Day: July 31, 2024

MANILA: Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV on Wednesday filed drug smuggling charges before the Department of Justice against Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte, former Customs chief Nicanor Faeldon, lawyer Mans Carpio and others over the PHP6.4-billion shabu shipment seized in Valenzuela City in 2017. In a 47-page complaint, Trillanes cited the legislative inquiry held in 2017 at the Senate which led to the filing of criminal charges against Chen Ju Long, aka Richard Tan, and Mark Taguba in connection with the shipment of shabu inside the vessel Guang Ping Voyage No. 1719S which arrived at the Manila International

MANILA: Authorities seized more than PHP2 million worth of marijuana in operations in the provinces of Cebu and Cavite and the city of Las Piñas in Metro Manila on Tuesday, the Philippine National Police Drug Enforcement Group (PDEG) said. In a statement Wednesday, PDEG director Brig. Gen. Eleazar Matta said police officers uprooted and destroyed around 6,000 marijuana plants worth PHP1.2 million in Cebu’s Balamban town. This came after the Balamban police discovered a 1,000-square-meter plantation site in the town’s Barangay Bayong. A manhunt is underway for the cultivators who eluded arrest. The marijuana plants were destroyed on-site in compliance

MANILA: The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Wednesday announced the rollout of the Rice for All program in four Kadiwa sites starting August 1. In an interview, DA Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said under the program, commercial well-milled rice shall be sold at PHP45 per kilogram at the Food Terminal Inc. in Taguig City; Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) in Manila, Potrero, Malabon; and Llano Road in Caloocan, which will operate every Thursday to Saturday. ‘Isa ito sa mga hakbangin ng ating pamahalaan na mapababa yung epekto ng food items sa inflation natin. So, mapababa yung mga presyo, and

ISTANBUL: US-based coffeehouse chain Starbucks saw its sales decrease for the second consecutive quarter, according to its financial results statement released Tuesday. “Global comparable store sales declined 3 percent, driven by a 5 percent decline in comparable transactions, partially offset by a 2 percent increase in average ticket,” it said. While North American store sales declined 2 percent, US store sales decreased 2 percent, China store sales dove 14 percent and international store sales fell 7 percent, according to the statement. The company said it opened 526 net new stores in the third quarter of the 2024 fiscal year, which