Category: General

CEBU CITY: Some PHP35.3 million in monetary claims were released to over 1,000 workers through the Single Entry Approach (SEnA) of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in Central Visayas, a labor official said on Friday. In an updated report from January to July 2024, Lilia Estillore, regional director of DOLE-7, said the SEnA Unit in Cebu handled 1,216 requests for assistance. Through the SEnA desk, some PHP28.8 million in monetary claims were paid to 916 workers in Cebu province and the tri-cities of Cebu, Mandaue, and Lapu-Lapu. In Negros Oriental, 192 requests were accommodated, and 162 were awarded

MANILA: Authorities have seized smuggled cigarettes and counterfeit items worth PHP5.5 billion in a raid of 19 warehouses in Bulacan province, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) reported on Friday. In a news release, Customs Commissioner Bienvenido Rubio said the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service-Manila International Container Port (CIIS-MICP) discovered the items during an inspection at warehouses inside the Green Miles Compound, Sitio Cabatuhan, Camalig in Meycauayan City on Thursday. The inspections yielded PHP5 billion worth of counterfeit goods such as gadgets and garments and PHP500 million worth of smuggled cigarettes ‘Removing illicit, unsafe, and untested tobacco products from our markets

BOGOTA: Venezuela’s Supreme Court ruled Thursday that President Nicolas Maduro won the July 28 presidential election. National media reported that the court’s electoral chamber ruled on the long-disputed election results between the ruling party and the opposition. The court found no irregularities in the results announced by the National Electoral Council (CNE) on July 29, officially confirming Maduro’s win. Judge Caryslia Beatriz Rodriguez said the CNE’s bulletins matched the polling stations’ reports, aligning with the national counting centers’ data. She added that a major cyberattack on the CNE’s system occurred after the election. As the highest judicial authority, the Supreme

MANILA: Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian has underscored the substantial improvement of the agency’s budget utilization rate. He said the DSWD’s obligation rate in July 2023 was only 39 percent, with a disbursement rate of 67 percent. ‘We did a comprehensive housekeeping by conducting a thorough review of our processes and implemented significant improvements. We are pleased to report that the DSWD has made substantial progress in financial management,’ he told the House Committee on Appropriations’ deliberation on Aug. 21. “This year, the DSWD significantly surpassed this performance with an obligation rate of almost 51

BACOLOD CITY: Average residential power rates of all three distribution utilities in Negros Occidental decreased by about PHP2 to PHP3 in August, separate reports on Friday showed. The downward adjustments, which came after a series of increases in the past months, are mainly attributed to the reduction in generation rates due to lower prices in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM). In a statement, the North Negros Electric Cooperative (Noneco) said this month, power cost is PHP13.79 per kilowatt hour (kWh), lower by PHP1.99 compared to PHP15.79 per kWh in July. “There’s a 12 percent reduction in August. This is