Category: Hot News

By Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza, Reporter THE UNITED STATES will donate at least four patrol vessels and three C-130H aircraft to the Philippines, the White House said on Monday, amid China’s increasing assertiveness in the South China Sea. The two Island-class and Patrol-class vessels would boost the capability of the Philippine Armed Forces, the office […]

By Ashley Erika O. Jose, Reporter THE PHILIPPINES’ state weather bureau on Tuesday said El Niño would likely develop in the next three months and might last until the first quarter of next year. “Recent conditions and model forecasts indicate that El Niño may emerge in the coming season (June-July-August) at 80% probability and may […]

THE PHILIPPINES posted 4,456 coronavirus infections last week, with a daily average of 637, according to Health authorities. The daily average from April 24 to 30 rose by 42% from a week earlier, the Department of Health (DoH) said in a bulletin on Tuesday. There were 22 severe and critical cases, accounting for 0.49% of […]

THE UNITED STATES is enhancing its exchange programs with the Philippines and has vowed to help build “world-class” universities in the Southeast Asian nation.    The commitment comes as Washington boosts its military presence in the Philippines — a move that has raised fears among localities that host sites for the expanded Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement […]

CLARK International Airport Corp. (CIAC) is eyeing more investments by leasing out public land surrounding the Clark International Airport, according to its top official.     “Some 300 hectares of prime leasable lands in close proximity to the Clark airport will easily become profitable with the resurgence of air travelers and visitors at Clark,” CIAC President Joshua […]

THE PHILIPPINE Bamboo Industry Development Council (PBIDC) is collaborating with research agencies and local governments to broaden the commercial use of bamboo for housing, fiber, and fuel.   In a statement on Tuesday, the council said they are partnering with the Philippine Textile Research Institute, Forest Products Research and Development Institute (FPRDI), and the local governments […]

LOCAL governments in the provinces of Batangas and Negros Occidental, and Davao City will be covered by the second phase of a disaster management enhancement program supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).   In a statement on Tuesday, JICA said it recently met with the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) to start stage 2 […]

THE DEPARTMENT of Labor and Employment (DoLE) on Tuesday said 4,728 jobseekers were hired on the spot at its ongoing Labor Day job fairs.   As of 11 a.m. on Tuesday,  DoLE data sent to reporters on Viber showed that majority of the positions filled included service crew, cashier, and administrative and service contractor personnel, among […]

STOCKS may move sideways ahead of the policy meeting of the US Federal Reserve and the release of Philippine consumer price index (CPI) data for April. The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) jumped by 0.62% or 41.40 points to close at 6,625.08 on Friday, while the broader all-share index gained 0.67% or 23.67 points […]

THE amended guidelines for value-added tax (VAT) zero-rating by economic zone locators could boost purchasing by exporters from local suppliers, the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) said. “With the revised guidelines, this will encourage the locators to localize their sourcing of goods and services. This will increase value adding in the country and facilitate the […]

By Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson, Reporter THE revised guidelines for joint venture (JV) agreements between government and private entities risk dampening investor sentiment but will ensure better regulation, analysts said.  “This is a positive development reestablishing a clear regulatory regime to govern public-private partnerships (PPPs). It sends a message that public utilities and services […]

THE Department of Agriculture said it has set a fourth-quarter target for commencing commercial production of protein-enriched copra meal (PECM) to reduce the need to import animal feed. “It aims to replace feed, particularly soya. We import a lot of soya. Soya is around 20-40% of the feed ratio,” National Livestock Program (NLP) Director Ruth […]

SMALLER countries stand to benefit from rules-based trading system as global trade fragments, the World Trade Organization (WTO) said. “I think we’re all relying on an open, non-discriminatory, and rules-based trading system. And specifically, smaller countries that cannot really assert themselves in a power-based trading system can benefit from that,” WTO Chief Economist Ralph Ossa […]

THE PHILIPPINES is falling short of its Paris climate commitments, with coal-fired plants still attracting financing from major banks, the sustainability think-tank Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development (CEED) said. “There is a convergence of climate, energy security and affordability, and environmental imperatives that point to the urgency of ending our use of this dirty […]

On May 1, 1903, the first Labor Day was celebrated in the Philippines. Thousands of workers marched from the streets of Tondo, Manila to Malacañang Palace to voice their demands for better working conditions and fair treatment from the then American-ruled administration. Fast forward one hundred and twenty years later, we are still commemorating the […]

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on Sunday said he would not allow any country to use the Philippines as a staging post for any kind of military action, amid increasing tensions between the US and China over self-ruled Taiwan.  “We will not allow that to happen,” he said told reporters aboard the plane on his […]

By Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza, Reporter THE GOVERNMENT will boost vaccination efforts amid rising coronavirus infections in the Philippines, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. said on Sunday. “We will have to conduct again, especially for young people, a vaccination push,” he told reporters aboard a plane on his way to Washington, based on a transcript […]

By John Victor D. Ordoñez, Reporter  THE GOVERNMENT should review the country’s wage-setting process, provide more public sector jobs and ensure workers can form trade unions peacefully, labor groups demanded on Monday, Labor Day.  “Jobs generation should be the centerpiece of policy-making,”  Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa Secretary-General (SENTRO) Josua T. Mata said […]

A PHILIPPINE lawmaker called for the inclusion of cybersecurity measures in the country’s 1951 defense treaty with the United States, citing that cyberattacks pose serious threat to critical infrastructure.   “If a cyberattack happens, our banking system… and critical government infrastructures will go down — brownouts, and blackouts [will happen] nationwide, even telecommunications [will suffer],” Senator […]

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. said the national government will help resolve the power distribution issues in Western Visayas following power outages in the region’s Panay and Negros islands since Friday.    “Negros and Panay islands are the ones having problems now. The irony is Negros actually has a surplus of power supply,” the president told […]