Toni Gonzaga hinangaan si Jolina: Ang bait niya sa mga baguhan
IBINUNYAG ng actress-singer na si Toni Gonzaga na isa sa mga hinangaan niyang artista noong nagsisimula pa lamang siya ay si Jolina Magdangal. Sa kanyang interview na mapapanood sa YouTube channel ni Aster Amoyo, napag-usapan nilang dalawa ang naging showbiz journey ng “My Sassy Girl” lead star. Kuwento ni Toni, nagpo-front act siya noon sa.....»»
Plane-dropped Bait Vaccinates Raccoons in the Eastern U.S.
Title: USDA’s Annual Raccoon Vaccination Campaign Halts Rabies Spread in the Eastern U.S. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been tirelessly carrying out an.....»»
Low-Flying Aircraft to Drop Wildlife Bait Packets in Tennessee: What Tennesseans Should Expect
Title: Low-Flying Aircraft Deploy Contraceptives to Control Wildlife Population in Tennessee Hamilton County, Tennessee – In a groundbreaking initiative to ensure a balanced ecosystem and.....»»
US firms to dip fingers into MIF
An in-depth study by the Asian Central Journal or ACJ dated 20 July 2023 reveals that the Department of Finance forged a $1-million contract with a US PR firm, Weber Shandwick Philippines or WSP, that was signed in early January 2023, according to WSP sources. The ACJ study asks why the Maharlika Investment Fund or MIF bill was signed at the precise time Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri was in the US. “On 21 June, Senate President Zubiri reportedly signed an ‘enrolled’ copy of the MIF. Jose Manuel Romualdez, the Philippine ambassador to the US, was present for the signing. Ambassador Romualdez has long held the positions of chairman and CEO at WSP.” The ACJ study reports that, “The US was designated as the top campaign market in the PR strategy to draw US investment” and that “the MIF might be used by the US as a means of financial pressure on the (Philippines).” In other words, US funds for the MIF may be used as bait for the US to get major MIF projects in the future. The study says the WSP PR strategy aims (1) “to decrease misconceptions about the MIF, particularly those pertaining to abuse and corruption” (downplaying corruption helps fuel it); (2) “to raise awareness of it as an instrument for economic development” (sanctifying corruption as ‘economic development’); and (3) “MIF management and investment may be subject to US intervention. DBM Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman stated on 19 April that several US corporate organizations and investors are eager to assist us in structuring the MIF.” This dangerous move towards achieving US corporate funds for the MIF will easily increase corruption tenfold, with the participation of US corporations. This was the strategy of US oil firms in Nigeria in partnership with a corrupt government to siphon the oil for the West. The US corporations turned a blind eye to the corruption. The strategy triggered the growth of terrorists in the Muslim-dominated deep north which did benefit from the “development” received by the Christian-dominated south. The ACJ report, citing the MIF, warns, “There looms a grave concern: the specter of corruption.” It cites two cases. “Norway’s sovereign wealth fund lost $174 billion (about P8.7 trillion) in the first half of 2022, while (the Singapore-based) Temasek Holdings, which is primarily regarded as a sovereign wealth fund, has seen a net loss of S$7.3 billion throughout the nearly 50 years since its founding.” If less corrupt-prone affluent nations like Norway and Singapore are unable to contain corruption in sovereign wealth funds, what more a Third World nation like the Philippines, which is noted for rampant unstoppable corruption? In its 2020-2022 survey, the Philippines ranked no. 116 out of 180 nations (the higher the ranking, the more corrupt) in the Corruption Perceptions Index published by Transparency International. Norway ranked No. 4 and Singapore No. 5 as least corrupt. (Source: Wikipedia). The MIF Act provides that a Maharlika Investment Corporation or MIC will be established to manage the MIF fund. The ACJ study is concerned that the MIC board of directors will consist of presidential appointees “based on favor rather than talent… in a nation where nepotism is rife.” (Ambassador Romualdez is the second cousin of Marcos Jr. It’s all in the family.) This will induce a “lack of transparency in regulation and a high risk of financial embezzlement.” The ACJ study argues that “the MIF could be a weapon for politicians to steal from the public coffers,” citing the case of Angola. In 2018, Jose Filomeno dos Santos, ex-sovereign fund chairman and son of ex-President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, was charged with the theft of $1.5 billion. In 2015, the Wall Street Journal reported that Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak transferred about $700 million from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad fund to his personal account. The ACJ study reports that Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised $6.5 billion in five years. In an investigation after the 1MDB scandal broke out, Goldman Sachs admitted stealing $1 billion from 1MDB “to bribe officials in Malaysia and other nations, including (payments) for the extravagant lifestyles of Malaysian officials and purchasing luxury yachts and hotels for them.” Goldman Sachs pocketed $4.6 billion in bribes and kickbacks. Ex-Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in the massive 1MDB heist. It will be easy for creative Filipino politicians to improve on this type of ‘Financial Terrorism’ with the help of equally corrupt Western corporations. They must be drooling in excitement. This evil partnership of government and multinationals is the biggest hindrance to the true development of Third World countries. Even as the MIF heist is yet to happen, the solons are cooking up a more sinister storm, the Overseas Filipino Workers Sovereign Wealth Fund, tapping the biggest dollar earner of the country. This is “stealing” the hard-earned money of our workers. The OFWs may rise in protest. *** eastwindreplyctr@gmail.com The post US firms to dip fingers into MIF appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Solving China, Russia
Dear Editor Seeing the problem for what it truly is means half solving it. Both Russia and China have stubborn false views/beliefs and false historical narratives, coupled with avarice, in coveting what is not theirs. That’s the bottom line. Both nations need to see this. And that is the solution to the crises they have created, the peaceful way. Russia has harbored resentment against independent Ukraine since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and hallucinates that Ukraine is still part of “Mother Russia,” as opposed to the historic Act signed by Russian President Boris Yeltsin and Ukraine’s first president Leonid Kravchuk on 8 December 1991, recognizing Ukraine as an independent country. It was overwhelmingly approved by the people (90 percent) of Ukraine in a referendum even before the formal accord declaring their independence. China, for its part, in claiming almost all (90 percent) of the West Philippine Sea or South China Sea has only its own fabled “nine-dash line” to back up and defend its robbery or its continuing illegal occupation of the disputed sea. Studies and research by international experts and history professors disprove the “line.” Can we imagine if all nations created their own story and map artwork of the “nine-dash line” to invade neighboring territories? The situation in the West Philippine Sea between the Philippines and China is no different from the ongoing senseless, savage Russia-Ukraine war which Russia started and continues to inflame. It is a war better called the “Russia War.” May sanity prevail and humanity in humans triumph. Stop the bloodshed. China’s bullying is not limited to its bullying of our fishermen. It is depictive of its impudence and defiance of international law, more so its disrespect and contempt for our ethos and dignity as a people and nation. Imperious. BBM would do well to take every “goodwill” gesture of China to the Philippines with a grain of salt, if not view it as an act of ill will. Any help, aid, or “trade cooperation” China has offered and may offer in the future is and would be meaningless, and could be construed as fraught with bad intentions — unless they repent. China used to be a good friend to the Philippines, but not anymore. Dear officials of the land, beware of the present Chinese officials playing (subtle) the “forbidden fruit” game. Don’t bite the bug or the bait. Succumb not. What they are doing in the West Philippine Sea is unprecedented and indefensible. Open your eyes. Be very careful in dealing with them until they behave and cease their aggressions and juvenile sweeping claims to the contested body of water. Go ahead, dear senators, with your proposal to bring the WPS row to the United Nations for another just, intelligent decision/resolution of the brewing time bomb (for the world) on account of the incessant robber of foreign territories. It is a wise move. There are only two “ifs” — two crucial “ifs” — for China and the world to ponder upon. One is, if China won’t still budge and recognize another international ruling, this time by the United Nations no less, then all nations, not only the Philippines, should brace themselves for the undesirable. The other “if” is: If the Chinese leaders can’t and will not really accept the 2016 ruling of the arbitral tribunal rejecting its “nine-dash line” myth, before the action/decision of the United Nations, the only remaining wise thing left for them to do is to accept reason and justness. By doing so, they may engage our country and the rest of the claimant countries involved in the WPS row in a dialogue (serious, transparent, and sincere) to reach a compromise “win-win solution” for all — for the sake of peace and the saving of lives, and the preservation of our planet. Play fair and humane. That is even wiser. “God will judge the world with justice and rule the nations with fairness.” — Psalm 9:8 (NLT) The post Solving China, Russia appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Chasing rainbows, case of GOCCs
Government-owned or controlled corporations are classified as public enterprises but have not built an image of passing the test of economic viability — the underlying reason for their creation. Not few have closed shops, gone bankrupt, were abolished or merged, bailed out, privatized. If the government has to be run like a business, why parcel out state-owned enterprises that are already into investment for value maximization or other profit-oriented undertakings? Theoretically, the mandatory transfer or farming out of capital assets from Large Bank A, Large Bank B, State-Run Casinos/Lotteries, Government Financial Institutions, or GFIs to put their wealth together sans airtight guarantee that the awesome sums of money will generate a profit of unsurpassed proportion — sounds like skating on thin ice. Even worse, the use of the money as bait to lure foreign investments as if the government has a deep reservoir of capital accumulation and on a sustained basis is a mere bubble somewhat mimicking the Chinese style of “shadow banking.” At ground level, the promise of a grand payoff is too good to be true. It should be recalled with caution that then President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. introduced this “SOE economy” and even rose to prominence when he declared martial law in 1972. In 1970, we only have 65 SOEs but the same grew to 303 in 1985 (source: understated report) and breached 604 as of August 2010. Is this not a repeat of history when this time around, the young Marcos will do an old Marcos as if to follow a trick in the playbook? Martial law opened the door for the then-president to “commandeer” with the semblance of lawful authority even private enterprises in the guise of national interest and run these utilities or industries to rake revenues. Note further that in 2009, SOEs’ assets totaled $125 billion which exceeded the national government’s assets of 65 billion US dollars. Is it the same case today that the total assets of SOEs or GOCCs are about double that of the national government’s assets? As available factual data stand, it should be noted that in 2020 or during the administration of then-President Rodrigo Duterte, the total national budget is pegged at P4.1 trillion while the total assets of all GOCCS amounted to P10.3 trillion although only 31 or less than a third of the Philippines’ 108 government-owned or controlled corporations accounted for P9. 37 trillion. To quickly draw the positive implication of these figures, it simply means that if from the GOCCs’ total assets, it will have to finance the national budget, it will still have 60 percent in remaining assets sustainable enough to generate another quantum of annual revenues. The matter of a Maharlika Investment Fund is a linguistic game in that they define it as a sovereign wealth fund even when there is no surplus value to really speak of. In fact, the increase in the number of agencies not to mention administrative expenditure and the extension of their autonomy has significantly changed the organizational architecture of governments; in this case, another created corporation manages and operationalizes its financial affairs. The fact that they plan to lure private investments, domestic or foreign, has it not become privatized in principle and therefore its affairs should be left to market forces? No wonder then that a former Treasurer has argued, viz: “In particular, the issue of privatization of GOCCs brings to the fore the intermeshing interests of public and private sector groups, transnational corporations and the World Bank-International Monetary Fund group. The challenge, therefore, is to make GOCCs a truly public sector.” We can begin to ask what kind of creature the MIF has become and for whose interests? What is the bottom line where motives that push the creation of GOCCs are either overt or covert? Doesn’t the latter subvert the “development” objectives of GOCCs, convert them into instruments for the transfer of public resources to private hands?” Crony capitalism? The post Chasing rainbows, case of GOCCs appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Abalos and Azurin
You’ve seen movies, many based on real events, in which a big fish in drug trafficking is apprehended and then freed, as bait for even bigger fish......»»
Cristy Fermin: ‘Yung mga vlogs talaga ni Alex na bait-baitan, kinikwestyon talaga ano?
NAGBIGAY ng saloobin ang kolumnistang si Cristy Fermin patungkol sa mga vlogs na inilalabas lately ni Alex Gonzaga. Sa isang episode ng “Showbiz Now Na” ay natalakay nila kasama ang mga co-hosts na sina Romel Chika at Wendell Alvarez ang mga komentong nababasa nila sa vlog ng bunsong Gonzaga. “Yung mga vlogs talaga ni Alex […] The post Cristy Fermin: ‘Yung mga vlogs talaga ni Alex na bait-baitan, kinikwestyon talaga ano? appeared first on Bandera......»»
Sobrang bait at humble niya : Lee Seung-gi spotted in Ilocos Sur
Korean star Lee Seung-gi was spotted in Vigan, Ilocos Sur. .....»»
Cinematic escape from reality: Empire of Light review
It would be cruel to instantly label "Empire of Light" as Oscar-bait material given how much effort Sam Mendes seemed to put into the film, not to mention how very capable a leading actress Olivia Colman continues to be......»»
Baguhang starlet sa una lang raw mabait, lumabas ang tunay na ugali
“MAHILIG gumawa ng gimik at may attitude,” ito ang tsika sa amin ng nakakuwentuhan naming Film at TV director tungkol sa baguhang starlet. Noong ipinakilala ang baguhang starlet sa film at TV direktor ay sobrang bait at masunurin. Pero sa kalaunan ay lumabas na ang tunay nitong ugali. “Kaya naman pala hindi siya tumagal kay […] The post Baguhang starlet sa una lang raw mabait, lumabas ang tunay na ugali appeared first on Bandera......»»
Jelai Andres sinigurong OK sila ni Zeinab Harake: Sanay na sanay na kami sa bashers!
“HAPPY birthday Mommy Rei (Tan), masaya ako at lucky ako na nakilala kita kasi super bait mo at marami kang natutulungang mga tao at saka nakaka-inspire ‘yung story niya kasi ‘yung mga pinagdaanan niya.” Ito ang pagbati ng sikat na social media influencer na si Jelai Andres na may 30 million combined followers kay Ms. […] The post Jelai Andres sinigurong OK sila ni Zeinab Harake: Sanay na sanay na kami sa bashers! appeared first on Bandera......»»
Sikat na male star gwapo at maporma pero napakabaho kapag pinawisan: Buti hindi siya iniiwan ng dyowa niya!?
MAY hindi kaaya-ayang amoy pala ang guwapo at kilalang aktor na may girlfriend na hindi naman kagandahan pero sobrang vain at malinis sa katawan. Sa isang umpukan ng mga nakatrabaho ng guwapo at kilalang aktor ay napagkuwentuhan ang ugali nito dahil super bait daw kapag kaharap ang producer-director at fans pero kapag co-actors na lalo […] The post Sikat na male star gwapo at maporma pero napakabaho kapag pinawisan: Buti hindi siya iniiwan ng dyowa niya!? appeared first on Bandera......»»
Miss Philippines Earth 2021 swimwear top picks
The 66 hopefuls in this year's Miss Philippines Earth search presented their individual swimsuit pasarela on the virtual platform. Aside from the candidates' head-turning curves and whistle-bait figures, the Fitness, Form, and Poise preliminary selection also afforded online viewers a glimpse of the beautiful places in each of the girls' hometowns......»»
Vice nagpasalamat sa Diyos sa pagdating ni Ion: Ang bait Mo binigyan Mo ako ng ganito…
ABOT-LANGIT ang pasasalamat ni Vice Ganda sa Panginoong Diyos dahil binigyan siya ng isang taong magmamahal sa kanya nang totoo — yan ay walang iba kundi si Ion Perez. Feeling ng TV host-comedian, baka raw matinding lungkot ang nararamdaman niya ngayon sa personal niyang buhay kung wala si Ion sa kanyang tabi. Baka raw napariwara […] The post Vice nagpasalamat sa Diyos sa pagdating ni Ion: Ang bait Mo binigyan Mo ako ng ganito… appeared first on Bandera......»»
Kilalang aktor tinanggihang makasama sa pelikula ang magaling na komedyana
SAYANG naman at tinanggihan ng kilalang aktor ang project kung saan makakasama sana niya ang isang komedyana bilang launching movie nito. Puring-puri pa naman ng komedyana ang nasabing aktor dahil kaibigan nito ang girlfriend niya na super bait at marunong makisama sa lahat ng tao. Asang-asa na kasi ang buong production kay kilalang aktor dahil […] The post Kilalang aktor tinanggihang makasama sa pelikula ang magaling na komedyana appeared first on Bandera......»»
The debate
Of course, retired Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio was glad to accept the debate challenge on the West Philippine Sea (WPS) hurled by President Duterte. He and his partners in this years-long WPS campaign have been waiting for the opportunity to make this the priority concern not only of the Duterte administration but of the entire nation as well. There was no better way to make it on top of the list than to goad (bait may be a better word) the Chief Executive no end to make that challenge. Having grown up at the same time and mixed with the same crowd in Davao for years, he must have known how to throw the bait and succeeded in worming his way. .....»»
Seryoso, ang bait ni bro Baron Geisler, kaya wag mag-judge agad!
NAKAHANAP ng kakampi at tagapagtanggol si Baron Geisler sa katauhan ng award-winning singer na si JK Labajo. Matapang na dumepensa ang “Buwan” hitmaker sa lahat ng mga nanghuhusga at hindi pa rin naniniwala na totoong nagbagong-buhay na ngayon si Baron. Idinaan ni JK sa social media ang pagtatanggol niya sa magaling na aktor at […] The post Seryoso, ang bait ni bro Baron Geisler, kaya wag mag-judge agad! appeared first on Bandera......»»
2 member ng BlackPink type jowain ni Enchong; Erich patay na patay kina Park Bo Gum at Hyun Bin
AMINADO sina Enchong Dee at Erich Gonzales na sobrang mahal nila ang isa’t isa pero wala itong malisya. Very vocal ang aktor sa mga qualities na ina-admire niya sa aktres — sobrang gusto niya ang mukha nito, maganda ang kutis, sobrang bait at marunong sa kusina. Minsan ay nagba-blush si Erich sa mga papuri sa […] The post 2 member ng BlackPink type jowain ni Enchong; Erich patay na patay kina Park Bo Gum at Hyun Bin appeared first on Bandera......»»
Andrea bait-baitan na sa ‘Huwag Kang Mangamba’, Francine pumayag magkontrabida
ANO ang pagkakaiba ng mga inspirational drama series na “May Bukas Pa”, “100 Days to Heaven” at “Nathaniel” sa bagong handog na teleserye ng Dreamscape Entertainment na “Huwag Kang Mangamba” na mapapanood na simula sa Marso 22 sa A2Z, TV5, WeTV at Iflix. Pahayag ng head ng creative ng Dreamscape na si Rondell Lindayag sa […] The post Andrea bait-baitan na sa ‘Huwag Kang Mangamba’, Francine pumayag magkontrabida appeared first on Bandera......»»