Maniolas

President Benigno S. Aquino III leads his official family in prayer before presiding over the meeting on Yolanda rehabilitation updates at the Aguinaldo State Dining Room of the Malacañan Palace on Friday (May 16, 2014). (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – A lawmaker is calling for a joint public hearing on the government’s housing assistance program for families affected by typhoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan) in Cebu. Cebu Rep. Benhur L. Salimbangon said that to date, out of the eight municipalities and one city in his district, only one municipality has received its share of the government’s shelter assistance. Likewise, only a portion of the affected households in the city have received their share of the government’s assistance. Salimbangon said his district was badly affected by ‘Yolanda,’ which struck the country November 8 last year and claimed lives and property. He now wants the House Committee on Housing and Urban Development and the Senate Committee on Urban Development, Housing and Resettlement to probe how the government’s shelter assistance fund was used. The lower house approved a P14.6 billion supplemental budget in 2013 for ‘Yolanda’ recovery and rehabilitation. He added that an additional P160 billion was allocated for Yolanda recovery and rehabilitation fund which included housing assistance. “A significant number of Yolanda affected families in my district do not see and feel government’s recovery and rehabilitation efforts. They think that the government’s post Yolanda recovery and rehabilitation program in terms of housing assistance is unsatisfactory,” Salimbangon said. (MNS)

Members of the New Peoples Army (NPA) belonging to the Pulang Bagani Command celebrate the 40th Founding Anniversary of the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) somewhere in Davao City on Friday, December 26, 2008. The NPA, which is the armed wing of the CPP, has been fighting for the establishment of the Marxist state in the Philippines since 1968. AKP Images/ Keith Bacongco Manila, Philippines | AFP | – The Philippine government and communist rebels said Friday that formal negotiations to end a lengthy insurgency could restart shortly, though the rebels’ armed wing announced it was beefing up its guerilla campaign. Peace talks regarding one of the world’s longest-running insurgencies, which have been on-and-off since the 1980s, may resume as early as the second half of January, Communist Party of the Philippines founder Jose Maria Sison said in a video message on Facebook. Back-channel talks to “prepare the agenda” for formal negotiations have been ongoing since September and agreements on a ceasefire and social and economic reforms may be finished before President Benigno Aquino steps down in 2016, said Sison, who is in exile in the Netherlands. Teresita Deles, presidential adviser on the peace process, did not give a timeline for the negotiations, but told AFP that Sison’s remarks were “very positive” and indicated that common ground between the two sides was “broadening”. “Friends of the peace process have been shuttling between the two parties to explore possible parameters for restarting talks at the earliest time possible,” Deles said Read More …

Kris Aquino (MNS Photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) — This year has been filled with life lessons for Kris Aquino, who shared the key learnings she took away from 2014. The outspoken host-actress Aquino looked back at the ups and downs this year and what she learned. 1. Value of life “I learned the value of life because of what happened to Boy and I learned how to value those who are important to you,” she said, referring to the health battles of her good friend and co-host Boy Abunda during the second half of the year. “Sa pinagdaanaan niya, doon ko napatunayan ‘yung devotion ko sa trabaho. Kasi August ‘yon, nine months pinlano ang bakasyon na ‘yon pero finorego ko siya talaga. Hindi ‘yon biro na four days ka lang sa New York. Umuwi talaga ako dahil kinailangan ako ng trabaho,” noted Aquino, who volunteered to cut short her New York trip to allow Abunda to recuperate. 2. Family comes first “Natutunan ko also as far as political popularity is concerned maraming ups and downs talaga. Pero at your core ay pamilya kayo so alam mo na you are there for each other. So kung alam mong down, alam mo kung paano ipakita na babangon at gaganda. ‘Di ka magbibigay ng sakit ng ulo kung hindi magbibigay ka ng inspirasyon,” said Aquino, who is youngest sister of President Benigno Aquino III. 3. It takes two to tango “Matters of the heart, ang natutunanan ko it’s beyond your control because it will Read More …

President Benigno S. Aquino III offers a wreath during the commemoration of the 118th anniversary of the martyrdom of Dr. Jose Rizal at the Rizal National Monument in Rizal Park, Manila City on Tuesday (December 30), with the theme: “Rizal 2014: Dunong at Pusong Pilipino.” Also in photo is National Historical Commission of the Philippines chairperson Dr. Maria Serena Diokno. (MNS photo) Isang taon na naman po ang lumipas at muli tayong tumatawid sa panibagong yugto ng pagtahak sa tuwid na landas. Papasok na po tayo sa ika-limang taon ng ating termino. At sa taong ito, sa tulong ninyong aming mga Boss, ay gagawin nating permanente ang pagbabagong tinatamasa na natin ngayon. Sa paglingon natin sa nagdaang panahon, atin pong napatutunayan: Patung-patong man ang pagsubok na dumating sa atin, gaano man katindi ang puwersang humarang, at anumang pilit ng masasamang-loob na hilahin tayo pababa, basta’t nakatutok tayo sa iisang direksyon, basta’t magkakapit-bisig tayong humahakbang, walang makakapigil sa pag-abot natin sa ating mga pangarap. Kamakailan nga lang po, nagdaan sa bansa ang Bagyong Ruby. Sa awa po ng Diyos, hindi naging ganoon kalubha at kalawak ang pinsalang dulot nito sa kalakhang bansa. Nais ko pong magbigay-pugay sa lahat ng nakipagkapit-bisig upang masiguro na marami sa ating kababayan ay mailayo sa peligro. Maraming salamat sa ating mga front-liner, first-responder, volunteer, at katuwang sa pribadong sektor, upang magbigay ng sapat na preparasyon at tugon sa kalamidad na ito. Tunay nga po: Sa pagkakaisa at sa pagkilos nang may integridad, naisusulong natin ang transpormasyon Read More …

President Benigno S. Aquino III offers a wreath during the commemoration of the 118th anniversary of the martyrdom of Dr. Jose Rizal at the Rizal National Monument in Rizal Park, Manila City on Tuesday (December 30), with the theme: “Rizal 2014: Dunong at Pusong Pilipino.” (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – As the nation commemorates the 118th anniversary of the martyrdom of Dr. Jose Rizal, Senator Pia Cayetano on Tuesday renewed call to protect and preserve the sanctity of the Rizal monument in Manila. “I enjoin our national cultural agencies to make full use of their authority and fulfill their constitutional mandate to preserve and protect our remaining historical and cultural heritage,” Cayetano said. Cayetano is the chairperson of the Senate committee on education, arts and culture which initiated a Senate inquiry on the construction of the 49-story Torre de Manila condominium near the Rizal Park. ”Who have thought that the famous quote of Dr. Jose Rizal: Ang hindi marunong lumingon sa pinanggalingan ay hindi makakarating sa paroroonan (Those who do not know how to value their past are condemned not to reach their destination) come back and haunt us and the very shrine built to honor him?,” Cayetano said. Cayetano stressed the need for full protection of the Rizal Shrine since as a national monument “it is entitled to full protection under the Constitution and our national heritage law.” ”The objective of these laws is to preserve and protect important cultural properties and national cultural treasures and to safeguard their Read More …