President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. placed the Ayuda Para sa Kapos Ang Kita Program (AKAP) funding for 2025 under conditional implementation. Marcos signed on Monday the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) in a ceremony at Malacañang Palace in Manila. He vetoed over P194 billion in line items which he deemed inconsistent with the administration’s priorities….
Pope Francis on Sunday appointed Bishop Roberto Mallari to lead the 61-year-old Diocese of Tarlac. The pontiff made the announcement in Rome around 7:00 p.m. Manila time. Mallari replaces the late Bishop Enrique Macaraeg who passed away in October 2023. He has been serving as San Jose, Nueva Ecija bishop since July 2012. As Tarlac…
The year 2024 is a good year for Ilocos Norte, with an 8.6% expansion, the fastest among four provinces in Region I. This year, the resilience of the Ilocanos has been tested. After the devastating impact of El Niño came La Niña, which brought series of typhoons, and the continuing threat of African swine fever…
Government forces on Sunday confiscated high-powered firearms from a civilian while serving a warrant of arrest against a murder suspect in the Special Geographic Area of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (SGA-BARMM). The Special Security Task Group in SGA-BARMM, composed of police and military personnel, arrested Kaka Ali, a resident of Barangay Manaulanan,…
A passenger plane en route from Norway to the Netherlands veered off the runway during an emergency landing on Sunday, marking the third such incident in 24 hours, following a deadly crash in South Korea that claimed 179 lives. “Flight #KL1204, a Boeing 737-800, veered off the right side of runway 18 after landing at…
Qatar Tourism, the regulatory body of the tourism sector, announced on Sunday that the country welcomed more than 5-million visitors in 2024, marking a 25% increase in international arrivals compared to 2023. “Surpassing five million visitors is a landmark accomplishment for Qatar, bringing us closer to realizing our vision of positioning the country as one…
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Monday signed the 2025 national budget into law, vetoing more than P194 billion in line items deemed inconsistent with his administration’s priorities. The vetoed provisions primarily involve projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and a significant increase in unprogrammed appropriations. In his address, Marcos highlighted…
Dating back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the Zhengyangmen Archery Tower, located along Beijing’s central axis, opened to the public on December 26. Situated at the southern end of Tian’anmen Square, the Zhengyangmen Gate comprises two structures: the gate tower to the north and the archery tower to the south. The gate highlights the traditional…
Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States, died on Sunday at his home in Plains, Georgia, at the age of 100, the Carter Center confirmed. In a post on X, the Carter Center wrote, “Our founder, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia.” Carter’s cause of death has…
The Department of Finance (DOF) reported over the weekend that non-tax revenues reached P555.30 billion as of end of November 2024, a 45.6% increase compared to the same period last year. This made the DOF hit an all-time high non-tax revenue collections this year, providing additional resources to fund key programs of the Marcos administration,…