Tag: Taiwan

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

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

One of the victims rescued in Barangay BF Homes, Parañaque City, turned out to be a Taiwanese fugitive

One of the victims rescued in Barangay BF Homes, Parañaque City, turned out to be a Taiwanese fugitive

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In relation to what happened recently in Barangay BF Homes in Parañaque City, the local authorities just revealed that one of the victims rescued turned out to be a Taiwanese citizen who has been wanted in her homeland for fraud, according to a Manila Bulletin follow-up story. In their previous report, the two victims of kidnapping were described as Chinese nationals.

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

One of the two foreigners who were rescued by operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Group (AKG) during a raid in Parañaque City on Feb. 26, turned out to be a fugitive wanted in Taiwan for fraud.

AKG director Brig. Gen. Ruldolph Dimas said they discovered that Li-You Ci is a Taiwanese and is wanted at the course of the investigation after the rescue operation in Parañaque City where three of his captors were killed in a brief gunbattle.

“We immediately served the arrest warrant for her after verification. Documentation will be undertaken prior to her turnover to the Bureau of Immigration for the deportation proceedings,” said Dimas.

Li was kidnapped by a group of Chinese armed men in Pasay City. She was then kept in a safe house of the suspects while negotiations for her release were being conducted.

The warrant of arrest was issued by the Taiwan Kinmen District Prosecutors Office and was served on March 1,

The AKG, however, could not provide details as to why Li is (being) sought by Taiwanese authorities.

The above report ended stating that despite this strange turn of events, the filing of the case for kidnapping will still push through.

Let me end this piece by asking you readers: What do you think about this latest news development? If you are a resident of Parañaque City, are you concerned that houses within your local community occupied by foreigners could have fugitives and other criminals in hiding?

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 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. 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/

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

HOT STAR Large Fried Chicken in Alabang

HOT STAR Large Fried Chicken in Alabang

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If you are looking for fried chicken to eat here in South Metro Manila, there are plenty of places to find them such as Jollibee, KFC, Popeyes and McDonald’s among the many restaurants. You can even find fried chicken meals served in convenience stores like Ministop, 7-Eleven and FamilyMart. Rest assured the mentioned business joints provide a lot of fried chicken whenever you are in Las Piñas, Parañaque and Muntinlupa.

There is one food joint that stand out among them all – HOT STAR Large Fried Chicken Philippines. With its newest branch located inside Festival Mall in Filinvest City, Alabang, HOT STAR is making a comeback here in South Metro Manila. Previously they had a branch along Presidents Avenue, Barangay BF Homes in Parañaque City and I ate there a number of times while they lasted. That particular branch closed down a few years ago so it was nice to see them open a new one in Alabang (note: their space is shared with Dakasi).

The commercial space of HOT STAR with Dakasi.

For the newcomers reading this, the HOT STAR business started in Taiwan and has overseas branches. They are best known for selling the 12-inch fried chicken which has a nugget-like shape but really large and quite filling.

At their Festival Mall branch, I had two stops there. The first time I was there, I joined the line to order myself a meal composed of their signature 12-inch fried chicken (referred to as the Signature XXL Chicken), rice and a drink. When asked for what type and what flavor the chicken should be, I chose the original type flavored with salt and pepper. Soon enough I got served and went to a vacant table.

The 12-inch signature fried chicken of HOT STAR.

Looking at the 12-inch original, salt-and-pepper fried chicken, it really was exactly as I remembered what was served to customers at the previous branch in BF Homes. It was also a bit challenging to cut into pieces given its formation and texture, so there were moments when I had to take the chicken by hand and pull it apart before trying to cut it into pieces with the plastic utensils.

As before, the 12-inch signature fried chicken is pretty tasty on its own. It was tasty enough, I did not bother to use any condiments. What is also notable about it is that it sure has a lot of content of chicken meat to consume. In fact, it was more than enough to fill the stomach. While this might sound unusual to you, this is pretty normal given my previous dining experience at HOT STAR BF Homes. That being said, I had a tasty and really satisfying meal there at HOT STAR Filinvest.

A few weeks later, I returned to the Festival Mall branch mainly to take home one of their newer foods – the Cheese Bomb. After driving home with the chicken from the mall, I got home and placed it on a plate.

This is what the Cheese Bomb looks like on the outside.

On the surface, the Cheese Bomb fried chicken has a different shape compared to the signature fried chicken. It looked ordinary on the outside but it is the cheese content inside the makes the big different not only in terms of content but also on flavor. As I ate the Cheese Bomb, I really felt that fine combined taste of fried chicken and cheese in my mouth and it only made me want to keep consuming until it all ran out. I got my money’s worth.

The cheese of Cheese Bomb exposed.
A closer look at the Cheese Bomb. The cheese itself is tasty.

To put it in short, I can say that the 12-inch signature fried chicken and the Cheese Bomb were both well cooked by HOT STAR Festival Mall and were properly prepared. It is notable that the two fried chicken variants were pretty flavorful respectively which shows that the cooks made them with the utmost care for me. As such, I highly recommend the 12-inch signature fried chicken and the Cheese Bomb to anyone who loves fried chicken. I got my money’s worth and so should you.

So if you happen to be in the Alabang area and you crave for fried chicken, you should visit HOT STAR at Festival Mall. They are on the ground floor level of the mall. Keep in mind that HOT STAR has several other types of food to offer such as spaghetti, rice bowl meals, burgers and fries, and chicken wings to name some. HOT STAR is a standout among the sellers of friend chicken here in South Metro Manila.

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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 distorted views, NO to reckless publishers, and NO to sinister propaganda when it comes to news and developments. For South Metro Manila-related community developments, engagements, commerce and other relevant updates, visit and join the South Metro Manila FB group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/342183059992673

Rotary Club Taiwan and Muntinlupa City Government Donate Two Hemodialysis Units to Ospital ng Muntinlupa

Rotary Club Taiwan and Muntinlupa City Government Donate Two Hemodialysis Units to Ospital ng Muntinlupa

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(From left to right) Mayor Jaime Fresnedi and Ospital ng Muntinlupa director Dr. Edwin Dimatatac received the donation from Rotary Club of Muntinlupa North IPP Avelet Bautista and Perfect Vision President (PVP) Catherine S. Lopez. (source – Muntinlupa City PIO)

Yesterday, the Rotary Club of Taoyuan North District 3502-Taiwan and Rotary Club of Muntinlupa North District 3830 have donated two hemodialysis units to Ospital ng Muntinlupa. City Mayor Jaime Fresnedi expressed his gratitude to Rotary for the donation and noted it will augment the city’s health services amid the pandemic. Present during the ceremony were Rotary Club of Muntinlupa North IPP Avelet Bautista, Perfect Vision President (PVP) Catherine S. Lopez, Rotary Club of Muntinlupa North PVP Chito Ruiz, KC Costiniano, Ms. Rose Morada and PE Meo Quintana.

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Latest City Government of Muntinlupa details sourced from their official media release. Some parts were edited for this website.

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, NOT to distorted views and NO to sinister propaganda when it comes to news and developments. For South Metro Manila community developments, engagements, commerce and updates, visit https://www.facebook.com/groups/342183059992673

Chachago BF Homes Branch at Noah’s Place Inaugurated and Serving Customers

Chachago BF Homes Branch at Noah’s Place Inaugurated and Serving Customers

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There was an atmosphere of excitement, confidence and enjoyment at the ground floor of the commercial building Noah’s Place along Aguirre Avenue, BF Homes subdivision, Parañaque City on the morning of Friday (June 7, 2019) as the newest branch of Chachago Philippines (stylized as Chachago 茶茶GO Philippines) had its grand opening complete with a ribbon cutting graced by the directors of the BF Parañaque Entrepreneurs & Business Club, Inc. (BFPE&BCI), some local community stakeholders and the City Government of Parañaque.

 

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The counter and the nice interior of Chachago BF Homes branch.

The ribbon cutting had notable guests such as Quezon Province Board Member Beth Sio, BFPE&BCI president Don Muñoz, Joseph Zamora, Parañaque City’s Social Services Office & Public Information Office OIC Mar Jimenez, Cathy Seguismundo (BDO), Frank Vida, Joseph Noy Patino, Erwin Sio (Chachago BF Homes owner), Aileen Muñoz, Jereny Uy (Chachago Philippines) and Valerie Sio (Chachago BF Homes owner).

What is Chachago? The company describes their was created to raise public awareness of quality beverages; not just on the ingredients but also educating individuals about the way of drinking tea. They added that the love for Taiwan’s food and milk tea was how their business came to be.

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From left to right were: Quezon Province Board Member Beth Sio, BFPE&BCI president Don Muñoz, Joseph Zamora, Parañaque City’s Social Services Office & Public Information Office OIC Mar Jimenez (holding scissor), Frank Vida, Joseph Noy Patino, Erwin Sio (Chachago BF Homes owner), Aileen Muñoz, Jereny Uy (Chachago Philippines) and Valerie Sio (Chachago BF Homes owner).

The place has a nice interior as well as WiFi. The seats are comfortable and there is a lot of space to accommodate families or groups of friends. The place looks also ideal for people who enjoy drinking indoors while spending time browsing on their smartphones or doing work with their laptops. I enjoyed my fresh orange drink as I sat in comfort talking with Mar Jimenez (who represented Mayor Edwin Olivarez), BFPE&BCI president Don Muñoz and vice president Frank Vida.

Chachago has a nice selection of beverages to suit the tastes of customers. I noticed that the large-sized drinks really come with a lot of content and the guests who availed of it clearly enjoyed them.

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Fruit tea, milk tea, lattes, ice cream special, food and more!

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Customers at the other part of the branch. There are even more tables and seats outside (partially seen here). There is also free WiFi.

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Parañaque City’s Social Services Office & Public Information Office OIC Mar Jimenez and BFPE&BCI president Don Muñoz.

To get some insight about the business, I approached Chachago BF Homes branch co-owner Erwin Sio for his opinion and the local community. His wife Val is the other owner.

“Whenever we’re in the south, BF Homes has always been our go to place for food, for its wide selection of restaurants. However our nights usually end early, because after dinner, there are a limited milk tea places to hang out at,” said Erwin Sio, “We want Chachago BF Homes to be a place where friends and families meet and hang out as they enjoy their delicious milk teas.”

Sio added that milk tea places are normally small that only provide customers ample room to buy their drinks, then leave to make way for other customers. He and his wife came up with the idea of establishing a place where people could really hang out. When the ground floor space of Noah’s Place became available, the Sio business couple immediately grabbed it and led to establishing the BF Homes branch of Chachago Philippines.

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Chachago beverages that customers can choose from.

If you are looking for milk tea or other special beverages within BF Homes subdivision, there is Chachago at Noah’s Place along Aguirre Avenue.

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. Also my fantasy book The World of Havenor is still available in paperback and e-book format. 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 as well. Also please feel free to visit my Facebook page Author Carlo Carrasco and follow me at HavenorFantasy@twitter.com

 

 

 

 

Asian Games Triathlon Gold Medalist Banners Large Field in 2019 NTT ASTC Subic Bay International Triathlon (SuBIT)

Asian Games Triathlon Gold Medalist Banners Large Field in 2019 NTT ASTC Subic Bay International Triathlon (SuBIT)

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Asian Games Triathlon Gold Medalist Banners Large Field in 2019 NTT ASTC Subic Bay International Triathlon (SuBIT)

Pasig City, Philippines – April 20, 2019 – Japanese Jumpei Furuya, 2018 Asian Games triathlon gold medalist, banners a large field of   foreign hopefuls vying for qualifying points in the 2019 NTT ASTC Subic Bay International Triathlon (SuBIT) Asian Cup set for April 27 and 28.

Furuya, currently ranked no. 43 in the world and champion of last January’s NTT ASTC Asian Cup event in Rayong, Thailand will be backstopped by 13 other Japanese triathletes.

Poised to crowd out the Japanese are China’s sextet and Hong Kong’s large contingent–33 entries spread over the Elite, Junior and Super Sprint Distance Categories.

Supported by Philippine Sports Commission (PSC,) NTT, Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), Standard Insurance, Asian Centre for Insulation Philippines (ACIP) and Pocari Sweat, SuBIT lured over a hundred foreign entries.

Chinese Taipei had entered 18, Korea 16, Macao 10, Singapore nine, Syria six and Thailand four.

Not to be discounted in the 1.5-kilometer swim, 40-kilometer bike and 10-kilometer run Elite competition are both the pair of Australians and Palestinians and a sole Canadian.  

According to Tom Carrasco, Triathlon Association of the Philippines (TRAP) president, John Chicano will spearhead the Philippine challenge along with Kim Remolino even as Filipino-Spanish Fer Caseres is seen to spring a surprise in his quest for a slot in the Team Philippines for the SEA Games in December.

In the distaff side, 2017 SEA Games medalist Claire Adorna, Asia Games veteran Kim Kilgroe and fast rising JC Abad are the country’s best bets.

Overall, close to 800 foreigners and locals will see action in the annual event organized by the TRAP in cooperation with the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Tourism Department.

For more information, visit Triathlon.org.ph or send email at trapsecretariat@gmail.com.