MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) warned Filipinos working in Hong Kong, Singapore, and the Middle East against illegal recruitment of household service workers (HSWs) in Russia. POEA officer-in-charge Undersecretary Bernard Olalia issued Advisory No. 17 cautioning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the said nations and region since the number of cases of […]
Start 2018 with hope-CBCP
MANILA, Philippines — The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) on New Year’s Day urged the Filipino faithful to begin the present year with hope. CBCP President Archbishop Romulo Valles said the people should not lose hope, noting that there is hope as what is shown by the coming of Jesus Christ through His mother, […]
Duterte approves law prohibiting expiration of gift checks
MANILA, Philippines —President Rodrigo Duterte has signed a law that prohibits the issuance of gift checks with expiry dates and imposing an expiry date on the stored value, credit, or balance of the gift certificate. Republic Act 109621 or the Gift Check Act of 2017 was approved on December 19, saying consumers “must not be […]
Sandiganbayan rejects Revilla’s bid to dismiss plunder case
MANILA, Philippines— The Sandiganbayan has rejected the motion of detained former Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla, Jr. to seek an outright dismissal of the plunder case filed against him for his alleged involvement in the misuse of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), or the so-called “pork barrel.” The anti-graft court said it found “no compelling reason […]
36 bodies in NCCC mall fire identified
DAVAO CITY — Authorities identified 10 more of the charred bodies recovered after the Dec. 23 NCCC mall fire in Davao CIty, bringing to 36 the total number of identified remains. As of 2:40 a.m. Dec. 27, only one of the 37 bodies recovered over the weekend remains to be identified. Another missing person, the 38th, […]
Duterte vetoes 5 items in 1st tax reform package
MANILA, Philippines — Five items in the first package of tax reform were vetoed by President Rodrigo R. Duterte after noting that if implemented these provisions will be detrimental to the government and would violate existing laws. Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, in a briefing Friday, said Malacanang will release the copy of the Veto […]
P6-M PCSO Christmas party ‘insensitive’: Gatchalian
MANILA, Philippines — “Insensitive.” This was how Senator Sherwin Gatchalian described the Christmas party of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) which reportedly cost PHP 6 million. “I believe staging this party in a luxurious five-star hotel and extravagantly spending PHP6 million is an ostentatious display of insensitivity on the part of PCSO,” Gatchalian said in […]
PAL cancels flights due to ‘Vinta’
MANILA , Philippines — Philippine Airlines (PAL) has suspended several flights as tropical storm “Vinta” lashes the Mindanao region. In its advisory Thursday afternoon, PAL said that the following flights scheduled on Friday, December 22 are cancelled: PR 2397-2398 Cebu – Surigao – Cebu PR 2929-2930 Cebu – Camiguin – Cebu PR 2893-2894 Cebu – Ozamiz […]
DFA to establish new consular offices in 2018
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) will establish moreconsular offices in addition to the total 27 regional consular and satellite offices nationwide in 2018. DFA Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said the establishment of new consular offices is aimed at helping more Filipinos process and secure by not necessarily moving far from their cities.”Filipino […]
3 nabbed for selling P1.6-M endangered marine species
ILOILO CITY, Philippines — Three traders were nabbed Wednesday morning for buying and selling of endangered marine species worth PHP1.6 million. Authorities identified the suspects as Rosalie Medina and Rolito Torres, both of Estancia, Iloilo and Jovin Mangubat of Kabankalan City. A total of 19 kilos of assorted dried seahorse and sea dragon with market value […]
4 PDEA informants get P4.8-M reward
MANILA, Philippines — For helping the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) by providing informtaion on its war against drugs, Four informants received a total of PHP4.83 million in cash rewards Wednesday. In a simple ceremony at the PDEA headquarters in Quezon City, the informants received the incentive, which falls under the PDEA Operation: Private Eye […]
Brighter prospects for Davao City despite martial law
DAVAO CITY – Except for the first few weeks after martial law was first declared in Mindanao due to negative impression, Davao Region’s trade and investments recovered even more robust until 2018. “I think initially we thought this (martial law) would be detrimental to growth but because investors see that the President (Rodrigo Duterte) is […]
Beached whale rescued, herded back to sea in Palawan
PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan — A 15-foot whale was eventually pulled back into the sea Saturday afternoon after a team of environment, maritime, and coast guard authorities spent several hours to rescue it in Honda Bay here. The large whale, suspected to be either a Bryde’s or Omura’s, was trapped on the sandy beach of Luli […]