The death of a village chief in Davao del Sur, gunned down because of suspected election-related issues, is an incident that should not happen again. Davao Occidental Governor Claude Bautista thus appealed on Saturday for peaceful, free, and honest elections on May 9. In a video message to the media, Bautista said voters should be free to choose their leaders, whose focus should be on the welfare of the people. “I am asking for you to unite for peaceful and clean elections,” Bautista added. “I am asking leaders not to threaten people. Let them vote for who they think is

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Saturday began destroying defective official and roadshow ballots and other accountable forms at the National Printing Office (NPO) in Quezon City. Commissioner George Garcia headed the destruction of 933,311 ballots, including 586,988 official ones. The roadshow ballots were used in testing the vote-counting machines. The official ballots destroyed have smudges, wrong color, wrong size, and improperly cut, among other defects. The ballots were fed to the industrial cutting machines and will be disposed of after the May 9 national and local elections (NLE). The activity will be from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily

Presidential candidate, Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, on Friday night reminded voters of Cavite’s role as the birthplace of the republic, urging them to be patriotic reformers like the revolutionaries of the past by choosing a worthy leader. Speaking before a crowd of about 50,000 who attended his and vice presidential running mate, Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III’s grand rally at the Verdant Square in Carmona, Cavite, Lacson called for a “silent revolution”. “Nananawagan ako sa inyo. Inaanyayahan ko kayo na maglunsad tayo ng isang rebolusyon. Hindi po rebolusyon na tulad ng pinaglaban ng ating mga ninuno, ng ating mga

The Philippine Army’s 91st Infantry “Sinagtala” Battalion (91IB) is stepping up its information and education campaign to counter the recruitment efforts of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA), particularly among students. Lt. Col. Julito B. Recto Jr., acting commanding officer of 91IB, said on Saturday they will not sit down in the conduct of the information drive until all students, parents, and teachers are aware of the deceptive propaganda of the CPP-NPA. Recto said the 91IB troops held lectures to some 104 students of the Aurora State College of Technology (ASCOT) in Barangay Zabali main campus in

The Nayong Pilipino Foundation (NPF) has partnered with the Department of Health (DOH) in a tree planting activity on Friday to bring mental health benefits to all. The noise, pollution, overcrowding, and the series of lockdowns appear to be taking a toll on our mental health. Thus, continuing tree planting activities will help our communities to stay afloat during and after the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) crisis. Through the NPF’s project “Sambayanihan”, a series of activation activities for the physical development of the 9.5-hectare property in the Entertainment City in Parañaque City, the agency spotlights the need for community involvement.

President Rodrigo Duterte advised his youngest son, this city’s Acting Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte, that he must be ready to fight illegal drug activities if he wins in the May 9 elections. The President showed up here Friday night for the Hugpong ng Pagbabago miting de avance that includes his son, who is seeking to succeed his sister and vice presidential candidate, Sara. He said deaths may happen along the way and reiterated his stand that illegal drugs should never be tolerated. “I have seen it. Illegal drugs cause families to be dysfunctional. How can a city grow with dysfunctional