SM Hip City (Harrison Plaza)

I was always fascinated by how even bigger this mall could be if only it was at least 3 levels or more when I was a student as it was the closest mall with a direct jeepney route from our school. Back then aside from its 2 level building, it also had a sort of annex which houses its biggest cinema and huge open parking in the middle plus a structure they've added which is the jai-alai fronton.

And in a few years, it is reportedly becoming an SM mixed-use complex to fully maximize the massive area it has as its surroundings are already gentrified by numerous vertical developments.

LET’S ALL SAY GOODBYE TO HARRISON PLAZA ONE LAST TIME!

Isko will sign Congress-approved ABS-CBN franchise if elected president

Presidential aspirant Francisco "Isko Moreno" Domagoso said he will not block the operation of ABS-CBN if its franchise application passes Congress.

"I made it clear: rule of law. If Congress gives you such privilege and approves it, I will sign it," the former actor said on Wednesday as he officially declared his 2022 plans.

President Rodrigo Duterte, who has repeatedly accused ABS-CBN of not paying taxes despite the allegation being refuted by government agencies, earlier threatened to block the broadcaster's operations even if it gets a franchise.

The media giant went off the air on May 5, 2020, for the first time since the martial law regime of late President Ferdinand Marcos to comply with the National Telecommunications Commission's order. It was officially shut down on July 10, after the House Committee on Legislative Franchises denied its application for a fresh 25-year franchise.

https://cnnphilippines.com/news/2021/9/22/Isko-Moreno-ABS-CBN-franchise.html

Honey Lacuna, Yul Servo to run for Manila mayor, vice mayor as Isko guns for presidency

Manila Vice Mayor Honey Lacuna on Wednesday confirmed that she would be running for mayor of the capital city, with Manila 3rd District Rep. Yul Servo Nieto as her vice mayor.

Lacuna gave the statement to ABS-CBN News on the sidelines of the launch of Manila Mayor Isko Moreno Domagoso's presidential bid in Baseco, Manila.

"Alam kong kayang-kaya niya ipagpatuloy ang mga nasimulan na natin sa bayan na ito," Domagoso said of Lacuna in his speech.

(I know that she can continue what we started in the city.)

Lacuna is the daughter of the late Manila Vice Mayor Danny Lacuna, who served as Domagoso's mentor when the former actor started in politics as councilor in the capital.

When asked why he will not run for reelection as lawmaker, Servo told ABS-CBN News: "'Yun ang napagkasunduan ng partido."

(That was what was decided by the party.)

Servo, Manila's 3rd district representative, is eligible for another term in the House.

He is also a part of Domagoso and Lacuna's local party Asenso Manileño.

It was also the incumbent Manila Mayor who encouraged Servo, a fellow actor, to join public service.

Servo said Manila City Council Majority Leader Joel Chua is expected to run for the House position he will vacate.

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/22/21/honey-lacuna-yul-servo-to-run-for-manila-mayor-vice-mayor

House ratifies bill postponing Bangsamoro election until 2025

The House of Representatives on Tuesday ratified House Bill 10121 which seeks to postpone the first regular election of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) until 2025.

The chamber gave its formal approval for the bicameral conference committee report on the disagreeing provisions of the House and Senate versions of the bill.

Once the Senate ratifies its version, the bill will be enrolled and transmitted for the President’s signature.

Lawmakers last week approved HB 10121, which would amend the Bangsamoro Organic Law's provision that sets the region's first election in 2022. 

This, after President Rodrigo Duterte certified the bill as urgent.

According to its Congressional fact sheet, the bill will grant the president the power to appoint 80 members of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), who will serve up to June 30, 2025, when the incumbent members' terms expire on June 30, 2022.

The current BTA, sitting as the region's parliament, has yet to enact its own electoral code, a crucial document needed to govern the supposed elections in May 2022. 

BARMM Chief Minister Ahod Balawag Ebrahim earlier vowed to finalize its electoral code in the first quarter of 2021, but the document has yet to materialize 8 months away from the May 2022 polls.

The BTA lobbied to postpone the elections, citing disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but other groups in the region are opposing the move.

— Report from RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News

https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/22/21/house-ratifies-bill-postponing-bangsamoro-election-until-2025

IKEA Philippines store September 2021 at Mall of Asia Complex

SM Mall of Asia Redevelopment

As of September 17, 2021

Electrical works.. IKEA phils.. soon to open!..

Measure resetting Bangsamoro elections nears enactment

ILIGAN CITY, Lanao del Norte, Philippines — Just two weeks before the filing of candidacies for the 2022 national elections, the proposal to postpone the parliamentary polls in the Bangsamoro region has moved closer to becoming law.

On Monday, the House of Representatives approved on second reading House Bill No. 10121 resetting the regional elections from 2022 to 2025.

This would extend the life of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), the provisional government of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) which was created under the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) in keeping with the peace agreement between the government and the erstwhile rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Plebiscite

Inaugurated in March 2019, the 80-member BTA has 41 members nominated by the MILF while 39 were government nominees. All were appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte after the BOL was ratified in a plebiscite that saw Cotabato City and 63 villages in Cotabato province joining the autonomous region.

MILF chief Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim was also appointed Duterte as the BARMM’s interim chief minister.

HB 10121 is a substitute for the versions filed by Maguindanao Rep. Esmael Mangudadatu, Capiz Rep. Loren Legarda, Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab, Lanao del Norte Rep. Khalid Dimaporo and House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez.

Important step

“We thank the leadership of the House, and in particular Representative Mangudadatu, for his perseverance in guiding this process, and for Congress in taking this important step toward ensuring that the legacy of peace is sustained in the Bangsamoro,” said Bangsamoro Interior Minister Naguib Sinarimbo.

Sinarimbo is confident that the measure will sail through the next steps in the legislative process.

“What is left is merely the ceremonial third and final reading to complete the process in the House of Representatives,” he added.

The Senate passed the measure on Sept. 6, embodied in Senate Bill No. 2214.

The House and Senate versions of the measure are identical, which means there will no longer be a need to reconcile them, hastening the legislative process.

The BTA leadership has asked Duterte and Congress last year to extend the transition period by another three years to give enough time to lay down the foundations of effective autonomous governance in the region which was greatly affected by the limitations imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

—WITH A REPORT FROM NESTOR CORRALES

https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1487928/measure-resetting-bangsamoro-elections-nears-enactment

World Record! Largest IKEA in the world nagliwag sa ganda! Latest update 🇵🇭