PH welcomes home Filipina ‘78° North’ Marathon finisher Elite Triathlete Joyette Jopson is First Filipina to run a marathon in the Arctic, finishing 1st in women’s category

Filipinos can celebrate another global victory as the country welcomes home elite Filipina triathlete and FWD Financial Wealth Officer Joyette Jopson, who overcame all odds and conquered the grueling 42-kilometer FWD ‘78° North’ Marathon held near the North Pole on April 16.  

Jopson becomes the first Filipina to run a marathon in the Arctic, enduring the freezing temperatures of Longyearbyen in Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, just 1,050 kilometers away from the North Pole. Jopson—triathlete, 2014 Ironman 70.3 Philippines Filipino Elite Champion, and FWD Financial Wealth Officer—completed the race with an impressive time of 4 hours, 10 minutes, and 59 seconds—claiming a first-place finish in the women’s category and third overall. 

Senatoriables United To Support Angkas

In a rare event, several senatorial candidates from different political parties came together for the Angkas Safety Fiesta and collectively called for the resumption of the app-based ride-hailing service and pushed for the rights of motorcycle riders.

Senatoriables Grace Poe, Bam Aquino, Chel Diokno, Bato dela Rosa, and JV Ejercito all graced the Safety Fiesta to support Angkas’ efforts to propagate the proper safety training of motorcycle riders in the Philippines.

Search for the Happiest Pinoy names 10 category winners, P1 million awaits grand winner

After going through close to 800,000 applications in the last few months, the biggest edition of the Cebuana Lhuillier Search for the Happiest Pinoy has now come down to 10 individuals who are already winners in their respective categories.

Khaye Celine Maggay (youth), Francisca Tumampil (senior citizens), Fortunato Januto (overseas Filipino workers), Rodrigo Roble Jr. (lingkod bayan), Zaldy Bueno (professionals), (manggagawang Pinoy), Mark David Cerezo (entrepreneurs), Alfred Santos (employees), Jayson Dela Fuente (persons with disabilities), and Leovy John Terrado (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community) will each receive P50,000 and will go through a panel interview to determine this year’s Happiest Pinoy grand winner who will take home P1 million tax-free.

ACTS-OFW Party List supports the LGBT Anti-Discrimination Bill

In a recent meeting at Club Filipino, ACTS-OFW Party List Cong. Aniceto "John" Bertiz III reiterated their group's commitment for the passage of the Anti-Discrimination Bill in Congress. The said bill will protect the rights of lesbians gays, bisexuals, and transgenders in the workplace and in the schools, as well as the right to set up a business or practice a profession. It will also give them the equal rights that are the birth right of each and every Filipino.

Cong. Bertiz gave this commitment to some members of the LGBT community, particularly to those who attended the solidarity event. They gave the commitment after consulting with the group and with their many members overseas, some of whom are also LGBTs.

"We have Overseas Filipino workers who are also members of the LGBT community. We have seen how hard they work so they could provide for their families back home. The LGBTs are the bread winners and the backbone of their families. They have sent their brothers and sisters to school, and have taken care of their parents' medical needs. Therefore, we should give them the protection that is enshrined in the Bill of Rights of our Philippine Constitution.

For their part, Ladlad Chairman Professor Danton Remoto lauded this commitment from a party list whose focus is to have the best ethical practices in the overseas recruitment industry. "I am also an Overseas Filipino Worker teaching at a British university in Malaysia.  

I welcome the consultation done by ACTS-OFW Party List with us regarding LGBTQ rights. Fighting for the rights of our LGBTQ will always be a prime advocacy of Ladlad Party List." Professor Danton Remoto is running for Councilor of District 3, in Quezon City.

ACTS-OFW means "Alliance for Community Transformation and Service for Overseas Filipino Workers," which was founded in 2010. ACTS-OFW Party List pushed for the ten-year validity of our passport and the creation of 1,000 slots daily for OFW applicants. They also worked for the exemption of OFWs from the P550 airport terminal fee, among many other legislative measures to help our OFWs, dubbed the "unsung heroes of our country."