Day: January 20, 2025

Santos City: A lawmaker on Monday has sought for stricter laws to regulate firearms ownership and dismantle private armed groups to curb election-related violence. In his privilege speech during the plenary session, General Santos City Rep. Loreto Acharon said legislative action is necessary to ensure long-term electoral integrity. According to Philippines News Agency, Acharon emphasized the need for appropriate legal frameworks specifically addressing firearms ownership and partisan armed groups. He warned that without these measures, efforts to reduce or eradicate election-related violence will remain uncoordinated and untenable. Acharon noted that while election-related incidents (ERIs) have generally declined from 2013 to

Iloilo City: Taxi driver Anthony Aguirre, 52, from Pavia town earned the admiration of the city government after returning a backpack containing PHP2.4 million in cash left behind by a passenger. Aguirre will be conferred the title Honorary Citizen of Iloilo City and rewarded with PHP20,000 cash. ‘His actions reflect the integrity and compassion of Ilonggos,’ Mayor Jerry Tre±as said in a statement on Monday. According to Philippines News Agency, Aguirre transported the passenger on January 17 from a hotel to the Lapuz roll-on, roll-off wharf bound for Palawan province. The following day, his operator received a call from the

Manila: The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is considering pushing to an earlier schedule the filing of the certificates of candidacy (COC) for the 2028 elections. In an interview on Monday, Comelec Chairperson George Garcia stated that instead of the usual October 2027 timeframe, they are planning to conduct the filing period in July of that year. According to Philippines News Agency, Garcia explained that holding the COC filing in July would allow sufficient time to resolve potential cases. He emphasized that candidates are only officially recognized during the campaign period. By filing in July, there would be ample time to

Manila: The Philippines’ local palay (unhusked rice) production may hit as high as 20.4 million metric tons (MMT) this year, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said Monday. “We’re now hopeful we could do better than 2023,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. stated following President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to “restore” the PHP10 billion budget cut for rice production. According to Philippines News Agency, the country registered a record-high 20.06 MMT palay production in 2023, before being affected by the El Ni±o phenomenon, successive weather disturbances, and La Ni±a, which negatively impacted the rice production in 2024. “Ang target

Manila: The Senate has adopted a resolution Monday congratulating Sofronio Vasquez for making history as the first Filipino and Asian to win the prestigious singing competition The Voice USA. Vasquez, a 32-year-old singer from Misamis Oriental, earned the title during the show’s Season 26 finale on Dec. 10, 2024. According to Philippines News Agency, Senate Resolution No. 1259, authored by Senator Joel Villanueva and consolidated with resolutions from Senator Imee Marcos and Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Estrada, was unanimously adopted by senators in recognition of Vasquez’s achievement as a milestone for Filipino artists globally. During his explanation of the