Author: Jericho Zafra

MANILA, Philippines — Despite the recent wage hike in the Philippines where 42 percent of Filipinos reported an increased income, over 44 percent of Filipinos are still worried about their household finances, global insights firm TransUnion said. This figure translates to four in 10 Filipinos in the country. The TransUnion survey of 944 adult Filipinos conducted from May 1 to May 10 found that 44 percent of respondents were worried about not being able to pay one of their bills or debts, up from 41 percent last year. “While more Filipinos have enjoyed increased household incomes and expect this trend…

MANILA, Philippines — The Manila Water Company announced that water supply will be interrupted in some parts of Rizal and Quezon City from August 27 to 30 for scheduled maintenance. In an advisory late Thursday, it said that several areas within Quezon city and in Rizal will be experiencing water supply cuts due to its routine maintenance. Among the areas affected by the scheduled maintenance include the following: August 27, 10 p.m. to August 28, 4 a.m. Taytay, Rizal – Parts of Barangay Dolores (Poblacion) including L. Wood Street, Admiral Village, Philec Road, Naval Street, Matimtiman, Magilas, Malaya, Adhika, B.…

MANILA, Philippines — The People for the Ethical Treatment for Animals (PETA) slammed the Manila Zoo Wednesday after it introduced a new baby lion named “Isla.” “Isla deserves better. She should be placed in the hands of experts who can rehabilitate her and ultimately assess her for release back into the wild or transfer to a sanctuary,” PETA Senior Vice President Jason Baker said in a statement. According to PETA, Isla is the “latest victim” of the zoo’s “collection of suffering, living beings,” adding that Mali, the elephant, died in the “same lonely, concrete pen” where she lived for five…

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines has maintained that it has “unassailable rights” within the West Philippine Sea and expressed “grave concerns” on the recent maritime incidents following the air and sea mishap with China, National Security Adviser (NSA) Eduardo Año said Wednesday. NSA Eduardo Año and his US counterpart, Jake Sullivan, discussed the issues during a phone call on Tuesday, August 20. However, the National Security Council only released a statement about the conversation on Wednesday. “The two NSAs exchanged information on the current maritime security situation in the region and particularly raised grave concerns on the recent illegal, aggressive,…

MANILA, Philippines — At least 800,00 land titles are expected to be distributed to the public before the end of Marcos administration, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) said Wednesday. Perhaps we estimate that we need to distribute around 800,000 more land titles before the end of the President’s term—and it looks like we can achieve that, DAR Secretary Conrado Estrella III in a chance media interview. He is also eyeing to distribute 100,000 land titles by this year. DAR has currently distributed over 42,000 land titles for the first half of the year during his pre-SONA briefing last month.…

MANILA, Philippines — A limited number of Afghan nationals who fled the Taliban rule will be accommodated by the Philippines to get their visa and resettlement to the United States, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said. “The Philippines and the United States have agreed on allowing a limited number of Afghan nationals to transit to the Philippines to complete their visa processing for Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) and resettlement to the United States,” the DFA said late Tuesday night. The foreign affairs bureau did not disclose the number of Afghan nationals to be accommodated by the Philippines but some…

MANILA, Philippines — There are different types of social media users today: those who post rarely, those who are always online and fluent in meme culture, and those who mainly observe and judge others through Instagram stories. No matter where you fall within those categories, certain generations often find themselves aligning with these trending cultures. And now, Gen Zs and a few older millennials trying to stay on trend are jumping into the latest Instagram challenge: letting ChatGPT roast their feeds. Over 215,000 Instagram users are taking on the challenge, with some questioning whether ChatGPT can truly assess a personal…

MANILA, Philippines — Government personnel who aided the departure of dismissed Bamban, Tarlac Mayor Alice Guo will be held accountable adding that these culprits will be exposed for betraying Filipinos’ trust, President Marcos Jr. said Wednesday. “The departure of Alice Guo has laid bare the corruption that undermines our justice system and erodes public trust,” President Marcos said in a statement. “Let me be clear: Heads will roll,” he said. President Marcos said the administration would be compelled to “expose the culprits who have betrayed the people’s trust and aided” in Guo’s departure. The chief executive announced that a comprehensive…

MANILA, Philippines — At least 47,000 liters of oil has now been siphoned off the sunken MTKR Terranova as reported by the contracted salvor Harbor Star, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said Wednesday. Authorities have yet to confirm whether the siphoned oil came from the tanker’s operational fuel or the 1.4 million liters of industrial fuel oil it was carrying before it sank. In a situation report, the PCG said that over 47,000 liters of oil were collected with a flow rate of 9,000 liters per hour, during the oil removal testing. The BRP Sindangan (MRRV-4407) carried out sea surface…

MANILA, Philippines — Following the alleged hacking in the Senate website this week, the Senate of the Philippines said that only documents that are meant for public consumption were accessed by the hackers. “Access was gained over documents such as transcripts of committee hearings, journals of plenary sessions, and other legislative documents which are intended for public consumption. No sensitive or confidential data was affected. In fact, the Senate, upon request, grants access to anyone who wishes to download these documents,” the Senate said in its statement. The usernames and logs allegedly taken from the Senate SharePoint site are simply…