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5 vote buying DQ cases filed by Comelec, warns LGU of prohibitions
The Commission on Elections has begun filing petitions against the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections candidates allegedly involved in vote buying on 6 October. Out of the 40 complaints being investigated, the Comelec poll board submitted five disqualification petitions, according to Comelec Deputy Executive for Operations Rafael Olano. He added that the Committee on Vote Buying has received complaints from the public on various platforms, including Facebook and messages which contained screenshots or images. "All of these complaints came from voters. We verified and evaluated them for possible filing of disqualification cases “he said. Olano confirmed that one of the five candidates under investigation for disqualification is involved in a BSK bet showing up at a local government unit aid distribution, which he claimed to be qualified as vote buying. “There were local government officials, mayors distributing relief but the BSKE candidate was present and was allowed to speak," he said. After the official filing of candidacy, it was claimed that another BSK candidate distributed financial aid out of his pocket. Prior to the election, the poll body warned candidates of its strict measures which prohibit the distribution of ballers, t-shirts, caps, and anything else of worth under the suspicion of vote buying and selling. Comelec Commissioner Ernesto Ferdinand Maceda Jr. reminded LGU officials to be aware of such prohibitions during a separate briefing. "If they conduct assistance programs, they should not let BSKE candidates join them, lest they be disqualified,” he said. Maceda added that the Comelec would consider potential reinforcing techniques if similar incidents persist as the campaign period drew closer. “We will study how to reprimand them or take appropriate actions,” he said. In the end, Maceda stressed that the poll body is “dead serious” about its exclusion warning in order to assure not just the validity and honesty of the BSK polls but also to raise the bar for campaigning standards across the nation and the importance of each BSK candidate’s character. As of Friday, the Task Force Anti-Epal had filed an additional 10 disqualification petitions against candidates who were allegedly involved in premature campaigning while the Committee on Kontra Bigay had filed five disqualification cases for vote buying. Overall, there are 82 petitions for premature campaigning, 5,169 show cause orders, and 1,132 responses from the BSK bets. The post 5 vote buying DQ cases filed by Comelec, warns LGU of prohibitions appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Kim meets Russian defence minister, inspects missile and warship
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Vladivostok on Saturday where he met Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and inspected a hypersonic aircraft missile system before boarding a warship. Kim's first official visit abroad since the Covid-19 pandemic has fanned Western fears that Moscow and Pyongyang will defy sanctions and strike an arms deal. Moscow is believed to be interested in buying North Korean ammunition to continue fighting in Ukraine, while Pyongyang wants Russia's help to develop its missile program. The Kremlin has said no agreement has or will be inked. Kim's extended tour of Russia's far eastern region, which began Tuesday, has leaned heavily martial, including his military-dominated entourage, symbolic exchange of rifles with President Vladimir Putin and tour of a fighter jet factory in engineering hub Komsomolsk-on-Amur. After meeting Kim on Wednesday at the Vostochny cosmodrome roughly 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles) from Moscow, Putin talked up the prospect of greater cooperation with North Korea and said there were "possibilities" for military ties. Upon arriving in Vladivostok, a large coastal city near the Chinese and North Korean borders, Kim was greeted by Shoigu and an honor guard, state news agency TASS reported. At the Knevichi airfield, Shoigu showed Kim "the Kinzhal missile system on the MiG-31I missile carrier", TASS said, adding that its "flight and technical capabilities" were outlined to Kim by a top military official. Kim and Shoigu then boarded frigate Marshal Shaposhnikov where the "Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy, Admiral Nikolay Evmenov, spoke about the characteristics of the ship and anti-submarine weapons - four-tube torpedo tubes and RBU-6000 rocket launchers," TASS said. Kim is expected to visit the Far Eastern Federal University and marine biology laboratories at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Vladivostok. Colleges in Russia's Far East have historically accepted North Korean students. 'Troubling' cooperation Kim is visiting Russia as Putin seeks to bolster alliances with other world leaders ostracized by Western countries. The longtime allies are both under a raft of international sanctions, Moscow for the Ukraine conflict and Pyongyang for its nuclear tests. Kim and Putin's gifting each other rifles at the spaceport summit on Wednesday further fueled speculation that an arms export deal could be on the table, despite Western warnings. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday however, that no agreements had been signed during Kim's ongoing trip, and "there was no plan to sign any". While meeting Kim, Putin accepted an invitation to visit North Korea, according to the Kremlin, and he reportedly offered to send a North Korean to space, which would be a first. Moscow also mentioned the possibility of helping North Korea to manufacture satellites, a prospect that has alarmed Washington. The cooperation announced during Kim's Russia is "quite troubling and would potentially be in violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions", State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reports following the leaders' summit. North Korean satellites, he noted, have been used to develop Pyongyang's ballistic missiles. Pyongyang recently failed twice in its bid to put a military spy satellite into orbit. The post Kim meets Russian defence minister, inspects missile and warship appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
DA warns rice traders not to jack up prices, consumers told not to hoard
The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Tuesday warned unscrupulous traders jacking up the price of rice as some of them have already taken advantage of the onslaught of typhoons and the habagat season the country has been experiencing. "This July, we were hit by typhoons. Based on our price monitoring, the prices of rice and vegetables went up, especially our imported rice," DA Deputy Spokesperson Rex Estoperez said. He added that they have already monitored a price increase of P1.50 to P2 per kilo of rice following the recent several typhoons. "Some traders are only after profits. We are asking them to keep prices reasonable. In our monitoring, rice prices already increased by P1.50 to P2 per kilo," Estoperez said. Consumers groups, on the other hand, said the retail price of rice is expected to rise again because of movements from the international market. They said rice prices from Vietnam, Thailand, and India are on the up trend, causing an increase in imported rice. "The private traders are scaling down their imports because of rising international prices while local traders are keeping on to their stocks and waiting for local prices to go up further," said Raul Montemayor of the Federation of Free Farmers. This also moves simultaneously with the lean months of July and August, where there is less rice harvest. "If imports do not come in as needed in the coming months, we could have very tight supplies before harvests start in late September and peak in October and November. The typhoons could further delay harvests since farmers will have to replant," Montemayor added. The National Food Authority (NFA) could stabilize prices if it had enough rice in stock, but the NFA inventory is "low" after it failed to buy rice from farmers due to the low prices it offered, Montemayor said. This was also the sentiment aired by the agricultural group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG) who said imported rice has increased amidst the ban on exports imposed by India. On Tuesday President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and several agencies tackled the possible need for imports to boost the supply of rice. This prompted Estoperez to urge the public to refrain from buying more rice than they need. "If we panic, that will more pressure on the supply and prices," the DA official explained. The post DA warns rice traders not to jack up prices, consumers told not to hoard appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Beijing ‘aiding’ Russia, Japan expands sanctions
China has stymied Western economic punishments on Russia for invading Ukraine, according to a United States intelligence report, as Japan expanded its sanctions against Moscow. An unclassified report released by Democratic lawmakers Thursday said China has boosted energy imports from Russia and has provided tankers and insurance coverage to move crude oil. The two sides have also “increased the share of bilateral trade settled in yuan” as well as “expanding their use of domestic payment systems,” which helps “Russian entities to conduct financial transactions unfettered of Western interdiction,” the report said. Meanwhile, Japan added electric vehicles to its list of banned exports to Russia. The additional ban announced Friday includes vehicles fitted with engines of 1,900 cc or more, as well hybrid and electric cars, the trade ministry said in a statement. The new sanctions, approved by the cabinet of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Friday, will take effect on 9 August. Other items added to the export ban list include steel, plastic products, and electronic parts “that can be diverted to military use,” ministry official Noriyuki Kuroda told reporters. The latest sanctions follow similar embargoes unveiled by the United States and the European Union, Kuroda said. At the Group of Seven summit in Japan in May, the bloc’s leaders agreed to “starve Russia of G7 technology, industrial equipment and services that support its war machine.” The US, Britain and the European Union have levied crushing sanctions against Moscow over the Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as committed more military aid to Kyiv. WITH AFP The post Beijing ‘aiding’ Russia, Japan expands sanctions appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Missile barrage hits Ukraine, Russia repels attack
Two people were killed in separate overnight airstrikes on Ukraine, authorities said on Thursday. A missile struck port infrastructure in the southern Odesa region on the Black Sea coast killing one person, the regional governor said Thursday. Oleg Kiper said Russian forces “fired Kalibr missiles from a submarine in the Black Sea.” “A civilian guard born in 1979 died as a result of the hit. Equipment of one of the cargo terminals was damaged, a small security building and two cars were destroyed,” Kiper said on social media. The other fatality was in the town of Kivsharivka in the eastern Kharkiv region, governor Oleg Synegubov said. The attacks followed the downing of 36 cruise missiles by the Ukrainian Air Force. “On 26 July, 36 enemy cruise missiles were destroyed,” Lt. Gen. Mykola Oleshchuk said Wednesday on the air force’s official Telegram channel. Three Kalibr missiles were fired in the afternoon while 33 X-101 and X-555 missiles were fired in the early evening by eight Tu-95 bombers from the southeast heading towards western Ukraine, it said. The air force mentioned another strike by Russian MiG-31s which launched four hypersonic Kinjal missiles targeting the Khmelnytsky region in western Ukraine on Wednesday evening. In the Dnipro central region of Ukraine, the governor said Wednesday on Telegram that the debris of a downed Russian missile caused a fire which was brought under control without causing any casualties. Meanwhile, Russia’s FSB security service said Thursday that a cargo ship bound for the Russian port of Rostov-on-Don was turned back “from Russian territorial waters” after “traces of explosives” were found on the ship. The FSB said in a statement that the ship coming from Turkey had previously sailed to the Ukrainian port of Reni. Earlier, the Russian army said it turned back several hundred Ukrainian soldiers near the town of Orikhiv in the south, one of the areas where Kyiv has been carrying out its counteroffensive. Ukraine “conducted a massive attack by the forces of three battalions reinforced by tanks. All attacks of the Armed Force of Ukraine were repelled. Positions were held,” the ministry said. The Russian military also said it progressed in the direction of Lyman, in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, after reporting an advance of up to two kilometers on Tuesday. WITH AFP The post Missile barrage hits Ukraine, Russia repels attack appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
CIA denies hand on Wagner mutiny
United States Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns recently traveled to Ukraine, where he met with intelligence counterparts and President Volodymyr Zelensky, a US official confirmed to AFP Friday. The trip, which was not reported at the time, comes as Kyiv’s brigades pursue a counteroffensive in their nation’s east and south against Russian forces, launched earlier this month after weeks of anticipation. During his trip, Burns reaffirmed “the US commitment to sharing intelligence to help Ukraine defend against Russian aggression,” the US official said. According to The Washington Post, which first reported the visit, Ukrainian officials shared plans to claw back Russian-occupied territory and begin ceasefire negotiations by the end of the year. Burns “traveled to Ukraine as he has done regularly since the beginning of Russia’s recent aggression more than a year ago,” the US official said. The Post reported that the visit occurred in June. The trip took place before the 24-hour insurrection by the leader of the Wagner private military company, Yevgeny Prigozhin, according to the official. The mutiny, which was widely seen as the biggest threat to Kremlin authority in decades, “was not a topic of discussion,” the official added. The United States has attempted to make clear to Russia that it played no role in the rebellion, with major US media reporting Friday that Burns called the head of Russia’s SVR foreign intelligence service, Sergei Naryshkin, following the uprising to assert that the United States was not involved. The Ukrainian military’s commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny has said his country’s counteroffensive plans are being hobbled by the lack of adequate firepower, from modern fighter jets to artillery ammunition. On Tuesday, the United States announced a fresh $500-million package of arms to bolster the counteroffensive, including armored vehicles, precision munitions and mine-clearing equipment. The post CIA denies hand on Wagner mutiny appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Austin presses dialogue with China
Dialogue between the United States and China is “essential” to avoid miscalculations that could lead to conflict, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Saturday, after Beijing rejected a formal meeting between him and his Chinese counterpart. Austin and Li Shangfu shook hands and briefly spoke for the first time at the opening dinner of the Shangri-La Dialogue defence summit in Singapore the night before, but the interaction fell short of the Pentagon’s hopes for a more substantive exchange. The US defense chief is on a tour of Asia that previously took him to Japan and will also include a visit to India — part of a push by top American officials to shore up alliances and partnerships in the region to help counter Beijing. “The United States believes that open lines of communication with the People’s Republic of China are essential — especially between our defense and military leaders,” Austin said in remarks at the Shangri-La Dialogue. “The more that we talk, the more that we can avoid the misunderstandings and miscalculations that could lead to crisis or conflict.” The United States had invited Li to meet on the sidelines of the summit, but Beijing declined, with a spokesperson saying “the US knows clearly why there are currently difficulties in military communication.” Chinese Senior Colonel Zhao Xiaozhuo said Beijing also thinks that communication lines are essential, but added that “the problem is for the United States to stop provoking China’s security.” Li was sanctioned by the US government in 2018 for buying Russian weapons, but the Pentagon says that does not prevent Austin from conducting official business with him. Asked if the United States should lift sanctions on Li, Zhao told AFP: “Of course, it is one of the pre-conditions for substantial talks”. A senior US defense official said it was good for the two to speak, but Austin told the defense summit that “a cordial handshake over dinner is no substitute for a substantive engagement.” Austin said he was “deeply concerned that (China) has been unwilling to engage more seriously on better mechanisms for crisis management between our two militaries,” expressing hope that would soon change. He also took aim at Beijing for conducting “an alarming number of risky intercepts of US and allied aircraft flying lawfully in international airspace”, including one last week. The post Austin presses dialogue with China appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
China declines meeting with US defense chief: Pentagon
Beijing has declined a US invitation for a meeting in Singapore between Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu, the Pentagon said Monday. "Overnight, the PRC informed the US that they have declined our early May invitation for Secretary Austin to meet with PRC Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu in Singapore this week," Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder said in a statement, referring to the People's Republic of China. "The PRC's concerning unwillingness to engage in meaningful military-to-military discussions will not diminish (the Defense Department's) commitment to seeking open lines of communication with the People's Liberation Army," Ryder said. A senior US defense official described the declined invitation as "just the latest in a litany of excuses," saying that since 2021, China has "declined or failed to respond to over a dozen requests from the Department of Defense for key leader engagements, multiple requests for standing dialogues, and nearly ten working-level engagements." Li was sanctioned by the US government in 2018 for buying Russian weapons, but the Pentagon says that does not prevent Austin from conducting official business with him. Austin is due to travel to Singapore later this week to attend the Shangri-La Dialogue, a defense summit where he met Li's predecessor Wei Fenghe last June. Austin and Wei met again in Cambodia later in 2022, but tensions between Washington and Beijing soared this year over issues including Taiwan and an alleged Chinese spy balloon that was shot down by a US warplane after traversing the country. Austin and other US officials have been working to shore up alliances and partnerships in Asia as part of efforts to counter increasingly assertive moves by Beijing, but there have also been tentative signs that the two sides were working to lower the temperature. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in Vienna earlier this month, and President Joe Biden recently said ties between Washington and Beijing should thaw "very shortly," citing the spy balloon incident as a factor that had boosted tensions. The post China declines meeting with US defense chief: Pentagon appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Zelensky heads to G7 as Ukraine wins access to F-16s
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday headed to Hiroshima to join G7 talks, after winning long-sought US support for access to advanced fighter jets and training for Kyiv's pilots. The rare long-haul trip is a chance to confer with allies like US President Joe Biden, but also to woo key unaligned powers at the summit, including India and Brazil. Zelensky's surprise appearance -- he had previously been expected to appear by video -- comes after a stop in Jeddah to address the Arab League and a breakthrough in his long-running campaign to convince Washington of Ukraine's need for F-16s. Momentum had been building for providing the planes, but US support is key because its approval is legally required for the re-export of US equipment purchased by allies. The United States had previously cited long pilot training times and high costs as a reason not to supply the jets, with officials insisting there were more cost-effective ways to boost Kyiv's air defenses. But F-16s now appear likely to join the list of advanced systems, including Western tanks and long-range weaponry, that Ukraine's supporters have agreed to provide after initial reluctance. Biden told G7 leaders in Japan that Washington would now support the request, in a move hailed by Zelensky as a "historic decision". The two leaders will meet in Hiroshima to discuss the "practical implementation" of the plan, Zelensky said, with the White House saying Biden was "looking forward" to the talks without confirming a date. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan insisted the fighter jet decision did not reflect an about-turn in US policy. "Nothing has changed. Our approach to the provision of weapons, material, and training to the Ukrainians has followed the exigencies of the conflict," he told reporters in Hiroshima. "We've reached a moment where it's time to look down the road and to say 'What is Ukraine going to need... to be able to deter and defend against Russian aggression?' "F-16s, fourth-generation fighter aircraft, are part of that mix. The obvious first step there is to do the training and then to work with allies, partners, and the Ukrainians to determine how to do the actual provision points as we move forward." The timeline for that training remains unclear, with US officials previously estimating it could take up to 18 months. Still, the decision was welcomed by allies including the United Kingdom. "The UK will work together with the USA and the Netherlands, Belgium and Denmark to get Ukraine the combat air capability it needs," Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tweeted, adding: "We stand united." Sullivan denied providing the planes would further escalate the conflict, and said Ukraine has pledged that no US military equipment will be used for attacks inside Russia. "We are going to do everything we can to support Ukraine in its defense of its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and we are also going to proceed in a way that avoids World War III," he added. Zelensky's arrival has cast a long shadow over the remaining two days of the G7 summit, with Ukraine stealing the spotlight from a long list of other thorny subjects, including how to address concerns about China's growing military and economic power. Sessions on Saturday will address "economic coercion" and how to diversify key sectors and supply chains. "What we have done over 20 years with China, encouraging development, was right, but maybe we should have been more careful on critical material, supply chains and those elements," an EU official. "I think the aim of all G7 leaders is to say that China has followed a systematic policy of acquiring critical raw materials, controlling supply chains... and we are responding to this by diversifying." There will also be talks with non-members as G7 leaders try to convince developing nations they can offer diplomatic and economic alternatives to the likes of China. Several invitees, including Brazil and India, have declined to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and are also likely to be key targets for diplomacy by Zelensky, whose arrival is expected later Saturday, Japan's NHK broadcaster said. Japan's foreign ministry said he would participate in Ukraine talks with G7 leaders on Sunday, as well as a session on "peace and stability" that will also include invited non-member countries. The bloc has already unveiled new sanctions against Moscow, pledging Friday to "starve" Russia's "war machine." The post Zelensky heads to G7 as Ukraine wins access to F-16s appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
G7 to squeeze Russia, weigh risk of China’s ‘economic coercion’
G7 leaders arrived in Hiroshima, Japan, on Thursday to weigh tighter sanctions on Russia and protections against China's "economic coercion", surrounded by reminders about the harrowing cost of war. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is hosting leaders from six other wealthy democracies in his hometown -- a city synonymous with nuclear destruction and now peppered with peace monuments. Leaders including US President Joe Biden will try over three days to forge a united front on Russia and China, where the allies' interests do not always neatly align. Biden's delicate diplomatic offensive in Asia hit a bump even before Air Force One left US soil: A domestic budget row forced him to cancel stops in Papua New Guinea and Australia. He arrived in Hiroshima Thursday, becoming just the second US president after Barack Obama to visit a city levelled by his country's "Little Boy" atomic bomb. Russia's 15-month-old invasion of Ukraine will top the agenda when the G7 summit gets underway Friday, after a new spate of aerial attacks on Kyiv and a long winter of grinding warfare in Bakhmut and other frontline towns. "We stand up for the shared values including supporting the people of Ukraine as they defend their sovereign territory and holding Russia accountable for its brutal aggression," Biden said as he met Kishida Thursday. The United States and its allies have poured weaponry into Ukraine to stall the Russian advance, but a long-anticipated spring counteroffensive by Kyiv's forces has yet to materialize. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to address the group by video link. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said leaders would discuss battlefield developments and tightening a sanctions regime that, according to official statistics, caused Russia's economy to contract a further 1.9 percent last quarter. G7 nations have already adopted sanctions on Russian banks and military firms, and placed price caps on Russian crude. Discussions are expected on tighter enforcement, and new measures on a range of goods, including Moscow's roughly $5 billion annual trade in diamonds. Nuclear shadow Putin's repeated threats to turn the Ukraine conflict nuclear have been roundly condemned by G7 leaders and dismissed by some commentators as little more than an attempt to shake European and American resolve. But a leaders' visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on Friday is likely to pull those threats into sharper focus. The bombing on 6 August 1945 obliterated Hiroshima, claimed an estimated 140,000 lives and forever changed the world. Kishida wants to use the summit to press his guests -- nuclear powers Britain, France and the United States -- to commit to transparency on stockpiles and arsenal reductions. But expectations for a breakthrough are low. 'Economic coercion' Summit discussions on China are expected to focus on efforts to insulate G7 economies from potential economic blackmail, by diversifying supply chains and markets. In disputes with countries from Australia to Canada, President Xi Jinping's administration has shown a willingness to block, tax or hamper trade with little warning or explanation. White House official Sullivan said leaders were expected to decry this "economic coercion" and work to bridge transatlantic differences about how to engage with China. Washington has taken an aggressive approach, blocking China's access to the most advanced semiconductors and the equipment to make them, and has pressed Japan and the Netherlands to follow suit. But European policymakers -- most notably those in Berlin and Paris -- are keen to make sure that "de-risking" does not mean shattering ties with China, one of the world's largest markets. "This G7 is not an anti-Chinese G7," an adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron told journalists before the summit. "We have a positive message for China, which is that we are ready to cooperate on condition that we negotiate together," the adviser added. Host Japan is also keen to talk to developing nations that have been wooed by Chinese investment, with leaders from India, Brazil and Indonesia among those invited by Kishida to Hiroshima. Evidence of Beijing's growing economic and diplomatic clout was on display Thursday in the former imperial capital Xi'an. There, Xi is hosting the leaders of five Central Asian countries that were once seen as firmly in Moscow's orbit but are increasingly drawn to Beijing. The post G7 to squeeze Russia, weigh risk of China’s ‘economic coercion’ appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Russia has yet to establish official cause of Navalny death, spokeswoman says
Alexei Navalny's mother, Lyudmila, is told he died from 'sudden death syndrome,' a vague term for heart conditions that end in death. Navalny's spokeswoman, Kira Yarmysh, says Russian authorities were lying and stalling......»»
Watchdog warns Filipinos from buying chicken toy due to toxic chemicals
The EcoWaste Coalition has advised Filipino consumers to refrain from buying an unauthorized squeaky toy marketed for kids and pets alike due to the presence of an "endocrine disrupting chemical.".....»»
DTI warns vs buying mystery parcels
The public should be careful in in buying mystery parcels or boxes as they may be held liable for violating the anti-fencing law for buying illegally obtained items, the Department of Trade and Industry said yesterday......»»
DSWD-7 warns public over hacked Facebook page
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Department of Social Welfare and Development in Central Visayas (DSWD-7) is urging the public, especially the netizens, to be careful when visiting their official Facebook page. In the announcement published by DSWD-7 on January 23, they assured that they had already taken the necessary actions over their hacked social media.....»»
FPRRD opposes disguised Charter change initiative
Former President Rodrigo R. Duterte has vehemently opposed the disguised People’s Initiative for Charter change, denouncing the cash-for-signature campaign as repugnant and a disgraceful act during a YouTube interview with Banateros Brothers on January 22, 2024. Duterte emphasized his disapproval of the initiative, urging for it to be halted, particularly criticizing the payment of individuals to sign the documents. He warned that such actions could lead to a new Constitution that might destroy the nation and open avenues for political abuses. Duterte stressed the importance of democracy in the Philippines, asserting that those seeking to remain in power should go through the electoral process. He highlighted that a well-performing and non-corrupt individual would retain power, while those with poor performance would be ousted through the electoral process. Expressing satisfaction with the current Constitution, Duterte argued that it has contributed to stability, reducing conflicts with groups like the New People's Army (NPA). He strongly advised against meddling with the Constitution, cautioning that it would only bring trouble to the country. Duterte pledged active opposition to the initiative, stating that he would campaign against it. Additionally, residents of Calinan District, Vice President Sara Duterte, and Representatives Isidro Ungab and Paolo Pulong Duterte have also voiced opposition to the People's Initiative for Charter Change. Margarita Atty. Migs Nograles, the representative of the Pwersa ng Bayaning Atleta (PBA) Partylist, alleged to have started the cha-cha signature campaign, has yet to issue an official statement on the matter as of the latest update. Related stories include the denouncement of alleged `vote buying’ in signing the petition for Cha-cha by Davao City lawmakers, Vice President Duterte's condemnation of the cash-for-signature drive, and a prayer rally against PI’s Cha-cha on Jan 28......»»
Travel agencies group warns about cheap, illegal operators
The Davao Travel Agencies Association (DTAA) has issued a warning about unregistered and illegal travel and tour operators in their area. These operators have been found to be offering travel and tour services without proper licensing, leading to issues such as lack of refunds, scheduling problems, and other travel arrangement discrepancies. Pia Partoza Montano, a travel agency owner and Vice-President for the Travel and Tours Sector of DTAA, emphasized the prevalence of these unauthorized operators, particularly in inbound tourism, and the challenges in monitoring and regulating them due to their large numbers. Montano also highlighted the potential risks associated with using these unregistered agencies, as they may offer cheaper rates but could lead to problems in case of incidents. To address this issue, the Department of Tourism-Davao (DOT-Davao) has introduced a QR code system to help the public verify the legitimacy of travel agencies by accessing data on authorized and registered operators. The DOT-Davao encourages travelers to transact with accredited enterprises to ensure the quality and reliability of their travel arrangements. Currently, there are at least 109 registered travel and tour agencies in Davao City under DOT-Davao's accreditation. The DOT-Davao also provides information on the requirements for registration and renewal for travel agencies on their official website. This warning serves as a reminder for the public to be cautious and discerning when engaging with travel and tour operators to avoid falling victim to unauthorized and illegitimate services......»»
Pagasa warns of delayed rainy season due to La Niña
The La Niña phenomenon, expected in the third or last quarter of 2024, may also delay the onset of the rainy season, which usually begins in late May or early June in the country, according to an official of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration......»»
Russia s oil supplies to EU drop 90% - official
Exports to the bloc have plummeted following Western sanctions, Deputy Prime Minister Novak says Russian oil sales to the EU have shrunk to a tenth of their former level due to Western sanctions, Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak announced on Wednesday. As of the end of 2023, the share of crude del.....»»
Japan, Malaysia Sign $2.8M Maritime Security Deal to Counter China
tokyo - Japan and Malaysia signed a security assistance deal Saturday including a grant of 400 million yen ($2.8 million) to boost Malaysia's maritime security, as Asian nations seek to counter an increasingly assertive China.Japan will provide equipment such as rescue boats and supplies under the official security assistance deal, signed by the two countries' foreign ministers on the sidelines of a Tokyo summit.....»»
DTI-Davao reiterates mandatory certification for Christmas lights
The Department of Trade and Industry-Davao Region (DTI-Davao) has reminded the public about the importance of buying certified Christmas lights. The agency has updated the list of valid Product Standard (PS) Certification Mark License and Import Commodity Clearance (ICC) Certificates and Stickers for Christmas Lights. The DTI regulates Christmas lights and has implemented measures to protect consumers, including mandatory certification for manufacturers and importers. The law requires companies to use the Philippine Standard (PS) Quality and/or Safety Certification Mark and the issuance of ICC for import shipments. Manufacturers and importers can apply online through the Bureau of Philippine Standards (BPS) website. Certain types of Christmas lights are exempt from mandatory certification. The DTI-Davao Regional Director emphasized the importance of buying licensed and certified Christmas lights for quality and safety. The DTI-Davao offices are monitoring and enforcing product standards to ensure consumer safety. The complete list of licensed/certified Christmas Lights can be accessed on the BPS website. For concerns, the DTI-Davao can be reached through their landline number or official Facebook page......»»