The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) highlighted the Philippines best practices in the protection of consumer rights, including the country’s efforts to protect against the sale of counterfeit products. The 2024 Special 301 Report released by the USTR, an annual watch list of US trading partners performance …
Read More »Interest rate cut unlikely soon for Filipino borrowers
Filipino borrowers hoping for a reduction in interest rates will have to hold their horses as the anticipated rate cuts may not come in the near future. Finance Secretary Ralph G. Recto said on Friday, April 26, that elevated inflation is likely to persist, and interest rates may remain high …
Read More »Immigration intercepts dubious Vietnamese, Chinese nationals
(Contributed photo) MANILA – Vietnamese and Chinese nationals with suspicious intents were intercepted by Bureau of Immigration (BI) officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport the previous two days. Sixteen Vietnamese nationals who are suspect illegal online gaming hubs’ recruits arrived from Ho Chi Minh City on a Cebu Pacific flight …
Read More »Piston sets 3-day transport strike
Transport group PISTON on Saturday announced a three-day transportation strike from April 29 to May 1 in protest of the government’s public utility vehicle (PUV) modernization program. Members of labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) and party-list Bayan Muna are set to join the transport strike in solidarity until it …
Read More »China Navy ships shadow Balikatan vessels
WEST PHILIPPINE SEA—Two Chinese Navy spy ships shadowed Philippine and American vessels during the Balikatan exercises as they sailed at the westernmost portion of Palawan on Saturday. During the formation drills of the BRP Ramon Alcaraz, BRP Davao del Sur and USS Harpers Ferry, a spy ship of the People’s …
Read More »Cavite, La Union LGUs adopt 4-day workweek
Locals walk over the dry part of Intang Lake in Pantabangan, Nueva Ecija on April 22, 2024. (STAR / Walter Bollozos) Amid rising temperatures due to El Niño MANILA, Philippines — A four-day workweek will be implemented in the offices of the provincial government of Cavite starting tomorrow until July …
Read More »SC meets Bohol judges for creation of regional court manager
Supreme Court of the Philippines (File photo) MANILA – Supreme Court officials led by Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo met with Bohol court judges to discuss the creation of the Office of the Regional Court Manager (ORCM) to improve the efficiency of the delivery of administrative offices to lower courts. According to a …
Read More »Defense chief dismisses anew ‘agreements’ with China on SCS
SIMULATION. BRP Ramon Alcaraz officers conduct flight quarters procedure before takeoff of the Philippine Navy AW-109 helicopter. Naval ships participating in the multilateral maritime exercise of the 39th “Balikatan” successfully conducted a simulated replenishment at sea on Friday (April 26, 2024) in Palawan waters. (Photo courtesy of Western Command) MANILA – The …
Read More »PNP says tattoo ban for cops not discriminatory
Stock image of a tattoo artist/Image by Felix from Pixabay MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) stressed on Sunday that its policy prohibiting police officers from bearing visible tattoos is not discriminatory against inked individuals. The PNP recently released a memorandum prohibiting their personnel from having visible tattoos, …
Read More »Gaza protests spread across U.S., to the doorstep of the White House
Joe Biden tried taking a victory lap this week, celebrating a coveted foreign policy win. Yet in the streets near his house, he was being jeered over a different foreign crisis — the one that’s threatening his presidency. Biden needs votes from a group with a rock-bottom opinion of Israel’s …
Read More »