Day: January 23, 2025

Manila: The Philippines’ Offshore Combat Force now boasts assets equipped with anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities, a Philippine Navy (PN) official announced Thursday. “Almost all of our Offshore Combat (Force) ships belonging to the Philippine Fleet (PF) already have ASW capabilities,” PN spokesperson Capt. John Percie Alcos stated in an interview with the Philippine News Agency. This development comes as the Navy plans to deploy surface action groups to enhance patrols in the Philippines’ maritime territories. According to Philippines News Agency, ASW involves the ability to detect, locate, and, if necessary, neutralize hostile submarines within the country’s waters. Major assets of

Manila: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. praised the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for its instrumental support in the Philippines’ development, especially during the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. Marcos made the remark as he met with outgoing ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa on Thursday in Malaca±ang. According to Philippines News Agency, the President expressed deep gratitude for the ADB’s contributions, particularly in aiding the country’s recovery during the health crisis. “I have to always thank you for the involvement of ADB. The partnership of ADB and the Philippines has certainly grown to a great deal,” said Marcos, acknowledging ADB’s sustained role

Manila: Small Business Corporation (SBCorp), the financing arm of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), has extended PHP223.5 million to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the Bicol region who were severely hit by typhoons in 2024. According to Philippines News Agency, SBCorp announced that 1,121 loan applications from the Bicol region have been approved. The majority of these approvals came from Camarines Sur with 874 applications, followed by Albay with 112, Sorsogon with 68, Camarines Norte with 49, Catanduanes with 15, and Masbate with 3. More than half of the approved loan, totaling PHP124 million, has been

Zamboanga del Norte: A magnitude 5.4 earthquake that is tectonic in origin shook Zamboanga del Norte on Thursday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said. The quake, initially reported by Phivolcs as magnitude 6.1, struck 5 kilometers southeast of Siocon at 11:41 a.m., with a depth of 43 kilometers. According to Philippines News Agency, Intensity V was felt in Siocon; Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay; and Isabela City. Intensity IV was registered in Zamboanga City; Sibuco, Zamboanga del Norte; Dimataling, Zamboanga del Sur; and Alicia, Zamboanga Sibugay. Intensity III was reported in the City of Dipolog and President Manuel A.

Taguig City: A female high-value target yielded some PHP4.8 million worth of shabu in a sting operation in Taguig City, the local police said Thursday. In a statement, Taguig City Police Station (TCPS) chief Col. Joey Goforth said the suspect Sherhana Hatae, 33, a resident of Guadalupe, Makati City, was nabbed in a buy-bust in Barangay South Signal at about 11:40 p.m. Wednesday. According to Philippines News Agency, seized from the suspect were three knot-tied plastic bags containing 708.5 grams of shabu and buy-bust money. The operation is the latest in a string of successful buy-busts by the TCPS, which