MANILA: Authorities have intercepted two containers of smuggled onions worth PHP20 million at the Mindanao Container Terminal Port in Misamis Oriental on Wednesday. In a statement on Thursday, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) said the shipments were seized in a joint operation of the BOC Northern Mindanao, Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS), Enforcement Security Services (ESS), Department of Agriculture (DA), the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and Chamber of Customs Brokers, Inc. (CCBI). “Onions are being sold at higher prices in our local markets. This should not have been a predicament for an agricultural country like us.
MANILA: The Presidential Commission for the Urban Poor (PCUP) on Thursday bared its plan to implement more livelihood programs for the urban poor in 2023. This came after PCUP chairperson, Undersecretary Elpidio Jordan Jr., emphasized the need to push for more livelihood projects to empower the urban poor communities. “This is the surest way for us to support and be successful in our beloved President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Romualdez Marcos Jr.’s efforts to alleviate the suffering of our poor countrymen,” Jordan said. Jordan said government services intended for the country’s marginalized and underprivileged sectors should also include sustainable
MANILA: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Thursday assured Filipinos that the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and other concerned agencies are working 24/7 to respond to the needs of the poor, vulnerable, and disadvantaged during and beyond the holidays. In his speech during a gift-giving activity, “Pangkabuhayan at Pamaskong Handog ng Pangulo at Unang Ginang sa Sambayanang Pilipino”, Marcos lauded the DSWD for assisting Filipinos, especially during disasters. “Etong nakaraan na siguro anim na buwan ay busying-busy ‘tong mga ito dahil ang daming dumaan dito sa Pilipinas. May bagyo, nagkalindol pa tayo sa Abra, kaya’t
BAGUIO CITY: The city government is not issuing any permit for the sale of firecrackers and pyrotechnics to discourage the public from using them during the holiday season. “The city government is maintaining its long-running stance to discourage the sale and use of firecrackers and sustain the zero firecracker-related injury record,” City Public Information Office chief Aileen Refuerzo said in a phone interview with the Philippine News Agency on Thursday. She said only community fireworks displays will be allowed subject to the issuance of a permit from the city government. “Maraming ways para maka create ng ingay
DUMAGUETE CITY: For 10-year-old Rogelio (not his real name), watching the stars at night from his home in a hinterland barangay in Sta. Catalina, Negros Oriental is always a treat, especially when the dark sky is covered with the twinkling dots that could almost light up the entire village and its surroundings. Rogelio lives in the remote sub-village of Canggabok in Barangay Nagbinlod, where electricity is scarce, and only a handful of houses enjoy minimal power from a single solar lamp. The area is hardly accessible owing to a rough and bumpy all-weather road, and life is harsh
DAVAO CITY: A giant Thailand agriculture firm is set to pour in additional PHP1 billion worth of investments in the poultry and livestock sectors of Central Mindanao. In a Facebook post on Thursday, former agriculture secretary Emmanuel Piñol said Thailand’s largest agricultural conglomerate, Charoen Pokphand Foods (CP) Foods Philippines, will invest particularly in the agriculture sector. “When a big corporation invests PHP1 billion in poultry and hogs despite the threat of African swine fever and bird flu, they deserve to be supported, especially since they are sourcing their raw materials from local farmers,” he said. CP Foods
