4 ARMED MEN ROB PASAY HOTEL, GUESTS NOT AGAIN. Members of the Pasay City Police arrive (below) at the Mabuhay Manor Hotel in the city to investigate a robberyholdup where almost P4.1 million were reported taken by four armed men, captured by the CCTV footage (left), as they entered the hotel around 3 a.m. Norman Cruz
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PH polled 3rd happiest nation THE Philippines ranked third among the happiest countries of the world, the latest Gallup International global year-end poll revealed Tuesday, retaining the third spot with a +84 net happiness score in the top 10 happiest countries of 2017. The poll showed a ïŹve-point increase for the Philippines, which recorded a +79 net happiness score in the year 2016. The country was also at third place in the previous survey. Fiji topped last yearâs Happiness Index at +92, followed by Colombia in second spot at +87. Mexico came fourth +82, followed by Vietnam (+77), Kazakhstan (+74), Papua Next page
Duterte on firing spree Top govt exec, cops on chopping block By John Paolo Bencito
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RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte will again ïŹre another ofïŹcial today amid alleged irregularities, the Palace said Tuesday. VOL. XXXI âą NO. 320 âą 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES âą P18 âą WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 3, 2018 âą www.manilastandard.net âą editorial@manilastandard.net
âAgatonâ swirls over Visayas, adds toll in its track TWO people were killed and thousands ïŹed strong winds and ïŹoods as Tropical Depression âAgatonâ hit the central Philippines on Tuesday, following deadly back-to-back storms during the Christmas season. The deaths were reported on Cebu island, where an elderly woman was killed in a landslide while a man died after he hit his head on the pavement as the storm cut off electricity in the area. Tropical Storm âUrdujaâ (interna-
tional name Kai-Tak) killed 47 people in the central Philippines last month, while Tropical Storm âVintaâ (international name Tembin) killed 240 people in Mindanao. The state weather service warned the new disturbance was poised to hit the western tourist island of Palawan with gusts of 65 kilometers per hour later on Tuesday. âThe residents are really sad. It is tough that we have three storms coming one
after another. People have lost their livelihood and have had no rest since Christmas,â said Gil Acosta, information ofïŹcer of the island. Palawan accounted for 37 of the recorded âVintaâ deaths, with 60 other people still missing, Acosta added. About 4,000 people across the central Philippines had moved to safer ground to escape high winds and ïŹooding, the national disaster agency Next page in Manila said.
In a radio interview, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said Duterte wanted the official to be fired on Sunday, but said he was able to convince the Chief Executive to defer announcing the dismissal until today, Jan. 3. âActually, I was supposed to announce the ïŹring of someone... He wanted me to announce the ïŹring. I told him letâs not do it, Mr. President. Letâs allow the ofïŹcial to have a happy New Year,â Roque told radio dzBB. âLetâs just dismiss the ofïŹcial on Jan. 3,â he said, details of which are expected during the ïŹrst Malacañang regular press briefing today. While Roque did not identify the ofïŹcial, he emphasized that the President disliked those who are corrupt and those who fre-
quently go on junkets or trips using government funds. âHe hates the corrupt, those who frequently go on junkets. He already said that before that he closely watches government ofïŹcials who are fond of joining trips abroad,â Roque said in Filipino. âBecause when you attend junkets, you spend the peopleâs money that should have been used to address their needs. And aside from that, you lose time for your responsibilities in the government.â Among prominent ofïŹcials who were axed were Interior Secretary Ismael Sueno, Dangerous Drugs Board chief Dionisio Santiago, and Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor Terry Ridon. In a separate radio interview, Roque said that police ofïŹcials will also be axed this week, after they were found to be involved in illegal activities. Roque did not say how many cops the President has decided to ïŹre but said they were all given due process. Roque said Duterteâs recent ïŹrings show that the Chief Executive is serious about eradicating corruption and incompetency in government. Next page
âBetter stupid than ill intent,â Bato on his men in shooting PHILIPPINE National Police chief Dir. Gen. Ronald dela Rosa said he remains proud of the Mandaluyong police team that shot a wrong vehicle and killed two people, saying his men may have bungled the operations but they did not have ill intentions.
âEven if my policemen in Mandaluyong bungled the job, I can still say with pride that it happened because of their performance of duty,â Dela Rosa said in a press brieïŹng on Tuesday. âIt is better that they are stupid but are pure of heart Next page
Holiday truce ends, military resumes offensive vs Reds By Francisco Tuyay SOON after the holiday truce with the communists ended, the government shifted to higher gear its nationwide operations Tuesday against the terrorist group, military
ofïŹcials said. Soldiers, who spent time with their families on New Yearâs day, grabbed their backpacks and their ïŹrearms once more and returned to their routine as soldiers to ïŹght the enemy of the state. Next page
SAVING BELONGINGS. A man wades through hip-deep floodwaters from a tropical depression that lashed Loboc town in Bohol, where two people were killed and thousands seen fleeing their homes as strong winds and unforgiving floods rampage Tuesday through the Central Visayas following deadly back-toback storms during the Christmas holidays. AFP
Army cpl, 26 Roque chides UN rapporteur as âineffectiveâ others rapped for firing guns AN Army corporal may face criminal charges, dishonorable separation from the service and forfeiture of all his privileges and retirement beneïŹts if he is found guilty of indiscriminately ïŹring his weapon during the New Year. âThe police are now investigating the incident,â said Lt. Col. Ray Tiongson, Army spokesman. âCpl. Richard John Quijano is an active member of the Philippine Army while Staff Sgt. Jamael Mindalano retired from the military service [on] Dec. 31, 2016.â Next page
PALACE Spokesman Harry Roque on Tuesday questioned the qualiïŹcations of Dr. Agnes Callamard, the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitratry killings, and lambasted her for continuing criticism of the Duterte administration,
making her âineffectiveâ to do her job. In a radio interview, Roque, who until recently was a human rights advocate, derided the Special Rapporteur for failing to do her job as she could not visit the country due to her tirades
against the bloody drug war that has killed thousands since the start of the Duterte regime. âNow, she canât enter the Philippines to conduct an investigationâthis only proves that she is ineffective in her Next page
Palace, Marcos clan: No deal on wealth issue By John Paolo Bencito of the former seeking a com- publicly tagged as a Marcos BOTH the family of the late President Ferdinand Marcos and Malacañang claimed separately Tuesday to be clueless on a reported proposal forged by a staunch loyalist twitter.com/ MlaStandard
promise concerning the familyâs alleged ill-gotten wealth. In a statement, lawyer Victor Rodriguez, spokesman of former Senator Ferdinand âBongbongâ Marcos, said Oliver Lozano,
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loyalist, was not afïŹliated with nor did he represent the family. âThe Marcos family has no knowledge or information on that apparent exchange Next page
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COMPROMISE DRAFT. Lawyer Oliver Lozano, who has earned the byname as a Marcos
loyalist, shows the purported draft of a Duterte-Marcos compromise that does not seek dismissal but speedy trial of Marcos immunity from suit cases, neither the return of the alleged illgotten wealth during a news conference Tuesday at his office in Quezon City. Manny Palmero
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