News: As rice prices soar, senators dare NFA: Prove your worth

Monday, August 21, 2023

As rice prices soar, senators dare NFA: Prove your worth

August 22, 2023

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As rice prices soar, senators dare NFA: Prove your worth

MANILA, Philippines — As a farmers' group called for the abolition of the National Food Authority (NFA) over its supposed preference for rice imports, two senators on Monday challenged the agency to prove its worth by helping farmers and buying their produce at higher prices.

By Melvin Gascon, Jordeene B. Lagare and Jerome Aning

Marcos' Ninoy Day message: Unite

President Marcos, in his first statement on Ninoy Aquino Day more than a year into his administration, urged Filipinos to set aside "personal biases" and unite for the country's progress. On Monday, Aquino's relatives and their supporters gathered at Sto. Domingo Church, the scene of the senator's wake in 1983, to mark the 40th year of his assassination.

By Jean Mangaluz

BIKES AND OTHERS Despite repeated warnings, motorcycle riders occupy the bicycle lane along this section of Edsa in Pasay City on Monday. The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority says a P1,000 fine awaits drivers who will disregard traffic signs and use designated bicycle lanes starting Aug. 21. —RICHARD A. REYES

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'Butterfly' workers a labor concern

BAGUIO CITY, Benguet, Philippines — "Butterfly" workers have become a growing concern for labor officials in the Cordillera despite an improved 97.3-percent employment rate in the highland provinces of Ifugao, Benguet, Kalinga, Apayao, Abra, and Mountain Province as of April, experts revealed last week.

By Vincent Cabreza

OPINION

National budget's mixed messages

The overarching goal of the present House, it seems, is to pass the national budget bill as fast as it can, just like it did the 2023 budget, which the President praised as "the fastest and the quickest passage of the national budget that we have seen so far." With the House leadership vowing to pass the 2024 budget before going on recess next month, the adage "haste makes waste" could only be the expected outcome.

By Editorial

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