Maniolas

President Benigno S. Aquino III delivers his speech during the Conferment Ceremony at the Reception Hall of the Malacañan Palace on Thursday (May 14, 2015). President Aquino received his Doctor of Humanities degree, Honoris Causa, from Tarlac State University (TSU) president Dr. Myrna Mallari. (MNS Photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) — Government employees will soon get their Productivity Enhancement Incentive (PEI) bonuses, after President Benigno Aquino III signed an executive order to the effect, Malacañang said Saturday. Presidential Communications Operations Office head Herminio Coloma Jr. said Aquino signed Executive Order 181, where the payment will be released starting June 1. He said “the one-time grant of the PEI (is) equivalent to either P5,000 or one month basic salary as of 31 May 2015.” It covers government employees from: – national government agencies – Congress – Judiciary – Civil Service Commission – Commission on Elections – Office of the Ombudsman – Government-owned or controlled corporations – local water districts – government financial institutions – local government units Conditions Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said on government-run dzRB radio the one-time grant of the PEI equivalent to one month’s salary is for agencies that have complied with requirements on performance. “(K)ailanganng ma-meet ng mga agencies ‘yung mga sumusunod na requirement para makapagbigay sila ng one-time PEI equivalent to one-month basic salary,” she said, adding these include: – achievement of at least 90 percent of their fiscal year 2014 target under at least two performance indicators for at least one major final output under operations Read More …

It’s been awhile since this author last joined the studio tours at the famous Univeral Studios Hollywood. But as luck would have it, my son and his family asked me to join them at the theme park, along with a season pass on Mother’s Day. I wasn’t too surprised to see a lot of families doing the same thing on this special day. What amazed me were the awesome attractions added since we were last there sometime back. My grandson opted to stay behind with my son and not go through the Backlot Studio Tour as he knew he might get “devoured by the Raptors” during the tour. The tram ride offered something new, with TV talk show host, Jimmy Fallon welcoming all of us on an HD monitor and impressing us with his friendly narration, though there are still live tour guides who could be seen throughout the trams through video screens. We went through the theme park’s backlot where numerous films were made including Skull Island, used in the film “Jaws” and the “Collapsing Bridge” now used for the new King Kong 3-D attraction, to the “Parting of the Sea” scene used during filming of “The Ten Commnadments”, to the “Spanish” area where there’s sudden flash floods, to the ‘New York” facade street where gangster movies were filmed on Courthouse Square and to the European area where films such as “Casablanca” were shot. Further, we passed by various muscle cars used in the “Fast & Furious” movies and next, we were awed by the Read More …

MAKATI PARKING BUILDING PROBE: Senator Koko Pimentel(right), chair of the Senate Blue Ribbon Subcommittee investigating the alleged overpricing of the Makati Parking Building II, and Senator Antonio Trillanes IV (left) discuss the alleged irregular transactions reportedly entered into by the Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF), more popularly known as Pag-IBIG Fund under the leadership of Vice President Jejomar Binay. During the hearing, Trillanes said Pag-IBIG granted “developmental loans” to four developers who were allegedly close to Binay. The Binay camp has denied the allegation. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – Now the cat is out of the bag, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV is almost certain that Vice President Jejomar Binay will back out from the presidential race in 2016. “Tapos na ang boksing. Kahit magaling sila magsinungaling, hindi na nila kayang lusutan ito (Game is over. Even if they’re good in lying, they can’t get out of this),” Trillanes said in a text message to reporters on Thursday. “Ngayon, kung umatras sya sa kanyang kandidatura, mas makakapamili ang mga Pilipino kung sino ang karapatdapat mamuno sa ating bansa na walang pangamba na maaring may mahalal muli na isang mandarambong (Now if he’s going to withdraw his candidacy, the Filipino people can choose who is the right leader for the country, without worries that the one who will be elected is a thief),” he said. The senator issued the statement after the media reported the purported report of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), which supposedly indicated that a a total of P11 Read More …

Senator Bong Revilla (center) consoles his son, Cavite Vice Governor Jolo Revilla, at the Asian Hospital on Tuesday. The elder Revilla was allowed by the court to visit his son who sustained a gunshot wound on Saturday. Also in the picture is Sen. Revilla’s wife, Cavite Rep. Lani Mercado (right).(MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) — Four Cavite properties of detained Senator Ramon ”Bong” Revilla Jr. were garnished by the Sandiganbayan Sheriff in connection with his pork barrel scam cases. In a report by the court sheriff to the First Division, two properties in Tagaytay City and two more in Silang have been garnished. Two 125-square meter lots under the name “Bong Revilla married to Lani Mercado” were garnished in Tagaytay City. In Silang Cavite, two more lots measuring 10,191 square meters and 14,834 square meters under the name “Jose Marie Bautista married to Jesusa Victoria Hernandez” were also garnished. Other properties, which were not garnished because they were not ascertained to be owned by the Revillas, were also reported by the court sheriff. These properties include a 443-square meter house with a 13-square meter guard house in Bacoor, Cavite, a Fuso Jitney, and shares at The Riviera Golf Club. The anti-graft court earlier ordered the garnishment of P224.5 million worth of Revilla’s properties. The assets include multiple bank accounts, real properties, shares of stocks as well as vehicles. The writ prevents Revilla, his relatives, or his agents from selling, transferring, or disposing of the assets. The Sandiganbayan gets temporary custody of Read More …

The public will soon be getting an idea how much money Vice President Jejomar Binay and his family have in their multiple bank accounts. The Court of Appeals (CA) has recently frozen 242 bank accounts and insurance policies belonging to the Vice President  and his family, including close associates suspected of being his dummies. Also covered by the freeze order were the bank accounts of businessman Gerry Limlingan. He is widely known as the alleged dummy and bagman of Vice President Binay  when he was the mayor of Makati, as alleged by former Makati vice mayor Mercado. Binay’s lawyers however denied that the Vice President has 242 bank accounts and insurance policies. They are claiming that Binay has only five bank accounts under his name. The freeze order was issued by the First Division of the CA composed of Presiding Justice Andres Reyes Jr, and justices Edwin Sorongan and Ricardo Rosario. This is the first time that bank accounts of the Vice President of the Philippines were ordered to be frozen for alleged dishonesty. Binay has long been accused by his political opponents of having accumulated hundreds of millions of pesos acquired allegedly by illicit  or improper means  in his long years as mayor of Makati. It was the Anti Money Laundering Council (AMLC) that filed a petition to the CA to enable the council to scrutinize the bank accounts of the Binay family. The AMLC and the Office of the Ombudsman, in their petition to the court, want to Read More …