Tag: Malaysia

John Chicano wins Powerman Malaysia 2024 elite male duathlon gold medal, teammates win medals for Philippines

John Chicano wins Powerman Malaysia 2024 elite male duathlon gold medal, teammates win medals for Philippines

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UPDATED June 11, 2024 – Actual race distance clarified to me by John Chicano and verified with Powerman Malaysia’s website. The official distance of the Elite Male contest is 10 Km run – 60 Km bike – 10 Km run. The Manila Bulletin got the race distance wrong.

Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) multi-medalist John Chicano led the Philippines to the top of the Powerman Malaysia 2024 by winning the gold medal of the Elite Male contest yesterday which was an improvement over last year’s race, according to a Manila Bulletin sports news report. Chicano also has teammates who won medals as well. The official results can be viewed by clicking here.

To put things in perspective, posted below is the excerpt from the sports news report of Manila Bulletin. Some parts in boldface…

John Chicano avenged his runner-up finish last year by capturing the gold medal in the 2024 Powerman Malaysia duathlon race in Dataran Putrajaya over the weekend.

Chicano, a double gold medalist at the 2019 Southeast Asian Games, navigated the 10-kilometer run, 40km bike, 5km run endurance race with a time of 2 hours, 41 minutes and 48 seconds to beat teammate John Patrick Ciron and dethrone last year’s champion Moysan Malo of France.

Ciron settled for the silver medal with a time of 2:47:15, while Malo crossed the finish line a few seconds later with 2:47:34 to settle for the bronze medal.

After checking in the same time with Ciron in the first run leg, Chicano slowly pulled away in the bike leg and led by five minutes heading into the final run leg. He maintained his pace to finish two minutes faster than his previous time last year.

In the distaff side, Merry Joy Trupa bagged the bronze medal after clocking 3:19:17 behind gold medalist Rendy Williams of the United States, who timed 3:09:34, and hometown bet Esther Joy Hong Li Chen, who finished with 3:13:35 for the silver medal.

For the newcomers reading this, John Chicano is one of the nation’s finest multisports athletes as he won multiple medals in SEA Games contests (including the gold medal in men’s triathlon in the 2019 SEA Games) before as well as local contests (click here and here). To get to know Chicano better, read my feature article of him by clicking here.

For Philippine triathlon updates, click https://www.facebook.com/TriPhil

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at  @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

Philippines achieves 5.7% economic growth in 1st quarter of 2024

Philippines achieves 5.7% economic growth in 1st quarter of 2024

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Recently it was confirmed that the economy of the Philippines grew by 5.7% in the first quarter of 2024 which is noticeably lower than what was achieved in the same time period a year ago, according to a Philippine News Agency (PNA) news article.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the PNA news article. Some parts in boldface…

The Philippine economy grew by 5.7 percent in the first quarter of the year, surpassing other major economies in the region.

In a briefing on Thursday, National Statistician Dennis Mapa said the economic growth during the quarter was higher than the 5.5 percent seen in the last quarter of 2023.

Mapa said, however, it was lower than the 6.4 percent economic growth seen in the first quarter of last year.

National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan noted that the Philippine economy continues to demonstrate resilience and growth despite the domestic and external headwinds.

“Despite our challenges on both domestic and international fronts, our economy continues to demonstrate remarkable resilience and growth. This performance retains the country’s position as a leading force among Asia’s emerging economies,” he said.

Balisacan said the first quarter Philippine gross domestic product growth rate is about the same as Vietnam’s, and surpassed other major economies such as China at 5.3 percent, Indonesia at 5.1 percent, and Malaysia at 3.9 percent.

All major economic indicators which include agriculture, forestry, and fishing; industry; and services posted year-on-year growth in the first quarter at 0.4 percent, 5.1 percent, and 6.9 percent.

Household final consumption expenditure and government final consumption expenditure posted lower growth rates at 4.6 percent and 1.7 percent from a year ago’s 6.4 percent and 6.2 percent.

Balisacan said the slowdown in household spending was due to the elevated prices of major food items and the heat wave.

“Meanwhile, government spending also slowed down, primarily due to the sliding of a large amount of expenditure to April this year, whereas the government made such spending in March last year,” he said.

Gross capital formation also posted a lower growth of 1.3 percent from 12.8 percent last year, while imports of goods and services also slowed to 2.3 percent from 4.2 percent.

Growth of exports of goods and services, however, accelerated to 7.5 percent from 1.1 percent in the first quarter of 2023. Balisacan said the growth in exports was mainly driven by the recovery in the exports of electronics products.

Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this recent development? Do you think the national economy will be able to grow at least 6% in each of the next three quarters? Is it possible that the intense summer heat will make 2nd quarter economic growth smaller?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at  @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

Moody’s Ratings sees the Philippines becoming the 2nd fastest growing Southeast Asian economy this year and in 2025

Moody’s Ratings sees the Philippines becoming the 2nd fastest growing Southeast Asian economy this year and in 2025

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For this year and 2025, Moody’s Ratings projects the Philippines will end up as the 2nd fastest growing economy in Southeast Asia, according to a BusinessWorld news report.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the BusinessWorld news report. Some parts in boldface…

THE PHILIPPINES is projected to be the second-fastest growing economy in Southeast Asia this year and in 2025 as domestic demand is expected to remain resilient, according to Moody’s Ratings.

“We have kept unchanged our 2024 and 2025 forecasts for the Philippines and Malaysia and also expect sequentially higher growth in both countries. Domestic demand remains the primary economic growth engine for the Philippines,” it said in a report.

Moody’s Ratings kept its forecast for gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the Philippines at 5.9% this year and 6% in 2025.

However, these projections fall short of the government’s growth targets of 6.5-7.5% for this year and 6.5-8% for next year.

At 5.9%, the Philippines has the second-fastest projected growth in Southeast Asia for 2024, after Vietnam (6%). It is ahead of Indonesia (5%), Malaysia (4.5%) and Thailand (2.8%).

For 2025, the Philippines is again expected to post the second-fastest growth behind Vietnam (6.5%) but ahead of Indonesia (5%), Malaysia (4.8%), and Thailand (3%).

Moody’s Ratings said that growth in domestic demand-driven countries like the Philippines is “increasing more than we previously expected.”

The economy grew by a weaker-than-expected 5.6% in 2023, slower than the 7.6% expansion in 2022 and short of the 6-7% government goal.

Household consumption typically accounts for three-fourths of the Philippine economy. Last year, household spending expanded by 5.6%, much slower than 8.3% in 2022.

Meanwhile, Moody’s Ratings sees inflation averaging 3.8% this year, higher than the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) 3.6% full-year forecast but within the 2-4% target.

Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this recent development? Do you think that strong household consumption alone can help the Philippine economy grow stronger than what Moody’s Ratings projected for 2024 and 2025?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at  @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

Philippines attracts 5.45 million international visitors and generates P482.54 billion in revenue in 2023

Philippines attracts 5.45 million international visitors and generates P482.54 billion in revenue in 2023

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The success of the Philippines attracting visitors from overseas and generating the related revenue in 2023 has finally been confirmed by the newly released numbers from the Department of Tourism (DOT): 5,450,557 international visitors and P482.54 billion (US$8.7 billion according to the foreign exchange rate of January 2, 2024) in tourism revenue, according to a Philippine News Agency (PNA) news article.

For the newcomers reading this, the final 2023 statistics exceeded the declared targets of 4.8 million international tourists and US$5.8 billion revenue. For further comparison, the Philippines attracted 2.65 million international arrivals and over P200 billion in revenue for the year 2022. To say the least, 2023 is undeniably a successful year for Philippine tourism and it seems that the controversial blunder behind the “Love the Philippines” tourism campaign did not lead to a massive failure (which the enemies and haters of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr., have been dreaming of).

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the PNA news article. Some parts in boldface…

The Philippines welcomed a total of 5,450,557 international visitors in 2023, well above the 4.8 million target arrivals the Department of Tourism (DOT) earlier set for the entire year.

Of this number, 91.80 percent or 5,003,475 are foreigners while the remaining are 447,082 overseas Filipinos.

From January to Dec. 31, 2023, the country also generated an estimated PHP482.54 billion in international tourism revenue, more than double the receipts it recorded in 2022.

“My deepest appreciation goes to every tourism stakeholder, collaborative partner, and passionate contributor who propelled our shared aspirations forward. Under President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr.’s guiding vision and leadership, tourism has become a pivotal force driving our nation’s economic resurgence,” Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco said in a statement Tuesday.

“These numbers speak very well of the performance of the tourism industry under the Marcos Administration,” she added.

She said the DOT will continue its work to “realize the vision of this administration to make tourism a catalyst for economic growth and resurgence.”

More than a quarter or 1,439,336 of the arrivals came from South Korea, retaining its spot as the country’s main source of international visitors.

This was followed by the United States with 903,299 tourists (16.57 percent) visiting the country; Japan with 305,580 (5.61 percent); Australia with 266,551 (4.89 percent); and China with 263,836 (4.84 percent). Ranking sixth was Canada followed by Taiwan, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Malaysia.

Frasco said the 2023 visitor receipts also show that the tourism industry is “recovering faster than expected.”

The country’s 2023 international tourism receipts grew by 124.87 percent compared with the PHP214.58 billion estimated visitor receipts from 2022.

Before the pandemic in 2019, the DOT recorded PHP482.15 billion in international tourism receipts.

In 2023, the DOT’s marketing arm the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) generated PHP6.317 billion in total sales leads both from international and local business-to-business and promotional events.

While reintroducing Filipino destinations before the global tourism arena, the Philippines represented by Frasco last year was also elected Vice President of the 25th General Assembly of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), a prestigious global position last held by the country more than two decades ago.

She was also elected as chair of the Commission for East Asia and the Pacific, allowing the country to host the Joint Regional Meetings of the Committee for East Asia and the Pacific and South Asia in Cebu in 2024.

The Philippines in 2023 bagged at least 15 travel and tourism honors from prestigious award-giving bodies in diving, beach, cruise, culinary, retirement, and Muslim-friendly tourism, “a testament that the Philippines is indeed an emerging tourism powerhouse.”

“The extraordinary journey of Philippine tourism in 2023 saw the world express its love for the Philippines with our country’s rise to global prominence as the World’s Leading Beach and Dive Destination, and Asia’s Best Cruise Destination, among many other accolades,” Frasco said.

“The indomitable spirit of the Filipino has been globally acclaimed with the Philippines receiving the Global Tourism Resilience Award with our country seen as a benchmark for innovation amidst trials and challenges,” she added.

By 2024, the DOT targets 7.7 million international visitors, around 500,000 lower than the country’s pre-pandemic arrivals of 8.2 million.

Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this recent development? Do you think the Philippines will be able to meet its declared 2024 target of 7.7 million international visitors and possibly generate between P600 billion to P700 billion in tourism revenue? Did anyone from the haters/critics of President Marcos and Secretary Frasco bother you to make you believe that Philippine tourism will fail because of the “Love the Philippines” campaign blunder that was so widely reported in the mainstream news media?

Going back to tourism, do you think the Philippines should have more international-level fashion shows, film festivals, worship conferences, food festivals, sports events and trade shows to make the nation more attractive to visitors from overseas?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at  @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

Philippines finally surpasses 2023 foreign tourist arrivals target

Philippines finally surpasses 2023 foreign tourist arrivals target

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Recently the Department of Tourism (DOT) announced that their set target of 4.8 million foreign tourist arrivals for 2023 has finally been reached and already hundreds of billions of Pesos have been generated, according to a Philippine News Agency (PNA) news report. To say the least, the foreign tourist arrivals-related numbers achieved by the Philippines this year is a tremendous improvement over what were achieved in 2022 and there are still a few weeks left before 2023 closes.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the PNA news article. Some parts in boldface…

The Philippines has recorded more than 4.82 million foreign visitor arrivals, including Filipinos based overseas, breaching its target even before year end, Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Christina Frasco said Tuesday.

DOT data show that as of Nov. 28, a huge chunk of foreign arrivals comes from South Korea with 1,275,887 foreign visitors and 4,231 overseas Filipinos for a total of 26.46 percent.

It is followed by the United States with 923,409 foreign visitors and 123,828 overseas Filipinos and Japan with 323,029 and 49,299 overseas Filipinos.

Other international arrivals in the top 10 come from Australia, China, Canada, Taiwan, Singapore, United Kingdom and Malaysia.

The foreign arrivals have brought PHP404 billion to the economy.

Citing a report by economic managers, Frasco said this manifests that Philippine tourism is the second highest driver of economic growth for the Philippines.

“This cements our position as one of the strongest pillars of the Philippine economy that employs no less than 5.35 million Filipinos in the tourism industry sector, ensuring jobs, livelihood, and the well-being of communities all over the country,” she added.   

Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What do you think about this recent development? Are you satisfied with what was accomplished this year with regards to foreign tourist arrivals and the related revenues? Are you confident that the Philippines is on-track to becoming a major tourism player in Asia by the year 2028? Do you trust the Department of Tourism more now that they were able to hit their 2023 targets already? Do you think foreign tourist arrivals here in the Philippines will reach the 5,000,000 mark before the end of the year? Could it be possible that the gains of Philippine tourism will help the nation achieve at least 6% economic growth this year?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at  @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

Another foreign fugitive found among those rescued in Las Piñas City raid

Another foreign fugitive found among those rescued in Las Piñas City raid

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The developments related to the recent raid in Las Piñas City continues to be surprising as another foreign fugitive was identified among those who got rescued by the police, according to a GMA Network news report. Take note that previously there were other foreign fugitives uncovered.

To put things in perspective, posted below is the excerpt from the GMA news report. Some parts in boldface…

Another Chinese fugitive was identified among the rescued workers from the raid in a Las Piñas City establishment in June, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said on Monday.

In a press briefing, PNP spokesperson Police Colonel Jean Fajardo said the fugitive was identified as one of the “big bosses” of the company that was raided by authorities over suspected illegal activities.

“Noong in-apply natin ang search warrant ay identified na po siya as one of the bosses po ng Hong Tai company,” Fajardo said.

(When we applied for a search warrant, he was already identified as one of the bosses of Hong Tai company.)

“Noong nag-background check na po ang embassy ay nalaman po natin, nagbigay po sila ng document na may warrant of detention na rin pala ito at lumalabas po noong chineck, isa pala siya doon sa mga big bosses ng company,” she added.

(We learned about it when the embassy conducted a background check and it gave us a document showing this person already has a warrant of detention.)

Four Chinese and three Taiwanese fugitives were previously discovered among the rescued workers. They were turned over to the Bureau of Immigration on July 7 for deportation.

On June 26, authorities implemented a search warrant in a compound in Las Piñas over an alleged human trafficking situation.

The police reported that 1,534 Filipinos and 1,190 foreigners were rescued from the raid.

According to Fajardo, authorities also discovered two minors — an Indonesian and a Malaysian — among the rescued workers.

On June 30, five Chinese suspects identified as Li Jiacheng, alias Li Jiachang, Xiao Liu, alias Xiao Lin, Yan Jiayong, alias Pan Wen Jie, Duan Haozhuan, and LP Hongkun, alias Li Yang, underwent inquest proceedings at the Department of Justice (DOJ).

But according to DOJ Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla, the five Chinese were ordered to be released due to lack of evidence.

Remulla slammed the PNP’s Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG), which spearheaded the raid, for supposedly failing to coordinate with the DOJ before conducting the raid.

The suspects’ lawyer, Atty. Christian Vargas, said the five Chinese nationals are still under police custody despite a release order from the DOJ.

Let me end this piece by asking you readers: If you are a resident of Las Piñas City, what is your reaction to this development? Are you feeling concerned that there could be even more foreign fugitives among the many employees of the raided POGO?  

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at  @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

For more South Metro Manila community news and developments, come back here soon. Also say NO to fake news, NO to irresponsible journalism, NO to misinformation, NO to plagiarists, NO to reckless publishers and NO to sinister propaganda when it comes to news and developments. For South Metro Manila community developments, member engagements, commerce and other relevant updates, join the growing South Metro Manila Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/342183059992673

Over 2,700 workers rescued in Las Piñas City

Over 2,700 workers rescued in Las Piñas City

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Recently in the city of Las Piñas, police officers rescued more than two thousand seven hundred employees – including several foreigners – after raiding a certain Philippine Offshore Gaming Operation (POGO) site in Barangay Almanza Uno, according to a Philippine Daily Inquirer report.

To put things in perspective, posted below is the excerpt from the Inquirer news report. Some parts in boldface…

As many as 2,714 people were rescued by police following a raid on a Philippine Offshore Gaming Operator (Pogo) firm in Las Piñas City early Tuesday morning.

The NCRPO Joint Police Task Force, led by Deputy Regional Director for Operations Brig. Gen. Jack Wanky and Anti-Cybercrime Group Deputy Director for Operations, Col. Villammor Tuliao, executed search and seizure warrants for computer data at a pogo hub on 501 Alabang-Zapote Road, Almanza Uno, Las Piñas City. According to the National Capital Region Police Office, the operation occurred at about midnight.

Police identified the owner, maintainer, facilitator, and manager of Xinchuang Network Technology Inc., formerly known as “Hong Tai,” as follows: Quiha Lui, Liangfei Chen, Jimmy Lin, and Abbey Ng.

Meanwhile, Xinchuang Network Technology Inc. incorporators include Danica Andres Mensah, Oliver Ong, Divina Trillanes, and Daisy Vidal Cidro.

The warrants were served for the alleged violation of the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act. Initial data from NCRPO showed that 1,528 Filipino workers were rescued.

Meanwhile, 600 of the rescued are from China, 183 from Vietnam, 137 from Indonesia, 134 from Malaysia, 81 from Thailand, 21 from Taiwan, seven from Nigeria, five from Singapore, five from Myanmar, four from Yemen, two from Pakistan, two from Africa, one from India, one from Somalia, one from Sudan, one from Cameroon, and one from Iran.

Let me end this piece by asking you readers: If you are a resident of Las Piñas City, what is your reaction to this development? Are you concerned that other POGOs located within your city could possibly be having abused workers kept secret from the public? Do you think that POGOs are somehow connected with local crime incidents?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at  @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

For more South Metro Manila community news and developments, come back here soon. Also say NO to fake news, NO to irresponsible journalism, NO to misinformation, NO to plagiarists, NO to reckless publishers and NO to sinister propaganda when it comes to news and developments. For South Metro Manila community developments, member engagements, commerce and other relevant updates, join the growing South Metro Manila Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/342183059992673

Philippines wins gold and silver medals across varied categories at the Powerman Malaysia 2023 Duathlon

Philippines wins gold and silver medals across varied categories at the Powerman Malaysia 2023 Duathlon

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Welcome back my readers and sports fans! The Philippines achieved victories in specific categories during the recent Powerman Malaysia 2023 Duathlon according to a Manila Bulletin sports news report reflecting the official race results published. The Filipino duathlete who won the silver medal in the Elite Men’s race was John Chicano who previously won medals in the Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games).

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the Manila Bulletin sports article. Some parts in boldface…

Merry Joy Trupa and John Chicano became the best performing Filipino athletes in the elite division of the recent Powerman Malaysia 2023 Duathlon race after clinching the gold and silver medals, respectively, held in Putrajaya.

Trupa ruled the women’s elite by a hairline by clocking 3 hours, 13 minutes and 34 seconds, beating teammate Rhia Stawicki (3:13:35) by one second. Yon Man Yun crossed the finish line six minutes later to grab the bronze in 3:19:16.

Reigning Southeast Asian Games champion Chicano, for his part, continued his strong showing in international tournaments with a silver-medal finish in the men’s side, timing 2:44:00 to settle behind eventual gold medalist Malo Moysan of France.

Moysan, a French Grand Prix and Spain Open Duathlon titlist, lived up to his billing and timed 2:40:45 for the gold medal.

Moysan and Chicano were head-to-head in the first run leg with the Filipino trailing only by mere seconds before the French duathlete gained a comfortable four-minute lead in the bike leg and never slowed down.

It was a 2-3 finish for Team PH after Maynard Pecson clinched the bronze with 2:49:17.

Meanwhile, other Filipino podium finishers include Jena Valdez, who won the gold in short distance female (15-17), and silver winners Aidanreed Mercado (short male 18-29) and Sophia Capistrano (short female 18-39).

Supported by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC), the Philippine team is competing in more events overseas. As I write this, there is a Philippine delegation set to compete in the 2023 Asia Triathlon U23 and Junior Championships in Japan. Watch out for more Philippine multisport updates right here!

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below and also please consider sharing this article to others. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. If you want to support my website, please consider making a donation. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at  @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco/.

Over 2 million foreign tourist arrivals in the Philippines counted as of May 12, 2023

Over 2 million foreign tourist arrivals in the Philippines counted as of May 12, 2023

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Even though new cases of COVID-19 grew significantly nationwide over the past several weeks, that did not stop the forward momentum for Philippine tourism as the Department of Tourism (DOT) confirmed that foreign tourist arrivals in the country surpassed the 2,000,000 mark as of May 12, 2023, according to a Philippine News Agency (PNA) news article. Take note that that total number of foreign tourist arrivals in the country for the year 2022 was at 2.65 million and it looks likely for the Philippines to exceed that figure before the year ends.

To put things in perspective, posted below is an excerpt from the PNA news article. Some parts in boldface…

The Philippines breached the two million mark in international arrivals for the first five months of 2023, surpassing last year’s baseline target.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) announced the good news over the weekend, citing the latest data of 2,002,304 international visitor arrivals from January 1 to May 12 that exceeded the entire 2022 target of 1.7 million foreign visitors.

“Notwithstanding the challenges and difficulties that our country faced, a pandemic and the various calamities that come into our shores, the good news is that these have done nothing to break the Filipino spirit or to diminish the beauty of the Philippines,” DOT Secretary Christina Garcia Frasco said in a news release.

“We’re very optimistic for the prospects in out country in terms of being a tourism powerhouse in Asia, anchored on the strength of our Filipino culture as well as the values of sustainability, resilience and global competitiveness.”

South Koreans made up almost a quarter of the total number of visitors with 487,502 (24.35 percent); followed by Americans with 352,894 or 17.62 percent; Australians, 102,494 (5.12 percent); Canadians, 98,593 (4.92 percent); Japanese, 97,329 (4.86 percent); Chinese, 75,043; Taiwanese, 62,654; British, 62,291; Singaporeans, 53,359; and Malaysians, 36,789.

Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What is your reaction to this recent development? Do you think that the Philippines will be able to attract the targeted 4.8 million foreign tourist arrivals by the end of this year?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

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Thank you for reading. If you find this article engaging, please click the like button below, share this article to others and also please consider making a donation to support my publishing. If you are looking for a copywriter to create content for your special project or business, check out my services and my portfolio. Feel free to contact me with a private message. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me on Twitter at  @HavenorFantasy as well as on Tumblr at https://carlocarrasco.tumblr.com/ and on Instagram athttps://www.instagram.com/authorcarlocarrasco

For more South Metro Manila community news and developments, come back here soon. Also say NO to fake news, NO to irresponsible journalism, NO to misinformation, NO to plagiarists, NO to reckless publishers and NO to sinister propaganda when it comes to news and developments. For South Metro Manila community developments, member engagements, commerce and other relevant updates, join the growing South Metro Manila Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/342183059992673

Could Cambodia and its foreign reinforcements ruin Southeast Asian sports?

Could Cambodia and its foreign reinforcements ruin Southeast Asian sports?

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Welcome back my readers and sports fans! As the 32nd Southeast Asian Games is about the end, there has been a lot of discussions online about SEA Games host Cambodia and the many foreigners it naturalized who helped them win gold medals in specific sports events. The controversy is only growing and there is concern that what Cambodia has done could potentially ruin Southeast Asian sports as we know it.

To put things in perspective, Cambodia’s naturalized French athlete Margot Garabedian won the gold medals in the Women’s Individual Aquathlon as well as in the Women’s Individual Triathlon. In the Men’s 5-on-5 basketball, Cambodia defeated Gilas Pilipinas 79-68 as they were reinforced by six American players who were naturalized.

Meanwhile, a New Straits Times published an article focused on Cambodia’s mockery of the sport of cricket as their own team has a mix of Indian and Pakistani players. To be more precise, there were 13 foreign-born cricket players on the Cambodian team. As such, the Malaysian Cricket Association (MCA) hopes that the SEA Games Federation and the Olympic Council of Malaysia will conduct a review of the tournament as we as the eligibility of all players representing different nations in the 32nd SEA Games.  

In relation to these developments, there were two other articles that tackled the controversy of Cambodia’s naturalized reinforcements from overseas. One from veteran sports analyst Quinito Henson and the other a New Straits Times piece.

To begin with, posted below is an excerpt from Quinito Henson’s analysis published by the Philippine Star. Some parts in boldface…

A rule to allow any player, with or without affinity, to represent a country on the basis of a passport has opened the floodgates for mercenaries to desecrate the spirit of sportsmanship at the ongoing SEA Games in Cambodia. The norm of enlisting only one naturalized player for a national basketball team is now out the window. The host country has spared no cost in trying to collect gold medals like they were for sale in the open market and foreign athletes who probably had never visited Cambodia before the SEA Games are shamelessly wearing the national colors for money.

Last January, POC president Mayor Bambol Tolentino disclosed Cambodia’s devious plan to recruit foreign athletes for the SEA Games. In the Philippines, it’s a process to naturalize anyone because the law requires approval from Congress and Senate. But in other countries, it’s like issuing a driver’s license without a test and the wait could be overnight.

The downside of loading up on naturalized players is they don’t compete for national pride. Take, for instance, Cambodia’s 3×3 women’s squad of four American tourists – 5-7 Brittanny Dinkins of University of Southern Mississippi (played in seven countries before landing in Phnom Penh), 6-1 Mariah Cooks of Washington State University, 5-8 Kim Hanlon of Stony Brook University and 5-9 Meighan Simmons of University of Tennessee. Cooks and Hanlon are Women’s Premier Basketball Association (WPBA) veterans while Simmons was New York’s third-round pick in the 2014 WNBA draft. After the imports lost to the Philippines, 21-20 in the semis, they showed no heart in bowing to Indonesia, 21-15 in the playoff for third. The gold medal was lost and the bonus that would’ve come with it so who cared for third place? They didn’t play for Cambodia, they played for themselves and a paycheck.

Posted below is the 2nd excerpt from Henson’s article…

Cambodian Joshua Bo Noung, who played high school basketball in the US, couldn’t land a spot on the national team because of the naturalized overload. “I am a little embarrassed for Cambodians,” he said. “Because this is not our way to resort to, not giving our own people a shot at competing. They resort to this for immediate success but they have to understand the pride in representing the people of Cambodia all around the world. Losing is part of learning to become better. Winning without integrity isn’t winning”.

In his analysis, Henson cut through the naturalization controversy and hit the key spots precisely. This raises questions about how Cambodia is implementing its very own sports development program and how far will they go to attract foreign athletes and naturalize them to boost their chances of winning in international sports events. After the SEA Games, will Cambodia have their naturalized reinforcements play for them in the Asian Games, the Olympics, and in the respective championship events in the sports of triathlon, basketball, cricket, and other sports?

More on those naturalized athletes, are they truly dedicated to Cambodia as their definitive nation with the long-term future in mind? How do they look at the homegrown Cambodian athletes who could not perform as great as them?

The next article to pay attention is from the New Straits Times which focuses more on ASEAN spirit affected by Cambodia and its naturalized athletes. Posted below is an excerpt from the article with some parts in boldface…

Hosts Cambodia’s conspicuous usage of foreign athletes at the ongoing Sea Games is not good for the Asean spirit.

This was stated by sports analyst Datuk Dr Pekan Ramli who pointed out that the objective of Asean is to strengthen unity among its 10 countries.

“Cambodia hiring imported athletes to win as many gold medals as possible does not strengthen the relationships among Asean countries,” he said today.

“Cambodia is too ambitious to win gold, they will do anything to finish among the top three in the medal tally.“

With five more days of the Sea Games remaining, Cambodia have bagged a whopping 56 gold medals and are second in the medal table to Vietnam who have 58 gold.

“Cambodia have set a precedent in the Sea Games that it’s okay to hire foreign athletes by giving them PR or citizenship for a short time to win medals,” said Pekan.

“In future other countries which are not strong in sports like Myanmar, Laos and Timor Leste will do the same when they host the Sea Games.

“This does not show true sportsmanship in sports.”

Cambodia is hosting the ongoing Sea Games for the first time, and more than half of its contingent are imports from countries like the United States, India, Pakistan, China and other nations.

Cambodia have raised eyebrows by fielding foreign athletes in cricket, hockey, basketball, volleyball, badminton and other sports.

Just imagine this. Cambodia’s all conquering 3×3 women’s squad consist of four “American tourists” — Brittany Dinkins, Kimberly Hanlon, Mariah Cooks and Meighan Simmons.

Pekan said there are no proper rules and guidelines in the Sea Games Federation that prohibit a country fielding foreign athletes.

“Basically the rules allow countries to take the opportunity to hire foreigners.

“Cambodia has spent a lot of money to host the Sea Games for the first time, and of course which host country does not want to win as many gold medals as possible?

“The government of Cambodia wants to please their people by showing that they can host the Sea Games and win a lot of gold. They also want to justify that they have spent the money wisely for the Games with good returns.

“And Cambodia is not the first country in the region that hire foreign athletes to win medals.

“Other countries have done it before. . Singapore have China-born naturalised table tennis players. A few athletes have dual citizenship, American and Filipino. Yet they are allowed to compete in the Sea Games.

“Look at our national football team, most of the players are naturalised players from other countries.

“We (Malaysia) have also given PR to foreign athletes to win medals in the Sea Games. Yuan Yufang is a China-born athlete who has won many gold in long distance and walk events in the Sea Games.

Let me end this piece by asking you readers: Do you think Cambodia and its naturalized athletes from overseas will ruin sports in the Southeast Asian region as we know it? When it comes to the aspect of granting citizenship to foreigners, do you think your country has sufficient laws that justify declaring foreign applicants as new citizens? How long do you think foreign applicants (for citizenship in your country) need to be living in the country before they qualify for citizenship? Does your country have a good sports development program that focuses on homegrown athletes?

You may answer in the comments below. If you prefer to answer privately, you may do so by sending me a direct message online.

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