News Roundup 09 April 2023

News and Updates

Apr 09, 20234 min Read

News from home: Fixing ‘ambulance chasing,’ Marcos Jr. to attend King Charles III’s coronation | PHILSTAR.COMMANILA, Philippines — From raising the issue of “ambulance chasing” in the Philippine seafaring industry to confirmation of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s attendance to Charles III’s coronation in May — these were among our headlines and news stories from the past week we think you should know if you’re a Filipino based abroad.

Overseas Filipinos

  • Now that the European Commission said they would still recognize seafarers’ certificates issued by the Philippines, stakeholders and employers said the Philippines should now focus on addressing “ambulance chasing,” the country’s skills programs, and the industry’s decarbonization efforts.  
  • The Department of Migrant Workers said it will be working with agencies back home, as well as with international agencies to address the issues.
  • Six Filipinos who were trafficked to work in Laos arrived back home on Friday last week, the Bureau of Immigration said Sunday. The Filipinos said they signed up for jobs in Thailand to work as chat support agents, but they ended up being forced into love scams where they duped clients to falling in love with them and investing in a fake company.
  • Justin Jones, of Filipino and Black descent, is one of the two Democrcatic lawmakers expelled by Tennessee’s Republican-dominated state legislature. He got booted out of the Tennessee House for leading protesters calling for gun control in the state capitol after another school shooting.

Full Story at: News from home: Fixing ‘ambulance chasing,’ Marcos Jr. to attend King Charles III’s coronation | Philstar.com

Hefty price hike: P2.50 for gasoline, P1.50 for diesel | PHILSTAR.COMMANILA, Philippines — Hefty increases in pump prices await motorists after the long Holy Week break, according to an oil industry source.

Cleanfuel said diesel and kerosene prices are seen rising by more than P1.50 this week, and gasoline prices by more than P2.50.

Oil firms are expected to announce the price hikes tomorrow but the actual adjustments are to take effect the
following day.

It was the announcement of Saudi Arabia and other OPEC+ oil producers last week of further reduction in output by 1.16 million barrels per day that sparked the latest hikes in pump prices across the globe.

This week’s forecasted price adjustments will be the second consecutive week of increase for all three petroleum products should they push through.

Oil firms last Tuesday ended a series of rollbacks in the previous weeks, as gasoline prices rose by P1.40 per liter, diesel by P0.50 per liter and kerosene by P0.20 per liter.

These resulted in year-to-date net decrease of P3.65 per liter for diesel and P5.35 per liter for kerosene, based on data from the Department of Energy.  Gasoline, on the other hand, posted a year-to-date net increase of P6.05 per liter.

2 village execs slain in separate gun attacks in Maguindanao | INQUIRER.NETPARANG, Maguindanao Norte – A village councilman and his wife were shot dead by still unidentified gunmen on Sunday morning in this town, a day after a village chairperson of Sultan Kudarat province was slain in an ambush in Maguindanao del Sur.

Abdulmalik Uban, 50, village councilor of Barangay Polloc in this town, died instantly while his wife Salma Uban, 48, expired at the hospital after they were shot by two gunmen along Rizal Avenue, Parang public market in Barangay Poblacion 2, according to Major Christopher Cabugwang, Parang municipal police chief.

He said his office had organized a Special Investigation Task Force to conduct a thorough investigation and identify the suspects.

“We assure the victims’ families that justice will be done,” Cabugwang said in a statement.

Full Story at: 2 village execs slain in separate gun attacks in Maguindanao | Inquirer News

Quiapo Church visitors reach almost 188,000 from Maundy Thursday until Easter | INQUIRER.NETMANILA, Philippines — The Quiapo Church in Manila on Sunday said that it has so far recorded approximately 179,508 of people who went to the basilica from Maundy Thursday to Easter Sunday.

According to the Quiapo Church Command Post, 115,158 were devotees who visited  the church itself, while 64,350 was the number of devotees who joined the Black Nazarene procession from Thursday to Friday.

Maundy Thursday marked the most number of devotees in Quiapo Church at 57,005, while Good Friday garnered the most number for the procession at 38,000.

However, Sunday’s number of devotees at 42,523 so far only reflects the crowd estimate from 5:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.

Full Story at: Quiapo Church visitors reach almost 188,000 from Maundy Thursday until Easter | Inquirer News


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