INQToday: Porac mayor, 10 more execs suspended over Pogo hub

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

Marcos to Asean: Boost external ties, uphold rules-based int’l order

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Wednesday urged his fellow Southeast Asian leaders to improve the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (Asean) relations with external partners and uphold rules-based international order.

In his speech during the 44th Asean Summit in Laos, Marcos stressed the importance of boosting connectivity and resilience in the region to ensure its preparedness for emerging challenges and for future shocks.

Phivolcs observes weak phreatic eruption over Taal Volcano

A minor phreatic eruption occurred at Taal Volcano’s main crater at 7:21 a.m. on Thursday.

According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), a phreatic eruption is a “steam-driven explosion that occurs when water beneath the ground or on the surface is heated by magma, lava, hot rocks or new volcanic deposits.”

Porac mayor, 10 more execs suspended over Pogo hub

The Office of the Ombudsman has served a six-month preventive suspension on Mayor Jing Capil, nine other elected officials and a licensing officer of Porac in Pampanga province for gross neglect of duty in connection with the operations in their town of a Philippine offshore gaming operator (Pogo) involved in alleged criminal activities.

The Ombudsman served its order on Wednesday, according to an Inquirer source at the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the complainant in the case.