Bangsamoro Chief Minister Ebrahim says no to independent Mindanao CAGAYAN DE ORO (MindaNews / 03 February) Bangsamoro Chief Minister Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim has rejected the call of former President Rodrigo Duterte for an independent Mindanao. Murad instead urged Bangsamoro officials and residents to support the current administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
16 human trafficking victims rescued in Tawi-Tawi pna.gov.ph - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from pna.gov.ph Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Google map of Bongao, Tawi-Tawi ZAMBOANGA CITY - Authorities have rescued over the weekend eight victims of human trafficking in Tawi-Tawi province, a top police official said Monday. Col. Richard Verceles, operations chief of the Area Police Command-Western Mindanao, said the victims were rescued around 8 p.m. Saturday at the port of Bongao, the capital town of Tawi-Tawi. Verceles said the victims, all of legal age, are from the provinces of Zamboanga del Norte with three; two each from this city and Zamboanga del Sur; and one from Zamboanga Sibugay. The Bongao municipal inter-agency committee against trafficking rescued the victims after receiving a tip that a commercial ferry docked at its port will be transporting a group of people to Malaysia via Tawi-Tawi. Verceles said the victims admitted that they were recruited to work in Malaysia without the necessary documents. They were turned over to the Ministry of Social Welfare and Development Office in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao for counseling and appropriate assistance before their return to their respective hometowns. Earlier, Rear Adm. Donn Anthony Miraflor, commander of the Naval Forces Western Mindanao, ordered the Joint Task Force (JTF)-Tawi-Tawi to be on the lookout for possible victims of human trafficking. On Feb. 12, the JTF-Tawi-Tawi also rescued six Malaysian-bound victims in Bongao port. (PNA) }
A suspected leader of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and his companion were killed in an alleged shootout with law enforcers in Tacurong City in Sultan Kudarat yesterday.
MARIJUANA PLANTATION. Policemen destroy a marijuana plantation in Barangay Bato-Bato, Maguing, Lanao del Sur on Friday (Feb. 17, 2023). Some 25,000 fully grown marijuana plants worth PHP5 million were uprooted and burned by the police raiding team. (Photo courtesy of Area Police Command-Western Mindanao) ZAMBOANGA CITY - Authorities have destroyed some PHP5 million worth of fully grown marijuana plants in a remote village in Lanao del Sur, a top police official said Friday. Col. Richard Verceles, operations chief of the Area Police Command-Western Mindanao, said the marijuana plantation was discovered in Barangay Bato-Bato, Maguing town. No one was arrested as the cultivator, identified only as Tacmar, was not around when policemen swooped down on the plantation. Members of the raiding team have uprooted and burned some 25,000 fully grown marijuana plants planted in a 5,000-square-meter lot. Verceles said the existence of the marijuana plantation was uncovered based on information provided to the police by an informant. He said the policemen also sprayed herbicide on the plantation site making it unsuitable for planting crops, specifically marijuana. Last week, the police arrested two suspected big-time drug traders at a checkpoint operation in the same village. Seized from them were some 125 grams of suspected shabu worth PHP850,000. (PNA) }
Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal Adiong Jr. survived an ambush despite being shot below the waist yesterday afternoon in Maguing town, but four of his escorts were killed.