Teves to DOJ: Prove citizenship claim

By Rio N. Araja and Rey E. Requejo

SUSPENDED Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr. on Thursday challenged Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla to prove that he was applying to be a citizen of TimorLeste.

“Secretary Remulla, if you can prove that I am applying for a citizenship in Timor-Leste, I will go home and let myself be gunned down. If you are found to lie, I will ask you to resign,” he said via video call at the Pandesal Forum in Quezon City. He also dared Remulla to show how

ASEAN...

From A1 never military exercises as a bloc on its own. The announcement comes after Washington called on Beijing to stop "provocative" behavior in the disputed waterway after a near-collision with a Philippine vessel and a Chinese fight -

Marcos:...

From A1 from the People's Republic (of China) to other powers... that is certainly not true. We have not shifted away from China in any way or whatsoever," Mr. Marcos said at the awarding ceremony of the Association for Promoting Philippines China Understanding (APPCU).

"We continue to foster the friendship, relationship, the partnership that we have been developing with China since 1974 and 1975 when it became official," he added. The President said the search continues for solutions that will address the challenges being faced jointly by the Phil-

PBBM...

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Herbosa, referring to the bivalent vaccines donated by Lithuania that have already been rolled out, mostly in the National Capital Region (NCR).

Herbosa acknowledged there are technical difficulties in obtaining the jabs that protect against the original COVID-19 strain, SARS-CoV-2, and Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5.

“But we are already there. We’re trying to get it, and I will push for getting more of these, especially for the vulnerable, the healthcare workers,” he said, noting that the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines given over the pandemic has been waning.

The country's COVID-19 task force last year said the pandemic exit plan must include strict implementation of health protocols. The government may require the public to show their vaccine booster cards in establishments.

Stakeholders, meanwhile, have urged the government to improve the country's health care system.

The Philippines last week tallied 9,107 COVID-19 cases, based on the DOH case bulletin on Monday.

From May 29 to June 4, an average of 1,301 daily infections were logged in the country, which is 22 percent lower compared to the previous week.

Herbosa said he also received marching orders to focus more on the problem of tuberculosis cases in the country. The President noted the country is ninth in the world in TB cases, and wanted the Philippines out of the top 10 right away.

He said Mr. Marcos also raised concerns on the rising cases of HIV, which causes AIDS, in the Philippines, and this will be the top health official's focus too "upon his instructions."

This will be the DOH’s priority for now, Herbosa said, and other action officers have been mobilized to focus on tuberculosis, HIV, and COVID-19 cases.

Herbosa also said there was a need to digitalize the agency's processes to im-

‘Unity...

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“The comprehensive and inclusive economic agenda of the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., as well as the collaborative efforts between the executive and legislative branches,

Non-monetary...

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Teodoro, appointed only this week, has been tasked by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to push “reforms” in the MUP pension system to make it self-sustaining. This would entail reducing pension payments.

“So, I think it's a matter of explaining the necessity of introducing [the reforms],” Teodor said. “In my opinion, since I also come from the financial sector, it won't hap- the six assassins that killed Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo – whose murder the lawmaker is accused of masterminding -- fit into a five-seater helicopter and how 13 people fit into a private plane. Remulla later dismissed as “baloney” the allegations hurled against him er pilot's dangerous maneuver near an American surveillance aircraft.

Chinese vessels have also occasionally intruded into the Indonesianclaimed waters of North Natuna where the drills will take place, prompting protests in Jakarta.

China says most of the South China Sea is its own despite competing claims from other Southeast Asian nations including Indonesia, ippines and China.

He reiterated that the differences between the two nations do not define the entirety of their relations.

"Now, of course, as to the differences between China and the Philippines, certainly they exist, but it is not something that will define our relationship. It is something that we will continue to work, to resolve and make sure that the peace and the safe passage across the South China Sea and the West Philippine Sea are ensured," Mr. Marcos said.

The President witnessed the APPCU event at the Manila Hotel, where his predecessor, former President Rodrigo Roa Duterte, was one of the awardees.

Duterte was not present during the ceremony, with former Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea receiving the Hall of prove its system, now that the government already launched the eGovPH platform. have proven fruitful in fostering an environment conducive to growth,” he added.

The DOH chief also aims to lower the public’s expenses on health care, saying this was the intention of the Universal Healthcare Law.

Meanwhile, Octa Research fellow Guido David said the weekly COVID-19 positivity rate in Metro Manila dropped from 19.9 percent to 14.6 percent.

“We expect this to decrease less than 10 percent next week as cases continue to decline,” said David. He also said hospital bed occupancy in the region also went down from 28.8 to 25.5 percent over the same period.

Furthermore, the nationwide positivity rate is 16.6 percent as of June 7, lower than the previous day’s 17.7 percent.

DOH Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergerie said the rise and fall of COVID-19 infections in the country are expected.

“This is due to the lower number of tests conducted and the public’s increased mobility,” said Vergeire, who led the DOH as officer-in-charge until Mr. Marcos appointed Herbosa.

In an interview on ANC, Herbosa said Vergeire will oversee other undersecretaries in charge of the activities in the NCR, Southern Luzon, Northern and Central Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao.

“I gave her a position of like the chief of all the undersecretaries that are in charge of our operations… Those are five Usecs and she would be on top of them,” he said.

“She will be helping me deliver the goals with her experience and her previous job as caretaker of the Department of Health will continue in that segment of operations. She requested for that and I gladly gave it because I think she deserves that,” added Herbosa.

At present, DOH Undersecretary Enrique Tayag heads the field implementation and coordination team in Northern and Central Luzon; Undersecretary Nestor Santiago Jr., in NCR and Southern Luzon; Undersecretary Camilo Cascolan in Visayas; and Undersecretary Abdullah Dumama Jr. in Mindanao.

The Speaker also commended the collective efforts of the country’s economic managers, lawmakers, and all stakeholders who have contributed to this positive development.

“As the House amply demonstrated, we remain committed to implementing pen suddenly. It will just reduce the bleeding that should happen. It is our government's responsibility [to cover pension payments] until this system is self-sustaining.”

In March, the President approved a “game-changing” MUP pension reform pushed by Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, aimed at fixing the pension system and addressing future fiscal uncertainty.

As other costs go up, Diokno said, there will come a time when the current budget will only be about a third or onefourth of the money that the government by Teves, who has been tagged as one of the masterminds in the killing of Degamo last March 4, 2023.

Remulla instead challenged Teves to return to the Philippines and face the complaint for 10 counts of murder, 14 counts of frustrated murders, and four counts of attempt murder filed by the National Bureau of Investigation.

Degamo had unseated Teves’ brother, Pryde Henry, as Negros Oriental governor in the 2022 elections.

Rep. Teves said he does not trust the government’s assurance he would be unharmed if he returned home, and urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to reassess the men in his Cabinet,

Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia.

Beijing's ships have patrolled the area and when confronted have invoked China's so-called nine-dash line – an area it claims but is contested by its neighbors – to justify its alleged historic rights to the waters.

At a summit last month, ASEAN leaders discussed "serious incidents" in the South China Sea and ongoing

Fame award on the former Chief Executive’s behalf. Medialdea also read the message of the former President to the attendees of the novel award-giving body paying special tribute to Filipinos who made efforts through time in promoting friendly ties and mutual understanding between the Philippines and China.

During Duterte's presidency, Manila and Beijing maintained cordial ties despite China’s incursions in the West Philippine Sea.

The Duterte administration also partnered with the Chinese government for the development of several infrastructure projects in the country and received pandemic aid such as coronavirus vaccines.

Under the Marcos administration, the United States expanded its Enhanced

Alert...

From A1 preparing and moving people away from the [Mayon volcano] area so that, should the time come, I hope it doesn’t happen, but unfortunately the science tells us it seems to be heading that way because the lid or the cap on top of the lava is not so slowly rising and may erupt. This is why we are monitoring closely and preparing,” Mr. Marcos said in a media interview yesterday evening.

“We watch it very, very closely. Make sure that any of the communities that could be affected are evacuated and are given assistance while they are evacuated until the time that they can return to their homes,” he added.

Meanwhile, Taal volcano, located about 50 kilometers south of Manila, has been releasing sulfur dioxide this week, blanketing surrounding areas in volcanic smog or vog and prompting warnings for people to stay indoors.

“The DOH (Department of Health) is looking after those people [affected by volcanic smog] and we have analyzed the problem and we know where the wind is blowing," the President said..

Since the alert level was raised from 1 to 2 on June 5, the repeated collapse of the growing summit dome of Mayon generated an increase in the number and volume of rockfall events, Phivolcs said.

Scientists recorded a total of 267 rockfall events and two volcanic earthquakes from June 5 to June 8.

The seismology agency said it observed three fast-moving avalanches of volcanic ash, rock and gases, known as pyroclastic density currents (PDCs), on Mayon's slopes on Thursday.

There are "increased chances of lava flows and hazardous PDCs... and of potential explosive activity within weeks or even days", the agency said, raising the alert level from 2 to 3 on a scale of 0 to 5.

"All necessary preparations are being done," said Eugene Escobar, the Albay provincial disaster management agency's policies that will further stimulate economic activity, attract investments, and generate employment opportunities for our fellow Filipinos,” Romualdez said.

“We will not allow any distraction to derail our efforts at finding appropriate and timely solutions to the problems affecting the lives of our people,” he added.

The House posted a strong finish as is paying for the pensioners.

“We have to really address that issue. It’s not sustainable,” he said.

Diokno said the pension being received by a military pensioner is nine times higher than the average pension of a pensioner under the Social Security System (SSS), and three times higher than the average pension under the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).

The Finance chief said the proposals for the pension reform include application of the reform to all active personnel and new including the Justice chief.

“Assess their integrity. If Remulla could not answer my questions, he is a liar,” he said. “Look into the other angles — love triangle, debt, etc. Let us investigate first (the Degamo murder) before we judge.”

The camp of Teves had alleged that one of the detained suspects in the killings of Degamo and nine other persons has been offered “millions of pesos” to testify against the suspended legislator.

Remulla, meanwhile, said: “I don’t have to prove anything here. (Teves) is to prove that he can face the charges against him.” negotiations for a code of conduct aimed at reducing the risk of conflict there.

ASEAN has long been decried by critics as a toothless talking shop, and its charter principles of consensus and non-interference have hamstrung its ability to take action.

The bloc will hold its next leaders' summit in Indonesian capital Jakarta in September. AFP officer-in-charge.

Defense Cooperation Agreement with Manila and had its Vice President Kamala Harris visit Palawan – the province closest to the West Philippine Sea where Chinese ships have sailed just kilometers away -- last November.

Other recipients of the APPCU award besides Duterte were Carlos Chan, former Special Envoy of the President to the People's Republic of China; Rigoberto Tiglao, a columnist and former Ambassador; Jaime Cruz, former Special Envoy to the People's Republic of China for Trade and Investments; Rose Tecson, Director of the Satellite Office of Vice President Sara Duterte in Davao City; and Jose Ong Tajan, former chairman of the FilipinoChinese Chamber of Commerce of Baguio City.

Rommel Negrete, an officer for the agency, said residents would be evacuated from Anoling village on the volcano's slopes.

Phivolcs added that there were PDCs on the Bonga and Basud Gullies on Thursday, lasting four to five minutes.

Sulfur dioxide emission from Mayon Volcano remained at baseline or background levels.

Phivolcs urged residents inside the sixkilometer radius permanent danger zone to evacuate due to the danger of PDCs, lava flows, rockfalls and other volcanic hazards.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines issued another set of advisories to flight operators and issued a notice to airmen in relation to the activity in Mayon, as well as Taal and Kanlaon volcanoes.

“In light of the ongoing unrest at the Taal, Mayon, and Kanlaon volcanoes, CAAP is continuously updating its Notices to Airmen to inform and alert flying aircraft of the current alert levels and associated risks related to the volcanic activities,” said CAAP spokesperson Eric Apolonio.

CAAP advised the airmen to avoid flying near Mayon, which according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, erupted on Wednesday. (alert level 1) “as airborne ash and ballistic fragments from sudden explosions may pose hazards to aircraft from surface up to 10,000 feet.”

Kanlaon Volcano is also on alert level 1 and “in abnormal condition,” the CAAP said.

“Possibilities of sudden and hazardous steam-driven or phreatic eruptions may pose a hazard to aircraft from the surface up to 10,000 feet,” the CAAP said.

The local government of Albay ordered the mandatory evacuation of residents inside the six-kilometer permanent danger zone after Phivolcs raised Mayon Volcano's alert level status to 3.

Albay Gov. Edcel Lagman said classes at all levels in public and private schools within the danger zone would also be suspended. With AFP (See full story online at manilastandard.net) it closed the First Regular Session of the 19th Congress, having approved 33 out of 42 bills listed as priority measures of President Marcos and adopted by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC). entrants, removal of automatic indexation of pension to the salary of active personnel of single ranks, and mandatory contributions to be required for active personnel and new entrants similar to the GSIS pensioners.

It was also able to process a total of 9,600 measures consisting of 8,490 House bills, 1,109 resolutions and one petition.

Senate Defense committee chairperson Senator Jinggoy Estrada on Thursday said he would work closely with Teodoro on the MUP pension system.

At the same briefing, Teodoro said he would not review the terminated agreement between the University of the Philippines and the DND that bans military and police