Foreign relief aid continues to pour in for provinces hit by Typhoon Odette, with the South Korean and Irish governments on Wednesday pledging about PHP116.8 million in humanitarian aid. Korean Ambassador to the Philippines Kim Inchul said Seoul will provide USD2,050,000 (approximately PHP102.7 million) to help Visayas and Mindanao recover and restore the affected communities’ livelihoods. The envoy announced Seoul’s contribution in his recent meeting with Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. where he also conveyed Korean President Moon Jae In’s message of sympathies and solidarity to President Rodrigo Duterte. “President Moon Jae In sent a message of sympathies and

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has warned business establishments in Negros Occidental against violating the price freeze as they could be held liable for taking advantage of consumers in the wake of Typhoon Odette. Engiemar Tupas, senior trade and industry development specialist of DTI-Negros Occidental, said on Wednesday all stores in the province should observe a price freeze since a state of calamity has already been declared in Negros Occidental. “We are conducting a monitoring of prices of basic necessities and prime commodities, including generator sets (gensets),” he added. High demand for gensets has been observed after the

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula) has released PHP1.5 million worth of livelihood grant to 77 fire victims in this city. The DSWD-9 distributed the livelihood assistance of PHP20,000 to each of the beneficiaries who are residents of Seaside, Barangay Baliwasan on Tuesday afternoon. Ivan Eric Salvador, DSWD-9 information officer, said in a phone interview on Wednesday that the beneficiaries of the grant were identified by the city social welfare and development office (CSWDO). “The distribution of the livelihood assistance was based on the recommendation and assessment of the CSWDO,” Salvador said. “It is also

Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship and Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion has lauded the Department of Health (DOH) for heeding the private sector’s call to shorten the interval time between the second dose of Covid-19 vaccine and booster shot. “We need to act fast by getting ahead before the immunity from the first two doses wane. We are in a good position to increase our protection and keep our ‘Bakuna Bubble’ intact now that cases are low and vaccine supply is stable,” Concepcion said in a statement Wednesday. On Tuesday, the DOH approved to give a single-dose booster as early as

Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo has ordered the release of assistance funds to court personnel in areas affected by the onslaught of Typhoon Odette. In a press statement on Wednesday, the Supreme Court (SC) said it also continues to monitor all its personnel, including those who have volunteered to assist in the bar examinations next month. “The Chief Justice has approved the release of calamity assistance to affected court personnel. All the members of the Court have, on their own and as a group, made donations or helped out in the relief efforts,” the high court added. As a gesture of

Gasoline stations in this capital city are no longer allowed to gas up into containers following directives from the city government to directly pump fuel to vehicles starting on Wednesday. This policy came after Mayor Michael Rama discovered by himself that some pick-up trucks joined long queues of cars and motorcycles to purchase fuel to be sold in villages at a very high price. This issuance also came amid uproars from netizens on overpriced commodities, including fuel, since the first day after Typhoon Odette destroyed power lines which rendered gas stations closed while some relied on generator sets to operate