The Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) has approved a total of PHP8.14 billion in investments from January to March this year. Comparing the data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), investment approvals of PEZA in the first quarter this year plummeted by 67.9 percent from PHP25.38 billion project registrations in the same period in 2021. In a press conference Thursday, PEZA director general Charito Plaza said the decline in registration of investment activities in economic zones is anticipated given the ongoing pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, and the upcoming national elections. “Usually during the election period, the investors would wait for
Prosecutors on Thursday found probable cause to charge party girl and social media influencer, Gwyneth Anne Chua, for violating last December the country’s quarantine rules in place to contain the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic following her return from the United States. Chua has gained the moniker “Poblacion Girl” after she allegedly partied in Barangay Poblacion in Makati City while she was supposed to be in a hotel quarantine facility days before and after Christmas last year. She will be charged for violation of Section 9 of Republic Act No. 11332, also known as the “Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases
More and more beneficiary families are given the chance to restart their lives in their respective home provinces through the government’s “Balik Probinsya Bagong Pag-Asa” (BP2) program. After residing in Metro Manila for years, the latest beneficiaries of the program which include five families consisting of 13 individuals are set to return to Siquijor (Central Visayas), Samar, and Northern Samar (Eastern Visayas) on Thursday. The BP2 program has just gotten better with various members of the BP2 council, including national government agencies and local government units (LGUs), renewing their commitment to helping those families and even individuals who wish to
The United States Embassy Civil Affairs Team (CAT) has donated five intensive care unit (ICU) beds to the provincial government of Batanes to support local Covid-19 and disaster response efforts throughout the province. The ICU beds, which are valued at more than PHP589,000 (USD11,250), were CAT’s second donation to Batanes in the past year. In November 2021, CAT provided a supply of Covid-19 personal protective equipment. The islands of Batanes are subject to frequent typhoons and occasional earthquakes. Maintaining medical supplies such as ICU beds in the province is an important part of providing immediate care to the local population
The police on Thursday reminded residents here of the Commission on Elections (Comelec)-imposed liquor ban starting on Sunday until the end of the election day on Monday next week, warning them that the mere smell of any intoxicating alcohol could put them into trouble. Lt. Col. Ma. Theresa Macatangay, Cebu City Police Office’s information officer, said Comelec Resolution No. 10746 promulgated on Dec. 16, 2021 imposes imprisonment of not less than one year but not more than six years without probation to any persons who will violate the liquor ban. “Under the law, any person who sells, furnishes, offers, buys,
The World Wide Fund (WWF)-Philippines on Thursday virtually launched the “Build Back Better” boats campaign to uplift the livelihood of the fisherfolk in the Bicol Region. The campaign aims to raise up to PHP21 million to provide around 27 boats to the fishermen around the Lagonoy Gulf area, the country’s major fishing ground surrounding the Bicol Peninsula. Industrial designer Mark Victor Bautista, who is also a tuna fisherman, co-designed the “Build Back Better” boat—an innovation combining “traditional know-how and state of the art or best practice design technology.” The WWF-Philippines aims to provide these boats—which are made of a combination
