Tag Archives: Philippines

International, Tourism, Travel

FILIPINOS BETTER OFF THAN U.S. CITIZENS COME 2016 OLYMPICS IN RIO DE JANEIRO

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CaptureRIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (The Adobo Chronicles® ) – Philippine citizens may have a hard time visiting the United States on business or tourism, but the Filipinos are better off than U.S. citizens when it comes to the 2016 Summer Olympics to be held next year in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Philippine citizens need a visa to enter the United States and thousands are denied their visa applications year after year. This, despite the fact that U.S. citizens do not need a Philippine visa when traveling to the island nation as long as they do not stay beyond 30 days.

But when it comes to Brazil,  Filipinos have an advantage over U.S. citizens.  Philippine citizens do not need a visa to enter Brazil, but U.S. citizens do.

So when it comes to the 2016 Summer Olympics, Filipinos will have the last laugh, while U.S. citizens will be scratching their heads trying to complete and submit the strict visa application requirements.

Oh, did we already mention the visa processing fee of $160?

Last June, Brazil’s tourism minister said that the country may lift its visa requirements so that Americans can come to see the 2016 Rio Olympics, but nothing has yet been made official.

Politics

BREAKING NEWS: DUTERTE IS RUNNING!

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Duterte
Duterte

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (The Adobo Chronicles® ) – Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, known for his iron-fist kind of management, has repeatedly said that he was not interested in running for president of the Philippines in the 2016 elections.

But at 4pm on Monday, September 7 (September 6 U.S. time), Duterte is scheduled to make a very important announcement.  Neithier the mayor nor his closest aides are saying what the announcement is going to be.

However, The Adobo Chronicles® has learned from a very reliable source that Duterte will announce that he is running.

Running away from running for president, that is.

Religion

PHILIPPINE BISHOPS TO SECEDE FROM THE VATICAN

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Philippine bishops with former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (file photo)
Philippine bishops with former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (file photo)

MANILA, Philippines  (The Adobo Chronicles® ) – The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) announced today that it was seceding from The Vatican over recent pronouncements by Pope Francis.

The final straw for the Filipino bishops was the pope’s instruction allowing priests to absolve Catholics of the sin of abortion.

In a statement, CBCP president and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said the Church still considers abortion a mortal sin and that aborting a baby merits excommunication. Villegas said, “Choosing to terminate innocent, unborn life is not among a woman’s options, because her right to privacy and to make decisions about herself do not extend to the life in her womb, over which she enjoys no dominion at all.”

Other papal pronouncements that led to the decision of CBCP to cut ties with The Vatican include welcoming homosexuals  and divorced (and remarried) Catholics into the fold of the church.

The Philippines, home to 100 Million people, about three quarters of whom are Catholics, is the only remaining country where divorce is still illegal. Homosexuality, while largely tolerated,  is still frowned upon by many.

CBCP will soon convene a local Synod of Bishops to elect a titular head that will be fully independent of The Vatican. It will be held at the Philippine Arena, owned by the second largest religious group in the country, Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC).

Filipino Catholics are looking forward to the white smoke that will billow out of the arena to signal the election of a Filipino pontiff.

The Adobo Chronicles® will be bringing you live coverage of the Manila Synod.