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SARA SLAMS 'YELLOW' PROPAGANDA

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VOL. XXXI • NO. 243 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • SUNDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2017 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@manilastandard.net

RODY'S 'REVO' GOVT DRAWS HEAVY FLAK P By John Paolo Bencito

RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte’s veiled threat to declare a revolutionary government to stop efforts to destabilize his administration is another attempt to install a dictatorship in the country, the militant group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan warned Saturday.

“Duterte’s threat of forming a ‘revolutionary government’ ala Cory Aquino seems to be another attempt at imposing a dictatorship by eliminating co-equal branches of government,” Bayan SecretaryGeneral Renato Reyes said in a statement. “Duterte is reminded that the people will never allow a return to dictatorship, no matter how ‘revo-

lutionary’ Duterte claims this to be. The people will not allow it,” he added. In related developments: • Opposition group Tindig Pilipinas slammed Duterte as a “paranoid and insecure little man” after he warned he would declare a revolutionary government should a destabilization plot seek to replace him with a new leader. Turn to A2

DAVAO City Mayor Sara DuterteCarpio on Saturday took to social media yet again to respond to another “black propaganda” from political adversaries. This time, the mayor and daughter of the President slammed a photo posted by Facebook user Injustigram that showed her and then mayor Rodrigo Duterte in a campaign float of former President Benigno Aquino III and former vice presidential candidate Mar Roxas. In a Facebook post that has been shared more than 13,000 times hours after it was posted, DuterteCarpio said she was wearing a blue shirt in the photo in support of Roxas, who she said sought her help to get votes in Davao City for the 2010 elections. In the photo, Mayor Rodrigo was wearing a striped blue shirt— Injustigram captioned the said photo “#ThrowbackThursday: The original dilawans: Rody Duterte and Inday Sara Duterte.” Injustigram’s posts are markedly critical of government officials. Sara noted she “never received a single peso for my help to them, check nyo resibo ni Aquino at Roxas [check the receipts of Aquino and Roxas].” “Juicekow parang nasa election pa rin tayo ano? Black propaganda ang peg,” she wrote. Turn to A2

NOKOR READIES MISSILES AHEAD OF WAR GAMES SEOUL, South Korea—North Korea is believed to be preparing to launch a ballistic missile ahead of an upcoming joint naval drill by the US and South Korea, a news report said Saturday, citing a government source. The US navy said Friday a US aircraft carrier would lead the drill in the coming week, a fresh show of force against North Korea as tensions soar over the hermit state’s weapons program. The move will likely rile Pyongyang which has previously responded angrily to joint exercises. The Donga Ilbo daily, quoting a government source, said satellite pictures show ballistic missiles mounted on launchers being transported out of hangars near Pyongyang and in the North Phyongan Province. US and South Korean military officials suspect the North might be preparing to launch missiles capable of reaching US territory, the newspaper said. This could be the Hwasong-14 inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM), whose range could extend to Alaska, or Hwasong-12 intermediate-range missiles which Pyongyang Turn to A2

HALLOWEEN COSTUME. Aling Gina (partly hidden) is in a hectic zone fixing her wares of skull masks in preparation for Halloween on the eve of All Saints and All Souls Day, in her belief the perfect outfit to wear during the day and any murder mystery party practiced in some areas of this largely Catholic archipelago of 106 million people. Norman Cruz

DFA CLARIFIES: NO NEW AID OFFER FROM UK By Sara Susanne D. Fabunan

RIGHTS GROUP OUT TO DEMONIZE 'DRUG WAR'—PALACE By John Paolo Bencito and Maricel Cruz

DANCING DOVE. During a recent street dance competition in Mandaluyong

City in Metro Manila, a dove flew down, bobbed its head to stabilize its visual surroundings—obviously not in courtship since it was not a noisy flight, followed by a graceful, circular glide with outstretched wings and head down. Not clear if the dove got an honor. Manny Palmero

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MALACAÑANG on Saturday decried attempts to “demonize” the bloody war on drugs by international rights group Amnesty International, after President Rodrigo Duterte decided to make the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency as the sole agency in charge of his drug campaign. “The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, which has been recently assigned by PRRD [President Rodrigo Roa Duterte] as the sole agency in charge of the government’s anti-illegal drug campaign, is now being demonized by Amnesty International,” Presidential Spokesman Ernesto Abella said in a statement. James Gomez, Amnesty International’s director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, warned that Duterte’s decision “may be nothing but a short-term PR move” meant to appease the growing opposition to it. In the House of Representatives, an

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opposition leader welcomed Duterte’s decision to tap the PDEA to lead the administration’s anti-drug campaign. BUuhay Party-list Rep. Lito Atienza, senior deputy minority leader, expressed belief the government’s effort to fight illegal drugs would have a better chance of succeeding with PDEA as the lead implementing agency. “We commend the President, who definitely was well-advised and acted correctly and with great sensitivity by removing the anti-drug war from the hands of the PNP and giving it to the proper agency—PDEA,” Atienza said. “I am sure that, generally, the people will support the President’s decision. But now that the President has given the PDEA the task of waging the government’s anti-drug war, he should make sure that they have the budget required for this,” he added. Like in the appropriations approved for next year, Atienza lamented PDEA only got a very small amount—P2.59 billion. Turn to A2

THE Department of Foreign Affairs refuted this week the claim of President Rodrigo Duterte, stressing that there was “no new offer” of money from the United Kingdom, contrary to the chief executive’s claim on Thursday. In a statement, the DFA stressed the British Government remained one of the country’s most active bilateral partners, including cooperation in political, security, economic, cultural, and people-topeople spheres. “The Philippines acknowledges the UK’s support in the development efforts of the Philippine government, particularly in Mindanao,” the DFA said in a statement. “At the moment, there is no new offer of direct monetary assistance to the Philippines,” the foreign agency noted. In his fresh tirade on Thursday, Duterte claimed he had“refused”$18 million to $20 million from the UK. “The latest word from Sonny [Dominguez III], the one from Turn to A2

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