Saudi opens up 1m jobs for Pinoys, special hiring starts next month

SAUDI Arabia will be offering at least one million jobs to Filipino workers as it competes with its Middle Eastern neighbors for skilled manpower, the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) said Tuesday -- and as neighboring Kuwait shuts its doors to Manila.

DMW Secretary Susan Ople said there will be a special hiring program for Filipino workers with Saudi Arabian labor officials set to visit Manila next month to get it rolling.

Curiously, no Kuwaiti representative was present in the Asia-Gulf Cooperation Council Senior Officials Dialogue hosted by the Philippines at the Bonifacio Global City amid Manila and Kuwait’s row over visas for workers (see related story – Editors).

But the DMW said a Kuwaiti minister would try to catch up for the meeting’s last two days.

Ople earlier said the possibility of

NEW MUSEUMS. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza AranetaMarcos and their son, Simon, lead the opening of two Malacañang museums, Bahay Ugnayan and Teus Mansion, on Tuesday. Bahay Ugnayan features Marcos’ “Road to Malacañang,” while the Teus Mansion showcases the vibrant and diverse history of Philippine presidents, housing an extensive collection of priceless memorabilia. Vince Lopez and Joey

Razon

By Charles Dantes, Rio N. Araja and Joel E. Zurbano

THE worst seems to be over as Typhoon “Betty” moves away from the Philippine Area of Responsibility, a disaster official said Tuesday. National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) spokesperson Bernardo

By Julito Rada and Vince Lopez

THE Marcos administration is working with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a study aimed at addressing the low value-added tax (VAT) efficiency in the country, the Finance Department said on Tuesday.

“We actually talked with the IMF and we asked them to conduct a study on where we can improve on broadening the tax base,” Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno said in a press briefing in Malacañang when asked about government measures to tackle low VAT efficiency.

Rafaelito Alejandro IV said the latest bulletin from the state weather bureau said Betty had already passed Batanes.

He added that there were no reports of major damage as a result of Betty.

“Based on the report we received, the effect was minimal compared to what we were projecting,” he