National

QUALIFIED patients may soon receive therapeutic and palliative benefits from medical cannabis or marijuana under Senator Robinhood Padilla’s  proposal while Sen. Ronald ‘Bato’ Dela Rosa said safeguards are already in place  in the measures allowing the use of the plant. Sen. Padilla sponsored Senate Bill No. 2572 or the proposed Cannabis Medicalization Act of the…

TERRITORIAL DISPUTE. The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) reported on Tuesday (March 5, 2024) that one of their vessels sustained a minor damage after it figured in a collision with a Chinese Coast Guard vessel during a resupply mission for troops stationed at the BRP Sierra Madre at the Ayungin Shoal. Commodore Jay Tarriela, PCG spokesperson for…

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has expressed optimism that arrival of the high-level United States (US) trade and investment mission in the Philippines next week would improve the business partnerships of both countries. “There will be a high-level delegation comprised of 22 business delegates, C-level representatives from strategic sectors and the discussion next week is,…

University of the Philippines Institute for Maritime Affairs and Law of the Sea director Jay Batongbacal, a Filipino political expert, said China would be in trouble and stands to lose more if it imposes economic sanctions and engages in a trade war with the Philippines. Batongbacal pointed out that it is actually Beijing that benefits more from its trade ties with…

MANILA – The Commission on Elections (Comelec) and the South Korean firm Miru Systems will sign Monday the joint venture contact for the Full Automation System with Transparency Audit/Count (FASTrAC) project or the 2025 automated election system (AES) worth P18 billion. The AES service contract signing will be held at the Palacio del Gobernador headquarters of the poll body in Intramuros, Manila. The Comelec has expressed gratitude to Miru Systems Co Ltd, Integrated…

The Supreme Court (SC) has affirmed the validity of a law enacted in 1998 allowing the government to take control of private entities engaged in the oil industry during emergencies, as directed by the President. In its 37-page decision published online Tuesday, the SC reversed a 2013 Court of Appeals (CA) decision and said the…

DIPLOMATIC TIES. The Philippine Monument in Gyeonggi province built by the South Korean Ministry of National Defense in October 1974 to remember the Filipinos who fought to defend the security and freedom of the Republic of Korea. The Philippines and South Korea mark 75 years of diplomatic relations formally established on March 3, 1949. (PNA photo…

MANILA – The United States and the Philippines have partnered to provide Burmese youth with the opportunity to pursue quality higher education through a five-year initiative being funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID). The US Embassy in Manila on Tuesday said the Philippines was selected as one of the Asian countries where these…

MANILA – The Philippine government demanded that China remove “immediately” its vessels from the vicinity of Ayungin Shoal after protesting the dangerous maneuvers of the China Coast Guard (CCG) that caused minor damage and injuries to a Filipino resupply mission en on Tuesday morning. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) summoned on Tuesday afternoon Chinese Deputy…

The Embassy of India in Manila has launched the first India-Philippine Tech Summit (IPTS) designed to help boost the economic and strategic partnership between the two countries through the use of digital technology. In his speech during the IPTS launch at Shangri-La The Fort in Taguig City, Indian Ambassador to Manila Shambhu Kumaran cited the need for developing countries to develop partnerships among…