Maniolas

President Benigno S. Aquino III leads his official family in prayer before presiding over the meeting on Yolanda rehabilitation updates at the Aguinaldo State Dining Room of the Malacañan Palace on Friday (May 16, 2014). (MNS photo) MANILA  (Mabuhay) — Budget Secretary Butch Abad has hit back at critics who say the government was too slow in releasing funds for rehabilitation efforts in areas hit by Typhoon Yolanda (International name Haiyan). Abad said it took time for local officials to put together their rehabilitation proposals after their communities were struck by what was described as the strongest typhoon to hit earth. He added that as of June 30 this year, the government has released close to P 90 billion for rehabilitation efforts and the bulk of the money went to housing for survivors. “The Yolanda reconstruction and rehabilitation program was approved in October 2014… The budget had already been put together then cause we normally submit the budget in July… The president didn’t want to approve just a general statement of ‘I need a road’, you have to be very specific,” said Abad. He also pointed out that the Aquino administration needed to be complimented for the way it funded rehabilitation efforts in the wake of Typhoon Yolanda. He said that aside from the P23 billion in supplemental budget given by Congress, government sourced funds from savings and P20 billion in dividends from government owned and controlled corporations. (MNS)

KC Concepcion (MNS Photo) MANILA  (Mabuhay) — Months after her much-publicized breakup with Paulo Avelino, KC Concepcion admitted that she is back in the dating scene. Concepcion revealed that she is now seeing a non-showbiz guy but refused to disclose details about him. The actress, however, revealed that the guy is not a Filipino. “Yes, I’m dating. Quietly lang. European. Ayaw kong maudlot. Next [guesting na lang],” she said. “He’s European. He lives in the Middle East, pero [back and forth siya].” After her very public relationships in the past, Concepcion explained that she now prefers a non-showbiz guy. “Tumingin sa akin si Erich (Gonzales) kanina, sabi niya, ‘Non-showbiz na lang, maganda no?’ Sabi ko oo, for me. Kasi I’ve dated na my leading men, I’ve done that whole thing na. Tinutuluy-tuloy ko, after ng shoot na nagiging kami. So sabi ko na-experience ko na ‘yung dating leading men, so maganda ‘yung [non-showbiz],” she said. Asked if they are exclusively dating, she said: “I’m dating but not exclusively kasi bago pa lang. Ayaw ko pangunahan.” Concepcion also revealed that the guy is more than five years older than her. “He’s hard-working and older… Pero wala din naman sa age. It’s yung pagkatao talaga. Kaya nga I don’t want na porke’t may dine-date, kami na agad. You never know. You have to really give it time. Sabi nila, eight months to one year tapos saka mo pa lang makikita ang totoong kulay ng tao,” she said. (MNS)

Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay speaks at a briefing at the Makati City hall on Monday. The Office of the Ombudsman has approved the preventive suspension of Mayor Binay and other Makati officials over the construction of the Makati Science High School building. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) — Senator Antonio Trillanes on Wednesday failed to both attend a preliminary investigation and submit a counter-affidavit on a libel complaint filed against him by suspended Makati Mayor Jejomar “Junjun” Binay. The lawmaker’s legal counsel Judy Ann Bautista said his client was unable to attend due to a previous commitment in Quezon province. Bautista, however, assured handling prosecutor Gilmarie Fe Pacamara that the lawmaker would appear before the DOJ on the second day of the PI set for Thursday next week. Bautista also revealed their camp had actually already prepared a draft counter-affidavit that only awaits Trillanes’ go signal to be submitted. Yeah, yeah, actually we are ready; we brought the draft of the counter-affidavit po, subject to the review of Senator Trillanes. It is already done; it is already prepared. Kailangan lang po yung consent. During the PI, the Binay camp informed the handling prosecutor that it still has a pending motion asking that the complaint be returned to Makati. The libel complaint was earlier transfered from Makati to the DOJ in Manila after Trillanes’ camp filed a motion seeking the Makati prosecutor’s office inhibition. “We believe kapag nandito po (sa DOJ), magkakaroon ng neutral at impartial decision ang DOJ,” Bautista Read More …

Vice President Jejomar Binay walks among his supporters at the Makati City hall on Monday. People gathered at the city hall grounds to show their support for the older Binay and his son, Makati Mayor Junjun Binay, who was earlier served another suspension by the Ombudsman. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) — The camp of Vice President Jejomar Binay slammed Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda for making an issue out of the allegedly required attendance of students in Binay’s “true” State of the Nation Address (Sona) at the Cavite State University (CvSU) last August 3. In a statement, Office of the Vice President Media Affairs head Joey Salgado said that government officials and Cabinet secretaries should have filed an official leave when they attended the endorsement of Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas as the administration coalition’s presidential bet at Club Filipino last July 30. “If Secretary Lacierda continues to make an issue out of the Cavite State University students attending the True Sona of Vice President Binay, we will remind him that they held their ‘Gathering of Friends’ in Club Filipino during office hours but Cabinet Secretaries and other government officials were in attendance. We can only hope that they were on official leave,” Lacierda said. He also asked Lacierda to take the chill pill as Binay’s name “makes his blood rise.” “If Secretary Lacierda loves his coffee, perhaps he should cut back, as the mere mention of [the] Vice President Binay’s name apparently makes his blood rise. His anger gets the Read More …

lavote.net LOS ANGELES – Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk (RR/CC) Dean C. Logan will join Los Angeles County Supervisors Hilda Solis, Mark Ridley-Thomas, Sheila Kuehl, Don Knabe, and Assessor Jeffrey Prang to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act on Thursday, August 6 at the Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration, Temple Street steps at 1:30 p.m. Adoption of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965 is a historic milestone in national legislation that prohibits discriminatory practices from disenfranchising African Americans and minorities. Since its initial passage, the Act has expanded its reach with amendments that assist language minorities in the voting process by providing language-specific election materials to jurisdictions with large numbers of language minorities. “The Voting Rights Act of 1965 set the foundation of our representative form of government – that everyone has the right to vote,” said Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk Dean Logan. “In passing the Act in 1965, Congress made a strong and emphatic statement that in order for that foundation to remain strong the voting franchise has to be available to all eligible Americans regardless of race, ethnicity, language spoken, location and access. Fifty years later, we celebrate this strong foundation and its commitment to be our representative democracy.” The office of the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk (RR/CC) is also offering an exclusive downloadable tool kit for cities, counties and elected offices to use. The toolkit features a brief history of the VRA, a timeline, a sample resolution and social media posts to commemorate the event among other resources. Download Read More …