KING CHARLES ASCENDS TO THE THRONE, SETS THE TONE FOR HIS REIGN WITH a trumpet fanfare and gun salutes, Charles III was officially proclaimed king at a pomp-filled ceremony on Saturday, at which he pledged to emulate his late mother Queen Elizabeth II and serve for the rest of his life. A court official wearing a feathered bicorn hat declared Charles “our only lawful and rightful” monarch from the balcony of St James’s Palace after a historic Accession Council meeting of senior royals, clergy and government. “I am deeply aware of this great inheritance and of the duties and heavy responsibilities of sovereignty, which have now passed to me,” Charles said in a speech before swearing an oath.
“In taking up these responsibilities, I shall strive to follow the inspiring example I have been set.” Eight trumpeters accompanied the proclamation which was followed by a rousing three cheers for the new king by red-jacketed Coldstream Guards soldiers, doffing their distinctive bearskin hats. Ceremonial gun salutes boomed simultaneously across the United Kingdom and the proclamation – a hangover from the past where the new monarch needed to be announced to their subjects – was also read publicly in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Charles, 73, automatically became CONTINUED ON 3A
NEW MONARCH. Britain’s Camilla, Queen Consort, listens as King Charles III speaks during a meeting of the Accession Council inside St James’s Palace in London on September 10, 2022, to proclaim him as the new King. Charles vowed in his first speech to mourning subjects that he would emulate his ‘darling mama,’ Queen Elizabeth II who died on September 8. AFP
EDUCATIONAL AID PROGRAM
DSWD halts online application
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HE Department of Social Welfare and Development has terminated its online registration for its educational assistance program for indigent students after the number of applicants has already reached 2 million.
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DSWD Secretary Erwin Tulfo said the department has already distributed some P800 million of more than 50 percent of its P1.5 billion budget for the program. “The application for the educational assistance is now closed,” Tulfo said in a radio interview on Saturday. “We can no longer be able to accommodate beyond the two million applicants as we are only looking at a budget of P1.5 billion,” he added. Tulfo said he will discuss with Speaker Martin Romualdez for a possible arrangement with district lawmakers to cover the educational assistance of those who failed to make the cut for the online registration. “Next week we will talk with Congress under the leadership of Speaker Martin Romualdez so our lawmakers can pick up the fund deficiency per district. We will jointly fund the assistance for those who were not able to apply online. The DSWD and Congress will discuss ways to
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CELESTIAL DELIGHT.
CA issues writ of amparo over missing activists
A harvest full moon rises in Baguio City. Dave Leprozo
THE Court of Appeals has issued the privilege of the writ of amparo in favor of missing activists Elizabeth Magbanua and Alipio Juat. In a 39-page decision, the appellate court also issued a permanent protection order for activists and their immediate families. Named respondents in the petition were Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Lt. Gen. Bartolome Bacarro; retired generals Jose Faustino and Ricardo de Leon; Philippine Army head Lt. Gen. Romeo Brawner Jr.; Army 6th Infantry Division head Maj. Gen. Roy Galido; AFP Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence Maj. Gen. Romulo Manuel; and Army 10th Infrantry Division commander Maj. Gen. Nolasco Mempin. The CA “without any specific pronouncement on exact authorship and responsibility,” declared the respondents “accountable for the enforced CONTINUED ON 3A
Iloilo does a Cebu act, relaxes mask outdoors Being ‘unpopular’ not basis ILOILO Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. has issued an executive order making the wearing of face masks optional outdoors, noting the province’s high vaccination rate and low number of COVID-19 cases. Iloilo province is the third local government unit to lift the mandatory mask mandate outdoors, after Cebu province and Cebu City.
Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes earlier said he is relaxing the LGU’s face mask rule, but eventually changed his mind. “Why optional? Because we trust our residents. After more than two-anda-half years of facing COVID-19, we know what to do. We know that if you’re immunocompromised or a senior citizen, you have to augment your protection,” the
governor said in a video released by the provincial government. The Department of Health is still waiting for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to issue an executive order on the optional use of face masks outdoors to make it a national policy. The DOH, as the chair of the Inter-Agency CONTINUED ON 3A
DOE, oil firms forecast a bit bigger price rollback MOTORISTS can expect another round of oil price rollback of as much as P1.93 per liter for kerosene next week – a little higher than an earlier estimate of the Department of Energy. DOE-Oil Industry Management Bureau Director Rino Abad said the indicative price decrease for September 13 to 19, 2022 are as follows: P0.64
per liter for gasoline; P1.52 per liter for diesel; and P1.93 per liter for kerosene. For its part, Unioil Petroleum Philippines, in its fuel price forecast for September 13 to 19, 2022, said diesel prices would go down by P1.20 to P1.40 per liter while gasoline prices would decrease by P0.40 to P0.50 per liter. Abad said the expected fuel price
reduction was due to the continuing threat of lower demand on the back of another possible interest hike by US and Europe and the minimal impact of the production cut by Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries for October at 100,000 barrels per day. CONTINUED ON 3A
to be declared nuisance bet
THE Supreme Court nullified a Commission on Elections ruling that canceled a senatorial hopeful’s certificate of candidacy in the May 9 elections for being a nuisance simply because he was “virtually unknown” and lacked the support and funding of a political party. "Declaring one a nuisance candidate simply because he or she is not known to the entire country reduces the electoral process—a sacred instrument of democracy—to a mere popularity contest," the Supreme Court said in a press statement released Saturday. "The matter of the candidate being known (or unknown) should not be taken against the candidate but is best left to the electorate," it added. The 20-page decision, despite being moot, was another victory for animal rights advocate Norman Marquez, who was declared a nuisance bet by the Comelec in December 2021.
Marquez won a similar case against the poll body in 2019. “The attempt of the Comelec to pass off the inability of Marquez to wage an election campaign as an indication of lack of bona fide intent to run for office is unconstitutional and will not be allowed by the court,” the SC said in its decision. The Comelec Law department had ruled that Marquez filed his COC to put the election process in mockery or disrepute. It also said Marquez has no bona fide intention to run, is virtually known to the entire country, had not been nominated by any political party, and does not appear to be personally capable of persuading a substantial number of voters. The Comelec said in its decision then that allowing nuisance candidates would further complicate the election process and added that even without considering financial capacity, Marquez’s circumstances “show CONTINUED ON 3A