As the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) becomes more aggressive in the regulation of fishery resources, a Central Luzon town passed an ordinance which the agency recognized as a model for other fishing municipalities. On Monday, BFAR said the municipality of Casiguran in Aurora enacted Ordinance No. 044 s. 2020, otherwise known as An Ordinance Regulating the Municipal Fishing within the Territorial Waters of Casiguran, Aurora, to address shortage in supply and to sustain the livelihood of fisherfolk. The order states that only registered fisherfolk may be granted a special permit by the Office of the Mayor to
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) will file anew a request for exemption from the election spending ban to continue its mandate. The spending exemption, if not granted, will affect DSWD’s distribution of aid and procurement projects, DSWD spokesperson Irene Dumlao said. “Just like in the previous election, the agency will file a request for exemption so we can still proceed with the relief distribution and other important programs being implemented,” Dumlao said during the Laging Handa press briefing on Monday. Earlier, Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda raised the concern for the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to
The attempt of senators running in the coming May 2022 polls to torpedo the Malampaya sale to a Filipino businessman “will benefit an Indonesia oligarch,” according to columnist Rigoberto Tiglao. In his February 16 column published in the Manila Times, Tiglao said Senators Risa Hontiveros, Sherwin Gatchalian, and Vicente Sotto III, are taking advantage of the nation’s focus on the May 2022 polls to pressure the Department of Energy (DOE) to cancel the USD560-million sale of the US multinational Chevron Malampaya LLC’s 45 percent stake in the Malampaya Gas Field Project to Davao City-based businessman Dennis Uy in October 2019.
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez is confident that the country will sustain the Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) privileges granted by the European Union (EU). This is amid new threats from the EU Parliament to temporarily withdraw trade perks for the Philippines due to alleged human rights abuses and lack of press freedom. “While it is not new, their allegations on human rights and lack of press freedom are fake news, and those only give false impressions on the real situation in the Philippines,” Lopez said in a Viber message. He said the Philippine government
The Department of Trade and Industry-Caraga (DTI-13) lifted the price freeze for basic necessities on Sunday, February 20, or 60 days after the region was placed under a state of calamity in December last year due to the devastation of Typhoon Odette. With the lifting of the price freeze, DTI-13 has told manufacturers, retailers, distributors, and consumers that basic necessities in the region will be sold at their suggested retail prices (SRPs) based on the Jan. 27, 2022 list. Mike Ariel Plaza, the Regional Information Officer of DTI-13 told Philippine News Agency on Monday that even though the price freeze
The National Confederation of Transport Workers’ Union Northern Mindanao (NCTU-10) would rather resume the full seating capacities in public utility vehicles (PUVs) than increase the fare rates due to oil price hikes. In a phone interview on Monday, NCTU-10 coordinator Joel Gabatan, said they will request the improvement of the passenger capacity. “If the fare will increase, it will be an additional burden to the commuters and we understand that, as we also commute. As of now, we don’t want to demand a fare increase because the people are still suffering the problem due to the pandemic,” he said. As
