Day: September 9, 2024

Manila: The Supreme Court en banc on Monday ordered oral arguments in January 2025 for two petitions questioning the return of unused reserve funds of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to the national treasury. “The Court consolidated the two cases and set the oral arguments to January 14, 2025 at 2 p.m. Preliminary conference will be scheduled before then,” court spokesperson Camille Ting said. The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) earlier asked the SC to dismiss the petition, saying the transfer is legal and that the petition was flawed due to several procedural and substantive issues. The first

LEGAZPI CITY – The Police Regional Office in Bicol (PRO5) received a significant boost to its operational capacity with the turnover of new patrol vehicles on Monday, an official announced. During the handover ceremony, PRO5 Regional Director Brig. Gen. Andre Dizon underscored the importance of these mobility assets in improving law enforcement in the region. Dizon expressed confidence that the vehicles would be used effectively to ensure the safety and security of Bicolanos. ‘These vehicles are vital tools that will strengthen our capability to serve and protect the people of Bicol,’ he said. ‘We renew our commitment to maintain peace

Manila: Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. on Monday said the government-controlled vaccination against African swine fever (ASF) will be expanded to the Visayas and Mindanao. ‘We will cast a wider net to include La Union, Quezon, Mindoro, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, and Cebu in the BAI’s (Bureau of Animal Industry) controlled testing of the initial 150,000 doses of ASF vaccines we have imported from Vietnam,’ Tiu Laurel said in a statement. The DA-BAI earlier launched its first government-controlled vaccination among 41 healthy and ASF-negative hogs in small backyard farms in Lobo, Batangas. Around 10,000 doses of

Manila: A partnership between the national government, the Australian government and non-government organizations (NGOs) launched a fellowship program to bridge marine scientific research with policymakers toward protecting the Philippine seas. During the Manginhas launch event on Monday, the NGO Asia Foundation awarded a fellowship to 20 professionals composed of marine scientists and government executives as part of the Kalalawdan Fellowship Program. The fellowship seeks to develop champions for the Philippine seas by having them undergo a series of immersive workshops that would enhance their understanding of marine scientific research and policymaking. These individuals would focus on four policy research areas

Manila: Oil siphoning from the sunken MTKR Terranova in Bataan province resumed over the weekend following a weeklong suspension due to inclement weather. In a situation report, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said 1,304,878 liters of oily waste have so far been siphoned off by its contracted salvor, Harbor Star. The salvor siphoned 52,355 liters of oily waste on Saturday and 8,809 liters on Sunday. PCG Station Bataan Commander, Lt. Comm. Michael John Encina, said the oily waste siphoned was mostly water. ‘However, the siphoning operation will continue until [Tuesday] to ensure all the IFO (industrial fuel oil) cargo will