Day: June 16, 2025

Dumaguete: At least 80 percent of learners in public schools in this Negros Oriental capital went back to their classes as the new academic year opened Monday. Officer-in-charge Dr. Juditha Mapue, Assistant Schools Division Superintendent of the Department of Education (DepEd) – Dumaguete, noted the active participation of students on the first day. According to Philippines News Agency, Dr. Juditha Mapue mentioned that some parents were still in the process of enrolling their children for Academic Year 2025-2026. She highlighted the challenges in determining the exact number of enrollees through the Learner Information System (LIS), which requires validation. However, classroom

Pasay City: The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) is urging both the government and the public to give long-term and permanent Filipino migrants the same recognition afforded to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), as it celebrated its 45th founding anniversary on Monday in Pasay City. According to Philippines News Agency, CFO Chairperson Secretary Dante ‘Klink’ Ang II emphasized the significant yet often overlooked role of permanent migrants, including dual citizens, foreign-born children, and spouses of foreign nationals, who have settled abroad. He highlighted the need for equal appreciation and support for these migrants who contribute to national development in various ways.

Manila: The country’s sugar production may breach two million metric tons (MT), the Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) reported on Monday. The volume is higher than the SRA’s 1.782 million MT projected output for the cropping year. According to Philippines News Agency, SRA Administrator Pablo Luis Azcona attributed the positive local output to ‘intensive research, massive production and distribution of high-yielding varieties.’ Azcona noted the significant improvement in the quality of cane varieties, which has led to increased production output. “Personally, I was not a believer of SRA varieties in the past but without a doubt, we have produced very high-quality

Manila: There will be no maximum suggested retail price (MSRP) for local pork while the hog industry is still under its repopulation efforts because of African swine fever (ASF) in the country, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said Monday. This announcement follows the Department of Agriculture’s decision on May 15 to lift the pork MSRP, granting the pork industry time to recover. According to Philippines News Agency, the MSRP for local pork was previously set at PHP380 per kilogram for “liempo” (belly), PHP350/kg for “kasim” (ham) and pigue, and PHP300/kg for “sabit-ulo”. In a media interview, Tiu Laurel mentioned

Pagudpud: A kilo of shabu approximately worth PHP6.8 million was recovered off Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte, on Monday morning, police said. The Ilocos Norte Police Provincial Office (INPPO) reported that a 44-year-old fisher noticed a floating plastic package about two miles from the Pasaleng shoreline at about 10:30 a.m. The package had markings of a durian-like fruit with Chinese characters and the number ’66.’ According to Philippines News Agency, the Regional Border Control and Pagudpud Police Station were alerted about the discovery. The package is now under the custody of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in Ilocos Norte for proper