MANILA – At least 345 families from 19 communities in the National Capital Region have benefited from the Department of Science and Technology- Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development’s (DOST-PCAARRD) urban gardening project, the agency announced Wednesday. “Metro Manila was the hardest hit by the (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic. That is why we focused our project there. Who would have thought they could plant in the city and despite living in a small space? Technology made it possible,” DOST Secretary Fortunato de la Peña said in a virtual presser. He said the project, called, “Gulayan

TOKYO – All eyes will be on swimmer Gary Bejino, who will be the first Filipino campaigner to plunge into action in the Tokyo Paralympics Games as he competes in the men’s SM6 200-meter individual medley at the Tokyo Aquatic Centre here on Thursday. A back-to-back gold medalist in the ASEAN Para Games in the 2015 Singapore and 2017 Malaysia editions, respectively, Bejino is racing in lane No. 7 in the second of three heats starting at 9:32 a.m. (8:32 a.m. Manila time). The top eight overall finishers in the heats will enter the finals scheduled at 5:22 p.m. (4:22

REP. Pantaleon “Bebot” Alvarez seemed to be careless these days not only about his health but his utterances. He can be tactless with his off-the-cuff statements and this had brought him some troubles in the past and then …now. In a recent interview with ANC Christian Esguerra, Congressman Alvarez talked about the criteria which his Partido Reporma had in search for a leader in the 2022 (Presidential) elections. Bebot appeared to have difficulty articulating his points one cannot be certain whether he is weighing in his response carefully or is catching up his breath. But one thing I can say

MANILA – Some people think the youth are just squandering their time on unimportant things even during the pandemic. However, this is contrary to the results of a study done by a life insurer which showed that generation Y or the millennials aged 25 to 40 years, and the generation Z aged 15 to 24 years are “very conscious” about securing their financial health. In a virtual briefing for the release of the report “Know Your Ys and Zs: A closer look at the financial and mental well-being of Filipino Millennials and Generation Z in the time of Covid-19” on

MANILA – Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) Chairman William Ramirez acknowledged the vital role that the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) played in the country’s historic finish in the recently-concluded 2020 Tokyo Olympics. In a letter to the state-run gaming firm, Ramirez expressed his gratitude for the support that Pagcor continuously extends to the PSC, which he said helped the Philippine delegation come up with a triumphant campaign in the Games, highlighted by the country’s first Olympic gold medal and a haul of two silvers and a bronze. “Pagcor’s contributions funded the training and preparation of the Philippine team for

MANILA – Remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) are expected to partly boost the country’s balance of payment (BOP) position in the coming months after the latter reversed into surplus last July following the deficits in the previous two months. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported on Wednesday a USD642-million BOP surplus in the seventh month this year, better than the previous month’s USD312 million deficit and year-ago’s USD8 million surplus. In a report, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) chief economist Michael Ricafort said receipts from the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector, foreign investments, and other structural US dollar