Philippines

By Martin Petty BORACAY, Philippines (Reuters) – With postcard-perfect views of the Philippines’ most treasured island behind them, labourers hammer away at the walls of the Boracay West Cove resort, demolishing them one chunk at a time. The resort is being reduced to piles of rock and steel rods, the first in a wave of demolitions of illegal structures on the tourist island of Boracay on the orders of the Philippines’ no-nonsense president, Rodrigo Duterte. Boracay is just one of more than 7,300 islands in the Philippines, but it draws 2 million visitors annually, just under a third of the country’s total tourist arrivals last year. But with an estimated 1,800 businesses competing for space and clamouring for a share of the annual $1 billion that Boracay generates, mass tourism is pushing this tiny 10-square-kilometre (4-square-mile) island to the brink of collapse. “What Duterte wants, Duterte gets,” said Phillip Penafor, a local government worker … [Read more...] about Strained by tourism, Philippines’ once idyllic Boracay checks in for rehab

MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines has ordered an Australian Catholic nun to leave the country in 30 days after the immigration bureau revoked her missionary visa for joining protest rallies, an immigration official said on Wednesday. Patricia Anne Fox, a 71 year-old superior of the Notre Dame de Sion in the Philippines, a congregation of Catholic nuns, was detained for a day last week after President Rodrigo Duterte ordered her investigation for “disorderly conduct”. In a one-page order, immigration bureau head Jaime Morente asked Fox to leave the Philippines after “she was found to have engaged in activities that are not allowed under the terms and conditions of her visa.” Fox, who has been in the country for more than 27 years, has 30 days to exit the Philippines after receipt of the order. Her renewable missionary visa, which was due to expire in September 2018, was cancelled on Monday, but an immigration spokeswoman said she can still return to the … [Read more...] about Philippines expels Australian nun for political activities

MANILA (Reuters) – The Philippines apologised on Tuesday for what Kuwait viewed as violation of its sovereignty after the Southeast Asian nation’s embassy “rescued” several domestic workers from their employers’ homes amid reports of abuse. Foreign Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano said the embassy was forced to “assist” Filipino workers who sought help because some situations were a matter of life and death. “We respect Kuwaiti sovereignty and laws, but the welfare of Filipino workers is also very important,” he said, adding that domestic helpers account for more than 65 percent of the more than 260,000 Filipinos in Kuwait. Cayetano said Kuwait had accepted the Philippines’ explanation after the Kuwaiti ambassador met Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and held talks with Cayetano. “We’re sending a note now to my counterpart, and we are apologising for certain incidents that Kuwait views as violation of their … [Read more...] about Philippines ‘apologises’ to Kuwait after rescuing domestic workers

MANILA (Reuters) – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said on Saturday he had set a 60-day timeframe for peace talks he is seeking to revive with communist guerrillas, urging the rebels’ exiled leader to come home to hammer out a deal. The conflict between the government and the New People’s Army (NPA), the armed wing of the communist party, has raged for half a century and killed more than 40,000 people. In February, a Norwegian diplomat met Duterte to try to convince him to restart negotiations that the president had scrapped in anger at what he considers duplicity by the communists. Earlier this month Duterte ordered his cabinet to work on a truce to enable talks, but the communist rebels have rejected any preconditions. Jose Maria Sison, leader of the Communist Party of the Philippines has been in exile in the Netherlands since his release from prison in the late 1980s. “I am talking to Sison now. It is an off and on thing (and) probably the military and … [Read more...] about Philippines’ Duterte sets window for peace talks with communist rebels