(Photo courtesy of Department of the Interior and Local Government) MANILA - The Philippines should treat foreign workers, including those working in Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs), with respect and ensure the protection of their human rights, labor groups said on Thursday. Nagkaisa chairperson Sonny Matula said the Philippines, as a country that demands fair and equal treatment for OFWs in their host countries, should also apply the same principle to the rights of foreign workers. This came after reports said a "humanitarian crisis" looms from Manila's enforcement of summary deportations against thousands of POGO workers, mostly Chinese, for violating immigration and other national laws. "For decades we continue to confront this same humanitarian crisis, in fact of bigger magnitude than this one, as we handle complex crises involving our distressed OFWs who were denied equal protection by their host countries. We, therefore, cannot deny other nationals
ROAD INAUGURATION. Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo (5th from left) leads the inauguration of the 18.5-kilometer Hilaitan-Trinidad road project in Guihulngan City on Thursday (June 23, 2022). The farm-to-market road is seen to spur economic development, speed up delivery of basic services, and act as a deterrent to the CPP-NPA's recruitment and other activities. (Photo courtesy of the Philippine Army) DUMAGUETE CITY - The newly inaugurated Hilaitan-Trinidad concrete farm-to-market road in the hinterlands of Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental is expected to address the problem on insurgency and boost the economy in the area. The Hilaitan-Trinidad farm-to-market road was inaugurated on Thursday and was facilitated by the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) at Barangay Trinidad in Guihulngan City. Brig. Gen. Inocencio Pasaporte, commander of the 303rd Infantry Brigade of the Philippine Army, told the Philippine News Agency on Friday that the opening of the road brings with i
Philippine Sports Commission William "Butch" Ramirez (File photo) MANILA - Philippine Sports Commission William "Butch" Ramirez on Tuesday said the country's overall performance in the just concluded 31st Vietnam Southeast Asian Games in Vietnam was nothing to be ashamed of, a good finish, in fact, considering the challenges Filipino bets had to face in the build-up to the meet. "Our performance in bringing home 52 gold, 70 silver, and 104 bronze medals in placing fourth overall in the medal standings was a good finish despite the various challenges our national athletes had to face amid the Covid-19 pandemic before competing in Vietnam," Ramirez said. "It would have been a very good finish had we converted 50 percent of our silvers (to gold) and bronzes (to silver)," noted the PSC chief, who has been closely monitoring the progress of the country's standard-bearers in the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi and surrounding provinces. He pointed
MANILA - The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) have delivered more than 10 million Philippine Identification (PhilID) cards nationwide. As of April 30, 2022, a total of 10,548,906 PhilID cards have been delivered which is 33.7 percent of PSA's target this year. PSA National Statistician and Civil Registrar General, Undersecretary Dennis Mapa, said the PhilSys milestone is an outcome of their collective efforts with partner agencies and the field offices involved in producing and delivering PhilID cards. "We are determined to continue to put forth initiatives that will accelerate PhilSys operations across all sectors," he said. At the same time, PSA announced that the authenticity of a PhilID card and the information contained in its QR code can now be verified through PhilSys Check. The recently launched website, PSA said, enables relying on parties to easily conduct identity verification among PhilID cardholder
(File photo courtesy of Philippine Navy) MANILA - Manila Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula on Friday called for solidarity with the people affected by Typhoon Odette. In an interview with Radio Veritas, Advincula urged the Filipinos to unite in responding to the needs of the people in Visayas and Mindanao and show the true spirit of Christmas. "We are with you as you rise, as you face a new morning; I urge all to sympathize and care for our brothers and sisters who have been devastated by the storm, let us help them recover and begin again," he said. At the same time, the Cardinal reminded the victims that the birth of Jesus was a sign of God's solidarity with every suffering and experience of mankind. "Jesus came to our world as Emmanuel. God appeared to the world in the form of a baby - weak and small. It is a reminder to us that God is with us, God is on our side especially in times when we seem to have no strength, we have no hope, we have no opponent. Our God i