Are Air Asia going to bring back the Clark - Hong Kong route due to increased demand and less competition than 2013?

The Philippine unit of Southeast Asia's largest airline plans to mount Manila-Hong Kong flights in the first quarter.

"We have the allocation to do daily flights for Hong Kong, but we are studying it," Joy Cañeba , Air-Asia Philippines’ chief executive officer said, adding that demand is huge despite the competition.

The airline used to fly to Hong Kong from Clark, but this flight was suspended in 2013 amid weak demand and competition at the time from Tiger Air and SE Air, now Cebu Pacific have one flight in and out on this route there is potential for a night flight from Hong Kong to Clark and a early afternoon flight from Clark to Hong Kong.

Dragon have an infrequent service where customers are vastly overcharged causing people to actually fly as an alternative from Macau to Clark if unable to make the Cebu Pacific morning flight due to being fully booked.

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Bar girls return to Arcadia from Shipwrecked in Angeles City Pampanga

Bar girls for those who don't know are quite often very easily influenced and act somewhat emotional at times and once again the decision to return from Shipwrecked after an apology from the mamasan and management concerned has resulted in a enhanced line up at Arcadia and Shipwrecked bar to feel a little bit like its name having lost some of the best lookers on walking street.

Back to normal service for Arcadia and I am there tonight so ill write a report shortly.

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Ownership of High Society Nightclub in Angeles City Philippines going though changes?

There are many rumors floating around Angeles City that the consortium headed up by Prince Charles and Aaron had sold their shares in High Society to Louis brothers and moved out of town.

Prince Charles (PC) took to a message board recently to reply to a variety of messages and he stated that he remains a shareholder but was encountering a tricky scenario that requires resolving before he makes any further announcement.

Having spoken to some of the staff personally both Luke and the French Painter who were both in High Society at the weekend both were told separately from 4 different people that management are not co-operating and morale is at an all time low.

The club itself was performing well as usual with girls guys having one big party.

We here hope that PC and the team can resolve any issues they may have with other representatives of the business and in order to keep what is by far the best club outside of Manila and Cebu at the top of its game.

Message to everyone keep supporting the club and I am sure PC and co will be happy to buy people a beer when back in the club.

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Roxas to Binay: Drugs rampant in 2 'faces' of Makati

Presidential candidate Manuel "Mar" Roxas II belied the claim of his rival, Vice President Jejomar Binay, that he was able to eliminate drug use in Makati when he was mayor.

During Round 3 of the first presidential debate organized by GMA-7 and the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Sunday, February 21, Roxas and Binay were asked how they would solve the problem of drug abuse, which affects 1.7 million Filipinos.

Roxas said the Aquino administration was able to seize P2 billion worth of drugs when he was the head of the police force as interior secretary.

Binay countered that the police actually had poor law enforcement record and low conviction rate of drug lords.

"Indecisive ang leadership. Ako sa Makati inabutan kong problema 'yan. Ako ay decisive, wala tayong papayagan 'yang mga kaso ng illegal drug syndicates," Binay said, saying this is also how he will stop drug cartels when elected.

(The leadership is indecisive. I faced that problem [when I was Makati mayor]. I was decisive. We did not let the cases of illegal drug syndicates slip.)

But Roxas pointed out that there are two faces of Makati – the "prosperous" side developed by the Ayalas and the poor barangays – then stressed that Makati actually has the highest drug abuse rate.

"And'yan lahat ng drugs, kahit Biyernes Santo laganap ang drugs sa Makati," Roxas said, citing exclusive subdivisions and high-end bars. (Drugs are rampant there, even on Good Friday.)

Roxas said that if elected president, he will continue to chase after drug cartels all the way down to the barangay level. He also said that the problem with illegal drugs should not be the responsibility of the police force alone.

"It takes all of us coming together as a society, we have to cooperate," he said in a mix of English and Filipino.

‘Data from thin air’

Binay's communications director Joey Salgado countered Roxas' claim, saying that the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) had consistently recognized Makati for its anti-drug campaign.

He even emphasized that the number of poor Makati residents has "declined dramatically" from 17,000 in the year 2000 to just 2,000 in 2012.

"Now contrast that with poverty in Roxas City," Salgado said, referring to Roxas' home city, where he was congressman for 9 years.

Salgado said that "instead of talking about issues, Roxas opted to talk about himself, and spent his time hitting his opponents by plucking data from thin air."

Metro Manila problem

Nine out of 10 barangays in Metro Manila have drug problems.

In August 2015, the Southern Police District confiscated some P1 million worth of various illegal drugs in Makati City. An Indian national was dealing party and sex drugs in clubs and bars.

Earlier in 2015, a Mexican named Horacio Hernandez was arrested for selling P12 million worth of cocaine also in Makati City. Hernandez was believed to be part of the infamous Sinaloa drug cartel, an international drug crime syndicate. – Patty Pasion / Rappler.com

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Philippine church defends Manny Pacquiao on gay marriage stance

The Philippine Catholic church on Sunday defended boxing hero Manny Pacquiao for his opposition to gay marriage, saying he was only quoting the Bible

But Father Jerome Secillano also said over radio station DZMM that Pacquiao should respect homosexuals and not judge and condemn them after the eight-division world champion last week described them as worse than animals.

Pacquiao, 37, who converted from Catholicism to an evangelical Protestant faith late in his boxing career, was pilloried by local gay rights groups and celebrities and has lost lucrative commercial endorsements as a result.

Secillano, executive secretary of the Catholic bishops' public affairs office, said: "This is really in the Bible. There is this quote he (Pacquiao) uses from the Bible and we cannot change that."

He said it was "unfair" to condemn Pacquiao for echoing what he reads in the Bible when he was asked about same-sex marriage.

But Secillano also said the boxing hero should not have used such offensive language.

View galleryPhilippine boxing hero Manny Pacquiao (L) holds his …
Philippine boxing hero Manny Pacquiao (L) holds his wife Jinkee's hand as they attend a mass at  …
"The church... says that if this is your lifestyle, if this is your orientation, then we respect that, we cannot condemn them," the priest said.

He reiterated that the Catholic church, which counts 80 percent of Filipinos as followers, still opposed legalisation of same-sex marriage.

Church influence has also kept divorce and abortion from being legalised in the Philippines.

However homosexuality is not criminalised and several LGBT figures have become celebrities.

Pacquiao, who intends to retire after his April fight against American Timothy Bradley to pursue a career in politics, issued an apology on social media on Tuesday but later said his apology was qualified.

Nike, Pacquiao's major global sponsor, cancelled its endorsement deal with him in the past week, describing his comments as "abhorrent".

Pacquiao, a former street kid with little education, has used his fame and fortune to launch a political career.

Already a two-term congressman, he is campaigning to win a Senate seat in May elections. Surveys published before the controversy indicated he will win.

Pacquiao has said his ultimate ambition is to be president of the Philippines.

http://news.yahoo.com/philippine-church-defends-manny-pacquiao-gay-marriage-stance-064123068--box.html

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Filipino troops ready for ‘worst-case’ in dispute with China

FORT GREGORIO DEL PILAR, Philippines-The chief of the Western Command of the Armed Forces of the Philippines said Palawan-based Filipino troops had planned for "the worst-case scenario" and were monitoring China's reported deployment of surface-to-air missiles in the disputed Paracel Islands in the South China Sea.

The Department of Foreign Affairs on Friday denounced China's recent move, saying it would aggravate the already tense situation in the region.

Vice Admiral Alexander Lopez said the troop alert level had not been raised but the military was "continuously monitoring developments."

The military "plans for the worst-case scenario in specific situations and the troops under WesCom are conditioned for such instances," he said on the sidelines of the Philippine Military Academy alumni homecoming here.

WesCom is based in Puerto Princesa City in Palawan and has the responsibility of keeping an eye on the Philippines' territorial claims in the West Philippine Sea.

Lopez reiterated the government's concern over China's deployment of surface-to-air missile and radar systems on Woody Island in the Paracels, which are also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan.

"This is a serious threat to regional security," Lopez said, adding that China was "militarizing the region."

"We get actual footage from the area, like video, camera shots… to establish what is actually there," he said.

In a statement, the DFA said the Philippines was "gravely concerned over reports that China has deployed surface-to-air missiles on Woody Island. Such actions negate China's earlier commitment not to militarize the South China Sea."

It said the latest Chinese action was "a clear violation" of the Declaration on the Conduct (DOC) of Parties in the South China Sea and earlier declarations between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Under the DOC, the parties had agreed to promote peace and harmony in the waters, had committed to freedom of navigation, and had agreed to exercise self-restraint and to veer away from the use of threat or force amid unresolved disputes in the waters.

Four ASEAN nations-the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei-are claimants in maritime disputes in the region. China claims almost the entire South China Sea.

"These developments further erode trust and confidence and aggravate the already tense situation in the region," the DFA said.

The Philippines' statement echoed the United States' worries over the Chinese missile deployment, which came just as US President Barack Obama held a summit with the leaders of ASEAN.

In the US-ASEAN meeting, Obama reiterated his support for peaceful means to resolve the maritime disputes, including the Philippines' pending legal action in a UN arbitral tribunal.

- See more at: http://news.asiaone.com/news/asia/filipino-troops-ready-%E2%80%98worst-case%E2%80%99-dispute-china#sthash.m7bZbOiy.dpuf

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