Indigenous peoples (IP) leaders in Surigao del Sur, particularly in Lianga town urged the communist New People’s Army (NPA) and militant organizations to stop their lies and respect the IP justice system which part of the self-governance mechanisms existing in their communities. The IP leaders made the call after the Save Our School (SOS) Network and communist-linked groups accused the military of killing three IP members, one of whom was a minor, in a clash between government forces and NPA rebels Sitio New Decoy, Barangay Diatagon, Lianga town on June 15. “They are so fast in spreading information that is
Marunggay, a local term for Moringa Oleifera (malunggay) and a well-known Ilokano backyard tree gets a boost here as residents introduced their unique and healthy dishes with the vegetable as the main ingredient. The cooking competition participated in by the different villages is one of the highlights of the first Marunggay Festival on Saturday to promote marunggay as a “superfood” due to its promising nutritive contents. With the launch of the first Marunggay Festival inspired by her mom and now Senator Ma. Imelda Josefa Ïmee” Marcos, Governor Matthew Joseph Manotoc said he looks forward to seeing marunggay as a commercial
Mayor Julier Resuello said Friday a program is being prepared to help indigent residents who would be needing saliva reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests in applying for a job. Resuello noted the possibility of partnering with the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) for the saliva RT-PCR test needed by indigent residents who had close contact with people who tested positive for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). He said this during the launch of a drive-through saliva collection site for the RT-PCR test at the Magic Mall here. The collection site was launched with the PRC Pangasinan chapter and the Magic
A total of 226 cities and municipalities now have online booking for the Step 2 registration of the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys). The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) announced the available online booking sites as of June 12, up from 14 pilot cities and municipalities on May 24. Appointment schedules for Step 2 can be made online through https://register.philsys.gov.ph. Step 2 must be done personally as it involves fingerprint and iris scans and taking of front-facing photographs. The PSA also reminded those who have finished Step 1 through face-to-face or house-to-house demographic data collection that they no longer need to register
Four people, including an alleged big-time drug pusher, were arrested while illegal drugs with an estimated street value of PHP158,400 were seized in separate anti-drug operations in the Zamboanga region on Friday. Brig. Gen. Ronaldo Genaro Ylagan, director of Police Regional Office (PRO) 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula), on Saturday identified the alleged big-time suspect as Aljier Sarmiento, 32. Ylagan said Sarmiento was arrested in an anti-drug operation by joint policemen and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) operatives in Purok Ipil-Ipil, Barangay Magdaup, Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay at about 1:30 p.m. Seized from Sarmiento were some 15 grams of suspected shabu worth PHP102,000,
The Philippines, not the International Criminal Court (ICC), must have the first crack at investigating the alleged extrajudicial killings (EJK) in its territory. The country cannot be deprived and preempted to conduct its probe, according to the Legal Cooperation Cluster (LCC) of the National Task Force to End Local Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) as it denounced the recent decision of the ICC to seek a full investigation into the alleged human rights violations and crimes during illegal drug operations under the Duterte administration. “If the ICC is to retain any vestige of legitimacy or semblance of authority, it must give way
