Inquirer Breaking News

CEBU CITY---Tourists planning to visit Cebu must heed COVID-19 health protocols set by the local government or face stiff penalties. The Cebu Provincial Board, the province's lawmaking body, on Monday (Sept. 28) passed an ordinance setting a P5,000 fine and one year of imprisonment for tourists who would refuse to heed health and safety rules in the province's tourism sites. "We need this ordinance because we have tourism stakeholders that are asking why some of them are implementing the province's protocols while others are not," said Board Member Andrei "Red" Duterte of Cebu's fifth district and the ordinance's main sponsor. Aside from tourists, local officials, operators and ...

Keep on reading: ‘Going for quality, not quantity’: In allowing tourists back, Cebu warns vs COVID-19 protocol violation

UNITED NATIONS --- This year's U.N. General Assembly meeting began with calls for multilateralism and cooperation --- a declaration that the urgency for countries to unite "has rarely been greater." It concluded with a parade of divisive grievances that echoed when the final gavel fell. Leader after leader in days of speeches delivered virtually stressed the importance of working together to navigate the coronavirus outbreak and the challenges that lie beyond it. As Germany's foreign minister put it, COVID-19 "shows that international cooperation is neither an ideology nor an end in itself. On the contrary, it delivers results, far beyond the actual pandemic." Words, though, are no...

Keep on reading: UN meeting that began with unity concludes with divisions

  DUBAI, United Arab Emirates --- Kuwait's Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al Ahmad Al Sabah was sworn in Wednesday as the ruling emir of the tiny oil-rich country, propelled to power by the death of his half-brother after a long career in the security services.   At age 83, Sheikh Nawaf is not expected to deviate from the diplomatic path charted by his predecessor, the late Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah. But his accession touched off speculation about who will become the next crown prince in the country known for its lively elected parliament and relative independence in the neighborhood of Gulf Arab monarchies.   The late Sheikh Sabah was set to make his fi...

Keep on reading: Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf sworn in as new ruler of Kuwait

MANILA, Philippines --- Malacaang is pleased that the majority of Filipinos continue to practice minimum health standards against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), such as wearing face masks, washing of hands, and maintaining physical distancing months into the country's fight against the pandemic. The Palace was reacting to a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey released Tuesday, which showed that in the past month, 79% of Filipinos "always" use a face mask when going out of their houses, 67% always wash their hands several times a day, 60% always observe physical distancing, and 56% always use a face shield whenever riding public transportation or going to establishments like...

Keep on reading: Palace pleased majority of Filipinos follow health measures vs COVID-19

MANILA, Philippines---Senator Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel on Wednesday asked the Department of Trade and Industry to create an online shopping platform exclusive for Filipino-made products. The online platform would cater to the country's micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that use the internet to sell their products amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. "I challenge the DTI to come up, in house, with an online shopping platform. The idea is that the seller must be an MSME and the product being sold must be made or grown in the Philippines. A transactional shopping platform and not a mere 'portal' listing MSMEs and their products," said Pimentel in a statement. Pime...

Keep on reading: Koko Pimentel to DTI: Create online shopping platform for Filipino-made products

MANILA, Philippines---Bulacan residents will now be able to avail themselves of free livelihood training from the government thanks to a San Miguel Corp.-funded skills development program that will be administered by the Technical Education Skills and Development Authority (Tesda). The scheme was launched on Wednesday (Sept. 30) for an initial batch of 60 participants --- a number expected to grow into the thousands --- ahead of the construction of the conglomerate's P734-billion Manila International Airport in Bulakan, Bulacan. San Miguel president Ramon Ang said the training program that is open to all Bulacan residents is part of the firm's job-creation initiative to help Filipi...

Keep on reading: San Miguel starts skills training for Bulacan residents ahead of P734-B airport project

MANILA, Philippines --- Filipino boxing stars Jerwin Ancajas and Eumir Marcial on Wednesday left for Los Angeles where they will continue their training hoping to secure separate fights in the United States. Ancajas was originally scheduled to defend his IBF super flyweight title against Mexican challenger Jonathan Rodriguez but the bout got postponed many times due to visa problems and the coronavirus pandemic. "He's just coming over here to train and prepare and hopefully, we can give him a fight by the end of the year," said Manny Pacquiao Promotions president Sean Gibbons. "The pandemic really set Jerwin back. We had some issues getting his visa which we resolved. He has...

Keep on reading: Jerwin Ancajas, Eumir Marcial off to US for training

MANILA, Philippines---Government debt further rose to a new high of P9.62 trillion in August, while the World Bank has approved a $600-million loan to finance cash aid to the poorest during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a report on Wednesday (Sept 30), the Bureau of the Treasury said the national government debt rose by 4.9 percent from July's P9.16 trillion mainly coming from local sources, especially the record P516.3 billion in five-year retail treasury bonds (RTB) issued last August. Domestic debt increased to P6.71 trillion, while the value of foreign debt slightly declined to P2.902 trillion due to a stronger peso, which appreciated to 48.483:$1 in August from 49.114 against the ...

Keep on reading: WB OKs $600-M loan for poorest in PH as country grapples with new record-high debt

  LUCKNOW, India --- An Indian court on Wednesday acquitted all 32 people who had been accused of crimes in a 1992 attack and demolition of a 16th-century mosque that sparked Hindu-Muslim violence leaving some 2,000 people dead.   Four senior leaders of the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party had been among the defendants at the trial that languished in India's sluggish legal system for almost 28 years.   Seventeen of the 49 accused died of natural causes during the trial.   The four-party leaders were accused of making inflammatory speeches that incited tens of thousands of their followers who had camped out in Ayodhya ahead of th...

Keep on reading: 32 acquitted in razing of mosque that set off India violence

MANILA, Philippines --- Taguig-Pateros Rep. Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday offered his resignation as Speaker of the lower chamber, one day after news broke out that Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco will take over the post starting October 14 in line with the two lawmakers' term-sharing agreement. This came after President Rodrigo Duterte intervened and met with both Cayetano and Velasco on Tuesday night to settle the feud as the speakership issue in the lower chamber heats up. "I will not be a party to letting the President down so I am offering my resignation here and now to you my dear colleagues. My fate and the fate of the 2021 budget and the fate of the leadership of the ...

Keep on reading: Cayetano offers resignation as Speaker of the House of Representatives

MANILA, Philippines --- The Philippine National Police (PNP) will look into the fake Facebook accounts that were removed and were traced to police officers, PNP spokesman Ysmael Yu said Wednesday. In a statement, Yu said the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group and Information Technology Management Service are "asking for the list of alleged Facebook accounts linked to the PNP." "Should there be updates, it will be from their end to feedback to the Chief PNP (Gen. Camilo Cascolan)," Yu said. When sought for reaction on the takedown of the Facebook accounts, Yu said the police organization respects Facebook's decision. "PNP has no problem with this issue. FB (Facebook) owns its website, ...

Keep on reading: PNP units to look into removed fake Facebook accounts linked to police officers

MANILA, Philippines --- The Philippines' COVID-19 cases shot up to 311,694 after 2,426 new infections were recorded, according to the latest data provided by the Department of Health (DOH) released Wednesday. The data also showed that of the total number of cases, 52,702 are active cases, of which 86.4 percent are mild cases, nine percent are asymptomatic, 3.2 percent are critical cases and 1.4 percent are severe cases. Metro Manila has the most number of newly-announced cases with 887, followed by Cavite with 201, Rizal with 147, Negros Occidental with 115 and Batangas with 99. There were also 585 new recoveries and 58 additional deaths, bringing the total number to 253,488...

Keep on reading: COVID-19 cases in PH reach 311,694 with 2,426 new infections

MANILA, Philippines --- President Rodrigo Duterte asked Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco to move the term-sharing agreement to December to make way for the proposed 2021 budget, Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano claimed on Wednesday. Cayetano made the remark as he addressed the members of the lower chamber one day after news broke out that Velasco would take over as speaker of the House on October 14, true to the term-sharing agreement. "Because of this, the President repeatedly asked Congressman Velasco to move the term sharing agreement to December so that Congress may be able to finish the budget. Ang Pangulo pa ang nakiusap (The President himself made the request)," Cayetano said. ...

Keep on reading: Velasco rejected Duterte’s plea to move term-sharing deal to December — Cayetano

MANILA, Philippines --- Borrowers took out less foreign currency loans from local bank at the end of the second quarteras the ongoing coronavirus pandemic forced companies to cut down on their dollar-denominated funding needs, according to the central bank. In a statement, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Benjamin Diokno said that, as of end-June 2020, outstanding loans granted by foreign currency deposit units of banks stood at $18 billion. This was lower by $303 million or by 1.7 percent from the end-March 2020 level of $18.3 billion as principal repayments exceeded disbursements. "The slowdown in FCDU lending may be due to lower customer inventory financing needs and ...

Keep on reading: Pandemic tempers PH firms’ appetite for local dollar loans in second quarter

MANILA, Philippines --- House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday dared Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco to probe the Philippine Sea Games Organizational Committee (Phisgoc), which the former chairs, over alleged anomalies in the hosting of the 30th Southeast Asian Games. Cayetano said he will resign or Velasco can put him in jail if he can prove that there were anomalies in the private foundation which was tasked to prepare and oversee the sports event held last year. "Natawa nga ako sa sinabi ni Congressman Velasco, sabi niya, 'Mr. President gusto ko nga paimbestigahan yung Phisgoc e.' Sabi ko po, 'Mr. President, paimbestigahan niyo po dahil wala kayong makikita,'" Cayetan...

Keep on reading: Cayetano dares Velasco to probe Phisgoc: Put me in jail if you find anomalies

When it came to gender pay disparity, Chadwick Boseman put his money where his mouth was, according to Sienna Miller. The actress recalled how the "Black Panther" star chose to pay part of her fees from his own pocket when he hired her for cop thriller "21 Bridges," Empire reported on Monday, Sept. 28. Boseman was a producer and actor in the said movie. Miller said she "didn't know whether or not to tell this story," but decided to after his death, "because I think it's a testament to who he was." Boseman died on Aug. 28 after battling colon cancer. The "Alfie" star shared her admiration for him, stating, "He was a fan of my work, which was thrilling, because it was reciproc...

Keep on reading: Chadwick Boseman gave part of his salary to ‘21 Bridges’ costar Sienna Miller

Jimmy Butler says the Miami Heat don't see themselves as NBA Finals underdogs despite starting the season as rank outsiders for the title. Miami takes on the Los Angeles Lakers in game one on Wednesday with a chance of becoming one of the longest-odds champions in basketball history. Before the season tipped off 11 months ago, Miami was regarded as 60-1 shots of finishing the campaign as champions. Some bookmakers pegged them at 110-1. Even before the season restarted in Orlando in July, the Heat were a generous 30-1 to win the title, with the dominant Milwaukee Bucks expected to emerge as the Eastern Conference representatives in the finals. But fifth seeds Miami, the th...

Keep on reading: Butler shrugs off ‘underdog’ tag as Heat brace for Lakers

MANILA, Philippines --- The Senate can work with the House of Representatives regardless of who sits at its helm, Senate President Vicente Sotto III assured Wednesday. "We can work with any Speaker as long as we have the same perspective," Sotto said in a message to reporters. Sotto said lawmakers can continue working on priority measures through a "mini" Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) even there would be a change in the leadership of the House. "Never had [a LEDAC meeting] since the pandemic," he noted. On Tuesday night, President Rodrigo Duterte met with Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano and Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco as speakership issues ling...

Keep on reading: Sotto: Senate ‘can work with any Speaker’

SEOUL --- Tucked away in the dazzling neon lights of Seoul's nightlife district, Club MWG, one of the capital's oldest underground music venues, closed its doors last weekend as the pandemic crunch begins to bite South Korean nightclubs. Founded in 1994, Club MWG enjoyed its heyday in the 1990s when underground clubs were rare in the South's capital. An intimate space with room to host 200 people, the club in Hongdae district was known for indie band performances and popular DJs, as well as LGBT party events. But in the past decade, the venue struggled with increasing competition as the district became more commercialized. Then the pandemic broke out -- since May, Seoul's...

Keep on reading: The day the music died: Virus kills one of Seoul’s oldest nightclubs

Anytime is a good time for Mang Inasal's flavorful and delectable Palabok. Whether you want to perk up your afternoon with a satisfying merienda, reward yourself for a job well done at work, or celebrate bonding moments at home, the Mang Inasal Palabok is a winning choice! It has been made more satisfying with more pork meat toppings, delicately sauted with balanced spices. Each serving is topped with a rich and savory thick sauce, sprinkled with spring onion, chicharron, and hard-boiled egg. Did you know that the Mang Inasal Palabok traces its roots to the popular Red Ribbon Palabok? When the bakeshop brand discontinued offering meals, Mang Inasal gladly took on the task ...

Keep on reading: Treat yourself and the family to a satisfying merienda of Mang Inasal Palabok