Philippines

MANILA – The House of Representatives of the Philippines on Wednesday has approved the controversial new anti-terrorism bill and is now up to President Rodrigo Duterte for approval. The new anti-terrorism legislation will give Duterte sweeping powers such as carrying out arrests without warrants and hold suspects without charges. The bill were overwhelmingly approved by a total of 173 legislators …

MANILA – The Department of Education (DepEd) announced on Friday, June 5, that almost six million students enrolled in public and private schools for the 2020-21 school year. According to DepEd, a total of 5,995,962 students in both public and private schools nationwide have registered from June 1 to June 15. It is less than a fifth of almost 28M …

MANILA – ABS-CBN Corp. chairman emeritus Eugenio “Gabby” Lopez III on Wednesday attended the congressional hearing of the House of Representatives on the network’s bid on a fresh franchise amid questions over his citizenship. Lopez attended the hearing after Deputy Speaker Rodante Marcoleta who raised several issues against Lopez’s citizenship, said that the chairman emeritus should present in attendance in …

Metro Manila – The Philippines has announced yesterday that it has suspended its plan to terminate the Visiting Forces Agreement with the US after President Rodrigo Duterte threatened to pull the country out of the bilateral agreement. Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said that the President has directed the Department of Foreign Affairs to inform the United States through …

MANILA – The Department of Education (DepEd) will let the parents decide and respect those who are against enrolling their children for the upcoming school year amid the threats of the Covid-19 pandemic. Education Secretary Leonor Briones said yesterday the next school year would be voluntary due to the concerns of the coronavirus disease and they would just give the …

MANILA – Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Senator Panfilo Lacson on Tuesday defended the proposed Senate Bill No. 1083, or the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2019 and urged the critics to read the proposed bill to realized that all perceived abuses that may be commited has been properly addresed by the lawmakers. According to Senator Ping Lacson, The country is …

MANILA – Sea of cars, buses, crowds of commuters were met with heavy traffic in Metro Manila on Monday Morning, the first day of the general community quarantine (GCQ). From EDSA to Roxas Boulevard in Baclaran, Paranaque and Las Pinas, the heavy traffic was bumper to bumper. Several commuters were also stranded along Manila as the region reopened with limited …

METRO MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte sent a warm video greeting message to his daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, as she celebrated her 42nd birthday yesterday, May 31. In his message, Duterte said that when he first held Sara as a baby, He already knew back then that someday she will be a mayor of Davao City. He also …

MANILA  – Former model Avi Siwa was arrested by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Friday for the unauthorized selling of COVID-19 rapid test kits worth Php 70,000. Avigail Siwa was nabbed by the Agents of NBI at an entrapment operation in Manila after a businesswoman Jessielyn Fernando reported her for estafa. She allegedly paid Siwa P4.4 million as …

MANILA – The World Bank has approved a $500 million (P22 billion) loan to help the Philippines ease the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The World Bank said on Friday, that the fund approved will help the poor and vurnerable household and will support small and medium enterprises by providing financial assistance. The Philippines Emergency Covid-19 Response Development Policy Loan …