Maniolas

Cebuana Lhuillier National Pilipino Protektado Day MANILA  (PNA) –- Cebuana Lhuillier, the country’s largest microfinancial institution, launched Wednesday the National Pilipino Protektado Day, an initiative that promises to provide more security to different communities in the Philippines. During the unveiling of the project on today at the Fairmont Hotel Makati, the company, in partnership with Pioneer Insurance, announced that it will be giving away free microinsurance covers to one million Filipinos within the days leading up to July 21, the date hailed as the National Pilipino Protektado Day. Cebuana Lhuillier president and CEO, Jean Henri Lhuillier said that the project is perfectly inline with the company’s mission of financial inclusion. ”We at Cebuana Lhuiller have been pushing for financial inclusion and this is just one of the many that we believe get us closer to that goal. Disasters wreak havoc to different communities in the country, resulting to loss of life and livelihood, so it is imperative that everyone is properly protected. More than having the usual emergency kits, obtaining microinsurance is another practical way,” he said. During his speech, Lhuillier acknowledged the value of relief operations conducted by government agencies and volunteer groups such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development, The Red Cross, Oxfam International, Global Peace Foundation, Girl Scouts of the Philippines, and Boy Scouts of the Philippines. He also announced that the first batch of microinsurance covers will be given to these organization’ constituents. The group were also awarded with emergency relief kits, life vests Read More …

Philippine flags are put on display at Rizal Park in Manila on Thursday in preparation for the commemoration of the 118th National Flag Day on May 28. The National Flag Day celebrates the unfurling of the Philippine flag for the first time after the Battle of Alapan in Imus, Cavite. (MNS photo) MANILA, June 1 (Mabuhay) – The Philippine Navy on Wednesday reiterated that it will “defend and protect what is rightfully ours” during its 118th founding anniversary, which coincided with the commissioning of its biggest ship to date, the BRP Tarlac. Vice Admiral Caesar Taccad, flag officer in command of the Philippine Navy, highlighted the “urgency of the threat against our maritime interests and possibly our territorial integrity,” saying “the enemy stands at our doorstep.” “The need for our country to bring more focus to territorial defense is more pronounced than ever, a need which we have to answer to even while we are addressing our internal security problems our commander-in-chief once said, what is ours is ours,” he said. “Sir, rest assured that your Navy will abide by its duty to defend and protect what is rightfully ours,” Taccad told President Benigno Aquino III, commander in chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), who was the guest of honor at the event. The Philippines is embroiled in an ongoing territorial dispute with China, who claims almost the entire South China Sea, believed to have rich deposits of oil and gas. The Philippines refers to parts of Read More …

High waves brought about by strong winds pound a fish port, hours before typhoon Ruby passes near the city of Legazpi on Sunday. Ruby tore apart homes and sent waves crashing through coastal communities across central Philippines, adding to the spate of deadly disasters. (MNS photo) MANILA, June 1 (Mabuhay) — Malacañang on Wednesday assured that the government is already carrying out several measures to address the possible effects of the La Niña weather phenomenon, which is expected to hit the country this year. “As part of its overall strategy on climate change resiliency, government is implementing a comprehensive program on mitigating the harmful effects of the possible onset of the La Nina scenario,” Communication Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr. said in a statement. “This covers agriculture, flood control and disaster risk reduction measures at the grassroots level.” The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) has warned the public of the possibility of a La Niña event occurring later this year, after El Niño ends. La Niña, the opposite of El Niño, is characterized by above normal rainfall, strong monsoon activity, and the formation of more tropical cyclones. According to PAGASA, a strong El Niño is usually followed by an equally strong La Niña. Although El Niño is waning, PAGASA said it would continue to cause below normal rainfall and warmer air temperatures in the country in the next several months. From 1997 to 1998, the country experienced a strong El Niño, which was followed by a La Niña Read More …

Vice president-elect Leni Robredo leads a Holy Mass in commemoration of her late husband Sec. Jesse Robredo’s 58th birthday Friday at Eternal Gardens in Naga City, hours before Congress finished canvassing of votes for president and vice president. Robredo’s victory was affirmed when she garnered 14,418,817 votes, 263,473 votes ahead of closest rival Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who got 14,155,344.(MNS photo) MANILA, May 31 (Mabuhay) – Vice President-elect Leni Robredo is eyeing a transition meeting with outgoing Vice President Jejomar Binay a month before she formally assumes office, her spokesperson said Tuesday. “There has been no plans, but I know she would like to have transition meeting with the VP. I believe there will be no problem to have that meeting but it is not yet discussed,” Robredo’s spokesperson, Georgina Hernandez, said in a television interview. Binay ran and lost in the May presidential elections. Robredo, incumbent congresswoman of Camarines Sur, was officially proclaimed as the winning vice-presidential candidate by the National Board of Canvassers Monday afternoon. She is to formally assume her post on June 30. Robredo earlier shunned the idea of holding office at the Coconut Palace, which she said costs the government almost half a million a month for rent. Hernandez said spending P500,000 for rent is “not practical.” “She saw the cost of having to rent the Coconut Palace and it is about half a million, she says it is too much, she prefers to have satellite offices in provinces. She is pushing for rural development so Read More …

CONGRESS PROCLAIMS NEW VICE PRESIDENT: Senate President Franklin M. Drilon and House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. raise the hands of Camarines Sur 3rd District Representative Leni Robredo, proclaiming her as the country’s duly elected Vice President, Monday, May 30, 2016. Robredo is joined by her children, Jessica Marie, Janine Patricia, and Jillian Therese. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) — Congress on Monday afternoon proclaimed Davao City Mayor Rodrigo “Rody” Duterte and Camarines Sur Representative Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo as the next president and vice president of the country, respectively. The proclamation came after Congress, sitting as the National Board of Canvassers, finished the canvassing of votes with Duterte officially winning the presidential elections with 16,601,997, and Robredo, the vice presidential polls with 14,418,817. Duterte was a mile ahead of his closest pursuer, administration candidate Mar Roxas, who had more than nine million votes. Vice President-elect Leni Robredo greets supporters at a thanksgiving mass at St. Peters Church in Quezon City. Robredo and President-elect Rodrigo Duterte were proclaimed winners of the 2016 national election by the joint session of Congress at the House of Representatives on Monday. (MNS photo) Robredo, meanwhile, won the vice presidency in a tight race as she led second placer Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. by only more than 260,000 votes. Senate President Franklin Drilon and House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. made the proclamation at 4:10 p.m., close to an hour after the joint session started. The motion for the proclamation of Duterte and Robredo was made by Senate Read More …