Category: General

ILOILO CITY – A total of 2,253 public schools in Western Visayas shifted to alternative delivery mode (ADM) on Tuesday following the suspension of face-to-face classes by their respective local government units due to inclement weather brought about by Tropical Storm Kristine. ‘All were declared by local government units and due to inclement weather,’ said Hernani Escullar Jr., regional information officer of the Department of Education. The suspension of in-person classes resulted in some 982,359 learners shifting to ADM. Based on available data as of 9 a.m. Tuesday, the highest number of suspended in-person classes came from the various schools

Manila: To expedite the government-controlled vaccination against African swine fever (ASF), the Department of Agriculture (DA) has expanded its rollout nationwide, including commercial farms and swine herds, under the Integrated National Swine Production Initiatives for Recovery and Expansion (INSPIRE) Program. In a phone interview, DA Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said the move will supplement the controlled rollout in small farms. “Iyong bilang kasi ng (The number of [pigs] in) small hold, less than 100 and then iyong semi-commercial malaki iyon and then commercial talagang thousands of heads. Talagang mas mabilis (in the semi-commercial, that’s huge, and then thousands of

Manila: Self-rated poverty in the Philippines dropped in the third quarter of 2024 with about 43 percent of Filipino families, or approximately 11.3 million, considering themselves poor, according to the latest survey conducted by OCTA Research. This figure, based on the Tugon ng Masa (TNM) survey conducted from Aug. 28 to Sept. 2, represents a substantial improvement from the 48 percent recorded in the second quarter of the year. This 5-percentage point decrease equates to a reduction of about 1.4 million families who no longer consider themselves poor, underscoring a “notable shift in self-perceptions of poverty,” according to OCTA. OCTA

Manila: Savouge Aesthetics defeated Volleyball Never Stops (VNS), 25-16, 25-23, 25-16, to gain a share of the early lead in the Spikers’ Turf Invitational Conference at Santa Rosa Sports Complex in Laguna on Tuesday. Jhun Lorenz Señoron and Norwel Sanama scored nine points each as the Spin Doctors secured their second win after a narrow five-set victory over the Martelli Meats. DN Steel-Far Eastern University also has two wins over Chichi DHTSI and D’Navigators Iloilo. ‘I always tell my team that let’s do it one step at a time. So whoever we will face, let’s just do our best. So

Manila: Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi will continue promoting closer cooperation with the Philippines, including on establishing a free and open rules-based order in the region. The newly appointed Iwaya made the commitment after speaking with Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo in a telephone meeting on Tuesday. During the call, Manalo congratulated Iwaya on his appointment and the latter stated that he ‘would like to steadily promote Japan-Philippines cooperation as well as multilateral cooperation, including Japan-US-Philippines cooperation, to maintain and strengthen a free and open international order based on the rule of law.’ Japan has been a staunch supporter of