I have been blogging since October 2005 and one of gifts I’ve gained is friendship of people from different parts of the globe.
One of them was Jose Seguerra who logs in my blog as “Joeseg.”
Joeseg was one of the pioneer visitors in my blog way back 2005. His sober views even in the most heated exchanges bring rationality in the discussions.
Our online friendship (together with that of five others) expanded to include members of our family.
This blog is being reconstructed as it was accidentally deleted Tuesday morning. In the old posts, the pictures and video were lost. I’ll try to…
By Ellen Tordesillas, VERA Files
Video by Mario Ignacio
You have your plane tickets. You have made the hotel reservations.
You are all set for fun in the beach. But, is your body ready for it?
Three physical fitness personal trainers – Angie M. Miranda and Jensen G. Centeno of Fitness First, Mall of Asia, and Christian S. Cerezo, formerly of Fitness First Southmall and now a freelance PT, say it’s never too late to start getting in shape.
Ang daming problema. Sobra 60 na Pilipino ang patay sa Sabah at walang paki-alam ang Malacanang. Ngunit ang pinag-usapan sa TV, radio at sa mga diyaryo ay ang gusot ni Kris Aquino at James Yap at Chiz Escudero at Heart Evangelista.
Kung sabagay, napag-aralan na yan na kapag mahirap ang buhay, malakas ang telenobela. Siguro naghahanap ang mga tao ng dibersyun para pampagaan ng kalooban.
He was assassinated while keeping watch over the canvassing of votes in the snap presidential election between the well-entrenched dictator Ferdinand Marcos and Corazon Aquino, widow of the assassinated senator Benigno Aquino, Jr and mother of the current president, Benigno Aquino III.
Justice was not fully served with the acquittal of the suspected brains of the murder but it was a consolation for the Javier family that some of the accomplices in the crime were convicted.
One of those convicted was lawyer Avelino T. Javellana, who has applied for executive clemency.
By Pablo A. Tariman,VERA Files
When award-winning Ukrainian pianist Sofya Gulyak and the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra ended their “Elegantly Brahms” concert at the Philam Life Auditorium in Manila Wednesday, many in the audience knew it wasn’t just the musicians who were bowing out.
So was the iconic and much-cherished Philam Life Auditorium, which will be demolished after serving for 52 years as the venue of the most memorable performances the country has seen.
“Elegantly Brahms” is the last major musical event to be held at the Auditorium. Its parent company, Philam Life, the country’s premier life insurance company, is moving to Bonifacio Global City in Taguig and Mall of Asia starting April.
Philam Life has sold the site to mall developer SM Development Corp. (SMDC).
Tejada was found dead in her residence in Sampaloc after taking cyanide nitrate.
The mother said her daughter was depressed because she could not continue her studies at UP where she was taking up Behavioral Science for their failure to pay the needed tuition fee.
Fleeing residents of Tanjung Labian flee their village in the area where Filipino gunmen are locked in a stand off with Malaysian security forces in Sabah state on March 10-2013. AFP-News Mohd Rasfan. From Yahoo.
In the press conference of Justice Secretary Leila de Lima in Malacañang yesterday on the arrest of 35 armed men from Sabah, she was asked why the government is quick on acting against the people associated with the Lahad Datu standoff and is not acting on reports on maltreatment by Malaysians of Filipinos in Sabah.
De Lima justified the glaring difference in their reactions to the fact the armed men believed to be members of the Royal Security Force of the Sultan of Sulu were intercepted by the Philippine Navy in the high seas of Tawi-Tawi with firearms and deadly weapons which is a violation of the Comelec gun ban.
She skipped the second part of the question and the reporter did not follow it up.
Reliable information we got from Malacañang explains why De Lima, formerly chairperson of the Human Rights Commission, kept quiet on the issue of gross human rights violations by Malaysia against Filipinos in Sabah.
Malaysia treats the Philippines like dirt and Malacañang takes it with hardly a whimper.
News reports relate the harrowing experience of Filipinos under the hands of Malaysian security forces who are conducting a sweep of the Sabah to capture the forces of Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram, younger brother of Jamalul Kiram III and one of the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu, who was given Sabah by the Sultan of Brunei in 1878 as a reward for helping suppress a revolt.
Sabah became part of Malaysia as a result of questionable decisions by a British company and the United Kingdom.
A report by Inquirer’s Julie Alipala and Karlos Manlupig quoted 32-year old Amira Taradji, one of those who fled Sabah last week, as saying, “We’re treated like animals.”
The statement said, “The Secretary-General is closely following the situation in Sabah, Malaysia. He urges an end to the violence and encourages dialogue among all the parties for a peaceful resolution of the situation.
“The Secretary-General expresses concern about the impact this situation may have on the civilian population, including migrants in the region. He urges all parties to facilitate delivery of humanitarian assistance and act in full respect of international human rights norms and standards.”
A tearful Kiram III immediately ordered a unilateral ceasefire to his forces in Lahad Datu, Sabah led by his younger brother, Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram.