By Jorge Hallare LEGAZPI CITY --- A goldpanner was killed in Aroroy, Masbate on Monday evening while an active policeman assigned in Camp Crame was arrested on Monday morning in his house in Polangui, Albay for the murder of a military man last year, reports reaching the Police Regional Office in Bicol based here (PRO5) said Tuesday. Sr. Insp. Ma. Luisa Calubaquib, PRO5 spokesperson, said in Masbate, the goldpanner identified as Randy M. Rudio, 38, was dead on the spot after four unidentified gunmen shot him and three other companions while they were in front of a videoke bar in Barangay Puro, Aroroy town Monday (February 27) night. Rudio’s three other companions were wounded in the attack. Calubaquib said that at 9:30 p.m., the gunmen who were on board two motorcycles arrived and for no apparent reason shot Rudio and his three friends as they were talking together in front of Acacia Videoke K Bar. Rudio’s three companions, who were identified as Julius S. Ramones, 25, also a gold panner; and Carmi Grace Clarion, 30, and Grace Benesano, 26, both guest relations officers of the videoke bar, were rushed to the Masbate Provincial Hospital for treatment. Investigators from the Aroroy Municipal Police Office and Masbate Provincial Police Office said Rudio died from gunshot wounds on his chest and head. Some 12 empty shells of a .45-cal. pistol were recovered from the crime scene. In Albay, Chief Insp. Arthur Gomez, spokesperson and chief of Investigation Division of Albay Provincial Police Office, said SPO1 Ernesto LLadones Jr. gave up peacefully on Monday morning when arrested in his house in Barangay Centro Occidental, Polangui town for the murder of a military officer following traffic altercation in July 2016. Gomez said Lladones, 36, who is currently assigned at the PSPG-Protection and Escort Unit in Camp Crame in Quezon City, was arrested at 10:00 a.m. by combined provincial policemen and municipal policemen led by PO3 Nestor Sarile Jr. A warrant of arrest was issued against Lladones after he shot to death Cpl. Anthony P. Manuel, an active member of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines when they engaged in a heated argument after their motorcycles collided at an intersection in Barangay Magurang in Polangui town on July 5, 2016. The victim was a native of Barangay Balogo, Oas town, also in Albay. Gomez said no bail bond was given for the temporary liberty of Lladones. (PNA) LAP/GVR/JH/CBD

By Jorge Hallare LEGAZPI CITY --- Agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) arrested a notorious personality in the illegal drug trade in this city who yielded P150,000 worth of shabu (methamphetamine hydrochloride) during a buy bust operation conducted at the city bus terminal Tuesday (Feb. 28) morning. Enrique Lucero, acting provincial officer of PDEA-Albay and Catanduanes, said the suspect identified as Jeff Borromeo was arrested for possession of shabu that were placed inside 10 transparent plastic sachets, each sachet weighing 5 grams, at 11:50 a.m. in the vicinity of the Legazpi City Grand Terminal along Tahao Road. Lucero said the Legazpi City Police Office headed by Supt. Nilo Berdin helped mount the buy bust operation against Borromeo, a resident of Barangay Sabang in this city. According to Lucero, Borromeo’s arrest is a big blow to the latter’s group that is supplying shabu to barangays, particularly those surrounding the central business district. “The suspect will be presented to PDEA Director General Isidro Lapeña who is expected to visit the PDEA regional office inside Camp Gen. Simeon Ola tomorrow (March 1),” said Lucero. He did not give any other details on Lapeña’s visit.

By Bobby Q. Labalan SORSOGON CITY --- Passengers in the province of Sorsogon barely felt the transport strike initiated by transport group CONDOR-Piston nationwide as transportation went on normally since Monday morning. Sorsogon Governor Robert Lee-Rodrigueza said transport services to and from this city, and from the various towns in the province were unaffected by the supposed strike. Rodrigueza said as per reports from various municipalities, transport services -- jeepneys, vans, buses and even tricycles – were plying their routes normally. “It seems that no transport group in the province joined the move,” the governor said. But he added that they have stand-by vehicles which are ready for deployment should there be a need for them. The governor also did not order the cancellation of classes and left the matter to the respective mayors or school principals for them to decide. Joseph John Perez, public information officer of the Department of Education Sorsogon Province division, said no school declared cancellation of classes in relation to the transport strike. Classes were going-on normally as no school was affected by the transport holiday, he said. Even schools in the city reported normal classes since Monday morning, Armand Engay, the city schools division information officer, said. As of noon of the same day, peace and order situation in the province is, likewise, normal, according to Senior Supt. Ronaldo Cabral, the Sorsogon police provincial director. “We have not monitored any untoward incident, so far, in relation to the strike,” he added. Rodrigueza said although they do not expect any more development, they would still keep monitoring the transport holiday until the organizers call it off nationwide. Meanwhile, Ramon Rescovilla, secretary-general of CONDOR-Piston-Bicol, admitted the transport strike failed in Sorsogon but it was successful in the other five provinces in the region. He attributed the failure to the lack of preparation by their local counterparts in the province.

MNDC chair and Naga Mayor John G. Bongat (4th from right) joins the technical working group headed by Onofre Alajor (3rd from right), municipal project development officer of Minalabac, in crafting the proposed charter bill that will convert MNDC into Metro Naga Authority. Photo also shows MNDC Project Officer Adolfo Badiola (standing) who introduced before the municipal project development officers from 17 LGUs the draft of the provisions contained in the proposed measure. REBECCA RAGAY PHOTO By Jason B. Neola NAGA CITY --- In a bid to acquire legal personality, the 17 local government units comprising the Metro Naga Development Council is drafting a proposed bill that will grant their allied organization a Congressional Charter and henceforth convert it into Metro Naga Authority (MNA). If enacted into law, the Authority will not only enjoy appropriations from the national budget but also obtain legal capacity including entering into contracts with private and international organizations and receiving grants from local and foreign entities as part of its initiative to facilitate the inflow of public and private investments for purposes of identifying funding sources for local development programs and projects. Currently, the body does not possess congressional charter as it is not even registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the government’s quasi-judicial securities-regulating agency, or with any other government instrumentalities that provide the inter-LGU alliance with juridical character. With the establishment of MNA, the Metro Naga Development Council shall function as its governing body which will be composed of mayors of all member-LGUs. Initially, the member-LGUs are as follows: the Municipalities of Bombon, Bula, Calabanga, Camaligan, Canaman, Gainza, Libmanan, Magarao, Milaor, Minalabac, Ocampo, Pamplona, Pasacao, Pili, San Fernando, and Siruma and the City of Naga. Once a chartered body, each member-LGU would also achieve stronger financial posturing as their group will be apportioned with funds from the national budget to finance their common development agenda, thereby sparing the LGUs from spending more to finance the development programs and projects as members of the alliance. “The LGU members become more capacitated to finance their own projects and programs as their financial contributions to MNA will be lessened,” says Adolfo M. Badiola, Jr., MNDC project officer. Among the functions of the Authority is to prepare, undertake, and implement comprehensive, integrated, and collaborative development programs to promote the Authority’s development agenda as approved by the Council. These programs include the formulation of comprehensive physical framework plan including, but not limited to, integrated road connectivity, disaster risk and climate change responsive land use planning and execution, traffic management, solid waste management, investment and tourism promotion, and; to promote growth in the areas of agriculture, industry, commerce or other similar activities, which may be necessary to the area’s socio-economic development, whether by itself, or in cooperation with private or government entities.

By Jason B. Neola NAGA CITY --- All’s well that ends well. With its neighboring town of Canaman in Camarines Sur formally acceding to enter into a memorandum of agreement relative to access of trimobiles to a specified route that connects the two towns, it is now Camaligan town’s turn, through their respective local government officials, to accept such intent, in pursuance of a Court-preferred compromise settlement to resolve the issue of trimobiles from Canaman being barred from entering Camaligan. In its session last February 27, the Sangguniang Bayan of Camaligan passed Resolution No. 179, which was approved by Camaligan Mayor Marilou Marquez-Hirose, that unanimously acknowledged the intent of LGU Canaman to enter into a memorandum of agreement relative to the operation of the San Jose West-Iquin-Mangayawan Sua-Del Rosario Trimobile Operators and Drivers Association whose member trimobile units pass through both municipalities. Earlier last February 7, the Sangguniang Bayan of Canaman passed a resolution authorizing their mayor, Henry P. Ragodon, to enter into a memorandum of agreement regarding the issue with Camaligan town. In his order that was prompted by a civil case for injunction with application for temporary restraining order following the apprehension by Camaligan authorities of trimobiles entering their town, Judge Santos prescribed a court-preferred settlement that will depend on the two municipalities executing and putting into effect a MOA that will govern the cross-entry of trimobiles between the two towns along the route mentioned.

DOING IT RIGHT. Clayton Gidden, Jamaican choreographer, tweaks some dance steps to suit the Philippine atmosphere and actors. JUAN ESCANDOR JR. By Juan Escandor Jr. NAGA CITY---Jesus Christ sings and dances the Jamaican folk music mento, reggae, dance-hall and rock-steady to retell the story of love, forgiveness and eternal life in the Jamaican-produced musical to be staged for the first time in the Philippines in March in Manila. Similar to the “Jesus Christ Superstar” musical in the 70s, the Jamaican musical production titled “The Messiah” enlisted Bicol actors to sing and swing the hypnotic Jamaican beats to once more retell the story of Jesus Christ from the beginning to the resurrection. The Messiah, produced by the Missionaries of the Poor (MOP), is set to be staged at the Star Theater in the Star City, Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex on March 8, 9, 10, 15, 16 and 17. According to the organizers, the proceeds will be used to finance the completion of the Divine Mercy Apostolate Center in San Andres Bukid, Manila. Hugh Douse, the Jamaican director, immediately draws the difference, saying that unlike the Jesus Christ Superstar, The Messiah is retold from the eastern point of view. “If we are to be true, the story of Jesus Christ is more of an eastern story than a western one because he came from this side of the world,” Douse asserted. He said that most of the major characters, except Jesus Christ who will be acted out by Jamaican actor, are to be played out by Bicol actors of about a hundred casts. “This is a contemporary rendering of the story of Christ and it makes it relevant to youth audience in particular. It takes that energy of how would it be if Jesus were on earth now,” Douse explained. He said the Jesus Christ Superstar was actually a passion play while The Messiah is a flashback by one of the Pharisees, Joseph Arimathea who was transformed from a powerful man to a follower of Jesus. “The story starts with Joseph Arimathea. And throughout the musical, we see his journey from being a persecutor of Christ to his conversion at the very foot of the cross,” he said. “We take that perspective because we want the people to see that if you are opposed to Christ and really look into his life, in the end you will follow him.” Clayton Gidden, Jamaican choreographer who had been with the MOP production for 14 years now, said the choreography of The Messiah is a mixture of different genres, mostly Jamaican-based, rendered “more heartfelt.” “Working with Filipino actors is a bit tricky to match the Filipino atmosphere and background because in Jamaica we do a lot of body movements and speaks more with body movements. We tweak it (choreography) a little bit,” Gidden said. He said there are seven Jamaicans and some 40 Filipinos (Bicol) as cast members. Gidden said The Messiah has toured the United States, Trinidad, Canada and Australia and it will be premiered here at the start of the Holy Week observance. Jonathan Echipare, 25, Bicol actor playing the role of Judas, said he is made to play the role with flexibility since Judas was actually a reasonable man and not the stereotype bad guy. “It is a challenging role because I have to show what Judas did happened for a reason not just out of his whim because he was a bad person,” Echipare said. Emelita Saenz, musical trainer, said cast members from Bicol were recruited from the group called Camerata Cultura, a community-based organization of amateur singers and dancers from different universities and colleges in Naga City founded in 2012. Saenz said they started training and rehearsing since July last year with only the video of the musical to study on with no written libretto nor notation to guide them. “It was doubly hard because the material given to us were just the lines and the video. So, it was listening, listening and listening to learn the music,” she said. Saenz said after learning and memorizing music and the lines, the Bicol casts started rehearsing three times a week beginning November last year, until show time. “It is very helpful that we now have a minus-one copy of the musical,” she said.

By Juan Escandor Jr. NAGA CITY --- Giving due importance to filmmakers outside Metro Manila, the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) focuses its efforts on the development of regional cinemas. “We need to empower the regions since our cinema is almost ‘Manilacentric’ amidst so many films coming from the regions that must be given due importance,” said Liza Diño, FDCP chair, who was here to conduct film education among university mentors in Bicol. Diño said she believes that a directive that encourages decentralizing film making into the regions is on the right perspective. She said the FDCP has continuously went around the regions to conduct consultations with the local government units, the academe and filmmakers. Diño said they have rolled on the Film Festival Development Assistance Program to support locally initiated film festivals to empower filmmakers in the regions. “There are already a lot of initiatives coming from the private sector who are really passionate film makers putting together films produced in their locality, from north to south,” she said. Diño said that instead of the FDCP creating film festivals as it is mandated to do so, they opted to support and encourage existing film festivals in the regions. She cited the film festivals in Mindanao which had been around for the past 12 years; Iloilo for the past four years; and those in Pampanga and Cebu. Diño made special mention of the film festival in Nabunturan, Compostela Valley where there is no cinema house so that films were shown in open air in the town plaza with the entire townsfolk watching. “You will realize that the cinema is confined in Metro Manila but anywhere and there are so many filmmakers who are really good in making films in their own dialects,” she said. Diño said the phenomenon of increasing the number of filmmakers indicate that the film is a powerful tool to express and take pride of their roots and culture which she said is a positive form of regional development. For example, she said, in Iloilo the filmmakers commonly dwell on the folklore so that their films are full of magic realism while in Mindanao the stories told are about the indigenous people there. “Cinema allows us to discover and rediscover who we are and I think if we take this chance and celebrate, then maybe this is one way for us to understand each other,” Diño said. Wilfredo Manalang, FDCP executive director, said the government is financing the establishment of hub for filmmakers’ films, enthusiasts and educators called “cinematheque” in partnership with LGUs. Manalang said the cinematheque is a kind of movie house with 150 seats with rooms for workshops and forums about film and constructed in at least 500 square-meter lot. He said what the LGU will have to provide is the lot where the cinematheque will be constructed while the FDCP provides the staff and operational expenses. Manalang said the cinematheque will show different kinds of films not shown in commercial movie houses like films from different countries that may be available through their respective embassies. He said there are five cinematheque already constructed and established in Manila, Baguio, Iloilo, Zamboanga, and Davao while construction in Nabuturan, Compostela Valley is on-going. “We are encouraging all the regions to at least have one cinematheque,” Manalang said. Diño said cinematheque is home of regional cinema, independent films and films deemed not commercial and alternative venue where students can show their short film created for public viewing. “It’s so important to have a cinematheque because right now independent films are here. We have arthouse films, experimental films and these need a home, a venue because you will never see them in a commercial venue,” she said.

By Connie B. Destura LEGAZPI CITY --- The Department of Education in Bicol has announced that over 3,700 new teaching positions for public schools are ready for assignment in time for the opening of classes in June for school year 2017-2018. Ramon Fiel Abcede, DepEd regional director, said the Schools Division Offices (SDOs) will start the recruitment, selection and evaluation process once they have received the complete and detailed list of positions from the central office. “We are expecting a communication from the DepEd Central Office soon,” he said. “The employment of the new teachers is guided by DepEd Order Nos. 7 and 22, series of 2015 and DepEd Order No.3, series of 2016,” said Abcede. As prescribed by the central office, the recruitment must be completed by April 30 to give time for the preparations for the required training for the newly-hired teachers, he said. “They shall then be assigned to their respective schools beginning May 15 prior to the opening of classes in June,” he stressed. For 2017, the Bicol region has an allocation of 2,424 teaching positions for senior high school (SHS) while 1,287 positions have been allocated for Kinder to Grade 10. For SHS: Albay has 413 slots, Camarines Norte-142, Camarines Sur-662, Catanduanes-173, Masbate-321, and Sorsogon-332. In the cities, Iriga City has 21; Legazpi City-61, Ligao City-73, and Tabaco City-62, all in Albay; Masbate City-21; Naga City-91; and Sorsogon City-52. For Kinder-Grade 10, Albay has 179, Camarines Norte-141, Camarines Sur-364, Catanduanes-39, Masbate-271 and Sorsogon-128. In the cities, Iriga City has 7, Legazpi City-33, Ligao City-30, Masbate City-19, Naga City-21, Sorsogon City-31 and Tabaco City-24 slots. Abcede said the DepEd central office has allocated 40,140 teaching posts nationwide to strengthen the implementation of the K-12 program.

THE solar-powered type of Automatic Weather Station installed at Pensumil. By Jason B. Neola PILI, Camarines Sur --- Sugarcane plantations in Camarines Sur are expected to yield more harvests in the following cropping seasons after the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) equipped the sugar planters with automatic weather station (AWS) that provides real-time forecasts. SRA Mill District Officer Salvador Ocampo said the installation of the facility is in line with the mandate of Sugar Industry Development Act (SIDA) that directs SRA to set up AWS in every mill district in the country. A mill district is a province that has a thriving sugar industry. The P300,000-worth solar-powered Automatic Weather Station which was provided in a form of grant to Pensumil Mill District Development Committee Foundation, Inc. has the capability to gather weather data such as air temperature, humidity levels, duration of sunlight, rainfall, and precipitations. By being well-informed about the current weather conditions the planters could determine the necessary actions to be taken to better protect their crops. Rains and moist soil are adverse to sugarcane because they retard the plant’s growth and germination. Ocampo said the AWS will send weather data to the Sugar Regulatory Administration in Diliman, Quezon City, which, in turn, will read and interpret the transmitted information before it sends them to the mill district based at the Pensumil plant, here, via GPRS. The AWS, which has 20-watt power output, possesses the capability to collect 24/7 weather data per minute and can send them via GPRS to central server with 15-minute intervals. Originally, sugar planters were using as basis the data being made available by PAG-ASA every 6 months in determining the weather if it is conducive to planting crops or not at certain period of the year. Engr. Raul Carreras, chairman of the Pensumil Mill District Development Committee Foundation, Inc., said his office has a standing request for 4 more AWS which, if granted, will be installed in the Partido area that will cover sugarcane plantation in the towns of Sagñay, Ocampo, and Tigaon. Another one is to be set up in the 3rd district of the province to cover the areas of Naga, Calabanga, and Bombon. Sugarcane plantation in the entire province has a total land area of 4,025 hectares which produces an average yield of 48 tons per hectare per cropping season. With various government interventions including the installations of AWS and the application of certain approaches that could help to accelerate the germination of the plants, the planters can hit their target of 60-65 tons per hectare. “As of now, with this [newly-installed] AWS, we can expect an initial increase in crop production by 50-55 tons/hectare from the traditional 48 tons per hectare,” says Ocampo. Pensumil sugar has more than 99% crystallization which means the product is of good quality which is better that those being produced in Bacolod and in any other mill districts in the country. Aside from the organizations of sugar planters, the corn and rice farmers in the area along with the residents have welcomed the support from the SRA as they also stand to benefit from the services of the weather station. The facility was put up at the mill area of Pensumil here upon the permission of Atty. William T. Enrile, the mill area’s president/CEO, and General Manager Senen Goleta, who assisted in the setting up of AWS base. One of the significant features of the AWS is the tipping bucket rain gauge from which the character of the rain such as light, medium, or heavy may be easily obtained. Rainfall character is decided by the total amount of rain that has fallen in a set period and by counting the number of ‘clicks’ in a 10-minute period the observer can decide the character of the rain. The tipping bucket rain gauge consists of funnel that collects and channels the precipitation into a small seesaw-like container. After a pre-set amount of precipitation falls, the lever tips, dumping the collected water and sending an electrical signal. The rain gauge consists of a plastic collector balanced over a pivot. When it tips, it actuates a switch which is then electronically recorded or transmitted to a remote collection station.

By Paulo DS. Papa NAGA CITY---“There is no reason to panic when it comes to the devaluation of peso to the US dollar because the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has the proper measure to arrest the phenomenon,” according to Emmanuel Vito Abejero, a social science expert in an interview conducted over the weekend in his office at Ateneo de Naga University. Abejero pointed that producers should continue to produce will consumers must also continue to spend as necessary, else the market will stand still if everybody panics.. “Normal lang iyan. Kun magpanic kita, an mga negosyante dae na magastos, an mga parabakal dae naman magastos. What will happen to our economy?” (It is normal. If we panic, businessmen will not spend anymore as well as the buyers. What will happen to our economy?), he added. When asked how will US President’s Donald Trump’s All-American foreign policy and his country’s withdrawal from the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement impact the Philippine economy, the Ateneo professor said weaker countries like the Philippines will be adversely affected. As the result, income of BPO and call center workers, as well as remittances OFWs will be devalued. He said decreased value of peso versus the US dollar has two effects in the Philippine economy: 1) Exporters and families of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) will have more pesos for every dollar that they get that they will spend on the local market; 2) It will be bad for producers, importers and spenders because they will need more pesos for every dollar. As of December 2016, the BSP had already updated a monetary policy that prevents the effect of the decreased value of peso to the dollar in the Philippine market by determining if the exchange rate is on appropriate level by looking at the trend in the real Effective Exchange Rate (EER) of the Philippine peso with other foreign currencies. Since 2014, the BSP has replaced its old effective exchange rate to a new official EER that enables the BSP to look objectively at the exchange rate of pesos vis-à-vis other foreign currencies. Abejero warned that if we panic because of the devalued peso over dollar, there will be more possibility that we will lessen our productivity and further diminish our economy. “Our GDP growth rate last year was 6.8%; if we panic the more you we suffer,” he said.

By Norman B. Tamar MASBATE CITY --- Officials behind the annual rodeo festival in this city have bared details of the event scheduled from March 23 to April 23, as they expect an increase in the number of visitors, especially during the grand rodeo finals on April 18-22, when more exciting events and bigger prizes await participants. O.R. Espares, a member of the Rodeo Masbateño Inc. (RMI), which oversees the conduct of the festival, said 30 teams coming from Benguet, Ilocos Region, the Visayas and mainland Bicol are expected to join the rodeo finals. He said the grand rodeo finals will include bull whipping, load carrying relay, cattle wrestling on foot, cattle wrestling from horseback, cattle lassoing from horseback, carambola that usually involves two to four persons capturing a bull with bare hands, casting down and bull riding. “The other rodeo highlights are cattle drive or ‘pasuag,’ cattle horse penning and street dancing,” said Espares. RMI President Judge Manuel L. Sese said a herd of 150 heads of cow, which will be let loose during the cattle drive at the main street of the city, will be driven by cowboys to the arena. He said after the drive called “Wigo de Toro,” the most exciting and risky part of the event will follow in which several heads of wild junior and senior bulls will be released at main thoroughfares in the city with participants required to register to be able to join the race. Sese said the heads of cattle, which cost from P35,000 to P40,000 each, will be given by the provincial government to those who could catch them. “They can take the cattle home.” Gov. Antonio T. Kho initiated more interesting rodeo events this year by increasing the prizes and adding gears to the event. He said bulls should only be caught or wrestled but not slaughtered. “A certificate of registration for each of the cattle will automatically be transferred to the lucky players,” said Kho. Sese thanked the governor for increasing the prizes as he acknowledged the P3M donation of the Masbate provincial government while the Masbate City government and Filminera Resources Corp. gave cash donations of P300,000 each and DMCI P200,000. RMI member Socci Tuason said there will be carnival rides for the month-long festivities. “There will be other entertaining activities such as the rodeo saloon or beer plaza, Palabas sa Social Center, garden show, façade dress-up contest, final judging, beef cooking and the awarding and farewell party,” she said. Tuason said there will be a grand horse parade during the opening program of the rodeo finals on April 18-22. “Every night during the rodeo finals there will be a governor’s welcome night, city mayor’s night, Filminera’s night, search for Miss Rodeo Cowgay 2017, festival of festivals and the search for Miss Rodeo 2017 which will be capped with a grand fireworks display,” she said. Tuason acknowledged the support being given by the Rodeo Net, Rotary Club, Red Cross and other partners to make the festival successful. Judge Igmedio Camposano, another RMI member, said they have announced details of the event this early so visitors could prepare their schedules, bookings and reservations for the festival.

QUEZON CITY --- While in detention, Sen. Leila M. de Lima yesterday (March 1) expressed strong opposition to the Duterte administration’s plan to lift the suspension of police operations on the war on drugs which resulted in the rise of extrajudicial and summary killings in the country. Cognizant of the extent of the country’s illegal drug problem that spans past administrations, De Lima said the government should heed incessant warnings from local and global community against the blatant defects in the police anti-drug operations. “It’d be the height of arrogance if our government would resume its most murderous war on drugs without correcting its defects, without getting rid of corrupt policemen, and without making them accountable for their crimes,” she said. “Like many of you know, the illegal drug abuse and trafficking present a persistent problem not only for the Philippines but also for other countries. We are against drug trade, but we should not allow innocent people summarily killed,” she added. President Duterte earlier said it is up to Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Ronald de la Rosa to decide when to resume the government’s anti-drug operations following the alleged return of drug peddlers and users across the country. De la Rosa reportedly spoke with governors, mayors and village officials who purportedly were clamouring for the resumption of police operations against illegal drugs. He however did not identify the names of the government officials he spoke with. The senator from Bicol called on the attention of the government to heed the “Alternate Report” submitted by the Ateneo Human Rights Center (AHRC) to the United Nations Human Rights Council for its 3rd Cycle of 27th Session released last Oct. 14. In its Alternate Report, AHRC noted several defects in the implementation of the “Double Barrel Project” which claimed thousands of the lives, including innocent individuals, including children, treated as “collateral damage” in the anti-drive campaign. “It is reckless, to say the least, to allow the resumption of the anti-drug operations of the Philippine National Police which is more interested in the incentives given them than in investigating and preventing death-squad- style killings,” De Lima said. De Lima said the government should throw its “Double Barrel Project” completely in the dust bin until it can come up with an anti-drug campaign that respects and protects the fundamental human rights of individuals, including suspected drug offenders. “The present war on drugs is a dismal failure because there were innocent individuals who were summarily killed, those who were apprehended were not accorded due process of the law, and only the poor were targeted,” she said. De Lima authored Senate Bill 1197 defining extrajudicial killings and imposing life imprisonment without parole for any public officer, person in authority, agency of a person in authority or private person who would be found guilty of extrajudicial killing. Under SB 1197, the local chief executive and chief of police shall also be presumed administratively negligent when there is a notable increase of extrajudicial killing cases within their area of jurisdiction, except in conflict-stricken communities. De Lima also proposed the creation of an Inter-Agency Council Against Extrajudicial Killings (Anti-EJK Council) to address institutional barriers to efficient, independent and impartial investigation of extrajudicial killings among concerned government agencies. The proposed Anti-EJK Council shall coordinate with the Philippine National Police (PNP) and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and Commission on Human Rights (CHR), to adhere to minimum standards in the conduct of regular police intervention operations, such as but not limited to arrest, raid, search and seizure.