Rodriguez admits asking SRA to draft sugar order

Hi Edward, Here are the most important news that you need to know.     Rodriguez admits asking SRA to draft sugar order Executive Secretary Victor Rodriguez on Tuesday revealed that it was him who asked the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) to draft an order for the proposed importation of 300,000 metric tons (MT) of sugar, but he faulted resigned Agriculture Undersecretary Leocadio Sebastian for supposedly signing the import order arbitrarily in behalf of President Marcos without the latter’s approval.     Inquirer Plus offers FREE 30 day trial   Malaysia seals Najib fate: Off to jail PUTRAJAYA, MALAYSIA—Malaysia’s highest court on Tuesday upheld former Prime Minister Najib Razak’s 12-year jail sentence for corruption in the 1MDB financial scandal. Chief Justice Maimun Tuan Mat issued a warrant of committal, which a lawyer said means Najib is going immediately to jail.    TRAGIC TRIP A Manila-bound passenger bus lies on its side after it hit an electric post along a highway in Naguilian, Isabela, as heavy rain dumped by Severe Tropical Storm “Florita” (Ma-on) in Cagayan Valley on Tuesday made road travel risky due to poor visibility and road condition. Two passengers died while six others, including the bus driver and conductor, were injured in the crash. —VILLAMOR VISAYA JR.   Neda: Expect more unemployed in 2023 The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) expects unemployment to rise next year as an estimated 1.5 million Filipinos, including graduates of the K-12 program, join the labor force. This is more than double the normal volume of 600,000 new entrants in previous years and will exceed the number of jobs expected to be made available by the further reopening of the economy.   FREE   Opinion: Good intentions not enough For the sake of the 17.7 million Filipinos currently living under the poverty line and the millions more in danger of falling below it—for the hundreds of thousands of Filipino students who face a bleak future, no thanks to the pandemic—the government must get its act together and work proactively toward providing both immediate remedies and long-term solutions to the twin crises of poverty and poor-quality education.         © 2022 PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you are subscribed to Inquirer Newsletters. Unsubscribe