MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday announced the temporary closure of its offices in various areas amid the surge of coronavirus disease cases.

In an advisory, Comelec said its main office in Intramuros as well as the offices of the Regional Election Director of the National Capital Region, and Regions IV-A and IV-B will be closed to the public “for extensive disinfection and decontamination.”

The temporary closure will take effect from August 3 to August 16, the poll body said.

Along with the office shutdown, the issuance of local and overseas voters’ certificates in the main office will also be temporarily suspended, Comelec said.

The poll body, however, said, its officers and employees will continue to perform their functions on a work-from-home basis.

For more information, Comelec said it may be reached through email at info@comelec.gov.ph.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) seized P2.5 billion worth of shabu at a warehouse in General Trias, Cavite on Thursday (June 11) during a buy-bust operation.

The PNP’s Drug Enforcement Group (PNP-DEG) has seized over 374 kilograms of shabu that were hidden inside tea packaging. Authorities also arrested Muad Abedin and wife Maycy Naol Abedin.

PNP-DEG Director PBGen. Romeo Caramat Jr. said the suspect is related to a local government official in Southern Mindanao.

“[He is a] nephew of a high ranking government official, sabihin na nating (let’s just say) vice mayor. They are a well-known drug personality operating in Mindanao,” he said.

Authorities have been conducting surveillance in the area for six months which is allegedly operated by a drug syndicate called ‘Mindanao Group’.

“Allegedly itong grupong ito ay nagbebenta ng shabu online, so we were able to penetrate iyong account nila so nalaman namin ang mga transaksyon nila pati ang mga pino-post nila and then kami nagkaroon ng lead kung paano i-surveillance itong mga nahuli nating suspek (This group allegedly sells shabu online. So we were able to penetrate their account and we discovered their transactions as well as their posts. We found a lead on how to conduct a surveillance on the arrested suspects),” Caramat said.

Muad denied the allegations and insisted that they were only tasked to care for the place during community quarantine— but his wife said otherwise.

Maycy said her husband knew what was inside the tea packaging and they were paid P10,000 per bag by a certain Chinese national.

“Chinese pero hindi ko nakikita iyong mukha, naririnig ko lang pero wala akong nakita (He is Chinese but I did not see his face, I only heard his voice),” she said.

The suspects will face charges for violation of Section 5 and Section 11 of the Republic Act No. 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002. AAC (with reports from Lea Ylagan)

MANILA, Philippines — Cavite Governor Jonvic Remulla initiated an appeal to the Inter-Agency Task Force against COVID-19 to allow motorcycle backriding particularly for married or cohabiting couples. 

In his open letter addressed to Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, Remulla explained that because of the impact of the outbreak on businesses, many companies couldn’t prioritize providing shuttle services for their employees, at least in Cavite, and mass transportation remains limited which adds to the burden of workers and employees going to and from workplaces.

He noted that while he agrees with the national government in implementing strict social distancing protocols to prevent the spread of the deadly coronavirus disease (COVID-19) which prompted a ban on motorcycle backriding, he appealed that exemptions be given to married or cohabiting couples.

“Ang nais ko pong idulog ay mapayagan ang backriding sa kaso ng mga mag-asawa at nagsasama (I ask that you allow backriding for married and cohabiting couples),” Remulla said given that married couples live under one roof and sleep on the same bed.

“Kung hinahayaan po natin silang sumakay sa de aircon na kotse, bakit hindi po sila maaring sumakay sa iisang motorsiklo? Kung pareho sila ng kamang tinutulugan, bakit hindi sila puwedeng magbyaheng magkasama? (If we allow them to ride an air-conditioned car, why not allow them on the same motorcycle? If they sleep on the same bed, why can’t they travel together?]” he argued.

The Cavite governor said the provincial government is willing to provide a ‘Couple’s Pass’ which married couples may support with a marriage certificate.

Meanwhile, Acting Rizal Governor Dr. Reynaldo San Juan Jr. also made a similar appeal in an open letter to the IATF.

Governor San Juan argued that since transportation is limited during the quarantine period, motorcycles are the “cheapest and fastest” way of getting to work or to a destination. 

He specifically noted the plight of women who are compelled to walk long distances just to get to work. 

“Dahil hindi pinayagan ng IATF ang backrider, napipilitang maglakad ang mga kababaihang asawa ng mga nagmo-motorcycle ng ilang oras para lamang makarating sa kanilang pinagkukunan ng kabuhayan, (Because IATF has banned backriding, the wives of motorcycle riders are forced to walk for several hours just to get to work)” San Juan said. 

San Juan ascertained that they will enforce the necessary measures for the protection of the riders and the general public should the IATF grant his appeal.

These include the strict implementation of wearing masks, presentation of proper identification cards, travel pass and marriage certificate to make sure that the proposed policy will not be abused or taken advantage of.