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PALACE SUSPENDS GOV. JUBAHIB NEWS / A3
VOL. XXXVIII • NO. 58• 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P20 • FRIDAY, APRIL 12, 2024 •
$100-b windfall seen from trilateral summit • Investments in semiconductors, energy • Small nuke power plants in package By Charles Dantes
T
HE Philippines is poised to receive a $100-billion (P5.65 trillion) windfall of investments from both the United States and Japan in the next 5 to 10 years, which will be announced at the opening of their historic trilateral meeting at the US capital on Thursday (Friday in Manila). Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez told reporters in Washington DC that the investment package – including in energy and in semiconduc-
tors – would be announced as US President Joe Biden welcomes President Marcos and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to the White House. Next page
WARM WELCOME.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. is welcomed upon arrival at Washington D.C for his trilateral summit with US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. With him are Ambassador Babes Romualdez and US Ambassador Mary Kay L. Carlson. Inset shows journalists filming a US Air Force F-16 fighter jet as it takes off during the US-Philippines joint air force military exercise dubbed 'Cope Thunder' at Basa Air Base in Pampanga on April 11. AFP, PCO
More and better jobs US solons push for $2.5b military aid to PH recorded in February–PSA Biden, Kishida By Charles Dantes and Maricel Cruz
By Darwin G. Amojelar THE Philippines saw a drop in unemployment in February 2024, with more Filipinos finding jobs compared to the same month last year, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). National statistician and civil registrar general Claire Dennis
Mapa said the country’s unemployment rate in February 2024 dropped to 3.5 percent, from 4.8 percent in February of the previous year and 4.5 percent in January 2024. In terms of magnitude, the number of unemployed persons 15 years old and over in February 2024 was estimated at 1.80 million. Next page
ON THE eve of the Philippines-USJapan trilateral summit, two leading US senators on Wednesday introduced a bipartisan bill to provide Manila with an additional $2.5 billion (P141.3 billion) to boost its defenses against Chinese pressure. Republican Bill Hagerty -- a former ambassador to Japan -- and Democrat Tim Kaine filed a bill authorizing $500 million (P28.3 billion) a year in Foreign Military Financing (FMF) grant assistance to the Philippines over five fiscal years to 2029. In 2022, the United States said it was making $100 million (P5.65 billion) in FMF available to the Philippines, underscoring greatly
improved defense ties between the treaty allies under President Marcos, whose predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte, had sought warmer ties with China. The bill requires the US Secretary of State, in coordination with the Pentagon, to submit an annual spending plan to Congress on how the USgovernment would spend the grant and an annual report on steps taken to enhance the US-Philippines defense relationship. The latter would include a description of the capabilities needed tomodernize Philippine defense capabilities. Hagerty's office said areas could include coastal defense, long-range fires, integrated air defenses, maritime security, manned and unmanned aerial systems,mechanized ground
boost alliance
WASHINGTON—US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida unveiled their countries' biggest ever upgrade in defense ties Wednesday during a White House state visit focused on countering a resurgent China. Biden rolled out the red carpet for Kishida with a lavish dinner, plus music by US singer Paul Simon, as he underscored Japan's importance as a key ally against Beijing in the AsiaNext page Pacific region.
Next page
Pasig court Manibela, Piston plan two-day orders arrest transport strike from April 15 of Quiboloy By Rio N. Araja
Infographic by Ratziel San Juan
#ANONGBALITA?
TRANSPORT groups Manibela and Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (Piston) on Thursday threatened to go on a two-day transport strike starting April 15 to protest the April 30 deadline for the consolidation of franchises under the
Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program. “We cannot afford what you (government) are talking about consolidation. We cannot afford what you say is a modern minibus," Manibela president Mar Valbuena said. "Those who are calling for the modernization of the traditional Next page
‘Bawal wang-wang’: Marcos bans sirens for gov’t vehicles
Senator’s SUV caught using EDSA Busway
Pacquiao’s son sells his shoes for P850,000
NEWS / A2
NEWS / A2
NEWS / A2
KINGDOM of Jesus Christ (KOJC) leader Apollo Quiboloy's plea to suspend proceedings and hold in abeyance the issuance of a warrant of arrest, in connection with the non-bailable qualified human trafficking charges filed against him has been denied by a Pasig Regional Trial Court. Acting Presiding Judge Rainelda H. Estacio-Montesa of Pasig City Regional Trial Court Branch 159 made Next page