Over 3 million people are in need of “life-saving” aid in Myanmar after the military there seized power and ousted the civilian government, the UN’s humanitarian chief said on Monday. Martin Griffiths, the UN’s emergency relief coordinator, said in the wake of the junta’s Feb. 1 coup, Myanmar has been gripped by “growing conflict and insecurity, Covid-19 and a failing economy,” warning that without a political resolution to the crisis the number of people in need of assistance “will only rise.” Humanitarian workers have already provided 1.67 million people with food, cash, and nutrition assistance this year alone, according to

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) tapped the support of a budget carrier to expedite its service to local government units (LGUs) affected by granular lockdowns in Western Visayas. In a news release on Tuesday, DSWD Secretary Rolando Bautista said they are “grateful to Cebu Pacific’s generosity and continuous support to the Department’s relief operations. This will greatly help the DSWD to efficiently and immediately provide our kababayan (compatriots) with the assistance that they need especially amid these uncertain times”. The airline sponsored the transport of 10,000 family food packs (FFPs) from Manila to Caticlan on October 10

An economist projects a hike in the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) key rates starting in the first half of 2022 following the higher-than-expected domestic growth in the third quarter of 2021. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on Tuesday reported the 7.1-percent expansion of the economy, as measured by gross domestic product (GDP), for the three-month period ending September, higher than the -11.6 percent a year ago but slower than the previous quarter’s 12 percent. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, growth expanded by 3.8 percent primarily due to the rebound in the services sector at 6.6 percent. ING Bank Manila senior

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has released PHP17.919 million worth of livelihood assistance to displaced laborers and overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) as well as various cooperatives in Negros Occidental, including this city, during the visit of Secretary Silvestre Bello III here on Tuesday. “We are here to bring to your constituency a small aid from the government. This is from our hearts, but this is your money not ours,” Bello said during the turn-over program at the Negros Residences hosted by Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson and Vice Governor Jeffrey Ferrer. Recipients of the DOLE Kabuhayan Projects included Sulong