Motor taxi study underscores need to organize transport cooperativesThis December 22, 2019 photo shows gthousands of Angkas riders gathering to protest the 10,000-rider cap imposed on the company by regulators. Guadiz said that once a law is enacted to include motorcycles as public utility vehicles, the Office of Transportation Cooperatives under the Department of Transportation can allow riders to organize as transport cooperatives. “In the future, transport cooperatives may apply to be accredited TNCs that will have their own platform,” Guadiz said during his presentation. The TWG’s initial findings are based on a survey of 1,524 motorcycle taxi riders from three major ride-hailing platforms: Angkas, Joyride and MoveIt. The motorcycle taxi study was initiated by the DOTr in 2019 to evaluate the safety of motorcycles-for-hire in ride-hailing platforms.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Tuesday sought to reassure the public after a spate of political scandals rocked his ruling party in recent months and amid continuing worries over inflation in the city-state. "Let there be no doubt: my government is determined to keep our system free of corruption and wrongdoing," he said in a televised address, wearing a shirt with Singapore's national colours of red and white. Singapore's yearly core inflation rate - which excludes private road transport and accommodation costs - eased to 4.2% in June from 4.7% in May. Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) chief Ravi Menon said last month that Singapore's inflation would ease significantly thanks to a tight monetary policy stance, but the central bank would "not switch from inflation-fighting mode to growth-supporting mode". The MAS left monetary policy settings unchanged in April, after tightening five times in a row since October 2021, reflecting concerns over the city-state's growth outlook.

NEW DELHI — India in recent months has barred domestic manufacturers of military drones from using components made in China over concerns about security vulnerabilities, according to four defense and industry officials and documents reviewed by Reuters. The U.S. Congress in 2019 banned the Pentagon from buying or using drones and components made in China. But the ban on Chinese parts has raised the cost of making military drones locally by forcing manufacturers to source components elsewhere, government and industry experts said. Sameer Joshi, founder of Bengaluru-based NewSpace Research and Technologies, a supplier of small drones for India’s military, said 70% of goods in the supply chain were made in China. To fill these gaps, India announced in June that it would buy 31 MQ-9 drones from the U.S. for over $3 billion.

BUAN, South Korea — South Korea on Tuesday started evacuating thousands of teenage participants at the World Scout Jamboree from a campsite in the southwest of the country to safer areas mainly around the capital ahead of an approaching typhoon. ADVERTISEMENT“This is the first time in more than 100 years of World Scout Jamborees that we have had to face such compounded challenges,” Ahmad Alhendawi, Secretary General of the World Organization of the Scout Movement, said in a statement. More than 1,000 buses are being deployed to move the 36,000 scouts remaining at the campsite from more than 150 countries, according to officials. Typhoon Khanun (locally named Falcon in the Philippines), which has already wreaked havoc in southern Japan, is expected to hit southern areas of South Korea on Thursday before tracking up the peninsula, according to weather forecasters. Eight cities and provinces including Seoul and Gyeonggi Province will host the scouts for the rest of their stay in South Korea, with 4,000 participants due to remain in North Jeolla Province where the campsite is located, the Yonhap news agency reported.

A Chinese Coastguard vessel patrols near the BRP Sierra Madre, a marooned transport ship which Philippine Marines live on as a military outpost, in the disputed Second Thomas Shoal, part of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea. (Reuters)China told the Philippines on Monday to remove its grounded warship from the Second Thomas Shoal in the South China Sea after blocking two Manila supply ships with water cannons over the weekend as both sides asserted their claims of the area. The Philippines in 1999 intentionally grounded the warship to stake its claim to the Second Thomas Reef, a submerged reef that is part of the Spratly islands in the South China Sea. Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Monday that the country continued to assert its sovereignty and territorial rights despite challenges in the South China Sea. China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea and the Spratly Island, which consists of many islets, reefs banks and shoals and lie in the center of South China Sea and along major shipping lanes.

Unless the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal is properly connected to other parts of Hong Kong, the dream plan to make the terminal the home port for major passenger ships will remain nothing more than a noble fantasy. The need to upgrade transport links to the terminal cannot be over stressed. That is a concrete step to making Hong Kong a cruise hub, but more needs to be done in light of the setbacks at the terminal last week. The city was inundated with negative publicity when passengers complained it was almost impossible to leave the pier while they were expected to stop in Hong Kong for seven hours. Yeung and Lam must work together to make the Kai Tak terminal accessible.

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(UPDATE) MELBOURNE: The United States' long reign as Women's World Cup holders was brought to an end in the most dramatic fashion as they were dumped out on penalties by Sweden, who joined the Netherlands in reaching the quarterfinals on Sunday. USA’s Alex Morgan (left) heads the ball next to Sweden’s Amanda Ilestedt during the 2023 Women’s World Cup Round of 16 football match at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium in Melbourne on Sunday, Aug. 6, 2023. AFP PHOTOTheir last-16 defeat after the game ended 0-0 after 120 minutes was the United States' earliest exit in their Women's World Cup history and leaves European champions England now the firm favorites. The USA have long been the dominant force in international women's football: they have won the World Cup four times and were chasing an unprecedented third title in a row. Cue belated pandemonium among the Sweden squad and tears for the Americans who, despite dominating large periods of the game, just never got going at this World Cup.

MANILA, Philippines — Three vloggers who went viral for staging a kidnapping prank were arrested by authorities last August 1, according to the Philippine National Police (PNP). In a report on Monday, the PNP said Las Piñas City Police Station arrested vloggers Mark Heroshi San Rafael, Mark Lester San Rafael, and Eleazar Steven Fuentes after their video, which was uploaded last April 7 went viral and drew flak online. After the video went viral, PNP-Integrity Monitoring and Enforcement Group Staff Sergeant Ronnie Conmigo lodged the complaint against the trio, which led to the issuance of a warrant of arrest by Judge Lynnette May Deloria-Manarang of Metropolitan Trial Court (MTC) Branch 124. “The PNP remains steadfast in upholding the law and ensuring that individuals are held accountable for their deeds. Pranks that induce panic and disrupt public order cannot be taken lightly,” PNP chief Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr. said in a statement.

Former San Sebastian College-Recoletos varsity chess player Louie Salvador topped the FIDE-rated rapid chess tournament held in celebration of the 46th birthday of National Master Marlon Bernardino on Saturday, August 5, at the Open Kitchen Food Hall, Rockwell Business Center, Sheridan Street, Mandaluyong City. Bayanihan Chess Club legal counsel head Atty.Rodolfo Enrique 'Rudy' Rivera and Jessie Villasin; NM Robert Suelo Jr. and Mimi Casas of Open Kitchen; and Jhune Dultra and Engr. Allan Anthony Alvarez make the traditional ceremonial moves to usher in the start of the 46th Birthday Celebration of NM Marlon Bernardino FIDE-rated rapid chess tournament at the Open Kitchen Food Hall, Rockwell Business Center, Sheridan Street, Mandaluyong City on Saturday, August 5. CONTRIBUTED PHOTOSalvador finished the seven-round tournament with a perfect 7.0 points, tied for first place with National Master Cedric Kahlel Abris. Salvador, who pocketed the P10,000 top prize, scored victories over Elizah Munice Bandejas, Kayla Lorraine Aurelio, Woman FIDE Master Allaney Jia Doroy, Arena FIDE Master Ritchie James Abeleda, Adrian Othniel Yulo, National Master Srihaan Poddar and FIDE Master David Elorta.

MANILA, Philippines — Deputy Speaker Ralph Recto on Sunday said the proposed national budget of P5.767 trillion for 2024 would translate to an average daily spending of P15.8 billion, of which only P11.7 billion would be supported by revenues with the balance to be covered by borrowings. ADVERTISEMENTHe added that based on the gap between projected spending and revenues, P4 billion will have to be borrowed “every 24 hours.”The Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs are projected to respectively collect only P8.3 billion and P2.7 billion daily, or a total of over P11 billion a day. “If it is based on actual disbursements, P3.7 billion of daily expenditures need to be filled up,” he added. But he observed, “It doesn’t give the whole picture because only the interest payment is included in the national budget. “Guided by our Medium-Term Fiscal Framework, the proposed national budget will continue to prioritize expenditures outlined in the administration’s 8-Point Socioeconomic Agenda and cater to the objectives of Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028,” Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman had said.

(UPDATE) WITH less than three weeks left before Gilas Pilipinas' 2023 FIBA World Cup debut game, national coach Chot Reyes faces the challenging task of trimming the current 20-man pool to the final 12 soon. Jordan Clarkson (middle) FIBA PHOTOLooking back at the 2007 FIBA Asia Cup in Tokushima, China, Reyes, at the helm during that time, described the trimming of the team to the final 12 as the toughest. "And still, they (Gilas players) played Senegal with several 7 footers, a tough team, and I really saw the spirit and spunk of the team yesterday," said Reyes. "When you have players like that, it excites you and makes you look forward to what is yet to come." As of posting time, Gilas is playing Senegal in a rematch on Sunday evening, before closing the China tilt against Iran's B Team on Monday night.

Braves eye PBA 3x3 hat trickThe Braves have gone on a tear in the season-opening tournament, ruling Legs 4 and 5 after three straight third-place finishes to set the pace in the overall team standings with one stop left before the Grand Finals. MANILA, Philippines — Cavitex shoots for the first hat trick of wins in the PBA 3x3 Season 3 First Conference hostilities as the battle for Leg 6 honors fires off today at the Ayala Malls Trinoma. The Braves have gone on a tear in the season-opening tournament, ruling Legs 4 and 5 after three straight third-place finishes to set the pace in the overall team standings with one stop left before the Grand Finals. Fresh from their fifth-leg triumph last week, Dominick Fajardo, Jorey Napoles and Bong Galanza return for another run with 3x3 veteran Tonino Gonzaga joining the campaign in place of Ken Ighalo. Pioneer Elastoseal’s Gian Abrigo, Reggie Morido, Wilson Baltazar and Dennice Villamor, meanwhile, continue the franchise’s bid for a breakthrough in Pool B.

4 universities to offer scholarships to Rohingya refugeesA Rohingya refugee boy walks along a street at a refugee camp on the World Refugee Day, in New Delhi on June 20, 2023. MANILA, Philippines — Four educational institutions in the Philippines will grant scholarships to Rohingya refugees under a program that provides a safe and regulated avenue of stay in the country through education, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said Sunday. Scholars under the CPath program are recognized as refugees by the Philippine government, and provided legal status and protection services for the duration of their enrollment. In September 2022, the Philippines welcomed the first batch of CPath scholars—six Rohingya refugees—who have since adjusted well in their new communities and schools. The CPath program was institutionalized three years later.

A motorcyclist is lucky to be alive after ramming his motorbike into a car, sending him catapulting into the air before landing on the road in Tai Po on Sunday. The 31-year-old male motorcyclist, surnamed Lam, was riding on Ting Kok Road at around 7.30am when he hit a sedan suddenly turning right from Ting Hing Road without noticing the motorbike was nears. Dashcam has captured the heart-stopping moment when Lam goes headfirst over the handlebars before spinning in a cartwheel over the sedan's top. Fortunately, Lam suffered minor abrasions on his hands and feet and did not need to be sent to the hospital. The 72-year-old sedan driver, surnamed Lai, suffered no injuries.