Maniolas

By Ana Villanueva Lykes WHILE we love to hate Kris Aquino for constantly crying on TV, she is laughing her way to the bank. Although we find her pathetic, she is one of highest-paid celebrities in the country, earning about 150 million pesos in 2011 alone. And there is nothing pathetic about that. This drama queen can teach us a lot about money, relationships, journalism, politics, good citizenship, and the art of Taglish. She is a role model on what to do and what not to do to achieve success in life. Sobbing to success We all know Krissy too well, not only because we’ve watched her grow up from a quiet girl to one of the most powerful celebrities, but also because we had mourned for her while she stood by her hero father’s final resting place. That was the first time we saw her tears. We cried with her too when she laid her beloved mother to rest. But the tears never stopped as we followed her on her trail of failed relationships. And before long, our tears dried up and sympathy turned to irritation. We cradled her like a daughter when she was orphaned, but she has turned into a whiny little brat who cries at the mere poke of a playmate. The problem is that she tends to choose mates that don’t play nice. There’s the bad boy of Philippine movies, then her live-in married partner with whom she bore a love child, and the gun-toting Read More …

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV will run for a higher position in the 2016 elections but did not disclose which position he is eyeing. “Kung anong posisyon yun specifically, we will abide by the Nacionalista Party,” he said in a “24 Oras” report aired on Saturday. He said that former senator Manuel Villar Jr., party president, has said the NP will make that decision in December. Trillanes is serving his second term at the Senate. A former Navy officer, Trillanes ran for the Senate in 2007 while detained over his participation in mutinies against the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. In 2010, President Benigno Aquino III signed a proclamation granting him and other members of the Magdalo amnesty for joining the 2003 Oakwood Mutiny, February 2006 Marine standoff and the 2007 Manila Peninsula incident. He joined the Nacionalista Party in 2012 and ran under the Liberal Party-led Team Pnoy coalition in the 2013 elections. — JDS, GMA News

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivers his keynote speech on Friday, May 30, 2014 in Singapore. Abe delivered a keynote speech Friday at the Asia Security Summit in Singapore, known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, becoming a first Japanese leader to do so at the gathering. Security is a sensitive topic for Japan, once an aggressor in Asia, to discuss in the region. AP TOKYO — Japan wants to play a greater defense role in Asia to promote peace and prosperity amid tensions over territorial disputes, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Friday. In a speech in Singapore at the Shangri-La Dialogue, an international security conference, Abe raised concerns about escalating tensions in the South China Sea, and urged all countries in the region to observe the rule of law and not use force or threats. Abe also outlined new guidelines that will ease Japan’s self-imposed limits on military exports and defensive activities, and pledged to contribute more to the region in those areas, as well as through official development aid. “Japan intends to play an even greater and more proactive role than it has until now in making peace in Asia and the world more certain,” Abe said. He promised “seamless” support for Southeast Asian countries in defending their territories by combining defense programs and government aid. Abe said efforts “to consolidate changes to the status quo by aggregating one fait accompli after another can only be strongly condemned,” an apparent reference to China’s recent assertiveness in pressing its territorial claims in the region. He did Read More …

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivers his keynote speech on Friday, May 30, 2014 in Singapore. Abe is in Singapore to attend the 13th Asia Security Summit. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E) TOKYO — Japan wants to play a greater defense role in Asia to promote peace and prosperity amid tensions over territorial disputes, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Friday. In a speech in Singapore at the Shangri-La Dialogue, an international security conference, Abe raised concerns about escalating tensions in the South China Sea, and urged all countries in the region to observe the rule of law and not use force or threats. Abe also outlined new guidelines that will ease Japan’s self-imposed limits on military exports and defensive activities, and pledged to contribute more to the region in those areas, as well as through official development aid. “Japan intends to play an even greater and more proactive role than it has until now in making peace in Asia and the world more certain,” Abe said. He promised “seamless” support for Southeast Asian countries in defending their territories by combining defense programs and government aid. Abe said efforts “to consolidate changes to the status quo by aggregating one fait accompli after another can only be strongly condemned,” an apparent reference to China’s recent assertiveness in pressing its territorial claims in the region. He did not identify China by name, but praised the Philippines and Vietnam for their efforts to resolve the disputes through dialogue. Abe’s government has been trying to ease constitutional restraints on Japan’s military, which currently can Read More …

On the last weekend before the start of school, health authorities warned parents and students against buying lead-tainted watercolor paints. The Food and Drug Administration said it found samples of the tainted watercolor products from bookstores in Manila and Makati Cities. “Lead has tendency to accumulate slowly in the body when ingested over prolonged period of time. Lead may be deposited in the bones and teeth, and can be found in blood. Chronic lead poisoning can cause nervous system toxicity and renal tubular dysfunction leading to irreversible interstitial nephrosis with progressive renal impairment and hypertension. Lead can also depress blood synthesis and shortens the life span of erythrocytes or red blood cells, causing a hypochromic microcytic anaemia,” it said. It said the lead-tainted samples were bought from Merriam Webster Bookstore along Carvajal St., Binondo, Manila and VMZ Bookstore at Guadalupe Shopping Center in Makati. Laboratory findings showed lead beyond the maximum tolerable limit of 90 parts per million on the sample of Artex Fine Water Color manufactured by Venus Commercial Co. in Malabon City. According to the FDA, the yellow water color paints of the watercolor set taken from the Binondo bookstore contained 3,342.41 ppm. On the other hand, the sample from the VMZ Bookstore had 5,089.42 ppm. “Upon verification, the FDA database revealed that the watercolor paint products do not have market authorization from the FDA,” the FDA said. The FDA said the laboratory tests were done by the FDA Central Laboratory in collaboration with the Department of Trade Read More …