Covering the week’s most noteworthy news stories in the Philippines for the Filipino-American and Global Filipino community.
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…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
Two years into Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s term, Filipina American filmmaker Ramona Diaz set out to make a documentary about the crackdown on illegal drugs that has drawn international attention. However, the strongman’s war on drugs has become the focus of many films, which led Diaz — whose previous work includes “Motherland,” “Don’t Stop Believin’:…
The foreign spouses and dependents of Filipino citizens will need visas to enter the Philippines, the country’s Bureau of Immigration recently announced. The new requirement took effect on August 9. “Foreign spouses of Filipinos must now secure entry visas from our Consulates abroad before traveling to the Philippines. Otherwise, they will be denied entry by…
The Philippine government has run out of funds to help those directly affected by the coronavirus pandemic in the country, President Rodrigo Duterte admitted on Monday, August 10. This comes after medical front-liners have called on the modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) until the end of the month. However, the president said the government would…
All passengers traveling on Philippine Airlines will be required to wear face shields, on top of the mandatory face masks, starting August 15. The new measure is in compliance with the latest guidelines that the Philippine Department of Transportation set for the public transport sector. “Passengers are required to wear masks and face shields during…
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….
THE United States’ policy shift on maritime disputes in the South China Sea was recently discussed by the top diplomats of Manila and Washington during a phone call. Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also talked about the “U.S. support for Southeast Asian coastal states upholding their…
The Philippines has many heroes—living and dead, recognized and unsung—who helped shape the country’s destiny and honoring them is the least the nation can do for them. This is the essence that publisher and author Melandrew T. Velasco wanted to underscore when he wrote Twilight Glory: A Tribute to Filipino Heroes and Veterans with Philippine…
WITH a total of 119,460 cases of the novel coronavirus, the Philippines surpassed Indonesia’s 118,753 and became the country with the highest number of infections among member nations of the Association of Southeast Nations (ASEAN). The Philippine Department of Health (DOH) on Thursday, August 6, recorded 3,561 additional COVID-19 cases, with the majority of them…
