As Muslims mark Ramadan, PBBM calls for solidarity

By Vito Barcelo, Vince Lopez and Nash Maulana

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged all Filipinos, especially the Muslim community, to unite in celebrating the start of Ramadan.

In his message, the President called on the Filipinos to embody the values of discipline, reverence, and humility.

“The spiritual belief that the gate of Heaven is open during this sacred month calls upon our brothers and sisters to purify their souls against the perils of worldly pleasures as well as seek for forgiveness and peace,” Mr. Marcos said in a message.

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting, prayer reflection and community.

The President also asked Muslims to include in their prayers those who are “in deep distress caused by hunger, natural calamities and unfavorable circumstances.”

“The rituals and services during Ramadan remind us of our shared moral obligation– regardless of faith– to compassionately take care of each other, uphold our human dignity and stand in solidarity,” he said. (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

Presidential help desk to be set up for medical aid

By Vince Lopez

The administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. will establish a Presidential Help Desk to address the financial and medical requests for assistance being submitted by the public to the Office of the President (OP).

Based on Executive Order No. 20, signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on March 21, the Presidential Help Desk will complement the existing health services and projects of the government by providing accessible and direct financial and medical assistance to qualified beneficiaries.

“The Presidential Help Desk shall be administered by the PACe (Presidential Action Center). For this purpose, there shall be a Project Coordinator, directly reporting to the PACe, tasked to ensure that the day-to-day implementation of the project is managed effectively, efficiently and economically, and oversee the operational activities of the project, including the performance by all employees and personnel of their respective functions,” the EO read.

EO No. 20 also provides that the PACe will also submit to the President, via the Office of the Executive Secretary, an annual report on the operations of the Presidential Help Desk.

Pinoys’...

From A1

Results of the survey showed that 50 percent of the respondents believe the current state of the country is strong, similar to the results of the fourth-quarter survey, but down from 57 percent in the first quarter of 2022.

"The strong perception of current state is pulled up by 25 to 29 [years old], private and government workers, while the 18 to 24s, low-income and non-working pulled it down. Positive outlook of where the country is heading and future prospects are still shared by the bigger majority of Filipinos across segments," PUBLiCUS Asia said.

Sixty-seven percent believe that the country is heading in the right direction, compared to 68 percent in the fourth quarter and 72 percent a year earlier.

About 68 percent of the respondents believe that economic prospects heading to the next quarter will improve, down from 70 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022 and 70 percent a year ago.

Sixty-nine percent believe that household financial prospects heading into the next quarter will improve, down from 71 percent in the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, the top macro-economic and micro issues remained the same for the Marcos administration, which are to focus on the economy (18 percent), prices/inflation (16 percent), corruption (13 percent), poverty (11 percent) and jobs (10 percent). (See full story online at manilastandard.net)

Kin...

From A1

"Last week pa yan, ang bad ng nagkakalat," the senator said. Mrs. Marcos was trending on Twitter yesterday, taking the third spot with over 4,000 tweets as of Thursday evening