Category: General

DUMAGUETE CITY: Rice prices in Negros Oriental slightly dropped due to the importation of the commodity, as well as local production, an official of the Department of Agriculture (DA) said Wednesday. Rice traders here said a 50-kg. sack of premium rice is now pegged at roughly PHP2,500 compared to about PHP2,800 in the previous months. In an interview, Alejandro Rafal of the DA – Provincial Agriculture Technology Coordinating Office (PATCO) confirmed the rice price adjustment. Rafal noted that importation is necessary to ensure an abundant supply in the market as local production is not enough. ‘The volume of our local

MANILA: The Civil Service Commission (CSC) is urging barangay health workers (BHWs) to apply for career service eligibility that can be used in applying for permanent positions in the government. CSC Chairperson Karlo Nograles said in accordance with Republic Act (RA) No. 7883, or the Barangay Health Workers’ Benefits and Incentives Act of 1995, the CSC promulgated Resolution No. 992845 which grants civil service eligibility to BHWs in recognition of their voluntary service to the community. ‘Our BHWs, although volunteers, are vital frontliners in our mission to provide accessible and reliable primary healthcare services at the local level. The Barangay

MANILA: The Philippine government on Tuesday clarified anew that there was no agreement to notify China before its conduct of resupply missions to the Ayungin Shoal. In a joint press conference in Quezon City, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said the understanding reached was only to ‘exchange information,’ which Beijing too is obliged to do so under the ambit of the provisional arrangement it signed with Manila. ‘On the issue of notification, I think the more accurate term is exchange of information, which is exactly what we did with China, and – both of us,’ he said. ‘The fact that

SHAH ALAM,, A Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) lecturer pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court, here, today, to 20 counts of fraud, involving eight agents, by submitting false enumerator salary claims between 2019 and 2022. Professor Dr Lee Lai Soon, 49, was accused of intentionally deceiving parties involved by submitting claims with false information, amounting to RM45,366, for services that were never rendered. He is charged with committing an offence under Section 18 of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act 2009, and can be punished under Section 24(2) of the same law, which provides for a maximum imprisonment of 20

SHAH ALAM,, The winner of a singing reality programme, Abdullah Umar Joseph, also known as Cliff Umar, was fined RM5,500, or in default 13 months in prison, by the Magistrate’s Court here today for drug possession and self-administration last May. Magistrate Sasha Diana Sabtu imposed the sentence after the accused, a father of four, pleaded guilty to the two charges against him. Cliff Umar, 42, has also been placed under two years of supervision by the National Anti-Drug Agency (AADK). He was charged with possessing 0.9 grams of heroin and monoacetylmorphine at Jalan Persiaran Kewajipan, Subang Jaya, at around 3.30