Latest news with #StateoftheNation
GMA Network
9 hours ago
- Politics
- GMA Network
Marcos: SONA preps amid bad weather an 'unfortunate misjudgment'
President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. has deemed as an ''unfortunate misjudgment'' the move of the Department of Public Works and Highways to continue the preparations for his fourth State of the Nation Address next week. ''Hindi na nasabi, baha na nga bakit pa kayo maglalagay diyan? Paubaya niyo na muna yan, ayusin niyo muna 'yung ating response sa Crising... that is an unfortunate misjudgement on their part... I trust that it would not happen anymore,'' Marcos told Philippine reporters in Washington D.C. (It was not mentioned, there's flood, why would you still put that up? Focus first on our response with Crising... that is an unfortunate misjudgment on their part... I trust that it would not happen anymore.) The President, who was dismayed by the act, said the action was ''highly inappropriate.'' Earlier, Marcos directed that all SONA-related preparations should be halted, noting that the DPWH and other concerned agencies must focus on flood response and relief operations for those affected by the torrential rains and floods. This as DPWH personnel had installed tarpaulins of the President for his upcoming SONA despite heavy rains and floods across the metro. — Anna Felicia Bajo/RSJ, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
a day ago
- Climate
- GMA Network
Bad weather on SONA? OCD says protocol will depend on Congress
''Of course, we will depend on the protocol ng Congress po if they will suspend iyong SONA. But kami po... we are closely coordinating with the PNP po na magkaroon tayo ng orderly conduct ng flow ng mga pupunta sa SONA,'' OCD's Raffy Alejandro said./File photo Office of Civil Defense (OCD) officer-in-charge Raffy Alejandro said Tuesday that the contingencies for President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr.'s State of the Nation Address next week would depend on Congress. At a Palace press briefing, Alejandro was asked for the contingency measures in case there will be inclement weather during the President's fourth SONA, which is scheduled on July 28 at the Batasang Pambansa compound in Quezon City. ''Of course, we will depend on the protocol ng Congress po if they will suspend iyong SONA. But kami po... we are closely coordinating with the PNP po na magkaroon tayo ng orderly conduct ng flow ng mga pupunta sa SONA,'' Alejandro said. (Of course, we will depend on the protocol of Congress if they will suspend SONA. But we are closely coordinating with the PNP so we can have an orderly conduct for those who will be attending the SONA.) ''So, kami po, ang mga areas na surrounding Congress ay hinahanda pa rin natin in case na magkaroon ng hindi magandang weather. So, in the event po na—or magkaroon ng suspension ng work or classes, tuluy-tuloy pa rin naman ang ating mga emergency responders na naka-standby in case na kailangan ng assistance during the SONA po,'' he added. (We are preparing the areas surrounding Congress in case there will be inclement weather. So, in the event that there will be suspension of work or classes, emergency responders are on standby in case they need assistance during the SONA.) Days before the SONA, several parts of the country are experiencing rains even after tropical cyclone Crising (international name: Wipha) left the Philippine Area of Responsibility last weekend. Classes and government work have been suspended at least until Wednesday in Metro Manila and some provinces in Luzon and the Visayas due to the effects of the Southwest Monsoon (Habagat). Earlier, Marcos directed the suspension of pre-SONA preparations and tasked government offices to focus and ensure the safety of the public amid the bad weather. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News
GMA Network
7 days ago
- GMA Network
Brawl in convenience store in Davao del Norte caught on cam
A brawl between two groups occurred in front of a convenience store in Panabo, Davao del Norte in the wee hours of Tuesday. According to Oscar Oida's report on 'State of the Nation' on Wednesday, the fight started after the other group allegedly took a photo and video of the other party without consent. People from both parties can be seen throwing chairs, tables, bottles, and other objects at each other, as seen in a video. The security guard helped pacify the tension, as some of the involved individuals were hurt, the report added. 'Both parties were under the influence of liquor, and that's why they easily got hotheaded,' said Police Major Anjanette Tirador, Davao del Norte Police Provincial Office spokesperson. Five of the involved people were residents of Davao City and only went to Panabo due to the ongoing liquor ban in their hometown. The convenience store owner, on the other hand, did not file charges against the people involved in the fight. But they were asked to pay P10,000 for the damages.
GMA Network
09-07-2025
- Politics
- GMA Network
Nearly 4,000 foreign workers deported, 500 in custody after ‘intensified' POGO crackdown — PAOCC
Nearly 4,000 foreign workers have been deported and several major hubs dismantled, according to the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC) as a result of the government's 'intensified' campaign against illegal Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs). At a public briefing on Wednesday, Undersecretary Gilbert Cruz, PAOCC executive director, said coordinated raids with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Philippine National Police (PNP), and Department of Justice (DOJ) have led to the closure of large POGO compounds, including those linked to controversial figure Alice Guo in Pampanga and Cebu. 'Yung mga malalaki pong POGO hubs, the likes of the POGO hubs nila Alice Guo sa Porac at Cebu, napasara na po natin yan,' Cruz said. (We have already shut down large POGO hubs, including those linked to Alice Guo in Porac and Cebu.) The majority of those arrested were foreign citizens involved in alleged criminal activities such as human trafficking, scamming and illegal detention within these POGO facilities. Cruz said 4,000 have already been deported, with another 500 are still in PAOCC custody. In one landmark case involving a POGO hub in Clark, Pampanga, the Philippine government won in court and was awarded assets worth ?6 billion and seized cash amounting to ?185 million, Cruz added. While large-scale hubs have been shut down, Cruz warned that 'guerrilla-style' POGO operations have sprung up in condominiums, private subdivisions, and even remote resorts, operating under the radar of authorities. 'Nag-form sila ng mga small groups… ngayon sila nag-ooperate sa mga condominiums, gated subdivisions, at minsan, sa mga resorts,' he said. (They formed smaller groups… now they operate in condominiums, gated subdivisions, and sometimes in resorts.) In his third State of the Nation Address in July 2024, President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. banned all POGOs in the country after several of these were implicated in crimes, including human trafficking, serious illegal detention, and money scams. — RF, GMA Integrated News
Balkan Insight
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Balkan Insight
Hungary and Croatia Build Stadium for €7.5 Million in Village of 500 Inhabitants
The construction of a 7.5-million-euro stadium in the small Croatian village of Vardarac in the east of the country, home to just 504 residents in 211 households, is again prompting debate about Hungary's political soft power efforts in neighbouring countries with Hungarian minorities. Robert Jankovics, a representative of the Hungarian minority in the Croatian parliament, said the football academy was built based on a 2022 interstate agreement between Croatia and Hungary, and that it addresses mutual concerns related to national minorities, initiated by both countries. 'This is explicitly stated in the minutes of the Joint Committee of the Croatian and Hungarian Governments for the Protection of National Minorities,' Jankovics told BIRN, adding that the project has been widely misinterpreted by the media, primarily because the stadium was built in a village of only 500 residents. 'This agreement is reciprocal. For example, the Croatian community in Hungary built the National Theatre in the Hungarian city of Pecs,' said Jankovics, a politician seen close to Hungary's ruling Fidesz party. He personally attended Prime Minister Viktor Orban's State of the Nation address last year and surprised Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Peter Szijjarto with a custom-made Vardarac soccer jersey bearing his name. Jankovics addressed questions about the cost of the project in Vardarac, pointing out it is not just a stadium but also a football academy – the type of comprehensive project close to Orban's heart and similar to other ventures across Hungary and in Hungarian communities beyond the country's borders. The Hungarian government began financing football academies outside the country's borders – in regions of the former Kingdom of Hungary with Hungarian minorities – starting in 2013, typically through the Gabor Bethlen Fund. So far, it has funded three football academies in Slovakia, two in Romania, and one each in Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia and Ukraine. While no official figures are available, Hungarian media estimate that at least 30 billion forints (75 million euros) have been spent on these academies and stadiums since 2013. Construction of the Vardarac project began in 2024 and is expected to be completed by October. The facility will include luxury features such as a fitness room, massage room, sauna and a pool for players. 'The most favourable bidder with the shortest construction deadline was selected,' Jankovics explained, noting the recent surge in construction material and labour prices. Besides, Jankovics added, 'the rental of the stadium in Vinkovci, where the Vukovar 1991 football club will play its matches due to the lack of a suitable stadium, ranges from 800,000 euros to 1 million euros per season.' He emphasised that the project is not solely about the stadium itself. There are slightly more than 10,000 members of the Hungarian national minority in Croatia, around 8,000 of whom live in the Baranja region, and the new facility is intended as a gathering place for this community. 'It is a football camp for the Hungarian community in Croatia, where children will finally have access to proper training conditions,' Jankovics said. The NK Vardarac football club has been one of the most successful amateur clubs in eastern Croatia for several years. The club is financially stable, and the team was promoted to the Third Football League last season. While the Hungarian national minority in Croatia will benefit from a new facility that can serve as a community hub, it is also part of a broader policy of the Hungarian government of Viktor Orban to invest significant funds in sports and cultural infrastructure in the border regions of neighbouring countries where Hungarian minorities live. The Hungarian media are questioning how the government has once again managed to secure funding for yet another costly foreign investment, even as the country's economy stagnates, the government was forced to issue new bonds to cover the deficit, and public investment projects in Hungary are largely on hold. The football-mad Hungarian prime minister has clearly stated in the past his view that such investments are above normal considerations about the use of taxpayer money. 'Sport is our common language; it connects us. That's why the Hungarian government will support the establishment of academies throughout the entire Carpathian Basin,' Orban said in 2018. Critics note that Orban's strategy appears designed more to win the votes of the Hungarian disaspora in neighbouring regions. To date, it has been very successful in drumming up support: in 2022, Fidesz received 94 per cent of the votes of Hungarians living beyond the borders, giving it two extra seats in parliament.
