Maniolas

The Filipino community is encouraged to continue to support our beloved city by voting. The 7 Official New7Wonders Cities will be revealed on 7 December 2014. To vote, log on to www.new7wonders.com/en/cities and click on the city of your choice. Los Angeles –  Vigan, the Heritage City  makes it to the Top 21 Official finalist in the search for New 7 Wonder Cities of the World.  Vigan is the only city in the Philippines that has been chosen for this prestigious search, giving our country and the Filipino people pride and honor. The 21 Official Finalists that have been voted through to the next round of the New7Wonders Cities campaign are: Bangkok, Barcelona, Beirut, Chicago, Doha, Durban, Havana, Istanbul, Kuala Lumpur, La Paz, London, Mendoza, Mexico City, Mumbai, Perth, Quito, Reykjavik, Saint Petersburg, Seoul, Shenzhen and Vigan. Announcing the 21 Official Finalists to the next round of the New7Wonders Cities campaign, Bernard Weber, Founder-President of New7Wonders, said the diversity of the remaining cities in contention for the “canon of 7″ is “remarkable in terms of regional geography and urban culture.” The Filipino community is encouraged to continue to support our beloved city by voting. The 7 Official New7Wonders Cities will be revealed on 7 December 2014. The next voting phases will be scheduled on the following dates and finalists will be declared  the New 7 Wonder-Cities of the World: 7 July 2014 – 7 Oct 2014 – from 21 finalists down to 14 7 Oct 2014 – 7 Dec 2014 – from 14 finalist down to 7 As with all New 7Wonders campaigns, voting is via new7wonders.com, via Read More …

Proponents of the Freedom of Information bill hail the technical working group of the House committee on Public Information for the approval of its consolidated version on Wednesday (September 3, 2014) at the House of Representatives in Batasan Complex, Quezon City. From left are Paranaque City Rep. Gustavo Tambunting; Ang NARS party list Rep. Leah Paquiz; Committee on Public Information chairman and Misamis Occidental Rep. Jorge Almonte; Cebu Rep. Gwendolyn Garcia; Akbayan party-list Rep. Barry Gutierrez and Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – In what could be an early Christmas gift to those who oppose the “Anti-Selfie Bill,” the lawmaker behind the proposed measure announced on Thursday he is backing out. Cagayan de Oro (2nd District) Representative Rufus Rodriguez said he has already withdrawn his support for the “Anti-Selfie” Bill  or “An Act to Provide Protection From Personal Intrusion for Commercial Purposes.” Earlier reports indicated freedom fighters, journalists, photographers, and netizens had apposed the bill. Rodriguez earlier said there will be no more House Bill 4807 because House lawmakers will not take it up in the plenary for the third reading. Also, he said he had met with members of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) and some photographers for a discussion on the bill. He said that in his letter to House committee on rules chairman Rep. Neptali Gonzales II he has “re-committed” the bill to the House committee on public information. “The NUJP told me that it [the bill] may somehow Read More …

Aya Medel (MNS photo) A sexy actress during the 1990s is now a chef and restaurateur in her hometown in Albay. Aya Medel, who was known as “Papaya Queen,” discussed her journey from posing nude in front of a camera to starting her own restaurant named IshiAya’s Garden Bistro. “Nagluluto na talaga ako noon pa. I didn’t know what to do with my life pag wala sa showbiz so pinush ko ‘yung career sa kusina,” she said. Medel started her career in films when she was cast as an extra in 1997’s “Nakalimot sa Pag-Ibig” directed by Artemio Marquez. She revealed that she was asked to do a rape scene, which she took professionally. “I don’t care kung naghuhubad ako basta marami akong projects. Kasi I know hindi ito tatagal. Nag-eenjoy lang ako sa set. Pero after, naiiyak ako,” she said. “Dapat kasi ine-enjoy ko ang teen life, nasa school. Pero matigas ang ulo ko at gusto ko kumita. Hindi naman ako nagagalaw. Trabaho lang ito,” she added. She went on to star in several other films such as “Babae sa Bubungang Lata” (1997) and “Venus” (2001). Her peak came when she was recognized by the University of the Philippines for her role in the 1999 film “Sisa.” “May talent talaga siya. High siya on emotional IQ. She’s able to survive on whatever role she’s given,” entertainment writer George Vail Kabristante said. She disappeared from the limelight after she figured in a car accident that reportedly left her in critical Read More …

Senator Francis Escudero, Chairperson Committee on Finance, along with Senator Nancy Binay, presides the deliberation of the 2015 proposed budget of the Commission on Election (COMELEC) on Tuesday (August 26,2014) at the Senate Building in Pasay City. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – Members of the minority bloc led by Senator Vicente Sotto III on Thursday boycotted the continuing investigation by the Senate blue ribbon sub-committee on the P2.7-billion Makati City Hall Building 2. At the fifth hearing of the Senate probe, only the same administration allies led by Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, and Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV attended the hearing. Aside from Sotto, Senator Juan Victor “JV” Ejercito also kept out of the probe hearing because he did not want to recognize the “telenovela” against Vice President Jejomar Binay. “Tulad nang posisyon ni Senator Sotto, hindi na rin ako dadalo kasi sabi nga nya, we are just justifying the probe,” Ejercito said. In an interview last Thursday, Sotto said he will not attend the Senate probe to avoid “justifying” the investigation. Solons meeting witnesses Meanwhile, Senator Nancy Binay criticized her colleagues who summoned witnesses to their offices for initial validation as resource person in the investigation. Binay said that if she followed the example of Trillanes, who allegedly summoned some witnesses to his office for “initial evaluation” of his supposed knowledge on the alleged anomalies, she will be criticized. “So you mean to say, kunyari ‘yung si Hechanova paakyatin ko sa office ko Read More …

Government troops take their positions as about 200 Muslim rebels, enraged by a broken peace deal with the Philippine government, held scores of hostages as human shields Tuesday Sept. 10, 2013 in a standoff with government forces for the second day with no solution in sight at the southern port city of Zamboanga, in southern Philippines. More battle-ready troops and police were flown to the southern port city of Zamboanga in a bid to end the crisis. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – The Abu Sayyaf released Tuesday morning a midwife abducted in Barangay Linbug, Panglima Estino town, Sulu last August 28, the military reported. Captain Maria Rowena Muyuela, Western Mindanao Command spokesperson, said Leilani Bernabe, who works at Luuk District Hospital, was freed in Barangay Danag, Patikul town on Tuesday. Bernabe immediately boarded a passenger jeep to Jolo, reaching home around 8 a.m., Muyuela said. The midwife’s release was facilitated by Sulu provincial board member Ismun Suhuri, the military spokesperson said. Bernabe was abducted by Abu Sayyaf fighters under Arod Wahing. (MNS)