• 2 months ago
Sen. Risa Hontiveros pleads to DFA to nix Alice Guo's passport;

U.S. proposed ceasefire needs only Hamas' thumbs up to clinch the deal;

18 barangays in Cordillera still drug affected;

Theft cases in Baguio City rise
Transcript
00:00Nightly greetings one and all, William Theo here, homegrown and happy to bring you PTV
00:06News Now.
00:08And at the top heap of our news stories tonight, Senator Risa Ontiveros is stewing over the
00:14fact this Ms. Bamban Tarlac mayor has quietly slipped out of the country, allegedly on July
00:2019, without anyone in government having a clue of her whereabouts for an entire month.
00:26As such, and with over a month since her stealthy and sneaky exit, Ontiveros is urging the Foreign
00:32Affairs Department to officially cancel Guo's passport to limit her mobility internationally.
00:38Ontiveros maintains Alice Guo, aka Guo Huaping, has no right to use a Philippine passport
00:45after the discovery of her dual and identical identity as Guo Huaping.
00:51The Bureau of Immigration has confirmed Ontiveros' assertion yesterday of Guo having flown the
00:57coupe on July 17 to Malaysia, as per NBI reports, and intel gathered by Immigration affirms
01:04Guo's whereabouts in Indonesia after a stopover and stay in Singapore.
01:10Despite Ontiveros' urgent call to deep-six Guo's passport, a court of law has to pass
01:15judgment on Guo's illegally obtained citizenship before her current and valid passport can
01:21be canceled by the DFA, as well as her records of identification and the PSA and the LTO,
01:28such as her birth certificate and driver's license.
01:34America's top diplomat Antony Blinken announced a breakthrough in negotiations for Biden's
01:39proposed ceasefire after Israel said it would approve its end of the deal.
01:44Now it is up to Hamas, who could end the war and suffering of Palestinians in Gaza, or
01:50scuttle the deal for the ultimate breakdown in this long-drawn-out saga.
01:54VOA's Veronica Balderas Iglesias has the full story.
02:00Israel is on board with a proposal presented last week that bridges the remaining differences
02:05to reach a ceasefire in its war with Hamas.
02:08U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made the announcement Monday after holding several
02:13meetings with top Israeli officials.
02:16The next important step is for Hamas to say yes, and then in the coming days for all of
02:21the expert negotiators to get together to work on clear understandings on implementing
02:26the agreement.
02:27Pressure is building on the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
02:32to secure the release of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas on October 7th.
02:38Blinken conveyed to him the importance of reaching a ceasefire agreement now.
02:43With every passing day that there's not an agreement, two things can happen.
02:50One is, of course, more hostages can perish.
02:55And second, intervening events come along that may make things even more difficult,
03:02if not impossible.
03:04Blinken said he brought up the urgency of addressing the humanitarian situation in Gaza
03:09when he met with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant.
03:14Discussions also included the possible re-emergence of polio in the Gaza Strip.
03:19Palestinian health officials reported a case last week in an unvaccinated child.
03:25We've been working on a detailed plan to make sure that those who need to be vaccinated
03:29against it can get vaccinated, and we're working with the Israeli government on that.
03:35Blinken expects to learn Hamas' stance on the bridging proposal when he meets Tuesday
03:40with mediators from Egypt and Qatar in the coastal town of El Alamein, Egypt.
03:46Veronica Banderas-Ignesias, VOA News.
03:52At this juncture, let's turn to my colleague in PTV's Pine City Studios for what's hot
03:57in the Cordilleras right now.
04:00Audrey.
04:01Good evening, Philippines.
04:03I am a member of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Cordillera and I am actively helping
04:07our barangay officials to prevent illegal and drug trafficking.
04:14There are 1,178 barangays in the Cordillera region.
04:19There are 700 anti-drug cleared barangays.
04:22There are 300 drug-free barangays and 10 drug unaffected barangays.
04:27Currently, 18 barangays are affected by illegal drug trafficking.
04:32There are 22 barangays in the Cordillera region, 5 in Calinga and one in Apayao.
04:38The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency is working to prevent illegal drug trafficking
04:43in the barangay.
04:46We are also helping our barangay officials to monitor and prevent drug trafficking in
04:52the barangay.
04:54It's hard for barangays that have marijuana conservation, that we cannot get all of it,
05:02to be cleared.
05:03But we are trying our best to clear the barangays of drug personalities in their own barangays.
05:1435 percent of cases of drug trafficking in Baguio City were filed in July.
05:25The Baguio City Police Office has filed 112 cases, of which 83 were not filed.
05:33It is possible that this is due to the lack of people who are engaged in the activities
05:39of the city.
05:40Currently, there are cases of drug trafficking in commercial and business establishments,
05:45residential streets, recreational parks, parking areas, and government offices.
05:52The Philippine Police Office is working hard to establish and install CCTV cameras.
05:59Currently, 80 of the suspects are helping with CCTV cameras.
06:06We are continuously engaging with business establishment owners so that they can strengthen
06:14their security measures in their establishments and also in their residences.
06:29Thank you, Audrey, and that's it for our news this evening.
06:33Always make it a habit to stay connected by catching the news right here.
06:36As always, a cooler and more relaxing night ahead.
06:39This is William Theo, and thank you for watching PTV News Now.

Recommended