Day: March 24, 2025

Manila: The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has banned deportation flights with layovers for foreign fugitives involved in crimes linked to Philippine offshore gaming operators (POGOs). Under BI Board of Commissioners Resolution No. 2025-002, dated March 21, 2025, deported foreign nationals with links to POGOs can only be placed on direct flights to their home countries, except in cases where no direct route exists from the Philippines. According to Philippines News Agency, the move puts an end to a critical loophole that POGO deportees have exploited and complies with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive of a total POGO ban, BI

Manila: Malaca±ang on Monday called on Vice President Sara Duterte to explain the growing list of questionable recipients of confidential funds from her office. In a press briefing, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro emphasized the need for Duterte to clarify the issue, following revelations that dubious names such as “Amoy Liu,” “Fernan Amuy,” and “Joug de Asim” – collectively referred to as ‘Team Amoy Asim’ – were allegedly among the recipients of confidential funds of the Department of Education (DepEd) which she headed from June 2024 to July 19, 2024. According to Philippines News Agency, ‘We believe that VP Sara

Manila: Malaca±ang on Monday refuted claims being peddled on social media that detained former president Rodrigo Duterte gave the Marcos family the dignity to return to power, while President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. supposedly gave his Duterte a ‘death sentence’ in a foreign land. In a press briefing, Palace Press Officer and Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro stressed that it was the Filipino people, not just a single individual, who made Marcos president of the country. According to Philippines News Agency, Castro asserted, “Ang nagpabalik po kay Pangulo Marcos ay ang taumbayan po, hindi po iisang tao. Pinakita po

Manila: The Philippines is emerging as the new preferred destination in Southeast Asia for companies with operations in China looking to expand, according to Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) Director General Tereso Panga. Panga highlighted this trend in a recent social media post, attributing the shift to the current United States government’s tariff policy, which imposes a 20 percent tariff on all imports from China. According to Philippines News Agency, Panga noted that the “C+1” strategy, where companies look for an alternative location to China, has evolved into “C+1+1” (or C + 2), with the Philippines now being considered as

Malaca±ang: On Monday dismissed as baseless the claims of security threats against former president Rodrigo Duterte as raised by his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte. During a press briefing, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro addressed questions regarding the remarks made by the Vice President, who had drawn comparisons between her father’s potential return to the Philippines and the assassination of former Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. According to Philippines News Agency, Castro expressed skepticism over the fears raised by the Duterte family, questioning the sources of such stories. She even pointed out that despite the claims of threats on the