Day: July 9, 2025

Benguet: The provincial government of Benguet has announced the opening of 158 scholarship slots for incoming first-year college students for the Academic Year 2025-2026, as confirmed by Governor Melchor Diclas. According to Philippines News Agency, a total of 158 scholarship slots are available for incoming first-year college students under the Provincial Government of Benguet scholarship program. Of these, 140 slots will be designated for each of the province’s barangays, while 18 slots will be allocated for Alternative Learning System (ALS) graduates. These slots are distributed as one per Department of Education (DepEd) district, and four additional slots for students who

Manila: Pending President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s approval of the first service contracts for native hydrogen exploration, the Department of Energy (DOE) has surveyed parts of Zambales and Pangasinan, areas included in the 2024 Philippine Energy Bid Round. The Botolan Hot Spring and Nagsasa Seeps in Zambales and the Mangatarem Hot Spring in Pangasinan were surveyed by a team from the DOE, along with those from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the local governments of Zambales and Pangasinan two weeks ago. According to Philippines News Agency, Assistant Director Demujin Antiporda of DOE’s Energy Resource Development Bureau

Bacolod: Operatives of the Bacolod City Police Office (BCPO) arrested five persons and confiscated PHP1.36 million worth of shabu in a buy-bust operation at Barangay 3 early Wednesday morning. In a report, the police identified the main subject as alias ‘Toto Murillo,’ 21; and his companions with aliases ‘Negro,’ 37; ‘Jonathan,’ 22; ‘Justine,’ 29; and ‘Teyob,’ 32. According to Philippines News Agency, an undercover cop from the City Drug Enforcement Unit (CDEU) bought a sachet of shabu worth PHP1,000 from Toto inside a residence in Purok Lubi at around 4:30 a.m. The operation led to the recovery of one knot-tied

Manila: FinTech Alliance Philippines expressed its support for the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) enhanced regulatory framework aimed at promoting the responsible use of digital financial services, particularly in relation to licensed online gaming platforms. According to Philippines News Agency, the Alliance has acknowledged the growing concerns from the public and various sectors regarding the impact of gaming. FinTech Alliance PH founding chair Lito Villanueva emphasized their commitment to being part of the solution by collaborating with regulators, enhancing safeguards, and protecting the welfare of Filipino consumers. The Alliance highlighted urgent risks associated with financial distress, addiction, and the access

Bicol: The Philippine Statistics Authority in (PSA-5) reported on Wednesday that the inflation rate in the region slowed down from 2.2 percent in May to 1.5 percent in June. PSA-5 chief statistician specialist Rey Merjilla noted that the region’s average inflation from January to June 2025 reached 2.2 percent. According to Philippines News Agency, the downtrend in the overall inflation in June 2025 was primarily influenced by the decrease in the prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages, particularly vegetables, tubers, cereals, fish, and seafood. Merjilla highlighted that housing, water, electricity, and other fuels also contributed to the overall inflation in