About half of vocational education institutions in the country are worried that the use of artificial intelligence (AI) may suppress creativity and critical thinking skills among students who would use the technology for their schoolwork. ADVERTISEMENTThe results of the survey, which covered 115 schools, were released on Wednesday. More than half, or 56 percent, of the surveyed schools crafted “light guidelines,” while 35 percent enforced “stricter” regulations. Between the schools’ administrative personnel and the teachers, the former are “more likely” to be more receptive to AI tools (34 percent) than the latter (30 percent). Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte had earlier cited the “uncertainties” of AI use in digital education, despite the technology’s potential and increasing popularity.

Eala, partner best Japanese foes to enter W50 Pune finalsMANILA, Philippines – Alex Eala and her partner, Latvia's Darja Semenistaja, are heading into the finals of the W50 Pune women's doubles tourney after dominating the Japanese duo of Saki Imamura and Naho Sato, 7-6(5), 6-3 Friday. Eala and Semenistaja, the fourth-seeded pair of the tournament, had to work and dig deep to secure the first set. The Filipino-Latvian pair won 38 service points compared to 36 for Imamura and Sato. The Japanese duo, however, won 33 receiving points against 31 for Eala and Semenistaja. Earlier in the day, Eala was defeated by Semenistaja in the women's singles quarterfinals.

Marcos’ two-day visit to Vietnam set on January 29-30MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is set to fly to Vietnam for a two-day state visit on January 29 where he will be discussing a range of regional affairs with leaders of the Philippines’ only strategic partner in the ASEAN bloc. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced on Friday that Marcos and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos will be visiting Vietnam next week upon the invitation of Vietnamese President Vo Van Thuong. Marcos’ trip to Vietnam — the president's first visit to the country since he took office in 2022 — also caps off the Philippines’ five-year action plan to strengthen bilateral relations with Vietnam, which was signed in 2019. Marcos' visit aims to prompt an "in-depth discussion" on the agricultural cooperation between the Philippines and Vietnam, which has been the Philippines’ top supplier of rice in recent years, according to a Presidential Communications Office (PCO) release. The Philippines and Vietnam also have various areas of cooperation, including defense and security, maritime, agriculture and people-to-people relations, the PCO added.

A man was arrested on Wednesday after being busted for making and trafficking drugs worth HK$3.1 million in a residential unit in Cheung Sha Wan. The Tsuen Wan district police conducted an in-depth investigation, locking on to a private housing unit on Sham Shing Road in Cheung Sha Wan, which was suspected to be a drug manufacturing and storage facility. In the unit, officers were able to seize 2.6 kilograms of suspected cocaine and crack cocaine, along with tools used for manufacturing and packing the drugs. The officers immediately arrested a 28-year-old local man, surnamed Ho, on suspicion of manufacturing dangerous drugs and trafficking in dangerous drugs. Police believe that the facility has been operating for about a month and is mostly used to supply drugs to entertainment establishments around West Kowloon.

BERLIN, Germany: The German Protestant Church on Thursday acknowledged it did not do enough to protect children after an independent study revealed thousands of cases of sexual abuse within the organization. The study estimated that the number of minors who fell victim to church ministers and staff may be as high as 9,355. The German Protestant Church on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024, acknowledged it did not do enough to protect children after an independent study revealed thousands of cases of sexual abuse within the organization. The study is an indictment for the German Protestant Church (EKD), which had long managed to avoid the sort of scandal that engulfed the Catholic Church. The German Protestant Church said it would in November present an "action plan" based on the results of the abuse study.

LUCKNOW, India: Indians queuing in long lines for jobs in Israel as the war with Hamas grinds on say the risks to their safety are preferable to hunger at home. Recruiters are aiming to fill a labor shortage in Israel, exacerbated by nearly four months of fighting against Palestinian militants in Gaza. Long lines of Indian men queued on January 25, applying for jobs in Israel as recruiters seek to plug employment gaps with the conflict against Hamas in Gaza now in its fourth month. For the hundreds of Indians in line, almost all men, the chance of a skilled construction job in Israel — and wages up to 18 times higher — outweighs their fears. Indian workers provide one way to fill the gap.

A bus collision injured at least 14 people and caused a major traffic jam at the Western Harbour Crossing on Friday noon. The incident, which occurred at around 12.01 pm inside the Island-bound section of the cross-harbor tunnel, involved two double-decker KMB buses. It is understood that 14 passengers suffered minor injuries due to the collision. The Transport Department reminded members of the public that traffic is busy in the vicinity. “Due to [a] traffic accident, part of the lanes of Western Harbour Crossing (Hong Kong Island bound) near tunnel entrance is closed to all traffic.

Speaker Martin Romualdez denies he is behind the People's Initiative campaign to amend the 1987 Constitution amid allegations by Sen. Imee Marcos on Friday, Jan. 26, 2024. In a press conference in Makati City after a meeting, Romualdez challenges his cousin to "prove it" as he dismissed her claims as "gossip." Video from Office of Speaker Romualdez Media Bureau

Senior citizens should demand a 32-percent discount when buying food and other basic needs to fully avail themselves of the benefits of Republic Act No. 9994, or the Expanded Senior Citizens Act, a party list lawmaker representing their sector said on Thursday. ADVERTISEMENTComputation“Business establishments should be aware of this privilege to seniors and honor it because it is law. “So what we are telling the businesses is to just peg the discount at 32 percent, so that seniors would not have to make computations. Under the law, she stressed, seniors are entitled to 20-percent discount for services at hotels, restaurants, spas, beauty and massage parlors, domestic travels, and concerts.

A privilege, not a rightThis is a disbarment case filed by the girlfriend of a lawyer whom we shall name Mila. Ramos promised Mila that he knows a judge in a province who could issue a judgment of annulment for a fee. Thus, Danny paid P90,000 to Atty. The right to practice law is not a natural or constitutional right but a privilege or franchise. Ramos should be disbarred from the practice of law and his name stricken off the Roll of Attorneys.

Just around half of DepEd’s target number of classrooms built in 2023A photo shared by Dugong Elementary School in Bucay, Abra shows the extent of the damage wrought by the tremor to their building on July 27, 2022. MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education fell short of its target for classroom construction in 2023, building only around 3,600 new classrooms out of the planned 6,300, based on figures shared by Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte on Thursday. Duterte said during her second DepEd Basic Education Report (BER) that the education department constructed 3,673 new classrooms in 2023. This represents just 58% of DepEd’s target number of new classrooms in 2023 (6,379), which Duterte announced during last year’s BER and which Marcos announced in his second State of the Nation Address. Duterte said on Thursday that over 6,200 classrooms are in “various stages of construction” while 800 others are still in the procurement stage.

Conspiracy and proposal to commit felony. – Conspiracy and proposal to commit felony are punishable only in the cases in which the law specially provides a penalty therefor. Even though direct evidence is the most ideal kind of evidence to be presented in court, it is not the only kind of evidence that can be presented when prosecuting criminal cases. Especially in cases involving conspiracy where the specific agreement of the perpetrators to commit the crime is hardly ever established by direct evidence, circumstantial evidence establishing the existence of such a conspiracy may be utilized. Conspiracy must be proved with the same quantum of evidence as the crime itself, that is, by proof beyond reasonable doubt.

Ayala Foundation President Antonio 'Tony' Lambino shares to the Manila Times its plans to help the Department of Education fulfill its objectives in its Basic Education Report, which Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte delivered in Pasay City on Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024. Video by Red Mendoza

The CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has a message: Hey billionaires, give away more of your money to address inequality and do it soon. The message is a familiar one from the Gates Foundation, one of the largest global health funders in the world. The Gates Foundation itself plans to increase its annual budget to $9 billion next year, and then hold at that level. The Associated Press receives financial support for news coverage in Africa from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The Gates Foundation annually donates closer to 10% of its endowment, Suzman said.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. gave them until April 30, or three more months, to apply for consolidation under the government’s public utility vehicle modernization program (PUVMP). ADVERTISEMENTPresidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Cheloy Velicaria Garafil said the President approved Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista’s recommendation to extend the deadline. 2023-017, which gives PUV operators only until Dec. 31, 2023, to join an existing consolidated entity, or else their units will be deemed unauthorized. On Dec. 12, President Marcos said there would be no more extensions for the franchise application. As of mid-January, the LTFRB said 190,000 PUV units had already complied with the consolidation requirement.