twitter.com/ MlaStandard
S
facebook.com/ ManilaStandardPH
manilastandard.net
Missed your copy of Manila Standard? Call or text our Circulation Hotline at 0917-8848655 or email: circulation@manilastandard.net
House opens plenary debates on Charter change resolution TWO days after hurdling the committee level, the Resolution of Both Houses No. 6 calling for a constitutional convention to amend the 1987 Charter has reached the plenary of the House of Representatives on Wednesday. The Lower Chamber began its
plenary debates on Charter change (Cha-cha) even after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said it was not his administration's priority. Cagayan de Oro Representative Rufus Rodriguez, chairperson of the Next page
VOL. XXXVII • NO. 12 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2023 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
PH, Australia in sea patrol talks PBBM: Aussie official's visit 'important part of response’ to Chinese acts By Vince Lopez and Rey E. Requejo
HE Philippines and Australia confirmed Wednesday they are discussing possible joint patrols in the West Philippine Sea (WPS) – an arrangement that Manila is also exploring with the United States and Japan.
T
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the visit of Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles "'will be an important part of the response’ to the recent acts by the Chinese Coast Guard in the West Philippine Sea,” the Presidential Communications Office said in a statement.
Next page
PCG spots 26 Chinese boats near Ayungin
SHARED SECURITY CONCERN. Australia Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles (left) and Philippine Secretary of Defense Carlito Galvez Jr attend a joint press conference at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City on February 22, 2023 where they announced both countries are exploring the possibility of joint patrols in the West Philippine Sea. (Inset) According to the Philippine Coast Guard, some 26 suspected Chinese militia and coast guard vessels were spotted near Ayungin Shoal in the WPS. AFP, Philippine Coast Guard
AT LEAST 26 suspected Chinese maritime militia and coast guard vessels were spotted by a local airship flying near Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said Wednesday. PCG spokesman Commodore Jay Tarriela said photos from its Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) flight confirmed the continued presence of the Chinese ships within the country’s maritime domain. The PCG also received radio challenges both in English and Chinese from the Chinese Coast Guard when its MDA aircraft entered Sabina Shoal’s airspace, Tarriela added. Next page
Senators, EU lawmakers discuss war on drugs, ICC By Macon Ramos-Araneta DESPITE some tense moments, Philippine senators and visiting European Parliament members on Wednesday had a "constructive and fruitful" discussion on various human rights issues, especially the International Criminal Court's (ICC) investigation into former President Rodrigo Duterte's war on drugs.
Senator Francis Tolentino and Hannah Neumann, the head of the European Union delegation, shared this in a press conference after the dialogue between the members of the Senate Justice and Human Rights Committee and the EU Parliament members. Both sides agreed to move forward and do more engagements that local Next page
UP AND RUNNING. SpaceX's low-earth satellite broadband internet service, Starlink, is finally live in the Philippines. For a one-time fee of P29,320 for the satellite dish and a monthly charge of P2,700, Filipinos can now enjoy the satellite internet of Elon Musk's space exploration firm, even those in remote areas that are difficult to reach by underground fiber optic cables. (Full story on B4)
DOF’s tax center abolished after huge credit scams PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the abolition of the Department of Finance’s One-Stop-Shop InterAgency Tax Credit and Duty Drawback Center (OSS Center), whose officials and employees were found to have committed a series of tax credit scams involving billions of pesos over the years.
The abolition is also in line with the administration’s rightsizingpolicy, said Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, who recommended the move to the President. The OSS Center has not processed and issued any tax credit certificates since 2016, Diokno also pointed out. “It is not practical for the government
to provide for its budget every year since it does not perform its functions anymore,” he said. The agency has about 40 officers and staff who may apply for any available positions in the DOF or any of its attached agencies, or those in other government agencies, Diokno told the Standard. Next page
Graft court junks ill-gotten weath case vs. FM, allies By Maricel V. Cruz THE Sandiganbayan has dropped another ill-gotten wealth case against the late President Ferdinand Marcos and several others due to the inability of government prosecutors to present
sufficient evidence. In a decision dated Feb. 1, the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division junked Civil Case 0024, which alleged that the late Marcos, his wife Imelda, Luis Yulo, Roberto Benedicto, Nicolas Dehesa, Jose Tengco Jr, Rafael Sison, Cesar Zalamea
and Don Ferry secured gargantuan loans from state-run financial institutions for companies that they control. Civil Case 0024 is one of the several ill-gotten wealth cases filed against the Marcos family after the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution. Next page
ASH MARKING. Catholic faithful pray inside a chapel after receiving ash on the observance of Ash Wednesday at a church ground in Paranaque City suburban Manila on February 22, 2023. AFP
PBBM calls for ‘quiet reflection’ for Lent By Vito Barcelo and Vince Lopez
Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called on Filipinos for a “quiet reflection” of the event that ushers in the Lenten season. "We pray for our nation’s quiet AS the country celebrates Ash reflection this Ash Wednesday," the Wednesday this year, President Next page