YIELDS ON government securities (GS) ended flat last week on mixed trading as the market tracked developments at home and abroad. GS yields, which move opposite to prices, inched up by an average of 1.33 basis points (bps) week on week, based on the PHP Bloomberg Valuation Service Reference Rates as of Sept. 17 published […]
Tag: local
Traders worry over new NCR restriction
LOCAL businesses in Cebu are bracing for an “unpredictable” fourth quarter as the country’s capital goes into Alert Level 4 under general community quarantine (GCQ) on Thursday, Sept. 16, affecting micro, small and medium businesses. According to Filipino Cebuano Business Club chairman Rey Calooy, 70 percent of the country’s economic activity comes from greater Luzon […]
Garcia places Cebu Province under GCQ
INVOKING the Local Government Code of 1991, which grants local autonomy to local government units, Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia signed an executive order on Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2021 declaring Cebu Province under general community quarantine (GCQ) starting Wednesday, Sept. 8. Garcia issued the EO just a few days after the decision of the Inter-Agency Task Force […]
2 items in budget worth P38.1B are pork barrel in disguise — solons
TWO ITEMS in the proposed 2022 budget have been questioned by lawmakers as potential pork barrel funds that could be used by the administration for its candidates in next year’s local and national elections. The P28.1 billion allocated for the barangay development program (BDP) of the task force to end communist insurgency is pork barrel, […]
Editorial: Disenfranchisement by pandemic
Voter registration for the 2022 elections will only be until Sept. 30. In a press statement on Aug. 18, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said it has ruled against extending the registration of new and disenfranchised voters until October. Setting back the deadline of voter registration to at least October 2021 was urged by several […]
CV Delta cases hit 99 as variant reaches NegOr
THE Department of Health (DOH) Central Visayas confirmed Monday that 26 new cases of the Delta (B.1.617.2) variant of the virus that causes Covid-19, were detected in the region as reported on Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021. This brings the total number of Delta variant cases in the region to 99 and marks the first time […]
Peso up on stock market gains
THE PESO strengthened versus the greenback on Tuesday due to positive market sentiment as the local stock market rallied and with preference for the local unit due to weaker-than-expected US manufacturing data report. The local unit closed at P50.116 per dollar, gaining 15.40 centavos from its P50.27 finish on Monday, based on data from the […]
Editorial: Granular lockdown then
That the Department of Health has recognized that wide-scale lockdowns are no longer effective in containing Covid-19 infections, it has practically passed on the decisions of scaled lockdowns to the local government executives. DOH spokesperson Rosario Vergeire, in her media briefing on Aug. 23, 2021, said thus, “Pag tinitingnan natin, when we are trying to […]
CoA says Agri dep’t failed to spend P9.8 billion
GOVERNMENT AUDITORS said the Department of Agriculture (DA) left about P9.8 billion unused in 2020 due to bid failures, incomplete procurement documentation, and the difficulties encountered in moving projects forward due to the pandemic. The Commission on Audit (CoA) said the Department of Agriculture (DA) disbursed P49.25 billion or 83.4% of its P59.06-billion budget, with […]
Labor group bats for protection of state workers vs COVID-19
A LABOR group has urged the government to protect state workers from the coronavirus after the Civil Service Commission (CSC) said 1,600 employees have died of infection. The commission and Department of Health should monitor the compliance of agencies with health protocols, the Confederation For Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees said in a […]
Ex-DDB Usec. Oaminal dies
CEBUANO lawyer, columnist and local historian Clarence Paul Oaminal died in his home in Brgy. Poblacion, Talisay City, on Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 4, 2021. He was 51. Oaminal’s family said they will issue a statement on his death on Thursday, Aug. 5. Oaminal was a staunch advocate against illegal drugs. He was the vice chairman […]
Local governments outside the capital take measures vs Delta variant spread
SEVERAL LOCAL governments across the country are taking various measures to prevent a surge in coronavirus cases amid the threat of the more transmissible Delta variant. In Iloilo City, the regional center of Western Visayas in central Philippines, Mayor Jerry. P. Treñas announced Monday morning that a “stricter lockdown” will be imposed this week to Sunday. “From Aug. 3 […]
13 cops, 14 detainees test positive for coronavirus in Samboan
A TOTAL of 13 police personnel and 14 detainees of the local police station in the southern town of Samboan, Cebu were found to be positive of Sars-Cov-2, the virus that causes the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). They were found positive a day after the Municipal Government implemented a hard lockdown on seven barangays after […]
Peso slips on stock market losses, worries over virus
THE PESO slipped on Wednesday due to losses at the stock market and as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections in the country remained relatively high. The local unit closed at P50.35 per dollar yesterday, barely changed from its P50.34 finish on Monday, based on data from the Bankers Association of the Philippines. Trading was closed […]
Editorial: Strategies
It may help if the public understands the strategy that our health care system is implementing amid new threats. The highly transmissible Delta variant, which swamped India’s health care system, has been detected in 16 additional cases, 11 of which were local ones. The local cases came from Northern Mindanao (six), National Capital Region (two), […]
LGUs urged to seize chance of greater autonomy with property valuation reform
THE REFORM of the real property valuation system will create new revenue sources for local government units and make them more autonomous by reducing their dependence on funding from the National Government, according to the Bureau of Local Government and Finance (BLGF). BLGF Executive Director Niño Raymond B. Alvina made the statement before the Senate […]
PLDT Enterprise extends connectivity to Ilocos Norte municipality
The enterprise business arm of PLDT Inc. has extended fiber connectivity and internet solutions to Piddig, Ilocos Norte to support online learning. PLDT Enterprises will be providing services to all 23 barangays to improve municipal governance, the company said in a press release on Friday. The company worked with the local government and youth council to come up […]
Rimini Street set to hire local staff in PHL expansion
ENTERPRISE software support firm Rimini Street, Inc. will be hiring its first set of Philippine staff as it expands local services in response to growing demand. Andrew Seow, Rimini Street regional general manager for ASEAN and Greater China, said the company had been seeing increasing interest for it services amid the pandemic, including demand from […]
Editorial: Vaccine hesitancy abroad
It appears the Philippines is not the only country where people are hesitant to get vaccinated against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). In Russia, four regions have made it mandatory for workers in the retail, education, health care, public transportation, beauty, entertainment and other industries that serve a large number of people to get inoculated amid […]
Police: No foul play in detainee’s death
LOCAL police found no signs of foul play in the death of a 39-year-old woman who was detained at the old police stockades of the Labangon Police Station in Cebu City. Marie Ann Negro, 39, a resident of Beltran Subdivision in Barangay Quiot, Cebu City, was found by police hanging inside her cell using her […]