Day: August 2, 2024

COTABATO CITY: The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) has declared two towns in Maguindanao del Norte and North Cotabato as drug-free municipalities in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and the Soccsksargen Region. In North Cotabato, the town of Antipas became the first out of 17 municipalities and a city in the province to be declared drug-free within the Soccsksargen Region. ‘I thanked the teamwork and dedication of our village officials, town health office, and anti-drug abuse council for making Antipas a drug-free area,’ Antipas Mayor Cris Cadungon said in a radio interview Friday. The mayor’s announcement followed

MANILA: The Department of Agriculture (DA) warned the public on Friday against consumption of fish and other seafood products with traces of petrochemicals in some parts of Cavite. This came following the oil spill from the sunken motor tanker (MT) Terra Nova near the coast of Lamao Point in Limay, Bataan on July 25. ‘Ang delikado kasi rito ay iyong food poisoning na pwedeng ma-experience ng ating mga kababayan kaya iyon ang naging abiso (The danger now is the risk of food poisoning that may be experienced by our people, hence, the advisory),’ DA Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said

MANILA: The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) frigate Montreal is in the Philippines for a five-day goodwill visit as part of Canada’s show of commitment to a rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region, with two more warships expected to make a port call within 2024. His Majesty’s Canadian Ship (HMCS) Montreal docked at the Manila South Harbor on Aug. 2 after passing through the Taiwan Strait — a passage that earlier angered China. The vessel is one of the 12 Halifax-class frigates of the RCN and is originally deployed in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans to protect Canada’s sovereignty. In a

MANILA: Around 1,698 foreign nationals working in illegal Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs) firms have so far been deported, the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) said Friday. ‘As far as the PAOCC is concerned, 1,698 na po ang ating napa-deport magmula noong (about 1,698 have been deported since) May 4, 2023,’ PAOCC spokesperson Winston Casio said in a Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon interview aired over state-run PTV-4. Casio said the latest batch of deported individuals included 27 illegal POGO workers. He said the initial number of foreign workers to be deported was 33, but a hold departure order was issued against

MANILA: The Public Transport Modernization Program (PTMP) will succeed if there is enough support from the government. Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, one of the 22 who signed the resolution recommending the temporary suspension of PTMP for further review, emphasized the need for enhanced financial assistance for operators and drivers. “The government should ensure a smooth transition, alleviate the financial burden of transport operators and drivers, and launch a comprehensive and thorough information campaign,” Gatchalian said in a news release Friday. He cited other program components, like route rationalization and consolidating the remaining 17 percent of jeepneys, Unified Vehicle (UV) Express, Filcabs