Less than a year before he ends his six-year term, President Rodrigo Duterte saw the need to enhance the Department of Agriculture (DA) and recently appointed three undersecretaries who will assist Secretary William Dar in the continued implementation of the “OneDA” Reform Agenda aimed at modernizing the agriculture sector. Kristine Evangelista will handle consumer and political affairs while Rodolfo Vicerra has been designated as Undersecretary for attached agencies while still serving as legislative liaison officer. Both took their oaths of office on Monday. Dr. Fermin Adriano was also promoted as Undersecretary for policy, planning, and research after previously serving as
The city government of Makati is ready for the pilot implementation of localized or granular lockdowns in the National Capital Region (NCR), Mayor Abby Binay said Tuesday. Binay assured that all affected residents will be provided with their needs during granular lockdown that is expected to start on Wednesday. The city government has been implementing its own localized community quarantine (LCQ) to further halt the spread of Covid-19 infection within communities. Prior to the announcement of the national government piloting NCR for granular lockdowns, the city government has already implemented a 14-day localized lockdown in Barangay Pio del Pilar amid
Four Chinese nationals were killed while authorities confiscated PHP3.4 billion worth of shabu in a resort here on Tuesday. In a press conference, PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said that suspects Gao Manzhu, Hong Jianshe, Eddie Tan, all from Fujian, China; and Xu Youha from Quezon City, were killed during the joint buy-bust operation by the police, Armed Forces of the Philippines Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the Bureau of Customs in Barangay Libertador in Candelaria town at around 11:30 a.m. The suspects are alleged members of a drug syndicate operating in Metro Manila, Central Luzon and Calabarzon. “Ito
An official of the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Tuesday said 18 fishermen are missing as Tropical Storm Jolina continues to move northwestward over mainland Masbate. “We are verifying reports that 12 fishermen went missing in Sierra, Western Samar; four in Motiong, Samar; and two in Catbalogan,” PCG Spokesperson Commodore Armando Balilo said in a Viber message to reporters. Aside from the missing fisherfolk, “Jolina”, which weakened from a typhoon into a several tropical storm, has affected a total of 1,946 passengers, drivers, and cargo helpers in ports in Eastern Visayas and Bicol regions. As of 12 p.m. Tuesday, the
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Tuesday reiterated its call for parties to submit their applications to participate in the conduct of the source code review of the automated election system (AES) to be used for next year’s elections. “We once again call on election stakeholders to proactively take part in scrutinizing the technology and studying the system that will be used in the May 9, 2022 polls. This activity is a key component of the Commission on Elections’ commitment in promoting transparency and building public confidence and trust in the electoral process,” Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said in a
The hotel sector’s biggest online travel sale is returning on September 15 to help revive the hard-hit tourism industry affected by the ongoing pandemic. In a virtual presser on Tuesday, the Hotel Sales and Marketing Association (HSMA) said SOS or the September Online Sale will run from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, 2021 with “bigger promotions and discounts” in at least 80 hotels nationwide. This year’s SOS will offer various hotel vacation and food & beverage packages at as much as 70 percent off and can be accessed by visiting the HSMA website on the official launch. The discounted packages
