Aquino confers Presidential Awards to outstanding OFWs, organizations

 Entertainment
Dec 102014
 
Aquino confers Presidential Awards to outstanding OFWs, organizations

President Benigno S. Aquino III listens as Filipina international singer Lea Salonga renders a song as an intermission number during the presentation of awards of the 2014 Presidential Awards for Filipino Individuals and Organizations Overseas at the Rizal Ceremonial Hall of the Malacañan Palace on Friday (December 05). (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – President Benigno S. Aquino III on Friday honored 33 outstanding overseas Filipinos and foreign-based organizations during the conferment of the 2014 Presidential Awards for Filipino Individuals and Organizations Overseas held in Malacañang Palace. In his speech, President Aquino expressed his gratitude to the awardees, noting that although they are based overseas, they have contributed to nation building. “While the awards you receive today are symbols of your success, I am hopeful that you also treat them as invitations: to continue your pursuit of excellence, and the way you bring pride and honor to our country,” he said. “Let us continue doing our very best to fulfill our individual roles in nation building. We have changed the way the world sees us, and we must build on this; we must ride our current momentum and show the world that the excellence of the Filipino knows no bounds.” The Chief Executive said that in the past four years of his administration, the support of the Filipino people has allowed his government to turn the country’s fortunes around for the better. With the help of the people, he said, the government has been able to carry out reforms, overhaul the Read More …

LA County to host used oil and filter recycling event in Lawndale

 Entertainment
Dec 102014
 
LA County to host used oil and filter recycling event in Lawndale

http://dpw.lacounty.gov/ LA County Public Works will host a free used motor oil and oil filter recycling event on December 13, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m, at the Lawndale O’Reilly Auto Parts, located at 15122 ½ Hawthorne Blvd. When used oil is illegally dumped into stormdrains, it pollutes local water bodies and contaminates sources of clean drinking water. In fact, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, it only takes one gallon of motor oil to contaminate as much as a million gallons of fresh water – equivalent to a year’s supply of drinking water for 50 people. In exchange for properly disposing of their used oil during the event, participants will be rewarded with free used oil containers, oil filters, shop towels, and funnels. Those recycling oil filters will receive one new oil filter. Promotional items are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Items for drop-off should be prepared by placing oil filters in sealed plastic bags and storing used motor oil in leak-proof containers. Used oil should not be mixed with any other liquid, including water. Used motor oil and oil filters can also be recycled for free at a local certified collection center or on weekends at a County-sponsored Household Hazardous Waste/Electronic Waste collection event. A full calendar of collection events and list of collection centers can be found at www.CleanLA.com. For additional information on the County’s oil and oil filter recycling program, call Edna Gandarilla, Program Manager, at (626) 458-6536.

Niño Muhlach won’t pressure Alonzo to become next Boy Wonder

 Entertainment
Dec 102014
 
Niño Muhlach won’t pressure Alonzo to become next Boy Wonder

Alonzo Muhlach (MNS Photo) Former “Boy Wonder of Philippine Cinema” Niño Muhlach is not predicting his four-year old son Alonzo  to become the next child superstar. When he started in showbiz (the same age as Alonzo), Niño revealed he felt it was all play, not work. He certainly didn’t feel his parents were pushing him to become a “superstar.” “Mine (stardom) just happened. With Alonzo, it could be easier for him because I’m an actor already and the opportunity would just come easily,” said Niño. He didn’t even plan on making Alonzo an actor, it just happened. Alonzo’s path to showbiz started when they joined “Bet on Your Baby,” after which he was approached by the production of “Pinoy Big Brother All In” for the boy to take part in the show. “I didn’t want to deny him the opportunity. But I still asked him if he wanted to be in the show and he said yes. So why not,” said Niño. The actor may not have seen things coming but he’s proud of his son. “People say  he  is a carbon copy of myself when I was his age. But it never entered my mind to enter him in showbiz otherwise I would have trained him to speak Tagalog more,” he said. At the moment, Niño and Alonzo are both in “My Big Bossing,” Vic Soto’s follow-up to “My Little Bossings” and an official entry to this year’s Metro Manila Film Festival. In the film, Niño plays a father Read More …

Philippines’ 10 deadliest storms

 Entertainment
Dec 102014
 
Philippines’ 10 deadliest storms

High waves brought about by strong winds pound a fish port, hours before typhoon Ruby passes near the city of Legazpi on Sunday. Ruby tore apart homes and sent waves crashing through coastal communities across central Philippines, adding to the spate of deadly disasters. (MNS photo) Manila, Philippines | AFP |  – Typhoon Hagupit was on Sunday churning across the Philippines, the latest in a never-ending series of often-deadly storms that plague the Southeast Asian archipelago. With more than 7,100 islands, the country is hit by an average of 20 typhoons or tropical storms each year. The storms are created above the warmer waters of the Pacific Ocean near the equator, and the Philippines’ islands are often the first major landmass they hit as they move northwest. The following are the 10 deadliest typhoons on record in the Philippines*. 1. Super Typhoon Haiyan, the strongest storm ever recorded on land, destroys entire towns across the central Philippines on November 8, 2013. When the government stopped its count months later, more than 7,350 people were listed as dead or missing. 2. Tropical Storm Thelma unleashes flash floods on the central city of Ormoc on Leyte island on November 15, 1991, killing more than 5,100. 3. Typhoon Bopha smashes into the main southern island of Mindanao on December 3, 2012. Rarely hit by major storms, the unprepared region suffers about 1,900 people dead or missing. 4. Typhoon Ike hits the central Philippines on August 31, 1984, killing 1,363 people. 5. Typhoon Washi Read More …

Pacquiao, the boxer

 General
Dec 102014
 
Pacquiao, the boxer

Once again, the Filipino nation rejoiced on the recent success of Manny Pacquiao in his boxing bout with New Yorker challenger Cris Algerie. At 35 years old, I think Pacquio lost some of his lethal punching power which has catapulted him into an international boxing superstar. Despite the fact that he has not scored a knock-out victory since getting floored by Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012, Pacquiao is still the perfect symbol of the hopes and aspirations of the Filipino people, particularly the poor. While watching the Pacquiao versus Algerie fight in a hotel in Burlingame, San Francisco, people watching the fight in the television all agreed that the “fighting pride of the Philippines” is the most effective morale booster of a country that has been rocked by scandals for years due to unabated corruption among elected public officials. Most Filipinos think that the only good news that can lift up the spirits of Filipinos is when Pacquiao steps into the ring, fights and wins. Pacquiao is also an effective unifying leader with the ability to inspire others because of what he has accomplished in life. Pacquiao has transformed his success in boxing into other fields. He is now a singer, once a television host, an actor, a professional basketball player and coach, and a Congressman representing the province of Sarangani. Pacquiao has long been rated as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world by sporting news and boxing websites, as well as the ESPN and Sports Illustrated, for his Read More …

Palace: Bukidnon bus bombing to be fully probed; victims to be assisted

 News
Dec 102014
 
Palace: Bukidnon bus bombing to be fully probed; victims to be assisted

A Malacañang official assured the public on Wednesday that deadly bus explosion in Bukidnon will be fully investigated. At a press briefing, deputy presidential spokesman Usec. Abigail Valte condemned the incident, and said authorities are already hunting down those behind the bombing. “The AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines] is now supporting the PNP [Philippine National Police] as to finding the perpetrators of this act,” Valte told reporters. “To my knowledge, there are no groups yet—at least as far as I was informed—that have claimed responsibility; but, certainly, the full investigation is already underway,” she added. An improvised explosive device went off inside a Rural Transit Mindanao bus located in Maramag town late Tuesday afternoon, killing 11 people and hurting 21 others. On Wednesday, the military reduced the number of fatalities to 10. The number of wounded persons was placed at 31.      Military spokesman Col. Resty Padilla said the bus explosion might be a terrorist act, but Bukidnon Gov. Jose Maria Zubiri Jr. said extortion may be the motive behind the incident.  Valte also assured government assistance for the victims of the bombing. “We do extend our sympathies to the families of the nine as well as the injured, and we will be assisting in any way that we can for what has happened to them,” Valte said. — Andreo Calonzo/RSJ, GMA News

LP officials on Grace Poe’s rise in survey ranking: Too early to tell

 News
Dec 102014
 
LP officials on Grace Poe’s rise in survey ranking: Too early to tell

Officials of the ruling Liberal Party on Wednesday downplayed the results of the latest Pulse Asia survey showing Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II slipping from second to sixth place, saying trends are still bound to change with 18 months to go before the 2016 elections.  House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., LP vice-chairman, said that while the party is happy that Senator Grace Poe, an administration ally, is gaining ground in the survey, there remains a possibility the results will change as the presidential polls draw closer. “Definitely, Sen. Grace Poe is the big winner in this particular survey, but we have to remember that this survey is done four times a year,” Belmonte told reporters in a chance interview. Asked if Poe’s improved rating in the Pulse Asia survey will prompt LP officials to court her to join the party, Belmonte said: “It’s too early to make a conjecture regarding something that will happen one and a half years from now.” For his part, Western Samar Rep. Mel Senen Sarmiento, LP secretary general, said the survey results are taking a backseat to the party’s resolve to help its chairman, President Benigno Aquino III, implement priority programs in the remaining months left in his term.  “The party’s national executive council will convene at the proper time but for the moment, the ruling part would like to focus on Typhoon Ruby’s response effort and [the President’s]  programs and projects,” Sarmiento said in a text message. The latest Pulse Asia survey conducted between November Read More …

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