PHILIPPINE NATIONAL Police (PNP) Director General Oscar D. Albayalde said the crime rate decline in Mindanao can be attributed to the imposition of martial law.

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THE PUBLIC Attorney’s Office (PAO) is considering upgrading its Dengvaxia-related complaints from reckless imprudence resulting in homicide to murder, PAO Chief Persida V. Rueda-Acosta said on Monday.

THE 2019 midterm elections will determine the fate of President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s federalism agenda, an analyst sought for comment said.

FORMER Davao City 1^st District Rep. Karlo Alexei B. Nograles took his oath yesterday as the new Cabinet Secretary, replacing Leoncio B. Evasco, Jr. who is running for Bohol governor in the 2019 polls.

THE Philippine National Police (PNP) will stick to the 10% rule on the number of women officers in the total police force, despite the call of a lawmaker to double that number.

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte on Monday endorsed the senatorial candidacy of singer-songwriter Freddie Aguilar.

MALACAÑANG ON Monday said it will confirm the South China Morning Post report that Beijing has opened weather station facilities on its artificial islands in the disputed West Philippine Sea, and, if proven true, the Philippine government is ready to “make necessary diplomatic protest.”

THE CENTER for Agriculture and Rural Development, Inc. (CARD) SME Bank recently opened a branch in Panabo City, Davao del Norte, its 27^th nationwide, with three more lined up for opening in the next two months.

THE BUREAU of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) warned that shellfish collected at Matarino Bay in Eastern Samar, Lianga Bay in Surigao del Sur, coastal waters of Dauis and Tagbilaran City in Bohol, and the coastal waters of Milagros in Masbate are still positive for paralytic shellfish poison beyond the regulatory limit.

SEARCH AND retrieval operations continued Monday, with 12 people still listed as missing in the landslide in Banawel, Natonin town last Oct. 30 following rains brought by typhoon Rosita (international name: Yutu).

GOKONGWEI-OWNED Universal Hotels and Resorts Inc. (UHRI) has asked the Cebu Regional Trial Court to dismiss the case filed against it and the Cebu City government by a barangay official seeking to stop the P18-billion resort-casino project at the South Road Properties in Kawit Island.