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VOL. XXXVII • NO. 7 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2023 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

PH, China: Don’t rock the boat

Both sides demand a stop to ‘dangerous, provocative’ moves in WPS By Rey E. Requejo

HE Philippines and China on Friday called for restraint in the actions of their respective Coast Guard ships in the West Philippines, demanding a stop to what their envoys called “dangerous” and “provocative” actions that would endanger the “good relations” between their countries.

the Office of the Presidential Assistant on Investment and Economic Affairs (OPAIEA), led by Frederick Go, which serves as a presidential delivery unit, pursuing the President’s priority investment

"We are calling on China to desist and restrain from this action because this is not just damaging, dangerous... it is also destabilizing in terms of stability and peace in the region," Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Teresita Daza said in a public briefing. China’s ambassador to the Philippines, meanwhile, said both sides should refrain from taking any provocative action in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, two weeks after the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) accused its Chinese counterpart of aiming a military-grade laser at its ship near Ayungin Shoal. "I think that first of all both sides should exercise restraint and refrain from taking any unilateral and provocative action. At the end of the day, that water is a disputed area," said Chinese envoy

HE SAID, SHE SAID. Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian (left) shows photos of the kind of handheld laser speed detector and greenlight pointer he said were used by the Chinese Coast Guard in a briefing on Friday. He noted these lasers are readily available online and are not military grade, following a statement by Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Teresita Daza (inset) standing by the Philippine Coast Guard account of the encounter with the Chinese in the West Philippine Sea. Photo on top right shows the BRP Teresa Magbanua, one of the PCG fleet's largest ships, which has been deployed to the Kalayaan Island Group. Handout photos

PBBM: Trips abroad bearing fruit, projects set to start trips abroad have started to bear fruit, generating P3.48 trillion in investments so far. “I can already report that some of the PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on MOUs (memorandums of understanding) Friday said the agreements signed on his that we signed in Indonesia and in Singa-

By Vito Barcelo and Vince Lopez

pore now have results. And in fact, I think in the next couple of weeks, we will be starting to inaugurate some of these projects already,” Mr. Marcos said in a video message. The President met with officials of

LRT, MRT seek fare hike, PNR plans five-year service pause By Darwin G. Amojelar THE operators of three mass rail systems in Metro Manila on Friday said a fare hike of at least two pesos per boarding is crucial to support their operations and to reduce the subsidy being provided by the national government. In a public hearing, the Light Rail

Manila Corp. (LRMC), the operator of LRT Line 1, the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) operating LRT Line 2 and the Metro Rail Transit 3 (MRT3) management asked the Rail Regulatory Unit of the Department of Transportation to approve their respective petitions for fare adjustments. Next page

Fuel price hikes by about P1/l up By Alena Mae S. Flores

CONSUMERS can expect fuel prices to rise next week by more than P1 per liter for diesel and less than P1 per liter for gasoline and kerosene. The Department of Energy said this forecast is based on the oil price movement for a four-day trading period. "Yes, there will be an increase in the prices of petroleum products on Tuesday,

Feb. 21," DOE Oil Industry Management Bureau director Rodela Romero said. An industry source told the Standard diesel will likely go up by P1 to P1.10 per liter and gasoline by P0.85 to P0.95 per liter effective Tuesday. Romero said the increase was "primarily due to the plan of Russia to cut their crude production and the IEA (International Energy Agency) announcement Next page

SAVED, KILLED. In these screen grabs from contributed videos, Lanao Del Sur Gov. Bombit Adiong (left frame, in black shirt with grey hair)) is seen boarding an ambulance after being hurt in an ambush that claimed the lives of four of his police escorts, two of which are seen slumped in their vehicles.

Gov Adiong survives ambush, 4 escorts killed

Friday afternoon, but four of his police esAndiong was traveling along the Waocorts died in the attack. Marawi Road when unidentified gunmen Adiong was taken to Bukidnon Pro- attacked his convoy, killing four police vincial Hospital in the town of Kalilan- escorts. LANAO del Sur Governor Mamintal gan, where doctors declared him out of The attack occurred at Sitio Landslide, Next page “Bombit” Adiong Jr. survived an ambush danger.

By Bobby Lagsa and Nash B. Maulana

Wanted poster of suspects in missing ‘sabungeros’ out BEWARE SUSPECTS.

The 'wanted' poster issued by the police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group on Friday. PNP photo

THE Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) on Friday released a wanted poster of the six suspects in the case of missing “sabungeros” or cockfighting enthusiasts. This came after an arrest warrant for kidnapping and serious illegal detention was issued by the court against the six suspects —Julie Patidongan alias Dondon, Mark Carlo Zabala, Roberto Matillano Jr., Johnny Consolacion, Virgilio Bayog and Gleer Codilla alias Gler Cudilla. The Department of Justice has offered a P6 million reward

for any information on the arrest of the six. “We expect that these posters would help us obtain information on the whereabouts of these suspects for their immediate arrest,” said CIDG chief Brig. Gen. Romeo Caramat Jr. Caramat added that the posters will be distributed nationwide and will be posted in all police units, places of convergence, social media, and the website of CIDG. He urged the public to help them in any way possible to apprehend the accused.

BuCor eyes office, housing sites at Masungi geopark PRISON officials on Friday said they will proceed with plans to develop a 270-hectare property of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) in Tanay town, Rizal province to put up headquarters and residential sites for BuCor workers, despite the protest of a group also claiming the land. In a statement, the BuCor reiterated that it remains as the owner of the property, which is being claimed by the Masungi Georeserve Foundation. BuCor Acting Director General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. said the bureau’s Tanay

property will also be used “for the sustainment of its basic institutional food requirements.” “BuCor is the registered owner of the subject property by virtue of the transfer certificate of title (NR 069-20220110986) issued in favor of BuCor,” Catapang said in a statement. “Existing jurisprudence dictates that until and unless it is nullified by a court of competent jurisdiction in direct proceedings for the cancellation of title, the title to the land under the name of the Bureau of Corrections