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(Kuwait Times) A Hong Kong television show has ignited anger over a Filipina character played by a local actress who darkened her skin, in the latest incident of “brownface” in Asia. Broadcaster TVB cast Canadian-Hong Konger Franchesca Wong to play a Filipina domestic worker for its series “Barrack O’Karma 2” which, despite its name, is a suspense thriller series and not about US politics. Wong appears in the show with visibly darker skin and a clip posted by a colleague on Instagram showed her applying make-up to her legs. “I am transforming into another person,” Wong said in the video, affecting a Filipino accent. “I am sun-tanning right now,” she added. Local media reviews this week of Wong’s portrayal have been largely favorable and skipped discussion of race.

But the decision to darken her skin—and the casting choice itself—have sparked criticism, particularly among the city’s Filipino population. “I don’t think it’s appropriate that she had to darken her skin for the role,” Sabrina Man, a Chinese-Filipino former actress working in Hong Kong as a model, told AFP. “Domestic workers have done so much for Hong Kong, and I think it’s disrespectful to them and to Filipinos in general to do this,” she added. “It wouldn’t have been difficult to look for someone with Filipino heritage to play the role,” she said… Read More

(Journal Online) In line with its commitment to promote safety culture, Aboitiz Construction achieved 8.3 million safe man-hours for a mining project in Taganito HPAL Nickel Corporation (THPAL) in Claver, Surigao del Norte from September 2012 to February 2022 and 3.2 million safe man-hours for the ongoing Tecnimont and JGC Philippines Joint Ventures (TJJV) project in Brgy. Pinamucan Ibaba, Batangas City from January 2019 to February 2022. Both records are without lost-time injuries.

“These achievements prove that we are committed towards safety and we value teamwork in delivering quality output for our customers. We are doing our best to adhere to the safety standards set by the company, Department of Labor and Employment, and the client,” said Alex Garciano, Vice President for Construction Operations of Aboitiz Construction.

In order to promote safety in the workplace, both sites have been conducting a series of precautionary and preventive drills, hazard and risk mapping, safety awareness training, site inspections and audits, checking of personal protective equipment and tool box meetings to discuss safety matters… Read More

(NPR) As search and rescue efforts increased with the arrival of equipment, the death toll has risen to at least 56, with 28 others missing, after a summer tropical depression that unleashed days of pounding rain caused landslides and floods in the central and southern Philippines, officials said Wednesday.

Nearly 200 villagers were injured mostly in the landslides in the hard-hit city of Baybay in central Leyte province over the weekend and early Monday, officials said. Army, police and other rescuers were struggling with mud and unstable heaps of earth and debris to find the missing villagers.

More rescuers and heavy equipment, including backhoes, arrived in the landslide-hit villages in Baybay. Its mayor, Jose Carlos Cari, said the weather cleared Wednesday, allowing the search and rescue work to go full force.

“We’re looking for so many more missing people,” Cari said and added that authorities would do a recount to determine how many villagers were really missing and believed buried in the landslides… Read More

(PRNewswire) – CGI (NYSE: GIB) (TSX: GIB.A) is proud to be certified as a Great Place to Work in the Philippines by the Great Place to Work® Institute. The distinction recognizes CGI’s commitment to building a workplace that fosters an ownership culture, equal opportunities for advancement and inclusive engagement practices.

The Great Place to Work® Certification is a coveted ‘Employer-of-Choice’ recognition. The assessment is based on the Great Place to Work® Model© which evaluates an organization’s culture and people practices based on the Trust Index™ and Culture Audit™. The anonymous assessment gathers employee feedback on five key dimensions, including Credibility, Respect, Fairness, Pride, and Camaraderie.

“We are incredibly proud and honored that we have been Great Place to Work-Certified™. Receiving this certification is a testament to our professionals’ hard work, trust, and pride in CGI. This badge reflects our values and company culture, reaffirming that CGI in the Philippines is genuinely a great place to work for all.” said Jill De Jesus, Vice President and Business Unit Leader in the Philippines.

In the Philippines, CGI employs more than 1,400 professionals providing IT and business process services to clients around the globe… Read More

(Cyprus Mail) Rescue teams in the Philippines faced a race against time on Tuesday in the search for 28 people missing and feared dead, after tropical storm Megi unleashed heavy rains and deadly landslides in southern and eastern areas of the country.

National and local disaster agencies reported five more deaths in central and southern Philippines on Tuesday, taking the toll to 30 since the storm struck at the weekend.

Megi, the first storm to hit the typhoon-prone archipelago this year, made landfall on Sunday with sustained winds of up to 65 kilometres (40 miles) per hour and gusts of up to 80 kph (49 mph).

Police, coast guard, and army personnel had by Tuesday retrieved 25 bodies after landslides in mountainous areas in Baybay city in Leyte province, according to the military, with 105 injuries reported.

The storm has since weakened and was as headed for the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday afternoon.

“We are saddened of this dreadful incident that caused unfortunate loss of lives and destruction of properties,” said Colonel Noel Vestuir, an infantry brigade commander, during an area survey… Read More

(The Week) At least 25 people were killed in the Philippines after tropical storm Megi triggered severe flooding and landslides, authorities said Monday.

Megi hit the eastern and southern coasts, making landfall on Sunday with sustained winds of up to 40 mph and gusts of up to 49 mph, Reuters reports. It was the first storm to lash the Philippines this year; on average, the country sees about 20 such storms annually.

In the eastern province of Leyte, police reported that they recovered the bodies of 22 people who had been buried under a landslide. Three additional deaths were recorded in the Davao region. Joeman Collado, a police chief in Leyte, told Reuters that search and rescue operations are ongoing, with many rescuers having to maneuver rafts through flooded streets to try to get to homes partially submerged underwater… Read More

(The Straits Times) The Philippines government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are preparing to mainstream former Moro rebels into the Philippine National Police.

Three years into the transition period, the move is to fulfil part of the promise of the Mindanao peace process, officials said on Monday (April 11).

Interim Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao said the region had entered into an agreement with the National Police Commission for the conduct of the Special Qualifying Eligibility Examination for the members of the MILF and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) planning to enter the police force.

Those who pass the exams would be granted an eligibility for temporary appointment as patrolman or patrolwoman of the Philippine National Police.

“We are happy that we are finally taking the first step into making this provision a reality,” Mr Ebrahim said on Monday.

Mr Ebrahim, who is also the MILF chairman, said he had signed a memorandum of agreement with National Police Commission Vice-Chairman and Executive Officer Alberto Bernardo as the first step towards normalisation… Read More

(Bangor Daily News) Brilliant purple sponge cakes, artisan German breads and pastries and mouth-watering charcuterie boards are just some of the goodies these new Bangor-area food businesses are selling.

Baked By Joy and Bread With Character, which both sell their goodies at the Bangor European Market on Saturday mornings, and Downtown Charcuterie, which sells out of a downtown Bangor storefront, all opened within the past year.

Hermon resident Joy Dudley started Baked By Joy in May 2021, as she grew increasingly homesick for her native country of the Philippines after moving to Maine a few years ago. One of the biggest things she missed was ube cake, an iconic Filipino dessert consisting of frosted sponge cake made with ube, a purple yam, which gives the dessert its unique flavor, texture and brilliant purple color… Read More