Nemenzo is endorsed as UP chancellor

THREE members of the University of the Philippines (UP) board of regents have openly endorsed Dr. Fidel Nemenzo as chancellor of UP main in Diliman, Quezon City.

The three regents who represent the academe sector are Carlo Marc Ramota for faculty, Siegfred Raymundo Severino for student, and Victoria Canape-Belegal for staff.

The trio said that they want a UP Diliman chancellor who embodies the traditions and principles of academic excellence, honor and democratic governance; advances the interests and welfare of the sectors and the rank-and-file employees; defends academic freedom and human rights; and defends the public character of UP as a national university.

On the basis of these qualifications, and the overwhelming support the various sectors of the community have manifested for Nemenzo, the

Turtle Islands to get P25-m town hall

n By NASH B. MAULANA three UP regents declared that they will vote for him.

GEOGRAPHICALLY closer to Malaysia than to Manila, the country’s farthest constituents are assured of better access to Philippine government’s services, through the governance support programs being provided by the Bangsamoro Region to its component-local government units.

A P 25-million municipal hall building has been slated for completion in April in Turtle Islands, Tawi-Tawi by the Ministry of the Interior and Local Government of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (MILGBARMM).

MILG Minister Naguib Sinarimbo said the municipal hall projects granted to a number of BARMM’s 116 towns formed part of the 2021 Support to Local Moral Governance Fund of the Office of Chief Minister Ahod Al-Hadj Murad Ebrahim.

The same program, Sinarimbo said, also supports provision of barangay hall buildings to BARMM villages whose development had been stalled by armed conflict, initially, in Mindanao mainland.

Consisting of six small islands -- T ganak, Baguan, Langaan, Boan, Lihiman, and the Great Bakungan-- Turtle Islands municipality is closer even to Malaysia than to Tawi-Tawi’s capital town of Bongao.

A fourth regent, Raul Pagdanganan, has also indicated his endorsement of Nemenzo as the next UP Diliman chancellor.

The UP board of regents has eleven members, and a minimum of six votes are required for a candidate to win. The panel will meet on April 3 at the Quezon Hall to elect the next UP Diliman chancellor.

MMDA traffic aide in extort racket falls

n By JOEL E. ZURBANO two helicopters collided.

POLICE have arrested a traffic aide of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) for alleged extortion in Port Area, Manila.

The suspect, identified as Rey Gaza, 53, was assigned at the MMDA Northern Traffic Enforcement Division – Traffic Reaction Unit. He was arrested in a joint entrapment operation conducted by the Regional Special Operations Group (RSOG) of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) and the MMDA Intelligence and Investigation Office (IIO) on Friday.

The operation stemmed from the complaint of a trucking company owner operating in North Harbor and Valenzuela.

In his complaint, Salvador Jecino claimed that Gaza and his cohorts were exacting “payolas” amounting to P10,000 every month since 2019 from his trucking and transport service business.

MMDA chairman Romando Artes reiterated that they will never tolerate any wrongdoings like “kotong” or “payola” and other illegal activities in the ranks.

“The MMDA is serious in cleansing its rank. As a matter of fact, the agency is continuously cracking down against corrupt employees as part of its intensified cleansing program to weed out erring personnel,” Artes stressed.

“We have a safety team coming... from Fort Rucker, Alabama who specialize in aircraft safety and specifically these investigations,” Lubas said.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear mourned the lost soldiers and praised those who responded to the crash.

“Freedom relies on those who are willing to serve, some of which pay the ultimate price,” the governor told the news conference.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement he is “saddenedby this tragic loss,” while White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told journalists that “we stand with all who are grieving in the wake of this terrible, truly terrible, accident.”

Cops nab suspect in DLSU-Dasma coed’s murder

POLICE have arrested the suspect in the March 28 killing of a 22-year-old graduating coed of the De La Salle University in Dasmariñas City, Cavite.

Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesperson Jean Fajardo said the suspect, identified as Angelito Erlano alias Kulet, was nabbed Saturday morning and was brought to the Dasmariñas police station for questioning.

"PNP has taken custody of suspect Erlano after the PNP launched a massive hot pursuit operation for his arrest in the gruesome crime he committed against a De La Salle student," according to a statement by acting chief PNP public information chief Col. Redrico Maranan.

"The Dasmariñas City Police Station disclosed that a hot pursuit operation was conducted by the operatives of Dasmariñas City Police Station and Cavite Provincial Intelligence Unit which led to the identification of the suspect and the location of his house on March 29, 2023, at around 11:30 p.m., in Brgy. San Nicholas 2, Dasmarinas City, Cavite, through the backtracking of CCTV footage," the statement read. The school administration earlier vowed to tighten security measures after the incident, allowing increased police visibility and security marshals dormitories outside the school.

THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) will discontinue the use of paper-based departure cards starting May 1. In an advisory, BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said they are expanding the eTravel system to lessen the requirement for departing passengers. The setup—initially launched in December—harmonizes and consolidates data collection processes at ports of arrival.

“The eTravel platform will soon be used for both arriving and departing passengers,” Tansingco said.

“Travelers no longer have to fill out departure cards, and instead may log in the online portal prior to their flight,” he added.

The system is an initiative of a sub-technical working group (TWG) of the Inter-Agency Task Force, chaired by the BI. It is a joint project of the agency with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), the Department of Tourism (DOT), the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ), the Bureau of Customs (BOC), the Department of Health (DOH), the Department of Transportation (DOTr), the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the National Privacy Commission (NPC).

According to eTravel TWG chairman Dennis Javier, starting April 15, departing passengers may log in to the platform within 72 hours but not later than three hours from their scheduled flight.

The online portal replaces the paper-based departure card which passengers were usually required to fill out prior to departure.

“This is a major step in streamlining documents presented by departing travelers, allowing for faster and more efficient immigration processing,” Tansingco said.

Egg farms incur losses, may shut down—group

EGG farms in the country are incurring losses due to low demand, an industry organization said on Saturday.

The Philippine Egg Board Association also raised the likelihood that some poultries might stop operation due to the high cost of feeds.

Gregorio San Diego, leader of the group, said egg prices went down over four straight weeks, resulting in lower egg production due to decreasing demand.

“Ang pinoproblema namin, ‘yung demand. Kasi palaging sinasabi na ‘yung supply mababawasan, magiging kaunti. Pero ang problema natin ngayon, ang nababawasan ‘yung pambili ng tao,” San Diego said in an ABS-CBN interview.

“Meron nang size kami, maliliit, below P5 na ang wholesale sa amin. Kaya lugi na naman kami. Ang manok, kinakain sa isang araw P5 na, ibang gastos pa... Lugi kami talaga,” he added.

San Diego said egg prices dropped to P1 a piece, while the price tag of small-size eggs was down to as much as P1.50 in the market.

“Tumataas ang presyo ng feeds, bumababa ang presyo ng aming itlog, eh ‘di lalong lalaki ang pagkalugi namin. Dadating na naman tayo sa marami ‘yung titigil kung ‘di na makakayanan ‘yung pagkalugi,” he said.

STAMPEDE AFTERMATH.

A bystander looks on at the site of a stampede in Karachi on April 1, 2023, a day after a crush during a Ramadan alms donation that has killed at least 11 people. Some 600 to 700 people were packed into a small industrial compound as a factory distributed alms in Pakistan’s southern city of Karachi on March 31, officials said, and the stampede was sparked after the main gate was opened. AFP