TOURISTS AT THE BEACH. Thousands of tourists flock to Boracay Island in Malay, Aklan during the Holy Week. Malay chief tourism operations officer Felix G. delos Santos Jr., in an interview on Monday (April 1, 2024), said they are ready for the influx of tourists this April and May. (Photo courtesy of Flickr) ILOILO CITY –…
Pope Francis, 87, appeared in relatively good spirits at the Easter Sunday Mass at the Vatican. PHOTO: REUTERS TEHRAN — Pope Francis has renewed his call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza in a peace-focused address marking Easter Sunday, the most important day on the Christian calendar. “Let us not allow the current hostilities to continue to have grave…
JERUSALEM – The Knesset on Monday passed the so-called “Al Jazeera Law” authorizing the Prime Minister to shut down the activities of the Qatari-owned network. “There will be no freedom of speech for the Hamas trumpets in Israel. Al Jazeera will be closed in the coming days,” said Communications Minister Shlomo Karai, who spearheaded the legislation,…
The World Bank has retained its 2024 Philippine economic growth forecast at 5.8% and expects the country to be the second fastest-growing economy in East Asia and in the Asia-Pacific region. In its April 2024 East Asia and Pacific Economic Update report, World Bank revised upward its 2025 Philippine economic growth forecast to 5.9% from the earlier 5.8% projection. The report showed that the Philippines and…
INVESTMENT CLIMATE. House Deputy Majority Leader and Iloilo 1st District Rep. Janette Garin responds to media queries during a press conference on Monday (April 1, 2024). She said the overall investment climate in the Philippines is improving. (Photo courtesy of House Press and Public Affairs Bureau) House Deputy Majority Leader and Iloilo 1st District Rep. Janette Garin has…
PH hits record-high $104B in goods and services exports in 2023 — MANILA INTERNATIONAL CONTAINER TERMINAL MANILA – Despite global trade challenges, Philippine exports surpassed the USD100-billion mark in 2023. The outbound trade revenue figure is an all time high in the country’s history. In a statement, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said that based on…
The Department of Health (DOH) focuses its vaccination initiatives on the country’s most vulnerable sectors to protect them from the threats of the fast spreading pertussis or whooping cough. Reports said, however, that free booster shots for children aged 5 and above, adolescents, adults, and pregnant women are not available in health centers. “In a situation with limited resources, the…
Malacanang has created an inter-agency committee tasked to oversee the right-of-way (ROW) activities for the country’s railway projects to expedite the process of land acquisition needed for their implementation. Under Administrative Order (AO) 19 signed on March 25 by President Marcos, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary will serve as the chairperson of the inter-agency committee, with the Secretary…
President Ferdinand “BongBong” Marcos (PBBM) has ordered the creation of a national organizing council (NOC) for the country’s hosting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit meetings in 2026. In his Administrative Order (AO) 17, Marcos said, “It is imperative to constitute a National Organizing Council to organize, manage, and supervise all major and ancillary programs,…
The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) has belied a video report quoting its chief, who was wrongly identified as a Marine general, announcing the arrival in the country of military equipment allegedly from the United States and France to be used in this year’s Philippines-US “Balikatan” exercises. “The OCD learned that a video was published online, reporting the ‘arrival of military equipment from the United…
