Nation

Employees walk past solar panels at a solar energy farm owned and operated by Valenzuela Solar Energy Inc. in Valenzuela City, Metro Manila on Saturday, May 28, 2022. PHOTO BY MARIA TAN BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO MANILA (June 7)—Global environment network Greenpeace International has urged the incoming administration of President-elect Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos to prioritize renewable energy for the country's power requirements instead of reviving the mothballed Bataan nuclear power plant. "We have yet to see detailed plans of the incoming administration for energy development, but recent statements that nuclear energy is the 'cleanest and cheapest' are not true and are dangerous assertions," Greenpeace campaigner Khevin Yu said. Yu said nuclear power is the most dangerous and mo...

BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO The Ifugao Rice Terraces was included in the World's Heritage Endangered List in 2001. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO THE Ifugao State University (IFSU) is holding an international summit featuring local and international researchers, policymakers and knowledge holders from different communities to discuss the current state of the Ifugao Rice Terraces (IRT). Faith Napudo, IFSU information officer, said this will be the first international summit on rice terraces assessment in the 101 years history of the IRT. With the theme "Understanding and Envisioning the State of the Ifugao Rice Terraces," the summit will be conducted via Zoom videoconference and Facebook live stream on March 18, 22, 25 and 29. Napudo said the summit aims to hatch out agreeable and scientific i...

DAGUPAN CITY (March 11)—Three radio broadcasters here are facing multiple counts of libel and cyber libel charges filed by the local chief executive of the municipality of Mangaldan in Pangasinan province. Mangaldan town Mayor Marilyn de Guzman-Lambino was accompanied by her counsel, lawyer Joseph Frianeza, when she filed the complaint before the City Prosecutor's Office here on March 8, 2022. The respondents in the libel case filed by de Guzman-Lambino are radio commentators Joel Balolong of DWCM Aksyon Radyo 1161 AM, Tito Tamayo of DWIZ 89.3 FM and Dennis Mojares of DWJE 88.1 FM. The libel cases stemmed from the "malicious" and "brutal" commentaries of the broadcasters when Lambino and her husband, lawyer Raul Lambino, were accused of rape, child abuse and physical injuries bef...

BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO (From left) United States Agency for International Development Philippines Mission Director Ryan Washburn and US Embassy in the Philippines Chargé d’Affaires ad interim Heather Variava join Finance Assistant Secretary Paola Alvarez, Philippine Climate Change Commission Commissioner Albert dela Cruz, and Catholic Relief Services Country Representative Karen Janes Ungar at the formal launch of the P750-million ($15 million) Climate Resilient Cities project. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO THE United States government launched on Thursday, March 10, a new project to build climate resilience in cities in the Philippines, one of the world's most disaster-prone countries. According to the Information Office Public Affairs Section (Iopas) of the US Embassy in the Philippines, th...

BY TVJ STAFF United States Peace Corps doctors and nurses help fill critical healthcare worker shortages and meet vaccine demand amid the Omicron surge in January and February. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO MANILA (March 7)—The United States (US) Peace Corps in partnership with the Department of Health (DoH) and the US Agency for International Development's (USAid) ReachHealth project is set to vaccinate more than 10,600 Filipinos, according to the US Embassy in the Philippines. Jenner Edelman, US Peace Corps country director, said during her visit to a mass vaccination clinic in Quezon City they are pleased to team up with the Philippine government and USAid to support this critical, nationwide effort to protect the Filipino people and get children safely back to school in person. The US...

REPUBLIC Act No. 11648, or the act increasing the age for determining statutory rape, received the President’s signature on March 4, 2022. The long-awaited law raises the age of sexual consent from twelve (12) to below sixteen (16) years old. “I know this has been long-awaited by many families and child rights advocates, and as a parent to three young kids myself, I was really adamant that we get this out for the President’s signature this Congress,” said Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, author and co-sponsor of the law. He also co-chaired the Senate bicameral conference committee panel for the bill, along with Sen. Richard Gordon. “At thirteen or fourteen, our kids cannot make informed decisions about sex yet, especially sex with adults, so this is a really important law ...

QUEZON CITY, Philippines (January 23)—GMA News and Public Affairs’ The Jessica Soho Presidential Interviews on Saturday pressed candidates on their personalities, controversies, and stances on issues, including their plan of action to mitigate climate disasters. The presidential bets briefly discussed building back better through climate-resilient infrastructure, preventing loss and damage, the transition to renewable energy, and applying local solutions at the national level. Reacting to this, Greenpeace Philippines Country Director Lea Guerrero said: “The discussion on climate issues has been lacking throughout the election season so far, particularly on the struggle for climate justice. This reflects the lack of ambitious plans in candidates’ platforms that would protect Filip...