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Enrile acquitted of plunder rap FIVE LOCAL HOLIDAYS IN OCT. NEWS / A3
ISRAEL CONTINUES Sandiganbayan also clears Napoles, Reyes of P172-m PDAF scam TO POUND HEZBOLLAH VOL. XXXVIII • NO. 227• 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P20 •MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2024 •
WORLD / A6
By Maricel Cruz
250 NABBED IN PAOCC RAID ONPAGASA POGO HUB
F PNP resurrecting probe Gov’treadies ORMER Senator Juan Ponce Enrile and two coaccused were acquitted of the P172-million plunder case filed against them by the Ombudsman on Friday.
NEWS / A2
into PCSO official's slay
VOL. XXXVIII • NO. 232• 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P20 •SATURDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2024 •
The 100-year-old Enrile, who is chief presidential legal counsel of President Marcos, was cleared of plunder, defined as large-scale corruption, after a trial lasting 10 years. Prosecutors alleged he and other defendants took P172 million in public funds that were allegedly diverted to ghost projects, a crime punishable by life imprisonment. By "After Rio N. dueAraja consideration, the court finds that the prosecution failed to prove theHE guiltPhilippine of accused Enrile... of the offense charged beyond reasonNational Police said. able doubt," the Sandiganbayan "I knew all along that I would be (PNP) is reopening acquitted because... we haven't done its investigation anything in this case. Iinto hope the people who filed those cases the 2020 murder of against us will examine their conscience," EnPhilippine Charity rile told reporters after his acquittal. Also acquitted Office were Enrile’s forSweepstakes mer chief of staff Jessica “Gigi” (PCSO) board secretary Reyes and businesswoman Janet Lim Wesley Napoles. Barayuga.
Speaker grateful for PMA Class '83 vote of confidence in Quad Comm
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On Sunday, PNP Chief Police General Rommel Francisco Marbil said he ordered the reopening of the cold case after whistleblower Police Lt. Col. Santie Mendoza told the House Quad Committee that he helped carry out the killing at the behest of ex-PCSO general manager Royina Garma. Mendoza narrated before congressmen how Garma allegedly facilitated the PCSO official’s roadside assassination on July 30, 2020 by providing the necessary information about his schedule, details about his vehicle and the funding necessary to By Rachelle Tonelada carry it out. The whistleblower also implicated GETTING to the bottom of Beijing's incumbent National Police Comsupposed covert operations in the Philmissioner Edilberto Leonardo in the ippines will be at the top of Foreign planning the murder. Affairs of Secretary Enrique Manalo's Barayuga a retired ASEAN police agenda duringwas the upcoming general lawyer who supposedly Summitand in Vientiane, Laos. threatened to expose corruption with-he On Friday, Manalo assured that inwill theraise PCSO before hewhose was the shortly issue with China, shot dead in Mandaluyong City.at next representatives will be present Garma, herself an ex-police Lt. week's summit. Colonel, allegedly the topin The top diplomatgained was reacting spot PCSO becausedocumentary of her inpart at to athe recent Al Jazeera Next page wherein a supposed whistleblower,
DFA to bring up alleged Chinese espionage ops in ASEAN Summit
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ACQUITTED. Presidential legal counsel and former SenatorJuan Ponce Enrile arrives at the Sandiganbayan for his arraignment yesterday on graft and plunder charges in connection with the alleged P10-billion pork barrel scam.Inset shows his co-accused Janet Napoles, upper right photo, and Enrile’s former chief of staff, Gigi Reyes. Manny Palmero
THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) cancelled the Philippine passport of dismissed mayor Alice Guo after it was found to be "fraudulently acquired." In a statement on Friday, the agency said the circumstances surrounding the acquisition of Guo's passport
BAUTISTA
By Darwin Amojelar
THE government has readied P1.48 billion worth of aid for communities that may be hit hard by typhoon ‘Julian’ which PAGASA says could turn into a supertyphoon. As of 5:00 PM on Sunday, PAGASA raised Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 3 over Batanes and the northeastern portion of Babuyan Islands. “’Julian’ is forecast to continue intensifying over the next 24-36 hours as it moves towards Batanes and/or Babuyan Islands. With the current trend in its intensification, the possibility of reaching super typhoon category is not ruled out,” PAGASA said in its advisory. Meanwhile, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said that a total of 1.9 million family food packs worth P1.48 billion, other food items worth P276 million, and non-food items (NFIs) worth P919 million were already prepared by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Some P171 million in standby fund is also available for utilization by the DSWD, including P123 million which can be allotted as Quick Response Fund (QRF) in the central office of the DSWD. In Batanes, the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) advised residents to secure their roofs and install window shutters as Typhoon Julian is expected to make landfall
Inflation fell to 1.9% in Sept. amid lower food, transport costs Next page
A WEB OF CRIME? House leaders Aurelio Gonzales and David Suarez presented this matrix during the last QUAD Comm hearing which shows the operations of a criminal syndicate allegedly led by fugitive Michael Yang, then economic adviser of former President Rodrigo Duterte, that controlled the illegal activities of the POGOs and was involved in the drugtrast to its 6.1 percent level in September 2023, By Darwin G. Amojelar trade and extrajudicial killings. when the country was just recovering from a se-
PH lobbies UN and Maricel V. Cruz ries of price surges driven by supply isformainly Security sues in key agricultural products. THE Philippines' inflation rate fell to its lowest The easing of overall price pressures was in level in over four years in September, primarily no small part traced to a declineseat in rice inflation, Yang's lawyer mocks probers amid heated inquiry Council THE legal counsel of Chinese businessman Tony Yang sought to disparage lawmakers’ conclusions about his client’s supposedly sketchy past and his alleged ties with Philippine Overseas Gaming Operators (POGOs) and even organized crime. Lawyer Raymond Fortun questioned the House Quad Committee’s impartiality and its ability to pin Chinese national Yang down for ay wrongdoing in a real criminal court. “I amfurther very interested in how merits investigation andthey pos[Quad Comm members] can prove sible prosecution. this For criminal network court. RoIn his part, Speakerin Martin Congress, act toastheboth mualdez onlawmakers Friday appealed Filiprosecutor said. pino votersand to judge,” “practicehediscernment” Yang, who“perpetual alreadyvigilance” admittedin and exercise having fake Philippine birth choosinga candidates for next year’s certificate, is the brother of Michael mid-term elections so as not to suffer Yang, a presidential economic the consequences of more “Alice Guos” in the country’s electoral system.
DOTr’s Bautista Alice Guo’s PH passport cancelled says online news due to‘unfounded' its ‘fraudulent acquisition’ report By Rachelle Tonelada and Maricel Cruz
MIXEDaid OILasPRICES P1.48b SEEN NEXT WEEK 'Julian' strengthens NEWS / A2
due to a slowdown in food and transportation which dropped significantly to 5.7 percent from costs. THE Philippine government on 14.7 percent the previous month. In a report released on Friday, the Philippine Sunday publicly called for UnitAdditionally, a steady supply of the high-value adviser of former President Rodrigo of illegal drugs and illegal activities Statistics Authority (PSA) said headline inflation ed Nations (UN) to give it a seat on crops amid favorable weather conditions reduced Duterte. associated with POGOs,” Suarez said dropped to 1.9 percent last month from 3.3 perthe UN Security Council, highlightvegetable prices (-15.8 percent from -4.3 perFortun, a lawyer who often finds in a mixture of Filipino and English. cent high-profile in August. ing to themitigate country’s strong record and overall food inflation. himself at the center The solons explained how cent), the serving Lasttomonth's figure was in sharp connections condedication to upholding the rule Nextof page cases, apparently sought mockinflation matrix details Yang’s to law. congressmen, calling their probe other individuals involved in illicit Department of Foreign Affairs “unacceptable.” activities, including the operations of (DFA) Secretary Enrique Manalo in However, House members argued illegal POGOs. a speech delivered at the UN Genthey did not come by their suspicions Among the companies implicated eral Assembly in New York said the about Yang recklessly. are Brickhartz Technology Inc. Philippines continues to emphasize On Friday, Senior Deputy Speaker and Xionwei Technology Co. Ltd., the “importance of upholding the Aurelio Gonzales Jr. of Pampanga which are being linked to alleged rule of law and the integrity of the and Deputy Speaker David Suarez of kidnapping. multilateral system in the face of toQuezon presented a matrix showing The two firms supposedly day’s global challenges.” Yang’s first appearance and his have connections with the Baofu Quoted by reports, Manalo also subsequent activities at the Quad Compound in Bamban, Tarlac, said: “The Philippines has consisComm hearing. which, in turn, can be directly traced tently pursued peace, the sovereign “We saw a pattern, and we tracked to disgraced ex-mayor Alice Guo. equality of states, the rights and digit to the top of these corporations... During Friday’s Quad Comm nity of all persons.” we stripped it of its layers , to get to hearing, lawmakers cited Tony Yang He added that the country is also the top and through it all, we have in contempt for “lying” to about his recognized as the “first Asian Rediscovered and identified at least two businesses and business partners. main actors or players in the issue Next page Next page
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Navy spokes debunks China claim of military exercises in Scarborough shoal DELIVERING AID. By Rex Espiritu
THE Philippine Navy debunked on Sunday the recent announceTRANSPORTATION Secretary Jaime ment by China that it conducted Bautista denied an online news report military exercises off Bajo de claiming that Malacañang was angry Masinloc, also known as Scarborwith the increase in airport fees without ough Shoal, in the West Philipthe approval of the Cabinet members. pine Sea (WPS). “The Bilyonaryo article is maliChina reportedly made the ancious and unfounded,” Bautista said nouncement coinciding with the in a Viber message, referring to the fourth Multilateral Maritime Cowebsite that published the said story. operative Activity between the “Bilyonaryo is inconsistent,” he added. Philippines, Australia, Japan, Bilyonaryo reported online that New Zealand, and the United “Bautista and his long-time protege in States within Manila’s exclusive Philippine Airlines, Undersecretary for economic zone (EEZ) in the reAviation and Airports Bobby Lim, are watersPanlalawigan over the weekend. atAMBUSH the center ofSLAY. the storm aftermember it was of thegional A board Sangguniang of Bulacan Philippine and his driver lie dead in their vehicle after gunmen ambushed Navy them inSpokesperson broad daylight page yesterday in Malolos, Bulacan. Next Orlan Mauriciofor WPS Rear Admiral Roy Vin-
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. delivered yesterday P25 million in financial assistance and 14,000 boxes of food packs and non-food items to the typhoon-stricken island province of Batanes (Story on Page 4). PCO
cent Trinidad told reporters that Manila troops did not monitor any such activity, adding that Beijing’s statement was meant only for its internal audience. “Our troops did not observe any exercise, we have to understand that sometimes, China is doing this for their internal audience, right? For them not to look weak and embarrassed,” Trinidad By Orlan Mauricio said. Two Chinese warships were A BOARDatmember of theranging Sanggumonitored a distance niang Panlalawigan (SP) of from eight to 14 nautical Bulacan miles. and his broadOne of driver these were wentkilled up in to a1,000 daylight ambush in Barangay Ligas yards at the MMCA site but even-in the provincial capital at“It around p.m. tually went away. was 5 not on Thursday. threatening, just normal,” accordBokal Ramil Capistrano, who heads
Bulacan board Some 300 Pinoys ready to leave Lebanon Vito Barcelo and member, driver By Rachelle Tonelada killed in ambush
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try,” DMW Undersecretary Bernard Olalia said. Meanwhile, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) called on all parties NEARLY 300 Filipinos in Lebanon involved in the worsening situation in are ready to be repatriated following the Middle East to de-escalate violence theAWARD. rising conflict between Israel and Hans Sy, Chairman of the Executiveand Committee Prime Holdings, pursue of “aSM peaceful resolution of Hezbollah, according to the Retailers Depart- Association was honored by the Philippine (PRA) with its Outstanding the conflict.” Filipino RetailersWorkers President(DMW). Award for his visionary The leadership in retailthis development. ment of Migrant DFA issued statement fol(From left to right): PRA Director and Director oflowing SM Retail Jorge T. Mendiola, PRA At least 226 OFWs have declared Israel’s ground operations in Vicereadiness Presidentto and and COO of Golden, ABC, Inc. (The Penshoppe Group) their goPresident home and applied Lebanon, which began on Wednesday. T. Liu, SM Prime Holdings Committee Hans T. Sy, forAlice repatriation, the DMW said.Chairman of the Executive IsraelInc. Defense Forces Roberto (IDF) operaPRA President and Chairman of Quorum International, (Toby’s Sports) “Once the exit permits are protions were prompted by recent S. Claudio, and PRA Director and President of Sportshouse Int’l. Leisure, Inc. and attacks, cessed, overof 200 Filipinos willAward be Mars including proponent PRA OFR President’s C. Chua missile strikes from Iran’s ready for evacuation from the counNext page