A Repost From ABS-CBN News

Piolo reconciles with Sharon, KC

ABS-CBN - Friday, August 6

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Piolo reconciles with Sharon, KC

Slideshow: Showbiz Photos

MANILA, Philippines - Hunk actor Piolo Pascual has ironed things out with Megastar Sharon Cuneta and her daughter, young actress KC Concepcion.

In a press conference for Pascual's latest endorsement, Quickchow, the actor admitted that he personally talked to Cuneta to resolve a controversy involving his 13-year-old son Iñigo.

“Siguro, as a mom, she just really wants me to say my piece about the issue and naitawid naman. Okay na I visited her (Cuneta) last Sunday in her dressing room," Pascual said.

The actor added he felt “relieved” after his heart-to-heart talk with the megastar.

"Napakaliit ng industriya natin and she's not the person na puwede mong baliwalain. She's the mom of KC. She's the megastar," said Pascual.

Pascual, a single dad, has publicly admitted that he is wooing Concepcion.

Iñigo, Pascual’s only son, recently got involved in a controversy after pranksters used his name and pretended to be him on Twitter to attack Concepcion. Concepcion was called nasty stuff in the same Twitter account.

Cuneta did not take this sitting down.

In his formal statement, however, Pascual clarified that his son has never maintained a Twitter account, and that Iñigo’s Facebook page had been hacked. He also apologized to the mother and daughter.

To prove that everything is now okay between him and Cuneta, Pascual bared that he will be part of the megastar's upcoming concert dubbed as "Sharon Cuneta: Mega Drama concert" at the Araneta Coliseum on August 7.

New media

Pascual said from the start he wanted to shield his son from showbiz issues.

"Ang sa akin I have to protect and defend my son against issues. First of all, hindi siya from showbiz and I have to protect his privacy. He's not based here," said Pascual.

Iñigo is studying in the United States.

Pascual also believes that youngsters need supervision when using the Internet, specifically signing up in social networking websites such as Twitter and Facebook.

"Mahirap kasi ang daming pumatol accusing people of certain things. At least we set the record straight na it's not really my son. Kung sinuman ang naglabas noon sana ay makonsensiya sila because relationship ang sinisira nila," he said.

The hunk actor vowed to investigate the incident to find out who did the prank. Pascual suspects the persons or group behind it might also be based in the US.

"Ang pag-hack naman ng Facebook at Twitter ay worldwide yan. Nasa Internet yan. Noong nakita ko yon, na-forward sa akin at nabasa ko lahat, talagang sinabi ko na hindi gagawin ng isang bata yon," he added.

Does his son get jealous of the women who get close to him?

"Natural lang sigurong reaction yon. Even when I was at his age, ganoon din ako. Puberty stage 'yon. Siguro the most important thing is you spend time with him, give him the attention he needs and he deserves, lesson learned din siguro," he replied.

Stronger

Looking at the positive side of the controversy, he said the issue has strengthened his relationship with his son.

'It gives us better insights at mas naintindihan namin ang isa’t isa. At I think bottom line, even before it happens, we knew where we’re coming from already," the actor said.

When asked about his love life, meantime, Pascual said it is sort of "active" because of Concepcion.

When asked if he and Concepcion would work together in a film anytime soon, Pascual, who wants his personal life to remain private, answered in the negative. -Report by Reyma Buan-Deveza, abs-cbnNEWS.com

Reposted From Reyma Buan-Deveza of ABS-CBN News

A Repost From Thea Alberto Of Yahoo! Southeast Asia

Aquino receives first paycheck

By Thea Alberto – August 4th, 2010

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By Thea Alberto, Yahoo! Southeast Asia

President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III has received his first paycheck amounting to P63,002 (roughly $1393) for being the country’s chief executive, Presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda confirmed Wednesday.

Aquino’s salary suffered a huge cut because he has no dependents. His taxes, including other mandatory government contributions, amounted to at least 35 percent of his gross income which is said to be close to P100,000.

The check, dated July 30, has been deposited to Aquino’s personal bank account. The president received it August 2.

“He might use some of his pay to buy music CDs or magazines,” one of the government sources said when asked about Aquino’s plans for his salary.

Another government source added Aquino used some of his savings to pay for renovations of the new presidential residence, Bahay Pangarap.

At present, Aquino holds the record of being the highest-paid President. Aquino enjoyed the increase his predecessor ordered.

Last year, former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued Executive Order 611, ordering a salary increase for government officials and personnel, subsequently boosting her salary to about P95,000 from P63,525. As mandated by this EO, Aquino would also enjoy two more salary increases.

By 2011, Aquino’s pay would reach P107,000 a month and P120,000 by 2012.

Despite the relatively small pay, the president has a lot of privileges, including allowances and access to government funds. Most of his needs related to the position will also be charged to the government.

Reposted From Thea Alberto Of Yahoo! Southeast Asia

A Repost From AFP

Ancient bone find may change Filipino history

AFP - Tuesday, August 3

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The metatarsal bone of the foot (pictured), which was unearthed from an extensive cave network in the northern Philippines in 2007, predates the 47,000-year-old Tabon Man that is previously known as the first human to have lived in the country.

Slideshow: Faces of Asia PH

MANILA (AFP) - – Archaeologists have found a foot bone that could prove the Philippines was first settled by humans 67,000 years ago, thousands of years earlier than previously thought, the National Museum said Tuesday.

The bone, found in an extensive cave network, predates the 47,000-year-old Tabon Man that is previously known as the first human to have lived in the country, said Taj Vitales, a researcher with the museum's archaeology section.

"This would make it the oldest human remains ever found in the Philippines," Vitales told AFP.

Archaeologists from the University of the Philippines and the National Museum dug up the third metatarsal bone of the right foot in 2007 in the Callao caves near Penablanca, about 335 kilometres (210 miles) north of Manila.

Their report on "Callao Man" was released in the latest edition of the Journal of Human Evolution after tests in France established the fossil's age, said professor Armand Mijares, the expedition leader.

"It broke the barriers," Mijares said, explaining that previous evidence put the first human settlements in the Philippines and nearby islands around Tabon Man.

"It pushed that back to nearly 70,000 years."

Cut marks on bones of deer and wild boar found around it suggest Callao Man could have hunted and was skilled with tools, although no cutting or other implements were found during the dig, according to Mijares.

"This individual was small-bodied. It's difficult to say whether he was male or female," he said.

Mijares stressed the finding that Callao Man belongs to Homo sapiens was still only provisional. Some of the bone's features were similar to Homo habilis and Homo floresiensis -- which are distinct species from humans.

Existing evidence suggests that Homo sapiens, modern man, first appeared in Africa about 200,000 years ago.

Homo habilis is considered a predecessor to Homo sapiens while Homo floresiensis is thought to be a short, human-like species that once existed on an Indonesian island in the Late Pleistocene stage.

To determine whether Callao Man was human, Mijares said his team planned to secure permits to pursue further excavations in the Callao caves and hopefully find other parts of the skeleton, tools, or fossils of other potential humans.

Mijares said Callao Man also shared some features of today's Aetas, a short, curly-haired and dark-skinned people who are thought to be directly descended from the first inhabitants of the Philippines.

The discovery also suggests that raft or boat-building crafts would have been around at that time.

"The hypothesis is that the Philippines, which is surrounded by bodies of water, was first reached by humans aboard rafts," Vitales said.

But he said there was no consensus on whether the first settlers came from mainland Asia, neighbouring Southeast Asian islands or elsewhere.

Archaeologists have been exploring the Callao caves system since the 1970s. "Generally caves are used as habitations and burial sites," Vitales said.

Tabon Man, the fossilised fragments of a skull and jawbone from three individuals, was discovered along with stone flake tools by a National Museum team in a cave on the western Philippine island of Palawan in May 1962.

Reposted From AFP

A Repost From Gretchen Fullido Of ABS-CBN News

VP Binay distances self from son's love life

ABS-CBN - Monday, August 2

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VP Binay distances self from son's love life

MANILA, Philippines – Vice President Jejomar Binay is keeping his hands off the rumored romantic affair between Kris Aquino and his son, Makati City Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay Jr.

In a chance interview, Binay said both Aquino and Junjun are old enough to decide for themselves.

“Paubaya na natin sa kanila. May mga sapat na edad na ‘yon. Ipaubaya na lang natin sa kanila yon,” the vice president said.

Junjun is one of the men being romantically linked to Aquino. The rumors swirled following her much talked about confession about her and husband James Yap’s impending separation. Actors Coco Martin, Gerald Anderson and Gabby Concepcion as well as Sen. Francis Escudero were also linked to her.

Aquino, however, denied any romantic involvement to any of them. She admitted though that among the guys being linked to her, Binay “is the only one I've been communicating with."

"Nakilala ko siya when I was losing my mother. Nakilala niya ako when he was losing his wife. In the span of that one year, both our lives have changed so much," said Aquino.

Junjun’s wife, Kennely Ann, died last year after going through a difficult pregnancy. She passed away days after the death of Aquino’s mom, former President Corazon Aquino, in August of last year.

In her tell-all interview with Boy Abunda, Aquino admitted that Junjun has the qualities “that I admire in a man.” "He's been good to me. A true friend,” she said.

Although she denied that the Makati City mayor is courting her, she is also not closing her doors to the possibility of dating Junjun in the future.

"Matagal pa 'yan at sabihan mo din siyang matagal pa yan. Wait ka lang ha," she said.

"Next year, kapag alam ko na okay na ako. If I'm sure na naitayo ko na ang 'Pilipinas Win na Win' at kung alam ko na kumportable na ang kapatid ko na mag-entertain ako or makipag-date ako…. ang pinaka-importante kung sigurado ako na si Josh at si Bimbi ay well adjusted na sa situation. And if Junjun were to say, 'Kris gusto mo bang mag-dinner?' I would say yes. Why? Dahil alam kong di niya ako lolokohin,” she added.

Aquino also appealed to her critics to stop speculating about her and Junjun. -With a report from Gretchen Fullido, ABS-CBN News

Reposted From Gretchen Fullido Of ABS-CBN News

A Repost From Jim Gomez Of Assoiated Press

Philippines remembers late democracy icon Aquino

By JIM GOMEZ,Associated Press Writer - Monday, August 2

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Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, right, delivers a speech beside a portrait of his mother, the late President Corazon Aquino, during the 1st anniversary of her death in suburban Manila, Philippines, on Sunday Aug. 1, 2010. Aquino died of colon cancer last year. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila, Pool)

MANILA, Philippines – Filipinos paid tribute Sunday to democracy icon Corazon Aquino, who helped lead a 1986 "people power" revolt that ousted a dictator and whose death last year became an emotional springboard for her son's triumphant run for the presidency.

President Benigno Aquino III led one of several tributes to his mother on the first anniversary of her death, calling on Filipinos to continue her struggle for democracy by helping him confront his Southeast Asian nation's illnesses, including poverty and pervasive corruption.

"The clamor of our people for change is so deep," Aquino said during a memorial Mass for his mother at a suburban Manila gymnasium used as a venue for many pro-democracy protests. "None of us can afford to be bystanders."

Aquino called his late mother "one extraordinary woman," who remains deeply beloved a year after she died at 76 following a yearlong battle with colon cancer. Her death spurred a massive outpouring of national grief that prompted her only son, a quiet lawmaker and bachelor, to run for the presidency, winning by a landslide margin on May 10.

Throngs of people offered prayers, flowers and lit candles Sunday at her white tomb, which is guarded by soldiers. Masses were held across the predominantly Roman Catholic nation in her honor.

A giant photo mosaic of her smiling image was unfurled by her son at Manila's seaside Rizal park on Saturday. Its makers were considering submitting the mosaic _ the size of about 10 basketball courts and made from about 3,200 pictures of the late president _ to Guinness World Records for its size.

Fondly called "Tita (Auntie) Cory," Corazon Aquino is remembered by many Filipinos as the bespectacled, smiling woman in her trademark yellow dress who helped lead a 1986 nonviolent revolt that ousted dictator Ferdinand Marcos and swept her to power.

She inherited the mantle of her husband, Benigno Aquino Jr., an opposition senator gunned down by soldiers at Manila's airport in 1983 upon his return from U.S. exile to challenge Marcos.

After her presidency ended in 1992, Aquino continued to serve as a moral compass by joining street protests to safeguard democracy and advocate against corruption and human rights violations.

She was among those who called for her son's predecessor, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, to resign because of corruption and vote-rigging allegations.

Her son said Sunday that he will proceed with plans for a "Truth Commission" to investigate corruption and vote-rigging allegations against Arroyo despite claims by opponents that the fact-finding body's establishment was unconstitutional.

Arroyo has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing. She successfully ran for a congressional seat after her turbulent nine years in power ended on June 30.

Reposted From Jim Gomez Of Associated Press