A total of 172,432 passenger arrivals, majority of whom are Filipinos, were recorded during this month, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported on Monday. The latest data from the BI showed that 141,216 Filipinos arrived during the holiday season, many of which are overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), followed by Americans with 12,455, Canadians with 2,805, and Japanese with 1,645 while the remainder is composed of other nationalities. Commissioner Jaime Morente said most of those who arrived are balikbayans coming home to their families in the Philippines to spend Christmas and New Year. “This is expected since many of our kababayans

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources in Caraga (BFAR-13) on Monday said that initial assessment showed that Typhoon Odette has caused damage to fishery projects in the region worth at least PHP142.3 million. As of December 23, the initial cost of damage to different fishery projects in the provinces of Surigao del Norte, Dinagat Islands, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur and Surigao del Sur included fishponds and aquaculture projects devoted to the production of milkfish, tilapia, lobsters, groupers, seaweeds, and mangrove crabs. In a statement Monday, BFAR-13 said Regional Director Usop Pendaliday, Jr. has already ordered the provincial

Spider-Man: No Way Home has become the first film during the pandemic to reach USD1 bllion at the box office worldwide. “Sony’s comic-book epic has eclipsed that milestone in a near-record 12 days, tying with 2015’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” as the third-fastest film to reach the billion-dollar benchmark,” US entertainment magazine Variety reported on Sunday. This came at a time when countries are taking measures to stem the spread of the highly transmissible omicron coronavirus variant and restricting closed-door events. The blockbuster film, which stars Tom Holland, 25, in the lead role, is “the only movie since 2019’s

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) started the week higher amid the quiet session during the Christmas holiday, but the peso weakened against the US dollar. The main equities index rose by 1.02 percent, or 72.94 points, to 7,254.80 points. All Shares followed with a jump of 0.54 percent, or 20.70 points, to 3,842.96 points. Most of the sectoral indexes also gained during the day with the Financials rising by 1.89 percent; Services, 1.24 percent; and Holding Firms, 1.18 percent. The Property and Mining and Oil indexes moved sideways after an increase of 0.09 percent and 0.04 percent, respectively, while