The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Saturday said barangay officials who will implement the President’s directive to restrict the movement of unvaccinated individuals in their respective barangays will do so within the bounds of the law.
“The President is merely exercising his authority as Chief Executive under the public health emergency. He was very clear in his directive that an arrest will only be a last resort. Pakiusapan muna na pumirmi sa bahay (Appeal for them to stay home). Barangay officials may only arrest the unvaccinated individual who refuses to cooperate and who are leaving the homes for non-essential purposes,” DILG Secretary Eduardo M. Año in a media release.
In a report in PNA, Año advised the public to bring their vaccination cards at all times and show these to barangay officials and police officers as proof of vaccination upon request.
Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Eduardo Año on Sunday said he will issue guidelines to local government units (LGUs) pertaining to the activities of electoral candidates ahead of the start of the campaign period in February next year.“Ako… Read More
The 60-day Martial Law in Mindanao that President Rodrigo Duterte declared on May 23 may be extended.
But Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana said they need a couple more weeks to determine whether they would recommend an extension of the implementation of Martial Law in Mindanao.
He made this statement during the sidelines of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council meeting at the AFP Commissioned Officers’ Club in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City Tuesday.
“We will know in a couple of weeks time, after that we will make our recommendations (as) we are still studying the situation in Marawi, Lanao Del Sur and the rest of Mindanao,” Lorenzana said in Filipino.
The Supreme Court, voting 11-3-1, upheld President Duterte’s declaration on Tuesday, July 4.
President Rodrigo Duterte placed Mindanao under Martial Law in wake of the Maute Group attacks in Marawi City last May 23.
Under the 1987 Constitution, Martial Law declaration in the Philippines is only good for two months unless extended by Congress.
Lorenzana also refused to comment on whether fighting in Marawi City before Duterte’s first State-of-the-Nation-Address (SONA) this coming July 24.
“We would like that to happen but we are leaving it to the ground commanders to do their pace, we are not micromanaging the events there, ” the DND chief stressed.
As of Monday, Maute Group terrorists killed in the seven-week long fighting has reached the 337 mark with government forces sustained 85 dead and 44 civilians executed.
Civilians rescued by military troops in Marawi City are now placed at 1,717 with weapons captured at 410. (Priam F. Nepomuceno/Gilbert Villaruz & Jayvee H. Castro (OJTs)/PNA)
AFP lauds SC ruling
The entire military is thankful for the Supreme Court (SC)’s decision which ruled in favor of President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration to place the entire Mindanao region under Martial Law in wake of the Marawi siege.
“The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is very glad and expresses its appreciation to the SC for the favorable ruling which is supportive of Martial Law in Mindanao. The AFP takes this as a vote of confidence that we are doing what is right and what is necessary for the restoration of the rule of law, peace and order in the whole island,” said AFP chief-of-staff Gen. Eduardo Año on Tuesday.
Martial Law in Mindanao was declared by Duterte, nighttime of May 23, the very day the Maute Group attacked Marawi City.
“We remain committed to our mandate to protect our people and the integrity and sovereignty of our country,” he said.
And while admitting that the mission is not yet over, the AFP chief assured the public that the entire military is focused and determined to carry on the fight till peace and order in Mindanao is fully restored and the liberation of Marawi from terrorists is achieved at the soonest time possible.
Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, for his part, said he is happy with the SC decision regarding Martial Law in Mindanao.
With this ruling, he said they can take the necessary steps to do their job.
“Personally, I’m happy that the Supreme Court find… it has legal basis so that we can continue our job properly until the end of martial law which is up to July 23, 2017,” Lorenzana said. (PNA)
The informant or informants that could provide information leading to the capture, dead or alive, of Isnilon Hapilon could end up as rich bounty hunters with the prize on the head of the Philippines’ Most Wanted terrorist now raised to a whopping P267.5 million.
President Rodrigo Duterte has placed an additional reward of P10 million on Hapilon’s head to further balloon the bounty earlier offered by the United States and Philippine authorities.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has a standing prize of $5 million (roughly P250 million) on Hapilon; the Philippine government, before President Duterte, had offered P7.5 million.
President Duterte has placed a total reward of P20 million for the capture, dead or alive, of terrorists Isnilon Hapilon and the Maute brothers.
Hapilon’s head is worth P10 million and P5 million each for the Maute brothers, Abdullah and Omar, said Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff General Eduardo Año on Monday, June 5.
Hapilon is the leader of the Abu Sayyaf Group and the Southeast Asian cell of the Islamic State of Iran and Iraq (ISIS). The Abu Sayyaf, declared as an international terrorist group by the US and the European Union, has gained worldwide notoriety for its kidnapping and beheading of foreign hostages.
The Maute brothers are the founders of the Maute Group that is also linked to the Middle East-based ISIS, today considered as the most violent terrorist group.
Hapilon and the Maute brothers and their groups were behind the surprise attack and and occupation of Marawi City on May 22.
The attack prompted President Duterte to declare Martial Law in Mindanao.
The military on May 23 using land troops and air power started engaging the marauders in firefights that led to mass exodus of residents avoiding being caught in the crossfire of the battle.
Fierce fighting is on its 15th day as of today June 6, as government troops ferret out remaining terrorists holed out in buildings.
Military said only about 30 percent of the capital city of Lanao del Sur in western Mindanao is under control of the Moro militants.
The military said 120 terrorists have been killed since the fighting started. The government suffered 38 dead casualties. Nineteen civilians were killed either caught in the crossfire or shot dead by the militants.
BY ROGER M. BALANZA
President Duterte has placed a total reward of P20 million for the capture, dead or alive, of terrorists Isnilon Hapilon and the Maute brothers.
DURIAN POST BUSINESS & NEWS DIRECTORY 