Maniolas

President Benigno S. Aquino and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP should take a more assertive action to defend our country’s sovereignty in the ongoing feud between the Philippines and China over the disputed islands in the South China Sea. China has recently stepped up its actions to press its maritime claims by sending more military vessels within the disputed areas. President Aquino, on the other hand, apparently is doing the opposite. Aside from doing nothing in terms of negotiation with China, he ordered all Philippine navy vessels in the disputed areas to pull back on the pretext  that the ships were threatened constantly by typhoons. It is known to all our neighboring Asian countries that we are not capable of defending the disputed areas in the South China Sea. Most of our weapons are outmoded and our military aircraft and vessels donated by the United States, are either obsolete or second-hand. In 2012, a bloody confrontation between the Philippine Coast Guard  and Chinese coast guard almost erupted. Our coast guard tried to apprehend Chinese poachers in the Scarborough Shoal, about 124 nautical miles from Manila. They however were prevented by heavily armed Chinese Coast Guard from arresting the poachers. It must have been hard for our maritime security sailors to “turn their cheek the other way” to avoid bloodshed knowing that they were both outgunned and outmanned. But what is hard to swallow was an insulting story which came out recently from a Chinese newspaper which described the Read More …

Katya Santos (MNS Photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) — From doing teenybopper roles, Katya Santos transitioned to a sexy star as one of the members of Viva Hot Babes. Katya, who is now a mother, has let go of her sexy image and is back to doing wholesome role again. She plays the role of Precious, a social worker, in the Kapamilya teleserye “Dream Dad.” Katya is also paired up with Ketchup Eusebio in the teleserye. “I got married and syempre nag-mother role muna ako sa anak ko. Finally, nabigyan ako ng chance na makasama sa show na ito. Masaya ako dahil sa estado ko na ito, ngayon pa ako nagkaroon ng loveteam,” Katya said at the press conference of “Dream Dad.” Katya admitted she really wanted to detach from her past sexy image. She acknowledged that her role on “Dream Dad” has given her the chance to do so. “Siguro ‘yung wholesomeness na din nakatulong sa akin kasi nawala talaga yung Hot Babe thing, nabura. Napakalaking bagay noon sa akin kasi may pamilya na ako,” she said. Among her sexy movies then were “Keka,” “Sukdulan” and “Sex Drive.” Thanks to “Dream Dad,” Katya believes people have already forgotten her former sexy image. “Nakakatuwa din naman na nabigyan ako ng chance na ganoon, na wholesome naman, nawala na sa isip ng tao ‘yung dating reputation. Gusto ko din naman na matanggal iyon at dahil dito ang laking tulong ng character ko as Precious na makalimutan nila ‘yung dati kong shows,” she said. Read More …

Senator Chiz Escudero, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, delivers a privilege speech on the 2014 General Appropriations Bill, Tuesday morning. According to Escudero, the 2014 budget proposal, which includes funds for climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction programs and projects in the amount of P70 billion, will also include specific funding for the rehabilitation of the Visayas on top of the existing calamity fund to be sourced from items which can be postponed in the 2014 national budget. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – Lack of resources is one of the reasons why Senator Francis Escudero is still undecided in running for a higher post in the 2016 elections. During a weekly forum at the Senate on Wednesday, Escudero said he will most likely announce his decision at the last day of the filing of certificate of candidacy in October. Asked if money is among the factors he is considering, Escudero said, “Syempre kasama na yun lalo na sa isang kandidato na tulad ko na mula’t mula palaging kulang at salat ang pondo,” “Hindi naman ganun kadali ang magdesisyon dahil apektado ang buhay mo at mahal sa buhay mo. Kung madali yun para sa iba dahil meron silang sapat na resources hindi yun dapat ganun kagaang na desisyong gawin ninuman,” he added. (MNS)

“China is the only place on Earth that we have excess inventory,” says Elon Musk, blaming “speculators” for ordering cars amid the early media hype and then not taking delivery. (Relaxnews) – Tesla on Friday reported record quarterly sales of its premium electric car, the Model S. But it’s by no means the only company carving out a bigger share of the electric car market by targeting affluent drivers. Tesla is on a roll. Its electric cars may well come with a premium price ticket and a restricted range, when compared to its gas-powered rivals in the executive sedan segment, but on Friday it reported it has delivered 10,030 cars during Q1 of the year, which is not only a record for the company, it is a 55% increase over 2014’s Q1 figures. And unlike a lot of companies trying to break into the electric vehicle market and tempt car buyers away from fossil fuels, Tesla only has one model – the Model S in its range. The Nissan Renault Alliance is currently the global leader in cumulative EV sales — 200,000 vehicles and counting. Those numbers, however, are down to having a range of models that includes small vans and single-seat vehicles as well as the Nissan Leaf and its cousin, the Renault Zoe – all of which are pitched at different people in different regions with differing levels of disposable income. In January, Nissan reported that it had sold more than 30,000 Nissan Leaf models in the US Read More …

The eagerly-anticipated May 2 welterweight unification showdown in Las Vegas promises to be the most lucrative fight in boxing history. “I am very excited,” Pacquiao said Wednesday at the Wild Card gym in Hollywood. “My training and my conditioning is good. I can feel it. I am ready.” Photo: Benny Uy Los Angeles, United States, AFP, Tuesday 4/21/2015 – Manny Pacquiao’s teleconference call on Monday was abruptly halted just minutes after it began with promoter Bob Arum delivering an obscenity before telling organizers to shut it down. “Oh (expletive),” Arum said after the moderator said the first question would come from Michael Marley of Examiner.com. “Do this call some other time. Let’s reorganize and do this call some other time, please.” Pacquiao and trainer Freddie Roach commented briefly before the call was taken over by Arum who had said earlier he wasn’t happy with the idea of it. “We are ready to go. We had a great training camp and good sparring partners,” Roach said of the mega showdown with Floyd Mayweather on May 2 at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino. Asked how his training was going Pacquiao simply said, “very good.” Reporters were then told Pacquiao had boxed 12 rounds in a sparring session on Saturday. There was no mention of tickets for the fight which are still not up for sale with the mega fight just two weeks away. The contracts with the MGM also remain unsigned and there is no word on the closed circuit television. Read More …