Day: July 1, 2025

Bicol: More than 2,000 minimum wage earners from six provinces in the Bicol Region have benefited from the launch of the PHP20 per kg rice program “Benteng Bigas Meron (BBM) Na” on Tuesday. Department of Labor and Employment Regional Director Imelda Gatinao stated that the program is crucial for meeting the needs of low-income workers. According to Philippines News Agency, the program currently includes 2,404 workers, with an aim to reach 17,000. It has been rolled out in Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, Sorsogon, Albay, Catanduanes, and recently in Masbate. The program is a collaboration with the Department of Agriculture, the

Cotabato city: The families of overseas Bangsamoro workers (OBWs) who passed away while employed abroad were recipients of financial grants from the Ministry of Labor and Employment in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). According to Philippines News Agency, twenty beneficiaries received assistance via the Social Benefits Program (SBP) during a distribution event at the MOLE regional office within the Bangsamoro government center. Among the beneficiaries were seven immediate relatives of deceased OBWs who were awarded natural death and burial benefits, as stated by BARMM Labor Minister Muslimin Sema. Each recipient was granted PHP90,000 in death benefits along

Laoag: Landowners affected by land acquisition for the Laoag International Airport expansion project were reminded on Tuesday to speed up the submission of their deed of sale requirements or their properties will be expropriated by the government. According to Philippines News Agency, Evalaudia Duyor, officer-in-charge of the Provincial Assessors Office, stated that almost all of the affected landowners have complied with the requirements for the release of their payments except for a few. “Some of the landowners received full payment of their properties already but others have received their first half or 50 percent,” Duyor noted, emphasizing that the concerned

Iloilo: Local government units in Iloilo were challenged to make the Philippine Open Government Partnership (PH-OGP) a shared mission and a standard in delivering services. Speaking during the mass oath-taking ceremony of provincial officials led by reelected Governor Arthur Defensor Jr., Budget and Management Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said the PH-OGP was institutionalized under President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to “bridge the gap between government and the people, to ensure policies are not just crafted for the people but co-created by them.” According to Philippines News Agency, Pangandaman emphasized that when local leaders, civil society, and the national government co-decide solutions,

Manila: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Tuesday administered the oath of office of Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro as the new secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), in a ceremony held at Malaca±ang Palace. Lazaro, who most recently served as DFA undersecretary for Bilateral Relations and ASEAN Affairs, formally assumed her post as the country’s top diplomat, replacing Enrique Manalo, who is set to return as the Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York. According to Philippines News Agency, alongside the oath-taking, Marcos also conferred on Lazaro the Order of Sikatuna with the Rank of