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ISHIBA HEADS TO VIETNAM, PH TO TALK TRUMP TARIFFS NEWS / A3
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IRAN SEAPORT EXPLOSION KILLS 25, HURTS 1,000 WORLD / A6
Solons: Beijing interference could produce treasonous leaders By Ram Superable, Rio N. Araja, succeeds in its effort to influence the outcome of next month’s midterm elections in and Rachelle Tonelada favor of pro-China candidates. Senate Majority Leader Francis TolenLAWMAKERS representing both houses of Congress warned against inevitable ero- tino said once Chinese collaborators are Next page sion in Philippine democracy if Beijing
VOL. XXXIX • NO. 72 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P20 • MONDAY, APRIL 28, 2025
China touts seizing PH reef ‘Sandy Cay’ takeover coincides with PH-US missile drills
By Rex Espiritu
T
HE Chinese government over the weekend announced that it had recently seized a reef controlled by Manila, a move conspicuously timed as Filipino and American troops were testing state-of-the-art air and coastal defense systems as part of their annual “Balikatan” [shoulder to shoulder] war games. But the National Security Council said late yester- jurisdiction over the West Philippine Sea.’ day that it deployed an Inter-Agency Maritime OpThe NSC said four composite teams from the eration (IAMO) to the Pag-asa island’s surrounding Philippine Navy, Coast Guard, and Philippine Nawaters to reinforce the government’s ‘routine and tional Police- Maritime Group were deployed to lawful exercise of maritime domain awareness and Next page
CLAIMING SANDY CAY. Four Chinese coast guard personnel unfurl China’s flag, left photo, to assert sovereignty over Sandy Cay (Tiexian Jiao to the Chinese), according to the Communist Party newspaper Global Times. Top right photo shows the location of Sandy Cay while the bottom right photo shows naval vessels from the Philippines and the United States conducting maritime exercises under the ongoing Balikatan wargames. Global Time, Google Map, AFP.
After Pope’s burial, attention now focuses on the Conclave ATTENTION has swiftly shifted to the upcoming conclave, where cardinals will soon gather in secrecy to elect the next leader of the Catholic Church after Pope Francis has been laid to rest. On Saturday, an estimated 400,000 mourners—including world leaders
and royalty—joined the funeral rites at the Vatican and burial ceremony in Rome, honoring the Argentine pope whose legacy as a tireless advocate for the poor and vulnerable has left a deep imprint on the Church. Francis, who passed away on Monday
at the age of 88, was remembered for his transformative leadership. Among the faithful, there is both gratitude and apprehension over who will succeed him. “He made the Church more accessible, more human,” said Romina Cacciatore, a 48-year-old Argentinian transla-
Comelec’s list of bets sent SCOs growing
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celebrate Lapu Lapu Day, Vancouver mayor Ken Sim posted on X. The festival, which commemorates a Filipino anti-colonial leader from the 16th century, falls this year on the Next page
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Vancouver police investigate a crime scene yesterday after a man drove into pedestrians at the annual Lapu Lapu festival celebrating Filipino culture, at East 43rd Avenue and Fraser, in the south of Vancouver. AFP
Nine people killed in Vancouver Pinoy event AT LEAST nine people were killed after a driver plowed into a crowd at a street festival on Saturday in the Canadian city of Vancouver, local police said. “A number of people have been killed and multiple others are injured,” Van-
couver Police posted on X. “The driver is in custody.” Authorities have yet to release the names and identities of the fatalities and the suspect in the attack. The incident happened as members of the Filipino community gathered to
By Othel V. Campos DEPARTMENT of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel Jr. has directed the National Food Authority (NFA) to start transferring rice stocks to the Visayas ahead of the launch of the P20-per-kilo rice program. “It will take several weeks to move tens, even hundreds, of thousands of 50-kilo bags of rice from NFA warehouses, particularly in Mindoro, to various parts of the Visayas,” Tiu Laurel said. The DA has already secured clearance from the Commission on Elections to roll out the P20/kilo program, a flagship campaign promise of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in 2022. The subsidy for the lower-priced rice will be shared equally by the DA’s Food Terminal Inc. and participating local government units. Rice for the initiative will come from the NFA’s buffer stocks, which reached a five-year high last week at 378,157 metric tons—equivalent to 7.56 million bags of rice—enough to feed the country’s population for 10 days. NFA warehouses in Iloilo currently hold the equivalent of 862,409 sacks of rice; however, NFA Administrator Larry Lacson stressed the need to supplement supplies in areas with limited rice production, including
CRIME SCENE.
By Vito Barcelo THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has expressed concern on the growing number of political candidates being issued show cause orders (SCOs) due to alleged violations of election regulations, including vote buying, instances of verbal abuse, and the improper use of government funds in the coming May 2025 midterm elections. Poll body chairman George Garcia said the Comelec has received 158 complaints regarding vote buying, abusing state resources (ASR), and other electoral violations, and has issued at least 120 show cause orders. Metro Manila has recorded the highest number of election violators, raising concerns about the integrity of the electoral process and its potential effects on fair competition among
tor living in Italy. “I’m anxious about what lies ahead.” In the Philippines, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference (CBCP) sought to dispel speculation about papal frontrunners, clarifying that no specific cardinal
DA sending P20-kilo rice stocks to Visayas