Day: October 14, 2024

Manila: The leadership of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), together with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), on Monday assured the Senate Committee on Finance that it will be able to regularize around 4,000 to 5,000 contractual employees before the end of the year. DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian told the panel that those to be regularized are all serving under the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). “Meron pa kaming (We still have) submissions, yung mga (those) other social workers in the entire department that are not 4Ps,” he said. In the previous budget hearing, Senator Raffy

Manila: Seven out of 10 Filipinos will not support political candidates with known leanings to China in the 2025 midterm elections, think-tank Stratbase ADR Institute said on Monday. This is based on the results of a Pulse Asia survey commissioned by the think-tank, which polled 1,300 respondents from Sept. 6 to 13 and had a ± 3 percent margin of error. It asked whether or not Filipinos would ‘support a candidate in the May 2025 national elections who is pro-China at present or in the past’. Results show that a significant 73 percent of Filipinos said they ‘will not support’

Manila: Senator Sherwin Gatchalian on Monday urged for the passage of a measure seeking to strengthen the professional standards and pool of qualified teachers, while enabling the Teacher Education Institutions (TEIs) to reinforce the constructive alignment between the curriculum, teacher training, and licensure examination. Senate Bill (SB) No. 2840 seeks to amend Republic Act No. 7836 or the Philippine Teachers Professionalization Act, as amended by Republic Act No. 9293. In pushing for the measure, Gatchalian pointed out that the Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) is the measure by which the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and the Board for Professional Teachers

Manila: The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Monday ordered the swift release of PHP93.8 million from the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) to insured farmers in the Cordillera, Ilocos, and Cagayan Valley regions following the onslaught of Super Typhoon Julian. In a statement, DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the insurance claims must be immediately released to ensure recovery in agricultural production. ‘We need to immediately indemnify our farmers to restore their financial health so they can quickly recover from this calamity. Fast-tracking the release of their insurance claims will foster confidence in the PCIC among our farmers and

Manila: A new survey conducted by OCTA Research revealed that 38 percent of adult Filipinos now identify as pro-Marcos, showing a steady rise in support for President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and his administration. This figure, from the third-quarter Tugon ng Masa (TNM) survey conducted between Aug. 28 and Sept. 2, 2024, represents a 2-percent increase compared to the previous survey conducted in June, underscoring a continuing upward trend in pro-Marcos sentiment throughout 2024. “While the findings indicate a nominal change at the national level for the 3rd quarter, analyzing the data for the last three quarters of 2024 would

BACOLOD CITY – Drug enforcement teams of Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) seized over PHP9.6 million in shabu over the weekend amid intensified security operations for the opening of the 45th MassKara Festival. A buy-bust on Sunday night and another a few hours later yielded a total of PHP6.8 million in illegal drugs, police reports on Monday showed. Col. Joeresty Coronica, police city director, in an interview said these significant accomplishments which were the results of a strengthened intelligence operation, would lead to the reduction of illegal drug supply during the festival set from Oct. 12 to 27. ‘We are