(PAGASA 24-HOUR PUBLIC WEATHER FORECAST as of Saturday, 19 July 2025) As of 3:00 AM today, the center of Tropical Depression “CRISING” was located at 530 km east of Juban, Sorsogon (13.0°N, 128.9°E). It has maximum sustained winds of 55 km/h near the center and gustiness of up to 70 km/h. It is moving west-northwest at 15 km/h. Tropical Depression Crising is currently affecting Dinagat Islands and Surigao del Norte, while the Southwest Monsoon (Habagat) continues to affect the rest of Mindanao. Dinagat Islands and Surigao del Norte will experience cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms due to TD Crising. Flash floods or landslides are possible during moderate to at times heavy rainfall. Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, and the rest of Caraga will have cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms caused by the Southwest Monsoon. The rest of Mindanao will experience partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms, also due to the Southwest Monsoon. Winds will be moderate from the southwest to west, with moderate seas (wave height: 1.2 to 2.5 meters).


Monday, 31 March 2025

RTWPB –13 launches Productivity Olympics

Butuan City – The Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) Caraga launched the 2025 Productivity Olympics, a biennial competition of the National Wages and Productivity Commission that recognizes micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) with outstanding productivity efforts.

The kick-off ceremony, held at VCDU Prince Hotel, Butuan City on March 11, was attended by the regional board members headed by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Caraga Director Jason P. Balais and selected MSMEs in the region, in coordination with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Tourism (DOT), and Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

Dir. Balais emphasized the importance of productivity as businesses continue to strive to increase their output, given the limited input. He also encouraged the participants to join the competition and assured them that the regional board and the secretariat will be assisting them. “We know that whatever positive things experienced by you, as owners, will also redound to the benefit of your employees,” he said.

Testimonies were also given by the 2023 Productivity Olympics national winners such as farm manager Janine Beutel of the Citrus Hill Plantation, and Engr. Ramon Barbosa, proprietor of Amparitas Integrated Farm.

Regional winners of the 2025 Productivity Olympics will be nominated at the national level, and will thereafter be reviewed by the national screening committee of the National Wages and Productivity Commission. (Attorney Lorainne D. Sacote, RTWPB Caraga/PIA Caraga)