00:00Nightly greetings one and all. William Theo here, homegrown and more than glad to bring you PTV News Now.
00:11Thoughts on our major stories tonight.
00:14PBBM hails Cebu's Unity economic power in endorsing Alianza Slate.
00:19The Queen City of the South was today's pit stop for the traveling Alianza Senate Slate precisely a week before Decision Day, Monday next week.
00:28Cebu's unity and economic prowess has been nothing short of remarkable, surpassing the national average, thus catching the president's attention and those in his cabinet,
00:40which unsurprisingly led to being the choice for the pilot distribution of government's cheap rice for Binting Bigas program on Labor Day last week.
00:50And Cebu's choice for the pilot distribution could not have been better thought out.
00:55The sale proceeded orderly as planned with all the targeted beneficiaries of PDLs and the elderly getting first dibs.
01:03As a result of the success of the pilot rollout of Binting Bigas Meron Na,
01:07the Department of Agriculture, or DA, is adopting the distribution system used in Cebu last week.
01:13The president replicating most of the procedures observed in the Cebu rollout assures an orderly and organized distribution of government's cheap rice in the NCR when the time comes after next week's elections.
01:27Meanwhile, in the ruling coalition's one Cebu rally at the Dumanjug Sports Complex earlier today,
01:33the president once again stressed the importance and urgency of coming together as one in putting into power the best people who can serve the nation
01:42as he touted and hailed his hand-picked candidates who all fit the bill for qualifications and experience.
01:51Operations to hunt and seal tunnels at the U.S.-Mexico border,
01:55still on President Donald Trump's main platform of government,
01:59is economic recovery and fixing the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border.
02:03Besides heightened operations by Homeland Security and ICE agents to mass deport illegal immigrants hiding in the U.S.,
02:11an attempt to seek out and seal all tunnels at the U.S.-Mexico border used by coyotes to smuggle illegal aliens quietly proceeds.
02:20VOA's Veronica Villafane narrates this report.
02:25This illegal secret passage connects Mexico, Ciudad Juarez, and the U.S. city of El Paso in Texas.
02:33The tunnel under the Rio Grande River is a little over a meter wide and nearly two meters high.
02:40It connects with a storm sewer system and is equipped with lighting and ventilation.
02:46It is lined with wooden beams, as you will be able to see.
02:50It has beams. It has wood to prevent collapses.
02:53Authorities believe this underground route was used to smuggle both migrants and drugs from Mexico to the United States.
03:02U.S. Border Patrol agents in El Paso discovered the tunnel on January 9th during an inspection of a storm drain
03:09and began sealing it on the northern side of the border a week later.
03:14Mexican authorities have started closing the tunnel on their end and say they are looking for others.
03:20The Mexican government has increased patrols at strategic points in Juarez to prevent migrants from becoming trapped in tunnels
03:38or falling victim to human traffickers as they attempt to cross the border illegally.
03:45Our main purpose is to protect migrants and ensure they don't risk their lives trying to enter the United States illegally.
03:51However, after the discovery of this tunnel, we're also focused on searching for other tunnels in the area.
03:56Investigations are ongoing and Mexican authorities have reiterated their commitment to shutting down illegal routes along the border.
04:05For Cesar Contreras in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Veronica Villafañe, DOA News.
04:14At this moment, let's listen to my colleague in PTV's Baguio City Studios for what's hot and happening in the Cordilleras, Audrey.
