Police authorities in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) announced Wednesday the creation of a special probe team to fast-track the investigation on the recent murder of retired police, Brig. Gen. Rolen Balquin, the city’s public safety officer. Speaking over DXMS Radyo here, Major Mark Joseph Porras, spokesperson of Cotabato City Police Office, said the creation of the Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) -Balquin was approved by Brig. Gen. Arthur Cabalona, the BARMM police director. Balquin previously served as city police director. Colonel Jeffrey Fernandez, BARMM police deputy director for operations, was named SITG supervisor, while Colonel Rommel

Partido Reporma standard-bearer Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson on Wednesday said he is looking at the possibility of having a single financing facility to provide assistance to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) severely hit by the coronavirus pandemic. He added that this can be done by pooling the funds of government agencies offering the same program to create just one financing facility. “Ang iniisip namin ni Senate President (Vicente) Sotto rito, i-streamline natin. Bakit di natin i-pool sa isang pondo kung saan ilagak natin para alam ng MSME na tinamaan ng pandemya o anumang crisis, giyera ng Russia sa Ukraine,

Local candidates and their political parties in Negros Oriental will be allowed to conduct campaign activities even without securing a permit from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) here, an election official said on Wednesday. This, as candidates are gearing up for the start of the local campaign this week on March 25. Lawyer Lionel Marco Castillano, Comelec-Negros Oriental provincial election supervisor, told the Philippine News Agency that this development came following an amendment issued by the agency on election campaign guidelines. During an orientation for the candidates and their teams on Tuesday afternoon, Castillano said one of the highlights in

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has allowed the Office of the Vice President (OVP) to continue some of its coronavirus response efforts even during the campaign period for May 9 elections. “In an executive session today, the en banc granted the Petition for Exception of the Office of the Vice President of certain projects and programs during the 45-day period of the campaign,” Commissioner George Erwin Garcia said in a message to reporters on Wednesday. Earlier, Vice President Leni Robredo asked the poll body to allow her office to continue their pandemic-related programs even during the period of election campaign.

Presidential aspirant Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr. said he will “definitely” continue the anti-insurgency programs of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC). “How can you object the program that brings peace. Yung mga nagrerebelde ay natutulungan na ng gobyerno. Kaya nagrebelde yan kasi wala silang nararamdaman na tulong, na serbisyo galing sa gobyerno. Walang trabaho, walang future kumbaga (Those rebels are being helped by the government. The reason for their rebellion is because they didn’t feel any help, services from the government. No job, no future like that),” Marcos said in an interview during the March

A total of 2,583 jail officers of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) nationwide were promoted to their next higher rank on Wednesday. BJMP chief Jail Director Allan Iral administered the simultaneous oath-taking of the 2,528 Jail Non-Officer Rank (JNOR) and 55 Jail Officer Rank (JOR) in a virtual ceremony at the BJMP headquarters in Quezon City. The JNORs are composed of 92 Senior Jail Officer 4 (SJO4), 124 Senior Jail Officer 3 (SJO3), 150 Senior Jail Officer 2 (SJO2), 229 Senior Jail Officer 1 (SJO1), 609 Jail Officer 3 (JO3), and 1,324 Jail Officer 2 (JO2) while