Sunday, August 30, 2009
Palace: Neri’s on his own
MANILA, Philippines – Romulo Neri has to deal on his own with the graft charges he is facing in connection with the scuttled $329-million National Broadband Network deal with China’s ZTE Corp., a Palace official said. Full story.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Senate should invite First Gentleman in NBN-ZTE probe, says JDV
Senate should invite First Gentleman in NBN-ZTE probe, says JDV: "
Former House speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. said the Senate Blue Ribbon committee investigating the botched $329-million NBN-ZTE deal should summon First Gentleman Miguel Arroyo so it could “write finis to the probe.”
"Dacer kin won't file raps vs Erap
Dacer kin won't file raps vs Erap: "
The daughters of slain publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer are not inclined to seek the indictment of former President Joseph Estrada despite the testimony of former police senior superintendent Cezar Mancao II linking the former leader to the killings, according to the family lawyer.
"Friday, August 21, 2009
Mass at NAIA for Aquino death anniversary
MANILA, Philippines – Some 40 members of the Ninoy Aquino Movement and August Twenty-One Movement gathered Friday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City to mark the 26th death anniversary of former opposition leader Senator Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr.
Clad in yellow shirts and waving ATOM flags, the group attended a Mass for Ninoy in Bay 11 of the NAIA Terminal 1, the same spot where the martyred freedom fighter fell after he was shot by alleged gunman Rolando Galman exactly 26 years ago.
Aquino's younger siblings, former Senators Agapito "Butch" Aquino and Tessie Aquino-Oreta, later led the wreath-laying ceremony.
Arroyo 44th most powerful woman in Forbes list
ABS-CBN
MANILA - President Arroyo has been named the 44th most powerful woman in the world, according to Forbes magazine.
The President's Forbes' ranking is lower than last year's, which saw her land on the 41st spot. Her worst ranking was in 2007 when she placed 51st in the annual list of the 100 Most Powerful Women in the World.
Mrs. Arroyo was previously named the 4th most powerful woman in the world in 2005, the same year that she faced the first in a series of failed impeachment attempts over allegations that she rigged the 2004 elections.
Forbes said the rankings combine the person's visibility in the media and the size of the organization or country that she leads,
In her description of the Philippine president, Forbes writer Tatiana Serafin said Mrs. Arroyo's visit with US President Barack Obama in the White House last month -- the first for a Southeast Asian leader -- was a "boon to an otherwise lame-duck presidency."
She noted that while Mrs. Arroyo's tumultuous six-year term ends next year, the President's allies could push through with a plan to change the Philippine Constitution and adopt a parliamentary form of government. This would allow Mrs. Arroyo to get around the six-year presidential term limit and become prime minister.
"Critics contend this may further sink the stalling economy that earlier in the year hit a 10-year-low GDP growth of 0.4%. Arroyo also has her hands full dealing with rise in domestic terrorism," the Forbes article noted.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel held on to the No. 1 spot on Forbes' annual ranking of the world's most powerful women for the fourth year in a row. The list also included newcomers such as US First Lady Michelle Obama (40) and Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor (54).
Forbes noted that the women on its most powerful list are "moving across companies and industries, making big leaps with each change, and repositioning themselves for opportunities that allow them to gain a breadth of experience."
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Arroyo party gave away P6M in tips during six-day US stay
ARCS, GMANews.TV
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her entourage gave away about P6 million in gratuities during the chief executive’s working visit to the United States from July 29 to August 5.
Based on an official breakdown of expenses provided to GMA News by Susanna Vargas, Malacañang’s deputy executive secretary for administration and finance, Mrs. Arroyo’s party spent $66,000 in Washington D.C. and $59,000 in New York for various service tips.
GMA News said the Arroyo party gave money to bellboys, porters, drivers, convoy escorts, and housekeeping personnel in the US for the services they rendered to the President and her party.
Mrs. Arroyo came under fire after media reported on her supposed lavish meals with husband Jose Miguel Arroyo and government officials in at least four restaurants in Washington D.C. and New York City.
The Washington Post reported that President Arroyo and her entourage dined on lobster, steak, and fine wines for $15,000 at Bobby Van’s Steakhouse on 15th Street in Washington D.C. The dinner took place on July 30 hours after Mrs. Arroyo met with US President Barack Obama.
Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez, an Arroyo ally, later claimed that he paid for the Bobby Van’s dinner, including the $1,500-tip for the celebration of the 41st wedding anniversary of the President and her husband.
The second dinner was at Le Cirque last August 2, according to US tabloid New York Post. Arroyo’s group reportedly spent $20,000 for the meal that included "very expensive wine" at the upscale French restaurant in Manhattan, New York City.
Malacañang later admitted that Mrs. Arroyo’s group dined at Le Cirque, but denied that the Office of the President spent for the meal.
Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said it was Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez who picked up the tab for the Le Cirque dinner. But Romualdez evaded media queries about the issue.
The third meal was at the posh Bouley Restaurant on Broadway Avenue in New York also on August 2. This was confirmed by Batangas Rep. Hermilando Mandanas who said it was part of the celebration of the First Couple’s wedding anniversary.
The fourth was at Wolfgang’s Steakhouse on Park Avenue in Manhattan, according to Mindoro Rep. Amelita Villarosa.
Malacañang has defended the President over critics’ claim that the expensive meals showed Mrs. Arroyo's insensitivity toward the plight of many Filipinos suffering from the effects of the global financial crisis.
According to Remonde, when President Arroyo is abroad for official visits, her expenses are exempted from the government’s austerity measures. He says Mrs. Arroyo’s "aggressive" foreign engagements have brought huge investments to the country.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her entourage gave away about P6 million in gratuities during the chief executive’s working visit to the United States from July 29 to August 5.
Based on an official breakdown of expenses provided to GMA News by Susanna Vargas, Malacañang’s deputy executive secretary for administration and finance, Mrs. Arroyo’s party spent $66,000 in Washington D.C. and $59,000 in New York for various service tips.
GMA News said the Arroyo party gave money to bellboys, porters, drivers, convoy escorts, and housekeeping personnel in the US for the services they rendered to the President and her party.
Mrs. Arroyo came under fire after media reported on her supposed lavish meals with husband Jose Miguel Arroyo and government officials in at least four restaurants in Washington D.C. and New York City.
The Washington Post reported that President Arroyo and her entourage dined on lobster, steak, and fine wines for $15,000 at Bobby Van’s Steakhouse on 15th Street in Washington D.C. The dinner took place on July 30 hours after Mrs. Arroyo met with US President Barack Obama.
Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez, an Arroyo ally, later claimed that he paid for the Bobby Van’s dinner, including the $1,500-tip for the celebration of the 41st wedding anniversary of the President and her husband.
The second dinner was at Le Cirque last August 2, according to US tabloid New York Post. Arroyo’s group reportedly spent $20,000 for the meal that included "very expensive wine" at the upscale French restaurant in Manhattan, New York City.
Malacañang later admitted that Mrs. Arroyo’s group dined at Le Cirque, but denied that the Office of the President spent for the meal.
Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said it was Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez who picked up the tab for the Le Cirque dinner. But Romualdez evaded media queries about the issue.
The third meal was at the posh Bouley Restaurant on Broadway Avenue in New York also on August 2. This was confirmed by Batangas Rep. Hermilando Mandanas who said it was part of the celebration of the First Couple’s wedding anniversary.
The fourth was at Wolfgang’s Steakhouse on Park Avenue in Manhattan, according to Mindoro Rep. Amelita Villarosa.
Malacañang has defended the President over critics’ claim that the expensive meals showed Mrs. Arroyo's insensitivity toward the plight of many Filipinos suffering from the effects of the global financial crisis.
According to Remonde, when President Arroyo is abroad for official visits, her expenses are exempted from the government’s austerity measures. He says Mrs. Arroyo’s "aggressive" foreign engagements have brought huge investments to the country.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Wala lang: Ang maharlika (The Goldenberg Mansion)
By JAIME C. LAYA
August 17, 2009, 12:55pm
Just as today’s elite build second homes in Tagaytay and Punta Fuego and as their grandparents built in Baguio in the 1920s, the super-rich of the Spanish Regime constructed theirs along the Pasig River.
The Governor General himself had a house in still bucolic San Miguel (Posesión de Malacañang). He moved there permanently in the 1870s and the wealthy followed suit. Among them was the builder of a house on Gral. Solano Street, most likely principal of Eugster Labhart y Cia., a Swiss or French trading company.
The Eugster home survived rough use as government and business office, school, night club. It escaped World War II unharmed and still stands—immaculately white with capiz windows and arcaded veranda beyond a paved courtyard and a splashing fountain. It’s not easy to impress Jullie Yap Daza, but she describes the interior thus, “Glittering chandeliers overhead, gleaming black and white marble tiles on the floor …above a sweeping staircase, a crystal chandelier hung, as big as my house.”
Then First Lady Imelda Marcos bought it in 1966 for PhP180,000.00 from the heirs of Michael Goldenberg, manufacturer of Helene Curtis beauty products who lived there from 1950 till he died in 1963. After sensitive restoration by Archt. Leandro V. Locsin, it was baptized “Ang Maharlika” (though still better known as “Goldenberg Mansion”) and became Marcos Foundation office and guest house.
Under the Marcoses, the mansion welcomed Spain’s Juan Carlos and Sofia, the U.N.’s Kurt Waldheim, Indira Gandhi, Canada’s Pierre Trudeau, and jet setters like pianist Van Cliburn, Christina Ford and Doris Duke. These days, it’s occasionally used by the President and by the Secretary of Foreign Affairs to receive important visitors.
Ang Maharlika was a treasure house containing part of the fabled Marcos art collection and Filipiniana library. Some items have been sold or transferred elsewhere, but the sala remains elegant with its wood filigree arches and chandeliers (reputedly from Versailles). Tapestries of Diana the Huntress and a della Robbia mirror once owned by Catherine de Medici look upon gilded furniture and Persian rugs. Nearby are Grandma Moses paintings, French ancient regime and Empire furniture.
In a reception room are Chinese furniture inlaid with 4,000 jade plaques and a 16th century European devotional altar with ivory figures depicting the life of St. Catherine of Alexandria. Chinese and Southeast Asian ceramics from 2000 BC to the 19th century fill the cabinets of a large room.
The Pasig River is today lined not with historic homes but with informal settlers and warehouses. Ang Maharlika and the Teus house next door (also rescued by Mrs. Marcos) are in good shape. However, on the same street is an empty Art Deco mansion with a “For Sale” sign. Upriver in Nagtahan, a state university seems not to know what to do with an enormous old house.
In Sta. Ana is Xavier House, originally an 1800s private home now owned by the Jesuits who are looking for a buyer. May enlightened hands touch Manila’s few remaining heritage structures.
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