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President Duterte said Tuesday evening that he ordered the re-arrest of the 17-year-old suspect behind the brutal killing of Christine Silawan who was found mutilated and her face skinned off in Cebu early this month. President Rodrigo Duterte (JANSEN ROMERO / MANILA BULLETIN) In a speech late Tuesday, Duterte said he called the prosecutor who ordered the release of the suspect who was earlier reported to be the victim’s ex-lover. “‘Yung nakapatay sa bata, ni-release and they act upon orders of the prosecutor. Tinawagan ko siya pagka-umaga (The one who killed Christine, they released her upon the orders of the prosecutor. I called them immediately the following morning),” Duterte said. “Sabi ko i-recall mo ‘yang ano mo order ninyo of dismissal (I told them to recall their dismissal order) and have the guy rearrested,” he added. Last week, the Lapu-Lapu City Prosecutor’s Office ordered the release of the 17-year-old suspect because the arrest made by t...

Photo from Google Images MANILA  – Malacañang on Wednesday confirmed the termination of the appointments of government peace negotiators with communist rebels "in view of the termination of the peace negotiations" with the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF). Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea signed the termination letters “by order of the President” on March 18. “To ensure uninterrupted delivery of public service, you are hereby directed to turn over all official documents, papers and properties in your possession to the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity,” the letter read. Among those whose appointment papers were terminated include that of Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Secretary Silvestre Bello III who served as the chairperson of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines GRP) panel. Other GRP members whose appointment have been te...

Photo from Google Images MANILA  — President Rodrigo R. Duterte has threatened to fire officials of state regulator Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) and terminate the contracts of its two water concessionaires if they failed to properly explain the reason for the water shortage problem in Metro Manila. Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the President, in delivering a 40-minute monologue, was “obviously outraged” in his meeting with MWSS, officials of water concessionaires Maynilad and Manila Water, in Malacañang on Tuesday night. “In a stern message delivered without even once looking at the officials, the obviously outraged President threatened to fire the MWSS officials and terminate the concessionaires’ contracts,” Panelo said in a statement on Wednesday. Panelo said the President also ordered MWSS and the two water concessionaires to submit a report on the water shortage before April 7. “The meeting which was more of a preside...

Pilipinas Agila Tires, the first-ever farmer-owned Filipino tire brand with cheaper price compared to imported tires was set to be launched on April 2019. Nowadays, the tire industry has been one of the most popular businesses not only in the Philippines but also in different countries all around the world. The Philippines usually rely on imported tires used in various types of vehicles and motorcycles. Recently, Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol announced that the first-ever farmer-owned tire brand will be launched next month. The farmer-owned rubber tire brand would initially offers motorcycle tires with cheaper price rather than imported tires. “The manufacturing and marketing of the tires for working motorcycles commonly known as ‘habal-habal’ as well as tricycles marks a small step forward in the program of the Department of Agriculture to elevate the farmer from the status of a raw material producer to the processor and merchandiser of finished produ...

Photo from CNN Philippines Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 20)  — An irate President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday warned Metro Manila's water regulator and water concessionaires Manila Water and Maynilad to end the water crisis or face termination, his spokesperson said. Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo described Duterte's meeting with Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) executives as a "presidential monologue" that lasted for 40 minutes and ended abruptly. Present in the meeting in Malacañang were MWSS Chairman Franklin Demonteverde, Administrator Reynaldo Velasco, Chief Regulator Patrick Ty, and officials from Manila Water and Maynilad. The MWSS executives received tongue lashing from the President, who threatened to fire them for allowing the water crisis in Metro Manila and Rizal to happen in the first place. "The Chief Executive told them he was not going to listen to their explanation as to why there was a water sho...

Photo from PNA MANILA  — President Rodrigo R. Duterte has signed a law upgrading the Bacoor District Hospital into a general hospital to be known as Southern Tagalog Regional Hospital. In Republic Act 11233 signed by Duterte on February 20 and released to the media on Wednesday, the Bacoor District Hospital is upgraded into a Level III general hospital. Under the newly-signed law, the bed capacity of the hospital will be increased from 10 to 100. The law also ordered the upgrade of existing service facilities and professional healthcare services in the hospital. It also tasked the Department of Health (DOH) to handle direct control and supervision of the said hospital. The DOH, provincial and city officials forged a tripartite agreement in November 2018 to renovate and improve the services of the hospital. Under the agreement, the parties agreed to provide the necessary budget, personnel, supplies and equipment as appropriate in providing primary and eventually secon...

Evert Elzinga/POOL/AFP | (From L) Judge Marc Perrin de Brichambaut of France, presiding Judge Cuno Tarfusser of Italy and Judge Chang-ho Chung of Korea at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague on July 6, 2017. (Photo from france24.com) The United States threatened Monday to arrest and sanction judges and other officials of the International Criminal Court if it moves to charge any American who served in Afghanistan with war crimes. White House National Security Advisor John Bolton called the Hague-based rights body "unaccountable" and "outright dangerous" to the United States, Israel and other allies, and said any probe of US service members would be "an utterly unfounded, unjustifiable investigation." "If the court comes after us, Israel or other US allies, we will not sit quietly," Bolton said. He said the US was prepared to slap financial sanctions and criminal charges on officials of the court if they proceed ag...

Photo from Sunstar THE application of the open source intelligence (OSINT) tool on Christine Lee Silawan’s Facebook account helped the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) 7 agents identify the primary suspect behind the girl’s gruesome murder. OSINT is the data collected from publicly available sources to be used in an intelligence context and these include social media networking sites like Facebook.  The NBI-Cybercrime Division assisted the NBI 7 agents in tracing the social media user. NBI 7 agents, who used the tool, learned that the 17-year-old primary suspect John (not his real name) had been communicating with Silawan through Facebook messenger. Silawan often tagged John’s Facebook account and she was a follower of his account. The agents then subjected the Facebook account to technical surveillance and examination. John admitted he had a relationship with the victim, but it ended last Feb. 28. Agents took screenshots of the victim’s Fac...

Photo from CNN Philippines Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, March 20)  — The government has demolished a resort on Boracay Island as part of efforts to rehabilitate and ensure the cleanliness of the world-famous destination, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said Wednesday. The Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force on Tuesday destroyed structures of the Boracay Plaza Beach Resort, located at Station 1 on the island, DENR said in a press statement. The resort was among the 10 non-compliant establishments that the government warned last month to self-demolish within two weeks because they were within the 30-meter easement zone. Since the island's rehabilitation began in April 2018, the no-build zone on Boracay has been extended to 30 meters from the shoreline. "All 10 establishments, including Boracay Plaza, were the last remaining structures along the White Beach to be demolished, making the area fully compliant to the 30-meter beach easement...

Photo from Google Images MANILA  -- The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) is eyeing to partner with local telcos in order to expedite the rollout of common towers which are vital to improve communication services in the country. In a statement on Monday, the DICT said it aims to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) and telcos to build 50,000 towers within seven years. “Telcos will be the end-user of these common towers so we fully need their cooperation to improve our overall telecommunication landscape,” DICT Acting Secretary Eliseo M. Rio Jr. said. The DICT and NTC, in coordination with the telcos, will identify sites where the common towers will be built. A target of 3,000 sites for the installation of the towers are set for the first year which will gradually increase to 10,000 sites from the fifth to seventh year. The DICT hopes to finalize the implementation of the common tow...

President Duterte has threatened to fire Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) officials and terminate the contracts with two water concessionaires amid his outrage over their alleged failure to prevent the recent water supply interruption in Metro Manila. President Rodrigo Roa Duterte discusses matters with the officials of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System led by its chairman, Franklin Demonteverde, at a meeting at the Malacañan Palace on March 19, 2019. (ACE MORANDANTE/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN) The President met with officials of MWSS, Manila Water, and Maynilad in Malacañang Tuesday night and ordered them to submit a report on the water shortage before April 7 so he can decide on their fate, according to Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo. The closed-door meeting, in which Duterte vented his anger at the concerned water officials for their supposed failure to perform their job, lasted for 40 minutes. “The President tol...

The Court of Appeals (CA) did not issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) that would stop the proceedings in the revived rebellion case against Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV in connection with the 2007 Manila Peninsula Hotel siege in Makati City. Senator Antonio Trillanes IV (Czar Dancel / MANILA BULLETIN) In a three-page resolution written by Associate Justice Apolinario D. Bruselas Jr., the CA said that even the Supreme Court (SC) did not issue any ancillary relief to Trillanes when he elevated the nullification of his amnesty through President Duterte’s Proclamation No. 572. It noted that the SC left to the trial courts the resolution of the factual issues on Trillanes’ petition. The CA also noted that while Branch 150 of the Makati City regional trial court (RTC) had issued a hold departure order and a warrant of arrest against Trillanes on the rebellion case, the senator has posted bail and is out on provisional liberty. “Given the foregoing state of facts, th...

Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) administrator Reynaldo Velasco is prepared to resign if he cannot comply with President Duterte’s order to resolve the water shortage in Metro Manila. President Rodrigo Roa Duterte discusses matters with the officials of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System led by its chairman, Franklin Demonteverde, at a meeting at the Malacañan Palace on March 19, 2019. (ACE MORANDANTE/PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN) A day after President Duterte berated MWSS, Maynilad and Manila Water officials over the supply problem, Velasco pledged to craft a 50-year comprehensive roadmap to help ensure water security. “Kakayanin natin ‘yan. If I cannot do it, I will resign immediately,” Velasco said during a Palace press briefing. “We are not worried about the water supply until 2037 which is the end of the concession agreement but we have to go beyond that because ang utos ng Presidente, and even the Senate were asking na...

Police stations all around Thailand are sending their chubbiest officers to a weight-loss camp as part of a nation-wide program aptly called “Belly Destruction”. After the success of a two-week pilot program, police stations in Thailand have begun sending their fattest officers to the Central Police Training Center in the city of Pak Chong, to take part in intense physical activity designed to adjust the size of their bellies. Each station will periodically send two to three overweight policemen to the center, where they will work out, ride bicycles and adopt a healthy, protein-rich diet to shed as much extra weight as possible. The Belly Destruction program started gaining attention after photos of overweight police officers taking part in the daily exercise routine went viral online. Photo:  Love Police/Facebook “There are so many problems if you’re a fat cop,” Senior Sgt. Maj. Sornpetch Chantarak, a dietary enforcer in the new program, said. “You work sl...