News Roundup 26 November 2022
Nov 26, 2022 • 4 min Read
Ombudsman probes BFAR’s belated salmon, pampano ban | PHILSTAR.COM – Is there something fishy with the belated implementation of a 1999 order to ban the sale of imported fish like salmon and pampano in wet markets and supermarkets? The Office of the Ombudsman is set to find out. Ombudsman Samuel Martires has ordered an investigation on why the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources “only implemented recently” Fisheries Administrative Order No. 195, according to an order obtained by DZBB. “Further, you shall include in your investigation the anomalies that attended and/or resulted because of this recent implementation,” the order read further. Martires also wants BFAR officials to explain why they have only implemented the order just this week. FAO No. 195 only allows big companies, hotels and restaurants to sell fish like salmon and pampano — a policy that is aimed at helping local fishermen to sell their products to the market. The BFAR is giving vendors only until December 3 to sell imported pampano and salmon, after which it will confiscate these fish.
Navy foils P52.8-M worth Mindanao cigarette smuggling attempt | PHILSTAR.COM – Authorities intercepted in Zamboanga City Wednesday five boats carrying P52.8 million worth of smuggled cigarettes, two of which were bound for seaside towns in two Bangsamoro provinces. The five boats were spotted and immediately impounded while about two miles off the seaside Barangay Labuan in Zamboanga City. Personnel of the Bureau of Customs in Region 9 and members of units under the Philippine Navy’s Naval Forces Western Mindanao and the Zamboanga City Police Office immediately seized the 1,511 boxes of cigarettes with Indonesian brands onboard the five boats. Reports reaching the headquarters here of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region said it was vigilant residents of Zamboanga City, supporting the anti-cigarette smuggling campaign of their mayor, John Dalipe, who provided information that led to the Navy’s prompt interception of the five boats. The contraband was said to have come from an island town in Sulu, PRO-BAR officials said. PRO-BAR intelligence sources told reporters Saturday two of the boats carrying the smuggled cigarettes were to deliver its cargo to buyers in coastal towns in Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao, both in the Bangsamoro region. The PRO-BAR, in fact, alerted last Wednesday the municipal police stations in the seaside towns in the second district of Lanao del Sur and in Maguindanao del Norte about a plan by suppliers to bring in more than P20 million worth of cigarettes from Sulu via the Zamboanga peninsula. The joint Navy and BOC-9 operation that resulted in the seizure of the P52.8 million worth of imported cigarettes was assisted by the agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency-9, the Naval Forces Western Mindanao said in a statement Friday.
Gov’t launches new drug war campaign | INQUIRER.NET – Law enforcement agencies will have to take a step back under the Marcos administration’s new anti-illegal drugs campaign that focuses on demand reduction and drug user rehabilitation, instead of the killing of drug users, Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos said on Friday. President Marcos is expected to lead on Saturday the Metro Manila launch of the “Buhay Ingatan, Droga’y Ayawan” (Bida, or Take Care of Life, Reject Drugs) program at Quezon City Memorial Circle in Quezon City, while regional launches will be held in Cebu City, Cagayan de Oro City and Davao City. According to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Bida is a nationwide anti-illegal drugs advocacy program involving local governments, national government agencies and other key sectors of the society that will focus more on drug demand reduction and rehabilitation in the communities. According to Abalos, the illegal drugs problem is a deep-seated issue that has continued to destroy relationships, families and the future of the youth, and it is high time for all sectors of the society to make a stand and do their part through the Bida program. “We cannot put the campaign against illegal drugs fully [in] the hands of the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) because all of us are affected here. We all need to take part in putting a stop to this plague that is destroying our young people,” he said in a statement on Friday.
