Here are today’s headlines – the latest news in the Philippines and around the world:
- Is Marcos admin’s P20/kilo rice push a response to failed food emergency?
- Robredo endorses Alyansa candidates Pacquiao, Abalos
- Bam, Kiko top mock senatorial elections in 3 Calabarzon universities
- Kendrick Lamar, Post Malone lead American Music Awards nominations
- Marcos to honor Nora Aunor, 3 other late icons with Presidential Medal of Merit
https://www.rappler.com/video/daily-wrap/april-24-2025/
- Is Marcos admin’s P20/kilo rice push a response to failed food emergency?
- Robredo endorses Alyansa candidates Pacquiao, Abalos
- Bam, Kiko top mock senatorial elections in 3 Calabarzon universities
- Kendrick Lamar, Post Malone lead American Music Awards nominations
- Marcos to honor Nora Aunor, 3 other late icons with Presidential Medal of Merit
https://www.rappler.com/video/daily-wrap/april-24-2025/
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NewsTranscript
00:00Today on Rappler
00:08The Agriculture Department is set to pilot a 20 peso per kilo rice program in the Visayas region.
00:20Former Vice President Lenny Robredo endorses Allianza Senatorial Candidates Manny Pacquiao and Benjor Abalos.
00:26Ba Maquino and Kiko Pangilinan lead the senatorial polls in three universities from Calabarzon.
00:33Rapper Kendrick Lamar tops the American Music Awards nominations.
00:37And the Presidential Medal of Merit will be awarded to four female icons who passed away.
00:44The Agriculture Department announces it will pilot a 20 peso per kilo rice program in the Visayas region next week.
00:50Agriculture Secretary Chu Laurel says the program will run until December and could be extended to February 2026, and after that, hopefully until 2028.
01:00There is no clear date yet for a nationwide rollout, but the department sees the Visayas pilot test as a way to work out the logistics.
01:08But a big factor why this is happening now, aside from the upcoming midterm elections,
01:12is that nearly three months after the food emergency was declared, the government is still struggling with full National Food Authority warehouses.
01:19They still need to clear out rice stocks to make space for the new harvest.
01:24While the government was dealing with 300 metric tons of rice during the Food Emergency Declaration,
01:29it is now contending with 358,000 metric tons.
01:33The Food Emergency Declaration enables the Agriculture Department to sell NFA rice stocks to local governments.
01:39However, only a few local governments availed of the low-priced NFA rice.
01:44Former Vice President Lenny Robredo, who is running for Naga City Mayor,
01:50endorses the Senate bids of former Senator Manny Pacquiao and former Interior Secretary Benjur Abalos.
01:56The two senatorial candidates are under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s Alianza para sa Bagong Pilipinas.
02:02Robredo gave her endorsement at two different events in Naga City.
02:06In endorsing Pacquiao, Robredo said she could vouch for his kindness even though they ran against each other in the 2022 presidential election.
02:14Back in a 2022 presidential debate, Robredo said she would vote for Pacquiao if she weren't running for president.
02:21Robredo's endorsement of candidates from Marcos' slate came as a surprise since they were rivals in the 2022 presidential election.
02:28Robredo also faced online backlash for not endorsing Bong Rodriguez, who is running for Camarines Sur governor against El Rey Vilafuerte.
02:37The former vice president is also endorsing the bid of senatorial candidates Kiko Pangilinan and Bam Aquino.
02:45Senatorial candidates Bam Aquino and Kiko Pangilinan earned the highest vote numbers from the mock senatorial election polls
02:51from three universities in Calabarzon in April, March, and February.
02:55The polls are conducted in the University of the Philippines Los Baños, Batangas State University, and Southern Luzon State University.
03:03The UPLB releases their senatorial mock polls from March to April in a Facebook post,
03:07with Pangilinan on the top spot, earning 76.6% or 543 votes of more than 700 individuals.
03:15Aquino and Danilo Ramos follow him at the second spot with 76.3% or 541 votes.
03:22Batangas State University students chose Bam Aquino as their top candidate with 94.1% votes of 475 students,
03:31while Pangilinan earned the second spot with 92.2% votes.
03:35Meantime, Kiko Pangilinan placed first in the senatorial mock elections at Southern Luzon State University,
03:41getting 76.81% or 1,623 votes out of 2,113 participants.
03:48Aquino came next with 74.78% of the votes.
03:52Most of the senatorial candidates who ranked high in the three university polls are not among the top choices
03:57in the Pulse Asia survey done from March 23 to 29.
04:01To help you make the best decision of who to vote for, we have all the information you need in one place,
04:08the Rappler Election Site.
04:10From comprehensive election guides and explainers, to profiles of candidates, both national and local,
04:15we bring you a news feed of all the latest updates on voters' issues and campaign moments.
04:19Check it out at ph.rappler.com.
04:22Rapper Kendrick Lamar earns 10 nominations for the American Music Awards on Wednesday, April 23,
04:29including Artist of the Year and Song of the Year for his Grammy-winning diss track, Not Like Us.
04:34Post Malone lands eight nominations, including Favorite Male Country Artist and Favorite Country Album for F1 Trillion.
04:41He had won AMAs before in rap, hip-hop, and pop-rock categories.
04:44Billie Eilish, Chapel Roan, and Shibuzzi follow with seven nominations each.
04:50Taylor Swift, who holds the record for the most AMAs won by any artist, received six nominations this year.
04:56Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter is nominated for Album of the Year and Favorite Country Album at the AMAs.
05:02She is also in the running for Favorite Female Country Artist.
05:06Fans will vote on the winners, and the results will be announced during a show on May 26, hosted by Jennifer Lopez.
05:12President Ferdinand Marcus Jr. will award four female icons who passed away in 2025 with Presidential Medals of Merit.
05:22Nora Honor, Pilita Corrales, Gloria Romero, and Margarita Fores will each be honored with the medals in a ceremony on May 4.
05:30The Presidential Merit Award is one of the highest honors given by the President to those whose work has greatly contributed to nation-building.
05:36Honor, a national artist known for his singing and acting, and called the Superstar, died on April 16 from acute respiratory failure.
05:45Corrales, a legend in OPM and known as Asia's Queen of Song, passed away a few days earlier on April 12.
05:51Romero, a well-known actress called the Queen of Philippine Cinema, died on January 25.
05:56Forrest, named Asia's best female chef in 2016 and founder of the Chivo restaurant chain, died on February 11 from a heart attack.
06:05Other individuals who have received the Presidential Medal of Merit include Frances Magalona, Lea Salonga, Paeng Nepomuceno, and Manny Pacquiao, among others.
06:14And that's today's wrap. I'm Cara Oliver. Thank you for watching.
06:20Click the link below for the full story.
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