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BAY RECLAMATION TO CAUSE 8-METER FLOODS—VILLAR
DBM: EDUCATION GETS P924.7B IN 2024 PH BUDGET
NEWS / A2
NEWS / A3 VOL. XXXVII • NO. 174 • 2 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • TUESDAY, AUGUST 8, 2023 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
PH summons China envoy
PBBM: DFA fires off note verbale to protest latest WPS mess
By Rey E. Requejo and Vince Lopez
T
HE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) summoned Beijing’s envoy Monday to protest the use of water cannons and dangerous maneuvers against Philippine vessels in the West Philippine Sea, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said. “Our secretary of Foreign Affairs summoned Ambassador Huang (Xilian) today and gave him a note verbale including pictures (and) video about what happened and we are awaiting their reply,” Mr. Marcos told reporters. “The position of China, of course, is they say ‘this is ours so we are defending it’ and we, for our part, are saying ‘no, we own it so we are defending it’. So that becomes a gray area that we are discussing.” But Beijing claimed it took “necessary controls” against Philippine boats that “illegally” entered its waters. “Two repair ships and two coast guard ships from the Philippines illegally broke into the waters... in China’s Nansha Islands,” China Coast Guard spokesperson Gan Yu said, adding that Beijing had “implemented necessary controls in accordance with the law and Next page
Stop bullying us, Go tells Beijing; solons chime in By Macon Ramos-Araneta and Maricel V. Cruz SAYING that former President Rodrigo Duterte afforded them “too much respect” during his six-year term, Senator Christopher Go urged China to respect and stop bullying the Philippines. “I am urging the government of China, our former President had just [come from] there. Stop bullying us,” said Go, a close associate of the former President who served as his special assistant before he won a Senate seat. Go was supposed to accompany Duterte during his week-long visit to China President Xi Jinping, but failed to do so due to his busy schedule.
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ANATOMY OF A BLOCKADE. These screengrabs of videos shared by the Philippine Coast Guard to the media on Monday show the path of the PH contingent’s resupply mission to Ayungin Shoal, which the PCG said Chinese maritime militia had already prepared to block as early as August 4, or 3 days prior to the trip. The Chinese ships – at least eight of them, according to the PCG -- then immediately tailed the Filipino boats. They used a powerful water cannon on an ‘indigenous bout’ carrying supplies (as caught by a drone camera), while the others either blocked or came dangerously close to the PH vessels. The second supply ship managed to escape the naval blockade and deliver its cargo to Ayungin Shoal and BRP Sierra Madre.
Elevated NLEX part, water impounding system to solve flood woes Speaker seals along the North Luzon Expressway that caused heavy traffic during the last two typhoons to hit the country. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on THE government is looking at two ways to mitigate the flooding problems Monday approved a proposal to elevate
By Charles Dantes, Darwin Amojelar and Vito Barcelo
a portion of the NLEX in Pampanga, flooding in the province. then ordered the conduct of an extensive “We’ll raise the NLEX to avoid what study on the proposed construction of happened last time, and then we’ll look an impounding system in the Candaba for possible alternative routes. Trucks viaduct as a “long-term solution” to the Next page
P4 diesel price hike set, kerosene up P2.75 too By Alena Mae Flores THE country’s oil firms raised pump prices by P4 per liter for diesel, kerosene by P2.75 per liter and gasoline by P0.50 per liter effective 6 a.m. today (Tuesday) to reflect the movement of prices in the world oil market. Department of Energy Oil Industry Management Bureau Next page
Vietnam pact to supply rice
By Maricel V. Cruz SPEAKER Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez has secured the commitment of Vietnam to provide the Philippines with a stable supply of rice at affordable prices in an affirmation of the strong friendly relations between the two countries. This developed during Romualdez’s side meeting with Vuong Dinh Hue, president of the National Assembly of Vietnam on the eve of the formal opening of the 44th AIPA (ASEAN Parliamentary Assembly) general assembly in Jakarta, Indonesia on Sunday. Next page
SC nixes ‘cruel, degrading’ punishment on kids justified. In a decision penned by Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, the High Court dismissed THE Supreme Court has ruled that cruel or degrading forms of punishment, even if the in- the petition of a couple seeking to overturn a Next page tention is for the best interest of a child, are not
By Rey Requejo DISASTER SURVEY. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. speaks to officials and residents of Bulacan after he conducted an aerial inspection in Pampanga (inset) to see the effects of the typhoon and flooding in the neighboring provinces, which continue to be under states of calamity. PCO Photos