Photo credit: Samuel Maniago Balintay Jr. FB Page

An Aeta from Zambales on July 7 took his oath as a licensed teacher wearing his ethnic attire at Saint Louis University in Baguio City.

Samuel Balintay Jr, said he decided to honor his Aeta roots after he passed the Licensure Examination for Teachers earlier this year.

Balintay used to work in the in the BPO industry before he eventually decided to study again to be a teacher.

“My life became routinary. I find it toxic so I consulted my wife if I can stop working, I proposed to work at home and study at the same time. She agreed upon me being approved for a study now pay later scholarship under a perpetual program,” Balintay said.

“I took BSED-English since it’s the course related to my experiences as missionary teacher and a call center agent. It was my 3rd preferred course actually. I like Broadcast Communication or AB-English supposedly but upon the College review I was assigned for the BSED-English Program. I was able to take the program for only a year and finally graduated in the year 2016 at the University of San Jose-Recoletos in Cebu,” he explained.

Balintay said he went back to his tribe in Zambales to celebrate his ethnicity.

“That was the point that I decide to celebrate my ethnicity. To give my father an honor. I went back to the Tribe in Zambales and found 2 of my fathers surviving siblings,” he said.

“I was also introduced to my Ancestries Elders and they advised me to give pride and honor to the tribe. My RDC Representative Uncle gave me a dagger bolo which they use for hunting animals and uses to secure their family. They taught me too in wearing the traditional bahag of our tribe. July 7th came, after seeking approval from PRC Baguio I was able to showcase that an Aeta like me can have a place in the society and become productive by becoming professionals,” Balintay added.

Source: northluzon.politics.com.ph

Continue Reading

By Mar Supnad

(Bureau of Customs PH / Facebook live)

SUBIC BAY – The Bureau of Customs-Port of Subic, spearheaded the destruction of P800,000 worth of used clothing (Ukay-ukay) on Friday, in Guiguinto, Bulacan.

The contraband was shredded and disposed of at the facility of EPY-ECO Auction and Waste Disposal Services– the accredited service provider of the Port of Subic for the condemnation of contraband and expired goods.

The used clothing was abandoned in favor of the government, in view of the aggressive efforts and vigilance on the part of the BOC to prevent the entry of contrabands such as used clothing, which are said to be detrimental to public health and welfare.

The destruction of the seized goods was led by the District Collector of the Port of Subic, Segundo Sigmundfreud Z. Barte, who emphasized that while ‘ukay-okay’ is popular among the masses, Republic Act 4653 prohibits the importation thereof, to safeguard public health.

The District Collector was joined by the representatives of the Commission on Audit and the local government of Guiguinto, Bulacan.

BOC Commissioner Isidro Lapena has announced that condemnation of seized goods will now be made public in line with transparency efforts of the bureau.

Source: news.mb.com.ph

Continue Reading

By: Jose Rodel Clapano (The Philippine Star)

“Through the passport on wheels, we were able to bring our consular services closer to the people. We have accommodated more than 138,000 applicants since January,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said.

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has intensified its efforts to meet the consular needs of the public by taking the passport on wheels program to hospitals, schools, offices and subdivisions.

The number of passport applicants in the last six months was equivalent to the output of four consular offices, the DFA said in a statement.

“Through the passport on wheels, we were able to bring our consular services closer to the people. We have accommodated more than 138,000 applicants since January,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said.

Aside from cities and municipalities, the passport on wheels teams visited government offices such as Malacañang, the Senate, House of Representatives, Department of Health, National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, Armed Forces of the Philippines, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.

Employees of private entities such as GMA Network, Aboitiz, and Nestle also benefited from the program.

The DFA also served passport applicants at the St. Luke’s Medical Center, Tricity Medical Center as well as homeowners’ associations such as the one in Loyola Grand Villas in Quezon City.

On June 30, the passport on wheels went to Xavier School and served 1,930 applicants.

The DFA said local government units and organizations can send a written request to the Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs through mps@oca.dfa.gov.ph to avail themselves of the program.

The letter must specify the estimated number of passport applicants, name and contact details of the requesting party’s designated passport coordinator and the preferred schedule.

The DFA Aseana in Parañaque City has opened its passport services on Saturdays.

Source: philstar.com

Continue Reading

By: Frank Cimatu

Photo credit: news.abs-cbn.com

TAIPEI, Taiwan – Budget airline Philippines AirAsia Incorporated (AirAsia Philippines) is now flying from Clark, Pampanga to Taipei, Taiwan.

The budget airline on Thursday, July 12, inaugurated its first international flight from Clark International Airport in Pampanga. AirAsia flight Z2 5126 arrived in Taipei’s Taoyuan International Airport at 7:30 pm on Thursday, after about a two-hour flight from Clark.

“[W]e are thrilled to be here again to begin another journey to serve, empower and enable every traveler to dream big and connect across the country, in ASEAN, Asia, and the world,” AirAsia Philippines CEO Dexter Comendador said.

He said that after Manila and Cebu airports, Clark would be AirAsia Philippines’ third hub to go international.

In the next 3 to 5 years, Comendador said AirAsia Philippines targets to double its fleet from the current 20. By 2032, it aims to have 70 planes.

The Taipei route from Clark is scheduled Tuesdays, Thursday, and Saturdays. Comendador eyes to serve passengers from North Luzon and Metro Manila.

The inaugural flight was also bolstered by the recent announcement of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office that Taiwan’s visa-free promotion for Filipinos will be extended until 2019.

TEPO Deputy Representative James Chu said that during the first 5 months of 2018, about 191,000 Filipinos traveled to Taiwan.

This is an increase of 60.36% from the same period last year.

The forecast of Taipei City’s Department of Information and Tourism showed that there 350,000 Filipinos are expected to visit Taiwan this year.

In 2017, there were more than 290,000 Filipino visitors while in 2016, there were more than 172,000 Filipino visitors to Taiwan.

AirAsia also flies to Iloilo, Davao, Cebu, Caticlan in Aklan, and Tacloban in Leyte from Clark.

source: rappler.com

Continue Reading

SENATOR Richard J. Gordon is pushing for the reopening of the Subic Bay International Airport before the year ends.

In a statement sent to Sun.Star Pampanga Friday, July 13, the senator called “for a deep sense of urgency to reopen Subic Bay International Airport to finally fulfill the full conversion of the former US bases in Central Luzon for the benefit of the country.”

Gordon, who envisioned and led the successful conversion of the former US bases in Subic and Clark as Freeports, wants to fast track the reopening of Subic International Airport.

He led the rehabilitation of Subic airport for heavy laden aircraft and made it the Asia One hub of Federal Express (Fedex) in 1995. Because of that, Gordon got UPS to follow Fedex in Clark and DHL in Manila immediately thereafter.

Unfortunately, Gordon noted, all the international overnight air cargo operators left the Philippines for a hub in China. Subic also then maintained regular international passenger flights in Asia.

“We cannot lose our second chance of decongesting Metro Manila and getting more investments in Central and Northern Luzon to get jobs and a greater tax base for our country and people. We must operate the airports there aggressively. We have three airports and three seaports between Manila and Central Luzon and we have heavily invested in road connectivity throughout Central and Northern Luzon such as North Luzon Expressway, Subic-Clark-Tarla Expressway and the Jose Abad Santos Avenue (formerly Gapan-San Fernando-Olongapo Road). Soon we will have the cargo railway between Clark and Subic, not to mention Clark and Manila,” he said.

Gordon and Central Luzon congressmen have concluded hearings for the Regional Investment Central Luzon Hub (RICH) which will coordinate investment promotion and maximize the lands, infrastructure, and free ports, Tiezas and Pezas with the local government units and create jobs, new housing, schools, transportation, communications, and energy activities.

“With flights often delayed because of the congestion at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, I have long been calling for the reopening of Subic Bay International Airport so that it, along with Clark International Airport, could be used to create more flights for the Philippines and avoid delays,” he said.

Gordon lauded Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade who disclosed last week that the Subic Bay International Airport could return to operation in the second quarter of 2019 under a revival program.

To bring back the operation of Subic Bay International Airport, which used to be the one of the country’s best airports, Gordon, with Senator Loren Legarda, got funding for its rehabilitation. (JTD)

source: sunstar.com.ph

Continue Reading