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CHIZ TO PHILHEALTH: REDEFINE INDIGENT NEWS / A6
20-YEAR OLD IS PH’S NEW GRANDMASTER SPORTS / A8
VOL. XXXVIII • NO. 213• 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P20 •MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2024 •
PCG’s lone sentinel in Escoda sails home Another ship to replace BRP Magbanua amid China's 'retreat' claim By Rex Espiritu and Vince Lopez
Speaker Martin G. Romualdez
House commences debates on P6.35t national budget By Rio N. Araja THE House of Representatives is set to start plenary debates on the proposed P6.352-trillion 2025 national budget today. Speaker Martin Romualdez said the outlay would support President Marcos' Agenda for Prosperity and Bagong Pilipinas programs. “It will be our instrument in directly helping the poor through Next page
Marbil: PNP to identify, charge Quiboloy coddlers
B
RP Teresa Magbanua withdrew from Escoda Shoal and sailed back to its home port in Palawan but the National Maritime Council (NMC) says another ship will take its place, refuting China’s boasts that the Philippines “retreated.”
By Vince Lopez HOME IS THE BRAVE. The BRP
Teresa Magbanua and its crew of 64 officers and men returned to safe harbor in Palawan yesterday after five months on guard duty at Escoda shoal. Inset at upper left shows a crew member being taken out on a stretcher for treatment in a local hospital. Map, at right photo, shows the distance of the shoal, which is within the country’s exclusive economic zone, to Palawan. PCG
The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said on Sunday said its flagship was compelled to return to port after five months of serving as the country’s lone sentinel in the hotly disputed waters due to a confluence of reasons. "While committed to her mission at Escoda Shoal, BRP Teresa Magbanua was compelled to return to port due to unfavorable weather conditions, depleted supplies of daily necessities, and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care." PCG Spokesperson for WPS Commodore Jay Tarriela said in a statement. "This has been further complicated Next page
THE Philippine National Police (PNP) is getting ready to file ob obstruction of justice cases against in individuals believed to have coddled preacher and alleged sex offender Apollo Quiboloy, leading to an ex extended manhunt and delaying his arrest. PNP chief Police General Rom Rommel Francisco Marbil said that an investigation is underway to identify all those who helped the religious leader evade capture for over two weeks when he was inside the 30-hectare Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) compound all along. He noted that investigators are currently looking into Qui Quiboloy’s “close associates, including legal representatives who actively misled authorities regarding his ex exact whereabouts.” Next page
PH HOSTING.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., together with First Lady Louise Araneta Marcos greet guests yesterday at the 'PH to Serve: A Concert for the One-Year Countdown to the Philippine Hosting of the FIVB Volleyball Men's World Championship 2025' at the Kalayaan Grounds in Malacañan Palace. (Story on Page 2). Screengrab from RTVM
Congress open to Cassandra Ong’s jail option By Rio N. Araja SURIGAO del Norte Rep. Rober Ace Barbers on Sunday said Congress could grant Cassandra Ong’s request for jail detention if she continues not to cooperate in the Philippine offshore gaming operator’s investigation.
“Since she was saying that she wanted to be detained in jail rather than the detention facility of Congress, we will give her that. If you (Ong) can’t give us information about the issue of illegal POGO…,” he said. Barbers is the overall chairman of
the House of Representatives quad committee composed of four joint committees. The House of Representatives is investigating Lucky South 99’s alleged link to illegal operations in the raided POGO hub in Porac, Pampanga. Next page
ICC seeking out collaborative witnesses—lawyer THE International Criminal Court (ICC) is seeking additional witnesses for its investigation into former president Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody war on drugs, ICC Assistant to Counsel Maria Kristina Conti said. Conti added that the ICC’s inquiry into the alleged crimes against hu-
manity in Duterte’s anti-drug campaign is still progressing. She said that the court has already obtained “core witnesses.” Reports said thousands of suspected drug pushers and addicts were killed in police operations under Duterte’s anti-illegal drugs campaign.
The government earlier said it will no longer engage the ICC, which the Philippines left in 2019, and is no longer bound to assist the court. But the government also said it will not stop the ICC from setting up interviews and gathering data on the Next page