The Israeli Embassy in Manila is reviewing the scholarship program it is offering to Filipino agricultural experts after observing that a number of its alumni end up working overseas, according to Israeli Ambassador to the Philippines Ilan Fluss.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince and newly appointed Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman is slated to visit Manila next month, a senior Foreign Affairs official said.
THE Chinese Embassy in Manila said they will cooperate with the Philippines to ensure the “orderly deportation” of around 40,000 Chinese nationals employed by the Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs).
The Chinese Embassy in Manila celebrated the 73rd anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China via Zoom and Facebook Live.
Mary Ng, Canadian minister of international trade, just couldn’t contain her excitement when she saw a Jollibee mascot during her visit in Manila last week.
PHILIPPINE Ambassador to Moscow Igor Bailen was finally able to present his diplomatic credentials to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
‘AS a Filipino woman, we have this culture ‘hiya’ mean(ing) shame. We really don’t try to share anything bad that happens to us. We try to cover up.”
The South Korean Embassy in Manila has launched an online appointment system for Filipinos and international travellers who are applying for visas.
The online system will open Wednesday 2 p.m., starting September 15. The Embassy will not accept walk-in visits for visa application.
“You are required to make an appointment to visit the Embassy for visa application through our online platform. Without confirmation of the visa appointment made through the online system, your visit to the Embassy will be denied. From Thursday 15 September 2022 onwards, the Embassy will not accept walk-in visits for visa applications,” the Embassy said.
Visa applicants need to determine first what type of visa that they need, respective qualification and documentation in the website: https://overseas.mofa.go.kr/ph-en/brd/m_3277/list.do. Philippine diplomatic and official passport holders are not required to apply for Korean visas.
After determining the type of visas needed, applicants need to fill up the visa application form and prepare all required documents which they can check at this site: https://overseas.mofa.go.kr/ph-en/brd/m_3277/list.do.
Travel agencies accredited by the Korean Embassy can also process Korean tourist visa. For the updated list of accredited travel agencies, applicants should also check the website: https://overseas.mofa.go.kr/ph-en/brd/m_3275/view.do?seq=760904&page=1
The Department of Foreign Affairs has opposed the proposal of Senator Raffy Tulfo that would grant senior citizens and elderly a lifetime validity of passports.
The Philippines is the only founding member of the free trade bloc, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which has not yet ratified the treaty, but the Senate foreign relations committee is not inclined to recommend sending the treaty to plenary yet without assurances from the Executive department that the agriculture and micro, small and medium enterprises are given protection from potential unfair competition.
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. skipped mentioning the case of Filipino domestic helper Mary Jane Veloso during his meeting with Indonesian President Joko Widodo in Jakarta Monday.
Germany is hiring additional 600 Filipino registered nurses for partner hospitals and elderly care under the government-to-government (G2G) recruitment scheme dubbed as Triple Win Project (TWP).
PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. may have been invited by superpowers like the United States and China to visit those countries, but he chose the country’s closest neighbors — Indonesia and Singapore — as his first state visits as president of the Republic.
South Korea has reaffirmed its commitment to build a boat for the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) that would help clean up hundreds of thousand metric tons of marine litter in Manila Bay, an official of the South Korean Embassy in Manila said.
A 44-year old Filipina businesswoman and her 20-year-old daughter were stabbed dead in Toronto, Canada, and a man “known to the victims” was arrested for the brazen daytime double homicide.
THE Commission on Audit has issued an “adverse opinion” on the 2021 financial statements released by the Department of Foreign Affairs that resulted in an overstatement of P52 billion and understatement worth P469 million.
The DFA said it “duly acknowledged” the audit observations and already made corrections on portions which its financial officers claimed were an “isolated and honest mistake.”
Rosana Alconcel, COA officer-in-charge and supervising auditor, attributed to “various accounting errors and omissions” the overstatement worth P52.198 billion and understatement worth P469.818 million.
“In our opinion, because of the significance of the matters described in the Basis for Adverse Opinion paragraph, the financial statements do not present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of DFA as of December 31, 2021 and its financial performance, cash flows, net assets/equity and comparison of budget and actual amounts for the year then ended, and notes to the financial statements,” Alconcel said in the Independent Auditor’s Report dated July 25, 2022.
Aside from the overstatement and understatement of accounts, the DFA books also had unsupported prior period adjustments of P29.52 billion.
“We conducted our audits in accordance with International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions,” Alconcel stressed.”We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our adverse opinion.”
When sought for comment, DFA spokesperson Ma. Teresita Daza said the overstatement of P52.198 billion arose primarily from the “erroneous translation” of foreign exchange from yen to peso in reflecting the value of parcels of land in Tokyo, Japan.
“The accounting error amounting to P25,778,632,911.23 affected the Land, and Accumulated Surplus accounts, thus doubling the effect in the Financial Statements. This was an isolated and honest mistake that was immediately corrected by an adjusting entry, and subsequently verified by the Audit Team. However, since the error was existing as of yearend of CY 2021, it was still included in the Annual Audit Report of the DFA for CY 2021,” Daza said in a statement sent to Business Mirror.
On the understatement of P469.8 million, the DFA is “continuously working to decrease” the amount by correcting the “inaccuracies in Cash, Revenue and other accounts.”
“Meanwhile, the bases of adverse audit opinion, which are material amounts of unclassified and abnormal balances in the Property, Receivable and Payable accounts, are substantially attributable forward balances and transactions from 2004 and below, in which pertaining documents can no longer be located. This is a perennial concern not only of the DFA but of the whole bureaucracy,” Daza explained.
The DFA said it remains “committed” to closely coordinating with COA “to ensure fairness and transparency” in the presentation of financial statements.
“The public can rest assured that the Department is also unwavering in its stewardship of public funds to ensure that these are judiciously and properly spent, as well as accurately accounted for as required under government accounting rules and regulations,” Daza said.
So far, there are no reports of Filipinos killed by floods in Pakistan, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.
“WE consider it as provocative, full of false and groundless accusations and black propaganda against Russia.”
NINETEEN foreign envoys, led by the United States and the European Union, condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and said it further hurt the poorest among the poor in the Philippines who are still reeling from the economic effects of the pandemic.
Erstwhile Deputy National Security Adviser Rommel Banlaoi vehemently denied he is a spy for China, an accusation made by alleged employees of the National Security Council (NSC) that prompted him to quit his post.
FOR foreign governments like Taiwan, the United States, the European Union (EU) and Japan, there is no letup in extending help to Filipinos stricken by calamities, even if news headlines no longer dominate the plight of those affected.
USE technology to “rightsize” bureaucracy.
Filipino-owned fast food chain Jollibee opens its flagship store in the iconic and most-trafficked tourist destination in the world: Times Square in New York City.
FOREIGN ministers of Japan and the Philippines, Hayashi Yoshimasa and Enrique Manalo, spoke over the phone Wednesday morning to enhance bilateral cooperation between the two countries under the administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
The $375-million BrahMos supersonic missile system that the Philippine government has acquired from the Indian government is not covered by the US sanctions against Russia, even if components of its technology came from Russia, the Indian ambassador to Manila told the BusinessMirror.
ONE distinct feature among Filipinos around the world is that we always love to eat.
Citing the “improving” global pandemic situation, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has suspended the mandatory payment of insurance for land-based “rehires” and “direct hires.”
Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) debated extensively last week about the deteriorating peace and order in Myanmar, but they could not agree on how to deal with the junta, which has been undermining the integrity of the regional bloc.
Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Secretary Susan “Toots” Ople has appointed the administrators of Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) as her undersecretaries.
CHINESE Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian said Beijing would welcome efforts by Washington to reach out to China and settle their differences in the Taiwan Strait but would treat such gesture with a grain of salt.
Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian said China would welcome efforts by the United States to reach out to China and settle their differences in the Taiwan Strait but would treat such gesture with a grain of salt.
The Philippines said it cannot afford to have another crisis after the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, and has asked the United States to step up diplomatic efforts to ease the tension in the Taiwan Strait.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and US President Joe Biden are meeting next month in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said.
PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. told United States Secretary of State Anthony J. Blinken he wants the country’s bilateral ties with Washington to further “evolve”.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met US State Department Secretary Antony Blinken early Saturday morning.
United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Manila Friday night amidst a growing tension between the US and China in Taiwan Strait following the controversial visit of US Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
NATIONAL Security Adviser Clarita Carlos said the Philippines should not be made to choose between treaty ally the United States and close neighbor China in the event either of the superpowers forces Manila to take a side on the Taiwan Strait issue.
The international community has once again extended financial and logistical support to the Philippines to help the victims of the Magnitude 7.0 quake that hit northern Luzon last week.
FOREIGN ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) are wary that the tension in the Taiwan Strait following the controversial visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan would lead to “miscalculation” and “open conflict.”
Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) are wary that the tension in the Taiwan Strait following the controversial visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan would lead to “miscalculation” and “open conflict.” The ministers are meeting in Phnom Penh at the time when tension in the Taiwan Strait was at its highest level in 20 years, with the visit US congressional delegation led by Pelosi to the self-ruled island. Pelosi is the most senior American lawmaker to visit the island in 25 years.
“EVERYTHING is very normal, very calm, especially our OFWs.”
ANOTHER piece of debris from the Long March 5B (CZ-5B) Chinese rocket that was launched into space on July 24 was found in the West Philippine Sea, the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) reported on Wednesday.
THE Department of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday it is “closely monitoring” reports that US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will visit Taiwan as part of her Asian tour.
Two overseas Filipino workers (OFW) were found dead inside their room in Dubai on July 27, an OFW advocate group reported on Tuesday.
DEBRIS from a rocket that boosted part of China’s new space station into orbit fell into the Sulu Sea near Palawan, the Philippine Space Agency (PhilSA) has confirmed.
The diplomatic community in Manila has paid tribute to the legacy of former President Fidel Ramos in steering the country to a tiger economy status, as they expressed condolences to his wife, former First Lady Amelita “Ming” Ramos, his family, and to the Filipino people.
Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo is skipping the foreign ministers’ meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Tuesday after he tested positive for COVID-19 last Sunday.
The diplomatic community in Manila has paid tribute to the legacy of former President Fidel Ramos in steering the country to a tiger economy status, as they expressed condolences to his wife, former First Lady Amelita “Ming” Ramos, his family, and to the Filipino people.
A 31-YEAR-old Filipino male in Singapore has been tested positive with monkeypox, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) declared on Sunday.
MORE than three million calls of cybercrime tips related to child sexual exploitation. A total of 2,787 human trafficking victims recorded by government and non-government organizations. Around 13,000 Filipino passengers offloaded from flights. Only 56 human traffickers prosecuted and convicted.
US State Secretary Antony Blinken is flying next week to two capitals in Asia — Phnom Penh and Manila — to show US President Joe Biden’s commitment to the Indo-Pacific region already largely influenced by rival China, and to “strengthen” bilateral ties with the Philippines that were earlier strained during the first four years of President Duterte’s administration.
Recruitment agencies have welcomed the commitment of President Marcos to reduce the processing time for foreign employers to hire Filipino workers for employment overseas.
“Mula sa tatlong buwan ay gagawin na lamang nating tatlong linggo para sa isang dayuhang employer na i-proseso ang mga papeles ng Filipinong nais nitong kunin bilang empleyado,” Marcos said during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) Monday.
The Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) is allocating P20 million to support families of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who were affected by the recent 7.0-magnitude earthquake in Northern Luzon.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has reiterated its call to Filipinos in Myanmar to leave the Southeast Asian country as threats and violence are expected to worsen following the execution of four opposition leaders recently.
In a statement, the DFA said it maintains the Alert Level 4” advisory in Myanmar which means that the “Philippine Government undertakes mandatory evacuation procedures.”
The DFA has been asking the OFWs in Myanmar to leave the country since May 6, 2021, three months after the military took over power.
A total of 701 Filipinos have repatriated from Myanmar since May. Still, there are around 460 Filipinos in Myanmar who still refused to leave the country.
“The DFA acknowledges the concerns of OFWs wishing to return to Myanmar despite the uncertainty and danger posed by the ongoing crisis. However, the safety and security of every single Filipino overseas remains the top priority of the Philippine government.
“To protect the lives of our fellow Filipinos abroad, Alert Level 4 will therefore remain in place in Myanmar until further notice. The DFA is continuously assessing the situation and the corresponding alert level, as well as responding to the particular needs of the remaining Filipino community,” the DFA said.
Filipinos who are still in Myanmar are advised to restrict non-essential movements, avoid public places, and prepare for evacuation.
“Muli po ang aming panawagan na patuloy na maging alisto, mapagmatyag at maingat… Hanggang maaari ay iwasan po natin ang paglabas o ipagpaliban muna ang mga importeng lakad,” the Philippine Embassy in Yangon posted in its Facebook Page.
Filipinos in Myanmar in need of assistance may contact the Philippine Embassy in
Yangon, Myanmar through email (yangon.pe@dfa.gov.ph), telephone (+959985210991 /+959250765938) or Facebook (@PHinMyanmar)
The United Nations has immediately dispatched its quick reaction groups to assess how their agencies can help the Philippine government in the assisting the victims of the Magnitude 7.0 quake that hit Luzon Wednesday morning.
“Few minutes after 7.0 intensity earthquake, we contacted #Philippines Office of Civil Defense, our Cluster Coordination Groups and started gathering information to see best way that @UNPhilippines and the Humanitarian Country Team can support. We keep you updated,” Gustavo González, UN resident coordinator and humanitarian coordinator in Manila tweeted.
The International Organization for Migration, a UN agency, said it is working with the Philippine government to support the emergency response efforts to Abra.
“IOM is deploying its surge team with DSWD as co-lead of Global Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM) Cluster to conduct rapid assessment and respond to the needs of affected populations,” the IOM tweeted.
Meanwhile, members of the diplomatic community in Manila have expressed sympathies to Filipinos who are victims of the quake.
MaryKay Carlson of the US, Huang Xilian of China, Kazuhiko Koshikawa of Japan, Michele Boccoz of France and the European Union Delegation to the Philippines have issued separate statements on Twitter, showing their support to the quake victims especially in Abra.
“Sending my thoughts and prayers to those affected by the #EarthquakePH in Abra and nearby provinces. The U.S. extends our condolences to those who have lost loved ones,” Carlson said.
“On behalf of the Chinese Embassy, I would like to extend my thoughts and prayers to the Philippine government and the Filipino people affected by this morning’s earthquake in Luzon. We are ready to extend helping hand to the Philippine side for disaster relief. I believe under the leadership of President Marcos Jr., the Filipino people will be able to overcome difficulties and resume normal life as soon as possible. Let us all stay safe,” Huang said.
“France stands by the Philippines as the country is badly struck by another natural disaster. All our thoughts go to the casualties and persons affected by the destruction wrought by the earthquake,” Boccoz tweeted.
Japanese Ambassador Koshikawa, who paid a courtesy call on Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo Wednesday, said that Japan is “praying for the safety of everyone” especially the residents of Abra, and nearby provinces.
“Our thoughts are with the affected population by the #EarthquakePH notably in the Abra area,” the EU delegation tweeted.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) said they are “strongly disappointed” and is denouncing the execution of four opposition activists in Myanmar.
Macau has slightly retreated from its earlier order for all Philippine nationals to undergo daily Covid-19 testing, Macau media reported.
MACAU has started testing all Filipinos for possible infection of Covid-19, triggering a protest from a group of overseas Filipino workers, branding the move as “racist” and “discriminatory.”
The United States has a new ambassador to the Philippines, a career diplomat with 36 years of experience in East Asian affairs including two assignments to China. She also speaks Spanish and Chinese.
A Filipina cleaner was sentenced to two-month imprisonment for blackmailing her employer-turned-ex-lover in Singapore by threatening to expose their relationship and show his wife snapshots of his genitals.
A Filipina cleaner was sentenced to two-month imprisonment for blackmailing her employer-turned-ex-lover in Singapore by threatening to expose their relationship and show his wife photos of his genitals.
The Department of Migrant Workers has launched the One Repatriation Command Center (One-Repat DMW) for distressed overseas Filipino workers and their families wishing to be “rescued” from abusive employers and repatriated back home.
The Philippines has been ranked sixth in the world among 36 countries surveyed in a qualitative study measuring China’s expanding influence worldwide.
The deep recession in Sri Lanka has hit homes, affecting family incomes, and a number of Filipino women married to Sri Lankans were not spared.
Two Filipino teenagers — a Marawi siege survivor and a two-time medalist — won bronze medals in the prestigious 63rd International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) held in Norway, The Philippine Embassy in Oslo said.
A CHINESE maritime court has ordered the payment of over 3 million RMB (over P25 million) to 13 Filipino and two Greek seafarers who were stranded at sea in Guangzhou for almost a year after the owner of their ship got embroiled in a financial crisis at the start of global pandemic.
The Chinese Embassy in Manila said China is still open to renegotiating deals on the “Build, Build, Build (BBB)” projects initiated by the Duterte administration and that it is confident that the new administration would provide the continuity needed to further boost bilateral relations.
A Filipino captain was declared missing while the container ship he was supposed to be leading was on voyage in the high seas of the Mediterranean Sea.
CHINA has lashed out at United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken who sided with the Philippines in the arbitration tribunal ruling that trashes China’s historic claim in the South
China Sea.
LABOR Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma has turned over the administrative control of all the DOLE agencies dealing with Filipino overseas workers
to Migrant Workers Secretary Susan “Toots” Ople.
A jolly Queen Elizabeth II of United Kingdom bestowed the prestigious Gold Cross medal to UK’s healthcare system National Health Service (NHS), with Filipina nurse May Parsons and other UK health leaders receiving it.
AROUND 100 Filipino workers in Sri Lanka have volunteered for repatriation after the financial crisis in the south Asian island further deteriorated into a political maelstrom with the ouster of its president Gotabaya Rajapaksa, a senior official of the Department of Foreign Affairs said.
A total of 5,295 Filipinos in Macau were affected by the suspension of business activities after authorities enforced a hard lockdown Monday following the worst coronavirus outbreak in the Chinese territory since the pandemic began in 2020.
The United States, Japan, Australia, Germany, France, Canada and the European Union are standing with the Philippines in commemorating the 6th anniversary of the award on the South China Sea (SCS) Arbitration, which nullified China’s historic claims over the gas-rich islands.
MANY Filipinos, especially politicians, law enforcement and business community members, were shocked to learn about the killing of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.
US State Secretary Antony Blinken will visit Manila next month, to further push for more bilateral relations in the light of global uncertainties and economic turmoil brought by the war in Ukraine and the pandemic.
Food safety authorities among 27 members of the European Union (EU) were notified that Lucky Me! instant noodles and pancit canton produced in Thailand have been found to contain traces of pesticide.
CLAD in Barong Tagalog, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi met separately with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., Vice President Sara Duterte and Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo in Manila on Wednesday.
CONSUL General Neil Ferrer received Rev. Fr. Jerald Geronimo during the latter’s call at the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco on June 17. The prelate is the first Filipino-American to be educated and ordained as a Catholic priest at the Archdiocese of San Francisco since the church’s founding in 1853.
Israel is dangling a carrot this time to undocumented Filipinos who have families with children in Israel to come out and volunteer for repatriation. They will be provided a grant worth $5,000 (P270,000).
CHINESE State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi will arrive in Manila on Tuesday (July 5) for a two-day visit as part of his Southeast Asia swing, in a bid to speed up his diplomatic offensive to elevate the level of Beijing’s relationship to the region as a “comprehensive and strategic partner.”
Wang will have a bilateral meeting with his counterpart, newly appointed Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo on Wednesday. He will also call on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
This will be the second high-ranking visit of a Chinese official since Marcos took office last June 30. Last week, Chinese President Xi Jinping sent Vice President Wang Qishan as his special envoy to Marcos’s inauguration.
The Chinese foreign ministry had earlier announced that Wang will travel to five member-countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) — Myanmar, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Zhao Lijian, China’s foreign ministry spokesman, said the five Asean countries are “important partners that share vast common interests and seek common development” with China.
“Through this visit, China hopes to deepen strategic communication with the four Southeast Asian countries, work for high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, strive to build a peaceful, safe and secure, prosperous, beautiful and amicable home, inject new impetus into and foster new highlights in bilateral relations and get the China-Asean Comprehensive Strategic Partnership off to a good start,” Zhao said.
The trip also came at a critical time when the world was “fraught with turbulence and change” brought by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
Last May, US President Joe Biden gathered eight Asean leaders (minus the Myanmar junta leader and Philippine President Duterte, who begged off due to the presidential election and was represented by then-Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin Jr ) in Washington, DC where leaders agreed to have an Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF).
“The Chinese side will also work in concert with Southeast Asian nations to advance the implementation of the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative, boost economic recovery, uphold peace and tranquility, build a community with a shared future for mankind, and make greater contributions to regional and global peace and development,” Zhao added.
Wang co-chaired the foreign ministers’ meeting of Lancang-Mekong Cooperation in Myanmar last Sunday. He met also his counterparts from Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia which traverse the Lower Mekong River.
He is now in Thailand, the host of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) this year.
After his trip to the Philippines, he will visit Malaysia and then fly to Bali, Indonesia for the Group of 20 biggest economies (G20) foreign ministers’ meeting.
Last Saturday, he also chaired the inaugural meeting of the China-Indonesia high-level dialogue cooperation mechanism in Guiyang, the capital city of southwest China’s Guizhou Province. Indonesian President Widodo’s special envoy and coordinator for cooperation with China, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, cochaired the dialogue.
Wang will chair the 14th Meeting of the China-Vietnam Steering Committee for Bilateral Cooperation and the sixth Meeting of China-Cambodia Intergovernmental Coordination Committee in Nanning, Guangxi.
PRESIDENT Marcos’ first day in office started with the oath-taking of his newest Cabinet appointee, Enrique Manalo as his top diplomat.
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. has named Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations Enrique Manalo as his Secretary of Foreign Affairs (SFA), high-ranking sources revealed to the BusinessMirror.
President Marcos has named Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations Enrique Manalo as his secretary of foreign affairs, high-ranking sources told Business Mirror.
He flew from New York and took his oath in Malacañang this morning (Friday), to take over the post vacated by Teodoro Locsin Jr.
SPECIAL envoys of the United States, China, Japan, Vietnam and Lao PDR paid separate courtesy calls on incoming Vice President Sara Duterte Wednesday in Manila.
Constrained by the one-China policy, the Department of Foreign Affairs merely announced its “strong objection” to Taiwan’s plan to hold live fire exercises on Ligaw Island or Itu Aba Island, the biggest land feature in the Spratlys.
A head of state, two vice presidents, a deputy prime minister and two foreign ministers are among the high-ranking officials sent by leaders of 11 countries to attend the inaugural of President-elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Thursday, Business Mirror learned from diplomatic sources.
US President Joe Biden is sending a delegation to Manila led by the husband of US Vice President Kamala Harris, Douglas Emhoff, to represent him during the inauguration of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr. on Thursday.
THE Philippine government has failed to convince the prosecutor of the United Nations criminal court that it has been doing its own impartial investigation into the alleged crimes against humanity committed under President Duterte’s orders combat illegal drugs while he was Davao City mayor and during the first three years of his presidency.
INCOMING Department of Migrant Workers Secretary Susan “Toots” Ople would have wanted to just ignore a group of “OFWs” who recently protested her appointment, questioning her fitness to handle the job due to her breast cancer. But she broke her silence to stand up for breast cancer survivors who may be discriminated against like her.
Philadelphia authorities are offering $20,000 reward for those who will offer any information that would lead to the arrest of the gunman who shot and killed Atty. John Albert “Jal” Laylo in Pennsylvania.
PHILIPPINE officials met with Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney to seek justice for Filipino lawyer John Albert “Jal” Laylo, who was gunned down in the city early Saturday while visiting relatives.
