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The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is working to integrate its new railway lines as it revealed a connection between its massive Metro Manila subway and the so-called North South Commuter Railway (NSCR) project.   Timothy John Batan, Transportation undersecretary for railways, said they were studying a possible connection between the subway project and the NSCR in Bicutan.   The subway will span more than 30 kilometers and will run from Quezon City to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Southern Metro Manila. The NSCR will run 147 km and will link the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga to Calamba, Laguna, via Bulacan and Manila.   The subway proje...

Keep on reading: DOTr plans to integrate new railway lines

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO - Following his order in January to clean up the Manila Bay, President Duterte has been asked to certify as urgent a bill that seeks the creation of the Manila Bay Development Authority.   Bataan Rep. Jose Enrique Garcia III made the request for House Bill No. 01419 that has been pending with the House committee on appropriations.   It had passed the committees on government enterprises and ways and means since Garcia filed it on July 12, 2016.   In a Feb. 4 letter to Duterte, Garcia sounded off the need for a body "to be wholly dedicated to a singular, legal mandate: the rehabilitation, restoration and preservation of Manila Bay....

Keep on reading: Form Manila Bay body, Duterte asked

Manila Water Co. Inc. will start over the next four years the construction of seven wastewater facilities worth a total of P38.4 billion as it continues to strengthen its programs regarding used water.   Manila Water officials yesterday said the package was part of a P115-billion wastewater infrastructure program for the next 19 years or until the end of the company's concession with the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS)---covering the East Zone of Metro Manila and adjacent provinces.   Donna Perez, head of Manila Water's used water planning department, said in a briefing that the new batch of projects would be in addition to seven others that were ...

Keep on reading: Manila Water earmarks P38.4B for 7 wastewater facilities

  One: ice cream. Two: water fights. Three: staying up past your bedtime and being allowed to watch TV.   So goes the list of brilliant things at the heart of Duncan Macmillan and Jonny Donahoe's one-person play, "Every Brilliant Thing," now being given two vastly different lives by The Sandbox Collective under Jenny Jamora's sprightly, frequently playful direction.   In this 90-minute monologue, a girl journeys from childhood to early adulthood accompanied by the specter of her mother's mental illness and repeated suicide attempts. Bereft of more sophisticated coping mechanisms as a child, the protagonist crafts a litany of the things she deems wonderfu...

Keep on reading: How the manic-depressive becomes truly brilliant

The Philippine Basketball Association held a Players' Orientation as part of the league's Player Development Program at Meralco Theatre on Friday afternoon to help its athletes navigate life as public figures.   "This could help in promoting themselves and the league," commissioner Willie Marcial told reporters in Filipino. "This is also going to teach them how to groom themselves as well as bolster their financial literacy."   San Miguel Beer guard Chris Ross and former Alaska big man Tony dela Cruz led the parade of speakers, discussing the sensitive issue of mental health.   Other speakers included legend Ronnie Magsanoc, Chesca Tenorio, wife of Gi...

Keep on reading: League teaches players how to play game of life

There's going to be a marching band. An LGBTQ group will also lend its support. And then a parade of the eight teams from Oranbo Barangay Hall in Pasig City to nearby Ynares Sports Arena, where the opening games will be held.   When the opening fiesta dies down, two-time champion Foton will highlight a doubleheader as the Philippine Superliga Grand Prix fires off on Saturday.   The Tornadoes will challenge an overhauled United Volleyball Club (UVC) side at 4 p.m., which will be followed by the showdown between Generika-Ayala and Sta. Lucia.   Foton will still be without sisters Jaja Santiago and Dindin Manabat, who are playing as imports in Japan, but wil...

Keep on reading: Foton leads Grand Prix opening playdate

Davao City-based Unifrutti Tropical Philippines Inc. will develop an additional 700 hectares of land in Mindanao to increase its Cavendish banana exports.   In a statement, Unifrutti Tropical Philippines president and chief executive Alberto F. Bacani said the company last week signed a $19-million (about P1.045-billion) loan agreement with state-run Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) to finance the expansion.   "We have identified areas in Davao del Sur and Bukidnon whose local governments and landowners have expressed full willingness to work with us," Bacani said.   "The soon-to-be-developed banana farms have satisfied Unifrutti's key parameters...

Keep on reading: Davao-based banana exporter secures P1-B loan

Roxas Holdings Inc. (RHI) said it had lost the opportunity to advance the sugar industry in Southern Luzon, after the country's antitrust body blocked its deal with Gokongwei-led Universal Robina Corp (URC).   RHI said this in a stock market disclosure on Friday, a day after the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC) announced that URC's proposed acquisition of Central Azucarera de Don Pedro Inc. (Cadpi) was blocked to keep URC from becoming a monopoly at the expense of sugarcane planters.   Cadpi is a subsidiary of the country's largest integrated sugar business and biggest ethanol producer, RHI.   "The [RHI] Group is saddened by the unfavorable decisio...

Keep on reading: RHI: PCC move deprives S. Luzon sugar sector chance to advance

Dollars sent home to their local beneficiaries by expatriate Filipinos hit an all-time high in 2018, thanks to the growing volume of remittances from both short- and long-term workers abroad, the central bank said on Friday.   In a statement, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr. said personal remittances from overseas Filipinos registered a new record high of $3.2 billion in December 2018, higher by 3.6 percent compared to the level posted in the same month of the previous year.   More importantly, personal remittances grew by 3 percent year-on-year to reach $32.2 billion for the entire 2018---the highest annual level to date.   "The ...

Keep on reading: 2018 remittances hit all-time high

  MARAWI CITY --- Demolition and clearing of structures heavily damaged by the five-month war in 2017 between government forces and the Islamic State-inspired Maute group here began on Thursday, signaling the start of the rebuilding of Marawi, an official of the National Housing Authority (NHA) said.   Ikmat Bantuas, NHA field engineer, assured property owners that CJI General Services, a Batangas province-based contractor which won the contract to clear Sectors 2 to 9 of the city's ground zero, or the area where heavy fighting was centered, would only demolish structures that were allowed by their owners to be dismantled.   Mayor's property   Amo...

Keep on reading: Demolition of buildings at Marawi’s ground zero starts

The China-based technical partner of power grid operator National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) is spearheading efforts to generate solar power that would benefit over 1,000 residents in Zambales.   In a statement, the State Grid Corporation of China said the move came on the heels of Chinese President XI Jinping's state visit to the Philippines last year where he committed greater economic support for the Philippines.   As part of the closer ties between both countries, State Grid recently signed a memorandum of agreement with the National Electrification Administration (NEA) and the Zambales II Electric Cooperative (Zameco II) for the solar project. ...

Keep on reading: China’s State Grid to provide solar power for Zambales

  BOLINAO, PANGASINAN --- The management of a beach resort here voluntarily dismantled a concrete gazebo that it illegally built on top of a rock formation following a warning it received from local environment officials.   Angelo Reyes, pollution control officer of Treasures of Bolinao Beach Resort at Barangay Patar here, said they had taken down the structure to comply with the notice of violation issued to them last year.   The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in the Ilocos region said the resort's gazebo and "floating" bridge on top of a rock formation were illegal structures.   Notices of violation   The b...

Keep on reading: Resort removes structure on rock formation amid DENR crackdown

The local stock barometer ended the week in a sluggish mood as fresh US-China trade jitters tempered risk-taking across the region.   The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell by 82.36 points, or 1.03 percent, to close at 7,908.89, in line with mostly weaker markets in the region.   The PSEi was weighed down most by the financial counter, which fell by 2.65 percent, while services slumped by 1.38 percent.   The industrial and mining/oil counters also slipped, while the holding firm and property firms slightly gained.   Value turnover was heavy at P16.39 billion, including block trades. There were 127 decliners that edged out 83 advancers,...

Keep on reading: Stocks end week lower

From being a luxury brand inaccessible to many to being the streetwear of the Gen Z---that's the Gucci reinvention that's made this iconic brand the envy of the global luxury industry.   That Gucci is cool is nowhere more evident than in the Cruise 2019 men's collection, composed of over 70 looks. They range from streetwear, punk to tailored silhouettes.   To be You opted to go sporty and laid-back dapper.   Here are some ensembles we like.   A throwback Go for a full vintage GG-print look with this nylon oversized zipped jacket and jogging pants combo, so reminiscent of the '80s and early '90s sportswear. To makethe look more currentis ...

Keep on reading: When Gen Z goes vintage cool

It's been almost two years since RA 10931 (the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act) or the free tuition law was implemented in state universities and colleges.   The approval of the law, sponsored and co-authored by Sen. Bam Aquino, surprised students because it was projected to take effect in 2018---not 2017.   With this surprise came relief, especially for students whose families struggle to make ends meet.   Since August 2017, when the free tuition law took effect, more students from different high schools have taken an interest to attend college, for instance, at the University of the Philippines (UP) and other state-run schools. ...

Keep on reading: How freeing is free tuition?

Property giant Ayala Land Inc. grew its net profit last year by 16 percent to P29.2 billion, another record high for the company, as property development and leasing revenues expanded at a double-digit pace.   For the fourth quarter alone, Ayala Land's net profit grew by 13 percent year-on-year to P8.4 billion on the back of a 7-percent growth in revenue to P46.5 billion.   Consolidated revenue for the whole year climbed by 17 percent to P166.2 billion, driven by sustained demand for residential products and the robust performance of its leasing businesses, ALI disclosed to the Philippine Stock Exchange yesterday.   Property development revenue rose by 18...

Keep on reading: Ayala Land posted record profit in 2018

President Donald Trump on Friday signed a national emergency declaration to address "an invasion of our country with drugs, with human traffickers, with all types of criminals and gangs." He also spoke about a wide variety of issues, including trade with China and the national debt.

Two men have been arrested in connection to an attack reported by "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett, the Chicago Police Department said Friday.

Facebook is looking into suppressing certain anti-vaccine messaging on its social platform, a move that raises questions about free speech and public health.

Haitian President Jovenel Moise late Thursday rejected calls for his resignation and promised unspecified economic measures after more than a week of deadly anti-government protests.