Philippines News

A MOTORCYCLE driver died after he collided head-on with a van in Borbon town, northern Cebu.

The incident occurred along the national highway in Barangay Laaw of the said municipality on Sunday, June 23, 2023.

Police Captain Derrik Ynot, chief of Borbon Police Station, identified the victim as Julito Marikit, of legal age.

The driver of Mitsubishi L-300 van was identified as Ponciano Somang Balingit, 67.

According to the police investigation, Marikit was heading for Bogo City, while Balingit was driving towards Cebu City when they collided head on.

Marikit was pinned underneath the vehicle and was rushed to the hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.

Balingit voluntarily surrendered to Borbon Police Station after the incident.(BBT, TPT)

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s second State of the Nation Address is expected to last for one hour and 25 minutes.

Electricity costs are soaring despite price controls and state aid, figures have shown  

Household energy bills in the Netherlands are up drastically from last year, despite government subsidies and a consumer price cap.

The average gas and electricity bill rocketed by 37% in June compared to the same mon

SUBSCRIBERS with unregistered Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards will start to lose access to their mobile number on Wednesday, July 26, 2023.

Alan Felix Macaraya Jr., legal officer of the National Telecommunication Commission in Central Visayas (NTC 7), announced this in an interview with the media on Monday, July 24, 2023.

“Ang kulba man gud aning deactivated SIMs, kanang wala nimo gi-rehistro, there is an effect on your commercial transaction. For an example, if you have a SIM card which has a registered (Globe) GCash, imagine ang imong kwarta didto kay will not be used or transferred, so mandatorily you have to register as soon as possible,” Macarya said.

Macaraya added that July 25 will be the last day of the SIM registration in compliance with the newly enacted Republic Act 11934, or the SIM Card Registration Act of 2022.

The law aims to register the SIM cards to a specific individual or firm to add accountability and prevent criminals from using mobile phones to victimize people.

As of July 19, at total of 104,076,843 SIM cards have been registered, accounting to 61.94 percent of the total number of subscribers in the country in 2022.

Macarya said authorities are targeting to register at least 85 percent.

There will be a low possibility of another extension as the law specifically provided that there will only be one extension granted for the SIM registration.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. approved the extension of SIM registration on April 26, 2023. (EHP)

Duterte courted controversy throughout his term for masterminding a violent campaign against illegal drugs and his pro-China posturing, among others.

PAGASA said the country’s fifth cyclone may continue to intensify and reach super typhoon category by late Tuesday and early Wednesday. 

All protocols against COVID-19 are now dropped across all public transportation systems in the Philippines, making face masks in all railways, public utility vehicles, airports "optional" after three more than years.

Also included in Zubiri's speech were bills for a waste-to-energy framework that he said will help solve the country's problems with solid waste and with energy supply. 

In a speech embellished with familiar calls for political unity and collaboration, House Speaker Martin Romualdez opened the second session of the 19th Congress vowing to swiftly pass the Marcos administration’s remaining priority measures. 

Philippine President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr. delivered his second State of the Nation Address before a joint session of the Philippine congress on Monday.

Source: CGTN

The Manila International Airport Authority advised the public of flight cancelations due to unfavorable weather conditions brought about by Typhoon “Egay.”

 All eyes and ears are on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as he is set to deliver his second State of the Nation Address on Monday.

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.”

State weather bureau PAGASA on Monday morning raised Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 2 in parts of Luzon as Typhoon Egay has intensified rapidly as it traverses the Philippine Sea.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is set to deliver his second State of the Nation Address at the Batasang Pambansa complex, before a joint session of Congress, on July 24, 2022, commencing at 4 p.m.

Follow this page for updates on "Egay," the fifth tropical cyclone to enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility.

(Nairobi) - Malian armed forces and foreign fighters apparently from the Russia-linked Wagner Group have summarily executed and forcibly disappeared several dozen civilians in Mali's central region since December 2022, Human Rights Watch said today. They also destroyed and looted civilian property and allegedly tortured detainees in an army camp.

On June 16, 2023, M

(Goma) - Militia fighters killed at least 46 civilians, half of them children, and pillaged and burned a displaced people's camp on June 12, 2023, in the Democratic Republic of Congo's eastern Ituri province, Human Rights Watch said today. The Cooperative for the Development of Congo (Cooperative pour le developpement du Congo, CODECO), a predominantly

(Nairobi) - Ethiopian authorities should immediately release seven Oromo opposition figures arbitrarily detained for around three years purely for their political role, Human Rights Watch said today. These cases underscore the urgent need for Ethiopia's government to reform the country's justice system.

Oromia police have held seven senior members of the oppositio

THE Cebu City Government will conduct an investigation on the P1.3 billion drainage project that has yet to be implemented until now.

City Administrator Collin Rosell said the City Government may take several options on the pending project, including withdrawing the advance payment made in 2021, imposing penalties, or completing the project as soon as possible.

The Commission on Audit (COA), in its 2022 audit report, flagged the City for making an advance payment of P199.323 million for the project, which state auditors deemed excessive because the contractor had failed to implement it as of the end of 2022.

City Legal Officer Jerone Castillo, during the press conference on Friday, July 21, 2023, said the transaction was made during the time of the late mayor Edgardo Labella, and the contract was signed by former city administrator Floro Casas Jr.

Rosell, in an interview on Sunday, July 23, said they will conduct an investigation to find out what’s causing the delay, and hold accountable the people behind it.

“(Let’s) put people responsible, bisan pa’g (even if) subjected to penalty or punishment, if that is called by the people under our existing law, then let it be,” said Rosell. “If you are dealing with the government, just make sure you deliver what you are tasked to do kay kung wala na sya (otherwise) it will entail civil, criminal, administrative liability.”

Rosell said the City will exhaust all available legal remedies concerning the project, considering payment has already been released.

According to the February 2020 report of SunStar Cebu, the P1.3 billion drainage project aims to solve the flooding problems in the city’s southern barangays.

The project was supposed to be implemented in the second quarter of 2020, with the first phase starting at the Mambaling Flyover and ending at the Sto. Tomas Villanueva Church in Barangay Pardo.

The second phase, which was supposed to be constructed simultaneously with the first phase, would start on Leon Kilat St. near Elizabeth Mall and end in Barangay Ermita.

The drainage project was based on the 2017 drainage master plan prepared by the Department of Public Works and Highways.

In an interview on News+One with Pachico A. Seares on SunStar Cebu, Casas defended himself, saying Labella had authorized him to sign disbursement vouchers, payrolls, purchase requests, and such other official documents related to them.

Casas, in a report of SunStar Cebu in 2021, said the late mayor issued a memorandum in 2019 delegating him the authority. The memorandum was also confirmed by the City Council by passing a resolution, he said.

The City Council resolution was approved on July 9, 2019, saying it decided to “delegate and grant authority” for Casas to sign vouchers, payrolls and other official documents “for the exigency of the services and to provide the best public service for the constituents of the City of Cebu.”