General

Manila: The local stock market shed during Thursday’s trading after winning for three straight days, while the peso closed flat. The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) eased by 0.16 percent to 6,158.48 points, as All Shares slipped by 0.01 percent to 3,658.25. According to Philippines News Agency, counters were mixed with gainers – Mining and Oil was up by 2.10 percent to 10,074.21; Holding Firms, up by 0.99 percent to 5,146.44; Industrial, up by 0.52 percent to 8,691.02; and Property, inching up by 0.01 percent to 2,229.92. Indices with shedding were Services, down by 1.47 percent to 1,943.53, and Financials,

Manila: The Department of Health (DOH), in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF, has reiterated the importance of achieving vaccine coverage targets to prevent outbreaks, highlighting the critical role of immunization in public health. “Vaccination is a cornerstone of the DOH’s 8-Point Action Agenda,” stated DOH Secretary Teodoro Herbosa in a recent news release. According to Philippines News Agency, as of February 2025, 1,542,282 of the 2,392,392 children aged 0 to 12 months have been fully vaccinated. This marks an improvement with the number of unvaccinated or ‘zero-dose children’ decreasing to 163,000 in 2023 from over 1

Manila: Regular customers of the Kadiwa ng Pangulo (KNP) are hopeful that the Department of Agriculture (DA) will soon initiate a nationwide sale of affordable rice priced at PHP20 per kilogram. This anticipation follows an announcement by DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. regarding the pilot sale of PHP20/kg rice in the Visayas region. The announcement came after a closed-door meeting with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and 12 governors from the region. According to Philippines News Agency, the program will initially allow each family in the Visayas a purchase limit of 10 kilograms per week, summing up to 40

Manila: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China are “politically committed” to concluding the Code of Conduct (COC) on the South China Sea by 2026, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo announced Thursday. Speaking at the Maritime Security Forum in Manila, Manalo highlighted the consensus among all parties involved to establish the code by the proposed deadline. According to Philippines News Agency, Manalo noted that there are still several issues that need to be addressed, requiring agreement among all 10 ASEAN member states and China. He emphasized the importance of addressing key issues such as the scope of the

Manila: The streaming views of the drama “Conclave” by Edward Berger, starring Ralph Fiennes, have surged by 283 percent following the death of Pope Francis, as reported by the tallying site Luminate on Wednesday. The film, which explores the intricate maneuvers of cardinals during the election of a new pope, recorded approximately 1.8 million minutes watched on April 20, the day of Francis’ passing. By the end of April 21, this figure had skyrocketed to 6.9 million minutes. According to Philippines News Agency, another film featuring a papal narrative, “The Two Popes,” directed by Brazilian filmmaker Fernando Meirelles, also experienced