ANGELES CITY, Pampanga – Olympic gold medalist Hidilyn Diaz will receive a PHP200,000 cash incentive from City Mayor Carmelo Lazatin Jr. Lazatin said the Angeles-based Diaz, who has a home at the Decca Clark Resort and Residences in Barangay Sapangbato here, trained in one of the Crossfit gyms in the city. “Madalas po nating makasama ang Olympic champion na si Hidilyn sa mga exercises sa gym at tayo po ay nagagalak at naipanalo niya ang koponan ng Pilipinas sa pamamagitan ng isang gold medal (We often do exercises with Olympic champion Hidilyn in the gym and we are glad that

BACOLOD CITY – An award-winning cacao farmer from Bago City, Negros Occidental has high hopes of introducing the Negrense brand of cacao and chocolates to the global market. Christopher Fadriga is one of the only three Filipinos who made it to the roster of best cocoa producers in the world of the Paris-based International Cocoa Awards (ICA) this year. “The world is ready for our cacao and chocolates, we just need to grow more to meet the demand,” Fadriga said in a statement on Tuesday. The ICA evaluated 235 cacao bean samples from more than 50 countries, and three from

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT – The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) has started certifying business establishments here for their compliance with safety measures as part of the government program to ensure public safety during the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. SBMA chairman and administrator Wilma T. Eisma said on Tuesday the safety seal certification program was created to safely reopen the economy while ensuring the public of the establishments’ compliance with the minimum health standards set by the government. The SBMA issued the first safety seal certification to Harbor Point Ayala Mall on Monday. Eisma, assisted by Lesly Manalo, the general

BUTUAN CITY – Senior citizens of Claver, Surigao del Norte who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus received financial aid from the local government. In a statement Tuesday, the local government of Claver said each of the fully vaccinated senior citizens would get PHP4,000. So far, a total of 389 senior citizens have been listed as qualified to avail of the financial aid. “The LGU is appropriating some PHP5 million budget for this program for our senior citizens for availing the free vaccination program of the government,” Claver Mayor Georgia Gokiangkee said in the same statement. She said senior citizens

MANILA – An official of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Tuesday clarified that the Dalian trains purchased during former president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III’s administration are undergoing repair and have made little impact on the Metro Rail Transit Line 3’s (MRT-3) improved service. In a Facebook post, DOTr Assistant Secretary Goddes Hope Libiran said only three Dalian train sets have so far been modified and accepted into the MRT-3 fleet, noting that these trains require validation and testing to ensure their safety. “In the last three months, walang tumatakbong Dalian train dahil lahat ay for repair and tests (there

DAVAO CITY – Mayor Sara Z. Duterte on Tuesday said she agrees with President Rodrigo Duterte’s move to put the city at the bottom of the list of areas that will benefit from infrastructure projects. In a statement on her Facebook Page, the presidential daughter admitted that these remarks from the President during his final State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday immediately struck her. ‘With all due respect to the Dabawenyos, I agree with that, to give more of it to those who have not received it yet, and to focus on the priority of those in greater