Covering the week’s most noteworthy news stories in the Philippines for the Filipino-American and Global Filipino community.
President Rodrigo Duterte announced the takeover of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on the Bureau of Customs (BOC) on Sunday, October 28, days after he fired BOC officials and executives. “They will be replaced, all of them, by military men. It will be a takeover of the Armed Forces in the matter of…
WORLD-renowned Boracay island opened its doors to visitors on Friday, October 26, six months after it closed for rehabilitation. President Rodrigo Duterte previously called the hot spot a “cesspool” due to overcrowding and the disregard for environmental safety and standards. Given the circumstances at the time, he ordered that the island be shut down in…
The majority of Filipinos have a positive outlook on the current climate in the Philippines, the Social Weather Stations’ (SWS) latest survey has revealed. Results from the September 2018 survey found that 75 percent of adult Filipinos view the country is heading in the “right direction.” Only 22 percent said the country is in the…
THE Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) on Wednesday, October 24, found a total of P20 increase in daily minimum wage to be the “acceptable” amount for workers to recover from the lost of purchasing power brought by inflation. This is said to be way below the P344 wage increase that the labor group Associated…
Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday, October 25 fired all commissioners and department heads of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) amid controversy that P6.8 billion worth of shabu was uncovered. Upon the discovery of shabu in four magnetic lifters in Cavite, Duterte commanded the dismissal of BOC executives in his speech during the anniversary of…
The National Federation of Sugar Workers (NFSW), labor organizations and human rights advocacy groups on Wednesday, October 24, started their joint fact-finding investigation on the massacre of nine farmers in Sagay City, Negros Occidental. Karapatan, a human rights advocacy group, named the initiative — National Fact-Finding Mission (NFFM) — which delves into the facts of…
BORACAY ISLAND, AKLAN, PHILIPPINES – Tourism Chief Bernadette Romulo-Puyat urges visitors to respect and observe local regulations to help protect and preserve Boracay Island. Puyat made the appeal during the much-awaited reopening of the island, stressing the importance of a collective effort from the island’s residents and its visitors alike. “As we welcome a Better…
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said on Tuesday, October 23, that the government’s fight against illegal drugs will remain continuous as it reported the 110,395 anti-drug operations conducted from July 2016 to September 2018. “There is no slowing down in the operations since the aim is for the country to have drug-free barangays,” PDEA…
Senators Franklin Drilon, Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, and Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday, October 23, opposed the proposal of House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for the Philippines to withdraw from the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU). “I oppose the proposal of Arroyo that we withdraw from the IPU just because this global body of parliamentarians expressed its concern over the…
SOCIAL networking site Facebook on Tuesday, October 23, has shut down a total of 95 pages and 39 accounts linked to President Rodrigo Duterte and Imee Marcos, daughter of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos for operating as a “spam network.” According to a statement from Facebook, the said pages and accounts were “encouraging people to…
BORACAY ISLAND, AKLAN, PHILIPPINES-The Department of Tourism (DOT) facilitated the training of some 2,100 tourism front line workers in anticipation of Boracay Island’s soft opening on October 26. “Since the island’s temporary closure, we have been providing free training for our frontliners or the ones who will work face to face with our tourists,” said…
The World Bank stated in its “Piecing Together the Poverty Puzzle“ report issued on Wednesday, October 17, that nearly half of the world’s population is struggling to meet their basic needs with 3.4 billion people still live on less than $5.50 a day. “Over 1.9 billion people, or 26.2 percent of the world’s population, were…
COMMISSION on Elections (Comelec) Commissioner Rowena Guanzon on Wednesday, October 17, said there are not enough women running for national and local positions in the 2019 polls. This is after the final records showed that barely one-fifth of 25,000 certificates of candidacies were filed by women. Comelec data showed that only 5,465 women are running…
ON October 29, 2018, 4-Star carrier Philippine Airlines will mark another milestone in aviation history as the first airline to mount a direct nonstop service to the Big Apple from the Philippines. A brand-new PAL Airbus A350-900 will commence the historic flight when it departs as PR126 from Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport for a…
THE World Economic forum revealed that the Philippines ranked fifth among the most competitive economies in Southeast Asia with a score of 62.1 percent in the latest Global Competitiveness report released on Wednesday, October 15. The report also indicated that the country ranked 56th out of 149 countries globally. The said results were not comparable…
The Philippines placed 56th globally among 140 countries in the latest Global Competitiveness Report 2018-2019 of the World Economic Forum. It also showed the Philippines as the fifth most competitive economy among the nine economies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). WEF’s Global Competitiveness Index released by partner institute Makati Business Club (MBC)…
The government’s guidelines for popular tourist spot Boracay Island still have many Boracay businesses confused. Elena Brugger, president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry – Boracay, said in a DZRH interview on Tuesday, October 16, that many establishments are still unaware of the progress of their permit applications. “Hinihingi ng business sector na…
ACCORDING to Jose Ma. Sison, peace during our lifetime is possible. In an interview with The Manila Times, the founding chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), the umbrella organization of the National Democratic Front (NDF) and the New People’s Army (NPA), is hopeful that peace with the government will be achieved sooner…
Former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, along with with some of his cabinet officials, and incumbent opposition senators are facing 274 counts of alleged malversation of public funds acquired through the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP). Truth and Justice Coalition President Greco Belgica on Monday, October 15, led the filing of the complaints at the Office…
Various candidates submitted their certificates of candidacy (COC) for the senatorial, mayoral and congressional posts at the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) headquarters on the fourth day of filing. Leading Tuesday’s (October 16) early birds was Liberal Party’s 2016 presidential bet and former Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas. He announced his senatorial bid in…
SECRETARY of Budget and Management (DBM) Benjamin Diokno on Wednesday, October 10, said the Philippines expects economic growth to recover to 7-8 percent target next year as it pushes ahead with massive infrastructure spending plans. According to him, the gross domestic product (GDP) growth would be back to targeted level next year, mainly bolstered by…
Teodoro “Teddy Boy” Locsin has accepted President Rodrigo Duterte’s offer to become the next secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), replacing Alan Peter Cayetano. Locsin in a tweet said, “I was asked I said yes; but love UN, the many friends & intellectual companions I made. But I didn’t say no when asked…
More candidates for the senatorial, mayoral and congressional posts submitted their certificates of candidacy (COCs) at the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) headquarters in Intramuros, Manila during the second day of filing on Friday, October 12. During the filing of COCs, which will run from October 11 to 17, not including weekends, the public will be…
FIVE Filpino fishermen who have been stranded in the West Philippine sea for five days were rescued by a United States Navy vessel on Monday, October 8. According to a report from the U.S. 7th Fleet, cargo ship USNS Wally Schirra was conducting a routine mission when the distressed Filipinos were spotted adrift in the…
Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo on Thursday, October 11 announced that he will be President Rodrigo Duterte’s next spokesman after Malacañang spokesman Harry Roque Jr. took an indefinite leave of absence. The chief legal counsel answered affirmatively when asked if he would replace Roque, who is reportedly vying for a Senate post in the midterm…
A Philippine lawmaker on Thursday, October 11, revealed that House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has “readily agreed” to bring back the vice president as the first successor to the presidency in the draft federal constitution. Cebu City First District Representative Raul del Mar said that he urged the House speaker to put back the vice president…
Three Philippine islands nabbed the top spots as Asia’s Best Islands voted by readers of international travel magazine Condé Nast Traveler for its 2018 Readers’ Choice Awards. Ranking first is the teardrop-shaped island of Siargao, “home to more than 15 separate surf breaks, including the legendary Cloud 9, which counts Kelly Slater and Anthony Kiedis…
A Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey released on Wednesday, October 10, revealed that almost six in every 10 Filipinos or are in favor of the revival of capital punishment for heinous crimes. The SWS survey conducted among 2,000 Filipino adults nationwide from March 22 to 27 showed that 59 percent of respondents agreed that the…
A survey from the Social Weather Stations (SWS) concluded that there is an increase in the number of Filipino families claiming that they are poor from the 48 percent in June to 52 percent at the most recent. More than a million Filipino families joined the ranks of the poor in the self-rated nationwide poll….
Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr. has officially declared that the war is over between the Philippine military and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). “I can now declare that the war between the Armed Forces and the MILF is finally over,” Galvez said as reported by The Manila Times….
