Maniolas

Jason Francisco and Melai Cantiveros (MNS Photo) Soon-to-be newly weds Jason Francisco and Melai Cantiveros cleared the air about the controversy surrounding their wedding and the cast of the ABS-CBN gag show “Banana Split.” It was earlier reported that Angelica Panganiban and other “Banana Split” cast may not be invited to the wedding next month. “Invited talaga sila kaya lang hindi pa na-release ang invitation. Ngayon lang talaga namin na binigay,” said Cantiveros. Cantiveros revealed that Francisco even personally delivered the invitations for the cast of the show to co-host Ryan Bang, who will be the best man at the wedding, and Paul Jake Castillo. “Doon pa talaga nagka-issue sa Banana Split?” Cantiveros asked in disbelief. Cantiveros has been part of the cast since 2011. Cantiveros also said she did get hurt by recent remarks made by her co-hosts. Aside from the issue about the wedding invitation, Pooh, another ‘Banana Split’ regular, allegedly questioned Francisco’s capacity to support his future wife and their forthcoming child. “Actually, sa totoo lang may kaunti akong tampo sa kanila. Kasi parang nagtatampo ako na in-uunderestimate nila si Jason. Siyempre, pag nagmamahalaan, bahala na ang saging, basta loving.” Cantiveros also wished the cast was as truthful and direct as her. “Kung sasabihin niyo ganoon, sa personal na lang sana. Kasi nasaktan talaga yung pamilya ni Jason. Sobra talaga akong na-hurt,” she said. Francisco, the subject of the controversy, expressed his frustration over the topic. “And hindi ko maintindihan eh, lahat naman kami masaya para sa Read More …

By Jason Gutierrez A man arranges his peso bills inside a currency exchange shop Friday, Nov. 9, 2007, in Manila, Philippines. The dollar closed Friday at 42.795 pesos, where the peso rose to a new seven-year high on prospects of further U.S. interest rate cuts and likely increases in remittances from Filipinos overseas. (AP Photo/Pat Roque) TACLOBAN  (AFP) – The Philippines’ giant band of overseas workers, already regarded as national heroes for toiling in foreign lands, are coming to the rescue again as they dig deep to send more cash back to their typhoon-hit homeland. With relief workers overwhelmed by the magnitude of this month’s disaster and unable to provide adequate support to the millions of survivors living in flattened towns, Filipinos abroad are proving a crucial, direct lifeline. In the ruined city of Tacloban, farmer Teudolfo Barmisa queued up at a money transfer outlet on Tuesday and withdrew the equivalent of $600 sent by his daughter who works as a maid in Hong Kong. “The money will go to buying food first, then other supplies to help us rebuild our home, like plywood and cement,” Barmisa told AFP. Barmisa was among hundreds of people withdrawing cash from financial outlets in Tacloban, many of which had just re-opened more than a fortnight after Super Typhoon killed at least 5,240 people and destroyed or damaged one million homes. Barmisa’s daughter and the other 10 million Filipinos working abroad are commonly referred to at home as “mga bagong bayani”, or “new heroes”, Read More …

By Laura Mannering www.amnesty.org HONG KONG (AFP) – Amnesty International on Thursday condemned the “slavery-like” conditions faced by thousands of Indonesian women who work in Hong Kong as domestic staff, accusing authorities of “inexcusable” inaction. Its report, “Exploited for Profit, Failed by Governments”, comes just weeks after a Hong Kong couple were jailed for a shocking string of attacks on their Indonesian housekeeper, including burning her with an iron and beating her with a bike chain. Amnesty found that Indonesians are exploited by recruitment and placement agencies who seize their documents and charge them excessive fees, with false promises of high salaries and good working conditions. The process amounted to trafficking and forced labor, Amnesty said, as the women could not escape once they were in debt and their documents seized. “From the moment the women are tricked into signing up for work in Hong Kong, they are trapped in a cycle of exploitation with cases that amount to modern-day slavery,” said Norma Kang Muico, Asia-Pacific migrants’ rights researcher at Amnesty. She said she feared the problem was widespread in Hong Kong, where some 150,000 Indonesian women work as “domestic helpers”. “A conservative figure would be thousands” based on the research figures and taking into account that the most vulnerable were still kept behind closed doors, she said. The report accuses both Indonesia and Hong Kong of “inexcusable” inaction. “The authorities may point to a raft of national laws that supposedly protect these women but such laws are rarely enforced,” Read More …