ZAMBOANGA City – The city is emerging as a tourism destination in Western Mindanao with the ease of the pandemic restrictions and the reopening of mountain resorts and island beaches. This came as the City Tourism Office (CTO) noted a new influx of tourists coming to the city for leisure and business based on

the data they gathered from different hotels and other local accommodations. Data gathered by the CTO showed that 160,884 tourists have visited Zamboanga City since January. Of the 160,884 visitors, 160,419 are domestic tourists while the remaining 465 are foreigners. “They find Zamboanga City as an ideal place for fun, leisure, and business,” said CTO chief Sarita Sebastian on Tuesday. Sebastian is optimistic that the number of tourists will build up in the coming months with the easing of pandemic restrictions. Currently, the CTO has lined up activities for

Davao Norte Gov. Jubahib welcomes Senate probe on power crisis

By FROILAN GALLARDO MindaNews

M

ARAWI City– The Marawi Compensation Board (MCB) finally signed the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) for the renumeration of the victims of the Marawi Siege here on Tuesday, May 23, exactly six years after the start of the five-month urban warfare between government troops and Islamic State-aligned militants that destroyed the core of the country’s only Islamic city.

The IRR needs to be published first in two papers with national circulation before the P1 billion tax-free reparation can be rolled out to renumerate the residents who lost family members and properties during the siege, Maisara Dandamub-Latiph, MCB chairperson, said.

“Fifteen days (after publication), the real work will begin as the board will start evaluating the claims and schedule the payments,” Latiph, a lawyer, said.

5 dead in Oro fire