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PBBM LAYS DOWN PH WIDER OPEN POLICY TO INTERNATIONAL INVESTORS By Vince Lopez PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday made a pitch to international business groups to come to the Philippines, vowing to open the economy wider to investors during an economic briefing in New York. The President also sought partnership with investors from the United States and ASEAN as the Philippines "swings the doors" to its economy following the COVID-19 pandemic in a dialogue with members of the US-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Business
Council and the US Chamber of Commerce. Speaking at The Carlyle Hotel in New York, Mr. Marcos said his government “will swing the doors even wider for high-value investments from both the domestic and international business communities, with a sharp focus on broad-based job creation, expansion of digital infrastructure, research and development.” "Our projected economic performance in the medium term is expected to surpass our regional neighbors...We invite strategic investors from the US to
VOL. XXXVI • NO. 219• 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 FRIDAY, FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 23, 2022 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
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WATCH FOR TECH & GADGETS
6
TH SPECIAL ISSUE ANNIVERSARY
ON SEPTEMBER 24, 2022
CHARTING NEW PATHS FOR ECONOMIC RECOVERY. President Ferdinand Marcos meets with members of the US-ASEAN Business Council and the US Chamber of Commerce in New York. 'As we reopen our borders amid the pandemic, we remain firm in our belief that stronger ties with US and ASEAN investors will lead us to a more resilient economy,' Mr. Marcos said in a Facebook post.
Court: CPP, NPA not terrorist groups
Points to danger of red-tagging, DOJ to appeal decision By Rey E. Requejo, Maricel V. Cruz and Macon Ramos-Araneta
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MANILA City regional trial court has dismissed the proscription case seeking to declare the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) and the New People’s Army (NPA) as terrorist groups. In a 135-page resolution, Presiding Manila City RTC Branch 19 said a peJudge Marlo Magdoza-Malagar of the rusal of the CPP-NPA’s program shows
that it is organized not for the purpose of engaging in terrorism. “While ‘armed struggle’ with the ‘violence’ that necessarily accompanies it, is indubitably the approved ‘means’ to achieve the CPP-NPA’s purpose, ‘means’ is not synonymous with ‘purpose,’” the court said in a ruling promulgated on Sept. 21, 2022. “Stated otherwise, ‘armed struggle' is only a ‘means’ to achieve the CPP’s purpose; it is not the ‘purpose’ of the creation of the CPP,” it added.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said the Department of Justice will file a motion for reconsideration. “If we have to, we’ll go to the Court of Appeals,” Remulla said. “As you know, it's something that the state has to take care of when people are attacking the state. And we need to take action and we use the law for this purpose. And we will obey the law whatever the case may be,” the Justice chief added. Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles Next page
Slow uptake in booster shots drive lowers aim to 30% By Willie Casas THE government has lowered its target of giving 23 million booster shots during the first 100 days of the Marcos administration, given the slow uptake in its COVID-19 vaccination campaign.
In a statement, Department of Health (DOH) officer-in-charge Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said instead of aiming to inoculate 50 percent of all people eligible for boosters, the DOH will aim to vaccinate 30 percent by Oct. 8, and shoot for 50 percent by the end
of the year. She noted that some regions, including Metro Manila, have already achieved the 50 percent booster vaccination coverage. As of Sept. 18, some 2,708,323 people received their first booster dose
under the "PinasLakas" campaign, data from DOH showed. Only 31,939 out of 1.07 million target senior citizens or those belonging to A2 category were given booster jabs under the program. Next page
Marcos talks with Kishida, Blair on ties Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida
By Vito Barcelo and Vince Lopez PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met for the first time on Wednesday in New York (Thursday in Manila) on the sidelines of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly, where both leaders reaffirmed their commitment to reinforce ties and strengthen cooperation. The President also met with former United Kingdom Prime Minister Sir Anthony Charles “Tony” Blair, now the executive chairman of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. He was accompanied by First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, Foreign Affairs Next page
NBI teams mobilized to run after illegal POGO activities By Rey E. Requejo JUSTICE Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Thursday ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to run after illegally operating Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO). “Now that this has come to light, the NBI is there already. We already have mobilized teams from the NBI to start moving on this one,” Remulla told reporters following his meeting with Chinese Embassy officials led by its Charge D’affaires Ad Interim Zhou Zhyong. Remulla said NBI teams have been reactivated to join other law enforcement agencies in addressing illegal activities in the POGO industry. “We’re already moving now. We stopped the NBI’s operation then because nobody was filing cases. Before, they would conduct rescue operations,
CAUGHT IN THROTTLED TRAFFIC? SUBWAY TO THE RESCUE. House Speaker Martin Romualdez and Special Assistant to the President
Anton Lagdameo Jr. opt to take the subway as they were both running late for a meeting in New York City. 'Due to the heavy traffic brought about by the United Nations General Assembly, had the opportunity to take Speaker Martin Romualdez and SAP Anton Lagdameo via subway just to make it in time for their next official meeting,' wrote Juan Xavier Tengco in a Facebook post on Sept. 22, 2022. Romualdez and Lagdameo are part of the official delegation of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in his ongoing US visit. Text by Maricel Cruz/Photo by Juan Xavier Tencgo
PESO PLUMMETS TO NEW RECORD LOW: $58.49 VS. $1 BUSINESS / B3
but we found out there were no reports, no cases filed when we arrived here. So, we had to stop it,” Remulla said. Last July, Remulla ordered the NBI to suspend all its operations against POGOs, explaining that previous operations were just a waste of government time and resources. This developed as Senate Minority Leader Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III said Thursday he believes more senators would support policy reforms regarding POGOs than seek a total ban on them. "If the proposal is to ban, totally ban POGOs, no more legal or illegal POGOs because they will be prohibited, I think it will be a close fight in the Senate. There will be quite a few in favor and then quite a few that will oppose," Pimentel said in an interview on CNN Philippines.
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KHMER ROUGE COURT UPHOLDS FINAL RULING WORLD / B2
Ex-UK Prime Minister Tony Blair
WEATHER
‘Karding’ now a storm, to hit north Sunday By Rio N. Araja TROPICAL depression “Karding” intensified into a tropical storm on Thursday at 2 p.m. and is projected to make landfall near the east coast of Isabela or Cagayan on Sunday. The low-pressure area east of Next page