00:00A rainy Thursday afternoon to all yours truly, Patrick DeSus here and this is PTV News Now.
00:07Pops! On our news leaderboard at this moment, President Ferdinand R. Marcus Jr. has ordered full government vigilance as tropical depression is seeing threatens parts of the country.
00:19He directed agencies to stay alert, activate emergency operation centers, and issue regular weather updates to keep communities informed.
00:29The Department of Social Welfare and Development, or DSWD, is on blue alert with over 3 million family food packs and P773 million worth of non-food relief items prepositioned in over 900 storage facilities.
00:44The National Disaster Risk, Reduction and Management Council, or NDRRMC, is also on blue alert with AFP, BFP, PCG, and PNP duty officers activated.
00:57In Bicol and Calabarzon, early preparations are underway.
01:02Officials are closely monitoring volcanic areas like Mayon and Bulusan due to the threat of lahar from heavy rains.
01:10Taal is also under watch for possible activity during the storm.
01:15U.S. President Donald Trump left markets on edge after throwing shade at Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, calling him lousy and a numbskull, yet claiming he's not planning to fire him, at least not yet.
01:31Though Trump insisted Powell's job is safe, for now he refused to close the door completely.
01:36Trump hinted that a $2.5 billion fed renovation plan might be a fireable offense and floated unsubstantiated claims of fraud.
01:47Behind closed doors, he reportedly waved a draft termination letter at GOP lawmakers, many of whom backed the idea.
01:56The mix signal sent financial markets on a rollercoaster ride, treasury yields spike, gold gained, and the dollar briefly slipped before bouncing back.
02:07As for Powell, he's staying put with law and precedent on his side unless Trump finds a smoking gun.
02:14So that's all for this afternoon show. Join us later on for our nightly edition covering events both here and abroad.
02:24I'm Patrick De Jesus and thank you for watching PTV News Now.
