twitter.com/ MlaStandard
facebook.com/ ManilaStandardPH
instagram.com/ manilastandard
manilastandard.net
Missed your copy of Manila Standard? Call or text our Circulation Hotline at 0917-8848655 or email: circulation@manilastandard.net For advertisement: email: advertise@manilastandard.net • 85646229
BANTAG INDICTED FOR STABBING OF BILIBID INMATE
SOCIAL WELFARE SEC. GATCHALIAN GETS C.A. NOD
NEWS / A2
NEWS / A2 VOL. XXXVII • NO. 91 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • WEDNESDAY, MAY 17, 2023 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
DOJ: Teves comes home today Remulla cites ‘reliable source’; solon’s side denies it By Rey E. Requejo
Citing a “very reliable source,” Remula made the disclosure in a hastily called press conference a day before the National Bureau of Investigation is set to formally file a complaint against Teves today (Wednesday) in connection with the killing of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo and nine others last March 4. “He’s usually a very reliable
S
USPENDED Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. is expected to return to the country today, possibly ending over two months of staying abroad after the expiration of his official travel last March 9, Justice Secretary Jesus Remulla said yesterday.
source for those who come in and out of the country... (He) may have access to flight data into the country,” the Justice chief said of his source. Teves’ lawyer, Ferdinand Topacio, declined to comment on Remulla’s statement. He later said in a TV Patrol report that his client’s return was “fake news.” Next page
Tourism Secretary Cristina Garcia-Frasco
Frasco: PH still open to tourists amid surging COVID cases By Vince Lopez and Rio N. Araja TOURISM Secretary Christina Frasco said on Tuesday that the Philippines will continue to open up to travel and tourism despite a spike in COVID-19 cases. At a Palace press briefing, Frasco said the country would continue to move forward even as the number of infections rose to more than 12,000 from May 8 to May 14. “The pandemic is over according to the WHO (World Health Organization). That’s why while we continue to supsup port the Department of Health’s measures as well as ensure the health and safety of our fellow Filipinos, the direction for the Philippines is forward and that is to ensure that
GOLDEN GILAS.
Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser (45) exults and coach Vincent “Chot” Reyes rides the shoulders of Gilas Pilipinas after the men’s basketball team regained the gold medal – and regional hoops pride -- against host Cambodia at the 32nd Southeast Asian Games in Phnom Penh on May 16. Justin Brownlee (32) led the Filipinos with 23 points (see full story in Sports page C1). C1) AFP
Next page
PBBM okays tourism dev’t plan until 2028
Medal standings (as of 10 p.m.)
By Vince Lopez PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday approved the National Tourism Development Plan for 2023-2028, which will serve as a blueblue print for the country’s tourism industry. At a Palace briefing, Tourism Secretary Ma. Esperanza Christina Garcia-Frasco announced the plan’s approval at a sectoral meeting. “This NTDP is the result of consultation among the Tourism Coordinating Council as well as our various tourism stakeholders from our regions all over the Philippines. The NTDP shall serve as the blueprint and the development framework
GILAS FIVE REGAINS SEAG HOOPS GOLD SPORTS / C1
Country
G
S
B
Vietnam Thailand Indonesia Cambodia Philippines Singapore Malaysia Myanmar Laos Brunei Timor Leste
135 108 84 79 57 51 34 20 6 2 0
104 94 80 73 84 42 45 25 22 1 0
113 105 105 126 113 62 97 68 60 6 8
Next page
Text scammers have ‘re-programmed’ tack—DICT DEPARTMENT of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Ivan Uy on Tuesday warned the public that text scammers have “reprogrammed” their approach to sending messages to capture personal information online. Uy, in a press briefing in Malacañang, said scammers are sending fake links for SIM registration as bait for potential victims.
“Those text scams have increased again, but most of them now have redirected...or re-programmed their approach. They are cheating by asking people: ‘Have you registered your SIM card? If you haven’t yet, click this link,’ and you go to their site, which is a fake site,” he said. Uy said scammers are able to capture subscribers’ data if they key in their information on the provided fake link.
“They also have exploited (the same modus) with respect to e-wallets – you will receive a text purportedly coming from your e-wallet provider: If you have already registered a SIM card, you have to re-register in the e-wallet in order to be able to activate it,’” he said. “Do not fall for these scams,” Uy added. He urged Filipino subscribers to register their SIM cards before Next page
Court sustains High-level team off to Kuwait talks, decision on big preaches patience on workers’ ban Subic drug case
WORLD CUP KIT. The Philippine Women’s Football team models the kit or uniforms Adidas designed for them for the Filipinas’ stint in the 2023 FIFA World Cup at the BGC Ampitheatre in Taguig City on Tuesday. PHWomensFA via Twitter
By Maricel V. Cruz
first,” DFA Undersecretary Eduardo De Vega said in a radio interview. “I hope our countrymen will underTHE high-level team dispatched by the government to Kuwait will hold explora- stand that we cannot guarantee the return of normal deploytory talks with their HK OFW falls to death ment of our skilled counterparts from the Gulf state, but this after cleaning window workers right away. We have to prioritize does not guarantee that attaining justice and the entry ban for new NEWS / A2 the protection of our Filipino workers will fellow Filipinos workbe lifted immediately. “We have to explore our options. ing as househelps,” he added. Next page The meetings will be exploratory talks
By Rey E. Requejo and Macon Ramos-Araneta
THE Supreme Court has sustained the decision issued by the Office of the Secretary of Justice reversing the dismissal by the City Prosecutor Of Olongapo of the P6.2 billion drug complaint filed against the alleged members of a big-time drug syndicate operating in Subic. In a separate case, senators declared in contempt a policeman tagged in the
Next page
FIRE AT SEA. The Coast Guard Station Eastern Palawan, Cuyo Municipal Police Station,
and fishermen from Frabelle Fishing Corp. work together to put out the fire on the fishing vessel Victor 89 in the waters covered by Imalaguan Island, Barangay San Carlos, Cuyo, Palawan on Tuesday. PCG Photo