IN BRIEF

DFA frets over SC ruling on ’05 deal

Inc., the operator of GCash, “to swiftly resolve the deduction of balance in GCash accounts experienced by its customers.”

GXI then agreed to make the necessary adjustments in the affected accounts, according to the BSP.

This was contrary to the initial statement by GCash, which assured that no funds were lost despite complaints of missing money by some users.

“We have already adjusted the ewallets of all affected GCash users. We wish to reiterate that our customers did

Several GCash users earlier reported that their money was transferred to Asia United Bank and East West Bank accounts ending in number 5239.

East West Bank said it was cooperating with authorities towards the immediate resolution of the issue.

Deputy Minority Leader Bernadette Herrera filed House Resolution 963 to launch a congressional inquiry into the unauthorized fund transfer and ensure that digital platforms like GCash operate within the bounds of the law.

The central bank chief also said that the security features of local digital payment platforms are satisfactory but consumers need to be vigilant.

He said users should not share their OTP or one-time password, because this is the last level of protection.

“Kasi kahit mapasok ka, pero hindi mawi-withdraw ang pera kasi ang bangko kailangan ng OTP,” Medalla said.

GCash earlier submitted its regulatory report to BSP regarding the incident.

“Kung matetrace natin ang may-ari ng accounts na ‘yon, meron pa rin silang pananagutan,” Medalla said.

5 Pinoys among missing as China vessel capsizes

BEIJING—A Chinese fishing vessel has capsized in the central Indian Ocean, with its crew of 17 Chinese, 17 Indonesian, and five Filipino sailors missing, state media reported Wednesday.

A multinational search and rescue operation was underway to locate the mariners, and China’s premier called on authorities to strengthen safety procedures for fishing operations at sea.

The missing vessel, named Lu Peng Yuan Yu 028, capsized at about

Murder...

From A1

The three grounds for the cancellation of a passport are 1) if a person is a fugitive from justice, 2) has been convicted by final judgment, or 3) the passport was tampered with or fraudulently secured.

Teves is not yet a fugitive from justice since no warrant of arrest has been issued against him so far, and no final judgment rendered by a court yet, Remulla said. No complaint has been filed about Teves using a tampered passport either, he added.

“The filing of criminal raps by NBI is for the purpose of preliminary investigation where DOJ will still determine probable cause, or there is sufficient basis to indict in court for committing the crime charged,” the Justice chief said.

Teves has denied Remulla’s claim.

“That is fake news,” Teves said in a radio interview. “They should have asked me first before they talked,” he added in Filipino.

Citing a “reliable source” who may have access to flight data into the country, Remula said on Tuesday that Teves was likely to return to the country from Timor Leste, where he applied for po -

Zamora:...

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Philippines, Inc. (PHAPI) president Dr. Jose Rene de Grano also said the number of admission of COVID-19 cases among its members has increased in the last three days.

“For the past two or three days, the number of cases had increased.

Even the (hospital) admissions here also rose here in our private hospitals,” De Grano said.

The areas where private hospitals have an increased number of COVID-19 admission include the National Capital whether red or white [onion]. For the white onion, we expect its supply to last until mid-July,” he said.

However, the bureau’s Director Glenn Panganiban told a congressional hearing the government is “considering” importing 8,000 metric tons of white onions this year to stabilize prices.

The agency estimated that the country has 12,843 metric tons of white onions as of April, which will last until September. Stocks of red onions meanwhile were estimated to be at 98,394 metric tons, which may be sufficient to cover local demand until November, the BPI chief said.

“What we’re looking at is to have a buffer of 2 months (supply),” Panganiban told the House Committee on Agriculture and Food on Wednesday.

Food producers, on the other hand, are worried that the planned 22,000 metric tons (MT) of onion will not be enough to meet the 70,000 to 80,000tons demand for the year.

“If the government is planning to i mport 20,000 (metric tons), it can’t be helped that the price of onion will shoot up again. It will not be enough,” said

3 am Beijing time on Tuesday (1900 GMT Monday).

President Xi Jinping ordered the coordinated search, CCTV said, but “so far, no missing persons have been found.” Teams from around the region are now at the scene and China has deployed two commercial vessels — the Lu Peng Yuan Yu 018 and Yuan Fu Hai — to help in the operation.

Beijing’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched an “emergency mech - litical asylum but was rejected.

“What we know is that Teves secured tickets. We have sources who tell us his movements,” Remulla said.

Nonetheless, the DOJ chief said Teves has to return to the country to face the charges against him.

“Flight is an indication of guilt by any language, by any jurisdiction, in any legal system. It is an indication of guilt,” he emphasized.

Teves has been tagged as “one of the masterminds” in the Degamo slaying.

The suspended lawmaker has not returned to the country despite the expiration of his travel authority on March 9. He has denied all the allegations against him.

The House of Representatives Committee on Ethics is set to investigate next week Teves’ reported application o for political asylum in Timor Leste.

Rep. Felipe Espares of COOP-NATCCO, the panel’s chairperson, at the same time, rejected Pamplona Mayor Janice Degamo’s letter, which sought Teves’s expulsion from the chamber.

Espares said the committee will hold a meeting on May 23, a day after the expiration of Teves’ 60-day suspension for his continued absence without travel authority.

The committee vice chairperson,

Region, Calabarzon, Western Visayas, and Davao Region, he said.

At the same time, PHAPI reminded the public that going to hospitals is still safe because their COVID-19 facilities are isolated and health protocols are being observed.

But Zamora, the head of the Metro Manila Council, noted that the National Capital Region remains in the low-risk category for COVID, with hospital utilization rate peged at 29%.

“So that is within the low-risk category. Our positivity rate is 25 percent, and most of the cases are mild,” Zamora, quoted by ABS-CBN News, said.

The San Juan mayor added that “some cities are reimposing mask mandates,

GMA...

From A1 represents Pampanga’s 2nd District, in the plenary session. The move effectively removes the “senior” from Arroyo’s Deputy Speaker title.

Deputy Speaker Democrito Mendoza, who presided over the session, approved

Gov’t...

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Senator Tulfo aimed to examine the security aspect, particularly on who truly controls the corporation,” the PCO said in a statement.

“The President agreed with the senator’s proposal to conduct a comprehensive study or hold hearings to determine the actual situation. If necessary, the government will take back control of the entity,” it added. Forty percent of NGCP is owned by the State Grid Corporation of China, anism for consular protection” involving embassies and consulates in Australia, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Indonesia, the Philippines and other countries, according to CCTV.

THE recent Supreme Court ruling voiding the 2005 joint exploration deal between Philippines, Vietnam, and China in the South China Sea has “far reaching” implications, the Department of Foreign Affairs said Wednesday.

“It has far reaching implications… Based on the Supreme Court decision, other countries can now go [into] cooperative endeavors and exclude us, and the irony there is it is because of that decision,” said DFA Undersecretary Carlos Sorreta during the Senate committee on Government Corporations and Public Enterprises hearing.

Earlier this year, the high court declared unconstitutional and void the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) entered into by the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC), China National Offshore Oil Corporation, and Vietnam Oil and Gas Corporation.

Internet voting OK for 2025 elections

Charles Dantes

Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian said that they are also cooperating with the Department of Foreign Affairs and other concerned agencies. Xilian also confirmed that at least five Filipinos missing. With Rey E. Requejo and but overall in Metro Manila, together with the DOH, we are under the lowrisk category at Alert Level 1, and under that category face masks are optional.”

Rep. Rossana Vergara of Nueva Ecija said the committee deliberation next week will assess Teves’s application for political asylum in Timor Leste.

Espares added the House ethics committee has to come up with a decision and possibly impose further sanctions on Teves should he maintain the apparent neglect of his legislative functions.

“We cannot afford a situation wherein someone can say the House did not do anything about this, especially involving disorderly behavior,” Espares said.

In the Senate, Senator Ronald dela Rosa said Tefves would be invited to the ongoing Senate hearings into the killing of Degamo.

Dela Rosa guaranteed that Teves will be treated fairly if he appears for a hearing.

Also on Wednesday, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said it has arrested an alleged gunman of the Teveses who has been linked to two assassination plots in Negros Oriental.

The police nabbed Police Staff Sgt. Noel Santa Ana Alabata alias, Alfonso Edena Tan, in front of the PDEG Building on Tuesday.

Alabata was served two arrest warrants for cases of attempted murder and attempted homicide issued by two courts in Dumaguete City.

Zamora said the mayors did not discuss imposing mask mandates yet in their last meeting.

The mayor attributed the low positivity and hospitalization rates to the high vaccination rate in the metro. He continued to encourage the public to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Earlier, the Department of Health reported that the utilization rate of COVID-19 space in hospitals was around 20%. But now, PHAPI noted that rate is anywhere from 20% to 50%. Macon

Ramos-Araneta

the motion after hearing no objection.

In a statement, Majority Leader and Zamboanga City Rep. Mannix Dalipe said Gonzales’ appointment was “to unburden his cabalen, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, of the heavy load required from the position.”

As of press time, Defensor and Gonzales had yet to issue statements on why the replacement was made, considering while the remaining 60 percent is Filipino-owned. Tulfo said the Chinese ownership “poses a serious national security threat,” considering the conflict over the West Philippine Sea.

Senator JV Ejercito also expressed concerns over the State Grid Corporation of China’s 40 percent stake in NGCP.

Senators Grace Poe, and Sherwin Gatchalian, also said the panel was open to reviewing the NGCP franchise, in view of the recurring power outages.

Senator Risa Hontiveros earlier renewed her call for the government to regain control of the NGCP. At a hearing in the Senate, the NGCP

THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) has approved internet voting for overseas voters in the 2025 national and local elections (NLE). Comelec Chairman George Garcia said Wednesday that internet voting “is intended to achieve a higher overseas voter turnout.”

The approval of the conduct of electronic/internet voting for overseas Filipino voters was based on Section 16.11 of Republic Act No. 9189, Section 28 of RA 10390, and Section 23 of RA 10390. Garcia said Comelec is now set to prepare the roadmap for electronic voting for overseas Filipinos.

PH,...

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Facilities like the runways within the 300-hectare island airbase can be used by both the military and civilians in Balabac. Meanwhile, Balabac’s Narciso del Rosario Naval Station is also being eyed for an EDCA site once a larger pier is built for use by American and Filipino warships.

Philippine diplomats traveled to Ha Long, Vietnam on Monday and Tuesday to hold talks with their Vietnamese counterparts during the 10th Philippines-Vietnam Joint Permanent Working Group on Maritime and Ocean Concerns.

In a statement, DFA said the two countries also agreed to explore a “broad range of potential maritime cooperation activities to enhance their strategic partnership.” the political clout of Arroyo -- who not only is a former Chief Executive but the country’s first woman House Speaker and Senator as well. assistant corporate secretary, Ronald Dylan Concepcion, told the Senate energy committee China’s 40 percent stake in the company did not represent a national security risk as the transmission facilities were run by Filipinos.

“The two countries expressed serious concern over unilateral activities that undermine peace and stability in the region. They committed to work together to protect their rights and legitimate interests under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and enhance confidence-building measures between relevant agencies,” the DFA also said.

DFA Assistant Secretary for Maritime and Ocean Affairs Maria Angela Ponce, who headed the Philippine delegation to the meeting, said discussions with their Vietnamese counterparts were “critical” in strengthening ties between the two Southeast Asian countries.

Gonzales – one of the nine Deputy Speakers of the current House -- thus assumed the position of Arroyo, who was elected as Senior Deputy Speaker a few weeks after the opening of the First Regular Session of the 19th Congress last year.

But Tulfo and Hontiveros refuted Concepcion’s statement, saying that information or intelligence could be passed on to Beijing, which has been hostile to the Philippines in the West Philippine Sea.

Tulfo reiterated the need to return NGCP’s ownership to the Philippine government, specifically to the National Transmission Corporation, and not to China’s state grid and private firms.