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FL IMELDA CAN WIN ANYONE’S HEART
GASTPE law for teachers, studes still valid
NEWS / A2
PBBM CREATES TARLAC ECOZONE NEWS / A4
VOL. XXXVIII • NO. 143• 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P20 •MONDAY, JULY 8, 2024 •
DA okays P514.5-m fuel subsidies for 160k farmers Assistance will cover those who own or rent machines
THE Department of Justice (DOJ) declared that the law on government assistance to students and teachers in private schools enacted in 1989 remains enforceable. In a legal opinion, the DOJ stressed that Republic Act No. 6728 also known as the Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education Act (GASTPE), has not been repealed by Republic Act 8545 or the Expanded Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Schools (EGASTPE) of 1998. Justice Undersecretary Raul Vasquez signed the legal opinion on behalf of Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla. "After a careful review of RA No. 6728 and RA No. 8545, we Next page
By Othel V. Campos and Rio Araja
T
HE Department of Agriculture (DA), led by secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. has approved P514.5 million in fuel subsidies for an estimated 160,000 farmers who own or rent machinery used in crop, livestock, and poultry production. "This is just one of the many initiatives the Marcos administration is undertaking to alleviate the challenges faced by our farmers, who are the backbone of our economy and the key to achieving our food security goals," said Agriculture secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel. Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, on the other hand, vowed Sunday that the House of Representatives will do everything it can to help President Marcos Jr. attain his aspiration of rice self-sufficiency for the Philippines by the end of his term in 2028, He said the end goal of the administration for the agriculture sector, particularly when it comes to assisting
CLOSE WATCH. The Philippine Coast Guard has been tracking the Chinese Coast Guard’s monster ship’s movements in the West Philippine Sea using Canada’s Dark Vessel Detection Technology. According to Commodore Jay Tariella, Coast Guard has been challenging the presence of the Chinese vessel in the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone. Photos from Commodore Jay Tariella’s X page
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PCG, CCG ships engage in ‘cat and mouse’ encounters PHILIPPINE and Chinese coast guard vessels may have narrowly avoided another violent exchange as they figured in another tense standoff near the Ayungin Shoal in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), a maritime analyst revealed on Sunday. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), former US Air Force official and former defense atta-
ché Ray Powell said that (China Coast Guard) CCG 5203 blocked the BRP Cabra and BRP Cape Engano when they were passing some 14 nautical miles east of Ayungin Shoal. According to Powell, this prompted the Chinese to dispatch seven more militia vessels “to bolster blockade around 2TS while CCG 5203 went south [and] first interdicted
the 2 [Philippines] ships at 0700.” It can be recalled that CCG 5203 was the same Chinese vessel that deliberately collided with cargo vessel Unaiza May 1, a privately-owned boat contracted by the Philippine Navy to deliver supplies to the marooned BRP Sierra Madre last October 22. Next page
Autopsies showed couple shot twice; beauty queen cremated
By Rex Espiritu
THE National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Sunday said that autopsies conducted on beauty pageant contestant Geneva Lopez and her Israeli boyfriend Yitshak Cohen revealed that each victim sustained two gunshot wounds. NBI Director Jaime Santiago told journalists that Lopez was apparently shot in the back, indicating that she
THE United States has deployed 1,300 of its troops for the Salaknib exercises in the country, a Philippine Army official said. Philippine Army Spokesperson Colonel Louie Dema-ala said that there are 1,800 troops from the Philippine Army who are involved in the said exercises. “Very successful yung conduct of Salaknib Phase 1 and 2, likewise, on-
was either caught by surprise or was running away from the assailant. “Okay, the NBI conducted an autopsy and we already have results. The woman was shot on her back and the bullet came out of her chest. She was also shot on her thigh. The man was shot on his chest and the bullet came out of his back. He was also shot near Next page
PH, US army troops continue joint exercises
RUN FOR WPS.
Some 7,000 runners joined the ‘Takbo Para sa West Philippine Sea’ in Pasay City yesterday. The government sponsored run will also be held in Cebu City and Cagayan de Oro. PCO
PH-JAPAN VFA-TYPE PACT DONE DEAL NEWS / A2 going ang mga subject matter expert exchange (small training activities) between Philippine Army and USARPAC,” Dema-ala told Manila Standard. The ongoing Salaknib exercises is
an annual bilateral exercise led by the Philippine Army and sponsored by the US Army Pacific (USARPAC). Scheduled to conclude in September, the event is designed to enhance the US and Philippine Army’s capacity and interoperability across the spectrum of military operations. On Thursday, Dema-ala clarified that the powerful mid-range missile system that Washington deployed to Next page
Over 7,000 runners join ‘Takbo Para sa West Philippine Sea’ OVER 7,000 Filipinos from all walks of life joined the “Takbo Para sa West Philippine Sea’ in Pasay City on Sunday. The high turnout of participants is indicative of ordinary Fiipinos’ support for the government’s advocacy in the West Philippine Sea (WPS), according to Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman for WPS Commodore Jay Tarriela. Describing the advocacy run as
successful, Tarriela said the activity also served as a moral booster for the country’s uniformed personnel from the PCG and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). “The mere fact na ang mga karaniwang kababayang Pilipino natin is looking ways to support our fight in the West Philippine Sea, nakakapagpataba ng puso ito sa kasundaluhan natin dito sa Pilipinas,” Tarriela said in an interview Next page shortly after the run.