North Cotabato Governor Nancy Catamco on Friday lauded 70 former communist rebels who are now ready for reintegration into mainstream society after completing their 15-day deradicalization program. “I am happy that you have survived. May you live normal and productive lives hence,” Catamco said in a statement released to media. After completing the 15-day program on June 28, they stayed for several days at the headquarters of the Army’s 72nd Infantry Battalion (72IB) for the processing of their certificates and benefits before returning to their respective families. The former rebels once operated in the areas covered by the 72IB, the
The trough of a low-pressure area (LPA) is bringing dull weather to Southern Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao on Saturday, the weather bureau said. In its 4 a.m. daily weather bulletin, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms will prevail over the Visayas, Quezon province, and the Bicol, Mimaropa, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, and Caraga regions. Metro Manila and the rest of the country will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms brought by localized thunderstorms. Light to moderate winds headed northeast to northwest
The Department of Energy (DOE) on Friday has issued to the Albay Power Energy Corporation (APEC), the concessioner of the Albay Electric Cooperative (ALECO), the temporary exemption to procure under a negotiated emergency power supply agreement (EPSA) 40 megawatts power supply from June 26 to Dec. 25, 2021. Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi has issued a certification allowing the APEC to buy the needed power supply by granting a Certificate of Exemption to do a Competitive Selection Process (COE-CSP) for the negotiated procurement of EPSA. The granting of the exemption is pursuant to a DOE Circular allowing power distributors a negotiated
Thirteen duos, including one from the Philippines, will showcase what the future of Asian beach volleyball would look like in the 3rd Asian U19 Beach Volleyball Championships in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand starting Saturday. Jayrack dela Noche and Alexander Iraya will banner the lone Filipino squad in a 13-team field, which sees host country Thailand bringing in three representatives. One of the Thai teams, Thailand-1, happens to be in Group A with the dela Noche-Iraya tandem and Iran-2. Second seed Australia, Lebanon-1, and Thailand-2 are in Pool B, while third seed Iran-1 is in Pool C with Qatar and Kazahkstan-2. Defending
The Police Regional Office in Caraga (PRO-13) has warned its personnel to be on alert in the wake of a new threat by the communist New People’s Army (NPA) rebels in the area. The warning came after PRO-13 received information from individuals on the NPA plan to attack police personnel even in their residences. In a statement Saturday, PRO-13 Director Brig. Gen. Romeo Caramat Jr. told the police personnel to take precautionary measures and intensify intelligence gathering to monitor the movements of the NPA insurgents in their respective areas of responsibility. “The NPA movement is now affected by the series
The government should give all Filipino mothers a regular allowance worth PHP10,000 every month, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo suggested on Saturday. Panelo made the suggestion, as he acknowledged that Filipino mothers, regarded as “ilaw ng tahanan” (light of the home), are the ones in charge of taking care of household expenses. It is only right to grant a monthly allowance to all moms in the country, as the 1987 Constitution mandates the government to “serve and protect” all Filipino citizens, Panelo said during his commentary show Counterpoint. “Ano ba ‘yung bigyan natin ng PHP10,000 na regular allowance ang
