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HIGH COURT SUSPENDS TRANSFER OF PHILHEALTH FUNDS TO TREASURY By Pot Chavez, Joel Zurbano and Ralph Rirao THE Supreme Court (SC) En Banc on Tuesday issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) to enjoin the further transfer of Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) funds to the national treasury. It was learned that the High Tribunal consolidated petitions separately filed by 1SAMBAYAN Coalition, Sena-
VOL. XXXVIII • NO. 257 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P20 • WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2024
tor Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III et al., and Bayan Muna Chairman Neri Colmenares et al. to block the transfer of P89.9 billion of the health insurer’s funds to the state purse. The three petitions challenged the return of excess reserve funds from government-owned and controlled corporations to the national treasury to fund unprogrammed appropriations. The respondents were required to Next page
EJK victims told: File cases now Chiz: Rody’s statements under oath may be used against him
By Ralph Harvey Rirao and Rio Araja
T
HE statements of former President Rodrigo Duterte during the first Blue Ribbon subcommittee hearing on his administration’s bloody war on drugs were made under oath and are no laughing matter, Senate President Francis Escudero said, adding that families of victims of extrajudicial killings can now use these to file criminal cases.
DOJ, PNP refute Rody’s crime surge claims NEWS / A2 “All the words he (Duterte) stated (Monday) were under oath, sworn to, and true to the best of his knowlknowl edge, which could be used either for or against him,” Escudero said in a press briefing at the Senate on TuesTues day. “What he swore to could not be dismissed as a joke.” “And we’ll let the lawyers weigh in on that and analyze that because the beauty of the transcript is that the smile – or if it’s just a joke or not – is not there. Hopefully it won’t end with the presentation at the committee. I hope they go straight to filing (of cases),” he added. Next page
KEEP CEMETERIES CLEAN. Miss Argentina Sol Bonfigli, inset at left, joins other candidates of the Miss Earth 2024 and members
of the Ecowaste Coalition yesterday on a sortie at Manila’s North Cemetery to urge people visiting their departed loved ones to keep the cemeteries clean and free of garbage during Undas. The Manila Public Information Office reported that some 229 metric tons or 86 truckloads of waste were collected from October 28 to November 1, 2023, in Manila North and South Cemeteries. Danny Pata
PNP deploys 18k officers to ensure safety of Undas travelers
security measures for “Undas” (All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day) this year. In a Bagong Pilipinas briefing on THE Philippine National Police (PNP) is set to deploy 18,800 officers nation- Tuesday, PNP spokesperson Police wide to increase police presence and Brigadier General Jean Fajardo said
By Charles Dantes
these numbers would include personnel assigned to cemeteries, transport hubs, seaports and airports, and areas affected by Severe Tropical Storm “Kristine.” “We already have around 7,000 offic-
ers on the ground for soft deployment as some Filipinos are already visiting the graves of their loved ones,” Fajardo said. Next page
Freeze on power bill payments in storm-hit areas in areas heavily impacted by Severe Tropical Storm ‘Kristine’ in a bid to hasten the recovery of affected FilipiPRESIDENT Marcos on Tuesday di- nos, the Presidential Communications rected the Energy Regulatory Com- Office said. The presidential directive came as mission (ERC) to look into the possible suspension of electricity bill payments Next page
By Charles Dantes and Rex Espiritu
Rep. Dan Fernandez
PCol. Hector Grijaldo
Ex-police chief says he was told Teodoro orders to confirm drug war cash reward forced evacuation A FORMER chief of police of Mandaluyong City claimed he was directed by at least two heads of the House Quad Committee to confirm the existence of a reward system that incentivized extrajudicial killings during the Duterte administration’s war on drugs. Police Col. Hector Grijaldo told the Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee that he met with Quad Committee cochairpersons Santa Rosa Rep. Dan Fer-
nandez and Manila Rep. Benny Abante along with lawyers of retired police Col. Royina Garma on Oct. 22. “Cong. Dan Fernandez put the paper he was holding on the table and told me, ‘This is the statement you will say,’ while pointing to the paragraph on the paper. He said, ‘This is the supplemental affidavit of Col. Garma. Just say you know the reward system. Just
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along Leon’s path
THE national government has directed local government units (LGUs) to carry out forced and mandatory evacuations of residents in areas identified as ‘high risk’ ahead of the onslaught of Typhoon ‘Leon.’ Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., who also chairs the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, issued the order, to Next page
WALANG GUTOM. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. presides over a sectoral meeting
on the Walang Gutom Program led by Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian yesterday at Malacanang Palace. PPA POOL
SB19 honored with 1734 Murillo-Velarde map By Angelica Villanueva HONORED. Members of the popular Pinoy boy band SB 19 pose with their own
replicas of the 1734 Murillo-Velarde map from NOW Group chair Mel Velarde, fourth from left, during ceremonies held yesterday at the National LIbrary of the Philippines.
THE Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication (AIJC) and NOW Group chairman Mel Velarde honored members of the P-pop powerhouse
SB19 by giving them official replicas of the historic 1734 Murillo-Velarde Map. In an interview, Velarde lauded the five-member group for raising awareness about the Murillo-Velarde Map through SB19’s music video of its sin-
gle “WHAT?” “SB19, with their first music video that I saw, on ‘What?’, they ended the music video with the picture of the map. And we said, this group is more than just a music
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