INQToday: Typhoon Jenny intensifies; Signal no. 1 up in more areas

Here’s a quick roundup of today’s top stories:

Typhoon Jenny intensifies; Signal no. 1 up in more areas

Five provinces were placed under Tropical Cyclone Wind Signal No. 1 as typhoon Jenny continues to intensify, the state weather bureau said on Monday.

Heads of all 3 gov’t branches’ approval ratings fall – Pulse Asia survey

The approval ratings of the heads of the three main branches of government fell in the last three months.

This is based on a new survey of Pulse Asia released on Monday.

PH debt stock reached new high of P14.35T at end-August

The Philippine national government’s debt stock increased by 0.7 percent, or an additional P105.28 billion, to a new record high of P14.35 trillion at the end of August from P14.24 trillion at end-July, as the peso weakened against the US dollar, according to the Bureau of the Treasury.

Of the total outstanding obligations, 68 percent or P9.79 trillion is owed to domestic lenders while 32 percent or P4.56 trillion is borrowed from foreign lenders.

Gasoline prices cut by P2/liter; diesel up by P0.40/liter

Pump prices of gasoline and kerosene will again decline for the second consecutive week on Tuesday, Oct. 3, by up to P2 per liter, while the price of diesel will go up by 40 centavos per liter.

In separate advisories, local oil firms said they will cut the price of gasoline by P2 per liter and kerosene by 50 centavos per liter.

Hontiveros finds VP’s P460M alleged hidden funds as Davao mayor dizzying

Opposition Senator Risa Hontiveros urged the Senate on Monday to look into the reported P460 million hidden funds of Davao City government at the time of then city mayor and now Vice President Sara Duterte.

Citing records of the Commission on Audit, Hontiveros said the local government was allotted P460 million in confidential and intelligence funds (CIFs) every year from 2019 to 2022.

Bomb scare disrupts Bicol International Airport flights

A bomb scare on Monday disrupted flights and operations at the Bicol International Airport (BIA), according to the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap).

“Caap reported an incident involving Cebu Pacific Airlines Flight 5J 326, scheduled to depart at 10:45 a.m. from BIA to Manila, which requested security assistance due to a bomb joke,” Caap said in its situational report.