Local News

COTABATO CITY -- Kidapawan City National
High School will be representing Region XII at the upcoming 3rdin National Adolescent Health and Development (AHD) Film Festival Awarding
Ceremony, to be held at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC),
Pasay City.

The AHD Film Festival
is an annual event hosted by the Commission on Population (POPCOM) with the aim
to heighten public awareness on AHD and other various issues affecting the
youth today.

MANILA - The Philippine government’s intention to withdraw from the International Criminal Court (ICC) provides strong basis for investigation into its ruthless war on drugs, Catholic bishops said.The withdrawal comes about a month after the court opened an investigation into the alleged extrajudicial killings and other atrocities committed under President Rodrigo Duterte’s crackdown on illegal narcotics trade.Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo said the country’s commitment to human rights in the international community cannot just be set aside by the President alone.

CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao -- The first batch of aspiring soldiers today took their oath here as they prepare for a rigid military training.Capt. Arvin John Encinas, speaking for the 6th ID, said the aspirants took their oath during ceremonies held Friday afternoon at the division grandstand here.He said of the 225 first batch trainees, 25 were females.Major Gen.

KIDAPAWAN CITY – Police authorities in
North Cotabato on Thursday killed six wanted persons and arrested 38 others
during a one-day simultaneous serving of search and arrest warrants in 16
municipalities.

The six wanted persons resisted arrest and traded
shots with lawmen, according to North Cotabato police provincial director
Senior Supt. Jonathan Tangonan.

COTABATO CITY
– The Cotabato Light and Power Company (Cotabato Light) has issued safety tips
to prevent household fire to be observed consistently by the public as the
country observes Fire Prevention Month.

These tips
are to be observed all year round, not only during this month so we save lives
and properties, Judy C. Sanchez of the Cotabato Light AVP and General Manager
said in a statement.

GEN. SANTOS CITY -- With the help of community residents, police authorities dug out Wednesday a
cadaver of a male foreign national buried inside an abandoned
residential compound of his murderer Lito Arela Simudong, 45, resident of Blk.
5 MC Vill., Brgy Fatima, General Santos City.Chief Inspector Aldrin Gonzales, PRO-12 spokesperson, said Simudong was arrested on Tuesday afternoon of March 13, 2018
for Robbery with Intimidation, illegal firearms and illegal drugs.

COTABATO CITY – Thirteen more villages in Maguindanao have been declared as drug
free barangays by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in the Autonomous
Region in Muslim Mindanao (PDEA-ARMM).

Juvenal
Azurin, PDEA-ARMM regional director, said of the 13, six villages were in
Parang town, four in Barira and three in Pagalungan, all in Maguindanao.

COTABATO CITY -- The Office on Civil Defense ARMM will be
conducting a one-day Basic Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) Course
for media which intends to improve the knowledge and understanding of media
workers and institutions about current DRRM systems.

The activity scheduled on March 26 at
the Pagana Resto, Cotabato City will also discuss the OCD’s institutional and
operating mechanisms, DRRM priority projects and activities, and RA 10121.

COTABATO CITY --The Cotabato City Police Office (CCPO)children and women protection desk has noted a sizable decrease in the number of violence against women and children (VAWC) cases filed with the CCPO last year.Policerecords show that the number crimes against women in 2016, a total of 107, drastically dropped to only 62 in 2017.Most crimes against women in the city involve physical and psychological abuse.

COTABATO CITY -- With the summer still coming but the
heat already getting intense this March, the Bureau of Fire Protection in
Cotabato City reminded residents to be always on alert against fires.

The BFP is the lead agency in
commemorating March as Fire Prevention Month, as declared by Presidential
Proclamation No. 115-A, because of the alarming increase of fires happening
across the country during this particular period.