Escudero rekindles call for return of Balangiga bells

 Entertainment
Jun 172015
 
Escudero rekindles call for return of Balangiga bells

By Abner Galino 117th Phil. Independence Day celebration guest of honor, Senator Chiz Escudero Hilton Los Angeles Universal City with former Philippine Journal Inc – publisher of People’s Journal, People’s Tonight and the defunct Times Journal – employee Jingo Giron. (Photo posted by Jingo Giron on his Facebook page) Senator Francis Escudero has rekindled a dormant call for the return of the three historic church bells of the town of Balangiga, Samar which were taken as war booty by the United States Army during its suppression of Filipino revolutionaries in the early 1900. As guest speaker at the 117th Philippine Independence Day celebration at Universal Hilton in Universal City, California, the senator not only renewed the Philippine claim to the historic church bells but also brought back the tragic memory associated with them by passionately retelling the details of that episode in Philippine history. Escudero said that it is time for the United States government to return the bells as they don’t qualify as war booty and that their return would symbolically magnify the picture of a long friendship and alliance between the two countries in the international arena. The senator also floated the idea of a shrine to be built to house the bells when they are returned. “Ilalagay natin doon yung mga pangalan ng mga sundalong Amerikano at pati na rin yung mga Pilipino na namatay sa mga sagupaan sa Balangiga,” Escudero said. The crowd at the ballroom hall of the hotel was not very enthusiastic about the Read More …

Detained Gloria Arroyo to run again for Congress

 Entertainment
Jun 172015
 
Detained Gloria Arroyo to run again for Congress

Former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo arrives with husband, Jose Miguel, at the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court in Quezon City, Metro Manila, April 11, 2012. Arroyo entered a plead of not guilty to allegations of graft and corruption in the tainted telecommunications deal with China in 2007. REUTERS/Cheryl Ravelo (PHILIPPINES – Tags: POLITICS CRIME LAW) Manila, Philippines (AFP)  – She may be detained, facing criminal charges and reportedly suffering from a crippling illness but former president Gloria Arroyo intends to run again for a seat in the Philippine Congress, her lawyer said Tuesday. Arroyo, who has been held in a government hospital since 2011 while facing criminal charges, will run for a third term as congresswoman of her home province of Pampanga in 2016 elections, said lawyer Raul Lambino. Despite being unable to leave detention, Lambino said he is confident the 68-year-old will win the seat, which she currently holds, again. “Expect her to win over anybody,” Lambino told AFP. “She was able to run in 2013 when she was already under arrest and she was able to win overwhelmingly,” he said. Arroyo, who served as president from 2001 to 2010, was arrested while in a private hospital in 2011 for alleged voter fraud during her presidency. She was later detained at a military hospital and slapped with additional charges of misuse of state lottery funds. However, under the law, Arroyo is allowed to run for office as long as she is not convicted of a crime. The trials for graft and Read More …

Travels to PHL using US passport could affect Poe’s qualification for 2016 polls – law experts

 Entertainment
Jun 172015
 
Travels to PHL using US passport could affect Poe’s qualification for 2016 polls – law experts

Senator Grace Poe inspects a Tabor assault rifle at the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) headquarters after gracing the 13th anniversary of the agency on Tuesday where she was the keynote speaker. Poe said she is working on raising the reward money for informants. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – Traveling to the Philippines reportedly 21 times using her US passport as late as 2009 could hurt Senator Grace Poe’s chances of  qualifying to run for higher office next year. Former University of the East law dean Amado Valdez said Poe’s use of a US passport as late as 2009 was “indicative” that she still does not consider the Philippines her domicile at the time. “Na-lose niya ang Philippine citizenship niya noong nag-American citizen siya. She lost her residency when she established permanent residence in the US,” Valdez said. “This is considering that she renounced her Filipino citizenship [when she moved to the US and acquired citizenship there], unlike Imelda,” said Valdez in a text message, referring to a 1995 Supreme Court ruling that allowed the former First Lady to run for a post in Leyte despite her long absence there. Domicile is defined as the “permanent home, the place to which, whenever absent for business or pleasure, one intends to return, and depends on the facts and circumstances, in the sense that they disclose intent.” Former UP law dean Pacifico Agabin meanwhile said Poe’s residency in the Philippines should “presumably” start in 2010, given that she was still using her Read More …

Zsa Zsa Padilla sees herself living a simple life

 Entertainment
Jun 162015
 
Zsa Zsa Padilla sees herself living a simple life

Zsa Zsa Padilla (MNS photo) Ever since turning a year older recently, Zsa Zsa Padilla has been thinking of simple living. “I realize that as you get older, you go back to how it was for you,” Zsa Zsa said at the press conference of her special anniversary concert “Beginnings” at Resorts World Manila. Zsa Zsa has been mulling “downgrading,” which means going back to basic and purchasing fewer material things. “(I’m) trying to buy less clothes,” she cited. “I’m planning these things in the future na living in a smaller house na manageable for you.” While she and her boyfriend Conrad Onglao are blessed with luxuries in life, Zsa Zsa doesn’t wish for “grander” things. “In life, I think I am already lucky enough to have experienced material stuff like that. I just want to go back to the basics. I keep on telling him, ‘You know, when I get older, I’ll just wear black, white, everything simple, and probably just one (other) color which is pink,’” the singer-actress said. Her renowned architect boyfriend is rumored to be building their dream house, but Zsa Zsa clarified there is none. In the future, Zsa Zsa would want to live with him in just a two-bedroom bungalow. “His house is big, my house in Marina is also huge. But, in the future, somebody is asking, ‘There’s this rumor na he’s already building a big house for you.’ I said, ‘Wait, my dream house is a bungalow. A two-bedroom bungalow.’ Since we Read More …

PHL design, textiles and fashion take centerstage at Embassy’s National Day Gala Evening

 Entertainment
Jun 162015
 
PHL design, textiles and fashion take centerstage at Embassy’s National Day Gala Evening

Ms. Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, celebrates with Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia and his wife Ma. Victoria J. Cuisia during the Gala Evening in commemoration of the 117th Anniversary of the Declaration of Philippine Independence at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center on 11 June 2015. (Embassy Photo by Ivan Gonzales) WASHINGTON, D.C.  – “A Gala Evening Celebrating Philippine Design, Textile and Fashion” was a huge success, drawing a diverse crowd of US government officials, members of the Washington diplomatic corps, members of the Filipino-American community, and the general public, and shining light on the fabric and designs that make the Philippines unique. On the eve of Philippine Independence, piña (pineapple fabric) took center stage with the Grand Dame of Philippine Fashion, Ms. Patis Tesoro, making her Washington debut at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center on 11 June 2015 in commemoration of the 117th Anniversary of the Proclamation of Philippine Independence. Guests cheered as they viewed Ms. Tesoro’s collection of some 60 breathtaking pieces made from piña, considered the finest of all Philippine hand-woven fabrics. Ms. Tesoro was given a standing ovation at the end of the show. “Congratulations are in order! It was such a success! Patis Tesoro is definitely an icon of Philippine fashion design,” said Lucie Patton, Chair of Flower Mart 2015. Pina takes centerstage as volunteers model Ms. Patis Tesoro’s fashion collection during A Gala Evening Celebrating Philippine Design, Textile and Fashion at the Ronald Reagan Building and Read More …

Senators confident law vs political dynasties will be passed during Aquino’s term

 Entertainment
Jun 162015
 
Senators confident law vs political dynasties will be passed during Aquino’s term

President Benigno S. Aquino III inspects the ongoing improvement works of the Dungon Bridge IV, along Senator Benigno S. Aquino, Jr. Avenue, in Barangay Calubihan, Iloilo City on Thursday (June 11, 2015) during his visit to the Province of Iloilo. SBSA, Jr. Avenue serves as a gateway to Iloilo City from the Iloilo International Airport in Cabatuan. The said road also connects the city with the other central towns of Iloilo province.Public Works and Highways Secretary Rogelio Singson,Interior and Local Government Secretary Manuel Roxas II,Senate President Franklin Drilon Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor, Sr.,(MNS Photo ) MANILA (Mabuhay) – Senator Aquilino Pimentel III expressed optimism Thursday that the anti-political dynasty bill will be passed during the term of President Benigno Aquino III even after the House of Representatives decided to recast its version first. “Yes (I’m optimistic) because everyone seems excited about it,” Pimentel said. Senate President Franklin Drilon, on the other hand, said he will personally push for the passage of the proposed measure. “Ako mismo ang magtutulak niyan. Matagal na po iyang aking Itinutulak. admittedly, hindi madali, pero akin pong itutulak ulit sa aming pagbalik sa session,” he said in a radio interview Thursday. He added that public service should not be monopolized by any one family. “Sa akin po, ang karunungan sa serbisyo publiko cannot be a monopoly of one family. Iyan po ay nasa ating Saligang Batas, at iyan po ay dapat ipairal natin sa pamamagitan ng ating panukalang batas na ating itutulak sa Senado,” he said. Read More …

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