Celebrating
T H E
ENTERT
INMENT
Carmina on BB: ‘Ang akward talaga’ See PAGE 7
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Vol. 3. No.33
LOS ANGELES
A Balita Media Publication
Wednesday - Tuesday, April 30 – May 6, 2014
More US troops coming to PHL Obama visits as new defense pact is signed BY STEPHEN COLLINSON
MANILA, April 28, 2014 (AFP) – President Barack Obama landed in the Philippines Monday to cement new defense ties on the last leg of an Asian tour conducted against a backdrop of territorial tensions between US allies and China. Obama flew into Manila from Malaysia, hours after the allies signed a new defense agreement allowing more
US troops and defense hardware to rotate through the Philippines, part of a US rebalancing of military power towards rising Asia. Obama was also preoccupied with the crisis in Ukraine, which has shadowed him around Asia for the last six days, as the United States and Europe gear up to slap new sanctions on Russia, likely within hours. Obama was due to meet Philippine
President Benigno Aquino, participate in a joint press conference and be honoured at a state dinner. Anti-China sentiments run high in the Philippines, which is locked in a showdown with the Asian giant over disputed atolls in the South China Sea, part of a proliferation of maritime hotspots that has stoked Asian tensions. During a tour that has taken him See US TROOPS, page 11
A Filipino protester shouts anti-US slogans during a protest rally against US President Barack Obama visit in Manila, the Philippines, 28 April 2014. US President Barack Obama is to arrive on 28 April as part of his four-country tour of the region. (MNS photo)
Most Filipinos trust the US, says SWS survey MANILA, Apr 28 (Mabuhay) – Majority of the Filipinos have “much trust” in the United States of America, a survey of the Social Weather Stations said, as the country awaits the arrival of President Barack Obama who will arrive Monday for a two-day visit. In a survey conducted from March 27-30 this year, 85 percent of the respondents said they have much trust in the US, while 9 percent were undecided if they have “much or little trust.” Of the respondents, 4 percent also replied they have “somewhat little trust” and 2 percent answered they have “very little trust.” The survey was conducted using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults in Metro Manila,
with sampling error margins of +/- 3% for national percentages, and +/-6% each for Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The respondents were asked: “Please indicate if your trust/faith in the United States of America is very much, somewhat much, undecided if much or little, somewhat little, very little, or you have not heard or read anything about the USA ever.” The SWS survey on the public trust was non-commissioned, and was included on the survey firm’s own initiative. The Filipinos’ net trust in the U.S. was “excellent in all areas: +80 in Mindanao; +80 in Balance Luzon; +79 in the Visayas; and +71 in Metro Manila. President Barack Obama meets with President Benigno Aquino of the Philippines at the Malacanang Palace in Manila last April 28.
Obama seeks to soothe China while boosting ties with PHL BY STEPHEN COLLINSON
Flying formation of the letters “T” and “Y” composed of sevenT-41 and five SF260FH/M aircrafts fly-by during the Philippine Air Force (PAF) Change of Command and Retirement Ceremony at the Air Education and Training Command (AETC) Grandstand, Fernando Air Base (FAB) in Lipa City, Batangas on Friday (April 25, 2014). Major Gen. Jeffrey Delgado assumed as the 33rd PAF Commanding General. Delgado is a member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) “Magilas” Class of 1982. (MNS photo)
Taiwan stages largest drill since 2000 in Spratlys TAIPEI, April 28, 2014 (AFP) – Taiwan this month mobilized hundreds of marines for its largest military exercise since 2000 near disputed islands in the South China Sea, a legislator said Monday. Lin Yu-fang said the landing drill was held on the Taiwan-administered island of Taiping, part of the Spratlys – a chain which is also claimed in whole or in part by China, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines and Brunei.
Lin, a member of parliament’s defense and diplomacy committee, said the task force from two marine companies, armed with mortars and anti-tank rockets, boarded some 20 amphibious assault vehicles for the landing on Taiping on April 10. A naval fleet of seven Lafayetteclass and Perry-class frigates as well as tank landing ships were mobilized for the drill which practiced retaking
See OBAMA, page 11
Toyota leaves SoCal to move US operations to Texas
This was a turnaround from the 1.056-billion-peso loss in the same period last year, at the time Solaire was throwing its doors open to the public. “It is significant that we were able to turn a profit after only a year of operation,” Bloomberry chairman and chief executive Enrique Razon said in a statement. Bloomberry opened the
WASHINGTON, April 28, 2014 (AFP) − Toyota unveiled Monday an overhaul of its far-flung US operations into a single, new headquarters in Texas, with California set to lose the most jobs. The world’s top automaker said that by 2017 most of its North American operations will have been relocated to a single campus in Plano, a suburb north of Dallas. Toyota currently has three separate North American headquarters − one for manufacturing, one for sales and marketing and one for corporate operations. “This is the most significant change we’ve made to our North American operations in the past 50 years, and we are excited for what the future holds,” said Jim Lentz, chief executive for Toyota’s
See SOLAIRE, page 11
See TOYOTA, page 11
See SPRATLYS, page 11
PHL’s biggest casino Solaire hits early jackpot MANILA, April 28, 2014 (AFP) – The Philippines’ biggest casino announced Monday it had begun raking in huge profits in 12 months of operations, which it said vindicated its decision to sack its American managers. Bloomberry Resorts Corp., operator of Solaire Resorts and Casino, reported a net profit of 1.461 billion pesos ($32.78 million) from January to March.
MANILA, April 28, 2014 (AFP) - President Barack Obama said Monday he had no desire to contain or counter China despite clinching a defense pact with the Philippines which will inject US forces close to the volatile South China Sea. In the Philippines on the final leg of an Asian tour, Obama directly addressed leaders in Beijing, telling them that maritime territorial disputes needed to be addressed peacefully, not with “intimidation or coercion.” China’s claims to various islands, reefs and atolls in the
Visitors look at an image of Pope John Paul II carved opposite an image of the Virgin Mary (R) on a hillside in Maragundon town, Cavite city, south of Manila April 26, 2014. Sculptors Val and his brother Oca Suarez, finished sculpting of image of Pope John Paul II in two days. . Pope John XXIII, who reigned from 1958 to 1963 and called the modernizing Second Vatican Council, and Pope John Paul II, who reigned for nearly 27 years before his death in 2005 and whose trips around the world made him the most visible pope in history, will be declared saints by Pope Francis at an unprecedented twin canonization on Sunday. (MNS photo)
Filipino Catholics hail new saints MANILA, April 27, 2014 (AFP) – Tens of thousands of Catholics attended special masses across Manila on Sunday to celebrate Pope Francis’ proclamation of two new saints including John Paul II, a beloved figure in Asia’s bastion of the faith. Archbishop of Manila Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle led the service at the packed 16,500-seat Araneta Coliseum in the Philippine capital as huge screens beamed live images from the Vatican of the canonization of John Paul II and John XXIII. Many of the devotees were tearful, recalling personal stories of how seeing John Paul II during his visits to the Southeast Asian nation in 1981 and 1995 had changed their lives. “We’re so touched and blessed to have witnessed this great pope who
was a part of my youth, and my religious journey,” said Mila Estrada, 46, who was among millions of students who gathered to see John Paul II when Manila hosted World Youth Day in 1995. “He was the pope we grew up with, and whose teachings directly touched our lives,” said Estrada. For photographer Ernie Sarmiento, seeing John Paul II for the first time in 1981 as a student was a “mesmerizing” event that cemented his future career path. He had been assigned by the school paper to cover the pontiff’s visit to the University of Santo Tomas, Asia’s oldest and largest Catholic school. Sarmiento remembers fumbling with his equipment as the pope startSee CATHOLICS, page 11
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