Maniolas

Barias Family: Manny and Susan, with their daughter Cai. FACEBOOK PHOTO First posted in PositivelyFilipino.com GUYMON, Oklahoma — A dervish swirl of dust and leaves blankets the Oklahoma panhandle town of Guymon at dusk, when Emmanuel Barias arrives home, in a white coat, from another busy day at the clinic. As a member of a Filipino-run medical team, Doc Manny—as he is fondly called by many in the community—sees at least 60 patients every day. Soon after, Susan drives in, too, and a chorus of yaps and whines ensues when their three dogs welcome her with wagging tails and lolling tongues. She is back from managing their various business enterprises. It is time to have wine, a vegetarian dinner and conversation together. Over their shared meal, they receive a call from their only daughter away at Barnard College in New York City. Cai is checking in on her folks because she has “nothing else to do,” but her voice is warm, and the laughs are quick and easy. She asks about the puppies, so her mom gives her some face time with Oliver, Peanut and Sherlock. At some point, another phone rings—the hospital, consulting about a patient’s care. Manny retreats to a corner to discuss the case. Just another day in the life of a couple whose relationship began 25 years ago at the University of the Philippines, Diliman, where Susan (née Morales) finished her undergraduate degree in economics in 1992 and master’s degree (in the same field) in 1997. Read More …

MANILA, Philippines–South Korea’s oldest and largest bank has been given the green light to open its doors in the Philippines, following policymakers’ move to open up the local financial industry to more foreign competition. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) this week confirmed that Shinhan Bank’s desire to open up a branch in the Philippines was approved last week. Shinhan follows Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Bank to be allowed into the Philippines under a legislation approved last year that removed restrictions on the entry of foreign lenders into the country. “The bank will apply localized business strategy based on its broad experience in Asian region, providing various financial services to both Korean and local corporations and the Korean community in the Philippines,” Shinhan said in a statement. Once it opens in September, Shinhan’s Philippine branch aims to target the large South Korean immigrant population in the Philippines. More than 100,000 overseas Koreans are residing in the Philippines and 1 million tourists visit yearly. The two countries also have strong economic relations,  with South Korea being the fifth-largest trading partner of the Philippines. Shinhan’s entry was approved by the BSP Monetary Board last Thursday, Deputy Governor Nestor A. Espenilla Jr. told the Inquirer late Monday. In 2011, Shinhan dispatched a regional specialist for market research in the country, showing that the bank has been interested in the local banking sector “for several years.” Last year, the bank also hosted an investment seminar in partnership with the Philippine Embassy in Seoul. The bank Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – GMA Network’s first-ever faith-serye, Pari ‘Koy, garnered positive comments from some members of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). After an invitation from Pari ‘Koy director, Maryo J. delos Reyes, a Catholic layman and some priests from various religious orders previewed the pilot week of the inspirational drama series last March 12. Pari ‘Koy’s pilot episode received overwhelming support from the netizens, who acknowledged this breakthrough of a genre for a TV series, which tackles the life of a priest and how he takes care of his parish and parishioners. Just like them, the invited priests embraced the concept and could relate to Father Kokoy’s character, played by Dingdong Dantes (photo). Pari ‘Koy airs Mondays to Fridays after 24 Oras on GMA Telebabad.

MANILA, Philippines – Last March 11-15, 2015, Roberts Automotive & Industrial Parts Manufacturing Corporation joined the 20th WORLDBEX (The Philippine World Building and Construction Exposition) held at World Trade Center, Metro Manila. The annual convergence of representatives of local and international building and construction industries was participated in by 500 exhibiting companies from 25 countries in Asia. Roberts, as one of the competitive manufacturing businesses, emphasized its high-quality products that continuously serve the construction industry such as custom-built u-bolts, Evercool radiator, Tiger leaf springs, Soundex mufflersand its new capabilities such as painting, pipe bending and welding.

The Senate hearings on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law will resume on April 13 after the Holy Week holiday break of the chamber, Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said in a statement on Tuesday. “Since I have received the MILF report and I already have the report of the Board of Inquiry and also the Senate report, I can now resume the hearing on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law,” said Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., chairman of the  Senate Committee on Local Government. The announcement came a day after the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) submitted its probe commission’s report on the Mamasapano massacre which was sent via the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) and its chairman Mohagher Iqbal. “I respectfully submit herewith a copy of the full report of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) investigation on the Mamasapano incident, in response to your request for said transmittal in your letter dated 9 March 2015”, Iqbal was quoted in his letter. Marcos said there is a “need to strengthen the ceasefire mechanism. Because what happened in Mamasapano was, as early as 5:30 a.m. to 6 a.m. on that Sunday, the MILF was already told that it’s the government troops that they were firing at. But the total ceasefire was only achieved around 4 pm., that’s almost 11 hours. If it only took 11 minutes to implement the ceasefire, then, some lives could have been saved.”  — ELR, GMA News