MANILA: Several ships were rerouted to the Balanacan Port in Marinduque on Tuesday due to an unexpected surge of passengers.

In a statement, Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) spokesperson Eunice Samonte said three ships were scheduled to arrive at the Balanacan Port from Lucena Port – the Starhorse, Montenegro, and M. Kristina.

The Port Management Office of Marinduque/Quezon (PMO-Marquez) has also coordinated with shipping lines to reroute additional ships and prioritize passengers at the Balanacan Port.

About 800 passengers were reported to have flocked to the port on Tuesday, much more than the traditional surge of passengers on Jan. 1.

At 5:30 p.m., she said, all passengers had boarded their ships and left the port.

She noted that due to fewer passengers on Monday, shipping lines rerouted their trips to Romblon from Balanacan Port, resulting in fewer ships being available on Tuesday.

She said such issues could be mitigated through the use of an online booking system and encouraged its adoption.

In it
s latest report, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) said 71,861 outbound passengers and 54,139 inbound passengers were monitored in all ports nationwide.

To ensure their safety, the PCG has deployed 2,700 front-line personnel to 15 PCG districts and has inspected 459 vessels and 1,342 motorbancas.

Source: Philippines News Agency

Bangkok: Thailand and China will implement a reciprocal visa-free scheme for their citizens, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said on January 2.

Following a cabinet meeting, the PM said that the permanent visa free scheme would come into effect on March 1, noting that travellers from the two countries will no longer be required to submit visa applications in advance for visits to each other’s countries.

The development was a progress from Thailand’s previous visa-free programme for Chinese visitors, which was initially scheduled to extend until February 29. At that time, relevant officials were also discussing the permanent and reciprocal visa-free initiative, the PM said.

About 3.42 million Chinese people visited Thailand last year, while Malaysians constituted the largest group, with around 4.4 million visitors. Chinese comprised the biggest group of visitors in prepandemic 2019, with 10 million.

Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara said he would visit China either this month or early February
to sign the permanent visa-free agreement./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

MANILA: A Pasay court has cleared three of five suspects nabbed by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in an entrapment last year for allegedly defrauding a government contractor.

Pasay Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 115 Judge Edilwasif Addiri ordered the dismissal of the estafa case against Dina Joson Castro, Ma. Luisa Barlan and Helen Remolador “for failure of the prosecution to present evidence to support a finding of probable cause.”

In its order dated Dec. 11 and shared online recently, the court ordered the NBI and the Quezon City Police District to release the three unless they are being held for other lawful cause.

However, the case against Ryan Dino (alias David Luis Tan) and Carlo Maderazo will proceed, ‘considering that the prosecution has provided sufficient evidence for a finding of probable cause for the commission of the offense of estafa.”

The charges involved a complaint filed by government contractor, Rodolfo Ambabag, who sought a supply contract for the Pasay Harbor Reclamatio
n Project.

The group, the NBI said, made representations of links with the office of a senator and urged the complainant to come up with a “lock-in payment fee” of PHP500,000 and an initial payment fee of PHP100,000 to secure the contract.

The five underwent inquest proceedings following the ‘Oplan Lambat (Net)’ operation by the NBI Anti-Organized and Transnational Crime Division on Nov. 20, 2023.

Tan and Maderazo were caught with PHP10,000 marked money.

Operatives then contacted a certain “Ate Dina New” and “Ellen” who messaged the two through their mobile phones, asking if the money have been obtained and ordering them to go to a meeting site.

In clearing the three, the court ruled that the phone messages “could not be interpreted to mean conspiracy between the accused without context” and that “the statements [have] many connotations and cannot be conclusively or logically believed (that the three) had knowledge of the transactions entered into by Tan and Maderazo.”

The court also noted that the pros
ecution did not submit screen copies or transcript of the alleged messages.

Meanwhile, defense counsel Vladimir Bugaring said Tuesday that the court order proved his clients had no participation in the alleged scam.

“Justice is in the air,” the lawyer said.

Source: Philippines News Agency

Da Nang: The cruise ship Westerdam with over 2,000 tourists and 781 crew members on board, mostly from the Netherlands, docked at Tien Sa Port in the central city of Da Nang on January 2.

There are also British, French, Italian, Danish, Hungarian, Australian, Canadian, US and Japan tourists on board.

This marks the first international cruise to visit the central city during the New Year.

Upon their arrival, the tourists were given flowers and gifts and treated to lion dance performances.

During their stay in Da Nang, they were scheduled to visit some tourist destinations, including Ngu Hanh Son Mountain, Linh Ung Pagoda, and the Cham Sculpture Museum.

The city received 22 international cruise ships with 18,000 passengers last year. It is expected to welcome 45 more ships with more than 40,000 travellers this year./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

MANILA: The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is planning to resume voter registration nationwide for the May 2025 midterm polls next month.

“Likely by the first week of February. It could be from February to September (2024),’ Comelec chairperson George Erwin Garcia said in a phone interview Tuesday.

The last voter registration period held in the country was from Dec. 12, 2022 to Jan. 31, 2023. Over 2.5 million applications were received nationwide during the period.

At the same time, the poll body chief noted the schedule of the voter registration period has yet to be finalized by the Commission en banc.

On Monday, the poll body also reminded overseas Filipinos to register as voters for the 2025 midterm elections.

Based on Comelec Resolution No. 10833, the filing period for overseas Filipinos started on Dec. 9, 2022, and will run until Sept. 30 this year.

Source: Philippines News Agency

Hanoi: A get-together for overseas Vietnamese in Malaysia to welcome New Year 2024 has been held by the Liaison Committee of Vietnamese People in Penang state recently.

Malaysia’s law on marriage and family, as well as the rights and obligations of Vietnamese labourers abroad, was the focus of the event, according to Nguyen Thi Thu Hong, head of the Liaison Committee of Vietnamese People in Penang state, Malaysia.

With more than 10,000 OVs, including up to 3,000 Vietnamese brides, Penang is the state with the largest number of Vietnamese people living and working in Malaysia.

In 2023, the committee helped more than 20 of those with difficult circumstances, even mistreated, tortured, and scammed. Therefore, within the get-together, the committee invited lawyer Tharumarajah to introduce the marriage and family law of the host country, the rights of Vietnamese brides, and the risks they can encounter if they do not register their marriage.

Participants were also updated on the rights and obligations of labou
rers working in Malaysia as well as the latest laws on health insurance, and compensation insurance for accidents and death.

Nguyen Ba Tan, second secretary in charge of the community from the Vietnamese Embassy in Malaysia, said the programme demonstrates the spirit of solidarity among the Vietnamese community in the country.

The Vietnamese community abroad is an inseparable part of the country and an important factor contributing to strengthening cooperation and friendship between Vietnam and countries around the world, he stressed./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency