MINDANAO DAILY The Purveyor of Truth, Justice and Development
S ince
Volume VIII, No. 268
www.mindanaodailynews.com
Friday, April 12, 2019
1923
P15.00
Bato exonerates Oroquieta mayor Almonte of drug-use allegation INSIDESTORIES Day of valor: Cagayanons commemorate sacrifices of veterans
FORMER Philippine National Police chief and currently administration senatorial candidate Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa has virtually exonerated Oroquieta City Mayor Jason Almonte from allegations of his supposed illegal drug use. A 3-term mayor of Oroquieta City, Almonte is seeking the congressional seat in this election. This developed as Almonte took the initial step to clear him from the socalled narco list as alleged user by voluntarily submitting himself to a drug test, See ALMONTE, page 11
STORY ON PAGE 2
Modernized Isuzu PUVs enhance efficient operations at PITX
STORY ON PAGE 3
Nominations for PSTA Open
“Bato” dela Rosa
Almonte
Bato: Death penalty to drug lords By CHRIS V. PANGANIBAN Contributing Editor
PROSPERIDAD, Agusan del Sur -- Former police director general and senatorial aspirant Ronaldo “Bato” dela Rosa has reiterated his legislative push for the restoration of death penalty for those involved in big-time drug trafficking. Talking at the press conference in the sidelines of Hugpong ng Pagbabago campaign sortie here on Wednesday, said there is an urgent need to restore capital punishment for those involved in largescale illegal drug trade in the country to sustain the gains of
war on drugs , the centerpiece program President Rodrigo Duterte. De la Rosa said most of the Filipinos were happy with the government all-out campaign against the ill-effects of prohibited drugs based on a recent survey which shows that 66.6 of countrymen believed that the war on drugs is effective in the declining cases of drug trafficking. “We are winning the war on drugs based on empirical data and scientific findings,” dela Rosa said. He claimed that the Duterte factor especially on anti-illegal
drugs advocacy has recently put him in the magic 12 circle in the surveys and was grateful that in Caraga region he even topped in the same surveys. He said restoration of death penalty that applies only to big-time drug syndicates is part of solution to address the supply reduction of illicit drug trade, one his two main legislative agenda once elected in the Senate. The other initiative is demand reduction of which he will push for a legislation that will make awareness on the ill-effects on drug addiction See PENALTY, page 6
Think A Minute
Breaking free THINK a minute. Y e a r s ago I visited someone in prison. I was deeply saddened as I watched all those people locked up, living their life inside a little room. Tragically, although many of us have never been convicted of a crime, we still live our entire lives locked inside STORY FULL ON PAGE 4
Letters from Davao
Bikoy is as farcical as his story STORY ON PAGE 6
World War II exhibit opens in Pampanga
STORY ON PAGE 10
Costly But Useless. Aerial shot of the reservoirs for the fingerlings (left and middle) and reservoir (right) of the the P7.9-million Solar Powered Irrigation System (SPIS) in Barangay New Janiuay in M’lang, North Cotabato. The SPIS has been rendered useless for lack of water supply due to El Niño. Photo taken on March 25, 2019. Photo courtesy of Keith Bacongco
‘ B I KOY ’, the phantom character conju re d by the opposition to demonize the family members of Pres. Rodrigo R. Duterte, reflects the desperation of the vanishing Yellow generation of politicians in the Philippines. Yellow is associated with the Aquino political block STORY FULL ON PAGE 4
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