Day: July 29, 2024

MANILA: A 25 basis points (bps) interest rate cut next month is still possible despite the projected slight uptick in consumer prices due to the effects of Super Typhoon Carina and enhanced southwest monsoon, an economist said Monday. “Realistically, there may be some temporary pick up in prices in hard hit areas until logistics normalize, also in view on some damage on agriculture that could lead to some temporary spike in vegetable [and] other produce prices that could lead to some transitory pick up in food prices,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation chief economist Michael Ricafort said in a statement. Last

ILOILO CITY: Schools in Western Visayas welcomed 1,409,134 learners from basic elementary education to senior high school as 2024-2025 academic year officially started on Monday. Hernani Escullar Jr., information officer of the Department of Education (DepEd) in Western Visayas, said the number was only 70 percent of the total enrollment recorded during the previous school year at 2,012,930. The enrollees comprised 705,602 for elementary, 468,086 for junior high school and 235,446 for senior high school. ‘The data was as of July 26, but the encoding is still ongoing. The number already covers enrollment from public, private, state universities and colleges,

MANILA: The Department of Education (DepEd) is set to work with the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to hasten the construction of more classroom buildings. In an ambush interview on Monday during his visit to Carmona National High School, Education Secretary Sonny Angara admitted that one of the challenges in the current procurement system of the agency is the validation process. “Hindi nakaka-construct dahil ‘di nava-validate yung ibang school sites, may mga problema ‘dun sa kung may titulo na ‘yung lupa, may problema kung hindi pala kaya nung lupain ‘yung multi-story building, so ‘yung tinatawag na (We can’t

LEGAZPI CITY: The Police Regional Office-Bicol (PRO-5) deployed more than 10,000 police officers on Monday and set up 428 police assistance desks (PADs) to ensure the safe and smooth opening of more than 3,800 schools in the region. In an interview, Brig. Gen. Andre Dizon, PRO-5 regional director, said they are committed to making the start of the academic year orderly and safe. “We talked to the school officials, assuring the security of our learners, and we gave them emergency hotline numbers just in case they needed police assistance. During the opening, most of the schools along the highways brought