Malacañang is still waiting for the final word on the supposed United States (US) trip of President Rodrigo Duterte. In a press briefing in Angeles City, Pampanga, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said he could neither confirm nor deny Duterte’s plan to visit the US. “Iyong mga bagay na iyan ay talagang diplomasya po iyan, so hintayin na lang po natin kung magkakaroon ng kasunduan kasi kinakailangan din ng kasunduan (Matters like that involve diplomacy so let’s wait if there will be an agreement because there should be an agreement first),” he said. Rather than risk making wrong pronouncements, Roque said

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday launched the local source code review (LSCR) of the automated election system (AES) to be used in the May 9, 2022 National and Local Elections (NLE). Poll body officials headed by chairman Sheriff Abas welcomed the participants composed of political parties, citizen’s arm, civil society groups, at the kickoff activity held at the Diamond Hotel in Manila. Commissioner Marlon Casquejo, head of the Steering Committee and commissioner-in-charge of the LSCR, said the procedure is a pre-election activity that is mandated by the law. “The review of the human-readable instructions that define what the

Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Secretary Emmanuel Piñol has resigned from his post to run as senator in the 2022 elections. In a Facebook post Monday, Piñol said he tendered his resignation to Pres. Rodrigo Duterte effective Oct. 5 and “thanked him for the opportunity to serve the country.” “Today, I have reached a decision to vie for a seat in the Philippine Senate to pursue my advocacy to help the Filipino farmers and fishermen become more productive while at the same time ensuring food security and economic prosperity in the country,” he said. Piñol served as Agriculture Secretary from June

The Philippine National Police’s (PNP) search and rescue operation capabilities got a boost after it received almost PHP39 million worth of disaster response equipment from Japan. PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar, together with Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary Bernardo Florece Jr., personally accepted the donation from Japanese Ambassador to Manila Kazuhiko Koshikawa in Camp Crame on Monday. “I would like to express our sincerest gratitude to the Government of Japan for their continuing support to the Philippine police force. We are very grateful for the outpouring of support to our personnel to give timely and effective

Police have launched a deeper investigation into the suspected summary execution of three persons in a remote village in Polomolok, South Cotabato. Lt. Col. Alex Joe Orcajada, chief of Polomolok municipal police station, said the three victims were found hogtied with gunshot wounds past 9 a.m. Monday near a river in Purok 2, Barangay Sulit. He identified the victims as Jayson Endencio, 25, of Purok 1, Barangay Lapu; and Eros James Benosa, 18, and Carlyn Loyd Huelar, 22, both of Purok 6, Barangay Sulit. They were reportedly last seen by relatives leaving Barangay Sulit on Sunday morning aboard a motorcycle,

An estimated PHP255.6 million worth of infrastructure projects have been implemented this year in South Cotabato province as the local government continued to expand its development initiatives even amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. Rudy Jimenea, head executive assistant of the Office of the Provincial Governor, said on Monday the projects were among the priorities adopted by the local government in consultation with concerned stakeholders. He said the bulk of the allocation covered the transport, access, and circulation component or road-related projects, all funded by the provincial government. These included 14 major projects like the upgrading, opening, and widening