News Alert

Philippines' MANILA To address shortcomings in the way media and information literacy is currently taught in schools, journalism professors from the University of the Philippines Diliman inaugurated a media and information literacy (MIL) channel on Friday. A teacher's module and a series of video tutorials explaining the fundamentals of spotting misinformation, fact-checking, and the role that journalists play in a democratic society are included in the UP Department of Journalism's media literacy project, which brings together seasoned journalists from competing media networks. The event's keynote speaker, Fernando Paragas, dean of the UP College of Mass Communication, emphasized that the media…

Philippines' MANILA The Malolos Regional Trial Court Branch 19 has dismissed all allegations against retired major general Jovito Palparan for kidnapping, grave illegal detention, and severe physical harm. Farmers Raymond and Reynaldo Manalo had filed the charges against him ten years prior. The Manalo brothers were surprised by the unexpected ruling and were joined by their legal counsel from the National Union of People's Lawyers (NUPL) and the parents of Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeo. The Manalo brothers' supporters, NUPL, expressed shock and dismay at the court's ruling, calling it "unbelievable." Edre Olalia, chairman of the National Union of People's…

Over the previous day, the Mayon Volcano, which is currently at Alert Level 3, has had MORE volcanic earthquakes and rock fall occurrences. According to the Mayon Volcano Network's monitoring, more volcanic earthquakes and rock falls occurred on October 4 than on October 3, when there were five and 92, respectively. On the one hand, the volcano has measured 1, 838 tons of sulphur dioxide (SO2) per day, which was marginally less than the 1, 969 tons/day recorded on October 3.

Philippines' MANILA According to the administration, Philippine boats supplied crucial supplies to military forces stationed aboard BRP Sierra Madre in Ayungin Shoal despite Chinese vessels' attempts to obstruct the resupply mission. The grounded BRP Sierra Madre was successfully reached by two supply ships on Wednesday evening, according to the National Task Force for the West Philippine Sea, "despite attempts by a significant number of China Coast Guard and Chinese maritime militia vessels to block, harass, and interfere with the rotation and resupply mission." Three CCG ships were nearby, according to Ray Powell, project manager of the Gordian Knot Center for…

MANILA, Philippines — A Grade 5 student who was slapped by his teacher died from the swelling of his brain, according to his death certificate, but a forensic expert says an autopsy is still needed to confirm if the teacher’s slap caused the brain condition. Released Wednesday by the Amang Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center, the death certificate of 14-year-old Francis Jay Gumikib shows he died of global brain edema, according to a News5 Frontline Pilipinas report. The death certificate also stated that “suspected presumptive pulmonary tuberculosis” and “child physical abuse” were significant contributing conditions to Gumikib’s demise. But further review is…

Philippines' MANILA For the month of September 2023, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported a considerable increase in the inflation rate, which was mostly caused by sharp increases in the price of food, particularly rice, and the ongoing rise in transportation costs as a result of rising fuel prices. The inflation rate, which gauges how quickly prices for basic goods and services are rising, was higher in September 2022 than it was in August, when 5.3% was recorded, but it was still somewhat below that month's 6.9% reading. The total inflation rate in September increased from 8.1% in August to…

TYPHOON The state-run weather bureau warned that "Jenny" is unlikely to directly impact the nation when it leaves the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) on Thursday afternoon or evening. However, according to meteorological expert Aldczar Aurelio of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, the typhoon is expected to make landfall over the southern part of Taiwan early on Thursday. Jenny is moving westward at 10 kilometers per hour (kph), with maximum sustained winds of 175 kph around the center and gustiness of up to 215 kph, and is estimated to be 140 kilometers north-northwest of Itbayat, Batanes. Pagasa…

Philippines capital MANILA (updated 11:49 a.m.) – The Philippine Coast Guard said on Wednesday that three Filipino fishermen perished after their fishing boat was rammed by a foreign commercial vessel off Bajo de Masinloc. Around 4:20 a.m. on Monday, a still-unidentified foreign vessel struck the Filipino fishing boat Dearyn while it was tethered to a payao, or floating fish aggregating device, 85 nautical miles northeast of Bajo de Masinloc, commonly known as Scarborough Shoal. The crew of the mother boat "failed to detect an unidentified vessel approaching due to adverse weather conditions causing darkness, resulting in a collision that caused…