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VOL. XXXII • NO. 303 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2018 • www.manilastandard.net • editorial@manilastandard.net
Palace airs doom for federal charter Warns Congress people may reject its draft Cha-Cha
‘Parking’ budget scheme bared By Maricel V. Cruz SORSOGON Rep. Deogracias Ramos Jr. on Friday confirmed that several district and party-list lawmakers are “parking” funds outside their congressional districts. Ramos said the initial P2.7 billion worth of infrastructure projects in his district ballooned to P5 billion after some of his colleagues parked their allocations with him. “There were congressmen or party-list [representatives] who parked their allocations [with] my district... meaning they added their allocation to my district,” Ramos said. One party-list lawmaker parked P1 billion released for Next page infrastructure with his district.
By Nat Mariano and Maricel V. Cruz
T
HE Palace said Friday that Congress should heed the advice of former Chief Justice Reynato Puno about the proposed federal charter, saying the public might end up rejecting the draft charter approved by the House of Representatives if they did not.
BUDGET Secretary Benjamin Diokno said Friday he would snub future hearings of the House of Representatives on alleged anomalies in the proposed 2019 national budget and simply send written replies to their questions because lawmakers were being “disrespectful.” “They have crossed the line. They have been disrespectful. They did not give me a chance to answer their questions so next time I will just send a written report,” ABS-CBN quoted him as saying. Diokno was invited to the Question Hour on Dec. 11 to explain the P75-billion insertions in the 2019 budget. The next day, the House urged President Rodrigo Duterte to reconsider Diokno’s appointment. But the Palace said the President will not allow Congress to disrespect his Cabinet members. In a Palace press briefing, Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo
“Congress should listen to former Chief Justice Reynato Puno and open themselves for amendments. That should be considered,” Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said in a Palace press briefing Friday. “Otherwise, there might be the danger of people rejecting the proposed amendment to the Constitution. That would be a waste of people’s money.” Panelo said President Rodrigo Duterte himself vowed to campaign against the ratification of a proposed charter if it was “against the interests of the people.” “Should Congress introduce amendments to the Constitution, when they meet as a constituent assembly, and it is against the interest of the people, he will campaign against the ratification of that proposed draft of the Constitution,” Panelo added. In an interview with ANC, Puno, chairman of the Consultative Committee, said the committee members agreed
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Diokno slams ‘rude’ treatment
By Nat Mariano
Cops arrest Faeldon’s son, 4 others in Naga drug raid By Francisco Tuyay
Gov’t to unlock lock-in period on cellphones By Darwin G. Amojelar THE Department of Information and Communications Technology has ordered the National Telecommunications Commission to promulgate rules and regulations for telecoms
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POLICE arrested a son of Bureau of Corrections Director General Nicanor Faeldon and four other people during a drug raid in Naga City on Friday morning. Reports said Nicanor Faeldon Jr., 32, was arrested after policemen barged into a drug suspect’s house on San Miguel Street in Mabolo village in Naga City around 5 am. Faeldon Sr. said Friday he would resign and kill his son if it was proven he was involved in the illegal drug trade. “What I can assure everybody is if my son is involved in any way, I will resign immediately and hunt him down. I would kill that idiot if he was involved,” Faeldon told ANC television. Malacañang said an impartial investigation was in order
THE GRAY MATTER. The 5-foot-10 January-born Catriona Elisa Magnayon Gray, Miss Universe Philippines 2018, jockeys for position in the swimsuit competition during the 2018 Miss Universe pageant in Bangkok on Thursday, and in the evening gown competition (right). Catriona, a television host, singer, and model, hopes to become the country’s 4th Miss Universe following Gloria Diaz (1969), Margarita Moran (1973), and Pia Wurtzbach (2015). AFP
following the reported arrest of Faeldon Jr. “We assure [everyone] that there will be no whitewash on the ongoing investigation in adherence with the administration’s firm resolve to curb illegal drugs in the country,” Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said in a statement. Faeldon Jr. aside, the Naga City police also reported the arrest of a certain Russel Lanuzo Bermudo alias Bubbles, 47, a businessman; Allan Valdez, 44, of Sampaloc, Manila; and Manuel Nebres, 39. Supt Errol Garchitorena Jr., chief of the Naga City Police intelligence unit, said the authorities found no illegal drugs on Faeldon Jr. Faeldon Jr. was reportedly visiting his girlfriend who is a daughter of Lanuzo at the time of the raid. The police reported the seizure of seven pieces of suspected shabu at Next page the suspect’s house.
Gray’s ‘slo-mo twirl’ wows netizens
IT WAS the “slo-mo twirl” that left mouths agape across the world, and certainly left fans of Catriona Gray, the Philippines’ bet in the 2018 Miss Universe pageant, in awe. Strutting on the catwalk in the swimsuit competition of the beauty pageant
in Bangkok, Thailand, Gray stopped for a half-second, spun to her left, and let her long, straight hair whip around her as she smiled again to the audience. The video of the 24-year-old Next page
Security concerns hobble intel project By Macon Ramos-Araneta THE Senate is likely to remove the funding for the P20-billion surveillance and monitoring project of the Interior department with a Chinese firm due to security concerns, Senator JV Ejercito said Friday.
In defense of the DILG’s budget, Ejercito, vice chairman of the Senate’s finance committee, warned that would happen if some government agencies would fail to justify the project. “Some senators will introduce Next page
HONORING A MEMORY. Young boys from Eastern Visayas stand in front of a wall with the inscription of the names of both US and Philippine soldiers who died during a conflict in 1901, displayed at the town plaza in Balangiga, Eastern Samar on Friday, a day before the formal ceremony to return three bronze church bells taken by US troops at the time but returned to the Philippines on Dec. 11 by the US government. AFP