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IN MET R MANILAO
VOL. XXXVIII • NO. 100 • 2 SECTIONS 12 PAGES MAY 26, 2024
Senator Robin Padilla www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
‘PADILLA EYED AS NEXT PREXY OF PDP-LABAN’ By Joel E. Zurbano
CULTURAL PERFORMANCE.
Members of the Matigsalug tribe perform during the third day of the Department of Tourism’s NorthMin Philippine Experience Program (PEP): Culture, Heritage & Arts Caravan in Bukidnon on Saturday, May 25, 2024. Norman Cruz
‘AGHON’ LEAVES THOUSANDS STRANDED IN CENTRAL PH PAGASA: MAY INTENSIFY INTO STORM CATEGORY TODAY
By Maricel V. Cruz, Rosasa Olarte and Joel Zurbano
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ROPICAL Depression “Aghon” maintained its strength as it continued to move west-northwestward over Sibuyan Sea, affecting a wide swathe of Luzon and Visayas. In its 5:00 p.m. bulletin, state weather bureau PAGASA said the eye of Aghon was estimated over the coastal waters of Sibuyan Island, moving at 20 kilometers per hour (kph) with maximum sustained winds of 45 kph near the center.
The Philippine Coast Guard reported Saturday that over 6,833 passengers and truck drivers in the Bicol, Eastern Visayas, Central Visayas, Southern Tagalog, and even Northeastern Mindanao regions were stranded due to Tropical Depression
Aghon. The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), through its field office in Bicol, provided hot meals to more than 2,000 stranded passengers in various ports across the region yesterday. The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) likewise issued an alert for all airports in the Bicol region due to the potential impact of Aghon. PAGASA said Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) 1 remained hoisted over the eastern portion of Quirino, the eastern portion of Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Metro Manila, the eastern portion
of Pampanga, Quezon, Aurora, Polillo Islands, the eastern portion of Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, the eastern portion of Batangas, Marinduque, the northeastern and eastern portion of Oriental Mindoro, Romblon, Sorsogon, Albay, Catanduanes, Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, the northern portion of Masbate, Ticao and Burias Islands. Aghon could make landfall over Marinduque within the next 12 hours. Upon making landfall, PAGASA said Aghon will continue to move northward and may possibly make another landfall over Batangas or Quezon and traverse the Calabarzon area.
SENATOR Robin Padilla is set to become the next party president of the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino (PDP), Senate Majority Leader Francis Tolentino said. Tolentino said the actor-turnedpolitician is the frontrunner for the post, while former President Rodrigo Duterte will remain as chairman. “He (Padilla) is not seeking reelection in 2025, so he is in a more comfortable position,” he said in an interview with Teleradyo Serbisyo. Tolentino said the party presidency will still need to be formalized even as he noted that Padilla was already a ranking party official as PDP’s former executive vice president. Padilla resigned from the post in May 2023 to focus on his work as a senator. In his resignation, Padilla noted that the PDP-Laban has much to achieve and thus needs an EVP who can devote more time to the party’s affairs. Padilla is the chairperson of the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes. Last month, Duterte named the party’s first four official candidates for senator in next year’s midterm elections. The former president endorsed the reelection bid of incumbent Senators Christopher Go, Ronald dela Rosa, and Tolentino, as well as former movie actor Philip Salvador, who accepted the nomination to be part of the PDP senatorial lineup for the 2025 elections.
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MARCOS URGES CONGRESS TO ALLOW NFA TO IMPORT, SELL RICE By Charles Dantes PRESIDENT Marcos urged Congress to pass the proposed amendments to the Rice Tariffication Law to allow the National Food Authority to import and sell rice in a bid to stabilize prices. Mr. Marcos said allowing the NFA to import and sell rice would help not only farmers but also consumers. “If Congress permits the NFA to import, it will help stabilize rice pric-
es, fulfilling its original mandate,” he said during the distribution of Certificates of Land Ownership Award (CLOAs) and e-titles to farmers at the South Cotabato Gymnasium and Cultural Center. “The NFA would be able to keep up with the private sector. This is actually the primary [reason] why the NFA was established,” he added. The President said amending the RTL is part of broader government initiatives to support Filipino farm-
ers facing various challenges. On Tuesday, the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading the proposed amendments to the RTL. Under the bill, the NFA shall be allowed to – in the following order – purchase local milled rice; purchase up to a maximum of 30 percent brought in by accredited importers at cost; and as a final recourse, once all domestic sources have been exhausted, directly import rice, sub-
ject to explicit authorization from the Agriculture Secretary. The bill also extends the validity period for the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund or RCEF for six more years and boosts its budget from P10 billion to P15 billion. At the Upper Chamber, however, some senators have opposed the bill due to concerns about the NFA regaining authority to sell and import rice, citing past corruption allegations.
MARCOS REAPPOINTS CACDAC AS INTERIM DMW SECRETARY NEWS | A2
CHINA HITS PCG’S ITBAYAT MONITORING STATION NEWS | A3
PH READY TO REPATRIATE OFWS IF TAIWAN SITUATION WORSENS By Vito Barcelo
ROAD SAFETY COLORS. Students from the Vicente P. Trinidad National High School in Valenzuela City paint a pedestrian lane in colorful shades to mark the National Road Safety Month. Andrew Rabulan
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THE Department of Migrant Workers on Saturday said it is ready to assist and repatriate thousands of overseas Filipino workers in Taiwan should tensions with China escalate further. DMW Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac said the Philippine government is well prepared to evacuate Filipinos in Taiwan if it becomes necessary following China’s two-day military drills that Taipei said were a “blatant provocation to the international order.” “We have always coordinated ourselves with the proper government agencies. Rest assured that the DMW, together with other government agencies, are prepared to assist our OFWs in Taiwan and there is already a plan on the manner by which they will be transported,” Cacdac said.
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“We are ready. We stand ready – we have a contingency plan, specifically in that part of the world,” he said, adding the government has already identified “convergence points” where Filipinos in Taiwan will be secured to safety for their eventual repatriation. DMW data showed there are around 200,000 OFWs in Taiwan. China’s drills were launched three days after Taiwan’s President Lai Ching-te took office and made an inauguration speech that China denounced as a “confession of independence.” China, which claims Taiwan as part of its territory, regards Lai as a “dangerous separatist.” By Friday evening, a presenter for state-run military news channel CCTV7 said the Chinese army had “successfully completed” the operation
dubbed “Joint Sword-2024A.” In a statement, Lai’s presidential spokesperson Karen Kuo reiterated that ensuring peace and stability across the region was “related to the common interests of the international community.” “However, China’s recent unilateral provocation not only undermines the status quo of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait but it is also a blatant provocation to the international order, triggering serious concern and condemnation from the international community,” she said. Kuo added that Taiwan hopes “China will take the safety and happiness of the people on both sides into consideration, pursue mutual benefit, coexistence... stop all kinds of political and military intimidations on Taiwan and the region.” AFP
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