Here’s a quick roundup of today’s top stories:
Ex-cop links Duterte siblings Paolo and Sara to ‘drug war’ dirt
Oplan Tokhang, the brutal “knock and plead” anti-drug operation carried out by former President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration, was a brainchild of his daughter, then Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, while her brother, then Vice Mayor Paolo “Pulong” Duterte, led a narcotic smuggling ring behind the scenes, a confessed Davao Death Squad (DDS) gunman has claimed.
The explosive allegations against two of Duterte’s children, Sara now vice president and Paolo a Davao representative, were first made by retired police officer Arturo Lascañas in an affidavit he executed during the six-day pretrial investigation of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in February 2022.
Duterte now wants “separate, independent” Mindanao
In a late-night tirade against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for supposedly initiating the latest moves to amend the Constitution, former President Rodrigo Duterte said local political forces would be regrouping here to start a movement for a “separate and independent Mindanao.”
In a press conference he called on Tuesday evening, Duterte said the breakaway “won’t be a bloody one” but would follow the processes established by the United Nations.
Sara Duterte thanks BBM for continued trust
Vice-President Sara Z. Duterte thanked President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Wednesday for his continued trust in her as the education secretary and for respecting her principles. “Taos-puso po akong nagpapasalamat kay Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. para sa kanyang patuloy na tiwala at kompyansa sa akin bilang kalihim ng Kagawaran ng Edukasyon,” Duterte said in a statement.(I thank President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. wholeheartedly for his continued trust and confidence in me as secretary of education.)
LPG prices up P10.45 per 11-kg tank in Feb
February is not off to a good start for consumers as the price of cooking gas climbed for the second month in a row.
In an advisory, Petron Corp. said it implemented an increase of P0.95 per kilogram in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices on Thursday, Feb. 1.