NO CLASSES, GOV’T WORK MONDAY OVER STORM, PUV STRIKE

By Charles Dantes, Maricel Cruz and Julito Rada

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday ordered the suspension of all classes in public schools and work in government offices in Metro Manila on Monday, July 24, the date of his second State of the Nation Address (SONA).

Based on Memorandum Circular No. 25 signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, the suspension is due to the expected inclement weather brought by Tropical Storm “Egay” and a scheduled 72-hour transport strike in the region.

The memo said the suspension of work for private companies and schools

TONY BENNETT, CLASSIC CROONER, DIES AT 96

NEW YORK—Tony Bennett, the last in a generation of classic American crooners whose ceaselessly cheery spirit bridged generations to make him a hitmaker across seven decades, died Friday in New York. He was 96.

Raised in an era when big bands defined US pop music, Bennett achieved an improbable second act when he started winning over young audiences in the 1990s -- not by reinventing himself but by demonstrating his sheer joy in belting out the standards.

At age 88, Bennett in 2014 became the oldest person ever to reach number one on the US album chart through a collection of duets with Lady Gaga, who became his friend and touring companion as younger stars rushed to work with the singing great.

Bennett, who revealed in 2016 that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, died in his hometown, his publicist Sylvia Weiner announced, without revealing a cause.

He was “still singing the other day at his piano,” said a message on his official Twitter account. AFP is left to their discretion. Agencies involved in the delivery of basic and health services, disaster response, and other vital services are excluded and should continue with operations and services.

The weather bureau said Egay may intensify into a super typhoon by Tuesday or Wednesday (see related

LAST OF HIS KIND. Singer Tony Bennett holds his Grammy Award on February 25, 1998, in New York in this file photo. The last in a generation of classic American crooners whose ceaselessly cheery spirit bridged generations to make him a hitmaker across seven decades died on July 21, 2023, in New York, US media reported. He was 96. AFP

‘EGAY’ MAY HIT SUPER TYPHOON LEVEL TUESDAY

story — Editors). “It’s all systems go on Monday,” House Secretary General Reginald Velasco said, even as the chamber’s sergeant-at-arms, retired Police Maj. Gen. Napoleon Taas, said he sees a smooth and orderly conduct of the SONA on Monday despite the threat of Egay.

TROPICAL Storm “Egay” intensified slightly as it moved westward over the Philippine Sea, the state weather bureau said Saturday. PAGASA, in its 5 p.m. bulletin, said Egay was last spotted 685 kilometers east of Virac, Catanduanes, packing sustained winds of 75 kilometers per hour and wind gusts of up to 90 kph. The storm is currently moving westward at 15 kph, PAGASA said.

“It may reach its peak at super typhoon category on Tuesday or Wednesday while over the Philippine Sea east of Extreme Northern Luzon,” the agency said.

“However, the forecast confidence cone indicates that a landfall scenario over the northern portion of Northern Luzon is not ruled out at this time,” the advisory added.

No tropical cyclone wind signal has been hoisted in the country so far, PAGASA said.

It added that wind signals are expected to be “hoisted in some areas in Bicol Region and Eastern Visayas”as the storm brings occasional rains over most parts of Visayas, and MIMAROPA in the coming days, PAGASA said.

Egay is also expected to enhance the southwest monsoon or “habagat” and bring rain showers over a large part of the country, the weather bureau said Saturday.

In Brief

INVENTORY OF ASSETS A MUST FOR CARBON REDUCTION—LOYZAGA

ENVIRONMENT Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga recently unveiled a roadmap to prepare the country against natural disasters resulting from climate change and to reduce its carbon footprint.

The first step is to conduct an inventory of the country’s natural resources because “we can only manage (them) better if we measure what we have,” Secretary Loyzaga said at the multi-stakeholder forum, ‘Towards a Greener Footprint’ in Iloilo City .

Secretary Loyzaga said local governments must work together since these risks know no political boundaries. She stressed the need for an urban development plan that local governments must follow so their political neighbors can jointly benefit from their investments in well-being and quality of life.