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Comelec abused authority—SC By Rey E. Requejo and Vito Barcelo THE Commission on Elections committed grave abuse of discretion when it disqualified Smartmatic even before it submitted any bid for the 2025 elections, the Supreme Court said. In an en banc decision penned by Associate Justice Jose Midas Marquez, the High Court ruled in favor of Smart-
matic, but said its decision was not sufficient to nullify the contract for the vote-counting machines awarded to South Korean firm Miru Systems. “[The SC] held that Comelec committed grave abuse of discretion when it disqualified Smartmatic before it had submitted any bids, without any reference to the eligibility requirements
VOL. XXXVIII • NO. 64 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P20 • THURSDAY, APRIL 18, 2024
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Marcos orders DOE to fix outages 19 Luzon power plants still operating under capacity
By Charles Dantes and Maricel V. Cruz THE ENEMY WITHIN?
Authorities seized automatic rifles, ammunition, and a Mclaren sports car in a raid on a house of a Chinese national on Wednesday.
P
RESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos ordered the Department of Energy (DOE) to closely monitor the country’s power supply following the forced outage of 19 power plants in Luzon. In a post on his X account on Tuesday evening, the President assured the government’s commitment to securing a stable power supply nationwide. “In light of the recent Red and Yellow Alerts in the Luzon grid, I have instructed the Department of Energy to closely monitor and coordinate with all stakeholders to Next page PAGASA HEAT INDEX AS OF APRIL 17, 5 PM.
Cops seize guns, ammo, luxury car in raid on Chinese national By Joel E. Zurbano
Chinese national Haiqiang Su followTwo other individuals who were ing a raid inside a posh subdivision present at the house were also placed THE National Capital Region Police in Barangay Bambang, Taguig City under police custody. Office (NCRPO) on Wednesday an- that yielded high-powered firearms, a The authorities were also able to connounced the arrest of 24-year-old hand grenade, and luxury cars. fiscate a caliber 5.56 Daniel Defense
Black Creek M4 carbine; two pieces of magazine assembly for caliber 5.56 mm; and 36 pieces of ammunition for cal. 5.5mm; six pcs of ammunition for Next page
Probe of Chinese presence sought in Multinational village
STATION
TEMPERATURE
Catarman, Northern Samar
44
Dagupan City
44
Puerto Princesa
44
Aborlan, Palawan
44
Dumagas, Iloilo
43
Ambulog, Tanauan
43
Sangley Point, Cavite
42
MMSU, Batac
42
Bacnotan, La Union
42
Tuguegarao City
42
ISU, Echague, Isabela
42
Coron, Palawan
42
Tacloban, Leyte
41
Cotabato City
41
High court junks Quiboloy appeal to stop arrest order THE Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday said it has required the Senate to comment on the petition filed by Kingdom of Jesus Christ leader Pastor Apollo Quiboloy seeking to stop the Upper Chamber from implementing its warrant of arrest against him. In resolution, SC spokesperson Camille Ting said the SC gave the Senate 10 days upon receipt of the notice to file its comment. Next page
By Maricel V. Cruz SOME residents of Multinational Village in Parañaque City have signed a formal appeal seeking a government-led probe into the continued presence of Chinese nationals and their efforts to purchase properties and establish businesses in the supposedly residential neighborhood. Specifically, the petition that was signed by at least 52 homeowners is urging the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to look into the legitimacy of the Chinese mainlanders’ stay in the Philippines, and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to Next page
#ANONGBALITA
FRUITFUL TALKS. Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez engages Sen. William Francis Hagerty of Tennessee in a dialogue for the expansion of joint military exercises in the Philippines AND increasing the US military financing. He was joined by leaders of the House in his meetings with United States lawmakers.
Baha sa disyerto: Dubai suffer 2 yrs of rain in one day
Vlogger apologizes for money kite worth P1 million
31-year strong: First couple mark anniversary
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