NEWS BRIEFS | 25 March 2024

Froilan Gallardo

March 25, 2024
2:37 pm

Senate eyes probe of resorts within the slopes of Mt. Apo

Following the controversy involving the establishment of a resort reportedly within the famed Chocolate Hills in Bohol province, Senator Raffy Tulfo, chair of the Senate Committees on Energy and Migrant Workers, is setting his sights on the resorts located on the slopes of Mt. Apo.

In his privilege speech last March 18, Tulfo questioned why the Protected Area Management Board of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources permitted the construction of resorts on the slopes of Mt.[]

Apo.

Tulfo identified the resorts as the Twin Mountain View Resort, Monte Frio Garden Resort and Villa Recurso.

He said these resorts were constructed inside the designated protected area on Mt.[]

Apo, the country’s tallest peak.

In October 2023, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called for the conservation of Mt. Apo, as the country vies for its listing as one of the heritage sites of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

The 64,000 hectare Mt. Apo Natural Park was declared a protected area under Republic Act. No. 9237 in 2003.

Navy rescues 3 speedboat passengers off Tawi-Tawi

The Philippine Navy rescued three passengers of a speedboat after it went missing from Felda, Malaysia to Sibutu, Tawi-Tawi on March 20.

Rear Admiral Anthony Miraflor, commander of the Naval Forces Western Mindanao, said they immediately deployed patrol craft Jose Loor Sr. (PC390) to look for the speedboat after the relatives of the passengers failed to contact them.[]

Miraflor said the Navy patrol ship found the speedboat with a broken engine drifting in the vicinity of Omapoy Island in Tawi-Tawi province.

He said boat operator Tony Misuari and two of his passengers, identified as Al-Shaikul Sanul and Natalie Shabun, have been turned over to the local government of Sibutu.

Rural Transit plies Zamboanga-Cotabato route

Rural Transit Mindanao, Inc. (RMTI), the biggest bus company in Mindanao, is now servicing the cities of Zamboanga, Pagadian and Cotabato.

The company launched the new route last Friday, fielding several air-conditioned buses, which were welcomed by the business sector and officials in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

In a radio interview, an RTMI official said the travel time between Zamboanga and Cotabato, via Pagadian, would take 13 to 15 hours, and will cost P1,100 per passenger.

Bangsamoro Transportation and Communication Minister Paisalin Pangandaman Tago said the new route would help link residents from BARMM’s island-provinces to the regional hub in Cotabato City.

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