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(Interaksyon) A Filipino is responsible for turning “Stranger Thing’s” David Harbour into a butt-kicking combatant Santa Claus in an upcoming Holiday action-comedy.

Jonathan “Jojo” Eusebio led the action scenes of Tommy Wirkola‘s “Violent Night” as a second unit director, working with David who trained intensely for the role.

The movie stars the “Stranger Things” actor as Santa Claus who’s about to prove why Nick is no saint when a team of mercenaries breaks into a wealthy family compound on Christmas Eve and takes everyone inside hostage.

David’s Santa is described as a protector and warrior who becomes slightly bitter and tired about the otherwise merry holiday… Read More

(The Sun) A GIRL born in the Philippines yesterday has officially taken the world’s population to eight billion.

Vinice Mabansag was chosen by the United Nations to mark the symbolic milestone.

It comes just 11 years since the Earth reached seven billion.

Vinice was born at the Dr Jose Fabella Memorial ­Hospital in Tondo, Manila, at 1.29am.

Dr Romeo Bituin, chief of the hospital’s medical staff, said: “We just witnessed the world’s eight billionth baby.

“The mother went into labour at 11pm.

“It was a normal, spontaneous delivery.”

The UN said: “This unprecedented growth is due to the gradual increase in human lifespan owing to improvements in public health, nutrition, personal hygiene and medicine… Read More

(Interaksyon) MANILA — The Philippines on Tuesday said defense ally the United States had agreed to spend $66.5 million to start building training and warehouse facilities at three of its military bases, under a 2014 joint security deal.

Construction of the projects in three of five Philippine sites outlined under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) will start next year, the Department of Defense said in a statement.

“The department is committed to accelerate the implementation of the EDCA by concluding infrastructure enhancement and repair projects, developing new infrastructure projects at existing EDCA locations,” it said… Read More

(Interaksyon) The award-winning Filipino film “John Denver Trending” will be screened in South Korean cinemas nationwide this November.

“It will be the first Filipino film to be released with wide screenings throughout Korea,” the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) said.

On Twitter, FDCP shared the movie’s poster with Korean characters. The film’s director and writer Arden Rod Condez said this was created by artist Rome Velasco.

“The movie will be released on November 23 at CGV, Lotte Cinema and Megabox in major Korean cities,” FDCP said.

“John Denver Trending” follows the story of a 14-year-old farm boy, played by Jansen Magpusao, who is supended after a video of him bullying his classmate went viral… Read More

(Interaksyon) MANILA — The Philippines’ national police chief said on Monday that killings in anti-drugs operations would be minimized, with the new government focused on rehabilitation and education, in contrast to the previous administration’s crackdown.

“As much as possible, we wanted a bloodless campaign,” Police Chief General Rodolfo Azurin told foreign correspondents in a virtual forum.

While there are instances where law enforcers would have to defend themselves to ensure their safety, Azurin said, “we avoid killing of suspects.”

Azurin’s said the previous government’s drugs war policies were being reviewed to determine if they were still relevant and to see if “certain adjustments” need to be made to make sure they remain effective and efficient… Read More

(CNN Philippines) Metro Manila — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos on Sunday said the country is ready to manage risks created by global headwinds that have driven steep and persistent inflationary pressures on food, transportation, and energy.

Marcos bared the country’s economic situation at the second global dialogue of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), but stressed he is “quite optimistic” that his administration has started the recovery path from the COVID-19 pandemic and global problems such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict and devastation from natural calamities.

Marcos noted that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) showed a rebound growth rate of 5.7% in 2021 and a 7.8% average growth rate for the first half of 2022.

He also cited the nearly 14-year high October inflation rate of 7.7%. He said this has come down and hovers around 5.5% upon the upward adjustment of interest rates of 75 basis points.

The chief executive said the government will address this through the Medium-Term Fiscal Program and the upcoming Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2023-2028.

“Although many of these numbers are welcome indicators, they show that our recovery is proving to be robust and that we are returning to our original growth trajectory prior to the pandemic,” he added… Read More

(Manila Bulletin) The 32-year-old Filipino took to his social media accounts his victory.

“WE DID IT! WE WON BY 23 POINTS!

• FIRST CPA as City Controller
• FIRST Filipino elected official in LA
• FIRST AAPI citywide elected official
• FIRST POC as City Controller in over 100 years more to come!,” he wrote.

Mejia was elected city controller with 60.8 percent of the vote.
He won against his opponent City Council member Paul Koretz who only got 39.08 percent of the votes.

“We have a very diverse population in L.A. and I feel very proud and honored to represent that community,” Mejia told NBC Asian America.

“Coming from a minority background makes you more empathetic about the people you’re fighting for,” he added.. Read More

(Bulatlat) MANILA – As a stall owner in one of Manila’s Altura market, Erlinda Dreo said selling fish has been her family’s main source of income for nearly two decades. The market sits near the busy Nagtahan Bridge, where car honks and the smell of fresh produce fills the air.

The busy market is dim, lit only with small bulbs in the stalls as buyers, mostly coming from poor and workers communities nearby, haggle their way to buying fresh produce. Dreo would have gladly given in to their offer but the harsh reality is that the recent months have also become harder for her and fellow market vendors with the increasing prices of everything.

“It has really affected us. You have to scrimp because our daily profit has decreased from P500 to P300. We have to make do with that,” Dreo told Bulatlat in Filipino.

The Philippines has recently reached an all-time high of 7.7 inflation rate, which independent thinktank Ibon Foundation described as the “fastest” in the past 14 years. So far, the Philippine government said tempering the increasing prices is its top priority and has offered to raise interest rates… Read More