PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte will hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin via telephone, Malacañang confirmed on Tuesday. Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. made the confirmation after Duterte’s former aide and now Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong ” Go first announced the scheduled phone conversation between the President and Putin. Roque, however, refused to divulge when the […]

AN alleged leader of an organized crime group was killed in a gunfight with police in Manila on Tuesday after resisting a warrant of arrest. Lt. Col. Rosalino Ibay of the Manila Police District-Special Mayor’s Reaction Team (MPD-SMaRT) identified the suspect as Rommel Tiatco of Inocencio St., Barangay 93 in Tondo District.  Tiatco was to […]

LONDON: British police are seeking thieves who bagged the world’s largest rabbit named Darius from his owner’s garden. West Mercia Police said they were appealing for information after the brown-and-white bunny disappeared on Saturday night from his pen in Stoulton in central England. Darius, a Continental Giant rabbit, was recognized by Guinness World Records as […]

GENEVA: Europe passed the grim milestone of one million coronavirus deaths on Monday, as the World Health Organization warned that infections are rising exponentially despite widespread efforts aimed at stopping them. The death toll across Europe’s 52 countries, compiled by Agence France-Presse from official sources, totaled at least 1,000,288 by 1830 GMT. “We are in […]

THE Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is extending the no disconnection policy until the end of April even if Metro Manila and adjacent provinces are now under a less stringent lockdown. “Given the ongoing pandemic situation and the latest quarantine measures, and always conscious of the challenges our customers are facing amid these trying times, we […]

BAD loans incurred by the Philippine banking system inched up to more than P431 billion as of February this year, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). Preliminary central bank data showed on Tuesday that lenders’ gross non performing loans (NPL) ballooned to P431.26 billion at end-February, climbing by 79.76 percent from P239.27 billion […]

FORMER president Joseph Ejercito “Erap” Estrada tested negative for the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), his son confirmed on Tuesday. Ex-senator Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, in a Facebook post, said this was the result of his father’s swab test as he continues to recover, with doctors allowing him to have a “soft diet.” “We are happy to announce […]

Good Day! Here are the top stories of The Manila Times for Tuesday, April 13, 2021. READ: DA chief denies pork kickbacks On Monday, Department of Agriculture or DA Secretary William Dar denied allegations that some groups earned kickbacks from the importation of pork amid the shortage of supply because of the African swine fever. […]

Net inflows of foreign direct investments (FDI) grew by 41.5 percent to $961 million in January from $679 million a year ago, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) said. In a report on Monday, the BSP said the increase was due to the 116-percent expansion in non-residents’ net investment in debt instruments to $535 million […]

Quarantine measures in NCR Plus seen taking toll on economy The Interagency Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) might revise downward the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for this year to take into account the impact of the more stringent quarantine measures imposed in the National Capital Region (NCR) and surrounding provinces, collectively known […]

AGRICULTURE Secretary William Dar on Monday denied allegations that some groups earned kickbacks from the importation of pork amid the shortage of supply because of the African swine fever (ASF). Dar appeared during the first hearing by the Senate Committee of the Whole on the questionable increased pork importation under the Minimum Access Volume (MAV) […]

The country has logged more than 15,000 deaths since the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic began, with an additional 204 deaths, according to the Department of Health. It was the fourth straight day that the death toll hovered above 200. The DoH reported 11,378 new cases on Monday, for a total of 876,225. Of this, […]

TEHRAN: Tehran urged Seoul on Sunday to release billions of dollars of Iranian funds frozen in South Korea under US sanctions over its nuclear program, during a visit by the South Korean premier. “We call on the [South] Korean government to release Iran’s financial resources as soon as possible,” Iran’s First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri […]

WASHINGTON, D.C.: Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell said he was more worried about the risk of a large-scale cyberattack than another financial crisis like that of 2008. The risks of a 2008-like crisis with a need for government bailouts of banks were “very, very low,” the head of the US central bank said during an […]

A low pressure area spotted outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) is likely to become a storm in the next three days, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said on Monday. The LPA located 1,845 kilometers east of Mindanao has not affected most parts of the country, according to weather specialist Meno […]

Barangay Ginebra head coach Tim Cone said it was bittersweet to let go of Greg Slaughter to get his hands on Christian Standhardinger. Last March, Ginebra sent the 7-foot Slaughter to the NorthPort Batang Pier in exchange for the 6-foot-8 Standhardinger. “It’s always bittersweet because Greg Slaughter and I were very close,” Cone said in […]

AUGUSTA: With a new coach solving swing issues and reduced celebrity media stress this week, Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama finds himself on the verge of a historic victory at the Masters. Matsuyama fired a seven-under par 65 on Saturday (Sunday in Manila), his low score in 37 career rounds at Augusta National and the week’s first […]

Filipino fighter Jerwin Ancajas defeated Mexican Jonathan Rodriguez via unanimous decision to successfully defend his International Boxing Federation (IBF) super flyweight belt for the ninth time on Sunday (Philippine time) at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut. Despite a 16-month layoff, Ancajas displayed superb boxing prowess to get the scorecards 115-112, 116-111, and 117-110. […]

More Filipinos are dying of Covid-19, especially in the National Capital Region (NCR), a team of researchers said on Sunday. A special report published by OCTA Research said that the case fatality rate (CFR) in NCR rose to 2.02 percent, compared to 1.8 percent last October 2020. “This means a higher percentage of people are […]

Police over the weekend seized P81.6 million worth of “shabu” in separate operations in the cities of Pasay and Parañaque that left three drug suspects dead. On Sunday, agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency conducted a buy-bust in Barangay 201 in Pasay City. Upon sensing that they were dealing with police officers, the drug […]

At least half a million doses of Sinovac vaccine arrived in the country on Sunday. Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr., along with other officials of the National Task Force against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), witnessed the unloading of the vaccine at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. The shipment is part of the 25 million doses […]

President Rodrigo Duterte has downgraded the quarantine classification in the National Capital Region (NCR) and four nearby provinces to a less stringent Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ), Malacañang said Sunday. Presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said the NCR, the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Bulacan and Rizal, the city of Santiago in Quirino and Abra will […]

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Benhur Abalos said on Sunday that the government is set to hire 14,000 contact tracers to be deployed in the National Capital Region (NCR). Contact tracers will be paid according to the NCR minimum wage rate. The project was estimated to cost P213 million. Abalos said he managed to convince Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello 3rd to […]

AFTER nearly a week of being quiet, Taal Volcano again came to life, spewing gas and shaking the ground with dozens of tremors, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said. In the past 24 hours, the agency recorded more than 200 volcanic earthquakes and almost 2,000 tons of gas emission. The Taal Volcano […]

LONDON: The funeral of Queen Elizabeth 2nd’s husband, Prince Philip, will take place next week, Buckingham Palace said on Saturday, announcing a stripped-back ceremony due to coronavirus restrictions, and a return for exiled royal Prince Harry but not his wife, Meghan. The announcement came as the couple’s eldest son, heir to the throne Prince Charles, […]

LUXOR: Archaeologists Saturday showed off their finds at what they say is the “largest” ancient city ever found in Egypt, dating to a golden age of the pharaohs 3,000 years ago. At the site near Luxor, home of the legendary Valley of the Kings, workers carefully carried ancient pots and showed human and animal remains […]

BRUSSELS: Europe’s stuttering vaccine rollout faced multiple hurdles on Friday (Saturday in Manila) as European Union regulators said they were reviewing side effects of the Johnson & Johnson shot and France further limited its use of the AstraZeneca jab. The US drugs regulator said it had not found a “causal” link between the J&J vaccine […]

FILIPINO International Boxing Federation (IBF) super flyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas aims for his ninth successful title defense as he faces Mexican Jonathan Rodriguez at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut today, April 11. The bout is set at 9 a.m. (Philippine time) airing live on the One Sports+ Facebook page. Carrying a 32-1-2 win-loss-draw record […]

A joint Bureau of Customs-Bureau of Internal Revenue (BoC-BIR) team will begin this month field testing enforcement activities on all petroleum products to determine compliance with the law-mandated fuel marking program (FMP). Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero disclosed on Friday that beginning on April 26, 2021, the joint BoC-BIR team would start its inspection of gasoline, […]

PRESIDENTIAL Communications Secretary Martin Andanar has completed his mandatory quarantine and recovered from Covid-19 more than a week after announcing he tested positive for the disease. Meanwhile, Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. on Saturday confirmed he is currently admitted to Philippine General Hospital after he tested positive again for Covid-19. Roque has a heart condition […]

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake took place late Saturday afternoon in Davao Occidental, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said. Renato Solidum, Phivolcs chief,  told The Manila Times that the quake happened at about 5:30 p.m. Tectonic in origin, the quake has a depth of 314 kilometers, Solidum said. He said the epicenter of the earthquake […]