May 1st, 2013 at 3:50 am » Comments (37)

If the US military was to leave South Korea there will not be the economic impact felt on the country as what the Philippines experienced when the US military pulled out of there as this recent New York Times article shows:   Abraham Parungao watched hopefully as three American sailors walked through his souvenir shop full of T-shirts, decorative beer mugs and placards with cheeky slogans. After haggling for a while over a $5 wood carving, the young men left without buying a thing. “Before, the Americans had so much
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April 16th, 2013 at 12:16 pm » Comments (19)

I love how the Manilla Bulletin uses the word deployment in regards to sending workers to South Korea: Manila, Philippines — Starting this year, the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) will temporarily stop the deployment of female workers to South Korea. Citing the slump in the demand of female workers in South Korea, POEA administrator Hans Cacdac said in a yesterday POEA would no longer entertain Filipina applicants for Employment Permit System (EPS)-Test of Proficiency in Korea (TOPIK) on July. However, he said POEA would continue hiring male workers to
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April 13th, 2013 at 5:06 pm » Comments (3)

It’s the very same reef that the USS Guardian ran aground on. China has urged the Philippines to “guarantee the safety and legitimate rights” of fishermen who have been taken into custody for poaching after their vessel ran aground on the protected Tubbataha Reef — the latest incident in often tense relations among nations in the South China Sea. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hong Lei made his comments on Thursday, state-run Xinhua reported, a day after Philippine authorities formally charged 12 fishermen with poaching and attempting to “corrupt public officials,” the
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April 8th, 2013 at 3:32 pm » Comments (6)

Should we have a bake sale or car wash to raise the funds? The U.S. government faces a $1.4 million fine for damage caused to a Philippines national park when the minesweeper USS Guardian ran aground on a coral reef in January, Philippine officials said Monday. The fine total, converted from 58.4 million Philippine pesos, is based on a 2009 law detailing fines based on total area damaged, unauthorized entry and other violations. A statement from Tubbataha Reefs National Park superintendent Angelique Songco called the fine just a “slap on
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November 15th, 2012 at 8:14 am » Comments (16)

With a name like Wiener I guess no one should be surprised that this guy is a big fan of Angeles City: A Bernalillo County Commissioner with a history of making inappropriate sexual comments in Albuquerque may be in more trouble half way around the world. A Seattle photographer, who has been documenting sex tourism in the Philippines, told KOB’s 4 On Your Side team he had a disturbing conversation with Commissioner Michael Wiener in Angeles City, the second largest sex tourism city in the world. Photographer John Keatley has
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May 29th, 2012 at 8:32 am » Comments (9)

My Filipina wife has been paying a great deal of attention to this for months. MANILA — The chief justice of the Philippine Supreme Court, Renato C. Corona, was removed from office on Tuesday after it was disclosed during an impeachment trial that he failed to declare $2.4 million in foreign currency deposits. Chief Justice Renato C. Corona attended his impeachment trial last week in Manila. In a country where high-ranking public officials are often removed through street protests, and no one had ever been successfully impeached and convicted, the verdict was
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April 13th, 2012 at 10:27 am » Comments (10)

Here is another country having problems with Chinese fishing boats: The Philippines and China continued looking for a diplomatic solution to a naval standoff on Thursday, even as Manila sent a second vessel to disputed islands in the South China Sea. Philippines Foreign Ministry spokesperson Raul Hernandez said a coast guard boat has been sent to the Scarborough Shoal, located about 230 km off the northwestern Philippines. It will join the Philippine Navy’s largest vessel, the U.S.-built Gregorio del Pilar, which since Tuesday has been in a standoff with two
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February 3rd, 2012 at 4:56 pm » Comments (2)

Though the woman the President is dating in an ethnic Korean she has lived in the Philippines since she was a young child: Philippine President Benigno Aquino has admitted he is dating a Korean expat TV host. Aquino (52) confirmed rumors that he is dating Grace Lee (30) when he visited Quezon City in the southwest of Luzon Island to launch a government agency on Wednesday. He did not answer any other questions, the local press reported. The rumor started on Twitter on Jan. 26, and local press afterwards reported
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November 18th, 2011 at 7:49 am » Comments (0)

It was just a few days ago that Arroyo tried to leave the Philippines in order to receive ‘medical treatment’. Former Philippine President Gloria Arroyo has been arrested on charges of election fraud. Mrs Arroyo was arrested on her hospital bed in the capital Manila, accused of cheating to win a seat in the Senate for one of her supporters during the 2007 election. Mrs Arroyo has been fighting a legal battle to be allowed to leave the country to receive medical treatment. She denies any wrongdoing and her lawyer
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March 21st, 2011 at 8:52 am » Comments (7)

Well it looks like USFK is taking a step towards becoming an expeditionary force from the Korean peninsula: Some 500 soldiers of the Second U.S. Infantry Division stationed in Korea will participate in annual joint U.S.-Philippine exercises to be staged next month in the island country. A spokesman for the Eighth U.S. Army last Friday said about 500 light infantrymen of the division will participate in the Balikatan 2011 drill in the Philippines from April 5 to 15. This is the first time such a large number of USFK troops
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