Day: September 6, 2024

Cebu: The Department of Agriculture (DA) is testing and validating the NextGen or Next Generation new rice varieties program in Central Visayas, an official said Thursday. Wilfreda Malayao, DA 7 (Central Visayas) NextGen focal person, said the program is a collaborative effort of breeding institutions generating different varieties of rice suited to local conditions. These institutions are the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), PhilRice, and the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB). Malayao said they have established researcher-managed participatory performance testing and validation in Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor. ‘The use of high-quality rice seeds is recommended because

Manila: The country’s unemployment rate decreased to 4.7 percent in July from 4.9 percent in the same month last year, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Friday. In a briefing, National Statistician Dennis Mapa said the results of the latest labor force survey showed that in terms of magnitude, the total number of unemployed individuals in July 2024 was registered at 2.38 million. The decline in July brings the year-to-date unemployment rate to 4.4 percent, meeting the nation’s target range of 4.4 percent to 4.7 percent for this year. Mapa said the Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in July was

Manila: Damage to agriculture due to the onslaught of Severe Tropical Storm Enteng has risen to more than PHP600 million, according to the Department of Agriculture – Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DA-DRRM) Operations Center on Friday. Based on the DA-DRRM’s Bulletin No. 4, the volume loss almost doubled to 28,788 metric tons (MT) worth PHP659.01 million, from the 15,205 MT volume loss valued at PHP360.18 million on Sept. 4. About 27,598 farmers were reportedly affected in Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Bicol, Western Visayas, and Eastern Visayas. Rice production incurred the highest volume loss, worth PHP624.06 million, with Camarines Sur

Manila: Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros was puzzled over the warrant of arrest issued by a Capas, Tarlac court against dismissed Bamban mayor Alice Guo on charges of graft filed before the Ombudsman. The Philippine National Police (PNP) took custody of the dismissed mayor after the Capas, Tarlac Regional Trial Court Branch 109 ordered her arrest for violation of Sections 3(E) and 3(H) of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, filed by the Department of the Interior and Local Government. In a statement on Friday, Hontiveros said she respects the development but insisted that the

Manila: Bureau of Customs (BOC) agents have temporarily sealed off a gas station in Valenzuela City after some of its tanks were found to contain unmarked fuel worth PHP3.1 million. In a news release on Friday, Customs Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio said three of the four tanks at the Roden Refilling Gas Station in Barangay Ugong failed the fuel mark test conducted by Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service-Manila International Container Port (CIIS-MICP) and Enforcement Group-Fuel Marking agents on Thursday. ‘These fuel marking tests are done to ensure that the fuel being sold to our consumers are safe and have been properly