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FIVE LOCAL PH-US ties ‘ironclad’ despite Trump's foreign aid review HOLIDAYS IN OCT. By Rachelle Tonelada eign Affairs Enrique Manalo. Trump has been known for quesNEWS / A3
ISRAEL CONTINUES TO POUND HEZBOLLAH Enrique Manalo
WORLD / A6
The reassurance of continued suptioning alliances, including NATO, port and collaboration came even as claiming that allied nations treat the THE United States government unPresident Donald Trump signed an United States unfairly by not paying der the newly-installed Trump adexecutive order imposing a 90-day more for their defense. ministration reaffirmed its “ironclad” suspension on all US foreign assis“No further United States foreign alliance with longtime ally the Philiptance programs pending reviews to assistance shall be disbursed in a pines during a recent phone converdetermine whether they are aligned manner that is not fully aligned with sation between US Secretary of State VOL. • Secretary NO. 227• 3 SECTIONS PAGES • with his 16 policy goals. • P20 •MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2024 Next page MarcoXXXVIII Rubio and of For-
Marco Rubio
PNP resurrecting probe into PCSO official's slay Marcos not closing door on Teen Pregnancy Bill T 2 soldiers die, 12 wounded in Basilan ambush
FORMER Muslim rebels ambushed government troops assigned to escort UN staff visiting the southern Philippines, killing two soldiers and wounding 12 others, the military said Thursday. Wednesday's attack came more than 10 years after the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) signed a peace agreement with Manila, ending a decades-old armed campaign initially for a separate state and later Muslim self-rule in Asia's bastion of By Rio N. Araja Catholicism. A military statement said the soldiers wereHE "fired upon by unidentified Philippine armed personalities" in Basilan isNational Police land, triggering a firefight that left two soldiers dead and 12 others wounded. (PNP) is reopening Local media reports however said its into onlyinvestigation seven soldiers were hurt in the ambush. the 2020 murder of The commander of the army unit, Philippine Charity Brigadier General Alvin Luzon, how
COMELEC RESCHEDS BALLOT PRINTING PAGASA
VOL. XXXVIII • NO. 343• 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P20 •FRIDAY, JANUARY 24, 2025 •
Speaker grateful for PMA Class '83 vote of confidence in Quad Comm
Sweepstakes Office Next page (PCSO) board secretary Wesley Barayuga.
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 carry it out. The whistleblower also implicated incumbent National Police Commissioner Edilberto Leonardo in the planning of the murder. Barayuga was a retired police general and lawyer who supposedly threatened to expose corruption within the PCSO shortly before he was shot dead in Mandaluyong City. Garma, herself an ex-police Lt. Colonel, allegedly gained the top spot at the PCSO because of her in-
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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 drug trade and extrajudicial killings.
Yang's lawyer mocks probers amid heated inquiry
DOTr’s Bautista says online news report ‘unfounded' Typhon missiles moved amid foreign spies concern
By Darwin Amojelar
BUSINESS B1 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 By Ram Superable non-food items (NFIs) worth P919 and Maricel V. Cruz million were already prepared by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). RESIDENT Some P171 million in standby Ferdinand fund is also available for utilization by the DSWD, including P123 mil''Bongbong'' lion which can be allotted as Quick Marcos Fund Jr. expressed Response (QRF) in the central office of the openness in DSWD. reviewing In Batanes, the Provincial Dithe proposed substitute saster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) advised Adolescent Pregnancy residents to secure their roofs and Prevention Bill and install window shutters as Typhoon madeisitexpected clear that he landfall Julian to make
President to review revised measure filed by Hontiveros
THE legal counsel of Chinese adviser of former President Rodrigo businessman Tony Yang sought to Duterte. disparage lawmakers’ conclusions Fortun, a lawyer who often finds Next page about his client’s supposedly himself at the center high-profile sketchy past and his alleged ties cases, apparently sought to mock with Philippine Overseas Gaming congressmen, calling their probe Operators (POGOs) and even “unacceptable.” AFTERMATH. Gunmen, inset, who ambushed and killed 2 soldiers and wounded 12 others pose organized crime. with the burning military truck as background yesterday in Upper Cabengbeng, barangayHowever, Sumisip inHouse members argued Raymond Fortun they did not come by their suspicions Basilan island. 93.1 Brigada News FM - DavaoLawyer questioned the House Quad about Yang recklessly. Committee’s impartiality and its On Friday, Senior Deputy Speaker ability to pin Chinese national Yang Aurelio Gonzales Jr. of Pampanga down for ay wrongdoing in a real and Deputy Speaker David Suarez of criminal court. Quezon presented a matrix showing “I am very interested in how they Yang’s first appearance and his [Quad Comm members] can prove subsequent at the Quad was undertaking “mapping” operations batteries andactivities related equipment being By Rex Espiritu, Rachelle this criminal network in court. In Comm on certain military locations. loaded hearing. onto C-17 transport aircraft at Tonelada, Vince Lopez, Congress, lawmakers act asbattery both “WeInternational saw a pattern, and we Redeploying the missile Laoag Airport, saidtracked Jeffrey prosecutor and judge,” he said. it to the top of these corporations... and Maricel V. Cruz would help assess how quickly and Lewis from the Middlebury Institute of Yang, itwho we stripped itStudies. of its layers , to get to effectively couldalready be movedadmitted to a new International having a fake a Philippine birth the Meanwhile, top and through we have THE Typhon missile launchers firing position, senior Philippine Theit all, Department certificate, is the brother of Michael discovered and identified at least deployed in the Philippines by US government official told Reuters. of Foreign Affairs (DFA) two said Yang, a presidential economic main issue forces last year have been moved to an This manner of mobility is it is actors takingor players reports inofthealleged undisclosed location within the country, considered crucial for enhancing foreign espionage operations in a move that coincidentally came less the launchers’ survivability should a the Philippines “seriously” and is than a week after local authorities conflict with a foreign power break out. prepared to respond as needed. arrested an alleged foreign spy who Satellite imagery showed the missile Next page
BAUTISTA
Gov’t readies NEWS / A3 P1.48b as NOW KADIWAaidRICE 'JINulian' strengthens SUPERMARKETS
Navy spokes debunks China claim of military exercises in Scarborough shoal 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. ‘Energy in Transition—Powering Tomorrow‘ . The German Philippines, Australia, Japan, Bilyonaryo reported online that Embassy, GIZ Philippines, and SM Supermalls launched an exhibit featuring New Zealand, and the United “Bautista and his long-time protege in interactive digital displays which highlight the importance sustainable exclusive energy States withinof Manila’s Philippine Airlines, Undersecretary for solutions and underscores Germany’s commitment to addressing the climate zone (EEZ) in the reAviation Bobby Lim, are publiceconomic crisis.and The Airports exhibit is designed to raise awareness on the significance of gional waters over the weekend. at theenergy centertransition, of the storm after it was and encourage dialogue and collaboration on building a Philippine Navy Spokesperson sustainable future. for WPS Rear Admiral Roy VinNext page
17 Pinoy sailors freed by Yemeni captors
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 Dantes their internal audiBy Charles ence, right? For them not to look weak Trinidad THE and 17 embarrassed,” Filipino seafarers held said. captive in Yemen for more than a Two warships were year haveChinese been safely released and on monitored at a President distance Ferdinand ranging their way home, from eight toMarcos 14 nautical miles. "Bongbong" Jr. announced One of these went up to 1,000 yesterday. yards at the MMCA even"It is with utmost joy site that but I announce tually away. “It 17was not the safewent release of all Filipino threatening, just normal,” seafarers," President Marcos accordsaid in a statement. Next Nextpage page
of illegal drugs and illegal activities associated with POGOs,” Suarez said in a mixture of Filipino and English. The solons explained how the matrix details Yang’s connections to other individuals involved in illicit activities, including the operations of illegal POGOs. Among the companies implicated are Brickhartz Technology Inc. and Xionwei Technology Co. Ltd., which are being linked to alleged kidnapping. The two firms supposedly have connections with the Baofu Compound in Bamban, Tarlac, which, in turn, can be directly traced to disgraced ex-mayor Alice Guo. During Friday’s Quad Comm hearing, lawmakers cited Tony Yang in contempt for “lying” to about his businesses and business partners. Next page
believes sex education is Next page "extremely important."
PH lobbies UN for Security Council seat
The President’s statement came after Sen. Risa Hontiveros, the primary sponsor of the measure, filed a substitute bill immediately following several of her colleagues’ withdrawal of support for its original version. ''I need to read the substitute bill first,'' Marcos said Thursday. on THE Mr. Philippine government ''So, publicly let me becalled very, very clear, I still Sunday for the Unitbelieve that(UN) sex education terms ed Nations to give it ainseat on of teaching kids theCouncil, anatomy highlightof the reprothe UN Security ductive systems ofstrong male record and female ing the country’s and is extremely important,'' he the added. dedication to upholding rule of law.Meanwhile, Senate President Francis Escudero added of his Foreign name to Affairs the list of Department Senators opposed to the current version (DFA) Secretary Enrique Manalo in Senate delivered Bill 1979 but emphasized that aofspeech at the UN GenNextthe page eral Assembly in New York said Philippines continues to emphasize the “importance of upholding the rule of law and the integrity of the multilateral system in the face of today’s global challenges.” Quoted by reports, Manalo also said: “The Philippines has consistently pursued peace, the sovereign equality of states, the rights and dignity of all persons.” He added that the country is also recognized as the “first Asian ReNext page
INTERACTION WITH WEF PARTNERS. Speaker Ferdinand Martin G.
Romualdez engages in discussions with global business leaders during the breakfast interaction of the Philippine delegation to the 2025 World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting at the Belvedere Hotel in Davos, Switzerland. Joining Speaker Romualdez are Anthony Tan, CEO and co-founder of Grab, a Southeast Asian leader in ride-hailing, logistics, and digital payments; Dr. Calvin Choi, Global Chairman of AMTD Group, a Hong Kong-based conglomerate focused on financial innovation and sustainable investments; and Marcus Wallenberg, Chair of Sweden’s Wallenberg Investments AB, which has significant interests in technology, telecommunications, and green energy. The dialogue centered on opportunities for investments in the Philippines, focusing on digital transformation, sustainable development, and public-private partnerships to accelerate economic growth.
NGCP is owned, controlled by Filipinos–Sy AAWARD. TOP official of Chairman the National China (SGCC) does notHoldings, exercise Hans Sy, of the Executive Committee of SM Prime wasCorporation honored by the Retailers Association withpower its Outstanding Grid of Philippine the Philippines control (PRA) over the grid nor over Filipinomaintained Retailers President for his visionary leadership in retail development. (NGCP) that theAward company NGCP," NGCP Vice Chairman Henry (From left to right): PRA Director and Director of SM Retail Jorge T. Mendiola, PRA on is a Filipino corporation and run by Sy Jr. told the House Committee Vice President and President COO of Golden, ABC, Inc. (The Penshoppe Group) Filipinos, allaying concernsand about Legislative Franchises in a statement Alice T. Liu, SM Prime Holdings Chairman of the Executive Committee Hans T. Sy, China's role in the operation of the read by NGCP President Anthony PRA President and Chairman of Quorum International, Inc. (Toby’s Sports) Roberto country's power grid. S. Claudio, and PRA Director and President ofAlmeda. Sportshouse Int’l. Leisure, Inc. and Next page "The State GridOFR Corporation of proponent of PRA President’s Award Mars C. Chua