Puno: Key lawmakers already met prior to formal budget meeting

MANILA, Philippines — Minimum wage increases in Calabarzon and Central Luzon are next in line for deliberations by their respective wage boards, Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) Acting Secretary Francis Tolentino said Wednesday. “Ito pong napipinto na, malapit-lapit na, nag-uusap na, ang alam ko po eh hinog na hinog na ay yung Calabarzon. Hindi

CALAPAN CITY, Oriental Mindoro — The Mindoro Artists Initiative (MAI) has joined calls for the immediate release of a cultural worker who was arrested six months ago. Charlize “Ceeka” Garzon was nabbed following an armed encounter between government troops and suspected New People’s Army (NPA) fighters at San Jose town in Occidental Mindoro. She was

MANILA, Philippines — A station of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) in Clark, Pampanga, is now 73.29 percent complete, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said. The progress of its underground Clark Station is at 73.29 percent, as of Sept. 2026, the DOTr said in a press release issued on Wednesday. “Ang sabi po ng ating

MANILA, Philippines — Observing tradition and parliamentary courtesy accorded to a coequal branch of government, the Senate committee on finance swiftly approved on Wednesday the proposed P10.15-billion budget for the Office of the President (OP) for 2027, marking it “deemed submitted” for plenary consideration. The committee also approved the Presidential Management Staff (PMS) budget in

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday emphasized the need to strengthen preparation and development in teachers’ careers, as some educators remain assigned outside their specialized subjects and training sometimes does not reflect classroom realities. In his speech at the 2026 Teachers Awards at the Manila Hotel in Manila, Marcos said his administration

MANILA, Philippines — The House prosecution panel said it intends to finally present Vice President Sara Duterte’s bank records before the Senate impeachment court within the week. House trial spokesperson Ace Barbers disclosed the timetable as prosecutors prepare to move deeper into the financial evidence under Article II. Article II covers Vice President Sara Duterte’s

COTABATO CITY — An 11-year-old boy was killed while a man was wounded after they were hit by stray bullets during an armed encounter between two rival groups of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao del Sur, early Wednesday, a police official said. Major Joel Lebrilla, Shariff Aguak police chief, identified

MANILA, Philippines — The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) and other concerned agencies are continuously preparing to ease the effects of the looming super El Niño, including the maintenance of irrigation systems and clearing operations on irrigation canals, Malacañang said Wednesday. Palace press officer Claire Castro made the assurance after the NIA outlined its mitigation action

CALAPAN CITY, Oriental Mindoro — The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) in Mimaropa is studying the reproductive biology of the octopus Octopus cyanea, locally known as “pugita,” to generate scientific data that could support sustainable fisheries management in the region, according to a social media post on Wednesday, Sept. 30. The assessment, which

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court’s swift dismissal of the petitions seeking to nullify the impeachment court’s Sept. 23 ruling on the 2/3 vote requirement needed to convict Vice President Sara Duterte proves that its interpretations and proceedings are “constitutionally bullet-proof.” That’s according to Senate impeachment court spokesperson Reginald Tongol. In a statement, Tongol said the impeachment court acknowledges

MANILA, Philippines — House prosecutor and Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon on Wednesday hailed the dismissal by the Supreme Court of the petitions challenging the Senate Impeachment Court’s ruling on the voting threshold to convict Vice President Sara Duterte. Ridon emphasized that their work on impeachment proceedings will continue.  The SC has junked separate

BACOLOD CITY—A government armed auxiliary member was killed, and two soldiers were wounded after an armed group attacked military personnel in Escalante City, Negros Occidental, on Tuesday afternoon, the Army reported Wednesday. Members of the 79th Infantry Battalion’s Mobile Community Support and Sustainment Program (MCSSP) were conducting a security patrol in Sitio Bautista, Barangay Malasibog,