00:00 Good day, I am Sujin Kim and this is PTV News Now.
00:04 More than 27,000 policemen will be deployed for the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniangkabatan
00:09 elections, All Souls Day and All Saints Day.
00:12 According to the Philippine National Police, they will go on full alert starting tomorrow.
00:17 The Philippine Coast Guard previously raised their status to heightened alert on October
00:21 25 until November 5.
00:23 The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines advised UNDAS passengers to arrive early at
00:28 the airport due to the expected surge of passengers.
00:31 According to CAAP spokesperson Eric Apolonio, the plane cannot wait for late passengers
00:36 because it will affect the flight on the runway.
00:39 The CAAP also requested additional staff for the anticipated influx of passengers.
00:45 Two Filipinos are suspected of being held hostage of the Palestinian militant group
00:49 Hamas.
00:50 Israel has called on the government to do whatever it takes to rescue the hostages.
00:55 The Israeli government first confirmed that two Filipinos were among the 220 hostages
00:59 of the militant group.
01:01 But according to the Philippine Embassy in Tel Aviv, they have not yet received any confirmation
01:05 about this.
01:06 The missing Filipino, Jimmy Pacheco, can be seen in this photo of alleged Hamas hostages
01:11 shown at the press conference of the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
01:15 According to the Israeli government, the hostages include 54 Thai nationals, 15 Argentinians,
01:20 12 Americans, 12 Germans, 6 Russians, 6 French, 1 Chinese and 1 Sri Lankan.
01:29 Republican Mike Johnson was elected Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, ending
01:32 lawmakers' 22-day struggle to pick one of the top leadership positions in the U.S. government,
01:38 VOA congressional correspondent Katherine Gibson reports.
01:44 By a vote of 220 to 209, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives finally ended
01:51 three weeks of fighting and indecision to pick a leader.
01:55 ... Mike Johnson of the state of Louisiana, having received a majority of the votes cast
01:59 as duly elected Speaker of the House of Representatives.
02:02 The new Speaker of the House is conservative Republican Representative Mike Johnson.
02:08 A man of deep faith, Mike epitomizes what it means to be a servant leader.
02:13 A deeply respected constitutional lawyer, Mike has dedicated his life to preserving
02:19 America's great principles of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
02:24 The lower chamber of the U.S. Congress has been without a leader and unable to pass legislation
02:29 since October 3rd, when Republican Kevin McCarthy became the first ever Speaker of the House
02:35 to be removed from power.
02:38 Eight conservative members of his own party, along with all Democrats, voted him out for
02:44 passing a short-term funding bill for the government.
02:46 There's been a lot of internal turmoil within the Republican conference for really the last
02:51 decade or so and it's been slowly piecing and becoming more exposed in more public ways.
02:57 And this really hit the head when the funding battle was necessary to fund the government.
03:05 McCarthy couldn't find enough votes within his own conference.
03:09 Three-term Congressman Johnson was nominated late Tuesday after Representative Tom Emmer
03:14 withdrew his candidacy following former President Donald Trump's social media post criticizing
03:20 him for being a Republican in name only.
03:24 Trump praised Johnson early Wednesday.
03:26 I think Mike Johnson is doing very well.
03:29 He's a tremendous Congressman, respected by everybody.
03:33 I hear it looks like it's really good.
03:35 I haven't had one negative comment about him.
03:39 Everybody likes him.
03:40 He's respected by all.
03:42 Johnson, who is now second in the presidential line of succession after Vice President Kamala
03:47 Harris, is strongly anti-abortion and was one of the leaders of the effort among Republican
03:53 lawmakers to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
03:58 All 209 House Democrats voted for their leader, Hakeem Jaffray, and Warren Johnson's views
04:05 are too extreme.
04:07 Has this been about something else?
04:10 Has this been about a focus of House Republicans to find the person who can pass their extreme
04:15 litmus test to oppose marriage equality, enact a nationwide abortion ban without exceptions,
04:24 gut Social Security and Medicare, and support overturning a free and fair election?
04:30 U.S. lawmakers have just 23 days until the short-term government funding bill runs out.
04:36 They are also expected to debate the White House request for $61 billion in aid to Ukraine
04:42 and $14 billion in aid for Israel.
04:45 Katherine Jipson, VOA News.
04:49 This is Soojin Kim.
04:53 Stay informed, be aware, get ahead, be of use, and get the news right here.
04:57 [MUSIC]
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