Day: February 9, 2025

Manila: The Department of Agriculture (DA) will prioritize projects with strong and sustainable returns under its multiyear budget plan. At a recent two-day budget planning session, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. stressed the need to strategically allocate limited resources, focusing on projects with an internal rate of return of 12 percent to 14 percent per year or a payback period of no more than seven years to ensure bankability and profitability. According to Philippines News Agency, Tiu Laurel introduced a corporate approach to DA’s operations and budgeting when he joined the Marcos administration in November 2023, emphasizing that every

Pasig City: Cignal HD Spikers’ Ishie Lalongisip was named the Premier Volleyball League (PVL) Press Corps Player of the Week for February 4 to 8, becoming the first rookie to receive the honor. According to Philippines News Agency, Lalongisip scored 13 points on Thursday as Cignal ended a two-game slump with a 25-12, 25-15, 25-17 victory over Capital1 at Philsports Arena in Pasig City. This victory improved the HD Spikers’ record to 6-3 in the All-Filipino Conference. The 23-year-old Adamson University alumna expressed her approach to the game, stating, “I just embrace the role given to me by coach Shaq

Nueva Ecija: Alleged members of a private armed group (PAG) in Nueva Ecija surrendered unlicensed firearms and ammunition to the Police Regional Office-Central Luzon (PRO-3), an official said Sunday. PRO-3 chief Brig. Gen. Jean Fajardo reported that the Nueva Ecija Police Provincial Office (NEPPO) facilitated the voluntary surrender of an M-17 rifle, five silver caliber .45 pistols, one black Colt .380 pistol, a 12-gauge shotgun, and one black M-16 rifle, as well as several magazines and rounds of ammunition, in Barangay Papaya, San Antonio on February 7. According to Philippines News Agency, the surrender boosts efforts to prevent violence as

Phitsanulok: Filipino cyclist Mark John Lexer Galedo secured a silver medal in the Masters 40-44 age category of individual time trial (ITT) at the Asian Cycling Confederation Road Championships in Phitsanulok, Thailand on Saturday. Galedo completed the 21-kilometer course in 28 minutes and 25.2 seconds, finishing 35 seconds behind Thailand’s Tawatchai Jeeradechatam. According to Philippines News Agency, Jeeradechatam previously topped the ITT event at the 2013 Southeast Asian Games in Myanmar. Another Thai cyclist, Kritsana Keawjun, settled for bronze. The 39-year-old Galedo, a former elite rider who retired in December last year, competed in the 40-44 age category based on

Manila: A shear line affecting Southern Luzon and Visayas will bring moderate to heavy rains to select provinces until Wednesday noon. The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) 5 p.m. bulletin on Sunday stated that the provinces expected to be affected until Tuesday noon include Quezon, Oriental Mindoro, Palawan, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Albay, Sorsogon, Eastern Samar, and Northern Samar. According to Philippines News Agency, Palawan News reported heavy flooding in several villages in Puerto Princesa City and other southern towns on Sunday following two days of heavy rainfall. The communities impacted by the flooding are San