Vice presidential aspirant Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan on Sunday defended his vote on the Rice Tariffication measure in the Senate, stressing that he abstained because he had reservations. During the debate organized by the Commission on Elections (Comelec) at the Sofitel Philippine Plaza, Pangilinan got into a heated argument with former lawmaker Walden Bello who questioned the latter’s stand on Republic Act (RA) No. 11203 or the Rice Tariffication law (RTL) which puts Filipino rice farmers at a disadvantage as it encourages more rice imports. The RTL, which was formally enacted in February 2019, imposes farmer protection tariffs on rice

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has denied the claims of a vice presidential candidate that there is corruption in its public utility vehicles (PUV) modernization program (PUVMP). In a statement Monday, the DOTr said vice presidential candidate Walden Bello’s statement during a debate Sunday “reflects utter ignorance” about the PUVMP—the Duterte administration’s largest non-infrastructure project that seeks to modernize both PUVs and the system of public transportation. Bello claimed that the PUV modernization in Davao City has been consolidated into three bus companies and alleged corruption issues in the Davao City Coastal Road project. In response to Bello’s allegations, the

Two bettors bagged the jackpot prizes in two separate draws on Sunday, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) said. In an advisory Monday, the PCSO said a bettor guessed the winning combinations 29-05-03-11-08-42 during Sunday night’s Ultra Lotto 6/58 with a total prize of PHP79,699,584. The lucky ticket was purchased in Manila. Another bettor from Legazpi City, Albay guessed the winning combination 09-04-06-17-12-02 in the Super Lotto 6/49 draw with a total prize of PHP67,803,235. This is the fourth and fifth time this month that a sole bettor bagged the jackpot prize of the state lottery. Last March 14, a

Senator Christopher Lawrence Go is hopeful that the next president will continue institutionalizing the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC). In an online forum on Monday, Go said the program has convinced many New People’s Army (NPA) rebels to abandon the communist terrorist group ideology. “I hope that whatever projects and programs ELCAC has accomplished, the next administration will continue and make it even better,” he added. The senator noted that the communist insurgency problem has been hounding the country for 53 years, the longest in Asia. “The solution of this is not the peace talks

After 11 straight weeks of fuel price hikes and with significant increments in the past weeks, oil companies finally announced big-time rollbacks for petroleum products. Starting Tuesday morning, Caltex, Cleanfuel, Jetti, Petro Gazz, PTT Philippines, Total, Seaoil, and Shell said they will reduce gasoline prices by PHP5.45 per liter and PHP11.45 per liter for diesel. Caltex, Seaoil, and Shell said they will also cut kerosene prices by PHP8.55 per liter. Other oil companies are expected to follow suit. Last week, Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Alfonso Cusi projected that oil prices this week will decrease amid the slowdown in oil

Authorities on Monday lauded civilians for providing timely and accurate information that led to the uprooting of some 12,000 marijuana hills of fully grown marijuana plants in Columbio, Sultan Kudarat, over the weekend. In a statement, Col. Tom P. Tuzon, Sultan Kudarat police director, said the uprooted fully grown marijuana plants were estimated to cost PHP2.4 million based on an estimate by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA). “The plants were seized and uprooted in Barangay Datalblao, Columbio, Sultan Kudarat by joint elements of the Columbio police office along with other law enforcement units and village officials on Sunday afternoon,”