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NEDA puzzled: Lower tariff failed to reduce rice prices VOL. XXXVIII • NO. 299 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P20 • WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2024
THE lowered tariff on imported rice from 35 percent to 15 percent did not lead to a reduction in rice prices, the National Economic and Development Authority disclosed yesterday. “This is a puzzle also for us,”
NEDA Director Nieva Natural told members of the House “Murang Pagkain” super committee. “Perhaps this deserves a more nuanced analysis,” she added. Next page
PH won’t deploy warships Marcos: Sending Navy vessels will only escalate WPS tensions
By Charles Dantes
PBBM launches viaduct, cancer center in Central Luzon
P
RESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. ruled out deploying Navy warships in response to China’s growing aggression in the West Philippine Sea.
By Charles Dantes PRESIDENT Marcos formally launched yesterday two key projects aimed at enhancing land travel and improving healthcare services in Central Luzon. The Chief Executive called the opening of the P7.8-billion North Luzon Expressway
“We are not at war. We don’t need Navy warships,” Mr. Marcos said. The option to deploy gray ships was first floated after Chinese warships with bow numbers 500 and 571 tailed the Philippine Coast Guard’s BRP Teresa Magbanua “at the very close distance of 300 yards” on December 4. PCG spokesperson for WPS Commodore Jay Tarriela, in the history of incursions of China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) in the WPS, it was the first time Chinese warships “interfered and participated in the harassment of a PCG vessel.” On the same day, the CCG also harassed the BRP Melchora Aquino, BRP Cape Engaño and the BFAR vessels that were deployed at Escoda Shoal. Mr. Marcos, however, said deploying warships would be seen as “provocative” and could escalate the situation. “The Philippines does not escalate tensions. Quite the opposite, the Philippines always tries to bring down the level of tension,” the commanderin-chief said. “All we are doing is resupplying our fishermen, protecting our territorial rights...We are going to con-tinue to perform our mission. If we look at the evolution of
(NLEX) Candaba 3rd viaduct as a significant step toward boosting connectivity and regional development. “The 3rd Viaduct enhances the capacity of this expressway, reduces congestion, and ensures faster, more efficient travel,” Mr. Marcos said. Speaking during the ceremony in Pulilan, Bulacan, he emphasized the viaduct’s importance in Next page
NO LETUP. A public works official briefs President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. and House Speaker Martin G.
Romualdez on the NLEX Candaba 3rd Viaduct in Pulilan, Bulacan after the inauguration of the PhP7.8-billion project. Inset shows the President and the Speaker inspecting the Overseas Filipino Workers Hospital with Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Cacdac in San Fernando City, Pampanga. PCO/Ver Noveno
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VP Sara ready to face impeachment complaints Not enough evidence to link Rody to POGOs NEWS / A2
By Rachelle Tonelada and Maricel V. Cruz
as an opportunity to address the allegations “exclusively” directed at her. “I welcome that they have finally filed the impeachment case that they VICE President Sara Duterte welcomed the two impeachment cases have been talking about since last filed against her, saying she views them Next page
GRAY DAY. A shower of ash blown by Kanlaon Volcano
covers homes and vegetation in a village in La Carlota City, in Negros Occidental. Inset shows a social worker distributing relief goods to temporarily displaced residents at an evacuation center. ABS Screengrab/ DSWD/Facebook
Negros Occidental set to declare state of calamity By Caloy Lozada
Volcano’s renewed eruption yesterday province’s P78 million calamity fund to afternoon, which has affected thou- provide immediate assistance to the afTHE Negros Occidental Provincial sands of residents across the province. fected communities. Governor Eugenio Lacson said the Various government agencies have Government is considering declaring Next page a state of calamity following Kanlaon declaration would allow the use of the
Indonesia asks Philippines for silence on Veloso case By Charles Dantes PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. said the Indonesian government has asked Philippine officials to refrain from making public statements about the case of Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina currently on death row in Indonesia for drug trafficking. “We were asked by the Indonesian government not to make any announcements until everything is settled. So, let’s respect that request,” he told reporters at the inauguration of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) Candaba Viaduct 3 in Pulilan, Bulacan on Tuesday. Mr. Marcos made the remarks when asked whether Veloso, who has been
on death row for 14 years on a drug trafficking conviction, could return home before Christmas. On Friday last week, Indonesia and the Philippines formally agreed on the transfer of Veloso following a highlevel meeting held in Jakarta between the Minister for Human Rights Corrections and Immigration and a senior official of the Department of Justice.. Jakarta has said it would respect any decision made by the Philippines after Veloso returns home, including if she is given clemency. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) formally sought clemency for Veloso on Sept. 6, 2022. She was arrested in Yogyakarta in Next page
Sandigan junks 2 civil cases vs. JPE, Imelda, Danding THE government’s anti-graft court has junked the two civil cases against Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Juan Ponce Enrile, the late tycoon Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr., former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr., former First Lady Imelda Marcos, and several others in relation to their alleged ill-gotten wealth. The Sandiganbayan said the original case “was a civil action for the recovery of ill-got-
ten wealth allegedly acquired by the defendants through the misuse and appropriation of the Coco Levy funds,” ABS-CBN News reported. The Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) filed the civil suits on July 31, 1987. In a resolution promulgated on December 6, 2024, the Second Division’s dismissal of Civil Cases No. 0033-A and 0033-F Next page