VOL. XXXII • NO. 160 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • WEDNESDAY, JULY 25, 2018 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@manilastandard.net
New Speaker sets sights on priority bills SO HELP THEM GOD. The Philippines’ first woman House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of Pampanga presides over the session of the House of Representatives Monday, shortly after ousting Pantaleon Alvarez of Davao del Norte with majority of her colleagues voting for her. Below, Rep. Lord Alan Velasco (right) and Rep. Alfredo Garbin bring the House mace, symbol of power and authority, to the plenary hall to legitimize Arroyo’s oath-taking. Ver Noveno
By Maricel V. Cruz
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PEAKER Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on Tuesday vowed to ensure the passage of priority measures of the Duterte administration.
Arroyo made the statement a day after she was elected to the chamber’s highest post. “I am extremely honored to have been supported by my colleagues at the House of Representatives to be their new Speaker,” Arroyo said in a statement. She vowed to push for the legislative agenda of the President in the House. Arroyo was elected Speaker by a vote of 184 -12, replacing Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez, who absented himself during the session called after the President’s State of the Nation Address. A total of 238 lawmakers attended the evening session. Others were out of the
session hall when the vote was conducted. President Rodrigo Duterte’s address was delayed by more than an hour as he met Alvarez and Arroyo separately over the leadership row. Arroyo, chairman-emeritus of LakasCMD, joined the President’s political party, Partido ng Demokratikong Pilipino, in October 2017. “My joining the PDP-Laban is to consolidate support for the President. It is a matter of course as we have been talking about this for quite sometime,” she said. Arroyo took her oath then before Alvarez, who removed her from her post Next page
Rody’s threat to walk out settles feud By Macon RamosAraneta and Vito Barcelo A FEW minutes before President Rodrigo Duterte delivered his third State of the Nation Address to a joint session of Congress, he threatened to stage a walkout if the row over the House leadership were not settled. The bickering started after the camp of Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Next page
Arroyo-led House ratifies draft Bangsamoro law Dubious label on PH as 2nd most dangerous PARIS—Brazil has been described as the most dangerous country for land activists in 2017 with 57 killed, while the Philippines accounted for 48, although the latter has been top in Asia, the rights watchdog Global Witness said Tuesday. The international non-government organization, which has offices in London and Washington, D.C. told AFP more than 200 environmental activists were murdered last year as governmentsponsored killings linked to lucrative projects by vast agriculture multinationals soared. The rights group was established in 1993 and works to break the links between natural resource exploitation, conflict, poverty, corruption, and human rights abuses worldwide. Global Witness said it had documented 207 cases where activists were killed while trying to protect land from development, often for the production of consumer staples such as coffee and palm oil, making 2017 the deadliest year on record for environmentalists. Next page
THE House of Representatives on Tuesday ratified the proposed Bangsamoro Organic Law, one day after a dramatic leadership change that saw former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo wrest control from Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez. A maneuver by the Alvarez camp to forestall his ouster also delayed the BOL’s scheduled passage on Monday. On Tuesday, the House created a five-
man transition committee intended to smoothen things out with Alvarez. The transition team was composed of Representatives Raneo Abu of Batangas, Fred Castro of Capiz, Arthur Defensor of Iloilo, Miro Quimbo of Marikina City and Arthur Yap of Bohol. The session adjourned at past 5 p.m. Tuesday, without having elected new sets of leaders under Arroyo. After her election as Speaker in the af-
Solons chime in on renewed war on drugs By Maricel V. Cruz LAWMAKERS on Tuesday were urged to rally behind President Rodrigo Duterte’s reinvigorated war against illicit drugs and official corruption, in keeping with his fresh commitment to protect Filipino lives and public resources.
Reacting to the President’s State of the Nation Address, Rep. LRay Villafuerte of Camarines Sur also said that with the President’s support for the just-completed work of the Consultative Commission (Con-Com), there is more reason now for the executive and legislative departments
Q: What is the “Democracy Fund”? A: It is one more device tapped by
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Duterte stab at human rights triggers uproar
the draft Constitution to strengthen the party system. It is the central repository of donations and contributions made to political parties. In the management of such donations and contributions, the
CALOOCAN Bishop Pablo Virgilio David has criticized President Rodrigo Duterte for pitting human rights against human lives in his third State of the Nation Address as he promised to continue a “chilling” anti-drug campaign. “Such a statement implies that the victims of drug-related killings are not human lives!” David said in
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Primer on draft Con-Com Charter Fr. Ranhilio Callangan Aquino Member, Con-Com 2018 (9th of a series)
ternoon session Monday, Arroyo vowed to have the BOL ratified as her first act as the leader of the House. “As I intend to carry out the legislative agenda of President Rodrigo Duterte, we will ratify the Bangsamoro Organic Law today,” said Arroyo. In his Sona, the President Rodrigo Duterte vowed to sign the BOL into law in “48 hours” after reviewing the final
PRESIDENTIAL PROFILE.
President Rodrigo Duterte (left) poses with Elizabeth Zimmerman including their offsprings— Sebastian, Sara, and Paolo—and their respective spouses after his State of the Nation Address on Monday at the Session Hall of the House of Representatives in Constitution Hills, then poses with partner Honeylet Avanceña and their daughter Veronica, also at the Session Hall. Malacañang Photo
New York Daily cuts half of newsroom staff OPINION A4
Beauty blogger had Pinoy hackles raised KUWAIT CITY— A Kuwaiti social media star remained unapologetic Monday over comments she made against new laws aimed at improving conditions for Filipino
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