PDP SEEKS COURT ACTION, MAYON FAMILIES GET FOOD AID, AND DA REPORTS SEPTEMBER RICE SALES

PDP-LABAN ASKS THE SUPREME COURT TO DECIDE DUTERTE AND DELA ROSA CASES

PDP-Laban issued an open letter on October 31 asking the Supreme Court to promptly decide cases concerning former President Rodrigo Duterte and Senator Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa. The party said it would accept the Court’s ruling whichever side it favored, and asked the government to do the same. The reported appeal covers Duterte’s habeas corpus petitions, which challenge his detention, and dela Rosa’s pending request for reconsideration.

In the letter signed by acting chairman Alfonso Cusi, the party said neither it nor its officers were parties to those cases. It described the letter as a public appeal rather than a formal filing in those cases. The reported request therefore adds a political call for court action; it does not announce a new decision or a court order stopping enforcement.

The party also raised objections concerning local arrest warrants and the time taken to resolve the cases. The letter sets out the party’s position; any court ruling must be read separately. For readers following the cases, a ruling’s actual text and scope will show what the Court has decided and which questions remain pending.

FOOD AID REACHES 123 ANOLING FAMILIES AT A CAMALIG EVACUATION SITE

The Department of Social Welfare and Development’s Bicol field office distributed ready-to-eat food boxes to 123 families from Barangay Anoling staying at Tagaytay Elementary School in Camalig, Albay. The DSWD announced the delivery in a Facebook post on Friday evening, October 30.

The department had earlier identified Anoling, Sua and Quirangay as areas targeted for food assistance. The 123-family figure covers the reported delivery to Anoling families; the report does not give a completed distribution total for all three barangays.

The DSWD also reported 417,886 family food packs on standby as of 4 p.m. Friday. That is stock available for distribution, so it should not be added to the amount already received by evacuees. The report does not say that the entire stock was set aside for Mayon alone.

For displaced families, the next useful accounting is how many households at each evacuation site have received food and other help, and when the next delivery is due. A regional stockpile and a delivery record answer different questions. Keeping them separate makes it possible to track assistance without overstating how much has reached people.

DA REPORTS 961,346 SEPTEMBER RICE BUYERS AND A DECEMBER COLLECTION CHANGE

The Department of Agriculture says 961,346 beneficiaries bought 21.4 million kilograms of subsidized ₱20-per-kilo rice in September under Benteng Bigas, Meron Na! The DA also announced a change starting in December: qualified beneficiaries will be able to collect their existing 30-kilogram monthly allocation in a single transaction. The allowance stays the same. Buyers still need to follow the arrangements in place before that start date.

At ₱20 per kilogram, a full 30-kilogram purchase costs ₱600. Collecting the allowance at once could reduce repeat trips for a buyer able to pay for and carry that quantity. Whether it does so will depend on the outlet’s supply and the final collection arrangements.

The reported sales show use of the subsidized program among eligible buyers. They do not measure the price paid by everyone buying rice in ordinary markets. For a household planning its food budget, eligibility, available stock and the cost of getting to an outlet remain practical parts of access.