A measure seeking to allow virtual marriage using video, audio, and data transmission devices has hurdled committee level at the House of Representatives. In an online meeting on Thursday, the House Committee on Revision of Laws approved the substitute bill to House Bill 7042, or the proposed Virtual Marriage Act. The bill provides that no marriage would be valid unless essential requisites are met, such as the legal capacity of the contracting parties; consent freely given in the presence of the solemnizing officer; and presence may either be physical or virtual. If virtual, the contracting parties should be physically present

Josephine Medina, who became one of the modern-day table tennis heroes for the Philippines, passed away on Thursday night at the age of 51. Medina became well-known after she broke a 16-year drought for a Philippine medal in the Paralympics when she won one in Rio De Janeiro in 2016. “Josephine, Ate Jo to many, became an inspiration to the table tennis community when she won a bronze medal during the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games,” the Philippine Sports Association for the Differently Abled said in a statement. Her cause of death was not disclosed. Josephine Medina (Contributed photo) Apart from

The House of Representatives’ appropriations committee swiftly terminated on Friday the hearing for the proposed PHP8.2-billion budget of the Office of the President (OP) for 2022. The panel, chaired by ACT-CIS Party-list Rep. Eric Go Yap, terminated the deliberations on the OP budget without any interpellation upon the motion of Pangasinan Rep. Tyrone Agabas, citing courtesy to the executive. Agabas’ motion was seconded by Bagong Henerasyon Rep. Bernadette Herrera and Quezon City Rep. Allan Reyes. Kabataan Party-list Rep. Sarah Elago objected to the motion but panel vice chair Mannix Dalipe said Elago’s objection does not count because she is not

Two hospitals in Tawi-Tawi are recipients of sea and land ambulances to boost their health emergency response in the island province which is a part of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). Dr. Bashary Latiph, Ministry of Health (MOH)-BARMM minister, said Friday the beneficiaries of the ambulances are the Datu Halun Sakilan Memorial Hospital (DHSMH) in the capital town of Bongao, and the Alawadin T. Bandon, Sr. Municipal Hospital (ABSMH) in Sitangkai town. “The delivery of the health support units was realized through the Transitional Development Impact Fund (TDIF), a lead project of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) that

Employment opportunities await migrant workers, including overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Japan. Labor Attaché Elizabeth Marie Estrada, in a virtual forum on Friday, said the host country will be needing 350,000 foreign workers under the specified skilled workers (SSWs) within a five-year period after it was launched in 2019. “Based on the deployment track on specified skilled workers which was opened by the Japanese government in 2019, they said that within the five-year period they will allow the entry of 350,000 workers,” she said. Estrada said they want to get a big portion of the target foreign workers since only

The local government here and the regional office of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Western Visayas are preparing this city’s Uswag Plant Nursery in Barangay Tacas in Jaro district as a venue for training and showcase on urban farming. City Agriculturist Iñigo Garingala, in an interview on Friday, said that in February this year, DA allotted around PHP7 million for the establishment of hydroponics, greenhouse, drip-irrigation and mushroom-growing facilities and high-powered sprayer. The department also provided shredder, cultivator, and other tools that can help produce fertilizers as part of promoting organic farming. Garingalao said that his office has asked