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(Interaksyon) The Carmelite Sisters on Tuesday decried a dramedy’s depiction of them as nuns playing mahjong with the character of former president Cory Aquino set in the aftermath of the 1986 snap elections.

The Cebu-based monastery said it is aware of the pictures circulating online from the film “Maid in Malacañang,” a dramedy supposedly reenacting the Marcoses’ last 72 hours in the Philippines before fleeing to Hawaii.

The stills depict the character of Aquino as ordering the Marcoses to leave the country through a phone call and then playing mahjong, a social gambling game, with nuns.

In reality, Aquino was inclined to grant late dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr‘s request to stay for at least two more days before flying to Hawaii.

However, her party was not warm to the idea… Read More

(Inquirer.net) MANILA, Philippines — Less than 40 days before the polls, the tandem of Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Inday Sara Duterte-Carpio courted overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and promised more jobs in the country so they no longer have to leave their families to work abroad.

During their hybrid OFW Miting de AvanceFriday, Marcos Jr. looked back at former president Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s labor-exporting policy, saying the government at that time found an “opportunity” for workers in the Philippines to work abroad.

Through the years, however, many OFWs have suffered from harassment, violence, and abuse. Philippine Overseas Labor Offices abroad reported that in 2020 alone, 4,302 cases of abuse of OFWs were recorded, according to Senate labor committee chairman Senator Joel Villanueva… Read More

(Radio Free Asia) Japan plans to hold so-called “two-plus-two” meetings with the Philippines and India to discuss maritime security including in the South China Sea, a move analysts say could send a message to Beijing about Tokyo’s determination to foster ties with like-minded partners.

“Two-plus-two” are ministerial-level meetings that involve both foreign and defense ministers of participating countries.

Unnamed diplomatic sources were quoted by Kyodo News Agency as saying that arrangements are being made for Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi to meet with their Philippine counterparts in early April, and their Indian counterparts in mid-April in Tokyo.

China’s growing maritime assertiveness is expected to be high on the agenda, and ministers are expected to renew their pledge to promote a “free and open” Indo-Pacific region.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana are expected to travel to Tokyo for the talks.

The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed to RFA that Japan and the Philippines are considering the launch of a two-plus-two meeting but maintained that “the timing has not been decided yet.” Neither the Philippine nor Indian foreign ministries responded to requests for comment… Read More

(**Agency**) State-owned Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) led a syndicate of banks in providing P5-billion funding support to partially finance completion of the Makati Life Nurture Medical Center, formerly the Ospital ng Makati 2 project, which would be situated at the heart of the country’s premiere business district, a top official said.

DBP President and Chief Executive Officer Emmanuel G. Herbosa said that the facility was arranged by GIV Capital and co-arranged by DBP and Land Bank of the Philippines. Union Bank of the Philippines participated as co-lender.

‘’This project will help address the growing needs of the country’s health infrastructure landscape,’’ Herbosa said. “It also responds to the pressing need to develop an efficient, effective and responsive health system that delivers affordable and quality care.’’

DBP is the fifth largest bank in the country in terms of assets and provides credit support to four strategic sectors of the economy – infrastructure and logistics; micro, small and medium enterprises; the environment; and social services and community development. The DBP Board of Directors approved the credit assistance in 2021.

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(Daily Tribune) The Philippines will be the first in Southeast Asia to avail of the Starlink technology.

A quantum leap in Internet speed is expected in the next three months, if United States-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) pulls through with the expansion of its Starlink satellite broadband services in the Philippines.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the game-changing services from US billionaire Elon Musk’s company is already secured.

The Philippines will be the first in Southeast Asia to avail of the Starlink technology that will particularly benefit areas where connectivity has been difficult or impossible.

A quantum leap in Internet speed is expected in the next three months, if United States-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) pulls through with the expansion of its Starlink satellite broadband services in the Philippines.

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the game-changing services from US billionaire Elon Musk’s company is already secured.

The Philippines will be the first in Southeast Asia to avail of the Starlink technology that will particularly benefit areas where connectivity has been difficult or impossible.

Lopez on 30 March met with publicly-listed DFN Inc.’s executive chairperson Ramon Garcia Jr., SpaceX senior manager for Government Affairs Rebecca Hunter, and SpaceX Market Access Director Ryan Goodnight on the launch of Starlink in the country.

According to Lopez, the government committed assistance to SpaceX, particularly in its registration with the Board of Investments (BoI) to secure incentives under the Strategic Investment Priority Plan (SIPP).

The Department of Trade and Industry also committed to facilitate the processing of permits through the Ease of Doing Business Act… Read More

(Radio Free Asia) A Chinese coast guard ship passed within 21 meters of a Philippine ship near Scarborough Shoal, Manila says.

The Philippines lodged a new diplomatic protest against China after a Chinese coast guard ship maneuvered dangerously close to a Filipino vessel in the disputed Scarborough Shoal in early March, a senior official said Tuesday.

China’s foreign ministry, meanwhile, insisted that it was within its rights when its ship allegedly engaged in what the Philippine Coast Guard described as a “close distance maneuvering” in South China Sea waters.

“It’s done, we’ve filed a diplomatic protest regarding that,” National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. told reporters on Samar Island in the central Philippines, where he was attending a government event.

Similar incidents could occur over contending claims in Scarborough Shoal, he warned. Esperon heads the national taskforce for the West Philippine Sea, the Philippine name for territory claimed by Manila in the South China Sea.

On Sunday, the Philippine Coast Guard reported that a China Coast Guard ship had sailed within 21 meters (69 feet) of the BRP Malabrigo during a routine patrol on March 2.

That was the fourth time since May 2021 that Chinese Coast Guard ships had made that type of maneuver against Philippine vessels, Philippine officials said… Read More

(The Manila Times) THE Philippines is among the commodity-dependent group of emerging markets (EM) with generally good fundamentals that will profit once commodity prices fall following the Russia-Ukraine conflict, according to analysts at Nomura Securities Ltd.

Nomura analysts Rob Subbaraman and Si Ying Toh wrote in a research released on Tuesday that they have recently changed to a more nuanced approach, aware of the hazards of assessing EM as one homogeneous group because they perceive a growing difference between EM winners and losers.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict, they argued, adds another degree of difficulty to the EM outlook.

“This is no doubt a major shock for EM economies but, as we will explain, it is not necessarily negative for all; this crisis and surge in commodity prices is likely to drive a further wedge between EM winners and losers,” they said.

The analysts said EM economies are vulnerable to the Russia-Ukraine conflict through two main channels: direct exposure through trade and investment linkages with the warring countries; and indirect exposure through a rise in commodity prices… Read More

(The Atlantic) A conversation about the canned meat’s lasting cultural impact on Filipino American life. By Mary Stachyra Lopez.

For many Filipino Americans, SPAM isn’t just a beloved ingredient in a popular breakfast dish: It is a marker of Filipino identity. But after months of reporting on the canned meat and its cultural meaning, Gabrielle Berbey, an associate producer for The Experiment podcast, came to realize that SPAM’s history was far more complex than she’d originally thought. “SPAM, in my family, had this almost lore-like quality about it,” Berbey says. Yet for others, over time, SPAM came to represent the Philippines’ dependence on fatty, salty canned foods imported from overseas. “It turns out that a lot of people are wrestling with SPAM’s legacy.”

Berbey recently joined Julia Longoria, the host of The Experiment, for a conversation on Twitter Spaces to discuss the podcast’s three-part miniseries, SPAM: How the American Dream Got Canned. They were joined by Dave Jorgenson—a video producer, editor, and writer perhaps best known as “the Washington Post TikTok Guy”—who shared his own lifelong affinity for SPAM, and insights on its cultural resonance in the United States. This conversation has been condensed and edited for length and clarity… Read More