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Cebu City Mayor Nestor Achival has officially prohibited the burning of waste or pagsisiga, throughout the city.
The prohibition aims to maintain the clean air quality following the recent haze that affected the area. With this, Mayor Achival directed environmental officers to monitor each barangay and track potential violators.
The order aligns with Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, which strictly prohibits the open burning of solid waste.
Aside from its impact to the air quality, it could be a potential cause of fire incident.
“Hindi pwede ang pagsiga dahil ipinagbabawal ito, makakasama sa ating air quality. And the second one, delikado din yan na dahilan ng sunog,” Mayor Archival said
[“Burning waste is not allowed because it is prohibited, harmful to our air quality. And the second one, it is harmful and can cause fire.”]
The Mayor also noted to limit vehicle use and plan trips efficiently to save on fuel.
This action may also be helpful to reduce air pollution.
With reports from Gladys Toabi
The Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) plans to enforce the No Contact Apprehension Policy (NCAP) to combat the persistent problem of illegal waste disposal.
The MMDA will utilize 450 CCTV cameras located across Metro Manila to identify and locate violators.
According to MMDA General Manager Nicolas Torre III, this would be a strategy in response to the challenges in proper waste disposal.
“Pag may nagbabantay na barangay, hindi magtatapon. Pag-alis ng barangay, magtatapon. So ang gagawin namin, babantayan namin ng camera ’yan. Nagtapon ka dyan, hindi ka man mahuli ng tao ay irereview namin ang CCTV, malalaman namin kung sino ka,” he said
[“When barangay officials are watching, people don’t dump trash. But the moment they leave, they dump. So what we are going to do is we will review the CCTV, we’ll identify who you are.”]
Torre also explained that once a violator is tracked on camera, the incident will be reported to the barangay office to identify the person, and then initiate the filing of charges.
“Ipapadala namin sa barangay, makuha ang pangalan mo. Pa-file-lan ka namin ng kaso,” he added
The MMDA is expected to launch an information dissemination campaign to ensure public awareness regarding the new enforcement.
With reports from Asher Cadapan Jr.
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Seven cadets remain in police custody following a hazing incident at the Philippine National Police Academy (PNPA) on April 3, 2026. The group consists of five third-class cadets and two second-class cadets, facing a violation of Republic Act 11053, also known as the Anti-Hazing Act of 2018.
The cadets facing charges have been identified as:
Two police officers are also included, facing a charge related to the incident, including: PMaj. Mark Anthony Cailing and PSMS Silverio Dolorfino Jr.
With reports from Lea Ylagan
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Shortage of guidance counselors nationwide - a setback highlighted during a hearing of the House Committee on Basic Education and Culture. According to the Department of Education (DepEd), Atty. Razzel Anne Requesto revealed that there are 4,000 vacant positions for this profession.
“Around 4000 po, I believe, yung vaccant po na counseling position,” she said
[“I believe, there are around 4,000 vacant for counseling position.”]
The department noted that high qualifications are one of the factors making this role hard to fill.
“The qualifications are quite steep, so I believe there’s a master’s degree that’s involved as well,” Atty. Requesto said
To address this concern, DepEd has opened a Guidance Counselor Associate position, which doesn’t require a master’s degree, yet requires a graduate of Psychology or other related courses.
The agency is also training teachers to detect early signs of bullying, as they can identify red flags and behavioral precursors indicating that a student may be a victim of bullying.
“Sila po talaga yung nakaka-identify if may nangyayari na pong precursors to bullying or signs or red flags na the child is already being bullied,” according to Atty. Requesto
With reports from Evan Alvarez
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The Philippine National Police (PNP) recognizes the awareness of the public over the enforcement of ordinances across Metro Manila as a part of the Safer Cities Initiative.
With these, the PNP shows the lower number of arrests - from 7,886 on April 16, the figure dropped to 6,514 by April 19, 2026.
The following ordinances that are currently being enforced across the National Capital Region (NCR) include:
National Capital Region Police Office Director PMGen. Anthony Aberin previously advised police officers to exercise “common sense” during an enforcement.
“Yun po yung instruction natin sa ating mga kapulisan na the implementation of ordinances dapat nandon yung compassion at tsaka common sense,” he said
[“That’s our instruction to our police officers, in the implementation of ordinances, compassion and common sense must be present.”]
With reports from Lea Ylagan
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