The Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Saturday announced that the deadline for filing of applications for transfer of voter registration record from overseas to the Philippines has been moved from August 31 to September 30. In a statement, Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said this would benefit repatriated overseas Filipino voters who would like to vote in the Philippines in the May 2022 polls. “The Commission en Banc recognizes the need to prevent the disenfranchisement of a great number of our kababayans who have been unexpectedly repatriated due to the Covid-19 pandemic, hence the decision to extend the deadline. If they

Caregiving and agriculture are among the top sectors that will open jobs for migrant workers, including Filipinos, in Japan. In a virtual forum late Friday afternoon, Labor Attaché Elizabeth Marie Estrada of the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) in Osaka said Filipino workers are in demand in both skilled and non-skilled sectors. The categories are care workers, cultivation/agriculture, overseas performing artists (OPAs), welders, food processing, scaffolding/reinforced bar construction, and English teachers. “If ever Japan reopens, it seems that they prioritize those in the caregiving and agriculture sectors because they also need to have something to eat. These are the two

The city government has issued the Safety Seal certificate to 88 out of about 100 establishments that have applied and have been inspected by the Iloilo Safety Seal Certification Program Inspection and Certification Committee. “These were major malls, fast-food chains, and BPOs (business process outsourcing),” head of the Business Permit and Licensing Division (BPLD), Norman Flor Tabud, said in a phone interview on Friday. To qualify for the safety seal, establishments have to comply with regulation accreditation requirements; the use of StaySafe.ph, UswagTracer application, or any contact tracing tool; and the enforcement of the minimum public health standards. Tabud said

The construction of the Government Strategic Communications Academy (GSCA) is set to start within this month, Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar said on Saturday. The training facility for government media workers and information officers will be built inside the Northern Bukidnon State College compound in Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon. “The first Government Communications Academy will finally have its groundbreaking ceremony this September. It will focus on teaching communications to our information officers from the barangays to those in the national government agencies,” Andanar said in a news release. GSCA would also accommodate private media firm workers who wish

The Department of Tourism (DOT) is pursuing a 2022 recovery plan with the end goal of a sustainable, resilient, and inclusive Philippine tourism industry. Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat on Friday presented the plan during the deliberation of the DOT’s proposed 2022 budget before the House of Representatives appropriations committee chaired by Rep. Eric Go Yap. The DOT proposed a PHP3.52 billion budget for 2022 to support its plans and programs, as well as a PHP63.71 million allocation for the Intramuros Administration and PHP203.79 million for the National Parks Development Committee. She said the DOT would expand its product offerings and explore

About 20 indigenous peoples (IP) farmers here have completed a two-day training on crops and livestock production conducted by the Department of Agriculture in Caraga region (DA-13). In a statement Saturday, the DA-13 said the IP farmers, who are residents of Sitio Malihao, Barangay Bonbon in this city, belong to the Manobo and Higaonon tribes and members of the Mt. Mayapay Tribal Council. “The training, conducted on September 2 to 3, was designed to promote sustainable farming and create livelihood opportunities while conserving the indigenous ecosystem and promoting biodiversity,” it said. The activity also provided the tribal council the opportunity