Philippines

MANILA – Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Mark Villar on Wednesday confirmed that he has tested positive for the Covid-19 coronavirus. In a Facebook post, Villar reveals that he has received his test results and it came back as Covid-19 positive. The announcement was made a day after he was designated as the government’s isolation czar. He …

MANILA – President Duterte on Monday says he is very happy that he has ‘dismantled the oligarchy’ in the country without declaring martial law. According to Philippine President, he was able to dismantle the oligarchy that is controlling the country’s economy while taking advantage of their political power. “If I die, if the plane crashes, I will be very happy,” …

MANILA – Grandmaster Rogelio “Banjo” Barcenilla Jr. eyes an Olympic stint after topping the topping the tournament in the FIDE Online Olympiad 2020. GM Barncenilla, a two time Asian Juniors champion in India and Dubai and a Bronze medalist in the 1991 World Juniors championship took a step closer toward slots to the inaugural FIDE Online Chess Olympiad. He will …

MANILA – Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano on Monday said that it was the owners of the ABS-CBN are to blame for the network’s shutdown. According to his Facebook post, It wasn’t the government’s fault but rather the network’s owners he described as “oligarchs” and has avoided billions of funds that can supposedly benefit the country by skirting the law. Cayetano …

MANILA – Solicitor General Jose Calida praised the House of representatives for the decision to kill the franchise application of ABS-CBN. With the Solicitor General paraphrasing one of lines of Frank Sinatra’s most popular songs, telling the network: “And now, the end has come.”, the House franchise committee voted 70-11 on Friday to reject ABS-CBN’s franchise renewal. According to Calida, …

MANILA – The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) on Monday has suspended the ABS-CBN Corp trading of shares to give time to the network to inform investors on how the denial of franchise renewal application could affect the company’s business moving forward. The PSE said in an advisory that the local bourse have suspended the Philippine Depositary Receipts (PDRs) of the …

President Rodrigo Duterte is not authorized to designate groups as terrorist organizations under the new Anti-Terror Law, says Senator Panfilo Lacson According to the senator, Under the new act, Only the Court of Appeals or the Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) will have the authority to declare if one organization is a terrorist group. Lacson made the comments after Duterte declared that …

MANILA – With the franchise renewal application of ABS-CBN denied by the House of Representative, Vice President Leni Robredo urged the public to remember the names of the representatives who voted against the renewal and hold them accountable. [A] Pahayag ni Vice President Leni Robredo ukol sa pagbasura ng Kamara sa franchise renewal ng ABS-CBNFull text here: https://t.co/BH8ZRQklor pic.twitter.com/0fySxewzE5— Leni …

MANILA – Hidilyn Diaz continues to ramp up her preparations for the remaining qualifiers on the Tokyo Olympics, setting a personal record in backs squats. The 2016 Olympic silver medalist lifted a personal record of 161 kilograms in back squat to show how she’s serious she is in staying in form amid the rescheduleding of the Olympics due to the …

MANILA – The House of Representatives Committee on Legislative Franchises on Friday denied the franchise bid of media giant ABS-CBN after a series of hearings. In a vote of 70 to 11, the Legislative franchise committee has crushed the network’s hope to continue its operations under a fresh franchise. According to the legislators, they have voted to deny the application …