Ermita Bar Scene Takes another hit with Amazonia Bar closing down leaving LA Cafe at the only place to go in Ermita

Ermita regulars will be familiar with Amazonia Bar which was on the corner of MH del Pilar and Sta. Monica Street, just down from LA Cafe.

It has been reported across a number of Manila sites That Amazonia closed down last month and all the contents were sold off a few days later. This means that the hotel on the 2nd floor has also gone.

The same owner owns Badonkadonk Bar nearby but I've heard that is also up for sale now.

Amazonia had been operating 24 hours a day since 2004. This yet another blow to nightlife in that area.

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Popular Fire Pit Bar Manager returns to the UK

For those guys visiting Angeles City and looking to have a few beers and a laugh with popular bar manager Griff over at Fire Pit sports you may have to wait for a few month.

Neil Griff who spent his birthday having a lads weekend in Subic with close friends is somewhat of an institution in Angeles especially among the British and Australian visitors has taken the time off to spend time with his parents and take in some home made British food.

I am sure it won't be long before we see him back in Angeles or Subic and the bottles of Vodka are already on standby. . .

Fire Pit sports yesterday showed UFC 205 with Conor McGregor making history and the bar staffed with friendly waitresses provided the perfect venue even if two drunken fans almost turned the bar into the Octagon following the fight, luckily the waitresses broke up the fight and encouraged a bit of gentlemanly bonding once the fight show was over.

It has been a good weekend for British and Irish sports with the exception of Scotland who lost both in the football 3-0 to England and also lost in the rugby after impressively leading Australia for most of the game.

If you do want to watch live sport in Angeles there is no better home than Fire Pit sports bar, go and visit when UFC 206 is on.

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Prostitute killer Rurick Jutting paid for 9-in-a-bed romp with suitcase of cash

Double-murderer Rurik Jutting romped with eight prostitutes in a Phillippine hotel and before paying them with a suitcase of cash, it has been claimed.

Surrey-born ex-banker Jutting, 31, is starting a life sentence in Hong Kong for the savage double-murder of sex workers of Sumarti Ningsih and Seneng Mujiasih.

He tortured Ningsih over three days and described revelling in the killings.

During his trial, it emerged how Jutting's life went into a tailspin as he became gripped by cocaine, alcohol and energy drinks. He was increasingly interested in sadistic sexual fantasies, which the court heard culminated in the murders in October 2014.

The case brought Jutting's perverse urgings under the microscope and it has since been revealed how he took a suitcase packed with cash to sex parties in the Philippines.

The Sun on Sunday reports he used to travel to a £400-a-night hotel in Angeles City – dubbed the "Sin City" because of the open sex trade there – four times a year for orgies.

Hotel regular Flores Acedillo told the newspaper: "The room was so big. One night he had eight girls at one time. He would bring us presents, clothes and sex toys and telephones. There was a jacuzzi. It wasn't big enough for all of us, but Rurik and three girls would go in and have sex. Other girls would then take their place."

Another girl said: "He'd have a case full of money. The strange thing is when I saw the TV pictures of the murder scene: it was same suitcase the body was in."

During sentencing, judge Michael Stuart-Moore said Jutting "plumbed the very depths of depravity".

"He described himself as evil and a monster and neither description is adequate to bring home the true horror of what he did to that woman," the judge said. "This is one of the most horrifying murder cases to ever come before the courts in Hong Kong."

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Subic Latest News: US ‘marine drone’ found off Zambales

MASINLOC, Zambales: Three fishermen from this town last Friday found another US “marine drone” off the South China Sea (West Philippine Sea) near the disputed Panatag Shoal.

It was the second drone recovered off the coast of Zambales this year.

Galley Godornes, 30, Reynaldo Mendoza, 30, and Joseph Asuque, 28, all residents of Sitio Balogo in Barangay Inhobol, this town, said they found the yellow-colored oceanographic instrument, also called Slocum Glider, while fishing in the West Philippine Sea, dragged it home and later turned it over to the municipal police station.

The instrument is now in the custody of the provincial police office in Camp Conrado Yap in Iba, Zambales, says Senior Supt. Christopher Mateo, Philippine National Police (PNP) Zambales provincial director.

A similar oceanographic instrument was also found near the disputed Panatag Shoal (also called Scarborough Shoal or Bajo de Masinloc) last February.

One of the fishermen, Romy Abastillas, 55, described that marine drone as weighing about 35-40 kilos and was marked “Naval Oceanographic Office USA.”

He said they spotted the object in the open sea near Scarborough and initially thought it was just a toy floating on the water.

It was later turned over to the Subic town police and was eventually claimed by the US Embassy.

The marine drone found in Subic and the one found on Friday by fishermen in Masinloc both bore a telephone number and e-mail address of the US Naval Oceanographic Office.

The name of the manufacturer, Teledyne Webb Research, can also be seen on the marine drone.

Teledyne Webb Research’s website www.webbsearch.com described the marine instrument as a Slocum Glider, a uniquely mobile network component capable of moving to specific locations and depths and occupying controlled spatial and temporal grids.

It is driven in a saw-tooth vertical profile by variable buoyancy and moves both horizontally and vertically.

The website further described it as having long-range and duration capabilities, making it ideally suited for sub-surface sampling at the regional scale.

The glider carries a wide variety of sensors and can be programmed to patrol for weeks at a time, surfacing to transmit data to shore while downloading new instructions at regular intervals, realizing substantial cost savings compared to traditional surface ships.

PATRICK ROXAS http://www.manilatimes.net/us-marine-drone-found-off-zambales/296367/

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AirAsia announces last promotional fares for 2016

Budget carrier Philippines AirAsia on Sunday launched its final promotion for the year, with up to three million seats available with travel dates from May 2017 to February 2018.

AirAsia said travelers can book one-way all-in domestic and international trips for P202 from November 14 to 20. Destinations include Shanghai, Taipei, Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau, Korea, and Malaysia.

Travel period is from May 1, 2017, to February 6, 2018.

AirAsia BIG members, however, will be given priority access on November 13, with booking available at airasia.com

"This is the last chance for our guests to grab promo seats this year, perfect for those looking for great bargain fares for next year's spring vacation and beyond," AirAsia Group Chief Commercial Officer Siegtraund Teh said in an emailed statement.

Philippines AirAsia Inc. is a subsidiary of the AirAsia group and is a joint venture between local investors Antonio O. Cojuangco Jr., Alfredo M. Yao, Michael L. Romero, Marianne Hontiveros, and Malaysia's AirAsia Berhad.

Based in Manila, the airline offers domestic and international flights from Pampanga, Manila, Cebu, and Kalibo.

The company last week said it may go public ahead of the original 2018 target as it may turn profitable before then, with its load factor registered between 70 and 80 percent. —ALG/BM, GMA News

- See more at: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/588685/money/companies/airasia-announces-last-promotional-fares-for-2016#sthash.TyvsmO77.dpuf

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Duterte Outbursts Start Scaring U.S. Companies, Industry Says

Signs of investor discontent with Rodrigo Duterte’s outbursts against the U.S. are multiplying with American companies starting to hold off investing in the Philippines, the nation’s electronics and semiconductor industry said.

“The concern is that we have lost momentum," Dan Lachica, head of the Semiconductor and Electronics Industries in the Philippines, Inc., said in an interview Friday. “Investments have been held and orders have been canceled. Hopefully, it doesn’t get to the point that they shut down.”

After initially causing declines in the stock and currency markets, Duterte’s repeated attacks against the U.S. since September may be finally taking their toll on direct investment. The concerns of SEIPI, the largest organization of foreign and local electronics companies, mirror those raised by the American Chamber of Commerce, which has warned the president is creating unease.

“We’re requesting an audience with the president so he can hear the concerns of our industry’s chief executive officers,” Lachica said, declining to name the companies that have halted investment. Texas Instruments Inc. and Moog Inc. are among U.S. electronics companies with factories in the Philippines.

Click here to read how Duterte’s anti-U.S. outbursts are causing anxieties among citizens.
Duterte’s remarks are not anti-American but anti-interference, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said. "He promotes and protects investors and promotes exports.," he said in a mobile-phone message Sunday.

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez said no American company is leaving the country and he assured top U.S. business executives in a meeting this month that economic relations between the Philippines and the U.S. will remain intact despite Duterte’s rhetoric, Manila Bulletin reported last week.

The American Chamber of Commerce could not be reached for comment.

Electronics account for about half of Philippine shipments, which climbed in September after 17 months of decline. Exports of semiconductors and electronics rose 0.7 percent in the first nine months of 2016 from a year earlier.

Trump Hope?

SEIPI is pinning its hopes on the election of Donald Trump as the new U.S. president to reinvigorate the relationship between the two nations. Duterte has told President Barack Obama to “go to hell.” and announced a “separation” from the U.S. during an official visit to China.
“It’s a good sign that Trump’s message even in the United States is conciliatory," Lachica said. "It’s a good sign that President Duterte called him up and offered congratulations and looking forward to strengthening their relationship."

Bloomberg - http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-11-13/duterte-outbursts-start-scaring-u-s-companies-industry-says

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