The municipality here has been awarded second place for its best tourism practice during the pandemic by the Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines (ATOP) and the Department of Tourism in the annual Pearl Awards. The town’s entry, titled Mibangon Atamo (We Rise as One), centered on the involvement of everybody to overcome the challenges brought about by the pandemic to the tourism industry in their locality. In a phone interview on Wednesday, municipal tourism officer Mary de Guzman attested that the Bayanihan prevails in their town among the national government agencies, tourism workers, associations, and the citizens amid

The United States government said it would continue to “push back” on Beijing’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea (SCS) as it outlined its priorities in the Indo-Pacific region. US State Secretary Antony Blinken, during a speech in Jakarta on December 14, said Washington, DC is determined to ensure the freedom of navigation in the strategic water where more than USD3 million worth of goods pass through every year. “It’s worth remembering that, tied up in that colossal number, USD3 trillion, are the actual livelihoods and well-being of millions of people across the world. When commerce can’t traverse

The Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday reported two imported cases of the Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant detected from the 48 samples sequenced Tuesday. In a joint statement with the University of the Philippines – Philippine Genome Center (UP-PGC) and the University of the Philippines – National Institutes of Health (UP-NIH) the DOH also reported 33 cases positive for the Delta (B.1.617.2) variant while 13 had no lineage assigned. The agencies noted that the latest sequencing run was composed of samples from 21 returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs), a foreigner, and 26 local cases from areas with case clusters. “The two Omicron

The Department of Tourism (DOT) has urged industry partners to ensure the safety of tourists and secure their properties from the threats of Typhoon Odette. DOT 8 (Eastern Visayas) Director Karina Rosa Tiopes said on Wednesday tourism-related businesses should prepare for the typhoon’s wrath by implementing precautionary measures and coming up with emergency plans. She added that they have sent an advisory to industry partners, outlining tourism activities that should be avoided ahead of the typhoon’s landfall. “We asked the management to advise guests to refrain from all types of water-based activities to include, but not limited to, boating, island

The House of Representatives on Wednesday adopted the Senate version of a bill seeking to establish the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) that would address all issues and concerns of Filipino workers abroad in one single agency. With the adoption of the Senate version, the two chambers would no longer hold a bicameral conference committee meeting and the measure would be transmitted to Malacañang for President Rodrigo Duterte’s signature. The bill, certified urgent by Malacañang in May, seeks to consolidate into a single coherent office the agencies which attend to the needs of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs). Under the bill,

The provincial government of Pangasinan is targeting to vaccinate some 400,000 Pangasinenses in the second national vaccination day to complete the inoculation of 70 percent of the eligible population of the province and attain population protection. In a phone interview on Wednesday, Provincial Health Office (PHO) chief Dr. Anna Ma.Teresa de Guzman said they hope the residents will cooperate on the second national vaccination day from December 15 to 17. “We are positive to attain herd immunity (population protection) if our kababayans will cooperate, if not we will not be able to end the pandemic in the province since there