Maniolas

(Updated 9:12 a.m.) Sen. Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada on Monday said he has packed his clothes in preparation for his looming arrest and detention over charges related to the P10-billion pork barrel scam. Estrada will surrender quietly at Camp Crame if an arrest warrant is issued against him by the Sandiganbayan, radio dzBB’s Nimfa Ravelo reported earlier Monday. In an interview on dzBB radio Monday, Estrada also thanked his supporters for their continued trust in him, and vowed to prove his innocence. “Sa nagmamahal sa amin, sa aming pamilya, unang-una, nais ko kayong pasalamatan sa suporta sa amin. Asahan ninyo patutunayan muli ang kasong pinagkasasangkutan ko ay wala po akong kasalanan,” he said. When asked what he had packed inside his bags in preparation for his possible detention, he answered, “personal clothes.” But when asked if he also included insecticide spray in his bags—a reference to Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr.’s comments of rats and cockroaches in his detention cell—Estrada merely laughed.  On the other hand, he said he is 101 percent sure he will be acquitted because he is innocent. Estrada is one of three senators linked to the multibillion-peso scam. The others are Senate minority leader Juan Ponce Enrile and Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. Estrada has been accused of pocketing P183.79 million in kickbacks from dealings with fake NGOs from 2004 to 2012.    The said NGOs were allegedly put up by businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, who is being tagged as the mastermind of the scam. The Ombudsman said Estrada chose Read More …

INQUIRER.net US Bureau 4:49 am | Monday, June 23rd, 2014 Flag raising guests include Philippine Consulate General Officials led by newly-arrived Philippine Consul General Henry S. Bernsurto, Jr. and Daly City Officials led by Mayor David Canepa, Council members, Commissioners of Daly city as well as Filipino American community leaders. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO DALY CITY, California — For the very first time, Daly City on June 9 held a Philippine flag-raising ceremony at City Hall to commemorate the 116th Anniversary of the Proclamation of Philippine Independence. Mayor David Canepa and Philippine Consul General Henry Bensurto, Jr.- in his first official event after arriving in San Francisco to assume his post,  raised the Philippine flag. Officials from the Philippine Consulate and Daly City and members of the Filipino American community attended the event. “I am very touched by this event, which demonstrates how the Daly city government led by Mayor Canepa values the Filipino American community in the city,” remarked Consul General Bensurto. He expressed the hope that  “the commemoration of Philippine Independence day overseas, such as this event in Daly City, would evoke a strong sense of patriotism among overseas Filipinos, particularly in the context of what is happening in the Philippines” and it leaders’ attempts “engage other countries in positive” and peaceful relations. Mayor Canepa said the event was “Daly City’s way of honoring and giving value to its Filipino and Filipino-American residents for having a strong commitment to family, service, faith and hard work, and echoes the belief on the valuable Read More …

NEW YORK, New York — This year would have been an unusual one for me in terms of publications. I would have had a volume of poems and a collection of nonfiction out, with just a couple of months separating the former from the latter. Two books in the same calendar year: It would have been a first. I hadn’t planned it this way and, as it turns out, that is not what happened. Tattered Boat, the volume of poems, did appear in print last April, published by the University of the Philippines Press, which had also put out my last full-length poetry collection, Museum of Absences (co-published in 2005 with the San Francisco-based Meritage Press). At the same time, I had a nonfiction manuscript—RE: Reflections, Reviews, Recollections—that in July of 2013 I submitted to the University of Santo Tomas Press. The next month its director Jack Wigley e-mailed me to say that UST Press had accepted the manuscript and would therefore publish it. (At this point, no objections were made to any portion of the manuscript—this is important to note, in light of what ensued.) The timetable would have the book out in spring this year, in late May or early June, just in time for a reading and a workshop I would be conducting at the annual Yale Writers Conference, from June 7th to the 17th. The timing couldn’t have been better. But alas the best laid plans of mice and men oft go awry. Over the course Read More …

By Kristine Angeli SabilloINQUIRER.net 12:38 pm | Sunday, June 22nd, 2014 Vice President Jejomar Binay. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—Vice President Jejomar Binay on Sunday lauded Google for taking down an offensive blog that listed ways to harass Filipinos working in Singapore. “I thank Google for not allowing itself to be a platform for prejudice and ethnic discrimination, and I laud everyone from Google for leading the drive in keeping the world wide web free from bigotry and intolerance,” the Vice President said in a statement. Binay, who is also the Presidential Adviser on overseas Filipino workers, said Filipinos should “hold their heads high.” “As Carlos P. Romulo once wrote, in our blood runs the immortal seed of heroes – seed that flowered down the centuries in deeds of courage. Let us be proud of our culture and heritage, but at the same time, let us also be examples of tolerance, respect, and acceptance,” he added. Binay also defended Singaporean citizens whom he called “good friends and partners,” saying that the blogger chose to remain anonymous because he will be held liable under Singaporean law for hate speech. Agence France-Presse on Saturday reported that Google took down the blog site “Blood Stained Singapore.” The article said a Google spokesperson refused to confirm the news but said that they do remove material from Blogger, where the site was hosted, that violates its policy on hate speech. RELATED STORIES Google takes down guide on how to harass Filipinos in Singapore Philippines asks Read More …

A Filipino militant bomb-making expert who had been believed dead recently eluded a military raid earlier this month, disproving earlier reports of his demise, the military said Saturday. Abdel Basit Usman is on the US government’s list of most-wanted “terrorists”, described a “bomb-making expert”, and the State Department offered an $1 million reward for information leading to his arrest in 2009. The Filipino press had reported in 2010 that Usman was among several people believed killed early that year in a US drone attack that targeted a Pakistani Taliban leader in a remote area of northern Pakistan. However Philippine military officials now say that the reports of his death were erroneous. Usman, who the Philippine and US governments say has links to the Jemaah Islamiyah and Abu Sayyaf group of Southeast Asian militants, was seen in the camp of another armed Muslim group in Mindanao, southern Philippines military spokesman Colonel Dickson Hermoso told AFP. The Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) is a small offshoot of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the largest Muslim guerrilla force that waged a decades-long armed rebellion in the southern region of Mindanao. “We launched a raid two weeks ago. There was a firefight and we recovered an arms cache, but he was able to get away,” Hermoso said, adding: “He’s the one training the BIFF members who are conducting bombings in central Mindanao.” “Based on what we know, he is still active,” military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Ramon Zagala told AFP Saturday. “As far as we’re concerned Read More …