Canada Cancels Deportation Order for Filipina Migrant Rights Activist

Prominent migrant worker activist Georgina Gina Bahiwal learned Jan. 13 that Canada’s federal government has canceled the order for her deportation, reports Inquirer.net.

86% of PH Households Have No Bank Deposits

The number of Filipino households without bank accounts has risen, says the central bank's 2014 Consumer Finance Survey,, highlighting the challenges of weaning the public away from usurers.Eighty-six percent of households don’t keep money in banks, up from 78.5 percent in 2009. The study is conducted every four years, reports ABS-CBN News.

Pope Names First Filipino American to Lead a Diocese in US

Bishop Oscar Solis of Salt Lake City

Pope Francis has named an auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles -- Oscar Azarcon Solis – as the tenth Bishop of Salt Lake City, United States, reports Inquirer.net. 

Foreign Direct Investments Dropped 14% After Duterte 'Split' from US

On the month that President Duterte announced an economic separation with the US, a long-time economic and political ally, the net inflow of job-generating foreign direct investment dropped to a four-month low of $342 million, even as year-to-date FDI remained over a fifth higher than in 2015, reports Inquirer.net.

Filipino Is Among the World's Coding Elite

Kevin Atienza (Source: Kalibrr)

Kevin Atienza placed 25th globally in Google Code Jam 2015 and is currently #1 in Southeast Asia. Today, Kevin holds the #2 spot for Google Code Jam 2016. He is also one of the founding software engineers of Kalibrr, the software firm reports. To put that into context, he’s part of the top 0.15% coders in the world.

Fil-Am Lakers Fan Sinks Half-Court Shot, Wins $95K

Jerald Acoba, 30, from Tulare, California, basketball fan made himself $95,000richer by hitting a halfcourt shot during a Los Angeles Lakers game at Staples Center on Tuesday, reports GMA News, 

Amnesty Int'l -- PH Police May Have Comitted Crimes Against Humanity

Philippine police may have committed crimes against humanity by killing thousands of alleged drug offenders or paying others to murder as part of President Rodrigo Duterte's drug war, Amnesty International said last week, reports ABS-CBN.

PH Business Optimism Slides, Says Survey

The latest quarterly survey of audit and consulting firm Grant Thornton’s International Business Report shows that business optimism among developed Asia-Pacific economies fell 8 percentage points in the fourth quarter of 2016 to net -16 percent. Meanwhile, “the Philippines has been seeing a decline in optimism in 2016,” the firm said in a statement, reports Inquirer.net.