VOL. XXXIX • NO. 105 • 2 SECTIONS 12 PAGES JUNE 1, 2025
GILAS BOYS BAG GOLD AT SEABA QUALIFIERS NEWS / A2 Carl Gabriel delos Reyes (18), is MVP
of the 2025 SEABA Qualifiers
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‘TEVES’ LIFE NOT ENOUGH TO REPAY VICTIMS’
SHOULDER TO SHOULDER. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (left) shakes hands with Philippines’ Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro before a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue Summit in Singapore. AFP
By Edwin G. Ombion BACOLOD CITY – Negros Oriental congresswoman-elect Janice Degamo said the wife of expelled lawmaker Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves Jr. is not enough to compensate his victims, including her husband, the late Gov. Roel Degamo. “The lives lost in Pamplona massacre, including my beloved husband and former governor Roel Degamo, cannot be repaid by the life of former Negros Oriental congressman Arnie Teves,” she told Manila Standard in a phone interview. Degamo made the statement after Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Friday said Manila assured the Timor-Leste government that all its conditions will be honored. In the certificate of handover signed by Philippine and Timorese officials, the Philippine government was informed that Teves cannot be sentenced to death: “Even if it were to be reinstated [in the Philippines], it could not be imposed in this case, as it cannot be applied retroactively.” The Timor-Leste government also asked the Philippine government to observe due process throughout the criminal proceedings. “The conditions do not reflect our Philippine realities. We don’t have capital punishment or death penalty for that matter, and I am not saying I am for death penalty, but let me reiterate that his (Teves’) life and imprisonment are not enough for the lives and dreams of poor and simple people that he had taken away,” she said. “We have discussed and clarified these actually when we went to Timor Leste last year to press for Teves extradition,” Degamo added. She said they have a strong case against Teves, who was deported Wednesday afternoon.
PENTAGON: CHINA TO USE MILITARY FORCE IN ASIA BEIJING NAVY, COAST GUARD PATROL SCARBOROUGH
By Rex Espiritu
U
S SECRETARY of Defense Pete Hegseth warned Saturday that China was “credibly preparing” to use military force to upend the balance of power in Asia, vowing the United States was “here to stay” in the Indo-Pacific region.
The Pentagon chief made the remarks at an annual security forum in Singapore as the administration of US President Donald Trump sparred with Beijing on trade, technology, and influence over strategic corners of the globe. “The threat China poses is real and it could be imminent,” Hegseth said at the Shangri-La Dialogue attended by defense officials from around the world. Beijing is “credibly preparing to potentially use military force to alter the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific,” he added. On Saturday, China’s Southern Theatre navy conducted combat readiness patrols around the disputed Scarborough Shoal in the West
US TO DOUBLE STEEL, ALUMINUM TARIFFS WORLD / A6
PRIME INFRA BUYS P50B STAKE IN FIRST GEN NEWS / A7
Philippine Sea, Xinhua news agency reported. On the same day, the China Coast Guard likewise conducted law enforcement patrols in the territorial waters and surrounding areas of Scarborough, the CCG said in a statement through its WeChat account. Scarborough Shoal, located 124 nautical miles off Masinloc, Zambales, is within the Philippines’ 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone. Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. underscored the crucial and strategic significance of “sustained US leadership…especially for the smaller states of Southeast Asia.” During the security meeting in Singapore, Hegseth warned the Chinese military was building the capabilities to invade Taiwan and “rehearsing for the real deal.” Beijing has ramped up military pressure on Taiwan and held multiple large-scale exercises around the island, often described as preparations for a blockade or invasion. Reassuring US allies on Saturday, Hegseth said the Indo-Pacific was “America’s priority theater,” pledging to ensure “China cannot dominate us – or our allies and partners”. He said the United States had stepped up cooperation with allies including the Philippines and Japan, and reiterated Trump’s vow that “China will not invade (Taiwan) on his watch.”
VP SARA: RECONCILIATION TALKS NOT A PRIORITY VICE President Sara Duterte said she is not prioritizing reconciliation talks with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., saying public concerns are more important than “personal issues.” “First of all, I don’t think I should speak about reconciliation for now because personal problems are not important,” she said in a press briefing on Saturday (Manila time) outside the Scheveningen Prison at The Hague where her father, the former President Rodrigo Duterte, is detained for trial for crimes against humanity. The Vice President made the comment days after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he does not need enemies and that he is always open to start reconciliation talks, but not with any preconditions or demands. The Vice President also described her looming impeachment trial as a “crucifixion.” “It’s a persecution, some sort of crucifixion. And when there’s crucifixion, there’s blood. So it’s a bloodbath – my bloodbath,” she said. “I think many misunderstood the word ‘bloodbath.’ We have always
DOH: NO LOOMING LOCKDOWN AS MPOX CASES GO DOWN IN MAY
LIGHT MOMENT. Vice President Sara Duterte takes a selfie with supporters outside the Scheveningen Prison at The Hague where her father, former President Rodrigo Duterte, is detained for trial for crimes against humanity. Office of the Vice President
said that the impeachment is a political persecution. It is the administration going after me, after I resigned from the Cabinet,” she added. The presentation of the Articles of impeachment before the Senate has been rescheduled on June 11, or two days before the 19th Congress ad-
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journs on June 13. The Vice President said she welcomes the recent Social Weather Stations survey which showed that 88 percent of respondents said it was important for her to face the impeachment proceedings and answer the allegations.
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‘Wake-up call’ Hegseth described China’s conduct as a “wake-up call,” accusing Beijing of endangering lives with cyber-attacks, harassing its neighbors, and “illegally seizing and militarizing lands” in the South China Sea. Beijing claims almost the entire disputed waterway, through which more than 60 percent of global maritime trade passes, despite an international ruling that its assertion has no merit. Beijing has not sent any top defense ministry officials to the summit, dispatching a delegation from the People’s Liberation Army National Defense University instead. Hegseth’s hard-hitting address drew a critical reaction from Chinese analysts at the conference. Da Wei, director of the Center for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University told reporters the speech was “very unfriendly” and “very confrontational,” accusing Washington of double standards in demanding Beijing respect its neighbors while bullying its own – including Canada and Greenland. Former Senior Colonel Zhou Bo, from the Centre for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University told AFP that training drills did not mean China would invade Taiwan, saying the government wanted “peaceful reunification.” With AFP
THE Department of Health on Saturday warned the public against fake social media posts claiming a lockdown is in place over rising mpox cases in parts of the country, noting that there were fewer cases logged in May than in April. “Be wary of fake Facebook pages that spread false information or fake news about mpox. There is no lockdown anywhere in the Philippines. That is fake news,” the DOH posted on its social media account. It added that Mpox Clade I-b has not been observed in the Philippines, which only has Clade II, noted to have a lower mortality rate. “There is no need to have a lockdown over mpox since it is not airborne. The DOH reminds everyone not to believe circulating fake Facebook posts with a misleading marketing strategy, fake endorsement from experts, and unrealistic state-
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ments about health,” the DOH said. Health department spokesman Albert Domingo said there were less than 50 cases detected in May, lower than the cases recorded in April. “Starting 2024, our cases reached 911...but that is not what DOH is focusing on. We are looking at the per month basis,” he said. “We are looking at the epidemic curve. We are not focusing on the total. There seems to have been the notion that there was a surge in mpox because reports came out one after the other, but if you look at the epidemic curve, there were more cases in April compared to May,” Domingo added. Domingo some of the first cases reported as mpox were later verified to be chickenpox. Domingo said since mpox is not an airborne disease, there is not much that wearing a face mask can do to prevent the transmission of the virus.
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