Maniolas

Sen. Bongbong Marcos with sisters Irene and Imee and their mother, former First Lady Imelda Marcos in a recent gathering. Photo posted on Facebook bearing Sen. Marco’s name MANILA (Mabuhay) – Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Tuesday refused to talk about his family’s Swiss accounts containing millions of dollars in alleged stolen wealth that was recovered by the Philippine government. Marcos steered clear of any talk about the forfeiture of his family’s Swiss accounts, saying the family is no longer sending any lawyer to the proceedings. “Which Swiss accounts are these? All of these cases, we, the Marcos family has no longer been represented and we have not argued it in court anymore for many years now. We don’t send lawyers,” he said. He added that he himself does not have a Swiss account. The Philippine government earlier said President Marcos stole an estimated $10 billion from the nation’s coffers during his 20-year rule. In 1997, the Federal Court of Switzerland ordered that the secret Marcos accounts in Swiss banks be transferred to the Republic of the Philippines but subject to certain conditions. The Presidential Commission on Good Government said it has recovered over US$4 billion so far in Marcos’s stolen wealth including real estate, investment bank accounts, shareholdings and other assets. Some of the assets are invested in prime New York real estate, jewellery, and about $600 million stashed in secret numbered Swiss bank accounts. NO HUMAN RIGHTS CASES In the interview, Marcos also steered clear of the Read More …

Imelda Marcos (MNS photo) MANILA (AFP) – Former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos felt “violated” after the authorities searched her homes and offices and seized art pieces, her lawyer said on Wednesday. Government agents launched simultaneous searches on Tuesday for eight paintings potentially worth tens of millions of dollars, including works by Picasso, Gauguin, Miro, Michelangelo and Pissarro. “She felt really violated that this happened. She was really in shock,” Marcos’ lawyer Robert Sison told AFP. The 85-year-old widow of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos was asleep in one of her luxury Manila apartments when a team of government agents arrived, announcing they were searching the place, Sison said. Still recovering from recent eye surgery, she sat “calm and composed” on a wheelchair while the search got underway, he added. Other teams also went over another luxury apartment, a Marcos mansion in suburban Manila, and Imelda Marcos’s office in the House of Representatives where she serves as an elected congresswoman. Sison said nothing was found where Imelda Marcos was staying but artworks were taken from the mansion. The raid came a day after a special court ruled that eight paintings owned by Imelda Marcos had been acquired with embezzled state funds and must be turned over to the government. Sison insisted the government had yet to prove the paintings were acquired with stolen money, and added her client intended to seek legal remedies. Eric Isidoro, a justice department official who searched the Marcos mansion, said his team seized at least Read More …

President Benigno S. Aquino III delivers his message during the Heroes’ Welcome Ceremony for the 7th Philippine Contingent to Golan Heights at the Rizal Hall of the Malacañan Palace on Wednesday (October 01, 2014). (MNS photo) MANILA, October 1, 2014 (AFP) – Philippine President Benigno Aquino on Wednesday criticised the United Nations for refusing to better arm Filipino peacekeepers in the Golan Heights, saying this made their mission “impossible”. Aquino said the UN’s rejection of his request to give the peacekeepers more weapons had left them unnecessarily vulnerable when Al-Qaeda-linked Syrian rebels attacked and surrounded them in August. “Our troops cannot be part of a situation wherein their mission is impossible or unclear,” Aquino said during a ceremony at the presidential palace to award the Golan Heights troops military medals. The Philippines, one of Asia’s biggest suppliers of peacekeepers to UN missions, pulled out its 344-strong Golan Heights contingent last month because of the worsening security situation there. It came after dozens of the peacekeepers engaged the Al-Qaeda-linked rebels in a four-day standoff, refusing to surrender their arms, before escaping under the cover of night. The rebels also disarmed and abducted 45 Fijian peacekeepers, who were later freed unharmed. “Our request for more arms was denied…. and our fears were realised when the standoff happened,” Aquino said. President Benigno S. Aquino III delivers his message during the Heroes’ Welcome Ceremony for the 7th Philippine Contingent to Golan Heights at the Rizal Hall of the Malacañan Palace on Wednesday (October 01, Read More …

President Benigno S. Aquino III converses with Labor and Employment Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz during the Pre-Labor Day Dialogue at the Heroes Hall of the Malacañan Palace on Tuesday (April 30). The conduct of Pre-Labor Day Dialogue is pursuant to the 22-point Labor and Employment Agenda of President Aquino, which essentially consists of among others, the following directives: promote not only the constitutionally protected rights of workers but also their right to participate in the policymaking process; and work with the private and labor sector to strengthen tripartite cooperation and promote industrial peace. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – As protest actions in Hong Kong continue, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz on Wednesday urged overseas Filipino workers there to be careful and to always take the necessary precaution in their daily activities. “I urge and advise our OFWs in Hong Kong to be mindful about their safety amidst the tension between government authorities and pro-democracy protesters calling for universal suffrage in Hong Kong,” said Baldoz in a news release. “Be alert and go on with your regular routine, but avoid places where marches and protests are happening. Stay indoors as much as possible, and keep in touch with our POLO,” she said, referring to the Philippine Overseas Labor Office. She also warned OFWs not to take part in any protest activity or any action that could be construed to be political, for this may put them in contravention of Hong Kong laws. “The reason you are in Hong Kong is to work, not Read More …