Maniolas

President Benigno Aquino III grace the ceremony of the Pambansang Kongreso ng Wika at the Leong hall,Ateneo de Manila University(ADMU) in katipunan ave. q.c. with Theme “WIKA NATIN ANG DAAN MATUWID with Fr. Jose Ramon Villarin ADMU Pres. And Virgilio Almario Chairman of KWF ….(MNS Photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – Malacañang on Wednesday denied it had conspired with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to oust Laguna Governor Emilio Ramon “ER” Ejercito from office. “We certainly did not have a role in whatever happened to Governor Ejercito,” presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said during a press conference. The denial came after Ejercito claimed that the Palace wants him out of office because he is not a member of the ruling Liberal Party. In a ruling issued on May 21, the Comelec said Ejercito spent about P6 million in just one contract for a television advertisement for his campaign when he was allowed to spend only P4.5 million for his entire campaign. The Comelec said he spent around P23.5 million in total for his campaign. On Wednesday, Lacierda said the Comelec decision “very clearly” explains the basis for Ejercito’s disqualification. “I think the decision speaks for itself. The acts that were outlined by the Comelec decisions clearly showed the basis for that disqualification…so wala kaming kinalaman po dito sa nangyari kay Governor ER Ejercito,” he said. Given this, Lacierda said other aspiring candidates should remember to follow the law. “We should clearly abide by the election rules, election procedure, and election requirements… so that Read More …

Pope Francis MANILA (Mabuhay) – January 2015 will be a significant month for the Philippines, as it will get a visit from no less than Pope Francis. The Pope said he plans to visit the Philippines and Sri Lanka in January, Catholic News Service reported Tuesday. While no other details were immediately available, the CNS said the Pope “announced he plans to visit the Philippines and Sri Lanka in January.” Last May 19, Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle told CNS in a separate interview that plans are underway for Pope Francis’ visit to the Philippines and Sri Lanka. At the time, however, Tagle said the visit would be in “early 2015.” “The Vatican has not yet announced the dates and the specific itinerary that the pope will observe, but I am confident it will happen early next year,” he was quoted in the interview as saying. In the same interview, Tagle said one purpose of the papal visit could be “to come close to the people who suffered from the recent typhoon (in November) and the earthquake (in October).” “We will see how that could be done. But he, I think, would want that to be a defining character of his trip,” he said. On the other hand, Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines president and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said there is no problem with making preparations on short notice if the visit pushes through. “The pope is welcome anytime. The time to prepare is not an obstacle,” Read More …

Senator Bongbong Marcos (seated) discusses with fellow Sen. Bong Revilla (right), one of the three senators indicted in the so-called “pork-scam.” (Photo from a Facebook Page bearing the name Senator Bongbong Marcos) MANILA (Mabuhay) – Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Tuesday denied any links to the pork barrel scam of Janet Lim Napoles despite his inclusion in the second affidavit submitted by Napoles to the Department of Justice. In a statement, Marcos said he has never met Napoles, “never spoke to her nor did I ever have any personal dealings with her.” He noted that Napoles’ own affidavit confirmed this. However, he also confirmed that a certain Catherine Mae Santos was engaged as a consultant by various Senate Congressional Committees and was detailed to his office from January 2011 to June 2013. He said his office dropped Santos as a consultant on March 21, 2013 after she failed to submit a year-end report despite several verbal and written requests. In the second affidavit submitted by Napoles, the businesswoman claimed that a certain Catherine Mae “Maya” Santos acted as representative for Senators Marcos and Loren Legarda and other lawmakers in the scam. She said Santos claimed to be the former chief-of-staff of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo when the latter was senator up to the time she became vice-president. She said Santos was later appointed to different posts in the executive including finance undersecretary and assistant secretary in the National Anti-Poverty Commission. Napoles claimed Santos allegedly presented herself as a representative of Read More …

(DOJ building) MANILA (Mabuhay) – The Department of Justice (DOJ) has summoned billionaire businessman Roberto Ongpin to a preliminary investigation on the alleged abduction and “psychological torture” of a former employee. In a subpoena issued by Assistant State Prosecutor Juan Pedro Navera, Ongpin, who chairs Alphaland Corporation, was ordered to appear before the DOJ on June 9 at 2 p.m. Ongpin was likewise ordered to submit his counter-affidavit and those of his witnesses and other supporting documents. “You are hereby warned that failure on your part to comply with this subpoena shall be considered as a waiver to present your defense in this preliminary investigation and the case shall be considered submitted for resolution based on complainant’s evidence only,” said Navera in the subpoena. Complainant and former PhilWeb Corporation staff Eduveges Batalan alleged that Ongpin and several others forcibly brought him in February to an island resort in Quezon, where he was forced to admit stealing millions of pesos. Serious illegal detention is a non-bailable offense. Batalan alleged that he was brought to the Balesin Island Resort in Polilio, Quezon, where Ongpin confronted him for “stealing millions from [the businessman’s] company.” “Batalan was informed by Ongpin that the former has been under surveillance for three months and should explain why he has a good house, cars and a pharmacy business,” the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said in its complaint against Ongpin and the others. The NBI served as Batalan’s co-complainant. “Batalan was threatened to be stuck in the island Read More …

Janet Lim Napoles arrives at the Senate for the Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on the alleged P10 billion Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam, which reportedly involves her group and several legislators. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – Former Congressman and now Budget Secretary Butch Abad on Wednesday denied teaching Janet Lim Napoles how to use non-government organizations to get money from government, which eventually led to the multibillion-peso pork scam. This, amid the Napoles’ camp’s insistence that they gave P4 million to Abad to finance an electrification project in Batanes in the year 2000. Abad flatly denied having transactions with Mrs. Napoles or even teaching the businesswoman how to use cooperatives as conduits of lawmakers’ priority development assistance funds (PDAF). He pointed out that it was improbable for Mrs. Napoles to give him P4 million when they hardly knew each other. “Sa karaniwang karanasan ng isang tao, pag una mo pa lang nakilala, you will not give that person 2 million without any papers. Pauutangin mo at dadagdagan mo ng 2 million. In this context, this is not philanthropy. Gulangan ito e. Hindi pwedeng palabas, dapat pakabig,” he said. “Masakit naman sa akin na tawagin akong pork king. Walang kaano-ano,” he added. However, Napoles’ lawyer Bruce Rivera said Napoles had a series of meetings with Abad, which eventually led to her giving money to the then congressman. He said it was former agriculture official Manuel Jarmin who introduced Napoles to Abad. In her original affidavit submitted to the Department of Read More …