BoI investments hit P313B in Jan-July »Story on B1 HH
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•• 4 SECTIONS PAGES • VOL. 120 NO. 309 24
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 21, 2019
n Sentenced to death by military court: NPA leaders Buscayno and Corpus, left and center, and Ninoy. GOVERNMENT PHOTO
Ninoy: Not a hero, not even officially
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ODAY is a special n o n working holiday, officially “Ninoy Aquino Day” as decreed by Republic Act 9256, signed into law in February 2004 by President Arroyo, when Speaker Jose de Venecia and Senate President Franklin Drilon headed Congress. äTiglaoA5
RIGOBERTO D. TIGLAO
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Impeach me, election official dares Cardema C
BY WILLIAM B. DEPASUPIL
OMMISSION on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Rowena Guanzon on Tuesday d a r e d f o r m e r N a t i o n a l Yo u t h Commission (NYC) chairman Ronaldo Cardema to file an impeachment complaint against her.
“Go ahead, make my day!” Guanzon said on her Twitter account, adding that she was fully prepared for the battle. In the same tweet, she uploaded Cardema’s certificate of acceptance of nomination from the Duterte Youth party-list, which states that the latter is 34 years old, thus not qualified to represent the youth. Guanzon, a member of the Comelec First Division, was very vocal about Cardema’s alleged misrepresentation as a youth representative. Earlier, the Comelec First Division ruled that
Cardema is not eligible for nomination to represent Duterte Youth in the House of Representatives because he was already 34 years old, way beyond the 25 to 30 age limit set by Republic Act 7941, or the “Party-list Act,” for nominees of the youth sector. Cardema alleged that Guanzon, through an intermediary, had asked for P2 million and two government positions in exchange for a favorable ruling on his nomination. But the commissioner denied Cardema’s allegations, saying she was wealthier than his accuser, who,
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Military to deploy troops in schools THE Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Tuesday said it would deploy troops in universities and colleges to counter the recruitment program of groups suspected to be linked to the New People’s Army (NPA) in schools. But Col. Noel Detoyato, AFP public affairs chief, said soldiers who would be deployed in schools would not be armed and would respect academic freedom. Detoyato said the deployment would be arranged between the Department of National Defense and the Department of Education. “The best way to combat a man with the wrong information is a man with the right information. So, what we will only bring [during deployment in schools] would be information, we
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NOW ITS LEPTO
Health Secretary Francisco Duque 3rd (left) visits leptospirosis patients at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute on Tuesday. The Health department raised the alarm as the number of leptospirosis cases in Metro Manila had increased. PHOTO BY RUY MARTINEZ
PERMITS NOW A MUST FOR FOREIGN Chinese SHIPS PASSING THROUGH PH WATERS Coast Guard
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FOREIGN ships have to seek permission from the Philippine government before passing through the country’s territorial waters, Malacañang said on Tuesday. Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo said President Rodrigo Duterte issued
the order amid reports of incursions by Chinese vessels. “To avoid misunderstanding in the future, the President is putting on notice that, beginning today, all foreign vessels passing our territorial waters must
notify and get clearance from the proper government authority well in advance of the actual passage,” Panelo said during a news conference. “Either we get compliance in a friendly
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What’s inside KIDNAPPED SEAFARERS’ WIVES SEEK GOVT HELP
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LANDBANK’S TANGLED WEB OF LIES Marlen RonquilloA4
LIEUTENANT GUIDICELLI Actor Matteo Guidicelli dons his cap during the donning of ranks for reservists at the Philippine Army headquarters in Fort Bonifacio. PHOTO BY DJ DIOSINA
ship circling SCS shoal
HOURS after Malacañang warned foreign vessels not to trespass in Philippine waters, the military’s Western Command (WesCom) confirmed that a Chinese Coast Guard vessel had been circling Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal, while 27 Chinese fishing vessels were spotted near Panata (Lankiam) Cay Island. Vietnamese fishing vessels were also spotted in contested areas in the West Philippine (South China) Sea. Lt. Col. Stephen Penetrante, WesCom spokesman, said the Chinese Coast Guard vessel was seen “roaming” the Philippine-occupied Ayungin Shoal, where the grounded BRP Sierra Madre is stationed.
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Violent activism is a crime – Lorenzana BY DEMPSEY REYES
MACARAYA-LESS STAGS ESCAPE KNIGHTS SportsC1
FASCINATED BY BATANGAS
LifestyleD1
Last of three parts DEFENSE Secretary Delfin Lorenzana believes that student activism should not be quelled because it allows the youth to think and discuss issues that concern them. He, however, said violent activism should
not be tolerated because it is a crime. “[Students] should be encouraged to ask questions and to raise issues that affect their lives and society. It is when they join groups such as the CPP-NPANDF (Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front), whose avowed objective is to change our
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system of government through armed struggle, [that should not be encouraged],” Loranzana said. “When student activism becomes violent and rowdy, endangering peace and order, that is different,” Lorenzana told The Manila Times. “I consider that as a crime. More so if these students join leftist organizations,
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BoI investments hit P313B in Jan-July I BY ANNA LEAH E. GONZALES
In a statement on Tuesday, the BoI said approved foreign investments as of end-July reached P69.6 billion, up 348 percent from last year’s amount, while local investments rose by 2.7 percent to P243.2 billion. The top five sources of foreign investments from January to July were Singapore (P35.4 billion), The Netherlands (P9.2 billion), Thailand (P8.6 billion),
NVESTMENT pledges approved by the Board of Investments (BoI) increased by 24 percent to P312.8 billion in the first seven months of the year from P252.32 billion in the same period in 2018.
6 govt programs get P357B of 2020 budget THE Duterte administration has allocated P357 billion of the 2020 national budget for its six economic and social assistance programs, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said on Tuesday. In a statement released after the transmission of the proposed P4.10-trillion 2020 National Expenditure Program to the House of Representatives, the Budget department said the government “aims to continue the Philippines’ journey to a more peaceful and progressive nation, by funding the critical programs of the administration.” Among these programs is the Universal Health Care (UHC) program, for which P166.5 billion was alloted.
Of this amount, P67.4 billion would go to the National Health Insurance Program of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp., P92.2 billion to the Department of Health (DoH) and P7.0 billion to the Human Resources for Health Deployment Program under the DoH Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund. Another is the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), which will get P108.8 billion. The DBM said that under the 4Ps, the health and nutrition cash grants of qualified households would increase from P500 to P750 every month next year “to accommodate the rise in prices.” At the same time, educational cash grants would increase from
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INVESTORS CASH IN AHEAD OF HOLIDAY INVESTORS sold off their positions amid the “lack of catalysts,” prompting the stock market to end in the red territory on Tuesday. The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) dropped by 0.65 percent or 51.44 points to end at 7,886.91, while the wider All Shares decreased by 0.30 percent or 14.13 percent to finish at 4,783.08. “It was a dull day for the index ahead of tomorrow’s holiday, with volume only amounting to P5.4 billion,” Papa Securities sales associate Gabriel Jose Perez said. Trading is suspended today in observance of the 36th an-
niversary of the assassination of former senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. “With the holiday tomorrow (today), and a lack of clear catalysts for the rest of the week, movement for Thursday and Friday should be influenced by US markets,” said Perez, who maintained the resistance level for the PSEi at the 8,000 mark. AAA Equities head of research Christopher Mangun said “the market took a breather today and ended lower after the gains that we saw in yesterday’s (Monday) trading.”
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Semirara’s consolidated filing
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NTONIO Uy Periquet Jr. reported on Aug. 9, 2019 his initial but indirect ownership of 4.333 million common shares, or 0.10 percent, in Semirara Mining and Power Corp. (SCC). When computed, his ownership represents 0.102 percent of 4,250,547,620 outstanding common shares, according to a public ownership report (POR). Of its issued common shares, SCC also reported 14,061,670 treasury common shares of 4,264,609,290 issued common shares in the same POR as of
June 30, 2019. Of the outstanding common shares, SCC attributed to the company’s public stockholders the ownership of 1,106,754,466 common shares, or 26.04 percent.
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What’s inside RE AUCTION EYED LATER THIS YEAR
»BusinessB2
TAX PERKS ARE EARNED – PEZA
»BusinessB2
SSS INCOME UP BY 441% IN H1
»Corporate NewsB3
US EXTENDS LIMITED REPRIEVE TO HUAWEI
»Foreign BusinessB4
Japan (P5.8 billion) and the United States (P2.4 billion). “Investors continue to signal their strong confidence in the Philippines and the Duterte administration despite the challenges generated by the global tensions among nations,” Trade Secretary and BoI Chairman Ramon Lopez said. “This growth was still resilient
enough to withstand the global demand downturn brought about by the lingering trade dispute between the US and China, the trade spat between Japan and South Korea, and other geopolitical tensions,” he added. “We remain among the fastestgrowing economies in Asia and we are among the few countries to even register a 1.5-percent export growth in July.
“Elevated inflation is now a thing of the past as the latest inflation rate eased to just 2.4 percent, the lowest in more than two years. We have improved 19 places further in the Global Innovation Index. “With the recent signing of the Innovative Startup Act, we will encourage innovation that will make our products
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