Day: September 12, 2024

MANILA – The Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization (PhilMech) on Thursday inaugurated a rice processing facility and turned over several machineries worth a total PHP96 million that is expected to boost productivity and income of farmers in Quirino province. ‘This support package to Quirino rice farmers, which features a state-of-the-art rice processing system, is part of the Department of Agriculture’s determined push to improve post-harvest systems and infrastructures across the country to reduce production losses and ensure the country’s food security,’ DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said in a news release.

MANILA – Dengue cases from Jan. 1 to Sept. 6 rose to 208,965, 68 percent higher compared to the same period last year, the Department of Health (DOH) reported Thursday. Latest data from the DOH show that the total dengue cases for the same period last year was 124,157. About 546 deaths have been recorded, with a lower Case Fatality Rate (CFR) of 0.26 percent compared to the CFR of 0.39 percent for the same period in 2023. “Currently, cases are on an uptrend, showing a 25 percent increase from Aug. 4 to Aug. 17, 2024 with 36,335 cases reported,

MANILA – The House Committee on Appropriations has recommended to reduce the proposed budget of the Office of the Vice President (OVP) for 2025 from PHP2.037 billion to PHP733 million, panel senior vice chair and Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo said on Thursday. In a press conference, Quimbo said the committee made the “unanimous decision” to transfer PHP1.293 billion of the OVP’s budget for social services to two key social protection programs of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations (AICS) and the Department of Health’s (DOH) Medical Assistance to Indigent and Financially Incapacitated

MANILA – The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Thursday said it has provided more than PHP12 billion worth of livelihood and emergency employment assistance to over 2 million formal and informal workers. The second quarter progress report of the Bureau of Workers with Special Concerns (BWSC) released Thursday showed that 2,088,152 workers benefited from the DOLE Integrated Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program (DILEEP), which is composed of the DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program (DILP) and the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged / Displaced Workers (TUPAD). Of the number, the DOLE said 1,062,499 informal sector workers have benefited from DILP

MANILA – The quad committee at the House of Representatives on Thursday cited former presidential spokesperson Harry Roque in contempt anew for failing to submit the subpoenaed documents pertaining to his business and financial records. During its joint hearing on illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), the quad committee ordered Roque to be detained within the House premises until the required documents are submitted or until the investigation concludes. The mega panel, chaired by Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, unanimously approved Bukidnon Rep. Jonathan Keith Flores’ motion to cite Roque in contempt and detain him. Flores invoked Section