The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is looking to allow its chief Saidamen Pangarungan to classify areas under “Comelec control” to fast-track its preparations just over a month before the May 9 polls. Commissioner George Erwin Garcia, in a Laging Handa briefing Monday, said the matter will be tackled by the Comelec en banc. He added that if Pangarungan is given the authority to decide on the matter, it will hasten the process by doing away with the prerequisite of a Comelec en banc resolution. Currently, only the poll body en banc has the authority to place certain areas in the

The shear line affecting extreme northern Luzon and the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) affecting Mindanao will bring rain showers over parts of the country Monday, the weather bureau said. A low pressure area (LPA) entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) around 2 a.m. Monday. It was last tracked 970 kilometers east of Guiuan, Eastern Samar, and is embedded along the ITCZ. Scattered rain showers and thunderstorms will prevail over Cagayan Valley, Apayao, and Ilocos Norte due to the shear line, The same weather condition will be experienced over Caraga, Northern Mindanao, Eastern and Central Visayas due to the ITCZ.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will push for the enactment of a law mandating the attendance of poll bets in debates in future elections. “We will convince Congress to include in the law a requirement that all local or national candidates must attend the debates called by the Comelec. If they are not available, it could be a ground for disqualification and election offense,” Commissioner George Erwin Garcia said in a Laging Handa briefing on Monday. He added that presidential and vice presidential debates are important events where aspirants can relay to the electorate their plans, platforms, and stand on

President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday night wished Filipino Muslims here and abroad “Ramadan Mubarak” or a blessed Ramadan, acknowledging the occasion as a reminder of Allah’s mercy and blessings. In a press statement, he wished that the holy month would be “truly holy” and “meaningful.” “This most sacred month is not only a period for Muslims to concentrate on prayer and making amends, but also a time for them to experience and enjoy Allah’s mercy,” Duterte said. He expressed hope the holy month would bring Muslim Filipinos even closer to Allah. “Similar to how the period of fasting ends with

The Northern Samar provincial government has adopted the four-day workweek policy, in combination with a one-day work-from-home alternative work arrangement starting Monday. In a memorandum issued by Governor Edwin Ongchuan on April 1, the latter officially endorsed the hybrid work scheme. “The order requires employees to still work on an eight-hour a day basis, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. with one day allotted to work from home,” Ongchuan in a statement issued on Monday. The surge in fuel prices prompted the governor to issue the policy in a bid to help reduce the daily transportation cost of employees and

Vice President Leni Robredo’s first executive order if ever she gets elected as president is a full disclosure policy in order to promote greater transparency in public service. During the second installment of the Commission on Elections’ PiliPinas Debates 2022, Robredo said her first EO would require all government offices and instrumentalities to make public all their transactions and contracts “even without need of request from anyone”. She pointed out that transparency is one of the key elements to combat corruption, which, she said, is a result of both institutional and individual weaknesses. The other elements are accountability and people