Category: Politics

A multimillion drug rehabilitation facility will soon rise in Davao City.

A groundbreaking is scheduled December this year and it will be funded by Resorts World Manila and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor).

City Administrator Zuleika Lopez said the facility will complement Davao’s current drug rehabilitation center in Bago Oshiro, a facility that is also servicing even drug dependents from outside the city.

Lopez said that the facility will be built on a 2.5-hectare property in Malagos.

Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte on Tuesday welcomed the news, saying it will definitely help the city accommodate more drug dependents who wish to reform.

“We support this because this will also help decongest our rehabilitation center,” said Duterte during the revived weekly public affairs program Pulong-pulong ni Pulong Tuesday morning.

At present, the Davao City Treatment and Rehabilitation Center for Drug Dependents (DCTRCDD) in Bago Oshiro can only accept a maximum of 100 people.

Davao City has recorded around 9,000 drug personalities who turned themselves to the authorities since July.

Vice Mayor Duterte meanwhile hit back at Senator Trillanes anew for the senator’s challenge for a drug test. This after the young Duterte hinted earlier that he is gathering evidence against a senator that is using cocaine.

Though not named, Senator Trillanes immediately took up the cudgel and challenged Duterte for them to undergo drug test which the vice mayor accepted.

In Tuesday’s press conference, VM Duterte said he was advised by President Rodrigo Duterte not to mind detractors like Senator Trillanes.

The Davao City Council on Tuesday approved the release of P4.5-million cash assistance for the victims of Roxas night market bombing that left 14 dead and 70 others injured.

The cash assistance, which was approved based on an urgent motion during the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) regular session, will be sourced from the City Government’s Crisis Intervention funds and incident expenses.

Lawyer Raul Nadela Jr., chief of staff of Mayor Inday Sara Duterte said the distribution of cash assistance will immediately start Tuesday night.

Each family of 14 fatalities will receive P40,000 while the 70 injured will be given P30,000 each from the Crisis Intervention Fund.

The city will also shoulder the food expenses during the wake of the 14 victims for a maximum of 10 days, and the meals of watchers of injured victims for 20 days.

The burial lot at the Davao Memorial Park including the excavation fee will be sourced from the city’s incident expenses.

Nadela added that the Mayor initially gave out cash assistance to all the blast victims from her own money.

Meanwhile, support for grieving families of the night market bomb victims as Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) Secretary Silvestre Bello III as he gave out P10,000 cash assistance to each family of the 14 dead victims and P5,000 to each injured victim.

Bello personally visited the wake of fatalities and injured victims in various hospitals on Monday afternoon.

Bello said the assistance was pooled from the Employment Compensation Commission (ECC) and the Occupational Safety and Health Council (OSHC) under DOLE.

Also, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office Davao Manager Gloria C. Ybanez said Monday her office is now processing the documents needed for the payment of medical bills of all blast victims including those who were already discharged from the hospital. CIO

Heads will roll after the Davao City bombing last Friday that killed 14 people and injured 67 more.

Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio allegedly wants the commander of Task Force Davao Col. Henry Robinson Jr. replaced. Robinson assumed the post only last May 2016.

It was learned that the mayor is also contemplating on replacing the newly-installed Davao City Police Office director Sr. Supt. Michael John Dubria. Dubria just assumed the post last June 2016.

No replacements have been identified so far for the two posts.

Mayor Duterte is said to be very disappointed with Friday night’s bombing which happened under the very nose of the police and Task Force Davao. TF Davao personnel as well as police are always seen in the Roxas Boulevard night market securing the area.

Thousands frequent the area every night for its ukay-ukays, food stalls, and massage services especially during the weekends.

Mayor Duterte is also set to offer a P1 million reward money for anyone who could give information about the suspect/s and another P1 million that could arrest the perpetrator/s who placed the IED in the massage area of Roxas Boulevard that evening.

The police said that they already have about three to four persons-of-interest. Two of them are said to be females. There are also about eight witnesses who gave information to the authorities that led to the identification of the POIs.

Witnesses earlier claimed that a tall bearded man left a bag in the massage area and hurriedly left. Few seconds after, the explosion happened.

PNP chief Ronald dela Rosa said they are currently cross-matching the POIs to a gallery of known terrorists.

Dela Rosa said they are also waiting for the post-blast report of the Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) unit. Initial findings showed that the IED is crafted from a mortar round based on the fragments taken from the blast area.

According to dela Rosa, the explosive is closely similar to the signature IED of Abdul Manap Mentang, the suspect in the Valentine’s Day bombing of the Davao City Ecoland Terminal in 2005. Mentang remains at-large.

Dela Rosa said it could be possible that Mentang is involved in the night market explosion in Roxas last Friday night.