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VOL. XXXIII • NO. 263 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 MONDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2019 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
RESCUE AND RELIEF.
Rescuers and soldiers evacuate villagers to a helicopter after they were trapped in their mountaintop homes due to landslides triggered by earthquakes in the last two weeks, in Makilala, North Cotabato. The death toll has risen to 21 as survivors struggled to access food and water. Inset shows personnel from the Surigao City Jail load 30 sacks of rice for delivery to the quake-hit areas. The sacks of rice were donated by the inmates who cut their regular ration for one day. AFP and Surigao City Jail Information Office
Make way for relief—DND Sets up checkpoints to ensure orderly delivery of goods
Moro volunteers come to aid of Christian victims
D
EFENSE Secretary Delfin Lorenzana ordered the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) over the weekend to set up checkpoints in quakeaffected areas in Mindanao to properly record the arrival of goods and relief workers.
By Nash B. Maulana COTABATO CITY—Moro volunteers and government workers have brought water and ready-to-cook food packs to Christian neighbors severely affected by two major earthquakes, showing that compassion during a humanitarian crisis can prevail over the religious divide long exploited by politicians. Chief Minister Hadji Murad Ebrahim of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) noted “with [a] deep sense of appreciation and gratitude” that many of the Next page
China ‘ready to work’ on code of conduct BEIJING said Sunday it was “ready to work” with Southeast Asian nations on a code of conduct in the flashpoint South China Sea, where it is accused of bullying fellow claimants and building up military installations. China claims most of the resourcerich waterway, a major global shipping route and long a source of tension among claimants in Southeast Asia. The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) has been locked in talks for a code of conduct Next page
SO BAGS CHESS WORLD TITLE SPORTS A8
LEADERS’ JERSEYS. President Rodrigo Duterte receives his personalized jersey from the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) together with other heads of state of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). A video of the ceremony shows a FIFA official skipping the Philippine president after failing to locate his No. 10 jersey. A FIFA personnel eventually located Duterte’s jersey, which was promptly handed over to the Philippine leader.
Duterte urges ASEAN leaders: Don’t take sides By MJ Blancaflor PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte called on leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) not to choose between China and the United States, which he called a “strategic mistake” of the previous administrations.
During the 35th ASEAN Plenary Saturday, the President discussed the changing regional landscape that recognizes the rise of Beijing as a global power. “He called on ASEAN leaders not to choose—or be forced to choose—sides by pointing out what he calls a ‘strategic mistake’ committed by the past leader-
ships of the Philippines, which he his now rectifying through his independent foreign policy,” Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said. The President also vowed to finish the negotiations on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea at the soonest time Next page possible.
Lorenzana, head of government relief efforts in Davao del Sur and North Cotabato, also informed local authorities of the proper management of evacuation centers. “I have also directed the military to remove people from the highways begging and blocking vehicles bringing relief goods and bring them to their communities so they can be properly attended to,” Lorenzana said. Relief organizations can leave their donations to troops for distribution to the affected families or if they want to do it themselves, military units can direct them to areas needing their assistance, he added. The Army, has already deployed a task force in Kidapawan, Cotabato to coordinate the military’s operation with ongoing government relief operations. Next page
Asin tax to fuel inflation—senator
House vows to hit ground running
By Macon Ramos-Araneta
By Rio N. Araja
THE Health department’s proposal for lawmakers to impose a tax on food with high salt content, including tuyo and daing, is inflationary, Senate Majority Leader Migz Zubiri said Sunday. Since it would adversely affect the poor Filipinos, Zubiri guaranteed a bill making such a proposal would not pass Congress. He said the added burden would definitely hit the poor as their food like tuyo and daing were very common on their tables especially in the provinces. “These are simple products being bought by our poor people like tuyo
UPON the resumption of the regular session today, Monday, in Congress, Majority Leader and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez said Sunday two priority measures had already been calendared for approval on third and final reading. Romualdez, committee on rules chairman, said the measures scheduled for final approval were the joint resolution extending the availability of the 2019 appropriations for maintenance and capital outlays to Dec. 31, 2020, and the bill postponing the May 2020 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections. Next page
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HOPEFULS. Bar examinees, their relatives and friends flock to the University of Santo Tomas Campus in Manila on Sunday, November 3, 2019. About 8,245 examinees are expected to take the 2019 Bar Examinations which will run for another three Sundays Nov. 10, 17 and 24. Norman Cruz