MANILA (May 12) -- Unsettled by fresh reports of illicitly recruited Filipino women trapped in prostitution dens in Ivory Coast and Malaysia, Cotabato Rep. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza is batting for new legislation that would enlarge the list of persons that may be held criminally liable for white slavery.

"We are definitely endorsing a measure that will not only expand the list of individuals that may be held accountable for white slavery, but also bump up the punishment for the felony," Taliño-Mendoza said.

HONG KONG (May 6) -- Three Filipino guests at the Metropark Hotel in Wanchai were covered to seven-day quarantine operations imposed by Hong Kong health authorities, reports the Philippine Consulate General in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong’s Department of Health imposed, as a temporary emergency measure, a seven-day quarantine on its reported first case of H1N1 human swine flu at Metropark Hotel on May 1. The H1N1 patient is a Mexican male who checked in at the hotel but later brought to the Ruttonjee Hospital after experiencing coughs, sore throat and other flu-like symptoms. The quarantine will last until Friday, May 8.

HONG KONG (Apr. 30) -- Ranked as the top among all Foreign Service Posts worldwide to have registered new applicants for the overseas absentee voting (OAV) for the Philippine National elections in 2010, the Philippine Consulate General (PCG) in Hong Kong continue to maintain its lead with a total of 5,753 registered as of Apr. 23.  Hong Kong PCG has been in the top spot since Feb. 26.

MANILA (Apr. 25) -- The number of Filipino nurses wanting to work in the U.S. declined by 10.5 percent in the first quarter of this year, the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) reported over the weekend.

TUCP secretary-general and former Senator Ernesto Herrera said a total of 4,194 Filipino nurses sought to practice their profession in America by taking the NCLEX for the first time from January to March. This was 492 fewer compared to the 4,686 that took the test for the first time in the same period in 2008.

OLONGAPO CITY (Apr. 25) – The average high-school freshman faces more challenges than you could probably count. It can be especially demanding for military children living in a foreign country. However, ninth-graders at E.J. King High School at Fleet Activities, Sasebo, Japan, are not your average freshmen.

MANILA (Apr. 23) -- Three is a crowd? Apparently not, if you were with the Arroyo clan which will be adding another member of its family to the House of Representatives.

MANILA (Apr. 23) -- In a fashion similar to e-mails sent to thousands of recipients in the U.S. or elsewhere, dubbed as the "Nigerian e-mail" in the late 90s, which informs recipients of available millions of dollars deposited in a Nigerian bank, a new sting has emerged and is now targeting overseas Filipinos.

Text messages are now being sent informing recipients that they have won prizes in raffles.

MANILA -- Philippine-flagged chemical tanker MT Stolt Strength, with 23 Filipino crew, has been released yesterday morning (Manila time), the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs has said.

The vessel is now under the command of Captain Abelardo M. Pacheco and is proceeding to safer waters.

CHINA (Apr. 22) – Hangzhou City plays host to the 2009 Philippine Culture Week which commenced on April 12.

The 2009 Philippine Culture Week features the exhibit “Experience Philippines @ Hangzhou” which runs from April 12 to 30 at the Hangzhou West Lake Expo Museum. It will also show performances of the world-renowned, Philippine Banda Kawayan (Bamboo Orchestra), at the Yongjing Park.

MANILA (Apr. 22) -- The number of new overseas absentee voters (OAVs) or registrants now stands at 50,122, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary and Chairperson of the Overseas Absentee voting Secretariat (OAVs) Rafael E. Seguis has announced.

NAGA CITY (Apr. 20) -- The restoration and rehabilitation of the Manila-Bicol line is being vigorously pursued and might be completed by the end of 2009 in time for the annual Penafrancia festival next September, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said during her visit here.

MANILA (Apr. 18) -- Release political detainees including Aung San Suu Kyi, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo urged Myanmar's Prime Minister Thein Sein when the two leaders met at the 14th ASEAN Summit in Pattaya, Thailand on April 10 reports the Department of Foreign Affairs.

MANILA (Apr. 18) -- Seventeen Filipino seafarers on board Greek-owned bulk carrier MV Titan have been released April 15, the Philippine Daily Mirror has learned. MV Titan was hijacked in the Gulf of Aden March 19.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed the report and said this development has reduced the number of Filipino seafarers in the custody of pirates to 105, involving seven vessels. Since 2006, about 227 Filipino seafarers have been released and repatriated.

ZAMBOANGA CITY (Apr 18) -– Andreas Notter, a Swiss national held captive by the Abu Sayyaf gunmen in the southern Philippine province of Sulu for more than two months was rescued early Saturday.  He was rescued by police forces and civilian auxiliaries as his captors tried to take him out of a police cordon.

The Mindanao Examiner, a Zamboanga-based regional newspaper reported that policemen and armed villagers led by Senior Superintendent Julasirim Kasim, police chief of Sulu, were guarding the area when they spotted Notter with a group of armed men. They pursued them until the gunmen were overpowered leaving the Swiss hostage behind.

INDIA (Apr. 16) -- Five Filipino college students were among the 50 youths from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) who were invited to take a study tour of India by the Indian Government and the Chamber of Indian Industries (CII).

MANILA (Apr. 15) -- It's becoming a continuing saga of blame, denials and one-upmanship.

Lately, government officials involved in the rescue of two abducted International Red Cross workers denied speculations that an arrest order has been to Sulu Vice Governor Lady Ann Sahidulla.

Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. said he is not aware of any order for Sahidulla's arrest, which earlier reports claimed prompted her to go into "hiding."

MANILA (Apr. 15) -- The minority bloc in the House of Representatives is determined to thwart moves for Charter Change dangled about in recent months.  Minority leader and San Juan City Rep. Ronaldo Zamora said he and his colleagues will raise questions at every stage of the debates and hearings on the resolution espoused by Speaker Prospero Nograles Jr.

MANILA (Apr. 11) -- In recognition of their dedication "to serve the Presidency and the Republic far beyond the call of duty," President Arroyo conferred to the eight victims of the ill-fated presidential chopper that crashed on Tuesday the Presidential Medal of Merit.

MANILA (Apr. 13) -- To attain peace and reconciliation in the country, Presidential peace adviser Avelino I. Razon Jr. has urged the Senate for the passage of a similar earlier approved by the Lower House granting amnesty to communist rebels.

Under Section 2 of Proclamation No. 1377, Razon said, amnesty "covers the crime of rebellion and all other crimes included therein or incident thereto in pursuit of political belief as defined by jurisprudence, whether punishable under teh Revised Penal Code or special laws."

DUBAI (Apr. 12) -- With a mission to promote and advance the protection and interest of the country's expatriate workers, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo arrived here following her shortened visit to Pattaya, Thailand where she attend the 14th ASEAN Summit.  The meeting of ASEAN leaders was cut short when demonstrators managed to enter the venue.