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An elated Nia said she was ‘still processing everything and currently in pinch-me mode’.

July 08, 2023 12:00 PM

Data from 2016-18 from the IITs show that the majority of the students had secured a seat by studying on their own.

July 08, 2023 12:00 PM

Kota’s thriving business model is built upon elite ‘rankers’ who bring in the lure and the masses who bring in the money.

July 08, 2023 11:43 AM

Treasury did not name the women participating.

Police have made significant changes to the ways they handle politicians’ security after the ex-prime minister was gunned down on July 8 last year.

July 08, 2023 11:22 AM

Previous cooperation on climate change between both countries had made possible global breakthroughs.

The country’s unemployment rate dipped in May to its second lowest level since April 2005, while the quality of jobs improved, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

The Move Forward Party leader said the kingdom is ‘back on track to be fully democratic and we all look forward to welcoming you to this beautiful nation of ours’.

As in Britain, and increasingly the US, mortgage stress is mounting, but Australia isn’t awash with desperate for-sale signs. Though that may be about to change if unemployment spikes – and defaults inevitably follow.

The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology raised on June 8 the status of Mayon Volcano in Albay to Alert Level 3 after it showed an “increased tendency towards a hazardous eruption.”

July 08, 2023 8:43 AM

Vietnam banned the movie which showed a Chinese map of territory in the South China Sea.

China is next on the list of applicants to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, having submitted its application just months after the UK in 2021.

July 08, 2023 7:37 AM

Mr Grossi's arrival was met with protesters at Seoul’s Gimpo Airport.

Seoul is sitting on one of the world's biggest ammunition stockpiles but is reluctant to give it away.

Biology major Gibran Huzaifah, 33, who often slept rough and once did not eat for days, co-founded aquaculture success story eFishery.

July 08, 2023 6:52 AM

It calls the drills "unacceptable and extremely regrettable.”

A BRIDGE connecting Barangays Poblacion 2 and Poblacion 3 in Carcar City, southern Cebu has been named after the late Peary Aleonar, who had written opinion columns and served as judge in the Regional Trial Court (RTC).

Carcar City officials and family members of Aleonar led the unveiling of the Judge Peary Aleonar Bridge marker on Friday, July 7, 2023. The activity was one of the highlights of the city’s 16th Charter Day celebration.

Carcar City Mayor Mario Patricio Barcenas, in an interview with the media after the ceremony, said the bridge serves as a tribute to Aleonar’s contributions as an upright judge and opinion writer that brought pride to the city.

Barcenas said this is Carcar City’s third time honoring residents who have shown exceptional talent and brought pride to the city. He also mentioned that Baracca Bridge, the infrastructure’s old name, had been renamed in Aleonar’s honor because of the presence of his kin in the area.

On the same day, city officials also unveiled the city’s Hall of Fame and recognized former mayors and locals who have excelled in the fields of arts, sports and music.

Aleonar’s daughter, Dina Aleonar, said she is proud of her father’s work both as a writer and judge.

Peary Aleonar had served as a former newspaper editor and columnist, RTC judge, lawyer, teacher and engineering graduate.

He showed his artistic talents from a young age, playing the violin and piano and engaging in creative drawing.

Aleonar wrote a column for The Freeman, “The Questionnaire,” in the 1970s, featuring sentences that all ended with question marks, addressing community problems and giving readers a voice.

In addition to being a prominent figure in the media, he had also served as an engineering college dean and was a member of the Board of the Cebu City Integrated Bar of the Philippines. In 1983, he was appointed as an RTC judge. (CNU interns Angel Leduna and Camille Erica Butas)

LOCAL tourism stakeholders and industry leaders have rallied support behind the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) newest slogan “Love the Philippines” following the fiasco over the DOT’s controversial ad campaign.

The Hotel, Resort and Restaurant Association of Cebu Inc. (HRRACI), Mandaue City Chamber of Commerce of Industry (MCCI), and Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) in separate statements expressed their support and confidence in the leadership of Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco in her efforts to rebrand the country’s tourism.

Cebu Mandaue Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industries Inc. (CMFCCCI) and Cebu Filipino Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CFCCCI) also extended their support to Frasco.

More than 63 tourism officers across municipalities and cities in Cebu are backing Frasco while a handful of legislators expressed mixed reactions to the controversy that arose after the DOT launched its newest slogan on June 27, 2023 through an audio-visual presentation containing stock video of beautiful sceneries that were not taken in the country.

Support

“We stand behind Secretary Frasco in her efforts to rectify and hold accountable those who are responsible for this misstep. We trust that she and her team will be able to chart the direction of the country’s tourism industry, which is a vital sector in our nation’s economy,” MCCI president Kelie Ko said.

“Tourism should be an experience of genuine love, one that will make visitors want to return again and again. Love is a remarkable force, and it is our strongest asset when it comes to dominating the tourism industry,” HRRACI said.

“Love the Philippines is such a strong and powerful statement. Our country had (gone) through the unthinkable and we made it out unscathed. To ‘Love the Philippines’ is, but apt and timely in these very interesting times,” according to CMFCCC.

They urged the public to unite in supporting the DOT’s newest campaign as it promotes the country as a premier tourist destination.

They also urged the public to support Frasco as they believe that under her leadership, the country’s tourism will continue to grow.

Senate

Meanwhile, Senators Juan Miguel Zubiri, Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada, Pia Cayetano, Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, Robin Padilla, Christopher “Bong” Go, Ramon “Bong” Revilla, Loren Legarda and Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian have all rallied behind Frasco.

The legislators lauded Frasco’s efforts in reviving Philippine tourism after the devastating effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We need to support the DOT and our tourism stakeholders even more this time, as we need to infuse into our country the needed billions of dollars brought in by tourists from all over the world. And we should refrain from damaging further our image as a rising global tourist destination,” Zubiri said in a statement.

However, Senator Nancy Binay called the tourism slogan “unsalvageable” and urged the DOT to revert to the old campaign tagline “It’s more fun in the Philippines.”

“The campaign has lost its redeeming value and has become unsalvageable—I hope the DOT is level-headed enough to accept this. We expect them to be agile and move forward from failure because we don’t want the slogan to become a national embarrassment,” Binay said in a statement.

SARI-SARI store owner Norecris Pulvera often receives worn-out bills from her elderly neighbors in Barangay Ibabao-Estancia, Mandaue City.

Feeling compassion for them, she just accepts their bills in exchange for the goods they want to buy.

Pulvera, 36, said she just keeps the old, non-crisp bills and does not use them as change for other customers.

However, she said she is straightforward to her younger customers.

“Kon mga bata, akong ingnun nga ‘dili ko modawat og gisi,’” she said on Friday, July 7, 2023.

(If my customers are young, I tell them, “I don’t accept torn bills.”)

Piso Caravan

Pulvera was among the people who exchanged their torn, dirty banknotes and mutilated coins for brand-new banknotes and coins during the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) Piso Caravan held at the Mandaue City Public Market in Barangay Mantuyong on Friday. The activity will end on Saturday, July 8.

The BSP is also holding its Piso Caravan in other places in Western Visayas, Central Visayas and Eastern Visayan in the two-day period.

Pulvera exchanged 233 pieces of banknotes ranging from P20 to P100, and coins amounting to a total of P6,675.25. She intends to use the exchanged money to purchase goods for her store.

The Piso Caravan aims to encourage the public to preserve the integrity of the local currency and promote digital finance, according to Dr. Gregorio Baccay III, head of the Economic Affairs Staff of the BSP-Central Visayas.

Baccay further explained that the program also seeks to establish partnerships with currency exchange centers.

“We will remove soiled money from circulation and replace it with new, clean currency. This program promotes the establishment of partnerships with currency exchange centers, such as pawnshops, money services businesses and big malls, who will collaborate with us,” Baccay said mostly in Cebuano.

He said once partnerships are established, the public can visit these centers to exchange their mutilated or old money.

The goal is to adopt a “stakeholders approach,” which involves participation from retail establishments, particularly those that deal with a significant amount of coins such as malls, according to Baccay.

Individuals who wish to exchange their damaged money must meet three requirements set by the BSP. First, the money should retain at least 60 percent of its original surface area. Second, it should include a portion with a facsimile signature. Lastly, the security thread should not have been intentionally removed.

The mutilated money collected by the BSP will be shredded.

Financial lessons

According to the BSP, its Piso Caravan also offers financial learning sessions on topics such as the BSP Clean Note Policy and Coin Recirculation Program, the 1,000-Piso Polymer Banknote, digital payments, and cyber hygiene practices.

The BSP said it is important that clean banknotes and coins are the ones in circulation because dirty banknotes are more difficult to authenticate, which can make it easier for counterfeiters to pass off fake bills.

The BSP also wants to ensure that the security features of its banknotes are always visible, so that people can be confident that they are genuine.

It also wants to prevent the spread of disease as dirty banknotes can harbor bacteria and other germs, which can be transferred to people who handle them.

CEBU Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia has urged the Department of Social Welfare and Development in Central Visayas (DSWD 7) to adopt the Dasig Sugbo card system for the cash distribution for Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) beneficiaries.

Garcia proposed the initiative during a meeting with DSWD 7 Director Shalaine Marie Lucero and Assistant Regional Director Johnny Cantero at the Capitol on Thursday, July 6, 2023.

The 4Ps program provides conditional cash assistance to low-income families for child health, nutrition and education. Garcia observed, though, that these financial incentives were not used as expected, with some beneficiaries using it to buy alcoholic beverages or engage in gambling activities, reported Sugbo News, the Capitol’s online news portal.

The governor suggested to the DSWD 7 to consider replicating the Cebu Provincial Government’s Dasig Sugbo card system in which beneficiaries are issued QR-coded cards that can be used to redeem pre-approved items such as home materials and food supplies from the Capitol’s partner stores rather than distributing cash. (NWSSU intern Kyle Andrei Acuña)