Filipinos Among World's Most Optimistic Buyers -- Nielsen Survey

Filipino consumers remain among the most optimistic buyers in the world, tying with Indonesia for the number two spot behind global leader India, according to the latest Nielsen consumer confidence survey, reports Inquirer.net.

Jollibee Scouting for a $1B US-Based Company to Acquire

Jollibee Foods Corp, the Philippines’ largest fast food company, is scouting for a US-based fast food firm with a market value of at least $1 billion to acquire to boost revenues from outside its home base, reports the New Jersey Telegraph.

China Will Expand Reclamation in Disputed Area--Experts

Security experts believe China is pushing the region to the “brink of miscalculations” in the South China Sea with its expansive land reclamation in disputed territories, reports Inquirer.net.

More Filipinos Now Covered By Insurance

Nearly one out of every three Filipinos is now covered by insurance, as more than a fourth of the population has access to microinsurance, according to the Insurance Commission, reports Inquirer.net.

Black Market in Filipina Domestic Workers Emerges in UAE

Employers are paying exorbitant amounts of up to $4,600 (about Dh17,000) to get a Filipina housemaid from the black market in the midst of a de-facto ban by Manila authorities on their deployment to the United Arab Emirates, reports Gulf News.

Filipina Domestic Worker-Photog Wins Scholarship to NYU

Xyza Cruz Bacani (Source: Inquirer.net)

Filipina domestic worker in Hong Kong and talented documentary photographer Xyza Cruz Bacani, has been awarded the prestigious Magnum Foundation Human Rights scholarship to New York University,” the foundation announced January 21, reports Inquirer.net.

Young Fil-Am Is Director of New Film "Bonifacio"

Actor Robin Padilla with director Enzo WIlliams (Source: inquirer.net)

The director of the film "Bonifacio, Ang Unang Pangulo (Bonifacio, the First President)" is a young Filipino-American film student, Enzo Williams, who also helped write the script, reports Inquirer.net.

'Cops' in Diapers at Papal Mass; Real Cops Irked

(Source: interaksyon.com)

Hours before the papal Mass in Luneta on Jan. 18, groups of men, who looked liked police officers and traffic enforcers, were seen roaming Rizal Park wearing diapers without their pants on. The men were neither from the MMDA nor the Philippine National Police but were part of “a social experiment of Project Awesome Philippines,” reports Interaksyon.com. The national police denounced the activity.