Maniolas

Janno Gibbs (MNS Photo) Longtime fans of both Ogie Alcasid and Janno Gibbs are well aware that the friendship of the two singers slash comedians slash actors slash TV hosts dates back to “Small Brothers”, the popular ABS-CBN weekly variety show they headlined following the EDSA Revolution in the late 1980s. But it wasn’t until they became co-hosts of three long-running Sunday noontime variety shows (“SOP,” “Party Pilipinas” and “Sunday All-Stars”) on GMA Network dating back to 1997 that the bond between the two was cemented. So when Ogie left GMA to sign with TV5 in 2013 and Janno decided to stay on, it was not easy for many fans to imagine one without the other, even as both had their respective shares of individual success even while working together on the same shows. Ogie Alcasid (MNS Photo) Last month, it was reported that Janno was leaving GMA to transfer to TV5. Not a few fans believed that even if it’s not because he and Ogie will again star on the same show, it will only be a matter of time before the two start to work again with each other since that they’re now under one network. TV5 officially launched its upcoming new Sunday noontime variety game show, “Happy Truck ng Bayan”, which will be headlined by Derek Ramsay, Jasmine Curtis-Smith, Mariel Rodriguez, Gelli De Belen,Tuesday Vargas, Empoy, Kim Idol and, yes, Ogie and Janno. Although Ogie is quick to clarify that he has nothing to do with Janno’s Read More …

Suspected Chinese crime lord Wang Bo appears at the House of Representatives during a hearing on Tuesday, June 16, to shed light on reports that he bribed Immigration officials in exchange for his freedom. Wang Bo arrived in handcuffs and was surrounded by members of the Legislative Security Bureau. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – Suspected Chinese crime lord Wang Bo on Tuesday denied bribing officials of the Bureau of Immigration to sign his release papers, as he dismissed the allegation that he gave $10 million to members of the House of Representatives as bribe. Wang made the categorical denial in response to the questions posed by AVE party-list Rep. Eulogio Magsaysay, who, during the day’s hearing at the House, asked him three times if he was involved in any bribery attempt to gain his freedom. Addressing Wang, Magsaysay asked: “For the third time, do you have any involvement in the bribery attempt of BI officials?” “No, I didn’t. No, I don’t have [any involvement], Your Honor,” Wang Bo replied. Magsaysay followed his question up with another query on whether Wang Bo bribed lawmakers. “No, I didn’t,” Wang Bo said. A report published by The Standard earlier this month said Wang Bo’s camp shelled out P100 million as bribe to BI officials to sign his release papers. It also claimed that the suspected Chinese criminal gave $10 million for Malacañang to bribe lawmakers for the passage of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL). Some funds were also reportedly given as contribution Read More …

By Abner Galino 117th Phil. Independence Day celebration guest of honor, Senator Chiz Escudero Hilton Los Angeles Universal City with former Philippine Journal Inc – publisher of People’s Journal, People’s Tonight and the defunct Times Journal – employee Jingo Giron. (Photo posted by Jingo Giron on his Facebook page) Senator Francis Escudero has rekindled a dormant call for the return of the three historic church bells of the town of Balangiga, Samar which were taken as war booty by the United States Army during its suppression of Filipino revolutionaries in the early 1900. As guest speaker at the 117th Philippine Independence Day celebration at Universal Hilton in Universal City, California, the senator not only renewed the Philippine claim to the historic church bells but also brought back the tragic memory associated with them by passionately retelling the details of that episode in Philippine history. Escudero said that it is time for the United States government to return the bells as they don’t qualify as war booty and that their return would symbolically magnify the picture of a long friendship and alliance between the two countries in the international arena. The senator also floated the idea of a shrine to be built to house the bells when they are returned. “Ilalagay natin doon yung mga pangalan ng mga sundalong Amerikano at pati na rin yung mga Pilipino na namatay sa mga sagupaan sa Balangiga,” Escudero said. The crowd at the ballroom hall of the hotel was not very enthusiastic about the Read More …

Former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo arrives with husband, Jose Miguel, at the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court in Quezon City, Metro Manila, April 11, 2012. Arroyo entered a plead of not guilty to allegations of graft and corruption in the tainted telecommunications deal with China in 2007. REUTERS/Cheryl Ravelo (PHILIPPINES – Tags: POLITICS CRIME LAW) Manila, Philippines (AFP)  – She may be detained, facing criminal charges and reportedly suffering from a crippling illness but former president Gloria Arroyo intends to run again for a seat in the Philippine Congress, her lawyer said Tuesday. Arroyo, who has been held in a government hospital since 2011 while facing criminal charges, will run for a third term as congresswoman of her home province of Pampanga in 2016 elections, said lawyer Raul Lambino. Despite being unable to leave detention, Lambino said he is confident the 68-year-old will win the seat, which she currently holds, again. “Expect her to win over anybody,” Lambino told AFP. “She was able to run in 2013 when she was already under arrest and she was able to win overwhelmingly,” he said. Arroyo, who served as president from 2001 to 2010, was arrested while in a private hospital in 2011 for alleged voter fraud during her presidency. She was later detained at a military hospital and slapped with additional charges of misuse of state lottery funds. However, under the law, Arroyo is allowed to run for office as long as she is not convicted of a crime. The trials for graft and Read More …

Zsa Zsa Padilla (MNS photo) Ever since turning a year older recently, Zsa Zsa Padilla has been thinking of simple living. “I realize that as you get older, you go back to how it was for you,” Zsa Zsa said at the press conference of her special anniversary concert “Beginnings” at Resorts World Manila. Zsa Zsa has been mulling “downgrading,” which means going back to basic and purchasing fewer material things. “(I’m) trying to buy less clothes,” she cited. “I’m planning these things in the future na living in a smaller house na manageable for you.” While she and her boyfriend Conrad Onglao are blessed with luxuries in life, Zsa Zsa doesn’t wish for “grander” things. “In life, I think I am already lucky enough to have experienced material stuff like that. I just want to go back to the basics. I keep on telling him, ‘You know, when I get older, I’ll just wear black, white, everything simple, and probably just one (other) color which is pink,’” the singer-actress said. Her renowned architect boyfriend is rumored to be building their dream house, but Zsa Zsa clarified there is none. In the future, Zsa Zsa would want to live with him in just a two-bedroom bungalow. “His house is big, my house in Marina is also huge. But, in the future, somebody is asking, ‘There’s this rumor na he’s already building a big house for you.’ I said, ‘Wait, my dream house is a bungalow. A two-bedroom bungalow.’ Since we Read More …