Maniolas

President Benigno S. Aquino III inspects the facilities of the temporary shelter at the Cogon Relocation Site in Barangay Cogon, Guiuan during the visit to the province of Eastern Samar on Friday (November 07). More than 200 Yolanda survivors will benefit from the 133 housing units. It was in Guiuan where super typhoon Yolanda, the strongest typhoon ever recorded, made its first landfall on November 08, 2013. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) — The Philippines has not done enough to rebuild after Super Typhoon Haiyan, as thousands remain in shanties without power or water for nearly two years, a United Nations representative said Saturday. Many storm survivors in the central region have had to endure relocating to evacuation camps up to three times since Haiyan struck in 2013, and the sub-standard housing leaves them vulnerable to future typhoons, said Chaloka Beyani, UN special rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons. “While the government is to be commended in terms of its immediate responses, its attention to ensuring sustainable durable solutions for IDPs (internally displaced persons) remains inadequate to date,” Beyani said in a statement posted on the UN website. Beyani was in the Philippines in late July to check on the government’s handling of people displaced by Haiyan and by fighting between the military and Muslim rebels in the south. Aside from falling short of safety standards, the wood-and-tin “bunkhouses” also leave women and girls vulnerable to sexual abuse and early pregnancy, Beyani said. The box-like shanties also rob Read More …

Boots Anson Roa (MNS Photo) Boots Anson Roa is honored to be tapped to play Lola Basyang in TV5’s reimagined version of the classic children’s stories. In the past, Lola Basyang has been played by various actresses: Rosa Mia in the Sampaguita Pictures’ version in the 60s, comedian Chichay in the Regal Films’ version in the 80s, and Luz Fernandez on TV. On radio, it ran for several years in the 50s and was one of the hits of the heydays of radio during that era, along with the soaps “Ilaw ng Tahanan” and “Dr. Ramon Selga” and the horror hit, “Gabi ng Lagim”. “I’m really glad na Direk Perci Intalan considered me for the role kasi bagay na talaga akong Lola Basyang now that I’m 70 years old,” she says. “I have nine grand children now and my husband (Atty. King Rodrigo) has eight, so bale 17 na lahat ang apo ko. But today’s Lola Basyang is so different kasi high tech na siya. Bale tatlo lang ang apo niya rito. One is with her in person, but two are abroad. One is in Guam and one is in Japan, pero kinukuwentuhan pa rin niya through Skype. So, global na siya in the age of the Internet, but her stories continue to impart good values and tradition.” Did she ever think she’d play to get a title role again? “No, kasi kaming senior stars, accepted na naming the networks get us mainly to give strong support to the new Read More …

The Blue Ribbon Sub-Committee, chaired by Sen. Koko Pimentel, resumes its inquiry on the alleged overpricing of the 11-storey new Makati City II Parking Building, the 22-storey Makati City Hall Building and related anomalies. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – It would be a “zona libre” (free zone) for the Nacionalista Party (NP) if three of its members would run for vice president in 2016, Senator Cynthia Villar said on Tuesday. Villar, wife of former Senator and NP president Manny Villar, said it would be difficult for the party if its stalwarts —Senators Alan Peter Cayetano, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., and Antonio Trillanes IV— all run for vice president. So far, only Trillanes has publicly declared his intention to run for vice president. While he has declared his desire to run for president, Cayetano said he had been receiving feelers to run for vice president from supporters of Senator Grace Poe and Local Government Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II. Marcos, on the other hand, has not publicly declared his plans for 2016. His name, however, has been floated as a possible running-mate of opposition leader Vice President Jejomar Binay. “Para ngang marami sa kanila ang (tatakbong) vice president, so that would be the difficulty for us; sana kung isa lang from the NP, that would be easy,” Mrs. Villar told reporters. (It seems like many of them will be running for vice president, so that would be the difficulty for us; if only one of them would just run, then it Read More …

Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson with Filipino workers in Hong Kong. There are more than 290,000 domestic workers in the former British colony, now under China, many of whom are Filipinos earning as much as $480 a month. MANILA (Mabuhay) – Former Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said he would not engage in “petty politics” if he decides to run in 2016. Lacson issued the statement when asked to react on the exchange of words between Vice President Jejomar Binay and Local Government Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II. Binay has declared his presidential bid next year, while Roxas is the presumptive standard-bearer of the administration’s Liberal Party (LP) “Well that is their politics. I do not want to get myself involved in their politics. Kung mayroon silang pulitika, let them be,” said Lacson, who is also considering running for president. And when asked if he would run next year, the former senator said: “I will campaign on my own merits. Kung sakaling tatakbo (If I will run), I will not engage in petty politics or sisiraan mo yung kalaban mo (throw mud at my opponents).” “Dapat gan’on. Kami mayroon kaming maliwanag na plataporma na ito pwedeng ipatupad na sa tingin ko, well sa tingin ko, well, rationally, ‘pag naipatupad ito, sa palagay ko malaki iaasenso ng ating bansa,” he further said. (It should be that way. Because we have a clear platform that I think, rationally, if implemented, I think will help our country improve.) (MNS)

Manny Pacquiao during fan rally at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. He will face Floyd Mayweather Jr in the “Fight of the Century” on Saturday, May 2, 2015. MANILA (Mabuhay) – A friend of Interior Secretary Mar Roxas is trying to woo boxing icon and Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao into supporting his rumored presidential bid. Pacquiao is already a member of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) founded by Vice President Jejomar Binay, who has already announced his presidential run in 2016. YACAP party-list Rep. Carol Jayne Lopez confirmed Wednesday that she is holding talks with Pacquiao to throw his support behind Roxas’ run for higher office next year so that “Sarangani could be one for Mar.” Caloocan City Rep. Edgar Erice, Liberal Party chairman for political affairs, had said that Aquino will officially endorse Roxas before the end of the week. Some LP members are pushing Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo and Batangas Gov. Vilma Santos for the vice presidential post. “Naniniwala ako sa kakayahan ni Sec. Mar, na siya ang pinaka-qualified at best bet natin na maging presidente. Kami naman ni Cong. Manny, lagi kaming nag-uusap dahil sa mga issue sa Sarangani. Napag-uusapan din namin ang politika at naging sunud-sunod na ang pag-uusap [namin]. Syempre gusto ko magkasama kami [sa pagsuporta kay Sec. Roxas] para buo ang Sarangani for Mar,” Lopez said. Pacquiao and Lopez, who both hail from Sarangani, are known to be close friends. The party-list lawmaker is also a friend of Roxas though she is not Read More …