Maniolas

popular Mar Roxas gets social media flak for magazine cover ‘Grateful we’re still here’ Steve Nash addresses criticism over golf video Palace: Aquino admin not ‘ruthless’ vs critics Aquino only listens to ‘voices in his head’—‘Yolanda’ survivors Hopkins bout mirrors Pacquiao’s Sharon Cuneta: I’ve my mother’s face, arms, skin, clavicles NBI: Raided shabu lab also made cheaper drugs videos Good Yolanda versus Bad Yolanda Ed Rompal: The visual artist Remembering ‘Yolanda’ Happiest Yolanda survivor: “That’s just the way I am” Mangroves can serve as protective wall against a storm like Yolanda UN Filipino peacekeepers. FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—Filipino peacekeepers assigned in Liberia can now return to the country after passing the Ebola screening test, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) said Sunday. Colonel Roberto Ancan, Commanding Officer of the Peacekeeping Operations Center, said he has received the results of the screening test for the 108 peacekeepers. Despite passing the medical test, which is required before they can be repatriated, the peacekeepers will still need to be quarantined in Caballo Island for 21 days after their arrival. The group is expected to arrive in the country on November 11. The military said the peacekeepers will be provided with recreational facilities, in addition to medical facilities, during the quarantine period. Liberia is one of the three countries in Africa with the most number of Ebola cases. It has the largest number of deaths caused by the virus, 2697 out of the 4818 as of November 2. RELATED STORIES PH peacekeepers from Read More …

The Department of Health (DOH) welcomed the possibility of the first dengue vaccine being available in the country by next year. “Definitely this vaccine will be of great help to the Philippines. This will add more protection for our community,” DOH spokesperson Dr. Lyndon Lee-Suy told GMA News Online on Tuesday. He added that once the vaccine is available, the DOH will create several models to determine which areas in the country need to be addressed first. According to a report on GMA’s “Balitanghali,” a French company is developing the dengue vaccine. The report also said that a pharmaceutical company that did research on the vaccine pegged the number of people hospitalized due to dengue every year at 500,000. At least 60,000 dengue cases nationwide have been reported since January. During the midyear, the following areas have been determined to have the most dengue cases: – Central Visayas (6,023 cases, up 51 percent) – Calabarzon (4,742, down 17 percent) – Davao Region (4,364, up 30 percent) – Western Visayas (4,444, up 102 percent) – SOCCKSARGEN (3,963, up 126 percent) — Andrei Medina/BM, GMA News

Pope Francis celebrates a Mass for cardinals and bishops who died in the past year, in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Monday, Nov. 3, 2014. AP MANILA, Philippines–As expected, 99 percent of some 1,200 Catholics from Metro Manila and four neighboring provinces areas expressed “positive sentiments” about Pope Francis’ scheduled state and pastoral visit to the Philippines next January in a recent survey conducted by the Church-run Radio Veritas. In the “Veritas Truth Survey,” conducted during the third quarter of the year, 504 or 42 percent of respondents said they were “happy about the Holy Father’s visit to the country” from Jan. 15 to 19. Two hundred and forty, or 20 percent of respondents said they felt “blessed” while another 20 percent said they were “overwhelmed.” Seventeen percent, or 204 people, said they were “excited” while only 12, or a low one percent did not have any reaction towards the Pope’s visit. Asked about the perceived social impact of the trip, 35 percent of respondents expressed confidence it would further strengthen the Roman Catholic religion in the country. Others responded that the visit would likely result in stronger ties between the Vatican and the Catholic church in the Philippines (33 percent); bring the Filipino youth closer to the Catholic church (14 percent); improve Church-state relations (8 percent); give importance to Church teachings about social issues (5 percent); encourage more Catholics to join the “religious life,” (4 percent); and help improve the country’s tourism industry, 1 percent. Asked what social Read More …

AFP FILE PHOTO SINGAPORE — Citizens of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone will need a visa to enter Singapore as part of measures against the spread of Ebola, the city-state’s health ministry said Monday. The three West African countries are the worst-hit by the Ebola epidemic that has killed more than 4,900 people. Singapore’s health ministry said the visa requirement for citizens of the three countries, which currently don’t need a visa to travel to the city-state, will take effect from Wednesday. “The visa requirement will allow for better oversight of the entry of nationals from these countries, as well as facilitate possible contact tracing,” the ministry said in a statement. “In addition, it will allow Singapore to inform the nationals of these countries during the visa application process of our Ebola health advisory and actions they should take, should they develop symptoms while en route or during their stay in Singapore.” The new measures will complement other actions already in place, including temperature screening for passengers arriving at Changi Airport and the filling up of a health declaration card that contains contact details of visitors while in Singapore. Those found to have fever will be taken by ambulance to a hospital for further assessment. Travelers who are well but identified as having possible exposure to the Ebola virus will be quarantined or put under surveillance depending on a risk assessment. Singapore, which has a population of just 5.5 million people, welcomed nearly 16 million travelers last year. It was Read More …

The chances of Vice President Jejomar Binay attending the Senate blue ribbon committee probe on the allegedly overpriced Makati City Hall Building II appear slim after two of his allies were booted out of the subcommittee’s hearing last week. Lawyer Jose Virgilio “JV” Bautista, one of those shown the door by Senate security, said the Senate subpanel’s treatment of him and Navotas City Rep. Tobias “Toby” Tiangco showed that Senate Blue Ribbon committee chairman Sen. Teofisto Guingona III has “lost control” of Senators Antonio Trillanes IV, Alan Peter Cayetano and Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III. “Sa takbo ng mga insidente na ‘to, parang hindi na rin ginaganahan ang ating Pangalawang Pangulo na pumunta sa mother committee… Nakikita nya hindi naman pala kontrolado ni Senator Guingona itong nagwawalang tatlong senador. ‘Yung iniiwasan ni VP na mangyari sa subcommittee ay baka mangyari doon sa mother committee, ganon din lang yon,” he said in an interview on dzBB radio Sunday. Bautista, however, added the decision on whether or not to attend the probe is still up to Binay. Cayetano barred both Bautista and Tiangco from speaking at the hearing last Oct. 30, saying they were not invited as resource persons or witnesses. He then ordered the Senate sergeant-at-arms to escort the two executives of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) out of the session hall. The Blue Ribbon main committee has formally invited Binay to appear at the Senate to shed light on purported irregularities in the construction of the P2.7-billion Makati building. Challenge: Probe Read More …