Maniolas

Mr. Roberto Mercado (5th from left) hands over the commemorative Mama Sita stamps to Mr. Ted Wilson (6th from left) of the Collections Department of the National Postal Museum on 15 August 2016. Commemorative stamps of the late Teresita “Mama Sita” Reyes, Filipino culinary icon, have been included in the Smithsonian National Postal Museum. A statement from the Philippine Embassy in Washington said a simple turnover ceremony, attended by embassy representatives, was held on Monday. The commemorative stamps were issued by the Philippine Postal Corporation to recognize Reyes’ influence on Philippine cuisine, in time for her birth centenary in 2017. Roberto Mercado, consultant and representative of the Mama Sita Foundation, which donated the commemorative items, said the stamps “signify the flavors that the Philippine cuisine offers as well as the country’s vision of sharing our biodiversity to the rest of the world.” “We love to have it,” Ted Wilson of the Postal Museum’s Collections Department was quoted saying. Mama Sita became an iconic figure in Philippine culinary arts for pioneering the use of special mixes and seasonings to enrich the flavor of Filipino food. CDG Mr. Ted Wilson (right) shows Mr. Roberto Mercado the Philippine stamps that were on display at the Postal Museum’s William H. Gross Stamp Gallery. RELATED STORIES Mama Sita’s brings PH flavors to the world’s most prestigious food expo – The 2014 SIAL Paris Photo exhibit pays tribute to Mama Sita, culinary pioneer   Latest DOLE admits it lacks means to detect illegal contracting practices Indonesian hostage escapes from Abu Read More …

Two lawyers appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte as deputy commissioners at the Bureau of Immigration (BI) complete its three-man board. Lawyers Michael Robles and Al Argosino were named deputy immigration commissioners by Mr. Duterte last week. The appointments completed the BI board of commissioners headed by Commissioner Jaime Morente as chair, BI spokesperson Antonette Mangrobang said. Before the designation of the two, the board was composed of Morente and BI career officer Jose Carlitos Licas, who was named OIC deputy commissioner. “Now that the board is complete, we can work together and immediately implement the President’s directives for a more efficient, effective and corrupt-free immigration service,” Morente said. Argosino graduated from San Beda College of Law, like the President years earlier, and Robles from San Sebastian College of Law. But Robles, from Calapan, Oriental Mindoro, also went to San Beda and obtained an economics degree before passing the bar in 2000. In a statement, the BI described him as a veteran government lawyer who served as a prosecutor for many years. He first worked as a legal researcher in a private law firm, joining government in 2001 as an Attorney IV in the Court of Appeals. He served as Clerk of Court in the Manila Regional Trial Court, and later as Pasig City prosecutor and senior assistant city prosecutor. Argosino, from Quezon, obtained a business management degree at San Beda as well before passing the bar in 1994. He began his career in government serving as legal officer for Sen. Read More …

He makes outrageous, offensive statements. He praised a brutal dictator. He told his supporters to turn to violence. Two of those three statements describe President Duterte and the American political figure to whom he has been compared, Donald Trump. The third statement applies to Duterte, but isn’t quite a perfect fit for Trump, the Republican nominee for U.S. president. At least not yet. In making the false accusation that Hillary Clinton wants to take away the right of Americans to own guns, he warned that “if she gets to pick her judges, nothing you can do, folks. Although the Second Amendment people, maybe there is, I don’t know.” Many interpreted the remark as a subtle endorsement of violence against the Democratic nominee. The Trump camp has vehemently denied this. Still, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman called it an “ambiguous wink wink” to Trump’s most extremist supporters. “What he said was ambiguous — slightly menacing, but with just enough plausible deniability that, of course, he was not suggesting an assassination.” Duterte, as Filipinos and the rest of the world already knows, couldn’t care less about plausible deniability. “If you know of any addicts, go ahead and kill them yourself as getting their parents to do it would be too painful,” he said shortly before being sworn in. The U.S. media calls Duterte the Trump of the East. It’s becoming clearer that they got it backwards. It’s Trump who must be called the Duterte of the West. It is Duterte who Read More …