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‘MARCE’ TO BRING HEAVY TO INTENSE RAINFALL—PAGASA By Rio Araja TYPHOON “Marce” slightly intensified over the Philippine Sea, and its eye was estimated at 480 kilometers east of Echague, Isabela. It was moving northwestward 25 km/h packing maximum sustained winds of 130 km/h near the center and gustiness of up to 160 km/h. Tropical cyclone wind signal no. 1 Next page
VOL. XXXVIII • NO. 264 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P20 • WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2024
OVP exec flies to US amid probe 6 others skip House hearing; spokesman parts ways with VP Sara
By Maricel Cruz, Rachelle Tonelada and Vito Barcelo
HE chief of staff of Vice President Sara Duterte flew to the United States while six other OVP officials were a no-show despite being called to testify before the House Committee on Good Government and Public Accountability yesterday.
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The House panel is investigating the alleged mishandling of P612.5 million in confidential and intelligence funds allocated to the OVP and the Department of Education during Duterte’s term as DepEd chief. Committee chairman Manila Rep. Joel Chua said said Duterte’s chief of staff, Usec. Zuleika Lopez, departed for the United States Monday night on a Philippine Airlines flight bound for Los Angeles, California. The Bureau of Immigration, however, said it was yet to receive the House
CONFI FUNDS PROBE. Former Spokesperson
Atty. Michael Poa
Rhunna Catalan
Atty. Zuleika Lopez
Lemuel Ortonio
and Undersecretary of the Department of Education (DepEd) Atty. Michael Wesley Poa, inset left, answers questions from House Members during the Good Government and Public Accountability hearing yesterday at the People’s Center in the House of Representatives. Also present in the hearing was DepEd chief accountant Rhuna Catalan. Atty. Zuelika Lopez however had left the country for the United States, while five other officials of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) refused to attend the hearing. Ver Noveno
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Solon tells Rody: Have courage Dela Rosa rejects Senate cooperation with ICC to face next Quad Comm probe By Ralph Harvey Rirao
doubts about whether he would attend a hearing scheduled on Thursday. “Elected leaders should have the A HOUSE leader urged former President Rodrigo Duterte to make good on courage to practice the virtue of havhis word to face the Quad Committee ing a word of honor,” House Assistant even as another lawmaker expressed Next page
By Maricel V. Cruz
SENATORS BALK AT BARMM POLL POSTPONEMENT NEWS / A3
NEDA UPDATES TWO MAJOR FLOOD CONTROL PROJECTS NEWS / A2
SENATOR Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa on Tuesday questioned his colleagues’ willingness to submit to the International Criminal Court (ICC) a certified transcript of a recent Blue Ribbon subcommittee hearing. He was referring to the panel’s hear-
ing on the Duterte administration’s anti-drug campaign, in which he was very closely involved. Dela Rosa was reacting to Senate President Francis Escudero saying there was no reason for the Upper Chamber to refuse a justifiable request to certify transcripts of its hearings on the previous administration’s drug war.
PAOCC spokes admits slapping ‘disrespectful’ person By Charles Dantes THE suspended Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission spokesperson, Winston Casio, admitted to slapping an individual during the raid on a suspected POGO facility in Bataan, where authorities found evidence of scamming and human trafficking. In a radio interview, Casio said that he slapped the worker after the individual allegedly disrespected an officer. He explained that he gave the worker two options: face a complaint for unjust vexation or accept two slaps. The worker reportedly chose the latter, resulting in what Casio described as “a few light slaps.” Next page
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Price pressures uptick partly due to storms—gov’t By Darwin G. Amojelar
Each state casts its Electoral College votes for the candidate that won its popular vote. Bigger states, with more representatives in the US Congress, get a larger share of the 538 Electoral College votes on offer. Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and her Republican rival Donald Trump will be vying to get to the all-important 270 votes that pushes them past the halfway mark and guar-
THE country’s headline inflation rose to 2.3 percent in October, up from 1.9 percent in September due to higher food prices triggered by typhoons, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Tuesday.On Tuesday, the agency noted the uptrend in overall inflation last month was primarily influenced by the faster annual increment in heavily weighted food and non-alcoholic beverages, which stood at 2.9 percent from 1.4 percent in September. Also contributing to the uptrend were transport costs, with a slower year-on-year decrease of 2.1 percent in October from a 2.4 percent annual drop the previous month, the PSA said. However, the October 2024 inflation of 2.3 percent was still within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ forecast range of 2 percent to 2.8 percent. “The latest inflation outturn is consistent with the BSP’s assessment that inflation will continue to trend closer to the low end of the target range over the succeeding quarters. This reflects easing supply pressures for key food items, particularly rice,” BSP said. In the first 10 months, the inflation rate stood at 3.3 percent, well within the government’s target range of 2 percent to 4 percent this year. “The latest inflation figures confirm
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SLAPPING INCIDENT. Video grab shows Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission spokesperson Winston Casio slapping an individual who allegedly disrespected one of his men during a raid on a suspected POGO hub in Bataan. Teleradyo video grab
Long wait seen for results of US presidential election
DECISION TIME. A resident votes during in-person absentee voting in the village of Freedom, Wisconsin. Getty Images/AFP
“It’s no problem with him, but for me, it seems there’s a problem,” he said in Filipino. Dela Rosa emphasized that the ICC has no jurisdiction over the Philippine government. “Giving in to their request is tantamount to recognizing the jurisdiction
AS AMERICANS vote on Election Day, officials are calling for patience as they tally ballots in what could be a historically close presidential race -and warning that it could take days to find out who has won. Under the US system, citizens do not vote directly for their leader. Instead, their ballots elect the 538 members of a group called the Electoral College, which then elects the president and vice president.