Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said the down payment for the Philippine Air Force (PAF)’s Russian-sourced heavy-lift helicopter acquisition program will be released soon. “Also, the down payment for the heavy-lift helicopters, I think will be paid soon so that we will have the heavy-lift helicopter, Mi-17, of Russia. Malaking helicopter po iyon (that is a big helicopter),” Lorenzana said on the sidelines of the assumption ceremony of Maj. Gen. Connor Anthony Canlas as the new PAF chief on Tuesday night. Canlas replaced Lt. Gen. Allen Paredes, who retired from the service upon reaching the mandatory retirement age of 56. The

The resounding pleas of local officials to reinstate the PHP28.1-billion budget of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) has gained ground, as it continues to change the perceptions of many legislators especially those in the 2022 Congressional Bicameral Conference Committee (bicam). Before the 2022 Bicam, Senate Finance Committee chairman Senator Sonny Angara was already convinced that the NTF-ELCAC budget, especially its flagship program, the Barangay Development Program (BDP) will be given a higher budget at the bicam. Angara said with the recent submission of the NTF-ELCAC’s accomplishment report on the BDP, most of the senators

The Task Force Bangon Marawi (TFBM) on Wednesday said more internally displaced persons (IDPs) affected by the 2017 siege can start rebuilding their houses inside Marawi City’s ground zero by the third week of January next year. This, after TFBM chairperson Secretary Eduardo Del Rosario and Marawi Mayor Majul Gandamra, agreed to expedite the release of building permits to some 1,500 applicants, allowing them to start rebuilding their damaged homes. “Basically, complete na ang documentation, ‘yung go signal na lang ng office of building official ang hinihintay (the documentations are already complete, we are just waiting for a go signal

State troopers are relentlessly in pursuit of Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) bandits who figured in a series of clashes that resulted in the death of two ASG followers and a soldier in Sulu, a top military official disclosed Wednesday. Maj. Gen. William Gonzales, the Army’s 11th Infantry Division commander, identified the subject of the continuous pursuit operation as the group of Radullan Sahiron, considered the “Amir” of the ASG. Gonzales said the group of Sahiron figured in three separate clashes against the troops of the Special Forces and 45th Infantry Battalions (45IB) from 12:40 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. Sunday in

President Rodrigo Duterte’s decision to accept the invitation of United States (US) President Joseph “Joe” Biden Jr. to participate in the Summit for Democracy is “consistent” with his independent foreign policy, Malacañang said on Wednesday. Acting Presidential Spokesperson and Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles made this remark after Duterte welcomed the opportunity to share the Philippine democratic experience and commitment to democratic values and nation-building at the Summit for Democracy. China, which was not invited, dismissed the US-organized summit, noting that there is no fixed model of democracy. Duterte is known for also being friends with regional power China. The Philippines

The News and Information Bureau (NIB), an attached agency of the Presidential Communications Operations Office, brought early Christmas cheers by bringing in-kind donations to abandoned children in an orphanage in Sta. Mesa, Manila on Tuesday. A total of 25 children, aged one year to seven years, are under the direct care of the Concordia Children’s Services while 110 more are under their community-based program. “We have two main programs, the receiving home program for the residential base, ito ‘yung 25 kids namin (these are our 25 kids). In our community base, we have 110 children and youths that we support