Maniolas

Jolo Revilla in stable condition after gun accident. Cavite Vice Governor Jolo Revilla lies in the Intensive Care Unit of the Asian Hospital and Medical Center in Muntinlupa City on Monday, March 2. The son of detained Senator Ramon Bong Revilla Jr., Jolo accidentally shot himself on the upper right chest while reportedly cleaning a pistol on Saturday, February 28. Photo courtesy of Office of Sen. Bong Revilla The Philippine National Police on Tuesday said it would give the family of Cavite Vice Gov. Jolo Revilla some space as the police created a task force to investigate the shooting incident involving the son of Sen. Ramon Bong Revilla Jr. “Ang nakikita namin kailangang bigyan ng konting space. Nakikita natin ang sensitive nature ng incident,” PNP spokesperson Chieft Superintendent Generoso Cerbo told reporters. “At this point, hindi nakikita ng PNP ang urgency para kausapin si Vice Governor o sinuman ang possible witnesses,” Cerbo added. Earlier, PNP National Capital Region Police Office chief Director Carmelo Valmoria said a task force to investigate the alleged accidental shooting of Jolo had been created.  Jolo is the son of Sen. Revilla and Rep. Lani Mercado-Revilla. He sustained a gunshot wound on his upper right chest purportedly while he was cleaning his gun over the weekend.  He is currently confied at the Asian Hospital and Medical Center in Muntinlupa City. Earlier in the day, the Sandiganbayan allowed the elder Revilla to visit his son. The senator is currently detained at the PNP Custodial Center over the Read More …

Maynilad Water Services Inc. on Monday blasted regulators for their “continuing refusal” to give the green light on the company’s tariff increase as recommended by an arbitration panel. The company laments having to suffer “substantial damages” because of the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage Systems (MWSS) inaction. Earlier, Maynilad had said it was losing P208 million a month. “The decision was rendered by an arbitration panel that MWSS helped constitute pursuant to a dispute resolution process that MWSS itself designed and imposed on Maynilad as part of the concession agreement,” Maynilad president Ricky Vargas said in a statement. “Maynilad is completely puzzled and dismayed by MWSS Administrator Gerry Esquivel’s and Chief Regulator Joel Yu’s sudden about-face and refusal to keep their word and to honor the decision of the arbitration panel,” Vargas said. Maynilad in early 2013 submitted to the MWSS-Regulatory Office a business plan for the five years until 2017, which requires an increase in the company’s basic charges by P8.58 a cubic meter. In response, the MWSS-RO issued memorandums ordering Maynilad to cut rates by P1.46 a cubic meter for the five years until 2017 or 49 centavos a year. Last January, Maynilad’s major stockholders announced that an appeals panel with the International Chamber of Commerce had decided in its favor, awarding an average increase of P3.06 a cubic meter on top of the current basic rate of P31.28 a cubic meter. The other concessionaire, Manila Water Co., went through the same thing—it proposed to raise rates by P5.83 Read More …

Internet penetration in the Philippines continues to rise, especially in urban areas where free wi-fi (or wireless connectivity) is increasingly being made available and more people are using smartphones. While the overall Internet user penetration rate is still at the lower 37 percent of the world population, giving the Philippines a rank of 106th in 191 countries by the United Nations Broadband Commission, this is already not far from the world’s average of less than half. For a country that has become the text capital of the world, getting into the Internet access habit is just a matter of time, or more specifically, having the financial capability to buy a smartphone and to connect to an affordable service provider if there is no free Internet available. The UN Broadband Commission predicts that over half of the world’s global population will be connected to the Internet within three years, and we will likely see more Filipinos in this list as the cost of new smartphones drop to even more affordable levels. Cheaper smartphones Thanks to new brands, notably Chinese- and yes, Philippine-made, smartphones are now becoming accessible to Filipinos who have been for so long clinging on to their old version of text-and-call mobile phones. More Filipinos are learning that phones can be used for other applications, such as accessing e-mail services, navigation, Facebook and other similar popular social media channels, and even watching free television or listening to radio programs. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 While Read More …