Fashion show pays tribute to Ben Farrales

 Entertainment
Jan 272015
 
Fashion show pays tribute to Ben Farrales

MANILA, Philippines – A grand fashion show featuring from 70 to 90 of the works of Ben Farrales will be held at the Rizal Ballroom of the Makati Shangri-La Hotel on Jan. 31, Saturday, 6 p.m. The gala fashion show is a tribute staged by Friends of “Mang Ben” led by business woman and agriculture advocate, Dr. Milagros Ong-How, for the Dean of the Philippine Fashion Industry. The show, which will feature Farrales’ couture creations, highlights more than 50 years of his discipline and dedication to the Philippine fashion scene. Described as the definitive tribute to the master designer, the show is divided into three parts and will feature the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra led by conductor Olivier Ochanine. The first part, “Pais Tropicale,” highlights island-living fashion, showcasing resort collections from swimsuits to lounge wear, to cocktail outfits inspired by tropical island moods. The second part, “Moda Maynila,” shows off the draped gowns that the designer is famous for — chic, contemporary and cosmopolitan fashion, with fluid lines and simplicity that spell “classic.” The third part is “Farrales Filipiñiana” and consists of Muslim-inspired gowns, traditional ternos and Maria Claras, with two wedding gowns as the piece de resistance in the finale. Around 30 models and beauty queens like Justine Gabionza, April Love Jordan, Maricarl Tolosa, Jennifer Barrientos, Stephanie Malibiran, Aya Abesamis, JP Abinuman Cox, Patty Betita, Gem Padilla, Sara Jane Paez, Izza Gonzalez, Marina Benipayo, Annette Coronel, Suyen Chi and Dez Verdadero will model the Farrales creations. Lifestyle Feature ( Article Read More …

Philippine police commander fired after 44 commandos die

 General
Jan 272015
 
Philippine police commander fired after 44 commandos die

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine officials have removed the commander of a police special action force from his post after at least 44 anti-terror commandos were killed in a clash with Muslim rebels in the country’s south. The government’s biggest single-day combat loss in recent memory shocked many and led to fears it could endanger a recent peace deal signed with the biggest Muslim rebel group. Interior Secretary Mar Roxas said Tuesday that police Director Getulio Napenas did not clear Sunday’s assault on top terror suspects in a remote village near Mamasapano town with him or the national police chief. Roxas said the commandos may have killed one of their terror targets, but also became entangled in separate firefights with hard-line Muslim insurgents and members of the main Muslim rebel group, the 11,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front. He said 44 commandos were killed and 12 others were wounded. Roxas called the commandos “fallen heroes” who sacrificed their lives to try to capture Malaysian bombing suspect Zulkifli bin Hir, or Marwan. He may have been killed and efforts are underway to confirm whether that is true, Roxas said. Another terror suspect, Filipino bomb-maker Abdul Basit Usman, managed to escape, Roxas said. The United States has offered up to $5 million for Marwan’s capture and $1 million for Usman. Both have been blamed by U.S. and Philippine authorities for deadly bomb attacks and providing bomb-making training to al-Qaida-linked militants in the country’s south. After attacking Marwan, the police commandos came under fire Read More …

Imports decline in November

 Economy
Jan 262015
 
Imports decline in November

MANILA, Philippines – The country’s merchandise exports went down by 10.8 percent to $4.989 billion in November 2014 from the $5.593 billion posted a year ago, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported on Tuesday. “The decline in total imports for this period was due to the negative performance of four out of the top ten major commodities for the month. These were: transport equipment; mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials; industrial machinery and equipment; and miscellaneous manufactured articles,” PSA noted. For the first eleven months of 2014, the country’s imports bill increased by 2.8 percent to $58.5 billion from $57 billion a year ago. With faster growth in exports at 10.2 percent, trade-in-goods deficit for the January to November period narrowed significantly to $1.5 billion from $5.2 billion in the same period in 2013, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) noted. “The prevailing low oil price environment, which is expected to persist until 2015, may further increase the country’s total oil importation for the remaining part of 2014 and for the whole of 2015 given the country’s high dependence on imported oil. Imports of consumer goods will likewise remain positive for the remaining month of the year, mainly supported by the uptick in domestic consumption primarily of food,” NEDA Director General and Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said. He added that the global economy is fragile at present, with developed economies struggling with deflation, precarious fiscal positions and slowing consumer demand, among others. “The continuing low prices of oil Read More …

Filipinos joining applicants for Calif. driver’s license for undocumented

 News
Jan 262015
 
Filipinos joining applicants for Calif. driver’s license for undocumented

Lines of immigrants applying for special driver’s license now a common sight in California DMV branches. SAN MATEO, California — No more pedaling the bicycle or ridesharing with relatives and friends to work or to bring the children to school. This month, the Department of Motor Vehicles started issuing special licenses to people who cannot prove their legal presence in the country. So-called irregular Filipino immigrants are among the people joining the long lines of applicants for a California driver’s license at the Department of Motor Vehicles. Roughly, one in four Filipinos are undocumented in the US, said Joanna Concepcion, of the Filipino Migrant Center, “and it’s important that Filipinos are well-informed about how this new law could benefit them. “ Since January 1, when AB60 — the Safe and Responsible Driver Act — became law, thousands of undocumented immigrants have applied for driver’s licenses. California joins nine other states to grant undocumented immigrants access to licenses but with applicable limitations. Immigrant advocates say some applicants who previously held licenses under Social Security numbers that were not their own have been told they will need to meet with a DMV investigator. Undocumented immigrants who fraudulently obtained a California driver’s licenses before it was legal won’t be able to a new car until state authorities review their driving records. The DMV expects to field 1.4 million applications in the fist three years of the program aimed at boosting road safety and making immigrants’ lives easier. According to Seth Ronquillo, of Asian Read More …

Young siblings run Ramar, top maker of frozen Filipino foods in N. America

 General
Jan 262015
 
Young siblings run Ramar, top maker of frozen Filipino foods in N. America

First posted in PositivelyFilipino.com PITTSBURG, California — If you’re anywhere in the US or Canada with access to Asian stores, chances are you’ve fried Orientex pre-made lumpia (egg roll) for your parties and served Pampanga’s Best tocino (cured pork) or longganisa (pork sausage) for your family breakfast. If you’re in states with large Filipino immigrant populations, you’ve surely tried mango or calamansi juice from Manila Gold, heated Turo Turo Gourmet’s Filipino-flavored barbeque and fried ukoy (shrimp fritter) and grilled fresh, frozen bangus (milkfish) from the Philippines with the Frescano brand. Soldiers and their families (not just Filipinos) stationed in various parts of the world enjoy the flavors of the Philippines through the Ramar Foods brands, which are available from their commissaries. And just in the past few months, health-conscious foodies shopping at Whole Foods Market have been introduced to healthy, hearty Filipino cuisine through the all-natural, gluten-free, definitely no-MSG chicken adobo, chicken lumpia, vegetarian lumpia and a pancit (noodle) kit (everything you need to enjoy gourmet Filipino pancit, just add the noodles), all branded Kusina ni Maria. And of course, every Filipino expat in the U.S. has at some point capped their meals or salved their homesickness with Magnolia ice cream (also available as milk bars in six flavors), now in 16 flavors including the best-selling ube (purple yam), buko pandan (young coconut-pandanus leaf combo), macapuno (chewy coconut) and mais queso (corn-cheese combo). All food products under these brands–Magnolia, Orientex, Pampanga’s Best, Manila Gold, Bestaste, Turo Turo Gourmet, Frescano and Kusina ni Maria–are Read More …

In the shoes of a tax-compliant expatriate

 Economy
Jan 262015
 

VISITORS to the Philippines come for the beautiful islands, tropical weather, and exotic cuisine. It therefore comes as no surprise to find foreigners all over the Philippines. But they’re not all lounging by hotel pools — many of them are prowling the central business districts wearing suits, supervising projects in the red-hot business process outsourcing sector, among other industries currently attracting investment. Only a few startling statistics are necessary to demonstrate that quite a number of them are here for business. One is the fact that the tiny British Virgin Islands — a favored address for registering investment vehicles — topped all sources of foreign investment in the 2013-2014 fiscal year. Another is that only 528, or 20%, of all companies registered with the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA) are wholly Filipino-owned, indicating that the remainder have at least some foreign ownership.

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