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A few months after unveiling the first two completed Multi-Purpose Evacuation Centers (MPECs) in Albay and Camarines Sur, the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) returned to the Bicol region on April 28, 2022 to inaugurate three more newly-built facilities in Camarines Sur.  PAGCOR formally turned over the newly-built MPECs to the towns of San Jose, Tigaon and Ocampo, bringing …

Harnaaz Sandhu, winner of Miss Universe 2021, arrived in the Philippines last Sunday, April 24, 2022, where she held court at the Platinum Skies Hangar Domestic Airport Compound. Hosting the welcome were Narvacan City Mayor, Hon. Chavit Singson and Architect Richelle Singson-Michael, LCS Group Vice Chairperson, Ako Ilokano Ako Partylist first nominee, and Host Committee Chairperson of the 65th Miss …

The Philippines will need to prepare for the inevitable impact of the war in Ukraine should the crisis drag out, according to the Department of Finance (DOF).  Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III gave this determination to representatives of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank who Dominguez urged to craft “rescue packages” for economies that may be …

Several election watchdogs expressed apprehension on COMELEC’s automated election system (AES) allegedly due to lack of procedures and a failure to comply with the law.  The National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel), Automated Election System Watch (AES Watch), and Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG) said the system cannot not be trusted.  “It is not compliant with the …

A different vaccine brand as a second booster shot can be “more effective” in warding off the COVID-19 virus, according to the Department of Health (DOH).  Health Undersecretary Myrna Cabotaje, head of the National Vaccination Operations Center, supported the recommendation of government’s Vaccine Expert Panel (VEP) to use a different vaccine brand as second booster shot.  Cabotaje said, “A different …

Manila Mayor and presidential candidate Isko Moreno, through his political party Aksyon Demokratiko, has asked the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to garnish the bank accounts linked to the estate of the late former President Ferdinand Marcos to settle the family’s tax liabilities.  Aksyon Demokratiko chairperson Ernesto Ramel Jr. wrote to BIR Commissioner Ceasar Dulay, requesting the agency “to immediately and …

Former Commission on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Rowena Guanzon maintained that the automated election system (AES) of Smartmatic’s machines are accurate and reliable.  “The AES and the Smartmatic machines have an accuracy rate of 99.7%. It’s very reliable and so hard to tamper with particularly the transmission of election results,” Guanzon said.  While these machines have been used by Comelec over …

By Ibarra C. Mateo  Less than a fortnight to the May 9 elections, leading financial and banking executives and top economists in the Philippines have projected a rosy business climate and encouraging economic growth under a Robredo administration.  Former presidents of the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX) have issued a joint statement in mid-March declaring “We Choose Not …

Let’s Vote PINAS, a Vote Counting Machine (VCM) Demo and Experience offered to the public by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) and SM Supermalls, was launched on April 18, 2022 at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall. In attendance were COMELEC Chairman Hon. Saidamen B. Pangarungan, COMELEC Commissioners Hon. Socorro B. Inting, Hon. Marlon S. Casquejo, Hon. Aimee P. …

Mayor Luis Chavit Singson (of Narvacan, Ilocos Sur), who decided not to run for any public office in next month’s elections, predicts a landslide win for former Sen. Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos, Jr. (BBM) after recent survey results still showed a wide lead over Vice President Maria Leonor ‘Leni’ Robredo, three weeks before the polls. During today’s (April 18, 2022) Kapihan …