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NEWS / A2
NEWS / A4 VOL. XXXVII • NO. 60 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 2023 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
EDCA sites ‘not for attacks’ PBBM nixes ‘offensive actions’ from bases as Balikatan begins
By Charles Dantes, Vince Lopez, and Vito Barcelo
T
HE Philippines will not allow “any offensive actions” from the bases it has opened to US troops, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Monday. The assurance comes as the Philippines and the United States kick off their biggest Balikatan military exercise today. More than 17,600 military personnel -- 5,400 from the Armed Forces of the Philippines and 12,200 from the United States Forces — will be participating in the 38th Balikatan exercise scheduled from April 11 to 28 in various areas in Zambales, Aurora, Palawan, and Fort Magsaysay in Nueva Ecija. Next page
CHINESE CARRIER. This handout photo taken on April 9 and released by Japan’s Ministry of Defense on April 10 shows a fighter plane taking off from the Chinese aircraft carrier Shandong in the Pacific Ocean south of Okinawa prefecture, on the third day of China’s military drills around Taiwan. AFP
Tensions across strait have great China ‘seals off’Taiwan on 3rd day of military drills impact on PH security, expert says PINGTAN, China—China simulated “sealing off” Taiwan during a third day of wargames around the self-ruled island on Monday, as the United States deployed a naval destroyer into Beijingclaimed waters in a show of force. China launched the exercises in response to Taiwan President Tsai Ingwen’s meeting with US House Speaker
Kevin McCarthy last week, an encounter it had warned would provoke a furious response. After two days of exercises that included simulating targeted strikes on Taiwan and encirclement of the island, the Chinese military said the wargames also included “sealing” it off, and a state media report said dozens of planes had
‘Upward pressure’ on Meralco bills with fuel hikes
On Day of Valor, Marcos eyes stronger pension system for veterans
practiced an “aerial blockade”. One of China’s two aircraft carriers -- the Shandong -- also “participated in today’s exercise”, the military added. The United States, which had repeatedly called for China to show restraint, on Monday sent the USS Milius guided-missile destroyer through contested Next page
By Macon Ramos-Araneta INSTABILITY in the Taiwan Strait caused by Chinese military drills will have a great impact on Philippine security, an expert on security said Monday. “We are hosting American military
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PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday honored the Filipino World War II heroes and asked the public to have faith and look to the future with confidence, as they face everyday challenges. He also held out the promise of a stronger pension system for war veterans. Speaking during the commemoration of the 81st Araw ng Kagitingan (Day of Valor) at the Mt. Samat National Shrine in Pilar, Bataan, President Marcos said that the Filipino nobility of spirit was once again demonstrated in the last worldwide crisis, where the nation’s men and women rose to the challenge of facing an unseen enemy – a new global challenge. “Once again, Filipinos showed the world our purity of spirit and of compassion by willingly putting themselves in peril in the Next page
AT THE SHRINE OF VALOR. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. offers a wreath at the Dambana ng Kagitingan (Shrine of Valor) on the 81st Day of Valor (Araw ng Kagitingan) together with (from left) United States Charge d’Affaires Heather Variava, Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Andres Centino, and Japanese Ambassador Koshikawa Kazuhiko in Pilar, Bataan. Joseph Muego
Policemen told Agencies join forces to avert El Nino water crisis to go on leave over shabu haul By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Rio N. Araja
INTERIOR Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. has asked two police generals and other ranking officers to go on leave within the week or face suspension in connection with the 990 kilos of shabu discovered and seized in Tondo, Manila last October. The stash, said to be worth P6.7 billion, is considered the largest shabu haul confiscated in the country, according to a 24 Oras report on GMA TV last night. Asked to take a leave of absence were Police Lt. Gen. Benjamin Santos, Police Brig. Gen Narciso Domingo, Police Colonel Julian Olonan, Police Lt. Col. Glenn Gonzales, and ten others. Next page
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By Vince Lopez
By Alena Mae S. Flores CONSUMERS are facing higher fuel and power rates as oil companies implement a pump price hike of as much as P2.60 per liter on Tuesday while Manila Electric Co. said there is an “upward pressure” in the generation charge it passes on to its customers for April bills. “There may be upward pressure on the generation charge in April. This is due to the collection of deferred generation costs from last month, equivalent to P0.20 centavos per kilowatthour this billing period,” Meralco spokesperson and vice president Joe Zaldarriaga said. He said lower prices at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market, the trading floor of electricity, and lower average capacity on outages in March may mitigate the increase from the deferred generation charge. “The peso’s appreciation may likewise temper any upward pressure on the generation charge,” Zaldarriaga said.
facilities and if the US decides to use these military facilities to act in any military contingencies in Taiwan, then surely the Philippines will be a target of possible China’s military action also,” said Rommel Banlaoi, president of the
WHAT WATER SHORTAGE? Children frolic in a portable swimming pool they
rented for P700 a day along Capulong Street in Tondo, Manila on Monday. Danny Pata
GOVERNMENT agencies are joining forces to stave off a possible water crisis brought on by El Niño, the weather phenomenon characterized by belownormal rainfall that can lead to dry spells and drought and is projected to start in the second half of this year. This developed as Sen. Grace Poe said Monday the water crisis is avoidable if the correct policies are in place and are being implemented. The National Water Resources Board is coordinating with the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System, National Irrigation Administration, and other agencies for contingency plans that will prevent a repeat of the water crisis in 2019, its top official said. That year, tens of thousands of households in Metro Manila began to lose water supplies, and the water level at dams serving the megacity fell below their critical level of 69 meters
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