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China warns PH: Behave
Tells Manila ‘not to stir up trouble’ in Scarborough Shoal By Vince Lopez, Rey E. Requejo and Macon Ramos-Araneta
B
EIJING warned Manila on Tuesday not to “stir up trouble” after the Philippine Coast Guard said it removed a floating barrier deployed by China to block Filipinos from their traditional fishing ground in Bajo de Masinloc. “China firmly upholds the sovereignty and maritime rights and interests of the Huangyan island,” said foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin, referring to Bajo
de Masinloc or Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal by its Chinese name. “We advise the Philippines not to provoke or stir up trouble.”
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VOL. XXXVII • NO. 224 • 2 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2023 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
President: All hands on deck vs. agri smugglers ment campaign to stamp out the “wee- rice. vils” in the country’s agricultural secPresident Marcos, who is also the tor, directing all agencies and officials concurrent Agriculture secretary, PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on to strictly implement policies and laws made his remarks during the rice disTuesday ordered a whole-of-govern- to stop the smuggling and hoarding of Next page
By Charles Dantes and Maricel V. Cruz
Marcos thumbs down proposal to reduce imported rice tariff and economic managers that it was not the right time to lower the tariff rates because the projection of world PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. rice prices is that it will go down. on Tuesday rejected the proposed tar- So, this is not the right time to lower iff reduction on imported rice being tariffs. Tariffs are generally lowered when the price is going up,” he said. pushed by his economic managers. Next page “We decided with the agriculture
By Charles Dantes and Macon Ramos-Araneta STAMP OUT AGRI ‘WEEVILS.’ President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. leads the distribution of rice seized by the Bureau of Customs to the beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) at the San Andres Sports Complex, Manila on Tuesday, September 26, 2023. Mr. Marcos orders all government agencies and officials to wage a campaign against rice smugglers abd hoarders. Inset photo shows presidential sister, Senator Imee Marcos, joining hands with farmer groups in rejecting a proposal to reduce the tariff on imported rice in a bid to lower prices and keep supply stable. Norman Cruz
PhilHealth won’t pay P17 million ransom demand from hackers House defends hybrid session for urgent bills
By Darwin G. Amojelar, Julito G. Rada and Macon Ramos-Araneta THE government on Tuesday said it will not pay $300,000 or P17 million ransom demand from hackers for the stolen database of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth). “According to our initial investigation, there were around 72 workstations that were affected and the systems affected are, of course, our website, our e-claims system, our member portal, and our collection system,” PhilHealth Senior Vice President Israel Francis Pargas said in a Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon briefing. On Friday, the PhilHealth system was attacked by Medusa ransomware with hackers demanding $300,000 for the stolen data from the agency’s database. Pargas said there was no leak of personal or medical information of the PhilHealth members. “Following the government policy, we will not pay at any time if there is a ransom demand,” he said. Next page
OFFLINE, BUT WORK CONTINUES ON-SITE. PhilHealth operations continue through the over-the-counter method at the Philhealth Mother Ignacia branch in Quezon City on Tuesday, September 26, 2023, after a Medusa ransomware attack on its database. Manny Palmero
Gilas, Eala, Paalam score wins in Asiad By Riera U. Mallari HANGZHOU—Following a spate of losses in many fronts on Monday, the Philippines recovered some lost ground on Tuesday with victories by Gilas Pilipinas, tennis phenom Alex Eala and Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Carlo Paalam in the 19th Asian Games here. With Justine Brownlee, CJ Perez and Ange Kouame leading the charge, Gilas used a balanced attack to thrash Bahrain, 89-61, at the start of the basketball competitions at the Zijingang University Gym. Coach Tim Cone quickly put the emphatic 28-point victory behind, though, saying they need to prepare for Thailand and Tyler Lamb, who will be
Gilas’ next opponent on Thursday. Meanwhile, Eala survived a marathon first set to beat veteran Rutuja Bhosale of India, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, and advanced to the quarterfinals of the women’s singles event at Olympic Sports Stadium. Eala, 18, needed 72 minutes and a tiebreaker to outlast her 27-year-old rival in a tightly-contested first set that thrilled a small but highlyNext page
ASIAD WIN. JuneMar Fajardo of Gilas Pilipinas maneuvers his way around the defense of Bahrain’s Ali Hasan Shukralla Hasan in the 19th Asian Games Basketball at the Zijingang University Gym. The Filipinos won, 89-61.
THE House of Representatives on Tuesday defended the legality of a hybrid session it conducted Monday night, which saw the approval of several key bills, among them the reform of the pension system for military and uniformed personnel and the fiscal regime for the mining industry. “It’s not a hybrid midnight session. It’s an authorized hybrid session (allowed under the rules) which started at 9 in the morning Monday and ended afaf ter midnight.” Secretary General Reginald Velasco said in a statement. According to Velasco, Speaker MarMar tin Romualdez authorized the hybrid sessions for September 25 and 26 “to take up urgent priority measures.” Velasco’s comments came after Kabataan Rep. Raoul Manuel assailed the conduct of the session, which Next page