Philippines keeps Cabinet mostly unchanged after 'bold reset' call
The call for "courtesy resignations" came in the wake of the disappointing performances by Marcos-backed candidates in the country's recent midterm elections.
Speaking at a press briefing, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin confirmed that Marcos had decided to keep several key officials, including the secretaries of agriculture, education, labour, health, and social welfare.
Marcos had earlier maintained his core economic team, along with the heads of the defense, justice, and interior departments.
Bersamin also clarified that Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo will remain in his role until Congress confirms his appointment as the Philippines' permanent representative to the United Nations. Manalo was initially expected to step down by July 31.
Performance reviews for other senior officials, including undersecretaries, are still ongoing, Bersamin added.
"If you are asking for blood, there will still be blood," he said, suggesting further changes could follow.
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Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
‘The city is dead': D.C. restaurant reservations drop amid federal crackdown
'The city is dead': D.C. restaurant reservations drop amid federal crackdown Since President Donald Trump announced his takeover of the D.C. police force last week, restaurant reservations have dropped in the city by as much as 31 percent year over year for a single day, according to restaurant booking data. Business owners are concerned that the continued surge in law enforcement could impact their revenue during a vital period of the summer. Several operators say the decline does not bode well for them or the 380 establishments participating in Summer Restaurant Week, which started Monday in the greater D.C. area. The bargain-dining promotion is considered a lifeline for restaurants hoping to survive the doldrums of August, when Congress is on recess, locals are on vacation, and many area residents are gearing up for back-to-school season. One of the goals with the promotion, says Shawn Townsend, president and chief executive of the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, is to help the industry make it to Labor Day, when D.C. springs back to life. Subscribe to The Post Most newsletter for the most important and interesting stories from The Washington Post. This August has been particularly tough on D.C. restaurants, numerous operators told The Washington Post. They were already dealing with a number of destabilizing issues - rising labor and ingredient costs, soaring rents, federal worker layoffs, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement audits - when the president announced last week that he was sending in troops and federal agents to deal with a city where crime is 'totally out of control,' despite local and federal statistics showing otherwise. 'It's like drowning and then someone throws a 100 lb weight to you,' texted one D.C. restaurateur who asked that his name not be used because, he said, he was 'just focused on keeping my businesses alive (this week).' It's difficult to get an exact read on the state of D.C. dining since the federalization of local police. On the day of Trump's announcement, the number of online reservations in Washington dining rooms dropped by 16 percent from the same date the previous year, according to OpenTable. Since then, reservations have dipped almost every day, falling as much as 31 percent in a single day compared to the same period in 2024. But on Monday, the first day of Restaurant Week, OpenTable reservations were up 29 percent compared to the same day the previous year. Some of the decline in reservations could be attributed to timing: The first week of the takeover, Aug. 11 to 17, ended one day before Restaurant Week began. Those same dates in 2024 fell during Restaurant Week, when presumably reservations were increasing as diners scrambled to secure the discounted three-course meals. Townsend with RAMW, which organizes the biannual promotion, says that none of the 380 restaurants involved in this year's event - a record number - have reported a drop in reservations for the seven-day run. But at least two participating restaurant proprietors told The Washington Post that their numbers are well below last year's bookings. 'Reservations are low, low, low' compared to last year, said Mauricio Fraga-Rosenfeld, co-owner of El Secreto de Rosita on U Street near 16th Street NW, across the street from a police station where he said federal troops have often assembled before fanning out across the city. 'The city is dead,' Fraga-Rosenseld said. 'If you walk on the street, there's no feeling. People are scared … You don't see any Latinos on the street.' Nick Pimentel, co-founder of Elle in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood, said he's seen a significant drop in walk-in traffic and reservations since January. But the bottom fell out this month. 'Compared to last year's Summer Restaurant Week reservations - and even Winter Restaurant Week in January - it's looking like we dropped more than 50 percent,' Pimentel said. The numbers suggest, he added, that this will be the slowest August in Elle's seven-year history, including during the pandemic-affected summer of 2020. 'Seeing law enforcement - armored and plainclothed - in the neighborhood, casing our building and looking into our windows definitely put guests and staff on edge,' Pimentel said. Mount Pleasant and the nearby Columbia Heights and 14th Street areas have seen several arrests of food delivery workers, including a Saturday morning incident in which six mostly masked agents wearing police vests tackled a food delivery driver outside of a coffee shop. The president and White House are disputing the numbers. During a Tuesday call in to the 'Fox & Friends' morning television show, Trump said his orders have transformed Washington into 'just an incredible place in literally four days.' 'Did you see what's happening with the restaurants? They're bursting,' Trump said. 'They were all closing and going bankrupt.' On Monday, Trump disputed local and federal statistics that show crime is declining in the city, claiming in a social media post that 'D.C. gave Fake Crime numbers in order to create a false illusion of safety.' A White House spokeswoman sent a statement to The Post, along with a Fox News story indicating that 52 restaurants closed in Washington in 2023, in part due to crime. 'Dozens of DC small businesses, restaurants, and local shops have closed their doors due to the violent crime that has plagued the city. President Trump's bold leadership will restore our nation's capital by creating opportunities for businesses to flourish without fear of criminals looting and destroying their property. President Trump is delivering on his promise to make DC safer, which will inherently make D.C, more prosperous,' spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said in a statement. Busboys and Poets, a chain of community-oriented cafes, has seen a small collective drop in August sales among the five locations in Washington while its three suburban outposts are enjoying an uptick, said founder Andy Shallal. 'The streets seem to be a little bit thinner in certain parts of town,' said Shallal. 'There's a little bit of a malaise in the city. I think people are just frustrated and just not in a good mood.' Shallal and others say federal checkpoints are scaring some people from visiting Washington, regardless of their legal status. The unexpected traffic stops may also be preventing workers - particularly back-of-the-house cooks and dishwashers who often hail from Latin American countries - from showing up to shifts. 'I think people would much rather stay where they are and not have to deal with this,' said Shallal. 'A lot of our customers are immigrants that have either newly immigrated to America or have been naturalized Americans. ... In general, they'd rather not expose people or expose themselves to those kinds of conditions or situations that may put them in harm's way.' Council member Charles Allen (D-Ward 6) has spoken to nearly a dozen restaurant owners in his district, which includes Capitol Hill and the NoMa neighborhood, and said they're telling him the same thing: In the last week, they're seeing less foot traffic. Reservations are being canceled. Employees, especially back-of-house staff, are not showing up for work, leaving restaurants shorthanded for evening shifts. Some restaurant owners are hesitant to complain publicly for fear of being targeted by federal agents. 'I haven't heard a single restaurant say 'this is great for business,'' Allen said. 'Our businesses are suffering by what they're doing here,' the council member added. 'It's an unwarranted, absolutely ridiculous, unnecessary step that federal government's doing. It sure is more than just immigration issues. This is impacting bread-and-butter local businesses.' Med Lahlou, founder of an eponymous hospitality group operating neighborhood restaurants throughout the city including Lupo Verde on 14th Street NW, said the police presence and public arrests have been demoralizing. 'It has been heartbreaking to watch my hometown of 40 years feel like it's coming apart,' the restaurateur said. He said the takeover is 'devastating businesses to an unimaginable degree' - including the service industry. 'People are scared to go out, regardless of whether they are U.S. citizens or not. That fear alone is enough to damage restaurant week and the livelihood of countless workers,' Lahlou said. Oji Abbott had been expecting an uptick in sales at Oohh's and Aahh's, his soul food restaurant on U Street, as Howard University students returned to campus last week, preparing for the start of a new semester. But the uptick never arrived. Instead, Abbott says, he has experienced a decline - a small but noticeable one. He pinned some of the blame on the presence of federal law enforcement officers. 'We got losses because some people are not coming out and dealing with that,' Abbott told The Post. 'They say, 'You know, I heard they were at 14th Street, they were in U Street. I'm not going.'' Abbott is fortunate compared to other businesses on the U Street corridor, he says. Oohh's and Aahh's has two other locations. If diners don't feel safe - or just don't want to deal with the hassle of navigating the neighborhood with all the extra vehicles on the streets - they can go to one of Abbott's outlets on Georgia Avenue NW or in Alexandria, Virginia. But the chef and owner also worries about the impact of 30 straight days of federal agents and officers on the streets. 'We have to operate within this 30 days, and do you have enough wherewithal to be able to have a week or month of short money coming?' Abbott says. 'Most small businesses, I'll say no. Small businesses, you don't have money to say, 'Oh, yeah, I'll just take the short money for 30 days and I'll still be able to pay the rent and my electric bill and my water bill and my gas bill.' Townsend with RAMW is more bullish on the restaurants that his group represents. They will make Restaurant Week work, regardless of how many staff no-show for a shift. Owners will roll up their sleeves and pitch in. But Townsend is also concerned about the federal takeover of Washington's streets as restaurant week revs up. 'There's a sense from the restaurant community in D.C. that folks who live in Maryland and Virginia will opt to dine in Bethesda or Tysons or Falls Church,' Townsend said, 'as opposed to trying out a new restaurant in D.C. this week.' - - - Emily Heil contributed to this report. Related Content In Donbas, Ukrainians hold out as Russia besieges, bargains for their land As more National Guard units arrive in D.C., local officials question the need Ukraine scrambles to roll back Russian eastern advance as summit takes place Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
43 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Sen. Baldwin says ‘momentum' building to push back Trump efforts to close U.S. Education Dept.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin toured La Follette High School in Madison on Tuesday. (Photo by Baylor Spears/ Wisconsin Examiner) Opposition to the Trump administration's efforts to close the U.S. Department of Education is gaining momentum, Sen. Tammy Baldwin said Tuesday during a visit to La Follette High School in Madison. Baldwin visited the school, part of the state's second largest school district, as new educators met for an orientation ahead of the start of the school year on September 3. '[New educators are] coming or returning to teaching at a time where we have seen this administration doing devastating things to education and education funding,' Baldwin, a Wisconsin Democrat, told reporters after a tour of the school. 'It has proposed the abolition of the Education Department. He wants to dismantle it. He's called for the end to it, but he also knows that there are some constraints because the Education Department was set up by Congress and it's funded by Congress.' President Donald Trump signed an executive order in March ordering Education Sec. Linda McMahon to 'take all necessary steps to facilitate the closure of the Department of Education and return authority over education to the States and local communities while ensuring the effective and uninterrupted delivery of services, programs, and benefits on which Americans rely.' McMahon has said she is 'dead serious' about putting herself out of a job. In June, schools across the country were thrown into uncertainty when the Trump administration withheld over $6 billion in federal funds meant to support English language learners, migrants, low-income children, adult learners, after-school programs and more. The frozen funds included $70 million for Wisconsin. The administration decided to reverse course and release the funds in late July after Republican and Democratic Senators both called on the administration to do so. Madison Metropolitan School District Superintendent Joe Gothard said that, as of Tuesday, the district had expected $3.4 million and is 'still waiting for direct language to ensure that we are going to be reimbursed for the cost that we plan to incur this school year.' Without that money, 'students would not receive the services they deserve, and that could be by way of reading interventions, it could be some of the outreach we're able to do with communities, with families,' Gothard said. '$3.4 million out of $6 billion may not seem like a lot, but those are targeted funds at students who need it most.' 'I'm grateful that we've had support for the unfreezing of these funds,' Gothard said, adding that uncertainty of funding 'undermines public education and who it's for.' The lack of certainty is leading the district to rely more heavily on the local community and government for the support the district needs. 'I've got a range of students,' Thompson said, adding that the City Center allows for students to 'come in and get what they need.' Baldwin also got to see the school's music room, library, gymnasium and technical education spaces, including an autoshop. 'One of my most popular classes is our cooking classes, right, and kids get to learn basic life skills, and then, they actually do cooking for the school,' Thompson said. 'And nutrition and all that stuff,' Baldwin added. 'Yeah, you know, everything kids don't want to hear,' Thompson joked. The Trump administration's efforts to close the Education Department comes even as some Republican lawmakers are balking at the idea. Politico reported that Republican lawmakers looking to fulfill Trump's agenda are considering breaking the process down into smaller bills given the opposition to shutting down the department, especially from those in school districts that have benefited from funding and those that rely on the agency for guidance. When it comes to challenging the ongoing federal uncertainty, Baldwin pointed to a recent bill that came out of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health, and Human Services, and Education and was recently approved by the full committee. 'We have seen him propose to put some of the career and technical education programs in the Labor Department rather than keeping them in the Education Department,' Baldwin said. 'He's talked about putting the IDEA program' — which serves students with disabilities under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act — 'into the Department of Health and Human Services, where it would not be suited, and he is defunding programs left and right, so we're fighting back.' According to Baldwin's office, the bill would provide $79 billion in discretionary funding for the Department of Education and would put measures into place to limit the ability to downsize the department's role. The bill includes a requirement to make formula grants available on time and maintain the staff necessary to ensure the department carries out its statutory responsibilities and carries out programs and activities funded in the bill in a timely manner. Baldwin said the bill is 'wildly bipartisan,' noting it passed the committee on a 26-3 vote at the end of July. 'We have more work to do. It has to go through the whole process and end up on the president's desk before its law,' Baldwin said. 'I feel like we have momentum in standing up against this president's plans with education, so when we return to session the day after Labor Day, we're going to continue to press to restore all funding, and fight back against this idea of abolishing the Department of Education.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
43 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Hoosier elections must remain free and fair
Will Indiana follow Texas' lead in redistricting mid-decade? (Getty Images) Vice President J.D. Vance recently visited Indiana to meet with Gov. Mike Braun and Republican leaders. They discussed a plan to redraw the state's congressional districts this year, mid-decade, in order to gain one or both of the seats currently held by Indiana Democrats and rig the 2026 mid-terms so Republicans can preserve their very slim House majority. We are scholars and teachers of U.S. law and politics. And we are deeply troubled by the Trump administration's attempt to rewrite the electoral rules mid-stream to maximize its power, and by Indiana Republicans' failure to immediately reject such a transparently partisan move, which would corrupt the fairness of our elections. Whatever our party affiliation, all Hoosiers should care about fairness. We would never support changing the rules in the middle of a basketball game so that our team would gain unfair advantage. We want winners to win fair and square. In sports, and in politics. Such corruption is possible because the process whereby Congressional districts are created is localized and susceptible to being rigged by those bent on gaining an unfair partisan advantage. According to the U.S. Constitution, Congress allocates seats in the House of Representatives to states based on population. A census must be taken within every ten years to determine how population shifts may change the number of Congressional districts allocated to each state — a process called reapportionment. The actual shape of Congressional districts in each state is determined by state legislation. Indiana's House GOP congressional contingent lines up behind redistricting effort In 1964, the Supreme Court ruled that Congressional districts must be of roughly equal population and honor the principle of 'one person, one vote.' Since then, Congressional redistricting has almost always been done on the ten-year cycle, except when federal courts have required certain states to redraw their maps to bring them into compliance with federal election law. But now Texas Republicans are trying to redraw their Congressional map mid-decade. The reason why: because President Trump has very publicly called upon them to do this, telling CNBC's Squawk Box: 'We have an opportunity in Texas to pick up five seats. We have a really good governor, and we have good people in Texas. And I won Texas . . . and we are entitled to five more seats.' It should be obvious that Trump's vote total in the 2024 presidential election confers no GOP entitlement to extra House seats, which are not allocated based on presidential popularity (indeed, while Trump only received 56% of the 2024 Presidential vote, the Texas GOP controls 66% of the state's House seats). If the party wants five more seats in Texas or two more in Indiana, then the correct way to obtain them is to run strong candidates in districts currently held by Democrats, and win the elections in those districts, fair and square. The administration's push for Texas, Indiana, and other 'red' states to redistrict now has one very clear purpose: to change the electoral map, midstream, so that Trump and his party can retain control of the entire federal government by giving more power to voters they like while taking electoral power away from voters they don't like. And that is simply not fair. Hoosier citizens, and not statehouse Republicans, should choose who they want to represent them in their congressional districts in 2026 and 2028 and 2030. And they can freely choose only if the elections are fair. Any party that tries to try to change district boundaries in advance of an election just so they have a better chance of winning the election is doing something that has a simple name: cheating. Basketball coach John Wooden, a legendary Hoosier, famously taught his players to 'never lie, never cheat, never steal.' Indiana Republicans should heed coach Wooden's famous words, politely refuse to do the bidding of the Trump administration, and stand tall, with their Democratic counterparts, and all patriotic Hoosiers, in defense of the fairness of our elections.
