Facebook Post Saves Pinay from Abuse in Kuwait

KUWAIT CITY--A Filipina domestic worker who appealed for help on the social networking site Facebook was rescued from her Kuwaiti lady employer who slapped her several times, locked her up in her room and threatened to cut her fingers, reports ABS-CBN News. Rosemarie Sumali's Facebook post went viral and prompted Filipino netizens not only in Kuwait, but also across the globe to call the attention of the Philippine Embassy in Kuwait, which came to her rescue. Sumali is a 26-year-old single mother and native of General Santos City in Southern Philippines. 

PH Tourism Makes Double-Digit Gains

​Foreign visitor arrivals for the first four months of 2013 reached 1,649,458 million or a 10.12 percent increase from the same period in 2012, reports the Department of Tourism. The first four months represent 30 percent of the target arrivals for 2013, with the month of January yielding the largest volume of 436,079 visitors, and February generating the highest growth of 15.52 percent

Comelec Drops 'Intent to Return' Rule for Overseas Voters

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) dropped the "affidavit of intent to return" rule for overseas absentee voters following the amendment to Overseas Absentee Voting law that President Benigno Aquino III signed recently, reports GMA News. Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez in a statement Monday said the amendment would “allow countless Filipino immigrants to participate in Philippine elections.” He said the affidavit of intent rule has prevented absentee voters from exercising their right to vote.

Bruno Mars' Mother Dies

The mother of Grammy-winning singer Bruno Mars died of a brain aneurysm in a Honolulu, Hawaii, hospital Saturday, a Mars representative told CNN Sunday. Bernadette Hernandez was 55. Mars was born Peter Gene Hernandez in Hawaii 27 years ago.

Pinay to Represent Canada in Miss Universe '13

At first she "lost," and then she won. A day after a mix-up in the results of the Miss Universe Canada 2013 contest was corrected, a Filipina, Riza Santos of Calgary, Alberta, was declared Canada's entry in the Miss Universe 2013 pageant, reports GMA News.  During the validation of the computerized scoring results on May 26, a typo was discovered in the top five entries, which significantly changed the final results of the competition.

Two Pinay Navy Grads Get Diplomas from Obama

Two Filipinas, born on either side of the Pacific, were among this year’s graduates of the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, getting the rare honor of receiving their diplomas from President Obama, the US Command-in-Chief himself, reports ABS-CNN News. Christine Joy Jiao Layug of Oakland, Ca. was one of several Filipino-American graduates. On the other hand, Chinna Louise Eulogio Salio was the only Filipino graduate in Annapolis Class 2013. She was born in landlocked Mountain Province. 

PH Embassy Questions Shooting of Fil-Am Woman

The Philippine Embassy is questioning the use of deadly force against a Filipino-American woman who was fatally shot by police while handing out samples at a grocery store in Sterling, Virginia, reports Inquirer.net. Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. said “we share the concerns” expressed by the family of the victim, Mylene De Leon Scott, and the Filipino American community that police officers “may have responded with disproportionate force.” Scott, 38, was shot dead Wednesday (Thursday in Manila) by one of the police officers who responded to a reported disturbance inside the Costco Wholesale Store.

LA Times Writer Slams Boracay

If Boracay had been a first date, there wouldn't have been a second, reports Los Angeles Times writer Catharine Hamm. "We just weren't right for each other. I should have known that almost from the minute I arrived at the hotel," Hamm writes.