US voices concern over Ressa’s guilty verdict
THE United States on Tuesday, June 16, expressed concern over Rappler executive editor and chief executive officer Maria Ressa and writer Reynaldo Santos Jr. being convicted of cyber libel by…
Category: Across the Islands
Covering the week’s most noteworthy news stories throughout the Philippines for the Filipino-American and Global Filipino community.
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Filipino tycoon Danding Cojuangco dies at 85
BUSINESS tycoon Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco Jr. on Tuesday, June 16, passed away at the age of 85. The chairman and chief executive officer of San Miguel Corporation (SMC) died of…
PH tourism stakeholders tell balikbayans: Postpone trips to the homeland for now
Many Filipinos in the United States are looking at the possibility of traveling back to the Philippines even while the world is going through a pandemic. However, the tourism sector…
DOJ to submit review of anti-terrorism bill to Duterte
PHILIPPINE Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Tuesday, June 16, said the Department of Justice (DOJ) is on track to submit its report on the anti-terrorism bill to the Office of…
Rappler CEO Maria Ressa found guilty of cyber-libel charges, faces up to 6 years in prison
Rappler executive editor and chief executive officer Maria Ressa and writer Reynaldo Santos Jr. on Monday, June 15, were convicted of cyber libel by a Manila court. Ressa and Santos,…
Palace: Critics free to question anti-terror bill before court
Malacañang on Thursday, June 11, said that critics of the controversial anti-terrorism bill are free to question the measure before the court. The bill, since President Rodrigo Duterte certified it as…
PH tourism industry gears up for recovery
TRAVEL and tourism are among the economic sectors badly hit by COVID-19 and as the rest of the world prepares to reopen and countries are working hard to get their…
Pacquiao denies talking about running for president with Arum
PHILIPPINE Senator Manny Pacquiao on Tuesday, June 9, denied that he discussed his supposed plans to run for president with his former longtime promoter Bob Arum. “We talked about Crawford,…
Palace: Public interest on anti-terror bill will push Duterte to study it ‘even closer’
MALACAÑANG on Wednesday, June 10, said the protests against the anti-terrorism bill would push President Rodrigo Duterte to scrutinize the measure “even closer.” “Let’s just say that the public interest…
Anti-terror bill sent to Palace for Duterte’s signature
A copy of the controversial anti-terrorism bill has been sent to Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, Malacañang confirmed on Tuesday, June 9. Earlier that day, Senate President Vicente Sotto III said…
Accounts pretending to be Filipino users pop up on Facebook
THOUSANDS of fake accounts that clone the profiles of students from the top universities in the Philippines surfaced on Facebook over the weekend. The University of the Philippines urged its…
UN report finds ‘near impunity’ for PH’s war on drugs
HUMAN rights abuses in the Philippines have reportedly worsened due to President Rodrigo Duterte’s war against illegal drugs, killing tens of thousands of Filipinos in the process, a new report…
Philippine Justice Dept. to comment on anti-terror bill before Duterte’s signature
THE Philippines’ Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 will undergo additional review from the country’s Department of Justice before it is signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte. The DOJ on Friday,…
35K Filipinos repatriated due to COVID-19
The Philippines has welcomed home over 35,000 overseas Filipinos since the coronavirus outbreak, the Department of Foreign Affairs said on Friday, June 5. At least 13,566 land-based OFs have been…
Anti-terror bill to undergo Duterte review before being signed into law
Despite growing criticism over the proposed Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, President Rodrigo Duterte will run a “final review” before signing it into law to ensure that it complies with the…
Palace: Duterte’s decision unchanged, VFA termination only suspended
PHILIPPINE President Rodrigo Duterte has not changed his decision to terminate the country’s Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States, despite the suspension this week. “Ang nangyari lang po,…
Anti-terror bill OK’d in PH House
THE Philippine House of Representatives on Wednesday, June 3, approved the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, on its third and final reading. A total of 173 lawmakers voted to pass House…
Filipinos abroad infected with COVID-19 reach over 5,200
THE Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday, June 2, reported 12 new cases of the novel coronavirus among overseas Filipinos, bringing the total number of infected individuals to 5,230….
PAL seeks to resume flights on June 1
NATIONAL carrier Philippine Airlines is finalizing plans for June flights, after President Rodrigo Duterte announced that Metro Manila will be transitioning to a more relaxed general community quarantine starting on…
Filipinos abroad infected with COVID-19 now at 2,845
TWENTY-FOUR overseas Filipinos have tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of infected individuals to 2,845, according to the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs’ latest tally on Friday, May…
Duterte calls for more OFWs to be returned home
PHILIPPINE President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered government agencies to bring some 24,000 repatriated overseas Filipino workers back to their home provinces by the end of the week. According to Presidential…
Palace may lift deployment ban on health workers once pandemic crisis ends
Malacañang said this week that the deployment ban on healthcare workers abroad may be lifted once the threat of the coronavirus ends in countries where they would be employed. “Kapag…
Chinese POGO workers, tenants tested for COVID-19 after raid of illegal hospital in Clark
NEARLY 500 Chinese citizens working and residing at a resort situated at the Clark Freeport Zone north of Manila have been tested for COVID-19, following the discovery of an illegal…
Human rights group to US: Don’t sell attack helicopters to PH
An international human rights watchdog is urging U.S. Congress to “block or delay sales” of attack helicopters worth almost $2 billion to the Philippines. In a post on Friday, May…
Study finds PH now a ‘global hotspot’ for online child abuse
The Philippines has become the world’s largest known source of online child sexual exploitation, according to a new report released this week. The study from the International Justice Mission on…
PH still on first wave of COVID-19 pandemic – DOH
The Philippines is still on its first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the country’s Department of Health clarified on Thursday, May 21. This comes after Health Secretary Francisco Duque previously…
Illegal hospital treating coronavirus patients in Clark ordered to shut down
The Clark Development Corporation has ordered the closure and full lockdown of the Fontana Resorts and Leisure Park inside the Clark Freeport Zone after the discovery of an illegal makeshift…
Filipinos urged to report ‘Philippines, province of China’ geotag on Facebook
Filipinos are urged to mass report a geotag that identifies the Philippines as “Province of China” and “North Philippines, Province of China” on social media platforms Facebook and Instagram. The…
PAL schedules 2 flights to LA, SF for stranded US citizens
Flag carrier Philippine Airlines recently announced that it will be assisting stranded American citizens in the country by mounting two separate flights to Los Angeles and San Francisco this week….
PH airlines extend flight suspensions to May 31
The Philippines’ major airlines have all announced that their flights are canceled for the rest of May, in compliance with the government’s new quarantine guidelines. Budget airlines AirAsia Philippines and…