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(GMA News) Recognizing the suffering of Filipino women during World War II, the government vowed to look into a United Nations (UN) panel report saying the Philippines has failed to meet its obligations to the “comfort women.”

“The government of the Philippines recognizes the suffering of female victims of atrocious violations that occurred during the Second World War,” the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said in a statement Friday.

“The government of the Philippines remains fully committed to women’s rights pursuant to its international human rights obligations and national laws and jurisprudence,” it added.

The PCO issued the remark following the findings of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) that the country violated the rights of victims of sexual slavery committed by the Japanese Army in World War II… Read More

(NPR) MANILA, Philippines — The wreckage of a small plane that went missing in late January in the northeastern Philippines has been found, ending weeks of mystery about its whereabouts.

The downed Cessna 206 plane was spotted Thursday around 11 a.m local time in Isabela Province, according to local authorities. Neither the pilot, nor any of the six passengers were found alive, Constante Foronda, head of the Isabela Incident Management Team said.

“No survivors,” he told reporters at a press conference. “We delayed this briefing until all the relatives of the passengers and the pilot have been informed.”

A spokesman for the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office in Divilacan, the town in Isabela Province near where the wreckage was found, also told reporters that parts of the plane were scattered about the area and clothing — assumed to be from the passengers — hung from the trees… Read More

(BusinessMirror) THE President has approved the creation of a new interagency committee (IAC) on Inflation and Market Outlook (IMO) to be cochaired by the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) and the Department of Finance (DOF).

The Department of Budget and Management will be the vice chairperson of the IAC. The committee will also be composed of the Department of Agriculture, Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Energy, Department of Science and Technology, and Department of the Interior and Local Government.

The Philippine Statistics Authority, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, and Philippine Competition Commission will serve as the Committee’s resource institutions.

“This newly formed committee shall serve as an advisory body to the President and the Cabinet on measures to mitigate inflation and ensure food and energy security while balancing the interests of local food producers, consumers, and the overall economy,” the Neda said in a statement on Tuesday.

DOF Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said as a high-level IAC on IMO, the committee will help craft measures to mitigate inflation and ensure food and energy security… Read More

(RawStory) A 6.0-magnitude earthquake jolted the southern Philippines on Tuesday, the US Geological Survey said, but there were no reports of casualties or major damage

The shallow quake struck at about 2:00 pm (0600 GMT), a few kilometers from Maragusan municipality in the mountainous gold-mining province of Davao de Oro on Mindanao island.

Shallow earthquakes tend to cause more harm than deeper ones, but local authorities said there were no reports of major damage.

Cherrylyn Dapiton of the Maragusan disaster office confirmed there had been a landslide near a road, but it had not affected anyone or blocked traffic.

Photos on the local government’s Facebook page showed patients on beds or in wheelchairs outside a hospital after they were evacuated from the facility… Read More

(Manila Bulletin) Here’s some potential good news for Filipino seafarers.

The House of Representatives gave its final approval to the proposed “Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers”, embodied in House Bill (HB) No.7325, during plenary session late Monday afternoon, March 6.

The measure, which seeks to safeguard the rights and interests of Filipino seafarers and ensure their “full protection before, during, and after employment”, garnered 304 affirmative votes during nominal voting for third and final reading.

Four House members entered a negative vote. There were no abstentions.

The bill also aims to develop a pool of competent and world-class seafarers “through a system of education, training, certification, and licensing”.

“Our seafarers are our unsung heroes. Almost 400,000 of them are on board merchant shipping vessels around the world at any given time. They are not only a source of income for the country through their remittances but also a source of pride,” House Speaker Martin Romualdez said… Read More

(CNN Philippines) Metro Manila — The week-long transport strike against the government’s PUV phaseout program will not include several transport groups across the country, Malacañang said Sunday.

Transport group Manibela previously announced that the nationwide strike will push through from March 6 to 12 regardless of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board’s (LTFRB) move to extend the franchise consolidation of public utility vehicles (PUVs) until the end of the year.

In a press release, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said 11 jeepney and UV Express groups in Metro Manila have expressed opposition to the strike, namely: the National Federation of Transport Cooperatives (NFTC), Alliance of Transport Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (ALTODAP), Liga ng Transportasyon at Operators sa Pilipinas (LTOP), Alliance of Concerned Transport Organization (ACTO), Pasang Masda (PM), Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (FEJODAP), Stop and Go Coalition, Senate Employees Transport Service Cooperative (SETSCO), UV Express National Alliance of the Philippines (UV Express), and ACTO NA CORP… Read More

(The Week) The Philippines said Saturday that it had spotted a Chinese naval ship off the coast of a Philippine-occupied island in the South China Sea.

The Philippine Coast Guard confirmed the presence of “a People’s Liberation Army Navy vessel,” along with a Chinese Coast Guard ship, off the coast of Thitu Island. In addition, Philippine officials said that they identified at least 42 vessels that were reportedly operated by Chinese militia officers.

Reuters reported that Thitu is “Manila’s biggest and most strategically important outpost in the South China Sea.” The sea has been largely under a series of political clashes in recent years, with China claiming — over the objections of several Asian countries — that it controls the water’s territories. .. Read More

(Interaksyon) MANILA— A decision by the Philippines to grant the United States greater access to its military bases was “not for engaging in war” but meant to enhance its ability to defend itself against external threats, its defense chief said on Thursday.

“The geopolitical situation is becoming more precarious by the day,” Carlito Galvez, office-in-charge of the defense ministry, said in a statement.

“We are not preparing for war, rather we are aiming to develop our defense capabilities against eventualities and threats to our security,” he added.

His statement came a day after some senators and a provincial governor raised concerns and opposition to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr’s decision to give the United States access to four more sites, on top of five locations under a 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, or EDCA… Read More