Category: General

Manila: The Philippines and Italy are working to conclude a defense agreement ‘at the soonest possible time,’ with hopes to sign it as early as 2025, the Philippine Embassy in Italy has said. Italian Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto and Philippine Ambassador to Italy Neal Imperial committed to work on the early conclusion of the updated memorandum of understanding (MOU) on defense cooperation during the latter’s courtesy call on Oct. 9. The deal will replace an already expired MOU. ‘To facilitate stronger and closer defense ties, both sides agreed to work on the conclusion of an updated defense cooperation MOU

Some 227 families from Bangar town in La Union who evacuated on Tuesday ahead of the onslaught of Tropical Storm Kristine have received food and non-food assistance. The La Union Provincial Information Office told the Philippine News Agency Wednesday that the food items included six kilos of rice, eight pieces of canned goods, and six pieces of instant coffee while non-food items included toothbrushes, soap, laundry powder, shampoo, and towels. The evacuees are staying at the municipal covered court and the municipal evacuation center. The province is under red alert status since Tuesday due to Kristine. Provincial Information Officer Rowan

MANILA: A Quezon City court has dismissed falsification charges against an Australian mining officer, his Filipino counterpart, and two others for ‘failure of the prosecution to present inculpatory evidence.’ In a 31-page decision dated Sept. 20, QC Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 226 Presiding Judge Manuel Sta. Cruz dismissed the charge of falsification of public documents against Australian national Jeffery McGlinn, Joseph Mahusay, Ramon Austria, and lawyer Rosalinda Montenegro. The charges involve six information involving alleged irregularities in the assignment of shares in Agusan-based gold mining firm Medusa Exploration and Development Corp., now Philsaga Management and Holdings, Inc. (PMHI), and

BACOLOD CITY – Negros Occidental’s provincial government is seeking to regain control of its official Facebook page, which was hacked on Monday, showing photos of half-naked women on its stories. Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II said in an interview that they have referred the matter to the Information and Communications Technology Division, which began the process of retrieving access to the page. ‘They have experience in how to do that. I’m confident they will recover the Facebook page of the province,’ he added. The ‘Provincial Government of Negros Occidental’ page, which posts updates on the activities of Governor Eugenio Jose

Manila: A new policing app will soon be available allowing the public across Metro Manila to report crimes and incidents, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) said Tuesday. NCRPO Director Maj. Gen. Sidney Hernia said the agency has set in motion the shift towards a more efficient and technology-driven approach in policing. The fully centralized and digitalized crime reporting app, called the anti-crime super app, is through Philippine National Police Law Enforcement Reporting and Information System, E-Gov Super App. Developed by the Department of Information and Communications Technology, it is being tested at NCRPO district offices. It will be