Maniolas

WASHINGTON, DC – The rising demand for natural and organic products in the United States is creating a growing market for Philippine agricultural products. Nine Philippine companies will be joining the Natural Products Expo East from September 17 to 19, 2015 at the Baltimore Convention Center in Maryland. The trade show is the largest natural, organic, and healthy products event in the US East Coast. The Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA) through the DA-Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Service (AMAS) organized the following natural product exporters to participate in this event—Brandexports Philippines, Inc., Elemie Naturals Inc., GreenLife Coconut Products Philippines Inc., Nutramedica, Inc., Orich International Traders, Inc., Prime Fruits International, Incorporated, Sweet Pacific Foodfarms Product, Team Asia Corporation, and Tropicana Food Products Inc. A variety of coconut products will be available to the American public such as coconut water, milk, milk powder, flour, cider vinegar, coconut nutraceutical products, desiccated coconut, coconut sugar, organic extra virgin coconut oil, and virgin coconut oil beauty pearls. The coconut is known as the tree of life in the Philippines because of the seemingly endless list of products and by-products derived from all its parts. Other Philippine products to be featured in the trade show are body products made from pili, handcrafted bath soaps, topical scalp products, vinegar, dried mangoes, noodles, juices and fruit juice drinks, camote (sweet potato) and banana chips, condiments, and sauces. Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. expressed optimism in the growing share of the Philippines in the natural products market and encouraged US buyers to take advantage of Read More …

Julia Montes (MNS photo) Actress Julia Montes, the lead star of the afternoon series “Doble Kara,” could not keep a straight face when she was asked on whether former leading man Coco Martin is still courting her. The 20-year-old Montes was asked a series of questions about her “most difficult role yet” and the status of her relationship with Martin. “Mahirap pag ako ang sumagot,” she quipped. Montes was also asked to name the Filipino celebrity she considers as the most handsome. She answered: “Si Coco.” Martin and Montes started being romantically linked when they worked together in the phenomenal ABS-CBN series “Walang Hanggan” in 2012. Martin has since admitted that he finds Montes as “girlfriend material.” (MNS)

Azkals midfielder Stephan Schrock and fellow mainstay Dennis Cagara declared on Twitter and Facebook that they had played their last match under American coach Thomas Dooley, amid speculation they were unhappy over a policy perceived to favour younger players. (Photo from Azkals Facebook page) Manila: With less than a week before the pivotal match against a strong Uzbekistan squad, the Philippine national football team, popularly known as Azkals, is appealing to Filipinos to show up at the game venue and cheer for the team. Azkals coach Thomas Dooley and players Phil Younghusband, Neil Etheridge and Misagh Bahadoran said the fans’ presence and cheers will motivate and spur on the team and have an impact on their game. They were interviewed after a late afternoon to early evening practice session last Tuesday at the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex in Malate, Manila. The Azkals-Uzbeks match will be held on September 8 at 8 p.m. at the world-class Philippine Sports Stadium in Bocaue, Bulacan, as part of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers. Dooley acknowledged the difficulty of getting to the venue but said the fans could make the effort in order to boost and give their support to the national team. “I love to see you guys during the game. It’s very important for us to win this match,” Dooley said as he stressed that the national team is preparing hard for the game. He hinted that the fans will not get disappointed when they watch the Azkals play live. “We have a great team. Read More …

Maja Salvador (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) -– Now that Maja Salvador and Coco Martin are set to reunite for the upcoming television series “Ang Probinsyano,” is there a possibility that the two will fall in love off-screen? In 2011, Martin and actor Matteo Guidicelli, who was then Salvador’s boyfriend, made headlines after they got into a fist fight over the actress. It was only in 2012 when the two actors patched things up. The incident was brought up as reporters teased Salvador about Martin, her co-star in the 2011 series “Minsan Lang Kita Iibigin,” especially now that she is single. Salvador recently broke up with Gerald Anderson but the two have kept mum on the real reason behind their separation. “Naka-lock pa po kasi ‘yung puso ko ngayon. And wala pa pong taping, nag-pictorial pa lang kami. Trabaho po muna kami ni Coco,” she said. “Hindi naman madadali ang gagawin naming eksena kasi parehas kaming pulis tapos siyempre ‘yung mga hindi araw ng taping namin, may kanya-kanya kaming trabaho. Bahala na, kumalma muna tayo. Tignan po natin kasi ngayon, ang focus ko muna trabaho talaga,” the actress explained. Coco Martin (MNS photo) But is Salvador ready to fall in love anew? “Hindi mo naman mapipigilan ang pag-ibig. Matatanggal na lang [ang lock na] ‘yan kapag nandiyan na [ang pag-ibig] talaga,” she said. Nonetheless, Salvador clarified that Martin never courted her in the past. “Walang chance kasi may boyfriend po ako noon,” she said, referring to Guidicelli. (MNS)

The Senate pork barrel scam probe was suspended on Tuesday (Sept. 24, 2013) after Blue Ribbon Committee Chair, Sen. Teofisto Guingona III (left) expressed disappointment on Justice Secretary Leila De Lima for not bringing whistleblowers to testify at the hearing. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) -– Lawyer Levito Baligod filed malversation complaints against former and incumbent 20 lawmakers in connection with the pork barrel scam involving non-government organizations not linked to Janet Lim Napoles. In his new P500 million Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam complaint, Baligod said the Ombudsman should investigate Senator Juan Ponce Enrile and Ramon Revilla Jr. and former senator Edgardo Angara for allegedly funneling their pork barrel funds from 2007 to 2010 to questionable NGOs. Baligod also included in the charges former and current lawmakers, namely Prospero Nograles, Joseph Santiago, Roberto Cajes, Florencio Miraflores, Neil Tupaz, Carol Lopez, Edgar San Luis, Arturo Robles, Joel Villanueva, Rodolfo Antonino, Reno Lim, Julio Ledesma, Maria Evita Arago, Rachel Arenas, Alfonso Umali, Francis Bichara, and Marina Clarete. Baligod noted that malversation, like plunder, is a non-bailable offense. He added the new PDAF complaint did not involve NGOs being linked to Napoles, the alleged brains of the P10 billion scam. The lawyer said, however, that these non-Napoles NGOs employed a similar modus. “Gusto nating tahakin ng Ombudsman ang malversation through falsification of public documents,” he said. Baligod said the government implementing agency involved in the new cases is National Agri-business Corporation (Nabcor), whose former officials, Victor Cacal and Rhodora Mendoza, are now Read More …