National

Cloudy skies, rains expected in parts of PHL due to northeast monsoon, easterlies

(Eagle News)–The northeast monsoon is affecting Northern Luzon. According to the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, the easterlies are also affecting the rest of the country. As a result, Batanes and Cagayan will have cloudy skies and light rains. Ilocos Region, Cordillera Administrative Region, Central Luzon and the rest of Cagayan Valley, meanwhile, will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated light rains. Metro Manila and the rest of the country, meanwhile, […]

PHL hopes for King Charles’ “swift, full recovery” following cancer diagnosis

(Eagle News)–The Philippines on Friday, Feb. 9, expressed solidarity with the United Kingdom following the cancer diagnosis of King Charles III. “Sending my heartfelt best wishes to King Charles and Queen Camilla. The Philippines is with the United Kingdom in praying for the King’s swift and full recovery,” President Bongbong Marcos said. Earlier this week, the Buckingham Palace announced the 75-year-old’s cancer diagnosis, without revealing the type of cancer. The Buckingham Palace has clarified, however, […]

Child rescued after almost 60 hours in Philippine landslide

MANILA, Feb 9, 2024 (AFP) – The rescue of a child on Friday nearly 60 hours after a landslide hit a gold-mining village in the southern Philippines has been hailed as a “miracle” after searchers had given up hope of finding anyone alive. The girl, whose age has not been disclosed, had been among the more than 100 people missing after the rain-induced landslide hit the village, killing at least 15 people. She was found […]

PBBM: Reforms to be limited to Constitution’s economic provisions

(Eagle News)–President Bongbong Marcos has said reforms in the Constitution will be limited to the economic, aimed only at boosting the country’s economy. The President made the statement as talk of Charter Change became rife in the House of Representatives, with congressmen hoping for a plebiscite on Cha-Cha as early as July. Senators, on the other hand, see no hurry, as the chair of the Senate subcommittee on constitutional amendments and revision of codes, Senator […]

DICT: Around 56 million digital nat’l IDs generated so far

(Eagle News)–The Department of Information and Communications Technology has so far generated around 56 million digital national IDs. Information and Communications Secretary Ivan John Uy said the digital IDs can be accessed via the eGovPH app while users wait for their corresponding physical IDs from the Philippine Statistics Authority and PhilSys. “So, ‘pag access niyan, lalabas iyong digital ID ninyo. Kung sinabi na hindi ma-access, then may problema sa PSA,” Uy said. He said a […]

Rescuers use bare hands to search for Philippine landslide survivors

MANILA, Feb 8, 2024 (AFP) – Rescuers used their bare hands and shovels to dig through mud on Thursday in a desperate search for survivors of a landslide in the Philippines as the number of missing nearly doubled to 90, an official said. Two days after the rain-induced landslide hit the mountainous gold-mining village of Masara on southern Mindanao island, searchers were in a race against time and weather. At least seven people were killed […]

PBBM approves release of P265 million in financial assistance to flood-hit Mindanao areas

(Eagle News)–President Bongbong Marcos has approved the release of P265 million in financial assistance to flood-stricken Mindanao. “I released the P265 million to make sure that the response is immediate and maramdaman agad ng tao na mayroon silang tulong, maramdaman nilang – mayroon silang gagamitin sa pangangailangan nila,” the President said. Of the amount,  the provinces of Davao del Norte, Davao Oriental, Agusan del Sur, Davao de Oro received P30 million each while the provinces […]

Davao Public Transport Modernization Project to begin this 3rd quarter of 2024

(Eagle News)–President Bongbong Marcos on Wednesday, Feb. 7, led the ceremonial signing of civil works contracts for the Davao Public Transport Modernization Project (DPTMP). With the signing, civil work for the DPTMP is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2024. The DPTMP is envisioned to be a 672-kilometer bus route network serving 29 interconnected routes with 400 articulated battery electric buses and more than 500 diesel buses. Once completed, it is expected to […]

Philippines registers 3.1 percent unemployment rate in December 2023

NEDA says rate is lowest recorded in nearly two decades (Eagle News)–The Philippines registered an unemployment rate of 3.1 percent in December 2023. According to the National Economic Development Authority, this represents a year-on-year decrease of 617,000 unemployed individuals, with its “significant” decrease from the 4.3 percent unemployment rate recorded in December 2022. NEDA said this is also the lowest unemployment rate recorded in nearly two decades. Citing Philippine Statistics Authority data, the underemployment rate, […]

Headline inflation eases to 2.8 percent in January 2024

(Eagle News)–The country’s headline inflation further eased to 2.8 percent in January, the Philippine Statistics Authority has reported. According to the PSA, this was the lowest inflation rate reported since October 2020, when the rate was at 2.3 percent. January’s headline inflation is also down from the 3.9 percent reported in December last year and the 8.7 percent reported in January 2023. It was well within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ forecast range of 2.8 […]

Philippines thwarts cyber attacks on Marcos, government agencies

MANILA, Feb 6, 2024 (AFP) – The Philippines has thwarted thousands of “sophisticated” cyberattacks targeting the websites of President Ferdinand Marcos, the Philippine Coast Guard and other government agencies, an official said Tuesday. Hackers began the attacks last year and an investigation was underway to determine if the perpetrators were based in China, undersecretary Jeffrey Ian Dy of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) told a congressional hearing. Dy said the attackers used […]

PHL cybersecurity experts thwarted hacking attempts on OWWA site: DICT official

Unsuccessful spying attempts on gov’t email address systems, PBBM site also revealed (Eagle News)–The country’s cybersecurity experts have thwarted recent hacking attacks against a Philippine government website, a Department of Information and Communications Technology official revealed. Information and Communications Technology Undersecretary Jeff Ian Dy said the attacks intended to take down the Overseas Workers and Welfare Administration website in the past weeks were brute force attacks. “Uulitin ano, hindi naman ito natuloy kasi we were […]