Is Pia Wurtzbach dating Marlon Stockinger?

 Entertainment
Oct 032016
 
Is Pia Wurtzbach dating Marlon Stockinger?

Pia Wurtzbach (MNS photo) Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach sparks romance rumors with professional race car driver Marlon Stockinger after sharing a photo of them together. The 27-year-old beauty queen, who celebrated her birthday in Manila during the weekend, surprised her close to 3 million Instagram followers when she uploaded a photo of her with Stockinger. In the photo, Wurtzbach was seen leaning on the Swiss-Filipino Formula driver’s shoulder. “Marloner,” she wrote in the said post. Stockinger, 25, is born to a Filipino mother and Swiss businessman father. He is currently based in Zurich, Switzerland and racing as a junior driver under the Lotus F1 team. Wurtzbach, on her part, is half-Filipina, half German, and was raised in Cagayan de Oro. She moved to Manila during her teen years and tried her luck in show business. Earlier this year, the beauty queen confirmed that she’s dating “Hottest Doctor Alive” Mikhail Varshavski but it seems romance fizzled out between the two.

Duterte to Marines: Defend the Republic 


 Entertainment
Oct 032016
 
Duterte to Marines: Defend the Republic 


President Rodrigo Duterte delivers his message to the Filipino community in Vietnam during a meeting on September 28. (MNS photo) MANILA  (PNA) – President Rodrigo Duterte has urged the Philippine Marines to stay loyal to the Republic and help to fight the country’s drug problem. 

In his remarks before the elite troops on Tuesday (September 27), Duterte said: “I am now calling you… to also fight drugs.” He stressed, however, that he is not encouraging them to take the law into their own hands. Duterte promised to give the soldiers anything they want and need “to win a fight, to win a war, to win a battle, ibibigay ko sa inyo, walang problema.” President Duterte also assured the troops that economic benefits “will come if there is a peaceful Philippines.” Turning to the government’s peace efforts, the President emphasized that he was “not a wartime President. I am a President seeking peace for my people.” During his dialogue with the Marines, Duterte reiterated his plan to seek closer ties with China and Russia. He announced that he would be visiting these countries soon to discuss trade and commerce. “This Republic will rise, this Republic of the Philippines will continue to be great… We will survive on our own. We will fight our wars on our own and we will win as a country,” Duterte told the soldiers.

Groups seek Palace-led war vs. waste

 Entertainment
Oct 032016
 
Groups seek Palace-led war vs. waste

By Catherine J. Teves Linisin angLipunan rally (photo courtesy of Ecowaste Coalition Facebook page) MANILA  (PNA) – Environment groups are urging President Rodrigo Duterte to wage a war against waste nationwide to help protect public health and the environment. The groups raised urgency for such presidential action, noting studies show the country’s problem on waste will worsen if authorities fail to fully implement RA 9003 (Ecological Solid Waste Management Act). “This year, the country will already produce some 40,000 tons of waste daily – up from the estimated 37,000 tons of waste we produced daily in 2012,” EcoWaste Coalition national coordinator Aileen Lucero said Tuesday at a press conference held at Max’s Restaurant, Quezon Memorial Circle, Quezon City on Tuesday. Much of the waste produced so far hasn’t been disposed properly, she noted. Greenpeace detox campaigner Abigail Aguilar cited need to bolster the proposed war with prevention measures at source like industries’ pollution disclosure. “Manufacturers must take responsibility for respective waste generated,” she said. She also said government must be firm on returning to Canada the cargo of assorted waste shipped from that country to the Philippines earlier. Such waste was discovered in Manila three years ago this September, she noted. According to Froilan Grate, Asia-Pacific coordinator of Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA), LGUs must enforce basic measures RA 9003 cites for addressing waste. Among such measures were segregating and recycling waste, he said. Segregation would group waste that could still be re-used or recycled, he noted. “Almost half Read More …

Transport dept. signs agreement for location of LRT-MRT common station

 Entertainment
Oct 032016
 
Transport dept. signs agreement for location of LRT-MRT common station

By Aerol John B. Pateña View of Carriedo St. in Manila: Photo shows how Carriedo St. in Manila looks like as viewed from the Carriedo station of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1 on Thursday (Aug. 11, 2016). The street, which teems with vendors, leads to the revered Quiapo Church. (PNA photo by Jess M. Escaros Jr.) MANILA  (PNA) – The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has signed an agreement which identifies a single location for a Common Station that will provide connectivity between LRT Line 1, MRT Line 3 and the proposed MRT Line 7, putting an end to the impasse over the seven-year-old railway project. A Memorandum of Agreement was signed Wednesday by Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade; Public Works Secretary Mark Villar; SM Prime Holdings, Inc. (SMPHI) President Hans Sy; Vice Chairman of the North Triangle Depot Commercial Corp. and Chairman of Ayala Land Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala; San Miguel Corp. (SMC) President Ramon Ang; Light Rail Manila Consortium (LRMC) Vice Chairman Manny V. Pangilinan; and Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) Deputy Administrator Emerson Benitez. The final site of the Common Station will be situated between SM North EDSA and Trinoma malls. A vehicular underpass designed to decongest the North Ave.-EDSA intersection will be built to seamlessly integrate with the Common Station. The parties have agreed to meet again to finalize its engineering design that will enable commuters to conveniently transfer from one line to another via a common concourse or atrium. The shareholders agreed to Read More …

PHL economy slips in global competitiveness ranking

 Entertainment
Oct 032016
 
PHL economy slips in global competitiveness ranking

President Rodrigo Duterte is accompanied by Pampanga Governor Lilia Pineda during an ocular inspection of the seized shabu laboratory in Arayat, Pampanga on September 27. Also in the photo are Special Assistant to the President Christopher Go and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director Isidro Lapeña. MANILA  (Mabuhay) — The Philippine economy has become less competitive globally, weighed down by a slow and corrupt bureaucracy and creaking infrastructure, the World Economic Forum said Wednesday. The country ranked 57th out of 138 countries in the 2016 to 2017 Global Competitiveness Index, down 10 spots from the previous year. The country slipped in nine out of 12 business “pillars” measured by the world body, according to a WEF statement. The WEF said an inefficient bureaucracy was the “most problematic” roadblock to doing business in the country, followed by inadequate infrastructure, corruption, tax rates, tax regulations, policy instability and restrictive labor regulations. The country’s ranking improved in three of 12 “pillars” including the macroeconomic environment, health and education while it slipped in institutions, infrastructure, goods and market efficiency, labor market efficiency, technological market readiness, market size, business sophistication and innovation. “It shows that we have some challenges remaining and we need to work on those,” National Competitiveness Council co-chairman Guillermo Luz said. Luz said the “disappointing” slide in the country’s rankings also showed that the global economy was becoming more competitive. President Rodrigo Duterte, who assumed office on June 30, has set a 10-point plan to sustain the pace of one of Asia’s Read More …

Why Bea Alonzo is picky with roles

 Entertainment
Oct 032016
 
Why Bea Alonzo is picky with roles

Bea Alonzo (MNS Photo) After she was named the most influential film actress of the year at the 6th EdukCircle Awards, Bea Alonzo said such kind of recognition explains why she has to be picky when it comes to the roles that she accepts. She said the award reminds her of the big responsibility that she has as an actress. “It reminds me na talagang ang dami naming nai-influence na mga kabataan ngayon. Malaking responsibilidad yun sa end ng mga actors (The award reminds me that we can influence a lot of young people. It’s a big responsibility for us),” she said. Currently, Alonzo is busy working on her comeback television series which will also star Ian Veneracion, Iza Calzado, Enchong Dee and Julia Barretto. Alonzo also teased about an upcoming movie which she will work on towards the end of the year. She is likewise hopeful about her big screen project with fellow actress Bela Padilla. “Sana matuloy na, sana early next year. It’s a good film. Actually siya (Bela) yung nagsulat. Excited ako. Nung nabasa ko yung one-liner na binigay niya sa akin, nakakagulat how talented she is. I like supporting talents like that,” she said. Noting their physical resemblance, Alonzo added: “Ang ganda nga nun paglaruan sa pelikula. Ang gandang gawing advantage yun sa aming dalawa. So talagang excited ako to work with her. I’ve seen her work and gusto ko makipag-collaborate with her.” No other details about the movie have been revealed. (MNS)

Philippines, US hold war games after Duterte tirades

 News
Oct 032016
 
Philippines, US hold war games after Duterte tirades

FILE PHOTO The Philippines and the United States launch war games on Tuesday against the unusual threat of American forces being ejected from the Southeast Asian nation as its firebrand leader pivots to China. President Rodrigo Duterte has launched a sustained verbal assault on the United States, the Philippines’ former colonial ruler and mutual defense partner, since he took office on June 30 in response to criticism of his deadly war on crime. READ: 2016 PH-US war games will be the last – Duterte | Military defies Duterte on war games Duterte has in recent days warned the war games will be the last of his six-year term, and threatened to scrap a defense pact implemented by his predecessor that was meant to see more US troops in the Philippines to counter Chinese expansion in the South China Sea. “Better think twice now because I will be asking you to leave the Philippines altogether,” Duterte said on Sunday as he launched a tirade against the Americans full of typical invective. “The Americans, I don’t like them… they are reprimanding me in public. So I say: ‘Screw you, fuck you’,” he said, while signaling again that he wanted to forge closer alliances with China and Russia. Last week Duterte, 71, also claimed the CIA was plotting to assassinate him. This came after foreign media claimed that Duterte branded Barack Obama a “son of a whore” in response to being told the US President planned to raise human rights concerns over his drug war. Duterte Read More …

Proposed tax reforms: for better or for worse?

 Economy
Oct 032016
 

The Department of Finance submitted to Congress last week the first package of proposed tax reforms. The proposals include the restructuring of the personal income tax (PIT) system; expanding the value-added tax (VAT) base by reducing the coverage of its exemptions; adjusting excise taxes imposed on petroleum products; and, restructuring the excise tax on automobiles except for buses, trucks, cargo vans, jeeps, jeepney substitutes and special purpose vehicles. These proposed tax reforms, however, received varying reactions from stakeholders.

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