MANILA – The chairperson of the House Ways and Means Committee on Tuesday asked the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) to verify the licenses and product specifications of an e-cigarette maker for possible tax evasion and tax fraud. Committee chair and Albay Rep. Joey Salceda made the appeal during the hearing on some 1.4 million 10-ml. disposable vapes bearing the mark FLAVA, an e-cigarette label, were found in a warehouse in Valenzuela City. According to the Bureau of Customs, PHP1.43 billion is the total aggregate value of the goods with an estimated value of PHP700 million at PHP500 each, an ..read more

MANILA – The statement of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on not cooperating with the International Criminal Court (ICC) in its probe of former President Rodrigo R. Duterte's war on drugs, was reemphasized by senators saying only the President has the discretion on the matter as the chief architect of the country's foreign policy. Senator Imee Marcos, in a statement on Tuesday, said the President's statement is clear and she agrees with it. She made the statement following a Senate resolution filed by Senate Deputy Minority Leader Risa Hontiveros, urging President Marcos to coopera ..read more

SEOUL – The vote for the host city of the 2030 World Expo is set to take place in Paris on Tuesday, with South Korea's southeastern city of Busan making last-ditch efforts to pull off an upset in the competition against two other candidates. The host country will be selected by the member states of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the body responsible for overseeing the globally prestigious event with the potential to generate economic benefits and stimulate job creation, during its general assembly later in the day. Busan is contending against Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Rome, It ..read more

MANILA – Speaker Martin Romualdez on Tuesday lauded Sugbo Merkadong Barato (Cebu’s Cheap Market) program as a "revolutionary" initiative that deserves replication across the country for offering quality rice at an unprecedented price of PHP20 per kilo. During his speech at the program's launch at Talisay City Hall, Romualdez said the initiative was made possible under the visionary leadership of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., adding that it "signifies a pivotal step towards achieving food security and economic resilience for the nation." One of Marcos' campaign promises is to bring down th ..read more

MANILA – The police arrested a firefighter in Zamboanga del Sur for allegedly promising recruitment slots for aspirants to the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) in exchange for a fee. In a report Tuesday, BFP-9 (Zamboanga Peninsula) director Fire Chief Supt. Renato Marcial said suspect Fire Officer (FO) 3 Jesson Casanes, currently assigned at the Isabela City Fire Station in Basilan province, was nabbed by agents of the Criminal Investigation and Detective Group - Zamboanga del Sur in an entrapment in Purok Crossing, Barangay Sicade, Kumalarang town on Monday afternoon. Seized from the suspect w ..read more

KABACAN, North Cotabato – Four persons died in a road crash here involving a passenger van and two motorcycles on Monday night, police said. Maj. Maxim Peralta, town police chief, identified the fatalities as Mohaimen Bangkailan, 29; and Nasser Mansag Cadulong, the motorbike drivers; also Almina Bangkailan, 21, and Kalya Sacanda, their respective back riders. “The motorcycle-riding victims collided head-on with the passenger van around 8:16 p.m. in Barangay Kayaga here. Our investigation is still ongoing as to who is at fault,” Peralta said in a report Tuesday. He said the victims bore seri ..read more

COTABATO CITY – A village in North Cotabato’s town of Pigcawayan that now forms part of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) is a recipient of a PHP25-million public market from the regional government. In an interview on Tuesday, Naguib Sinarimbo, BARMM interior minister, said the officials of Barangay Datu Binasing in the Pigcawayan Cluster of the Special Geographic Area (SGA)-BARMM in North Cotabato received the facility on Monday. “The market, strategically located in the interior part of Pigcawayan, will create jobs and business opportunities for the locals, boost ..read more

MANILA – A lone bettor from Batangas can look forward to a merrier Christmas after hitting the PHP42-million jackpot of the Mega Lotto 6/45 draw on Monday night. In an advisory Tuesday, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) said the bettor's winning combination 06-23-25-29-22-36 carried a total jackpot prize of PHP42,024,785.20. The ticket was bought in Batangas City. Winners have one year from the date of the draw to claim the prize, as specified in Republic Act 1169, the law on PCSO lotteries. All jackpot prizes must be claimed at the PCSO main office on Shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyon ..read more

MANILA – The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority launched Tuesday a restructured operations group that will go after violators of the exclusive EDSA bus lane. The Special Operations Group will be under the direct supervision of Assistant General Manager for Operations Assistant Secretary David Angelo Vargas and deputy officer-in-charge Gabriel Go. The apprehending officers will have body-worn cameras with them, Vargas said. "Our body-worn cameras are connected to our Communications and Command Center and its feed cannot be edited and the device cannot be turned off, as well," he said. "T ..read more

MANILA – A total of 74,590 persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) have been released from prison facilities run by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) from January to October this year, as part of initiatives to further decongest jails. In a statement Tuesday, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr., said this also resulted in a decrease in the BJMP's jail congestion rate -- from 281 percent in January to 238 percent in October. The number includes 7,647 PDLs who were released on bail; 10,592 who are serving sentences with time allowance ..read more