INQToday: Año says Alvarez’s Marcos support withdrawal plea illegal, seditious

Here’s a quick roundup of today’s top stories:

Año says Alvarez’s Marcos support withdrawal plea illegal, seditious

National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said Davao del Norte Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez’s call urging the armed forces to withdraw support from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is “illegal and unconstitutional” and “seditious.”

Año criticized the remarks and actions of Alvarez, a Navy reservist with the rank of colonel, in a strongly-worded statement on Wednesday.

PNP: Official tally of shabu seized in Batangas is 1.4 tons worth P9.68-B

The Philippine National Police (PNP) clarified on Wednesday that only around 1.4 tons or P9.68 billion worth of crystal meth, locally known as shabu, was seized by its personnel in Alitagtag town in Batangas province last April 15 based on its official count.

PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo told INQUIRER.net that the figure of P13 billion provided earlier by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) was just an estimate.

China ‘recruitment’ of PH armed forces must be probed – Makabayan

China’s alleged recruitment of Filipino military and police personnel must be investigated, lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc of the House of Representatives said.

They also said that the reported existence of Chinese sleeper cells, or secretive groups on standby to conduct “infiltration and intervention activities,” in the country must be looked into, as these are considered “serious matters of national security.”

SC: Comelec gravely abused discretion in disqualifying Smartmatic

The Supreme Court (SC) ruled that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) gravely abused its discretion when it disqualified Smartmatic-TIM Corporation from participating in the bidding for the P17.9 billion Automated Election System (AES) contract for the 2025 national and local elections.

However, the SC’s unanimous ruling made no mention of the P17.9 billion contract that Comelec inked last month with a joint venture led by South Korea’s Miru Systems Co. Ltd.

MMDA gearing up for April 30 PUV consolidation deadline

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Wednesday said that it will coordinate with other agencies on the apprehension of drivers of public utility vehicles (PUVs) that are still unconsolidated after the April 30 deadline.

“Siguro mag-uusap pa kami kasi identified naman na ‘yong mga routes kung saan may mga transport groups na hindi nagconsolidate. So probably magkakasa kami ng joint operations pa rin para mahuli ‘yong mga colorum, hindi lamang ‘yong mga illegally nag-ooperate pati ‘yong hindi nagconsolidate,” MMDA Chairperson Romando Artes in a press briefing,