Covering the week’s most noteworthy news stories in Metro-Manila for the Filipino-American and Global Filipino community.
FOREIGN investors planning to enter the Philippines must first secure an investor’s visa before they can be allowed entry to the country, the country’s Bureau of Immigration (BI) clarified on Monday, November 16. Foreign nationals holding visas under Executive Order No. 226 or the Omnibus Investments Code, and those with a Special Investor’s Resident Visa…
The Philippines’ decision to suspend anew the termination of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) was “sound and strategic,” according to a lawmaker. Muntinlupa City Rep. Ruffy Biazon, who serves as the vice-chairperson of the House Committee on National Defense and Security, pointed out that the move will give the new administration of the United States…
THE Philippine Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Wednesday, November 4, urged airlines not to allow foreign nationals bound for the Philippines without the appropriate visas. According to Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente, the bureau received reports of foreigners who were turned back at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) for not having visas. The incident also…
PHILIPPINE-U.S. bilateral relations will not see any major changes regardless of who wins the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Malacañang said on Wednesday, November 4. “You see the (U.S.) State Department ensures continuity as far as U.S. foreign policy is concerned. So we don’t expect any major changes in bilateral relations between the Philippines and the…
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Tuesday, November 3, noted a spike in the number of Filipinos abroad who have contracted the coronavirus, recording an additional 119 infections. This brings the official case count to 11,364. It also logged 75 new recoveries, which raises the total tally to 7,354. “Today, the DFA reports…
UNITED States President Donald Trump has received the second-highest level of support from the Philippines, according to a recent survey of Asian countries by German market and consumer data company Statista. The country gave Trump an approval rating of 58%, closely following behind Mongolia’s 62% rating. “According to a yearly poll by Gallup, approval of…
PHILIPPINE President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday, October 27, announced that Metro Manila will remain under general community quarantine (GCQ) until November 30. According to the chief executive, the mayors of Metro Manila wanted to keep the GCQ status in the region. “Ang gusto ng mga mayor, karamihan, gusto nila (The majority of mayors want to),…
METRO Manila mayors are seeking to extend the general community quarantine (GCQ) in their areas until December, according to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA). “All our mayors agreed to recommend to the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force) to extend GCQ until December 31,” MMDA General Manager Jose Arturo Garcia said in Filipino during a virtual…
THE Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday, October 15, logged 24 new additional cases of the novel coronavirus among overseas Filipinos, bringing the official tally of infections to 11,141. The agency also recorded three new recoveries, which pushes the total number of recovered and discharged patients to 7,175. Meanwhile, the death toll remains…
THE Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) on Wednesday, October 14, maintained that dolomite “white sand” along Manila Bay was not washed out by the recent rains. “Wala pong na wash out, hindi po nabawasan yung ating white dolomite ang nadagdagan tayo ng black sand galing sa ilalim ng dagat (Nothing was washed…
TRAVEL restrictions to enter the Philippines are still in effect as the pandemic continues, the country’s Bureau of Immigration (BI) reminded the public on Wednesday, October 7. Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente stressed that only Filipinos, their foreign spouses and children who are minors are allowed to enter the country. Likewise, foreign children with special needs…
Malacañang maintained that the budget set for the Manila Bay’s rehabilitation program could no longer be realigned to the government’s COVID-19 response. “Nasimulan na po iyan eh, so kinakailangan tapusin na po iyan. (It has already begun so it has to be completed),” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said on Thursday, October 1. “And as I…
Metro Manila will stay under general community quarantine (GCQ) for the entire month of October. This comes after President Rodrigo Duterte approved the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) on Monday, September 28. Aside from the capital region, the province of Batangas, and the cities of Tacloban,…
PHILIPPINE President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday, September 21, praised Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu for his rehabilitation efforts in the Manila Bay. “Let us begin by congratulating Secretary Cimatu. You know I remember that meeting and I think everybody was there when I said, ‘Roy, can you clean this up?’ And his answer was…very curtly given,…
TWO months after a Philippine House of Representatives panel rejected ABS-CBN’s application for a new 25-year franchise, the media giant received another blow as the National Telecommunications Commission recalled the frequencies assigned to the network. “Respondent has no valid franchise to continue operating television and radio broadcasting stations nationwide,” the NTC said in an eight-page…
The Philippine Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) on Friday, September 11, turned over U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Joseph Scott Pemberton to the Bureau of Immigration (BI) for deportation. Pemberton will remain in the Joint U.S. Military Assistance Group detention facility in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City while the BI implements its 2015 deportation order. The turnover of…
The content on Netflix and other video-on-demand (VOD) providers in the Philippines will not be censored, the country’s Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) said on Tuesday, September 8. “We were not censoring. I hope that you don’t see MTRCB as a censorship board… We’re asking the VOD providers (to) do self-regulation with…
THE early release of convicted U.S. Marine Joseph Scott Pemberton was put on hold on Thursday, September 3 following a motion for reconsideration filed by the victim’s family. The American serviceman was convicted of homicide on December 1, 2015, for killing transgender Jennifer Laude in 2014. He was sentenced to up to 10 years imprisonment….
MALACAÑANG on Wednesday, September 2, admitted that there is wisdom behind Senator Panfilo Lacson’s bill authorizing “designated survivors,” should the top four leaders of the Philippine government perish in any occasion wherein they’re all present. “Well, you know, I think it’s based on a TV series ‘Designated Survivor.’ And while the series is based on fiction…
MULTI-AWARDED broadcast journalist Ted Failon on Monday, August 31, made his final appearance on ABS-CBN’s shows “TV Patrol” and “Failon Ngayon sa TeleRadyo.” The network on Sunday, Aug. 30, confirmed that the journalist was leaving after working there for 30 years. “The closure of ABS-CBN’s radio broadcast operations led to his painful decision and we…
METRO Manila will remain under general community quarantine (GCQ) for the entire month of September, President Rodrigo Duterte announced Monday, August 31. The provinces of Bulacan and Batangas, as well as the cities of Tacloban and Bacolod, will also be under GCQ until Sept. 30. Iligan City will be under the stricter modified enhanced community…
Palace considering live press briefing to dispel health rumors Malacañang on Thursday, August 27, said it is considering the possibility of holding a live press briefing with President Rodrigo Duterte to dismiss speculations over his health. “We’re talking about it,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said when asked if the president was willing to hold a…
THE Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday, August 27, recorded no new fatalities due to COVID-19 among Filipinos abroad. As it stands, the death toll remained at 742 since Monday, August 24. Six new cases of COVID-19, on the other hand, were confirmed by the DFA, bringing the total number of infected overseas…
PHILIPPINE Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. on Monday, August 24, announced that doctors have cleared him to go home as he continues to recover from COVID-19. “Great news po! The doctors have cleared me for discharge. I am so excited to go home,” he said in a Facebook post. “Hindi pa po tapos ang aking…
TWO additional cases of the novel coronavirus among Filipinos abroad have been recorded by the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Friday, August 21. This brings the official count of infections to 9,975. The agency did not record any new fatalities or recoveries. As of this writing, the death toll stands at 733 while…
RAPPLER co-founder and CEO Maria Ressa’s motion to travel to the United States has been denied by the Philippine Court of Appeals (CA). The Special 14th Division said Ressa failed to prove that her travel to the U.S. was “necessary and urgent.” “In view of Ressa’s failure to prove that her travel to the United…
Malacañang on Thursday, August 20, said that healthcare workers with overseas employment contracts as of March 8 will be allowed to leave the country. “The [COVID-19 task force] this afternoon decided that health professionals with papers, meaning [Overseas Employment Certificate] issued by the [Philippine Overseas Employment Administration] and employment contracts verified as of March 8,…
DEFENSE Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Wednesday, August 12, reiterated his confidence over the National Capital Region (NCR) returning to general community quarantine (GCQ) once the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) enforced on the area and nearby provinces ends on August 18. “My statement has a caveat. If trends continue that the new cases decrease, because…
As the Philippines this week became the country in Southeast Asia with the most coronavirus cases, the government said the increased number is due to its ramped-up testing capacity. On Thursday, August 6, the country surpassed Indonesia’s 118,753 cases after the Department of Health recorded 3,561 additional COVID-19 cases, bringing the national count to 119,460….
FORMER President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Tuesday, August 4, came to the defense of President Rodrigo Duterte following the public backlash he received over the government’s supposed inefficiency in handling the novel coronavirus pandemic. In her Facebook post, Arroyo called Duterte’s critics “Monday morning quarterbacks,” a term used for people who criticize something and offer alternative…
