VOL. XXX • NO. 340 • 4 SECTIONS 20 PAGES • P18 • WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 18, 2017 • www.thestandard.com.ph • editorial@thestandard.com.ph
STRANDED THOUSANDS. Rising floodwaters in Cagayan de Oro halt vehicles while stranding thousands of people including women and children, the streets instantly submerged by violent waters from all directions following heavy rains Monday. Lance Baconguis
Drug list includes 2 solons —Speaker By Maricel V. Cruz TWO congressmen are among the public officials included in President Rodrigo Duterte’s “narco-list,” Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said Tuesday. In a news conference, Alvarez said he is convinced that one of them, an unnamed lawmaker from Mindanao, was acting as a protector of the illegal drug trade. “The list given to me was validated; which means it passed through several government agencies for validation. But on my part, I am still double checking it,” Alvarez said. Alvarez declined to name the two lawmakers, however, and said he would speak to them Next page first.
No House protection for Romero By Maricel V. Cruz SPEAKER Pantaleon Alvarez said Tuesday the House of Representatives could not provide protective custody to Rep. Michael Romero who is facing charges for allegedly stealing money from his family-owned Harbour Centre Port Terminal Inc. He said the House would follow the orders of the Manila court that issued an arrest warrant against the congressman. Next page
Severe flood hits Mindanao; 7 dead Reds dampen peace hopes COMMUNIST rebels waging one of Asia’s longest insurgencies said Tuesday a peace pact was likely not achievable before 2019, in a blow to the government’s hopes of securing a deal this year. Ahead of fresh peace talks starting in Italy on Thursday, the National Democratic Front of the Philippines also warned that forces on the ground were urging an end to a ceasefire as they became frustrated with the government’s “broken promises.” “The NDFP goes into the third round of formal talks in Rome determined as always to persevere with the peace talks
but increasingly troubled by the other party’s sincerity,” the communists’ chief negotiator, Fidel Agcaoili, said in a statement. The communists have been waging their “national democratic revolution” since 1968 to overthrow a capitalist system that has led to one of Asia’s biggest rich-poor divides. At least 30,000 people have died in the conflict, according to the military. President Rodrigo Duterte, who describes himself as a socialist, has made ending the rebellion one of his top priorities. He launched the peace process soon after he took office in
June last year and installed three communists in his Cabinet. Both sides agreed to a temporary ceasefire during the first round of talks in Norway last August. The government said then it was aiming for a final peace deal within 12 months. But Agcaoili said the communists would need at least two more years after negotiators agreed on a series of economic and political reforms before even beginning “serious discussions” on a final peace pact. Those economic and political reforms have yet to be agreed, and are meant to be discussed in Next page Rome.
VAT exemption for elderly holds By Maricel V. Cruz PHILIPPINE Constitution Association president Martin Romualdez on Tuesday praised President Rodrigo Duterte for excluding senior citizens and people with disability from government’s plan to remove the value-added tax exemptions on certain goods and services. “I thank the President for his compassionate heart by showing compassion to our senior citizens
and PWDs,” Romualdez said. He made the statement in response to Senator Juan Edgardo Angara’s disclosure that senior citizens and people with disability would keep their VAT exemptions. Romualdez, a former representative of Leyte, is the principal author of the newly implemented Republic Act 10754―an Act Expanding the Benefits and Privileges of People With Disability and that extends their VAT exemptions. “This is another proof that
President Rody Duterte is really serious about leveling the playing field to help and provide assistance to the underprivileged people,” Romualdez said. He said he worked hard for the enactment of the PWD bill as it would directly help the people with disability. Angara said the Finance Department would be coming up with a revised tax reform proposal, which, among other things, Next page
P10-b take from STL in offing By Rey E. Requejo
SWIMWEAR SHOW. From the Sinulog festival, the excitement continues to rise in Cebu as candidates in the 65th Miss Universe pageant show at the Jpark Island Resort and Waterpark what it is to be a model during the swimwear presentation Tuesday, less than two weeks before coronation night in the metropolis. AFP twitter.com/ MlaStandard
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THE government expects to collect P10 billion in additional revenue from the small town lottery when it implements next month the expansion and new collection scheme for the STL of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, an official said Tuesday. Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II said the new policy imposing higher remittances on accredited STL operators would be implemented starting Feb. 1.
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By Florante S. Solmerin
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T LEAST seven people are believed to have been killed while one was still missing following the flooding in northern Mindanao caused by a low-pressure area affecting Mindanao, the Office of Civil Defense said Tuesday. Misamis Oriental Gov. Yevgeny Emano said Gingoog City is the hardest-hit area in the province in terms of flooding and Manticao town in terms of landslides. “There was a preemptive evacuation in Gingoog City and Lugait town declared a state of calamity for massive damage it sustained due to the heavy rain,” Emano said, noting that 421 families were evacuated in Gingoog. Office of Civil Defense director Ricardo Jalad, concurrent executive director of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, said the flooding was due to continued heavy rains compounded by drainage problems. Jalad said there were also floods in Iligan City, Misamis Oriental, and Lanao del Norte. The NDRRMC chief said a report from the weather bureau
saying the low-pressure area and the tail end of cold front were bringing moderate to heavy rain and thunderstorms over Northern Mindanao, the Zamboanga Peninsula, Palawan and the Visayas. “Continuous rain will be experienced in Regions 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and Negros,” Jalad said. He said 1,116 families or 4,879 people were affected by the flooding in Cagayan de Oro City, which was placed under state of calamity. He said of those affected by the flooding, 810 families or 3,911 people were evacuated to government evacuation centers. Misamis Oriental, Misamis Occidental, Bukidnon, Zamboanga del Norte, Lanao, Maguindanao and Cotabato were also hit by heavy rain, as well as the Dinagat area and the eastern part of Southern Leyte in the Visayas. Next page
China hits out at Abe for ‘sowing discord’ By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan CHINA on Tuesday hit Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for “sowing discord” by allegedly offering missiles to President Rodrigo Duterte, an offer that he rejected. The Department of Foreign Affairs refused to comment on the report, saying it is Japan which should answer China’s allegations. While China lauded Duterte’s rejection of Abe’s offer of missiles, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying slammed Japan’s action. “The Japanese leader is still going to extremes to sow discord and play up regional tension. Such practice harbors ulterior
motives and such mentality is extremely unhealthy,” Hua said. DFA spokesman Charles Jose declined to comment on Hua’s statement. “Hua’s statement is in reference to Japan. Japan should be the one to respond to it,” Jose said. Hua said China appreciated Duterte’s commitment to an independent foreign policy. She also said there was no tension in the South China Sea and that the situation was improving with all concerned parties going back to bilateral negotiations to settle their territorial disputes. The Philippines, along with Vietnam, Brunei and Malaysia has a territorial dispute with China. Under the Aquino administration, the Philippines brought the Next page
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