Different farmers’ groups and an Indigenous People (IP) community in Caraga Region benefited from the series of project distribution activities recently conducted by the Department of Agriculture in the area (DA-13). “The distributions started last August 6 until Tuesday, August 10,” Emmylou Presilda, chief of Regional Agriculture and Fisheries Information Section of DA-13, told the Philippine News Agency on Wednesday. The series of project distributions aimed to support the efforts of the different farmers’ organizations in the region to increase their productivity amid the continuing threats of the pandemic. Presilda said a total of PHP7,017,418 worth of production support and

A telecommunication services company has commended the government for fast-tracking issuance of permits for telecommunication projects that facilitated the improvement of broadband speed in the country. Converge ICT Solutions, Inc. chief strategy officer Benjamin Azada said Wednesday broadband operators must roll out their network unimpeded to deliver better services for the Filipino people. “We’ve seen huge improvement in the speed of permitting,” Azada said during the virtual economic forum of the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines and Aboitiz Equity Ventures. He added that all important legislations are already in place to help telecommunication companies to improve their services. “What

The Department of Social Welfare and Development in Davao Region (DSWD-11) denied on Wednesday reports saying unvaccinated beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) will not receive the complete amount of their cash grants. DSWD 11 information officer Kristel Cagatin, in a radio interview, said beneficiaries will receive their financial aid in full regardless of whether they have been inoculated with coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccines or not. “All bases of them being the beneficiary are written in the terms and conditions when they enter the program,” she said. Cagatin clarified that the only basis to continue receiving cash

Following a surge in Covid-19 cases in Cebu province, Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar on Wednesday urged Cebuanos to “strictly” comply with minimum public health standards to prevent the further spread of infection. Cebu province on Tuesday reported 280 new Covid-19 cases, bringing the total number of active cases to 4,487, the highest number of active cases reported in the province since the pandemic started in 2020. Last week, Cebu province and the highly urbanized cities of Cebu, Mandaue, and Lapu-Lapu were placed under Alert Level 4, along with 33 other LGUs due to rising Covid-19 cases

The Supreme Court (SC) has affirmed the Commission on Audit’s (COA) move to disapprove the payment of PHP22.63 million to a local firm that bagged government contracts for road rehabilitation projects in Mexico, Pampanga in 2010. In an en banc decision recently made available online, the SC dismissed the petition filed against COA by Sto. Cristo Construction, represented by its proprietor Noel Cruz, who said the COA should have considered corrective measures he undertook on the projects. This came after notices of disallowance (NDs) were issued by the state audit body’s quality inspectors and auditors who determined that there had

Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles believes that the Supreme Court (SC) ruling on Mandanas and Garcia petitions next year will give the country “a taste” of a federalism system of government. Nograles made this remark as the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) announced that it has started preparing local government units (LGUs) for the full devolution of basic services and facilities with the launch of a series of orientations and workshops. “Kung bilib ka sa mas (If you believe in more) devolved functions to the LGUs, then necessarily you have to push for federalism. That’s the next step,”