P20 dagdag-sahod sa Davao, aprub

ni Madel Moratillo @News | February 26, 2025

Photo File

Inaprubahan na ng Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board ang dagdag na 20 hanggang 30 pesos sa arawang sahod ng minimum wage earners sa Davao Region. 

Sa anunsyo ng Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), ang wage hike ay ipapatupad sa 2 tranche. Ang una ay sa Marso 13 at sa Setyembre 1 naman ang ikalawa. 

Sa oras na maging epektibo, ang daily minimum wage na para sa mga nasa sektor ng agrikultura ay magiging P525 mula sa dating P505 habang mula naman sa P510 ay magiging P540 sa mga nasa non-agriculture sector. Dahil dito, ang buwanang sweldo ay nasa P13,693.75 at P14,085 na. 

Sabi ng DOLE, nasa 66,772 minimum wage earners sa rehiyon ang makikinabang dito. 

Kasabay nito, inaprubahan din ang P500 dagdag sa buwanang sahod ng mga kasambahay para sa nasa chartered cities at first-class municipalities sa Davao Region, at P1,500 naman sa nasa ibang munisipalidad. Dahil dito, magiging P6,500 na ang kanilang buwanang sahod.

Tinatayang nasa 64,111 domestic workers sa rehiyon ang makikinabang dito. 

Exempted naman sa wage hike ang mga negosyong wala pang 10 ang manggagawa at naapektuhan ng kalamidad. Pero dapat mag-aplay muna sila ng exemption sa DOLE hanggang sa Mayo 11.

Tinutulan ng Supreme Court... Trump, itinaas sa 15% ang global tariff

by Jenny Rose Albason @Overseas News | February 24, 2026

Photo: File Leah Millis / Reuters

Itinaas ni Donald Trump sa 15% ang global duty sa mga inaangkat na produkto sa Estados Unidos, isang araw matapos ideklarang ilegal ng US Supreme Court ang malaking bahagi ng kanyang tariff program.

Sa kanyang Truth Social platform, sinabi ni Trump na matapos ang “thorough review” sa desisyon ng Korte Suprema, na tinawag niyang “extraordinarily anti-American,” itataas ng administrasyon ang import levies sa “fully allowed, and legally tested, 15% level.”

Nauna nang inanunsyo ni Trump ang 10% taripa matapos ang desisyon ng korte.

Dagdag pa niya, sa mga susunod na buwan ay maghahanap ang kanyang administrasyon ng iba pang “legally permissible” na paraan upang magpatupad ng karagdagang taripa.

Ayon sa White House, pansamantala lamang ang bagong 15% duty at maaari itong ipatupad hanggang 150 araw. May mga exemption pa rin para sa ilang sektor na nasa ilalim ng hiwalay na imbestigasyon, kabilang ang pharmaceutical products at mga kalakal na saklaw ng US-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.

Ang hakbang ay pinakabagong yugto sa pabago-bagong patakaran sa taripa ng administrasyong Trump, kung saan ilang beses nang itinakda, binago, o binawi ang iba’t ibang antas ng buwis sa mga produktong inaangkat sa US sa nakalipas na taon.

Noong Biyernes, sa botong 6-3, nagpasya ang conservative-majority Supreme Court na ang batas noong 1977 na ginamit ni Trump upang magpataw ng biglaang taripa sa ilang bansa ay hindi nagbibigay ng otoridad sa pangulo upang magpatupad ng ganitong hakbang.

Mariing tinuligsa ni Trump ang desisyon, at sinabing siya ay na-“ashamed” sa ilang miyembro ng korte, kahit dalawa sa mga mahistrado ay siya mismo ang nagtalaga.

Trash to Transformation: How the SM Green Movement is Building a Circular, Waste-Free Future

by Info @Brand Zone | February 23, 2026

Whenever you use the RDC bins at your most-loved SM Supermall, your effort makes it easier for us to sort waste more efficiently so we can convert them from Recyclable to RECYCLED, from Disposable to FUEL, and from Compostable to SOIL. Partner with us to make a Waste Free Future our reality!

MANILA, Philippines — Proper waste segregation can make a meaningful environmental impact when the correct bins are used. At SM Supermalls, the Recyclable–Disposable–Compostable (RDC) system empowers customers to take part in a nationwide Green Movement. This initiative aims to promote circularity, divert waste from landfills, reduce methane emissions, and prevent soil and water contamination.

“Through SM’s RDC bins, we are not only encouraging customers to adopt responsible waste disposal habits, but also enhancing the efficiency of our waste management systems to better serve our communities. Waste is often an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ issue, so we are committed to ensuring that our approach delivers tangible environmental benefits,” said SM Supermalls Vice President for Corporate Compliance and Sustainability, Liza Silerio.

Waste Conversion Pathways 

As part of its #SMWasteFreeFuture project, SM’s waste processing arm, SM GUUN Environmental Company, was established in Consolacion, Cebu, in 2024. There, waste collected from the in-mall RDC bins in Cebu malls is corrected and re-sorted for conversion into industrial raw materials for recycling, fuel or soil.

“An ecosystem of corporate partners enables us to optimize our waste management processes and ensure that recovered materials are reintegrated into the value chain. Through this closed-loop approach, waste is transformed into reusable resources and given a renewed purpose beyond its initial lifecycle,” said Silerio.

Blue Bin: Recyclable to RECYCLED

"Recyclable is only a promise, but RECYCLED is a promise kept”

Recyclables are simply 3 items: bottles (plastic and glass), cans (aluminum and tin) and cartons. Because these 3 items have the highest recycling infrastructure available. 

Recyclables are sorted by material type at the factory and returned to corporate and development partners for reprocessing: MultiPly for paper; San Miguel Yamamura and Asia Brewery Incorporated for glass; Coca-Cola’s recycling arm, PETvalue; and Nature Spring’s recycling arm, NS Sustainability Solutions, for plastic bottles. This process ensures a streamlined supply chain for recycling and increases recycled content in the next packaging material for their products.

Gray Bin: Disposable to FUEL

Disposables like cups, straws, rags, and other hard to recycle disposable containers are processed into coal alternative fuel at the waste processing factory. The waste undergoes sorting, formulating, and shredding to fuel the manufacturing of cement and its ash as cement materials. Quality assurance is key to reducing pollutants at the emission control systems of the cement factories.

Cement manufacturing partners such as DMCI (Concreat), Holcim (Geocycle) and Republic (Ecoloop) utilize these waste-as-fuels to support their operational energy requirements and reduce the use of coal while helping the environment.

Green Bin: Compostable to SOIL

Compostables are mainly food scraps and leftover food. These are fed into a machine that converts them into landscaping soil within 48 hours, avoiding the landfill and methane gas from decaying matter. Landfills are one of the largest sources of methane gas, which is over 20 times more damaging than CO2.

The resulting soil is used for landscaping and urban greening initiatives, with partners including J.Co, BlueSkye Go Circular, Goldilocks, and Fat Hopes Energy supporting its development.

“Changing habits is hard, but we’ll make it easier. All SM Supermalls are equipped with RDC bins, enabling our customers to actively participate in meaningful sustainability efforts that help protect the environment. Each time they visit our malls, they have the opportunity to contribute to our shared goal of achieving a Waste-Free Future,” Silerio said. “While waste remains an escalating challenge both locally and globally, SM firmly believes in the power of community and collective action to address even the most complex environmental issues.”

Last year, the Philippines successfully diverted more than 246 million kilograms of plastic waste, surpassing the national diversion target with a recorded rate of 56%, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

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