📰 News & Current Affairs

Tomato price hits as high as P300 per kilo Philstar.com MANILA, Philippines — The retail prices of tomatoes reached as high as P300 per kilo in Marikina City amid shortage in supply. The current price of tomato in Marikina City is higher by P70 compared to its previous price of P230, according to monitoring of the Department of Agriculture. Meanwhile, the retail prices of tomatoes at New Las Piñas City Public Market ranged between P200 and P210 per kilo; Guadalupe Public Market in Makati City, between P180 and P200 per kilo; San Andres Market in Manila, between P200 and P220 per kilo; Quinta Market in Manila, between P180 and P200 per kilo; Pritil Market in Manila, between P180 and P220 per kilo; Pasay City Market, between P170...

Alleged bomb threat in MRT-3 prompts stricter security check ByKristelle Razon Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 8) – The Department of Transportation (DOTr) said it deployed an Inter-Agency Task Force for stricter security checks at the Metro Rail Transit-3 (MRT-3) following an alleged bomb threat recevied early Friday. DOTr-Office for the Transportation Security (OTS) Undersecretary Mao Aplasca confirmed that the supposed bomb threat was sent via email. "Upon receipt of an alleged bomb threat via e-mail early this morning, Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista immediately activated an Inter-Agency Task Force composed of the DOTr Office for the Transportation Security (OTS), Department of Information and Communications...

A screenshot of the sample identification card that the National Bureau of Investigation used to test the registration of SIM cards in different telecommunications companies. MANILA, Philippines — Could a “monkey” register a subscriber identity module (SIM) card? The answer is yes — at least based on the actual test done by a team from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). The night before the hearing of the Senate committee on public services on Tuesday, NBI Cybercrime Division Chief Attorney Jeremy Lotoc said they tried to register SIM cards from different telecommunication companies (telcos). “We entered the face of an animal in different names natanggap pa rin [it was also accepted],” Lotoc said. He later showed a...

ISTANBUL, Turkey - A disgraced Turkish crypto founder who fled to Albania and his two brothers have been sentenced to 11,196 years in jail each, the Anadolu state news agency reported Friday. Prosecutors had asked for Thodex boss Faruk Fatih Ozer, 29, to be sentenced to 40,562 years in prison for money laundering, fraud and establishing a criminal organisation. "If I were to establish a criminal organisation, I would not have acted so amateurishly," Anadolu quoted Ozer as telling the court. His two brothers, Serap and Guven, received the same sentence, which was issued late Thursday after a brief trial, Turkish media reports said. Turkey is known for issuing massive prison sentences, which became more common after it abolished the...

The Philippines is supposed to be getting worse and worse. How is it above Thailand and Vietnam? I wonder if it's just the salary of the rich skewing the results since it's an average.

Albay town mayor tells 5,400 Mayon evacuees to decamp LEGAZPI CITY (PNA) – The mayor of Santo Domingo town in Albay province has ordered the 1,588 families, or 5,419 individuals, who have been staying in various evacuation centers in the town for the past three months due to the effusive eruption of Mayon Volcano to return home. In an interview on Friday, September 8, Mayor Joseling Aguas said Mount Mayon is still under Alert Level 3 but has been showing decreasing signs of restiveness in the past two weeks, based on the monitoring of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs). "Lahat po decamp na natin effective today. We're all just making some reminders and preparations. Hindi naman po dahil decamp na, hindi...

U.S military in talks to develop port in Philippines facing Taiwan MANILA, Philippines – The U.S. military is in talks to develop a civilian port in the remote northernmost islands of the Philippines, the local governor and two other officials told Reuters, a move that would boost American access to strategically located islands facing Taiwan. Read more: U.S military in talks to develop port in Philippines facing Taiwan Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook

Everyone in this photo are either gold medalists, world champions, won a prestigious award/medal/trophy, or household names in their field.

DSWD to provide aid to small traders affected by cap on rice prices Gaea Katreena Cabico - Philstar.com MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Social Welfare and Development will provide cash assistance to small rice retailers who will be affected by the imposition of a cap on rice prices, its chief said Tuesday. The price ceiling, which takes effect Tuesday, aims to reduce the retail prices of the staple item and penalize hoarding. But agricultural groups and economists said the price control could hurt farmers and traders. DSWD chief Rex Gatchalian said the agency will utilize its sustainable livelihood program to aid small rice traders and retailers. He said the financial assistance will be capped at P15,000 per retailer...

Warrant of arrest out for Arnie Teves et al over Degamo slay By JOAHNA LEI CASILAO, GMA Integrated News A Manila court has issued a warrant of arrest against expelled Negros Oriental Representative Arnolfo “Arnie” Teves Jr. and others over the killing of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo. advertisement In a 6-page order, the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 51 issued an e-warrant of arrest against Teves, Angelo Palagtiw, a certain “Gie Ann” or “Jie An,” and Captain Lloyd Cruz Garcia II. The court also issued a commitment order on the transfer of Nigel Electona from the Manila City Jail to Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig. Meanwhile, it reset the arraignment and pre-trial conference to October 4, 2023, Wednesday. GMA News Online...

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines’ stepped-up relationship with the United States is the “right thing” and part of the former colony’s defense strategy against perceived bully states, according to Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel Romualdez. Read more: Philstar

DepEd flagged over P10 billion unliquidated cash advances https://www.philstar.com/authors/1805074/elizabeth-marcelo MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Audit (COA) has flagged the Department of Education (DepEd) over the accumulation of unliquidated cash advances (CAs) by its central office (CO) and several regional offices (ROs), which stood at P10.183 billion as of the end of 2022. “The existence of substantial accumulated unliquidated cash advances is attributable to the lapses in the controls placed by management in the granting, liquidation and monitoring of CAs in disregard of the existing rules and regulations and pertinent DepEd guidelines relative thereto,” the COA said in its 2022 annual audit report on the DepEd...

Archaeologists unearth ancient nose jewelry, made from human bone, amid Maya ruins in Mexico By Claire Voon (CNN) — Archaeologists working in the ruins of Palenque, an ancient city in the southeastern Mexican state of Chiapas, have found a centuries-old, intricately carved Mayan nose ornament made of human bone. The curved artefact, which measures just over 6 centimeters long and 5 centimeters wide (or roughly 2.4 by 2 inches), offers insight into ancient funerary traditions; it is believed to have been worn by priests during ceremonies in which they embodied the Mayan deity K’awiil, also known as God K, who is associated with lightning, fertility and abundance. It is also an important example of Mayan...

A woman in Fujian province in southern China was arrested after she bit and chewed an anti-theft cable at an Apple store to s†éál an iPhone 14 Plus priced at $960 (Rs 79,414), as per a report in South China Morning Post. The woman surnamed Qiu, was caught by police half an hour after leaving the shop with the device. In the video of the CCTV camera going viral on Chinese social media platforms, Ms Qiu is seen standing in front of the display stand of smartphone. She then leans on the counter and places her right hand on a phone. After a brief examination of the gadget, she nibbles on the security cable multiple times before placing the phone in her bag and leaving the store. The store manager, Wang, stated that an alarm was activated...

-Ctto- Di Ko talaga 'to matatanggap hahah Baka sa susunod demon slayer naman magka live action

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 1) — An audit report on the office of Vice President Sara Duterte showed 433 security escorts served the Office of the Vice President (OVP) on its first year — a 455-percent spike from the number of security personnel hired during the final year of her predecessor, former Vice President Leni Robredo. Read More: CNN Philippines

By: Alden M. Monzon The National Privacy Commission (NPC) on Thursday issued an advisory reminding the public that selling preregistered SIM (subscriber identification module) cards is îllégâl, warning that individuals caught selling these will face stiff penalties under the law. The government’s privacy watchdog said recent cases in which people selling SIM cards that have been registered for an average price of P1,000 have drawn its attention. “This practice is not only prohibited under the SIM Registration Act (Republic Act No. 11934) but it also places data subjects in a vulnerable position, exposing them to potential legal repercussions, risks, and harms if a SIM card, registered in their name, is misused for illicit...

MANILA, Philippines — Rep. Erwin Tulfo of the Anti-Crime and Terrorism Community Involvement and Support (ACT-CIS) Partylist once again topped a senatorial survey, this time from pollster Oculum Research and Analytics. The former secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) garnered 50% support from a total of 1,200 respondents polled between July 17 and 31. This marked the fourth time Tulfo ranked no. 1 in a senatorial preference survey for the 2025 midterm elections. He topped a Social Weather Stations survey in April, Tangere in June and OCTA Research in July. Dennis Coronacion, Oculum's chief political analyst and political science professor at the University of Santo Tomas, said overwhelming public...

New LTO-7 assistant regional director to lead distribution of license plates BY Calvin Cordova CEBU CITY – The distribution of license plates is expected to accelerate with the assumption of a new assistant regional director of the Land Transportation Office-Central Visayas. Engr. Arturo Roque Apolinar has been named the new assistant regional director of LTO-7 and his main task is to lead the distribution of license plates, said LTO-7 regional director Glen Galario. “For the past five weeks, we were able to release more than 20,000 plus plates and with our assistant regional director on board, we are expecting that distribution will be hastened,” said Galario. There are at least 600,000 license plates in Central Visayas yet to be...

Another LPA likely to develop into tropical depression as Hanna exits Saturday By Arlie O. Calalo THE Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) is monitoring cloud clusters which may form into a low pressure area within 24 hours and eventually into a tropical depression over the weekend. However, weather specialist Benison Estareja did not say whether the weather disturbance will enter the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) and directly affect the country. In the meantime, the Pagasa forecaster said Severe Tropical Storm "Hanna" (international name: Haikui) continues to move west-northwestward over the Philippine Sea as it may escalate into a typhoon within the next 24 hours. Hanna's...

Over 1 million candidates filed for BSKE 2023 so far, Comelec reports Kristine Daguno-Bersamina - Philstar.com September 2, 2023 | 6:14pm Manila, Philippines — The Commission on Elections (Comelec) announced on Saturday that more than one million candidates have filed their certificates of candidacy (COCs) for the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) in October. Comelec Chairperson George Garcia reported a peaceful start to COC filing for the BSKE polls. As of 10 a.m. Saturday, the commission released a report showing that 1,181,404 candidates from 82 provinces are vying for 672,016 available positions in the BSKE. Of these candidates, 65.75% are male (776,781), and 34.25% are female (404,623). For the...

Flying 7ft tall alien attackers in peru were actually îllégâl gold mining gang on Jetpacks .. Reports of 'seven-foot-tall aliens' terrorizing villagers in Peru stunned the world this week, with local leaders describing the 'armored' and 'floating' menaces as impervious to bullets. The locals also compared their attackers to 'green goblins' and local Peruvian superstitions about 'los Pelacaras,' ('the Face Peelers') ― but now Peruvian law enforcement has offered a new suspect.... This tribe in Peru just released an update about those entities in Peru. Mr Vernet, a researcher in Brazil said that he is in contact with the lkitu people at San Antonio de Pintuyacu, and he said the lkitu people asked him to share a video of them protesting...

The Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam have rejected as baseless a map released by China that denotes its claims to sovereignty including in the South China Sea and which Beijing said on Thursday should be viewed rationally and objectively. China released the map on Monday of its famous U-shaped line covering about 90% of the South China Sea, a source of many of the disputes in one of the world’s most contested waterways, where more than $3 trillion of trade passes each year. The Philippines called on China on Thursday “to act responsibly and abide by its obligations” under international law and a 2016 arbitral ruling that had declared the line had no legal grounds. Malaysia said it had filed a diplomatic protest over the map...

MANILA (UPDATED) — A Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) official on Thursday slammed Filipinos defending China amid fresh tensions between Manila and Beijing over a confrontation in the West Philippine Sea last weekend, calling them "unpatriotic" and "traitors." "If you are a Filipino, whether in government or private sector, regardless of your politics, defending and making excuses for China's aggressive behavior should deem you unpatriotic, and a traitor to the Philippines and to our people," said Cmdr. Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson on the West Philippine Sea. "Given current developments in the West Philippine Sea, it is important to show loyalty to country," he said in a tweet. Tarriela also said that while Filipinos have the...

For Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte, the DepEd needs more funds to level up the basic education system. The Department of Education’s proposed budget for 2024 is ₱758.5 billion, a 5% increase from the current budget. Read more: bit.ly/3qXxHIX

The chief of the Mandaluyong City police station was relieved from his post after he tested positive for îllégâl drugs in a surprise drug test last week. Col. Cesar Gerente yielded positive results during a random drug test with ranking officials of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) on Aug. 24, according to Brig. Gen. Wilson Asueta, director of the Eastern Police District (EPD), which covers the cities of Mandaluyong, Marikina, Pasig and San Juan. In a message to the Inquirer on Wednesday, Asueta said Gerente was transferred to the Regional Personnel Holding and Accounting Unit in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City, while awaiting the result of a confirmatory test and subjected to administrative case investigation. He did...

FEELING CLOSE. Narito ang bagong mapa ng China na umaangkin sa buong West Philippine Sea. Dating nine-dash line ang mapa at tila lumawak pa ang pang-aangkin ng teritoryo ng Beijing sa pagdagdag nila ng linya. Naghain na ng protesta ang Pilipinas kaugnay nito. Ipinawalang-bisa na ng Permanent Court of Arbitration noon pang 2016 ang nine-dash line map. (📷: Office of Senator Francis Tolentino) ABS-CBN News Edit: mula sa 9-dash line, 10 na ang inaangkin ng china rito

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED 5:22 PM) — The Office of the President's travel expenses for foreign trips increased by around 1453% in 2022, according to the Commission on Audit. State auditors found that foreign travel-related expenses at the OP jumped by around P367,052,245.96 from P25,255,163.95 in 2021 to P392,307,409.91 in 2022. Read more: Philstar

Peruvian village horrified by attacks from 'giant yellow-eyed aliens' Peruvian villagers claim that aliens standing at two meters tall attack them every night. By WALLA! Published: AUGUST 28, 2023 14:25 Updated: AUGUST 29, 2023 08:35 Residents of a Peruvian village known as the Haikito tribe have been living in fear as they claim to be under repeated attacks by towering, two-meter-tall creatures. These menacing entities with luminous yellow eyes, dubbed "Los Falcaras" or "the face peelers," have instilled terror in the hearts of the indigenous community of San Antonio, located in Alto Nanai, northeast of Lima. Distraught and desperate, the villagers implored the Peruvian military for assistance, initiating night patrols to...

- Veteran broadcast journalist Mike Enriquez has passed away at the age 71 - GMA Network confirmed the news in a statement released Tuesday - As per the media giant, the Kapuso anchor died on August 29 - A “24 Oras” report also ρáíd tribute to Enriquez, citing his contributions to the broadcasting industry Veteran broadcast journalist Mike Enriquez has passed away on August 29 at the age 71. GMA Network (@gmanetwork) Source: Instagram© Provided by Kami GMA Network confirmed the heartbreaking news in a statement released Tuesday. “It is with profound sadness that GMA Network announces the passing of our beloved Kapuso, Mr. Miguel ‘Mike’ C. Enriquez, who peacefully joined our Creator on August 29, 2023,” the statement reads...

WATCH: New Video Shows What Happened During That Viral QC Road Rage Incident© Provided by Spot.ph (SPOT.ph) A second angle video of the viral road rage incident in Quezon City was posted by Raymond Fortun on August 30. The one minute and 33 second long clip appears to be CCTV footage from the roadside and shows a fuller look into what went down between the ex-cop Wilfredo "Willie" Gonzales and an unnamed cyclist near the Welcome Rotonda on August 8. Also read: Recap: That Viral Road Rage Incident With the Gun-Wielding Ex-Cop Longer clip shows second angle of viral QC Road Rage incident "A second angle of the August 8, 2023 roadrage incident involving the cyclist and the dismissed cop," wrote Fortun in the caption, with an added...