Coronavirus Lockdown: British Empire Medal, Pandemic Airfare Relief Act, and More!

More news about how the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is being handled by the public and the government.

Bongbong Marcos has urged everyone to get vaccinated to prevent a pandemic resurgence. This despite the vaccine not being able to prevent infection.

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1791150/marcos-urges-unvaccinated-filipinos-to-get-covid-19-shots

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. pleaded with the unprotected population to get vaccinated for fear of a pandemic resurgence.

On Wednesday, the President spoke at the Philippine Heart Center in Quezon City’s bivalent vaccine launch, where 2,500 healthcare personnel were scheduled to get additional Omicron variant inoculation.

“Let this occasion serve as a call to every Filipino to continue doing your part. Get updated on your COVID-19 vaccination to prevent a resurgence, as a means of honoring those who sacrificed their lives during the pandemic. I thus appeal to everyone, especially those who have yet to receive their primary series of vaccinations, to get vaccinated against COVID-19. This is not for your own good alone but also for the protection of your families and the general public,” said Marcos during his address.

Marcos also said that vaccination was necessary to be able to work.

(Let us all get vaccinated so we do not get sick so that we can return to work quickly and do everything we want to do because we are safe from illness.)

Vaccination is necessary to be able to work? What is he talking about? There is no vaccine mandate and many people have gone back to work already vaccinated or not!

Marcos also says that getting vaccinated is a way to honor health workers. 

https://mb.com.ph/2023/6/21/marcos-we-owe-a-debt-to-covid-vax-makers-health-workers

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Wednesday, June 21, hailed those behind the manufacturing and administering of the Covid-19 vaccines as he credited them for allowing society to return to normalcy.

He urged Filipinos to honor the scientists, manufacturers and healthcare workers who dedicated their lives to the discovery of the vaccine and taking care of those who caught the virus.

As a way to recognize their efforts, the Chief Executive asked Filipinos to get themselves vaccinated.

“We certainly owe a debt as well to our vaccine manufacturers, our scientists, our healthcare workers, and everyone who gave so much, so that the world could return to a state of normalcy,” he said during the launch of the bivalent Covid-19 vaccination at the Philippine Heart Center in Quezon City.

“Let this occasion serve as a call to every Filipino to continue doing your part [and] get updated on your Covid-19 vaccination to prevent a resurgence, (and) as a means of honoring those who sacrificed their lives during the pandemic,” he added.

Marcos assuaged the public’s concerns on receiving the jabs, and stressed that the government has science-based strategies and a whole-of-society approach in administering the vaccines.

He then urged newly appointed Health Secretary Ted Herbosa to strengthen the Department of Health’s (DOH) efforts to protect the Filipino people against all health risks.

“I urge all of us to remain relentless in our fight against Covid-19 and all other infectious diseases that threaten the country,” the President said.

“As long as we exhibit discipline, observe cleanliness and practice cooperation, we will overcome the residual challenges that are still posed by Covid-19 and emerge stronger than ever as members of a healthy, resilient and productive Philippine society,” he added.

He also called on the public not to let their “guard down” because although the state of emergency seems to have ended, “it is not over completely.”

The state emergency SEEMS to have ended but is not over completely? Then why did he end the state of emergency!? Well, he did not. He only lifted the state of calamity.

 But the new DOH Secretary wants the state of emergency lifted. 

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/873987/herbosa-to-seek-lifting-of-philippine-covid-19-public-health-emergency/story/

In an ambush interview, Herbosa stressed that COVID-19 no longer posed an emergency and could be treated as any other disease that the Department of Health (DOH) monitors, like influenza, cough, and cold.

“Actually, wala nang emergency eh, 'di ba? (there is no longer an emergency). I think I would actually ask the lifting of the public health emergency in the country,” he said.

Then-President Rodrigo Duterte declared a state of public health emergency during the onset of the pandemic in March 2020.

Under Proclamation 922, the state of public health emergency would remain in force and effect until lifted or withdrawn by the President.

In May, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that COVID-19 no longer represented a global health emergency.

Herbosa, however, said that the alert level system would remain.

“The alert level system will stay because that’s a system like the typhoon signal that stays. But actually hindi na siya (that’s no longer a) public health emergency. Wala nang (there’s no) public health emergency,” he added.

In April, former DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said that the Philippines may only declare an end to its COVID-19 public health emergency if infections and hospital utilization remained manageable.

The alert system will remain despite the lack of an emergency. We have been told many times that the situation is manageable so why is the public health emergency still in place? 

As a show of thanks for donating bivalent vaccines Marcos wants to forge stronger ties with Lithuania.

https://mb.com.ph/2023/6/21/pbbm-eyes-deeper-ph-lithuania-ties-following-bivalent-covid-19-vaccines-donation

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has expressed his intention to further strengthen the Philippines' ties with the Republic of Lithuania following the latter's donation of bivalent Covid-19 vaccines.

Marcos said this as he led the launch of the said Covid-19 vaccines at the Philippine Heart Center in Quezon City on Wednesday, June 21.

In his speech, the President lauded the European country for its generosity.

"The Philippines conveys its gratitude to the Republic of Lithuania for their generosity and their donation of the country's first batch of bivalent vaccines," he said.

"I am hopeful that we will further deepen our cooperation in such areas as well as sustain this bond of friendship that we have strengthened now," he added.

"Rest assured that this government, under this administration, treasures that special relationship, and your act of generosity today will certainly not go unnoticed or ever be forgotten," he continued.

The Philippines and Lithuania will celebrate 32 years of diplomatic relations in December this year.

What exactly can the Philippines do for Lithuania?

When the lockdowns were first imposed everything came to a halt including air travel. One proposed law seeks to remedy the type of hassle travelers experienced when that happened.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1204070

House of Representatives Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro on Thursday urged her colleagues to pass a measure seeking to ensure that the rights and interests of airline passengers are well-protected during times of natural disasters or pandemics.

The lady solon led the minority bloc in filing House Bill 8556 or “the Pandemic Airfare Relief Act” to provide a uniform scheme for refund and rebooking of airline tickets in flights affected by prolonged natural calamities or pandemics.

Castro said aside from providing a set of guidelines in cases of refund and ticket rebooking, the bill also aims to ensure that airlines are held accountable for any disruptions caused by these events.

"During times of natural disasters or pandemics, airline passengers are among the most vulnerable. They are often left stranded and unsure of what their rights are when it comes to refunds and rebooking of their flights,” she said.

The bill, she added, would provide a clear and uniform set of guidelines “for both passengers and airlines to follow.”

She pointed out that this proposed measure is particularly important given the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, which has disrupted air travel and left many passengers stranded or unable to travel as planned.

"We urge our fellow lawmakers to support this bill and ensure that the rights and interests of airline passengers are protected during times of natural disasters or pandemics," Castro said.

What is this lady talking about? The WHO has declared the pandemic to be over essentially and air travel is back to normal. All travel has been back to normal for over a year. But this law could come in handy in the future.

Two Filipino nurses in Britain are getting noticed. One of them received a British Empire Medal. 

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/pinoyabroad/content/873636/filipino-nurse-gets-british-empire-medal-for-service-during-pandemic/story/

A Filipina nurse was awarded the British Empire Medal for her outstanding service during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"It's really overwhelming nakakataba ng puso na yung ginagawa pala natin napapansin din ng iba," said Louie Horne during an interview with Oscar Oida on "24 Oras."

Horne was among the individuals recognized as the Medalist of the Order of the British Empire, an award given as part of the birthday celebration of King Charles III.

She was also invited to the British Asian Evening at the Buckingham Palace.

"Marami tayong namatay during the pandemic na mga Filipino and for some reason sa akin sila lumalapit and then I end up repatriating the body, supporting the family, pinaglalaban ko talaga kung magkano makukha nila," Horne said.

Horne, who flew to the UK in 2000 from her hometown in Albay to work as a nurse, is now the Deputy Associate Director of Nursing and Clinical Research Fellow at the National Health Service England.

She was also awarded the Florence Nightingale Foundation Scholarship and Chief Nursing Officer Silver Award for her service during the pandemic.

Like any other overseas Filipino worker, she also experienced challenges, such as discrimination.

"So many different kinds of discrimination, yes, I went through it pero ang ano doon kasi, you can't let it bring you down, you know. Iiyak ka 'pag sinabing bumalik ka na sa country mo may mga ganon. Pero you have to choose your battle wherever you go in this world there will be battles, and you have to survive, and people will see that you are not just anyone that they can take down," she said.

And the other, May Parsons who was the first person to jab someone with the COVID-19 vaccine, is forming a charity to help nurses in the Philippines. 

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/pinoyabroad/dispatch/874181/fil-brit-nurse-who-gave-world-s-first-covid-19-jab-forms-charity/story

May Parsons, the Filipino-British nurse who administered the first shot of COVID-19 vaccine outside of clinical trials, has come back to the Philippines to establish a charity to help Filipino nursing graduates and licensed nurses get into the profession.

Interviewed on Super Radyo dzBB, Parsons said that she has partnered with the Occupational English-Test to fund the May Parsons Foundation to give back to the Filipino nursing community, which she stressed experienced a lot of “horror stories,” especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

(What I intend to do is help our student nurses to continue their studies, and also my fellow nurses who did not pass the board exam to review so that they can get a license and work as nurses. I also want to encourage the nurses who are in call centers or in any industry to return to nursing.)

Health Secretary Ted Herbosa has raised concerns regarding the lack of nurses in government hospitals, noting that 4,500 plantilla items for nurses are currently vacant in over 70 hospitals of the Department of Health (DOH) nationwide.

For her part, Parsons said she is willing to talk with Herbosa to know the rationale behind his proposal and to give suggestions on how to improve the condition of nurses working in the Philippines.

She lamented that the brain drain of Filipino nurses usually stemmed from the lack of better salary and benefits, particularly in private hospitals.

(There are many nurses here who are not in the nursing industry. They are in the call center. They work there because the salary is higher. They also said it is difficult to get a job in a government hospital, that’s why they get in private hospitals which give salaries that are not enough.)

Funny that she is talking about stoping the brain drain when she ran off to the UK for a higher salary!

Hi, My Name is...37

Let's meet some husbands and wives. Sometimes marriage is not all it's cut out to be. And sometimes it is!

Hi, my name is Francisco Macaraig. Because I was intensely jealous of my wife I stabbed her reapteadly while she was in the kitchen. Then I ran away. Later when I was sure the coast was clear I returned to my house and hung myself. My wife survived though. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1749133/man-stabs-wife-then-hangs-himself-in-quezon-province

A man stabbed his wife, a 58-year-old teacher, then killed himself on Monday, March 27, in San Francisco town in Quezon province.

The Quezon police said in a report Tuesday, March 28, that at around noon., Francisco Macaraig, 61, stabbed his wife Melanie repeatedly using a knife while she was in the kitchen inside their house in Barangay Poblacion.

The victim survived despite her wounds, but the suspect fled after the incident.

Later, the police found him dead inside the house after he returned home to hang himself.

The police are conducting further investigation eyeing “intense jealousy” as the possible motive behind the stabbing.

The victim was transferred to a hospital in this city for further treatment.

Hi, my name is Lindio Ejercito. My wife Analita and I got into a heated argument because se said she was planning to leave me. Naturally I picked up a knife and stabbed her repeatedly until she died. She left me but not the way she intended. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1603425/man-faces-parricide-raps-for-killing-wife-in-negros-oriental

A 40-year-old man faces parricide charges after being arrested Thursday for allegedly killing his wife in Barangay Sacsac, Manjuyod town, Negros Oriental.

Lindio Ejercito, 40, stabbed his wife Analita multiple times while arguing with each other over the latter’s plan to leave the suspect, said Staff Sergeant Elixir Badoy of the Manjuyod police.

“After receiving a report, we immediately responded to the crime scene and were able to arrest the suspect,” Badoy said.

Authorities were still waiting for the post-mortem examination results of the wife’s body, to be used to file the charges against Ejercito.

Hi, my name is Aries Coquilla. While distraught and in a state of emotional distress I was brandishing a bolo. My wife and an old man tried to stop me but I ended up stabbing them both as well as my daughter. My wife survived but the old man died. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1636153/man-kills-old-woman-wounds-wife-3-year-old-kid-in-manila

A construction worker has been arrested for killing a senior citizen and stabbing his wife and their three-year-old daughter in Tondo, Manila, according to a report issued on Wednesday by the Manila Police District (MPD).

The MPD said the suspect — identified as Aries Coquilla, 36 — was “apparently under emotional distress” when he caused a public scandal while holding a bolo on Dagupan Extension in Barangay 163, Zone 14, on Tuesday afternoon.

When the victims tried to pacify him, the suspect stabbed them.

Responding police officers eventually subdued Coquilla and seized his bolo, which was approximately 34 inches long, according to the report.

The suspect’s wife and daughter, who were not named in the MPD report, and Emedina Nabua, 69, were rushed to the Jose Reyes Medical Center, where Nabua was later declared dead.

The suspect is facing two counts of frustrated parricide and alarm and scandal.

Hi, my name is Niña Dugoc. During a heated argument with my common-law husband I pulled out a pistol and shot him dead. Then I ran off into the night. But he was no good anyway. A drug user, a thief, and even a killer. To hear his sister tell it he murdered his own father!

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/477317/man-shot-dead-after-argument-with-common-law-wife

A heated argument between live-in-partners resulted to the death of a 41-year-old man in Sitio Balhaan, Barangay Madridejos in Alegria, Cebu, past 5 p.m. on Sunday, November 27, 2022. 

Police Lieutenant Alexius Tangub, chief of Alegria Police Station, identified the victim as Neil Leproso, 41, a resident of Sitio Balhaan. 

Leproso was allegedly shot dead by his common-law-wife, Niña Dugoc, using a .45 caliber pistol. 

Dugoc remains at large as she fled after the shooting. 

Initial investigation of the police showed that the two were engaged in a heated argument before the shooting happened. 

Neighbors then heard three gun shots before noticing the suspect leaving the area. They later found Leproso lying on the floor. 

Witnesses said they saw Dugoc board a motorcycle that drove towards Badian town, which is north of Alegria. 

Tangub said that they are still investigating if the motorcycle driver was her accomplice.

Police investigation showed that the victim was previously arrested for the illegal possession of firearms and was released from the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) in Barangay Kalunasan in Cebu City last May 24, 2022. 

Tangub said the victim rarely went outside his house.

“Dili sila the usual nga pagka live-in nga magkauban og puyo. Talagsa rapod ni mag adtuan ang suspect sa ilang balay sa Alegria,” Tangub said

Tangub also said that the victim’s sister told them that Leproso allegedly killed his own father. But when police checked their records, this said crime was not reported nor filed in their station. 

The victim is also tagged in theft and frustrated murder offenses.  However, they have yet to know if the victim was involved in illegal drug activities. But police said the victim’s sister alleged that Leproso was a drug user. 

Hi, my name is .Joan Fajardo Moises. Due to economic troubles I was forced to move to Manila and drive a cap in order to support my family. She stayed behind in Canalon City and then moved to Cebu to find work. Eventually she met a guy on Facebook and abandoned our four children. She lived with him for a month before I was able to catch them with the help of the police. Now they will both be facing adultery cases.

https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1948182/cebu/local-news/wife-leaves-husband-children-for-man-she-met-on-facebook

A 32-YEAR-OLD woman and her lover whom she met via social networking site Facebook were arrested after they were caught sleeping together by the former’s husband in Barangay Jampang, Argao, Cebu.

Arrested were Darlyn Tejero Moises, 32, a native of Canlaon City, Negros Oriental; and Joshua Campaner Camahalan, 21, a resident of Upper Candabong, Sitio Jampang in Argao, around 11 p.m. Wednesday, December 7, 2022.

The complainant was identified as Joan Fajardo Moises, 39, driver and resident of Canlaon City, Negros Oriental.

Police Staff Sergeant John Mark Canonigo of Argao Police Station told SunStar Superbalita Cebu that Joan asked for the police’s help after finding out that the woman abandoned her four children aged 12, 9, 5 and 2.

Joan said he found out that his wife cohabited with her lover, whom she met through Facebook.

Canonigo said Darlyn and Joshua were living together in Upper Candabong, Sitio Jampang in Argao for a month already.

"Kana sa FB, diha sila nagka-ilhanay. Na in love, gibiyaan sa babaye ang pamilya," said Canonigo.

(They met through Facebook. She fell in love, then abandoned her family.)

Police said Joan had been working as a driver in Manila.

Darlyn reportedly told police that her husband had not been sending her money to support their children, prompting her to move to Cebu to find work.

She then met Joshua on Facebook and fell in love with him.

Canonigo said Joan is bent on filing an adultery case against his wife and her lover.

Hi, my name is Ronalyn Pasana. My husband Kerwin, who was a PNP officer, and I got into a fight at about 2 a.m. It got real heated. In my anger I picked up a kitchen knife and stabbed him. He was rushed to the hospital but declared dead on arrival. 

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/480724/cop-dies-after-being-stabbed-by-wife-in-leyte

A police officer died after being stabbed by his wife during an argument in Barangay (village) Pawing, Palo town in Leyte at around 2 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 17.

Police Staff Sergeant Kerwin Pasana, 47, was rushed to the hospital but was declared dead on arrival by the attending physician.

His wife, Ronalyn, 33, was detained at the Palo Municipal Police Station pending the filing of charges against her before the prosecutor’s office next week.

Based on police investigation, the couple had an argument at about 2 a.m. on Saturday.

At the height of the argument, Ronalyn stabbed her husband with a kitchen knife.

The kitchen knife used in the fatal stabbing was recovered by responding barangay tanods (watchmen) who then turned it over to the police.

Hi, my name is Ronald St. Jean and I am a Canadian. I got into a heated argument with my wife. It was so hot that the neighbors called the police. When they arrived I pepper sprayed them and ran into my bedroom where I slit my wrist and stabbed myself in the chest. My wife died from a knife wound to the chest. 

https://mb.com.ph/2023/5/12/canadian-kills-self-after-stabbing-wife-to-death-in-bacolod-1

A heated argument on finances triggered a Canadian national to stab his wife to death before killing himself inside their apartment in Barangay Singcang-Airport here on Friday, May 12.

Police withheld the name of the 50-year-old victim, who was a call center agent, upon the request of her family.

Her husband was identified by police as Ronald St. Jean, 55.

Police Capt. Glenn Montaño, head of Police Station 8, said the couple was heard by their neighbors arguing, prompting them to call for police assistance.

When the policemen responded, the suspect allegedly sprayed pepper spray on one of them, and went to a bedroom.

Montaño said the suspect then stabbed himself in the chest and slashed his wrist. The wife suffered a lone stab wound in the chest.

He said they negotiated with the suspect to surrender, but he refused. He was neutralized after about 40 minutes when he asked for water and slipped on the floor.

The couple was taken to Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH) here. The victim was declared dead on arrival while the suspect passed away later, Montaño said.

Montaño said the couple was renting the apartment. They had two male children aged 7 and 11, who were brought by their helper to the victim’s relative nearby before the incident happened.

Hi, my name is Jemar Segapo. On Mother's Day I got into a heated argument with my wife Yonilyn. It got so heated I lost my temper and shot her dead. 

https://mb.com.ph/2023/5/16/man-slays-wife-on-mother-s-day-during-confrontation-on-illicit-affair

A 29-year-old man gunned down his wife after she confronted him over his alleged affair with another woman in Barangay Kaltuad, Glan, Sarangani on Mother’s Day.

Police said the suspect, Jemar Segapo, lost his temper and shot the victim, Yonilyn, with a .45 caliber pistol in the head.

Responding police officers arrested the suspect and recovered the murder weapon.

Police Lt. Col. Giovanni Ladeo, Glan police chief, said Jemar faces parricide and illegal possession of firearm charges.

Hi, my name is Homer Olivo. I confronted my wife because I suspected her of having an affair. Greatly inflamed with jealously I pulled out my bolo and hacked her to death. The cops caught me but while in custody I climbed up through the restroom ceiling and onto the wall outside.  Then I jumped down and smashed my head. I died hours later. 

https://cebudailynews.inquirer.net/507595/husband-dies-hours-after-hacking-wife-to-death-in-tabuelan-cebuhusband-dies-hours-after-hacking-wife-to-death-in-tabuelan-cebuhusband-dies-hours-after-hacking-wife-to-death-in-tabuelan

The 48-year-old man accused of hacking to death his wife in Tabuelan town, Cebu last May 30, 2023 has died.

Police in Tabuelan confirmed that Homer Olivo died around 4 p.m. on Wednesday, May 31, barely a day after they arrested him for hacking his wife, Janice Olivo, to death.

Police Captain Gerald Casalme, chief of Tabuelan Police Station, said their findings showed that Homer may have taken his own life while in detention.

The suspect reportedly climbed up on the restroom ceiling in the detention cell and then jumped off from the wall, said Casalme.

Other detainees alerted police officers on duty about what happened.

Police rushed Homer to a hospital but physicians declared him dead on arrival due to the injuries he sustained on his head. Apparently, Homer dove headfirst after climbing from the restroom’s ceiling.

Homer was arrested past 10 p.m. on May 30 when he stabbed and hacked Janice multiple times in their house in Sitio Ibabao, Brgy. Poblacion in Tabuelan.

Based on investigation, the husband admitted to committing the heinous crime, which transpired past 9 p.m. He told police that he hacked his wife out of jealousy.

The couple apparently got into a heated altercation prior to the incident. Homer reportedly suspected Janice was having an affair.

The suspect went out after the verbal fight but just after a few minutes, he fetched his bolo and then proceeded to their bedroom to stab Janice in her back multiple times.

He left his wife bathed in her blood but police managed to arrest him with the help of a concerned citizen.

Casalme said jealousy may have been Homer’s motive in hacking his wife to death. His father, Gregorio Olivo, also said his son had been using illegal drugs, which may have influenced his recent behavior.

In the meantime, investigation continues to verify reports on Homer’s alleged substance abuse.

“According to his relatives, as well as the victim’s family, he wasn’t violent, until recently,” Casalme said.

Tabuelan is a fourth-class municipality located approximately 103 kilometers northwest of Cebu City.

Hi, my name is being withheld. I am a South Korean national. In South Korea I murdered my Filipina wife and disposed of her body at a reservoir. Then I ran away to the Philippines. The PNP caught me at my condo in Manila but I was able to escape the detention facility at NAIA. But they nabbed me again and now I once more await being deported. 

https://globalnation.inquirer.net/215434/south-korean-man-nabbed-after-escaping-police-amid-suspicion-of-killing-filipina-wife

A murder suspect fleeing from South Korean and Philippines’ authorities has been apprehended in Manila, South Korean police said Tuesday.

According to the South Korean police agency, the suspect was spotted at a condo in Manila on Monday. The suspect is a South Korean male in his 30s who fled to the Philippines after allegedly murdering his wife, a national of the Philippines, earlier this year.

Police believe the suspect murdered his wife and disposed of the body at a reservoir in Gonam-myeon, South Chungcheong Province.

The suspect had initially been apprehended in the Philippines in February, but he escaped from the detention center at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila while waiting for the Philippine government’s decision on his deportation to South Korea.

“We will investigate the case in depth as soon as the suspect is brought back to South Korea,” police here said.

Hi, my name is Jerry Sabando. I wanted to spend Father's Day with my son so I went to my ex-girlfriend's house to pick him up. But I was drunk and my son did not not want to come with me. His mother also did not want him to go with me. So, I pulled out a knife to stab her. That was when her boyfriend pulled out a gun a shot me in the face, killing me. 

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1790057/man-who-wants-to-be-with-son-on-fathers-day-shot-dead-in-quezon-province

A 38-year-old man, who wanted to be with his son on Father’s Day, was killed on Sunday, June 18, in the island town of Burdeos in Quezon province.

The Quezon police reported that Jerry Sabando went, around 4 p.m., to the house of his former-live-in partner in Barangay Aluyon “to kiss and get his son.”

But Sabando’s ex-girlfriend, the mother of his son refused, which prompted him to pull out a knife to stab her.

But the woman’s current live-in-partner, Kevin Aguila, 31, intervened and shot Sabando in his face using a caliber .38 revolver, investigators said. Sadando died while being taken to the hospital.

Aguila was arrested in a follow-up operation.

Captain Benito Nevera, Burdeos police chief, described the incident as “tragic.”

“The victim just wanted to be with his son on Father’s Day,” he said in a phone interview Monday morning.

Nevera said Sabando, who was drunk, was possibly further infuriated because his 8-year-old son refused to go with him.

Sabando also challenged the suspect, which prompted the latter to shoot him, Nevera said. 

Hi, my name is Mr. Parila. I am unemployed because I take care of one of my children who is autistic.  My wife is a teacher, or she was a teacher. Many times I confronted her about being unfaithul. Finally I couldn't take it anymore so I hacked her head off. But I didn't hit hard enough so she was only cut. However the cut was deep enough to bleed out, killing her. Now I am on the run and my two children are without parents. 

https://www.philstar.com/nation/2023/06/26/2276690/man-kills-wife-zamboanga-del-sur-during-jealous-rage-police

A man killed his wife, who worked as a teacher, in Dumalinao, Zamboanga del Sur on Sunday during a jealous rage, the police said.

In separate reports Monday, the Dumalinao Municipal Police Station and the Zamboanga del Sur Provincial Police Office identified the victim as Cirila Solis Parila, 48, a teacher in the Rebokon Agricultural and Vocational School in Dumalinao.

Parila died from a hack wound in the neck, according to police reports.

Neighbors told authorities they saw the victim’s husband, Allan, 50, leave their house in haste at past 8:00 a.m. Sunday, after their loud altercation.

Relatives of Parila have confirmed that the suspect had confronted her many times over suspicions that she’s having an affair with another man.

Neighbors also reportedly overheard Allan threatening to kill his wife before Sunday’s incident.

The couple’s daughter, Azel Jean, said his father, now at large, is unemployed for personally taking care of her autistic sibling, now being watched over by their close relatives.

The police and local officials in Dumalinao are searching for the suspect.

Insurgency: Maute-Linked Terrorists Regrouping?

The AFP has been insistent that, much like the NPA, the Muslim insurgency is weakening and has become irrelevant. They have joyfully lauded the defeat of the Maute Group after the Battle of Marawi and especially with the death of a top leader last week. However it seems they are regrouping. 

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2023/06/19/2274892/maute-linked-terrorists-regrouping-probe-sought

Sen. Ronald dela Rosa vowed to look into reports that the Maute group – behind the five-month siege of Marawi City in 2017 – was getting back together.

Dela Rosa said that according to National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) chief of staff Manggay Guro Jr., it is not farfetched that the so-called Maute sympathizers are “regrouping and growing in number.”

“That can happen. They are extremists, they would just lay low (and attack again),” Dela Rosa told The STAR in a phone interview over the weekend.

He said the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine National Police (PNP) should take proactive measures to preempt and thwart any possible resurgence of attacks in, which was devastated amid fighting between the Maute group and government forces from May to October 2017.

The siege displaced thousands of residents, whose homes were totally destroyed.

“The AFP and the PNP should be proactive,” said Dela Rosa, who served as PNP chief from July 2016 to April 2018, and was at the helm of the PNP when the siege took place.

During Friday’s public hearing of the Senate committee on foreign affairs on the proposed temporary housing in the Philippines of special immigrant visa applicants from Afghanistan, chaired and presided over by Sen. Imee Marcos, Guro said there was an incident again in Marawi City last week.

“Just recently this Wednesday an incident happened in Marawi, again, concerning the same group who caused the Marawi siege,” Guro said, but did not elaborate.

“So, apparently, they are regrouping and they’re growing in numbers because of the continuous problems in Marawi that, up until now, most of those affected by the Marawi siege have not returned to their homeland or to their homes,” he added.

Dela Rosa explained that extremism and terrorism are universal and not isolated in the Philippines. “

The senator noted that there should be a whole of government approach to preempting a repeat of the devastating siege in Marawi City.

Right now this is rumor and speculation. Guro cannot even elaborate on his assertions. But Bato's statement "that there should be a whole of government approach to preempting a repeat of the devastating siege in Marawi City" is incredibly stupid. 

If you recall, the AFP and PNP, headed by Bato at the time, knew there as an impending attack and did nothing to stop it. They knew ISIS had been in the Philippines since 2014 and ignored the threat and lied about it to the public. To this day there has still been no investigation into the Marawi siege to determine its causes, the failures of the AFP and PNP as regards intelligence, and on how to prevent it form happening again. Will there be another Marawi siege? Only time can tell but with the bungling of the AFP and PNP it is not farfetched. 

The BIFF, who fought alongside the Maute Group in Marawi, also remains active in Mindanao. 

https://mb.com.ph/2023/6/19/biff-leader-6-followers-killed-in-maguindanao-clash

A leader of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and six followers were killed in a gun fight with security forces  in Datu Paglas, Maguindanao del Sur on Sunday, June 18.

Police Brig. Gen. Allan Nobleza, director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, said the police and military were implementing a search warrant on the lair of BIFF leader Norjahid Husain in Barangay Demawato when the gunbattle occurred.

He said Husain and his armed followers shot it out with the operating team which resulted into death of seven members, including Husain.

One policeman was wounded in the encounter.

Authorities tagged Husain as a key leader of the local BIFF  which was responsible for the attack on the Datu Paglas public market on May 8, 2021 and the bombing of the  transmission tower of the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines in Carmen, Cotabato in September 2016.

Husain was trained on bomb-making by  Basit Usman, the late leader of the Jemaah Islamiyah terror group, and was also linked to Pentagon kidnap-for ransom group led by Tahir Alonto.

Security forces recovered one M-16 rifle and three .45 caliber pistols from the slain BIFF men.

The PNP blames a recent ambush on the BIFF.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/06/21/23/pnp-biff-nasa-likod-ng-ambush-sa-maguindanao-del-sur

The Philippine National Police (PNP) has identified the group behind the ambush in Barangay Poblacion in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao del Sur that killed two policemen and injured four others, on June 14.

According to PNP spokesperson P/Col, the authorities are preparing the relevant document to file a complaint against the persons of interest they first identified. Jean Fajardo.

"Based on our relationship with the regional director of the [Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region], there are witnesses who have been able to identify and provide information as to the identity of these possible suspects behind the ambush... I understand, member. they are from the [Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters]," said Fajardo.

Maybe if the goverment built some roads the BIFF would relent? That is allegedly the case with the NPA in northern Samar. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1203953

Officials have expressed confidence that the completion of the new road in Northern Samar after five years of construction would help end insurgency in Silvino Lubos, one of the poorest towns in the country.

The inauguration of the Suba Bridge within the new road that connects the town to a highway in Mondragon town signals the full completion of the PHP238.31 million project.

“This road will connect people and businesses which was hardly possible in the past. This will undoubtedly open up opportunities for everyone. Economic development is vital to the growth and prosperity of Northern Samar,” said Charlito Carlobos, district engineer of the Department of Public Works and Highway (DPWH) Northern Samar 2nd engineering district office in a statement shared by the Philippine Army to reporters on Wednesday.

The 3.25-kilometer road and bridge network has reduced the usual 12-hour boat ride to the town to just one hour and 30 minutes by land.

For Silvino Lubos Mayor Leo Jarito, the project is key to ending insurgency in their town and nearby areas. They have been waiting for this project for five decades.

“This is the most awaited moment for the town to finally get connected to the capital and other municipalities in Northern Samar. It has already been five decades since the people of Silvino Lubos had waited for such progress,” Jarito said.

“If there is infrastructure, the New People’s Army becomes irrelevant since the basic needs of people are being addressed. In the case of our town, it will be easier for our people to transport our products to the market,” the mayor added.

Maj. Gen. Camilo Ligayo, commander of the Philippine Army’s 8th Infantry Division, said the project will boost their campaign to wipe out the NPA in Northern Samar.

“I am optimistic that the three brigades with nine battalions deployed here in Samar Island, we can eradicate the communist terrorist group and will soon welcome socio-economic development most especially in the areas which were once exploited by the terrorists,” Ligayo said.

If infrastructure can make the NPA irrelevant then why hasn't the government been busy building infrastructure for he past five decades!? Surely they could have been able to secure a few construction sites in the name of ending the insurgency, right? 

The insurgency continues to rage on in the Visayas. VISCOM says they are open to localized peace talks. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1203926

The Visayas Command (Viscom) on Tuesday vowed to support localized peace initiatives to generate trust from the remnants of the New People’s Army (NPA) and persuade them to go back to the fold of the law.

Lt. Gen. Benedict Arevalo, Viscom commander, said engaging in localized talks on peace and development would entice more members of the Communist Party of the Philippines and its armed wing, NPA, to surrender.

“This incessant peace initiative hurts the terrorist group as much as our focused military operations, as it further demoralized their ranks and significantly contribute to degrading their manpower and armed capability,” Arevalo said in a statement.

He said that engaging directly in the grassroots level in providing development support programs along with the local and national government agencies, non-government organizations, and various stakeholders would build confidence from the remnants of the left-leaning organizations.

Arevalo reiterated his call to the remaining NPA fighters, especially those who are left without leaders, to lay down their arms and abandon their armed struggle, assuring them of the government support and assistance so that they can live a peaceful and progressive life with their family.

"Demoralized thier ranks?"  They are still fighting! Their manpower and armed capability may have been degraded but they continue to fight which means they are not demoralized.

Negros Occidental, which is part of the Visayas, has renewed its commitment to end the insurgency.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1204167

The Negros Occidental provincial government renewed its commitment to end the decades-long communist insurgency during the two-day transformation program planning workshop for local peace stakeholders with the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) in Talisay City.

Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, chairperson of the Provincial Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (PTF-ELCAC), said the workshop is “an important step in developing a thorough and successful plan that will serve as the roadmap for our efforts in the next months and years.”

“Foremost, we want to put an end to local communist armed conflict, which has caused distress and instability in our communities. This challenge necessitates multi-faceted approach that includes law enforcement, socio-economic development, and community empowerment,” Lacson said in his message at the close of the workshop on Friday at Nature’s Village Resort.

The activity was also attended by Undersecretary Ernesto Torres Jr., executive director of the National TF-ELCAC, and gathered members of the regional and provincial TF-ELCAC, representatives of the Philippine National Police and the Philippine Army and civil society organizations, and former rebels (FRs).

The OPAPRU has identified Negros Occidental as the pilot area for the implementation of the transformation program in Western Visayas.

“As the pilot province for the transformation program implementation, Negros Occidental will be crucial in demonstrating the program’s success. The efforts of the provincial government in the pursuit of peace and inclusive progress are evident in our programs, services and policies, and we will zealously continue to do such measures until such time our collective goals for progress and peace are achieved,” Lacson said.

In recent months, armed encounters between government troops and fighters of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA) in Negros Occidental have claimed the lives of rebels, injured soldiers, and displaced thousands of residents in affected areas, especially in Himamaylan City and Moises Padilla town.

Lacson himself has led the call for those still in the armed struggle to return to the fold of the law like many of their former comrades, who have already chosen the path of peace and availed of government programs.

According to the OPAPRU, the transformation program seeks to address the needs of FRs, their families, and communities to aid them in their transformation, as well as strengthen their resiliency against the recovery efforts of the CPP-NPA.

The transformation program is designed to complement the local peace engagement (LPE), which is among the 12 lines of effort under the NTF-ELCAC and is considered one of the most effective ways of dealing with the communist groups.

The war is on against the NPA on every front.  Even the DepEd is fighting hard against the NPA! Well, the ACT.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2023/06/23/2276032/deped-begins-identifying-teachers-part-act

The Department of Education has issued an internal memorandum directing all regional and division offices to name all public school teachers part of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers — a teachers group that has complained to an international body about being red-tagged by the education secretary.

According to a memorandum issued by Undersecretary for Operation Revsee Escobedo on June 14, all regional directors and school division superintendents were required to submit a list of ACT-affiliated teachers that are part of the department's Automatic Payroll Deduction System.

DepEd set a deadline of June 21 for all submissions. 

"All submissions must be consolidated at the regional level, verified and signed by the Regional Director," the memorandum stated.

A copy of the submission template obtained by Philstar.com shows that the DepEd offices are required to provide the division, school, name and position of the teachers deemed to be "ACT Union-affiliated.”

ACT is the country’s largest organization for teachers and serves as the sole negotiating union for several public school teachers in Metro Manila and other regions. It also regularly conducts surveys among teachers to gather feedback and build consensus on pressing education issues, the most recent being a survey on the stifling heat felt inside classrooms during the dry season.

DepEd under former Secretary Leonor Briones moved to protect teachers from a similar profiling act conducted by the Philippine National Police in 2019. It asked one of its division offices to recall a letter directing the inventory of ACT-affiliated teachers, with former DepEd chief Leonor Briones citing DepEd’s compliance with the Data Privacy Act.

This is Sara's way of "fighting the NPA" and no doubt she will be cheered by some but really how does this move fight the insurgency?  It doesn't but it looks good on Twitter!

Another province has been declared insurgency free.

https://www.philstar.com/nation/2023/06/23/2276065/military-says-tarlac-province-now-insurgency-free

Tarlac province is now “free” from the presence of the communist underground movement, according to the military.

The Provincial Peace and Order Council Resolution No. 02 series of 2023 categorized the province as "cleared and unaffected" by the communist insurgency and is relatively peaceful, the Northern Luzon Command (NOLCOM) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines declared Friday.

Nolcom spokesman Major Al Anthony Pueblas said Tarlac was once a hotbed of insurgency for being the birthplace of the New People's Army (NPA) in 1969.

Pueblas added that the latest declaration makes Tarlac the first province in Region 3 to achieve a state of “stable internal peace and security”.

He explained that the PPOC resolution indicated that the presence of Leftist fighters operating in Tarlac province, particularly the Komiteng Larangang Gerilya-Tarlac-Zambales (TARZAM) that was officially declared weakened in 2022, have been significantly reduced.

Of course Tarlac is not actually insurgency free. The insurgents have been "significantly reduced." That is par for the course for the AFP!