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Oust ‘Red hunters’—Sotto Palace slaps down calls for defunding program to end insurgency
By Macon Ramos-Araneta, Vito Barcelo, Rio N. Araja and Rey E. Requejo
S
ENATE President Vicente Sotto III pushed back against moves by some senators to defund the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), saying it would be hasty to end a program because of irresponsible statements from some of its officials, who should be replaced. Earlier, Senators Joel Villanueva, used instead for pandemic assistance, Franklin Drilon and Richard Gordon after the task force’s spokesman, Lt. said the NTF-ELCAC should be de- Gen. Antonio Parlade, smeared organfunded and its P19.4 billion budget be Next page
VOL. XXXV • NO. 67 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 • FRIDAY, APRIL 23, 2021 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
Catnap photo depicts heavy frontline load By Joel E. Zurbano, Jess Malabanan and Willie Casas IF A person saves a life, they call him or her a hero. If a person saves a thousand lives, they call him or her a nursing attendant. Two nurse attendants in Pampanga were among the trending topics on social media Thursday after a photo, showing them taking a nap while wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), became widely circulated. Next page
CHINA WARNS OF HARM OVER SCRAPPED BRI
Story on A4
SENATE GIVES E.O. ON PORK A CHANCE
FORTY WINKS. The two nursing attendants known as Ronnie and Jazzel needed only a short nap to re-energize themselves from the exhaustive multiple tasks they had to do as frontline workers in a Pampanga hospital. Unbeknown to them, their photo went viral. Kaydee Santiago FB page.
COVID-19 PH AT A GLANCE
(AS OF 4 PM APRIL 22)
971,049 TOTAL NUMBER OF CASES
8,757 107,988 NEW
ACTIVE
16,370
105
DEATHS
NEW
846,691 17,138 NEW RECOVERIES
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Community pantries breed variants, spread to E. Timor By Joyce Pangco Pañares FROM community pantries for humans and fur babies to “pan-tree” seedlings aimed at boosting food security, the spirit of bayanihan has reached the shores of East Timor after a Filipino vice consul broached the idea to Timorese friends and fellow diplomats. The Bairro Farol community pantry in the Timorese capital of Dili was set up Wednesday to help residents affected by the pandemic and the recent flash floods that hit the country, Philippine Vice Consul to Timor Leste Laser Blitz Sumagaysay said in a Facebook post. “I took the opportunity to discuss with some Timorese friends and diplomats about the concept of bayanihan and particularly showed them photos of #communitypantry set-ups in PH to which they gained Next page
‘Illegal fishing in WPS a cause of concern’ and the Philippines.” During the virtual Earth Day round table, US EmTHE United States said Thursday the multi-billion “il- bassy Chargé d’Affaires John Law stressed that the legal, unreported, and unregulated fishing and destruc- IUU activities in the country’s waters, including in tion of the rich marine ecosystem in the West Philip- the West Philippine Sea, was the biggest threat to the pine Sea is a cause of concern for both the United States Next page
By Rey E. Requejo
Pope Francis calls for prayer marathon POPE Francis has urged Catholics to participate in a rosary initiative dedicating the month of May to a prayer marathon for an end to the COVID-19 pandemic. “For the deep desire of the Holy Father, the month of May will be dedicated to a prayer marathon with the theme ‘Prayer to God went up incessantly from Next page
What began as a simple act of giving to the needy in Maginhawa village has spread to as far away as East Timor and spawned variations such as ‘pan-tree’ and roving pantry, with the total number of local community pantries growing to 350.
Vaccine czar sees fewer cases in October; OCTA still wary By Willie Casas and Joel E. Zurbano THE Philippines, hobbled by coronavirus infections and deaths since March last year, is expected to see fewer COVID-19 cases by October or November due to its vaccination drive, an official leading the inoculation strategy said Thursday.
At the same time, the National Capital Region’s COVID-19 reproduction number went down to 0.99, the OCTA Research Group said, although it stressed there was no assurance yet it signified a downward trend. OCTA Research fellow Guido David said during an interview on Balitanghali: Next page
Rody skips Asean’s Jakarta gab By Vito Barcelo PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte will not attend the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia this weekend where the 10 members are scheduled to tackle
the crisis in Myanmar, according to Malacanang. “The President will not personally attend but I’m sure that our Department of Foreign Affairs will be there,” Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said. Next page
Sara pads lead in poll of 2022 likely aspirants DAVAO City Mayor Sara DuterteCarpio widened her lead over other possible presidential candidates in the 2022 elections. In the latest Pulse Asia survey, the presidential daughter emerged as the top choice if the May 2022 presidential elections were held today at 27 percent. Former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. placed second with 13 percent, followed by Senator Grace Poe and Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso with 12 percent each and Senator Manny Pacquiao with 11 percent. The four Next page