Maniolas

MANILA, Philippines – He is one of the most acclaimed balladeers of his generation. His songs — The Way You Look at Me and Color Everywhere — have become pop classics. He is a recognized Asian Sensation with a following in Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand. Christian Bautista (photo) has achieved a lot of things in his years in the business, but there are some that are more memorable than others, and one of them is getting the chance to perform alongside musical legends in the Valentine concert Only You: An Evening of Romantic Hits with Matt Monro Jr. and the Fabulous Sounds of… The Platters. The concert is set at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) on Feb. 14 and at the Newport Performing Arts Theater at Resorts World Manila, Feb. 16, both shows start at 8 p.m. Presented by GMA, the show is produced by Royal Chimes Concerts and Events, Inc. According to Christian, he welcomes any opportunity to perform with artists like The Platters because it teaches him how to appreciate old love songs. During the concert, Christian will have his own portion in which he will perform his hit songs. (Tickets to Only You: An Evening of Romantic Hits with Matt Monro Jr. and the Fabulous Sounds of…The Platters are available at Ticketworld, SM Tickets and Ticketnet.)

Pope Francis has been attending different events, greeting thousands of people, and delivering speeches ever since he started his Asian leg in Sri Lanka earlier this week. And, yes, the 78-year-old pope gets tired, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle said on Saturday evening. “At the end of every event, I would tag him, ‘How are you? Do you feel tired?’ And he is very frank and very honest and says, ‘Yes, a little,’” he said.  The cardinal also shared that he told Pope Francis that it is okay for him to sit down on his popemobile–as recommended by a doctor after spending hours standing–but whenever he sees a crowd of people, he would stand up right away.  “I told him that and he sat but when he saw a crowd, he stood up again,” Tagle said. Pope Francis is energized by the people for a reason. “He said, ‘They have been sacrificing, waiting for me, so deprive them of this opportunity?’,” the cardinal said.  Vatican Press Office director Father Federico Lombardi added that Pope Francis also expresses fatigue after a long day in The Vatican.  “We are always surpriseD that a man of his age can do what he is doing in Rome and also abroad,” he said.  Lombardi also told the press that after the pope’s activities were in Tacloban were cut short, he decided to rest upon arriving at the Apostolic Nunciature.  “He has decided not to take new initiative in the afternoon,” he said.  This is Read More …

Pope Francis posed for a selfie upon his return to Manila, after his visit to Leyte province was cut short due to Tropical Storm Amang. The Pope approached well-wishers including children and senior citizens at Villamor Air Base. GMA News’ Ruth Cabal reported the pope gave his zucchetto to a member of the Philippine Airlines crew.   He then boarded a black Volkswagen minivan en route to the Apostolic Nunciature in Manila. — Joel Locsin/VC, GMA News

MANILA, Philippines – A senator has stressed the need to revisit Republic Act 776 or the Civil Aeronautics Act of the Philippines of 1952 to provide passengers adequate protection against erring airline companies.  Sen. Bam Aquino, chairman of the Senate committee on trade, commerce and Entrepreneurship, said there is an urgent need to revisit the law because the situation is far different now compared to 63 years ago. “With more Filipinos now who are capable to travel by air to reach to their destination, let’s introduce necessary revisions to the law to make it more responsive to today’s needs and enable it to give enough protection to passengers,” Aquino said. Aquino stressed the need to review the provisions of RA 776 on Violations and Penalties, where any carrier or person who violates or fails to comply with any provision of the Act, or any of the terms, conditions or limitations in a permit or amendment thereto or any orders, rules or regulations issued by the CAB shall be subject to a fine not exceeding P5,000 for each violation. “It is unacceptable that some of our countrymen were delayed or weren’t able to go home to be with their families and friends during the Christmas season,” Aquino said. This age-old provision was used as basis by the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) in penalizing Cebu Pacific P52.1 million for delays and cancelled flights during the Christmas season. The fine was the largest ever imposed on an airline in Philippine aviation history. Business ( Read More …

Leonardo DiCaprio as Jordan Belfort in a scene from the movie “The Wolf of Wall Street.” (AP Photo/Paramount Pictures) Complete list of 87th annual Academy Award nominations announced Thursday: 1.Best picture: “American Sniper”; “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”; “Boyhood”; “The Grand Budapest Hotel”; “The Imitation Game”; “Selma”; “The Theory of Everything”; “Whiplash.” 2. Actor: Steve Carell, “Foxcatcher”; Bradley Cooper, “American Sniper”; Benedict Cumberbatch, “The Imitation Game”; Michael Keaton, “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”; Eddie Redmayne, “The Theory of Everything.” 3. Actress: Marion Cotillard, “Two Days, One Night”; Felicity Jones, “The Theory of Everything”; Julianne Moore, “Still Alice”; Rosamund Pike, “Gone Girl”; Reese Witherspoon, “Wild.” 4. Supporting actor: Robert Duvall, “The Judge”; Ethan Hawke, “Boyhood”; Edward Norton, “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”; Mark Ruffalo, “Foxcatcher”; J.K. Simmons, “Whiplash.” 5. Supporting actress: Patricia Arquette, “Boyhood”; Laura Dern, “Wild”; Keira Knightley, “The Imitation Game”; Emma Stone, “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”; Meryl Streep, “Into the Woods.” Entertainment ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 6. Directing: Alejandro G. Inarritu, “Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”; Richard Linklater, “Boyhood”; Bennett Miller, “Foxcatcher”; Wes Anderson, “The Grand Budapest Hotel”; Morten Tyldum, “The Imitation Game.” 7. Foreign language film: “Ida”; “Leviathan”; “Tangerines”; “Timbuktu”; “Wild Tales.” 8. Adapted screenplay: Jason Hall, “American Sniper”; Graham Moore, “The Imitation Game”; Paul Thomas Anderson, “Inherent Vice”; Anthony McCarten, “The Theory of Everything”; Damien Chazelle, “Whiplash.” 9. Original screenplay: Alejandro G. Inarritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris Jr. and Armando Bo, “Birdman Read More …