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MAYNILAD: LESS WATER CUTOFFS IN WEST ZONE
SPEAKER: FILIPINAS KEY PART OF DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRA IN PH
NEWS / A5
NEWS / A2 VOL. XXXVII • NO. 67 • 2 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • TUESDAY, APRIL 18, 2023 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
PNP chief: No shabu cover-up
Azurin tells Abalos to nix ‘disinformation’ By Charles Dantes and Maricel V. Cruz
P
HILIPPINE National Police chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr. on Monday urged Interior Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. to take a second look at people “who may be feeding him misinformation to cast doubt on the integrity” of the PNP and denied any high-level cover-up of the alleged diversion of confiscated drugs.
AIRING PNP SIDE. Philippine National Police Chief General Rodolfo Azurin Jr. gives his
side on the alleged cover-up of illegal drug tampering involving now-dismissed Police Master Sergeant Rodolfo Mayo Jr. on Monday at Camp Crame in Quezon City. Manny Palmero
In a press conference in Camp Crame, Azurin said Abalos’ accusations against some senior members of the service and insinuations of a coverup were “very unfair.” “We are accusing generals. What is our evidence?” he said in a mix of Eng-
lish and Filipino. Azurin said drug syndicates could be trying to sow discord between the Interior department and the PNP. Some officers present in drug busts may have been unwittingly compromised by drug syndicates bent on dis-
rupting government, he said. Abalos last week spoke of a “massive attempt to cover up” the arrest of former police master sergeant Rodolfo Mayo Jr., based on an investigation conducted by the National Police Commission (Napolcom) of the P6.7-billion drug bust in Tondo, Manila in 2022. Abalos tagged 10 high-ranking policemen in the alleged cover-up. “While I join the good (Secretary of the Interior and Local Government) in the fight against erring personnel in the police force, let us not lose focus on the real enemy here, which is shabu and the drug syndicates,” Azurin said. Next page
Now ‘fugitives,’ DOJ eyes ‘terrorist’ tag on Teves to pressure him; Solon: That’s funny Bantag, Zulueta told to give up By Rey E. Requejo and Maricel V. Cruz
PHILIPPINE National Police chief General Rodolfo Azurin Jr. has called on former Bureau of Corrections chief Gerald Bantag and former BuCor Deputy Officer Ricardo Zulueta, who were declared fugitives, to surrender to authorities after warrants of arrest were issued against them. The Regional Trial Courts of Las Piñas and Muntinlupa had issued the warrants against Bantag and Zulueta in connection with the deaths of broadcaster Percy Lapid and the alleged middleman in the killing, Jun Villamor. Manhunt operations are on in Bulacan and Caloocan for Bantag and Zulueta, with police saying the warrants are not considered served unless they were delivered to the concerned individuals in person. Azurin made the call as Bantag and Zulueta are now considered by law enforcement authorities as fugitives. The PNP chief said anyone who has not surrendered amid an existing warrant of
CONGRESSMAN Arnolfo Teves Jr. Jr., who has refused to return to the Philippines to face murder charges, may be designated a terrorist, Justice Secretary
Jesus Crispin Remulla said Monday. “In this case, the activities that led to the killing on March 4, all are covered under the anti-terror law: the recruitment, the financing, the purchase of firearms, [and] the distribution of firearms,” Remulla said, referring to the
assassination of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo. Designating him a terrorist would add pressure on Teves, who remains in hiding. “If the person will not surrender, then we will have to make the world smaller
for him,” Remulla said. Teves, who is still abroad and presumed to be in Cambodia or South Korea after his trip to the United States, has denied all the allegations against him. Next page
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China envoy says he was ‘misquoted’ By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Rey E. Requejo THE Chinese Embassy in Manila said Ambassador Huang Xilian was “misquoted” after he drew flak for saying the Philippines should deny American troops access to its bases if it cared about the fate of 150,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Taiwan. In a tweet Sunday, the embassy said Huang’s remarks were either “misquoted or misinterpreted” or simply taken out of context. Next page
GIVING THEIR STATEMENTS. Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. speaks via Zoom in a press conference organized by his lawyers on Monday, while in the Senate, his brother Henry Pryde Teves, Pamplona Mayor Janice Degamo, Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos and Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla (inset photos) give their statements to senators in the hearing on the assassination of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo last March. Lino Santos
NFA shelves plan to import 330,000 tons of rice By Othel V. Campos THE National Food Authority has shelved plans to import about 330,000 metric tons of rice meant for buffer stocking during the lean months, which
drew an uproar from local farmers and agricultural groups. Agriculture Undersecretary Mercedita Sombilla said Monday the NFA was urged by the national government to stockpile rice from local sources in
response to what President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., as concurrent Agriculture Secretary, had advised earlier. The President himself reported the rice inventory seemed to have stabilized in the Next page
Diesel fuel price rolled back P0.40, gasoline hiked P0.30, kerosene 10c By Alena Mae S. Flores
PH-CZECH RELATIONS. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (right) engages Czech Prime
Minister Petr Fiala in the official dinner for the visiting leader on Monday at the Ceremonial Hall of Malacañan Palace, with First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos seated beside them. President Marcos and Prime Minister Fiala also led the book launching of “Kaibigan-Pratele: CzechPhilippines Cultural and Diplomatic Dialogue” at the same event. Rolando Mailo
THE country’s oil firms implemented a mixed price movement effective 6 a.m. Tuesday, with gasoline and kerosene prices going up and diesel costs going down. The oil firms hiked prices by P0.30 per liter for gasoline and P0.10 per liter for kerosene, but rolled back the price of diesel by P0.40 per liter. “Petron will implement the following price adjustments effective 6 a.m. on April 18: P0.30/li increase for gasoline; P0.40/li rollback for diesel and P0.10/
li increase for kerosene. These reflect movements in the international oil market,” Petron Corp. said in its advisory. Chevron Philippines, Jetti Petroleum, PetroGazz, Seaoil Philippines, Cleanfuel and PTT Philippines also adjusted pump prices. The move followed reports from the Vienna-based Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries that there may be some risks to summer oil demand despite the production cut announced by OPEC and Saudi of 1.16 million barrels per day to boost prices. Next page
OCTA: COVID positivity rate in NCR rising THE COVID-19 positivity rate in the National Capital Region (NCR) maintained its upward movement in the past week, posting a 7.2 percent last weekend, based on data by independent monitoring group OCTA Research on Monday. OCTA Research fellow Dr. Guido David said the percentage of people who were found positive for COVID-19 in NCR among the total number of individuals tested there slightly went up from 6.5 percent on April 8, to 7.2 percent on April 15. Official figures suggested the coronavirus has infected at least 4.08 million and killed 66,441 since it swept ashore in March 2020. “High” positivity rates were also recorded in three provinces: Misamis Oriental (22.7 percent), Camarines Sur (21.1 percent), and Rizal (20.2 percent). Next page