MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte is known as a master strategist. He manages to always take the upper hand when negotiating with world leaders.
Today, Duterte sent a message to President-elect Joe Biden, proposing to permanently reinstate the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) which allows America to maintain a military presence in the Philippines, under one condition.
The condition? That the incoming Biden administration institute a new immigration policy that would grant Filipino citizens a visa-free entry to the United States.. Duterte calls it the Visiting Filipinos Agreement.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (The Adobo Chronicles, Washington Bureau) – Filipinos looking to visit the United States after the coronavirus pandemic period will no longer need an entry visa, thanks to a proposal reportedly being considered by the incoming Biden administration.
A spokesperson for the President-elect said that the proposal is in recognition of the great service rendered by Filipino nurses and other healthcare workers to Americans amid the Covid-19 crisis. “They are our heroes and it is but proper to reward them for their life-saving work,” he said.
For the longest time, Filipino citizens needed a visa to enter the U.S., despite the fact that U.S. citizens enjoy a visa-free entry into the Philippines as long as they stay for no more than 30 days.
A draft of the proposal obtained by The Adobo Chronicles states that Filipino citizens will no longer be required to have a visa to visit the U.S. as long as they have a Mastercard. American Express will not be honored so Filipino tourists can leave home without it.
MANILA, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles, Manila Bureau) – Manny Pacquiao is known the world over as the Filipino champion boxer. A few know him as a sitting Philippine Senator.
Of the many names being floated to succeed President Rodrigo Duterte when he steps down in 2022, Pacquiao’s is among the more intriguing. We’ve had movie actors as Presidents before, among them Ronald Reagan and Joseph Estrada. But a boxer?
Well, like it or not, we can now call Manny President Pacquiao.
He has just been chosen the President of Duterte’s political party, PDP-LABAN. Whether he will run for (and win as) President of the Philippines remains to be seen.
The Adobo Chronicles 
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