Maniolas

In this photo taken on March 12, 2013, employees at the giant Solaire Resort and Casino Manila practice at gaming tables ahead of the opening on March 16, 2013. Solaire Manila Resorts is the first of four enormous entertainment venues slated to rise over a giant chunk of prime, reclaimed land that industry and government leaders expect will attract millions of cashed-up Asian tourists. ©AFP PHOTO / Jay DIRECTO MANILA  (Mabuhay) – Senator Panfilo Lacson has filed a bill expanding the coverage of the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) to include casinos, real estate brokers, and dealers of art works and motor vehicles. In filing the bill, Lacson noted how money launderers now use such businesses and professions to cover their illegal transactions. He also underscored how the industry, particularly the casinos, seemed to be attractive to money launderers. “While the contributions of the casino industry are acknowledge, it is also understood that casinos are equally exposed to tha raging threats of money laundering,” the senator said in a statement Thursday. Lacson noted how the cyber-heist in the Bank of Bangladesh exposed AMLA’s vulnerabilities and loopholes in curtailing laundering schemes in the Philippines. His statement came amid the recent anomaly involving $81-million worth of suspected laundered money hacked from the Bank of Bangladesh and discovered to have been stored in the Philippines’ Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC). The suspects reportedly laundered the money from the Bangladesh central bank’s deposit in the Federeal Reserve Bank of New York and transferred the moeny Read More …

President Rodrigo Duterte is hell bent in doing everything within his power to get the job done in eradicating the serious illegal drug problem in the Philippines. Everybody must have been jolted by Duterte’s bold decision to name the five police generals allegedly involved in illegal drug trade in the country. This is a good sign that Duterte is really determined in implementing drastic changes in the country as far as peace and order is concerned. Named as either drug lords or protectors of drug lords in their respective turfs were Police Generals Joel Pagdilao, Edgardo Tinio Bernardo Diaz, Marcelo Garbo and Vicente Loot. As expected, the police generals denied having anything to do with illegal drugs. They also denied coddling suspected drug lords in their respective areas. President Digong should order his investigators to look into the bank accounts of these generals to find out if they were able to accumulate huge amounts of money from the illegal drugs business. Garbo and Loot have retired from the police service. Loot is now a town mayor in Cebu. Generals Tinio and Diaz have been identified as being close to losing presidential candidate Mar Roxas. They were seen by the media having a conference with Roxas shortly before they May 9 elections at the Novitel hotel in Quezon City. Sources were saying that had Roxas won the presidency, Tinio would have been his choice to be his PNP chief. Good thing Roxas lost. President “Digong” must have in his possession a Read More …

By Jelly F. Musico SENATE’S CLOSING MESSAGE FOR 16th CONGRESS: Senate President Franklin M. Drilon is congratulated by his fellow senators after delivering the Senate’s closing message for the 16th Congress, which adjourned sine die during Monday’s session, June 6, 2016. A four-time Senate President, it was Drilon’s ninth time to deliver the closing message of the Senate. Those greeting Drilon, are clockwise, Senators Bam Aquino, Sonny Angara, Senate Deputy Minority Leader Tito Sotto III, along with Senators Gringo Honasan II, Antonio Trillanes IV, Koko Pimentel III, Cynthia Villar and Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano.(MNS photo) MANILA  (PNA) – Senate President Franklin M. Drilon has filed a bill that introduces a 27 percent average increase in the salary of about 1.53 million state workers over a period of three years. Senate Bill No. 13 or the Salary Standardization Law IV, which Drilon filed recently, seeks to introduce reforms in the government’s compensation system to make it competitive with the private sector, and to boost the employees’ morale and productivity. “The compensation for all civilian government personnel shall be competitive with those in the private sector doing comparable work in order to attract, retain and motivate a corps of effective, efficient, professional, committed and competent civil servants,” Drilon said. The bill mandates a three-year compensation increase for the national government’s 1.53 million and military and uniformed personnel. The bill aslo provides for a mid-year month pay bonus equivalent to a one month’s basic salary and an enhanced performance-based bonus equivalent Read More …

MANILA (Mabuhay) — The Department of Foreign Affairs on Friday said there have been no reports of Filipinos injured in an explosion on a train in Taipei, Taiwan on Thursday night. In a text message, DFA spokesman Charles Jose said: “Wala rin tayong natatanggap na ulat na may kabilang na Pilipino sa mga casualties sa nangyaring pagsabog.” At least 24 people were injured in the said explosion, which happened around 10 p.m. Thursday. The blast caused a small fire and cut power inside the carriage as the train was pulling into a station at the capital, an Agence France-Presse report said. It quoted Taiwan’s premier Lin Chuan as saying that the bombing seemed to have been done by someone “with a malicious intent,” adding that the case will be investigated on. Eyewitnesses were quoted as saying they had seen a man carry a black rectangle-shaped object onto the train. Authorities were revieving surveillance footage to identify him. They also said no threats were made prior to the incident. (MNS

Alma Concepcion (MNS Photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) — Actress Alma Concepcion said that her drug-using past should serve as a warning to younger Filipinos, in light of last month’s Closeup Forever Summer concert tragedy that killed at least five people. “I was almost there at papunta na ako sa landas na mali,” Concepcion, who was at the event in Pasay City with her 16-year-old son, said. “Hindi lahat ng tao nakakaalis tulad ko.” She added: “I don’t want my son to experience what I experienced and I don’t want any teenager to experience iyong nangyari lately. Parang, wow at may mas grabe pa pala sa nangyari sa akin.” Concepcion, a former beauty queen, was arrested in Guam for possession of shabu. She pleaded guilty to carrying .08 grams of the illegal substance on July 1998. “We should use history to make us better people. Sana iyong susunod na henerasyon, iyong mga pagkakamali namin ay wag na nilang ulitin,” she explained. Concepcion said her critics still bring up her past drug use. “Matatawa ka kasi kahit hanggang ngayon ay marami pa rin akong nae-encounter na mga tao na parang nagsasabi na wala kang karapatan magbago,” she admitted. Concepcion also vowed support for President Rodrigo Duterte’s all-out war on illegal drugs. “I’m very, very happy na magkakaroon na ng environment na hopefully magiging clean for the next generation,” said Concepcion. “The kids kasi nowadays are even proud of flaunting it [drug use]. So nakakatakot