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.pna.gov.ph/articles/1245493 |
The Philippines earned USD1.1 billion or PHP65.3 billion tourism revenues in January 2025, exceeding pre-pandemic levels in 2019, the Department of Tourism (DOT) said Thursday.
Data as of Feb. 28 showed that the earnings came from various activities, products, and services related to tourism, 136.1 percent higher than the USD821 million or 151.46 percent higher than the PHP43 billion recorded in January 2019.
“The recovery of Philippine tourism from the period of the pandemic in terms of revenues translates to thousands of jobs created for Filipinos, providing livelihood opportunities for many, especially in our rural and underserved areas,” Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco said in a news release.
The country’s tourism income grew by 71.4 percent in terms of US dollars, compared to the USD652,255,773.51 recorded in January 2024.
Philippine peso revenues also soared by 78.81 percent from PHP36,508,238,043 in January 2024.
Frasco reported the Philippines achieved an all-time high tourism revenue of approximately PHP760 billion in 2024.
The DOT recorded the Philippines’ tourism revenues based on Visitor Sample Surveys, records from the previous arrival/departure cards, shipping manifests, and the current eTravel system.
A total of 1,167,908 foreign travelers visited the country in the first two months of 2025.
Data as of March 1 showed that about 25.31 percent of the visitors came from South Korea.
South Korea has been the country’s top source of tourists since 2023, which is expected to boost further with the appointment of South Korean star Seo In-Guk as “celebrity tourism ambassador for the Philippines” last month.
Following South Korea was the United States with 229,836 travelers, Japan with 83,208, Canada with 65,145, and Australia with 61,564.
Some 53,545 tourists came from China, 41,388 from Taiwan, 34,451 from the United Kingdom, 29,352 from Singapore, and 21,252 from France.
Mind you that is ONLY for January. There is still a whole sector to fully recover.
The Palace has attributed this recovery to an improved peace and order situation.
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| https://mb.com.ph/2025/3/10/tourism-sign-of-peace-order |
Malacañang believes that the Philippines' increasing tourism revenues are proof of the improved peace and order situation in the country, contrary to claims of the administration's critics.
Palace Press Officer and Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said this after the Department of Tourism (DOT) reported that the country has surpassed pre-pandemic numbers after recording P65.3 billion in tourism revenues this January.
The DOT has also recorded that about 1,167,908 tourists visited the country in the first two months of 2025.
In a press briefing on Monday, March 10, Castro said the country's tourism revenues surpassing pre-pandemic figures was an indication of an improved peace and order situation.
"If we don't have good peace and order, for sure tourists would be afraid to come here," she said.
"But since the number of tourists coming is increasing, it means they are not afraid to visit," she added.
While it's a smart way to toot the horn of the Marcos administration the fact is revenues are slowly increasing as people being to travel again. The Philippines still has a ways to go.
During the pandemic a Fil-Canadian put her dreams of being a doctor on hold to play volleyball professionally in the Philippines.
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| https://www.spin.ph/volleyball/pvl/how-savi-s-shelved-med-school-dream-led-her-to-pvl-a5172-20250307 |
BEFORE Savi Davison’s trail of dominance in the PVL began, there was once a completely different path she was already destined to take.
Not known to many is how the 26-year-old Fil-Canadian spiker has long embodied not just beauty and brawn.
The way PLDT’s ace spiker-slash-MVP frontrunner would describe herself, she’s quite the ‘educated girlie,’ too.
Davison graduated with a degree in biochemistry and a minor in human biology at the New Mexico State University in 2021.
She was also a scholar in analytical chemistry and took the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) — the American equivalent of the Philippines’ National Medical Admission Test (NMAT) — just before the pandemic struck.
Her longtime dream to enter medical school took a pause with the rest of the world during Covid.
But to keep her academic fire burning, Davison pursued and eventually earned her Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in the midst of the pandemic at the University of Oklahoma Gene Rainbolt Graduate School of Business in 2022.
Take note, all of Davison’s academic pursuits all unfolded while playing in the US NCAA Division I.
Yet there is no doubt for Davison that being a student was much tougher than being an athlete. What she’ll always be thankful for is how that journey taught her the grind that got her through the highs and lows of such unprecedented times.
From shelving her lifelong dream to moving to the Philippines, Davison’s life has career-defining sacrifices written all over it.
One thing about the art of sacrifice Davison learned through the years is how some risks are worth taking over again as destiny, unpredictable as it may be, will run its own course and lead that person to where one is meant to be.
“There's been a lot of big sacrifices I've made and moving to the Philippines was a big one, but you know, sacrifices don't really feel like sacrifices when they transpire into things that you actually want to do and where you want to be.
“I wouldn't call it (playing pro ball in the Philippines) a sacrifice. I would do it again probably, but it was definitely hard.”
It's a terrible puff piece that does not tell us when and why she moved to the Philippines to play volleyball professionally.
The Philippines' furniture industry is recovering from the pandemic.
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| https://business.inquirer.net/510812/ph-furniture-makers-bullish-for-2025-amid-challenges |
Local furniture makers on Thursday expressed optimism this year for the industry, hopeful that new opportunities and untapped overseas markets will help the sector continue with its recovery from the pandemic.
Erwin Tan, the chairman of this year’s , said that the construction business is booming again and that this renewed activity is creating opportunities for local furniture makers.
“All the projects that have been put on hold are now ongoing. So, we feel bullish about it, and that is why we try our best to improve the outlets or the shows like what you see now,” Tan told reporters on the sidelines of the three-day trade fair held at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay.
Tan said that they are also looking at markets in the Middle East, the United States and Europe.
We can bring it to Dubai, we can bring it to North Carolina, High Point. We can even bring it to Europe, in Milan,” he said.
To further strengthen the local furniture industry, Tan said they are asking for government support to bring their trade fair outside the Philippines.
“It is very expensive to bring shows like this abroad, and it’s not a joke. But with the government there, it’s going to be easier for us. They have all the connections, they have all the resources,” he said.
He said that the industry is an important contributor to the country’s economy, employing millions of workers to date.
The industry is not only about the furniture industry, it is about the design industry as well. And this includes products also,” he said.
Is there really a big demand overseas for Filipino furniture?
One Filipina ballet teacher gave up her dream of being a dancer after breaking her foot. Eventually she began teaching ballet on the side while being a magazine editor. Then the pandemic hit.
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| https://vogue.ph/lifestyle/opinion/vogue-voices-ballet-teacher-career/ |
#ilovemyjob
I truly do. As a ballet school director and teacher, I have the honor and pleasure of being part of my students’ dance journey. Some become professionals, others don’t, but I know they all learn something they can use in life. But there was a time that I was vehemently against becoming a full-time teacher and calling it my career. The profession kept calling me for decades, but I persistently kept it at bay because my dream job was something else.
I was about 10 years old in Cebu when I decided being a ballerina was what I wanted to be when I grew up. Unlike most girls who were forced to take ballet by their mothers, it was I who wanted to do it after seeing classes held in the school gym. Before long, I had fallen in love with it, and everything in my life revolved around it. It was easy for me to swap fun time with family and friends for disciplined class and rehearsals. I made my school grades and behavior exemplary enough to earn my no-questions-asked hours spent dancing. My parents supported me wholeheartedly, but I tried to be as independent as possible by commuting to my lessons, spending whole summers in Manila away from my parents to train, and earning money as a teacher as soon as I hit my teens.
Dancing was my dream. There was a comfort in knowing what I was passionate about and what I wanted to do with my life. I liked that my life was unconventional.
Right after college graduation, just when I thought I could live my dream as a professional dancer, I broke my foot. The metatarsals on my left foot got dislocated. At first, I was determined to get back. But one year after the injury, the doctor said the bones were misaligned and I needed surgery to realign and fuse the bones with screws. Then, I had to wait about another nine months before I could try dancing again.
It was getting exhausting trying to keep the dream alive. I had no choice but to wake up. I decided to give up my dream and try a new career.
I had just graduated, so I thought I’d try to be normal for a change. Maybe try one of those regular office jobs in Makati. Then someone suggested to me to teach.
Teach? As in high school English?
No, teach as in ballet.
Oh. No, thanks.
I only wanted to be a dancer, the prima ballerina who would be the star onstage, not the teacher in the windowless basement studio seeing all the other dancers pass her by. I imagined it would be too painful for me. I told everyone who suggested it: Teaching is something I would only do on the side.
I got a job in a magazine and eventually became an associate editor. I taught ballet on the side.
By some miracle, I got a second chance to live my dream. I clawed my way back to the stage and was able to dance full-time with Ballet Philippines for five seasons. During that time, I taught ballet, mounted shows, and learned about teaching on the side.
I stopped dancing for the company when I started a family. I let my dream go, but for real this time. I did not go for a third chance. I tried new careers in PR and management, thinking anything outside the dance world would be easier to integrate with family life. (It wasn’t.) While raising three children, I filled my cup by teaching ballet, writing dance curricula, conducting workshops, and coaching on the side.
The scales tipped in favor of teaching when, while holding a good position in the company, my principal made me choose between my main job and my side job. The mere suggestion shook me to the core. I can’t give up my side job.
This thing on the side, I kept it there because I thought it would be too painful to do. Now, I realized the reverse was true. Teaching was healing me. It was as natural as breathing. Nerdy pedagogy got me excited. Mentoring children taught me about life. I always had job offers and opportunities. It was a career that I sustained and cultivated over decades… on the side!
But because I was too afraid of potential pain, I limited myself. So, together with a renewed faith in God, I went all into the career that had been calling me all my life. Since then, my growth has been immense.
I earned decently even with fewer hours. I spent less time on the road and more time with my children. I expanded my network. I became kind, present, and attentive to myself. I learned to accept God’s blessings and be grateful for them. I felt peaceful and powerful.
When the pandemic struck, I was confused like everyone else. But by teaching, I could do things I never imagined. I became an early adopter of online classes. I was surprised at how entrepreneurial I was. I learned and adjusted along the way. What started out as something to pass the time and stay in shape at home became a place to connect when the isolation started to kick in. Teachers and studio owners came together to find ways to keep their businesses afloat, and artists created together. It was also during the pandemic that Ballet Philippines asked me to head its dance school, challenging me to be creative and malleable while staying true to our art and our values.
I teach ballet full-time. It is my career, and I do it together with my other roles in life. Now, I can say it is the main thing I do because I know it doesn’t mean that I gave up on my original dream. Instead, teaching allows me to share that dream with young dancers, helping them to develop into the kind of dancers I dreamed of being. What better way to spend your working life than contributing to the development of a human being!
The pandemic gave her the opportunity to make a side gig the main gig. Now she teaches ballet full-time.
