The flag-carrier Philippine Airlines, Inc., earnings rose to P6.55 billion in the first nine months this year from P169.1 million in the same period last year, according to holding company PAL Holdings, Inc. PAL said that total revenues for the nine months reached P81.99 billion, up 10.8 percent from P73.98 […]

The Netherlands-based Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague will hold a one-week hearing starting Nov. 24 on the Philippines’ case challenging China’s enormous claim on disputed South China (West Philippine) sea territories. “Oral hearing on the merits of the Philippines-China arbitration case under Annex VII of the United Nations […]

The proposed Salary Standardization law of 2015 will provide public school teachers and nurses higher pay in comparison to their counterpart in the private sector according to the Department of Budget and Management. “Our study revealed that if we compare the median of the market to the median of SSL […]

15 Senators agree EDCA a ‘prohibited treaty?’ The Senate on Tuesday adopted a resolution expressing that it should concur any treaty ratified by the President of the Philippines. Voting 15-1-3, the senators adopted Senate Resolution No. 1414, authored by Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago, which stated that the absence of their […]

An estimated 11 million children are at risk of hunger, disease and lack of water in eastern and southern Africa as a result of a strengthening El Nino, which is also causing droughts and floods in parts of Asia, the Pacific and Latin America, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) […]

More flights were cancelled by flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) on Tuesday in view of preparation for the upcoming 2015 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting. PAL said that these cancellations were added in view of the latest information on the movements of world leaders and economic ministers […]

President Aquino is a skipper, really!  Now we can say it again. President Benigno S. Aquino, III is a skipper, really! The latest event the Philippine head of state snubbed and skipped was the second year commemoration of the super typhoon ‘Yolanda’ anniversary of survivors, more particularly in Tacloban City. […]

A Brussels court has ordered Facebook to stop tracking Belgian internet users when they browse third-party websites, or face substantial daily fines, local media reported on Monday. According to L’Echo newspaper, the social network has 48 hours to comply with the order, or incur a fine of 250,000 euros (USD268,560) […]

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. on Monday vowed to immediately enact into law the proposed P226 billion four-year “Salary Standardization Law of 2015,” which offers 14th month pay for 1.53 million state workers and officials on the first year of implementation in 2016. “We will study and pass it in time […]

Climate change could push an additional 100 million people into extreme poverty by 2030 if the world fails to take actions, the World Bank warned in a report released Sunday. The report, titled Shock Waves: Managing the Impacts of Climate Change on Poverty, found that poor people are already at […]

‘Laglag Bala’ scheme spreads, now also in Philippine seaport(s)? Nov. 9, 2015. — Many expect that the alleged scam of ‘laglag-bala’ is on the wane with the eyes and ears of Malacanang already appraised. But no. It would seem that the modus operandi is spreading slowly, but surely. On Saturday […]

Seven earthquakes was felt in Mndanao and one in Luzon in the past 30 hours since Saturday according to the bulletin issued by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) on Sunday. The latest tremor was of magnitude 5.7, tectonic in origin and traced 58 kilometers west of Bolinao, […]

An official of the National Secretariat for Social Action (NASSA) of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said the Catholic charity group Caritas Internationalis has spent more than P3.2 billion in assistance of victims of super typhoon Yolanda for the last two years. Of the P3.2 billion allocated […]

[flexiblemap title=”Chile quake” address=”Coquimbo Region, Chile” region=”South America” directions=”true” width=”100%” height=”250px” zoom=”9″] A 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck Chile in the early hours of Saturday, but no damage or injuries have been reported. The quake hit the north-central Coquimbo region at a depth of 47.8 km at 4:31 a.m. (0731 GMT), according […]

Two years today, after super typhoon ‘Yolanda’ ravaged mostly areas in the Eastern Visayas region, the people of Tacloban City and nearby towns will commemorate the event with a string of activities on Sunday, November 8, 2015. The city government of Tacloban urged survivors to join the Sunday commemoration of […]

Is it game over yet for Sen. Grace Poe’s senate seat and then, her presidential run? The ‘series’ is becoming interesting with the Senate Electoral Tribunal soon set to render its decision in the disqualification case filed by Rizalito David against Poe. In a meeting of the tribunal in a […]

Named respondents in the complaint of serious illegal detention filed by former Iglesia Ni Cristo minister Isaias Samson failed to appear at the hearing of the Department of Justice on Friday. Only complainant Samson and the members of his family with their legal counsel Atty. Trixie Cruz-Angeles made it to […]

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is now looking deeper into the proliferation of alleged ‘bullet-planting’ (laglag bala) incidents at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport and determine whether there are groups behind the scam. This development came after the Department of Justice-formed seven-man NBI task force has been given 15 […]

Airline passengers with flights scheduled during the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit were advised by airport authorities to take alternate routes to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to avoid flight inconveniences. The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said that routes going to NAIA such as Aurora Boulevard coming […]

The Philippines has no bragging right about rice self sufficiency anytime now until some time next year. The government is looking to import an additional 300,000 metric tons (MT) of rice, bringing total rice shipments to 1.8 million MT during the first half of 2016, to ensure enough supply and […]

”I don’t see how will that help but if that will, why not? Sure, I will take DNA test, there’s no problem,” Marcos said when asked by the media if he is willing to help Poe during the weekly Kapihan sa Senado media forum. Senator Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. on […]

Report: US intelligence suggest Islamic State bomb cause Russian plane crash U.S. cable news network CNN reported Wednesday that latest U.S. intelligence suggests the crash of a Russian passenger plane in Egypt was most likely caused by a bomb planted by the terror group Islamic State (IS) or its affiliate. […]

“We have yet to get any fact that there are syndicates that operate this (scheme),” DOTC Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said during a press conference at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3. The Department of Transportation and Communication on Wednesday said that there is no proof that the […]

The Senate on Wednesday ratified the bicameral conference committee report on the disagreeing provisions of the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Reform Act. A total of 16 senators voted in favor while none opposed the bicam report. Senator Vicente Sotto III cast abstention vote. Senator Paolo Benigno ‘Bam’ Aquino IV, one of […]

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) have placed the entire island of Mindanao on “red alert” on Wednesday as it announced a power deficiency of 40 megawatts and alleged escalation of bombing threats on transmission lines. “With the return of the generating facilities of STEAG Power in Misamis […]

”I have to admit to you, those who have taken samples did not match our DNA,” Poe said in an interview with a Manila radio program Wednesday. Senator Grace Poe revealed that the DNA tests taken from at least two persons have yielded negative results. Poe refused to name the […]

According to the 2015 rankings by the Global Peace Index among 162 countries worldwide, the Philippines is on the 141st. Hugging the bottom line is North Korea. A dismal result, and perhaps, the true prevailing state in the country under the stewardship of President Benigno S. Aquino, III, despite its […]

A lawmaker has filed Tuesday a measure to decriminalize the mere possession of not more than three bullets in an effort to eradicate the “Tanim Bala” scam hounding the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), Vice presidential candidate and Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo filed House Bill 6245, otherwise known as […]

SOGOD, Bacacay, Albay — “I am the pure and true Bicolano,” Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo and Liberal Party’s vice presidential candidate, claimed as her edge over four other Bicolano aspirants for the same position. In an impromptu dialogue with local media and leaders in here, Robredo said she is […]

The driest desert of the world, the Atacama, located on the Pacific coast and covering 1,000 kilometers of Chilean land, has suddenly turned into a gorgeous carpet of wildflowers, after El Nino, a periodic warming in sea surface temperatures across the Equatorial Pacific, brought the heaviest rainfall in two decades […]

There are at least three types of weapons used by the Chinese that “could play a role” if Beijing and Washington go toe-to-toe over the South China Sea, according to the National Interest’s Defense Editor Dave Majumdar. The National Interest has decided to look into three types of deadly weapons […]

The Department of Social Welfare and Development and Nigerian Ambassador to the Philippines Buba Tekune led last Thursday the inauguration ceremony of the water supply project for calamity devastated-families relocated in the resettlement site of Ridgeview Park in Tacloban City, almost two years after Super Typhoon Yolanda leveled the area. […]

A 70-year old Korean national who was abducted by suspected Abu Sayyaf bandits about nine months ago was found dead in southern Philippine province of Sulu, local military said Sunday. The body of Nwi Seong Hong was discovered by a concerned citizen at the vicinity of the Sulu State College […]

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines on Saturday announced it has cancelled a total of 211 flights from Nov. 15 to 20 in preparation for the 2015 APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting next month. Of the 211 flights, 115 were domestic flights while 96 were international flights. These cancellations come after the Manila […]

Malacañang on Saturday said it is upset over the so-called ‘tanim-bala’ or bullet-planting scam happening inside Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) terminals recently and this concern has already reached President Benigno S. Aquino III. Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said both President Aquino and Department of Transportation and Communications Secretary Joseph […]

Russian Jetliner crashes in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula Plane took off from Sharm el-Sheikh International Airport, Egypt for Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg  224 People on-board The bodies of at least 100 people recovered at the crash site of Russian Airbus A321 in Egypt, news wire reports said. Fatalities include 63 […]

Fifteen people, including six children, perished while 13 others were injured in a fire that hit Zamboanga City’s old public market Saturday dawn. The fire razed 350 stalls, mostly used-clothing shops, and partially destroyed a three-story commercial building. Aan estimated worth of property damage was placed at P8 million according […]

U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter indicated Tuesday that the United States will continue its freedom of navigation operation, the day after the U.S. Navy sent a guided-missile destroyer to within what China claims to be territorial waters around its man-made islands in the South China Sea also known as the […]

Presidential candidate Sen. Grace Poe on Tuesday admitted she was surprised by a photograph showing her running mate Sen. Francis ‘Chiz’ Escudero and opposition standard-bearer Vice President Jejomar Binay having lunch meeting in Davao. Poe, however, clarified she found nothing unusual with it considering even rivals in politics would really […]

The Philippines is set to sign next month an P89-billion loan agreement with Japanese government to partially finance the North-South commuter rail project (NSCRP) meant to ease traffic congestion in Metro Manila. “The loan agreement for the project will be signed during Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit to the […]

The Commission on Elections said the public should not blame the agency on the predicament they are facing since they waited until the last days of the registration period. The poll body was referring to late registrants spending long hours in line to have their biometrics taken or validate their […]

The Department of Health is advising the people, particularly the elderly, children and those with asthma or other chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPDs) on ways of coping with the risks of haze now being experienced in some parts of Mindanao. Read more:Indonesian haze worsens, compromise Southern Mindanao air quality DOH […]

The United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) made known its complete slate for the senatorial race in next year’s polls. UNA is the second party after the Liberal Party to announce a complete line-up for national candidates. The UNA list included 1. Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto III 2. Former Senator Panfilo “Ping” […]

An alumnus from the Bicol University is among the top ten passers of the licensure board examinations for architect held in the Middle East. Christian Encelan Quriona garnered 82.70, one of two examinees ranked 7th, among the 337 passers out of 447 hopefuls. The successful examinees who garnered the ten […]

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) said that there are close to six million voter’s identification (ID) cards still unclaimed in its local offices all over the country. But the poll body was quick to say that voter’s ID is not a requirement in voting in the May 2016 polls. With […]

A group of 23 U.S. states on Friday filed a lawsuit against the Environment Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clear Power Plan, charging that the EPA plan was illegal and would be damaging to the economic interests of the states and their people. “West Virginia is proud to be leading the charge […]

Fish farms in Lake Buhi suffered another fishkill, just after the heavy rains brought by Typhoon “Lando.” The heavy rains dumped resulted in the upswelling at the bottom of Lake Buhi, causing a fishkill estimated at P14.5 million worth of cultured tilapia in fish cages, according to the Bureau of […]

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) reported that government agency allotments continue to keep ahead of last year’s rates, with 96.4 percent of funds already released to departments and agencies as of September 30. Allotment releases to agencies over the first nine months of 2015 outpaced last year’s figures, […]

As Inodnesian-triggered haze worsens Southern Mindanao air quality, health officials in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) on Friday as it released an advisory for the public to stay indoors to avoid suffering from respiratory diseases. ”Don’t underestimate the ill effects of haze. It’s worsening the already compromised quality […]

An Army corporal shot and killed five soldiers, including two junior officers, when he went amuck in Sumisip, Basilan Thursday morning. The suspect, who was also shot and killed by responding troops, managed to wound nine others before being neutralized, according to Philippine Army spokesperson Col. Benjamin Hao. He said […]

Is there a drug menace in the Bicol Region? At we read, and watch reports, coming in from the provinces and cities, there is some truth to the matter. Here’s another. Joint operatives of the Nabua Municipal Police Station led by Police Senior Insp. John Murray C. Cutaran, officer-in-charge, and […]

Malacanang on Wednesday defended Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman on the allegation that she was campaigning for the Liberal Party candidates instead of leading from the frontlines for the relief and recovery of those affected by typhoon ‘Lando.” Soliman chided the accusation of Vice President Jejomar Binay’s spokesperson that she was […]

Two Chinese consular officials in Cebu were killed while the consul general was wounded in a shooting incident inside the Lighthouse Restaurant along General Maxilom, Cebu City at about 1:20 p.m. Wednesday. A Chinese retired consular official and his spouse was taken into police custody immediately after the shooting. The […]

There is no stopping in the trend to pull down the candidacy of presidential hopeful and front runner Sen. Grace Poe Llamanzares. A third disqualification case has been lodged against Poe before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Tuesday. In his 14-page petition for Cancellation of Certificate of Candidacy (CoC), […]

The wildfire smog in neighboring Indonesia has reached Mindanao, creating an atmospheric haze that alarmed residents and airline officials in Cagayan de Oro city. Jose Bodiongan, the airport manager of the Laguindingan airport in Misamis Oriental said on Tuesday that an advise to conduct visual landing was issued Monday after […]

The Supreme Court of the Philippines (SCOTP) on Tuesday issued a status quo ante order stopping for 30 days the plunder trial against former President and now Pampanga 2nd district Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo by the Sandiganbayan. The case involves the alleged anomalous utilization of the confidential intelligence fund of the […]

A 43-year-old priest from the Diocese of Libmanan has entered politics to face a well-entrenched traditional politician in the five-town first district of Camarines Sur. Fr. Apolinar Rull Napoles last Friday filed his Certificate of Candidacy (CoC) under the Liberal Party to seek the district seat of incumbent Congressman Rolando […]

At least 24 areas in Luzon including Metro Manila are still under public storm warning signals as typhoon “Lando” slightly weakens as it continues its slow movement towards the provinces of Apayao, Ilocos Norte and Abra, the state weather bureau said on Monday. As of 4 a.m., the center of […]

The United States has told nations in Southeast Asia it will send naval vessels soon into what China claims as its territory in the disputed South China Sea (also officially referred to as the West Philippine Sea in Manila), diplomatic sources said Sunday. The United States is expected to sail […]

Typhoon ‘Lando’ brought power down in 12 provinces located in North and South Luzon, the country’s grid-operator National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) said. On Sunday, NGCP reported the provinces that had power interruptions due to typhoon “Lando” are: La Union, Pangasinan, Aurora, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Ecija, Zambales, Tarlac, […]

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad bared that funds for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction in the proposed 2016 National Budget have reached P132 billion. “With the help of the World Bank, our ongoing audit of the P3.002-trillion budget for next year has tagged P132-billion worth of projects that represent […]

Direct and live from Vatican, watch Pope Francis presides at Holy Mass with the canonization of the Blesseds Vincenzo Grossi, Maria dell’Immacolata Concezione, Ludovico Martin and Maria Azelia Guérin. At the end, the Pope recites the Angelus prayer. This program starts at 10:00, Vatican time, October 18, 2015. READ / […]

Stormy weather continues to prevail in most parts of Luzon including Metro Manila as Typhoon “Lando” has slightly weakened as it made its first landfall in the town of Casiguran, Aurora Province, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said. PAGASA weather forecaster Buddy Javier said that as […]

The Dutch Safety Board issued a final report of the crash investigation on Tuesday, saying the Malaysia Airlines passenger plane crashed as a result of a ground-to-air missile explosion near the left side of the plane. The organization said an additional forensic investigation would be needed to establish the exact […]

Mangrove forests in the Indo-Pacific region could be completely under water by 2070, threatening fisheries, coastal protection and furthering climate change, researchers at the University of Queensland (Australia) warn. Yet, the outlook in other parts of the world are more positive as “our modelling shows mangroves are likely to persist […]