Day: September 12, 2024

BUTUAN CITY – Eight passengers were rescued after their pump boat began sinking off the coast of Surigao City on Wednesday, the Philippine Coast Guard in Surigao del Norte (PCG-SDN) said. In a statement Thursday, the PCG-SDN said the pump boat, MBCA Enossian, left Barangay San Juan in Surigao City at around 6 a.m. en route to Basilisa town in the Dinagat Islands. However, by 7 a.m., the boat encountered massive waves between Basul and Hikdop Islands, causing it to capsize. One of the passengers, Uanice Cacao Dipon, streamed the incident live on Facebook, calling for help. The passengers clung

MANILA – Agri Party-list Rep. Wilbert Lee on Thursday expressed optimism that President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. will soon sign the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage bill into law amid the surge of smuggled agricultural goods intercepted by Philippine authorities this year. The Senate and the House of Representatives ratified the reconciled version of the proposed measure on Aug. 6, 2024. Once enacted into law, stricter penalties and hefty fines will be imposed against large-scale smuggling, hoarding, profiteering, cartelizing, and other market abuses involving agricultural and fishery commodities considered as economic sabotage. ‘We are hopeful that President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. will

MANILA – The House of Representatives is targeting the approval of the proposed PHP6.352-trillion national budget for 2025 on the third and final reading by Sept. 25, a House leader said on Thursday. House Appropriations Committee senior vice chair and Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo said the 2025 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) is scheduled for plenary debates beginning Sept.16. She said the plenary debates would run from Sept. 16 to Sept. 25. “Hopefully po kung masusunod po namin ang schedule, hopefully… ay matatapos namin pong mauprubahan on third reading ang General Appropriations Bill by Sept. 25 (Hopefully, if we can adhere

MANILA – Senator Robinhood ‘Robin’ Padilla has filed a bill facilitating the qualifications to ensure Shari’ah courts will get the needed judges. In his Senate Bill (SB) 2820 filed on Sept. 11, Padilla seeks to amend Article X, Section 8 of Republic Act 11054 or the organic law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). Padilla said RA 11054 requires membership to the Philippine Bar as among the requirements for Shari’ah judges for Shari’ah circuit courts. “As pointed out by the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, these stringent requirements are one of the reasons why it has become

DAVAO CITY – Acting Davao City Police Office (DCPO) director, Col. Hansel Marantan, called on members of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ (KOJC) who claim to be victims of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy’s alleged abuses to come forward and speak out. In a press conference at the DCPO headquarters Thursday, Marantan bared that five underage female members of the KOJC Pastoral Community have accused Quiboloy of raping them. ‘You have seen how determined we were in enforcing the warrant of arrest to advance your cause. Sorry if we came in late, but we are here, and you have to come out