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FUEL PRICES TO RISE ANEW
INSIDE
NEWS / A2
A 20-PAGE TECH 8TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE SECTIONS C, D, E, F & G
PAGASA EYES STRONGER ‘JULIAN’
AI TODAY, TOMORROW
NEWS / A2
VOL. XXXVIII • NO. 225• 7 SECTIONS 32 PAGES • P20 •SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 2024 •
Ex-PCSO chief tagged in murder of colleague Quad Comm witness also implicates Napolcom chief
By Pot Chavez and Maricel V. Cruz
By Maricel V. Cruz
DETAINED ex-mayor Alice Guo pled not guilty to qualified human trafficking charges, her lawyer said on Friday. Guo participated in the arraignment proceedings via videoconference while her counsel, Nicole Jamilla, personally appeared before the Pasig Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 167. "She has no participation in trafficking really. That is right, without going into further details, because we might be subjugated, but on the part of our client, she is firm that she is not guilty of the crime she is accused of," said Jamilla. The case against Guo, which is nonbailable, stemmed from the complaint filed by the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (PNP-CIDG) and the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC).
N ACTIVE police lieutenant colonel accused former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Officer general manager Royina Garma of ordering the murder of a fellow PCSO official in 2020.
A
TAGGED.
Police Lt. Col. Santie Mendoza points to Police Lt. Col. (ret.) and former PCSO General Manager Royina Garma during the 7th QuadComm meeting at the House of Representatives.
Guo pleads not guilty; Speaker lauds POGO probe
In a sworn statement, Lt. Col. Santie Fuentes Mendoza—a member of the PNP Drug Enforcement Group—told the House Quad Committee that Garma ordered the killing of former police Gen. Wesley Barayuga, who was then PCSO board secretary. Garma, however, said she was shocked by the fresh accusation against her, adding that she had a cordial relationship with her late PCSO colleague. "We were okay. I don't recall ever having a conflict with him," Garma said during the interpellation of Rep. Jonathan Keith Flores. Next page
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AFP: Fresh supplies delivered to troops on BRP Sierra Madre By Rex Espiritu THE Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) announced that it successfully delivered much-needed supplies to and replace worn-out crew members of BRP Sierra Madre (LS 57) in Ayungin Shoal despite the constant shadowing of Chinese vessels. "[The] AFP was able to deliver supplies and rotate our personnel without interference," AFP spokesperson Colonel Margareth Padilla told reporters on Friday. She said the rotation and reprovisioning (RoRe) operation was carried out with the assistance of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Thursday. However, the Chinese government insisted that not only did it not interfere with the Philippine resupply mission to the grounded ship’s crew but it actually “supervised” the operation. In a statement, a spokesperson for the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG) said the resupply operation was done "in accordance with the provisional agreement" between Manila and Beijing. Filipino personnel "delivered daily necessities to the illegally grounded warship on Ren'ai Reef," CCG spokesperson Liu Dejun said, using the Chinese name for the shoal. Next page
LONGEST MINDANAO BRIDGE.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. leads the inauguration yesterday of the Panguil Bay bridge project, the longest waterspanning bridge in Mindanao connecting the municipality of Tubod, Lanao del Norte and Tangub City, Misamis Occidental. Inset shows part of the 3.169 kilometer structure. PPA Pool
PH gov’t mulls mandatory evacuation of Lebanon OFWs By Rachelle Tonelada THE Philippine Embassy in Lebanon assured Filipinos back home that their compatriots residing and working there remain safe despite
Israel, Hezbollah trade fire after truce bid fails WORLD / A6
the ongoing unrest, at least, for the meantime. “We've already identified area coordinators for respective areas here in Lebanon. We've already identified Next page
SC rules demotion, verbal abuse, indifference equals illegal firing
WARM WELCOME. Speaker Martin Romualdez is given a warm welcome by thousands of residents of General Trias and Tanza during the Sibol program of the Bagong Pilipinas Service Fair held in Maple Grove, Barangay Tejero, General Trias City yesterday. More than 8,000 individuals from GenTri and Tanza received P5,000 each for the Sibol program of the national government (Story on A2). Dennis Abrina
THE Supreme Court has ruled that demotion, verbal abuse, and indifferent behavior by an employer that forces employees to resign can constitute constructive illegal dismissal. In a 20-page decision, the SC's Second Division found that an employee of a car company was constructively dismissed.It said that constructive dismissal occurs when an employee feels compelled to resign due to an employer creating intolerable working conditions. "The petitioner's resignation was brought about by respondents' acts of disdain and hostility toward him, ren-
dering his continued employment with respondents impossible, nay, unbearable," the SC said in its ruling which was promulgated in April but released only yesterday. According to the SC, the petitioner was suspended in 2015 for seven days due to frequent absences. He became a regular employee in 2010 and was tasked with selling cars, products, and services. During a meeting on his suspension, the petitioner was accompanied by his siblings, who acted as his legal counsel. Next page
Long wait over as Marcos opens Panguil Bay Bridge By Charles Dantes PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos led the inauguration of Panguil Bay Bridge, which connects Misamis Occidental and Lanao del Norte. The inauguration of the 3.2-kilometer bridge, the longest of its kind in Mindanao, was held Friday, with key government officials and representatives from South Korea in attendance. The project, which costs over P8 billion, reduces a commute that once took more than two hours to just seven minutes, benefiting over 10,000 travelers daily. "We waited for this for such a long time," President Marcos said. "If I had a peso for every time someone asked me, ‘When will we finish the Panguil Bay Bridge?’ I would already be able to fund a second bridge by now. But today, the waiting is over," he added. Next page