Manila Standard - 2020 March 6 - Friday

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POLICE CHIEF STABLE AFTER CHOPPER CRASH; 2 GENERALS CRITICAL

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CHOPPER CRASH. PNP Chief Gen. Archie Gamboa (left), in hospital but in stable condition after his helicopter crashed in San Pedro, Laguna (right) Thursday morning, is visited by former PNP chief, now Senator Ronald dela Rosa. Gamboa just finished inspecting the impounding area of HPG in Calabarzon and took off for a command conference in Camp Vicente Lim, Laguna. With Gamboa in the chopper were Director for Comptrollership Jovic Ramos, Director for Intelligence M/Gen. Mariel Magaway, PIO Chief B/Gen. Bernard Banac, and the two pilots. Roy Tomandao

Velasco rebuffed: Wait for your turn By MJ Blancaflor and Maricel V. Cruz SPEAKER Alan Peter Cayetano on Thursday rebuked Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco for being impatient to take over the leadership of the House of Representatives, advising the latter to stop sowing intrigue in a bid to

VOL. XXXIV • NO. 25 • 4 SECTIONS 28 PAGES • P18 FRIDAY, MARCH 6, 2020 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com

force a premature change in speakership. “[The President] has left it to us to settle the problem. The President’s instructions were very clear: That [Martin Romualdez] will be Majority Leader for 36 months, and then the 1521 arrangement [for the speakership],” Cayetano said. Next page

Senators slam AMLC inaction BOC alert ignored on $700k inflow By Macon Ramos-Araneta

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ENATOR Richard Gordon bewailed the failure of the AntiMoney Laundering Council to act promptly on money laundering cases, denouncing it as an example of “bureaucracy in its worst form.”

HEARING ON POGO. Anti-Money Laundering Council Executive Director Mel Georgie Racela (right) is questioned by Senator Richard Gordon (left) during the Senate hearing on alleged money laundering, crimes and other nefarious activities associated with the operations of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators in the Philippines. Ey Acasio

Police chief stable after crash, 2 critical

500 Pinoys stranded in California over virus fears By Rey E. Requejo

By Francisco Tuyay PHILIPPINE National Police chief Archie Gamboa and seven police officials were injured after the helicopter they were riding plummeted shortly upon take off in a vacant lot in San Pedro, Laguna Thursday, shortly after 8 a.m. Gamboa only suffered bruises while two of his ranking colleagues, Police Major Generals Mariel Magaway and Jose Maria Ramos, chiefs of comptrollership and the intelligence branch, respectively, suffered serious injuries and were in critical condition at separate hospitals. Deputy Chief for Administration Gen. Camilo Cascolan was appointed officerin-charge of the PNP until Gamboa returns to “full duty status,” Interior Secretary Eduardo Año said. Eyewitness accounts said the Bell 429 chopper took off from the Laperal Compound, in Barangay San Antonio, San Pedro, Laguna, the temporary site for impounded motor vehicles that Gamboa inspected, but kicked up sand and debris as it was lifting off, creating poor visibility. As the chopper rose, one of its landing skids got entangled with power lines, causing the pilot to lose control. It crashed landed on its side. Policemen in charge of security at the Next page

SELFSAME EXTERMINATORS. Opponents of coal-fired power plants (left) wear masks in front of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, denouncing them as killers for bringing down air quality while a man (right), protected by masks, wait in line at a post office in Daegu in South Korea to buy face mask against the deadly coronavirus. Manny Palmero, AFP

COVID-19 shutters schools: 300m affected ALMOST 300 million students worldwide faced weeks at home on Thursday with Italy the latest country to shut schools over the deadly new coronavirus, as the International Monetary Fund urged an all-out global offensive against the epidemic. More than 95,000 people have been infected and over 3,200 have died world-

wide from the virus, which has now reached some 80 countries and territories. In California, Governor Gavin Newsom declared an emergency following the state’s first coronavirus fatality—raising the US death toll to 11—and a cruise ship was kept offshore after passengers and crew members developed symptoms. Next page

AT LEAST 500 Filipino crew members were among the thousands stranded on a cruise ship off the California coast over fears of the new coronavirus after passengers and crew members on board developed symptoms. Local recruitment firm Magsaysay People Resources Corp. said tests are being conducted on passengers and crew who may have contracted the disease. US officials delayed the return of the Grand Princess to San Francisco on Wednesday night from Hawaii in order to carry out testing on board for those potentially infected. A 71-year-old man who had been aboard the same vessel during its previous voyage to Mexico died after contracting the COVID-19 illness, becoming the

At the resumption of Senate Blue Ribbon hearings on the operations of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), Gordon asked AMLC officials why they failed to act on a Bureau of Customs report that a certain individual was caught for the non-declaration of $700,000 in cash in 2019. A visibly irritated Gordon berated AMLC officials and told them that once they were notified, they should have acted immediately as it could be a case of money laundering. AMLC Executive Director Mel Racela said they cannot immediately declare that the funds were laundered as they have to “assume good faith” based on the reasons Next page

3,000 Chinese soldiers invade PH; military checking THE Armed Forces of the Philippines said Thursday it was now verifying reports that a “good number” of China’s People Liberation Army soldiers were now in the country. “We are in the process of validating the report of Senator [Panfilo] Lacson,” AFP Chief Felimon Santos Jr. told reporters. But Malacañang said Thursday the military should validate the reported presence of 3,000 Chinese soldiers in the

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Kim Chiu's stalkers hunted By Rio N. Araja THE two motorcycle-riding men who shot at the van of actress and television host Kim Chiu on Wednesday waited for her van to leave her subdivision before opening fire at it, according to the Quezon City Police District. Next page

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