Kambal Sirena star Mike Tan conquers his fear of the sea for the sake of his advocacy
Apr 212014
Apr 212014
RUMORED couple Lovi Poe and Rocco Nacino spent the Holy Week together in Europe and kept their fans updated of their travels via image-sharing site, Instagram. The two GMA Network talents left Manila two weeks ago to start their trip. They went to Rome, traveled to the Vatican City, where they heard mass officiated by Pope Francis, visited the Amalfi Coast and basked in the sun in the island of Capri. After touring Italy, the rumored couple went straight to London, wherein they met few of their friends, and are now believed to be in the City of Love, Paris. The two kept everyone back home updated of their travels by uploading series of photographs on Instagram. Fans were also treated to love up pictures of the rumored couple. In one entry, they posed beside a statue of cupid and Rocco captioned it: “Ouch!!! Cupid struck me with his arrow again!” They also shared photos of them kissing at the famous Love Lock Bridge in Paris. The said place, which symbolizes unbroken love, becomes a popular tourist spot for lovers visiting France. In an interview by “StarTalk” before the duo left for Europe, Poe said Rocco makes her happy. “We’re still enjoying each other’s company. I can’t put any label kasi hindi ako sanay eh. But I’m happy. He’s very funny and he makes me laugh a lot. Matalino siya, may substance,” she said. Rocco, on his part, said that he’s at his happiest when he’s with Poe. The actor Read More …
Apr 212014
Department of Foreign Affairs building INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) advised Filipinos in the Middle East to remain calm and not panic amid the spread of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome – Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) as well as false rumors regarding it. The DFA and Department of Health (DOH) issued Monday eight reminders for Filipinos on how they can help stop the spread of the virus and urged them to not believe in rumors. “One rumor alleges that ‘UAE health authorities’ have warned people to stay away for 72 hours from places such as malls, beaches hospitals, parks, and other locations that are believed to be ‘hotspots for the new killing virus’,” DFA said. “The Health Authority of Abu Dhabi (HAAD) subsequently denied issuing this statement,” it said. The World Health Organization (WHO) has not declared any outbreak or epidemic of MERS-CoV in the Middle East. There are also no travel restrictions to and from the Middle East. Recently, one Filipino health worker has died in Saudi Arabia, another who returned to the Philippines from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had tested positive for the virus abroad before he tested negative here. The DFA advised Filipinos to follow these eight reminders to prevent the further spread of the virus: 1. Practice proper hand hygiene always, by washing your hands with soap or hand rubs with alcohol before and after eating; before and after handling, cooking and preparing food; after coughing, sneezing and using the toilets; Read More …
Apr 202014
While the approval and trust ratings of President Benigno Aquino III dipped, that of Vice President Jejomar Binay and Senate President Franklin Drilon went up, a recent survey by Pulse Asia showed. In a media release Monday, Pulse Asia said Binay and Drilon experienced gains in their national approval ratings and overall trust ratings. A survey conducted from March 19-26, 2014 showed Binay’s approval rating went up by seven percentage points from 80 percent in December to 87 percent in March while his trust rating went up by nine percentage points from 77 percent in December to 86 percent in March. On the other hand, after a big dip in his ratings last year, Senate President Franklin Drilon came back with a 15-percentage-point increase in both his approval and trust ratings. Drilon’s approval rating went up from 43 percent in December to 58 percent in March while his trust rating rose from 40 percent in December to 55 percent in March. In September last year, Drilon’s ratings were pulled down by the pork barrel scam which hounded the Senate. Drilon was dragged into the controversy after he admitted meeting businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, the alleged mastermind in the scam, at a party. He denied having any transactions with her. His approval rating further went down to 43 percent in December from September’s 50 percent, while his trust ratings plunged from 46 percent in September to 40 percent in December. President Aquino’s ratings Survey results released earlier this month showed a slight Read More …
Apr 202014
Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago on Monday asked the Senate blue ribbon committee to continue its probe on the alleged pork barrel scam to hear the testimony of Jessica “Gigi” Reyes, former chief of staff of Senate now Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile. In a letter, Santiago asked Senate blue ribbon chairman Teofisto Guingona III to invite or even summon Reyes, who returned to the Philippines from the United States last Saturday. Santiago added that the Senate committee can still continue its probe on the alleged anomaly, although Guingona already released a draft panel report recommending plunder charges against certain personalities, including Enrile and Reyes, earlier this month. “I believe that the testimony of Atty. Reyes would serve to round off and clarify certain aspects of the partial report, and that the committee findings could be the proper subject of an addendum or similar subsequent report on Atty. Reyes’s testimony,” Santiago said in her letter. GMA News Online sent a text message to Guingona to ask for his reaction to Santiago’s letter, but he has yet to respond as of posting time. Last April 1, the Office of the Ombudsman also recommended plunder charges against Enrile and Reyes for allegedly pocketing pork barrel funds from a scam supposedly engineered by detained businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles. Reyes is being accused of receiving pork barrel kickbacks for Enrile, and signing documents for the release of these discretionary funds on the senators’ behalf. She has denied these accusations in documents submitted to the Ombudsman. Also Read More …
Apr 202014
President Barack Obama. AP FILE PHOTO WASHINGTON – Five years after refashioning US foreign policy to emphasize Asia, President Barack Obama will face questions over his strategy’s content and staying power in the region this week. Obama will counter the impression that events, including carnage in Syria and the East-West showdown over Ukraine have dragged his administration’s attention elsewhere. He will argue in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines that the “rebalancing” policy – of withdrawing US military, economic and human resources from Middle East wars and deploying them to emerging Asia – remains on track. Obama will embark on his fifth visit as president to Asia when he lands in Japan on Wednesday. This journey, the first of two to the region this year, will make up for the embarrassment of skipping regional summits in November because of domestic political battles. He seeks progress in tough talks with Japan over the proposed Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, hung up over auto and agricultural market access. The TPP would cement Obama’s legacy in Asia, but talks on the 12-nation pact lost momentum last year. Obama must also walk a fine line, bolstering alliances with nations which see the United States as a counterweight to powerful China, while avoiding angering Beijing. He will also press on with efforts to ease the dispute between US allies South Korea and Japan, insist North Korea will get no reward for belligerence and complete a revival of US relations with Malaysia. Can Obama Read More …
Apr 202014
At least two more people were reported killed in a fire and a drowning incident during the Holy Week, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said Monday. In its 7 a.m. update, the NDRRMC said one person was killed in a fire that occurred at Block 71 in Lot 8, Phase 2A in Mabuhay Homes in Brgy. Darangan, Binangonan, Rizal. The NDRRMC said the fire started at about 8:53 p.m. Thursday and reached the first alarm before it was put out at 9:30 p.m. It estimated the damage to property at P100,000. But it was not until 10:40 p.m. that the body was found at the fire scene. Meanwhile, the second fatality was a drowning victim identified as Jeffrey Borreo, who drowned at the Sta. Monica Beach Resort in Infanta, Quezon at 7 p.m. Good Friday. The two incidents brought to 31 the number of fatalities from incidents recorded during the Holy Week. — Joel Locsin/RSJ, GMA News
Apr 202014
THE GOVERNMENT’S debt payments declined by almost 70% in February as it settled less in interest and principal for its liabilities, data from the Bureau of the Treasury showed.
Apr 202014
A ROADMAP detailing the country’s export strategy for the last three years of the Aquino administration is expected to be complete next month, officials of the private-public sector Export Development Council (EDC) said over the weekend.
Apr 202014
(Second in a five-part series) ANY SAVVY executive knows that a deal isn’t done until the money is in the bank. The same may be said for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA), where negotiated tariff cuts are only meaningful when traders are able to use them.