Category Archives: Travel

FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS ISSUE TRAVEL ADVISORY ON U.S.

December 5, 2015 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

SYDNEY, Australia (The Adobo Chronicles) – It is not uncommon for the U.S. State Department to issue travel advisories to Americans visiting or living in countries where there is violence, safety concerns, or terrorist threats. But it seems the tides have turned.

At least a dozen countries (and the number is growing) in Asia and Europe have issued travel warnings to their citizens to postpone if not altogether cancel their scheduled business or leisurely travel to the United States because of serious and credible concerns about their safety.

The Foreign Affairs Departments of these countries issued the travel warning following the latest mass shooting that killed 14 and injured scores of others in San Bernardino, California. It was the latest in a pattern of gun violence in the U.S., and was the 355th mass shooting for the year.

The foreign governments have indicated that their travel advisories will only be lifted if and when the U.S. Congress passes a comprehensive legislation banning assault weapons and instituting more stringent regulations on gun ownership.

Republican legislators and presidential candidates appeared unfazed by the travel advisories, threatening instead to completely eliminate the U.S. visa waiver program which grants citizens of certain foreign countries a visa-free visit to the U.S. for business or pleasure.

Wall Street investors are now nervous about the impact of the travel advisories on their respective businesses and fear that another stock market crash is in the offing.

International, Media, Travel

TIME MAGAZINE’S PERSON OF THE YEAR IS NOT A PERSON, IT’S THE PHILIPPINES’ LAGLAG BALA SCHEME

December 2, 2015 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

ammo (1) NEW YORK, New York (The Adobo Chronicles) – Rumors have been circulating that Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders will be named Time magazine’s 2016 ‘Person of the Year.’

Well, those rumors can now be put to rest.

Time has announced that it has finally chosen its ‘Person of the Year.’ And it is not a person.

The magazine’s editors chose the laglag bala scheme that has dominated the tourism and travel industry for most of 2016’s third quarter.

Laglag bala (bullet planting) is a scheme at Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) whereby airport personnel plant bullets in bags and luggage of unsuspecting airline passengers as a way of extorting money.

The scheme, although minimized by President Aquino as “isolated,” has created a huge impact on travel and business not only in the Philippines but worldwide.

Because of the scheme, many travelers cancelled their business or leisure trips to Manila for fear of being victimized themselves. Those who had no choice but to fly into or out of NAIA had to resort to wrapping their luggage with plastic to avoid being targeted by the schemers. Even U.S. President Barack Obama who attended the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit meeting in Manila last month was advised by the State Department to wrap his briefcase with plastic upon arrival and departure from NAIA.

Time’s ‘Person of the Year’ profiles persons, groups, or things, that have had the most impact on world events for any given year.

Because of the scheme’s worldwide impact, the Philippine government even gave it a new international name — Airport Ammo Interception.

This is only the second time that a non-person was named by Time. The first was in 1982, when Time’s ‘Person of the Year’ was the computer.

Government, Media, Travel

PHILIPPINES’ PRESIDENT AQUINO, THE GREAT STATISTICIAN

November 24, 2015 Pol Pinoy Leave a comment

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – It’s all a matter of statistics.

Philippine President NoyNoy Aquino said the laglag bala (bullet planting) incidents at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) had been sensationalized, as there was only a small percentage—1,200 cases reported—out of the 34 million people who passed through the airport.

In recent weeks, several passengers had complained about airport security officials who allegedly found bullets in their luggage and had demanded money in exchange for being allowed to board their flight instead of being hauled to court . Most of the passengers claimed that the bullets had been planted in their luggage by the security personnel themselves.

In another development, Aquino said he remains confident that his anointed successor, former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, will win in the 2016 presidential elections, despite national polls showing Roxas behind frontrunner Senator Grace Poe and practically neck and neck with Vice President Jejomar Binay and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.

“Again, it is being sensationalized,” Aquino said of the polls. “The polls survey only a couple thousand respondents. Compare that to the Philippines’ total population of 100 Million! It’s not even a small drop in a bucket.”

What a great statistician, uhm, we mean statesman President Aquino is!