More than 24,000 villages across the country have been cleared of illegal drugs since the start of the Duterte administration’s crackdown on banned drugs in mid-2016. Based on the latest Real Numbers data released by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) over the weekend, a total of 24,766 out of the 42,045 barangays have been declared drug-cleared, 6,575 were drug unaffected/drug-free, and 10,704 have yet to be cleared of illegal drugs as of March 2022. The drug-clear status follows the certification of members of the oversight committee on the Barangay Drug-Clearing Program (BDCP). Under the BDCP, law enforcement agencies take

Declaring Catanduanes as the abaca capital of the Philippines is a “very timely gift” for the people in the province as it celebrates the 6th Abaca Festival this month and as the country’s tourism industry gradually recovers from the pandemic, according to the Provincial Tourism Office. “Since we are gradually but surely restarting, (the) conservative forecast for the expected tourists: let’s just say 500 to 700 arrivals but with a long night stay, it will contribute more to the economy as this would imply more spending,” the province’s tourism officer Carmel Bonifacio-Garcia said in an interview on Sunday. Catanduanes account

The Philippine National Police (PNP) raised to 98.45 percent its booster vaccine rate as of Sunday. In its latest Covid-19 tracker, the PNP said 220,132 out of 223,588 fully vaccinated personnel already have the added protection against Covid-19. Overall, 99.60 percent of the 224,483-strong police force is already vaccinated. A total of 239 (0.11 percent) are waiting for their second shots while 656 personnel (0.29 percent) remained unvaccinated. Meanwhile, no new Covid-19 case was recorded Sunday, leaving the number of active infections to just one. The PNP Health Office data showed 48,863 cases have been recorded since the start of

_:Various government services were brought closer to the people in Central Luzon through the simultaneous conduct of the Duterte Legacy caravan on Sunday. Thousands of individuals including farmers, fisherfolk as well as those belonging to various advocacy support groups, force multipliers, and former rebels participated in the caravan that was held in time for the celebration of the Labor Day. The Police Regional Office-Central Luzon (PRO-3), together with other government agencies, led the conduct of the caravan by informing the public of the landmark programs of the Duterte administration, and distributing various assistance to the people. “Sa pamamagitan ng gawaing

Two senatorial candidates of President Rodrigo Duterte’s party, the Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban), have denounced vote-buying and vote-selling during campaign season, noting that Filipinos will be the biggest “losers” should these irregularities persist. In a press statement, PDP-Laban senatorial bets Rey Langit and Astra Pimentel called for intensified monitoring on the part of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and vigilance among voters. Pimentel, former executive director of the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, said the Comelec should ensure the integrity of the 2022 polls. “Tutukan dapat ng Comelec ang mga insidente ng vote-buying. Maiwasan na dapat itong lumaganap pa