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VOL. XXXVIII • NO. 165• 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P20 •TUESDAY, JULY 30, 2024 •
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SC: CONTINUE PDAF SIARGAO NAMED BEST CASE VS. ENRILE PLACE TO VISIT IN ASIA
Smooth return Villegas advances in boxing; Delgaco faces daunting race for 20.5m students NEWS / A6
BUSINESS / B1
By Riera U. Mallari
Angara: Only 2% of public schools across the country remain closed By Rolando Ng III, Maricel Cruz, Macon Ramos-Araneta and Vince Lopez
E
DUCATION Secretary Juan Edgardo Angara reported a smooth opening of School Year 20242025 as 98 percent of public schools welcomed over 20 million Filipino students back on Monday, July 29, 2024. Angara visited Carmona National High School and Elementary School despite the early morning rains due to a low pressure area to inspect the opening of classes.
“It’s a big deal. We really practiced ‘bayanihan’ so the students can go to school today,” Angara said in an interview. The Department of Education
(DepEd) said it recorded 20.5 million learners as of noon yesterday. Of the total, 11,301,108 learners are from the elementary Level; 6,204,006 are Junior High; 2,870,891 learners are Senior High School; and 222,067 learners are under the Alternative Learning System. Calabarzon reported the highest number of enrollees at 3,070,457 followed by Central Luzon with 2,216,637 learners and National Capital Region with 2,207,473. Nationwide, 861,234 public school teachers and 45,565 school heads welcomed millions of learners, according to DepEd data. Next page
PARIS (Via PLDT Home) – Filipina boxer Aira Villegas advanced to the Round of 16 in the women's 50-kg box boxing tournament yesterday. Villegas triumphed over her Moroccan rival, Yasmine Mouttaki, via unanimous decision – a victory that would mean the Filipina athlete needs only two more wins to get an assured bronze medal. As this developed, a daunting challenge awaits the Philippines’ Joanie Delgaco when she returns today (Tuesday) to the Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium for Next page
PUNCHING HER WAY TO VICTORY.
Filipina boxer Aira Villegas celebrates after winning against Morocco's Yasmine Mouttaki in the women's 50kg preliminaries Round of 32 boxing match during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the North Paris Arena, in Villepinte on Sunday (Monday dawn, Manila time). AFP
Roque admits ties to owner of POGO-linked Tuba house By Macon Ramos-Araneta FORMER Duterte administration presidential spokesperson Harry Roque on Monday admitted having shares in the corporation that owns the house in an upscale subdivision in Tuba, Benguet where a Chinese wom-an and her Cambodian partner with links to a raided POGO hub in Bam-ban, Tarlac were staying.
DENNIS CUNANAN
HARRY ROQUE
Technology and Livelihood Resource Center (TLRC) director gen general Dennis Cunanan, on the other hand, testified during yesterday's Senate hearing on illegal POGOs that he was a consultant and not a fixer for three gaming operators. Answering a question from Senator Risa Hontiveros, Roque said he does not deny being a co-owner of Next page
Congress receives ‘25 budget proposal; intel funds slashed By Darwin G. Amojelar and Maricel V. Cruz
FLOCK OF LEARNERS. Pupils troop to the Dr. Alejandro Albert Elementary School in Dapitan, Manila for the
opening of the 2024-2025 school year on Monday, July 29, 2024. Five elementary schools in Manila that were affected by the onslaught of Super Typhoon 'Carina' postponed their opening. Danny Pata
THE Department of Budget and Management transmitted to Congress the proposed P6.352 trillion national budget for 2025, marking the start of the legislative process for the upcoming fiscal year.
Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman expressed optimism the budget will contribute to achieving a single-digit poverty rate and transforming the Philippines into an upper-middle-income economy. “Together, let us fulfill the needs and aspirations of the Filipino Next page
‘Quad’ calls out PCG: Catastrophic oil spill averted aggressive states as divers seal tanker’s leaky valves in the Indo-Pacific By Rex Espiritu By Rachelle Tonelada, Rex Espiritu and Charles Dantes THE foreign ministers of the United States, Japan, Australia and India on Monday collectively expressed "serious concern" over the situation in the South China Sea in a not-so-veiled rebuke to Beijing.
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THE Philippine Coast Guard on Monday allayed fears of a catastrophic oil spill, saying that only a “minimal” amount of oil managed to seep out of apparently leaky values of the capsized M/T Terra Nova. Divers of salvage company Harbor Star began sealing the vessel's leaking valves on Saturday, reducing the amount of oil flowing into the water to one liter per hour from 7.5 liters per minute.
As of noon on Sunday, as many as 14 faulty valves on tanks holding the ship’s cargo of 1.4 million liters industrial fuel have been sealed. Lt. Commander Michael John Encina from the Bataan Coast Guard Station said the oil leak is down to a “minimal scale” and is presently “very controllable.” The tanker sank in bad weather off Manila early Thursday, killing one crew member and leaving the Philippines facing the possibility of its worst Next page oil spill ever.
2025 PROPOSED BUDGET. Budget Secretary Amenah
Pangandaman transmits the proposed P6.352 trillion national budget for 2025 to Speaker Martin Romualdez. Ver Noveno