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China’s ‘gutter level talk’ hit Gibo rips Beijing spox for scolding Marcos for remarks on Taiwan By Macon Ramos-Araneta
D
EFENSE Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. on Wednesday blasted China’s foreign affairs spokesperson for “gutter level talk” after she suggested President Marcos read more about the Taiwan issue.
VOL. XXXVII • NO. 337 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P20 • THURSDAY, JANUARY 18, 2024
In a statement, Teodoro said Chinese our President and the Filipino nation, and Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesper- further debasing herself, the Ministry, son Mao Ning “stooped to such low and and Party she represents in the process.” gutter level talk—resorting to insulting Next page
DOJ vows to uncover BI execs behind visas for bogus companies By Vito Barcelo JUSTICE Secretary Jesus Remulla on Tuesday said his office will look into the accountability of past and present officials in the Bureau of Immigration (BI) who approved thousands of applications for visas from bogus companies. Remulla, in a press briefing, said the visas were issued to applicants from fake corporations and sole proprietorships. Information about the anomalies was brought to the DOJ’s attention this month. “As a matter of policy, I’m asking the BI not to grant any more visas to sole proprietorships but only to corporations that have the stamp of approval of the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission),” he said. Next page
Hold off PhilHealth rate hike, DOH pleads By Charles Dantes, Macon Ramos-Araneta, and Maricel V. Cruz MALACAÑANG on Wednesday said President Marcos was looking into the appeal of Health Secretary Ted Herbosa to suspend the implementation of an increase in the premium rates of the state-owned Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth). “The President is studying the request,” Presidential Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil said in a Viber message to reporters. Next page
NONSTOP RAINS HIT 2K IN DAVAO NEWS / A4 TO THE RESCUE. Policemen, firemen, and emergency response workers from the Nabunturan Municipal police and fire stations help residents out of their flooded homes in Barangay Magsaysay, Davao De Oro on Tuesday as the region reeled from excessive rains brought about by a shear line (see related story on A4). PNP Photo
Don’t be in wrong place at wrong time, Canadians in PH warned By Rey E. Requejo
caution when traveling to Mindanao amid incidents of ability to provide consular assistance is limited crime, terrorism, civil unrest and kidnapping. if you get stranded in this area,” read the travel “There’s a risk of being in the wrong place at advisory dated Jan. 10. CANADIANS planning to visit or are already in the Philippines were urged to exercise a high degree of the wrong time. The government of Canada’s Next page
PRESIDENT OKS RICE SUBSIDY, GEAR FOR TROOPS
NEWS / A2
Rice may hit P60/kilo, group says; DA pushes P1.3t for harvest tools By Othel Campos
LOOK RIGHT. President Marcos (5th from right) and the country’s top military and police officials break up the usual firing-squad
pose with a glance during the New Year’s call of Armed Forces and police leadership Tuesday night in Malacanang. Also pictured (from left) are Lt. Gen. Stephen P. Parreno PAF, Lt. Gen. Roy M. Galido PA, Vice Admiral Toribio O. Adaci Jr. PN, AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Romeo S. Brauwner Jr. PA, Sec. Roman Felix-Office of the Presidential Adviser on Military and Police affairs (OPAMPA), PGen. Benjamin C. Acorda Jr., PLtGen. Rhodel O. Sermonia, PLtGen. Michael John F. Dubria and PLtGen Emmanuel B. Peralta. Revoli Cortez
Starbucks sorry for discount gaffe; Apology not enough, solons insist By Maricel V. Cruz STARBUCKS lifted the cap it imposed on the 20-percent discount senior citizens and persons with disability (PWDs) are legally entitled to following a House inquiry ordered by Speaker Martin Romualdez. Angela Cole, who identified herself as operations manager of Starbucks Philippines, told the House committee on ways and means the signage restricting the legally-mandated discount to “one food item” and “one beverage” was a “mistake.” She said all Starbucks stores across the country have been ordered to “immediate(ly) remove the erroneous signages.”
Cole said the new policy, which took effect Jan. 15, 2024, “was not properly worded.” ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro rebuked Starbucks, saying it would not have rectified its error had Romualdez not ordered the inquiry. Romualdez, the principal author of the law expanding the benefits for seniors and PWDs, ordered the inquiry upon receiving complaints on the failure of establishments to comply with relevant laws. One such complaint was about the new Starbucks’ policy limiting the application of the 20 percent discount to one drink and one food item per senior citizen customer. Next page
TAKEN DOWN.
Pictured is the sign put up by Starbucks Philippines in its stores specifying its policy for orders by senior citizens, which Speaker Martin Romualdez and other lawmakers later criticized.
PRICES of regular-milled rice could reach P60 per kilo, the watchdog group Bantay Bigas warned Wednesday as it urged the government to monitor the prices of the staple. Bantay Bigas spokesperson Cathy Estavillo said prices of regular-milled rice in large markets in the National Capital Region now range from P54P55 per kilo. “In other markets, P60 is already their cheapest (for well-milled). The premium varieties range from P65 to P68. But the P54 is already a heavy burden on the pockets of our kababayan,” she said in a radio interview. “Prices can increase even more giv-
en that we are facing an El Niño phenomenon,” Estavillo added. She appealed to the government to ensure that the price of regular-milled rice does not hit P60 per kilo. For his part, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel underscored the urgency of investing at least P1.3 trillion to boost rice production, reduce wastage of agricultural products, and ensure the country’s food security. “No major post-harvest facility was funded by the government in the last 40 years. What we have are small projects that are actually irrelevant (and) useless. What a waste. We really need to fund these projects. But we must build bigger,” he said. Next page
Pag-IBIG doubling savings, home loan payouts to members PAG-IBIG Fund members will enjoy a two-fold increase in savings and higher cash loan entitlements while continuing to have access to affordable home loans as the agency is set to implement a 100-percent increase in member contributions starting next month. Under the agency’s new rates, the monthly savings of Pag-IBIG Fund members for both the employee’s share and the employer’s counterpart shall increase to P200 each, up from P100. Next page