Government critics, independent observers and stakeholders in the tourism industry are one in blaming the country’s lackluster tourism performance on several factors.

More Chinese tourists in 2026

Since the time of sleepy Joe Biden (that’s how Trump calls his predecessor) and even during the first Trump administration, US officials were so used to promising “ironclad” support for the Philippines, especially in case of conflict in both sides of the Indo-Pacific, as mandated by our Mutual Defense Treaty, circa 1951.

Looking for ‘ironclad’ assurances

After the audacious and illegal kidnapping of Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro, which the United States president claimed was effected in pursuance of American law enforcement policies, Donald Trump has effectively lost his moral ascendancy before the community of nations.

International law is nothing to Trump 

Lawyer Lorenzo “Erin” Tañada III may be remembered as the fighting human rights advocate who authored the first bill on Universal Health Care (UHC) when he was a congressman.

Tañada’s PRC complaint given due course

Like a broken record, Jay Tarriela has always characterized China's action in the South China Sea as coercive, aggressive, illegal, bullying, etc.

Jay's confirmation bias and SCS truth 

Ambassador Jing Quan, a career diplomat in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, has just started his tour of duty in the Philippines, and it is fitting that we welcome him with the same warmth and enthusiasm previously given to his predecessor, Ambassador Huang Xilian.

Welcome, Ambassador Jing Quan

Last Friday, at 1:34 am, another incident happened in the South China Sea, wherein a foreign cargo vessel, later identified as Filipino, capsized at 55 nautical miles northwest of China’s Huangyan Dao (Panatag shoal).

China’s humanitarian rescue continues

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. did the right thing by assuring that he will not declare China's ambassador to the Philippines Jing Quan persona non grata.

Marcos did the right thing 

Whenever people talk about tourism in the Visayas, or in the Philippines as a whole, Boracay is always mentioned as the primary destination.  Especially among tourists.

Time to scale up E. Visayas tourism

Imagine that.  Filipinos who are of working age, qualified and willing to work, remain jobless as of the end of December.  They number around 2.26 million.

2.26 M Filipinos are jobless

VIEW FROM CALUMPANG Column Diego Cagahastian and Raffy Sarnate

VIEW FROM CALUMPANG

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