Nov 212016
 
Why Yeng’s husband sacrificed his own music career

Yeng Constantino (MNS photo) Yeng Constantino admitted that she sometimes feels sad that her husband, Yan Asuncion, had to give up his music since they got married. Constantino said Asuncion stopped recording and writing new songs because he is devoting most of his time to their business. “Si Yan po, marami pong sinacrifice bilang artist. Kasi si Yan, isa siya sa main worship leaders ng church namin, ‘yung Victory. Gumagawa sila ng album. Pinadala pa nga sila sa Nashville to be trained para sa pagre-record, pag-produce. Pero nung naging kami, he knew na kailangan niya i-let go ‘yun and suportahan ako sa ginagawa ko and for him to go to a different direction which is business,” she said. Constantino stressed that she greatly appreciates Asuncion’s sacrifices. “Of course sa heart niya, he wants to support me, ‘yung family namin. Minsan, siguro hindi ko nao-open masyado sa kanya, pero nalulungkot ako kasi he’s really a good songwriter, napakagaling na musician. Pero right now, hindi niya ginagawa dahil nagfo-focus siya talaga na makakaipon kami so that when the baby comes, talagang sigurado,” she said. Constantino said it is her hope that Asuncion would someday go back to writing and recording songs. Constantino, who got her big break when she won ABS-CBN’s “Pinoy Dream Academy” in 2006, met Asuncion in 2013 through a common friend. Last year, they exchanged vows at a garden ceremony in Hacienda Isabella, Tagaytay. The two marked their first anniversary as a couple in February this year.(MNS)

Nov 212016
 
Kerwin Espinosa vows to tell all: PHL envoy

PNP chief Dir. Gen. Ronald ‘Bato’ Dela Rosa presents suspected Eastern Visayas drug lord Kerwin Espinosa to media at Camp Crame early Friday morning, November 18, 2016. Espinosa, son of slain Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa, is the alleged Eastern Visayas drug lord. Espinosa was brought to Manila after five months of hiding in Abu Dhabi. (MNS photo) MANILA, Nov 16 (Mabuhay) – Alleged Eastern Visayas top drug lord Kerwin Espinosa is asking to be placed under the government’s Witness Protection Program, with the promise that he will reveal all that he knows about the illegal drug trade, Philippine Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates Constancio Vingno Jr. said Wednesday. “’Ang request niya, na he be placed under the Witness Protection Program and he will tell all,” Vingno said. The Philippine envoy was able to meet with Espinosa last week at the Wadha Jail in Abu Dhabi, where the alleged drug lord has been detained since he was arrested by local authorities last October 17. The request comes as the alleged drug lord is said to fear for his life, as well as that of his family’s, after the killing of his father, Albuera Mayor Rolando Espinosa Sr., inside the Leyte Sub-Provincial Jail last November 5. DOJ Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II on Monday said that they are inclined to place Kerwin under the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). Vingno said the younger Espinosa has yet to give a sworn statement to Philippine authorities, who are currently processing papers Read More …

Nov 212016
 

What happens when a corporation is dissolved but the stockholders failed to liquidate the corporation and distribute the remaining assets of the corporation? May a stockholder who was deprived of his share in the remaining property demand to inspect the books of the corporation? Under Philippine laws, a corporation which has been dissolved, has three years after dissolution to continue as a body corporate but only for the purpose of liquidating its assets and winding up its affairs.

Nov 212016
 
Duterte narrates how he became ‘fast friends’ with Putin

President Rodrigo Duterte and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet for the first time during a bilateral meeting at the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Meeting in Lima, Peru on November 19. ROBINSON NIÑAL JR./ Presidential Photo LIMA, Peru—President Duterte hit it off with Russian President Vladimir Putin when they first met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit here on Saturday. Sounding like a starstruck schoolboy who just met his idol, Mr. Duterte gushed about his initial interaction with the former KGB colonel. “It was like we have known each other for a long time and even [by] the way we pat each other’s hand in a handshake,” Mr. Duterte told reporters. He said that at one of the side events with the Apec leaders, he was having a conversation with a Vietnamese official who thanked him for the release of Vietnamese fishermen who were apprehended in Philippine waters. “When I finally sat down, I found out that President Putin was on my left side, so we shook hands,” he said. “And then after I shook his hand again and I finally said ‘I [will] go ahead.’ He told to me, ‘Don’t forget to visit Russia,’” he said. Like with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the only other leader he had a bilateral meeting with, he said he had become “fast friends” with the Russian president. He joked that the moment Putin entered the room, the Russian leader went up to him and told him, Read More …

Nov 212016
 
Duterte to declare Panatag a marine sanctuary

LIMA, Peru—President Duterte plans to issue an executive order unilaterally declaring the lagoon of the disputed Panatag Shoal a marine sanctuary, where neither Filipinos nor Chinese may be allowed to fish. Mr. Duterte told Chinese President Xi Jinping about his plan during their bilateral meeting on Saturday on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum here, according to National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr., who was present at the meeting. “The President has decided to declare that a sanctuary. That is a unilateral action from the government,” he said, referring to the triangular lagoon “as big as Quezon City” and known to be a spawning ground for fish. Panatag Shoal, internationally known as Scarborough Shoal, is a traditional fishing ground for Filipinos. China seized the shoal after a two-month standoff with the Philippines in 2012 but recently loosened its grip to allow Filipinos to fish again in the area following friendly overtures from Mr. Duterte. If Mr. Duterte’s plan proceeds, Filipino, Chinese and other fishermen would only be allowed to fish in the deeper waters just outside Panatag. Mr. Duterte’s plan is delicate because it may imply Philippine territorial control over the shoal, whose ownership the UN-backed Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague did not resolve when it ruled in favor of the Philippines in the maritime dispute in July. Esperon said Mr. Duterte “clearly talked about maritime arrangements” with Xi, including the prospect of cooperation between the coast guards of the two countries. “The implication and Read More …

Nov 212016
 
Apec leaders look to China on trade

Leaders of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, APEC, wave during the group photo in Lima, Peru, Sunday, Nov. 20, 2016. Front row, from left: Australia’s Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Chile’s President Michelle Bachelet, China’s President Xi Jinping, Peru’s President Pedro Kuczynski, Hong Kong’s Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, Indonesia’s Vice President Jusuf Kalla, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, South Korea’s Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn and Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak. Back row, from left: Mexico’s Secretary of Economy Ildefonso Guajardo, New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key, Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister Peter O’Neill, Philippines’s Secretary of Department of Foreign Affairs Perfecto Yasay, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, Taiwan ‘s special APEC envoy James Soong, Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Prajin Juntong, US President Barack Obama and Vietnam’s President Tran Dai Quang. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia) LIMA, PERU—Leaders of 21 Asia-Pacific nations ended their annual summit on Sunday with a call to resist protectionism even as more countries looked forward to joining a China-led trading bloc after Donald Trump’s election victory raised fears the United States would scrap free trade deals. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum closed with a joint pledge to work toward a sweeping new free trade agreement that would include all 21 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) members as a path to “sustainable, balanced and inclusive growth,” despite the political climate. “We reaffirm our commitment to keep our markets open and to fight against all forms of protectionism,” the Read More …

Nov 212016
 
Russia to buy $2.5B worth of PH fruits, vegetables

President Rodrigo Duterte and Russian President Vladimir Putin meet for the first time during a bilateral meeting at the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Meeting in Lima, Peru on November 19. ROBINSON NIÑAL JR./ Presidential Photo LIMA, Peru—Russia committed to buy $2.5 billion worth of Philippine fruits, grains or vegetables during Saturday’s bilateral discussions between President Duterte and President Vladimir Putin, officials said on Sunday. Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said the Russian side had agreed “immediately” to a proposal for the importation of Philippine fruit and other agricultural products in the next 12 months. “Their immediate estimate is $2.5 billion. That’s a number they [Russian side] quoted,” Lopez told Filipino journalists covering the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) forum here. Dwarfs current exports The estimate dwarfs the $46 million worth of exports the Philippines currently ships to Russia every year, he said. “We were talking of what they could buy from us, especially agricultural products, but nothing was specified. But I understand we supply them with a huge quantity of bananas… and mangoes. With these kinds of discussions, these present more trading opportunities between us,” Lopez said. He said Putin also offered to help the Philippines through investments in energy and infrastructure. “[They will help] in machine engineering, hardware, modernizing industrial machineries, railways, especially long-range railways, port infrastructure, monorails, light transit transport system, agriculture and, of course, tourism,” he said. The Philippines may also expect more tourists from Russia, he added. “Of course, the other side of this Read More …

Nov 212016
 
New PCA chief goes after cocolisap

MANILA, Philippines – Newly installed Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) administrator Avelino Andal has promised to address the problem on cocolisap, a pest that is preventing coconut trees from bearing fruit, in Basilan province. Andal was sworn in yesterday as the new PCA head by Secretary to the Cabinet Leoncio Evasco Jr. in a simple ceremony at the Malacañang Palace. President Rodrigo Duterte appointed Andal, a former Quezon provincial board member, last Nov. 8. “I promised to advance the interest of coconut farmers in the country,” Andal said after the oath-taking ceremony, stressing he would first address the problem in Basilan where thousands of coconut trees were cut because of cocolisap infestation. On the issue of distributing the coco levy fund back to its contributors, he said the issue would need to be discussed with Congress. The fund is estimated to have ballooned to between P100 billion to P150 billion in assets. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 It became a controversy in the ‘80s after allegations that former president Ferdinand Marcos, businessman Danding Cojuangco, Senator Juan Ponce Enrile and several other cronies conspired to tax coconut farmers, promising them the development of the coconut industry and a share in the investments. The money was reportedly used to buy the United Coconut Planters’ Bank and some shares of San Miguel Corp. Andal said that since the Supreme Court has already ruled on the issue, he would look into the possibility of using the funds to assist farmers in Read More …