Category: General

Manila: Damage to agriculture due to the onslaught of Severe Tropical Storm Enteng has risen to more than PHP600 million, according to the Department of Agriculture – Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DA-DRRM) Operations Center on Friday. Based on the DA-DRRM’s Bulletin No. 4, the volume loss almost doubled to 28,788 metric tons (MT) worth PHP659.01 million, from the 15,205 MT volume loss valued at PHP360.18 million on Sept. 4. About 27,598 farmers were reportedly affected in Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Bicol, Western Visayas, and Eastern Visayas. Rice production incurred the highest volume loss, worth PHP624.06 million, with Camarines Sur

Tacloban: The military has unearthed an arms cache belonging to the New People’s Army (NPA) in the upland Canca-iyas village in Basey, Samar, as part of the government forces’ efforts to dwindle rebel forces in the region. The Philippine Army’s 63rd Infantry Battalion (63IB) reported on Friday that soldiers unearthed on Thursday an M1 Garand rifle and the banned anti-personnel mine. Lt. Col. Eduardo Meclat Jr., commander of the Army’s 63rd Infantry Battalion, said information provided by surrendered and captured former rebels from the Bugsok platoon has led to the recovery of the arms cache. ‘The NPA’s Bugsok platoon has

Manila: The country’s unemployment rate decreased to 4.7 percent in July from 4.9 percent in the same month last year, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Friday. In a briefing, National Statistician Dennis Mapa said the results of the latest labor force survey showed that in terms of magnitude, the total number of unemployed individuals in July 2024 was registered at 2.38 million. The decline in July brings the year-to-date unemployment rate to 4.4 percent, meeting the nation’s target range of 4.4 percent to 4.7 percent for this year. Mapa said the Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in July was

Manila: The Civil Service Commission (CSC) is encouraging government employees to help save lives by participating in the nationwide bloodletting drive on Sept. 12, 2024. The activity, dubbed ‘Dugtong Buhay, Handog ng Lingkod Bayan,’ will be conducted by the CSC, jointly with the Department of Health – Philippine Blood Center (PBC) and Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital and Sanitarium, as part of the 124th Philippine Civil Service Anniversary (PCSA) celebration. CSC Chairperson Karlo Nograles said he is looking forward to the support of national and local government agencies, along with their employees, during the second week of the PCSA,

Cebu: The Department of Agriculture (DA) is testing and validating the NextGen or Next Generation new rice varieties program in Central Visayas, an official said Thursday. Wilfreda Malayao, DA 7 (Central Visayas) NextGen focal person, said the program is a collaborative effort of breeding institutions generating different varieties of rice suited to local conditions. These institutions are the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), PhilRice, and the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB). Malayao said they have established researcher-managed participatory performance testing and validation in Cebu, Bohol, Negros Oriental, and Siquijor. ‘The use of high-quality rice seeds is recommended because