By
George Vail Kabristante
March 7, 2020
Director Richard V. Somes fondly dreamed of becoming a seaman, but his schedule to sail off was inordinately bumped off. Returning to Bacolod City with a sob story to his parents was not an option.
He found himself instead doing odd jobs under the art department of an uncle-film director Erik Matti, who sheltered him secretly at Mother Lily Monteverde’s warehouse in Valencia production outfit.
BY BERNADETTE E. TAMAYO ON APRIL 7, 2018
SENATE President Aquilino Pimentel 3rd has asked President Rodrigo Duterte to certify as urgent the passage of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) that seeks greater autonomy for Muslim Mindanao.
Also on Friday, the 42-member “Visayan bloc” in the House of Representatives echoed President Duterte’s call for the immediate passage of the BBL.
BY THE MANILA TIMES ON FEBRUARY 14, 2018
THE House of Representatives approved the creation of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development to be responsible for providing adequate and responsible housing.
Voting 193 to 6, lawmakers passed House Bill 6775, which would merge the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) and Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLRB) to form the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development.
BY MAURO GIA SAMONTE ON OCTOBER 29, 2017
The huge howler that was Yolanda in 2013 does not seem to have ended after all. Four years into its anniversary four days from today, the killer typhoon (death toll more than 6,300, with bodies continuing to be found into 2014) is once more a-forming, its howl now certain to duplicate that which made Yolanda the most destructive on record to have hit humanity ever.
BY BERNADETTE E. TAMAYO ON OCTOBER 18, 2017
SEN. Panfilo Lacson on Tuesday said the military must be allowed to finish its “final assault” against the remaining terrorists cornered in Marawi City before martial law is lifted in Mindanao.
Some senators said the government must also focus on the reconstruction of war-torn Marawi following President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration that the Islamic City has been “liberated” from the clutches of the Islamic State-linked Maute group.
BY THE MANILA TIMES ON OCTOBER 7, 2017
THE ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) has identified six of the 12 candidates for its senatorial slate in the 2019 mid-term elections.
The PDP-Laban senatorial line up will be, so far, composed of Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel 3rd, House Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas, Representatives Alfredo Benitez, Karlo Nograles and Geraldine Roman; and former Metro Manila Development Authority chief Francis Tolentino.
BY THE MANILA TIMES ON OCTOBER 6, 2017
THE Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) has identified six of 12 possible candidates for its senatorial slate in the 2019 mid-term elections.
They are: Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel 3rd, House Majority Leader Rodolfo Farinas, and Representatives Alfredo Benitez, Carlo Nograles, Geraldine Roman and former Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Francis Tolentino.
BY THE MANILA TIMES ON SEPTEMBER 27, 2017
VICE President Maria Leonor “Leni” Robredo favors the lawmakers’ proposal to file perjury and syndicated estafa against the contractor of the housing project in Samar and Leyte for victims of Supertyphoon “Yolanda”.
“[To file charges vs. the contractors] is the order of the day. When I was with HUDCC, I have repeatedly pointed out problems on the Yolanda housing project. There are flaws in the policy,” Robredo, a lawyer, said in an interview during her visit to Pili, Camarines Sur.
BY EUGENE Y. ADIONG ON SEPTEMBER 19, 2017
BACOLOD CITY: About 9,000 local officials in Negros Occidental are set to join the ruling Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban in a mass oath-taking set for October 5 at the Victorias City Coliseum, according to Rep. Alfredo Benitez (3rd District).
Benitez said he has invited House Speaker and PDP-Laban Secretary-General Pantaleon Alvarez and Senate President Aquilino Pimentel 3rd, PDP- Laban president, to swear in the new party members.
BY THE MANILA TIMES ON SEPTEMBER 7, 2017
THE House of Representatives has calendared an investigation on an alleged anomaly in a government housing project involving “billions of pesos” allegedly misused by a contractor hired by the National Housing Authority (NHA) to build homes for victims of Supertyphoon “Yolanda” that hit most of the Visayas region four years ago.
Rep. Alfredo Benitez of the 3rd District of Negros Occidental said in a text message on Thursday that the committee on housing and urban development, which he heads would conduct the inquiry starting on Sept. 18.
Ang isa sa akon mga handom para sa Bacolod.
Ako ang kapitan sg sini nga barko. Indi ini magkadto sa wala ukon sa tuo, kundi derecho sa direksyon sang pagbag-o sang gobyerno para sa kaayuhan sang Bacolodnon.
