Maniolas

Filipino American singer-songwriter Lisa Danaë, just released EP “Patience”. CONTBUTED SAN JOSE, California – Lisa Danaë, a talented and passionate Filipino American singer-songwriter, started performing at the tender age of three, thrilled to be singing along with her Disney tapes while putting on a show for her stuffed animals. Shortly after, she received her first microphone and boom box, which only fueled her desire to become a singer.  Finally in the fourth grade, she joined the school choir and her singing has only grown stronger since then. Now, she is fully embarked on a singing career, releasing her newest EP last August 19. Danaë’s Patience can be downloaded and heard on iTunes, Apple Music, Google Play, Spotify and SoundCloud.  Earlier this year she released one single off the EP, “Big Bad Wolf,” as a preview. Danaë is an avid musician who plays and writes with passion from her own experiences and ideas.  Once a month, people can watch her perform at Selma’s Pizza & Tap Room in Ladera Ranch, California.  Aiming to widen her horizons and find more opportunities to grow her music, Danaë is exploring more performance venues in Los Angeles. Born in Rosemead, California, she grew up nearby in Ladera Ranch. Danaë had a simple yet fulfilling childhood as an only child.  She notes that at times it was lonely, but she had two pets that kept her company.  Besides her two pets, parents and going to school, Danaë filled her time with music, which grew from a Read More …

DFA spokesman Charles Jose. AP FILE PHOTO The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) clarified reports that there are no takers for diplomatic posts amid the series of “off-the-cuff” statements of President Rodrigo Duterte cursing US President Barack Obama and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that require massive diplomatic mending of fences with allies and neighbors. DFA spokesman Charles Jose said the report is not true but admitted so far it was only Ambassador Marciano Paynor who accepted the offer to become Philippine ambassador to United States. READ: Paynor named PH ambassador to US “Ambassador Paynor was recently appointed by President Duterte to head our post in Washington DC,” said Jose in a press briefing on Wednesday. Former Senate President Edgardo Angara, on the other hand, confirmed that he was offered the post as ambassador to US but he declined. “Yes, it (US post) was offered to me but I declined. Prior, I was offered to head our embassy in United Kingdom and then Spain,” said senator Angara in a chance interview. Angara said he is open to “provide policy advice to the DFA” as a consultant but not to work as ambassador. However, Jose said there are still no appointments of new ambassadors to key diplomatic posts such as United Kingdom and China. “We don’t have the names yet as of this time,” he said. Earlier, Foreign Secretary Perfecto Yasay Jr. has submitted three names for possible appointment as Philippine ambassador to the US including Angara, well-known businessman Ricardo Delgado and Read More …

PARENTS’ PLEA Cesar and Celia Veloso appeal to President Duterte to help save their daughter, Mary Jane, who is on death row in Indonesia for smuggling heroin in 2010, during a candle-lighting event in Manila. GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE CABANATUAN CITY – The National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) urged President Duterte on Wednesday to fight for the freedom of their client, Mary Jane Veloso, who was convicted and condemned to death for smuggling 2.6 kilos of heroin into Indonesia in 2010. Instead of picturing Veloso as a drug convict, Mr. Duterte must see her as “a poor, young mother of two young boys whose vulnerability was taken advantage of and exploited for the criminal purpose of drug smuggling, [of] which she had no knowledge of doing,” said lawyer Edre Olalia, NUPL secretary general, in a statement. Olalia maintained that Veloso was innocent. “She is in truth not the criminal but the victim, the peddled and not the peddler not only of drug trafficking but also of trafficking in persons,” he said. Veloso’s execution had been postponed by Indonesian President Joko Widodo, initially at the request of former president Benigno Aquino III in 2015, and again this year, to enable her to testify against her alleged recruiters, Ma. Cristina Sergio and Julius Lacanilao. READ: Widodo sticks to Veloso account: Duterte’s message is clear The government has been prosecuting Sergio, Lacanilao and a certain “Ike” for qualified human trafficking before the Regional Trial Court in Sto. Domingo, Nueva Ecija. Lacanilao and Sergio Read More …

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Ricardo Visaya on Wednesday said he would support President Rodrigo Duterte despite the latter’s call to pull-out US troops in Mindanao. Visaya made this statement before the House of Representatives appropriations committee hearing the Department of National Defense’s proposed P178.2 billion budget for 2017. Kabayan Rep. Harry Roque asked Visaya if the AFP would support Duterte’s independent foreign policy and his advice of pulling out US troops, even though American forces have greatly helped Philippine soldiers especially in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations against terrorists in Mindanao. Duterte had called for the pull-out of American troops in Mindanao warning that they may be subjected to reprisal by the Moro given the island region’s history of American brutalities during the 1900’s pacification campaign. READ: Duterte: US forces must go “Does the armed forces now stand behind the president’s independent foreign policy, including his advice for US troops to leave Mindanao?” Roque asked. Visaya said he has talked to the President about the statement and that the President meant only to ensure the safety of American troops who were perceived as high-value targets of terrorists. “His concerns are the safety and security of the troops,” Visaya said. But as for Duterte’s stance about US troops and an independent foreign policy, Visaya said: “He’s our commander-in-chief. We’re always behind him.” Meanwhile, Kabataan Rep. Sarah Elago asked Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana if the department would comply with Duterte’s call to pull-out US troops from Mindanao. “Sa plano Read More …

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana on Wednesday refuted President Rodrigo Duterte’s statement that US troops are high-value targets of terrorists in Mindanao. During the House of Representatives appropriations committee hearing the Department of National Defense’s (DND) proposed P178.2 billion budget in 2017, Lorenzana said US forces in Mindanao, where they help Filipino troops on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance , were equipped enough to protect themselves from bandit groups. Duterte had called for the pull-out of American troops in Mindanao warning that they may be subjected to reprisal by the Moro given the island region’s history of American brutalities during the 1900’s pacification campaign. READ: Duterte: US forces must go “
Yung mga fears ni Presidente that they night be subjected to reprisal of the Muslims, hindi naman siguro mangyayari yun,” Lorenzana said. (The President’s fears that they might be subjected to reprisal of the Muslims, that seems improbable.) He added that US troops were only based in military camps, and when they go out to Manila or for vacations they are usually well-armed. “Nasa kampo lang sila (They just stay in the camps). They won’t go out of their camps mag-isa lang sila (They won’t leave their camps alone), or they’re also armed,” Lorenzana said. “Let’s remember, these people are also combatants. They are not civilians subject to kidnapping by terrorists,” he added. CDG Latest Duterte’s anti-US rhetoric, policy jitters spook investors UN hits Duterte for ‘lack of understanding’ of human rights bodies Poe: Traffic a ‘daily dose of indignity and torment’ More ads, better infra needed to boost Read More …