Maniolas

Lucita Soriano (MNS Photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) — Veteran actress Lucita Soriano has died. She was 74. Garry Clint Adriano Garcia, Soriano’s son, on Wednesday confirmed on Facebook that the veteran actress had passed away. Soriano died at the Pacific Global Medical Center where she was earlier admitted to the intensive care unit. She was the widow of fellow actor Rodolfo “Boy” Garcia, who died in 1998. Soriano married American Michael Mayr, a retired engineer, in 2009. Soriano, whose movie career spanned more than five decades, appeared in more than 200 movies and television shows, including ABS-CBN’s “Pangako Sa ‘Yo.” (MNS)

John Lloyd Cruz (MNS Photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) — Actor John Lloyd Cruz feels sad that his upcoming movie, “Honor Thy Father,” did not make it to the official list of entries in this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival (MMFF). Cruz said he was looking forward to the screening of “Honor Thy Father” in the MMFF, believing that there are people who are looking for this type of movie. Still, the actor said he respects the decision of the committee. “Sayang kasi naniniwala talaga kami at ‘yung mga tao sa paligid namin. Naniwala talaga kami na mayroong ano, na mayroong naghahanap ng ganitong klaseng pelikula sa ganoong panahon, sa MMFF season,” he said in an interview with ABS-CBNnews.com and other reporters on Thursday on the set of “Maalaala Mo Kaya” in Bataan. “Malayo siguro sa criteria na mayroon ang MMFF, and we totally respect that. Siyempre, hindi naman kami ang committee, sila ang committee so they get to decide.” “Pero nanghihinayang lang kami kasi we really want the story to be out there at mapanood ng madaming tao. But then again, going back to their criteria, we didn’t make it so we just move on,” he added. Cruz went on to express his thoughts about the annual film festival. “Sayang kasi ang hinahanap ko lang din doon ay para mabigyan ng chance ang ganitong klaseng pelikula na mai-showcase sa ganoong season. Kasi I believe ang MMFF ay para sa lahat ng klaseng pelikula, hindi lang sa siguradong blockbuster o tumatabo sa Read More …

Marlon Garcia of Smartmatic Corporation shows the use of a Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machine at the Commission on Elections (Comelec) headquarters in Manila on Tuesday. Use of the PCOS in the 2016 elections is still up in the air after the Supreme Court voided Comelec’s maintenance contract with Smartmatic last April. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) — A group composed of several bishops and a former senator has asked the Supreme Court to stop a P12-billion contract to lease more than 90,000 optical mark reader (OMR) units for the 2016 elections. In its petition, the group said the Commission on Elections committed a grave abuse of discretion when on June 2 it issued Resolution No. 1544 that allowed the realignment of P12.64 billion for the lease of 93,977 new OMRs. The group said the resolution was legally and constitutionally infirm for violating the 1987 Philippine Constitution, the 2015 General Appropriations Act, and the Supreme Court ruling against the Disbursement Acceleration Program. The SC ruling struck down as illegal several DAP-related acts such as the use of unprogrammed funds and unobligated allotments as savings, as well as the cross-border transfer of the executive’s savings “It is crystal clear that the intention of the Commission en banc in realigning the capital outlay requirement of the FY2016 NLE… amounting to billions of pesos was to meet the funding requirement for the lease with OTP of a total of 93,977 new OMR units, in violation of the Constitution, the 2015 GAA, and the Read More …

Members of Bayan Muna hold a picket in front of Chinese consulate in Makati on Friday April 17 to protest against China’s reclamation activities in Panganiban Reef, part of the disputed areas in the West Philippine Sea. Recent satellite pictures showed the Chinese constructing facilities in the area. (MNS Photo) Manila, Philippines (AFP)  – The Philippines expects a United Nations tribunal to rule in its favor in an increasingly fraught dispute with China over territories in the South China Sea, a presidential spokeswoman said Saturday. Manila will argue its position against Beijing’s claim over most of the resource-rich sea at The Hague on July 7 to 13. China has refused to participate in the arbitration proceedings. The upcoming hearings will decide whether the tribunal has jurisdiction over the case. “We prepared a strong case. We believe we stand on strong legal ground,” presidential spokeswoman Abigail Valte told government radio. “We believe the tribunal will look at our case with favor. We are confident of the Philippine position on this matter.” Philippine foreign secretary Albert del Rosario will lead a government delegation to The Hague, assisted by US-based lawyers, foreign affairs spokesman Charles Jose said. If the Netherlands-based court decides it has jurisdiction, Jose said the Philippines would be asked to argue the merits of its case in another round of hearings. “We have prepared well enough for these oral arguments,” Jose told reporters. The Philippines is among the most vocal critics of China’s South China Sea claims, which also overlap Read More …

President Benigno S. Aquino III presides over the Cabinet Budget Presentation meeting at the Aguinaldo State Dining Room of the Malacañan Palace Monday (July 6). (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) — The minority bloc at the House of Representatives promised stricter scrutiny of the 2016 budget proposed by Malacanang, noting provisions could be used as the administration’s campaign kitty. “If Malacañang thinks it can get away with a bloated budget proposal that is unabashedly designed to fill the ruling party’s campaign kitty to the brim, then it is wrong. We are prepared to scrutinize every centavo, every line item in the 2016 budget proposal,” Kabataan party-list Rep. Terry Ridon said in a statement. President Aquino approved the proposed P3.002 trillion national expenditure program during a Cabinet meeting on Monday. The proposed budget is a 15.2% increase from the 2015 budget. Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr. said the biggest chunk is for the Department of Education, with an allocation of P436.5 billion. President Benigno S. Aquino III presides over the Cabinet Budget Presentation meeting at the Aguinaldo State Dining Room of the Malacañan Palace Monday (July 6). (MNS photo) Next is the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) with P401.14 billion; the Department of National Defense, P172 billion; the Department of Interior and Local Government, P156 billion; the Department of Health (DoH), P128.5 billion; and the Department of Social Welfare and Development, P107.6 billion. This early, Ridon said he and his colleagues are already researching on how the government spent the Read More …