Philippine News

GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- A target-listed drug personality was killed in an alleged shootout with police anti-drug operatives in an operation here early Tuesday.

Lt. Renato Dungca Jr., public information officer of the city police office, identified the slain suspect as Niel Jason Jansaon alias "Jason Bourne," 34, a resident of GenSanville Subdivision in Barangay Bula.

Dungca said Jansaon, who was listed as a big-time drug pusher, was gunned down by joint operatives after resisting arrest during a search operation at his home around 12:20 a.m.

"They were forced to retaliate, fatally hitting the suspect in the process," he said in a phone interview.

The operation was based on a search warrant for violation of Republic Act 9165 or the Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 issued by a regional court.

It was spearheaded by elements from the Regional Police Drug Enforcement Unit-12 and backed by personnel from the Bula police station, Regional Mobile Force Battalion-12 and the City …

CAMP GEN ALEJO S SANTOS, Bulacan -- Two alleged drug dealers were killed and nine other drug suspects, including a minor, were arrested in various buy-bust operations conducted in the province for two days.Colonel Chito Bersaluna, provincial director of the Bulacan Police Provincial Office, said the two neutralized suspects were a certain alias “Bong Retuya”, included in the Barangay Anti-Drug Abuse Council (BADAC) watchlist of San Rafael Municipal Police Station; and Edwin Domingo, 42, laborer, of Barangay Dulong Bayan, City of San Jose Del Monte.Investigation showed that Retuya, together with his unidentified cohort engaged the police officers in a shootout after they noticed that they were dealing with an undercover agent during a drug transaction in Barangay Sampaloc, San Rafael around 10:30 p.m. Monday.“The operatives retaliated which resulted in the neutralization of Retuya, while his cohort managed to escape,” Bersaluna said.Recovered were eight plastic sachets of shabu, one ca…

MANILA – San Miguel is dismissing talks of another PBA grand slam bid and would rather concentrate on winning back-to-back championships this season in the wake of its successful title bid in the recently concluded Philippine Cup finals.Coach Leo Austria said during the weekly Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum at the Amelie Hotel-Manila on Tuesday that the team’s focus right now is to regain the Commissioner’s Cup crown, which the Beermen lost to the Barangay Ginebra Kings last year, rather than think about going for a three-conference sweep of the entire season.San Miguel getting involved in another discussion for a possible grand slam surfaced anew after the team won the season-opening All-Filipino Cup title last week against Magnolia in a seven-game series that went the full route.“We’re not thinking about the grand slam. What we’re thinking about is (winning) the next conference. Just one game at a time,” Austria said in the forum, where he was joined by stalwarts C…

MANILA -- Some 839 employees of the National Food Authority's (NFA) 4,000-strong workforce will be retired this month in line with the agency's restructuring, as stipulated in the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of Republic Act No. 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Law."There will be a reduction of about 839 (NFA) employees mainly in regulatory and enforcement departments, others have opted to stay, (while) others have opted to retire," said Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel "Manny" Piñol in a press briefing on Tuesday.Piñol said the regulatory and enforcement positions of the agency have been removed with the implementation of the Rice Tariffication Law and there was also a clustering of provincial offices.In almost all cases, he said it would be three provinces to a cluster.Piñol said there was a suggestion from the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) to further trim down the number of empl…

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga -- At least two upland areas in this province were placed under a “no habitation zone” based on the assessment conducted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB).Noel Lacadin, chief of the geosciences division of MGB 3 (Central Luzon) here, said Tuesday that Sitio Tagak, Barangay Nabuclod in Floridablanca town and Barangay Dias in Porac town were placed under a “no habitation zone” due to their “high susceptibility” to landslides.These areas are host to Aeta settlements and their ancestral lands.  The assessment was conducted before the election.Lacadin said advisories on landslide and geohazard threats were already given to the respective barangay officials and Local Disaster Risk Reduction and Management officers of the concerned areas for immediate action and compliance.“We are not depriving the Aetas of their right to stay in their ancestral lands. We reminded them that those areas were identified as …

NEGROS OCCIDENTAL, May 21 (PIA) -- Results of the study of Animal Science students from the University of Negros Occidental-Recoletos are now being used to develop meat handling techniques and processes.The Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO), using the province’s laboratory facilities and technical personnel through the PVO’s Research and Laboratory Services Division, helped researchers of the study scientifically determine the level of microbial contamination in pork sold at selected wet markets in the province.Findings of the study showed that there were high contamination in pork from these selected wet markets, by which researchers strongly recommend for the improvement of meat product handling and sanitation, and calls for serious intervention of concerned local government units to address the matter.Thus, PVO intensifies the development of meat handling through involvement of local government units (LGUs) on meat safety practices.The PVO will also provide some general guidelines…

MANILA -- The Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PHilMech) formally launched on Tuesday its Rice Mechanization Component, under the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF), to improve rice production in the country.The launching was held during the agency's 41st anniversary held at the Central Luzon State University (CLSU) Compound in Muñoz, Nueva Ecija.Rice mechanization is one of the components of Republic Act No. 11203 or the Rice Tariffication Law. It stipulates the creation of the RCEF that would be funded from rice tariffs collections, with PHP10 billion allocated annually from 2019 to 2024 or a period of six years.Of the total amount, PHP5 billion was allocated for mechanization of rice farms, PHP3 billion for provision of high-yielding in-bred rice seeds, PHP1 billion for credit support, and PHP1 billion for extension support and education of rice farmers.“With the formal launching of the projects and programs under RCEF, we at PHilMech w…

MANILA -- Property giant Megaworld is launching a new residential condominium development, its second one inside the 35.6-hectare Capital Town Pampanga township in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga.To be called Bryant Parklane, derived from New York City’s famous Bryant Park, the 16-storey residential tower offers 463 units ranging from Studio (up to 28.5 square meters), and One-Bedroom (up to 41 square meters). Select units have their own balcony and lanai.The key highlight of this new residential project is the first-of-its-kind lobby concept, which features bi-level functional shared spaces and receiving area. Indoor bike racks also form part of the lobby’s unique design. The lobby will also be featuring some of the development’s amenities such as a Daycare center with hammock area, Turf Lounge, Pingpong Café, and the Library.“In Bryant Parklane, we want to encourage interaction among residents, and at the same time, foster a sense of community. The lobby will become a venue for r…