The Philippine Consulate General in New York has welcomed the new measures that would protect Filipinos and other domestic workers living and working in New York City. The landmark law signed by New York Governor Kathleen Hochul in December 2021 legally considers domestic workers as “employees” under the New York State Human Rights Law while Intro 39 signed by then New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio in August 2021 extends anti-discrimination protections to domestic workers of the city. “The Philippine Consulate General welcomes these positive developments that will improve employment security and enhance work benefits of kababayan employed in

Aksyon Demokratiko standard-bearer Manila Mayor Francisco “Isko Moreno” Domagoso has vowed to sustain the current administration’s gains in improved internet and telecommunications services. During a recent roundtable discussion with top officials from the business processing outsourcing industry, Domagoso said he would invest in information technology infrastructure by building a national fiber-optic backbone. Domagoso said he plans to acquire satellite Internet access provided by Elon Musk’s Starlink which provides high-speed broadband internet and is now being availed by 24 countries in the world. A report by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) in June 2021, citing data from global

The Philippines joined other countries in adopting the historic resolution to end plastic pollution at the resumed session of the fifth United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5.2) in Nairobi from Feb. 28 to March 2. The resolution starts the process to craft an international legally binding agreement to end plastic pollution, addressing the full lifecycle of plastic products, from production, design to disposal. The resolution targets 2024 as the date of completion of the new agreement. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) officer in charge Jim Sampulna delivered the Philippine statements via prerecorded message. Held back-to-back with UNEA-5.2 was the

Partido Reporma standard-bearer Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson on Wednesday said he is willing to attend a special session of Congress if called by President Rodrigo Duterte to discuss the possible declaration of a state of economic emergency amid the unabated spike in oil prices. “It is okay with me so that the government will have the needed flexibility to deal with this scourge of fuel price hikes,” Lacson told reporters when sought for comment. This came amid mounting calls for lawmakers to hold a special session on the matter as soaring fuel prices continue to take a toll on the

The French government is open to holding joint patrols with the Philippines within its exclusive economic zones to develop the two nations’ interoperability. The idea was floated during the Manila visit of Rear Admiral Jean-Mathieu Rey, joint commander of the French Armed Forces in the Asia-Pacific, who also met with various Filipino military and defense officials from March 7 to 8. During these meetings, the military officials affirmed their willingness to expand operational bilateral engagement between the French and Philippine armed forces, including in the area of humanitarian assistance and disaster response. “With the Philippines, we share a common interest