China linked to cyber espionage try

WASHINGTON—Online attackers with clear links to China are behind a vast cyber espionage campaign targeting government agencies of interest to Beijing, Google subsidiary Mandiant said on Thursday.

"This is the broadest cyber espionage campaign known to be conducted by a China-nexus threat actor since the mass exploitation of Microsoft Exchange in early 2021," said Mandiant chief technology officer Charles Carmakal.

The cyber attackers compromised the computer defenses of hundreds of organizations, in some cases stealing

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"I have asked many, I asked them, I am just waiting for someone to volunteer themselves to take the post as secretary, they don't want me to leave," Mr. Marcos said.

The President said the country has undergone a crisis in food supply and prices and said he wants to address these first, especially food production.

“At the beginning of this year, we had problems with food supply, prices, everything—and fertilizer prices,” he said in a mix of Filipino and English.

After a turnover ceremony in which the Chinese government donated some

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Aileen Christel Ongkauko of La Filipina Uy Gongco Corporation, who heads the PSAC Agriculture group, said the system has been used by other countries like China, the United States, and India.

The PSAC recommended that building nationwide mother-daughter stations for rice and corn storage will complement the Marcos administration’s Food Security Infrastructure Modernization Plan to ensure sufficient stock and stable prices of rice and corn.

Under the proposal, 30 mother stations will be built all over the country. Each mother station will have 10 daughter station modules, which would be built within a 30-kilometer radius of the main station.

The stations or storage facilities will store rice and corn for buffer stocking for 30 days at any given time.

Marcos:...

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“On behalf of the Filipino people, let me extend our deepest gratitude and appreciation to the Chinese government and its people for this donation — a solid gesture of friendship and goodwill,” the President said in a speech.

“I am not surprised that immediately, upon our request for any assistance in terms of fertilizer supply, China immediately understood the predicament that we're in. Thus, we have today the turnover of 20,000 metric tons of urea fertilizer from China to the Philippines,” Marcos added.

Marcos said the donation would help realize his administration’s bid to boost agricultural production in pursuit of food security.

In a chance interview, Marcos said the donated fertilizers will be distributed to farmers in Luzon through the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) existing voucher system.

“We will prioritize Luzon. We will distribute these in Luzon through the voucher system that we already have. So these will be included in the supply of fertilizers [that we will give to local farmers]),” he said.

“The diligence and hard work of our farmers are the realizable goals of food self-sufficiency and the lasting beneficial impact of the long-standing friendly ties between

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"Business establishments are directed to comply with this, otherwise, we will impose necessary penalties. We want to ensure that our affected kababayans in Albay will have access to affordable and reasonably-priced commodities, especially during disasters like this," he added.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology on Friday said it recorded Mayon's largest pyroclastic density current (PDC) registered since June 8.

In an advisory, Phivolcs said the PDC occurred at 11:18 p.m. on Thursday and was the largest seen since last week.

It was one of the 13 pyroclastic flows recorded from Thursday to Friday, higher than the three PDCs recorded from Wednesday to Thursday.

The volcano's ongoing unrest has

"emails of prominent employees dealing in matters of interest to the Chinese government," Carmakal added.

Mandiant reported having "high confidence" that a group referred to as UNC4841 was behind the wide-ranging espionage campaign "in support of the People's Republic of China".

The hackers targeted victims in at

20,000 metric tons of urea fertilizer worth about P782.68 million, the President said the donation was a big deal.

"You know, the truth of the matter is... we have really managed to make some very important structural changes in the Department of Agriculture. We are going through them one by one… So this donation given to us by China is a very big thing," President Marcos said.

Farmers' groups and industry experts have been receptive to the Chief Executive taking the DA portfolio, while militant groups have frowned on his continued leadership of the department, one year into his tenure.

The Federation of Free Farmers and the Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (Sinag) have welcomed Mr. Marcos at the

Ongkauko said the project may be subject to a Public-Private Partnership scheme, as each mother station may cost P5.7 billion each or P170 billion for the entire project.

Bioco, meanwhile, noted the NFA will transition to providing physical rice stock from granting cash assistance to poor households under the government’s welfare program as part of the agency’s new rice stocking scheme.

“There has been an endeavor before to make this physical but NFA has not been able to transition to that physical stock and this is where we’re going to change as part of our transformation from that, when we buffer, we actually buffer for the poor,” Bioco told the President.

He said the government has more than P35 billion for rice procurement. The target is to supply poor households with physical rice so they do not have to go to the market to buy rice, which, in the end, will put less pressure on rice prices.

“If we switch to that also Mr. President, what we hope to achieve is that quantitative easing in prices of rice… supply the bottom 18 percent of our society, take that away our two nations,” he added. The donated urea fertilizers worth renminbi (RMB)100 million (P782.68 million) are part of the grant provided in the Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation between the Philippine and Chinese governments on April 25, 2019.

Urea is widely used in the agriculture sector both as a fertilizer and animal feed additive. With its high nitrogen content of about 46 percent, urea fertilizer initiates vegetative growth and makes the plants look lush.

The President said agricultural cooperation between the Philippines and the People’s Republic of China is very promising, as both countries share the same priorities and outlooks for the sector.

“It’s very, very promising,” President Marcos told reporters after the turnover ceremony.

“It turns out that the priority that we put here in the Philippines on agriculture, the Chinese government, as it was explained to me by President Xi when I went to visit him last January, was the same, that their outlook, that their priorities are the same,” he added.

The President also emphasized that the Philippines and China have the same goal of providing affordable food supplies to the people, ensuring farmers’ needs are attended to and providing them with good living conditions, and enhancing the productivity of the two countries’ agricultural commodities. (See full story online at manilastandard.net) driven more than 20,000 to leave their residences, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council revealed.

During an interview with ANC, NDRRMC spokesperson Raffy Alejandro said managing evacuation centers might pose a problem as the number of evacuees continues to balloon.

"As long as nobody is inside the permanent danger zone, we don't expect any casualty, but the challenge really is how to maintain or manage the evacuation centers because this is where we might have problems," said Alejandro.

"We have to prevent outbreaks of diseases, problems in terms of health and sanitation," he added.

Under the Price Act (RA7581), as amended by RA 10623, prices of basic necessities (BN) are automatically frozen at their prevailing prices for 60 days from declaration unless sooner lifted by the President. (See full story online at manilastandard.net) least 16 different countries, striking organizations in the public and private sectors worldwide, the report said.

The targeting focused on issues of high policy importance to the Chinese government, particularly in the AsiaPacific region and Taiwan, according to the report.

Victims included foreign ministries, research organizations, and foreign trade missions based in Hong Kong and Taiwan, Mandiant said in its findings.

The attacks involved email messages booby-trapped with malicious code and exploited a vulnerability in Barracuda software for screening such missives to reins of the DA, saying last year only the President could "jumpstart the gargantuan task of rehabilitating local agriculture from the carnage created by those at the helm of the department these past years." from the market then we can put lesser pressure on prices, especially during the lean season,” he said.

The Pamalakaya Pilipinas (Federation of Small Fisherfolk Organizations in the Philippines), however, said it doubts whether Mr. Marcos can solve the problems of the agri-fisheries sector.

The President said he wants the Agriculture Department to have efficient systems in place to ensure food security before stepping down from the agency. This would mean it could guarantee the supply of food, make sure that prices are affordable, and see to it that farmers make a good living.

“So, that’s why traditionally, NFA is supposed to have a 30-day buffer stock before the lean season. It was easier because you just import but now we have to procure palay nine months earlier,” he added.

A similar scheme is being implemented in Indonesia, with its government producing more than 200,000 metric tons of rice a month, the NFA official said.

Bioco, however, noted the present difficulty being encountered by Asian nations in securing food stock to temper the rise in prices during the lean season.

The NFA is mandated to procure palay locally and maintain the optimal level of buffer stock at all times strategically located across the country.

President Marcos was glad about the reforms and transformation of the NFA despite the challenges.

“I’m happy to see that NFA is returning to its original function in trying to even out the price of rice, making it stable all throughout harvest and then the planting cycle,” he said.

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Justo Yap about the agency’s position that it was “highly probable” there were "sleepers" among the Afghan refugees endorsed by the US, and that their presence in the country could make the Philippines a “target for Taliban and splinter groups.”

“I think the apprehension that we noted is that they may have sympathizers from the Southern Philippines, from our Muslim brothers. So that is a possibility, madam chair,” Yap told the Senate panel.

NICA Director General Ricardo de Leon echoed the NBI position, saying the move could be used as propaganda by pro-Taliban or Al Qaeda groups and other sympathizers —even though the refugees are supposed to have worked for the US government.

“Our apprehension is about the sleepers, they could always be activated and have an impact as far as the revival of some activities in the south,” he said.

The National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, on the other hand, did not seem concerned about the possibility of sleepers, but said these special immigrant visa (SIV) applicants might be a “target of an attack.”

This request is still being evaluated, the Palace said last night, after Foreign

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The agreement comes amid China's increasing military assertiveness toward Taiwan and other parts of the IndoPacific region.

National Security Adviser Eduardo

Ano represented the Philippines in the meeting with Takeo Akiba, secretary general of Japan's National Security Secretariat, and his US counterpart Jake Sullivan.

The gathering took place amid rising tensions between Washington and Beijing over issues such as Taiwan, a self-ruled democratic island that Communist-led China regards as a renegade province to be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary. US Secretary of State Antony make sure they are safe, according to the report.

The cyber espionage activity was detected in May and is believed to have started as early as October of last year.

"We continue to see evidence of ongoing malware activity" on some systems that were compromised, Barracuda Networks told AFP.

The 2021 hack of Microsoft Exchange, which security researchers attributed to a Beijing-backed group, affected at least 30,000 organizations in the United States including businesses and local governments. AFP (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

“Until we achieve that, I suppose you will just have to put up with me as DA secretary,” he added.

Mr. Marcos said as concurrent Agriculture secretary, he can put in place emergency measures to support and assist farmers.

Last August, Mr. Marcos said sustainable livelihood for farmers, food security, and affordable food for all are his three “dreams” for the country’s agriculture sector.

In November last year, the President also said it would take some time before he finally gives up the DA portfolio, as the list of candidates to replace him “keeps changing.”

In March this year, Mr. Marcos said he prefers to appoint a successor who is an expert in the field of agriculture.

Other recommendations forwarded by the PSAC Agriculture group were giving long-term permits of 25 years for the Fishpond Lease Agreements (FLAs); Development of a national policy that will guide and encourage local government units to provide long-term permits on exclusive areas for aquaculture operators for at least 10 years for new developments and 5 to 7 years for existing farming areas; and,

The issuance of clear policy as regards delineation areas for commercial fishing.

Among those who attended the PSAC meeting were DENR Secretary Ma. Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga, Special Assistant to the President Antonio Lagdameo Jr., DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos, Presidential Adviser on Investment and Economic Affairs Frederick Go, PSAC Convenor Sabin Aboitiz, industry leaders Chris Po of the Century Group, Francisco Tiu Laurel, Jr. of Frabelle, Irwin Lee of Universal Robina, Ramon T. Lim of RNCL Prime Holdings Corporation, Anna Margarita HontiverosMalvar, PSAC Communications Lead, and David Jude Sta. Ana, PSAC Assistant Secretariat Lead.

Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo's statement that the request was made by US President Joe Biden during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s US visit in May.

Senator Marcos—the President’s sister—asked why the US was seeking to house the Afghan refugees, who are former US government employees, in the Philippines instead of bringing them directly to America.

“Doesn’t the fact that the US no longer wants to house these foreigners in safe havens within the territory of the US raise concerns for us? They are claiming that there will be very low risk in security, that highly vetted groups will be the only ones coming, and that the SIV is assured, and yet, they don’t want them,” Marcos said.

But Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez said SIVs should be processed in other jurisdictions before they are allowed to enter the United States.

He said once their applications for special immigrant visas are accepted, they would go to the United States to work and live there.

“That’s how we understand the special immigrant visa works,” said Romualdez, who attended the hearing virtually from the US.

He also said the US proposal was not a secret—in response to Senator Marcos’ charge that there was a lack of transparency in the plan. With Vince Lopez and AFP (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

Blinken is set to push through with his long-delayed trip to China this weekend aimed at stabilizing tense relations between the world’s two superpowers, but the mood in Beijing is hardly welcoming, CNN reported.

China has been stepping up its military pressure on Taiwan, which has been governed independently since it split from China in 1949 following a civil war.

Based on bilateral US security alliances with Japan and the Philippines, respectively, the three countries will work together and enhance their response capabilities "in order to maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region," the statement said.

"A free and open maritime order, characterized by freedom of navigation, and a free, fair, and equitable economic order are essential," especially given "unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion," it added. (See full story online at manilastandard. net)