Teachers next in line for P20/kilo rice – DA

 Public school teachers and non-teaching personnel will be covered by the government’s P20-per-kilo rice program starting next month, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. announced yesterday.

He said the Department of Agriculture (DA) is coordinating with the Department of Education (DepEd) to prepare for the new phase of the program.

“We are finalizing the list,” Tiu Laurel told reporters at the DA office in Quezon City during the rollout of the expanded rice distribution targeting jeepney and tricycle drivers as well as other transport workers.

“But there’s a chance that all school personnel will be covered, depending on the salary grade,” he added, noting that the coverage may go beyond teachers.

The DA targets to roll out the P20-per-kilo rice for school personnel on Oct. 15.

DepEd is one of the government’s largest agencies, with a workforce of about 800,000 teachers and non-teaching staff across the country.

The size of its manpower, Tiu Laurel said, is being taken into consideration in preparing the program’s implementation.

The P20 rice initiative, one of President Marcos’ key campaign promises, has been gradually expanded to cover more vulnerable groups.

Piston to hold transport strike on September 18

Transport group PISTON is set to hold a transport strike on Thursday, September 18.

In a statement, the group said the strike is a protest against corruption amid the flood control project fiasco.

“Hindi na sapat ang puro hearing at imbestigasyon. Dapat may managot! Dapat may makulong,” Piston said in a Facebook post. 

(Hearings and investigations alone are no longer enough. Someone must be held accountable! Someone must be put in jail.)

“Kaya sa Sept. 18, ipakita natin ang galit ng sektor ng transportasyon!” it added.

(So on September 18, let's show the anger of the transportation sector!)

The group has yet to release further details about the transport strike.

It also called on the public to join a massive protest with other groups on September 21 at Luneta Park, Manila.

 

La Niña alert itinaas

 Itinaas ng Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services (PAGASA) ang La Niña alert dahil sa posibilidad na maranasan ang pagtaas ng La Niña conditions sa bansa bago matapos ang taon.

Sa climate monitoring at analysis ng PAGASA, nagkaroon pa ng paglamig sa sea surface temperatures (SSTs) sa central at eastern equatorial Pacific.

Batay sa climate models kaagapay ang expert judgements, mayroon nang 70 percent na tsansa na magkakaroon ng La Niña sa bansa sa Oktubre ngayong taon hanggang Disyembre 2025 na posibleng tumagal pa hanggang Pebrero 2026.

Dahil dito, ang umiiral na PAGASA El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) alert and Warning System ay itinaas na sa La Niña alert.

Kung tuluyang makararanas ng La Niña sa bansa ay magkakaroon ng above-average na dami ng tropical cyclone at mas mataas na tsansa na mararanasan ang above-normal rainfall conditions sa malaking bahagi ng bansa.

Ang La Niña ay ang pag-iral ng mas maraming ulan kaysa sa normal condition.