The Hong Kong government will lift the travel ban on the Philippines on Monday, allowing more than 3,000 stranded Filipino workers to fly back to their employers. In a news release by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) on Sunday, Labor Attaché Melchor Dizon said the number of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who will be allowed to travel to Hong Kong could exceed those stranded during the travel ban as the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) continued to process job orders. HK authorities require a 14-day quarantine even for fully vaccinated workers upon arrival, according to DOLE. Dizon likewise
A total of 99 indigenous peoples (IPs) on Sunday finally returned home from Haran after being deceived by the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army-National Democratic Front (CPP-NPA-NDF) of false promises. The IPs also cited abuses while they were inside the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) Haran compound in Davao City. Datu Tungig, a resident of Talaingod and one of the hundred victims of “Taktikang Bakwit” of the CPP-NPA-NDF, led the ritual called “panubadtubad” inside the Haran compound before they traveled to return to communities in Talaingod, Davao del Norte after years of being captive by
Philippine Olympic Committee president Abraham Tolentino announced on Sunday that additional cash benefits will be given to the four athletes who won medals for the Philippines during the Tokyo Olympics. “With some of the savings of the POC, I’m now announcing that the bronze [medalist] will receive from the POC an additional PHP1 million, for the silver medalist, PHP2 million, for the gold [medalist], PHP3 million,” Tolentino said in an online press conference from Tokyo. This means weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz, the Philippines’ first ever Olympic gold medalist, will get PHP3 million more, silver medalists Carlo Paalam and Nesthy Petecio of
A Palace official on Sunday lauded Filipino athletes in Tokyo for their best Olympics campaign after bringing home four medals, including the country’s first-ever Olympic gold medal. The Filipino athletes also clinched two silvers and one bronze, completing the country’s biggest medal haul since it joined the world’s most prestigious multisport meet in 1924. Hidilyn Diaz won it all in a women’s weightlifting event, while the boxing team amassed the bulk of the medals, two silvers from Carlo Paalam and Nesthy Petecio, and a bronze from Eumir Marcial. “We wish to send our congratulations to our Olympians who performed creditably
A Negrense lawmaker has sought to expedite the approval of the bill seeking the establishment of a National Academy of Sports (NAS) campus in E.B. Magalona, Negros Occidental to provide specialized training for youth athletes in the province. “I hope the House will soon approve this bill so we can start training young Negrense athletes with winning potential,” Third District Rep. Jose Francisco Benitez, author of House Bill (HB) 8036, said in a statement on Sunday. He noted that he filed the bill on Nov. 17, 2020 with the dream for Negros Occidental to produce more Olympians. “I am one
Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo on Sunday extended condolences to the family of former Senator Antonio “Sonny” Trillanes IV over the passing of his mother, Estelita Fuentes Trillanes. Trillanes announced the passing of his mother in a tweet on Aug. 6, which was also his 50th birthday. “My sincere condolences to former Senator Trillanes for the passing of [his] mother. The demise of a parent is a painful loss to every child who grew up under the loving guidance and nurtureship of the departed loved one,” Panelo said in a press statement. He also offered prayers for Estelita Fuentes
