The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) has ordered all wage boards across the country to look into the need to increase the salaries of workers amid soaring oil prices. “I activated the wage boards since they are mandated, to continue monitoring our wage levels and based on their assessment of economic powers and consultation with major stakeholders who are represented in the wage boards, the tripartite councils with economic advisers, National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) are studying, observing economic factors in all regions,” Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said in a virtual forum
The French Navy surveillance frigate Vendémiaire (F-743) arrived at the Manila South Harbor on Tuesday for a three-day port visit. In a statement Tuesday night, Philippine Navy (PN) spokesperson Commander Benjo Negranza, said the visit, which runs until Friday, is part of the French Navy’s deployment to Asia that aims to “cultivate regional stability, international rule of law, and partnerships among Asian countries.” The French ship and its crew members were welcomed by a PN contingent led by Commander Cyrus Mendoza, captain of the PN corvette BRP Conrado Yap (PS-39), shortly after docking. “The French Navy personnel will have limited
With the rising cost of fuel, the government is harnessing solar power to help farmers irrigate their farmlands. In a remote village of Nagpatayan in Banna, Ilocos Norte, some 26 agrarian reform beneficiaries are assured of a good harvest with a stable source of water without worry of expensive diesel pumps. Florentino Pitpit, the chairperson of the Nagpatayan Agrarian Cooperative, said Wednesday they are “thankful and blessed” for the timely intervention of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) when it funded the installation of a solar-powered submersible pump to sustain their crops in the village. The PHP856,204 project was funded
The Supreme Court (SC) has dismissed a Negros Occidental court stenographer for forging her superior’s signature in a falsified court paper issued in exchange for PHP10,000 from a litigant. In its 14-page per curiam decision published online on March 4, the SC found Bago City, Negros Occidental regional trial court stenographer Evelyn G. Montoyo guilty of two counts of prejudicial conduct, serious dishonesty, and acts of graft, three years away from reaching the compulsory retirement age of 65. She was ordered dismissed immediately from the service with the forfeiture of all benefits and perpetual disqualification from a government position. In
Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Dionardo Carlos on Wednesday lauded the Police Regional Office in Central Luzon (PRO-3) for its significant gains in tracking down wanted persons in its intensified Simultaneous Anti-Criminality Law Enforcement Operations (SACLEO) last week. Citing the report of PRO-3 director, Brig. Gen. Matthew Baccay, Carlos said a total of 162 most wanted persons were among the 565 individuals arrested in the region from February 28 to March 6. The figure also includes 60 persons wanted for various crimes ranging from murder, rape, and frustrated murder; 125 illegal gambling suspects; 187 illegal drug suspects, and 31
Malacañang has directed the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to conduct a thorough investigation on the disappearance of 31 “sabungeros” (cockfighting enthusiasts). This was stated in a March 8 memorandum signed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea and addressed to Interior Secretary Eduardo Año, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, and Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) chairperson and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Andrea Domingo. Medialdea directed the PNP and NBI to “submit its findings to the Office of the President and the Department of Justice (DOJ) within 30 days from the issuance of this order.” He
