Maniolas

The University of the Philippines Alumni Association of Greater Los Angeles (UPAAGLA) headed by its president, Vicky Achacoso-Gancayco had a reception for UP College of Engineering Dean Dr. Aura Castillo-Matias at the Malburg Atrium of Woodbury University in Burbank recently.. Woodbury University, whose current president, Dr. Luis Ma. Calingo, a UP alumnus himself, provided the perfect venue for the visiting Dean’s presentation on the current status of the UP College of Engineering and an update on significant infrastructure developments of the college. The program started with an invocation by Ray Reyes, followed by the collective singing of the “Star Spangled Banner” and “Lupang Hinirang” led by Annie Nepomuceno and a welcome address by venue host, Dr. Luis Ma. Calingo. The guest speaker was introduced by Arnel Joaquin, M.D. (UPAAGLA President-elect) in the absence of President, Vicky Achacoso-Gancayco. In a powerpoint presentation entitled “Towards a National Center of Excellence in Engineering & Technology Innovation,” Aura C. Matias, Dean of the UP College of Engineering (UPCOE) discussed topics such as: the role of the UP Colllege of Engineering under the new UP charter, the state of the College of Engineering and its role in S & T Education and National Development, its long-term development goals and invitation for support. “The UP System was established on June 18, 1908. Currently, it has 7 constituent universities throughout the Philippines and 1 autonomous  college in 15 campuses. The new UP charter declares it as the national university and Diliman is its main campus and the College of Engineering Read More …

Levito Baligod , the former lawyer of pork scam whistle-blower Benhur Luy, believes his former client has the more credible list of lawmakers implicated in the pork barrel scam of Janet Lim Napoles. He said he made separate lists based on the information, which was then verified by the pork scam whistle-blowers. MANILA (Mabuhay) – Benhur Luy, principal whistleblower in the alleged multi-billion peso pork barrel fund scam, and standing as witness in the bail hearings of Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr’s plunder case, has sought the Sandiganbayan’s assistance to block the defense team’s access to his controversial hard drive, which according to him contains documents pertaining lawmakers’ transactions with bogus NGOs. Luy said the defense should only be provided copies of some of the files mentioned in the testimony of the witness from the National Bureau of Investigation’s Cybercrime division. “On the strength of the movant’s constitutionally guaranteed right to privacy, as well as on the ground that the other contents of the said hard drive are irrelevant to the instant case, it is respectfully prayed of this honorable court that the right of the defense in this case to access the contents of the said hard drive be limited only to those matters that are pertinent and relevant to the instant case. The scope of the granted access should only be narrowed down to the files that were the subject of [NBI special investigator III Joey] Narciso’s testimony,” Luy’s motion reads. In particular, Luy asked the court to Read More …

An unusually big number of commuters stand shoulder-to-shoulder while waiting for their train ride at the Metro Rail Transit (MRT)-3 station on Taft Avenue and Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue (EDSA) in Pasay City on Thursday morning (March 27, 2014). The commuters, coming from as far as Cavite, are bound for their places of work in Makati, Mandaluyong, Pasig, San Juan and Quezon City. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) — Senator Grace Poe on Tuesday said she will push for a refund for commuters of Metro Rail Transit-3 (MRT-3) trains that stops operations. “Pangako lamang nila sa akin ay titingnan nila yung posibilidad na magkaroon ng tamang pagtrato sa mga pasahero pagdating sa pagbigay ng refund. Sabi ko, ‘magbigay naman kayo ng refund, ano yun, TY nalang na kapag nasira o nasayang lang yung binayad niyo.’ So, magbigay ng refund, tingin ko karapatan yun ng mga mananakay,” she said. On Monday, Poe initiated a Senate investigation into the current state of the MRT-3 after one of its trains overshot its track last month, leaving at least 30 people injured. Resource persons from the Department of Transportation and Communications said the MRT system is facing several problems including defective ticket vending machines, old traction motors, broken escalators and elevators and many others. The Department of Transportation and Communications said service interruptions of the MRT-3 now occur weekly. Transportation Secretary Jun Abaya said the additional prototype of the new MRT coaches will arrive next year. Poe noted, however, that a prototype means this will Read More …

President Benigno S. Aquino III is briefed on the status of passenger volume and traffic, airport security and assistance measures by Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) OIC, general manager (Ret.) MGen. Vicente Guerzon, Jr.,during the Inspection of Major Passenger Terminals in Metro Manila at the Departure Lobby of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 in Pasay City on Wednesday (April 16, 2014) during the Inspection of Major Passenger Terminals in Metro Manila. The President wants to make sure that all security preparations are in place to ensure safe travel during the Holy Week. Also in photo are Transportation and Communications Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya and NAIA Terminal 3 manager Engr. Octavio Lina.(MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – An importer of knockoff designer bags and accessories and his customs broker have been sued for smuggling into the country these fake products. In a statement, the Bureau of Customs (BOC) said it sued Noel Villaflor, owner and proprietor of NSGV Trading, and his broker Sherjun Saldon for violations of the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines and the Intellectual Property (IP) Code. The case pertains to a shipment from China last May in a 40-foot container that arrived at the Manila International Container Port. Composed of 600 cartons, the shipment’s papers declared that it contained various women’s clothing and accessories, skateboards and parts thereof, PVC flooring, plastic cases and boxes, and aluminum ladder and grinder. Inspection by BOC personnel however uncovered 15,960 undeclared items that included “Class A” counterfeit luxury Read More …