Gov orders probe on Negros killings

NEGROS Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson ordered the Philippine National Police to investigate the massacre of four family members at their residence in the remote village of Buenavista in Himamaylan City.

"Those guilty must be brought to justice as soon as possible. I urge our law enforcement authorities to lead an in-depth investigation into this horrible act," he said in a statement.

The victims, who sustained fatal gunshot wounds on Wednesday night, were

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From A1 national government, apart from the assistance provided by local government units (LGUs).

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) meanwhile said on Saturday that only two volcanic earthquakes were recorded in Mayon Volcano, and said this was a positive development.

"As of now, we don't see many volcanic earthquakes. That's significant because as the magma rises, we should have recordable low frequency volcanic earthquakes. Only two since 5 a.m. yesterday and 5 a.m. today,” said Phivolcs Director Teresito Bacolcol. “We have only recorded two volcanic earthquakes although the total seismic energy release is increasing slightly, but again we have to look at this closely.”

He said the alert level would remain at 3 for now.

"So, when there are abrupt changes in the parameters, we might consider extending the danger zone to seven kilometers or if not when it is really too abrupt, we have to raise to Alert Level 4 but for now it’s still maintained at Alert Level 3,” he added. Phivolcs raised the alert status to 3 on June 8, after Mayon exhibited a magmatic eruption that increased the chances of lava flows and hazardous pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) and of potential explosive activity within weeks or even days.

On Sunday, AKO Bicol party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co and Albay Rep. Joey Salceda appealed to the Senate for the swift approval of the bill advocating the establishment of permanent evacuation centers in every local government unit.

The necessity for such centers has been driven home by the predicament faced by the Bicol region, which frequently encounters powerful storms and which is now grappling with the threat of an eruption from Mayon Volcano, Co said.

"The approval of this bill is of paramount importance in safeguarding the lives and well-being of our communities. The traditional practice of utilizing public schools as evacuation centers falls short in providing the necessary facilities to accommodate evacuees effectively. We

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“Worse, by providing restrictive qualifications for political parties, the BEC curtailed what should be free and equal opportunity for political parties to seek and obtain parliamentary seats, thereby contradicting the mandate of the Constitution and the Bangsamoro Organic Law,” they said.

At the same time, they also asserted that “the BEC would facilitate the use of public funds for political campaigns or partisan political activities in violation of the Omnibus Election Code. It further intruded on the power of Congress to define and penalize election offenses and prescribe procedures for their prosecution.”

The petitioners are lawyer Dimnatang L. Pansar, Abdul Rashid a. Balindong, Shariefuddin T. Lucman, Aleem Alibasher I. Abdullatif, Jamil Faisal B. Adiong, Rafsanjani Pendatun Ali, Mohajeran K. Balayman, Najia J. Pescadera, Sharif Jul Asiri J. Abirin, Abdul Muhaimin J. Abubakar, Mohammad Salmann M Sakili, Sarib Hataman, Harisul T. Samanul, Sukarno U. Asri, and Mohammad Yusof A. Tidal.

Named respondents were the Bangsamoro Transition Authority and Ahod Balawag Ebrahim as interim chief minister of the Bangsamoro government.

The petition was filed through lawyers Romulo Macalintal, Ace Bautista and Christopher Rodriguez. It sought the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO).

The BEC was signed into law on March 8, 2023. It became effective on May 17, 2023 after its publication in a local newspaper in Mindanao.

Under the BEC, the Bangsamoro parliament must be composed of 80 members -- 50 percent of them party represen-

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Senior Deputy Speaker and Ilocos Norte Rep. Sandro Marcos, for his part, greeted his father, President Ferdinand identified as Rolly Fausto, 52, his wife Emilda, 49, and their two sons Ben, 11, and Raben, 15. Police recovered at least 53 bullet shells in the vicinity of theirhome in Sitio Kangkiling, about 20 kilometers from the city proper. must prioritize the safety of our people without compromising their education,” he said.

House Bill 7354, spearheaded by Speaker Martin Romualdez, seeks to establish evacuation centers in every city and municipality nationwide.

Salceda said the establishment of permanent evacuation centers will enhance the country’s preparedness and resilience in the face of environmental challenges.

“We must prioritize the approval of this bill to provide the necessary infrastructure that can adequately support our communities during calamities,” Salceda said.

Phivolcs said the “very slow” effusion of lava from Mayon’s summit dome has reached as far as 1.5 kilometers. As of 12 a.m. Sunday, lava flows along the south and southeast gullies had advanced by 1.5 kilometers and 1 kilometer, respectively.

This marked the seventh consecutive day that Mayon Volcano gave off lava.

On Saturday, three volcanic earthquakes, 274 rockfall events, and 11 pyroclastic density current events were recorded over 24 hours.

The volcano emitted 1,004 tons of sulfur dioxide on Saturday, and a moderate 100-meter-tall plume drifted generally west.

Mayon Volcano Observatory resident volcanologist Paul Alanis told radio dzBB that the current activities in the volcano may last up to three months, noting that no explosive eruption has occurred so far.

On Sunday, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said nearly 39,000 people have been affected by Mayon’s unrest, with more than half of them seeking shelter in evacuation centers tatives, 40 percent district representatives and 10 percent sectoral representatives.

At least six cities and towns have also suspended classes, the council said.

The government has also extended assistance worth more than P62 million to affected residents, most of them food packs provided by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Albay Gov. Edcel Greco Lagman earlier proposed allotting about P196 million in funds to support thousands of evacuees from his province for 90 days, a suggestion that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the national government said they will consider.

“It is well-settled that Comelec has broad powers to enforce and administer all laws and regulations relative to the conduct of elections and over all electoral contests relative to the election of regional, provincial, and city officials” under Section 2 of Article IX-C of the Constitution, the petitioners said.

“Articles VI and VII of the BEC are unconstitutional as they seek to govern activities related to local and national elections, in violation of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) and the Constitution, when the BEC is supposed to govern only the election of members of the Bangsamoro Parliament,” they said.

On the use of public funds, the petitioners said that Section 262 of the Omnibus Election Code “expressly prohibits the use of public funds for any election campaign or partisan political activity.”

They said that Sections 9 and 12 of Article IV of the BEC are “inconsistent with the principles of republicanism enshrined in the Constitution and insofar as said provisions impose a 4 percent threshold before a political party representative may qualify for a seat in Parliament.

They also said “such provisions also create a barrier that will not only limit the choice of the people but also hamper the development of a free and open party system, contrary to Sec 6, Article IX-C of the Constitution and Section 9, Art. VII of the BOL.”

Earlier, the governors in Bangsamoro provinces had challenged some provisions in the BEC, saying they violate the Constitution.

Among other issues, the governors questioned some provisions in the BEC that exceeded the powers of the Comelec under the Constitution.

Marcos Jr., on Twitter, calling him “the best dad on earth.”

“Thank you for everything that you do for us and for always finding time despite having the weight of the country on your shoulders,” the younger Marcos said.

The elder Fausto was reportedly a military asset, but relatives who spoke on condition of anonymity have denied this.

“Such brutality, which threatens to destabilize (the) province and destroy the peace of (its) people, has no place in society," Lacson said.

"The massacre of innocent civilians is an outrage to our morals, our values, and our commitment to peace and justice.”

In a separate statement, the Police Regional Office-Western Visayas (PRO-6), headed by Brig. Gen. Sidney Villaflor, said: “We strongly condemn the senseless acts of violence and terrorism against innocent civilians.”

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From A1 the distribution of aid that temporarily leads our countrymen will not disappear – these are the immediate remedies that bring relief to thousands of Filipino families,” he said.

"[But] this distribution program of ours is different because it is not just giving monetary aid, we are providing livelihood and jobs,” the President added.

He said the Department of Agriculture has been providing harvesters and rice seeders to farmers while the Department of Labor and Employment pushes for its integrated livelihood and government internship programs.

"The same is true of DTI, which has a livelihood and relief program, and TESDA, on the other hand, which has a scholarship for the training for work program. We put all of this in one place so that it is easier for our countrymen," he added.

Earlier, the Department of Social Welfare and Development said it will

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The PRO-6 also asked the people of Himamaylan City to cooperate in the conduct of the investigation.

“The quest for justice is always a shared responsibility between the police and the community,” it added.

Brig. Gen. Orlando Edralin, commander of the Philippine Army’s 303rd Infantry Brigade, also said the military will “spare no effort” to pursue justice for the victims and their families.

“We will closely coordinate with the PNP to fast-track the resolution of the crime and bring the perpetrators to justice,” Edralin said in a separate statement.

Antique loses P9m to 1k hogs culled for ASF

ANTIQUE'S hog industry has lost more than P9 million after over a thousand pigs were culled amid fears of African swine fever (ASF). Hog deaths were reported from 18 barangays in the province's Hamtic town, based on figures from its municipal agriculture office last week.

Local agriculture authorities have yet to receive the results of blood samples they sent for testing to confirm if some of the town's hogs were indeed infected with ASF.

ASF border control points have been set up all over Antique to curb the spread of the disease.

While ASF is not expected to infect humans, its spread has created a dent in the country's hog industry.

Antique's neighboring provinces in the Visayas, including Negros Oriental, Negros Occidental, and Cebu, have previously confirmed ASF infections.

Earlier, Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez on Wednesday welcomed the offer of Portugal to help the Philippines eradicate ASF, which has been wreaking havoc on the country’s hog industry, as well as the European country’s willingness to open its doors to Filipino workers.

Portugal's non-resident Ambassador to the Philippines Maria Joào Falcào Poppe Lopes Cardoso relayed the offer to Romualdez when she made a courtesy call at the West Room of the Manila Golf and Country Club, according to a news release from the Speaker’s office.

Cardoso, who is the concurrent Portuguese Ambassador to Indonesia and Brunei, said a Portuguese company is willing to lend its expertise and support to help the Philippines eliminate the highly contagious viral disease affecting domestic pigs.

also require beneficiaries of the P 40-billion food stamp program, which will be pilot-tested in the coming months, to be actively looking for work or undergoing skills training through TESDA for future employment.

Setting this condition for the targeted 1 million beneficiaries of the food stamp program would help beneficiaries “graduate” from being poor, the DSWD said.

Mr. Marcos said Filipinos in general do not want to be mendicants.

“We have seen that in times of poverty, Filipinos do not want to be dependent on 'ayuda.' They do not want to be mendicants,” he said.

“Filipinos are industrious and hardworking. It is better for all Filipinos to be gainfully employed. They want to be working and not just pinning their hopes on ayuda,” the President added.

Under the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028, the government aims to make the Philippines an upper-middle-income country by 2025 and to bring down the poverty rate to a single-digit level -- 9 percent – by the time Mr. Marcos’ term ends in 2028.

From A1 (KSL), traveled from Iligan City and left Siquijor Saturday night.

It was expected to dock at the Tagbilaran port at 4 a.m. on Sunday.

But it sent a distress call when a fire erupted outside the engine room while traversing Doljo Point near Panglao Island, said Anthony Damalerio, head of the Tagbilaran City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (DRRMO).

“No one was missing. No one was injured. All passengers and crew are accounted for,” he said.

He said the shipping company provided water, clothes, and slippers at the Tagbilaran port terminal.

In a statement posted on its official social media page, KSL thanked Bohol coast guard, TransAsia 19 personnel, and fishermen “for instantly responding to the distress call” when their ship caught fire.

“All crew and passengers were immediately rescued to safety, being taken care of and all accounted for,” it said.

KSL’s RoRo vessel was serving the Cebu City-Tagbilaran City-Lazi, Siquijor-Iligan City route.

The statement said functional fire suppression systems installed atthe vessel, such as CO2, fire hydrants, sprinkling systems and others, were immediately activated to put off the fire and avert further damage to the vessel.

The company said it will replace the vessel this week with MV Cataingan so as not to hamper the flow and continue serving passengers and cargoes plying the route.

In Nasugbu, Batangas, police said the yacht's captain, 62-year-old Erdinc Turerer, and boatman Abdula Ercel, 42, were rescued from the burning yacht by local fishermen and authorities.

Turerer suffered first-degree burns after being caught in the fire.

The victims were sailing from San Isidro, Leyte to Ilocos Norte when strong waves toppled the yacht's fuel containers into its engine room and gas tank, triggering an explosion and starting the fire.

The two victims managed to abandon the yacht before it exploded but were separated by the strong current.

Both victims were taken to hospital and were in stable condition.

Earlier this year, 33 people died when the MV Mary Joy 3 was engulfed by fire off Basilan in late March.

The ferry was traveling to Sulu from Zamboanga when it caught fire off Baluk-Baluk island, Basilan in the late hours of March 29. Of the 249 passengers, 216 survived.

“You have taught us the importance of kindness and compassion even in the most trying of times,” he added. Romualdez, himself a father, urged the public to “celebrate the lives of our fathers – the heroes of our homes.”

“Being a father myself, I know how challenging it is to build a home and raise good, God-fearing children. But I can also say it is one of the most rewarding roles I am fortunate enough to have, and I would never trade it for anything in the world,” he said.

She noted that Portugal has extensive expertise on the matter, being one of the only two countries in Europe that successfully eradicated ASF.

Ramon C. Garcia Jr., Portugal’s honorary consul in Manila, said an organization of pork producers in Portugal is willing to send two experts to the Philippines to train personnel of the Bureau of Animal Industry in eradicating ASF. Reports earlier said that as of June 1, there are 15 provinces in the Philippines that have active ASF cases, although there were fewer detections in the past few weeks.

Meanwhile, Cardoso also said Filipino workers, particularly with their proficiency in the English language, are welcome in the booming Portuguese tourism industry.

She said many Portuguese firms, particularly those involved in technology, are also interested in doing business in the Philippines.

The Portuguese ambassador noted that one of their hi-tech firms specializing in biometrics and e-gates and currently serving over 100 airports in the world has entered into a joint venture with a Filipino company to pilot test their services that could increase the capacity of airports by facilitating the entry and exit of passengers.

Garcia added that the Portuguese firm is willing to establish their regional headquarters here in the Philippines and put up a factory, to service the technical needs of all these airports, thus creating jobs for Filipino workers.

Cardoso also said another Portuguese firm has partnered with a Filipino firm and offered its secure communication technology to the Philippine defense establishment.

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The unsuspecting victims find themselves “being used in scam activities,” the state regulator said.

“Online dating services and cryptocurrency investments are not part of the authorized acts of its Offshore Gaming Licensees and Services Providers,” PAGCOR said in its advisory.

“PAGCOR advocates for responsible gaming only through legitimate online gaming operations,” it added.

Earlier, PAGCOR also called on the public to be extra vigilant when engaging in online gaming activities as illegal sites continue to proliferate.

PAGCOR Chairman and CEO Alejandro Tengco said: “As the country’s gaming regulator, PAGCOR does not condone illegal online gambling."

"Engaging or betting on illegal gambling activities is not only a criminal act; it also takes away from the government billions of pesos in revenues which can be used to fund priority programs that will benefit a greater number of Filipinos."

"Hence, we have been continuously working with various government and law enforcement agencies to ensure that our gaming policies are in place and the online gaming platforms that we regulate are safe and credible.”

Tengco called on gaming aficionados to only take part in its licensed onlinebased gaming platforms.

Vehicle deaths add urgency to CTPL legislation

A SERIES of tragic deaths as a result of vehicular accidents involving large commercial vehicles highlight the need to increase Compulsory Third Party Liability Insurance (CTPLI) for commercial vehicles and total indemnity claims for the death or injury of passengers, third parties, or pedestrians without the necessity of proving fault or negligence.

This is according to AGRI Partylist Rep. Wilbert T. Lee, who on Sunday said that “the news can inform us about these road tragedies, but they do not show how much families suffer because of these accidental deaths.”

The lawmaker was referring to the death of a motorcycle rider who was decapitated after being hit by a truck along EDSA on Wednesday morning.

The following day on Thursday, a truck driver died and three other people were injured when his truck collided with a passenger bus along the highway in Balaoan, La Union.

That same day, in Quezon, a driver of a trailer truck loaded with two backhoes died when his vehicle fell into a ravine in the municipality of General Nakar.

“Ang masakit dito, nawalan ang mga pamilyang ito ng mga mahal sa buhay, tapos malalaman nila na P100,000 lang ang pwede nilang i-claim sa CTPLI at P15,000 sa no fault indemnity,” lamented Lee.

The solon filed House Bill No. 8498, which seeks to increase the CTPLI from P100,000 to P6,700,000.00 to cover the death or bodily injury incurred per accident. Rio N. Araja

Tolentino favors helping Afghan refugees in PH

By Macon Ramos-Araneta

IN LIGHT of the persisting humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, Senator Francis Tolentino favors the Philippine government’s initiative -- spurred by a request from its ally the United States -- to extend help to Afghans who have been tragically affected by war.

With a “resolute commitment” to human rights and international solidarity, Tolentino, vice-chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, called for swift actions, similar to those undertaken during the Quezon and Duterte administrations, to provide temporary refuge and support to vulnerable individuals seeking safety and stability.

The escalating crisis in Afghanistan has resulted in immense suffering, displacement, and uncertainty for countless innocent civilians, the senator said.

Tolentino emphasized the importance of demonstrating Filipinos’ shared humanity by assisting those fleeing violence and persecution.

He noted the dire situation of Afghans affected by the war in their country that has lasted for more than two decades, such that any chance to remove innocent lives from conflict and war should be pursued compassionately.

‘NOLI’ REHEARSAL. Students from Lakandula High in Tondo, Manila rehearse their lines for their stage play of Jose Rizal’s ‘Noli Me Tangere’ as part of their requirement for their Filipino subject at Fort Santiago, Manila on Sunday, June 18. Today, June 19, marks the national hero’s 162nd birth anniversary. Danny Pata