Day: August 27, 2025

Manila: Around 3,500 residents from the upland barangays of the Municipality of Alimodian stand to benefit from the PHP52.7 million bridge project funded under the Philippine Rural Development Program (PRDP). The Philippine government provided a counterpart fund of PHP4.57 million, while the provincial government contributed PHP11.5 million. Eighty percent of the total project was financed by the PRDP. According to Philippines News Agency, the 60-linear-meter pre-stressed bridge in Barangay Cabacanan was formally inaugurated on Tuesday, led by Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. It will serve as a lifeline to connect farmers and Indigenous people communities of Cabacanan and nearby barangays

Manila: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has designated Deputy Ombudsman for the Visayas, Dante Vargas, as the new acting Ombudsman, Malaca±ang announced on Wednesday. Palace Press Officer Claire Castro confirmed Vargas’ latest appointment in a text message to Palace reporters. The appointment was announced just a day before the Judicial and Bar Council’s scheduled screening of candidates for the position of Ombudsman. According to Philippines News Agency, before Vargas’s appointment, retired Court of Appeals presiding justice Mariflor Punzalan-Castillo was named acting Ombudsman on July 28, taking over the post vacated by Samuel Martires, who retired on July 27. Prior to

Iloilo city: The local government is preparing for the 2025 KABALAKA Expo, a two-day event aimed at showcasing life-saving knowledge, skills, and innovations in risk reduction and resilience. The expo, scheduled for August 29 to 30, is organized in partnership with the Office of the Civil Defense Western Visayas (OCD6) and other resilience partners. According to Philippines News Agency, Darwin Joemil Papa, head of the Quick Response Division of the Iloilo City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO), stated that the expo was initially set to be part of the National Disaster Resilience Month celebrations in July. However, it

Manila: The Department of Justice (DOJ) has completed the evaluation stage of its probe into the case of dozens of missing ‘sabungeros’ (cockfight enthusiasts). “The evaluation of the cases pertaining to the missing sabungeros have been completed and it will now be subjected to preliminary investigation. Subject to the receipt by the panel of the records, subpoenas will be issued for the conduct of the preliminary investigation on dates to be determined by the (prosecution) panel,” Prosecutor General Richard Anthony Fadullon told reporters on Wednesday. He declined to name who would be summoned for the preliminary investigation. According to Philippines

Manila: Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. emphasized the benefits of the country’s first vaccine against bird flu as the government pushes for food security targets. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved the commercial use of Volvac B.E.S.T. (Baculovirus Expressed System Technology) AI plus ND, designed to protect against highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) or bird flu. According to Philippines News Agency, Tiu Laurel stated that the commercial approval will help ‘strengthen’ production within the poultry sector, aligning with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directives. ‘With the FDA’s approval of Volvac B.E.S.T. AI plus ND, the poultry sector