faced the CA on two con- anti-dengue controversy hound- Mr.

nd- Mr. Duque on the Doh’s imple- and exemplary stewardship in pharmaceutical company Sanofi
tion hearings before be- ing the agency. mentation of other health pro- his previous and current posi- Pasteur released an analysis
onfirmed by the panel on “Doh is fighting too many grams, such as the Reproductive tions, Dr. Duque is adequately that  the Dengvaxia vaccine may

Nation
esday. he was repeatedly battles (on) too many fronts. It’s a health Act and the Cheaper Med- equipped, mentally, physically pose health risks for those vac-
The
ioned by members of the struggle to do your job when there icines Act, as well as the reported and spiritually for our people’s cinated without
EDITORs marifi s.having dengue.
jara, ricky s. torre
thursDAY, february 8, 2018

o
#nationataglance NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION: CALOOCAN CITY
caloocan court orders arrest of cops, asset in teen slay
A BRANCH of the Caloocan Regional Trial Court (RTC) on
Thursday issued an arrest warrant against the three cops and
an asset implicated in the murder of 12th grader Kian delos San-
11 hotels, 3 cities, 2 tours get green, clean asEaN tourism awards tos last August. Caloocan RTC branch 125 found probable cause WESTERN VISAYAS: ILOILO CITY
ga SIX OF the 11 “Green Hotel” ASEAN Tourism Standards awardees in the to order the arrest of Police Officer 3 Arnel Oares, PO1 Jeremias Water districts to meet
Philippines for this year are located in the Central Visayas Region, par- Pereda, PO1 Jerwin Cruz,and police asset Renato Loveraz alias in Iloilo city for national
ticularly the provinces of Cebu and Bohol. In Cebu, these are: Bluewater “Nonong.” — philstar.com convention
Maribago Beach Resort (Lapu Lapu City), Crimson Resort and Spa Mac- >> See full story on https://goo.gl/3MxfY3 THE PHILIPPINE Association of
e tan, and P & I Resorts, Inc. - Pulchra (San Fernando). In Bohol: Amorita Water Districts (PAWD) is hold-
Resort, The Bellevue Resort Bohol, and the Bohol Beach Club Resort. NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION ing its 39th annual convention on
st Two in Baguio City — Baguio Country Club and The Manor at Camp John Nayong Pilipino execs under Palace probe for jeju trip Feb. 7-9 at the Iloilo Convention
Hay — also made it to the list. The Conrad Manila was the lone awardee in SOME OFFICIALS of the Nayong Pilipino Foundation, Inc. (NPF) Center, with this year’s theme fo-
Metro Manila. The other two are: Fundacion Pacita Batanes Nature Lodge who allegedly went on an unauthorized trip to Jeju province in cused on “Water District Options
in Basco, Batanes, and Pangulasian Island Resort in El Nido, Palawan. The South Korea last year are currently being investigated, Malaca- and Solutions to Sustainable
Green Hotel award focuses on initiatives towards sustainability. “Our tour- ñang announced on Wednesday, Feb. 7. “The matter is being Water Supply and Sanitation.”
ld ism partners like you are the backbone that make quality visitor experience investigated, and we are inviting the public with information Aside from representatives of
- tangible,” said Tourism Undersecretary Alma Rita Jimenez during a recog- to report to the Palace,” Presidential Spokesperson Herminio PAWD members, delegates from
nition ceremony held in Manila recently. Harry L. Roque, Jr. said in a phone patch interview with Malaca- private water service providers
ñang reporters. “Come forward and file a complaint with the are also expected to participate
cLEaN cITIEs Office of the President,” the spokesman said in a separate in the discussions. Deputy House
y Meanwhile, three cities were given statement. NPF, a government-owned and controlled corpora- Speaker and Capiz 2nd District
• Batanes
the ASEAN Clean Tourist City tion, manages the Nayong Pilipino cultural-tourism park in Pa- Representative Fredenil H. Castro
award, namely: Davao; Pasig in the • Baguio say City, near the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. — arjay will give the keynote speech dur-
ary National Capital Region; and San • national Capital Region L. balinbin ing the opening ceremony today,
Carlos in Negros Occidental. The >> See full story on https://goo.gl/BAvgm1 Feb 8. The event is hosted by
ASEAN Sustainable Tourism Award • el nido, palawan the Water Districts Association
, was also given to tour packages • pueRto pRinCesa, of Region VI in partnership with
for both urban and rural category, palawan the Metro Iloilo Water District. —
T namely: “Walk on the Wild Side” Louine Hope conserva
• CeBu
in Puerto Princesa, Palawan; and
m- “Palina Greenbelt River Cruise • san CaRlos City, EASTERN VISAYAS: LEYTE
Experience Along the Landscape negRos oCCidental municipal collection sites suspended
ief of Three Coastal Ecosystems Oper-
• Roxas City, Capiz
as politics hound Leyte water distributor
ated by a Fisherfolk Organization” OPERATIONS AT the main office of the Leyte Metropolitan Water District
th in Roxas City, Capiz • davao City (LMWD) in Tacloban City have returned to normal Tuesday after one faction of
the board of directors (BoD) took 20 computer units, documents, and cash Mon-
day dawn. However, bill payments at the municipal offices in Dagami, Tabon-
tabon, Tolosa, Tanauan, Palo, Pastrana, and Sta. Fe remain suspended as official
” receipts were among those taken from the main office. “Only
payments made at this office shall be deemed valid,” said LMWD
General Manager Pastor A. Homeres. “As seen in the CCTV footage,
t the intruders were identified as Teodoro De
Veyra, Teresa Montubig, Jeanette Cua, Harold
CENTRAL VISAYAS: CAMOTES ISLANDS Ko, along with some employees and about 50
or so unidentified persons wearing bonnets,”
survivors the LMWD management said in a statement.
Passengers sit on top of the capsized MB
Habagat before being rescued by the crew of 2 bOaRD facTIONs
nd another boat, Lite Ferry 27 on Tuesday, feb. The LMWD management, represented by BoD
6. The Philippine coast Guard (PcG) said mb members appointed by Tacloban City Mayor
Habagat, which was headed to the camotes Cristina Gonzales-Romualdez are preparing to
Islands, left carmen, cebu without clearance. file robbery charges against the perpetrators of
>> See related story on 2 dead, 3 missing after Monday’s heist, some of whom were identified
boat capsizes https://goo.gl/fLpR1L to be directors of the board appointed by Leyte
Governor Leopoldo Dominico L. Petilla. Teodoro
de Veyra, chairman of the Petilla-appointed
BoD, admitted to The Freeman that they took
away the computers and other documents from
the LMWD head office as they insist that they are
the legitimate directors. Their plan was to bring
the equipment and documents to the Leyte Ac-
ademic Center in Palo, where they will carry out
LMWD operations. Mr. Petilla, in an earlier inter-
PCG PHOTO

view with The Freeman, said they will also take

to court the “illegal” takeover and other acts of
n the Romualdez appointees. — The Freeman

DAVAO: PANABO CITY, DAVAO DEL NORTE

ZAMBOANGA PENINSULA: ZAMBOANGA CITY Tadeco accused of cordoning public land for political control
cal Zamboanga region police tracks down loose firearms HOUSE SPEAKER Pantaleon D. Alvarez has accused the Floirendo-owned Tagum Agricultural Development Company,
re ahead of barangay-sk polls Inc. (Tadeco) of restricting access to Barangay AO Floirendo within its banana export operations area to maintain political
%, THE ZAMBOANGA Peninsula regional police has intensified its dominance in Panabo City. He said that particular barangay serves as the “determinant factor in every election.” Mr. Al-
campaign against the proliferation of loose firearms ahead of varez made the accusation during the House committee on good government hearing on the alleged irregularities in the
the scheduled contract between Tadeco and the Bureau of Corrections, which owns the area. The committee motioned to resurvey the
e) Barangay and total land area of Tadeco, as well as the other private and public properties in the area. A former Panabo City surveyor,
Sangguniang Engineer Ruben Tacugue, said that some public roads are inaccessible and guarded by Tadeco-controlled checkpoints.
n Kabataan (SK) On the other hand, Tadeco President Anthony Alexander N. Valoria explained that the checkpoints were put in place to
ns. elections in May. secure the company’s assets, especially against attacks by the communist New People’s Army. “What is gated is private
e “There are op- land,” said Mr. Valoria, adding that the company welcomes a survey of the area. — minde Nyl R. dela cruz
erations ongoing
right now to look
LSDAVALJR./BW FILE

for the [loose] DAVAO: DAVAO CITY

firearms and the
private armed groups, this is our main preparation,” Police Re-
ed gional Office-9 (PRO-9) chief Billy B. Beltran said in Zamboanga
he City. Mr. Beltran said there are at least eight identified armed
at groups in different parts of the region that could potentially carry
of out politically related atrocities during the campaign period and
Act election day. Mr. Beltran said the polls for community and youth
leaders have historically been more “bloody” compared to lo-
cal and national elections due to rivalry among families within
d smaller political zones. Meanwhile, the Regional Joint Security
Coordinating Council is set to convene soon to lay down security
measures to be implemented by the police, military, and mem-
ed bers of the Commission on Elections, particularly in the so-called
rn- “hotspot areas.” — albert f. arcilla
ir
Police-military to pilot anti-terror drills in Davao city
THE PHILIPPINE National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines will
hold a series of anti-terror exercises in major urban areas, starting with Davao
City within this month. The drills would simulate the response of the police
and the military, together with members of the Bureau of Fire Protection and
the Office of Civil Defense, in terror attack scenarios. “We particularly seek
the participation of barangay officials because the simultaneous exercises will DavaO cITy police officers simulate
require a lockdown of the city and the members of our communities need to an urban assault scenario as part
be informed,” Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio told the media earlier this week. The of a special Weapons and Tactics
focus sites for the exercises, dubbed Southern Storm Drills, would be some of training in july 2017.
the vital facilities in the city, including the Davao International Airport, seaports
and coastal areas that are possible entry points for terrorists. Ms. Carpio said the drills would also include preparations for
attacks by members of the New People’s Army, the armed group of the communist movement in the country. The anti-
terror exercises would also be carried out in the National Capital Region and Cebu. — carmencita a. carillo