Nation

MANILA (June 16)—The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has expressed support for the Department of Education's (DepEd) introduction of the "Basic Education Development Plan 2030" (BEDP 2030) which will serve as a framework for improving the delivery and quality of basic education in the Philippines for the next decade. The DepEd said the BEDP 2030 aims to alleviate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, address access gaps, and build resilience. In a statement, lawyer Jacqueline Ann de Guia, CHR executive director, said the commission recognizes this effort of DepEd to enhance access, equity, quality and resiliency of the Philippine education system through structured goals and long-term plans. De Guia said CHR appreciates the agency's responsiveness to the existing and emerging iss...

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...