Maniolas

It is not because I own Solidaridad, a bookshop, that I say books make the best Christmas gift. Giving one compliments the giver as well as the recipient — both are presumed intelligent readers.  The real reason is that as material objects, books today are still well made, they last more than 50 years. Imagine gifts that stay that long! This year, publishers — particularly the university presses — have put out quality titles particularly on history. They may not sell, though — Filipinos do not read — but they illustrate a growing attention to history and the need for Filipinos to know more about themselves. Below are four I have read recently. Taming People Power: the EDSA Revolution and their Contradictions By Lisandro E. Claudio Ateneo de Manila University Press, 225 pages Lifestyle Feature ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: Many of those who elevated Cory Aquino to sainthood will not appreciate this book for the simple reason that it debunks the Cory legend by probing closely at that giant Hacienda Luisita which Cory and her family own. It is an affirmation of what I already knew from way back except that I never had what this young able scholar has accumulated — a mass of empirical evidence. Way back in the ’60s when I first visited the hacienda (I was brought there by Ninoy), I told Ninoy to look how miserably the workers in the hacienda lived. Ninoy told me then, “Frankie — you know that this Read More …

Vilma Santos (MNS Photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – Batangas Governor Vilma Santos Recto on Thursday said she is surprised by the Commission on Elections order asking her to vacate her post for failure to file her statement of election contributions and expenditures (SOCE). Recto said she filed her SOCE on June 6 before the Comelec’s deadline for submission. “Gusto ko lang sabihin na ako ay nag file. In fact, I have the certificate of compliance. Nauna pa kami nag file sa deadline, June 6 when I filed my SOCE. Nagulat lang po. We did not get any letter kung meron pong naging problema. We did not get any letter from the Comelec. Kung nalaman namin na may problema, sana nagawan namin ng correction,” she said. She said she asked her lawyers to check why she was included in the Comelec order. She said she never had a complaint about her SOCE in previous elections. “The lawyer is taking care of it. Kung meron pagkakamali sa form or sa signature, I don’t think magiging problema naman,” she said. Recto is one of more than 400 officials being asked to vacate their posts for failure to submit their SOCEs on time. Brillantes said the elected officials failed to comply with the law by either 1) failing to submit a SOCE 2) failing to sign the submitted SOCE or 3) submitting a signed SOCE that was not in the proper form. Under the poll body’s agreement with the Department of the Interior and Local Read More …

Japan has expanded currency swap agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines, officials said Friday, as Tokyo looks to bolster regional relations to counter the growing influence of China. The deals — along with the renewal of an expired agreement with Singapore — came as Tokyo hosted a special three-day summit with leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to mark the 40th anniversary of ties between the sides. Currency swaps are useful in times of economic stress, when normal foreign exchange markets can seize up, as they allow for financial authorities to buy local currencies with something much more liquid — usually the US dollar. Since the Asian crisis in the late 1990s, Japan has spearheaded efforts to build a regional currency swap agreement, now known as the Chiang Mai Initiative (CMI), which has ballooned to about $240 billion. On Friday, Japan said it has nearly doubled its bilateral swap arrangement with Jakarta to $22.76 billion from $12 billion, as concerns rumble about the possible impact of the US Federal Reserve scaling back its massive stimulus programme. The central bank, which holds a policy meeting next week, may start tapering its $85 billion-a-month bond buying scheme as early as this month. That may drive a flight back to the dollar and stoke potentially destabilising capital outflows in emerging markets. “The authorities in Japan and Indonesia hope that the strengthened bilateral financial cooperation will contribute to the stability of financial markets,” the Japanese finance ministry said. Japan also agreed Read More …

President Benigno S. Aquino III leads the nation in commemorating the 150th Birth Anniversary of Gat Andres Bonifacio at the Bonifacio National Monument in Caloocan City on Saturday (November 30, 2013) with the theme: “Bonifacio: Dangal at Kabayanihan.” Also in photo is National Historical Commission of the Philippines chairperson Dr. Maria Serena Diokno. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – Acting on instructions issued by President Benigno S. Aquino III, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) released a total of P6.2 billion to support the Productivity Enhancement Incentive (PEI) for government employees, which was made available to government workers as early as end of November. The PEI, which is normally distributed to public servants in December, was released a full month ahead of its regular release schedule to accommodate the urgent needs of government employees nationwide, particularly those stricken by a succession of severe calamities, including the more recent 7.2-magnitude earthquake in Bohol and typhoon Yolanda. The Productivity Enhancement Incentive (PEI) – which is distributed to employees at P5,000 each – shall be granted across the board to all public officials and employees holding regular plantilla positions in departments/agencies, state universities and colleges, and government-owned or controlled corporations. Uniformed/military personnel will likewise be supported by this release, as well as contractual and casual personnel who have rendered at least nine (9) months of service for 2013. “President Aquino understands the urgent needs of those affected by typhoons and disasters, especially our government employees who’ve worked tirelessly to help other Filipinos recover Read More …

After selling gadgets on Facebook for over seven years, facebook-commerce page KimStore has now tapped the services of Singapore-based startup Tack This to better its consumers’ online buying experience. For Tack This, it’s also a part of its expansion into the Philippines. Launched in Singapore in 2011, Tack This is a platform that provides e-commerce pages on Facebook (f-commerce) and blogs a real virtual shopping experience without the need to write code from scratch. Users simply need to copy and paste code, similar to how YouTube videos can be embedded into any site. Tack This partnered with telco Smart Communications’ mobile app development arm Voyager Innovations as its local partner in tapping the f-commerce and e-commerce markets in the country. One of its first customers in the Philippines is KimStore, a go-to virtual shop by Filipino consumers which has over 260,000 likes on Facebook. It became popular by offering smartphones, tablets and other devices at relatively low prices compared to retail stores. Prior to using Tack This, KimStore accepted orders through calls, SMS and personal messages on Facebook. Now, KimStore founder Kim Lato says with Tack This on its Facebook page, consumers can now do away with the manual ordering process. She adds: TackThis helped in widening my store’s online presence by allowing my customers to buy straight from my Facebook page. With Tack This on KimStore, users will be led to a page of all the available items from the seller by clicking a tab. They can then add an item to the shopping cart Read More …