Advisory to Philippine Passport Holders with Travel Plans to Hong Kong

Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong SAR has released an advisory to Philippine Passport holders who will visit Hong Kong should monitor the news regularly because of the proposal to suspend the 14-day visa-free entry of Philippine passport holders.

- Hong Kong Immigration Department (www.immd.gov.hk/en/services/hk-visas/visit-transit/visit-visa-entry-permit.html#part2)

- Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong (www.philcongen-hk.com) or (www.facebook.com/pcghk)

Also, the Consulate General said inquiries may be sent to it via email (hongkongpc@philcongen-hk.com) or SMS (+852-9155-4023).

Super Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) Philippines

The destruction of the Super Typhoon Haiyan is catastrophic and the Philippine government is yet to assess the total damage as most of the provinces that are hardest hit like Tacloban city are cut off, no information are coming out of the island as telecommunication are down.

The storm clouds stretch about 1,120 miles engulfing most of the country. The super typhoon first hit the eastern island of Samar at 4:30 a.m. Friday that knocked power and communication and caused massive flooding.

Haiyan has already weakened Saturday and was no longer a super typhoon it has sustained winds of 145 mph (230 kph). But the storm could return to super typhoon status Saturday. The center of Haiyan will land again Sunday morning near the Vietnamese cities of Da Nang and Hue.

Haiyan, named Yolanda in the Philippines, retained much of its force as it moved westward Friday with sustained winds of 295 kph (183 mph), which put it well above the 252 kph threshold for a Category 5 hurricane, the highest category on the Saffir--Simpson scale.

In Manila, a portion of the ceiling at UP Town Center in QC has collapsed due to strong winds.

Hong Kong to scrap visa-free access for the Philippines

The South China Morning Post reported that Hong Kong lawmakers has voted 41-3 on a non-binding motion that will scrap the visa-free access of Filipino tourists to Hong Kong. They also passed a motion to impose sanctions to the Philippines.

Earlier Leung Chun-ying, Hong Kong's chief executive said that the Hong Kong government will impose sanctions against the Philippines if there are no concrete steps taken to resolve the issue of the victims of the hostage-taking incident that happened in Manila, Philippines last August 23, 2010 were 8 Hong
Kong people killed and 7 injured.

The non-binding motion is expected to exert pressure not only on the Hong Kong government but also the Philippines.

The victims families wants an apology from the president of the Philippines, compensation, punishment for officials involved and implement measures to protect tourists’ personal safety.

The relevant sanction measures should include:

1. the Hong Kong Government to suspend the procurement of Philippine products;
2. the Hong Kong Government to suspend the new round of negotiations on areas such as air freedom rights and trade, etc.;
3. except for the hostage incident, the Hong Kong Government to suspend all its dealings with the Philippine Government;
4. the Hong Kong Government to suspend inviting Philippine cultural organizations to Hong Kong to participate in the cultural and arts activities organized by the Hong Kong Government;
5. the Hong Kong Legislative Council to suspend its friendship exchanges and liaison with theCongress of the Philippines; and
6. the Hong Kong Government to call on the Hong Kong community and commercial sector to suspend their commercial and cultural exchanges with the Philippines, and call on the public to boycott Philippine goods

The Council also proposes to implement the economic sanction measures in phases by amending the
Immigration Ordinance:

Phase one: from 1 April 2014 onwards, to forbid the issuance of employment visas to newly-employed Philippine domestic helpers, but excluding the issuance of employment visas for employment contracts
which are renewed with the same employers during the period from 1 April to 31 December 2014;

Phase two: from 1 January 2015 on wards, to forbid the extension of Philippine domestic helpers’ limit of stay;

Phase three: from 1 July 2015 onwards, to forbid the issuance of entry visas to Philippine passport holders.

Source: Motion Imposing economic sanctions on the Philippines and restoring Hong Kong people’s dignity.

Napoles "Pork" Scam (PDAF) Senate Hearing

Senator Teofisto Guingona III said that he was satisfied with the hearing.

"We were able to show the stark contrast between Napoles' general denial and the whistleblowers' positive and detailed assertions," Guingona said

Janet Lim-Napoles also downplayed her wealth and said that her mom's mausoleum cost less than P10M.

I also hope they investigate the DAP scam which is larger than the PDAF. 

Arnold Clavio Rude and Unprofessional Interview with Atty. Alfredo Villamor

GMA’s news anchor Arnold Clavio is being criticized by people in social media because of his rude and unprofessional interview with Atty. Alfredo Villamor last Tuesday, November 5 on his GMA’s morning show Unang Hirit. Atty. Villamor is a lawyer of Janet Napoles for her illegal detention case only, but Clavio keeps asking him about a different case that he does not represent which is dumb.

Also Clavio commented rudely:

“Pasira ka ng araw eh”

“Salamat ho, wala ho kaming nakuha sa inyo"

I think GMA TV should just fire Mr. Clavio for his behavior if not then GMA News is just a classless TV station that don't really care about anything and everything they do and say are lies.

HK to Withdraw Visa-free Access Enjoyed by Filipinos

Hong Kong lawmakers are calling to withdraw visa-free access for Filipino citizens who wants to visit Hong Kong which is a popular shopping destination over the 2010 Luneta hostage that affected the diplomatic relationship between the HK and the Philippines.

The South China Morning Post reported that a non-binding Legislative Council motion that suspend the travel privilege enjoyed by the Filipinos appears set to be approved on Wednesday with parties from across the political spectrum indicating they would support it.

This move is to put pressure on the Philippine government to compensate the families of 8 Hong Kong residents killed by a policeman Rolando Mendoza, as well as those who were injured in the incident.

66 YO Jeepney Driver mauled by Congressman's Son

http://news5.com.ph/embed.aspx?g=47E613D229F84D4

MANILA - A jeepney driver who's a 66 year old senior citizen was mauled by the son of Batangas 3rd District Rep. Nelson “Sonny” Collantes. He was traumatized by the incident.

Orlando Garcia, a senior citizen, said he was traumatized and have trouble sleeping.

“I’m also afraid to go out now and drive. I feel like everyone I meet on the road looks like him,” he said.

Also traumatized is his 9 year-old grandson who witnessed the incident while his grandfather is getting beat up.

The incident that happened Tuesday last week, was caught on video.