Marcos to discuss ‘evolution’ of PH-US military pacts with Biden

Biden next week, including the Philippines’ military agreements with the United States that need to “evolve” amid the changing geopolitical situations.

“We will clarify again, really, these treaty agreements between the Philippines and America and we will look into them because of the many changes [that have occurred],” the president said in a video interview over state-owned Radyo Pilipinas. Marcos particularly mentioned the 1951 Philippine-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty and the 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement. u PAGE 2

by Beatrice Pinlac Inquirer.net

THE Southern California Filipino couple who was assaulted while strolling and taking pictures near the California State Capitol last February vowed not to settle with their assailants to help discourage similar attacks from being perpetrated on other people.

Photographer Nicanor Nikki Arriola and his wife, Julienne Ochengco, made the decision after meeting with prosecutors.

The couple believes they are victims of a hate crime, as the attackers specifically targeted them, the only Asians among other tourists in the vicinity.

Ironically, Arriola had been covering the rise of anti-Asian attacks in California as a photojournalist particularly the case of the Roque family who were verbally and physically assaulted at a McDonald’s restaurant drive-thru in North Hollywood last year.

“What we are sure at the moment is that we will push through with the case,” Arriola

MANILA — Almost nine in every 10 adult Filipinos said they were satisfied with how democracy works in the country, according to a survey conducted by Social Weather Stations (SWS) more than six months after the 2022 elections.

Results of the Dec. 10-14 survey released last Friday night, April 21 showed that 89 percent of the respondents were satisfied with the country’s democracy, 11 points above the 78 percent recorded in a similar survey conducted in April 2021. The latest survey results surpassed the previous record of 86 percent, which was obtained in September 2016, a few months after that year’s presidential elections.

SWS explained that satisfaction with the way democracy works in the country often increases after national elections.

Previous records were set in September

MANILA — Sen. Imee Marcos has urged her brother President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to discuss in his nearing meet with United States President Joe Biden new terms and conditions should Manila and Washington extend the initial 10-year term of their Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).

A TOTAL of 1,715,757 foreign tourists have arrived in the Philippines from January to April 22 this year, the Department of Tourism (DOT) announced as it continues to welcome travelers amid the government’s efforts to ease some travel restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Of this number, an estimated 320,294 visitors came from the United States, it added. The agency has yet to provide complete figures of tourist arrivals.

Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco revealed the data during the recent launch of the agency’s “Bisita Be My Guest” or BBM-G program, a referral

LOS ANGELES — Hundreds of Filipino American travel enthusiasts and tourism industry players recently flocked to the official launch of the Bisita, Be My Guest (BBMG) program of the Philippine Department of Tourism (DOT).

This was the first-ever Philippine tourism fair of the Marcos administration in the United States after the two-year hiatus from the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. has consistently been on the top list of international travelers to the Philippines with about 500,000 arrivals in 2022.

Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco told reporters on the sidelines of the BBMG launch in Burbank on Saturday, April 22 that the current administration is optimistic that the U.S. market would continue to be one of the leading countries with the highest number of international arrivals to the Philippines.

“I am extremely delighted to know that the Philippines continues to be a top of line destination for our friends here in the United States. The United States has continued to be a very strong source market for us having been number one last year and number two (as of the first quarter of 2023) this year so we are very excited to welcome more of our Filipino and foreign friends to the Philippines,” Frasco said.

“Last year, it was the United States market that really sustained Philippine international tourism, having been number 1 and having garnered 500,000 international arrivals. As we have just