Day: July 16, 2024

LEGAZPI CITY – A total of 239 students from Albay province received on Tuesday a financial grant under the Student Monetary Assistance for Recovery and Transition (SMART) program of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). In an interview during the payout at Embarcedero de Legazpi, Jean Cardiño, CHED Bicol chief administrative officer, said each beneficiary received PHP25,000 in one-time assistance, totaling PHP5.97 million. “The SMART Grant Program is a project of the commission being given a one-time fixed financial grant to qualified students for as long as they are enrolled in an undergraduate program for the school year 2023-2024,” she

SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, Antique – The Antique provincial government has approved a request to allocate PHP4 million for the construction of a retention wall at the National Housing Authority (NHA) relocation site in Barangay Lugta, Laua-an town to prevent flooding. ‘Antique Governor Rhodora J. Cadiao, during our chiefs of offices meeting yesterday (July 15, 2024), had already approved the requested PHP4 million for the retention wall in order to address the flooding problem,’ Antique Provincial Housing Affairs and Resettlement Office (PHARO) head Eby Butiong said in an interview on Tuesday. He said the governor has given her approval in

MANILA: Nine women are among the ten examinees with the highest marks in the 2024 Shari’ah bar examinations (SBE), the Supreme Court said Tuesday. Supreme Court Associate Justice Maria Filomena D. Singh, chairperson of the 2024 SBE, announced that a total of 183 out of 853 examinees, or 21.45 percent, passed the first digitalized and regionalized special exams for the Shari’ah courts. The top ten passers are Punginagina, Nurhaifah Hadji Said (86.75%); Gubat, Sittie Nasriyyah Gani (86.10%); Alonto, Sittie Fairoza Yahya (86.02%); Suwalawan-Hadjinoor, Jonaina Diamla (85.57%); Mambuay, Ayesha Aminah Alonto (85.35%); Usodan, Fatimah Sohra Lucman (85.10%); Acmad, Aznairah Orpilla (84.87%);

MANILA: The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) conducted boarding exercises on Monday as part of the ‘Vessel Board, Search, and Seizure (VBSS)’ course in Port Area, Manila. In a statement on Tuesday, course director Lieutenant Commander Mark Jefferson Mangoyob said the course includes a simulation and a series of lectures on conducting boarding operations on vessels suspected of illegal activities. ‘By simulating real-life scenarios, they become adept in handling various situations at sea, thereby contributing to the maintenance and promotion of maritime security and safety,’ Mangoyob said. Boarding vessels, he said, are also conducted by PCG personnel to ensure a ship’s

MANILA: The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will help boost the capacity of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) in earthquake and tsunami analysis and monitoring. The record of discussions between the two agencies was signed at the Phivolcs’ auditorium in Quezon City on Tuesday. Phivolcs Director Teresito Bacolcol said the project aims to capacitate their technical staff in delivering timely and accurate information concerning earthquake and tsunamis. “This is Japan’s commitment and contribution to the promotion of international cooperation, especially towards developing countries,” he told the Philippine News Agency. Phivolcs will send employees for short term training