Philippines

Metro Manila – An online petition from several authorities and groups urging the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to withdraw the memorandum of increase rates in the premium contribution of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) has received some 300,000 signatures. According to the memorandum, OFWs with income amounting between ₱10,000 and ₱20,000 will be required to pay 3 percent of their …

MANILA – The National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) is considering to delay the opening of Season 96 to November due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The collegiate competition that usually opens in July, NCAA Management Committee chairman Peter Cayco said that this year they have discussed the possibility of the season being delayed to as late as November or even December …

Metro Manila – Celebrity couple Coleen Garcia and Billy Crawford are going to be parents. The two made the announcement on Friday (May 1) via Instagram and that Coleen is already 5 months pregnant. Coleen wrote, “It’s been over 5 months now. And just like that, we’re more than halfway through! We found out earlier this year, but I’ve been …

MANILA – Presidential spokesman Harry Roque reiterated on Thursday that Taiwan is part of China despite mounting protest from Taiwan. The remark drew “strong dissatisfaction and high regret” from Taipei. Roque stood by his position saying the Philippines, like many countries in the world, consider Taiwan as part of China. “We have always had one position with this regard, together …

Metro Manila – Marikina City’s COVID-19 testing laboratory has finally been accredited by The Department of Health (DOH), Mayor Marcelino Teodoro announced on Thursday, April 30. The local government got the approval a month after they first set up its Covid-19 testing lab to help to satisfy the standards required by the Health department.   “It is one of the …

Manila – Budget airliner Cebu Pacific, reported a net loss of nearly P1.2 billion in the first three months of the year as the coronavirus pandemic freezes flights both on domestric and international travel. The airline unit of the Gokongwei Group said the loss is 135.2% lower than the P3.36-billion net income earned in 2019. The total revenue amounted to …

MANILA – The Instagram live conversation between John Lloyd Cruz and Bea Alonzo that went viral was, in fact, revealed as an experimental movie. Titled “Love Team,” the so called “Unconfined Cinema” were produced and directed by Antoinette Jadaone. A love story told entirely in Instagram with the idea of “exploring what else cinema could be, freeing our stories to …

MANILA –  A total of 2,103 examinees passed the 2019 Bar, 27.36% higher than 2018, Bar Chairman Estela Perlas Bernabe confirmed on Wed (April 29). The result was posted on the high court’s official website due to the government enforced lockdown on several areas in Luzon. University of Santo Tomas-Legazpi’s Mae Diane Azores topped the Bar with 91.049% followed by …

Last year, people are being called on to help enact a stringent public smoking ban imposed by President Rodrigo Duterte in the country. Many fear that the call for civilians to help municipal authorities apprehend violators could lead to vigilant violence close to that of an anti-drug movement that has led to the deaths of thousands of people accused of …

The Philippines has the world’s highest prison occupancy rate, aggravated by the war on drugs waged by the Duterte administration, under which hundreds of thousands of people have been imprisoned since July 2016. Since March 2020, thousands of people have been charged and briefly held for breaking curfews and quarantine laws, with subsequent chaotic police lockups and jails. As with …