Philippines

MANILA – Tropical depression Ambo maintained its strength on Monday evening and is expected to brings rains in different parts of the country this week,  the state weather bureau said Tuesday. The Philippines’ first storm in 2020 was 330 km east of Surigao del Sur as of 3pm Monday with maximum sustained winds of 55 km per hour near the …

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Sonny Parsons, former member of the ‘80s all-male sing-and-dance group Hagibis, died on Sunday, May 10. He was 61 years old. Nicole Sta Maria, Parsons’ daughter, confirmed the news in a Facebook post, he had the attack while he was on a motorcycle in Lemery, Batangas. “Rest in peace papa, you are now with Allah. Thank you sa …

SAN FERNANDO, PAMPANGA – Chinese biotech firm BGI group launched its own molecular and diagnostic laboratory in San Fernando, Pampanga to help boost the country’s Covid-19 testing capacity. According to the Chinese Embassy, the new laboratory aims to provide additional 3,000 more testings to help Philippines to increase its detection capacity of the virus. BGI’s Molecular and Diagnostic Pathology Laboratory, …

DAVAO CITY – Mindanao’s first and only five-star hotel founded by the family of Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III announced hat it was indefinitely suspending operations because of the impact of the Coronavirus disease pandemic. “All of you have been the core and our partners in building Marco Polo Davao. The owners and management will forever be grateful for your …

MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Human Rights has appealed to the Department of Transportation on Friday, to revisit its policy that would ban elderly persons and pregnant women from riding the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) and Light Rail Transits (LRT) when the proposed general community quarantine takes into effect. CHR Commissioner Karen Gomez-Dumpit said that she urged DOTr to …

PASIG CITY – Former PBA player Roger Yap on Wednesday denied allegations made by Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto berating a Pasig City government employee, saying his actions were just simply misinterpreted. The 42-year-old former cager drew the ire of Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto during his Facebook live for cursing a city government frontliner who was distributing food voucher …

MANILA, Philippines – Media titan ABS-CBN Corp. has filed a petition on Thursday and asked the Supreme Court for a temporary restraining order on the cease and desist order issued by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC). “The continued operation of ABS-CBN Corporation is a matter of public interest and transcendental importance, it being among the largest broadcasting entities in terms …

MANILA – The Philippines has secured the top spot of the most fiscally transparent budget in Southeast Asia in in the 2019 Open Budget Survey (OBS) transparency index released on April 29. The country’s score exceeded its South east asian neighbor with Indonesia’s score at 70, Thailand’s 61, Malaysia’s 47, Timor-Leste’s 40, Vietnam’s 38, Cambodia’s 32 and Myanmar’s 28. Philippines …

Metro Manila – Veteran filmmaker and one of Philippine cinema’s greats died on Thursday morning. He was 76. Ricky Gallaga, his brother, told Visayan Star Daily that the award-winning director passed away at the Riverside Medical Center this morning due to “complications arising from past health conditions”. Peque Gallaga Movies: Magic Temple, Batang-X, Magic Kingdom and Oro Plata Mata Gallaga …

MANILA – Solicitor-General Jose Calida said on Wednesday that Congress and not the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) should be blamed for the network’s shutdown. “Why blame NTC when they are only following the law?” Calida, the Solicitor General said in a statement to the media. “Without a valid and subsisting franchise from Congress, the NTC cannot allow any broadcasting entity …