Govt debt payments hit P42.8B in March ÂťStory on B1 ++
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•• 5 SECTIONS PAGES • VOL. 120 NO. 243 28
THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 2019
Arroyo’s successor; Sotto to succeed himself First word ROM a distance, it looks like the House of Representatives, with a daunting 250 members, has more coherence and direction in organizing itself for the opening of the 18th Congress on July 22.
OBSERVER YEN MAKABENTA
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Is this the country that wants to go to war with us?  Â
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Trusted since 1898
Former PhilHealth execs tolerated scams – Garin S
TATE-OWNED Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) continues to be hit by IRREGULARITIES BECAUSE PREVIOUS OFkCIALS DID NOTHING BUT kNE ERRING kRMS FORMER (EALTH SECRETARY *ANETTE 'ARIN CLAIMED ON 7EDNESDAY
Garin, who held the Health portfolio from February 2015 to June 2016, said she exposed corruption in PhilHealth when she was still Iloilo’s representative in Congress. This involved payments for fake surgeries and false claims, including those for
“ghost dialysis� treatments that have cost incumbent PhilHealth Board members their jobs. “Actually, aside from ghost dialysis corruption at PhilHealth, other irregularities were discovered in other claims like
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M
Y IN MY LINE reOF SIGHT port to the President that 100 ChiNESE kSHING BOATS HAVE BEEN WITHdrawn off Pag-asa (Thitu) Island was front page news in this newspaper last Monday, June 10. ÂłTulfoA5
RAMON T. TULFO
Superpowers threaten our fragile freedom Last of 2 parts
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REPUBLIC SERVICE RICARDO SALUDO
EFORE t h e headline topic, a word on the diabolical PhilHealth scams stealing billions of pesos from poor patients unable to afford critically needed treatments.
ÂłSaludoA5 REACH US AT: E-mail: newsdesk@ manilatimes.net Tel. Nos.: 524-5664 to 67 Address: 2/F Sitio Grande, 409 A. Soriano Avenue, Intramuros, Manila 1002
EDIBLE FLAG
A giant Philippine flag made of 5,000 puto (rice cakes) takes center stage at Southwoods Mall in BiĂąan, Laguna, as the country commemorated its 121st Independence Day on June 12. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
US Coast Guard boosts presence in disputed waters THE United States Coast Guard (USCG) is monitoring the movements of Chinese vessels in the West Philippine (South China) Sea as part of an effort to help America’s ALLIES IN THE 0ACIkC ENFORCE SOVEREIGNTY IN contested waters. 6ICE !DM ,INDA &AGAN 53#' 0ACIkC
Area Commander, told reporters in a teleconference that “we obviously are aware and have been following the [Chinese] militia and some of the activity.� For the most part, she said the USCG was deploying training teams to help nations in
Pinoy vessel sinks after collision with Chinese boat A FILIPINO fishing boat sank last Sunday after being hit by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Recto (Reed) Bank in the West Philippine (South #HINA 3EA $EFENSE 3ECRETARY $ELkN Lorenzana announced on Wednesday. No lives were lost in the incident, but Lorenzana condemned those on the Chinese vessel for abandoning the 22 Filipinos aboard the F/B Gimver 1 “to the mercy of the elements.� ! 6IETNAMESE kSHING VESSEL RESCUED the Filipinos and brought them to Palawan, in coordination with the military’s Western Command. The Navy’s BRP Ramon Alcaraz was also ordered to assist and monitor the area. “We thank the captain and crew of the Vietnamese vessel for saving the
ÂłPresenceA2
What’s inside DUTERTE: WORK FOR A TRULY INDEPENDENT PHILIPPINES NewsA2 VILLAR TO HELP RESOLVE SENATE ‘ISSUES’ – SOTTO NewsA3
DBM RELEASES P54B FOR RETIRED MILITARY, UNIFORMED PERSONNEL NewsA8
Recto Bank
ÂłSinksA2
Romero richest House member with P7.85B SHEENA EASTON TO TRAVEL ‘LONG, LONG DISTANCE’ TO MANILA
EntertainmentD1
PLAYING FOR DURANT, WARRIORS FACE EMOTIONAL MUST-WIN TEST
SportsC1
REP. Michael Romero of the 1-Pacman party-list group remained the richest lawmaker in the House of Representatives last year, with P7.858 billion to his name. Romero was followed by Negros Occidental Third District Rep. Alfredo Benitez who had P1.016 billion, based on a summary report of House members’ declared assets, liabilities and net worth. Ilocos Norte Second District Rep. Imelda Marcos was third with P923.8 million. Rounding out the top 10 were Quezon City Fourth District Rep. Feliciano Belmonte Jr. (P864.752 million),
ÂłRichestA8
Pacquiao 92nd in Forbes list of 100 richest athletes SEN. Emmanuel “Manny� Pacquiao is the sole Filipino on Forbes’ list of the 100 highest-paid athletes in the last 12 months.  Placing 92nd out of 100, Pacquiao was said to have been paid $26 million ($24 million in winnings and $2 million in commercial endorsements) between June
2018 and June 2019. Â Pacquiao, who is also a sitting senator, is currently preparing for his next fight against Keith Thurman, which will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA on July 20. Â The top 10 highest-paid athletes, according to Forbes, were soccer superstars Lionel
ÂłForbes listA8
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