Month: April 2023

The Ministry of the Interior and Local Government in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (MILG-BARMM) is building a PHP25 million modern town hall to better serve the residents of the remote municipality of Turtle Islands, Tawi-Tawi. Lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo, MILG minister, said in a statement Saturday that the municipal hall aims to improve the services of local government units and ensure that moral governance is felt even in the farthest town of BARMM. Sinarimbo said distance is not a hindrance in constructing a town hall in such a remote area. The municipality of Turtle Islands is located within the Sulu Sea at the southwestern tip of the country, at the edge of the international treaty limits separating the Philippines and Malaysia. ‘Despite its distance, we are constructing a municipal hall for the farthest municipality to ensure that governance is also felt there,’ Sinarimbo said. The town hall, he said, would not only serve as a help desk for the government’s bureaucracy and implement policies for the betterment of its constituents but would also provide symbolic functions in the community. It will serve as a venue for holding local government business, implementing government services, and conducting public-related assistance and activities in offices or council meeting rooms. Turtle Islands is a fifth-class municipality of Tawi-Tawi with a population of 5,683, as of the 2020 census, and is a protected and natural breeding ground for green sea turtles. The municipality consists of six small islands – Taganak, Baguan, Langaan, Boan, Lihiman, and the Great Bakungan.

Source: Philippines News Agency

An Abu Sayyaf involved in the 2017 kidnapping of a son of a town mayor in Zamboanga del Norte was arrested on Friday, a top military official said. Rear Admiral Donn Anthony Miraflor, Naval Forces Western Mindanao (NFWM) commander, said on Saturday Salip Yusop Habibulla was arrested in Mangal Drive, Barangay Baliwasan, this city. Seized from Habibulla, a member of the Sulu-Based Abu Sayyaf Group, were a cellular phone and an identification card bearing the name “Murhan Alih Ismael”. Miraflor said Habibulla, 30, a resident of Barangay Pasil, Indanan, Sulu, was involved in the September 2017 kidnapping of Jelster Ed Quimbo, son of then-mayor Eddie Quimbo of Labason, Zamboanga del Norte. Jelster Ed was released on Dec. 31, 2018, and is now the incumbent mayor of Labason town. Miraflor said Habibulla was turned over to the custody of the local police. He added that Habibulla’s cellular phone will be subjected to mobile forensic analysis to determine why he was hiding in Barangay Baliwasan. Habibulla was arrested by joint operatives of NFWM, Task Force Zamboanga, Zamboanga City Police Office, and the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.

Source: Philippines News Agency

Sixteen (19) Cambodian international boxing sport delegates including 11 male, 5 female boxers and 3 coaches have departed for a month-long training (Mar. 30 to April 30) in Kazakhstan.

Addressing the get-together with the Cambodian boxing sport delegation before their departure here in Phnom Penh recently, Mr. Casey Barnett, Vice President of International Boxing Federation of Cambodia, encouraged them to work hard to sharpen their capacity.

The training will help further improve the capacity of Cambodian athletes for the international events including the forthcoming SEA Games 2023 in Cambodia.

Cambodian SEA Games Organising Committee (CAMSOC) encourages training for athletes both in the country and overseas to build up their experience and technical skill.

Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse (AKP)

The suspect in the killing of Queen Leanne Daguinsin, a graduating student of De La Salle University-Dasmariñas in Cavite, was arrested on Saturday morning. Based on the report of Col. Christopher Olazo, Director of the Cavite Police Provincial Office, suspect Angelito Erlano (alias Kulet) was arrested around 10:40 a.m. at Purok 4, Barangay Victory Reyes during a hot pursuit operation. The Provincial Intelligence Unit conducted a follow-up operation in the village after a tip from an informant that Erlano was hiding at the house of his friend. When confronted, the suspect tried to attack the responding officer with an improvised pointed weapon, but did not succeed. Daguinsin, 22, was found lifeless with 14 stab wounds on March 28 inside her dormitory room. The suspect was identified after a review of security cameras the following day. According to the records, the suspect had previous involvements in other robbery cases.

Source: Philippines News Agency

The Philippine index crime plunged during the first quarter of the year compared to the same period in 2022, according to figures released by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) over the weekend. Citing a Philippine National Police (PNP) report, DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos said 7,865 index crimes were logged from Jan. 1 to March 25 this year, lower than the 9,375 incidents recorded in the same period in 2022. Index crimes include murder, homicide, physical injury, rape, and robbery, including car theft. According to the report, the theft of motor vehicles dropped from 82 in the same period last year to 48 this year, while cases of physical injuries went down to 898 from last year’s 1,339. The same report showed that rape cases fell by 29.33 percent from last year’s 2,254 to the latest record of 1,593 while motorcycle theft decreased by 10.20 percent from 441 incidents over the period last year to the latest 396 occurrences. ‘Bumaba din ang kaso ng theft sa 2,647; robbery sa 1,080; murder sa 920; at homicide sa 229 (The number of theft cases decreased to 2,627, robbery incidents dropped to 1,080, murder fell to 920, and homicide records to 229),” Abalos said in a statement. ‘I commend the whole PNP force under the able leadership of PNP chief, Gen. Rodolfo Azurin Jr., for persistently working to fight crimes and their perpetrators in fulfillment of their sworn duty to protect the people and the country. The challenge now is to be steady and consistent against index crimes.’ From Jan. 1 to March 24, the PNP arrested 17,418 individuals in its ‘intensified pursuit” of wanted persons while PHP1.36 billion worth of illegal drugs were seized and 14,481 cases were filed against the arrested drug offenders.

Source: Philippines News Agency