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The Supreme Court on Wednesday affirmed the decision of the Sandiganbayan to junk a P1.052-billion civil forfeiture case against the family of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and their alleged associates due to lack of evidence.

July 19, 2023 5:40 PM

A judge awarded a total of RM150,000 to the three former students.

July 19, 2023 5:35 PM

A panel said it preferred to invite bids for the project, which the govt estimates would cost S$4.1b.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) released their traffic management plan for President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s second State of the Nation Address (SONA) — a day filled with protests coupled with a nationwide transport strike.

July 19, 2023 5:25 PM

Taiwan’s government said Mr Lai would be stopping off in the US on his way to and from Paraguay, which drew anger from Beijing.

July 19, 2023 5:20 PM

The slide in the Japanese yen has made holidays to the country the cheapest in decades.

Executive Order 34, which was signed Monday, declared the “Pambansang Pabahay Para sa Pilipino” a flagship program of the government.

The accident took place after an electricity transformer exploded near the Alaknanda river in Uttarakhand.

The leader of the progressive Move Forward party has seen his already slim hopes of becoming PM dashed.

The Commission on Human Rights said that it is “willing, ready, and able to assist the government so it may better comply with its obligations to respect, protect, and fulfill the human rights of all.”

The rapper, whose full name is Subhas Govin Prabhakar Nair, was found guilty of attempting to promote ill will among racial and religious groups for his social media comments and videos.

(Bangkok) - The Cambodian government has stepped up harassment and arbitrary arrests of members and activists from the opposition Candlelight Party (CLP) ahead of national elections slated for July 23, 2023, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities should stop targeting the opposition, immediately drop all baseless charges, and release all those

July 19, 2023 3:25 PM

The World Meteorological Organisation warned of increased risk of deaths linked to high temperatures.

THE extension granted to register SIM cards will already expire on July 25, 2023.

Cellphone owners are advised by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to register their SIM cards.

According to the most recent NTC data, 103,670,164 people, or 61.70 percent, have registered their SIM cards as of July 17, 2023.

The NTC revealed that 7,359,116 of them have signed up with Dito Telecommunications, 47,267,960 have signed up with Globe, and 49,043,068 have signed up with Smart.

According to the data of NTC in December 2022, there are a total of 168,016,400 subscribers.

Those who have not registered may follow the said procedures:

First, check the SIM registration website of the service provider such as Globe, Smart and Dito.

Second, provide your 10-digit mobile number and click the “Register” button.

You will receive a text message containing a One Time Pin (OTP), which you must immediately input on the registration website.

Once your OTP has been validated, you can proceed with the registration.

Among its requests are complete name, birthday, gender, address, and nationality.

To validate your information, a selfie and ID are also required.

You can take a photo and submit government-issued IDs such as passport, national ID and SSS ID, among others.

Once done, you can click the "Submit" button to complete the process.

After the process, a reference number will appear on your screen confirming that your SIM card has been registered. (ANV, TPT)

Human rights organizations, including the UN human rights office and the Commission on Human Rights, have warned that the practice of equating dissent with rebellion and terrorism puts targets at risk of harassment and violence.

THE cost of damage to properties caused by fires in Central Visayas from January to June 2023 has increased by 624 percent from the same period last year, the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) reported.

Supt. Joel R. Abarquez, head of the BFP 7’s operations division, said the region logged P4.7 billion in properties either destroyed or damaged due to fires in the first six months of the year, compared to P649 million from January to June 2022.

“There really is a prominent rise in the numbers compared to last year,” he told SunStar Cebu on Wednesday, July 19, adding that contributing the highest in the figures was the fire that engulfed a condominium building early this year.

Last April 14, a fire hit a 37-story building under construction at the Grand Residences condominium development on Gov. M. Cuenco Avenue in Barangay Kasambagan, Cebu City, causing P3.9 billion in damage after the flames raged for nine hours.

Fire incidents

Abarquez also noted that the region saw a 20.9 percent increase in fire incidents in the first six months of 2023 (964) from the same period last year (797).

Of the 964 fire incidents, 302 incidents happened in structural fires in residential areas, while 444 were structural fires in non-residential areas, meaning establishments other than residential spaces.

The BFP 7 also recorded 157 non-structural miscellaneous fire incidents, such as fires in open spaces, garbage piles and lamp posts, while 61 were transport or vehicular fires, which include aircraft and seacraft.

During the same period last year, Central Visayas had 283 fire incidents in residential areas and 430 in non-residential areas, while 33 were miscellaneous fires and 51 were transport fires.

Last March, the BFP 7 said that 974 fire incidents were reported in the region for the whole of 2022, a 7.5 percent increase from the reported 906 incidents in 2021.

Vigilance

Although Fire Prevention Month, observed every March, is over, Abarquez urged the public to continue being vigilant about following fire safety precautions.

He said fire prevention practices must be observed all year round.

Less restrictions

The fire official also noted that the opening up of borders and lifting of quarantine restrictions also contributed to the rise in the recorded fire incidents.

He said while there are more activities, events and gatherings being held, people tend to leave their homes unchecked if wires are unplugged from the socket.

Abarquez said electrical ignition remains the top cause of fire incidents in Central Visayas. It is the process of starting or initiating a fire or combustion through the use of electricity. It can occur when an electrical circuit malfunctions, causing sparks, overheating, or short circuits that ignite flammable materials, leading to a fire.

“People should always check every electrical outlet in their house before leaving. They should not be complacent about it,” he said.

Abarquez also said many people are still practicing the octopus wiring or the jam-packing of wires on an outlet.

He highly discouraged practicing this since it can overheat receptacles and cords, which can result in fire.

A FIRE bureau official said that the cost of damage resulting from fire incidents that occurred in the Central Visayas from January to June 2023 has increased by 624 percent as compared to the same period last year.

Superintendent Joel Abarquez, head of the regional operations division of the Bureau of Fire of Protection in Central Visayas (BFP 7), said that the region logged P4.7 billion worth of damaged properties due to fire on the first six months of 2023, compared to the P649 million that was recorded for the first semester in 2022.

"There really is a prominent rise in the numbers compared to last year," told SunStar Cebu on Wednesday, July 19, 2023, adding that contributing the highest in the figures was the fire that engulfed a condominium building few months back.

Last April 14, a fire started inside a 37-story condominium complex of the Grand Residences that was under construction along Gov. M. Cuenco Avenue, Barangay Kasambagan, Cebu City.

The fire lasted for nine hours and caused around P3.9 billion in damages.

Abarquez further pointed out that the number of fire events in the area during the aforementioned years increased by 28.7 percent.

He claimed that whereas BFP 7 had 964 fire incidences in the same period of this year, Central Visayas recorded 797 fire events in the first half of the year.

Abarquez noted that the region also logged a 28.7 percent increase in the number of fire incidents from January to June this year.

He said that the BFP 7 had recorded 797 fire incidents in the first six months of 2022, while 964 fire incidents in the same period of 2023.(KJF, BBT)

The University of the Philippines on Tuesday laid down a set of principles on the “responsible” use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in an academic setting, becoming among the first major Philippine universities to work towards a policy governing AI use in classrooms.

Affected communities and advocates said in a press briefing that the impacts of the oil spill on the livelihood and welfare of communities as well as the environment are far from being addressed four months after MT Princess Empress sank off Oriental Mindoro. 

Australian sailor Tim Shaddock and his dog Bella are back on dry land after getting lost at sea.