by China’s coast guard and its vast fishing fleet.

Chinese ships on Dec. 10 fired water cannons at three Philippine boats on a resupply mission to a military outpost at Second Thomas Shoal.

About 135 Chinese militia vessels were spotted at Whitsun Reef on Dec. 3, Coast Guard spokesman Jay Tarriela told congressmen last week.

Both Second Thomas Shoal and Whitsun Reef are within the Philippines’ 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ). — John Victor D. Ordoñez and Beatriz Marie D. Cruz

House to revive push to amend 1987 Charter — Speaker

PHILIPPINE STAR/MICHAEL VARCAS

By Beatriz Marie D. Cruz, Reporter

THE HOUSE of Representatives is again seeking to amend the 1987 Philippine Constitution to ease economic restrictions, Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez said on Monday.

It wants people to decide whether Congress should vote on constitutional changes jointly or separately, he told an economic briefing in Iloilo City in central Philippines.

“We are thinking right now of addressing the procedural gap or question as to how we amend the Constitution,” Mr. Romualdez said.

The House in March passed a bill seeking to amend the 1987 Constitution through a constitutional convention. A similar measure in the Senate only reached the committee level.

“We will highly recommend that we embark on a people-centered initiative to cure this impasse, so to speak, on how we vote,” he said.

“We want to lift the restrictive provisions in our Constitution vis-à-vis the economy,” the Speaker said. “We feel that the Constitution should be prospective and not reactionary. Right now, it is very prohibitive, the most prohibitive in the region,” he added.

Trade Secretary Alfredo E. Pascual supported lifting restrictions on foreign ownership of local businesses.

“Such a move will make our country more competitive in attracting foreign investments, which are needed to create high-quality jobs for our people,” he said in a Viber group message.

Michael Henry Ll. Yusingco, a lawyer and constitutionalist, said lawmakers should justify to the public the need to amend the Constitution after attempts failed due to public backlash.

“The Speaker should first prove that there is a constituency behind his proposal to put forward economic amendments,” he said in a Facebook Messenger chat. “He has to show that there is clear public support for amending the 1987 Constitution. Without any such proof, this plan will not succeed.”

Mr. Yusingco said moves to change the Charter should not be rushed to ensure the public understands the process and its possible effects.

“The only way to overcome public distrust is to show that amending the Constitution is necessary and beneficial for the nation,” he said. “Whatever these proposed amendments are, the proponents must make sure that the public understands what they are and the repercussions they may have.”

Emy Ruth Gianan, who teaches economics at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, said criticisms against Charter Change (“Cha-cha”) focused mainly on concerns over term limits.

“While people understand the value of opening up our economy further to foreign investors, the possibility of tampering constitutional provisions on term limits weighs heavily,” she said in a Messenger chat.

She said constitutional limits could be eased through the Public Service Act as well as the recent Supreme Court decision increasing local government share in national taxes.

“The economic challenges in the country are rooted in politics — who owns what and where,” she said. “It would be more beneficial to expend our energies on supporting legislation that limit political dynasties and creating avenues for partnerships between foreign and local markets.”

Other key legislation that the House would push are infrastructure, education and workforce development, healthcare and social services, agricultural development and food security, Mr. Romualdez said.

Makabayan lawmakers file 3rd SC petition vs OVP secret funds

PNA PHOTO BY ALFRED FRIAS

By Jomel R. Paguian

MAKABAYAN bloc lawmakers filed before the Supreme Court (SC) on Monday a third petition against Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio regarding her reported use of P125 million in confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) last year.

Partylist Representatives Raoul Danniel A. Manuel, Arlene D. Brosas, and France L. Castro, in their petition, asked the High Court to declare as unconstitutional and void the release of secret funds from the Office of the President (OP) to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) in December last year and sought restitution of the said amount.

The petitioners also argued that the P125 million in confidential funds should be reviewed by the Commission on Audit (CoA), similar to its scrutiny of regular public funds.

The lawmakers emphasized that only Congress determines the allocation and purpose of confidential funds. “The Office of the President overstepped the limits of its power by establishing a budget item or appropriation, when it is Congress, not the Executive, which has the power to approve and promulgate the appropriations law,” read part of a copy of the petition obtained from one of the petitioners.

They argued that the case is “ripe for adjudication,” citing the unauthorized request, grant, release, and use of money from the National Treasury without an appropriation authorized by the law.

“President Marcos Jr.’s release of P125 million confidential funds to the Office of the Vice President without congressional authorization is a grave abuse of discretion and a violation of the Constitution,” said Ms. Brosas in a statement.

In Filipino, she added, “The money of the people is at stake here, and it should not be used as a fund vulnerable to corruption.”

Aside from the vice president, the petition was filed against respondents Executive Secretary Lucas P. Bersamin (on behalf of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. who is protected by presidential immunity from suit), Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman, and Commission on Audit Chairperson Gamaliel A. Cordoba.

Bayan Muna Chairman Neri Javier Colmenares, former Social Welfare Secretary Judy M. Taguiwalo, along other former lawmakers, were named petitioners aside from the Makabayan bloc representatives.

The first High Court petition regarding the OVP secret funds was filed by former Election chief Christian S. Monsod, former Finance Undersecretary Maria Cielo D. Magno and other lawyers last month to question the constitutionality of the transfer of confidential funds.

A separate petition was filed a week later by another group of lawyers and concerned citizens led by former Supreme Court senior associate justice Antonio T. Carpio to challenge the legality of confidential funds itself.

In response to the first filed petition, Ms. Duterte-Carpio said she welcomes discussion on the legality of fund transfer. “We hope that the Supreme Court’s wisdom will pave the way for an end to this issue,” she said in a video statement in Filipino.

“This obsession for confidential funds has to stop, and Petitioners ask the Honorable Supreme Court to put a stop to this anomaly that has drained so much from our public funds for years,” the petition read.

PISTON declares 2-day strike

TRANSPORT group Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (PISTON) — PHILIPPINE STAR/JESSE BUSTOS

A GROUP of jeepney drivers and operators declared on Monday a two-day transport strike, commencing Thursday, in protest of the impending jeepney phaseout.

Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operators Nationwide (PISTON) announced that it is set to mount another nationwide strike to oppose the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP), underscoring the call for the deferral of the Dec. 31 deadline for franchise consolidation applications.

“Is this the Christmas gift from the DoTr and LTFRB to us? The loss of livelihood for thousands of drivers and operators? They should be ashamed. They will be causing hunger for many families as the new year begins,” said Mody Floranda, PISTON national president in a statement in Filipino.

The transport group said approximately 80% of all public utility vehicle operators, and many drivers are on the brink of displacement by the end of the year.

The franchise consolidation component of the PUVMP mandates all operators to surrender individual franchises, consolidating them under a cooperative or corporation dedicated to serving a specific route — a principle the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board calls “one route, one franchise, one operator.”

PISTON said that the deadline is not just for franchise consolidation but for the operation of traditional jeepneys, citing that the policy excludes individual operators who cannot afford new franchise fees.

“This scheme leads to monopoly and corporate capture of public transport in the Philippines, as only large, financially viable cooperatives or corporations can comply with the costly modernization standards,” said PISTON.

PISTON is the same group that organized last month’s three-day strike, asserting that it paralyzed major roads in Metro Manila. Last week, the group mounted a protest in the House of Representatives in support of the resolution filed by the Makabayan bloc partylist representatives calling for the deferral of the deadline for franchise consolidation applications.

PISTON claimed 90%-95% of jeepney drivers and operators in Metro Manila joined their strike on Nov. 20-22, which they asserted had caused transport paralysis on major roads in the region. However, the Metro Manila Development Authority downplayed the impact of the three-day transport strike as nothing more than the “normal rush hour” foot traffic situation.

PISTON said associations of jeepney operators and drivers in Metro Manila and nearby provinces, unaffiliated with the group, have also expressed their intention to participate in the strike. — Jomel R. Paguian

Marcos eyes meeting with Japan PM

President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. shakes hands with Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida after a joint press conference in Tokyo, Feb. 9, 2023. — COURTESY OF PRESIDENTIAL COMMUNICATIONS OFFICE

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. may hold a meeting with his Japanese counterpart on the sidelines of the commemorative summit between Japan and the Southeast Asian nations in Tokyo this week, it was revealed at Monday’s Palace briefing.

Mr. Marcos will fly to Japan on Dec. 15 to attend a commemorative summit for the 50th anniversary of cooperation between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Japan, Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Daniel R. Espiritu told the briefing.

Mr. Espiritu said Mr. Marcos’ official engagement upon his arrival in Japan may be a bilateral meeting with Japanese Prime Minister (PM) Fumio Kishida.

Asked if the proposed reciprocal access agreement (RAA) will be discussed during the possible meeting, Mr. Espiritu said: “I cannot confirm if that will be part of the agenda. I think it will take a long time to make, so I don’t think that it will be done in one sitting.”

“Since the details of this are still being firmed up, I will not divulge yet the details,” he added.

On Dec. 17, participants are expected to hold formal discussions on ASEAN-Japan economic ties, particularly on trade and investment, supply chain, connectivity and infrastructure, climate change, and food and energy security, said Mr. Espiritu.

They are also set to discuss international developments affecting the regional bloc, such as issues involving the South China Sea, East China Sea, North Korea, and Myanmar, he added. They will also have a working lunch to discuss people-to-people activities related to arts, culture, and sports.

Mr. Marcos is also expected to participate in a Dec. 18 discussion on decarbonization, organized by the Asia Zero Emissions Community, a separate regional organization composed of ASEAN, Japan and Australia.

It’s a platform where countries discuss ways to lower their carbon emissions, Mr. Espiritu said.

He said Mr. Marcos will use the opportunity to lobby support for the Philippines’ bid to host the board of the United Nations’ loss and damage fund.

The foreign affairs official said there will also be business meetings and bilateral business meetings that will be headed by the Department of Trade and Industry.

One of them is “a roundtable meeting for a status report on the pledges and agreement signed during the February 2023 visit by the President and also the signing of the new business agreements,” he added. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza

COVID-19 red alert raised in QC

A COMMUTER keeps her face mask on as she enters the bus carousel station in Quezon City on Monday. Although the practice is no longer mandated, Health Secretary Teodoro J. Herbosa has urged the public to wear face masks amid increasing COVID-19 cases in the country. — PHILIPPINE STAR/JESSE BUSTOS

IN RESPONSE to a significant uptick in COVID-19 cases, the Quezon City Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (QC-ESU) has elevated its red alert status for medical facilities to better prepare for a potential surge in infections.

In an interview with OneNewsPH on Monday, Rolando Cruz, Chief of QC-ESU, revealed that the city has recorded 240 active cases, with approximately 60% classified as mild, and less than 3% falling into the moderate category.

Mr. Cruz noted that in the week of Dec. 4-7, there was a significant increase to 27 new cases daily, marking a 57.9% surge compared to the previous week’s COVID-19 tally. This surge is attributed to frequent Christmas parties and crowded events this month, heightening the risk of disease transmission.

He emphasized that while vaccination provides a good level of protection, it does not guarantee immunity from COVID-19; rather, it significantly reduces the risk of severe infection.

“Let’s be smart. We should know our health status. If you have comorbidities or you are in the senior age group, you need to protect yourself,” said Mr. Cruz in Filipino. “Wearing a face mask when attending parties is crucial because you can still get infected.”

The decision to raise the red alert status in the city allows the local government and health centers to enhance preparedness for any further increase in infections. Mr. Cruz clarified, “Our early warning system differs from the national government’s alert status, and it is crucial as the interventions present during the peak of the pandemic are no longer available.” — Nate C. Barretto

Senate ratifies ILO workplace policy

PHILIPPINE STAR/ PAOLO ROMERO

THE PHILIPPINE Senate ratified on Monday the 2019 International Labor Organization (ILO) convention to eliminate workplace violence and harassment, making the Philippines the first Southeast Asian country to affirm the global treaty.

Unanimously, senators voted 20-0-0 in favor of the Philippine concurrence of ILO Convention 190, which enjoins ILO member-states to develop, in line with their national laws, an “inclusive, integrated and gender-responsive approach” to prevent and eliminate violence and harassment in the workplace.

“The nature of violence and harassment in the world of work is multifaceted, and ILO C190 not only recognizes this reality but also highlights the importance of prevention, protection, and redressal mechanisms,” Senate Majority Leader Emmanuel Joel J. Villanueva had said in his co-sponsorship speech of the ILO convention.

Earlier, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. asked the Senate to ratify the global treaty, which was adopted during the general conference in Geneva, Switzerland in June 2019.

The Constitution mandates that treaties and international agreements be ratified with at least two-thirds concurrence of the Senate’s members. — John Victor D. Ordoñez

9 terrorists, 8 MILFs die in clashes

LOCAL officials and members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front conduct a clearing operation of areas in Pagalungan, Maguindanao del Sur where Dawlah Islamiya terrorists have been spotted. — PHILIPPINE STAR/JOHN FELIX M. UNSON

COTABATO CITY — Members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) killed nine Dawlah Islamiya terrorists and wounded six others in a series of encounters in a barangay along the 220,000-hectare Liguasan Delta over the weekend.

Eight members of the MILF, an erstwhile secessionist guerrilla front compelled to help the government address security issues in areas where it has forces by its peace pact with Malacañang, also died in the gunfights.

As a diversionary ploy, beleaguered Dawlah Islamiya members shot dead a brother of a barangay official in Dalgan in Pagalungan town in Maguindanao del Sur, a two-year-old child and three other villagers before they escaped using small river boats when they sensed that more MILF members were closing in.

Traditional Moro datus and local government executives in Pagalungan, among them Vice Mayor Abdillah A. Mamasabulod, on Monday confirmed to reporters and Bangsamoro regional police officials the skirmishes in Dalgan and nearby areas.

Major Gen. Alex S. Rillera, commander of Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said on Monday that they have received reports about the MILF’s having neutralized nine Dawlah Islamiya terrorists this weekend in maneuvers coordinated with the police and units of the 602nd Infantry Brigade covering Pagalungan and other towns around.

Two members of the terrorist group are suspected of carrying out the deadly bombing that killed four Catholic worshippers at a holy mass held at the gymnasium of the Mindanao State University in Marawi City last Dec. 3.

Mr. Mamasabulod, a senior member of the Pagalungan Municipal Peace and Order Council, said the MILF’s attacks on Dawlah Islamiya members were led by a member of the 80-seat Bangsamoro parliament, Akmad I. Abas, chief of the front’s Eastern Mindanao Group.

Mr. Abas and Mr. Mamasabulod, whose clan is supporting the police and military’s joint anti-terror campaign in their municipality, separately told reporters that eight MILF members were killed, and five others were wounded in the clashes in Dalgan.

“We were to check their locations that the 6th ID first bombarded with 105 Howitzer cannons but they attacked us so there were subsequent firefights in the barangays near the Liguasan Marsh,” Mr. Abas said.

The local police, in a report to the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region and the Maguindanao del Sur Provincial Police Office, said there is difficulty in securing the complete names of the nine Dawlah Islamiya terrorists killed by MILF forces since their cadavers were carried away by companions as they escaped towards the center of the Liguasan Delta.

Mr. Rillera and Bangsamoro regional police director Brig. Gen. Allan C. Nobleza separately said they appreciate the support of Abas and his followers to the 6th ID and PRO-BAR’s joint effort to decimate via tactical maneuvers the Dawlah Islamiya forces holding out in Maguindanao del Sur towns along the Liguasan Delta. — John Felix M. Unson

CAAP probes Piper plane crash

PHILSTAR FILE PHOTO/INCIDENT MANAGEMENT TEAM VIA RADYO PILIPINAS TUGUEGARAO

BAGUIO CITY — The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) has set out on an in-depth investigation into the cause of the crash of a Piper plane in the Sierra Madre mountain range in Isabela province last Nov. 30, authorities said on Monday.

CAAP spokesperson Eric Apolonio said their investigators are going to retrieve three important pieces of evidence at the crash site: the emergency locator transmitter, the engine and the propeller.

He said these are crucial in determining what really happened to the small aircraft that killed the pilot and his passenger.

On Sunday morning, the body of passenger Emma Escalante was sighted by K9 trackers 200 meters from the area where the plane crashed. Three days earlier, the remains of the pilot, Captain Levy N. Abul, II, were found near the crash site.

The Piper plane took off from the Cauayan Airport in Isabela at 9:30 a.m. and was expected to land at Palanan Airport, also in Isabela. But mid-flight, it sent a distress message around 11:08 a.m. until its last recorded blip was on the radar was traced at 29.09 nautical miles east of Cauayan Airport. — Artemio A. Dumlao

Pfizer, PCS sponsor doctors’ training

PFIZER Philippines Country Manager So-Myung Lim (left) and PCS President Dr. Maria Concepcion C. Vesagas attend the signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). — HANDOUT/PFIZER PHILIPPINES

PFIZER Philippines and the Philippine College of Surgeons (PCS) have entered a three-year partnership to enhance surgeons’ skills through Continuing Medical Education (CME).

The recent MoA signing — attended by physicians Evan N. Payawal, Pfizer Philippines interim country medical director, and Maria Concepcion C. Vesagas, PCS president — marks the collaborative effort to provide PCS members and healthcare professionals with top-tier medical knowledge on Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS).

In its press release on Monday, Pfizer said the focus on AMS principles and practice would help address issues of resistance, surgical infections, and optimal antibiotic use.

Utilizing an on-demand Learning Modular System (LMS) and webinars, PCS members will gain insights crucial to surgical competencies, it said.

“It’s more than a collaboration; it’s a commitment to the people we serve,” Pfizer Philippines Country Manager So-Myung Lim said.

For her part, Ms. Vesagas stressed the importance of staying at the forefront of knowledge in a constantly evolving medical landscape. The partnership, aligned with the 79th PCS Annual Clinical Congress theme of “Collaborations and Innovations in the Era of Global Surgery,” aims to contribute to excellence in patient surgical care and safety. — Nate C. Barretto

DoLE extends labor assistance to athletes

PHILSTAR FILE PHOTO

THE DEPARTMENT of Labor and Employment (DoLE) has signed a memorandum with the Games and Amusements Board (GAB) to provide labor and employment assistance to professional and retired athletes.

The memorandum of understanding (MoU), inked on Dec. 6, provides livelihood opportunities, and emergency employment programs to professional athletes who were retired, injured, or undergoing mandatory rest periods.

Inclusive employment facilitation programs, including Public Employment Services, the National Skills Registration Program, and timely Labor Market Information dissemination, will be extended to athletes and other beneficiaries associated with GAB.

Labor Secretary Bienvenido E. Laguesma said the MoU enhances the department’s partnership with GAB, reinforcing efforts to safeguard and secure the well-being of workers in the sports industry. “This signed partnership will serve as a means to address the needs of not only GAB stakeholders but also those of DoLE,” he said in a statement in Filipino.

GAB Chairperson Richard S. Clarin affirmed the collaboration with the labor department, expressing a commitment to “foster employment opportunities within the sports and amusement sector while prioritizing the safety and well-being of all employed professional athletes.”

Under the Office of the President, the GAB is tasked with the regulation and supervision of professional sports and related activities.

Both government bodies have committed to investigating and resolving labor-related reports, organizing lectures and seminars on employee rights and benefits during sports gatherings, and supporting applications for assistance from athletes and stakeholders.

Agri output seen likely to expand in Q4 — DA

PHILIPPINE STAR/KRIZ JOHN ROSALES

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said farm output will likely post positive growth in the fourth quarter, citing preliminary estimates.

“Based on initial data that we are seeing, it is possible that (agri-sector growth in Q4) would go up, because we did not have major calamities. There have not been too many typhoons,” Agriculture Spokesman Arnel V. de Mesa said in an appearance on PTV, the government broadcast network.

A positive growth outcome would reverse the 0.3% contraction reported by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) in the third quarter.

“Crop production is good, we are (also) expecting growth in the livestock and poultry subsector,” Mr. De Mesa said.

“Hopefully fisheries will recover, because in the third quarter this was the sector that saw the biggest decline” alongside the crops segment, he added.

Crop production, which accounts for 54% of farm production, dropped 0.4% in the third quarter.

Fisheries, meanwhile, declined 6.1% in the three months to September.

“We are hoping… (that by) early next year the agri sector will really recover,” he said.

The PSA is due to release agricultural output data for the fourth quarter in January.

The DA set a target of 2.3%-2.5% for agricultural output growth for 2023.

Additionally, Mr. De Mesa said that the DA is currently monitoring commodity prices during the year-end holidays.

He added that well-milled rice prices have fallen to the P51 per kilogram (kg) level from P52 previously, while regular-milled rice prices remained steady.

“Most of the prevailing (prices) are ranging from P51 to P52 per kg,” he said.

“As for supply, the harvest is almost 100% over. We are also expecting the rice imported from India amounting to 295,000 metric tons (MT),” he added.

The Indian government allocated a quota of 295,000 MT of non-basmati white rice for the Philippines, after having declared a freeze on such exports to safeguard its own domestic supply.

Separately, Bantay Bigas Spokesperson Cathy L. Estavillo said rice prices have not declined during the harvest.

“Prices have jumped to P52 per kg… It is not only in Metro Manila that prices are higher but in rice-producing provinces and municipalities (as well),” Ms. Estavillo said in an appearance on One News.

Mr. De Mesa said that the agricultural damage and losses brought about by shear line conditions in Southern Luzon and the Visayas, as well as the earthquake in Mindanao, have had little effect on agricultural prices.

“Those who were affected had just started planting and we have given them seed. So, there is no effect on the recent harvest,” he said. — Adrian H. Halili

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