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OCD: 16 HURT IN DAVAO DE ORO EARTHQUAKE
DRUG WAR VICTIMS HAD FALSE DEATH RECORDS—FORTUN
NEWS / A3
NEWS / A4 VOL. XXXVI • NO. 355 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2023 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
PH, US revive joint sea patrols To help address security challenges in SCS amid China's military rise
By Macon Ramos-Araneta
T
HE United States and the Philippines have agreed to restart joint patrols in the South China Sea as the longtime allies seek to counter China's military rise, a US Defense Department statement said.
The two countries had suspended maritime patrols in the hotly contested area under the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte. During a visit to Manila by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, he and Philippine counterpart Carlito Galvez "agreed to restart joint maritime patrols
in the South China Sea to help address (security) challenges," the statement said Thursday (Friday, Manila time). The officials had also announced a deal to give US troops access to another four bases in "strategic areas" in the Southeast Asian nation. Beijing's growing assertiveness on
Taiwan and its building of bases in the disputed South China Sea have given fresh impetus to Washington and Manila to strengthen their partnership. Given the Philippines' proximity to Taiwan and its surrounding waters, its cooperation would be key in the event of Next page
Indonesia tells major powers to keep SEA out of rivalries INDONESIA told major powers not to use Southeast Asia as a "proxy" for their rivalries Friday at the start of two-day talks between regional foreign ministers, while also calling for unity and progress on the Myanmar crisis. Southeast Asia's biggest economy is the chair of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for 2023 and will later this year host the bloc's annual leaders' meetings, which are typically also joined by China and the United States. Disputes over the South China Sea have pitted some ASEAN members against Beijing and boosted sympathy for US opposition to China's growing assertiveness, but others have shown support on issues in line with the Asian superpower. Indonesian President Joko Widodo told ASEAN ministers in talks before Friday's meeting that "ASEAN should not Next page
UNITED FRONT. The ASEAN Secretary General and Foreign Ministers (except Myanmar) pose for a group photo during the 32nd ASEAN Coordinating Council meeting in Jakarta on February 3, 2023. From left: Malaysia's Zambry Abdul Kadir, Brunei's Erywan Pehin Yusof, Singapore's Vivian Balakrishnan, Thailand's Don Pramudwinai, Vietnam's Bui Thanh Son, Indonesia's Rento Marsudi, Laos' Saleumxay Kommasith, Philippines' Enrique Austria Manalo, Cambodia's Prak Sokhonn, East Timor's Adaljiza Magno, and ASEAN Secretary General Kao Kim Hourn. AFP
NEDA approves six big-ticket projects worth over P100b By Vince Lopez SOCIOECONOMIC Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan on Friday said the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) board has approved six big-ticket projects, including the proposal to raise funding for
the rehabilitation of Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3). The six projects were on top of the seven that were earlier approved by the NEDA board, chaired by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. On Thursday, Malacañang announced Next page
Oil price rollback as much as P2/liter likely next Tuesday to snap 3-wk hike By Alena Mae Flores DIESEL will likely go down P2 a liter and gasoline by almost as much next week as oil companies adjust their pumps to reflect the movement of prices in the world oil market. The rollback will put an end to three
consecutive weeks of oil price hikes for gasoline and diesel, which reached a total of P5.05 per liter for gasoline and P3.75 per liter for diesel. Department of Energy (DOE) director for the Oil Industry Management Bureau Rodela Romero said she expects a price Next page
INSPECTION. Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco (center) leaves the detention facility where four Japanese nationals suspected of being involved in an alleged string of robberies in Japan are believed to be detained in Taguig City on February 3, 2023. AFP
BI relieves warden facility head, staff OFW in Kuwait By Rey E. Requejo paralyzed after fall from 3rd floor By Joyce Pangco Pañares
FESTIVE MOOD. Travel enthusiasts wear colorful headdress during the Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA) travel Expo 2023 in SMX Mall of Asia in Pasay City on Friday, February 3, 2023. Danny Pata
A 34-YEAR-OLD overseas Filipino worker in Kuwait has become paralyzed from the waist down after escaping her “abusive” employer by jumping from a window on the third floor two weeks ago. “Mary” – a mother of two and a native of Cagayan Valley, suffered from a fractured spine and fractured left foot. In an interview with ABS-CBN from Next page
THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) has relieved the head and other personnel of its warden facility after six mobile phones were found on a Japanese detainee wanted in Japan, a bureau spokesperson said Friday. BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval told radio dzBB that the responsibility for the breach lies with the head of the warden facility. The Department of Justice on Tuesday said that six iPhones were taken from one of the four Japanese nationals that the Japanese government had requested to be deported. Sandoval said Immigration
Commissioner Norman Tansingco did not authorize the use of cell phones in the facility. Sandoval said Tansingco was set to visit the facility Friday to inspect it for further improvements. Meanwhile, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said the deportation of the four Japanese nationals may begin next week, following the dismissal of most of the cases filed against them in various Philippine courts. Remulla made the statement after a Taguig court dismissed a “light threats” complaint filed against one of the Japanese nationals, Fujita Toshiya. Remulla said that the four Japanese Next page