More news about how the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines is being handled by the public and the government.
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| https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/898529/622k-filipinos-visited-japan-in-2023-jnto/story/ |
More than 620,000 Filipinos visited Japan last year as outbound tourism surged with the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.
Data from the Japan National Tourism Organization shows there were 622,300 visitors from the Philippines in 2023, up 1.5% from the levels recorded in 2019 or before the COVID-19 pandemic.
''Last July, the number was the highest in ASEAN. People-to-people exchange is flourishing. We would like to keep our country attractive to the Filipino people,'' Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Koshikawa Kazuhiko said in his speech during the annual National Day Reception at the Grand Hyatt Manila to celebrate the 64th birthday of Emperor Naruhito on Friday.
In comparison, 305,580 Japanese nationals visited the Philippines in 2023, according to the Department of Tourism.
Koshikawa said bilateral relations ''have evolved beyond traditional areas and made great progress in a variety of new areas with the warm support of the Filipino people.''
Locally tourism revenues are up from both local and foreign tourists.
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| https://www.philstar.com/nation/2024/02/26/2336196/la-union-posts-p1-billion-tourism-revenues |
The provincial government of La Union recorded P1.04 billion in tourism revenues last year.
Data from the office of Gov. Raphaelle Veronica David showed the easing of restrictions imposed during the pandemic resulted in a surge in tourist arrivals, both foreign and local.
The amount exceeded the P897 million that the province posted in 2022.
Tourist arrivals in 2023 increased to 550,359 from 494,387 in 2022.
The month of April recorded the most tourist arrivals with 68,567, followed by June with 55,131 and May with 53,921.
Of the total figure, 543,909 were local tourists while 6,450 were foreigners.
Forty-nine percent of domestic tourists came from Metro Manila followed by Central Luzon with 14 percent, Calabarzon (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon) with 13 and the Cordilleras, 10 percent.
The surfing site of Urbiztondo Beach in San Juan was the most popular tourist destination.
San Juan received 215,645 visitors in 2023 followed by Bauang with 100,762 and San Fernando, 97,726.
Among the province’s tourists attractions are the Tangadan Falls in San Gabriel, Poro Point Lighthouse, Ma-Cho Temple in San Fernando, Immuki Island in Balaoan, Baluarte Watch Tower and Namacpacan Church in Luna town, and the grape farms of Bauang.
David reminded residents and business owners to be mindful of the impact of the surge of visitors to the environment.
She said environmental protection should always be a priority.
They are not specific on how tourists are destroying the environment. Is it garbage?
Philippine Airlines is looking to sell a 20% to 25% stake in the company to help them "better navigate the global aviation industry after the COVID-19 pandemic."
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| https://qa.philstar.com/business/2024/02/28/2336596/pal-revives-stake-sale-investors |
Taipan Lucio Tan has revived plans to sell a significant stake in Philippine Airlines (PAL) to a strategic investor who could help the flag carrier soar to even greater heights, industry sources said.
The STAR learned that PAL’s management recently formed a team to “receive some offers,” which could come from foreign carriers to help the company better navigate the global aviation industry after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The process (of the sale) has started and there is a team handling that,” a source confirmed.
However, the Tan family “is not relinquishing control” and the size of the stake it is willing to give up depends on the offer it would get, said the source.
Instead, the Tan family is willing to sell a 20 to 25 percent stake in the airline, which would be a “minority but significant stake” and attractive enough for a new investor to come in at this time.
The family of the tobacco and airline magnate deems that now is a good time to sell, especially because PAL has been performing well.
PAL is selling but is anyone really interested?
During the pandemic there was some chatter about virgin coconut oil being a treatment for COVID-19. Researchers are asking for more money to continue trials.
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| https://www.philstar.com/business/2024/02/26/2336092/coconut-processors-want-more-funding-vco-research |
The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) need to fund more studies to prove the health benefits of virgin coconut oil (VCO), a coconut processors group said.
The VCO Producers and Traders Association of the Philippines (VCO Philippines) said a 2021 clinical trial on VCO as an effective adjunct treatment for COVID-19 cases in Valenzuela City has gained international publication.
The group said studies on the coconut derivative product would be a big boon to the coconut farming industry as well as the coconut processing industry, showing the multiplier effects of such government assistance to the sector.
VCO Philippines issued the call after a study spearheaded by the DOST-Food Nutrition and Research Institute (DOST-FNRI) titled, “Virgin coconut oil (VCO) supplementation relieves symptoms and inflammation amoing COVID-19 positive adults: A single-blind randomized trial,” was published by the Cambridge University Press on their prestigious Journal of Nutritional Science last Jan. 23.
The Journal of Nutritional Science is an international, peer-reviewed, online only, open access journal that welcomes high-quality research articles in all aspects of nutrition. The journal says that the underlying aim of all published research should be the development of nutritional concepts.
“More studies on the efficacy of VCO should be considered to determine whether VCO can provide safe and affordable adjunct therapy against viruses. This will also be valuable support for the VCO industry,” VCO Philippines said.
Certainly VCO is much safer than the gene therapy of the mRNA "vaccine."
The Confederation of Wearables Exporters of the Philippines wants to restore the direct subsidy to workers which was implemented by DOLE during the pandemic period. This they prefer over a wage hike which they say will kill jobs.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2024/2/27/wearables-sector-wants-direct-gov-t-subsidy-to-workers-instead |
The Confederation of Wearables Exporters of the Philippines (CONWEP), the largest wearables sector group in the country, categorically said they cannot afford any wage hike and instead urged government to reactivate the inflation subsidy to workers implemented during the pandemic period to ensure continued employment of its workers, but warned they may be able to retain only 20-30 percent of its current 160,000 direct workers if the planned P100 daily wage hike gets implemented.
CONWEP made this position clear in a letter to Malacanang on Feb. 26 and similar letters submitted to the Senate, House of Representatives, secretaries of the Department of Trade and Industry and Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) as legislators pushed for P100 increase in daily minimum wage at the Senate and P350 at the House.
“We stand to lose more with wage increase of any amount,” said Maritess Jocson-Agoncillo, executive director of CONWEP, during an online press conference Tuesday, Feb. 27.
Instead of a mandated wage hike, CONWEP would like the government to reactivate the monthly wage protection subsidy against inflation to workers of P600 to P1,000 over a period of two years. This direct subsidy to workers was implemented by DOLE during the pandemic period.
CONWEP is asking to reimpose the subsidy or the job protection program by DOLE for two years or until 2026 for their workers as they qualify as a “distressed” industry.
Agoncillo explained that the wearables sector is in “dire strait” even adding that its investors and buyers relayed their comments that implementing a wage hike just a few months after the last minimum salary increase took effect could be the “final nail on the coffin”.
CONWEP said that even without a wage hike, the sector is seen shedding at least 21,900 workers this year.
According to Agoncillo, a major brand has stopped sourcing of sportswear from two factories since last year and shifted to Vietnam, resulting in more than 9,000 workers losing their jobs.
With a mandated wage hike, Agoncillo said they fear that only 20 percent to 30 percent would be left out of its current 160,000 direct workers. More brands are also expected to shift sourcing.
Once again we see that the post-pandemic economy is not good for everyone. However, it has been good for SM Malls.
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| https://www.rappler.com/business/sm-open-new-malls-2024/ |
The Philippines’ retail king SM Group is opening five new malls in the Philippines in 2024, two of them in Ilocos, the home region of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The retail industry in the Philippines has rebounded big from the pandemic, with most retail businesses seeing high growth.
“Immediately after the pandemic, people went back to the mall, flocked to the mall. Last year was a testament of that – we’re very happy with the numbers because we weren’t expecting it to be that good. We were expecting growth, definitely, but the result is very humbling, it really blew me,” Tan said.
SM Prime Holdings had a net income of P40 billion in 2023, 33% higher than the P30 billion in 2022. Its mall business generated 56% of the company’s consolidated revenues. Mall rental income went up 24% to P61.3 billion in 2023 from P49.7 billion the year prior.
“The favorable result we achieved in 2023 reflects the strong support and trust from our tenants and customers despite the economic challenges encountered in 2023. We continue to see this growth momentum this year as we pursue our expansion plans in our key businesses, and explore new opportunities to expand our businesses,” SM Prime president Jeffrey Lim said on February 19.
Yes, Filipinos love "malling."
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