Maniolas

Lt. Gen. Gregorio Pio P. Catapang (inset) with his letter of designation signed by President Benigno Aquino III making appointing him as the new chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines as posted in his own Facebook account. MANILA (Mabuhay) – Vice Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. has been appointed the head of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). AFP Public Affairs Office chief Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said Catapang, former chief of the Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom), will replace retiring AFP chief Emmanuel Bautista. As Nolcom chief, Catapang has also served in the jurisdiction of Tarlac, President Benigno Aquino III’s home province. Catapang has always been favored to replace Bautista. His papers were signed on Tuesday. Zagala said Catapang, a member of the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1981, is “a professional officer.” “He has served in all levels of command within the Philippine Army and within the Armed Forces of the Philippines. We are confident that with him being the 45th chief of staff, he will bring the AFP to greater heights.” Prior to becoming Nolcom chief, he served as 7th Infantry Division commander. He is also a former member of the Reform the Armed Forces Movement. Bautista’s action plan is expected to continue under Catapang. Zagala said Bautista “as a strategic thinker has left behind a legacy of bringing a lot of things to the AFP… We are confident that the groundwork has been set for the next chief 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) – The Sandiganbayan on Thursday gave the camps of detained Senator Ramon Bong Revilla Jr., his staff Richard Cambe, and Janet Lim-Napoles 10 days to comment on the motion seeking their transfer of detention. Prosecutors earlier said the current detention areas of the three – PNP Custodial Center for Revilla and Cambe and Fort Sto. Domingo in Laguna for Napoles – have no legal basis as these are not detention cells. The prosecutors said Section 3, Rule 113 of the Revised Rules on Criminal Procedure states that an accused arrested by virtue of an arrest warrant must be delivered to the nearest police station or jail. “As understood in our jurisdiction, ‘jail’ refers to a facility or place of confinement for inmates undergoing trial and is managed and supervised by the provincial government and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology,” they said. The prosecution wants the three to be transferred to an ordinary detention facility like Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City, saying aside from lack of basis, their continued detention at their present locations affords them special treatment as they are subjected to different rules and procedure not afforded to all other detention Read More …

Filipinos wade through a flooded street at the financial district of Makati, south of Manila, Philippines on Tuesday, Aug. 20, 2013. Some of the Philippines’ heaviest rains on record fell for a second day Tuesday, turning the capital’s roads into rivers and trapping tens of thousands of people in homes and shelters. The government suspended all work except rescues and disaster response. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – Employers of private firms are being urged by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to give extra incentives or benefits to employees who report for work amid inclement weather or calamities. Labor Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz said that because pay rules state that employees who report for work shall receive no additional pay during calamities, employers may instead provide extra incentives and benefits. Baldoz said employers should ensure the safety and welfare of employees by providing free food, transportation, personal protective equipment and first-aid medicines. “To alleviate the plight of employees in times of crisis, employers may provide such extra incentives or benefits to employees who reported for work,” she said. On Wednesday, Baldoz reminded all private sector employers on the rules for pay on the suspension of work due to typhoon “Glenda.” She said that the “no work, no pay,” policy applies, unless there is a favorable company policy, practice, or collective bargaining agreement (CBA) granting payment of wages on the said day. “When the employee has accrued leave credits, a worker or employee may be allowed to utilize such leave so Read More …

Could pacemakers become a thing of the past?©Picsfive/shutterstock.com (WASHINGTON–AFP) – Injecting a certain gene into cardiac muscle has been shown in animal studies to help a weakened heart beat more strongly, scientists said Wednesday. If shown to be safe and effective in people, experts said the procedure might one day replace the need for electronic pacemakers, though that knowledge is years away. “This development heralds a new era of gene therapy, where genes are used not only to correct a deficiency disorder, but actually to convert one type of cell into another to treat disease,” said lead author Eduardo Marban, director of the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute. It is the first time that a heart cell has been preprogrammed in a living animal in order to cure a disease, said Marban. Gene therapy has long been viewed as a promising but risky field, particularly after early attempts to use it in people in the 1990s showed it could be dangerous and even fatal. Marban said the use of a mild virus as a delivery vector for the gene should reduce concerns that typically arise in gene therapy, such as the potential for a deadly immune reaction or the possibility that the process could lead to the formation of a tumor, but acknowledged that more research is needed. The study in the journal Science Translation Medicine details a therapy in which a gene known as TBX18 is injected into an area the size of a peppercorn in the pumping chambers of the Read More …

cultural extravaganza of Philippine traditional dances and music performed by the group PASACAT. Los Angeles – The Philippines is the featured country at the 34th Lotus Festival held at the Echo Park Lake in Los Angeles from 12 to 13 July 2014. Thousands of Angelinos flocked to Echo Park, excited to witness a re-invigorated Lotus Festival after a 2-year hiatus. The two-day Lotus Festival kicked-off at noon on 12 July 2014 with a Lion Dance, and City Officials presenting Certificates of Recognition to the Philippines and organizers of Lotus Inc.  This was followed by a cultural extravaganza of Philippine traditional dances and music performed by the group PASACAT.  Consul General Leo Herrera-Lim gave the welcome remarks in the Opening Ceremony.  He said that the Philippines is proud to feature the best of its culture and share its many achievements and economic developments with the rest of California’s Asian Pacific Islander community.  He also thanked the city officials, partners, sponsors and volunteers of the Philippine Consulate General for their support in ensuring the success of the Philippine hosting of the Opening Day Program and the Philippine Pavillion.  Consul General Lim expressed his appreciation to Western Union, Artists Ms. Carminnie Doromal and Mr. Eliseo Art Silva, Historic Filipino Town Group, and the Maranaos in America for Peace, Integration and Advancement (MAPIA). The two-day event for the public featured 30 different programs with a variety of food booths and vendors selling crafts from the Asia Pacific Islander communities.  Another highlight of the event Read More …