Maniolas

KC Concepcion (MNS photo) Kapamilya actress KC Concepcion looks forward to many things this year. These include her acting comeback now that she’s in better shape than ever; and hopefully, a blooming love life, too. KC’s career took a backseat last year when she opted to focus on her family and other endeavors, including her advocacies with the United Nations, which named her the National Ambassador Against Hunger for their World Food Programme. “I would love to also do meaningful projects and go back to acting. Syempre I took a step back this 2015, focused more on business and United Nations. This year, I want to go back to acting and reconnect with my network,” KC said at the press conference for Natural Looks. Her last acting project was a TV series with Paolo Avelino, “Give Love On Christmas,” which ended in January 2015. The break from showbiz also allowed KC to get to know herself better and reassess her life and career. “Siguro it’s more of not being afraid to take a step back and say no to certain things. For example, kung gagawa ako ng project for the sake of maging exposed, I think ayaw ko na lang mag-yes sa isang project na hindi naman bagay sa akin. Ayaw ko naman din na ma-shortchange ’yung mga audience… So kapag may time na maganda ’yung dumating sa akin, I would like to make my audience happy and na-feel ko naman din na merong naka-miss sa akin,” she said. KC Read More …

Vice President Jejomar Binay addresses the crowd during United Nationalist Alliance proclamation rally in Mandaluyong on Tuesday. The 90-day campaign period for the May 2016 election officially started Tuesday, with candidates organizing their respective campaign sorties around the country.(MNS photo) Manila, Philippines | AFP |  – Malaysia summoned the Manila envoy in Kuala Lumpur over comments made by the Philippines presidential frontrunner to pursue a claim over the state of Sabah, the Philippines’ foreign department said Thursday. Jejomar Binay, vice president and the leading contender in upcoming May elections, was quoted by Manila newspapers last week as saying he would pursue a claim over the area in the north of Borneo island. About 200 Filipino followers of a self-declared heir of the Philippine sultanate landed on Sabah in February 2013 to stake their claim on the resource-rich state, resulting in clashes with Malaysian security forces, leaving over 60 dead. Aquino condemned the incursion at the time and the issue has since been put on the back burner by the two Asian neighbours. “We will pursue our claim to Sabah. Why would we give up something that rightfully belongs to us?” Binay was quoted as telling reporters on the campaign trail. “The charge d’affaires had to explain the Philippine position” after being summoned by the Malaysian foreign ministry, Philippine foreign affairs spokesman Charles Jose told AFP. He said the envoy explained that Binay, who has broken with the administration of Philippine President Benigno Aquino, was not under the government’s control even though he remains vice Read More …

Presidential aspirant and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte chants “Mabuhay ang Moro people!” before entering his vehicle after his campaign rally in Cotabato City on Saturday. Majority of the Bangsamoros in the event expressed support for Duterte for his clear stance on resolving the Mindanao conflict.(MNS photo) DAGUPAN CITY  (Mabuhay) – “Where (are) the billions of “Yolanda” funds? Presidential candidate Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has asked his rival former Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, saying the administration is mum on how they spent the Yolanda funds. Roxas was the interior secretary when supertyphoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan) devastated Visayas. “They are silent about it. Gusto ko tanungin si Mar. Billion ang dumating sa bansa nung Yolanda, saan ang pera (I would like to ask Mar. Where are the billions of funds intended for “Yolanda” victims?)” Duterte said during a speech at the Lyceum Northwestern University here on Wednesday afternoon. Duterte cited how rehabilitation in Leyte showed the failure of the government despite billions of funds and donations that the country received during the aftermath of the supertyphoon. “Ngayon ang tanong ko, tingnan mo naman sa Leyte, puro… matamaan ng ay hindi lang typhoon kundi ‘typhoonet,’ wala na sira na,” he said. (Look at Leyte, if it would be hit not only by a typhoon but by a typhoonet as well, it would be in complete destruction.) “Typhoonet” was Duterte’s term for a weak typhoon. The tough-talking mayor slammed how the government failed to have proper accounting of the Read More …

Laban pa rin! (from left: PALM President Mitzi Pickard, Jon Melegrito, Maurese Oteyza Owens and Richard Villa Mercado are the main speakers at the Embassy Talakayan to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of People Power Revolution on 29 February 2016. WASHINGTON, D.C. – Members of the Filipino community in the Metro DC area swapped stories and insights into the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution in a Talakayan held on 29 February 2016 at the Romulo Hall of the Philippine Embassy. The Talakayan was jointly organized by the Embassy and the Philippine Arts, Letters and Media Council (PALM) to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of People Power. “The first peaceful uprising in history, EDSA not only restored democracy and supremacy of civilian authority in the Philippines, but also laid out for the world to see the best of the Filipino – courageous, peace-loving, and compassionate,” said Philippine Ambassador to the Philippines Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. in his keynote address. Consistent with this year’s anniversary theme, “Pagbabago: Ipinaglaban N’yo, Itutuloy Ko,” Ambassador Cuisia made a call to action for the protection of People Power’s legacy. “To honor the memories of those who fought for the restoration of Philippine democracy, we are duty-bound to ensure that the lessons of the Revolution are well-learned and never forgotten,” the Ambassador stressed. He highlighted the need to engage the younger generations of Filipinos and Filipino-Americans in order to keep the spirit of EDSA alive. Memories of a peaceful revolution (Photo courtesy of Dr. Annabelle Carnice and her husband, Jonathan) “It is therefore my fervent Read More …

President Benigno S. Aquino III pays respect during the transfer and reinterment of the remains of the late President Elpidio R. Quirino at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Bayani Road, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City on Monday (February 29). In photo are Former president Fidel Ramos, National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) chairperson Maria Serena Diokno, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, and Armed Forces of the Philippines Vice Chief-of-Staff Lt. Gen. Romeo Tanalgo. (MNS photo) MANILA  (Mabuhay) – The Sandiganbayan’s Fifth Division has convicted three former officials of the Department of Finance (DOF) for graft and estafa for their involvement in the P5.3-billion tax credit scam in the 1990s. The anti-graft court promulgated a 60-page ruling on the matter February 29 and was released to the media on Tuesday. In the ruling, the Fifth Division found former DOF Executive Director Uldarico Andutan Jr., former Deputy Executive Director Raul De Vera and former Senior Tax Specialist Rosanna Diala “guilty beyond reasonable doubt” of violating Section 3 (e) of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and estafa as defined under Article 315 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC). Also convicted of the same offenses were private individuals Mukesh Uttamchandani and Olivia Demetrio, owner and manager, respectively, of the company Precision Garments International (PGI). The accused were sentenced to a minimum of six years and one month to a maximum of 10 years imprisonment for graft. They were also perpetually disqualified from holding public office. For estafa the accused Read More …