Category: General

MANILA: Justice Secretary Jesus Remulla has directed newly-appointed National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Jaime Santiago to prioritize the weeding out of scalawags in the country’s premier law enforcement office. ‘The Secretary’s marching orders to NBI Director were simple: make sure the most competent people are in the appropriate stations; expose erring agents; prevent cybercrime; and do the right thing,’ Department of Justice (DOJ) spokesperson Mico Clavano said in a statement. According to the DOJ, Remulla and Santiago also discussed strategies for streamlining investigative processes. ‘The discussion focused on leveraging advanced technologies, fostering inter-agency cooperation, and effectively implementing policies to

KUALA LUMPUR, Bursa Malaysia’s benchmark index opened lower on Wednesday despite Wall Street’s positive overnight performance on the back of the US Federal Reserve (Fed) statement that keeping rates high for too long would be bad for the US economy. At 9.03 am, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI (FBM KLCI) inched down 0.09 of-a-point to 1,614.33 from Tuesday’s close of 1,614.42. The key index opened 0.71 of-a-point easier at 1,613.71. However, on the broader market, gainers led decliners 155 to 129, with 315 counters unchanged, 1,821 untraded and six suspended. Turnover stood at 114.74 million units worth RM51.09 million. In

MANILA: The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) on Wednesday said the implementation of Executive Order No. 62 lowering the tariff on imported rice and other products may proceed until otherwise restrained by the Supreme Court (SC). ‘We do not know whether the Supreme Court will issue a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) or not in the days to come. I suppose the SC justices are also presently evaluating whether any injunctive relief is necessary. As far as the government is concerned, however, the EO will be implemented unless temporarily restrained by the SC,’ Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra told reporters. ‘We

KUALA LUMPUR, The ringgit was slightly higher against the US dollar in early trade today while steady demand continued to provide support for the greenback, an analyst said. At 9 am, the ringgit stood at 4.7050/7110 versus the US dollar compared to yesterday’s close of 4.7055/7105. Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd chief economist Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the US Dollar Index is still holding up, signalling a resilient demand for the greenback amid hopes of interest rate cuts. Earlier today, Federal Reserve (Fed) chair Jerome Powell’s testimony to the US Congress suggested that the Fed is on track to cut

TACLOBAN CITY: Developing the Babatngon port into a regional transshipment hub will soon proceed with the favorable outcome of technical and economic studies, the Regional Development Council (RDC) reported on Wednesday. Citing the results of a feasibility study, the RDC said the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) will finally begin constructing the PHP934.206 million port in Babatngon, Leyte, a town next to this city. In a statement, the RDC said the project was found to be technically feasible and economically viable based on the feasibility study conducted by the Gammacon Builders, Inc., as presented by the PPA to the region’s highest