Maniolas

Alava Pier of the Subic Bay Freeport . Photo by Robert Gonzaga SUBIC BAY FREEPORT, Philippines—Two American military ships carrying an undetermined number of troops arrived here on Thursday for a port visit and to replenish supplies, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) officials said. The USNS Richard Byrd and USNS Carl Brasher docked at the Alava Pier here between 8 and 10 a.m. Some of the civilian crew of the two ships were allowed to leave their ships but were not permitted to go outside this free port, an SBMA official, who asked not to be identified for not having been authorized to speak on the matter, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer. The official said all military troops, however, were confined in their ships. The ships will stay in the free port in the next three days, according to the official. The arrival of the US ships came as the American government rejected the request of the Philippine government to get custody of US Marine Private First Class Joseph Scott Pemberton, the soldier charged with murder for the killing of transgender Jeffrey “Jennifer” Laude in an Olongapo City motel on Oct. 11. Pemberton is held in a detention facility supervised by the American and Philippine governments in the Armed Forces of the Philippines in Quezon City. Earlier, SBMA Chair Roberto Garcia said American military ships would resume port calls to this free port only after a major development in Pemberton’s case. Garcia said business owners in Olongapo City and the Read More …

Vice President Jejomar Binay sprinkles holy water at the tomb of Fernando Poe Jr. (FPJ) at the Manila North Cemetery on the occasion of the 10th death anniversary of the acknowledged Filipino movie king on Sunday (Dec.14, 2014). Also in photo are Senator Grace Poe and movie-TV actress Susan Roces (2nd from left). (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – Commuters gave the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) trains a failing grade in terms of maintenance works on the 15-year-old mass transport system. At a hearing of the Senate committee on public services on Wednesday, chairman Sen. Grace Poe presented an independent survey done by her office covering about a hundred daily commuters of MRT. Using the grading system of the University of the Philippines, the 13 stations of the MRT got an average grade of 4 or conditional failure. “Sa kabuohan ay bagsak po ang nakuhang grado ng MRT. Ang pinaka-dinadaing po ng mga commuter ay ang napakatagal na oras ng pagpila, marurumi at mabahong comfort rooms, hindi gumaganang escalators at elevators, at ang labis na siksikan sa loob ng bagon habang nag-bibiyahe,” Poe said of the survey results. The survey focused on queuing time, conditions of comfort rooms, conditions of elevators and escalators, ease of travel or comfort while riding the train, air conditioning system and total riding experience. In terms of waiting time in riding the train, majority of the commuters said it usually takes them 30 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes to get to board the train. Read More …

MANILA, Philippines–Japanese firms operating in the Philippines are bullish of their prospects for next year as more than half of those recently polled by the Japan External Trade Organization (Jetro) have expressed their intention to further expand their businesses in the country. The latest survey of Jetro also showed that about 71 percent of the respondents expect to post a “surplus in their operating profits” in the Philippines this year. This was based on Jetro’s 2014 Survey on Business Conditions of Japanese-Affiliated Firms in Asia and Oceania, which was conducted between October and November this year. It covered 4,767 Japanese-affiliated firms operating in 20 countries and regions in Asia and Oceania, including the Philippines. In a statement, Jetro noted that the number of Japanese-affiliated firms in China that were planning to expand dropped below 50 percent for the first time since the survey began in 1998. In contrast, about 60 percent of the Japanese firms operating in the Asean said they would expand over the next one to two years. In countries like Cambodia, India and Bangladesh, there was expression of interest to expand business, marking a high response rate more than 70 percent. “The proportion in the Asean exceeded that of China in 2012, and since then, the difference has widened to 13.8 points. In the Philippines, the rate has risen to 58.7 percent since 2009. High response rates were seen in emerging countries such as Cambodia (79.5 percent), India (78.2 percent) and Bangladesh (71.1 percent). Survey results further Read More …