Maniolas

Regine Velasquez (Photo by Glaiza Jarloc/Sunnex) ASIA’S Songbird Regine Velasquez believes that it takes more than just sheer talent to achieve a successful career in the entertainment business. Interviewed at the recently concluded Buglasan Festival in Dumaguete City, Velasquez recalled that at the beginning of her music career, she was different from her contemporaries. Most of the singers during her time came from the United States and have a good command of the English language. Velasquez, on the other hand, was honest in saying that she prefers to speak and perform in Filipino. “Nung time na pumasok ako, lahat sila Inglesera. Taga Bulacan ako at hindi ‘yun ang first language ko. They just let me, nag Tagalog ako, and doon ako actually nagkaroon ng character.” She added that her former manager, Ronnie Henares, made her sing and nothing more. “When I was starting, Ronnie made me do nothing else but sing. Because that’s what I am, I’m a singer. Yun ang ginawa ko lang. That’s all I did and I remember I was so busy.” “I’m glad I started that way kasi at least nabuo ko sa isip ng mga tao na I’m a singer first more than anything else. It added na lang na I can act and I can host.” She made a name for herself locally and abroad. She did numerous concerts in the local and international scene and even released three albums in the whole of the Asia-Pacific region. Velasquez said that she never thought that Read More …

In an exclusive charity event held recently at the Porta Via Restaurant & Bar in Beverly Hills, John Paul Puno launched his single-record called “Via Sacra” (or Secret Road) which is included in his album. He takes pride in accomplishing a whole album which  “mirrors the journey of life itself – songs that reflect love, loss, pain and hope.” Following are the songs in his complete album, “Nowhere Man,”“Miracle,”“Run,”“Tarde Para Regresar,”“Rule The World,”“Wherever You Will Go,”“Ordinary World,”“The One That Got Away” and “Via Sacra.” The album was produced by legendary multi-platinum Grammy award-winner producer, Robert “Bob” Cutarella who also produced for Eric Clapton, Sting, Josh Stone and who has likely garnered hits with industry legends such as:Michael Jackson, Celine Dion, The Beegees, Pink Floyd, Elton John, Michael Bolton, Diana Ross, Chaka Khan, Cyndi Lauper and Slash. Likewise, the album’s Grammy-award engineer/producer was Francis Buckley, whose movie and television credits include: “Flashdance,”“Jungle Book,”“The Wedding SInger,” and “City of Angels.” He has also worked with the likes of Quincy Jones, BB King, Alanis Morisette, Paula Abdul, Van Halen, Lea Salonga, Deborah Cox and Adam Sandler. In a recent interview with another publication, John admitted that “selecting the songs for the album was an organic process that developed over time. One of the album highlights is a soaring orchestral version of Snow Patrol’s ‘Run’ arrranged by Puno himself, which eventually became one of the very first songs he self-produced during his early foray in music.” During the charity event, John performed a variety of songs for Read More …

Senator Bong Revilla, shown in photo on his way to be detained on plunder and graft charges, said his lawyer, Sal Panelo, only talked about the rats and roaches in his cell in jest. Revilla’s lawyer has said the senator’s family saw rats “as big as cats” inside the senator’s cell. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) — A lawyer of the Anti-Money Laundering Council on Thursday said Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. used the bank account of a “dummy” corporation to receive alleged kickbacks from Janet Napoles. During his cross-examination for Revilla’s bail petition, Atty. Leigh Von Santos confirmed Revilla did not use aliases in his bank accounts. Santos, however, said Nature Concepts Development and Realty Corporation – a company owned by Revilla’s wife Lani Mercado received deposits amounting to P23 million even during the period when the company was not operating. The AMLC investigator said the company’s bank account got P2.2 million in 2007, P15 million in 2009 and another P250,000 during the same year. Santos said Nature Concepts could be considered a “dummy corporation” of Senator Revilla. He earlier said the company had no corporate and financial activities reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission. An AMLC report also said Nature Concepts received a total of P27.745 million through deposits from 2007 to 2010. This is the same period that whistle-blower Benhur Luy alleged that Revilla received kickbacks from his anomalous transactions with Napoles. “Despite the insubstantial capital, it received substantial amounts through deposit totaling Php 27,745,000, most of Read More …

Vice President Jejomar Binay as he receives the Ninoy Aquino Medal of Valor from Ninoy Aquino Movement Chairman Heherson Alvarez during the 31st death anniversary of the late Senator Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 on Thursday (August 21, 2014) in Pasay City. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – The camp of Vice President Jejomar Binay allegedly paid a witness P10 million to prevent him from appearing before the Senate blue ribbon subcommittee investigating the controversial Makati City Hall 2 parking building, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV disclosed on Wednesday. Trillanes made the expose after former Makati Vice Mayor Ernesto Mercado told the subcommittee that he was offered money to stop him from testifying in the Senate. Mercado said that after he first appeared and testified before the committee, he was approached by their common friends, requesting him to stop talking against the Vice President. “Merong mga pahapyaw kung ano ang kailangan, ibibigay huwag lang ako magsalita o wag ko na lang dadagdagan ang sasabihin. Pero tinanggihan ko po yun,” he said. (There are hints that whatever I need will be given as long as I stop talking or I no longer add to what has been said. But I rejected this.) “Nagsalita po ako ulit sa apat na pagdinig. Lumaki na ho ang ante. Wala ng halagang sinasabi kundi magkano ba ang halagang kelangan kong kapalit para hindi na magsalita. Ang sagot ko po sa ibat ibang kaibigan namin ni VP Binay, walang halaga ang Read More …