News Roundup 23 April 2023
Apr 23, 2023 • 4 min Read
Magalong: No cover-up in PNP shabu haul | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong has debunked allegations of a cover-up in the arrest of M/Sgt. Rodolfo Mayo Jr. in whose office in Tondo, Manila nearly a ton of shabu worth P6.7 billion was seized last year.
Magalong has also vouched for the integrity of outgoing Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr., amid allegations that his trusted officials, along with other police officers, are involved in a grand cover-up to shield Mayo from arrest and prosecution.
“Personally, I would say that if there’s anyone standing on moral ground here in the ranks of the PNP, it’s really the Chief PNP,” Magalong told reporters on Friday night.
Magalong is a former police general known for his integrity and investigative work in the PNP that he was made part of the Marcos administration’s five-man advisory panel to evaluate the records of police officials who submitted their courtesy resignations.
Stressing that he had looked into the controversial anti-drugs operation, Magalong also vouched for Lt. Gen. Benjamin Santos Jr. and Brig. Gen. Narciso Domingo, the PNP’s deputy chief for operations and former Drug Enforcement Group (PNP-DEG) chief, respectively.
Full Story at: Magalong: No cover-up in PNP shabu haul | Philstar.com
AFP says further expansion of EDCA possible amid military modernization | PHILSTAR.COM – MANILA, Philippines — The Armed Forces of the Philippines on Sunday said a further expansion of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement with the United States may be possible as the country seeks to further modernize its military capabilities.
There are currently nine locations identified under the EDCA, with the four in Cagayan, Isabela, and Balabac Island in Palawan recently designated. The earlier five sites are in Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, and Antonio Bautista Air Base in Palawan.
“If we are to protect our sovereignty and territorial integrity, including the protection of maritime resources that should be enjoyed by our people, we need a 360-degree protection capability for the [AFP],” Col. Medel Aguilar, AFP spokesperson, told Super Radyo DzBB.
Aguilar noted that choosing locations for the 2014 agreement with Washington undergoes a process that complements the military’s modernization program. He said this means that equipment and the needed facilities for development would also play a part in identifying a location.
Full Story at: AFP says further expansion of EDCA possible amid military modernization | Philstar.com
IATF raises COVID-19 alert level in most parts of PH; some restrictions in effect | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — The Interagency Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) raised COVID-19 Alert Level 2 in 26 areas from April 15 to 30, 2023, with some restriction that needed to be followed.
In a Resolution No. 6-C series of 2023, the IATF said it has approved the recommendation of the sub-Technical Working Group for Data Analytics placing several areas under alert level effective April 15, 2023, to April 30, 2023.
The resolution was signed by Department of Health officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire and Interior and Local Government Secretary Benhur Abalos on April 14, 2023.
Areas under Alert Level 2 are mandated to implement restrictions such as a 50 percent capacity in establishments indoors for fully vaccinated adults and 70 percent capacity outdoors.
Areas under Alert Level 1 permits intrazonal and interzonal travel with no restrictions based on age and co-morbidities.
A certification stated that the Resolution No. 6-C had been unanimously approved and adopted following a series of meetings and consultations.
Full Story at: IATF raises COVID-19 alert level in most parts of PH; some restrictions in effect | Inquirer News
Face masks still mandatory in LRT, MRT, PNR trains – DOTr | INQUIRER.NET – MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Sunday said that face masks will remain mandatory in all railway systems amid the rising number of COVID-19.
DOTr Assistant Secretary for Railways Jorjette Aquino, in a statement, said face masks inside LRT-1, LRT-2 and MRT-3 trains will still be required as a precautionary measure against COVID-19.
Face masks will also be required inside Philippine National Railways trains but optional in open-air stations.
“Our medical professionals in the railways sector stressed that the risk of COVID-19 transmission remains present in our trains as they are enclosed spaces,” Aquino said.
“Security personnel deployed in all of our stations and trains will help ensure that the policy is strictly enforced,” she added.
Full Story at: Face masks still mandatory in LRT, MRT, PNR trains – DOTr | Inquirer News
