Visayan Islands

17 Jan 2011

Being caught having sex on the beach in Boracay is not the only thing that could land you in hot water.

So could a tryst on a boat or in a diving shop, disco or even a hotel room...

28 Oct 2010

Our group of divers drop in to the Tanon Strait and skirts the shallow coral reef, just a few metres below the surface. We fin slowly past vast beds of cabbage coral, the blue above the yellow...

'Live like a millionaire' in the Philippines

24 Mar 2010

Who wants to live in a tropical paradise where it's sunny most of the time, smiles are free and beer is cheaper than water? Plenty, apparently - judging by the number of expatriates who eye the...

Exploring history

27 Apr 2006

Today is the 485th anniversary of something every Filipino schoolchild learns: the battle in which Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan was killed by chief Lapu-lapu, on Mactan Island. The story...

Booming Cebu aims to be an economic powerhouse

15 Mar 2005

Somewhere in the Pacific is an island called Cebu. It sells itself as a hub for transnational trade, transportat, information technology, call centres and tourism.

What it discreetly...

Opinion

Jake Van Der Kamp

An age-old problem and the sums that just don't add up

Howard Winn

HSBC suffers the Taibbi treatment in Rolling Stone

Shirley Yam

How tycoons' IPO 'losses' may hide profits at herd's expense

Cebu cites strong workforce in bid to attract investors

The Philippine island of Cebu offers Hong Kong companies a cheap, fully serviced manufacturing base as an alternative to the mainland, according to the Cebu Investment Promotions Centre (CIPC).

Islands prove big attraction

Hong Kong is maintaining its rank as a leading source of tourists to the Philippines with visitor numbers increasing despite the economic downturn.

Mactan welcomes latest 'invaders'

Many tourists book flights to Cebu, but do not even get there. They land at Mactan Island International Airport and transfer straight to resorts which are only a few minutes' drive away.

...

Cebu lagoon resort within easy reach

The 'first five-star lagoon resort' in the Philippines has opened and is only a two-hour flight from Hong Kong.

Two sides to Leyte liberation

THE 50th anniversary of the Leyte liberation landing in the Philippines by General Douglas MacArthur has, like the man it glorifies, developed a split personality.

Extra protection planned for foreigners in Boracay

THE Philippine Government will beef up protection for foreigners on the resort island of Boracay following the high-profile rape case of ex-Hong Kong businesswoman Gillian Martin.