Maniolas

President Benigno S. Aquino III tours and inspects the Coca-Cola FEMSA Philippines Canlubang Plant Expansion during the inauguration ceremony at the Silangan Industrial Estate in Canlubang, Calamba City, Laguna on Monday (November 03). With the president are Coca-Cola FEMSA Chief Executive Officer John Santa Maria, Chief Operating Officer Juan Ramon Felix, Manufacturing Director Guillermo Jose Amador, Canlubang Plant Manager Jorge Martinez, and Laguna Governor Ramil Hernandez. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) — Running for president may be the farthest thing in his mind right now, but Akbayan party-list Rep. Walden Bello may think about this seriously following President Benigno Aquino III’s dare that he run for the highest office in the land if he knows how to run the country. Bello said that while he thinks there are people better than he is who are qualified to run for president, he is also not the kind of person who walks away from a challenge or dare, “especially from someone I respect.” “If what he’s (Aquino) saying is he’ll support me, then I’ll have to think about it seriously because I can’t let him down, can I?” he said. Aquino on Monday challenged Bello, whom he described as having “too many complaints,” to run for president if he thinks his views on the country’s affairs are correct. “Ang dami niya talagang reklamo. Siguro ang mungkahi ko na lang sa kanya, kung palagay niya ‘yung pananaw lang niya ang tama, sa 2016, may eleksyon ng presidente. Baka gusto niyang lumaban doon,” the President Read More …

FOR tourism establishments in the country, college undergraduates and those that have completed their high school education make up the most of entry-level job applicants, a survey conducted by the Bureau of Labor and Employment Statistics found. The survey, released by the Philippine Statistics Authority, was conducted in 2011 and 2012. It consisted of 4,815 establishments with at least 20 workers engaged in tourism and other related industries. About 70 percent of these were in the hotel and restaurant business. According to the study, 60 percent of the entry-level vacancies were for young workers, 58 percent for those between 15 and 24 years old and 24 percent for those aged 25 to 30 years old. About a third of these vacancies required college experience while 30.9 percent require secondary education. As for those with a college degree,28.2 percent of the vacancies sought these candidates. During the survey period, accommodation and food service activities made up 73.4 percent of the entry-level vacancies in the industry. A little over half of the establishments had entry-level jobs available, 55.9 percent of these, however, werenon-regular positions. Majority of the entry-level positions did not have gender preferences in their applicants. However, depending on the nature of the work, some gender preferences were reported, with 62.9 percent preferring male applicants and 31.1 percent statingpreference for females. Hard to fill posts Of the vacancies reported during the survey period, 86.8 percent were considered easy to fill positions while the hard to fill positions were at 13.2 percent. Read More …

Malacañang on Tuesday extended its sympathies to former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo over the death of her 13-month-old grandson on Sunday. “We respect the decision of the Sandiganbayan and we condole with her and Luli for the death of their grandson and child,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said at a Palace briefing. On Tuesday, the First Division of the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan partially granted the motion filed by Arroyo to leave her detention from 12 noon to 10 p.m. on November 4 to 9 to attend the wake of her grandson, Jorge Alonso “Jugo” Arroyo Bernas, at North Forbes Park, Makati. The baby, who died on Sunday due to a congenital heart disease, was the son of Arroyo’s only daughter Luli. The court also allowed Arroyo to attend her grandson’s burial set on November 10 from 7 a.m. to 3 pm. The court, however, denied Arroyo’s original motion for a nine-day temporary house arrest during Jugo’s wake. Arroyo is detained at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City since 2012 for plunder charges in connection with the alleged misuse of P366 million Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office intelligence funds. —NB, GMA News

JENNYLYN Mercado denied that she is dating two actors. In an interview with the Kapuso star at the “Second Chances” press conference, the 27-year-old actress shared that she still enjoys being single, a year after her last relationship. She said her priorities are her son Alex Jazz and her showbiz career. “Wala pa sa utak ko yung (love life). Masyado pang maaga, marami pa akong ginagawa sa buhay, marami pa akong dapat asikasuhin. Hindi ako nagmamadali kasi wala naman akong hinahabol na (deadline). May anak na ako. Ipon na lang muna,” she said. Mercado also denied that she is rekindling her romance with former boyfriend, actor Dennis Trillo. She said the last time they talked was when they recorded the song “After All” for her “Never Alone” album. Asked if she is open to rekindling their romance with the actor, Jennylyn said, “Wala pa akong history na ganyan”. Meanwhile, the actress is also linked to her “English Only Please” leading man Derek Ramsay after the actor posted several photos of them together on image-sharing application, Instagram. Mercado explained that she does not want to add up to Ramsay’s marital woes and she and the actor are good friends. “Chill lang. Mahirap din kasi maraming pinagdadaanan yung tao. Ang dami niyang pinoproblema. Kakatakot parin and ingat ingat parin. Kaibigan ko yung tao at malaki yung respeto ko sa kanya kaya ayoko makadagdag sa iisipin niya,” she said. How about dating a married man? She said: “Ayoko talaga. Kailangan walang (sabit).” Mercado Read More …

The rate of consumer price increases likely continued to slow down in October for the second consecutive month as fuel and food costs fell during the month. Fuel prices in international markets have fallen by a quarter since the start of the year. The country has also started to recover from the effects of Supertyphoon “Yolanda” that struck in November last year and supply shocks due to Manila’s truck ban earlier this year. This comes amid signals by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) that benchmark interest rates would be kept on hold in the coming months to allow previous increases to work their way into the economy. “Food prices may remain elevated but easing oil prices may offset (this),” said Gundy Cahyadi, economist at Singapore’s DBS bank. DBS, Southeast Asia’s biggest lender, sees Philippine inflation slowing down to 4.2 percent in October, a view shared by BDO Unibank Inc.. This is slower than the 4.4 percent in September. Inflation peaked this year at 4.9 percent in July and August. Barclays and Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. both see inflation at 4.3 percent, while Bank of the Philippine Islands expects inflation at 4.1 percent. All projections are within the BSP’s projected range of 3.7 to 4.6 percent for the month. The BSP wants to keep inflation within the 3 to 5 percent target range. Last year, inflation settled at 3 percent. Earlier this week, BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco Jr. said that with price pressures easing, monetary authorities would keep Read More …