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MARCOS ORDERS TO RATIONALIZE PCO STRUCTURE
HEARTBROKEN PINOYS SEEKING HELP UP TENFOLD
NEWS / A4
NEWS / A2 VOL. XXXVI • NO. 366 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2023 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
PBBM summons China envoy Raises ‘serious concern’ over WPS incidents, PH protests laser action By Vince Lopez, Rey E. Requejo and Macon Ramos-Araneta
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RESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday summoned Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian to express his “serious concern” over Chinese actions in the West Philippine Sea.
highest in Mindanao, where he received an “excellent” plus-72. He also received “very good” ratings in Balance Luzon at plus-68, the Visayas at plus-67, and Metro Manila at plus-65.
“The President summoned Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian this afternoon to express his serious concern over the increasing frequency and intensity of actions by China against the Philippine Coast Guard and our Filipino fishermen…, the latest of which was the deployment of a military grade laser against our Coast Guard vessels,” Presidential Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil said. Earlier in the day, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said it filed a diplomatic protest against China after its coast guard beamed a military-grade laser at a Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) ship near Ayungin Shoal on Feb. 6 to disrupt its resupply mission to the reef. The Chinese embassy, however, downplayed the meeting at the Palace. “They exchanged views on how to implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state, strengthen dialogue and communication, and properly manage maritime differences between China and the Philippines,” the embassy said in a statement.
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SERIOUS TALK. In this handout photo from the Presidential Communications Office, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. meets with Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian at the Malacanang Palace on February 14, 2023 to address the actions of Chinese vessels in the West Philippine Sea.
President gets ‘very good’ net performance rating six months into his term THREE out of four adult Filipinos are satisfied with the performance of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. six months into his term, a survey by the Social Weather Stations conducted last December 10 to 14 showed.
Guards linked to six missing ‘sabungeros’
The results of the SWS poll released Tuesday showed 75 percent of adult Filipinos are satisfied with Mr. Marcos’ performance, while 7 percent are dissatisfied. Another 18 percent are undecided. The resulting rating is at a “very
good” or plus-68, up by 5 points from the plus-63 rating the President received in October 2022, three months after he became the country’s 17th Chief Executive. Mr. Marcos’ net satisfaction was
‘One too many’: At least 2 OFWs abused daily in Kuwait By Joyce Pangco Pañares AT LEAST two Filipinos per day experienced violence in the form of physical abuse, sexual harassment, or rape in Kuwait in 2022, government data obtained by Manila Standard showed. And while the numbers have gone down significantly in the past six years, these remain, according to Department of Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople, a case of having “one too many.” Ople has just dispatched a factfinding team in Kuwait to audit the performance of migrant workers officers in the Middle Eastern country ahead of a review of the bilateral labor agreement following the death of Jullebee Ranara. “I have dispatched a team to visit our shelters, talk to stakeholders and assess the performance of our MWOs (migrant workers office) so that reforms can be identified and institutionalized. All the information gathered will also help the DMW
POLICE released yesterday the photos of the six guards allegedly involved in the disappearance of six sabungeros at the Manila Arena last year. The guards are now the subject of a manhunt operation. “We’ve been waiting for years to solve these problems, but we cannot give up. Nobody disappears without a trace,” said Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla. The Department of Justice earlier announced a P6 million reward for those who can provide information on the suspects. “The search for six individuals involved in the disappearance of the sabungeros is ongoing. This is why we are offering a reward amounting to P6 million for anyone who can provide information on the location of the suspects,” Remulla said. The Philippine National PoliceCriminal Investigation and Detection Group on Monday said it already has
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Hopes fade saving Filipino family from quake rubble By Rey E. Requejo and Maricel V. Cruz HOPE of finding a Filipino woman and her three children were fading six days after they had gone missing when the building they lived in collapsed during the 7.8 magnitude earthquake that dev-
astated Turkey last week. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the woman was married to a Turkish national who was not home when the earthquake struck. DFA acting Undersecretary for Migrant Workers’ Affairs Eduardo Jose de Vega said the authorities already told
the Turkish husband to have “realistic expectations,” given how long they have been missing. As the Turkish governgovern ment continues to work on its search-and-rescue op-erations more than a week Next page
Chinese gangs target Pinoys for cryptocurrency scam CHINESE criminals running cryptocurrency scams in Southeast Asia are targeting Filipinos to work for them because of their English language and computer skills, a Department of Foreign Affairs official said Monday.
Filipinos were “prized” targets for scam networks operating in Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia, said Eduardo de Vega, acting undersecretary for migrant workers’ affairs at the DFA. De Vega said efforts to repatriate
Filipinos sucked into the scams were ongoing, with more than 100 brought home since last year. This led a party-list Next page
NO LOVE LOST. A pro-divorce protester poses for a photo during a demonstration on Valentine’s Day in front of the Senate Building in Pasay City on February 14, 2023. AFP