Presidential aspirant Rodrigo Duterte insisted that the Spratly Islands belong to the Philippines but the Davao City mayor reiterated that the country is not prepared to go to war with China.
Independent vice-presidential candidate Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero has proposed to allocate 30 percent of the present national budget, or roughly about P1 trillion, to Mindanao as an immediate economic relief to the region should he wins in the May 9 elections.
The local government here is preparing to allocate at least P31.5 million to purchase 15,000 sacks of rice that will be donated to farmers affected by the continued drought in Cotabato province.
A progressive lawmaker on Tuesday has asked the House of Representatives to investigate the violent and bloody dispersal of starving farmers in Kidapawan City last April 1.
The former wife of Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte launched on Tuesday, April 5, threw her own version of support for the presidential aspirant, and is seen to be a “bittersweet” reunion for the separated couple.
The Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) has expressed sympathy to the drought-stricken farmers in Kidapawan who experienced police brutality after the provincial government of North Cotabato did not heed their demand of rice subsidy.
A group of human rights lawyers blasted North Cotabato governor Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza for being an “aristocratic mata pobre” after the bloody and brutal dispersal of protesting farmers in drought-stricken Kidapawan City.
As one of the poorest basic sectors in the country, Poe said that she would also push for the increase of the fisher folks’ membership in the National Health Insurance Program and provide sustainable livelihood opportunities with the help of local government units and the private sector.
The Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights headed by Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III will conduct a public hearing in Davao City to probe on the violent dispersal of the rally of farmers in Kidapawan City on Thursday, April 7.
The New People’s Army put up checkpoints in seven areas in Mindanao on Sunday, April 3 and captured three police officers and two soldiers.
