INQToday: Marcos separately meets House, Senate amid Cha-cha debates

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

Marcos separately meets House, Senate amid Cha-cha debates

The Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac) session with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was postponed on Thursday in favor of holding separate meetings with warring senators and members of the House of Representatives

The lawmakers were supposed to sit down with the President for their regular Ledac meeting but this was postponed, according to Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva.

DOTr: No more extension of PUV consolidation deadline after April 30

There will be no further extension of the deadline for consolidation of public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers and operators past April 30, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said on Thursday.

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. approved Bautista’s recommendation for a three-month extension a day prior.

Pimentel urges House: Don’t ‘hijack’ Cha-cha signature drive

The House of Representatives should not “hijack” the people’s initiative (PI) for Charter change (Cha-cha), opposition Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel said Thursday.

Pimentel repeated persistent reports supposedly pointing to House members behind the PI, one of the three modes of amending the  1987 Constitution.

DA: P700K agri losses due to El Niño

Farmers in Zamboanga Del Norte have sustained over P700,000 in agricultural losses due to the El Niño phenomenon, the Department of Agriculture revealed in its first bulletin for the dry spell in 2024.

The January 24, 2024, bulletin shows the DA Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (DA-DRRM) Operations Center listing 22 farmers in the province affected by the dry spell – all farming rice.

DOH reports increase in human rabies cases

The Department of Health (DOH) on Thursday reported a 63 percent increase in human rabies cases from December 17 to 31, 2023.

According to the DOH, 13 rabies cases were recorded during this period, higher than the eight cases logged in the preceding two weeks.

DOH notes decline in number of dengue cases in PH

While recording 14 fatalities this year alone, the Department of Health (DOH) reported on Thursday a downward trend in dengue cases since the beginning of December last year.

Based on its data given to reporters, DOH observed a 16 percent decrease in nationwide dengue cases from December 3 to 16 (8,629 cases) to December 17 to 31 (7,274 cases).