Maniolas

Rachelle Ann Go (MNS Photo) Singer Rachelle Ann Go said she has to time to get into a new relationship as she is busy with her stint in “Miss Saigon” and her other work commitments. “Hindi ko kasi iniisip ‘yung love life. Kumbaga, parang ito na ‘yung nangyayari,” she said, referring to the opportunity to be part of “Miss Saigon”. “Isa-isa lang muna kung darating man ‘yan. So huwag muna siyang pagtuunan ng pansin.” “Ako, bigla akong pinadala sa ibang bansa na hindi ko pinlano, so ini-enjoy ko ‘yun,” she added. When asked if she is open to the idea of having a boyfriend from West End, Go said: “Hindi ko alam. Pero pagbalik ko, kapag may kasama ako, edi ‘yun na ‘yon.” Meanwhile, Go said she is happy for two of her exes as they both got engaged this year. Dancer Gabriel Valenciano is set to marry blogger-host Tricia Centenera next year, while actor John Prats recently proposed to actress Isabel Oli. “’Yun ‘yung destiny nila… Ito na yata ‘yung season na ‘yung edad ng mga nagpapakasal. Ako, happy ako sa kanila. Everyone is happy,” Go said. (MNS)

Akbayan party chairperson Risa Hontiveros Baraquel leads the send-off of volunteers on Monday to Tacloban City for typhoon Yolanda’s first-year commemoration. The volunteers served a year ago in Yolanda-affected areas. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – Most survivors of Typhoon Yolanda in Eastern Visayas are living on less than P34 a day, a study by research group IBON revealed. The study said that in a survey of 1,094 respondents in six Eastern Visayas provinces, 8 out of 10 families earn less than P5,000 on the average every month. Most of the respondents belong to families with five or more members. Typhoon Yolanda battered Eastern Visayas last year, affecting the livelihood of nearly 6 million workers in agriculture, fishing, trade and transport. IBON said that agricultural income in the affected areas has been estimated to have dropped by 50 percent to 70 percent after the devastation. Eastern Visayas, which is among the poorest regions in the country, relies heavily on agriculture. IBON said government’s response to the urgent needs of the typhoon survivors is not only slow and inadequate, it also fails to address livelihood issues that cause millions to be poor and vulnerable. Government data showed that only 215,471 families have been given livelihood support through its short-term “Cash for Building Livelihood Assets.” IBON said this could mean that as much as some 780,000 families have either no livelihood support or are relying on scattered efforts of non-government organizations (NGOs) and the private sector. The typhoon displaced an estimated 918,621 families Read More …

Senator Bong Revilla, shown in photo on his way to be detained on plunder and graft charges, said his lawyer, Sal Panelo, only talked about the rats and roaches in his cell in jest. Revilla’s lawyer has said the senator’s family saw rats “as big as cats” inside the senator’s cell. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – Detained Senator Ramon “Bong” Revila on Thursday asked the Sandiganbayan to allow him to undergo a medical checkup for numerous ailments. In a three page motion, Revilla asked the court to allow him to be checked at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig City “at the soonest possible time as may be permitted by the Honorable Court.” Revilla listed several illnesses, including a migraine-related disease and weakening of the bones in his lower back and legs, as well as hypertension and excess cholesterol in the blood as reasons for the need for a checkup. “Senator Revilla moves for permission to be allowed to undergo medical check up and some diagnostic tests by reason of his being diagnosed to have the following medical problems: Migraine headache in status Migrainous; Lumbo-Sacral Radiculopathy secondary to Spondylosis; Hypertension not well controlled; Dsylipidemia,” the motion said. Revilla’s lawyers also attached a medical certificate from the detained senator’s doctor, Ma. Cristina Macrohon-Valdez. “This is to verify they I have seen and examined Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr.,” the medical certificate dated October 1 said. Macrohon-Valdez said Revilla needs to undergo four medical exams, including the following: MRI-MRA of the Brain with Read More …

Vice President Jejomar Binay (right) attends a special Cabinet meeting on Typhoon Yolanda which was presided by President Benigno Aquino III in Malacañang on Wednesday, November 5. Also in photo are Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, DENR Secretary Ramon Paje, Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda, and Presidential Management Staff head Julia Andrea Abad. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – President Benigno Aquino III led a “special Cabinet meeting” that was also attended by Vice President Jejomar Binay on Wednesday on the implementation of the “Yolanda” Comprehensive Recovery and Rehabilitation Plan (CRRP). “The President will get updates on CRRP implementation as of 31 October from OPARR (Office of the Presidential Assistant for Rehabilitation and Recovery) Secretary (Panfilo) Lacson and heads of concerned clusters,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in a statement. ‎‎A video of the meeting as it started showed Aquino sitting across Binay, who is also the head of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC). The HUDCC was recently appointed as the lead agency, together with the National Housing Authority, that will implement Administrative Order 44, which provides for the fast-tracking of resettlement projects through a one-stop-shop. The meeting was the first time the two top officials appeared in public together after the President told Binay that he was free to leave the Cabinet if he feels that they are going in the wrong direction. Although acknowledging the Vice President’s work in the housing sector, Aquino said Binay, as a Cabinet member, is obligated to present solutions instead of just Read More …

Los Angeles – The Philippine Consulate General in Los Angeles informs the public that as part of the commemoration of first anniversary of Typhoon Haiyan in November 2013, the Embassy of the Philippines in Washington D.C. has launched the “Radyo Tambuli” mobile application.  Radio Tambuli is a virtual radio station seeking to deliver news about the Philippines to the Filipino-American Community in the United States.  This mobile app is now available for download from both the Google Playstore and the Apple App Store. The Philippine Embassy has partnered with All Nippon Airways (ANA) for a year-long promotional campaign that involves the holding of two (2) raffle draws in March and September 2015. Anyone who downloads the app will have the opportunity to register in the raffles with the winner in each of the two draws receiving a round-trip ticket to Manila from any point in the United States that is being served by ANA. The Consulate General of the Philippines in Los Angeles supports RadioTambuli’s goal to link the Filipino-American Community and empower them with positive knowledge about the Philippines.