Maniolas

(OTTAWA, Canada) President Benigno S. Aquino III aboard a state landau arrives at the 7 Rideau Gate for the welcome ceremony during his State Visit to Canada.(MNS photo) MANILA, May 9 (Mabuhay) – President Benigno Aquino III on Friday expressed grief over the death of Philippine Ambassador to Pakistan Domingo Lucenario Jr. in a helicopter crash. In a statement, Presidential Communications Operations Office head Herminio Coloma Jr. said Aquino and his delegation learned of the tragedy while in Ottawa, Canada. “He (Aquino) said that the Philippines lost an outstanding career diplomat who served his country with distinction for nearly three decades,” Coloma said. Coloma added Aquino “conveyed his sympathy and condolences with Ambassador Lucenario’s family.” Aquino is on a three-day state visit to Canada. Chopper crash Lucenario was among the seven people killed in a military helicopter crash on Friday in northern Pakistan. The victims were on their way to inspect development projects there. Also killed were ambassador of Norway and the wives of the Malaysian, Indonesian ambassadors and the pilots and crew of the chopper. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif was traveling to the mountainous northern region of Gilgit on a separate aircraft to launch two projects when the accident happened. He returned to Islamabad, his office said. Military spokesman Asim Bajwa said in Twitter posts that initial information indicated the cause was a technical fault.(MNS)

(OTTAWA, Canada) President Benigno S. Aquino III reviews the honor guards during the welcome ceremony at Rideau Hall for his State Visit to Canada. (MNS photo) OTTAWA, Canada (Mabuhay) — President Benigno S. Aquino III flew to Ottawa, the first stop of his three-day state visit to Canada, on Thursday (Friday in Manila) after completing a successful one-day working visit to Chicago. Shortly after his arrival in Ottawa, President Aquino traveled to Rideau Hall, the official residence of Canada’s governor general, where he was welcomed by Governor General David Johnston and Mrs. Sharon Johnston with military honors, including a 21-gun salute. After the official welcome at 2 p.m. (local time), President Aquino held talks with Governor General Johnston at the Large Drawing Room, Rideau Hall. The meeting was followed by a tree planting ceremony. President Aquino planted a red spruce (Picea rubens) on the grounds of Rideau Hall to commemorate his state visit to Canada. It was located beside the red maple that was planted by President Aquino’s mother, former President Corazon Aquino, during her state visit to Canada in November 1989. Later at 6:30 p.m. (local time), President Aquino will attend a state dinner at Rideau Hall hosted in honor of the President’s visit by Governor General Johnston and Mrs. Johnston. On Friday (Saturday in Manila), the President will participate in a tête-à-tête meeting with his Canadian counterpart, Prime Minister Stephen Harper. They will also witness the signing of agreements that will strengthen bilateral ties between the two countries. Read More …

Some students to visit the ocean for first time on May 14, 2015 To enhance the lesson, more than 3,500 students from more than 30 Los Angeles-area schools will be taken to the beach for a clean-up and to participate in an aerial artwork, designed by a Los Angeles student and brought to life by aerial artist John Quigley during the ‘Unite for the Ocean.’ Kids Ocean Day is the culmination of a year-round school assembly program by the Malibu Foundation for Environmental Education to teach school kids about how litter flows from our neighborhoods to the ocean, thereby killing marine life and polluting food resources. To enhance the lesson, more than 3,500 students from more than 30 Los Angeles-area schools will be taken to the beach for a clean-up and to participate in an aerial artwork, designed by a Los Angeles student and brought to life by aerial artist John Quigley. Kids Ocean Day will be celebrated on May 14, 2015 at Dockweiler State Beach. Kids Ocean Day is the creation of Malibu Foundation for Environmental Education founder Michael Klubock.   Michael started Kids Ocean Day 22 years ago as a way to bring his school assembly program into the real world.  The one-day cleanup event motivates the students of Los Angeles to care about their environment and involves them in community service, while instilling good habits and stewardship. Bringing Los Angeles school children to the beach helps put them in touch with nature, while challenging them to recycle, reduce litter and participate Read More …

President Benigno Aquino receives signed NBA jerseys from Mr. James M. Peck, CEO and President of TransUnion LLC after his meeting with business organizations in Chicago, USA.(MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – President Benigno Aquino III met with business organizations during his official visit to Chicago, Illinois during which the Philippine leader cited the need to improve connectivity in transportation and expand facilities of the existing nautical highway. Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma said business executives from various fields expressed interest in participating or continuing their involvement in Philippine business efforts. One of the points Aquino raised during the roundtable discussion was the need to improve connectivity in transportation, he added. As an archipelago the Philippines needs to expand an existing nautical highway, improve ports and roll-on and roll-off facilities, the President said. Thomas La France, senior executive of GE Transportation, expressed interest in joining Philippine efforts toward infrastructure development while possibilities of improving the railway system was also mentioned, Coloma said. Transportation’s role in trade was also discussed during the meeting. FedEx managing director Ralph Carter said the logistics company is willing to assist in transporting high-quality marble products from Romblon to international markets. For Keith Williams, former vice president of the US-ASEAN Business Council, it is important to employ generation-skipping technology in accelerating the pace of Philippine growth and development. Executives from Microsoft and JP Morgan Chase & Co. said they appreciate the talent and competence of Filipino workers. Melissa Bean, chairman of JP Morgan Chase-US Midwest, said they have Read More …

Senate President Franklin Drilon and Senator Bongbong Marcos receive the Citizens’ Peace Council report on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law. Representing the Peace Council are former Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr., former Ambassador Howard Lee, former Education Secretary Edilberto de Jesus, Teach Peace, Build Peace founder Bai Rohaniza Sumndad-Usman, Ateneo de Davao University President Rev. Fr. Joel Tabor and Director Vicky Gatchitorena. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) — The Senate panel which is deliberating on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) is set to transmit to the plenary its committee report on the controversial measure in the next two weeks to have it passed before the Senate adjourns sine die on June 11. In a press conference on Tuesday morning, Senate President Franklin Drilon said that in his meeting with Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Monday, the latter agreed to finish the committee hearings on the BBL two weeks from now. “In our meeting yesterday, he said that his committee is prepared to terminate the committee hearings in about two weeks time, so that we will have enough time to debate on the report before we adjourn on June 11,” Drilon said. Marcos is the chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Government, which is tasked to deliberate on the BBL before it gets voted upon at the plenary level. Marcos’ committee has been deliberating on the proposed measure since September last year, but the deliberations were suspended for about two months following the bloody Mamasapano incident on January 25. Read More …