Manila Standard - 2018 December 7 - Friday

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Oil tax hike to feed inflation—Recto By Macon Ramos-Araneta

VOL. XXXII • NO. 295 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2018 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@manilastandard.net

SENATE President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto on Thursday warned that if the government increases taxes on oil next year, this would clearly increase prices and stoke inflation. He added that while the November inflation rate has come down to 6 percent,

that is still high. “We can only hope that oil prices will continue to go down,” Recto said, adding that the government should help those affected by rising prices just as fast as they raise taxes. “Equally important is to spend those taxes wisely,” he added.

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PUV drivers threaten to go on strike Piston protests jeepney modernization timetable

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HE government on Thursday urged a major transport group to discuss their concerns about the jeepney modernization program before going on a two-day strike in January. In an interview on GMA-7, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board executive director Samuel Jardin said a dialogue would help both sides come up with a solution that would benefit everyone. The Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (Piston) had earlier announced a two-day strike in January to protest the modernization program, which it said would disenfranchise many drivers and operators. The program will require operators to replace old jeepneys with new units costing P2 million each that comply with Euro 4 emission standards. None of the old jeepneys, Jardin said, could possibly comply with the Euro 4 standard, which would cut pollution by 45 percent.

Piston has also complained about the March 18 deadline for jeepney operators to form corporations or cooperatives, which the LTFRB said would enable them to take advantage of tax exemptions. Meanwhile, Senator Grace Poe took the LTFRB to task for issuing policies and taking action without public consultation. “The LTFRB seems to be crafting policies and issuances without hearing the side of the PUV operators, drivers and passengers. It doesn’t get the complete picture, the result is a mess,” said Poe, who chairs the Senate committee on public services. “We are reminding them that the passengers, commuters and operators and Next page

Briguez named Air Force ‘top gun’ PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has appointed Lt. Gen. Rozzano Briguez as the new commanding general of the Philippine Air Force, Malacañang announced Thursday. In a letter dated on Wednesday, which was released by the Palace on Thursday, Duterte wrote to Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana to designate Briguez, commander of the Western Command, as the new PAF chief. Briguez will replace the Lt. Gen. Galileo Kintanar Jr., who is 13 months away from retirement. According to Lorenzana, Kintanar, who leads the 19,000-strong Air Force, has opted for early retirement. He is scheduled to step down in January 2020. Briguez graduated the PAF as a class topnotcher from the PAF Flying School in 1988. Next page Lt. Gen. Rozzano Briguez

I SUBMIT. His left index up to make a point, Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol tells the Samahang Plaridel Kapihan breakfast forum at the Manila Hotel Thursday that, in the spirit of transparency, he wants to submit himself to a lifestyle check effective immediately. To his right is Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission Chairman Dante Jimenez. (Related story on A3) Lino Santos

Agri chief submits self to anti-graft lifestyle audit By Vito Barcelo AGRICULTURE Secretary Emmanuel Piñol said Thursday he had volunteered to submit himself to a lifestyle check to erase doubts he is involved in financial transactions in the importation of rice after he was named head of the National Food Authority. Piñol became chairman of the NFA Council after President Rodrigo Duterte

issued Executive Order 62, which returned the agency to the Department of Agriculture from the Office of the President. “Since the transfer of the NFA to the DA, I have observed a pattern of media stories apparently insinuating that there are financial transaction of rice importation that I am involved with,” Piñol told reporters. Because of the allegations, Piñol said,

ICC bent on probing PH drug war THE Hague-based International Criminal Court’s prosecutor appears determined to continue looking at drug warrelated criminal allegations against President Rodrigo Duterte, only months away before Manila’s withdrawal from the tribunal becomes effective. Manila’s withdrawl from the ICC becomes effective on March 17 next year. But in its report, the ICC said it “retains jurisdiction with respect to alleged crimes that have occurred on the territory of the Philippines during the period when it was a State Party to the [Rome] Statute.” The ICC, intended to complement existing national judicial systems, has the jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for the international crimes of genocide,

crimes against humanity, and war crimes. In a report published Wednesday, the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor said it was continuing its assessment of available information to determine if there is “reasonable basis” to believe that the allegations fall under the ICC’s subject-matter jurisdiction. Other countries included in the ICC jurisdiction report are Myanmar, Bangladesh, Ukraine, and Venezuela. ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda opened a preliminary examination of accusations of crimes against humanity against Duterte in February this year. Based on Bensouda’s report, Duterte and other senior government officials are accused of promoting and encouraging

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2 solons deny pork ‘insertion’ charges By Nat Mariano

NOT FIRECRACKERS, CHILDREN. Pupils of the General Roxas Elementary School blow horns at the launch Wednesday of the annual ‘Oplan Iwas Paputok, Fireworks Display and Patok’ campaign of the Department of Health in Barangay Roxas in Quezon City. PNA

THE senior vice chairperson of the House committee on appropriations has vehemently denied Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson’s claim that congressmen allegedly inserted pork barrel in next year’s national budget. Compostela Valley Rep. Maria Carmen Zamora, the main plenary sponsor of the national budget and a senior vice chairperson of the panel, said the allocated funds under House Bill (HB) No. 8169 or the national budget for various districts, including that of Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s second district of Pampanga, originated from the figures submitted by the Department of Budget during the time of former Speaker Pantaleon “Bebot” Alvarez. “You can’t say that it is congressional insertion because the realignments in the proposed budget were also recommended by district engineers of the DPWH [Department of Public Works and HighNext page ways],” said Zamora.

he would submit himself to a lifestyle check to be conducted by the PACC effective immediately. “I don’t live a lavish lifestyle, I don’t go to casinos, I have stopped drinking and smoking,” Piñol said. PACC chairman Dante Jimenez welcomed Piñol’s decision and called on all other presidential appointees to undergo Next page the same scrutiny.

Trillanes facing ‘hold order’ for sedition, libel raps By Rey E. Requejo THE Department of Justice has asked the courts in Pasay City and Davao to issue hold departure orders against Senator Antonio Trillanes IV who has been charged with inciting to sedition and libel. The DOJ made the move after Trillanes was able to secure travel permit from the Makati City Regional Trial Court, Branch 150, where he has a pending rebellion case, allowing him travel abroad. Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Thursday revealed that prosecutors Next page

Panelo warns of FB scams PRESIDENTIAL SPOKESMAN Salvador Panelo said Thursday he had deactivated his official Facebook account and warned the public against the rise of online scams inNext page volving his name.


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