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US warns China against armed attack on Philippines
Washington, DC [US], March 19 (ANI): US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned China on Tuesday, stating that any "armed" attack on Philippine vessels in the South China Sea would activate a mutual self-defence agreement between Washington and Manila, underscoring the escalating tensions in the region that could potentially embroil the United States in conflict with Beijing, as reported by The New York Times. Despite th.....»»
US State Secretary Blinken begins Middle East tour, marks his first stop in Saudi Arabia
Jeddah [Saudi Arabia], March 21 (ANI): US State Secretary Antony Blinken who began his Middle East tour arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, marking his first stop on this trip to discuss efforts to reach an "immediate ceasefire agreement" between Israel and Hamas, The New York Times reported. Blinken's visit to Jeddah came as US President Joe Biden's administration was hoping it could convince Saudi Arabia to establish.....»»
DoT aims to position Philippines as one of Asia’s LGBTQ-friendly destinations
Department of Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco unveiled plans and programs aimed at inclusive tourism development and towards positioning the Philippines as one of Asia’s most LGBTQ-friendly destinations, including the mounting of the first-ever Tourism Pride Summit this September. Frasco made the announcement during her keynote address at the Philippine Financial and Inter-Industry Pride Summit 2023, where she noted the massive opportunities for the development of LGBTQ+ tourism in the Philippines, with the community being one of the fast-rising sectors of society across the globe, with over 35 million travelers from this sector. Last month, she welcomed a courtesy visit from the executives of the PFIP for its partnership with the DoT on the Tourism Pride Summit in time for Tourism Month. In addition to hosting the Tourism Pride Summit with the PFIP, the DoT has identified LGBTQ+ tourism as a priority under the Office of Special Concerns of the Office of the Secretary. It also sees to it that employees receive training on relevant topics including sexual orientation, gender identity and sex characteristics or SOGIESC awareness and the basics of gender and development. “We at the Department of Tourism take pride in having a multitude of numbers from your community across the tourism value chain in all of the regions of the Philippines–from our personnel and, accommodation and services sector, from the frontline, managerial, supervisory, and upper echelons of the tourism industry, and even including our frontline tourism personnel in our local government units, from our pasalubong makers, to our choreographers, our artistic directors, costume makers, festival dancers, our various members of the Department of Tourism regional offices that are also members of the community. You are very well represented in the Department of Tourism and in the industry itself and your contribution to the success of tourism is invaluable,” Frasco said. She expressed her elation as she joined the organization in celebrating “love, and the gains that the PFIP has made in its 10-year existence” and prefaced her message by sharing her experiences as mayor of Liloan in Cebu. “At that time when I was involved in advocacies concerning various sectors, from women, children, senior citizens, PWDs and the like, I observed that while all of the other sectors of society in our community in Liloan had been organized in and federated and had a voice in local governance, the LGBT community did not have such a voice,” she shared. Directly addressing this observation, she said she organized and federated the Liloan LGBTQ, making Liloan the first municipality in Cebu to have a fully federated LGBT federation in all barangays. “The consequence of that recognition from the local government unit was that we ensured that the LGBT community had a voice, not only in terms of fighting for their rights or equality as far as the passage of laws and ordinances protecting them from discrimination, but rather, also a voice in governance,” Frasco said. Frasco also said that she pursued programs and initiatives in support of the community, including the construction of a gender-equal comfort room at the municipal plaza. Each of the municipality’s council and committee also has an LGBTQ+ representative. “I share with you this story, if only to give you my assurances that the work that you have been doing for the past 10 years has resulted in the grass roots recognition and implementation of the necessity for LGBTQ+ equality, equity, and recognition. It is not a mere aspiration that we must look to but, rather, it is happening, it is succeeding, and I congratulate and thank all of you — especially the PFIP — for your relentless support for this movement,” she said. She added, “This love of country, pride of place, pride of community, I see very well in the PFIP, your Board of Trustees, your officers, your members, your delegates who are present here today, for indeed expressing love for one another, is also an expression of love for our country.” “And so, you have my full unequivocal support, and I am very eager to partner with PFIP and with all of you, to ensure that we accomplish our goal of making the Philippines one of the most [LGBTQ-friendly] places in Asia, and I am sincerely hopeful for your support for our effort to give our fellow Filipinos and the rest of the world all the reasons to love the Philippines,” Frasco further said. To further support the LGBTQ+ community, Frasco during the summit also pledged a personal donation from herself and her husband, House Deputy Speaker Duke Frasco, amounting to P500,000 to support the PFIP’s educational scholarships for underprivileged students that are members of the community. The post DoT aims to position Philippines as one of Asia’s LGBTQ-friendly destinations appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Advocacies and concerns
Last Sept. 30, officers of the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Inc. had a very productive meeting with President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr......»»
Contagious pertussis disease continues spreading in Philippines
MANILA, March 28 (Xinhua) -- The contagious pertussis has continued spreading in the Philippines, where it has caused at least 40 death cases, after a province near the capital region reported an outbreak of the disease. In a social media post on Wednesday night, the Cavite government posted a resolution declaring the province under a state of calamity "due to the outbreak of pertussis" after logging 36 cases an.....»»
Akbayan to Sara: You don’t have to be president to speak vs China
MANILA, Philippines — Party-list group Akbayan said on Thursday that Vice President Sara Duterte does not have to be a president of the country for her to call out China’s intrusive actions over the West Philippine Sea (WPS). Empathy and a moral backbone is just what it takes to stand up with fisherfolk and frontline.....»»
Baltimore bridge accident: Freighter pilot called for tugboat help before plowing into bridge
BALTIMORE — The pilot of the cargo freighter had radioed for tugboat help and reported a power loss minutes before the Baltimore bridge accident, federal safety officials said on Wednesday, citing audio from the ship’s “black box” data recorder. The head of the National Transportation Safety Board also said that Francis Scott Key Bridge, a.....»»
Roque bares Duterte, China agreement to respect status quo in WPS
Roque bares Duterte, China agreement to respect status quo in WPS.....»»
DOH: Pertussis cases 20 times more than last year
DOH: Pertussis cases 20 times more than last year.....»»
Environmental defenders found after reported abduction in Pangasinan
Reports said that Dangla and Tiong were “severely mauled and dragged” into a waiting vehicle on Sunday evening in Barangay Polo, San Carlos City......»»
7 nanlaban drug suspects dead after Baste Duterte declares drug war
Less than a week after Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte declared a "war on drugs" in the city, at least seven drug suspects were killed during a buy-bust operation in the city — violence that highlights the seriousness of the mayor's recent threat of outright killing persons caught using illegal drugs......»»
Philippines logs 40 pertussis deaths this year
MANILA, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Forty children have died of whopping cough, a respiratory infection also called pertussis, since this year, the Philippines' Department of Health (DOH) has reported. The DOH said in a statement on Wednesday that cases have continued to increase since the start of this year, recording 568 cases from Jan. 1 to March 16. "The total number of cases for the same period in 2023 was.....»»
Binance ban a boon to local crypto firms
Local crypto traders are now experiencing as much as four times higher transaction volumes as investors shift their tokens from Binance......»»
CHR alarmed by war vs drugs in Davao City
THE Commission on Human Rights (CHR) is alarmed by Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte’s “war against drugs”, as seven drug users were killed from different barangays in the city over the weekend, just a few hours after his declaration......»»
Revisiting Uniteam (Last of 2 parts)
THE Uniteam coalition of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and Vice President Sara Duterte, described by many political analysts as the "dream team", had come a long way since sweeping the 2022 elections......»»
Pertussis or whooping cough: 40 child deaths so far this year – DOH
MANILA, Philippines — Assistant Health Secretary Albert Domingo reported on Wednesday that as of March 16 this year, some 40 children had died of whooping cough — a respiratory infection also called pertussis. An increase in new pertussis cases nationwide had been observed nationwide, with 28 cases reported from March 10 to 16. READ: What.....»»
DOH: Pertussis cases 20 times higher since January
The number of pertussis cases nationwide has increased 20-fold this year from 2023, according to the Department of Hea.....»»
Roque: Xi, Duterte agreed to keep West Philippines Sea status quo
The Philippines under former president Rodrigo Duterte had a “gentleman’s agreement” with China to keep the status quo in the West Philippine Sea, a former Cabinet official said yesterday, as fresh tensions surround the WPS due to recent incursions by Beijing that targeted a Filipino resupply mission and a research team......»»
Victims of Baltimore bridge collapse include those from Mexico, Guatemala
Maryland [US], March 27 (ANI): Among those reported missing following the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore in the US are Mexican nationals, CNN reported, citing Rafael Laveaga, Chief of the Consular Section of Mexico's Embassy in Washington. Laveaga refrained from specifying the exact number of missing Mexican nationals when he addressed reporters near the scene on Tuesday. A reporter asked Laveaga: ".....»»
Philippine scientists harassed by China helicopter
Another case of harassment at sea by the Chinese has been reported – this time near Pag-Asa Island last Saturday – involving a helicopter, which hovered dangerously close to a group of Filipino scientists doing research work on a sand bar called Sandy Cay, causing minor injuries......»»