By Corina Oliquino | FilAm Star Correspondent MANILA – The latest survey by Social Weather Stations conducted on September 24-27 found that 55 percent of Filipinos have “little trust,” 19 percent undecided and 22 percent have “much trust” in China. The Third Quarter Social Weather Survey by SWS was first published in the October 18 issue of BusinessWorld, using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 respondents nationwide with a ±3 percentage-point sampling error margin. A...

By Corina Oliquino | FilAm Star Correspondent Sen. Grace Poe lamented the dismal performance of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) under the stewardship of Secretary Arthur Tugade in addressing the country’s traffic woes as she put to doubt the inclusion of questionable projects In the latest survey released by international travel site The Guide to Sleeping in Airports, the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) ranked 5th in the 10 Asian airports surveyed. Acc...

By Macon Araneta | FilAm Star Correspondent Malacañang has yet to send a formal written invitation to United States and European Union representatives to come to the Philippines to look into extra-judicial killings linked to the government’s war against illegal drugs, said Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella. Abella said no letter has yet been sent to U.S. President Barack Obama, nor to the E.U. or its representatives. He said he will confirm if the Office of the Pres...

By Daniel Llanto |FilAm Star Correspondent The Philippine National Police (PNP) was previously perceived as helpless when it’s crime suspects easily bailed abroad. But with Director General Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa as its colorful chief, the PNP recently scored big in the capture of suspected drug lord Rolando “Kerwin” Espinosa Jr. in Abu Dhabi and a police officer wanted for kidnapping and homicide in Thailand. A tip from an overseas Filipino worker in Abu Dhabi led to ...

By Corina Oliquino | FilAm Star Correspondent MANILA – In the latest Ulat ng Bayan survey conducted from September 25 to October 1 by ¬-workers’ pay more than the current administration’s fight against criminality specifically illegal drugs. The survey showed that nearly half of Filipinos want the Duterte administration to immediately address the increase of workers’ pay while a second set of national concerns deemed urgent by Filipinos were creating more jobs (38 perce...

By William Casis | FilAm Star Correspondent Economic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia said the government rejected the proposed PHP 125 increase in the daily minimum wage, saying this could displace workers, increase inflation and affect the economy. He said NEDA conducted an impact analysis and found that the proposed wage hike would affect employment because many small companies would not be able to afford to keep their workers or hire more. “Especially micro, sma...

By Macon Araneta | FilAm Star Correspondent Malacanang said President Rodrigo Duterte recently signed his first administrative order creating a presidential task force on media killings. Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said the Task Force will look into the violations of the right to life, liberty and security of the members of the press. “The reason why the President wanted this administrative order is because he cares for you, for us. And he believes in the...

By William Casis | FilAm Star Correspondent A transgender, who is a member of the Philippine Congress, joined U.S. presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and singer Beyonce as Time magazine’s 13 Most Inspiring Women of 2016. Bataan Rep. Geraldine Roman made it to the list as part of the recent celebration of the International Day of the Girl, a United Nations initiative to promote greater gender equality worldwide. Roman was cited in an article published in Motto, th...

By Macon Araneta | FilAm Star Correspondent RAM Ratings, a Malaysia-based credit watchdog, upgraded the Philippines’ Asean credit rating by one notch to “A1,” or five notches higher than the minimum investment grade, amid the country’s resilience against global economic shocks. In a report, RAM also affirmed the Philippines’ global credit rating at “BBB3,” or the minimum investment grade. Both ratings have a stable outlook. “The upgrade of the Philippines’ ratings, b...