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By Riza Lozada The inauguration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. was secured by some 2,300 personnel from the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine Coast Guard and the Philippine National Police who ensured a smooth ceremony that Marcos Jr. wanted to be simple. The new President’s mother and former First Lady, Imelda, was clearly delighted to see street sweepers …

By Riza Lozada During his inaugural address, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. commits to come up with comprehensive plans that would improve the lives of the Filipino people. “Ang pangarap nyo ay pangarap ko,” he said. The President said these plans will be inclusive, centering on the improvement of the agriculture sector. He said the country’s agriculture had long been …

By Riza Lozada The Philippines’ 17th President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, Jr. took his oath of office exactly noon of June 30 before Supreme Court Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo, witnessed by Marcos’ wife and children. The formal oath-taking was preceded by Senate President Vicente Sottto III reading part of Senate Resolution that officially proclaimed the president and vice president. The dispositive …

New appointments to the Cabinet of President-elect Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. were announced. They are: former Senator Juan Ponce Enrile as presidential legal counsel; outgoing Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra as solicitor general; and former Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Gen. Jose Faustino Jr. as officer-in-charge of the Department of National Defense.  Enrile, 98, who was instrumental to the …

By Jesse C. Ong The Independent Electricity Mar­ket Operator of the Philippines, Inc. (IEMOP) is seeking a thor­ough review by the Department of Energy (DOE) of the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) operations and management pol­icies to end all speculations of graft and mismanagement by its detractors. IEMOP President & CEO Atty. Richard J. Nethercott yesterday said that it is …

“The agriculture sector made the smallest contribution to the country’s economic growth compared to other industries, according to the Philip- pine Statistics Authority (PSA). PSA said agriculture, forestry and fishing’s (AFF) contribution to the country’s gross domestic product in 2021 was equivalent to a share of 9.6% against 10.2% a year ago. This compares poorly to the 60.5% share and …

President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s campaign promise to lower the price of rice to P20 per kilo is “not possible” in the near-term, according to incoming Agrarian Reform Secretary Conrado Estrella III. “I don’t think it is [possible] in the very near future; it’s not possible. But you know how technology is,” he added, hinting that rice selling at P20 …

The World Health Organization (WHO) called on all nations to invest more in addressing mental health issues, saying “the suffering is enormous” aggravated by the COVID pandemic.  Before the pandemic, almost a billion people were living with a mental disorder, the UN agency said in its “World Mental Health Report”, the largest review of global mental health over the last …

The economic team of outgoing President Rodrigo Duterte recommended the revival of the mining industry to generate jobs and develop host communities where mines are located. The National Economic and Development Authority, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Department of Finance and the Development Academy of the Philippines recently released a joint report that said their initial …

Three out of every 10 Filipino adults or 34% said their quality of life got worse during the last 12 months, according to a survey by the Social Weather Station. The survey conducted from April 19 to 27 with 1,440 respondents showed that 34% of Filipinos believe their quality of life became worse (classified by SWS as “losers”) compared to …