The Japanese Embassy in Manila has started accepting applications for individual tourists planning to visit Japan from October 11 onwards. The embassy said it opened on October 4 applications for all kinds of visas, including for individual travel, visiting friends, and multiple-entry. Registration for entrants, returnee follow-up system (ERFS), it said, is also no longer needed while requirements for visiting friends have been relaxed with the removal of “written pledge” from the inviter. Departure date for these visas would start October 11. Multiple-entry visa and APEC Business Travel Card would also be honored again beginning October 11
During Tuesday’s hearing that tackled Senate Bill No. (SBN) 1275, or the Act Providing for Work Benefits and Social Protection to All Delivery Platform Riders Working in the Gig Economy, NAPC’s Formal Labor and Migrants sectoral representative Edwin Bustillos emphasized the importance of delivery riders and suggested they are made regular employees. “Hindi kasi magagawa ‘yung delivery kung hindi sa mga rider na ito (Deliveries will not be possible without the riders). And therefore, ‘yung kanilang posisyon ay (their position is) essential to the business of these companies na nagdi-dispatch ng kanilang mga produkto para sa mga (who dispatches
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has yet to formally appoint resigned Executive Secretary Victor Rodriguez as his chief of staff, Malacañang said on Tuesday. Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin said there is no official document delegating Rodriguez as Presidential Chief of Staff (PCS). “Wala (There is none). We do not even talk about it,” Bersamin told select Palace reporters, when asked about the new designation of his predecessor. The clarification was made after Rodriguez on Sept. 17 announced his decision to step down from office to assume his new role as PCS. Also on Sept. 17, the
The European Union (EU) Delegation to the Philippines is bringing free European films to Iloilo under its Cine Europa film festival from Oct. 5 to 13. The fest started on September 14 in Manila and runs until the end of October, going hybrid this year as it also sets foot in Cebu City and Palawan. Cine Europa 2022 Iloilo leg would begin with the Spanish film Las Niñas (School girls) on October 5 and would have a total of 25 onsite screenings at the Film Development Council of the Philippines Cinematheque. The initial film, which won the
South Korea on Tuesday condemned North Korea for firing a ballistic missile and warned Pyongyang of stronger sanctions and other consequences, local media reported. In a statement after a National Security Council (NSC) meeting chaired by President Yoon Suk-yeol, the South Korean presidency said North Korea’s action is a violation of the UN Security Council resolutions, according to Yonhap News Agency. “It (North Korea missile) was in clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions and a serious provocation threatening the peace on the Korean Peninsula, in Northeast Asia and beyond,” the agency quoted the statement. The NSC
The Negros Occidental provincial government has intensified its anti-rabies campaign to address the increasing number of animal bites and human deaths in the province this year. Data from the Provincial Health Office (PHO) as of Tuesday showed that in the first half of the year, some 14,232 animal bite incidents have already been reported compared to last year’s total of 21,659 cases. Also, 10 human deaths – nine suspected and one confirmed – have been recorded this year, from only four in 2021. PHO rabies coordinator Rafael Marmolejo III said one of the reasons for the increase
