- Smog halts in-person classes in Carcar and across Metro Cebu
- New DOLE job programs launched in Cebu as the ₱42 wage hike takes effect
- Diesel down ₱3.01 a litre, gasoline up ₱1.56
- Capitol pushes food banks ahead of El Niño
Smog halts in-person classes in Carcar and across Metro Cebu
Eleven Cebu local governments called off face-to-face classes on Monday, 12 October, after the Metro Cebu air monitor read "very unhealthy". Carcar City suspended all levels, public and private, along with Cebu City, Mandaue, Lapu-Lapu, Minglanilla and Consolacion; Talisay, San Fernando, Naga, Cordova and Liloan suspended public schools only. The reading hit 165 on the afternoon of 13 October, and on 14 October San Fernando and Mandaue again kept students home. EMB 7 blames local traffic and industry, with cool nights and weak winds trapping the haze, not smoke from Indonesia.
The reading comes from a Metro Cebu station; none of the reports gives a figure for Carcar itself. Check Carcar City Hall's advisories each evening for the next school day. On bad-air days, keep children and anyone with asthma or a heart condition indoors, avoid walking along busy stretches of the national highway, and skip trips you do not need to make.
Sources: The Manila Times, SunStar, GMA News
New DOLE job programs launched in Cebu as the ₱42 wage hike takes effect
President Marcos opened the national Public Employment Service Office congress in Lapu-Lapu City on 14 October, the day the ₱42 daily minimum wage increase took effect in Central Visayas. DOLE unveiled new programs under its TUPAD emergency jobs scheme, among them SkillPass, which helps TUPAD workers get their skills assessed and certified; Trabahong-Dagat, which pairs short-term work with training for fishing and coastal communities; and Sagip-Trabaho, temporary wage support for small businesses struggling with the higher wage. A Lapu-Lapu job fair offered over 1,300 vacancies.
If you employ a few workers in Carcar and the new ₱582 minimum is hard to meet, ask the DOLE 7 office about Sagip-Trabaho; Insider PH reports it can cover the added ₱42 a day for up to 90 days. Fishing families in Carcar's coastal barangays should watch for Trabahong-Dagat slots through the city's PESO. Neither report says how to apply yet.
Sources: Insider PH, The Freeman
Diesel down ₱3.01 a litre, gasoline up ₱1.56
Fuel prices moved in opposite directions on Tuesday, 13 October. Diesel fell by ₱3.01 a litre, while gasoline of all grades rose by ₱1.56 and kerosene by ₱1.77, according to the Department of Energy. The DOE partly credited the diesel cut to moves by major economies to release more diesel supply.
Jeepney, bus and truck operators get some relief on diesel, while motorcycle and car owners pay more for gasoline. These are national per-litre adjustments; actual pump prices at Carcar stations vary by company and station.
Sources: GMA News, Daily Tribune
Capitol pushes food banks ahead of El Niño
The provincial government hosted the 2nd Philippine Food Banking Summit at the Capitol on 14 October. Governor Pamela Baricuatro said food banks can collect surplus food and pass it on to families in hard times, as Cebu prepares for El Niño. Capitol health consultant Dr. Nicole Elisse Catalan said food has already been prepositioned for emergencies and called for legal protection for food donors, while urging manufacturers and retailers to partner with food banks.
No new aid or sign-up was announced. With Pagasa expecting dry conditions in Cebu from late December, this is part of the Capitol's drought planning; Carcar businesses with surplus food can ask the Capitol about partnering.
Source: The Freeman
