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(CNN Philippines) Metro Manila — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday backpedaled on his previous deadline for the cleanup operations of the Oriental Mindoro oil spill, saying he cannot impose such time limit due to various factors.

“There’s no deadline for the clean-up. I cannot make a deadline for the clean-up. If the wind changes, iba na naman ‘yung timing (the timing will also change), so it’s useless,” Marcos told reporters during his visit to oil slick-hit Pola town in Oriental Mindoro.

“There’s really not much more that we can do,” he added.

Last month, Marcos expressed hope that the government can finish the cleanup in less than four months as he directed government agencies to speed up efforts.

According to local officials, over 70% of areas and coastlines affected by the oil spill have already been cleared.

Meanwhile, the chief executive also vowed continuous assistance for fisherfolk affected by the oil spill — including launching training programs and tapping alternative fishing sites for those displaced.

CNN Philippines correspondent Currie Cator contributed to this report… Read More

(AN) MANILA: The Philippines Department of Migrant Workers on Friday expressed its gratitude to the Saudi government for deciding to help thousands of overseas Filipino workers who lost their jobs at private companies in the Kingdom.

About 10,000 Philippine workers at several construction firms operating in Saudi Arabia were laid off with their wages pending when the companies declared bankruptcy in 2015-16.
Migrant Workers Secretary Susan Ople told a press conference in Manila that the Saudi Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development had asked for a list of claimants needing assistance, and a special group made up of Saudi officials, representatives of the Philippine Embassy, and department officials was created to fast-track the process… Read More

(NYO) From the beginning, Vogue Philippines editors had no plans to style or dress Whang-Od. The goal was “representation, not appropriation.”

The April edition of Vogue Philippines gained worldwide attention when it put 106-year-old Apo Whang-Od—also known as Maria Oggay—on the cover of its Beauty Issue. Choosing Whang-Od was an especially bold statement considering it has been less than a year since Vogue Philippines released its debut issue in August 2022. The move sets up the new publication as one that tells important women’s stories and depicts beauty beyond the Hollywood influencer-model-actress archetype.

Whang-Od is not only the oldest person to ever be on the cover of Vogue but also a beautiful person with a fascinating story to tell. As the accompanying article by features editor Audrey Carpio revealed, the thousand-year-old practice of batok tattooing will continue purely because Apo Whang-Od has been training her descendants in the tradition… Read More

(SunStar) FIFTY-FOUR cases of the XBB.1.9.1 Omicron sublineage of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) have been detected in the Philippines, according to the Department of Health (DOH).

Based on its latest Covid-19 Biosurveillance Report, there are a total of 54 XBB.1.9.1 cases detected in the Philippines.

“The XBB.1.9.1 is an XBB sublineage that was recently added to the list of variants under monitoring by the WHO last March 30,” said the DOH.

Of the total, 39 samples were classified as XBB.1.9.1 during the batch sequenced from April 3 to 11, 2023.

There were a total of 35 local and 4 returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs) found to have acquired the XBB.1.9.1 sublineage.

The other 15 cases of XBB.1.9.1 were previously classified under XBB 1.5.

The health department said the XBB.1.9.1 was initially flagged due to its increasing global prevalence and higher growth advantage.

It has since been detected in 63 countries or jurisdictions across six continents.

“However, currently available evidence for XBB.1.9.1 does not suggest any differences in disease severity and/or clinical manifestations compared to the original Omicron variant,” said the DOH.

Aside from the XBB.1.9.1, there were also 75 other cases of the XBB, including 30 XBB.1.5 cases, with 67 being local and 8 ROFs… Read More

(APNews) FORT MAGSAYSAY, Philippines (AP) — U.S. and Filipino forces on Thursday blasted vehicles with anti-tank missiles in combat-readiness drills in the Philippines that are part of a show of American firepower that has alarmed China.

The long-time treaty allies are holding their largest joint military exercises called Balikatan — Tagalog for shoulder-to-shoulder — in decades. They involve about 17,600 military personnel and will feature live-fire maneuvers, including a ship-sinking rocket attack and beach assaults to simulate retaking an island near the disputed South China Sea.

In a gunnery range at Fort Magsaysay, a northern Philippine training camp for Filipino special forces, American and Filipino troops fired Javelin guided missiles toward three target vehicles simulating a battle zone. The missiles streaked at a low altitude for more than half a kilometer (half a mile) toward their targets and exploded in a fireball that shook the ground… Read More

(Interaksyon) It seems like the stage is set for the upcoming coronation night of Miss Universe Philippines 2023 happening next month.

The MUPH Organization this week unveiled the hosts, guests and performers who will be gracing the coronation night happening at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City on May 13.

National Director Miss Universe Philippines Shamcey Supsup-Lee announced that reigning Miss Universe R’Bonney Gabriel will be visiting the Philippines to attend the coronation night.

“Last year, we invited Harnaaz (Miss Universe 2021 Harnaaz Sandhu) and this year, we’re very excited to welcome R’bonney in the Philippines,” Shamcey said.

“We’ll have a lot of activities prior to the coronation night,” he added… Read More

(Interaksyon) MANILA— The Philippines will pursue its appeal questioning the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) jurisdiction and authority to investigate killings during former President Rodrigo Duterte’s ‘war on drugs’, its top lawyer said on Wednesday.

The remarks come after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said last month he would cut off contact with the ICC after it rejected the government’s request to suspend a probe into thousands of killings during the brutal anti-narcotics campaign.

“The appeal will not be withdrawn. We’ll pursue it,” Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra, who was justice minister under Duterte, told Reuters.

Guevarra said the president’s remarks meant the Philippines will “disengage with the ICC after exhausting our legal remedies within the framework of the Rome Statute”.

The ICC, a court of last resort, approved in September 2021 a formal investigation into possible crimes against humanity allegedly committed under Duterte’s leadership, but it suspended its probe in November 2021 at the request of Manila which said it was carrying out its own investigations… Read More

(Time) MANILA, Philippines — China warned on Wednesday that a deepening security alliance between the United States and the Philippines should not harm its security and territorial interests and interfere in long-simmering territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

When asked to comment on the combat exercises between American and Filipino forces that started on Tuesday in the Philippines, the Chinese Embassy in Manila on Wednesday issued a statement by Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin, who said that such drills “should not target any third party and should be conducive to regional peace and stability.”

Wang did not say how China would respond if it concludes that the U.S.-Philippine security cooperation was hurting Beijing’s core interests.

In Washington, the U.S. and Philippine defense and foreign secretaries met on Tuesday to discuss the development of nine Philippine military camps, where American forces have been allowed to stay indefinitely under the 2014 Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement… Read More