Maniolas

Gentlemen: We write with regard your columnist, Victor C. Agustin (Agustin). For over a year now, through his column “Money Go Round”, Mr. Agustin has executed a vendetta and demolition job against  the undersigned law firm, Cruz Marcelo and Tenefrancia CMT), a private law partnership. Mr. Agustin has repeatedly written malicious articles, all containing imputations causing dishonor, discredit and contempt against CMT. These articles are the following: 1. Money Go Round article dated April 29, 2013 with the banner headline entitled “The Firm Splits But Partners Insist It Is A Dissolution” where Mr. Agustin unashamedly trumpets that Atty. F. Arthur L. Villaraza (Villaraza)1 who heads the Villaraza and Angangco (VA) group controlled 80 percent of the assets and accounts of Villaraza Cruz Marcelo and Angangco law firm (CVCLaw).2 Furthermore, Mr. Agustin made the outrageous claim that the VA group was subsidizing partners now in CMT.3 2. Money Go Round article dated Jan. 20, 2014 with the banner headline entitled “Kim Henares’ Tax Bite Threatens to Chew Off Cruz Marcelo Lawyers” where Mr. Agustin claims that CMT is liable for a large amount of tax due to the supposed “bolting” of its partners from CVCLaw and that lawyers of CMT are allegedly going against Vice President Jejomar Binay (Binay);4 3. Money Go Round article dated July 25, 2014 with the banner headline entitled “Jojo Binay Points to the Usual Suspects as the Firm Forms Anti-Roxas Team” wherein Mr. Agustin makes the wild accusation that CMT, supposedly a “breakaway group” of CVCLaw Read More …

Passengers alight from an EZ-10 driverless electric shuttle developed by the Ligier Group. The first fleet of its vehicles will operate by 2015 at the Michelin International Centre for Research of Ladoux. Photo by KAP MACEDA AGUILA CHENGDU, China – “Civilized countries are not ones where the poor have cars, but are ones where the rich take the public transit,” said Guillermo Peñalosa, commissioner of parks, sport, and recreation for the City of Bogota in Colombia. Yes, think about it. Speaking at the Michelin Challenge Bibendum’s so-called TEDCity 2.0 Salon, the Colombian public official asked attendees to reconsider the way mobility is thought of in a context of development. TED is a “non-profit devoted to spreading ideas… beginning in 1984 as a conference where technology, entertainment, and design converged.” Started in 1998, the Bibendum, so named as a nod to the French tire maker’s famous mascot, has been drawn up as an annual event to explore the avenues towards sustainable mobility. The 12th edition held here in China’s fourth most populous city, sought clear goals to “(set) ambitions C02 reduction objectives worldwide, (create) ultra-low emissions zones in cities, (deploy) door-to-door transport solutions, (reinvent) last-mile delivery logistics, and (promote) public and private investment.” Indeed, mobility is what drives economic growth, and yet transportation can also spawn a host of problems that society can ignore at its peril. Peñalosa rued that 1.2 million lives are lost every year in traffic accidents. Of these, 270,000 are killed walking in sidewalks or on the Read More …

CONTAINER YARDS at the two Manila ports are now only slightly more crowded than the ideal level of 80% utilization, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) said on Monday, even amid the influx of shipments in the run-up to Christmas.

IT’S THE most wonderful time of the year, with people worldwide gearing up for Christmas by dispensing gifts. The spirit of the season truly crosses all boundaries of culture, economic background or social status, and business people are definitely not immune to the wave of giving as they sign hefty checks to the objects of their generosity.

MORE HOUSEHOLDS that receive remittances from Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) allocated portions of the inflows into savings and investments this quarter, according to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Consumer Expectations Survey (CES) released on Friday.