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INFLATION WORRIES WEIGH ON STOCKS
House solons decry Sen. Bato’s reliance on dubious source
BUSINESS / B2
COMELEC TO BREACH 3M NEW VOTERS NEWS / A4
By Maricel V. Cruz and Macon Ramos- Araneta
VOL. XXXVIII • NO. 78• 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P20 •SATURDAY, MAY 4, 2024 •
Austin blasts China’s WPS actions as ‘irresponsible’
HOUSE leaders have expressed disappointment in Senator Ronald dela Rosa for trusting a dubious source that allegedly implicates, through leaked documents from the PDEA, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. in illegal drug activities. Deputy Majority Leaders Faustino Dy (Isabela, 6th District) and Jude Acidre (Tingog Party-list) further lamented Dela Rosa’s insistence that the purported leaked PDEA documents were authentic simply because they bore markings, including punch holes. Next page
By Rey Requejo
D
efense chiefs from the US, Australia, Japan and the Philippines vowed to deepen cooperation and increase the tempo of joint military exercises amid concerns over China's aggressive actions in the South China Sea. The Hawaii meeting came a month after the four countries held their first joint naval exercises in the South China Sea. US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III, in particular, hit China’s “irresponsible” actions in the West Philippine Sea. “The kind of behavior we’ve seen where Filipino crews are put in danger, sailors have been injured and property damaged—that’s irresponsible behavior, and that disregards international law,” Austin said. China Coast Guard on Tuesday used a water cannon in Panatag Shoal against a Philippine Coast Guard ship. Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles, for his part, said: “Today, Next page
GIANT PRODUCE. Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos and Bureau of Plants and Industry Director Glenn Panganiban grace the Pagsibol 2024: Philippine Horticulture and Urban Agriculture Summit held at One Ayala in Makati City. Jay Morales
Pray for rain: CBCP issues Oratio ‘Atin Ito’coalition to push through with Panatag mission Imperata amid sweltering heat By Rey Requejo
THE country's bishops on Friday released a special prayer asking for rain. The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) issued "Oratio Imperata Ad Petendan Pluviam" or the Obligatory Prayer to Request for Rain. "We are respectfully sending the text of the Oratio Imperata Ad Petendam Pluviam prepared by the Episcopal Commission on Liturgy for your consideration and use according to your pastoral discretion," Msgr. Bernardo Pantin, CBCP secretary general, in a letter addressed to archbishops, bishops, and administrators. The Oratio Imperata is released when a grave need or calamity occurs. The CBCP also issued one during the height of COVID-19 pandemic.
The weather bureau has forecast two cyclones that may enter the country in May. Below is the full text of the prayer: Oratio Imperata Ad Petendam Pluviam God, our loving Father, Creator of our earth and of the universe and of all the wondrous elements of nature that sustain your living creatures, we humbly ask you to grant us relief from the extreme heat that besets your people at this time, disrupting their activities and threatening their lives and livelihood. Send us rain to replenish our depleting water sources, to irrigate our fields, to stave off water and power shortages and to provide water for our daily needs. At your command the wind and the seas obey.
THE 100-boat civilian mission to the West Philippine Sea (WPS) will proceed on May 15 despite China’s recent water cannon attacks in Scarborough Shoal, its organizer, Atin Ito Coalition, said. In a statement sent to reporters on
Friday, Atin Ito co-convenor and Akbayan Party president Rafaela David said the group is “not intimidated by China's latest act of violence and harassment.” “We are not shaken. We're like plants watered by adversity – thriving, not just surviving. Like a plant being watered, we grow even more
HONOR GUARD. Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez salutes honor guards upon arrival at Daraga Airport in Daraga, Albay on Friday in time for the opening of the first Bicol Loco Balloon and Music Festival.
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Meanwhile, the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) confirmed Friday that Deniece Cornejo and Simeon Raz are now in prison. Cornejo was admitted to the Correctional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City while Raz is at the Reception and Diagnostic Center of the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.
#ANONGBALITA?
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Gencos urged: Use anti-bill shock loan By Alena Mae S. Flores
Cedric Lee gives up, Cornejo in prison BUSINESSMAN Cedric Lee, who was sentenced to life with model Deniece Cornejo and two others in the case of actor Vhong Navarro, surrendered to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) late Thursday. Lee presented himself to the NBI headquarters in Mandaluyong City at 7:30 p.m. His lawyers are now preparing an appeal of his conviction for serious illegal detention.
united to fight for the WPS,” she said. “China's water cannon attacks in the West Philippine Sea is a broken philosophy. They are not getting the desired results. On the contrary, they only nourish Filipino resolve in the WPS,” she added.
Fuel price rollback seen next week By Alena Mae S. Flores THE Department of Energy expects another round of oil price rollback of as much as P0.70 per liter next week due to the softening in world oil prices.
This will be the second consecutive weekly price rollback for diesel and kerosene. DOE said that based on the four-day of Mean of Platts Singapore trading, Next page
Orangutan seen treating wound in world first
Doraemon to the rescue! Thai town desperate for rain
KFC offers limited-edition BBQ perfume
NEWS / A2
NEWS / A2
NEWS / A2
THE Department of Energy (DOE) and the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) urged electricity distribution utilities (DUs) to tap the ANTI BILL SHOCK Lending Program of the Land Bank of the Philippines to make electricity rates affordable for consumers. The agencies issued the statement acting on the directive of President Marcos. LandBank provides financing to DUs at concessional rates under the ANTI BILL SHOCK Lending Program, enabling them to spread out the incremental increases in their customer’s electric bills by up to nine months without passing the borrowing cost to consumers who cannot afford to pay at full cost. Next page