Washington, DC – KAYA: Filipino Americans for Progress joins California State Treasurer Fiona Ma and the National Association of Filipino American Lawyers Association (NFALA) in strongly supporting Assemblymember Rob Bonta (18th District) for appointment to Attorney General of California. “Rob’s leadership and accomplishments as a California legislator and life-long community advocate for racial, economic, and social justice make him an exemplary choice to protect and...

By Macon Araneta The Philippines is facing a new surge in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) cases on account of “disruptions” caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Rep. Michael Defensor (Anakalusugan) warned on the eve of World AIDS Day. “Our fight against AIDS has been set back by the COVID-19 crisis, leaving thousands of Filipinos living with HIV undiagnosed and untreated,” Defensor, House Health committee vice- chairperson, said. Citing National AIDS Reg...

By Macon Araneta Sen. Risa Hontiveros called for the termination of the Visa Upon Arrival (VUA) for Chinese nationals, after the Philippine National Police cited VUA in the kidnappings related to Chinese casino players and workers of the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGO) industry. “There is no (stopping) the crimes being brought by POGO. We have proven in the Senate many Chinese POGO workers are customers of prostituted and trafficked women, and now,...

By Daniel Llanto During the entire pandemic period, the Philippines has been complimented by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) for being one of the highest “over-performers” in terms of maximized use of information technology in trade of goods and services. This enabled Filipinos to purchase most of their daily needs online without risking infection outside their homes. UNCTAD said the Philippines was one of the most successful at seizin...

By Daniel Llanto In a recorded message for the opening of the 17th China-ASEAN Expo in Guangxi Zhuan, President Duterte thanked Beijing for its substantial foreign investments that he said helped the Philippines withstand the challenges of economic recession and uncertainties due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On the trade expo, Duterte said “this important annual economic event is vital in strengthening multi-lateral ties between China and ASEAN member states, especially no...

By Corina Oliquino MANILA -- OCTA Research’s latest monitoring report classified the National Capital Region (NCR), Davao del Sur, Quezon, Negros Occidental, Pampanga, Bulacan, Misamis Oriental and Western Samar as areas of concern due to a spike in COVID-19 cases. For the November 22 -- 28 period, the group’s academic experts from the University of the Philippines, University of Santo Tomas and Providence College in the United States also categorized Makati, Lucena, Ba...

By Corina Oliquino MANILA -- The Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) Abot Kamay ang Pagtulong (AKAP) program which provides ₱10,000 assistance to COVID-displaced overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) has already helped 338.900 and disbursed ₱3.45 billion. The program initially targeted beneficiaries of 550,000 following its roll-out last April, with DOLE noting at least 78,414 applicants out of 683,000 have been denied. Under the second Bayanihan law, the program ...

By Beting Laygo Dolor, Contributing Editor The Philippine banking industry is about to enter a new phase after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) announced last week that purely digital banks will be allowed to operate in the country. The BSP’s Monetary Board (MB) officially recognized “digital banks” as a new category in banking. This is in line with the Board’s Digital Payments Transformation Roadmap that seeks to streamline financial technology in the Philippines....

By Beting Laygo Dolor, Contributing Editor Filipinos whose spouses and/or children have not assumed Philippine citizenship will be allowed to bring into the country their families starting December 7. This, after the government relaxed its ban on the entry of foreigners to the Philippines by allowing the foreign husbands or wives and their children to receive the same entry rights as their Filipino spouses or parents. During a press briefing last week, Presidential S...

By Beting Laygo Dolor, Contributing Editor The students, teachers, and staff at the state university get to keep their bragging rights. The University of the Philippines (UP) is still one of the top 100 universities in the region. Specifically, UP retained its ranking as part of the 100 best schools in Asia, according to the 2021 Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Asia rankings. The QS rankings was released last week. It showed the country’s premier state university moving up...