A lawmaker on Monday called for a whole-of-government, whole-of-nation, and whole-of-society approach to revive tourism and bolster its full recovery from the impacts of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic. In a resolution released on Monday, Quezon City Rep. Alfred Vargas urged the government to work together with various stakeholders in implementing measures aimed at catalyzing the recovery of the country’s tourism sector and helping affected Filipinos regain their livelihood. “It is the natural beauty of our country—our beaches and mountains and other natural wonders—and our innate hospitality as Filipinos that has made the Philippines a top tourist destination. In our
At least 1,700 personnel of the Philippine National Police (PNP) will secure various strategic areas in Western Visayas during the observance of the Holy Week. Cops will be deployed to man random checkpoints, establish police assistance desks, conduct mobile and detective patrols, and other crime prevention efforts to ensure a peaceful and orderly celebration, the Police Regional Office-Western Visayas (PRO-6) said in a statement. Lt. Col. Arnel Solis, the PRO-6 spokesperson, said in an interview on Monday the personnel will be fielded from the existing number of the lower police units aside from those assigned for routine patrol operations. “We
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) said it will continue to conduct unannounced checking of vehicles for illegal drugs and random drug testing of public utility vehicle drivers in the region to assure the safety of the commuting public, especially during the Holy Week break. PDEA-CAR Regional Director Gil Ceasario Castro said in a private message over social media on Monday that “we will do it anytime… sa mga (for the) driver when we see the need.” Castro said the “Oplan Harabas” done last week was part of the passenger safety efforts of the
The Supreme Court (SC) cleared former First Gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo of criminal charges arising from the purchase by the Philippine National Police (PNP) of three helicopters in 2009 for PHP105 million. In its resolution uploaded online on Sunday, the SC granted the motion for reconsideration filed by Arroyo and ordered the Sandiganbayan to drop the husband of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from the information filed in the criminal case “at any stage of the proceedings,”. The Dec. 1, 2021 resolution reconsidered a January 2020 decision which dismissed Arroyo’s petition. The court said “the element of conspiracy with a
The Police Regional Office-10 (PRO-10) said Monday it will deploy 1,223 uniformed personnel to monitor the peace and order during the Holy Week observance throughout Northern Mindanao. Lt. Col. Michelle Olaivar, spokesperson of PRO-10, said the personnel will be safeguarding activities in 181 churches and 58 religious and pilgrimage sites region-wide. Most of the deployment will be in this city with 491 personnel, followed by the province of Misamis Oriental with 171, Olaivar said in an interview. With the recent easing of restrictions in most local government units in the region, PRO-10 is expecting an influx of locals and tourists
Retrieval operations are ongoing for a family of five buried in a landslide in Baybay City, Leyte while the son of a university president has been missing since Sunday as weather disturbance “Agaton”, which now weakened into a tropical depression, battered several areas in Eastern Visayas. Rescuers resumed the retrieval at the landslide site around 5 a.m. on Monday after it stopped Sunday night due to poor visibility and heavy rains brought by “Agaton”, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said in its update sent to reporters Monday. The landslide occurred past 2 p.m. Sunday in Can-ipa village in Baybay. The
