Day: October 11, 2024

Manila: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Thursday called on Canada to work closely with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) toward the swift conclusion of negotiations on a free trade agreement, saying the deal would open economic opportunities for both sides. “We recognize the importance of connecting and integrating our economies and we believe that the ASEAN-Canada Free Trade Agreement currently being negotiated would present opportunities for both sides,’ President Marcos said during the ASEAN-Canada Special Summit on Enhancing ASEAN Connectivity and Resilience in Lao PDR. ‘We thus urge Canada to continue to work with us. I am

Legazpi: A total of 3,605 individuals from Legazpi City and Ligao City, both in Albay province, received financial assistance on Friday through the Ayuda sa Kapos Ang Kita Program (AKAP) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development-Bicol (DSWD-5). Leslie Benbing, DSWD-5 crisis intervention section information officer, said a total of PHP16.8 million was distributed to the beneficiaries from the informal sector. “Each beneficiary in the ongoing payout in Legazpi City will receive PHP5,000, while in Ligao City, they will receive PHP3,000 that can help in their livelihood,” Benbing said in an interview. The beneficiaries are fishers, market vendors, construction

Manila: Philippine authorities nabbed a Chinese national tagged as the ‘godfather’ of Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), in Laguna province Thursday night. In a television interview Friday, Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission executive director, Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz, said the suspect, Lyu Dong, was arrested by joint PAOCC and Bureau of Immigration personnel inside a subdivision in Biñan City at about 8 p.m. The suspect has a string of aliases, among them Boss Boga, Xiaolong, A Pao, and Hao Hao, which means boss of all bosses. Cruz said the foreigner was placed under intense surveillance before he was apprehended in a gathering

Iloilo: Dengue cases in Iloilo province reached 10,075, with 25 deaths from January to Oct. 5 this year, but on a declining trend, according to the Iloilo Provincial Health Office (IPHO) on Friday. ‘Based on the dengue epidemic curve of the province, the dengue cases are steadily declining, but we are still above the outbreak level,’ Provincial Health Officer 1 Dr. Rodney Labis said in a media interview. Labis said the highest number of cases was 1,122 on the 32nd morbidity week on Aug. 4 to Aug. 10 before steadily declining in the succeeding weeks. The latest weekly monitoring by

Washington: US President Joe Biden urged Congress on Thursday to reconvene and address critical disaster relief funding in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton. Biden stressed the urgency of the situation, particularly for the Small Business Administration (SBA), as he encouraged lawmakers to “move as rapidly as they can” on emergency funding. “It’s pretty right at the edge right now,’ he said at a news conference at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. ‘Congress should be coming back, moving on emergency needs immediately.’ Biden also responded to former President Donald Trump’s claims that victims would only receive USD750 in aid and that