Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – JP Morgan Chase Bank NA expects the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to cut interest rates on special deposit accounts (SDAs) by another 50 basis points (bps) this year. JPMorgan Chase economist Matt L. Hildebrandt said another 50 bps cut in SDA rate looms, on top of the successive 50-bps rate cuts this year, even if the timing is uncertain. “This would leave the SDA and the repo rates each 200 bps below and above the reverse repo rate (currently 3.5 percent),” Hildebrandt said in a report. He explained that consumer prices rose 0.3 percent month-on-month in July, leaving them up 2.8 percent quarter-on-quarter from 1.7 percent in June. Despite the higher sequential rates, prices rose only 2.5 percent in July compared to 2.8 percent in June, he said. “This leaves the consumer price index (CPI) below the BSP’s four percent plus-minus one percent target range for the fourth straight month,” the bank economist said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Core prices (excluding food and energy) rose 0.2 percent month-on-month and up 1.1 percent quarter-on-quarter. Core prices were up just 2.3 percent compared to 2.9 percent in July, leaving them at their lowest rate since the global recession, Hildebrandt said. Price pressures were concentrated in food and transport. Food rose 0.4 percent month-on-month, for the third straight month leaving prices up 3.6 percent quarter-on-quarter, after more benign readings in prior months. Transport prices rose 0.7 percent month-on-month, following a 0.8 percent gain in Read More …

Convicted rapist and former Zamboanga del Norte Rep. Romeo Jalosjos can no longer run for any public office. This was after the Supreme Court, sitting en banc, on Tuesday denied his motion for reconsideration seeking to reverse the court’s earlier ruling barring him from running for mayor in last May’s elections. The court said Jalosjos failed to present in his motion new arguments that would warrant the reversal of the SC’s decision. The denial of Jalosjos’ motion rendered the SC ruling final. “The Supreme Court denied with finality the motion for reconsideration of its June 18, 2013 decision filed by counsel for petitioner and prohibited the filing of further pleadings or motions,” the SC Public Information Office said. “Entry of judgement shall be made in due course,” it added. In June, the high court junked Jalosjos’ petition, stressing that his “perpetual absolute disqualification” remains even if he had been pardoned. Jalosjos was convicted of two counts of statutory rape and six counts of acts of lasciviousness on November 16, 2001. He was sentenced to an “accessory penalty of perpetual absolute disqualification.” On April 30, 2007, Jalosjos’ sentence was commuted by then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to 16 years, three months and three days. He walked out of prison in March 2009. He separately applied to become a registered voter in Zamboanga City and a candidate in the mayoral race in the city. Both requests were denied by the Municipal Trial Court in Cities and the Commission on Elections, citing his perpetual absolute Read More …

Gloria Maris CCO Steffi Lim; engr. Nelson Lim; Bb. Pilipinas-International 2013 Bea Rose Santiago; Araneta Group of Companies president and CEO Jorge Araneta MANILA, Philippines – Its interiors were inspired by a modern take on 1920s Chinese fashion by Shanghai Tang, a purveyor of “accessible luxury.” Without losing any of its “luxury” appeal, the key word here is “accessible.” And this may very well define the newly opened Gloria Maris Banquet Hall on the fourth level of Gateway Mall at the Araneta Center. With 2,000 square meters of “dynastic elegance and regal ambiance,” it serves as a perfect venue for satisfying casual dimsum cravings, hearty hot pot or shabu shabu, as well as sumptuous Chinese banquets or lauriat feasts.  As Steffi Lim, chief culinary officer (CCO) of Gloria Maris, says, “We want to be accessible to more people. We want Filipinos, not just the Filipino-Chinese, to make the lauriat a part of their feasts and celebrations.” With its first restaurant at the Cultural Center of the Philippines in the early 1990s, Gloria Maris originally catered to the upscale market. Later, the branch in Greenhills served a largely discriminating and loyal Chinese clientele. With the opening of more branches and franchises, it has embraced a broader middle market. “Today, Gloria Maris bridges both high-end and mass markets at accessible locations for those who seek the best in Chinese fare.” This is the constant in all Gloria Maris restaurants: “At the Gloria Maris Banquet Hall, we will feature all-time favorites and we Read More …

A recent birthday brought back a treasure trove of beautiful memories from my well wishers, some of whom I’ve spent many beautiful moments with.  One precious someone signed his birthday wishes, thus: “forever your soul mate,” which rendered me breathless for a moment. Then I felt a surge of adrenaline up my spine and, I must admit, allowed myself to wallow in the myriad of emotions that went through my mind and filled my whole being.  I almost felt embarrassed feeling the way I did, truth be told.  In retrospect, I must have been in love with this man, for me to have felt the way I did after reading his birthday greetings.  For sure, happy memories of that relationship resurfaced which made me smile all day during my birthday.  Family and friends asked me why I looked so happy at my birthday dinner.  I guess I am just a hopeless romantic!     I remembered that somewhere in my files, I kept an article about the science of falling in love. I immediately looked it up as I wanted to analyze what made me react the way I did.  Findings reveal that it takes between 90 seconds and four minutes to determine whether you fancy someone.  These are the stats: 55% is through your body language, 38% is the tone and speed of your voice, and only 7% through what they say.  It is all so true because I know that when I am attracted to someone, my body Read More …

Gawad Kalinga (GK) founder Tony Meloto motivates volunteers to work hard all day as one united force that will bring about a nation free from poverty. Five years ago, the local government of Makati evicted 500 informal settlers from various private properties inside the country’s premier financial district. To the residents’ surprise, however, theirs was the only relocation that ended up in a place rightly called “Dreamland.” With the help of Gawad Kalinga (GK) and a vast network of private companies and donors, dilapidated shanties were exchanged for middle-class houses, constricted eskenitas for wide, fully-paved roads, and hazardous living conditions for a subdivision that has existing amenities for water, electricity, education, and healthcare. Owned and managed by the Makati local government, Dreamland Ville is a 3.2-hectare property in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan for 500 former urban poor settlers of the said city. Last June 12, with the help of Berjaya Corporation, the LGU was set to finish the housing project with 30 houses expected to be built in a span of three months. There was a time when 57-year-old Lilia Soriano was envious of her neighbors who were the first recipients of decent houses five years ago. All that changed last June 12 when Nanay Lilia became one of the projected beneficiaries of the soon-to-be constructed block. With hope ever so near, Nanay Lilia was one of the first volunteers present and working at the site hours before the official program started. Later that morning, Nanay Lilia was in Read More …