Maniolas

Petitioner Dionarto Q. Noblejas was appointed by respondent Italian Maritime Acadamy Philippines, Inc. (IMAPI) as training instructor/assessor on a contractual basis for three months effective May 20, 2009. After the expiration of the three-month period, IMAPI hired Noblejas anew as training instructor/assessor with the same salary rate but no written contract was executed for his rehiring. In a case for illegal dismissal filed by Noblejas against IMAPI, the former claims that he already attained the status of a regular employee because he was allowed to work beyond the stipulated period of his employment and he performed functions which were necessary or desirable in the usual business or trade of IMAPI. Does his contention find merit? Ruling: Yes. Pursuant to Article 280 of the Labor Code, there are two kinds of regular employees, namely: (1) those who are engaged to perform activities that are usually necessary or desirable in the usual business or trade of the employer; and (2) those who have rendered at least one year of service, whether continuous or broken, with respect to the activities in which they are employed. Regular employees are further classified into (1) regular employees by nature of work and (2) regular employees by years of service. The former refers to those employees who perform a particular function that is necessary or desirable in the usual business or trade of the employer, regardless of their length of service; while the latter refers to those employees who have been performing the job, regardless of its Read More …

Senator Bong Revilla, shown in photo on his way to be detained on plunder and graft charges, said his lawyer, Sal Panelo, only talked about the rats and roaches in his cell in jest. Revilla’s lawyer has said the senator’s family saw rats “as big as cats” inside the senator’s cell. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – Detained Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla and his lawyer Joel Bodegon have formally cut ties, according to a manifestation sent to the Sandiganbayan First Division Wednesday, but made public Thursday. In a two-page document, Bodegon, who said last week that he will stop handling Revilla’s pork barrel scam cases, informed the court that he is no longer lawyering for the senator. “Undersigned law firm respectfully withdraws as Counsel for Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla, Jr. in the instant case. Sen. Revilla’s conformity is indicated herein below,” the document said. Revilla is accused of funneling millions of pesos in his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel fund to fictitious non-government organizations for kickbacks. The said NGOs were allegedly put up by businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles. Revilla and his co-accused allegedly received P224.5 million in kickbacks from 2006 to 2010. In December 2014, The Sandiganbayan denied Revilla’s bid for temporary freedom. He has filed a motion for reconsideration that is currently pending before the anti-graft court. Prior to serving as counsel for Revilla, Bodegon was one of the lawyers of former Chief Justice Renato Corona during his 2012 impeachment trial. Meanwhile, in the same document, Bodegon asked Read More …

MANILA, Philippines–Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. (MMPC) expects to more than double the sales this year of its all new Strada pickup, which will be launched next month. MMPC vice president for marketing services Froilan Dytianquin confirmed the planned launch as parent firm, Mitsubishi Motors Corp. of Japan, had announced earlier this week the rollout of the all-new Triton pickup truck from its assembly facility in Thailand. In the Philippines, the Triton is marketed as the Strada. “(The all-new Strada) was actually introduced first in Thailand and we are the first left-hand drive market to launch it since our pick-up sales volume comes after Thailand and Indonesia,” Dytianquin said Thursday in a text message. “We are looking at selling around 7,000 units this year. Last year, we sold around 3,000 units of the Strada,” he added. In a separate statement, MMC said this model, considered one of the company’s best-selling nameplates, had been developed to be the “ultimate sport utility truck, combining comfortable interior space of a passenger car with the functionality and reliability of a pickup.” The all-new Triton went on sale in Thailand in November 2014, and MMC plans to roll out the all-new Triton starting in the Philippines, then sequentially in the Asean, Oceania, the Middle East, Europe, Africa and Latin America, and eventually will be exported to some 150 countries. MMPC is expected to launch two other models this year, as it moves to strengthen its hold on the automotive market. The company forecasted sales to increase Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Broadcast giant ABS-CBN Corp. is spending another P600 million to expand its digital terrestrial television (DTT) service nationwide as part of the directive of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to shift to DTT broadcast over the next few years. Ronaldo Valdueza, chief financial officer of the ABS-CBN Group, said in an interview with reporters during the launch of its DTT service via the ABS-CBN TVplus Wednesday evening that the additional investment would cover its expansion to provinces including Cagayan de Oro, Bacolod, Iloilo, Davao, and Naga.  “Based on our estimate it would be around P600 million this year. We are still looking at the investment to cover nationwide. We will see how the market response first,” Valdueza said. The listed broadcast company has invested at least P3 billion for the shift to DTT from analog signal. According to Valdueza, the DTT service now covers Metro Manila, Rizal, Cavite, Laguna, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Pangasinan, Benguet, and Cebu but would soon be widely available in more areas as it aims to bring more digitally clear signal and a more enjoyable TV viewing experience for all Filipinos nationwide. ABS-CBN TVplus, a digital box more popularly known as the ‘mahiwagang black box,’ was officially rolled out at a ceremonial switch-on last Wednesday. The box delivers dramatically clear picture and sound that is comparable to seeing a movie on DVD, a far cry from the prevailing analog system. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 ABS-CBN TVplus also Read More …

An off-the-radar company provides the ultimate best man services for a bro-less groom in the comedy MANILA, Philippines – Are you bro-less? Buddy-deficient? About to settle down with a girl without ever having lived it up first with the boys? You might just need The Wedding Ringer. Top comedians Kevin Hart (The Grudge Match), Josh Gad (voice of Olaf in Frozen) and Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting (TV’s The Big Bang Theory) star in the new buddy comedy from director Jeremy Garelick (The Break-Up). For any man getting married, there’s a lot to take care of before the big day. But no matter how stressful it gets, he can be certain of one thing: The guys that make up his wedding party — from best man to groomsmen — will help him out, from the bachelor party to the reception toast. They’re his crew, after all: The guys who have always been there for him, through good times and bad (and good times that memorably go bad, right?). They’re the guys who matter. The guys that lovable, socially awkward groom-to-be Doug Harris (Josh Gad) never had, and doesn’t have. And if he doesn’t want to look like a fool to his bride, they’re the guys he desperately needs. The Wedding Ringer is now showing in cinemas nationwide.