Day: July 30, 2024

MANILA: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday vowed to continue pushing for the advancement of maritime education in the country. In his message during the 201st Commencement Exercises of the Philippine Merchant Marine Academy, read by Presidential Assistant on Maritime Concerns Secretary Andres Centino, Marcos expressed confidence that the initiatives his government is taking will usher in the ‘new breed of Filipino sailors” that will change the local maritime landscape. ‘We assure you that we will continue to improve our country’s maritime education sector to make it more responsive to the evolving needs of our nation and the global

MANILA: The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said PHP831.77 million worth of coins have been deposited through its coin deposit machines (CoDM) as of July 15. In a Facebook post on Tuesday, the BSP said the amount is equivalent to 223.02 million pieces of coins from 202,110 transactions. CoDMs allow customers to conveniently deposit their legal tender coins to be credited to their GCash or Maya electronic wallet accounts or converted into shopping vouchers. The coin deposit machines support the BSP’s Coin Recirculation Program that aims to put idle coins back in circulation to serve the currency needs of the

MANILA: The Philippine government is not obligated to cooperate or facilitate any acts by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against individuals in the country, even as the Philippine government cannot stop the ICC prosecutor from proceeding with his investigation, Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra said Tuesday. ‘The Philippines disengaged completely from the ICC in 2019. It has no legal duty to lend any assistance to the ICC prosecutor in conducting his investigation. But the Philippine government cannot stop him from proceeding any way he wants,’ Guevarra told reporters. ‘He can directly interview persons of interest online, through the phone, by email,

MANILA: The Department of Energy (DOE) said Tuesday two seismic surveys in the Palawan basins were completed as part of the country’s exploration for indigenous oil and gas resources. Israeli firm Ratio Petroleum Ltd., the operator of Service Contract (SC) No. 76, completed its survey in the East Palawan Basin, while PNOC Exploration Corporation (PNOC-EC) concluded its own survey in the Northwest Palawan Basin under SC 57, it said in a statement. The DOE said the collected data will help understand the geological features of the basins and assess their oil and gas potential. “The completion of these surveys marks

BACOLOD: The Sapphire Edition of this city’s world-famous MassKara Festival will kick off with a ‘salubong’ (welcome) on Oct. 11 and will climax with the street and arena dance competition on Oct. 27. The schedule released by organizer Bacolod Yuhum Foundation Inc. on Tuesday include other major events MassKaralympics on Oct. 4 to 25; MassKaNamit cookfest, Oct. 15 to 17; Miss Bacolod MassKara finals night, Oct. 19; Lacson MassKara 2024: Kingdom, Oct. 25 to 27; MassKarade Ball, Oct. 25; and Electric MassKara, Oct. 26. Considered one of the most colorful festivals in the country, the MassKara Festival showcases dancers donning