Maniolas

President Benigno S. Aquino III exchanges pleasantries with Stephen Solarz Memorial Fund founder Nina Solarz during the Courtesy Call at the Music Room of the Malacañan Palace on Friday (November 06, 2015). (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – President Benigno Aquino III on Monday endorsed to Congress a proposed law that would mandate a four-year P226-billion compensation increase for government workers, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said. In a press statement, the DBM said the bill titled “Salary Standardization Law of 2015” or SSL 2015 was submitted to Congress for its approval. The salary hike will cover 1.53 million civilian and military and uniformed personnel. According to Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad, the compensation package is composed of a salary increase, a mid-year 14th month pay, and an enhanced performance-based bonus (PBB) system. If the bill is approved, the basic salary of covered employees will be increased on the average by 27 percent, while the 14th month pay will raise compensation by 8 percent, said the DBM. The enhanced PBB is equivalent to one to two months’ salary or an average 10 percent increase in salary. “The first tranche of the adjustment will take effect on Jan. 1, 2016, and the subsequent three tranches on every January 1thereafter until the final tranche in 2019,” Abad said. Abad noted that at the end of the four tranches, government compensation will be around 84 percent of its equivalent in the private sector. The lowest salary grade, Salary Grade 1 will be Read More …

Commuters still opt to take the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) instead of braving the traffic on EDSA on Tuesday despite the reported improvement on the flow of traffic along the major thoroughfare. The Highway Patrol Group said it is still adjusting on their second day of managing traffic on EDSA. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) — Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya assured the Senate Monday that there will be an improvement in the services of Metro Rail Transit (MRT3) as new trains become operational in the first quarter of 2016. “There will be improvement in the service come first quarter. Now we are rolling out beep cards, that helps in the shortening of queues and the easier transfer from one line to another is appreciated,” Abaya said when asked by Senator Ralph Recto during the resumption of the Senate Committee on Public Services’ hearing on MRT. “For the first quarter of 2016 what we can expect is the first set of Dalian train[s] will be moving. Getting a better experience is all relative. But in terms of capacity, we will have additional capacity. We are about to award the maintenance. The maintenance awarded by GM Buenafe was short term. We hope we can award three years,” he added. Earlier during the hearing, committee chairperson Senator Grace Poe questioned the delay in the repair of escalators and elevators at the MRT stations. Abaya said the repair of Schindler escalators is expected to be finished by December while the remaining 22 to 23 Mitsubishi Read More …

http://www.apiavote.org/ For this year’s elections, Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote (APIAVote) and Asian Americans Advancing Justice | AAJC partnered once again to support AANHPI voters through our national election protection hotline, 1-888-API-VOTE. Bilingual assistance was available to voters in English, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean, Vietnamese, and Tagalog. Calls were fielded from across the country, including from states with APIAVote grantees, such as Virginia, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Texas. This was thanks to the voter mobilization efforts of APIAVote’s partners, who over the last few weeks sent mailers and phone banked into their communities, highlighting language assistance through the hotline. Most questions that came through the hotline asked for Election Day information, including the location of polling places, voter registration information, voter ID requirements, and general voting procedures. Notably, many callers wanted information on the election itself, such as what races are taking place and who or what is on the ballot. “Many voters expressed a desire to vote, but did not have access to translated, in-language materials about specific races or what and who was on the ballot,” said Christine Chen, Executive Director of APIAVote. “This emphasizes the critical need of in-language ballots and other election information for our communities, to give them the access they deserve to the political process.” The influx of calls throughout the last week and on Election Day highlights the importance of voter outreach and mobilization efforts, and that AANHPI voters are noticing our efforts to reach out to them. “The National Asian Language Election Protection Read More …

President Benigno S. Aquino III accepts the credentials of French Republic Ambassador to the Philippines Thierry Mathou during the presentation of credentials at the Music Room of the Malacañan Palace on Thursday (November 05).(MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) — Vice Presidential aspirant Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. slammed President Benigno Aquino III for defending the “incompetent” Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) General Manager Jose Angel Honrado despite calls for the latter’s resignation over the “tanim-bala scam” going on in the airports. “How can you possibly defend somebody who has allowed this kind of victimization of our overseas Filipino workers to carry on? In the face of public scrutiny, exposure, scandal and clear violations of trust and the law, pinagtatanggol pa rin (he is still being defended)?” Marcos said at the Kapihan sa Senado forum on Thursday. He also called for the immediate dismissal of Honrado from the position as he should not have been tapped to manage the airports because of his lack of knowledge in the field. “He should be fired immediately. He’s clearly incompetent. He should’ve never been in the job in the first place,” said Marcos. The scam, which was allegedly pulled off by a syndicate composed of airport officers and porters, victimizes airline passengers, particularly OFWs and senior citizens, by planting bullets in their luggage and then demanding money from them in exchange for their release. The bullet-planting incidents in the airports, according to Marcos, only reflect Honrado’s lack of experience for the job. “Maliwanag na hindi Read More …

Members of the women’s group GABRIELA hold a protest outside the DSWD headquarters in Quezon City on Friday, to mark the 2nd year commemoration of Typhoon Yolanda. The group pushed for the immediate release of the Emergency Shelter Assistance to help victims with their recovery.(MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – A militant group has slammed the administration of President Benigno Aquino III for supposedly being the “bigger disaster” two years after super typhoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan) pummeled the Visayas and claimed thousands of lives. In a candle-lighting event in Manila on Saturday, youth group Anakbayan protested the Aquino government’s “criminal neglect, corruption, and exploitation of typhoon victims.” “It has been two years now after Yolanda, but the people are suffering from the bigger disaster that is the Aquino government. Instead of helping the victims, the government pocketed the funds allotted for the victims and paved the way for private contractors and big businesses to profit from the misery of our kababayans,” said Anakbayan national chairperson Vencer Crisostomo. Citing a report by the Commission on Audit, Anakbayan said at least P382 million local and foreign cash donations were locked in the bank accounts of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, while P932 million were kept idle in the Office of Civil Defense. “The continuing neglect for the welfare of victims of Yolanda shows the heartlessness of the Aquino ‘tuwid na daan’ (straight path) government,” Crisostomo said, alluding to the administration’s slogan on good governance. Crisostomo also criticized the Asia Pacific Read More …