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Bato nixes virtual meeting with Teves SENATOR Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa said he has withdrawn his approval to allow Rep. Arnie Teves appear virtually before a Senate committee hearing today on the killing of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo. Dela Rosa, quoted by GMA News, added that the Senate Public Order and Dangerous Drugs Committee, which he chairs, would instead decide on Teves'
VOL. XXXVII • NO. 60 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • MONDAY, APRIL 17, 2023 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
possible virtual testimony after senators and Pamplona Mayor Janice Degamo, widow of the slain governor, expressed their dismay over such an appearance. "I first need to gather the views of my colleagues, then we will come up with a collective decision as a committee,” dela Rosa further said. Teves' lawyer Ferdinand Topacio Next page
Gov’t twits China on Taiwan National Security Council: PH not interfering via EDCA sites; defense, OFWs top concerns
By Vince Lopez and Macon Ramos-Araneta
P
HILIPPINE bases will not be used as a staging point for American troops if war breaks out over Taiwan, the government said late Saturday.
"The Philippines has no intention of interfering in the Taiwan issue and will not allow itself to be used by other countries to interfere,” National Security Council (NSC) spokesperson and Assistant Director-General Jonathan Malaya said in a statement. "National Security Adviser Eduardo M. Año has made our position clear that the increased security cooperation between the Philippines and the United States is meant to develop and strengthen the capabilities of the Armed Forces of the Next page
BIG HARDWARE. A huge US Navy ship and airplane are seen inside the Global Industrial Park in Subic Bay Freeport Zone in Zambales to be used in the joint US-Philippines Balikatan exercises until April 28. Manny Palmero
PNP: Ex-drug chief could face stiffer charges THE highest-ranking police official tagged in the alleged cover-up of a P6.7billion drug bust in October 2022 may face stiffer charges than his subordinates, the task force investigating the incident said Sunday.
At a press conference to present the findings of the Special Investigation Task Group 990, the director of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management said the former chief of the PNP Drug
Enforcement Group, Narciso Domingo, could face stiffer penalties over the mishandling of now-dismissed police master sergeant Rodolfo Mayo Jr.'s case. Mayo was arrested in October 2022 Next page
PCCI to admin: Marcos tasks CHED to reevaluate Ensure stable 83 maritime schools within 2 yrs. sugar supply By Othel V. Campos THE Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry is asking the government to ensure the country’s stable supply and prices of sugar to caution against possible inflationary increases in food and other basic commodities. In a letter to Private Sector Advisory Council strategic convenor Sabin Next page
COMMISSION on Higher Education chairman Prospero de Vera III said Sunday President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. tasked them to finish the reevaluation of the 83 maritime schools in the country within two years. In a Super Radyo dzBB interview, De Vera said CHED had committed to evaluate the maritime schools again to check their standard compliance in light of the European Union’s continued recognition of the certificates issued for seafarers by the Philippines.
The EU earlier warned Filipino maritime workers might be banned from its vessels after the Philippines' repeated failure to hurdle the European Maritime Safety Agency’s evaluation in the past 16 years. De Vera said CHED would evaluate 30 maritime schools per year, but the President wanted to increase the number to shorten the evaluation period. “We promised them we will be able to evaluate 30 schools per year. Next page
Solon eyes House review on utility of rainwater law
Mayor: Galera not affected by oil spill
WITH the El Niño episode and a water crisis looming on the horizon, Makati City Rep. Luis Campos Jr. has filed a resolution urging two committees of Congress to investigate the unsuccessful implementation of a 34-year-old law that requires the construction of rainwater collectors in all barangays. “We want Congress to get to the
GOOD news from the local government of Puerto Galera. Mayor Rocky Ilagan, citing a report from the Office of Civil Defense, has said that its municipal waters have remained uncontaminated by the sweeping oil spill from the oil tanker that sank in late February off Naujan town in Oriental Mindoro. This was counter to a pronouncement by Oriental Mindoro Governor Bonz Dolor said Saturday, as he said Puerto Galera and nearby areas failed four consecutive water quality tests, making the popular tourist destination unsafe for swimming and other water activities. “As far as water quality is concerned, salt water, from Puerto Galera to Bulalacao, bagsak (failed the
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By Rio N. Araja
TEAM PH AT WB-IMF. Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez (right, 2nd line) joins Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel "Babe" Romualdez (center), Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno (left, 2nd line), Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman (left, first line), Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Felipe Medalla (left, 3rd line), NEDA Secretary Arsenio Balisacan (right, 3rd line), and House Secretary General Reginald Velasco (right, 1st line) after attending the World Bank-IMF Spring Meetings in Washington D.C. on Saturday.
MAJOR REPORT. Maj. Gen. Eliseo Cruz (center), Philippine National Police Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management director, and other officials brief the media on the findings of Special Investigation Task Group 990 at Camp Crame in Quezon City on Sunday. Avito C. Dalan