Maniolas

Miriam poses with her fans during the launch. Vida Cruz During the launch of her new book “Stupid Is Forever” on Wednesday, the introduction for Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago took some 10 minutes, as it listed the many honors, awards, and accolades she had received throughout her life. After the lengthy intro, the senator couldn’t help but quip: “I won’t be speaking for long. I won’t pretend I wasn’t just introduced as the President of the Philippines in 2016.” That drew laughs from the audience, who surprised even Santiago with their big turnout.  “I just want to say that I did not expect na ganito karaming tao ang darating sa ganitong oras, dahil weekday ngayon eh. Miyerkules pa man din, pero sa palagay ko sobrang sa isang libo ang dumating ngayon,” she said. But while her popularity was apparent from the cheers of the crowd, she said it didn’t exactly bolster her resolve to run for the presidency in 2016.  She believes that she has to beat the stage four lung cancer plaguing her. That cancer was discovered last June and is now in remission.  “I have to be in the best of health if I will be president of the Philippines because there are so many things that have to be done simultaneously,” she said. She did, however, have advice at the ready for any aspiring candidate for the highest office in the land. “Anyone who wants to run for president in 2016 must make sure to use social media Read More …

popular Problems with balikbayan boxes? Fret no more as BOC’s online tracker kicks in Ayala Land submits new offer for Puerto Azul Alabang West: Residents to get the best of glamorous Beverly Hills living in the South Mercado has more ‘goods’ on Binay COA asks Cayetano wife to account for P317.4M Bringing PNR back to life to cost P300B Pagasa: Cyclone headed toward PH Bong Revilla disappointed but undeterred by denied bail videos PNP honors 24 peacekeepers First international marathon held in Quezon City Good mix of cineastes turns up at Indie Bravo! festival in Fully Booked Sharapova and Mladenovic have fun in Manila International tennis stars discuss rules and their difficulties on first day games in the IPTL MANILA, Philippines–Due to the expected arrival of Typhoon “Ruby” (international name: Hagupit) in the Visayas, the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Informal Senior Officials Meeting (Isom) will be held in Manila instead of Legazpi, Albay, a Palace official said. “While this is highly unfortunate, we have deemed it best to err on the side of prudence and ensure the safety of the delegates,” Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa said in a statement, adding the Isom would proceed as scheduled on December 8 to 9. Ochoa said the move would allow the local government to focus on the necessary actions for the coming typhoon. “I wish to assure everyone that contingencies are in place. The government is ensuring that the rest of the activities will push through, and is making preparations for the Read More …

popular Problems with balikbayan boxes? Fret no more as BOC’s online tracker kicks in Ayala Land submits new offer for Puerto Azul Alabang West: Residents to get the best of glamorous Beverly Hills living in the South Mercado has more ‘goods’ on Binay COA asks Cayetano wife to account for P317.4M Bringing PNR back to life to cost P300B Pagasa: Cyclone headed toward PH Bong Revilla disappointed but undeterred by denied bail videos PNP honors 24 peacekeepers First international marathon held in Quezon City Good mix of cineastes turns up at Indie Bravo! festival in Fully Booked Sharapova and Mladenovic have fun in Manila International tennis stars discuss rules and their difficulties on first day games in the IPTL El Nido FILE PHOTO PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Philippines – El Nido police are searching for a missing Taiwanese national believed to have been lost on Tuesday afternoon while swimming across the public beach near the town proper. Police identified the missing person as Yen-Ting Chang, a 43-year-old female tourist, said El Nido municipal environmental officer Joel Gomez, in a phone interview Wednesday. Chang was reported missing by her companion, also a Taiwanese and a tourist, while they were swimming in an area near Sitio Calitang, Barangay (village) Bucana at 4 p.m. The report indicated that the two foreign nationals were swimming just off the beach near the shore when the victim got lost. Gomez said municipal authorities have begun a “search and rescue” operation for the missing Taiwanese national. Gomez said Read More …

popular Problems with balikbayan boxes? Fret no more as BOC’s online tracker kicks in Ayala Land submits new offer for Puerto Azul Alabang West: Residents to get the best of glamorous Beverly Hills living in the South Mercado has more ‘goods’ on Binay COA asks Cayetano wife to account for P317.4M Bringing PNR back to life to cost P300B Pagasa: Cyclone headed toward PH Bong Revilla disappointed but undeterred by denied bail videos PNP honors 24 peacekeepers First international marathon held in Quezon City Good mix of cineastes turns up at Indie Bravo! festival in Fully Booked Sharapova and Mladenovic have fun in Manila International tennis stars discuss rules and their difficulties on first day games in the IPTL MANILA, Philippines–The Department of Justice denied the request of the relatives of slain Filipino transgender Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude to replace Olongapo City Prosecutor Emilie Fe Delos Santos as panel head handling the case of suspect Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton. “There is no ground for inhibition. The claim of bias is a mere allegation,” Prosecutor General Claro Arellano said in a text message Wednesday. Atty. Harry Roque, counsel of the Laude family accused Delos Santos of siding with the US government and being antagonistic to their camp since the start of the preliminary investigation. Photo of US Marine Joseph Scott PembertonPHOTO FROM PEMBERTON FACEBOOK ACCOUNT Delos Santos already denied the accusation saying she does not talk to the US government and was only coursing through the Department of Foreign Affairs Read More …

Customs Commissioner John Philip Sevilla. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—Here’s good news for Filipinos expecting balikbayan boxes filled with goodies from their overseas relatives this Christmas. They may now track the progress of their packages on their way to the Philippines via an online tracking system launched recently by the Bureau of Customs (BOC), a Department of Finance-attached agency. Customs Commissioner John Phillip Sevilla on Tuesday said it was the BOC’s “way of helping our kababayan find their balikbayan boxes when they encounter problems.” “We have received several complaints from families of overseas Filipino workers blaming the bureau for their lost boxes,” he said. But with the tracker, Sevilla said, “The public will no longer be given the runaround by the people responsible for delivering their balikbayan boxes.” Sevilla said the tracker “contains the list of all balikbayan box shipments lodged by local cargo forwarders with the Bureau of Customs, their countries of origin, ports of entry in the Philippines and their bills of lading with the number of the shipment.” “To access the balikbayan box tracker, go to the Bureau of Customs website—www.customs.gov.ph —and click on the Balikbayan Box Tracker banner,” he said. The tracker “contains the names of the foreign forwarder and the local forwarder or broker, entry date, clearance date and current status (of the shipment).” “People expecting balikbayan boxes should know the name of the forwarder and bill of lading number to be able to track the shipment that includes their box,” Sevilla said. Balikbayan boxes Read More …