A non-government organization linked to the New People’s Army (NPA) has been accused of shortchanging farmers in Carigara, Leyte. Former members of the Leyte Center for Development, Inc. (LCDE) reported to the Philippine Army that despite a huge amount poured in for post-Super Typhoon Yolanda recovery in 2013, they received barely enough help to rebuild their lives after the disaster. “The farmers felt aggrieved that the organization merely used them to generate funds from humanitarian aid agencies and other donors,” the Army’s 802nd Infantry Brigade said in a statement on Saturday. They complained that the few farm pieces of machinery
Twenty-five former drug users completed on Friday six months of community-based drug rehabilitation program (CBRP) in Pigcawayan, North Cotabato. Pigcawayan Mayor Jean Dino Roquero said the rehabilitation of the 25 successful CBRP graduates began in March this year under the close monitoring and supervision of barangay officials and their respective families. The CBRP is a general approach in rehabilitating surrendered persons who used drugs (PWUDs), aiming to focus on the healing of the body, mind, and soul through counseling and other therapeutic sessions by the barangays, as supervised by the municipal government. “For the past six months, the rehabilitating drug
Typhoon Kiko has made landfall in Batanes on Saturday morning. In an interview with DZBB, Raymond Ordinario, weather specialist of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said the typhoon has made landfall in the town of Ivana at about 8:30 a.m. “Kiko” has maximum sustained winds of 215 kph near the center, gustiness of up to 265 kph, and a central pressure of 920 hectopascals (hPa), moving north-northwestward at 15 kph. Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal (TCWS) No. 4 has been raised over Batanes and the northeastern portion of the Babuyan Islands; TCWS No. 3 over the northwestern
About 120 families in the provinces of Cagayan and Isabela have been preemptively evacuated due to Typhoon Kiko, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said on Saturday. This is equivalent to 415 persons from 15 villages in the two provinces, the NDRRMC said in an update. Eight evacuation centers are serving 103 families or about 374 individuals, with the remainder sheltering among family and friends. Meanwhile, Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief, Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, directed police forces in areas near the path of “Kiko” to assist in disaster response efforts. “I have already instructed our police forces
Some 26 farm schools from the divisions of the Department of Education (DepEd) in Western Visayas are ready to accommodate an initial 1,861 Grade 7 enrollees as classes in public schools start on Sept. 13. “This is a pioneering Philippine farm school in compliance with Republic Act 10618 that mandates DepEd to organize a farm school. These 26 farm schools were given their respective permits because the law expressly mandates DepEd that the approval of the permit is lodged at the regional office,” Dr. Jude Thaddeus I. Iledan, chief of the DepEd field technical assistance division and program regional focal
The Antique National School (ANS), the biggest secondary school in the province, is set for the opening of classes on September 13. Dr. Salvador J. Sembran, ANS Assistant School Principal II, during a virtual press conference on Friday, said they have registered 6,190 students for the incoming school year. They are optimistic that they could surpass or equal their 7,499 enrollees last school year as the registration is ongoing. “There are still many parents coming to our school in San Jose de Buenavista for the enrollment of their children,” Sembran said. This school year, teachers will still use blended learning
