Philippines

METRO MANILA – Public Works Secretary Mark Villar has created a task force to investigate reportedly rampant corruption into by employees and officials in the agency. The decision to form a task force came in after a state auditors flagged over P100 billion worth of unimplemented projects in 2019. Secretary Villar creates DPWH Task Force against graft and corruption pic.twitter.com/dfFO9c0eyo …

METRO MANILA – The Department of Health’s (DOH) P2.5-billion allocation for COVID-19 vaccines in the 2021 national budget lacks some P10 billion to purchase coronavirus vaccines that will be enough to cover the 20 million Filipinos or 20% of the country’s population Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in an online press briefing that DOH sent a recommendation that the …

METRO MANILA – Palace on Monday, depended the the Department of Education (DepEd) from the public’s criticism that it is promoting “blind obedience” to the government but including materials in the modules that discourages students from joining protest and rallies. The module in question, was being used in the media literacy subject of Grade 12 students, contain pictures of protesters …

METRO MANILA – The government is easing more travel restrictions by allowing travel ‘for any purpose’ between GCQ, MGCQ areas. The government’s COVID-19 task force spokesperson Harry Roque said on Friday that people can now travel freely on areas places general community quarantine and modified general community quarantine starting Friday. The travel restriction will be lifted as long as the …

METRO MANILA – The House of Representatives approved on Friday the P4.506 trillion national budget for 2021, paving the way for the for the senate to discussed the bill hopefully in the next session. The lower chamber approved the plan on the third reading with a vote of 257-6. The Senate urged the House to submit the bill to the …

METRO MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte has ended the ban on oil and gas exploration in the West Philippine Sea, the Department of Energy (DOE) confirmed on Thursday. Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi said that the president approved the department’s recommendation to lift the ban that was placed in 2013. He thanked the President’s approval for the recommendation as they need …

METRO MANILA – One of China’s candidate vaccine for COVID-19 has been cleared by the country for Phase 3 clinical trial that is expected to start by November. According to the Food and Drug Administration director general Eric Domingo the vaccine expert panel from the  Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has given the vaccine the green light to proceed …

METRO MANILA – The Philippine Red Cross announced that they will be halting its screenings funded by the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. after the agency were unable to settle the balances to the organization over P930 million balances. Chairman Senator Richard Gordon said that the agency cannot afford to have almost a billion pesos in unpaid balances as they are …

METRO MANILA – Taguig-Pateros Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano resigned Tuesday as House Speaker after the members of Congress formally ratified Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco as their new leader at the Batasang Pambansa. Cayetano said in a Facebook live that he is tendering his irrevocable resignation as the speaker of the House of the Republic of the Philippines and that …

METRO MANILA – Filipino fishermen are will to get training from the government to become the country’s to become the country’s maritime militia to counter China’s growing paramilitary fishing fleet being deployed in the area. Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana told the Senate finance committee which is currently deliberating Department of National Defense (DND)’s proposed P283.2-billion budget for next year, that …