CLARK FREEPORT – Exclusivity. Over commercialization. Discrimination against local traders. Insensitivity to the indigenous tribes.
These are but only the principal accusations leveled against the organizers of the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta here.
Traffic jams. Inconvenience to Freeport workers. Stalled deliveries of goods coming out of the factories and supplies going in. Missed flights at the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport.
These are but the indignant complaints leveled at the festival itself.
And then some more: Is Capt. Joy Roa, festival organizer, above the law? That is, exempted from government auditing regulations.
The Clark Development Corp. (CDC) is reported to have been providing Roa a subsidy of P3.5 million for the annual festival for a number of years now. It has also been alleged that no liquidation reports have been submitted by Roa to the CDC. And the CDC has been quiet about these allegations since they appeared in print here last year.
CAPAS, Tarlac- Almost five months after six people, including three tourists, were killed by rampaging waters on the slopes of Mt. Pinatubo, a Korean investor and the local government here have defied authorities by again offering treks to the volcanic summit and building new structures at the crater area.
Reynaldo Garcia, chief of the Environmental Impact Assessment Division of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) regional office said the EMB issued a “cease and desist” order to the Korean firm Pull Travel Destination Corp. (PDC) which operates a spa and the trekking project after the tragic accident on the slopes last Aug. 6.
The PDC was given permit by the Capas municipal government to operate in Barangay Sta. Juliana in this town where the trek to the crater starts, municipal tourism officer Marissa Velasquez admitted in a telephone interview. read more...
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In view of the recent spate of complaints lodged against unscrupulous travel agents for victimizing visa applicants to the United States in exchange for huge sum of money, the Department of Tourism deemed it necessary to issue a travel advisory on the proper procedures in securing a visa - the RIGHT WAY!
The travelling public is advised to heed the call of the US embassy not fall prey to the insinuations of travel agents that they have "contacts" at the embassy to effect the issuance of a visa. Any offer of visa assistance in exchange for a huge sum of money is illegal and fraudulent.
Here are the basic dot-it-yourself procedures in applying for a non-immigrant visa (e.g. tourist visa) as found in their website at http://manila.usembassy.gov. READ MORE...... read more...
HENRY SY: HE PEDDLED CHEAP AMERICAN SHOES IN THE 50s
Henry Sy runs the Philippines' largest retailer, but he operates his SM Group almost as if it were a family-owned corner greengrocery. Each week, the 80-year-old (estimated net worth: $1.2 billion), sporting his trademark Hawaiian shirt, gathers his six children at the company's warehouse-style offices near Manila's waterfront, where they oversee nearly every aspect of the business, from property deals to labor negotiations. On Saturdays, family members fan out to make firsthand inspections of their SM malls, department stores and supermarkets. (Source: TIME/CNN.COM) read more...
The much-loved and dependable local "sari-sari' (variety) stores will finally get a needed facelift, thanks to Microventure's pioneering "Hapinoy" project.
Inspired by the reliability of the Ministop stores, coupled with the mass appeal of Jollibee and the community work of Gawad Kalinga, the Hapinoy store is aimed not only at generating more income for the microentrepreneurs but also at "alleviating poverty" in the country.
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