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(CNN Philippines) Metro Manila – Malacañang Palace on Monday revealed the location of four new Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites after Manila and Washington agreed to expand the deal last February.

These are the Naval Base Camilo Osias in Santa Ana town, Cagayan; the Lal-lo Airport in Lal-lo town, Cagayan; Camp Melchor Dela Cruz in Gamu town, Isabela; and Balabac Island in Palawan, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) disclosed in a statement.

Upon completion, United States troops could be indefinitely stationed there on a rotational basis and could use the sites as storage and warehouse facilities.. Read More

(BusinessWorld) A SENATOR has called on the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (PAGCOR) to file appropriate charges against its officials who were involved in commissioning an unqualified third-party auditor for Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).

“Officials and employees of PAGCOR who were negligent or were accomplices of Global ComRCI should be held accountable for why they were granted a contract despite not being qualified,” Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian said in a statement on Sunday.

On March 9, PAGCOR issued a notice to terminate its P6-billion contract with Global ComRCI.

“Since September 2022, the new PAGCOR management has been conducting extensive reviews of PAGCOR’s existing contracts, among which is Global ComRCI’s. Upon careful evaluation, PAGCOR has determined the third-party auditor to be in default of its obligations and (has) prima facie evidence (that it) committed unlawful acts,” PAGCOR said in a statement on March 9… Read More

(BusinessMirror) THEY vanished from Philippine roads in the thick of one of the world’s strictest pandemic lockdowns.

Now, Manila’s colorful jeep­neys may disappear for good as the government seeks to cut planet-warming emissions.

The Southeast Asian nation is pursuing a plan to replace highly polluting jeepney models with modern minibuses that run on cleaner fuels or electricity.

But the program is facing pushback from drivers who need more financial support to make the shift, putting at risk the country’s goal of cutting greenhouse-gas emissions by 75 percent by the end of the decade from 2020 levels.

Only 4 percent of the Philippines’ 158,000 jeepneys have been replaced with a more climate-friendly alternative since the government’s program began in 2017, according to official data… Read More

(CNN Philippines) Metro Manila – Aside from her upcoming travel documentary, Filipino American actress Vanessa Hudgens is open to making other projects in the Philippines.

“Of course it would be wonderful. I’m trying to spend as much time as I can here now,” Hudgens said in a press conference on Friday. “I already can’t wait to come back. I feel like the time I have spent here has been so incredible and so special, but I need more time. The country has a lot to offer.”

The actress recently announced that she will be working on a documentary that will feature her mother’s homeland. It will also showcase her journey as a Filipino American actress who made her mark in the competitive Hollywood stage.. Read More

(The Sun UK) It has been reported that when the fire broke out, many of the passengers were asleep in air-conditioned cabins on the ferry’s lower deck.

“The number of people killed in a fire that ripped through a ferry in the southern Philippines has risen to 31”, the local governor, Jim Hataman, said after more bodies were found inside the burned-out wreckage.

The MV Lady Mary Joy 3 was heading to the Sulu province from the southern port city of Zamboanga when it caught fire at around 11pm local time.

“Initially there were 10 we recovered, they died of drowning. And then we discovered another 18 on board the vessel, at the cabin. They were totally burnt,” Commodore Rejard Marfe, coast guard chief in the southern Mindanao region, told Reuters… Read More

(Metro UK) Derek Arthur Silverthorne, 79, from Brighton, was seen unconscious in the water near the Bisucay island in Cuyo by a passing ferry.

He was last seen alive swimming in the sea on Saturday morning before he was found shortly before midday.

The expatriate, who was part of the local watersports association was wearing a rash guard diving top and flippers when officers retrieved him.

Coastguards attempted to revive him with CPR but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Bill’s Jimmy from the Cuyo Watersports Association described him as the ‘happiest person’ in an emotional tribute.

He said: ‘We still can’t believe what happened to him… Read More

(Interaksyon) TOKYO— Japan, the United States and the Philippines are preparing to establish a formal framework for high-level ministerial talks on security matters, the Kyodo news agency reported on Tuesday.

The three countries are considering holding their first meeting as early as April, Kyodo said.

The move comes as Taiwan, which lies between Japan and the Philippines, has become a focal point of intensifying Chinese military activity that Tokyo and Washington worry could escalate into war. Japan held joint military exercises with the United States and the Philippines as recently as October… Read More

(CNN Philippines) Metro Manila – Six more people involved in the assassination of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo surrendered to the police, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Monday.

“One of the respondents surrendered on March 18 followed by others on March 21, 2023,” DOJ spokesperson Mico Clavano said in a press conference. “The NBI-NCR, acting as complainants, states that these individuals voluntarily surrendered to the joint task force Degamo.”

Clavano said details of the affidavits, statements, and other evidence will be confidential because of the investigation.

According to the DOJ, prosecutors recommended charges for the six respondents for nine counts for the murder of Degamo and eight others.

They will also be charged with 13 counts of frustrated murder and three counts of attempted murder.

“The cases will be tried jointly with the previous cases for murder filed by the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor of Negros Oriental against the four previous respondents who were caught and subjected to inquest proceedings recently,” Clavano said.

On Monday, Justice Secretary Crispin ‘Boying’ Remulla said 11 suspects are under the custody of authorities… Read More