ALMOST DONE. Motorists pass through the ongoing construction of the Unified Grand Central Station or the Common Station on March 1, 2022. The station will be completed within June, before the end of the Duterte administration. (PNA photo by Joey O. Razon) MANILA - The Common Station seen to interconnect four rail lines and public road transport in Metro Manila will be completed within this month, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said Thursday. The completion of the Common Station formally dubbed the Unified Grand Central Station before the end of the Duterte administration is a "testament" to the DOTr's mandate of "enabling quality service to our kababayan(compatriots)", the DOTr said on Facebook. "After eight years of delay, the Common Station is expected to be completed this June with the remainder of the project now in full, accelerated construction pace," the Facebook post read. Located in North Edsa, Quezon City, the Common Station
MANILA - The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) chided a columnist on Thursday following his "malicious and groundless comments" over the country's diplomatic protests against Beijing's illegal activities in the South China Sea. The concerned column, titled "DFA protests controlled by the US State Department", was penned by Phil-BRICS Strategic Studies Director Mario Ferdinand Pasion in his New World column in the Manila Times on June 12. In a statement, the DFA said diplomatic protests are lodged automatically once a "transgression" by a foreign country has been verified. "Most of the Department's protests have been undertaken against China, simply because it is the country that has been conducting the most illegal and provocative actions in the WPS (West Philippine Sea)," it said. "These activities range from the harassment of Filipino fishermen, shadowing and harassment of PH maritime assets, unauthorized marine scientific re
(Photo courtesy of Philippine Coast Guard) MANILA - The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) is looking to acquire more 97-meter multirole response vessels (MRRV), similar to its newest vessels BRP Teresa Magbanua and BRP Melchora Aquino. Vice Adm. Eduardo Fabricante, PCG Deputy Commandant for Operations made this remark in a courtesy call with executives from the Mitsubishi Heavy Industry, Shimonoseki Shipyard, and Toyota Tsusho Corporation (Toyota) on Tuesday. "During the meeting, Fabricante conveyed the possibility of procuring additional units of the 97-meter MRRVs modeled after the Japan Coast Guard's Kunigami-class vessels," the PCG said in a Facebook post. Fabricante also shared the participation of BRP Teresa Magbanua in the Regional Maritime Pollution Exercise (MARPOLEX) 2022 in Makassar, Indonesia from May 22 to 29 its first-ever mission since it was commissioned. Both vessels, it said, will be deployed to the West Philippine Sea and the Philippine Rise. "This
The Cebu Provincial Capitol. (PNA file photo by John Rey Saavedra) CEBU CITY - The Cebu Provincial Board (PB) on Tuesday passed an ordinance (EO) adopting the executive order issued by Governor Gwendolyn Garcia making the wearing of face masks in open spaces optional. The measure was passed unanimously in a special session adopting EO 16 issued on June 8 rationalizing the use of face masks in the province. Out of 17 PB members, 13 were present when the measure was passed while the others were reportedly on their post-election vacation leaves. Of the local lawmakers who attended the session, no one objected. The local legislative body adopted the measure after roughly 30 minutes of the first, second, and final reading. PB's committee of laws chair, John Ismael Borgonia, said the new ordinance gives a legal basis for the police not to apprehend residents who will be found not wearing face masks while outdoors. The ordinance runs in contrast with the orders of the Department of the In
(File image) LEGAZPI CITY -The Department of Health (DOH) 5 (Bicol) on Saturday reported an increase in cases of dengue fever and new cases of Japanese encephalitis, both mosquito-borne diseases, in the region. In a report that was based on its dengue surveillance, DOH-5 noted that 77 dengue cases were recorded from May 22 to June 4, compared to 23 in the same period last year. "This represents a 235 percent increase," the report said. Camarines Sur logged 49 dengue cases; Camarines Norte, 17; Masbate, 5; Catanduanes, 4; and Albay and Sorsogon, one each. Meanwhile, the department also recorded seven cases of Japanese encephalitis from January to April 30. No such case was reported in the same period last year. Camarines Sur had four (one each in the towns of Bula, San Jose, Lagonoy, and Minalabas); Sorsogon had two, (one each in Sorsogon City and Gubat town); and one in Manito, Albay. Dengue is transmitted by a day-biting mosquito that lays eggs in clear and stagnant water fo