MANILA – Southeast Asia’s first K-9 training academy begins its construction Wednesday in Clark, Pampanga. The training facility, to rise at the Clark Special Economic Zone, will have a starting capacity of 100 K-9 force and 100 handlers. “It is capable of providing all the quality training phases, techniques, and best practices for the skills and aptitude enhancement of dogs, as well as the certification, evaluation, and development of research doctrines,” the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said in its Facebook post. The academy aims to conduct research on WD pedigrees, their procurement, and breeding, veterinary care and maintenance of resources,

MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte has made up his mind to join the 2022 vice presidential race, as he believes his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, is not interested in running for president, Malacañang said on Thursday. In an online press briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Duterte thinks that he can now seek the vice presidency since Sara seemed to be not bent on joining the presidential elections next year. “Things are clear now, I will run as vice president,” Roque quoted Duterte as saying Wednesday afternoon. Roque reiterated that Duterte’s “unfinished business” in addressing illegal drugs and

MANILA – As industries embrace automation with the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0), more than 40 percent of the Filipino workforce needs reskilling and upskilling. During the Manufacturing Summit Thursday, McKinsey Singapore’s Digital Capability Centre in Asia Pacific partner and leader Alpesh Patel said jobs in the Philippines will also be impacted by the shift to automation among industries globally. Patel said although 17 percent of jobs will be replaced by automation, 18 percent more jobs will be created in the labor market due to automation and higher productivity, which translates to a 1 percent net effect on future labor

MANILA – Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Carlos Dominguez III has attributed the government’s manageable debt service to prudent fiscal management despite the increase in financing requirements due to the pandemic. “Primarily, our program is very manageable because it is very conservative. We only fund what is required,” he told members of the House Committee on Appropriations during the hearing for the proposed 2022 national budget, which was attended virtually by some stakeholders on Thursday. Government borrowing was set at around PHP3.07 trillion this year, while it is proposed to be around PHP2.47 trillion for next year. Dominguez said while

MANILA – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), complying with the mandate to be transparent in all transactions, is in the process of completing documents required by the Commission on Audit (COA) for its 2020 Audit Report. The COA report showed that disbursement of the Enhanced Comprehensive Local Integration Program (E-CLIP) and Livelihood Settlement Grants for former rebels, amounting to more than PHP5.3 million, had inappropriate documentation such as a certified true copy of the Joint Armed Forces of the Philippines-Philippine National Police Intelligence Committee (JAPIC) Certification, instead of the original document, the DSWD said in a statement

MANILA – The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday confirmed the arrival of three Filipinos who were evacuated from crisis-hit Afghanistan. In its latest bulletin, the DFA said 16 are still stranded in the south-central country awaiting repatriation while eight opted to stay. With less than a week left before Taliban’s August 31 deadline for the United States to airlift Americans and other nationals out of Kabul, the DFA vowed to exert all efforts to ensure the repatriation of remaining Filipinos there. “The Philippine government continues to work with governments and international partners to ensure the evacuation of remaining