Governor Gwendolyn Garcia has signed an executive order placing Cebu province under general community quarantine (GCQ) which took effect on Wednesday. Although the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) placed Cebu province under “GCQ with heightened restrictions”, Garcia signed EO No. 41, released on Tuesday night, defining the protocols to be followed by the residents within the province under GCQ classification. Garcia said she placed the province under regular GCQ because the cities of Cebu and Mandaue were placed under this classification. “It is not logical or sensible to have a different classification unless they

The Taliban announced on Tuesday night the formation of Afghanistan’s caretaker government, with Mullah Hassan Akhund appointed as the acting prime minister. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told a press conference here that Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar and Abdul Salam Hanafi were named as the acting deputy prime ministers, while Mullah Mohammad Yaqoob, son of the late Taliban co-founder Mullah Mohammad Omar, was appointed as the acting defense minister. Amir Khan Muttaqi was appointed as the acting foreign minister, Sarajuddin Haqqani, son of the founder of the Haqqani network, was named as the acting interior minister and Abas Stanikzai as the

The Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources, and Energy – Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (MENRE-BARMM), in coordination with the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), is set to distribute 6,667 hectares of government land to qualified beneficiaries in Lanao del Sur. BARMM Senior Deputy Minister Abdulraof Macacua, concurrent MENRE-BARMM chief, said Wednesday the move is in line with President Rodrigo Duterte’s Executive Order (EO) 75, series of 2019, which directs all concerned government offices, such as MENRE, “to identify lands owned by the government devoted to or suitable for agriculture for distribution to qualified beneficiaries.” “We have met with DAR

The Department of Public Works and Highways in Region 12 (Soccsksargen) announced Wednesday the completion of the PHP76-million road network project here leading to a Catholic mountain shrine. The road project was implemented through the DPWH North Cotabato 2nd district engineering office. DPWH North Cotabato 2nd District Engineer Eddie Amir said local tourists and devotees now have better access to the Shrine of the Holy Cross in Barangay Nueva Vida after the DPWH-12 completed its construction work going to the historic shrine. The project, which involved the paving of the main 2.5-kilometer road, also included the construction of a 40-meter

The Duterte administration accomplished several reforms that took decades to be enacted that helped the country attain its lowest poverty rate in 2018 and will pave the way for the achievement of its 2040 vision, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said. In his presentation during the Talk to the People of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte that aired Wednesday, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua highlighted five of NEDA’s top contributions since 2016 to help provide a better life for all Filipinos. These are strong economic management, the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) or national ID program, the Rice Tariffication