Category: General

Manila: Former president Rodrigo R. Duterte is planning to attend the Senate inquiry into his administration’s war on drugs, Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa assured on Tuesday. “The former President told me that he is going to attend the Senate hearing regardless of who is presiding,” dela Rosa told reporters in a Viber message. He earlier said Duterte will attend the investigation if he is the one who will invite the former president “because he’s more comfortable with the Senate compared to the House of Representatives.” Dela Rosa also dismissed calls for him and Senator Christopher Go to file an

Manila: The local bourse slightly increased as investors got confident about third quarter financial results of firms and the central bank’s policy easing, but the peso continued to depreciate on Tuesday’s trading. The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEI) inched up by 0.09 percent to 7,413.16, with All Shares also going up by 0.13 percent to 4,085.50. Counters were mixed with those in the green territory including Services (+1.21 percent) and Industrial (+0.69 percent). Sectors that closed in the red were Financials (-0.50 percent), Property (-0.41 percent), Holding Firms (-0.30 percent), and Mining and Oil (-0.16 percent). ‘Tuesday’s gains are seen

MALASIQUI, Pangasinan – The province of Pangasinan was placed under blue alert on Tuesday after Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 1 was raised due to Tropical Storm Kristine. Assistant Director Pia Flores of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office Emergency Operations Center said in a phone interview that 70 percent of their search and rescue teams are on standby for possible deployment. Blue alert status means half of disaster officials must be on standby to ensure that there will be enough manpower in case of an emergency. ‘Rescue assets are prepositioned in strategic areas in the province,” she

Manila: Hundreds of passengers have been affected by the baggage handling system (BHS) “technical issue” at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) since Oct. 18, an airline bared Tuesday. Cebu Pacific (CEB) spokesperson Carmina Romero said about 800 bags were affected by the glitch as of Oct. 22. The airline, in a statement, said a dedicated team manages the situation. Passengers could have their bags delivered to their destination or they could pick them up at the airport for domestic flights. Similar options were provided to passengers of international flights, along with delivery services for passengers with onward destinations. “Matagal

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