Maniolas

Associate Justice Antonio Carpio FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines–There is no guarantee that the United States would come to the aid of the Philippines in case of an external attack despite the long-standing defense partnership signed through several agreements between the two countries. Associate Justice Antonio Carpio emphasized this on Tuesday and got the government side to concede this point when he grilled acting Solicitor General Florin Hilbay on the second round of oral arguments on the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca). “I just want you to understand [that] even if we declare Edca constitutional, it does not mean the US will defend us, because there is no such guarantee,” Carpio told Hilbay. Carpio, a staunch defender of Philippine sovereignty as reflected in his position on the country’s maritime dispute with China, drew several scenarios of the country coming under attack. He asked Hilbay of the potential US response given its partnership with the Philippines, including Edca and its mother agreement, the Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT). Malacañang has been defending Edca as a vital instrument in assuring the country’s security in the face of external threats amid the unresolved maritime dispute with China in the West Philippine Sea. It has repeatedly said the agreement implemented provisions already approved under standing Philippine treaties with the United States: the MDT and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). The Philippines and the United States, while pursuing a strategic defense pivot to the Asia-Pacific region, signed Edca in April, just before the state visit of US Read More …

Last week, Lexus pulled the covers off the all-new RCF in a glitzy showroom launch that left grown men speechless. There were oohs, ahs and “I wants” coming from every corner, but the problem was, only three would be answered, as that was all that was being allocated to Manila. But not being a man that you can easily say no to (trust me, I have personal experience here) somehow, Lexus Manila president Danny Isla was able to work his magic and raise that allocation to 21. All of which have been spoken for. Just to give you an idea of just how impossible that feat was, Singapore have been given less than a handful and Thailand have been allocated 0. Same goes for Malaysia and Indonesia. So why the hysteria? It is not so much the mystery of how they crammed 477 hp and 550 Nm of torque into that 5.0-liter V8, it is more how they crammed all that power, luxury and performance into 5.8 million pesos. To answer that, you would need to understand the history of the F series, which all began with the SC430. It was Lexus’ first stab at a proper sports car and came off the shelf with an all-aluminum retractable hardtop and a 4.3 liter V8 that produced 300 hp. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 I know, I know, even a Camry can do that now, but those were impressive figures for 2001. And more importantly, it planted Read More …