Day: October 16, 2024

Cebu’s Sinulog Festival was declared champion in the Kasanggayahan National Festival of Festivals 2024 final competition, with First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos as one of the judges, at the Sorsogon Sports Arena Wednesday night. The winning team brings home with them the PHP4 million prize. They also received the Best in Costume and Best in Moving Choreography awards, each worth PHP200,000. The Tanglawan Festival of San Jose Del Monte Bulacan was the first runner-up, winning PHP3 million and an additional PHP100,000 for the special award of Festival Queen. The Cagsawa Festival of Daraga Albay secured the second runner-up position and

MANILA: Serving as chair of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. approved on Wednesday the Department of Health’s (DOH) flagship program to rebuild a resilient and responsive healthcare system. Dubbed the Philippines: Health System Resilience Project, Phase 1, the program seeks to enhance health emergency prevention, preparedness, and response in vulnerable areas in the country. According to the President, the PHP27.921-billion project serves as an ‘application of lessons learned during the pandemic.’ ‘Maganda ito kasi specific (This is great because it is specific) to the Philippines. It’s not a general … (it is)

MANILA: The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Wednesday announced the movement of key personnel at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to streamline operations and enhance efficiency. Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said BI terminal heads at NAIA as well as the Chief of the Immigration Protection and Border Enforcement Section (I-PROBES) were reshuffled to improve delivery of service and tighten immigration procedures. ‘This reshuffling is the result of a comprehensive study of airport procedures,” he said in a news release. ‘We are committed to streamlining operations at the country’s main gateway. Improving airport efficiency is one of my administration’s top

A total of 9,116 households have benefited from the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Walang Gutom: Food Stamp Program through their electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards worth PHP3,000 each. Sheryl Lofamia, DSWD-5 Food Stamp Program coordinator, said the beneficiaries from the provinces of Sorsogon and Camarines Sur redeemed their food stamp from August to September this year. “Each household beneficiary was able to utilize PHP3,000 worth of food credits. With these, they were able to put healthy meals on the table. They will receive a monthly credit of PHP3,000 for three years until 2027,” Lofamia said in an

MANILA: The Department of Tourism (DOT) is focusing its efforts on wooing more tourists from South Korea, the United States, and Japan in an attempt to chase after its 7.7 million arrival target by the end of the year. In an interview on the sidelines of the Philippine Hotel Industry Strategic Action Plan (PHISAP) in Mandaluyong on Wednesday, Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco admitted that “external factors” and limitations in visa policies are affecting the country’s projected numbers for 2024. ‘We do have challenges in terms of chasing after the projected number, especially in light of external factors that include geopolitical