EDITORIAL - Earthquake resilience

Source Philippine Star

The Philippines’ economic prospects for the second half of the year looked dimmer mainly due to external shocks, even as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) upped its 2022 growth forecast to 6.7 percent...

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Operations Center (NVOC) has issued the guidelines for the nationwide rollout of the fourth dose for all adults aged 50 and above, and individuals 18-49 years of age with comorbidities...

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The National Government (NG) plans to borrow P215 billion from the domestic market in August, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said on Wednesday...

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Buildings and houses were either toppled or flattened when a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit the province of Abra on Wednesday morning...

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The Department of Education (DepEd) is expecting around 28.6 million learners to enroll for the upcoming school year, its spokesperson said yesterday...

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Norman Aba, his two cousins and a 10-year-old niece were at the topmost floor of the Bantay Watchtower built from stone outside of this city when the 431-year-old structure swayed slowly and then wobbled violently on Wednesday morning...

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President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. sees no need to declare a state of national calamity yet following the magnitude 7 earthquake that struck parts of Northern Luzon on Wednesday...

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The Department of Trade and Industry’s Bureau of Philippine Standards (DTI-BPS) has recently adopted and promulgated three international standards on electrical wiring devices as Philippine National Standards (PNS)...

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Eight of the 19 legislative priority measures enumerated by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday are eligible for swift approval under Rule 10, Section 48 of the House of Representatives, Speaker Martin G. Romualdez said Wednesday...

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The Department of Trade and Industry said Wednesday senior citizens and persons with disabilities are entitled to 5-percent rebates on basic necessities and prime commodities purchased online...

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The Supreme Court (SC) has banned the unauthorized display of the High Tribunal’s official seal on private cars and non-official court vehicles under pain of punishment...

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Senator Cynthia Villar is calling on all sectors to assist in the implementation of the Extended Producer’s Responsibility Act of 2022 or RA No. 11898 which lapsed into law on July 22, 2022...

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Senator Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday renewed her call to amend the decade-old anti-cybercrime law to be updated to curb online child abuses...

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President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. on Wednesday said he will push for the passage of the bill seeking the establishment of a Department of Disaster Resilience...

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Senator Risa Hontiveros on Wednesday renewed her call to amend the decade-old anti-cybercrime law to be updated to curb online child abuses...

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Asean consumers can now access the Learning Management System, which offers modules on consumer protection to raise public awareness and vigilance across the 10 Asean member-states (AMS), to enable better understanding of consumer issues and disputes, according to the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)...

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The space tourism race is now firing on all rockets, but one company is hoping to carve out a niche as "the only carbon-neutral, zero-emission way" to travel to the edge of space...

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The Department of Foreign Affairs has reiterated its call to Filipinos in Myanmar to leave the Southeast Asian country as threats and violence are expected to worsen following the execution of four opposition leaders recently...

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The United Nations has immediately dispatched its quick reaction groups to assess how their agencies can help the Philippine government in the assisting the victims of the Magnitude 7.0 quake that hit Luzon Wednesday morning...

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The Philippines has scrapped a deal to buy 16 Russian military transport helicopters because of fears of US sanctions, the Associated Press reported on Wednesday, citing Philippine officials...

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The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Wednesday that Myanmar remains on Alert Level 4 “until further notice” despite calls for it to downgrade or lift the alarm...

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China is ready to restart talks on oil and gas exploration with the Philippines as soon as the latter gives the go signal, Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian said Wednesday...

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China is ready to work with the current administration under President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on four key areas...

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Surging inflation and severe slowdowns in the United States and China prompted the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) to downgrade its outlook for the global economy this year and the next while giving an even starker assessment of what may lie ahead...

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The expected 75 basis points interest rate increase from the Federal Reserve this week will heap pressure on its Asian counterparts to speed up monetary tightening—or risk further fund outflows and weaker currencies.

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Russian forces have taken over Ukraine’s second biggest power plant, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday, following an earlier claim by Russian-backed forces to have captured it intact...

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The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee voted Wednesday to approve a measure that would raise the age children are given special online privacy protections to 16 and bar targeted advertising to children by companies like TikTok and Snapchat without consent...

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The United States on Tuesday accused China of increased “provocations” against rival claimants in the South China Sea and said its “aggressive and irresponsible behavior’ meant it was only a matter of time before a major incident or accident...

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Scientists advising the World Health Organization (WHO) on monkeypox say the window is closing to stop its spread, with cases currently doubling every two weeks, raising concerns that it will take several months for the outbreak to peak...

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Members of the Sulu Sultanate with the backing of the government had pursued compensation from Malaysia as early as 2004 when the royal clan assessed $26 billion as the amount it should recover for the exploitation of natural resources of the disputed territory of Sabah, a source said yesterday...

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Mankind marks a dubious milestone Thursday, the day by which humanity has consumed all earth can sustainably produce for this year, with NGOS warning the rest of 2022 will be lived in resource deficit...

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday he will speak to his Russian counterpart for the first time since the Ukraine war to take up a “substantial proposal” to free detained Americans...

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Iran said Wednesday the US needs to show “in practise” that it wants a revival of the 2015 nuclear agreement, after an EU coordinator urged parties to accept a draft text of the deal...

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As monkeypox cases surge globally, the World Health Organization called Wednesday on the group currently most affected by the virus -- men who have sex with men -- to limit their sexual partners...

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Miners in Angola have unearthed a rare pure pink diamond that is believed to be the largest found in 300 years, the Australian site operator announced Wednesday...

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Japan's daily coronavirus cases hit a record high of 209,694 on Wednesday, with health experts urging "maximum vigilance" as the country continues to struggle with its seventh wave of infections driven by the highly transmissible BA.5 Omicron subvariant...

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Around five percent of people who have had Covid-19 develop long-lasting problems with their sense of smell or taste, a large study said Thursday, potentially contributing to the burden of long Covid...

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After the Second Education Commission (EDCOM 2) bill has lapsed into law, the Philippine Business for Education (PBEd) has expressed optimism that the skills mismatch hounding K to 12 program will be addressed to prepare students for adequate job opportunities...

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Major infrastructure projects and other big-ticket items should still be under the National Government for now, amid ongoing discussions on what functions and projects should be completely devolved to local government units (LGU), according to Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman...

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Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said the national government should continue to be in charge of carrying out significant infrastructure projects rather than local governments, which are allowed to do so under the Mandanas decision...

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Health authorities have expanded the coverage of the second COVID-19 vaccine booster to adults at least 50 years old and those age 18 to 49 with existing medical conditions...

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The Department of Agriculture (DA) will look into claims of artificial shortage or manipulation that supposedly caused hefty spikes in sugar prices, according to an official...

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The number of aftershocks following the magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Abra is now at 808, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said Thursday morning...

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Operations of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) 1, LRT 2, Metro Rail Transit 3, and Philippine National Railways were briefly suspended following Monday morning’s earthquake but were resumed before noon...

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More aftershocks were recorded by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck the province of Abra on Wednesday morning...

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The National Telecommunications Commission on Wednesday ordered all public telcos to provide free call and charging stations in areas affected by the 7.0 earthquake in Abra...

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It seems congressmen are beginning to realize that too many chefs spoil the national soup. This emerged as the House of Representatives, under Speaker Martin Romualdez, elected on Wednesday only nine deputy speakers, a far cry from the more than 30 deputy speakers elected in the 18th Congress...

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Hospitalization for COVID-19 has gone up in Metro Manila, independent researchers said Wednesday. The OCTA Research Group said the COVID-19 health care utilization rate (HCUR) in the National Capital Region (NCR) rose to 35.6 percent as of July 25, an increase over the 31.7 percent recorded on July 24...

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The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) expects to deploy Starlink broadband service to geographically isolated and disadvantaged communities by the first quarter of 2023...

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Vice President and Education Chief Sara Duterte-Carpio activated the Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DRRM) teams in areas affected by the magnitude 7.0 earthquake in Abra on Wednesday morning...

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An advocacy group on Wednesday urged the Department of Transportation and its attached agency, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to immediately release their route rationalization plan (RRP)...

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President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. should revitalize and strengthen the government’s Inter-Agency Task Force against Zero Hunger (IATF-ZH) to improve the country’s fight in ending hunger and malnutrition, an expert said...

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The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), in compliance with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr.’s directive, has vowed to ensure fair competition in the pharmaceutical market...

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The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has ordered a review of all drug-related cases the police have filed in court in a bid to increase their conviction rate...

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Government agencies are ready to disburse funds to areas in Luzon affected by Wednesday's magnitude 7 earthquake...

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The country’s rice inventory as of June fell by 12.3 percent to 2.22 million metric tons (MMT) from last year’s 2.53 MMT, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said...

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The Marcos Administration's increased focus on infrastructure, digital business expansion, as well as its promise to not impose any future lockdowns, will help support the recovery of the property sector, JLL Philippines said...

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The Philippine peso is back below 56:$1 after staying above the threshold in 11 out of 13 previous trading days, and has shed its status as worst-performing currency in the region...

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The implementing guidelines of the Amended Foreign Investments Act took effect on Thursday, paving the way to the government’s aspiration of seeing $10 billion in annual foreign direct investments to be drawn into the country by economic liberalization...

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Go Negosyo founder Jose Maria "Joey" Concepcion 3rd on Wednesday said the private sector lost a total of $100.1 million or P5.1 billion from 4,252,830 expired Covid-19 vaccines...

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The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) expects the increasing adoption of the national Quick Response (QR) Code Standard or QR Ph Person-to-Merchant (P2M) payment facility to boost consumers’ access to safe and efficient digital transactions...

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Philippine shares inched higher during an uneventful session on Wednesday while investors waited for a full assessment of the damage caused by a powerful quake in northern Luzon...

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Banks’ loans as alternative compliance to the reserve requirement (RR) amounted to P277.6 billion as of mid-June, unchanged compared to the previous month’s P277.8 billion, based on Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) data...

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The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has more room to further raise interest rates to check rising inflationary pressures, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF)...

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More than half of Filipinos are increasing the money they are alloting for emergency funds with the economy expected to slow down and the continued rise in prices of goods, according to a survey by global information and insights company TransUnion...

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Space Exploration Technologies Corp. of US billionaire Elon Musk said Wednesday it expects to commercially roll out satellite broadband services in the Philippines by the end of the year...

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