VOL. XXIX NO. 166 3 Sections 24 Pages P18 SUNDAY: JULY 26, 2015 www.thestandard.com.ph editorial@thestandard.com.ph
BISHOPS PRAY FOR IGLESIA
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AQUINO DRAWS PRE-SONA FLAK
By Maricel Cruz, Vito Barcelo and Sarah Susanne Fabunan
AS the country gets ready for President Benigno Aquino III’s final State of the Nation Address (SONA), opposition lawmakers, labor and activists lashed out at the administration’s failure to unite the country and to address some basic issues.
Lawmakers critical of the administration’s policies said they also expect Aquino to once again blame the past administration for the country’s woes which they said should have been addressed by his administration during his six-year presidency. House deputy minority leader
and 1-BAP party-list Rep. Silvestre Bello III said that apart from boasting his supposed accomplishments under his watch, President Aquino III is also expected to blame his predecessor for the “failures” of his government. Bello also said he anticipates the President to make new sets of
empty promises for the Filipino people. “I expected President Aquino III to talk about his accomplishments, [while at the same time], blame his predecessor for his failures and make promises he cannot accomplish,” Bello said. Next page
CHINA HITS OUT AT US REMARK ON SEA SPAT THE United States is trying to influence a United Nations arbitration tribunal hearing the Philippines’ complaint against China over maritime disputes in the South China Sea, according to the state-owned Xinhua news agency. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang scored the remark made by IS assistant state secretary Daniel Russell who said arbitration is the only practical means left for China and the Philippines to solve competing claims in the South China Sea, Xinhua reported. Lu also touched upon issues concerning entitlement of maritime features and jurisdiction of the arbitral tribunal, the report added. But China’s position of neither accepting nor participating in the case at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague remains unchanged and the U.S. should fulfill its pledge not to take sides on the South China Sea issue on Friday and reaffirmed that the U.S. is not a Next page party concerned.
CLINICAL, INTELLECTUAL, CYNICAL
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PH-CHINA TIES. An employee of the Philippine Postal Corporation holds a copy of newly - released commemorative stamps marking the 40th anniversary of the Philippines-China diplomatic relations. DANNY PATA