MANILA : With 245 affirmative votes and one abstention, the House of Representatives on Monday approved on final reading a bill seeking to emancipate agrarian reform beneficiaries (ARBs) from the financial burden of paying loans extended in relation to awarded agricultural land under the agrarian reform program.   House Bill (HB) No. 6336, or the New Agrarian Emancipation Act, also seeks to provide broadened support services to ARBs and make them more productive and economically emancipated.   Under the proposed law, the unpaid amortizations, interest payments, surcharges and penalties of existing loans of ARBs secured under the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform

MANILA: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has named former Piddig, Ilocos Norte mayor Eduardo Eddie Guillen as acting administrator and member of the board of directors of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA).   In a letter dated Dec. 9, Marcos appointed Guillen as acting NIA administrator to replace Benny Antiporda, who was ordered suspended for six months.   “Pursuant to the provision of existing laws, you are hereby appointed as acting administrator and member, Board of Directors, National Irrigation Administration, vice Benny D. Antiporda,” the letter read.   The Office of the Press Secretary also confirmed Guillen’s appointment in a

TACLOBAN CITY: Eastern Visayas will have to perform functions on a tight budget next year as national tax allocation (NTA) for its provinces, cities and towns was reduced by PHP6.44 billion.   The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) regional office said on Monday the national revenue next year was reduced to PHP38.08 billion from this year’s PHP44.52 billion due to a drop in taxes collected by revenue agencies at the height of the pandemic in 2020.   “Local government units must work on a lower budget because tax collections in 2020 declined as well. In computing the NTA, we

LEGAZPI CITY: Four suspects were arrested in anti-drug operations in Bicol over the weekend, the Police Regional Office-5 (PRO-5) said Monday.   Lt. Col. Maria Luisa Calubaquib, PRO-5 spokesperson, said 70 grams of shabu with an estimated street value of PHP476,000 worth of shabu was recovered in Sorsogon and Albay provinces.   She said Pangolima Ugkat Mohammad Ali, 46; Tumbaga King Pangolima Fahadz, 32; and Tumbaga Pangolima Sahabudin, 40; all of Purok 4, Sapu Padidu Malapatan, Sarangani Province were caught in an entrapment last Saturday in Purok 2, Barangay Peñafrancia, Daraga, Albay.   Police seized from the suspects 20 grams

ANKARA: Oil prices rose on Monday due to supply concerns as the Keystone pipeline in the United States was shut down due to the largest crude oil spills in roughly 10 years, while tensions in the Russia-Ukraine war rose as Russia threatened to cut production in response to the price cap on its oil exports.   International benchmark Brent crude traded at USD76.50 per barrel at 10:10 a.m. local time (0710GMT), up 0.52 percent from the closing price of USD76.10 a barrel in the previous trading session.   At the same time, American benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded at

MANILA : Tropical Storm (TS) Rosal slightly weakened as it continued to move away from the country, the weather bureau said Monday afternoon.   Rosal now has maximum sustained winds of 75 kph near the center, and gustiness of up to 90 kph. It was last seen 880 km. east of extreme Northern Luzon, moving east northeastward at 15 kph.   Rosal is forecast to rapidly weaken, and may become a remnant low either Tuesday or Wednesday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said.   Rosal is less likely to directly bring heavy rains throughout the forecast