Maniolas

The United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) has ceased looking at surveys as a source of vindication for its presumptive standard bearer, Vice President Jejomar Binsay, amid the corruption controversies that have been hounding him in recent months. In a phone interview Tuesday, UNA interim president and Navotas City Rep. Tobias “Toby” Tiangco said Binay will remain focused on his job of providing affordable housing for Filipino familieis and attending to the concerns of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) regardless of his standing in voter preference surveys. The latest Social Weather Station (SWS) survey published Monday in Business World showed Binay remained the top contender for the president, with 37 percent of the respondents saying he should succeed President Benigno Aquino III in 2016. The poll, which was taken from November 27 to December 1, asked respondents, “Who do you think are the good leaders who should succeed Pres. [Benigno III] Aquino as president? You may give up to three names.” Next to Binay, 21 percent believe Senator Grace Poe should be the next president while 19 percent named Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II, the Liberal Party’s (LP) presumptive standard-bearer. When asked if the survey results is a vindication for Binay, Tiangco said: “We’ve stopped looking at it that way. Basta si VP Binay, focused sa kanyang trabaho no matter what his ratings are.” Binay has been hounded by allegations he was involved in the alleged overpricing of certain government projects when he was Makati City mayor, and of keeping secret bank accounts and Read More …

popular Pangasinan execs axed over black sand Viber goes public North Korean websites back online after shutdown Liberal Party eyes Roxas-Poe tandem Slain Lucena cop hailed as hero 2 kidnap-slay suspects found guilty Gay cure scam: Beijing court orders apology Azkals to get $300,000 Fifa aid next year videos Simbang Gabi at the Gesu (Day 8 – Dec. 22, 2014 ) Bb. Pilipinas queens: Beauty need not be skin-deep Simbang Gabi at the Gesu (Day 7 – Dec. 21, 2014) Simbang Gabi at the Gesu (Day 6 – Dec. 20, 2014) Simbang Gabi at the Gesu (Day 5 – Dec. 19, 2014) Photo from Olongapo City Police OLONGAPO CITY, Philippines – An Olongapo judge has suspended court proceedings on the murder of Filipino transgender woman Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude at the behest of the American soldier who has been accused of killing Laude. Regional Trial Court Judge Roline Ginez-Jabalde of Branch 74 granted US Marine Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton a 60-day suspension to give way to a review of the murder charge filed against him by the Olongapo City Prosecutor’s Office on Dec. 15. Jabalde issued the resolution on Tuesday afternoon after office hours. The Hall of Justice was open only until noon to allow employees to travel for the Christmas holiday. Jabalde also denied the petitions filed by Laude family to allow media coverage of the murder trial and to transfer Pemberton to the city jail. Lawyer Harry Roque, one of the family’s counsels, confirmed the Court’s decisions, Read More …

MANILA, Philippines—Five policemen belonging to the 29-man Philippine National Police (PNP) delegation to the peacekeeping mission in Liberia last year were honored on Monday for their dedication to their mission in the face of the deadly Ebola outbreak. The policemen, the last to complete the 21-day quarantine at the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Medical Center, received letters of commendation, United Nations service medals and “Medalya ng Papuri” for their sacrifice and courage. PNP officer in charge Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina, who arrived from Liberia early this month, led the awarding ceremony. The awardees were Senior Supt. Cesar Binag, deputy commissioner of the United Nations Mission in Liberia; Supt. Eduardo Abaday, Supt. Nixon Cayaban, Chief Insp. Emmanuel Caquilala and SPO3 Khynnimer Absari. The Philippines sent 133 peacekeepers from the AFP and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology to Liberia. They were repatriated ahead of schedule following the Ebola virus outbreak in the West African nation. The first batch of 24 peacekeepers arrived in November and was quarantined for 21 days on Caballo Island on Manila Bay. They were honored by the PNP earlier this month. “These police peacekeepers are the new heroes of the country for their sacrifice and dedication,” Espina said. The PNP has been sending contingents to UN peacekeeping missions since 1992, first in Cambodia, and then to other countries also torn by conflict. Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of INQUIRER.net. Read More …

Winners all: Filipino-American elected officials in the San Francisco Bay Area at celebration with Consul General Henry Bensurto Jr. PHOTO BY ARNOLD PERDIGAL SAN FRANCISCO — Led by Consul General Henry Bensurto Jr., the San Francisco Philippine Consulate General on December 15 feted Filipino- Americans who were successful in their bids for elected office in the last November 14 elections. It was certainly a night to remember at the consulate’s Philippine Center Kalayaan Hall as winners gathered not just to be acknowledged but also, in the words of third-termer and only Filipina in the San Francisco School Board Hydra Mendoza, “to inspire one another.” The first Fil-Am in the California State Assembly Rob Bonta of the 18th District who now also chairs the health and purse committees, was “inspired, invigorated and very energized with so many Filipino American elected officials around.” “I am very excited to be with all of you because Filipino political empowerment is so very important to me and every one of us elected to office represents that empowerment and its future,” Bonta stated. “We will encourage the others who may not be sure who are on the sidelines thinking about serving and not be served to step in to step forward and submit themselves for the service of our community. And for that I want to thank you as we don’t get thanked enough in going through our daily work,” he added. For the consulate, the night was very important considering the long struggle that Filipino Americans Read More …

The coming Christmas should give Filipinos the strength to uphold the poor by fighting evils such as child abuse, trafficking and new forms of slavery, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle said Monday. In his Christmas message, Tagle said Christmas was also a time to shed illusions of grandeur, pretensions to self-importance, and the wickedness of self-interest. “Christmas is never truly Christmas if we do not practice Jesus’ solidarity with the poor, the weak, and the neglected. Christmas is a season to see our own poverty, to see a companion in every person who suffers and to see Jesus in a needy brother or sister,” he said. Also, Tagle said Christmas frees the poor from inhumanity and degradation, and proclaims the good news that the poor are loved by God. He added the poor also possess the dignity sourced in God, and they could take their rightful place in shaping society as protagonists. “May Christmas 2014 give us greater zeal to combat trafficking in human persons, new forms of slavery, neglect and abuse of children and violence against the helpless!” he said. Year of the Poor, papal visit For the Philippine Church, Tagle said November 2014 to November 2015 had been designated as the Year of the Poor. Thus, he said Christmas 2014 fell within this most important event centered on the poor of the land and of the world. He added that Jesus Christ, even if he was the Son of God, emptied himself of his glory and prerogatives Read More …