Around 266 New People’s Army (NPA) rebels, majority from its units in Eastern Mindanao, have returned to the fold of the law for the first three months this year. Armed Forces of the Philippines public affairs office chief Col. Jorry Baclor said 114 were from Eastern Mindanao, 58 from Western Mindanao, 37 from Southern Luzon, 36 in the Visayas, 20 in Northern Luzon and one from Palawan. Baclor said the most recent was the surrender of Maximo Catarata, Secretary of Guerilla Front 3 in Davao del Norte on March 31, leading to the dismantling of the NPA unit. Authorities also
Residents, mostly young people, in Barangay Cabanbanan in this town have united their efforts to clean and eventually rehabilitate a portion of a river system here to refresh their childhood memories and make a new one for the new generation. Vince Bautista, 21, an engineering student and one of the youth volunteers, said the river system has been part of his early childhood however, it has become a dumping site of garbage and withered tree branches. “Dati naglalaro lang kami ng cellphone habang nasa bahay. Pero nung nagkaroon ng paglilinis dun sa ilog, sumama na din kami. Nung unti-unti nang
Despite ranking fifth in the latest Pulse Asia pre-election survey, independent presidential candidate Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson is unfazed by the results, saying he will not quit the race. “I’m not disturbed by the surveys. Sabi nga namin, lahat ng rallies na pinupuntahan namin ang direct engagement to the people (Like what we said, in all our rallies that we attended have direct engagement to the people, we’ll stick to that),” he said in an interview with reporters. “We are seeing this through. ‘Yan ang maliwanag (That is clear).” In the Pulse Asia survey dated March 17 to 21 that
The Diocese of Sorsogon has ordered the indefinite suspension of Rev. Father Emmanuel Alparce from his ministry for participating in the May 9 polls. A circular dated April 4 signed by Bishop Jose Alan Dialogo said Alparce’s joining in the national and local elections as candidate for councilor in the municipality of Bacacay, Albay violates the code of canon law forbidding clerics to assume public offices, which entail a participation in the exercise of civil power. “The Directory on Ministry and the Life of Priests urges clergy that priests “ought to refrain from actively engaging in politics, in order to
The United States Peace Corps recently concluded a weeklong kickoff program for American volunteers who will provide virtual technical assistance to three requesting Filipino partners in the next six months. These American volunteers formerly lived and worked in the Philippines as Peace Corps volunteers and are “returning” to the country virtually to support Filipino host organizations with priority projects as part of the US Peace Corps’ innovative Virtual Service Program, which was introduced due to the pandemic. The three Filipino partners are the local government of Ivisan in Capiz, the Bataan Peninsula State University, and the Philippine Science High School.
More than 2,300 persons have been apprehended since the start of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) gun ban in January, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año said. In a prerecorded Talk to the People with President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday night, Año said a total of 2,345 persons were arrested and 13,895 firearms surrendered as of April 5. “Nakikita po dito sa ating mga datos na buo ang dedikasyon ng ating kapulisan na pagtibayin ang kaayusan at kaligtasan ng ating mga kababayan habang papalapit ang araw ng eleksiyon (Based on our data, we can see
