The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has shifted the focus of its forest rehabilitation programs to headwaters and mountain peaks—the source of water that feeds downstream farming communities—rather than concentrating planting efforts in lowland areas that are easier to reach but less critical to the water supply, Forest Management Bureau (FMB) Assistant Director Ray Thomas Kabigting said Saturday. Kabigting made…
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has launched a mobile one-stop shop that brings permitting and registration services directly to small-scale mining communities, as part of a push to formalize a sector that remains largely outside the regulated economy despite its significant economic potential, DENR Assistant Secretary Michael Cabalda said Saturday. Cabalda made the statement in an interview on DZRH…
Companies that produce plastic products are now legally responsible for managing their own plastic waste under the Extended Producer Responsibility law, ending a decades-long arrangement where local governments bore the sole burden of solid waste management, DENR Undersecretary Jonas Leones said Saturday. Leones made the statement in an interview on DZRH News program Special on Saturday on August 15, as part of…
For 27 years, Teacher Mariane Luchavez stayed at Teacher I—not because she lacked the talent or the will to advance, but because life demanded she choose between her own professional growth and the future of her three children. Luchavez, a public school teacher in Valenzuela City who has been teaching for 27 years in the public school system and five more in…
With the perceived ouster of career health officials, Malacañang now stands accused of putting institutional stability and expert leadership at risk for political convenience. The uproar follows the exit of Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Singh-Vergeire and other veteran DOH officials in what appears to be a politically motivated shake-up. About 55 professional medical groups signed a joint statement expressing concerns of what…
The Laguna Lake is fast deteriorating into the country’s “biggest septic tank,” Biñan City Rep. Walfredo “Arman” Dimaguila Jr. warned on Saturday, August 2. In an interview on DZRH News’ Special on Saturday, Rep. Dimaguila urged the Marcos Jr. administration to take urgent and science-based action to rehabilitate the vital water body affecting millions across Southern Luzon and Metro Manila. “Magkakaroon na…
The Iran war is showing why the Philippines can’t afford to neglect its farmers
A war thousands of kilometers away is beginning to ripple through something as basic as the Filipino dining table. The conflict involving Iran has pushed oil prices higher, disrupted key shipping routes, and strained global supply chains—especially for fertilizer, a critical input for food production. Farmers are already feeling the pressure. Fertilizer prices have surged by as much as 30% to 40%,…