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VOL. XXX • NO. 344 • 5 SECTIONS 20 PAGES • P18 • SUNDAY, JANUARY 22, 2017 • www.thestandard.com.ph • editorial@thestandard.com.ph
AMERICA FIRST, TRUMP PLEDGES
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ASHINGTON, D.C.—President Donald Trump assumed power Friday with a fiercely nationalistic vow to put “America first,” taking a stinging swipe at the legacy of his predecessor hours after reciting the oath of office. Hundreds of thousands of people stood on the rain-splattered National Mall to see the 70-yearold Republican billionaire be sworn in, and deliver a stridently populist call-to-arms. Trump promised to lift up the nation’s disenfranchised and those who felt betrayed by the political
elites, declaring with vindication that “the forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer.” “From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land,” Trump said, promising an end to businessas-usual in Washington. “From this moment on, it’s going to be only
America First.” [Full text of Trump’s inaugural speech on Page B2] Adhering to his vow to immediately start dismantling the healthcare reforms passed by outgoing president Barack Obama, Trump signed his first executive order in the Oval Office, targeting Obamacare. It commands government offices to grant all possible exemptions to limit the “economic and regulatory burden” of the Affordable Care Act, as a prelude to a full repeal. As the day’s ceremonial rituals drew to a close, Trump and his wife Melania stepped out—the first lady stunning in an off-theshoulder ivory gown—to lead the
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dance at one of the string of glitzy inaugural balls being held across the capital. The pair slow-danced in a close embrace to a version of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way,” before they were joined by Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen, and both families’ children. “Well, we did it,” Trump told the revelers. “We won. And today, we had a great day.” “This was a movement. And now the work begins.” At another ball, Trump echoed his campaign pledge to help create lots of industrial jobs in the United States. Turn to A2 Turn to A2
MELANIA TRUMP STUNS IN FIRST LADY FASHION STAKES
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BIONIC WOMAN: ROBOT TURNS ON THE CHARM
INDONESIAN FISHERMEN MISSING OFF SULU
HAVING A BALL. US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump dance on a seal of the presidency during the Armed Services Ball, one of three inaugural balls in Washington, D.C. after Trump’s oath-taking. AFP
PALACE SEES PROMISE OF SPRING IN TRUMP ERA By John Paolo Bencito MALACAÑANG on Saturday welcomed the inauguration of US President Donald Trump and his declared “America First” policy which promises a new spring for US-Philippine relations. “The Philippines welcomes President Trump’s foreign policy direction. It promises a more
placid and mutually beneficial relationship especially with longstanding allies like us,” said Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella. “We find resonance with their intention to ‘seek friendship and goodwill and reinforce existing alliances, without imposing America’s way of life on others’,” Abella said.
“While there is a promise of spring US-ward, as an independent and sovereign nation we will expand our collaboration with other friends and partners in the international community, in accordance with the principles of international law,” he added. Abella said Trump’s “America First” policy is similar to the policies of the Duterte administration.
“In like manner national interest is the primary consideration that guides President Rodrigo Duterte. His pursuit of peace and order is the bedrock of economic inclusivity and self-sufficiency.” Duterte’s spokesman said that the Philippines will be focusing on strengthening its relationship not only with the US, but to other countries as well. Turn to A2
BATO REFUSES TO RESIGN, WILL CONSULT DUTERTE RESPONDING to the demands that he resign over the kidnapping and killing of Korean executive Jee Ick Joo, Philippine National Police chief Director General Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa refused to resign on Saturday and said he will instead ask President Rodrigo Duterte if he has become a burden to him. “I will ask the President if I am burden to him,” Dela Rosa told reporters during a shooting competition held in honor of his 55th birth anniversary at the Camp Karingal
headquarters of the Quezon City police. “There is no need to be formal about it. I will only ask him,” Dela Rosa said, adding that his birthday wish is that erring policemen change their ways. “My birthday wish is that all policemen will be good, no police would be involved in syndicates anymore. This is my only birthday wish,” Dela Rosa said. “Even if I have to leave on this very day, so long as our lunatic colleagues change.” Dela Rosa made the remarks as calls
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for his resignation mounted after the public learned that Jee was killed at the PNP’s Camp Crame headquarters. He was severely criticized on Twitter with the hashtag #BatoResign which has been trending since Thursday. Even Speaker Pantaleon Alavarez joined the calls for his resignation on Friday “to save President Rodrigo Duterte from further embarrassment and restore respect to the Office of the PNP Chief.” Turn to A2
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BIRTHDAY BOY. Philippine National Police chief Ronald dela Rosa fires away during a shooting competition held in honor of his 55th birthday at Camp Karingal in Quezon City. Manny Palmero
THREE Indonesian fishermen have gone missing in waters off the southern Philippines, the authorities said Saturday, an area that has seen repeated kidnappings for ransom by Islamist militants. Authorities said the three Indonesians went missing on Wednesday in waters bordering the Philippines and Malaysia but the circumstances of their disappearance were still unknown. “They are missing but we don’t have confirmation yet on who took them and where they were taken,” regional military commander Major General Carlito Galvez told AFP. “Because of that, we do not consider them kidnap victims yet.” Malaysia’s Bernama news agency reported that the missing Indonesians’ boat had been found crewless with its engine running. The Philippine-based Islamist militant group Abu Sayyaf began kidnapping sailors in waters between Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines last year, taking several dozen hostages and attacking cargo ships. The spike in abductions sparked Indonesian warnings that the region could become the “next Somalia” and pushed the three neighbors to pledge coordinated patrols. The International Maritime Bureau said this month the number of maritime kidnappings hit a 10-year high in 2016, with waters off the southern Philippines becoming increasingly dangerous. Abu Sayyaf are based on remote and mountainous southern Philippine islands. Their leaders pledge allegiance to the Islamic State group, but analysts say they are more focused on lucrative kidnappings. AFP
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