Malacañang on Saturday advised the public to stay alert after a magnitude 6.6 earthquake rocked Calatagan in Batangas. In a press statement, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque also called for public cooperation following the strong quake. “We ask residents of affected areas to remain alert and vigilant, take precautionary measures, and cooperate with their respective local authorities in case of an evacuation,” Roque said. In its initial earthquake bulletin, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said it traced the earthquake’s epicenter at 16 km. southwest of Calatagan, Batangas. The tremor, reported at 4:49 a.m., was tectonic in origin, which

Companies and businesses in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are slowly opening, giving job opportunities to migrant workers including overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). In a virtual forum on Friday, Labor Attaché Manuel Dimaano of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in the host country said the Arab economy is slowly opening based on the job order requests they receive from employers. “We can see that one of the indicators is the job order requests we received from employers, companies. Compared to last year, the number is much higher now. From January to June, 2021, we have received

Anti-drug operatives arrested two former policemen in separate buy-busts here late Friday night. Lt. Clarezel Perez, city police office spokesperson, on Saturday identified the suspects as Genovevo Abapo alias “Totoy Bibo,” 47, of Rosario Village Barangay Lagao, and Elliver Cablitas, 55, of Doña Soledad Subdivision in Barangay Labangal. She said Abapo was arrested around 11 p.m. on Tangile Street in Barangay Lagao after selling a sachet of suspected shabu worth PHP500 to an undercover operative. In a subsequent search, Perez said the suspect also yielded another sachet of shabu worth PHP1,200. Around 11:50 p.m., authorities arrested Cablitas in a follow-up

Rain Or Shine (ROS) took the top spot in the PBA Philippine Cup standings after downing Meralco, 85-72, at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City on Saturday. In the battle pitting joint leaders, the Elasto Painters pulled away from the Bolts in the second and the third quarter, turning a 13-18 deficit at the end of the first quarter to a 68-55 lead entering the final frame. Javee Mocon led ROS, which moved up to 3-0, with 18 points, six rebounds, six assists, two steals, and one block. Beau Belga added a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds

Nesthy Petecio’s quest for a Tokyo Olympics gold got off to a good start on Saturday after she beat Marcelat Sakobi Matshu of Congo in the first round of the women’s featherweight boxing event at the Kokugikan Arena in the Japanese capital. After a tight first round, Petecio showed her dominant form in the final six minutes to edge Matshu. In the unanimous decision favoring Petecio, one of the five judges had it 29-28, but the other four jurors all gave her a perfect 30. A tall order awaits Petecio in the second phase on Monday as she battles no