Covering the week’s most noteworthy news stories throughout the Philippines for the Filipino-American and Global Filipino community.
CHIEF Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo on Wednesday, September 9, said the novel coronavirus pandemic should not stop the government from implementing its projects as he defended the Department of Environment and Natural Resources’ (DENR) Manila Bay ‘white sand’ project. He reiterated that a budget has been specifically allotted for it, even before the global…
THE Bureau of Immigration on Wednesday, September 9, announced that U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton will be deported out of the country after his release from detention. “Merong existing deportation order against him (There is an existing deportation order against him),” said DOJ Undersecretary Markk Perete. “So he will be deported by the…
THE Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) maintained that the dolomites used to beautify the stretch of Manila Bay’s shore are safe following claims of its potential health hazard. “It is not listed by the Mines Safety and Health Association, Occupational Safety and Health Association or even in the International Agency for Research…
PHILIPPINE President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday, September 7, granted absolute pardon to U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton who was serving time in the country after killing transgender Filipina Jennifer Laude in 2014. Pemberton was convicted of homicide on December 1, 2015 for the murder of Laude. He was sentenced to six to 10…
With the coronavirus pandemic hitting the Philippines hard, Filipinos have started flocking to Facebook groups to trade their possessions for food, a report by Agence France-Presse (AFP) found. “Online bartering groups have provided a lifeline to…Filipinos hit hard by the country’s months-long virus restrictions that started in March and have sent the economy plunging into…
CONVICTED U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton on Friday, September 4, asked the Olongapo Regional Trial Court Branch 74 to dismiss the motion for reconsideration filed by the family of slain transgender woman Jennifer Laude to block his early release. Pemberton’s lawyer, Rowena Flores, filed a six-page opposition asking the court to deny the…
A MEASURE seeking to declare September 11 as a special non-working holiday in Ilocos Norte to commemorate the birth anniversary of former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, has been approved on its 3rd and final reading by the House of Representatives. HB 7137, authored by Ilocos Norte 1st District Rep. Ria Fariñas, Ilocos Norte 2nd District…
PHILIPPINE President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday, August 31, paid tribute to Filipino front-line workers fighting against the novel coronavirus pandemic as the country commemorated National Heroes’ Day. “Today, we honor not only the valor of our forebears who fought for our mother land’s freedom, but also the heroism of those who risked their lives, fighting…
PHILIPPINE Interior Secretary Eduardo Año announced on Tuesday, September 1, that Lt. Gen. Camilo Pancratius Cascolan has been appointed as the new chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP) by President Rodrigo Duterte. “Lt. Gen. Cascolan is the new Chief PNP, PRRD signed the paper of appointment,” he told the Philippine News Agency. “That’s the…
OVER 60 human rights groups are calling on the United Nations Human Rights Council to establish an independent international investigation into the extrajudicial killings and other rights violations in the Philippines under President Rodrigo Duterte. In a letter addressed to the UN body on Thursday, August 27, 62 human rights and civil society groups expressed their…
PHILIPPINE Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. on Friday, August 28, said local contracts with any Chinese companies involved in island-building activities in the West Philippine Sea should be terminated following the United States’ move to blacklist firms that took part in the militarization activities in the disputed waters. “If I find that any of…
An urgent motion seeking the immediate release of U.S. Marine Lance Corporal Joseph Scott Pemberton has been filed before Judge Roline Ginez-Jabalde of the Olongapo City Regional Trial Court Branch 74. According to Lawyer Rowena Garcia-Flores, Pemberton should have been released from prison on July 31 after serving more than half of his 10-year sentence…
PHILIPPINE Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. on Wednesday, August 26, maintained that the Philippines will continue patrolling the Spratly Islands despite China’s call to stop ”illegal provocations” in the contested waters. “We’re gonna continue our patrol because it’s ours. That’s all there is to it,” Locsin said in an interview on ANC. “They (China)…
The Philippines ranks near the bottom of a recent global list of average wages conducted by an international e-commerce platform. In a survey by Picodi.com — entitled “Average wages: in which country people earn the most?” — the Philippines placed 95th out of 110 countries with its average salary of P15,200. It outranked other countries…
TWO female suicide bombers are behind the twin bombings in Jolo, Sulu that killed 15 and wounded 77 on Monday, August 24, the Philippine Army said. According to Army chief Lieutenant General Cirilito Sobejana, the suicide bombers were “alias Nanah” and “alias Inda Nay.” Alias Nanah, a resident of Basilan, was the wife of the…
Tourism is one of the world’s largest industries most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and every other country has seen the varying degrees of decimation to its tourism sector. Whether it is Italy, where tourism accounts for 6% of the country’s GDP or Palau where it generates almost 90% of all exports, countries are struggling…
PHILIPPINE President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday, August 25, said there is no “magic bullet” to solve the country’s problems related to the novel coronavirus pandemic. “This is an update again, a weekly (report on) what we are trying to do. We will also continue to respond to the rising challenges in our pandemic, recalibrating our…
IMMIGRATION officers at Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) and other entry ports have been advised to tighten the screening of foreigners who claim they are married to Filipinos before allowing them to enter the country. The Philippine Bureau of Immigration (BI) order was issued following reports that some foreign nationals managed to enter the…
Health care workers bearing employment certificates (OEC) from the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) have been given permission by the government to leave the country this week. This came following Malacañang’s announcement on Thursday, August 21 that gave the green light for healthcare workers with overseas employment contracts as of March 8 to pursue their…
AROUND 180,000 young Filipinos out of school will be supported with a new P1.9 billion ($37.5 million) educational and employment program funded by the United States government, the U.S. Embassy in Manila announced Wednesday, August 19. The Opportunity 2.0: Second-chance Opportunities for Out-of-school Youth is a five-year project funded by the United States Agency for…
An app for pc developed by a group of Filipinos that measures the impact of the coronavirus is the winner of NASA’s Space Apps COVID-19 Challenge. Data analysts Nick Tobia, Helen Mary Barrameda, Kristel Joyce Zapata, Theresa Rosario Tan and Miguel Oscar Castelo from CirroLytix created a dashboard for public policymakers and economic planners to…
PHILIPPINE President Rodrigo Duterte announced on Monday, August 17 that the government will relax quarantine measures in Metro Manila, beginning Wednesday, August 19. The provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal were also placed under a general community quarantine (GCQ) that will last on August 31. Other areas placed under GCQ are Nueva Ecija, Batangas,…
A MAGNITUDE 6.6 earthquake rocked the Masbate province on Tuesday, August 18, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) reported. Phivolcs initially reported a magnitude 6.5 earthquake but later upgraded it to magnitude 6.6. The tectonic quake was located five kilometers south, 17 degrees west of Cataingan town at 8:03 a.m. Intensity VII (Destructive)…
A MUTATED strain of the novel coronavirus has been found in the Philippines, which could be more infectious than the original variant, Filipino genomic researchers reported. The G614 strain was detected along with the original D614 genotype in the positive samples collected from Quezon City, home to approximately 2.9 million residents, according to the Philippine…
THOUSANDS of Filipino seafarers are bound for European and Mediterranean itineraries as foreign cruise operators begin to rehire them. As reported by the Philippine Star, migration and recruitment consultant Manny Geslani noted that several cruise companies such as TUI Cruises, a German company in which Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) holds a stake; Hurtigruten, a private…
PHILIPPINE President Rodrigo Duterte will address the nation on August 17 to announce the new community quarantine classifications in the country, Malacañang said on Thursday, August 13. “Inaasahan po natin na magme-mensahe sa taumbayan muli ang ating Presidente sa August 17 kung saan ia-anunsiyo rin niya kung ano ‘yung mga bagong classification (We expect the…
FIFTEEN more overseas Filipinos have tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the total number of infected individuals to 9,893, the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reported on Saturday, August 15. The agency also logged 19 new recoveries, raising the number of recovered Filipinos abroad to 5,842. With three new deaths in the Americas, the…
THE Philippines will continue to be the world’s largest rice importer until 2021 with the expected decline in local production, the United States Department of Agriculture projected this week. In its latest report entitled “Grain: World Markets and Trade,” the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service said that this year’s imports will decline by 10%, reaching 2.6…
Malacañang said competing for tourists was what drove a newspaper from Thailand to brand the Philippines as the “Land of COVID-19.” According to Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, the Philippines and Thailand are “fierce” competitors in the tourism sector, with the latter struggling to attract tourists due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. “There’s also no way…
THE Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles this week released an advisory detailing which foreign nationals can travel to the Philippines as the pandemic continues. “The entry to the Philippines of a foreign national is still dependent on the specific circumstances of each foreign national as determined by the Bureau of Immigration,” it noted. Below is the…
