Category: General

Manila: Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista on Thursday said all airports in the Bicol Region — one of the areas hardest hit by Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (international name: Trami) — are operational. Daraga, Virac, Masbate and Naga airports may be used for air transport of relief goods. “We have CAAP (Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines) personnel available to assist if ever there will be flights in these airports,” Bautista said. On Wednesday, the CAAP reported that the Bicol International Airport (BIA) was operational. However, the CAAP said no personnel of Cebu Pacific (CEB) and Philippine Airlines was able to

Education Secretary Sonny Angara on Thursday expressed optimism on the possible benefits of the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to improve the quality of education in the Philippines. In an ambush interview at the sidelines of the University of the Philippines’ (UP) AI Horizons PH 2024 Conference, Angara said utilizing AI may advance efficiency in learning. ‘Talagang pinag-aaralan namin ano iyong posibilidad diyan. Kasi nakikita natin, may pakinabang talaga diyan yung mga guro, meron din pakinabang sa mga estudyante (We are really studying the possibilities there. Because we see that there’s really a benefit for teachers, even for students),’ he

Datu Rico Maca, an Indigenous People (IP) leader in Surigao del Sur, praised the recent transfer of the National Commission on Indigenous People (NCIP) to the Office of the President (OP) from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Maca believes the move, outlined in Executive Order No. 71, will enhance government attention on IP concerns, improving resource allocation and ensuring more efficient implementation of programs that protect IP rights and ancestral lands. He thanked President Ferdinand R. Marcos for prioritizing IP communities. “This transfer assures us that our concerns will be heard at the highest level,” Maca said

The provincial government here has begun distributing medical supplies and dispatching mobile kitchens to evacuees affected by the onslaught of Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (Trami). In an interview on Thursday, Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (PDRRMO) head Amor Banuelos-Calayan said they have coordinated efforts with the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) and the Provincial Health Office (PHO) to distribute hot meals and conduct medical assessment in different evacuation sites. She said they opened a total of 34 evacuation centers in Calatagan, Alitagtag, Batangas City, Lobo, Tuy, Lipa City, San Juan, Taal, Cuenca, Sta. Teresita, San Luis,

PALO, Leyte – Eastern Visayas on Thursday deployed 172 responders, mostly policemen, to help victims of Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (international name: Trami) in the Bicol region. Of the number, 150 are personnel of the Philippine National Police (PNP), 16 from the Bureau of Fire Protection, and six from the Philippine Coast Guard. PNP Eastern Visayas Regional Director Brig. Gen. Jay Cumigad said that as a member agency of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, they are committed to helping during calamities. ‘In these trying times, we should never fail to render assistance to areas affected the most.