Bonus holiday

With the onset of the summer season, local police warned the public to beware of fake online offers of vacation venues for rent.

The warning came from the Philippine National Police–Anti-Cybercrime Group, which handles online fraud complaints. PNP-ACG spokesperson Lt. Wallen Mae Arancillo said that a too good to be true offer posted on social media is a potential scam, PTV reported.

Arancillo also advised the public to be alert for fake social media accounts offering vacation booking services.

Another red flag is when scammers ask for a down or full payment to their e-wallet or through bank transfer, she added, according to PTV.

Meanwhile, the Chinese take advantage of holiday breaks as much as Filipinos do. And the longer the vacation, the better for them.

For the recent annual Spring Festival or Lunar New Year celebration in China, Chinese workers enjoyed nine days of holiday leave from 15 to 23 February. But the long vacation still seemed not enough, especially for those working far away from home.

Some employers were considerate in extending the already long holiday leave to selected workers, like the spicy snack maker Mala Prince in central China’s Hunan province.

On the first workday after the holiday, Zhang Zilong Jr., manager of one of the company’s social media departments, welcomed returning workers with a raffle, the South China Morning Post reported.

An e-commerce operation specialist surnamed Tao won the top prize: 10 days of paid leave.

Tao immediately decided to go back to her hometown and spend another Spring Festival holiday with her family.