MANILA: Private employers have until Christmas Eve to release the 13th month pay of their workers, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said on Friday. In a statement, Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma said the Dec. 24 deadline for the grant of the benefit is mandated by law. “Until tomorrow (Saturday), the law is giving our employers to pay their workers. We have earlier issued a reminder for them to pay the benefit early so that the workers and their families can plan or budget whatever amount they will receive for their feasts for the holidays,” Laguesma said.
DAVAO CITY: The city government and the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) signed the memorandum of agreement (MOA) for the hosting here of the MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) next year. TPB chief operating officer Maria Margarita Nograles and Vice-Mayor Melchor Quitain led the signing of the MOA Thursday afternoon, formalizing the city’s hosting of MICE on March 1-3, 2023. The city won the right to host the convention in 2020, but was stalled by the pandemic. Next year’s conference will have a daily sub-theme that will feature different aspects of Davao City as a tourism hotspot.
MANILA: A series of examinations by Customs officers resulted in the discovery of some 20 containers of smuggled onions and other agricultural products worth PHP171.35 million, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) reported on Friday. In a statement, Customs Commissioner Yogi Filemon Ruiz said the examinations were conducted from Dec. 6 to 22 on shipments consigned to Taculog J International Consumer Goods Trading. He added that the shipments from China started arriving at the Manila International Container Port (MICP) from Nov. 12 to Dec. 3. He added that almost all containers were initially declared to contain mantou (steamed
MANILA: The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Friday cautioned anew foreigners against fake documents circulating amid the holiday season. Commissioner Norman Tansingco issued the warning after the interception of a South Korean national identified as Ke Shuiyin, 45, at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 last Dec. 15 after presenting a fake emigration clearance certificate (ECC). The foreign national attempted to board a China Southern Airlines flight to Guangzhou, China but was intercepted by primary inspection officers upon suspecting the authenticity of the document she presented. Upon verification, it was confirmed that the ECC she
ILOILO CITY: After three years of research, planning and fabrication, a modern marine transport vessel developed by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Guimaras State University (GSU) is now on its last stages of construction and will soon be ready for sea trial. “We are looking forward to already transfer the vessel to the water this month, and subject it to sea trial by January next year, and regular testing by February,” DOST Western Visayas Regional Director Engr. Rowen S. Gelonga said in an interview Friday. “It’s a 60-passenger capacity commercial vessel, which we hope
MANILA: Davao City will host the Philippine meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions conference (MICECON) in March 2023, setting the stage for the hard-hit sector’s gradual recovery after the pandemic. A memorandum of agreement between the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) and Davao City on Dec. 22 was signed to formally task the city as the venue for next year’s conference. “We strongly believe and claim that Davao’s hosting of the MICECON will provide a tremendous boost to the city’s tourism industry and a huge step towards its own vision of making Davao a preferred MICE destination not only in
