‘Rody tops Noy gains in 1st 100 days’ THE new administration has yet to reach its first 100 days in office, but House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez says he feels as if a year has passed because of the many accomplishments of President Rodrigo Duterte. ”It feels like the administration has served for one year already because of so many things that have happened,” Alvarez told reporters on Monday.
He said the Duterte administration was more productive compared with the previous administrations. ”Look at the drop in criminality―it has dropped to about 50 percent at least. It’s a big deal,” Alvarez said. He nevertheless expressed disappointment over the inability of the Transport Department to solve the traffic problem plaguing the major roads.
He said the traffic jams in Metro Manila and in Metro Cebu, for instance, had to improve. “Sad to say, I have yet to see any improvement in Metro Manila and Metro Cebu,” he said. The average monthly crime rate has hit 49 percent from 55.54 percent last year, according to recent police data. That has Next page
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QUEEN’S POWER. Catriona Elisa Magnayon Gray, the 22-year-old Filipino-Australian model, host and blogger from Albay, is crowned Miss World Philippines Sunday, where she beat 23 other candidates nationwide where she was among competition favorites from the start. She was also named Miss Manila Hotel, Miss Hannah, Best in Swimsuit, Best in Evening Gown and Best in Fashion Runway. Teddy Pelaez
Allies to Digong: Shut up already By Macon Ramos-Araneta
a former Tourism secretary. During the fifth hearing of the Senate committee on justice, ENATOR Richard Gordon on Monday which is investigating the rising said President Rodrigo Duterte should stop number of drug-related killings, Gordon said he is opposed to the saying he will kill drug dealers and drug President being so vocal about pushers. his drug war plans. “The President is noisy. He is very noisy,” Gordon said, adding “The President is my friend. them,” Gordon said. We both became mayor but I “I’ll just suggest that we change that the noise is not helping the don’t want the President to be our tourism slogan to ‘Wow PI!’ war on drugs, but alarming local talking and talking about what he (Wow Pu---ina! from Wow Phil- and international human rights plans to do. What he should say ippines). Hopefully the President groups. He added that Duterte’s repeatis, there are too many unresolved will hear this and (realize) it’s al[killings] and we will solve ready too much,” added Gordon, ed endorsement of the killing of
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drug suspects if they resist arrest leads to the misconception that he sanctions the use of unnecessary violence. “That’s not right… He stumbled on his own sword because he was talking and talking, so that the whole country is [now] being accused of allowing such things to happen,” Gordon said. In the latest flare-up, Duterte lashed out at critics who likened him to Hitler, but said he would be “happy to slaughter” threemillion drug users. Next page
Belgian princess resets Ex-Davao cop belies death squad claim Macon Ramostrip after ‘killings’ quip ByAraneta BELGIAN Princess Astrid may cancel her visit to the Philippines next year as a result of President Rodrigo Duterte’s recent statement that he would be “happy to slaughter” three-million drug addicts, a newspaper reported Monday. The decision was made after Brussels State Secretary for External Trade Cecile Jodogne called for an emergency meeting to discuss the royal visit, the newspaper La Libre Belgique reported. “It will be difficult to ensure the visit goes ahead,” the paper quoted Jodogne as saying. Foreign Affairs spokesman Charles Jose said they are still verifying the report with the Belgian government. In his speech on Friday morning in Davao, Duterte likened his war on drugs to Hitler’s efforts to
exterminate the Jews, and said he was “happy to slaughter” threemillion drug addicts. Duterte also lambasted Western critics of his unprecedented law-and-order crackdown, which left more than 3,000 people dead in three months and raised concerns about a breakdown in the rule of law. “Hitler massacred three-million Jews. Now there are three-million drug addicts [in the Philippines]. I’d be happy to slaughter them,” Duterte told reporters in his home city of Davao shortly after returning from Vietnam. “At least if Germany had Hitler, the Philippines would have,” he said, then paused. “But you know, my victims, I would like to be [sic] all criminals to finish the problem of my country and save the next generation from perdition.” Next page
Amnesty for Reds on peace agenda THE government and the communist rebels will discuss an amnesty proclamation and the replacement to the bilateral ceasefire agreement that will lapse on Oct. 28 once they return to the negotiating table for the second round of peace talks on Thursday, an official said Monday. In a statement, Peace Process Secretary Jesus Dureza said the government was confident it would be able to strike a deal with the rebels by August next year following a successful first round of talks in Oslo last August. ‘‘The previous ceasefires were unilateral,” Dureza said. “We need to craft mechanisms to monitor violations and resolve the conflicts and issues arising from them.” The unilateral ceasefires declared by the government and the National Democratic Front and the NDF are indefinite, but Dureza said the government
was eying a more permanent cessation of hostilities. “These can only be done if we are able to agree on the more substantial issues of social and economic reforms. These are the more contentious issues and we expect humps and bumps during the peace negotiations,” Dureza said. Both panels have already written drafts of the Comprehensive Agreement on SocioEconomic Reforms or CASER, which has been described as the “meat” of the peace talks. The end of hostilities and disposition of forces―the other substantive agenda of the peace talks―hinge on the success of CASER, along with political and constitutional reforms. The NDF negotiators, however, reminded their government counterparts that they needed to comply with the release of all political prisoners as stipulated in the Comprehensive Next page
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THE former chief of Davao City’s PNP Heinous Crime Division on Monday denied the existence of the Davao Death Squad, which was blamed for the spate of killings in city when President Rodrigo Duterte was still the
city’s mayor. Testifying before the Senate committee on justice, retired Supt. Dionisio Abude said he had heard about the DDS, but it never existed. He also debunked reports that the killings perpetrated by DDS, a vigilante group, were sanctioned by Duterte.
“I’ve heard about the term because the media are the ones saying there’s a death squad. When somebody is killed, they point to the supposed death squad,” said Abude who was head of the Heinous Crime Division from January 2003 to March 2006. After he retired in January 2013, Abude was hired by Davao
City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio as a consultant for the city’s Civil Security Unit. “DDS never existed,” said Abude, who was among the 21 high-ranking PNP officers who were penalized by Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales over the unabated killings attributed to the DDS. Next page
House panel to rethink tax reform package THE House will come up with its own version of the tax reform package that the Finance Department had submitted to Congress for consideration but was rejected, Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said on Monday. He told reporters an alternative proposal would be drafted by the House committee on ways and
means to address their concerns about Finance’s proposals--especially its proposal to impose additional taxes on several commodities and remove the tax exemptions on senior citizens and people with disability. Finance claims its proposals would make up for the estimated P179 billion in revenues that would
be lost from the planned lowering of the personal income tax. “Initially, I have seen it [Finance’s proposed reform package] and I think it has to be reviewed,” Alvarez said. “We will request a meeting with the Department of Finance. We will be working on a counter proposal to its tax measures.”
Alvarez made his statement even as Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno on Monday assured Congress that a higher tax collection would suffice to cover what would be lost from a lowering of personal and corporate income taxes. Many lawmakers have described Finance’s proposed tax Next page
Same-sex union bill endorsed
Film starlet, 2 others fall in ‘buy bust’
SPEAKER Pantaleon Alvarez on Monday called for the passage of the controversial bill seeking to legalize same-sex unions, saying he himself would sponsor it to ensure its immediate passage. He told reporters his office was now preparing a copy of the draft measure which, he said, would give “happiness and dignity” to the members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. “I will sponsor it. If you will look at the Constitution, it contains a provision guaranteeing happiness of the Filipino people,” Alvarez said. “Why do we have to deprive them of such? I, for one, am one with the LGBT community. If that will make them happy, why don’t we just support them?” Alvarez made his statement even as Pope Francis said teaching children gender theory in schools was an “insidious indoctrination,” even as he insisted he had always treated homosexuals
STARLET Krista Miller and two models were arrested by Quezon City police as part of the government’s anti-drug campaign At a news conference, QCPD Director Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar identified the other suspects as Liaa Alelin Bolla, 24, a part-time model; and Jeramie Padolina, 30, a part-time model. Also arrested were John Inri Barros, 22; Justine del Rosario, 19, Renato Hernandez Jr., 32, and Aaron Villanueva Medina, 26. Police said they received a tip that a certain “John” was pushing drugs at 21 A. Luna St. in Bgy. Bagumbuhay in Project 4. When they were arrested, Bolla and Padolina tagged Miller and Barros as the source of their illegal drugs. The QCPD coordinated with the Valenzuela City police to set up a buy-bust targeting the actress at a gas station on T. De Leon Street in Valenzuela City on Sept. 30. Miller and Medina were arrested at 9:10 p.m., and were
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