Category Archives: Travel

Government, International, Law Enforcement, Music, Travel

PHILIPPINES’ BUREAU OF IMMIGRATION IMPOSES MARIJUANA BOND ON VISITING ONE DIRECTION BAND

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One Direction Band (Photo: band's Instagram page)
One Direction Band (Photo: band’s Instagram page)

MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles) – The Philippines’ Bureau of Immigration is requiring two members of the English-Irish band One Direction to post cash bonds of 200,000 pesos ($5,000 ) each, to be forfeited if they are caught using or promoting illegal drugs while in Manila for their concert this weekend.

Immigration spokeswoman Elaine Tan said Thursday that Immigration Commissioner Siegfred Mison required Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson to post the bond through their concert producer for their special work permits. The five-member band performs on March 21 and 22 at the Mall of Asia.

The Anti-Drugs Advocate group has called on the bureau to strictly scrutinize the band members’ permits following a video that circulated on the Internet of Malik and Tomlinson purportedly smoking marijuana.

When reached by The Adobo Chronicles for comment at London’s Heathrow Airport just before their flight to Manila, Malik and Tomlinson said “$5,000 is nothing compared to what we’re getting paid for our concert appearance, so it’s no big deal. It’s just a chunk of change.”

Tomlinson also assured their Filipino fans that they will not violate any ant-marijuana laws while in the Philippines. “We will not be smoking MJ before, during or after our concert. We will just bring enough supply of brownies to snack on. That way we will not get in trouble with the law for smoking MJ.”

The ‘brownies’ Tomlinson was referring to are the marijuana brownies — chocolate-flavored cookies infused with marijuana that are sold at Cannabis stores in the U.S. and Europe. There are no existing laws in the Philippines banning the eating of marijuana.

 

Business, International, Travel

‘BALIKBAYAN’ BOXES WILL NO LONGER BE ALLOWED ON INTERNATIONAL PASSENGER FLIGHTS TO THE PHILIPPINES

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balikbayan-box-shippingHONOLULU, Hawaii (The Adobo Chronicles) – Starting April 1 this year, Filipinos returning to or going on a holiday to the Philippines will no longer be able to bring balikbayan boxes on board international flights to Manila, Cebu and other destinations in the country.

Balikbayan boxes are those corrugated cardboard boxes that Filipinos pack with tax-free goods to bring back to loved ones in the Philippines. The goods range from designer shoes and clothing to cartons of canned foods, cigarettes and toiletries — mostly purchased from big box stores like Costco and Walmart.

During their annual convention held last weekend in Honolulu, members of the International Commercial Airline Association (ICAA), agreed to totally ban balikbayan boxes as a way to speed up check-in procedures at airports and to maintain universally-accepted weight limits on their aircraft.

The ICAA said that many of their airline customers have constantly complained about the long check-in lines at airport counters, notably for flights going to the Philippines, because of the large number of balikbayan boxes being checked in by Filipino passengers.  The long lines have caused many passengers to miss their flights.

The ICAA also said that flights to the Philippines are always up to the load limit for aircraft due to the heavy weight of the balikbayan boxes. Most balikbayan  boxes  exceed the 50-pound limit for checked in baggage. “It compromises airline safety,” an ICAA spokesperson said.

Overseas Filipinos will still be able to send back goods to the Philippines in balikbayan boxes but only through cargo vendors that ship via ocean vessels.  It takes an average of 30-45 days to ship from the U.S. Mainland to the Philippines.

 

 

International, Science and Environment, Travel

U.S. TO SCRAP DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME IN 2016

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Image: ABC News

WASHINGTON, D.C. (The Adobo Chronicles) – It’s hard enough remembering when to ‘spring forward’ or ‘fall back,’ but having to change your clocks twice a year can make your life off balance.  All because of this thing called ‘Daylight Saving Time (DST).’

It confuses Americans, considering that not all of the 50 states observe this ridiculous back and forth exercise, not to mention that they already have to deal with Pacific, Mountain, Central and Eastern time zones.

Well, think about the International Dateline, where countries east and west of this imaginary dividing line over land and water have to calculate the time and day differences between and among each other. 16 hours ahead. 9 hours behind. It’s already Tuesday here, and only Monday there.  And if you’re a frequent world traveler, it’s a constant nightmare!

Most people think that DST is an energy-saving measure in the United States. Wrong. In the U.S., Daylight Saving Time – or “fast time”, as it was called then – was first introduced in 1918 when President Woodrow Wilson signed it into law to support the war effort during World War I.

Despite DST, Americans still waste a lot of energy by constantly plugging in their smart phones to recharge, never turning off their desktop computers, indiscriminately turning on their heaters and airconditioners and constantly driving to the supermarket located three blocks away.

Workers are fashionably late during ‘spring forward,’ but are also late during ‘fall back.’ Travelers miss their flight connections, employees miss their morning staff meetings, and women (and men) show up late for their dinner dates. It’s an epidemic of total mess!

The U.S. government is fed up with all the complaints. So effective in 2016, it will totally scrap Daylight Saving Time. Permanently.  That means you just have to remember to adjust your clock one more time this fall. And remember  it’s ‘fall back!’

What do our readers think? Good riddance, or bad idea?