COTABATO CITY — Amid negotiations among political parties in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) on forming a coalition to form its incoming government, Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Vice Chairman Mohagher Iqbal on Saturday said that a final shape up will only emerge when parliament members eventually vote on Oct. 30. Iqbal

PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur – Passengers escaped unhurt after a truck carrying commuters and cargo was swept by a flash flood and overturned while attempting to cross a river in Sergio Osmeña town, Zamboanga del Norte on Friday, Oct. 2. Initial reports gathered on Saturday showed that the vehicle was traversing the Yabo River

PAGADIAN CITY, Zamboanga del Sur – Joint security forces intercepted over P1 million worth of smuggled cigarettes during a random checkpoint along the national highway in Barangay La Paz, Naga town, Zamboanga Sibugay on Friday afternoon, Oct. 2. Personnel from the Naga municipal police station, with assistance from troops of the Army’s 106th Infantry Battalion

CAUAYAN CITY — The Schools Division Office of Cauayan City has expressed deep sorrow over the deaths of two learners who were electrocuted during a bubble fun run at Cauayan South Central School on Saturday, Oct. 3. The victims were a 7-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy. “We mourn the loss of two learners and

MANILA, Philippines — The Taguig City government on Saturday denied involvement in alleged illegal reclamation activities at the Taguig side of Laguna Lake, saying the property inspected by government agencies was not being possessed or used by the city. The city government said the area shown in a video released by Sen. Panfilo Lacson involved

From online-gambling rings in eSwatini to SIM swapping in Kenya and cybercrime networks in Zambia, a wave of cross-border fraud is drawing African governments and China into closer security cooperation. China hosted East African security ministers and police chiefs in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, on September 10 for talks on terrorism, kidnapping, online fraud and other cross-border threats. China’s public security minister, Wang Xiaohong, said Beijing would strengthen law-enforcement...

MANILA, Philippines — No player won the Grand Lotto 6/55 or Lotto 6/42 jackpots in the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) draws Saturday, Oct. 3. According to the PCSO, the Grand Lotto 6/55 winning combination was 11-23-36-20-29-50 for a jackpot of ₱242.63 million. No ticket matched all six numbers. The Lotto 6/42 winning combination was

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Panfilo Lacson on Saturday, Oct. 3, called for a multi-agency investigation into what he described as continuing illegal reclamation activities on the Taguig side of Laguna Lake. Lacson said concerned government agencies should work together to determine who was behind the alleged dumping of garbage and filling of materials in the

The University of the Philippines (UP) and Manila HealthTek Inc. have signed an agreement allowing the company to use the RxBox trademark for a biomedical telemetry device designed to support remote medical consultations and patient monitoring.

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has mobilized its regional offices, line bureaus and field units to strengthen nationwide preparedness and mitigation measures against the ongoing El Niño. The state weather bureau warns that this climate pattern may intensify into a very strong event before year-end and persist through the

MANILA, Philippines — Transport and commuters’ groups are urging six Metro Manila local government units (LGUs) to delay or clarify the return of the no-contact apprehension policy (NCAP) on Oct. 5, citing concerns over implementation, due process and added costs for motorists. The policy will cover Manila, Muntinlupa, Parañaque, Quezon City, San Juan and Valenzuela.

MANILA, Philippines — Senator-judge Panfilo “Ping” Lacson on Saturday said that there’s no truth to claims that former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV was blocked from appearing before the Senate impeachment court to testify. “Hindi, hindi totoo ‘yon,” Lacson said when asked during a DWIZ interview if Trillanes’ assertion that he was blocked by Presiding Officer

MANILA, Philippines — Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) confidentiality is not absolute, House prosecutor Terry Ridon of Bicol Saro party-list said Saturday, arguing that the agency itself discloses financial information to courts when seeking freeze orders. Ridon said this undermines arguments that confidentiality rules prevent AMLC records from being presented before the Senate impeachment court in

This note looks at the potential to grow Hong Kong’s high value-added service industries, focusing mainly on the legal and healthcare sectors, and considers policy options to help their development.

MANILA, Philippines — Over 530 military, police and Coast Guard personnel tested their response to a major earthquake during a three-day interagency exercise that ended Friday in Manila, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said Saturday. The second Interagency Exercise, dubbed “Pagsasanay Sanlakas,” brought together personnel from the AFP, Philippine National Police (PNP) and

MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (Opapru) has broken ground on P135 million worth of road projects in Nueva Vizcaya, Kalinga and Apayao to improve access in conflict-affected communities. Opapru said Saturday that Presidential Peace Adviser Mel Senen Sarmiento joined local officials in the three provinces on

MANILA, Philippines — The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) is allowed to share information with foreign counterparts, giving further basis for it to provide financial records to the Senate impeachment court, prosecution legal spokesperson and counsel Benjamin “Jay” Tolosa Jr. said Saturday. Tolosa made the argument amid the defense’s continuing questions over the confidentiality of AMLC

MANILA, Philippines — Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III on Friday expressed support for stronger protection for sugarcane farmers as the House brought discussions on the proposed TUBO Act directly to farmers and industry stakeholders during LegisHear in Victorias City, Negros Occidental. Speaking at the press briefing following the LegisHear townhall program, Dy said the consultation

BANGA, SOUTH COTABATO — The 14-year-old student killed in the Sept. 18 shooting at Banga National High School was laid to rest Saturday as family, classmates, teachers, friends and church members gathered to bid her farewell and call for justice. “Dianne,” not her real name, was buried at Banga Holy Trinity Memorial Park more than

DAVAO CITY — A female juvenile Philippine eagle ( ) was electrocuted in Sitio Panghaon, Barangay Guinalaban of Salay town, Misamis Oriental on Wednesday morning. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources in Northern Mindanao through the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) Gingoog City is now investigating the death of a Philippine eagle

MANILA, Philippines — The trough of a typhoon outside the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) will continue to bring rains over Visayas and Mindanao, while Metro Manila may see fair weather conditions in the coming days, the state weather bureau said. Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) reported in its 5 p.m. weather

TACLOBAN CITY — Commuters in Eastern Visayas will pay higher fares for public utility vehicles following the approval of a fare increase aimed at helping drivers and operators cope with rising fuel and operating costs. For traditional public utility jeepneys, the minimum fare has increased from P13 to P14 for the first four kilometers, with

COTABATO CITY — The Bangsamoro Federalist Party (BFP) said Friday it had secured the support of 46 of the 80 members of the Bangsamoro Parliament, giving its coalition a majority ahead of the inaugural session on Oct. 30. Member of Parliament-elect Naguib Sinarimbo, who issued the party statement, said the BFP was ready to organize

MANILA, Philippines — The segment of the Philippine-Singapore cable that went down was restored on Saturday, Oct. 3, bringing the internet service back to normal, a Philippine-based telecommunications company said.  InfiniVAN Inc., a Japanese-Filipino telecommunications and information and communications technology solutions provider, said in an advisory that the C2C Submarine Cable (Philippine-Singapore) segment has been

MANILA, Philippines — Deputy Minority Leader and ACT Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio on Saturday called for the full disclosure of government programs that received amendments during House deliberations on the proposed P7.2-trillion national budget for 2027. The House Budget Amendments Review Subcommittee (BARSc) began reviewing the amendments on Thursday. Tinio said P77.86 billion, or

CAUAYAN CITY — Two students, aged 7 and 8, died after being electrocuted along with two other children during a Color and Bubble Fun Run at Cauayan South Central School here on Saturday morning (Oct. 3), police said. The fatalities were identified by relatives and witnesses as an 8-year-old Grade 3 pupil, and a 7-year-old

The P18-per-kilogram increase in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices expected this October will offset the recently implemented suspension of the excise tax on the fuel, the LPG Marketers Association (LPGMA) said Saturday.

COTABATO CITY — A drug den was dismantled in Midsayap, Cotabato, with three high-value targets arrested and two fragmentation grenades and P47,000 worth of shabu recovered, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said. The operation was conducted at 1:45 p.m. Friday in Barangay Upper Labas by the PDEA-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (PDEA-BARMM). Eugene

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SAN FRANCISCO, Agusan del Sur — The prices of basic necessities across Agusan del Sur have been frozen at their prevailing levels following the provincial government’s declaration of a state of calamity due to severe agricultural damage, critically low supplies of potable water and relentless high temperatures. The automatic price freeze took effect immediately pursuant