Maniolas

Presidential aspirant and Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte chants “Mabuhay ang Moro people!” before entering his vehicle after his campaign rally in Cotabato City on Saturday. Majority of the Bangsamoros in the event expressed support for Duterte for his clear stance on resolving the Mindanao conflict.(MNS photo) MANILA, Mar 31 (Mabuhay) – Presidential candidate Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has clarified that he will not scrap the government’s conditional cash transfer program, especially because it benefits poor families. “Don’t worry that 4Ps will stop. It will continue under a Duterte presidency,” he said on Wednesday during a campaign rally in Catanauan, Quezon. Pantawid Pamilyang Piilipino Program (4Ps), is a conditional cash transfer mechanism implemented first during the term of former president and now Pampanga representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. It was expanded to cover more families under the Aquino administration. Its beneficiaries are required to keep their children in school and invest in their health and nutrition. “Who are you (candidates) to stop a program that benefits underprivileged Filipinos,” Duterte said. However, he pointed out that the funding of 4Ps is not from candidates but from the government itself. According to a statement from the Duterte camp, the mayor criticized administration bets who claimed that the 4Ps would stop if they lose in the elections. Earlier this month, a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showed that four out of five Filipinos would “probably vote for” a candidate who will continue the 4Ps, which now benefits 4.4 million families.(MNS)

(From left) Cirian Villavicencio, Chair, California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs; Assemblymember David Chiu; Linh Chuong, South East Asian Resource Action Center; Pakou Her, student, California State University, Sacramento; Assemblymember Das Williams (Chair of the API Caucus); Assemblymember Rob Bonta (author of the AHEAD Act); Assemblymember Evan Low; and Assemblymember Phil Ting. (Sacramento, CA) – Assemblymember Rob Bonta (D-Oakland), author of AB 1726, the Accounting for Health and Education in Asian Pacific Islander Demographics Act (the AHEAD Act), issued the following statement after holding press conferences in Oakland and Sacramento to call for accurate data collection for all API subgroups. “Good data drives good policy,” Bonta explained.  “One way to get good data is through disaggregation. Disaggregating data means breaking it down into smaller subgroups and assessing specific trends that were previously hidden. “Certain subgroups within the API community are falling behind on public health and education benchmarks, but these facts are hidden within the broader group statistics. That’s why I’ve introduced the AHEAD Act, to help meet the needs of California’s diverse communities.”  Bonta gave an example of how disaggregation drives good public policy decisions. “In 2011, Asian Americans for Community Involvement (AACI) in San Jose performed a county health assessment using disaggregated data. That data revealed that Chinese Americans have significantly higher rates of Hepatitis B, which allowed AACI to conduct targeted outreach to Chinese residents. If AB 1726 becomes law, we will have the opportunity to evaluate more accurate data on disease rates, health insurance coverage, and birth and death rates.” Quyen Dinh, Executive Director, South Read More …

Sam Pinto (MNS photo) After months of rumors, sexy actress Sam Pinto has finally admitted that she and Azkals player Misagh Bahadoran are more than just good friends. The 26-year-old Pinto revealed that she and Bahadoran, a Filipino-Persian football player, have been a couple for more than three months already. “Yup, we’re together. We’re good, we’re very happy,” she said. For the past months, Pinto and Bahadoran have been vocal about their feelings for each other on Instagram. However, prior to the Pinto’s admission, they have yet to clarify the real score between them. Last January 12, Pinto posted a birthday message for Bahadoran. She shared their “first decent photo together” and wrote as the caption: “Happy [that] I got to spend the whole day with ya. Hope you had an awesome one.” Bahadoran, for his part, revealed that he spent Valentine’s Day together with Pinto. He said: “Happy Valentine everyone. Enjoy [it] with your loved one.” Bahadoran first made his Azkals debut back in 2014. He has since scored two international goals for the country—one to lift the Azkals against Kuwait and another in a win over Yemen. Both matches were part of the qualification rounds for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers. (MNS)

Dengue infects some 390 million people each year in more than 120 countries of the world.© mrfiza/shutterstock.com MANILA, Mar 31 (Mabuhay) –  The government will push through with the giving of free and new dengue vaccines to public school students next week even without any recommendation yet from the World Health Organization (WHO). In a media conference on Thursday, Dr. Rose Capeding, head of the Department of Microbiology at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM), assured that the new vaccines are safe. Capeding was the principal investigator from the Philippines who was part of the three phases of the vaccines’ clinical trials. First to receive the free vaccines on Monday will be select nine-year-old students from public schools in CALABARZON (Regions 4-A), Central Luzon (Region 3), and Metro Manila. The vaccination would come even if the WHO, through the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts, is still reviewing data on the new vaccines and has yet to come up with comprehensive recommendations on how to use the vaccines. WHO country representative Gundo Weiler said the WHO would need these recommendations before it comes up with any statement on the new dengue vaccines. Weiler said for now, the WHO has a “neutral position” on the vaccines, but clarified it does not mean they think the vaccines are unsafe. Weiler clarified that despite the absence of such recommendations, the Philippines could still push through with the vaccinations. Weiler assured the government that the WHO would be helping the Department of Health in Read More …

Toni Gonzaga (MNS photo) TV and film director Paul Soriano was careful not to talk about the rumored pregnancy of his wife, Toni Gonzaga, but revealed that he is already prepared to take on the role of a father. Soriano said he has long been ready to have kids when he decided to marry Gonzaga last year. “Like I said, I thrive on the uncertainty. Sometimes, that’s what I like to do — the things I’ve never done before,” he said. “I was prepared even before I got married. I was ready then, and I’m ready now. Whenever God wills it, we’ll embrace it.” When hypothetically asked whether he likes to have a baby boy or a girl first, he said: “Twins. I think it’s in the blood of my family. Just for me, every time I see twins, curious ako.” Meanwhile, Soriano shared that Gonzaga hasn’t slowed down with work and that she is still doing “her regular thing.” Toni Gonzaga and Paul Soriano (MNS photo) “She’s great. I always say na kapag Tuesday, I share her with John Lloyd. I think they are shooting in Batangas right now. She’s good,” he said. “She’s still grinding it out there. Actually, my problem with Toni is slowing her down.” Despite this, Soriano doesn’t want to be the kind of husband who tells his wife how to do things. “I’d let it come from her. I don’t want to be that guy to tell her what to do. But she knows Read More …