News Highlights: March 11, 2024

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2 BIFF men killed in Maguindanao clash

BY VICTOR REYES

TWO members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) were killed during a military operation against the terrorist group in Maguindanao del Sur on Saturday.

Troops from the Army’s 1st Brigade Combat Team were conducting combat operations in Barangay Kitango in Datu Saudi Ampatuan town when they clashed with some 20 BIFF members at around 5 a.m.

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The terrorists fled after a brief firefight due to superiority in the strength of the operating troops, the Army’s 6th Infantry Division (ID) said.

During clearing operation, troops recovered at the scene the cadavers of two of the terrorists whose identities were still being ascertained.

Also found at the encounter site were an M16 rifle with ammunition, a homemade cal. 50 Barret rifle, and two improvised explosive devices.

Soldiers have launched pursuit operations against the fleeing BIFF members who belong to the faction of BIFF leader Imam Minimbang, alias Commander Karialan.

Maj. Gen. Alex Rillera, 6th ID commander, commended the troops involved in the successful operation and urged the remaining BIFF members to surrender.

“Our call for the BIFF members to surrender to the government still stands,” he said, adding the military will pursue BIFF members if they continue to fight the government.

Rillera said the firearms and explosives recovered after last Saturday’s are indications of BIFF’s plan which he said were thwarted by the troops.

The operation came six days after government troops arrested BIFF sub-leader Mah Nanding, alias Marox, in a firefight in Barangay Pidsandawan in Mamasapano town, also in Maguindanao.

The fighting also lead to the death of Nanding’s son, Mohamad Nanding, who is also a member of the BIFF.

DSWD warns public anew vs fake social media account

BY JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR

THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) yesterday urged Meta, formerly Facebook, to take down another fake social media account that has been using the name of the department to deceive the public with a promise of jobs that pay at least P600 to P800 a day.

DSWD Assistant Secretary for Strategic Communications and spokesman Romel Lopez and Traditional Media Service Director Aldrine Fermin, in a video post on the department’s official Facebook page, warned the public anew against fake social media accounts that use the department’s name and programs, the latest of which is called the “DS WD” which uploaded a post on job vacancies or available jobs in the department for 2024.

Lopez said the post from DS WD, titled “DSWD Hiring 2024,” is fake.

“The DS WD is not an official Facebook page of DSWD and had nothing to do with the department. For job openings in the DSWD, visit our website (http://jobs.dswd.gov.ph/) for a list of jobs that you may apply to and the process of applying,” the DSWD post read.

Under the DSWD website, there are currently 22 job openings this month which include positions such as social workers, administrative, information technology, and project officers, among others. There have been 84 job positions listed since January.

Lopez and Fermin had urged Meta to take down the fake page which they said only spread fake news or wrong information about the programs of the department.

They also asked the public to be more discerning, to verify the information they get online and not immediately believe posts from sources that are not credible or reliable.

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Asked if a formal request had been submitted to Meta, Lopez said DSWD “always do.”

“But it’s unfortunate that Meta’s action is consistently lackluster and indecisive. I guess it contributes to the proliferation of fraudulent Facebook accounts (they) can’t police their own app. Such a shame,” he added.

He, however, could not say how many requests had been made by the DSWD to Meta and how many had been successfully acted upon.

Among the fake accounts the department had asked Meta to take down in the past include those using the name of DSWD and its programs that provide cash assistance to its beneficiaries such as the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis (AICS), Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, educational assistance programs, social pension for indigent senior citizens, emergency cash transfer, among others.

SENIOR

The DSWD yesterday also announced that it does not have a program that provides a P12,000 cash aid to senior citizens as announced in the YouTube account “Balitang Pinas (https://www.youtube.com/@MahalagangBalita25).”

DSWD said Balitang Pinas “ay nagbibigay ng pekeng impormasyon patungkol sa mga serbisyo at programa ng Kagawaran (provides wrong information about the services and programs of the department).

“Kilatising mabuti at i-verify ang mga nababasa’t napapanood online. Hinihikayat din namin na i-report ang Youtube account na ‘Mahalagang Balita’ (@MahalagangBalita25) [Scrutinize and verify what you read and watch online. We also urge everyone to report the Youtube account ‘Mahalagang Balita’ (@MahalagangBalita25)],” the department said.

DSWD said it has existing programs that senior citizens can apply to such as the AICS and the Social Pension for Indigent Senior Citizens that provide a monthly pension of P1,000. The monthly pension for poor senior citizens is given twice a year or every six months.

BuCor raises P500K for Muntinlupa
elementary school’s malnourished kids

BY Ashzel Hachero

A PUBLIC elementary school in Muntinlupa City is the beneficiary of P500,000 raised from a shootfest organized by the Bureau of Corrections last week.

BuCor Director General Gregorio Catapang Jr. yesterday said they were able to raise the amount during the agency’s 1st BuCor Cup Shoot for a Cause.

Catapang said they decided to donate the amount to help fund the school’s feeding program for “wasted and severely wasted” students.

Data from school principal Rhodora Mandap showed there are more than 100 pupils in IES who are underweight and malnourished who have been categorized as “wasted and severely wasted.”

Child wasting defined as low weight for height by UNICEF is the most dangerous form of undernutrition and severe wasting is the most lethal form of undernutrition and one of the top threats to child survival as severely wasted children are 12 times more likely to die than well-nourished kids.

Catapang said to ensure the success of the program, the BuCor will enlist the help of volunteer doctors and dietitians to monitor the progress of wasted and severely wasted students so they can fully recover from their current health situation.

“This is one of our outreach programs to help the community and part of our social responsibility to waste prevention,” Catapang said in a statement.

“We have to protect the vulnerable children since severe cases can lead to death or permanent damage to children’s growth and development, “he added.

Earlier, Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte said they have doubled the budget for the school-based feeding programs for this year to P11.7 billion.

Duterte said the department also extended the number of feeding days from 120 to 220.

COA recommends ‘reasonableness’ review
of Primewater’s P82 rate increase in Tarlac

BY Peter Tabingo

GOVERNMENT auditors have recommended that the Tarlac City Water District initiate an ex post facto review of the water rates being collected by the Primewater Infrastructure Corp (PIC) in light of the ruling by the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel that the National Water Resources Board (NWRB) does not have the primary jurisdiction to review and grant water tariff rates.

In its 2023 audit report on the Tarlac WD released last week, the Commission on Audit pointed out that the same OGCC opinion released last July 25, 2023 clarified that the authority over water rates belongs to the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA).

The audit team noted that in January 2021, it was the NWRB executive director who approved the increase of Primewater’s minimum residential rate by P82 (from P246 to P328) or a 25 percent hike.

The previous rate applied to the first 10 cubic meters of consumption by a residential customer and was based on a LWUA Board Resolution issued in 2012.

However, the OGCC Opinion No. 144 was silent on whether it can be applied retroactively, in this case, if it nullifies the tariff rate increase that was granted by the NWRB.

“In this regard, we strongly believe that an ex post facto review of the reasonableness of the existing water rates should be initiated and filed by the District with the LWUA to protect the interest of its concessionaires,” the COA said.

The management of Tarlac City WD agreed with the audit team’s recommendation that succeeding applications by Primewater for any increase in water rate would have to be filed and approved by the LWUA.

Tarlac City WD entered into a joint venture agreement with Primewater on March 11, 2015 by which the private firm took over “financing, rehabilitation, improvement, expansion, operation, and maintenance of the water supply system of Tarlac City.”

Despite the questioned basis for the water rate, the COA commended the Tarlac City WD for complying with the Water Safety Plan as required under LWUA’s Memorandum Circular No. 010.14 and the Department of Health Administrative Order No. 2014-0027.

The audit team noted that from 2,030 customer complaints in 2022, the number has dropped by 37.68 percent to just 1,265 individual complaints in 2023.

“We commended management for complying with the regulations on the development and submission of WSP in CY 2023,” the COA said.

It reminded the water district to monitor that Primewater continues the regular inspection of water pipes, the calibration of water meters, and the replacement of old and defective meters that yield inaccurate readings.

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