Robredo calls for safe, inclusive education amid pandemic
Vice President Leni Robredo has joined other education stakeholders in calling for safe and inclusive education amid the pandemic......»»
Rama calls for removal of CBRT manager Imbong amid ‘crisis’
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama wants the project manager of the Cebu Rapid Bus Transit to be removed from his position, citing mismanagement as the reason for the replacement. “I have enough of Imbong,” said Rama, who was referring to CBRT Project Manager Norvin Imbong and that he was recommending to.....»»
Youth groups condemn Marcos, Duterte ‘word war’ amid cha-cha talks
"We maintain that the two rallies are not expressions of the genuine calls and struggles of the Filipino masses" The post Youth groups condemn Marcos, Duterte ‘word war’ amid cha-cha talks appeared first on Bulatlat......»»
Business as Usual
It is business as usual for most of the public utility vehicles in Davao City amid calls for a nationwide transport strike on Wednesday (27 December 2023). Transport groups have staged a nationwide transport strike in protest of the public utility vehicles (PUV) modernization program. MindaNews photo.....»»
Bong Go calls for vigilance amid rising flu cases
MANILA, Philippines– Senator Christopher “Bong” Go has strongly urged Filipinos to stay vigilant in response to a Department of Health (DOH) report revealing over 190,000 documented cases of influenza-like illness (ILI) in the country. Go, chairperson of the Senate committee on health and demography, expressed deep concern over the escalating public health issue, particularly during.....»»
Go calls for heightened vigilance amid surging flu cases
Amid surging flu cases in the country, Sen. Bong Go urged Filipinos to maintain heightened vigilance to protect their health and their families......»»
Sarah Lahbati shows off beach body anew; dad calls out barking dogs amid split rumors with Richard Gutierrez
Kapuso artist Sarah Lahbati recently showed off her beach body as rumors of her break-up with husband Richard Gutierrez continue to spread......»»
SMNI suspension urged for alleged violations
Davao City-based legislator and Puwersa ng Bayaning Atleta (PBA) Partylist Representative Margarita “Migs” Ignacia B. Nograles has proposed a resolution urging the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to suspend the operations of Sonshine Media Network International (SMNI). The resolution alleges that SMNI has violated the terms of its franchise and disseminated false information, failing in its responsibility to the public. This move is in response to multiple complaints filed against SMNI, including accusations of fake news peddling and baseless red-tagging of individuals, groups, and organizations. Specific incidents cited in the resolution include attacks on ACT Teachers Partylist Representative France L. Castro and false claims about House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez's foreign travel expenses. SMNI's host, Jeffrey “Ka Eric” Celiz, admitted to providing inaccurate information on air, further fueling the allegations against the network. Pending the Committee on Legislative Franchises' recommendations on SMNI's alleged violations, Nograles emphasized the urgency for the NTC to halt the deliberate dissemination of false information that may erode public trust. The 25-year franchise of SMNI was renewed in 2019, and the network has not yet issued an official statement regarding the resolution. In a related development, the House of Representatives Committee on Legislative Franchises cited Celiz and former National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) spokesperson Lorraine Badoy-Partosa in contempt for refusing to disclose their source of erroneous information and being evasive about their income from co-producing their show. Both anchors will be detained at the House premises until the committee's report is adopted in the plenary. This story highlights the growing scrutiny on SMNI's operations and the calls for accountability amid allegations of spreading false information......»»
Palestinian diplomat advocates for Israel-Hamas cease-fire extension: We must ensure the continuity of this truce
Title: Palestinian Foreign Affairs Minister Calls for Ceasefire Extension Amid Looming Threat of Civilian Casualties in Gaza In a bid to protect innocent civilians amid.....»»
Israeli air strikes kill 32 in south Gaza amid calls for civilians to flee
Gaza health authorities raise their death toll on November 17 to more than 12,000 — 5,000 of them children.....»»
FDIC Chair Gruenberg Faces Pressure to Resign Amid GOP Criticism
Title: FDIC Chairman Faces Calls for Resignation Amid Sexual Harassment Allegations Date: [Insert Date] Source: The Daily Guardian Lawmakers from both parties are heaping pressure.....»»
Israelis Contend with Netanyahus Declining Popularity amid Gazas Month of War and Hostage Crisis
Title: Israeli Prime Minister Faces Mounting Calls for Resignation Amidst Hamas Attack In the wake of the recent Hamas attack on Israel, a growing number.....»»
Beware of terror’s seduction
Major league media spanning the world have fallen prey to the sweet seduction of the ratings game to forget about disseminating the truth, which is what journalism is all about. Terrorist forces have proven themselves adept in the art of deception that it lured the eminent The New York Times, or NYT, with its lies. Among the most prominent American newspapers, NYT, to its credit, issued an unprecedented “editorial note” admitting that a story it ran on the bombing of a Gaza hospital “left readers with an ‘incorrect impression,’” saying that its staff should have been more careful in the initial presentation of information and in explaining what could be verified. NYT had prominently and repeatedly featured Hamas’s claim that an Israeli airstrike caused last week’s blast at Gaza City’s al-Ahli Baptist Hospital. The note it issued on Monday acknowledged that its coverage should have been more journalistically rigorous. The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza immediately blamed the 17 October explosion on an Israeli airstrike amid the war that erupted when the Palestinian terror group killed over 1,400 people in Israel in its assault on 7 October. Hamas provided no evidence to back up its false claim or for its claim that hundreds had been killed, but international media, including the NYT, swallowed the claims hook, line, and sinker. Shortly after, Israel produced evidence showing the explosion was caused by a failed rocket launch from Gaza by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group, an assessment endorsed by the United States, which has said it has data that supports this. NYT admitted that its initial reports “relied too heavily on claims by Hamas and did not make clear that those claims could not immediately be verified. The report left readers with an incorrect impression about what was known and how credible the account was.” In Britain, the BBC and other media outlets were also criticized by government lawmakers for rushing to report the Hamas version of events. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told the House of Commons last week, “We don’t treat what comes out of the Kremlin as the gospel truth; we should not do the same with Hamas.” In the war coverage, it must be clear there is no moral equivalence between Israel, a legitimate democracy, and Hamas, a terrorist organization that employs lies as a weapon. Media reports often frame both sides as being equivalent and engaged in a tit-for-tat. Hamas is the de facto ruler of the Gaza Strip, but major democracies consider it a terror organization. Israel, as a free and democratic sovereign state, does everything to minimize civilian casualties, while Hamas is an Iran-backed terrorist group that openly seeks the destruction of Israel and actively hunts Israeli civilians to murder or abduct. It deliberately fires projectiles into civilian areas to kill as many Israelis as possible. Israel’s military specifically targets Hamas infrastructure, such as rocket launchers and production facilities, terrorist headquarters, terror tunnels, weapons warehouses, and senior terror leaders. Israel employs a tactic known as “roof knocking,” which warns civilians to evacuate a building through text messages and phone calls before targeting it for destruction. In contrast, the American Jewish Committee said Hamas deliberately puts Palestinian civilians in harm’s way. Hamas fires rockets and stores weapons in civilian areas, including around homes, schools, offices, mosques and hospitals. Hamas staged a large-scale incursion into southern Israel on 7 October during the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, where over 600 Israelis were murdered. Often, the conflict with Hamas and other terrorist groups, such as the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, is framed as a dispute between Israelis and Palestinians. Any coverage of Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad must mention that both terror groups are armed, trained, and financially supported by Iran. While its origins are with the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas has been funded, armed, and trained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps since the early 1990s. Equating Israel with Hamas would provide legitimacy to the use of terror tactics, which most nations have vowed never to consider as a subject of negotiation. The post Beware of terror’s seduction appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Flesh and blood
Perhaps in all the years in this lifetime that Israel has been at war, we Filipinos never made enough sense of what it is really about. Not until we learned, since 7 October, how cruel and bitter it can be — in the photos of a grown man forever captured screaming into the air over his dead nephew’s body; of shrouded bodies that may never be identified; or a clip of a father holding plastic bags of his kids’ remains. And the babies. And the burned bodies. And the blood splattered all over a bomb shelter. No one — unless it is you or yours — can imagine how it truly feels. If you can feel rage and grief at seeing images alone, how much more can your heart take if it were happening right before you? “We are all human,” a father said on Tiktok. It was he who posted about that father with the plastic bags. “There is no difference between me and this man. When we talk of kids getting killed, bombed, or put on fire, it doesn’t really matter what you believe in, where you come from, or what religion you follow. This is never acceptable! You just have to be a human being to stand up and say stop.” Now I am not sure whether this man was genuine (heaven knows there has been plenty of fake and biased news) or if it was propaganda designed to turn sympathy toward a specific cause. But what he said about being human was true. Amid all the atrocious crimes we have seen in the war raging in Gaza, we need to view the whole situation through our humanity. When Gaza struck Israel the way Hitler hit the Jewish people — with extreme violence and a detailed plan to eliminate the enemy in very specific ways — we recoiled. We remembered. But when Israel defended itself, many condemned it. Why? Many immediately concluded that the war was a Palestinian issue, or about Israel’s attempt at occupation or conquest. It is not. So, while it is natural to react the way we do over civilian casualties and collateral damage — likely letting our emotions get the better of us — we need to muster the sense to take it all in with the correct perspective. We must know more, learn more. Shooting from the hip or erupting without understanding — well, wouldn’t that be just as bad as the perpetrators of the war? What is fact and what is fiction? We must seek the truth in light of the misinformation being deliberately spread on social media. One such claim was debunked on Associated Press recently, about the bombing of a hospital in Gaza supposedly by the Israeli military. This was spread in a social media post written in Arabic. AP said, “No such post exists on the military’s actual social media pages and its top Arabic-speaking spokesperson confirmed his office had issued no such statement.” To think this is but one aspect of the entire issue. Let’s begin with the fact that Hamas is a terrorist organization. It is not about Palestine, it is about pushing Islamic supremacy through force. Israel, if you think about it, has “no quarrel with Palestinians,” as Israel Ambassador to the Philippines Ilan Fluss, himself emphasized in a talk with DAILY TRIBUNE on Monday. “We are in a war against Hamas, not Palestinians — we have to defend our citizens,” he said. It is a “war of survival,” he added. Israel has long been fighting against Islamic forces that want to see it obliterated from the planet. “We don’t have a choice. We will fight. We will win.” The ambassador added, “The charter of Hamas calls for the destruction of the State of Israel. And it says that there is no political agreement…no political agreement can be reached with Israel. Israel has to be eliminated, and Israelis and Jews have to be killed. That’s the agenda of their philosophy. It has to be an Islamic land. “So, when people ask me today, what is the political future here? I say this is a question that you have to ask Hamas or the Palestinians, because in Israel, we have a government that makes decisions, makes a lot more, and when we sign a document, we respect it, and we can negotiate. We’re a political entity. “Hamas is not in a negotiating position. It is in a war position to eliminate Israel. Very simple. And you see the history. I’m not going into the long history, but Israel had pulled out of Gaza since 2005. We are not controlling Gaza. We are on the international border. So, it’s not about a few patients. It is about an organization that, every few years, initiates again an attack against Israel. This time it was the biggest…” However, the ambassador admits, on a personal level, that a solution seems hazy “because it is continuing and we are living in a complicated neighborhood,” he told this columnist. The enemies are “fundamentalists that are promoting these Islamic states, promising these fundamentalistic terror agenda…” Ambassador Fluss may be keeping it all real as a diplomat, but what he may not ever say is that this war is about all of us, too — humans and families and connected lives. When a Filipino caregiver refuses to leave her ward, sacrificing her own life to the end, that is humanity. But to believe that life is only worth living if another race or culture is removed, where is the humanity in that?.....»»
Casualties on Israel-Lebanon border as army trades fire with Hezbollah
Casualties were reported along the Israel-Lebanon border Saturday as the army traded fire with Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah amid fears of a new front opening as Israel battles Hamas. Israel already ordered the evacuation of Kiryat Shmona, a border town which is home to some 25,000 people, as the border area has come fire from Hezbollah and allied Palestinian factions. In Lebanon, Hezbollah said one of its fighters had been killed while in Israel, two Thai farm workers were wounded, emergency services said. A senior Hezbollah official warned that the movement stood ready to step up its involvement as Israel masses troops on the Gaza border, vowing to destroy Palestinian militant group Hamas in response to its shock cross-border attacks on October 7. "Let's be clear, as events unfold, if something comes up that calls for greater intervention by us, we will do so," said Hezbollah number two Naim Qassem. In northern Israel, a strike in the Margaliot area of the border wounded two Thai farm workers, Israel's Magen David Adom emergency medical service said. One was wounded in the chest, the other sustained a limb injury, the service said. There are around 30,000 Thai labourers in Israel, many working in the agricultural sector. Since October 7, exchanges of fire across the border have killed at least four people in Israel -- three soldiers and one civilian. In southern Lebanon, at least 23 people have been killed. Most have been combatants, but at least four civilians, including a Reuters journalist, have also been killed. Saturday's exchanges came as Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant visited the northern border, where he called on troops to remain "vigilant". "Hezbollah has decided to participate in the fighting, and is paying a price for it. We must be vigilant and prepare for every possible (scenario). Great challenges await us," Gallant said. The Shiite Muslim Hezbollah movement, Lebanon's only armed faction that did not disarm after the 1975-1990 civil war, fought a devastating war with Israel in 2006. That war left more than 1,200 dead in Lebanon, mostly civilians, and 160 dead in Israel, mostly soldiers, in a conflict that left the border bristling with guns. The post Casualties on Israel-Lebanon border as army trades fire with Hezbollah appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
PhilHealth insists ‘no data was compromised’ amid cyberattack
The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation or PhilHealth on Wednesday maintained its claim that its members' data was not compromised by the recent cyberattack on its system. In an interview with Daily Tribune, PhilHealth spokesperson and Senior Vice President for Health Finance Policy Israel Pargas reiterated that their database remained “intact”. He, however, admitted that hackers behind the cyberattack accessed the data that were stored in the servers affected by the hacking. “We cannot verify that. It can be a possibility because again, checking our database, it is still intact. If we check the database, it appears that no data was compromised or leaked,” he said. “However, since our employees are also working with regard to our members and all, it could be true that there may be data stolen by these hackers. It is uncertain whether any data was stolen or not,” he added. On Tuesday night, the Department of Information and Technology confirmed that the hackers have already started publishing PhilHealth employees’ data on the dark web. DICT Undersecretary Jeffrey Dy said the stolen data includes details on employees' identification cards, memorandum, directives, and hospital bills. The development came a day after the self-imposed deadline of the hackers on the government to pay a $300,000 ransom for the data expired. Dy said the information posted on the dark web could just be a “teaser” of what the hackers have stolen from the state-run health insurer’s system. At the same time, in an advisory, PhilHealth confirmed that some members' personal information including names, addresses, dates of birth, sex, phone numbers, and PhilHealth identification numbers were compromised. The corporation said it is “working to notify all affected individuals directly.” The state-run health insurer also urged its members to take precautionary measures in light of the cyberattack on its system. “Monitor your credit reports for any unauthorized activity,” it said. Members were also encouraged to place a fraud alert on their credit reports and change their passwords for their online accounts, especially their financial accounts. Members were also advised to be wary of phishing emails and smishing text messages. No numbers Asked how many members were affected by the incident, Pargas said PhilHealth has yet to know the quantity of the data stolen by the hackers. “There might have been data that were compromised but we don’t have any numbers yet,” he said. In case PhilHealth members receive suspicious calls about their data, they may report it through phic.actioncenter2023@gmail.com or phic.dpo@gmail.com, he said. Online Meanwhile, the state-run health insurer said its website, member portal, e-claims, HCI portal, Electronic Premium Remittance System, and electronic PhilHealth Acknowledgment Receipt can now be accessed by the public and their partners. On September 22, PhilHealth temporarily shut down its website and membership portal due to an "information security incident." The post PhilHealth insists ‘no data was compromised’ amid cyberattack appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Bong Go ensures uninterrupted services amid PhilHealth website cyberattack
Senator Bong Go emphasized the need for the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. to take immediate and stringent measures to protect its digital platforms against data breaches and ensure that its services remain uninterrupted. Go, in an interview after aiding poor residents in Talugtug, Nueva Ecija, said, "Unang-una, as per reports po, sabi ng PhilHealth, wala namang leakage ng mga personal information after ma-hack po ang website ng PhilHealth.” It can be recalled that PhilHealth recently admitted it was a victim of a cyberattack. Go emphasized the immediate need for preventive measures to ensure that such cyberattacks do not happen again. He calls for swift action to bolster the cybersecurity defenses of PhilHealth and other government digital platforms. “Dapat po'y magkaroon ng preventive measures kaagad na hindi po maulit itong mga ganitong cyber-attack. Abangan natin ang resulta ng imbestigasyon ng PhilHealth ukol dito,” he urged. Go, chairperson of the Committee on Health stressed the importance of ensuring that PhilHealth's services remain uninterrupted. He points out that its database is crucial as it serves over 104 million members. “Karamihan sa mga Pilipino ay nangangailangan ng tulong sa pagpapahospital. Dapat po'y walang maantala sa kanilang serbisyo na ibinibigay po ng PhilHealth sa bawat hospital. 'Yun po ang dapat matutukan,” he said. Despite the cyberattack, PhilHealth has reassured its members that they can continue to access services from accredited healthcare facilities. The agency has implemented interim steps to maintain uninterrupted services and promised to fix the compromised computer systems by 2 October. The post Bong Go ensures uninterrupted services amid PhilHealth website cyberattack appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Phl economy seen to grow 5.5% in 2023
The Philippine economy is expected to grow slower by 5.5 percent in 2023 from 7.6 percent in 2023 due to a global slowdown, First Metro Investment Corporation and the University of Asia and the Pacific Capital Markets Research said on Wednesday. In their September 2023 market call, the two firms said that elevated government spending in the third quarter of 2023, along with a strong rebound in employment and consumer spending starting September, should stimulate the economy. The industry sector expansion is seen to be broad-based, with manufacturing taking the lead. The services sector is also expected to see growth, driven by domestic and foreign tourism in trade, transportation, storage, and accommodations and food services starting in September. "We still see sufficient strength in the economy to get a 5.0 to 5.2 percent year-on-year third quarter GDP growth, while the acceleration of the above sectors plus consumer spending should bring back fourth-quarter growth above 6 percent," the market call said. The market call also noted that market uneasiness returned in August amid higher US Treasuries on the back of inflation woes, a hawkish Fed, and a stronger-than-expected US economy. Locally, the trepidation resulted in a decline in volume in both primary and secondary markets rather than in yields in August. Furthermore, local products initially jumped in September following the faster August inflation print at 5.3 percent. "We see the recent crude oil and rice price gains as transitory with inflation likely heading back to within target in Q4. Given the inflation outlook and pause in monetary tightening from the BSP and Fed, we expect sideways movements, with a slight northward bias, in the local 10-year yields, which should last until the end of 2023," the market call said. Equities Outlook The Philippine Stock Exchange index is seen to move sideways in September between 6,000 and 6,350, as investors scrounge for some excellent news. While price-to-earnings ratios reached lows last seen during the World Financial Crisis, local investors seem hindered by higher interest rates and margin calls. However, the market call kept a constructive outlook, especially concerning oversold issues and high dividend plays. "We believe that the market is now trading at a compelling valuation and that investors should start to nibble at oversold issues and high dividend plays. We expect the market to grind higher in the fourth quarter, with the PSEi breaching its 2022 high of 6,800 by year-end," the market call said. The post Phl economy seen to grow 5.5% in 2023 appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Congress seeks creation of West Philippine Sea Authority
Amid calls for a focused and more organized handling of West Philippine Sea affairs, a lawmaker has proposed the establishment of a “West Philippine Sea Authority” under the Office of the President......»»
More heavy weapons, Ukraine pleads
Ukraine’s leaders have renewed calls on Western allies to increase deliveries of heavy weapons as 32 kamikaze drones from Russia attacked Kyiv overnight into Sunday. Air defenses shot down 25 of the attack drones with debris falling in several districts, damaging an apartment in a multi-story building, as well as road surfaces and power lines, Sergiy Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, wrote on Telegram. Popko added that one person was injured. Russia also said Sunday that it destroyed three military speedboats carrying Ukrainian soldiers in the Black Sea which Moscow claims were headed toward annexed Crimea. The attacks follow President Volodymyr Zelensky's statement in a cabinet conference on Saturday that slow weapons deliveries were hindering his troops’ counter offensive. New Defense Minister Rustem Umerov also called for more heavy weapons during the same conference. “We need them today. We need them now,” he said. “Ukrainian warriors today are sacrificing their lives for the core values of democracy and freedom. They need back up from you, dear partners. And this back up is weapons,” Umerov added. Deputy Intelligence Chief Vadym Skibitsky said Saturday that more than 420,000 Russian soldiers are deployed in occupied territories in the east and south of Ukraine. The figure “does not include the Russian National Guard and other special units that maintain occupation authorities on our territories,” he said. Ukraine launched its counteroffensive in June after stockpiling Western weapons, but has made limited gains as its troops encounter heavily fortified Russian defensive lines. Meanwhile, Russia’s forces in Ukraine have organized several days of voting in four regions — Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson — that Moscow claims to have annexed. Hastily arranged mobile booths have been placed despite a gruelling Ukrainian counteroffensive and amid widespread reports that locals have been forced to take up Russian passports. Kyiv has denounced it as a sham and called on allies to condemn the “fake” vote. Its SBU security service warned it has a list of “collaborators” helping organize the voting, promising punishment. But Kremlin-installed officials pressed on with the vote, seeking long-term office in areas Kyiv has vowed to re-capture. WITH AFP The post More heavy weapons, Ukraine pleads appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Bong Go urges gov’t to support small farmers amid inflation
Senator Christopher “Bong” Go calls on the government to provide more support to small farmers as they are the backbone of the nation's economy and play a crucial role in maintaining the country's food security. Go, a member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, has been supportive of legislative efforts aimed at uplifting the lives of Filipino farmers, particularly in these challenging economic times. He contributed to the passage of Republic Act No. 11953, known as the New Agrarian Emancipation Act, which he co-sponsored and co-authored in the Senate. This landmark legislation condones loans, including interests, penalties, and surcharges, incurred by agrarian reform beneficiaries. By doing so, it aims to alleviate the financial burdens faced by over 600,000 agrarian reform beneficiaries across the Philippines, thereby enhancing their economic resilience. In addition to this, Go also authored and co-sponsored RA 11960 or the One Town, One Product (OTOP) Philippines Act. This law decentralizes economic opportunities by empowering each town and province to develop and promote its unique products. By doing so, it not only fosters community-led innovation but also bridges the urban-rural economic divide, providing small farmers with more avenues to market their produce. Go also emphasized the importance of encouraging end users to directly purchase from producers. This not only helps the farmers but also ensures that consumers get fresh and affordable produce. "It's not only about us not needing to import from other countries. It's about recognizing and supporting our local farmers and agrarian reform beneficiaries,” Go added. As the nation navigates through economic challenges, Go reiterated that the most important thing is that no one goes hungry. "Dapat po, walang magutom. Importante po dito tiyan ng bawat Pilipino," he said. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the inflation rate rose to 5.3 percent in August, up from 4.7 percent in July. The increase in inflation was primarily due to the faster rise in prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages. Specifically, inflation for food and non-alcoholic beverages accelerated to 8.1 percent in August. The year-on-year growth rate for rice prices rose to 8.7 percent from 4.2 percent. The government has implemented a cap on rice prices to reduce costs and penalize hoarding, although this measure has sparked discussions about its impact on both farmers and consumers. The post Bong Go urges gov’t to support small farmers amid inflation appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»