San Jose, California Names Park in Honor of Filipino Pioneers

SAN JOSE, California –A new community park in this city will be named “Delano Manongs” to honor the city’s Filipino American community and its role in the fight for farm workers’ rights (See Inquirer.net for story).

PH Banks' Bad Loans Hit 11-Year High

The asset quality of Philippine banks further deteriorated for the second straight month in February as the industry’s gross non-performing loan (NPL) ratio rose to 4.08 percent, the highest in more than 11 years due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) (See Philstar.com for story).

PH Gov't: Brace for Midyear Covid-19 Surge

Vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr. yesterday warned the public to brace for another surge in COVID-19 infections by June or July (See Philstar.com for story).

Fil-Am Chef to Be Among First to Serve Vegan Spam

Chef Reina Montenegro (right) and OmniPork’s vegan spam.

Fil-Am chef Reina Montenegro’s new vegan restaurant Chef Reina in Brisbane, CA will be one of the first places in the United States to serve OmniPork’s vegan spam, a plant-based copycat of Hormel’s SPAM (See Vegan News for story).

PH Added to UK's Covid 'Red List' - Travelers Must Pay for 11 Nights Hotel Stay

The UK government has announced hotel quarantine plans for Britons returning from high-risk or “red list” countries to stop new coronavirus variants entering England. As of 4am on 9 April, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines and Kenya were added to the “red list.” Those quarantined must £1,750 for 11 nights of hotel stay (See the Independent for story).

Pinoy Tricycle Roaming San Francisco's Streets

A Philippine tricycle was spotted in the US recently, making history by becoming the first trike to cross the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge along with 60 Filipino American motorcyclists. With its remarkable jeepney-like features and the built-in karaoke blasting OPM hits, the trike served as an accent to the iconic bridge that grabbed the attention of anyone who saw it (See Manila Bulletin for story).

Attack on PH in S. China Sea Will Trigger U.S. Mutual Defense Obligation - State Dep't

“An armed attack against the Philippines’ armed forces, public vessels, or aircraft in the Pacific, including in the South China Sea, will trigger our obligations under the US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters (See Inquirer.net for story)..

PH Covid Cases Now More Than 800,000

The country’s total COVID-19 caseload exceeded 800,000 after the Department of Health (DOH) logged 8,355 new infections on Monday (See Inquirer.net for story).