RESCUE. The Philippine Coast Guard in Occidental Mindoro rescued on Monday (Feb. 27, 2023) 14 crew members of a cargo vessel that suffered engine trouble and ran aground on Lubang Island in Occidental Mindoro. The PCG-Occidental Mindoro is continuously monitoring the grounded vessel (in photo) to check for any signs of oil spillage. (Photo courtesy of PCG-Occidental Mindoro) CITY OF CALAPAN, Oriental Mindoro - Fourteen crew members of a cargo vessel that ran aground Sunday night in Occidental Mindoro were rescued Monday morning, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said. In its incident report posted on social media, the PCG-Occidental Mindoro said the crew members of M/V Manfel V were found in the waters approximately 110 meters from the shorelines of Barangay Maligaya in Lubang town. Based on the initial investigation, the vessel suffered engine trouble at around 9 a.m. on Saturday off Fortune Island while en route to Bauan, Batangas from Subic, Zambales. It drifted toward Lubang Island
CUSHIONS. The Philippine economy is expected to remain robust from a possible global recession, according to a joint monthly publication of the First Metro Investment Corporation (FMIC) and the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P). Drivers that are seen to back the domestic economy include the increase in the government's infrastructure spending and improvement of the manufacturing sector. (PNA file photo) MANILA - The Philippine government's push to increase its infrastructure spending and the recovery of the manufacturing sector, among others, are expected to buoy the domestic economy from the impact of the possible recession in the United States. According to February 2023 issue of The Market Call, the joint monthly publication of the First Metro Investment Corporation (FIMC) and the University of Asia and the Pacific (UA&P), "most recent economic data suggest that the Philippine economy may weather the global recession relatively unscathed." It said w
PNA photo by Robinson Ninal Jr. MANILA - The Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) wants to determine the root cause of high retail prices of onions by investigating possible anti-competitive behavior. The PCC has started its probe for "possible cartel or abuse of dominance conduct" consistent with the House Resolution No. 681 filed by Marikina Representative Stella Luz Quimbo, a former PCC commissioner. "Since November 2022, the Philippine Competition Commission has been investigating the high prices of onion for possible cartel or abuse of dominance conduct," it said in a statement Thursday. The antitrust body said it launched its market assessment amid the skyrocketing onion retail prices, which it observed at an unusual price range of PHP600 per kilogram in December 2022. "As prices are seen to stabilize due to the imports and the SRP set last Feb. 6, the PCC is looking into the cause of such market anomaly in coordination with the sector regulators and o
(Photo courtesy of Jose Angelo Mangaoang/Office of Civil Defense) MANILA - The Philippine Inter-Agency Humanitarian Contingent (PIAHC) in Trkiye gave quick orientations to Turkish local volunteers on international standards of search and rescue. This came after Filipino rescuers saw some local volunteers using backhoes in their search. "After observing that locals use backhoes indiscriminately without due regard for safety procedures in locating victims, the PIAHC gave quick orientations on internationally accepted principles of search and rescue," the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) said in an update Sunday. The Philippine team is currently deployed in Adiyaman which is four hours away by bus from the city of Adana, Southern Trkiye. It also added that these local volunteers, most of whom have no training and equipment, were given a quick look and briefing on the PIAHC's equipment. PIAHC is an 82-member team that is composed of the following personnel, 30 from the Departmen
Camp Bado Dangwa in La Trinidad, Benguet. (PNA file photo) BAGUIO CITY - The Police Regional Office-Cordillera (PROCor) said further investigation is being conducted on the knife attack on the president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP)-Abra. Brig. Gen. Mafelino Bazar, PROCor director, in a message on Friday said "ongoing ang investigation [kahit na] may mga nafile-an na ng kaso (the investigation is ongoing even if charges have been filed)." IBP-Abra president Hamilcar Bigornia was attacked by an assailant inside his law office at their compound in Bangued, Abra on the morning of Jan. 29. Bigornia was slashed in his stomach while his office security aide,Ruben Barcena Alvarez,sustained astab wound. The assailant, identified as JR Beljamin Bergonia, 34, was shot dead by the security aide. Police said the knife used by the assailant was provided to him by his brother Jhenmark, 26, who has already been charged with two counts offrustrated murder and violation ofRep