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PHILHEALTH EXECS DEFY GIERRAN, REFUSE TO FILE COURTESY RESIGNATION By Willie Casas, Rey E. Requejo and Vito Barcelo PHILIPPINE Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) executives have refused to resign despite the call of their new president and CEO Dante Gierran to vacate their posts following a multibillion-peso corruption controversy.
Gierran said in a television report he has asked 66 officials to resign, but none have turned in their resignation as of Tuesday. Instead, the executives sought a dialogue with Gierran to argue that they are assured of security of tenure by Civil Service laws. “That is basic (rights under the civil service). It is s o
RODY: GIVE BEEP CARDS TO RIDERS NEWS / A2
'DESTROY ILLEGAL DRUGS NEXT WEEK'
hard to lose a job, especially in times like this,” PhilHealth spokesman Rey Baleña said. But Civil Service Commission (CSC) head Aileen Lizada said PhilHealth executives cannot hide behind such laws. “While we have security of tenure, it does not mean that you have all the right to stay there even if you are doing something wrong,” Lizada said.
"Don't use the CSC to back you up, because we will not also stand by anomalies or irregularities,” she added. An audit ordered by Lizada found that many PhilHealth officials have refused to vacate their posts. She said that some regional vice presidents of the state health insurer have held their posts for decades. Meanwhile, President Rodrigo
House drops budget debates, suspends session 'til Nov. 16
DUQUE DEFENDER.
President Rodrigo Duterte addresses the public via television and again defends Health Secretary Francisco Duque III from corruption charges at the Malago Clubhouse in Malacañang on Monday night. Presidential Photo
By Maricel V. Cruz and Vito Barcelo
T
HE House of Representatives on Tuesday suspended its session until next month ahead of the anticipated speakership showdown next week.
In a surprise move, Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano in plenary session made a motion to terminate the period of debates and amendments on the proposed national budget for 2021, paving the way for the bill’s approval on second reading. The House earlier set the approval of the budget on third and final reading for Oct. 14―the day Cayetano was supposed to step down in favor of Marinduque Rep. Lord Alan Velasco, with whom he had a VOL. XXXIV • NO. 215 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES • P18 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2020 • www.manilastandard.net • mst.daydesk@gmail.com
ABS-CBN shows to air on Bro. Eddie's channel By Darwin G. Amojelar
Zoe Broadcasting said it would be rebranding its VHF (very high frequency) Channel 11 as “A2Z” starting October, which would be "the home of the newest TV experience for Filipinos as it offers relevant, informative and entertaining content geared towards spiritual strengthening."
SHUTTERED media giant ABS-CBN has found a new home for its entertainment programs and movies after announcing Tuesday a block time agreement with the Zoe Broadcasting Network, founded by religious leader and party-list Rep. Eddie Villanueva.
AT A GLANCE
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’Pastillas’ tie to graft-buster bared
(AS OF 4 PM OCT. 6)
326,833 TOTAL NUMBER OF CASES
2,093 47,655 NEW
ACTIVE
5,865
25
273,313
209
DEATHS
RECOVERIES
NEW
NEW
Du30 assures wise fund use in fight vs. virus PRESIDENT Rodrigo Dutrete assured the public that the government will spend the money on its COVID-19 response wisely. “The funds for Bayanihan Act, I assure you that it was spent wisely, it was spent according to rules. There is no syndicate,” the President said in a televised address to the nation Monday night. “I’ll tell you that there was no corruption. And we will be careful with the next round of a Bayanihan. Is it three? Three. And there is still money to be well given to the people, to the poor especially,” Duterte said. The President also mentioned the abuses committed by officials of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth), noting they now face prosecution after a task force recommended the filing of charges Next page
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No Speakership swap on Oct. 14
NEWS / A2
COVID-19 PH
Duterte defended Health Secretary Francisco Duque III anew from involvement in the state health insurer's mess, saying he believes Duque—as PhilHealth chairman and a member of the board for many years —is innocent of all accusations. In a televised meeting, Duterte said he has been advised to let Duque go, but the
Marc Red Mariñas
By Macon Ramos-Araneta THE Office of the Ombudsman is also involved in the so-called “pastillas scam,” another whistleblower claimed in yesterday’s Senate hearing on the modus at the Bureau of Immigration (BI) that allowed Chinese workers to pay bribes to enter
Jeffrey Dale Ignacio
the country illegally. During the hearing of the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender, whistleblower Jeffrey Dale Ignacio accused former BI deputy commissioner Marc Red Mariñas as one of the masterminds of Next page the multibillion-peso scam.
term-sharing agreement that was brokered by President Rodrigo Duterte. But Cayetano’s motion to suspend the session until Nov. 16 means Velasco will be unable to assume the speakership as agreed on Oct. 14. Several senators expressed their disappointment that the passage of the P4.5trillion 2021 national budget was delayed after the House decided to suspend its Next page
Velasco hits Cayetano’s ruse STILL SPEAKER.
House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano delivers his speech at the plenary session of the House of Representatives regarding the 2021 national budget on Tuesday. Ver Noveno
MARINDUQUE Rep. Lord Allan Velasco on Tuesday blasted the "unilateral acts" of Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and his allies to move for the second reading approval of the 2021 budget bill without finishing the scheduled plenary deliberations and then suspending sessions until Nov. 16. In a statement, Velasco—speaking as the leader of the ruling PDP-Laban party in Congress—said that due to Cayetano's "desperate attempt" to remain Speaker, he has "bastardized" the House of Representatives and "committed serious violations" of the Constitution. "The unilateral acts of Speaker Cay-
etano clearly translates to the loss of confidence by majority House members in him as he knows that the Super Majority Coalition is no longer with him in view of the glaring and blatant inequities in the district budget allocation for 2020 and 2021, where the lion shares only belong to few congressmen who are his allies and minions," he said. "The foregoing acts manifest Speaker Cayetano’s extreme desire to hold on and hang on to power in clear defiance of President Duterte’s desire for the passage of fair and equitable budget that serves nothing but the interests of the Filipino Next page people," Velasco said.
Trump back in White House, removes mask immediately WASHINGTON— President Donald Trump checked out of hospital Monday (Tuesday in Manila) after four days of emergency treatment for Covid-19, pulling off his mask the moment he reached the White House and vowing to quickly get back on the campaign trail. Shortly beforehand, Trump had tweeted that
Americans, who have lost nearly 210,000 people to the virus, have nothing to fear. A series of made-for-TV moments allowed Trump to squeeze the maximum from his medical discharge, starting by exiting alone from the large goldcolored front doors of the Walter Reed military hospital just outside Washington. Next page
LEFT OUT? Students, after finishing their modules and other school activities, play card games called "tex" on the street without any protection against the coronavirus on Tuesday. The children said they were not included in online classes at their public school in Vista Bonita, Rosario, Cavite. JR Josue
Silence, please! Classes going on in neighborhood THE Joint Task Force Covid Shield on Tuesday urged the public to report to local officials those who create unnecessary noise that disrupt online classes and modular learning of students in their homes.
at least two police officers. Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, task force Eleazar, also PNP deputy chief for adcommander, said Philippine National Police chief, Gen. Camilo Cascolan, has ministration, said blended learning methordered the establishment of barangay as- ods implemented by the Department of sistance centers that would be manned by Next page
GRAND GESTURE. US President Donald Trump takes off his facemask as he arrives at the White House upon his return from Walter Reed Medical Center, where he underwent treatment for COVID-19, in Washington, DC, on Monday. AFP