Maniolas

German Moreno (MNS photo) Federico Moreno believes his father, actor and star builder German Moreno who passed Friday, lived life as entertainer to the hilt and throughout. “He is so perfect for this industry because he wants to make people happy. He wants to make people laugh. He is the epitome, I would say, of a showbiz personality, so perfect,” Federico said. While in mourning, Federico nevertheless feels overwhelmed with the outpouring of love and admiration being showered by people from all walks of life on his father, a showbiz icon. The former janitor-turned-actor and TV host mentored and helped build the career of many stars including Lea Salonga, Judy Ann Santos, Vina Morales, Sunshine Cruz, Janno Gibbs, Billy Crawford, and Manilyn Reynes, among others, through the variety show “That’s Entertainment” which German hosted several decades back. Federico recalled reading many of the messages on German a few hours after the latter succumbed to cardiac arrest which got the former emotional. “Umiyak ako, then my daughter said, ‘Stop crying, dad. He’s okay.’ Sabi ko, ‘Don’t worry I’m not sad.’ I’m very happy because I’m reading this hashtag where people are giving praises, saying how kind my dad was. That helped me personally to make it easier for us to carry,” he said. The son is requesting people to give donations to the Kapuso Foundation in lieu of sending flowers to the wake being held at Mount Carmel Church in Quezon City. “Sa mga susunod na araw, ipagpatuloy lang po ’yung Read More …

President Benigno S. Aquino III meets with his Cabinet Secretaries at the President’s Hall of Malacanang Monday (October 13) concerning the status of the MRT 3 maintenance. The President is concerned about negative reports he has been receiving regarding Metro Rail operations. (MNS photo) MANILA  (Mabuhay) – Transportation Secretary Jun Abaya on Monday said the government is looking at all possibilities that could have caused Friday’s glitches at the Metro Rail Transit (MRT), including sabotage. Abaya said it is too much of a coincidence that the glitch from the old signaling system occurred on the first day Busan Transport Corporation took over as the new MRT-3 maintenance provider. “Quite a rare occurrence for it to drag long. So eventually it seemed like there were some tweaking of the settings on the modem that it uses because basically it’s a communication system,” Abaya said. “Likewise GM Roman Buenafe is looking at the angle of sabotage. So we’re looking at all possibilities. But again, it was also a significant date because it was when Busan was coming in. I don’t know if somebody is trying to send a message but since that time we’re okay and Busan is slowly getting its feet well,” he added. Friday’s MRT glitches saw thousands of commuters stranded, while several passengers were forced to get off stations and walk on the MRT railways. Abaya also clarified there was no “hostile takeover” as claimed by the German-Filipino joint venture SBI-CBT, the MRT-3’s previous maintenance provider. “Not true, because Read More …

member of the Philippine National Police (PNP) shows the new Glock 17 Generation 4 pistols after a distribution ceremony of the pistols at the police headquarters in Manila July 2, 2013. Philippine President Benigno Aquino attended the ceremony in which 22,603 pistols were distributed to PNP officers as part of the government’s effort to arm each police officer in the country with a handgun in order to strengthen the police force, local media reported. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) — The Philippine National Police has seized 13 firearms since it started implementing the election gun ban on Sunday. Policemen manning Comelec checkpoints in Caraga, Northern Mindanao and Central Visayas each seized three firearms. According to PNP spokesperson Chief Superintendent Wilben Mayor, two more firearms were seized in Calabarzon, and one each in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and and Negros Island region. Twelve more prohibited items, including knives, bullets and fake guns, have been seized since the implementation of the Comelec gun ban on January 10. Citing Mayor’s statement, the report said the PNP has set up a total of 1,661 Comelec checkpoints around the country. The gun ban will last until June 8.(MNS)

Since arriving on the U.S. shores more than four decades ago, people of Vietnamese descent has traditionally celebrated Tet, the most significant holiday of the lunar year, in the beginning of Spring to start life fresh on a clean slate. Celebrating the festival, a family holiday akin to the U.S’s Thanksgiving celebration, is a shadow of the event in their native Vietnam where “everyone is expected to return home shortly before midnight light firecrackers and spend  the next few days eating, drinking, and dancing”. For 30 years in Orange County, the Union of the Vietnamese Student Associations Southern California (UVSA) has been the host of the Tet Festival driven as an important event by which the members establish connections to their native land,  kindle the spirit of volunteerism and work hard work to bring the bring life to the festivities. The nonprofit group had been granted the exclusive right to host the event in 2002 which was able to accomplish collateral benefits to the student volunteers who were able to develop strong leadership skills, enhance their cultural awareness and earn valuable life experience.  Most important of all, holding the event benefited community associations and other sectors in terms of the benevolent sharing of the proceeds from the event to make their programs viable. Over the past years it is estimated that more than $1-M from the festival proceeds had been awarded to various nonprofit community groups. Torres High School (Manila) Alumnae Remember: Former students of Torres High School (in Manila) Read More …