Manila Standard - 2019 June 26 - Wednesday

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Rody neutral on Speaker bet Solons told to sort it out among themselves By Nat Mariano

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RESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday said he will no longer endorse a candidate in House speakership race, urging congressmen to “sort it out among themselves.” In a speech after the oathtaking of local officials affiliated with Hugpong ng Pagbabago in Malacañang, the President said he asked outgoing House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to

choose her next successor. Arroyo, however, declined to have the final say on the matter. “I told her [Arroyo], ‘I will ask a favor from you. You should decide since you’re the most senior here.’ [But] they all laughed at me, I told them I wasn’t fooling around,” Duterte said.

“Ma’am [Arroyo] should decide to spare me from the agony of choosing [because] I don’t want to hold grudges because they’re all my friends,” he added. The President also joked that she would jail Mrs. Arroyo if she declined to choose the next Speaker. “F*ck *t, if she doesn’t want to choose, I will put her to jail again,” Duterte said, but Arroyo still declined. Duterte said Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez approached him to express his interest in the speakership. Romualdez, along with Taguig congressman-elect Alan Peter Cayetano and Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco, also want to be Speaker. Next page

TOGETHER THREE. Photo for posterity is shared during the Hugpong ng Pagbabago Thanksgiving Night Monday at the Peninsula Manila in posh Makati City, with President Rodrigo Duterte (left), Speaker Gloria Arroyo (center) and Leyte Rep.-elect Martin Romualdez. Contributed Photo VOL. XXXIII • NO. 132 • 3 SECTIONS 16 PAGES • P18 • WEDNESDAY, JUNE 26, 2019 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

UN HCR frets over Manila’s war on drugs

Gov’t allows access to China fishers in PH waters By Nat Mariano THE government will continue to tolerate the operation of Chinese fishing vessels within Philippine territorial waters, President Rodrigo Duterte said Monday night. Speaking to reporters after a movie premier, the President invoked the friendly relations between Manila and Beijing and said the Philippines would not prevent the Chinese from fishing in Philippine waters. This friendship, he said, would prevent “a bloody conclusion” to any incident that might occur in the West Philippine Sea. He also said China would not allow itself to be barred from fishing in areas within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone (EEZ). The President’s remarks follow the June 9 ramming and sinking of a Filipino fishing boat near Recto Bank in the West Philippine Sea. The boat’s captain, Jonel Insigne, said he would ask the government to ban Chinese fishermen from the Recto Bank, after the Chinese abandoned him and 21 others in the open sea after their boat sank. Next page

By Nat Mariano THE Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has expressed concern again over the number of deaths recorded under President Rodrigo Duterte’s crackdown on illegal drugs. In a statement, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said her office monitors very closely the human rights situation in Manila. Despite acknowledging the governmentbacked data showing the “real numbers” in the widely criticized campaign, Bachelet said the UN views the number of deaths as “extraordinarily high.” “The extraordinarily high number of deaths—and persistent reports of extrajudicial killings—in the context of campaigns against drug use continue. Even the officially confirmed number of 5,425 deaths would be a matter of most Next page

Cabinet purge in the offing By Nat Mariano PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte could revamp his Cabinet and assign Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol to another post, but he has not hinted anything, Malacañang said Tuesday. Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said Duterte did not mention any supposed plan to make some changes in his Cabinet or to name another Agriculture secretary. “I have not received any word on that... He [Duterte] has not mentioned anything,” Panelo said. “We’ve heard for several months that Secretary Piñol will be replaced, but so far nothing has happened.” Panelo also said Duterte still trusted Next page

Cebu top cop named PCSO GM MARKED CONTRAST. While a prototypical faucet in Metro Manila drips, no thanks to Manila Water and Maynilad

Water Services, Araneta Avenue in Quezon City is submerged Tuesday following a heavy downpour, no gratitude either to Tropical Depression ‘Dodong,’ forcing an unidentified man to carry his bicycle while wading through the four-lane avenue lined by office buildings and funeral parlors. Lisa Marie David

‘Dodong’ manna from heaven amid water crisis

By Rio N. Araja and Maricel V. Cruz TROPICAL Depression “Dodong” is expected to enhance the southwest monsoon, bringing rains to Luzon—including the Angat watershed in Bulacan, the weather bureau said Tuesday. On Monday night, the heavy rains that lasted until 4 a.m. Yesterday could fill

Rescue dog bows out of service MEXICO CITY—Frida the rescue dog, a labrador retriever who gained worldwide fame for her heroics after the earthquake that devastated Mexico on Sept. 19, 2017, officially retired from duty Next page Monday.

more than 5,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools, causing flooding in Quezon City, Navotas, Malabon, Valenzuela, Manila, Mandaluyong and San Juan, the state weather bureau said. Weather forecaster Lanie Bitogon of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said that while Dodong is not expected to make landfall, it is

expected to intensify the southwest monsoon and trigger rain showers and thunderstorms over the western sections of Luzon and the Visayas Wednesday night. On Thursday, the monsoon rains are expected to prevail over Metro Manila, the Western Visayas and western sections of Central Luzon, where the Angat Dam can be found. Next page

Feline killers vs. NY rodents AN ARMY of silent assassins is stalking intruders in homes and offices across the US capital, but unlike Mafia hitmen or ninja mercenaries they have simple terms—a bowl of milk should do Next page as payment.

By Nat Mariano PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has named Cebu City police Chief Royina Garma as the new general manager of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, replacing Alexander Balutan who resigned last month. “It’s Garma of the PNP [Philippine National Police] who will replace Balutan. She is an Ilocana who’s from Cagayan Valley,” Duterte told reporters. He made the statement even as Armed Forces Chief Benjamin Madrigal Next page Royina Garma

270 SM scholars graduate THE Board of Trustees of SM Foundation will hold the 23rd presentation of SM scholar-graduates at the SMX Convention Center on June 26, 2019. This will be the first time that SM patriarch, Henry Sy Sr., will not be around to meet the young graduates who have benefited from a program he institutionalized in 1993 with the

acceptance of the first SM Foundation scholars. The SM College Scholarship program is the flagship program of SM Foundation. Borne out of his belief that education is the best defense against poverty, the scholarship program has grown to support over 1,500 college students and 2,000 tech-voc scholars at any given time. Next page


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