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DAZA FLAGS CHED ALLEGED MISUSE OF P10B IN FUNDS
PBBM CONFIRMS CATAPANG VICE BUCOR'S BANTAG
NEWS / A3
NEWS / A2 VOL. XXXVII • NO. 42 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • SATURDAY, MARCH 25, 2023 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
Group behind Negros slays
DOJ: 7 to 10 people did Degamo, other killings; Abalos rips Teves 'script' By Rey E. Requejo
USTICE Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Friday tagged a group of seven to 10 people being behind a string of killings in Negros Oriental, the latest of which was the assassination of the provincial governor, Roel Degamo.
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DUCK, COVER, HOLD. Students of Baclaran Elementary School Unit 1 in Parañaque City put their books on as head protection as they joined the earthquake drill on Friday. The exercise was done to assess the preparedness of teachers and students for disasters such as earthquakes. Norman Cruz
"We are looking at a group of people, an organization within Negros Oriental that is possibly involved in this," Remulla said. "Maybe a group of seven to ten people may be involved here in the murders that we are talking about.” The government is investigating the killings following the March 4 assassination of Degamo, who was slain in a hail of bullets along with eight other people at his home in Pamplona town. Authorities are closing in on the mastermind and have strong evidence against the person, Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos said Friday. Asked for his reaction to Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr.'s remark that Degamo's slaying was part of "a script" to pin him down, Abalos said it was up to the congressman what to think. Next page
DOJ eyes divers to rate oil spill, PCG says too risky Speaker: House Princess Empress to help measure the rate of spillage of oil from the sunken tanker and prevent it from spreading to other areas in the country. JUSTICE Secretary Crispin Remulla “We want divers to come down to has asked the Office of Civil Defense be able to calculate the rate of spillage to mobilize divers to the site of the MT to the ocean to know how much oil is
By Rey E. Requejo and Macon Ramos-Araneta
pouring out of the tanker. And we asked the OCD to mobilize some of the divers to the Armed Forces,” Remulla said in an ambush interview. However, in a television interview, the Philippine Coast Guard said diving 400 meters below sea level, where the
sunken tanker is off the coast of Oriental Mindoro, is very dangerous for any diver and may result in their death. “It’s highly not recommended. That’s why we have an ROV (remotely operated vehicle to look for the ship). In the very Next page
PH tells China sea issues remain ‘serious concerns’ for Filipinos THE Department of Foreign Affairs on Friday acknowledged that maritime issues, especially in the West Philippine Sea, “continue to remain a serious concern for the Filipino people." This was what Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Bilateral Relations and ASEAN Affairs Ma. Theresa Lazaro told Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong during the second round of the Philippines-China consultative meetings in Manila on Friday. Lazaro raised this concern as Manila
and Beijing are also "in agreement that maritime issues do not comprise the totality of bilateral relations between our two countries." Nonetheless, the DFA official believes such issues "should be addressed through diplomacy and dialogue and never through coercion and intimidation," as agreed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and President Xi Jinping. "The meeting today is an attempt to follow through on that decision. Next page
for Con-con but open to discuss Senate Con-ass
By Maricel V. Cruz, Macon Ramos-Araneta, and Othel V. Campos THE House of Representatives is abiding by its bills seeking a constituent convention (Con-con) to amend the Constitution, but Speaker Martin G. Romualdez said Friday lawmakers are open to discussing with the Senate their preferred mode of amending the 1987 Charter if that will break an impasse and lead to an agreement between the two chambers of Congress. "We are open to considering any proposal of the Senate and will submit Next page
At least P1 oil Power supply fine, still note Earth Hour price rollback By Joel E. Zurbano up next week By Alena Mae S. Flores
"We want to get the details of what transpired so we can make improvements and avoid incidents similar to what transpired yesterday in Cabuyao," said DepEd spokesperson Michael Poa.
THE country's oil firms will likely cut pump prices by as much as P1.50 per liter effective Tuesday to reflect the movement of prices in the world oil market. An industry source told the Standard that based on the first four daysof trading using the Mean of Platts Singapore, the benchmark used by oil refiners and the foreign exchange movement, diesel prices may go down by P1.30 to P1.50 per liter, and gasoline by P1.20 to P1.40 per liter. This will be the third consecutive week of price rollbacks for diesel and kerosene, and the second straight week gasoline prices would be cut. The Department of Energy confirmed the price rollback, although the computation may still change depending on the movement of prices on Friday. "For the four-day trading, there will be an expected rollback for the prices of
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TWO SIDES OF SCS. In these handout photos, French navy officers aboard the frigate FS Prairial (F731) salute the Philippine Coast Guard multi-role vessel BRP Capones (MRRV-4404) during a passing exercise off Agno, Pangasinan province, while Theresa Lazaro, DFA Undersecretary for Bilateral Relations, speaks as China's Vice Foreign Minister Sun Weidong listens on Friday. AFP
112 pupils hospitalized in fire drills AN INQUIRY is being conducted into the surprise fire drill done in a school in Cabuyao City, Laguna that led to over 100 students being hospitalized due to dehydration and hunger, the Department of Education (DepEd) said Friday.
THE government has asked local officials to join the Earth Hour celebration and encourage their constituents to switch off lights from 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. tonight (Saturday) to send a strong and urgent message on the need for collective
FIL-CHINESE AWARD.
Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez (left) receives a certificate of appreciation from Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc. President Dr. Henry Lim Bon Liong during the FFCCII 33rd Biennial Convention at the Manila Hotel Tent City on Friday. Ver Noveno
action to address climate change. This developed as the Department of Energy assured the public on Friday there would be no "red alert" warnings on the country’s power supply for the entire year. Energy Undersecretary Rowena Guevara said only “yellow alerts” are expected to be raised in different parts of the country. Next page