The Voice Kids finalists are making Christmas merrier for the underprivileged kids.
Oct 292014
Oct 292014
Derek Ramsay (MNS photo) TV5 actor Derek Ramsay and his legal wife, Filipino-Indian model Mary Christine Jolly, have finally settled their dispute, a Makati City judge announced on Twitter. Judge Eugene Paras of Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 58 posted a photo of himself flanked by the estranged couple with the caption “They finally settled [smiley]“. On Saturday Paras confirmed the news to an entertainment news site but clarified that he did not preside over the settlement. However, he said Ramsay and Jolly had indeed officially buried the hatchet “in one of the family courts of Makati” around 2PM on Friday. Paras noted that the details of the compromise agreement are “private and confidential”. Neither party has issued a statement since Friday, although both Ramsay and Jolly sought media coverage of their previous court appearances. In July, Jolly sued Ramsay for violation of Republic Act 9262 (Violence Against Women and Their Children), declaring that they had married in civil rites in Balagtas, Bulacan on April 3, 2002. They reportedly separated five months later but the brief union bore a son, Austin Gabriel Ramsay, now 11. In his counter-affidavit filed the following month, Ramsay admitted the wedding but claimed that he had been under the impression that the marriage was “invalid”. He also claimed that he had been able to confirm his paternity of his son only three years ago – “sometime in the early part of August 2011″. In September, as Jolly was about to file a scathing 21-page reply-affidavit Read More …
Oct 292014
Will Lovi Poe visit FPJ’s tomb with Rocco Nacino? “Feeling ko naman, dinadalaw na siya ng Dad ko!”
Oct 292014
An Army official who has been ordered relieved from his post has been given a new position in the AFP Medical Center — only to be relieved again. Armed Forces chief Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang has ordered the relief of Lt. Col. Florencio Ritchie Capulong from the center’s Technical Working Group, which supervises the implementation of certain projects. Capulong had been earlier sacked as disbursement officer of the AFP Medical Center for his involvement in an alleged anomalous procurement of medicines and medical supplies worth P80 million, but he was designated secretariat head of the TWG by acting AFP Medical Center chief Col. Benedicto Jovellanos. Jovellanos gave Capulong his new assignment on October 15, or a day after Capulong was sacked as disbursement officer. Asked if Jovellanos was aware that Capulong had been ordered relieved when he gave him the TWG assignment, AFP public affairs office chief Lt. Col. Harold Cabunoc said: “He knows but I don’t know the rationale [behind it).” “I don’t know the reason why he was given a job. I can only assume that it is due to his expertise that might be lost because he will be doing nothing, so that we can utilize his expertise for certain tasks,” he said. Cabunoc said the sacking of Capulong and several others aims to provide transparency to an ongoing internal investigation on the alleged anomalous procurement. Also sacked pending the investigation by the AFP’s Office of Ethical Standards and Public Accountability were AFP Medical Center chief Brig. Read More …
Oct 292014
Businessman Antonio Tiu has yet to submit to the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee the documents to prove his ownership of the farm estate in Rosario, Batangas which has been alleged to belong to Vice President Jejomar Binay, Senator Aquilino Pimentel III said Wednesday. “Hanggang ngayon wala pa rin. So bukas sa start ng hearing, magpapa-update tayo sa committee secretariat kung kumusta na ba yung written contract na nabanggit ni Mr. Antonio Tiu,” said Pimentel, who chairs the subcommittee. “Nag break pa kami nung Oct. 22 para tawagan nya yung opisina na ipadala sa Senate yung dokumento, natapos na yung hearing wala pa. Hanggang ngayon as of this afternoon wala pa,” he added. During last week’s hearing, Tiu was not able to produce the transfer certificate title of the property. He claimed paying P11 million as initial payment for the P446 million worth of property. Former Makati Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado had testified at the Senate that the Batangas property is owned by Binay. The Vice President has denied the allegation. Pimentel said he expects James Tiu, brother of the trader, and his wife Anne Loraine Buencamino to attend Thursday’s hearing. The couple reportedly donated P15 million to the campaign kitty of Binay in 2010. He said the subcommittee also summoned Gregorio Laureano, owner of the property in Batangas before Tiu bought it. Gregorio is also the owner of Agri-Fortuna who supposedly bought Binay’s piggery in Batangas in 2010. “Wala namang nagko-confirm pero na subpoena po sila so they don’t need Read More …
Oct 292014
A national policy prohibiting agreements that discourage business competition and other unfair trade practices is closer to becoming a law after hurdling the House Appropriations committee. The committee chaired by Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab on Tuesday approved the substitute bill to 11 proposals, one of which was House Bill 1133 authored by Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. The National Competition Policy Bill, one of the Aquino administration’s priority legislative measures, is expected to pass in the run-up to the ASEAN economic integration next year, said Davao Del Norte Rep. Antonio Rafael del Rosario, one of the authors of the bills consolidated by the House panel. “We are hoping that by the end of this year, we will be able to spprove it, or hopefully between one month before our Christmas break,” Del Rosario said. The ASEAN integration will pave the way for the creation of an ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), a single market spanning the 10-nation bloc that includes Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The integration is envisioned to cause a freer flow of goods, services, investment and skilled labor in Southeast Asia with the removal of existing trade barriers. Among the unfair trade practices prohibited by the bill are the restriction of competition as to price or other terms of trade; the setting, limiting, or controlling of production, markets, technical development, or investment; dividing or sharing the market, whether by volume of sales or purchases, territory, type of goods or services, buyers or Read More …
Oct 292014
Vice President Jejomar Binay on Wednesday said he is “excited” for the upcoming debate between him and vocal critic Senator Antonio Trillanes IV. “I’m excited. Dito the public will know who is saying the truth,” Binay told reporters in Camarines Sur. “Ako ho ang naghamon, wala hong atrasan ‘to kung ako ho ang tatanungin niyo. Basta’t magkakaharapan po tayo,” he said. “Nakikiusap ho ako doon sa mga nagsasabing hindi pa ako nagpapaliwanag. Tatlong beses na akong nagpapaliwanag, hanggang ngayon sinasabi pa hindi ako nagpapaliwanag. Ito pa ho ang isang pagkakataon para marinig po ninyo ang aming banda, ‘yung paliwanag po namin,” he added. The debate, sponsored by the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster sa Pilipinas (KBP), is set on November 10 but no venue has been announced yet. Binay admitted that he was hurt by the allegations hurled against him and his family. “Masakit ha, biro mo naman ‘yun sa loob at labas ng Senado tinatawag kang magnanakaw. Medyo masakit ho ‘yun,” he said. The Vice President is accused of bid-rigging and receiving kickbacks from transactions the Makati City government entered into during his term as mayor. He has also been accused of owning a 350-hectare property in Rosario, Batangas that was not declared in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth. Binay has repeatedly denied the allegations, but has yet to announce whether he will heed the invitation of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee to attend the hearing on November 6. Trillanes, for his part, said he is preparing Read More …
Oct 292014
Photo of blue chicken served on a plate. Photo by Laurie Brown/Colored Food Series MANILA, Philippines – We all know the basic drill when it comes to losing weight. Eat the right amount of food and top it with regular exercise. But other than those, there are other ways to shed some pounds. Here are some of the unusual but effective ways to get rid of those flabs. Sniff green apples or bananas It is quite difficult to draw a line between real hunger and craving. So when in doubt, sniff green apples and bananas. Smelling
Oct 282014
The Philippine National Police will field about 50,000 barangay security officers and civilian volunteers to help law enforcement during the All Saints’ Day weekend (Undas). In a statement, PNP spokesman Police Sr. Supt. Wilben Mayor said that about 57,266 individuals composed of Barangay Tanod, Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team, private security guards, and civilian volunteers will aide the police force for Undas. For its part, the PNP will deploy 41,602 policemen for the nationwide campaign called “Oplan Ligtas Undas 2014.” The civilians are set to assist the police in law enforcement and public safety operations in cemeteries and memorial parks, bus terminals, sea ports, airports, major tourist destinations, vital installations, places of worship, and travel routes. “We welcome and acknowledge the participation and support of LGUs, NGOs, Civilian Volunteer Organizations, BPATs, civic groups and force multipliers to our security operations for the Halloween weekend holiday,” Mayor said. Likewise, he added that PNP will establish Police Assistance Centers along major thoroughfares and highways for emergency road assistance as the police expects the “traditional exodus of city residents to the provinces.” The PNP also advised local police and barangay patrol groups to mobilize a “neighborhood watch group” to provide security to homes left by vacationing residents. For security concerns, the PNP may be reached at Patrol 117 and SMS 0917-847-5757. —Rouchelle Dinglasan/KG, GMA News
Oct 282014
Former Iloilo Provincial Administrator Manuel Mejorada, Jr. has filed charges against Senate President Franklin Drilon, Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr., and Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson in connection with the alleged overpricing of the construction of a convention center project in Iloilo. Mejorada filed the charges before the Office of the Ombudsman on Wednesday. In an interview with reporters before filing the charges, Mejorada said he filed charges against the respondents for plunder, malversation of public funds, dishonesty and grave misconduct, and violation of Sections 3(e) and 3(g) of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Practices Act. —KG, GMA News