Maniolas

Pilgrims brave rain and strong wind as they wait at Tacloban airport for Pope Francis to arrive on Saturday. About two million people are expected to attend an open-air mass in Leyte, which is still struggling to recover from Super Typhoon Yolanda that killed more than 6,000 people in 2013. (MNS photo) MANILA   (Mabuhay) – Meanwhile, militant umbrella group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan said a bigger challenge awaits Filipinos after Pope Francis leaves. Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. said his group thanked Pope Francis for “consistent advocacy of the poor and his liberating message of breaking the bonds of injustice and oppression.” However, Reyes said the bigger challenge is putting into practice the words expressed by the Pope, now that he has left. Reyes particularly referred to the Pope’s statements on poverty, inequality, social exclusion, and corruption, and the need to give a voice to the poor. “The message may have fallen on deaf ears with the Pope’s audience in Malacañang, but certainly it resonated with the millions of Filipinos who lined up the streets and gathered in Luneta and Tacloban. The Pope’s message to the poor should inspire the people to organize and struggle for better wages, for social services, for pro-people rehabilitation in Yolanda-affected areas, for education, health care, for the resumption of the peace talks, and for the release of political prisoners,” Reyes said. Reyes also said the Pope’s message was “liberating and in many ways, even subversive because it was critical of the prevailing social order where Read More …

Beauty Gonzales: Expecting a more productive 2015. Photo reprinted from FHM 2014 has been so good to Beauty Gonzales. After placing fourth in Pinoy Big Brother Teen Edition Plus in 2008, Beauty embarked on a showbiz career. She was actually the first former housemate from that batch to appear in a teleserye. In that same year, Beauty played Genna in Iisa Pa Lamang, which was bannered by Claudine Barretto, Diether Ocampo, and Gabby Concepcion. But after that first feather in her cap, Beauty’s career kind of took a nosedive. While she found enough work over the years to keep her occupied and out of debt, what eluded her was the kind of project that would bring her both critical and commercial success. She was relegated to minor roles that sometimes she wouldn’t even have to do anything in a scene except to stand beside the bida looking happy, sad, or whatever emotion the script called for. It wasn’t until 2014 that people actually started to take notice of her. It all started when Beauty was cast in Star Cinema’s Starting Over Again which starred Piolo Pascual and Toni Gonzaga. Beauty was tapped to play the witty bestfriend of Toni’s character Ginny, and it proved to be a role that showed off Beauty’s impeccable comedic timing. Netizens — composed of critics and fans alike — commended Beauty on her portrayal of Wella. Some even went so far to say that her performance in the Olivia Lamasan-directed blockbuster contributed significantly to the Read More …

While millions of Filipino Catholics were touched and inspired by Pope Francis’ statements during his five-day state and apostolic visit to the Philippines, not everybody is impressed. Advocates of the Church-opposed Reproductive Health (RH) Law, which was enacted in 2012 to allow government spending on artificial contraceptives, found a contradiction between the Pope’s strong pro-life stance and his call to address poverty. Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello, an author of the RH law, said the Pope seemed to be “out of synch” with “the views of majority of Catholic men and women on the issue of family planning.” “He simply refuses to acknowledge what poor women know firsthand: that inability to control the size of their families is one of the surest routes to perpetuating their children’s poverty,” Bello said in a text message. He added that Pope Francis failed to recognize that family planning, including contraception, “is central to reducing poverty.” Throughout his trip to Asia’s bastion of Roman Catholicism, Pope Francis constantly repeated his appeal to politicians, Church leaders and ordinary citizens to help the poor and the marginalized, in a country where a fourth of the population live in poverty. The Pope also conveyed a strong pro-life stance to a country of over 100 million people. He stressed “the sacredness of every human life from conception to natural death” and the value of every child. The RH Law, approved more than two years ago, allows the government to procure condoms and other methods of artificial birth control. Filipino Read More …

Pope Francis made a triumphant entrance for a mass with millions in the Philippines on Sunday aboard a “popemobile” styled after the nation’s iconic, flamboyant and much-loved “jeepney” minibus. The pontiff, standing in the elevated open body of the uniquely Filipino version of his popemobile, travelled through the streets of the capital Manila for the main event of his five-day visit. Wearing a thick plastic yellow poncho over his vestments, the 78-year-old pontiff smiled and waved to hundreds of thousands who had lined the route to the venue for the mass. The rectangular vehicle with a distinctive giant grille repeatedly stopped so he could reach into the cheering masses and pick up babies to kiss and bless them. The pope rode the jeepney popemobile to Rizal Park where millions had gathered to hear him celebrate mass, in one of the world’s biggest papal gatherings. The jeepneys are regarded by many Filipinos as a symbol of national ingenuity. Locals created them from surplus US military jeeps after American forces left at the end of World War II. The bodies of the jeeps were extended, seats were added and a fixed roof put in place. The vehicles were then painted with colourful and Catholic designs. They proved to be strong vehicles with decades-long lifespans, and can be seen ferrying people through city streets and animals on mountain roads. However the diesel-powered vehicles are also one the nation’s chief air pollution culprits. Francis’s jeepney was an all-white popemobile. It had no doors, after Read More …

MANILA, Philippines – Tantoco-led SSI Group Inc. intends to continue its aggressive store expansion this year, earmarking P1.5 billion to cement its position as the country’s largest specialty store retailer. SSI vice president for investor relations Marti Atienza told The STAR that the listed retailer is earmarking P1.5 billion for capital expenditures (capex) this year, nearly the same level of spending it had last year. Atienza said the capex would be used to add around 130 new stores to its network. The company is funding this year’s capex through the P7.45 billion it raised from an initial public offering (IPO) in November last year. SSI is currently in the process of expanding its store network as it seeks to capitalize on favorable market conditions, evolving consumption patterns and consumer tastes and the availability of prime retail space in new and existing mall developments. As of end-June last year, SSI had 655 specialty stores in 68 major malls across the country. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 Atienza said the firm has already spent P1.3 billion in expanding its store network in the first nine months of 2014, adding a total of 87 new stores or an additional of 23,000 square meters of retail space. SSI is the country’s leading specialty store retailer, operating more than 100 international brands which includes Hermès, Prada, Gucci, Burberry, Salvatore Ferragamo, Lacoste, Michael Kors, Kate Spade, Gap, Old Navy, Zara, Stradivarius, Bershka, Aeropostale, Samsonite, Nine West, Payless Shoe Source, Beauty Bar, Marks Read More …