General

Silay City: Negros Occidental’s provincial government has hailed the return of the ‘Mango Harvesters’ painting of National Artist Fernando Amorsolo to the Hofile±a Museum in Silay City, Negros Occidental. The 1936 painting, stolen from the museum on July 3, 2024, was recovered by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) days later and turned over to the National Museum in Manila on July 12. According to Philippines News Agency, on Friday afternoon, the masterpiece was unveiled and displayed anew in a ceremony led by the Hofile±a family and joined by city officials, law enforcers, culture and history advocates, artists, and tourist

Bacolod: Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez has welcomed the additional PHP205 million allocation from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) for the expansion of the Bacolod-Silay Airport terminal in Negros Occidental. The new funding was approved amid the ongoing implementation of the PHP45 million rehabilitation of the passenger terminal building to address several outdated and deteriorated building materials and components, which is expected to be completed this December. According to Philippines News Agency, Benitez expressed gratitude towards CAAP for approving the request and allocating PHP205 million for the Bacolod-Silay Airport upgrade. The mayor anticipates an upgrade of the airport

Manila: Twenty-nine areas in the country will experience sweltering temperatures due to danger-level heat indices while the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) will continue to bring rains across Mindanao, the weather bureau said Saturday. According to Philippines News Agency, the heat index is what the temperature feels like to the human body when relative humidity combines with air. A peak heat index of 45°C is forecast in Mu±oz, Nueva Ecija, as per the 5 a.m. bulletin of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA). The following areas will also see danger-level heat indices: Laoag, Ilocos Norte with 42°C, Dagupan

Manila: Most banks have generally maintained their credit standards for businesses in the first quarter of 2025, as indicated by the results of the Q1 2025 Senior Bank Loan Officers’ Survey released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Friday. According to Philippines News Agency, the survey utilized a modal approach, analyzing the results based on the option with the highest number of responses. Approximately 81.8 percent of respondent banks kept their credit standards steady, a slight decrease from the 83.3 percent recorded in the previous quarter. The BSP reported, “Banks tightened their loan standards for enterprises due to

Quezon City: The Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS) is on heightened alert in the wake of reported threats and violence against journalists amid the election season. ‘Ang (The) Presidential Task Force on Media Security ay (is) on alert these weeks, especially ahead of the midterm elections,’ PTFoMS executive director Undersecretary Jose Torres Jr. said in a weekly news forum in Quezon City on Saturday. According to Philippines News Agency, Torres cited the case of dzRH reporter Romeo Be±as who was threatened by La Paz, Abra Mayor Joseph Bernos through Facebook messenger and a video call on April 21.