Maniolas

Nearly 12 million households said they considered themselves poor as 2013 drew to a close, according to a new survey by pollster Social Weather Stations. According to the SWS survey, taken from Dec. 11 to 16 last year, 55 percent of respondents or 11.8 million families, said they were poor. This was higher than the 50 percent of families who considered themselves poor in September, the SWS said in its report published Monday in the Business World website. Also, 41 percent of respondents, equivalent to 8.8 million families, considered themselves food-poor, four points higher than in September. “Both self-rated poverty and self-rated food poverty rose from the previous quarter, and are above their four-quarter averages for 2013,” the SWS noted. The increases in the national numbers for self-rated poverty and food poverty were “roughly due to increases in all areas except Mindanao.” The SWS also found that the full-year results for 2013 – with self-rated poverty at 52 percent – were similar to marks in 2012. The pollster added self-rated food poverty in 2013 averaged 39 percent, two points down from 2012. The survey used face-to-face interviews with 1,550 adult Filipinos nationwide. In the survey, respondents were asked to choose whether their families were poor, not poor or “on the line” in both poverty and food-poverty categories. Respondents were also asked how much money would be required for their households not to be considered poor. Sampling error margins of ±2.5% for national, ±4% for the Visayas and ±6% for Metro Read More …

Associated Press 8:46 pm | Sunday, January 12th, 2014 Archbishop Orlando B. Quevedo INQUIRER FILE PHOTO VATICAN CITY — The following is a list of the 19 men named on Sunday by Pope Francis to be installed as cardinals in a Vatican ceremony on February 22: Pietro Parolin, Titular Archbishop of Acquapendente, Secretary of State. Lorenzo Baldisseri, Titular Archbishop of Diocleziana, Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops. Gerhard Ludwig Mueller, Archbishop-Bishop emeritus of Regensburg, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Beniamino Stella, Titular Archbishop of Midila, Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy. Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, United Kingdom. Leopoldo Jose Brenes Solorzano, Archbishop of Managua, Nicaragua. Gerald Cyprien Lacroix, Archbishop of Quebec, Canada. Jean-Pierre Kutwa, Archbishop of Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Orani Joao Tempesta, O.Cist., Archbishop of Rio de Janeiro. Gualtiero Bassetti, Archbishop of Perugia-Citta della Pieve, Italy. Mario Aurelio Poli, Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Andrew Yeom Soo jung, Archbishop of Seoul, South Korea. Ricardo Ezzati Andrello, S.D.B., Archbishop of Santiago del Cile, Chile. Philippe Nakellentuba Ouedraogo, Archbishop of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Orlando B. Quevedo, O.M.I., Archbishop of Cotabato, Philippines. Chibly Langlois, Bishop of Les Cayes, Haiti. Loris Francesco Capovilla, Titular Archbishop of Mesembria. Fernando Sebastian Aguilar, C.M.F., Archbishop emeritus of Pamplona. Kelvin Edward Felix, Archbishop emeritus of Castries. RELATED STORY: Pope Francis names 19 new cardinals, focusing on the poor Follow Us Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free trial. About to Read More …

By Kristine Angeli SabilloINQUIRER.net 12:41 pm | Sunday, January 12th, 2014 MANILA, Philippines – Fisherfolk on Sunday wrote to outgoing Chinese Ambassador Ma Keqing, asking China to recall its new policy requiring foreign fishing vessels to ask approval before entering parts of the South China Sea. FILE PHOTO “We the leaders and representatives of Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya), a national federation of small fisherfolk in the Philippines, submit this humble appeal to the Chinese government to recall the new fishing rule that demands foreign fishing vessels to enter in the disputed West Philippine Sea (South China Sea),” the letter, signed by Pamalakaya vice chairperson Salvador France, said. Pamalakaya asked the envoy to relay their message and push for a diplomatic and peaceful resolution on the continuing conflict between the Philippines and China, as well as other claimant countries. “Madam Ambassador, we ask the Chinese government to be extra prudent in dealing with the West Philippine Sea conflict. It would be better if Beijing seeks bilateral and inter-nation dialogues with other claimants rather than engage in hardcore assertion of something that needs to be carefully studied,” France said. He said all the claimants should instead unite “to frustrate the intervention of the United States – the biggest threat to world peace according to international view.” China, through the Hainan Provincial People’s Congress, recently issued a new fisheries law requiring foreign fishing vessels to obtain approval from its regional authorities before fishing or surveying a large portion of the Read More …

By Niki Yarte Pauleen Luna was around six years old when she joined Eat Bulaga’s popular kiddie pageant, “Little Miss Philippines”. Vic Sotto was the host. IN PHOTO: Vic and Pauleen She is now 25 years old with a solid career in entertainment, culminating in her current stint as co-host of the noontime show. She joins the ranks of Coney Reyes, Christine Jacob, and Pia Guanio with whom she shares more than a significant career highlight. At 59 years old, he remains an unstoppable force in the industry, a daily fixture on television, and a constant presence at the Metro Manila Film Festival. It was while doing the promotional rounds for My Little Bossings, his entry to the latest iteration of the film festival, that he finally cracked the lid on what had been an open secret among gossip-mongers in both the media and the public: That the two of them had been dating for at least a couple of years now. During his segment in the news program Bandila, talk show host Boy Abunda asked Vic, “Kung bubuksan ko ang iyong puso ngayon, anong pangalan ng babae ang nakasulat?” The TV host-comedian responded, rather hesitantly, “Sagutin ko na rin. Pauleen”. While this admission did not come as a shock to many, it was only during the telecast that either parties had openly acknowledged the relationship since entertainment columnist Ricky Lo broke the story in late 2011. Quoting his source, Lo wrote that Vic “showered Pauleen with gifts. He courted Read More …