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(The Manila Times) AS the country struggles to recover from the pandemic’s economic impact, neophyte Sen. Robinhood Padilla on Tuesday, July 12 vowed to prioritize economic reforms over federalism if he finally gets the chairmanship of the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments and Revision of Codes when the 19th Congress opens its regular session on July 25.

“If I finally get the Committee on Constitutional Amendments, I will prioritize tackling the economic reforms. Without economic reforms in the Constitution, no system or form of government [will prosper],” Padilla said in a text message.

“We cannot recover. We need foreign direct investments (FDI). We have to do it now before it’s late,” he added.

The Philippines ranks 4th out of 84 countries in the FDI regulatory restrictiveness index by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Most of the other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) countries like Vietnam, Myanmar, Singapore and Cambodia are at the bottom half of the list… Read More

(GMA News) Cops arrested a 19-year-old suspect in Nabas town in Aklan province for breaking into a house and scuffling for a gun with his victims.

According to Zen Quilantang’s report on “24 Oras,” the suspect identified as Ian Sinag, was caught on CCTV footage while entering his victims’ house.

The footage also showed him going down and hiding when he heard someone running downstairs, who turned out to the female house owner carrying a gun.

When the woman saw Sinag, he pointed the gun at him but a scuffle ensued. The daughter of the house owner was also seen rushing downstairs to help her mother.

Sinag was able to wrestle the gun from the victims and fled through the second floor’s window.

“Isa sa mga dahilan na hindi siya nagpaputok ay ang bata. Makikita sa video na tumulong pa ang bata pero malaki ang suspek, hindi agad niya binaril. Ayon sa biktima, iniisip niya na baka matamaan ang bata kaya nag-decide siya na huwag magpaputok,” Police Lieutenant Moonyen de Joseph, Nabas Municipal Police chief, said.

(One of the reasons why she did not attack the suspect is because of her daughter. As you can see in the video, the kid was helping her mom but the suspect is big, that’s why she did not shoot him. According to the victim, she was thinking that her child might get hurt.)

The local police added they were able to locate Sinag through the CCTV footage and with the help of netizens… Read More

(Manila Bulletin) It’s all about heart, hard work, and family support.

One cannot talk about Miss Universe Philippines 2022 Celeste Cortesi and her “uniquely beautiful” journey without mentioning her supportive family. At a young age, and more so now as she steps on to the bigger stage, Celeste continues to look to her family for strength and inspiration.

In her most nerve-wracking moments, the Filipino-Italian beauty queen would just have to go back to her youth when her father used to read her and her sister bedtime poems. She would also get her inspiration from her mother who had managed to raise two children as a single mother in a foreign country,
following the passing of Celeste’s father.

“My family truly is my anchor and lodestone. Without them, I will not find the strength nor the confidence to pursue my dreams. With them, I am able to do better and be my uniquely beautiful self, Cortesi to Manila Bulletin Lifestyle.

Dreaming bigger
For Celeste, no dream is too big, and no step is too small to start off the journey. Born in Pasay City, The Philippines’ Miss Universe 2022 moved to Italy with her family when she was 11 years old. In Rome, she shuffled different jobs and modeling. She bravely moved back to Manila alone to pursue her pageant dreams… Read More

(Global Voices) Several media groups found lies and inaccurate statements in the inaugural speech of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. which he delivered in front of the National Museum in Manila during his inauguration ceremonies.

Marcos was proclaimed president on June 30, despite allegations of irregularities that marred the May 9 national and local elections.

There were also questions about Marcos’s candidate eligibility as he has been criminally convicted of tax evasion.

Marcos is the son and namesake of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos who ruled the country for two decades until his ouster during the peaceful People Power uprising in 1986. The Marcos family is accused of looting billions of dollars from the national treasury when they were in power. They continue to deny that abuses were committed during the Philippines’ Martial Law years.

Human rights groups believe that the Marcoses used ill-gotten wealth to regain political clout over the past three decades by spreading false narratives about the dictatorship. These lies are found on YouTube, Facebook, TikTok and other social media platforms which enabled the Marcoses to whitewash their violent reign and erase their notorious role in undermining the country’s economy and democracy.

Marcos’s inaugural speech shows how important disinformation was in his successful electoral bid, as his speech contained several lies and misleading assertions… Read More

(Daily Tribune) Dominant telecom PLDT Home has placed the Philippines in the same league as many first-world countries with the introduction of Internet speeds of up to 10,000 Mbp through its unit, PLDT Home.

As the world nears full automation, artificial intelligence, and the metaverse environment, having a high internet speed will define how we play, work, and even human development. Imagine controlling your thermostat from your phone remotely or at home, streaming movies and music. At the same time, your robot vacuum cleaner does its work, you can work on your small business while you and your spouse work remotely, and in the next room, the kids are playing video games with friends from around the world.

While all of these can now be done with a decently fast internet connection, imagine all the possibilities if you have 10,000 Mbps at your disposal.

FAST Hub: what a next-level smart home looks like

To enable people to fully experience and appreciate the fastest available 10,000 Mbps Internet speed in the Philippines, PLDT Home introduces the FAST (Fiber Accelerated Speed Tech) Hub.

FAST Hub is a visual representation of everything 10,000 Mbps can offer. Here, you can experience what it’s like to have a hyper-fast home Internet connection across two rooms: The Living Room, Office, and Gaming Areas.

Make your home smarter: Control the lights, electronics, security, and gadgets using your phone and your ultra-fast connection. And the best part is with such a connection. You can program your smart home to handle complex routines. Imagine at 6 a.m., you can automatically start coffee with your smart coffee maker and turn on the lights, then have the robo-vacuum start doing its thing at 6:15 a.m., among others — and have your smarthome work like a well-oiled machine while you’re still waking up and getting your bearings.

Level up your entertainment and gear up for an immersive binge-watching experience at your home theater/entertainment system because having ultra-fast speeds means you can watch your favorite shows in 4K and even 8K. Enjoy actual cinema-quality graphics and sound while you sit down and relax with your favorite movie snacks.

Play stronger and lag-free because, with 10,000 Mbps, you have the power to excel in every game, stream, connect with and grow your fanbase — all these you can do simultaneously. The Smart Work/Gaming Station enables families to do things better without worrying about bandwidth usage for each device and zero latency. Suit up and set up your VR headsets and experience an immersive experience like never before.

Work faster and more efficiently through virtual meetings or lectures while multitasking in your home-based business, editing, rendering and uploading your next trending video while beefing up your home security devices — all working simultaneously, without worrying about bandwidth or dropped connection.

Imagine being able to download and upload massive files in seconds — that’s the reality of having 10,000 Mbps. You can also scale your home business because you have enough bandwidth to power a small office with multiple heavy users. No more prioritization or workarounds because with such a connection, every household member can do their thing without worrying if they’re slowing down the link for everyone else.

As the country’s undisputed fastest internet service provider for four consecutive years at the Ookla Speedtest Awards, PLDT Home’s mission has always been to provide Filipino families with future-ready innovations to do things better, stronger and faster at home… Read More

(Asian Journal) Rappler executive editor and chief executive officer Maria Ressa and writer Reynaldo Santos Jr. on Monday, June 15, were convicted of cyber libel by a Manila court.

Ressa and Santos, a former researcher at the news site, were found guilty of violating Section 4(c)(4) of the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, or cyber libel, sentencing them to the indeterminate penalty of imprisonment ranging from six months and one day as a minimum to up to six years, according to the sentence handed down by Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 46 Judge Rainelda Estacio-Montesa.

According to Rappler, the court allowed bail under the same bond. It also ordered Ressa and Santos to pay complainant Wilfredo Keng P200,000 in moral damages and another P200,000 (a total of $7,900) in exemplary damages.

Keng in 2017 filed cyber libel charges against the two for naming him in an article as the owner of a sports utility vehicle (SUV) used by the late Chief Justice Renato Corona, who was then facing impeachment in 2012.

Meanwhile, the court found Rappler Inc. to have no corporate liability in the case… Read More

(The Manila Times) NARA, Japan: Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, a divisive arch-conservative and one of his nation’s most powerful and influential figures, has died after being shot during a campaign speech Friday in western Japan, hospital officials said.

Abe, 67, was shot from behind minutes after he started his speech in Nara. He was airlifted to a hospital for emergency treatment but was not breathing and his heart had stopped. He was later pronounced dead, despite emergency treatment that included massive blood transfusions, hospital officials said.

Police arrested the suspected gunman at the scene of an attack that shocked many in Japan, which is one of the world’s safest nations and has some of the strictest gun control laws anywhere.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his Cabinet ministers hastily returned to Tokyo from campaign events around the country after the shooting, which he called “dastardly and barbaric.”

Nara Medical University emergency department chief Hidetada Fukushima said Abe suffered major damage to his heart in addition to two neck wounds that damaged an artery, causing extensive bleeding. He was in a state of cardio and pulmonary arrest when he arrived at the hospital and never regained his vital signs, Fukushima said… Read More

(PRNewswire) Authentic Filipino Flavors for All, Fila Manila Introduces All-Natural Coconut Spreads

Kumain ka na (let’s eat)! Fila Manila, a Filipino-American-owned brand creating a modern twist on iconic Filipino sauces, condiments, and spreads, launches two new all-natural jams: Ube Purple Yam Jam and Coconut Jam. These are the first all-natural Ube and Coconut spreads on the market and continue Fila Manila’s celebration of Filipino culture and cuisine.

Fila Manila’s new line of Coconut Spreads is the company’s next iteration of modernizing traditional Filipino flavors. Ube Purple Yam Jam, a NEXTY award winner at this year’s Natural Products Expo West, is made with real Philippine Ube, an indigenous Yam known for its vibrant purple hue, which is known as the country’s most beloved, symbolic, and beautiful foods. Fila Manila fans got a sneak peek of the Ube Purple Yam Jam in a secret launch in March, and it sold out in just 30 minutes! The Coconut Jam is a smooth and creamy, spread typically used on bread or in desserts. It can also be used as a delicious and unique alternative to peanut butter – spread it, dip it, mix it, or spoon it. Both spreads contain no artificial colors or flavors and are gluten-free, dairy-free, peanut-free, and vegan.

“We’ve made it our mission at Fila Manila to ignite Filipino cuisine and our community and make these delicious flavors accessible to all,” said Jake Deleon, Founder and CEO of Fila Manila. “These jams are inspired by some of my family’s favorite staples growing up as a 1st generation Filipino American immigrant… Read More