By Mau Victa
Kennon Road, one of the main access roads to Baguio City, remains closed to traffic due to a landslide in Sitio Wabac in Barangay Camp 7.
The Department of Public Works and Highways advised motorists to take alternate roads to Baguio, including the Marcos Highway and Naguilian Road. (Photo by Mau Victa)
LATEST NEWS FOR AUGUST 24, 2015
Share prices plunged on Monday in one of the single biggest loss of the Philippine Stock Exchange in a day, where a trading halt was experienced due to a technical glitch as the local market joined the ranks of the biggest losers among Asian bourses.
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Initial report from the Department of Agriculture showed that the damage caused by Typhoon Ineng reached P40.86 million.
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Power has been restored in Northern Luzon and the Cordillera Administrative Region as several provinces, including Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur and Benguet suspended classes in all levels in the aftermath of Typhoon Ineng, which has already killed 13 people.
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The Land Transportation Office activated 25 licensing sites around the Philippines on Monday to help complete the processing of more than 900,000 driver’s licenses by October. The 25 licensing offices tapped to expunge the license backlog are located in Metro Manila and Regions 3, 4-A, and 8, said LTO Chief Alfonso Tan, Jr.
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The Philippines remains competitive in gaining market access to the European Union in the face of increased competition from Vietnam, brought about by the latter’s recent closing of a free trade agreement with the 28-country bloc.
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The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperationc economies will be moving forward on a collective strategic study aimed at establishing the Free Trade Area in Asia Pacific during the Third Senior Officials Meeting to be held in Cebu in the next two weeks.
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Senator Pia Cayetano on Monday challenged the National Historical Commission of the Philippines chair, Maria Sereno Diokno, to resign for failing to defend in the courts the Rizal Monument against Torre de Manila.
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Four Filipinos working in Saudi Arabia were reported to have contracted the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (Mers-Cov) and are now confined in a Riyadh hospital to receive the best possible health care.
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The camp of Vice President Jejomar C. Binay on Monday said the Senate ethics committee should investigate Senator Antonio Trillanes IV for using public funds to the tune of P1.63 million a month to pay his houseboy and family drivers, and to pay back donors who allegedly financed his senatorial campaign by hiring them as consultants.
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GT Capital Holdings, Inc. is strengthening its real estate business with its acquisition of a minority shares in Property Company of Friends, Inc. (PCFI) for P7.24 billion. After owning a 22.68-percent stake, the holding firm may opt to increase its stake to 51 percent within the next three years.
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Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. executed a Facility Agreement with The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. to gain a bridge loan of up to $400 million. This will be used to partly fund AEV’s investment in holding companies for the purpose of the acquisition of the various Philippine assets and businesses of Lafarge S.A., including the cement production and other cement-related businesses and services.
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Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. is finally pursuing a long-time plan to conduct an initial public offering (IPO) after a delay of 13 years.
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The Department of Energy is hopeful that a proposed bill that protects consumers from substandard liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) products will be enacted into law within the first semester of next year.
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Oil firms are implementing another round of price rollback in petroleum products to reflect movements in international oil prices.
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The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pililipinas (KMP) on Monday questioned the proposed P10.13 billion budget for the Department of Agrarian Reform. KMP said with the expiration of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program, the budget allocation is “a premeditated savings and funding source for LP bets in 2016.”
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DBM Secretary Florencio Abad says 88.7 percent of the 2015 national budget have been released by end of July this year to allow agencies and departments to facilitate spending for their programs.
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General wholesale prices of major commodities in the Philippines posted negative growth for the eighth consecutive month in June 2015.
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A lower court in Manila has junked the petition of the Benitez family to place the Philippine Women’s University in involuntary rehabilitation.
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Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Monday defended the Bureau of Customs’ move to rigidly inspect balikbayan boxes coming into the country on suspicion that these are being used to smuggle luxury goods and prohibited items.
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The Bangsamoro Basic Law and the Freedom of Information Act are in danger of being shelved by default as members in both houses of Congress polish up their gears for the presidential and local elections next year.