General

Manila: The Philippine Navy (PN) on Thursday announced its commitment to enhance cooperation with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) in addressing maritime threats. This announcement came following a courtesy call by JMSDF chief-of-staff Vice Admiral Saito Akira on PN chief Vice Admiral Jose Ma. Ambrosio Ezpeleta at the Navy headquarters in Manila on Wednesday, as reported by the service’s spokesperson, Capt. John Percie Alcos. According to Philippines News Agency, during their meeting, Vice Admiral Ezpeleta and Admiral Saito focused on key areas of defense cooperation. These included the modernization efforts of the PN, joint maritime security initiatives, and the

Tacloban: The number of active members of the New People’s Army (NPA) in Region 8 has decreased by approximately 76 percent over the past six years, dropping to 119 from 499 in 2019. This decline is attributed to the institutionalization of national and local task forces dedicated to ending local communist armed conflict (ELCAC). According to Philippines News Agency, the reduction in NPA members is a result of collaborative efforts between various national government agencies and local government units. Lt. Col. Joemar Buban, assistant chief of staff for civil-military operations of the Philippine Army’s 8th Infantry Division, shared that this

Toboso: Around 400 residents displaced by the encounter between government troops and remnants of the dismantled New People’s Army Northern Negros Front (NNF) in Toboso, Negros Occidental returned home Thursday afternoon after getting clearance from the Philippine Army. The residents sought shelter in two evacuation centers for their safety during the clash in Sitio Bairan, Barangay General Luna on Tuesday morning, and the ensuing pursuit operations by government troopers. According to Philippines News Agency, Councilor Richard Jaojoco announced in a social media post that they had received a call from the commander of the 79th Infantry Battalion (IB) confirming that

Currimao: To cushion the adverse effects of the dry season, the local government of this municipality has started procuring drilling machines for shallow tube wells and allotted a backhoe for the desilting of small farm reservoirs (SFR) and diversion dams. ‘Every year, we conduct rehabilitation of SFR and there is a backhoe on standby for any farmer organization’s request,’ Engr. Erickson Biag, the town’s agriculturist, told the Philippine News Agency on Thursday. According to Philippines News Agency, an SFR is a small earth dam structure used to collect and store rainfall and runoff for irrigation. Currimao town is among those

Manila: The Philippine National Police-Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG) announced on Thursday that an unlicensed dentist was arrested for illegally offering dental services online in Cotabato City. In a press briefing at Camp Crame, ACG spokesperson Lt. Wallen Mae Arancillo said the Regional Anti-Cybercrime Unit-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (RACU BAR) operatives nabbed the 26-year-old suspect, alias Jaja, in an entrapment operation inside her residence on March 12. According to Philippines News Agency, the operation stemmed from RACU BAR’s cyber patrolling that led to the discovery on March 10 of Jaja’s Facebook post introducing herself as a dentist who offers dental services, including teeth