Here’s a quick roundup of today’s top stories:
Marcos breaks silence on China’s barrier: ‘We are not looking for trouble’
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Friday stressed his commitment to continue to protect the Philippine territories following China’s installation of floating barriers in the West Philippine Sea.
Marcos finally broke his silence about the issue on the floating barrier installed by Chinese vessels that surfaced last Sunday.
Pagasa: LPA east of Central Luzon enters PAR, now tropical depression Jenny
The low-pressure area (LPA) east of Central Luzon entered the Philippine area of responsibility (PAR) and has intensified into a tropical depression at 2:00 p.m. Friday, the state weather bureau said.
The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) has named it “Jenny,” the 10th tropical cyclone to enter the PAR this year.
US accuses China of global media manipulation
China is manipulating global media through censorship, data harvesting and covert purchases of foreign news outlets, the United States said on Thursday, warning the trend could lead to a “sharp contraction” of global freedom of expression.
The U.S. State Department said in a report that Beijing has spent billions of dollars annually on information manipulation efforts, including by acquiring stakes in foreign media through “public and non-public means,” sponsoring online influencers and securing distribution agreements that promote unlabeled Chinese government content.
Inflation climbed up some more in September, says BSP
Overall inflation in the Philippines is expected to have climbed up some more, somewhere in the range of 5.3 percent to 6.1 percent in September, from 5.3 percent in August, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
The Philippine Statistics Authority will announce by Oct. 5 the official readout for the September rate of growth in prices of goods and services commonly purchased by the average Filipino household.
Socorro Bayanihan group’s protected area agreement suspended — DENR
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources is suspending a land agreement with Socorro Bayanihan Services, Inc. pending further investigation into the group’s violations.
Half of Filipinos dissatisfied with K-12 program, survey shows
Half or 50 percent of Filipinos are dissatisfaction with the K to 12 (K-12) education system in the country, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) reported Thursday.
The 50 percent rate was a combination of respondents who said they were “very dissatisfied” and “somewhat dissatisfied” at 37 and 13 percent.
Fire in Valenzuela City storage facility injures 9 – BFP
The Bureau of Fire Protection reports 9 people were hurt in a fire that hit a storage facility in Valenzuela City on Thursday.