Yanks told: Don’t you go to far Zamboanga

 News
May 292013
 
Yanks told: Don’t you go to far Zamboanga

By Inquirer Mindanao, Julie S. Alipala, Tarra QuismundoPhilippine Daily Inquirer 4:48 am | Thursday, May 30th, 2013 ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines—The United States Embassy on Wednesday warned US citizens against traveling to the Zamboanga Peninsula, saying it had moved its personnel already in the area to a secure location amid a “credible” kidnap-for-ransom threat against foreigners. The emergency message was posted on the embassy website Wednesday, the same day that US Ambassador Harry Thomas was in Zamboanga City to launch three major five-year programs of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). “The embassy advises all American citizens residing in or planning to travel to the Zamboanga area to reevaluate their personal safety situation and consider postponing travel to this area at this time,” it said. But there was no mention of any threat during the US envoy’s visit here on Wednesday. Mayor Celso Lobregat, who had breakfast with Thomas, said the ambassador did not say anything about the US Embassy warning. “Nothing was mentioned about the advisory,” Lobregat said. Senior Supt. Edwin de Ocampo, city police chief, was also surprised by the advisory. “Their ambassador was just here,” De Ocampo said. Thomas, however, canceled his scheduled trips to the military’s Western Mindanao Command headquarters here and to Jolo, Sulu. The ambassador, who alternated between limping and sitting on a wheelchair, said he suffered a “slip while dancing.” He left for Manila at noon. In Zamboanga City, he visited the Ateneo de Zamboanga and the Garden Orchid Hotel. The embassy Read More …

Taiwan scraps basketball invite to Philippines amid row

 News
May 282013
 
Taiwan scraps basketball invite to Philippines amid row

Our govt should pull-out all the OFWs in Taiwan… move them to Malaysia or any other country. Let’s see whose e****my will collapse… our govt should provide them (OFWs) with livelihood programs, train them through TESDA… And let’s not send OFWs to both China and Taiwan… those countries are the worst criminal on earth… especially in Piracy. US govt are so dumb and stupid they invested in China, due to low manpower cost. Now, China are stealing all those technology from them through reverse engineering. And they became a military superpower. I just saw on TV how the Chinese were able to steal even the US fighter planes technology and they were able to copy the US’s war planes. China will beat the US not in WAR, but on e****mic warfare… they have all the US monetary (money) stashed in their country. And they are tra****ing Euro money not US dollar. I****S will start to make threats against them, they will release all the US dollar and it will dropped the value o****S dollar into nothing (like a bank-run). The US knows it, that’s why they are so scared sh*t of China.

PCG report on grounded US ship due

 News
May 242013
 
PCG report on grounded US ship due

Philippine Daily Inquirer 6:39 am | Saturday, May 25th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines—The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) is expected to release next week its report on the grounding of the US Navy minesweeper, the Guardian, at the Tubbataha Reef last Jan. 17. According to PCG spokesperson Commander Armand Balilo, the report is about 90-percent complete. It will be submitted next week to Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya who will then forward it to President Aquino. According to Balilo, the report will include what actually happened or what caused the incident, as well as measures and recommendations to prevent its recurring. The 68-meter long Guardian ran aground at the Tubbataha Reef and damaged more than 1,500 square meters of the reef, which the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco) has declared a World Heritage Site. The Guardian was cut into pieces and removed from the reef last March 30. The US government has committed to rehabilitate the portion of the reef that was damaged by the Guardian but its discussions with the Department of Foreign Affairs on the matter have been kept confidential. Tina G. Santos Follow Us Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free trial. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile.phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, for Globe, Smart and Sun subscribers in the Philippines. Tags: Commander Armand Balilo , Philippine Coast Guard , President Aquino , Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya , Tubbataha Read More …

BSP ready to face withdrawal of stimulus measures abroad

 Economy
May 242013
 
BSP ready to face withdrawal of stimulus measures abroad

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippines stands ready to respond should the planned withdrawal of stimulus measures abroad results into capital outflows. “While there may be a possible effect of an exit strategy, I think investors will still look at the fundamentals, the prospects of individual countries. So it does not mean that suddenly they will just exit,” BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. told reporters yesterday. Should it be necessary, the central bank “have the tools” to respond to possible inflow of capital to the US once it decides to scale down or stop its quantitative easing (QE) program. On Wednesday, US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke told a Senate inquiry that QE — which involves the buying of $85 billion worth of securities every month — is “providing benefits” to US economy still reeling from the effects of the 2007 financial crisis. While he warned against “premature tightening,” minutes of the meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee — the Fed’s policymaking body — showed that some members wanted to  “adjust the flow of purchases downward.” This has disgruntled Asian financial markets, causing investors to fly back to safe haven assets such as the dollar. The peso plunged to 41.69 versus the greenback on Thursday, its weakest level in almost eight months. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 In the long run though, Tetangco said it should be expected that QE will stop as the US economy recovers and that Asian nations, such as the Philippines, should Read More …

Envoys to visit Filipino victims of alleged human trafficking in US

 News
May 042013
 
Envoys to visit Filipino victims of alleged human trafficking in US

Philippine Daily Inquirer 4:11 am | Sunday, May 5th, 2013 Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Cuisia. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—Philippine officials in the United States will visit this week the two Filipino women rescued from a Saudi diplomat’s house in Virginia in a suspected human trafficking case, the Philippine embassy in Washington D.C. said on Saturday. In a statement to the Inquirer, the embassy said Consul General Ariel Peñaranda asked the “US agencies concerned” on Friday (Saturday in Manila) to allow a consular visit to the rescued women. “US authorities immediately acted on the request and arrangements are being made to allow Consul General Peñaranda, labor attaché Luzviminda Padilla and welfare officer Saul de Vries to visit the two Filipinos on Monday,” said the embassy statement. Acting on a tip, US immigration officers last Tuesday swooped down on a home in McLean, Virginia, owned by the Saudi government and took custody of the women who were reportedly working for a Saudi attaché under “circumstances that amounted to human trafficking,” a US official had said. CNN reported the women complained of maltreatment and being forced to work long hours without pay. Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Cuisia Jr. said the embassy was prepared to “extend the necessary assistance” to the two. The embassy declined to provide further details given the ongoing US investigation. It also did not say which US agency was currently looking after the women or their location. The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), meanwhile, said it Read More …

PAL flights to New York to start once US lifts ban

 Economy
May 012013
 
PAL flights to New York to start once US lifts ban

MANILA, Philippines – Philippine Airlines will soon be able to mount flights to New York once the United States Federal Aviation Administration lifts its ban on additional flights from the Philippines. The ban comes after the US FAA downgraded the country’s standing as a member of the International Civil Aviation Organization, placing the Philippines in Category 2 or unsafe status. After a five-day audit early this year, ICAO found out that the country managed to address and resolved its safety concerns, seen to bring the Philippines back to Category 1 status. “With the lifting of the US FAA sanction, we can go to New York already,” PAL President and Chief Operating Officer Ramon Ang said. PAL currently flies to Honolulu, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Ang said that according to a meeting of civil aviation authorities in Brussels, Belgium, the 27-nation European Union, which also imposed a similar sanction, is likely to lift its own three-year ban on Philippine air carriers “within the year.” 

US green card limbo: for one Filipino, a long wait

 News
Apr 302013
 
US green card limbo: for one Filipino, a long wait

2:32 pm | Tuesday, April 30th, 2013 This recent undated photograph obtained courtesy of Elizabeth Arnulfo shows Arnulfo Babiera (R), who applied for a US green card a decade ago, in the hopes of reuniting with his sister, Elizabeth Arnulfo (L), a naturalized citizen. But at the current rate, his wait could extend until 2027.a naturalized citizen. But at the current rate, his wait could extend until 2027. Foreigners seeking to immigrate to the United States under the family reunification program may however see changes on the horizon, with a new reform seeking to resolve the four million cases in limbo, like that of Babiera. AFP PHOTO WASHINGTON—Arnulfo Babiera applied for a US green card a decade ago, in the hopes of reuniting with his sister, a naturalized citizen. But at the current rate, his wait could extend until 2027. Foreigners seeking to immigrate to the United States under a family reunification program may however see changes on the horizon, with a new reform seeking to resolve the four million cases in limbo, like that of Babiera. “That is my dream, going to the United States of America — to earn more, to support my family here. My income would be greater than it is here,” Babiera told AFP by telephone from his home in Davao, in the southern Philippines. Babiera, a 58-year-old employee of a recruitment agency, earned the right to come to the United States when his sister Elizabeth filed a green card application on his behalf in Read More …

Gov’t confident ban on Phl carriers lifted this year

 Economy
Apr 242013
 
Gov’t confident ban on Phl carriers lifted this year

MANILA, Philippines – The Aquino administration is confident that the ban imposed by the US and Europe preventing local airlines from flying and mounting additional long haul flights would finally be lifted within the year. (Ret) Gen. William Hotchkiss lll, director general of the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP), told reporters that the government is confident that the results of the audit to be conducted by the US Federal Aviation Authority (US FAA) and the European Union within the next two months would be positive. Hotchkiss said US FAA manager for international programs and policy John Barbagallo is scheduled to conduct a check in visit starting May 2 to validate whether the Philippines has complied with the recommendations made in 2010. He pointed out that the EU Commission directorate general for mobility and transport (DG MOVE) had accepted its invitation for the EU representative on Air Safety to conduct an on-site visit to the Philippines from June 3 to 7. He said the on-site visit would coincide with the meeting of the EU Air Safety Committee on the last week of June in Belgium. “This committee is the one tasked to determine whether a country can be removed from the EU blacklist,” he stressed. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Hotchkiss said the Philippines was informed about the on-site visit during his recent trip to Brussels, Belgium where he met with EU Commission DG MOVE head director Matthew Baldwin last April 16. “Hopefully within the Read More …

PH asks Bahamas to let 1,000 Filipino workers to keep jobs

 News
Apr 242013
 
PH asks Bahamas to let 1,000 Filipino workers to keep jobs

By Tarra QuismundoPhilippine Daily Inquirer 7:45 pm | Wednesday, April 24th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines—The Philippines has requested the Bahamas to allow Filipinos to retain their jobs as the independent British commonwealth starts implementing a new labor policy seeking to cut unemployment rates on the islands by replacing foreign workers with locals. The Embassy dispatched a consular team to the territory just off the US state of Florida earlier this month to make the appeal to the Bahamian government to let Filipino workers keep their jobs despite the pro-local labor initiative. “We presented Manila’s position on behalf of many of the more than 1,000 Filipinos in Bahamas, particularly housekeepers, cooks, hotel employees and medical workers who stand to lose their jobs as a result of the so-called Bahamianization of the local labor force,” said Consul General Ariel Penaranda in a statement. Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Cuisia, Jr. sent Peñaranda and Labor Attaché Luzviminda Padilla to the Bahamian capital of Nassau this month to convey the request. Officials from the Bahamian side who met with the Filipino team included Bahamas’ foreign affairs and labor ministers and the chief of the Royal Bahamas Police Force, said the Embassy in a statement. During the meeting, Bahamian officials recognized the Filipino community’s contribution to the islands, the Embassy said. Filipinos in the Bahamas are mostly employed as domestic helpers, medical workers, cooks and hotel employees. The Philippine side meanwhile aired its concern about the new labor policy. The Embassy said the officials Read More …

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