THE House Committee on Labor and Employment has approved a bill granting a paid bereavement leave to employees, but settled with five days instead of the proposed five to 10 days.

THE Senate committee on justice and human rights, chaired by Senator Richard J. Gordon, has recommended the extension of the availability of funds for victims of human-rights violations during the Marcos regime.

20 applicants are vying for the position of Supreme Court (SC) associate justice which will be vacated by Justice Noel G. Tijam next year, Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra said.

AN INTERNATIONAL human rights group is calling for an independent commission to investigate policemen who were allegedly involved in the killing of drug suspects after a police officer recently admitted that some policemen were responsible for many of the extrajudicial killings.

OVERSEAS FILIPINO Workers (OFWs) are now expected to get easier access to benefits provided by the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) through the newly-launched OFW e-CARD.

SMART Communications, Inc. is on track to have long-term evolution (LTE) coverage for wireless data services in over 90% of the country’s towns and cities by the end of the year, according to Smart Public Affairs Visayas-Mindanao head Maria Jane C. Paredes.

THE PHILIPPINE Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) is disposing assets of closed banks through public bidding at its head office in Makati City on Nov. 29 and Dec. 6. The Nov. bidding offers five prime properties with a total minimum disposal price of P63.3million.

DAVAO CITY — Malaysian book shop BookXcess is bringing the Big Bad Wolf Book Sale to Davao, the first time in Mindanao, with about a million books to be offered at 50%-90% discount.

STUDENTS and workers in Iloilo City moved out of buildings on Monday after a series of earthquakes were felt, the strongest of which was magnitude 4.8 that struck at around 10:54 a.m.

PHILIPPINE NATIONAL Police (PNP) Director General Oscar D. Albayalde said the crime rate decline in Mindanao can be attributed to the imposition of martial law.

News stories from across the nation. Visit www.bworldonline.com (section: The Nation) to read more national and regional news from the Philippines.

THE PUBLIC Attorney’s Office (PAO) is considering upgrading its Dengvaxia-related complaints from reckless imprudence resulting in homicide to murder, PAO Chief Persida V. Rueda-Acosta said on Monday.