KAKAMMPI News

MANILA, Philippines — Comedian Jimmy Santos showed how he earned money from recycling bottles in Calgary, Canada. In his YouTube channel, Jimmy showed himself walking on the streets of Calgary, pushing a cart full of cans and bottles as he headed toward a recycling center. "Ako po ay nandito sa tinatawag nilang South Pointe Bottle Depot,” Jimmy said, as he shared how Canada's recycling system works. “Ang ibig sabihin niyan, binabalik po at magbebenta ng mga lata rito,” he added. “‘Yung mga pinaglalagyan ng mga tubig, softdrinks, ay talaga namang dinedeposito dito at binebenta nila.” The former "Eat Bulaga" host said that each bottle has a corresponding price so residents of the country were encouraged to recycle. “Malaking bagay ‘yan. Ito po ay ibinabahagi at ipinakikita ko sa inyo ang sistema ng mga nagbebenta ng bote dito," he said. “Maganda, masaya, at konswelo dahil nakakatulong sa pagre-recycle ang mga ibinenta nating bote, karton, at ‘yung mga

MANILA, Philippines — Work to recover the remaining oil from the MT Princess Empress that sank off Oriental Mindoro began Monday and may last for a month, the Philippine Coast Guard said. MT Princess Empress, which was loaded with 800,000 liters of industrial fuel, sank in rough seas on February 28, affecting over 194,000 people in Southern Luzon and Western Visayas and threatening the area’s rich marine life Diving support vessel Fire Opal is expected to siphon 120,000 to 240,000 liters of oil. Commodore Geronimo Tuvilla, Coast Guard’s incident management team in Oriental Mindoro commander, said it may take between 20 and 30 days to extract the remaining oil from the vessel. “Once the oil removal is completed, we hope that the process will pave the way for the rehabilitation of affected areas and finally transition to the normalcy of lives of affected Mindoreños,” Tuvilla said. Fishers from some parts of Oriental Mindoro have yet to resume their fishing activities. Fishers who we

WASHINGTON, United States — The United States on Wednesday announced the approval of a $285 million sale of a NASAMS air defense system and related equipment to Ukraine as Kyiv seeks to boost protection against Russian strikes. "Ukraine has an urgent need to increase its capabilities to defend against Russian missile strikes and aircraft," the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement. "Acquiring and effectively deploying this capability will enhance Ukraine's ability to defend its people and protect critical national infrastructure." The agency also said the sale will support US foreign policy national security goals by "improving the security of a partner country that is a force for political stability and economic progress in Europe." The sale would not require any additional US government employees or contractors to be assigned to Ukraine, the statement added. The State Department approved the sale, and the DSCA on Wednesday pr

WASHINGTON, United States — A woman who accused Joe Biden during the 2020 presidential race of sexual assault appeared Tuesday in Moscow, where she said she was asking President Vladimir Putin for Russian citizenship. Tara Reade, who worked in Biden's congressional office for a short period in 1993, said she wanted to stay in Russia after a Republican lawmaker told her she was in physical danger. Reade, 59, said in a streamed interview with the Sputnik media group that she had arrived in Russia as a vacationer. However, she said, "When I got off the plane in Moscow, for the first time in a very long time I felt safe, and I felt heard and felt respected." Reade sparked headlines in early 2020 by claiming that then-senator Biden sexually assaulted her in a Capitol Hill corridor in August 1993, when she was 29. Her accusation came just as Biden was ramping up his campaign against incumbent president Donald Trump, who himself has faced accusations of sexual abuse and rap

SEOUL, South Korea — A passenger opened an emergency exit on an Asiana Airlines flight as it was preparing to land on Friday, the carrier told AFP, adding that the plane landed safely but several people were hospitalized. The plane was carrying nearly 200 passengers as it approached the runway at Daegu International Airport in South Korea, about 240 kilometers (149 miles) southeast of Seoul, on a domestic flight. When the plane was around 200 meters (650 feet) above the ground, a passenger sitting near the emergency exit "opened the door manually by touching the lever", the carrier's representative told AFP. The incident caused some passengers to have breathing difficulties, and several people were taken to a hospital after the landing, Asiana said, adding that there were no major injuries or damage. Daegu police told AFP that they had taken in a man in his 30s for questioning over the incident. South Korea's transport ministry said 12 people had been taken to ho

SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea attempted to launch a military spy satellite on Wednesday that would monitor the United States, but it crashed into the sea with Pyongyang conceding there had been "serious defects". North Korea does not have a functioning satellite in space and leader Kim Jong Un has made developing a military spy satellite a top priority for his regime, personally overseeing some launch preparations. North Korean space authorities said they had "launched a military reconnaissance satellite, 'Malligyong-1', mounted on a new-type carrier rocket, 'Chollima-1'," early Wednesday, the official Korean Central News Agency reported. But the rocket crashed into the sea "after losing thrust due to the abnormal starting of the second-stage engine after the separation of the first stage during the normal flight," it said. Authorities will "thoroughly investigate the serious defects revealed in the satellite launch," it sa

MANILA, Philippines — Former social welfare secretary Erwin Tulfo will be joining the ranks of 312 members of the House of Representatives after he took his oath last night as one of the three nominees of party-list ACT-CIS. House Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe confirmed to reporters covering the chamber that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) has informed the House leadership about the dismissal of the disqualification complaint against Tulfo. “We were informed by the Comelec that the case has been dismissed. So we can now proceed with the oath-taking,” the Zamboanga City congressman said of the former journalist, who was rejected by the Commission on Appointments as social welfare secretary over issues surrounding his United States citizenship and libel conviction. House secretary-general Reginald Velasco echoed Dalipe’s pronouncements, noting that Tulfo is now considered an “official nominee” of the ACT-CIS party-list, replacing Jeffrey Soriano, who resigned to give way to

MANILA, Philippines — Nine days after escaping from the Bureau of Immigration (BI) detention facility, a South Korean fugitive was recaptured in San Juan City on Monday along with two other South Koreans who allegedly coddled him. In a statement, BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the bureau’s Fugitive Search Unit arrested Kang Juchun, 38, at a condominium unit along N. Domingo street in Barangay Ermitaño. Lim Kyung Sup, 43, and Kim Mi Kyung, 39, were also arrested for harboring a fugitive. All three also face drug charges after a kilo of methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu valued at P10.2 million was found in their unit. Intelligence operatives from the Philippine National Police and National Bureau of Investigation joined the BI manhunt for Kang, who escaped at around 2 a.m. on May 21 by scaling a 20-foot barbed wire fence and jumping onto a paved road at the BI detention facility at Camp Bagong Diwa. He reportedly took advantage of a blind spot along the fence that is not

MANILA, Philippines — The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is eyeing to hire one million skilled Filipino workers in the next two years, the Department of Migrant Workers said Tuesday. Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople said the Philippines and Saudi Arabia discussed the possibility of a special hiring program “to address the labor needs” of the Gulf state. According to Ople, Saudi Arabia’s hospitality, construction, and information and technology sectors need more Filipino workers. The DMW chief, however, stressed the government must balance Saudi Arabia’s call for more Filipino workers with the hiring demand of local companies. “We need to have a special hiring program that would accommodate their needs while also scaling up our skills training and opportunities for job internships so that there is continued sustainability for our own needs and for the needs of our external partners,” she said. Saudi Arabia will send a technical team to the Philippines in June to discuss the program.

MANILA, Philippines — Contrary to what was expected, Typhoon Betty had minimal impact on Northern Luzon provinces, with minimal damage to property. Assistant Secretary Raffy Alejandro, spokesman for the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) and the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), said the worst is probably over. “Based on reports we received, the effect is very, in a way, very minimal compared to what we projected a few days ago that it was a super typhoon,” he told reporters yesterday. Alejandro said there were only 5,488 people who were pre-emptively evacuated in the province of Cagayan and in Region 2 or the Cagayan Valley as a whole. “There were more evacuees in Region 6. And in terms of damage, its very minimal and we’re very happy with that, there was no serious damage,” he added. Alejandro said it was good that the OCD, the NDRRMC and local government units (LGUs) still exercised preparedness protocols and procedures. Cagayan Gov. Manuel Mamba sai

MANILA, Philippines — The two-member Senate minority’s last-ditch attempt to stop the proposed Maharlika Investment Fund on its track towards approval failed Tuesday as their parliamentary maneuver was thwarted by the overwhelming vote of the majority. Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel III and Sen. Risa Hontiveros, the only members of the minority bloc in the upper chamber, were the lone dissenters to Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri’s ruling against Pimentel’s motion to send back the Maharlika fund bill to the government corporations panel. In contrast, 16 senators backed Zubiri’s ruling that the Senate had already tackled the matter, handily defeating Pimentel’s motion. After delivering a nearly two-hour speech against the Maharlika fund bill, Pimentel moved to send back the measure to the government corporations panel, saying this was the committee that should have handled the proposal in the first place. Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva objected to Pimentel’s mo

KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia's coast guard said Monday it has detained a Chinese vessel believed to have been involved in plundering World War II shipwrecks. The Maritime Enforcement Agency said in a statement that the bulk carrier, registered in Fuzhou, China, and its 32 crew members were detained Sunday for anchoring in waters off the eastern coast of Malaysia's southern Johor state without a permit. The coast guard also said they found on the ship cannon shells that are believed to be from sunken British World War II battleships, the Prince of Wales and the Repulse. The cannon shells are similar to ones discovered earlier this month at a scrapyard in Johor. Japanese bombers sank the two ships in 1941 off the east coast of Malaysia in the South China Sea. Some 840 British sailors lost their lives in what has been described as one of the worst disasters in Britain's naval history. The New Straits Times, a local newspaper, reported that local fishermen had seen the Chinese s

STOCKHOLM, Sweden - A harness-wearing Beluga whale that turned up in Norway in 2019, sparking speculation it was a spy trained by the Russian navy, has appeared off Sweden's coast, an organization following him said Monday. A harness-wearing Beluga whale that turned up in Norway in 2019, sparking speculation it was a spy trained by the Russian navy, has appeared off Sweden's coast, an organisation following him said on Monday ➡️ https://t.co/IfzfuVpMLi — AFP News Agency (@AFP) May 29, 2023 First discovered in Norway's far northern region of Finnmark, the whale spent more than three years slowly moving down the top half of the Norwegian coastline, before suddenly speeding up in recent months to cover the second half and on to Sweden. On Sunday, he was observed in Hunnebostrand, off Sweden's southwestern coast. "We don't know why he has sped up so fast right now," especially since he is moving "very quickly away from his natural environment", Se

MANILA — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Tuesday insisted that the Philippine government does not need to apologize to Kuwait after it demanded such amid the ongoing entry visa issue. Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo De Vega said among the Kuwaiti government's main demands to the Philippines is its "formal admission" that it violated the Arab country's laws and sovereignty. De Vega said this stemmed from the country's actions whenever there are distressed Filipinos involved, skipping Kuwaiti authorities or employers in some instances, and the creation of a shelter there. He was referring to the Migrant Workers and Other Overseas Filipinos Resource Center (MWOFRC) in Kuwait, which was meant to protect the welfare of overseas Filipino workers (OFW) in the country as mandated by Republic Act No. 8042 or Migrant Workers Act of 1995. "Ang position natin, wala tayong violations. Kung mayroon man ay kailangan pakinggan nila ang ating paliwan

MANILA – Manila will play a huge role in this year’s Indo-Pacific Endeavor amid continuing tensions in the West Philippine Sea, the Australian Ambassador to the Philippines said Tuesday. The program is an annual regional engagement activity organized by the Australian Defense Force meant to show its commitment to working with regional partners to ensure a secure Indo-Pacific through maritime exercises. The Indo-Pacific Endeavor will take place in August 2023. “This year’s Indo-Pacific Endeavor is going to be, probably one of the biggest we’ve ever done, with the Philippines right at the center of it,” said Australian Ambassador to the Philippines HK Yu. “And as part of that, we’re actually running an exercise called Alon…that is going to be an amphibious exercise including the Philippines, and most likely the US as well and Australia,” she added. Australia has pledged to beef up its assistance to the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) by providing drone equipment, training, and technol

Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said Tuesday the incident in Kuwait where an SUV hit a group of Filipino bikers was not a hate crime. "So far, walang indication na hate crime ito kasi mayroong tradition ang Kuwait na ang mga drivers ayaw talaga sa cyclists kaya ang iniisip nila, this will lead to more calls sa cyclists na kailangan bigyan ng better protection ang cyclists, malinaw na bike lanes," De Vega said at a public briefing. [So far, there is no indication that it was a hate crime because there is a tradition in Kuwait that drivers hate cyclists. What they are thinking is that this will lead to more calls for better protection for cyclists, clear bike lanes.] He said there were previous accidents which did not involve Filipinos. The Department of Foreign Affairs earlier said the driver of the SUV had already surrendered to authorities. De Vega earlier said the driver could face charges if proven that he or she was recklessly driving at the time of th

KUWAIT - Kuwait has suspended all new visas for Philippine nationals indefinitely, the interior ministry confirmed this week, in an escalation of a row between the oil-rich Gulf state and Manila over worker protections and employer rights. Philippine nationals make up around 6% of Kuwait's 4.7 million population, government data shows. Kuwaitis make up 32%. The visa suspension comes after the Philippines in February stopped the first-time deployment of domestic workers to Kuwait after the body of domestic worker Jullebee Ranara was found in the Kuwaiti desert in January. Large numbers of Philippine citizens work overseas, with around 10% of its gross domestic product coming from remittances. Many work in oil-rich Gulf states like Kuwait as low-paid domestic workers, where visa systems tie a worker to one employer and make migrant workers vulnerable to abuse - including employers confiscating their passports. The interior ministry on Wednesday said the Philippines had violated a

A Filipina Doctor and advocate for exclusive breastfeeding and improving the health of mothers and newborns was awarded the 2023 United Arab Emirates Health Foundation Prize during the 76th World Health Assembly in Geneva. Dr. Maria Asuncion Silvestre, the founder of the nongovernmental organization “Kalusugan ng Mag-Ina” (Health of Mother and Child), was among those honored during the World Health Assembly for their exceptional contributions to public health. According to the World Health Organization, Silvestre designed the pioneering and affordable Essential Intrapartum and Newborn Care Protocol consisting of a simple set of choreographed actions for health workers attending a mother during delivery and her newborn immediately after birth and during the first week of the child’s life. Silvestre's protocol significantly contributed to bridging the health equity gap in mother-and-child care and earned partnerships with national governments and 17 countries in the WHO Western Pa

The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Friday said it hopes there will be a mutual understanding between the Philippines and Kuwait amid the suspension of visa issuances for newly hired Filipino workers. DMW Secretary Susan Ople said she agrees with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. rejecting the idea of imposing a total deployment ban against Kuwait. “So I think in time there will be a mutual understanding on the way forward, tama si Presidente let us not burn bridges, ano lang to, sa tingin ko kailangan lang dagdagan lang ang pagunawa and we respect their decision,” Ople said at a press conference. (So I think in time there will be mutual understanding on the way forward, the President is right, let us not burn bridges, that's all I think we need to give more understanding and we respect their decision.) “Yung sa atin naman, very clear na we would have been ready to continue the recruitment and deployment even for the first time kasambahays once both sides agree

The Philippines and Saudi Arabia discussed the possibility of a joint special hiring program for Filipino skilled workers, according to the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Friday. DMW Secretary Susan Ople said the possibility of having a joint special hiring program was raised due to Saudi Arabia’s push to develop its tourism sector. “We discussed the possibility of the Philippines and Saudi Arabia having a joint special hiring program for skilled Filipino workers because they are expecting a huge demand, especially for their tourism sector. They are embarking on expansion plans, and they want to attract more tourists to Saudi Arabia,” Ople said at a press conference. “We said that perhaps if they give us the numbers and the profile of workers needed, then we will continue to discuss if there is a need for the DMW to work closely with TESDA and other institutions and to put together a special hiring program just to meet the demands and requests of Saudi employers for skill

MANILA — The coast guard of the United States, Japan and the Philippines will hold trilateral maritime exercise in the South China Sea this week, the first such manoeuvres between them as a time of growing concern about China’s moves in the region. The June 1 to 7 exercise in waters off Bataan province was as initiative of the United States and Japan, while Australia would join as an observer, said Philippine coast guard spokesman Armand Balilo said on Monday. Four Philippine vessels and one each from the United States and Japan will participate in exercises designed to improve search and rescue collaboration and law enforcement, Balilo said. The Philippines was approached by Japan and the United States about holding joint maritime exercises in February, the same month when Manila accused China of aggressive activities in the South China Sea, vast stretches of which Beijing claims as its territory. “This is a usual routine activity among coast guard agencies,” Balilo told a press c

MANILA, Philippines — Media giant ABS-CBN Corp. will create news and information content to be distributed to third-party platforms in its joint venture with Romualdez-owned Prime Media Holdings Inc. In a regulatory filing, Prime Media president Manolito Manalo said the joint venture (JV) signed with ABS-CBN would focus mainly on content creation to be sold to cable TV, radio stations and other outlets, including Prime Media’s Philippine Collective Media Co. (PCMC). “The objective of the JV is to provide accurate and balanced news and information to the country and public service,” Manalo said. “Also, the content produced by the JV will be distributed to radio, cable TV and other platforms, including stations under Philippine Collective Media Co. The business model is similar to various local studios and production companies, but the content we will produce are not for free TV broadcast,” he said. Manalo also clarified that PCMC would only act as one of the distribution channels fo

MANILA, Philippines — Senators on Monday approved on third and final reading a bill that would extend the period of availing the government’s estate tax amnesty program until mid-2025. Voting 24-0, senators approved Senate Bill 2219 which, if enacted into law, would amend Republic Act 11213 or the “Tax Amnesty Act”. The measure would allow those whose estate taxes have remained unpaid or have accrued as of May 31, 2022, to avail of the amnesty program until June 14, 2025 — an extension from the original deadline of June 14 this year. This relief would only cover the estate of those who died on or before May 31, 2022. The executor or administrator of the estate who would avail of the amnesty program can make the necessary filings either electronically or manually. Legal heirs, transferees and beneficiaries may also do this if there is no executor or administrator appointed so they could use the properties and assets they inherited from their deceased relatives. — with reports fro

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — More than 1,500 people were arrested during a protest by the Extinction Rebellion climate group in The Hague on Saturday, Dutch police said. Activists blocked a section of a motorway during the afternoon in protest against Dutch fossil fuel subsidies. Police said they had used water cannon to disperse activists blocking a major road in the city, and arrested "a total of 1,579 people... 40 of whom will be prosecuted" on charges including vandalism. One of the activists bit a policeman during his arrest, police said. According to Extinction Rebellion, some 7,000 people gathered to join the demonstration. Anticipating the water cannon, some wore swimsuits or carried umbrellas as they sat in protest across the A12 motorway, holding banners and signs. The protest marks the seventh organised by Extinction Rebellion in the same section of motorway at The Hague, close to the parliament and main ministry buildings. But Saturday saw the highest number of

SEOUL, South Korea — A man who opened an emergency exit on an Asiana Airlines flight in mid-air felt "suffocated" and wanted to get off quickly, South Korean police said on Saturday. The plane was carrying nearly 200 passengers as it approached the runway on Friday at Daegu International Airport, about 240 kilometres (149 miles) southeast of Seoul, on a domestic flight. When the plane was around 200 meters (650 feet) above ground, the man who police said was in his 30s without providing further details, opened the exit door. The passenger was taken in by Daegu police for questioning and told officers he had been "under stress after losing a job recently". "He felt the flight was taking longer than it should have been and felt suffocated inside the cabin," a Daegu police detective told AFP. "He wanted out quickly". The passenger faces up to 10 years in prison for violating aviation safety laws. A video clip shot by a nearby passen

KHARTOUM, Sudan — Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has accused UN special envoy Volker Perthes of stoking a brutal conflict with paramilitaries, the latest in a series of apparent moves to bolster his war effort. United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said he was "shocked" by Burhan's letter, which requested "the nomination of a replacement" to Perthes and accused him of committing "fraud and disinformation" in facilitating a political process which broke down into six weeks of devastating urban warfare. Burhan and his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, were meant to meet for negotiations facilitated by the UN on April 15, the day they turned Khartoum into a war zone. The meeting aimed to restore a transition to civilian rule disrupted since 2021 when Burhan and Daglo together seized power in a coup before falling out. As their feud worsened, the international community tried to get th

TOKYO, Japan — North Korea has notified Japan of a plan to launch what it calls a satellite in the coming weeks, Japan's coastguard said Monday. Japanese officials believe the launch will involve a ballistic missile, according to a tweet from the prime minister's office that refers to a "ballistic missile that it (Pyongyang) describes as a satellite." Pyongyang has informed Japan's coastguard that a rocket will be launched between May 31 and June 11 and will fall in waters near the Yellow Sea, East China Sea and east of Luzon Island in the Philippines, a coastguard spokesman told AFP. In a tweet, the prime minister's office said Kishida issued instructions "on North Korea's notification about the launch of a ballistic missile that it describes as a satellite". He has told officials to gather intelligence, remain vigilant and closely coordinate with allies including the United States and South Korea, the tweet added. Pyongyang has intensifie

Philstar.com / Irish Lising MANILA, Philippines — A lawmaker called on the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to remind banks of the law compeling them to accept national IDs for financial transactions — with violators risking a fine worth P500,000. Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian on Saturday made the call amid reports that several banks still refuse to recognize the national ID as a proof of identity since the card doesn't display the owner's signature. "This is not the intention of the law. The national ID system is meant to simplify public and private transactions," Gatchalian said in a statement Saturday. "The BSP should immediately look into this issue and ensure that all financial institutions, especially Landbank and Development Bank of the Philippines, adhere to the law." BSP's memorandum no. M-2021-057 earlier stated the Philippine Statistics Authority has already clarified that the non-inclusion of a handwritten signature as part of the Philippine i

STAR / File MANILA, Philippines — Additional revenues gained from the implementation of the Comprehensive Tax Reform Program (CTRP) and previous reforms jumped by 26.3 percent to P202.8 billion last year from the previous year’s P160.5 billion, according to the Department of Finance (DOF). Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said the total collection last year was P42.3 billion higher than the 2021 full year incremental revenue on the back of full economic recovery due to lifting of stringent COVID-19 quarantine measures. The tax reform packages include Republic Act 10963 or the Tax Reform for Inclusion and Acceleration Act (TRAIN), RA 11534 or the Corporate Recovery and Tax Incentives for Enterprises Act (CREATE), as well as the Sin Tax laws. Diokno said total collections from the TRAIN Law increased by 27 percent to P216.5 billion last year from P171 billion in 2021, while collections from Package 2+ or the Sin Tax laws grew by 23 percent to P65.3 billion from P52.9 billion. Under

MANILA, Philippines — While about half of adult Filipinos believe that there will be more jobs in the next 12 months, a majority think that it is difficult to secure employment these days, recent poll findings showed. The Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey conducted from March 26 to 29 found that 69 percent of the respondents said that it is hard to find a job nowadays. Some 11 percent said it was easy while 16 percent said it was neither easy nor hard. The remaining four percent said they do not know. The SWS said finding a job “has always been hard” for Filipinos since 2011, based on available survey data. A graph it released yesterday showed that it stayed at 60 percent to 80 percent over the past 12 years. It peaked at almost 90 percent at the height of the pandemic, before dropping to 70 percent last year. Meanwhile, the latest survey also found that 50 percent of the respondents believe that there will be more jobs in the next 12 months. Some 10 percent said there will be

As a multi-ethnic and multi-religious country with diverse religious and belief life, the Vietnamese State consistently implements a policy of respecting and guaranteeing a citizen's right to freedom of religion and belief, and the right to follow or not follow any religion; ensuring equality and non-discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief; and protecting activities of religious organisations by law, stated the Foreign Ministry’s Deputy Spokesperson Pham Thu Hang on May 18. Hang made the remarks in reply to reporters’ queries about Vietnam’s reaction to the US Department of State’s annual Report on International Religious Freedom on May 15, 2023 and the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF)’s annual report on international religious freedom in 2023, during the ministry's regular press conference. "These rights are prescribed in the Constitution of Vietnam, the Law on Belief and Religion 2016 and related legal documents; and are guarant

STAR / Michael Varcas MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Sara Duterte yesterday branded the decades-long communist insurgency in the country as a dying movement, saying it is only a matter of time before the war against the New People’s Army (NPA) is put to an end. “The NPA’s so-called protracted war is ending,” Duterte said during the event commemorating the first anniversary of Davao City’s declaration as insurgency-free. “The guerrilla warfare tactic is no longer working for them to be able to breathe life into a dying movement,” she said. Describing the NPA as the “devil,” Duterte, who was recently appointed co-vice chair of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC), recalled their efforts while she was Davao City mayor to remove the rebel group’s presence in the city’s Paquibato district. “The civilian-led program Peace 911 won the hearts of the people of Paquibato through projects and programs that offered them the opportunity to become produ

DA defers implementation of P150/kilo SRP for onions MANILA, Philippines - A ranking official of the Department of Agriculture announced yesterday the postponement of the implementation of the P150 per kilo suggested retail price for red onions and P140 per kilo SRP for white onions after the DA’s senior official decided to put on hold the signing of the memorandum order. In an interview, Agriculture Assistant Secretary and spokesman Rex Estoperez added that Agriculture Senior Undersecretary Domingo Panganiban did not sign the draft order on the SRP for onions. “Actually, it was announced that we will be adopting SRP, but it was not signed by Senior Undersecretary Panganiban and according to him, when we discussed this matter, he decided to put on hold the signing,” Estoperez said. The SRP was supposed to take effect on Monday, May 22, after a consensus reached during a meeting with various stakeholders on May 19 attended by DA officials, onion farmers, farmers groups, wholesalers,

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has launched an investigation into the impending closure by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) of an orphanage over alleged violations of the standards for residential facilities for children. In a statement yesterday, the CHR said its Investigation Office and National Capital Region (NCR) Office dispatched a quick response operation team to Gentle Hands Inc. (GHI) after learning of the cease and desist order (CDO) issued by the DSWD on May 22. The CHR said the quick response team will also look into reports that police officers accompanying DSWD personnel who took custody of the orphans were armed, causing the children distress. “As the country’s independent national human rights institution, we underscore the importance of putting primacy on the best interest of children. While we affirm that the serious concerns raised must be acted upon expeditiously, we also stress that it must be dealt with in a ma

MANILA, Philippines — A Manila court found the man known as “Bikoy,” who accused three human rights lawyers of plotting to oust then president Rodrigo Duterte, guilty of perjury. In an order dated yesterday, Manila Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 17 Judge Karla Funtila-Abugan sentenced Peter Joemel Advincula to serve a minimum of three months and one day to a maximum of one year and one day in prison. The charge was filed in February 2020 by Jose Manuel “Chel” Diokno and Lorenzo “Erin” Tañada III, members of the 2019 opposition senatorial slate Otso Diretso, as well as former Supreme Court spokesman Theodore Te. They are all members of the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG), a nationwide organization of human rights lawyers. According to photos of the 16-page decision that Tañada posted on his Twitter account, the court said Advincula tagged them as members of “Project Sodoma,” an alleged plot to oust Duterte through “sedition, inciting to sedition, libel, cyber libel, estafa, harbo

MANILA, Philippines — Rep. Edcel Lagman (Albay, 1st District) on Wednesday urged House Speaker Martin Romualdez to reveal the details of the supposed plot to unseat him from his position after Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (Pampanga) denied accusations that she was behind the move. In a statement, the Liberal Party president said that Romualdez should bare the “inculpatory details” of the plan to remove him from the post after what he described as Macapagal-Arroyo’s “abrupt, unceremonious, and humiliating demotion” from senior deputy speakership. “I am certain Speaker Martin Romualdez has the incriminatory details and evidence regarding the plot to oust him,” Lagman said. “However, Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo denied the accusation and said that her political objectives do not include becoming Speaker again. In other words, she no longer covets the Speakership,” he added. Without naming Macapagal-Arroyo nor elaborating, Romualdez in a statement on Sunday said “occasional moves to

MANILA, Philippines (Updated 4:31 p.m.) — President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has certified the Senate bill seeking to create the Maharlika Investment Fund as urgent, which will allow the swifter passage of the measure in the chamber. Marcos’ certification of Senate Bill 2020, which is currently under the period of interpellations, was read out by Senate secretary Renato Bantug Jr. as part of the Wednesday session’s reference of business. Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri then referred Marcos’ message to the Senate rules committee chaired by Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva. In his certification at the Senate a copy of which was obtained by Philstar.com, Marcos cited the “downgrade of the global growth projection” due to inflation, the Ukraine-Russia war and international interest hikes. “There is a compelling need for a sustainable national investment fund as a new growth catalyst to accelerate the implementation of strategic and high-impact large infrastru

MANILA, Philippines — Brutal inflation, which soared to 14-year highs in past months, left construction costs more expensive by the day in the country’s economic capital, so said a global engineering consultancy firm. In the 2023 iteration of the International Construction Costs Index, Arcadis reckoned that Manila’s ranking of 81 out of 100 cities stayed put compared to the previous outing. This meant that the cost of construction in the Philippine capital was higher than in other countries in the region like Malaysia, Vietnam and India. What was telling was the impact of rising inflation on the prospects of the Philippines’ construction market. Inflation is decelerating, however, retreating to 6.6% in April. As it is, the impact on the local sector came down to labor gaps, material costs turning pricey, and rising fuel prices as Arcadis sees it. “Despite these obstacles, the industry was able to adapt well by implementing measures such as bundling packages for different projects t

The Manila Central Post Office (PhilPost) or the Post Office building was gutted by fire for nearly eight hours that started on Sunday, May 21. The fire was first reported at around 11:41 p.m. in Lawton, Manila. The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) quickly raised it to a second alarm at 1:09 a.m. the next day. The general alarm, the highest level, was placed hours later at around 5:44 a.m. At least 24 firetrucks reportedly responded to the massive blaze. Several news outlets and the Manila Public Information Office also reported photos and videos of the fire engulfing one of the few remaining historical properties in Manila. The fire was only declared under control at around 7 a.m., according to Manila Fire Department Fire Superintendent Christine Doctor-Cula. Mark Laurente, chief of staff of the postmaster general, said that the fire started in the basement where paper materials and wood are stored. The City of Manila, meanwhile, is in talks with Postmaster General Luis Carlos r

What the press statement says Malacañang said Moderna executives told Marcos and other Philippine officials of their move to set up a vaccine making facility in the country during their meeting at the Blair House in Washington. Moderna Chief Commercial Officer Arpa Garay and Senior Vice President and General Manager Patrick Bergstedt reportedly said they will establish a “Shared Service Facility for Pharmacovigilance.” This facility in the Philippines, hailed by Moderna executives as the “perfect location,” will supposedly serve the entire Asia-Pacific region. It will be the company’s only shared service facility in Asia and the third in the world after Poland and Georgia in the US. Malacañang said it is expected to employ around 50 staff composed of health professionals with their shortlisted office location either in Makati or at Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. What was left out The shared services facility will handle some back-office and testing tasks for Moderna in the Asia-P