Public health emergency edict over HIV pushed

June 5, 2025 | 7:24 pm

hiv-and-aids — PHILIPPINE STAR/ANDY ZAPATA

EFFORTS to declare a public health emergency over the Philippines’ rising human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cases are under way, but Cabinet-level discussions have been repeatedly delayed, according to the country’s Health chief.

Health Secretary Teodoro J. Herbosa told a palace briefing on Thursday he had detailed the proposal in a memo to President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr., and Executive Secretary Lucas P. Bersamin.

“Our meetings with the Cabinet are already scheduled, but they’ve been delayed due to other pressing issues,” he said.

Mr. Herbosa said the President must issue a directive to strengthen all strategies under the government’s anti-HIV plan.

The Department of Health (DoH) has launched a patient appointment system at San Lazaro Hospital in Manila to make it easier for people, especially those living with HIV, to schedule consultations and access free antiretroviral (ARV) maintenance drugs.

The system ensures regular consultations and treatment, alongside counseling services to support long, healthy lives for people with HIV.

In addition to free ARV medication, the agency also provides free HIV screening and confirmatory tests at various HIV hubs. Knowing one’s HIV status is crucial for early treatment and preventing disease progression, Mr. Herbosa said.

He said HIV no longer has to be a death sentence since with proper testing and maintenance medication, it could be managed like chronic conditions such as hypertension or diabetes.

Earlier, the DoH reported that HIV cases in the country have multiplied six times, prompting the agency to call on the President to declare a national public health emergency.

It recorded 5,101 newly diagnosed HIV patients in the first quarter. The number of confirmed cases averaged 57 per day, the highest daily rate in the Western Pacific Region.

Mr. Herbosa said among the recorded cases was a 12-year-old from Palawan province who had been engaging in unprotected sex, making the child the youngest reported case.

In a separate statement on Thursday, nongovernmental group Oxfam Pilipinas urged the government to implement sexuality education as a long-term solution to the surge in HIV cases among people aged 15 to 25 years.

The group cited the need for urgent action as HIV infections continue to rise, particularly among young Filipinos.

Sex education provides age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate reproductive health education for adolescents aged 10 to 19, Oxfam said, citing the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health (RPRH) law.

“Young people need accurate and appropriate knowledge based on science to understand themselves and avoid the risk of contracting HIV and other sexually transmitted infections,” it said in Filipino.

Sex education provides essential knowledge, guided by parents or guardians and implemented in accordance with government agency guidelines, it added.

Oxfam also said the widespread implementation of sex education could help reduce teenage pregnancies. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana

Congressmen seek passage of bill versus fake news

June 5, 2025 | 7:22 pm

PHILIPPINE congressmen on Thursday sought the swift passage of a bill that seeks to curb disinformation on social media, noting that false narratives are being used to challenge the country’s claims in the South China Sea.

The government should crack down on the spread of these false narratives, which constitute foreign interference, Sta. Rosa City Rep. Dan S. Fernandez said in a statement.

“They use false information to deceive our minds, distort history and undermine our legitimate rights to our own seas,” he said in Filipino. “This propaganda aims to weaken our resolve, divide public opinion and normalize [China’s] illegal presence in our waters.”

The Chinese Embassy in Manila did not immediately reply to a Viber message seeking comment.

The Philippine Coast Guard in April said it had seen an uptick in disinformation campaigns targeting the country’s claims in the South China Sea.

China claims nearly all of the potentially mineral- and oil-rich South China Sea based on a 1940s nine-dash line map that overlaps with the exclusive waters of the Philippines and neighbors like Vietnam and Malaysia.

A United Nations-backed tribunal in 2016 voided China’s sweeping claims for being illegal, a ruling that Beijing does not recognize.

“There is an urgent need for legislation to steer the wheel towards a lasting and responsive solution to this problem,” Agusan del Norte Rep. Jose S. Aquino II said in the same statement.

Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus B. Rodriguez last week filed a bill criminalizing the deliberate sharing of false information, including claims that are meant to undermine public order and national security.

Anyone caught maliciously publishing false information and operating troll farms could face up to 12 years in prison and a P500,000 to P2 -million fine under House Bill No. 11506.

“We also have to ensure that those who deliberately spread falsehoods are held accountable under the law,” Mr. Aquino said.

National Security Council Assistant Director-General Jonathan E. Malaya in April said “Chinese state-sponsored” might be spreading false information to help the campaign of some pro-China political candidates.

“We are now in the midst of an active cognitive war — an insidious battle for the hearts and minds of the Filipino people,” Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace S. Barbers said in a separate statement. “This war is not fought with weapons, but with misinformation, manipulation and psychological influence.”

“The just concluded elections were a big part of this battlefield, with efforts deliberately intended to sway voters into supporting candidates aligned with foreign interests, particularly China,” he added. — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio

MNLF wants return of Sulu to BARMM territory

June 5, 2025 | 7:19 pm

COTABATO CITY — Officials of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) have called on national lawmakers to work out the return of Sulu to the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

MNLF officials, including Bangsamoro Labor and Employment Minister Muslimin G. Sema, told reporters on Thursday that removing Sulu from the core territory of BARMM by the Supreme Court has serious implications on the government’s separate peace compacts with the MNLF and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The High Tribunal’s action was based on a petition by Sulu Gov. Hadji Abdusakur M. Tan, who was against the fusion of their province with the Bangsamoro region.

“Sulu is an integral component of the collective aspiration of the Moro people in Southern Philippines for progress and peace via self-governance,” Mr. Sema, who is chairman of the MNLF’s central committee, said.

Mr. Sema said Sulu is the virtual birthplace of the Moro uprising for self-rule, in the context of Philippine sovereignty.

“We must not forget that what the MNLF fought for, first, was independence but agreed to autonomy. Now Sulu, which was the main flashpoint of the Mindanao secessionist conflict, was taken out from the Bangsamoro region,” he said.

Mr. Sema, BARMM Trade Minister Abuamri A. Taddik, MNLF officials, and leaders of the front’s Lupah-Sug State Revolutionary Committee in Sulu agreed to call on members of the House of Representatives and the Senate to cooperate in returning Sulu to the Bangsamoro region. Among the MNLF officials were: Uttoh Salem D. Cutan, Faizal G. Karon and Adzfar H. Usman, who are members of the 80-seat Bangsamoro parliament.

The consensus was reached during their dialogue on Monday in Patikul town in Sulu.

“It is hurting for us to see Sulu taken out from the Bangsamoro region’s area of coverage,” Mr. Usman said.

Mr. Karon said he is optimistic that members of the national legislature will focus attention on their sentiments.

“This is all for peace and justice to all of those who perished in our struggle for self-rule during the early 1970s until the 1980s,” said Mr. Karon, who joined the MNLF as an adolescent and figured in deadly gunfights with government troops in seaside towns in what is now Sultan Kudarat province in region 12. — John Felix M. Unson

SEC Chairman Aquino ends term

June 5, 2025 | 7:16 pm

OUTGOING Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairperson Emilio B. Aquino is ending his term with a seven-year streak of unmodified opinions from the Commission on Audit (CoA) for the commission’s financial state-ments.

The SEC received confirmation on June 2 that the CoA issued an “unmodified opinion,” also known as an “unqualified opinion,” on the fairness of the presentation of the commission’s 2024 financial statements.

An unmodified opinion is awarded when auditors determine that the financial statements are free from material misstatements.

“As corporate registrar and capital market regulator, it is only fitting that the SEC uphold the highest standards of transparency and accountability in the management of public funds,” Mr. Aquino said in an emailed statement on Thursday.

“This affirms our steadfast commitment to transparency, accountability, and sound fiscal management in serving the public trust. We hope that by leading by example, the corporate sector is able to follow suit in exercising sound fund management in their overall operations,” he added.

The SEC also received unqualified opinions for its financial statements from 2018 to 2023, translating to the longest streak of unqualified opinions that the corporate regulator has received over the past decade.

On Tuesday, Malacañang announced that Mr. Aquino will be replaced by prominent lawyer Francisco Edralin Lim as the SEC chief.

Mr. Aquino, whose term expires today (June 6), was the first certified public accountant and lawyer to serve as SEC chairperson. The Securities Regulation Code mandates that the SEC chairperson must be a law-yer.

Mr. Lim was the president and chief executive officer of the Philippine Stock Exchange from 2004 to 2010 and is a senior partner at the Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz Law Offices.

He was also a former president of the Management Association of the Philippines and the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave

Fix car volume on EDSA, gov’t told

June 5, 2025 | 7:14 pm

Traffic-vehicle-edsa09 — PHILIPPINE STAR/MIGUEL DE GUZMAN

A SENATOR on Thursday said that the government should address the volume of cars that passes along the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) before it pushes through with the planned rehabilitation of Metro Manila’s major highway.

“Our problem is the volume of cars, so no matter how smooth and well-maintained EDSA is, the vehicle volume will still be the same,” Senator Joseph Victor “JV” G. Ejercito told a news briefing.

He added that the government must first complete its major transportation projects to lessen the volume of cars before conducting the rehabilitation of EDSA.

“We need to look into mass transit because of our growing population… that’s why I’m pushing for the railway system, improvement of airports, infrastructure because it will spread out the development, it will develop the countryside,” Mr. Ejercito said.

He added that the government should have conducted an economic impact assessment before pushing through with the planned P5.8-billion project.

Last week, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. announced a one-month postponement of the EDSA revamp project to find a “better way” in rehabilitating the capital’s major thoroughfare, where more than 400,000 cars pass dai-ly. — Adrian H. Halili

PDEA nabs Ilocos drug ‘lieutenant’

June 5, 2025 | 7:12 pm

BAGUIO CITY — A suspected “lieutenant” of a drug syndicate operating in Ilocos Norte was cornered on Wednesday afternoon in a barangay in Badoc town, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Region I reported.

A member of the “Ronfer Drug Group,”alias Ariz, 38, is a provincial target drug personality, PDEA-1 Director Joel B. Plaza said. He was caught with nine pieces of heat-sealed transparent plastic sachet containing crystal meth (shabu), weighing around seven grams. It was worth P47,600.

The operation, primarily led by PDEA-Ilocos Norte operatives, was a joint effort with Ilocos Norte police anti-drug operatives and police intelligence agents.

PDEA said Ariz will be charged with violation of Section 5 (Sale of Dangerous Drugs), Section 11 (Possession of Dangerous Drugs), and Section 12 (Possession of Drug Paraphernalia), Article II of RA 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Dugs Act of 2002. He was brought to the Badoc town police station jail.

The Ronfer Drug Group is reportedly operating around Ilocos Norte and could have been crossing borders with Ilocos Sur, Abra, Apayao and Cagayan provinces for its illicit trade. — Artemio A. Dumlao

When business meets science: creating products that people need

June 5, 2025 | 5:50 pm

“It’s all right to do something that produces knowledge, said Dr. Kenneth Y. Hartigan-Go, senior research fellow and program director for leadership and innovation of the Ateneo Policy Center School of Government.

You need, however, “to bring in a generalist perspective – like a sociologist, or a businessman with an acumen for looking at what the market needs – and then develop that product into something that people need,” he said.

Interview by Patricia Mirasol
Video editing by Jayson Mariñas

Trump reinstates US travel ban, bars citizens of 12 countries

June 5, 2025 | 5:03 pm

US PRESIDENT Donald J. Trump signed a proclamation on Wednesday banning the citizens of 12 countries from entering the United States, saying the move was needed to protect against “foreign terrorists” and other security threats.

The directive is part of an immigration crackdown Mr. Trump launched this year at the start of his second term, which has also included the deportation to El Salvador of hundreds of Venezuelans suspected of being gang members, as well as efforts to deny enrollments of some foreign students and deport others.

The countries affected by the latest travel ban are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

The entry of people from seven other countries: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela, will be partially restricted.

“We will not allow people to enter our country who wish to do us harm,” Mr. Trump said in a video posted on X. He said the list could be revised and new countries could be added.

The proclamation is effective on June 9, 2025 at 12:01 a.m. EDT (0401 GMT). Visas issued before that date will not be revoked, the order said.

During his first term in office, Mr. Trump announced a ban on travelers from seven Muslim-majority nations, a policy that went through several iterations before it was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2018.

Former President Joseph R. Biden, a Democrat who succeeded Mr. Trump, repealed that ban on nationals from Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen in 2021, calling it “a stain on our national conscience.”

Mr. Trump said the countries subject to the most severe restrictions were determined to harbor a “large-scale presence of terrorists,” fail to cooperate on visa security and have an inability to verify travelers’ identities, inadequate record-keeping of criminal histories and high rates of visa overstays in the United States.

“We cannot have open migration from any country where we cannot safely and reliably vet and screen those who seek to enter the United States,” Mr. Trump said.

He cited Sunday’s incident in Boulder, Colorado in which a man tossed a gasoline bomb into a crowd of pro-Israel demonstrators as an example of why the new restrictions are needed.

An Egyptian national, Mohamed Sabry Soliman, has been charged in the attack. Federal officials said Mr. Soliman had overstayed his tourist visa and had an expired work permit — although Egypt is not on the list of countries facing travel limits.

BEING IN THE US A ‘BIG RISK’
Somalia immediately pledged to work with the US to address security issues.

“Somalia values its long-standing relationship with the United States and stands ready to engage in dialogue to address the concerns raised,” Dahir Hassan Abdi, the Somali ambassador to the United States, said in a statement.

Venezuelan Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, a close ally of President Nicolas Maduro, responded on Wednesday evening by describing the US government as fascist and warning Venezuelans of being in the US
“The truth is being in the United States is a big risk for anybody, not just for Venezuelans … They persecute our countrymen, our people for no reason.”

A spokesperson for the Taliban-led Afghan foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Pakistan’s foreign ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment on how it would handle the thousands of Afghans waiting in Islamabad who had been in the pipeline for US resettlement.

Calls early on Thursday to the spokesperson of Myanmar’s military government were not answered.
The travel ban threatens to upend a 31-year-old Myanmar teacher’s plan to join a US State department exchange program, which was slated to start in September.

“It is not easy to apply nor get accepted as we needed several recommendation letters,” said the teacher, who currently lives in Thailand and asked not to be named because her visa application is still outstanding.

“In my case, I would get to work at universities that provide digital education,” she said, adding that she had not been updated by the program after Mr. Trump’s announcement.

Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign focused on a tough border strategy and he previewed his plan in an October 2023 speech, pledging to restrict people from the Gaza Strip, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen and “anywhere else that threatens our security.”

Mr. Trump issued an executive order on January 20 requiring intensified security vetting of any foreigners seeking admission to the US to detect national security threats. — Reuters

In call with Putin, Pope Leo urges Russia to support peace

June 5, 2025 | 5:00 pm

POPE-LEO-BASILICA — POPE LEO XIV waves as he leaves the basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome, Italy, May 20, 2025. — REUTERS

MOSCOW/VATICAN CITY — Pope Leo XIV urged Russia to take steps towards ending the conflict in Ukraine when he spoke to President Vladimir Putin for the first time, the Vatican said on Wednesday.

“The pope made an appeal for Russia to make a gesture that favors peace, emphasizing the importance of dialogue for achieving positive contacts between the parties and seeking solutions to the conflict,” the Vatican said.

It confirmed that Leo, the first US pope, had spoken by telephone to Mr. Putin on Wednesday afternoon. The readout of the call was unusual for the Vatican, which does not always issue statements about papal phone calls.

“There was talk about the humanitarian situation, the need to facilitate aid where necessary, ongoing efforts for the exchange of prisoners, and the value of the work carried out in this regard by Cardinal (Matteo) Zuppi,” the Vatican added. Zuppi, the archbishop of Bologna, has been the Vatican’s peace envoy for Ukraine.

Mr. Putin for his part thanked Leo, who became pontiff almost four weeks ago, for offering to help settle the conflict and told him Ukraine was intent on “escalating” the war, the Kremlin said.

US President Donald J. Trump has previously said the pope offered to host Russia-Ukraine negotiations at the Vatican.

But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and other officials have said the Vatican is not a suitable site for peace talks between two largely Orthodox Christian countries.

Mr. Putin highlighted “that the Kyiv regime is banking on escalating the conflict and is carrying out sabotage against civilian infrastructure sites on Russian territory,” the statement said, describing those acts as terrorism.

The Kremlin restated that the conflict’s “root causes” must be addressed, a reference to Russian demands that Ukraine adopt a neutral status and NATO rule out eastward expansion.

Russia has sought to cultivate good ties with the new pope and his predecessor, Francis, especially on humanitarian issues, like family reunifications.

The Vatican statement thanked Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill for his greetings when Leo was elected. Pope Francis had been critical of Kirill’s support for Mr. Putin.

The Russian statement expressed hope the Vatican would “take a more active role” in calling for freedom of religion in Ukraine for members of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church that has historic links to Russia.

Ukrainian authorities have launched criminal proceedings against many of its clergy because of suspected sympathies for Moscow. A separate Kyiv-based Ukrainian Orthodox Church, formally recognized in 2019, has grown larger in Ukraine during the war. — Reuters

US vetoes UN Security Council demand for Gaza ceasefire

June 5, 2025 | 4:57 pm

Security Council Meets on Situation in Middle East, Including Palestinian Question — The United States vetoed a draft UN Security Council resolution that demanded an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza.Credit: UN Photo/ Mark Garten

UNITED NATIONS/CAIRO/JERUSALEM — The United States on Wednesday vetoed a draft United Nations (UN) Security Council resolution that demanded an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza and unhindered aid access across the war-torn enclave.

The other 14 countries on the council voted in favor of the draft as a humanitarian crisis grips the enclave of more than 2 million people, where famine looms and aid has only trickled in since Israel lifted an 11-week blockade last month.

“The United States has been clear: We would not support any measure that fails to condemn Hamas and does not call for Hamas to disarm and leave Gaza,” Acting US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea told the council before the vote, arguing that it would also undermine US-led efforts to broker a ceasefire.

Washington is Israel’s biggest ally and arms supplier.

The Security Council vote came as Israel pushes ahead with an offensive in Gaza after ending a two-month truce in March. Gaza health authorities said Israeli strikes killed 45 people on Wednesday, while Israel said a soldier died in fighting.

Britain’s UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward criticized the Israeli government’s decisions to expand its military operations in Gaza and severely restrict humanitarian aid as “unjustifiable, disproportionate and counterproductive.”

Israel has rejected calls for an unconditional or permanent ceasefire, saying Hamas cannot stay in Gaza. Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon told the council members who voted in favor of the draft: “You chose appeasement and submission. You chose a road that does not lead to peace. Only to more terror.”

Hamas condemned the US veto, describing it as showing “the US administration’s blind bias” towards Israel. The draft Security Council resolution had also demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and others.

RIVAL AID OPERATIONS
The war in Gaza has raged since 2023 after Hamas militants killed 1,200 people in Israel in an October 7 attack and took some 250 hostages back to the enclave, according to Israeli tallies. Many of those killed or captured were civilians.

Israel responded with a military campaign that has killed over 54,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities. They say civilians have borne the brunt of the attacks and that thousands more bodies have been lost under rubble.

Under global pressure, Israel allowed limited UN-led deliveries to resume on May 19. A week later a controversial new aid distribution system was launched by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), backed by the US and Israel.

Israel has long accused Hamas of stealing aid, which the group denies. Israel and the US are urging the UN to work through the GHF, which is using private US security and logistics companies to transport aid into Gaza for distribution at so-called secure distribution sites.

“No one wants to see Palestinian civilians in Gaza go hungry or thirsty,” Ms. Shea told the Security Council, adding that the draft resolution did not “acknowledge the disastrous shortcomings of the prior method of aid delivery.”

The UN and international aid groups have refused to work with the GHF because they say it is not neutral, militarizes aid and forces the displacement of Palestinians.

No aid was distributed by the US-backed GHF on Wednesday as it pressed the Israeli military to boost civilian safety beyond the perimeter of its so-called secure distribution sites after a deadly incident on Tuesday.

The GHF said it has asked the Israeli military to “guide foot traffic in a way that minimizes confusion or escalation risks” near military positions, provide clearer civilian guidance and enhance training of soldiers on civilian safety.

‘DELAYS AND DENIALS’
The GHF posted on Facebook that “ongoing maintenance work” would delay the opening of its distribution sites on Thursday. It said on Tuesday that it has so far distributed more than seven million meals since it started operations.

Despite US and Israeli criticism of the UN-led Gaza aid operation, a US ceasefire plan proposes the delivery of aid by the UN, the Red Crescent and other agreed channels. Israel has agreed to the ceasefire plan but Hamas is seeking changes that the US has rejected as “totally unacceptable.”

Ahead of the UN Security Council vote, UN Aid Chief Tom Fletcher again appealed for the UN and aid groups to be allowed to assist people in Gaza, stressing that they have a plan, supplies and experience.

“Open the crossings — all of them. Let in lifesaving aid at scale, from all directions. Lift the restrictions on what and how much aid we can bring in. Ensure our convoys aren’t held up by delays and denials,” Mr. Fletcher said in a statement.

The UN has long-blamed Israel and lawlessness in the enclave for hindering the delivery of aid into Gaza and its distribution throughout the war zone.

“Enough of suffering of civilians. Enough of food being used as a weapon. Enough is enough is enough,” Slovenia’s UN Ambassador Samuel Zbogar told the Security Council.

A similar humanitarian-focused draft resolution is now expected to be put to a vote in the 193-member UN General Assembly, where no countries have a veto power and it would likely pass, diplomats said.

Mr. Danon warned: “Don’t waste more of your time, because no resolution, no vote, no moral failure, will stand in our way.” — Reuters

China offers bounty on hackers it says are linked to Taiwan

June 5, 2025 | 4:49 pm

hacker-2883632_1280 — STOCK PHOTO | Image by geralt from Pixabay

BEIJING — Authorities in southern China have offered an undisclosed bounty for more than 20 people they say are linked to Taiwan and suspected of cyber attacks in China, the official news agency Xinhua said on Thursday, accusations Taipei strongly rejected.

The public security bureau in the Chinese city of Guangzhou said the hackers were connected to the Taiwan government and published their pictures, names and Taiwan identity card numbers.

Chinese authorities accused Taiwan of organizing, planning and premeditating attacks on key sectors such as military, aerospace, government departments, energy and transportation, maritime affairs, science and technology research firms in China as well as in special administration regions Hong Kong and Macau, Xinhua said.

Xinhua, citing a cybersecurity report, said the Taiwan “information, communication and digital army” had cooperated with US anti-Chinese forces to conduct public opinion and cognitive warfare against China, secretly instigate revolution and attempt to disrupt public order in China.

Taiwan’s defense ministry said in a statement it was not carrying out any “corporate cyber attacks,” and that China’s offers of a bounty highlighted “the rude and unreasonable attitude of the Chinese communists in intimidating and coercing the Taiwanese people.”

“Recent statements by the European Union, the United States and the Czech Republic condemning the Chinese communists’ hacking organizations for carrying out cyber-attacks prove that the Chinese communists are not only a regional troublemaker, but a common threat to the global internet,” it added.

A senior Taiwan security official told Reuters that the Chinese allegations were invented, saying Beijing was trying to shift the focus from Czech and European scrutiny over alleged Chinese hacking activities there.

“They fabricated a false narrative to shift the focus. It’s a very typical behavior by the Chinese Communist Party,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the matter.

China also said Taiwan had long-standing cooperation with the US National Security Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency and other intelligence agencies as part of the United States’ “Asia-Pacific Strategy,” calling it Taiwan’s attempt to gain independence through relying on the United States.

“The US intelligence department has long provided personnel training and technical equipment support for Taiwan’s ‘information, communication and digital army’, and many police stations have sent ‘hunting’ teams to Taiwan, to launch a cyber attacks on China,” according to a social media post by an account linked to Chinese state television.

Last week authorities in Guangzhou, the capital of southern Guangdong province, attributed a cyber attack on an unnamed technology company to the Taiwan government, saying Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party supported the “overseas hacker organization” responsible.

In response, Taiwan said Beijing was peddling false information, and that it was China that was carrying out hacking against the island.

China views Taiwan as its own territory. Taiwan’s democratically elected government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims.

Chinese courts and legal bodies have no jurisdiction in Taiwan, whose government has repeatedly complained about Beijing’s “long-armed jurisdiction” efforts. — Reuters

Ascott Philippines brings fresh perspectives to Cebu with new General Manager

June 5, 2025 | 2:42 pm

COVER-PHOTO-GM-Angelo-Ascue-OL — The Ascott Limited names Angelo Ascue, 34, as its youngest appointed General Manager, set to lead Citadines Cebu City and lyf Cebu City.

The Ascott Limited, the globally recognized serviced residence and hospitality brand, is delighted to announce the appointment of a new General Manager to its well-loved, well-appointed properties in Cebu. Multi-awarded hotelier Angelo Ascue takes on the title as he looks to build upon and further innovate Citadines Cebu City and lyf Cebu City in time for the 25^th anniversary of Ascott Philippines this year.

The young yet seasoned Ascue serves as the youngest appointed General Manager for Ascott Philippines at 34 years old, with over a decade of experience in the hospitality industry. In 2023, he was awarded “Manager of the Year” during his tenure with Robinsons Hotels and Resorts group. Ascue’s leadership style was also recognized by the renowned Association of Human Resources Managers in the Hospitality Industry (AHRM), which honors the Filipino brand of service excellence.

“It is a true honor to be able to lead key properties of Ascott Philippines in the dynamic market of Cebu,” says Mr. Ascue, whose multi-faceted background in the hospitality industry spans the front office and F&B-related operations, to go with his expertise in hotel events, sales, and marketing. “I am eager to contribute to the continued success of Citadines Cebu City and lyf Cebu City, especially on this milestone year for the organization, celebrating a quarter century of excellence.”

The Ascott Limited turns 25 this year in the Philippines, marking a momentous milestone for the international brand in the country. The organization lists 17 properties under its name across five time-tested brands in Ascott, Oakwood, Citadines, Somerset, and lyf. Since its establishment in 2000, Ascott Philippines has always pushed the boundaries of what guests can expect from curated service experiences, from upscale modern amenities to one-of-a-kind Filipino hospitality.

On its silver anniversary this year, Ascott Philippines looks to reach new heights. The organization extends its unique brand of accommodations and service experiences nationwide, from bustling urban cityscapes to scenic yet modern island destinations. Two such star properties are those now under the leadership of Ascue, Citadines Cebu City and lyf Cebu City, which are strategically located in the heart of the Queen City of the South.

Citadines Cebu City offers serviced apartments in studio, one-bedroom, and loft styles, along with modern amenities, for a personalized experience enjoyed by both leisure and business travelers. Meanwhile, the chic and dynamic lyf Cebu City in Midtown Cebu presents experience-driven social living with distinctive areas like the Say Hi check-in and reception, Bond and Chill for relaxation and co-working, alongside Burn group workouts. Room layouts include One of a Kind, Side by Side, and All Together.

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