Maniolas

President Benigno S. Aquino III exchanges pleasantries with Nidec Corporation founder, chairman, president and chief executive officer Shigenobu Nagamori during the courtesy call at the Music Room of the Malacañan Palace on Wednesday (March 18, 2015). Also in photo are Nidec Corp director and first vice president Toshihiko Miyabe, Nidec Philippines Corporation and Nidec Subic Philippines Corporation president Takao Deno and Trade and Industry Secretary Gregory Domingo. (MNS Photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – Four out of 10 Filipinos do not want President Benigno Aquino III to resign in the wake of the Mamasapano carnage, the chief executive’s biggest political crisis yet, a Pulse Asia survey showed. The survey, conducted from March 1 to 7, revealed that 42% of the respondents disagree with calls for the president to step down from office now, compared to 29% who agree that he should resign and 28% who are undecided on the matter. This is the plurality sentiment among those in Metro Manila (45%), the rest of Luzon (47%), and Class D (43%), Pulse Asia said. Pulse Asia said public opinion is split three-ways in the Visayas, with 34% saying Aquino should not resign now, 36% ambivalent on the matter, and 29% saying he should step down now. In terms of socio-economic class, 43% among Class D and 42% among Classes ABC and E disagree with calls for Aquino to step down now. Nearly 8 of 10 Filipinos (79%) also believe that the national administration and President Aquino have not yet given enough explanation regarding Read More …

Senator Grace Poe on Tuesday presents a copy of the Philippine National Police Board of Inquiry (BOI) report and discusses the findings of the Senate committee on public order that she heads. Poe affirmed most of the BOI’s findings and stressed President Aquino’s responsibility on the incident. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – While he has yet to read the entire draft of the Senate joint committee report on the deadly Mamasapano clash, sacked PNP Special Action Force commander Director Getulio Napeñas’ lawyer said that based on the executive summary, the Senate report is more complete compared to the PNP Board of Inquiry report. “Nabasa ko lang yung executive summary. Hopefully, it is more objective. But we respect the report of Sen. [Grace] Poe, especially pag ito ay aaprubahan ng plenary. Kung ano pa man, tingin namin ang level diyan mas objective, the responsibility was clarified dun, up to the responsibility of Napeñas,” Atty. Vitaliano Aguirre told reporters in a chance interview with reporters at the Office of the Ombudsman. Aguirre’s client Napeñas arrived at the Ombudsman early Wednesday morning to attend a clarificatory hearing. The Office of the Ombudsman is conducting its own investigation into the deadly Mamasapano clash which left over 60 people dead. Aguirre said his client remains willing to fully cooperate with the Ombudsman’s fact finding investigation. “Si General Napeñas naman, unang una pa lang, wala naman siyang tinatago. Two days after, he submitted himself to interview, sinurrender niya nga ang cellphone niya,” he said. Aguirre also Read More …

Solaire Resort & Casino, a $1 billion resort operated by Bloomberry Resorts Corporation in the reclaimed area by the Manila Bay, is one of the first of multi-casino Las Vegas-inspired projects in Manila. Manila, Philippines |AFP| – A Philippine mega-casino reported Thursday its first annual profit on the back of half a billion dollars in revenues, strengthening the Southeast Asian nation’s bid to become one of the world’s biggest gambling hubs. Bloomberry Resorts, which operates the Solaire Resort and Casino, said it posted a 4.072-billion-peso ($91-million) net profit in 2014, compared with a loss of 1.315 billion pesos in the previous year. Revenues doubled to 24.122 billion pesos from 2013. Solaire, owned by Filipino billionaire and port magnate Enrique Razon, opened in March 2013, the first of four billion-dollar casinos planned on a glittering strip fronting Manila Bay dubbed Entertainment City. The huge casinos are the centrepiece of the Philippines’ campaign to rival Las Vegas and Singapore as one of the world’s biggest gambling destinations, after the Chinese enclave of Macau, the industry’s capital. Analysts said Solaire’s nearly half billion dollars in revenue, in only its second year, showed the Philippines could achieve its goal. “There’s nowhere to go but up, considering the attractiveness of this sunrise industry…. we’ve just started to attract the high rollers,” First Grade Holdings managing director Astro del Castillo told AFP. A second mammoth casino called City of Dreams, a joint venture between Australian billionaire James Packer and Lawrence Ho, son of Macau gambling mogul Read More …

Senate Minority Floor Leader Juan Ponce Enrile (center) arrives at the Sandiganbayan in Quezon City on Friday, July 11, to attend his arraignment on graft and plunder charges in connection with the alleged P10-billion pork barrel scam. He faces one count of plunder and 15 counts of graft. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile is back at the PNP General Hospital in Camp Crame after nearly a month of confinement at the Makati Medical Center (MMC). In a text message, Chief Inspector Dr. Raymond Santos, officer-in-charge of the PNP General Hospital, said Enrile arrived at the hospital’s specialty ward around 10 a.m. “He’s condition is stable. He just needs to continue taking his maintenance medications,” Santos said. Enrile was rushed to the MMC on February 26, a few days after he celebrated his 91st birthday at the PNP General Hospital on February 14, due to pneumonia. Enrile is currently under hospital arrest for plunder and graft charges in connection to his alleged involvement in the alleged multi-billion peso pork barrel fund scam. Two other senators, Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon Bong Revilla Jr., are detained at the PNP Custodial Center also in connection with the supposed pork scam.  (MNS)

Program continues to protect abused and abandoned children of today to protect future generations (photo screenshot courtesy of http://www.abs)cbnfoundation.org/ REDWOOD SHORES, CA   – It was the tragic death of a young girl in the Philippines who was brutally beaten by her own mother in 1996 that sparked the idea of creating a helpline that will receive reports of cases of child abuse. By giving the public access to a 24-hour hotline, abuses committed against children are easily reported and verified. Thus, in 1997, ABS-CBN Foundation founder Gina Lopez started Bantay Bata 163 in Manila, Philippines as a local emergency go-to and rescue hotline operation.  Eighteen years after, Bantay Bata 163 has expanded its regional branches to Cebu, Davao, Zamboanga, Bicol, Negros Oriental, Iloilo, Pangasinan, Laguna and General Santos City.  It has also expanded its reach through a variety of projects that include the Children’s Village, feeding program, prevention of child trafficking and student scholarship. Overseas, ABS-CBN Foundation International (AFI) kicked off recently the year-long 18th Year Anniversary Celebration of Bantay Bata at the famous Hollywood El Rey Theater in partnership with N91 Live through a fundraising concert attended not only by Filipino supporters but by mainly mainstream Americans.  Under Managing Director Jo Ann Kyle, the appeal of Bantay Bata has reached a broader audience in the U.S. where AFI is based.  The AFI Bantay Bata PSA “Fighting For Survival”, created by ABS-CBN TFC’s Pia Lopezbanos Carrion, Jeremiah Ysip, Eugene Libadia, Michael Angelo Carrion, Danny Manansala, Danie Sedilla-Cruz, and Paolo Ramos, Read More …