Pnoys Abroad

MANILA, Philippines – It’s quite a fancy cab — driven by 41-year-old Richard Bulaclac — one that blooms with a flowery interior, and which he calls the “Garden Taxi.” The cab has LED-lit plastic roses, all colorful and radiating with positivity, perfectly arranged to ease whatever stress the city life has cast down upon commuters and laborers. Its floral design ...

MANILA – Overseas Filipino workers (OFW) are called heroes of the new era, “bagong bayani” in Filipino, for a reason. They go through a very tedious process—submitting requirements, paying placement and other fees, taking various tests—just to be able to work abroad. Apart from the process, there is also the risk of being scammed by illegal recruiters or being abused ...

Who pays for missing balikbayan box items?   MANILA – Who pays for items inside balikbayan boxes that have been damaged or gone missing? According to Customs chief Alberto Lina, the Bureau of Customs is willing to pay for a balikbayan box item that has gone missing as long as it is proven that it is Customs that is at ...

DFA: 4 Filipino nurses in Riyadh infected with MERS-CoV The Department of Foreign Affairs has confirmed that four Filipino nurses in Riyadh have been infected with the MERS-Corona Virus. The patients are a 55-year-old male nurse, and three female nurses aged 29, 32, and 50. The foreign ministry said the nurses acquired the virus while treating MERS-CoV patients from the ...

Miriam blasts ‘thieves’ in Bureau of Customs MANILA – Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago on Monday said embattled Bureau of Customs (BOC) chief Alberto Lina should explain what his office has done against thieves in the agency who ransack shipments. Santiago has filed Senate Resolution No. 1534 seeking an investigation on the BOC’s plan to thoroughly inspect and impose taxes on ...

Customs defends tax on balikbayan boxes MANILA – Customs chief Alberto Lina defended Monday the agency’s plan to open balikbayan boxes, saying the bureau is mandated to prevent the entry of contraband items as well as assess the value of items that need to be taxed. Lina said that under the law, the bureau can inspect all balikbayan boxes entering ...

PNoy won’t stop opening of balikbayan boxes But vows ‘safeguards’ to prevent abuse by Customs   CEBU CITY – President Aquino is meeting with Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima and Bureau of Customs Commissioner Alberto Lina in Malacañang Monday afternoon to “review” and to be briefed about the Customs’ move to step up its inspection of balikbayan boxes. Aquino did not ...

Two teens armed with a machete enter a store in Pittsburgh. One of the two teens pull the machete on the store clerk and demanded money, while the other would-be-robber took items from the store’s shelves. They didn’t expect the owner to turn the tables—as he pulled out an even larger sword. As soon as they saw the clerk’s weapon, ...

Warning: For those who are not trained to do Parkour, do not attempt to do this. Parkour is a training discipline using movement that developed from military obstacle course training. Practitioners aim to get from one point to another in a complex environment, without assistive equipment and in the fastest and most efficient way possible. Parkour includes free running, climbing, ...

Stranded commuters hike up a mountain after a portion of Kennon Road was damaged by a landslide caused by Typhoon Ineng in Baguio. Photo by Harley Palangchao, Reuters MANILA — (UPDATED) A weakened Typhoon Goni (local name: Ineng) was headed towards Japan on Sunday, after battering Northern Luzon leaving at least 10 dead, and causing thousands of people to be ...