Top ranking officials from the ruling and two major opposition parties held talks in last-minute efforts to narrow their gap over 2018 budget.
The meeting between the floor leaders of the three political parties came after the opposition-led parliament missed the legal deadline to pass the government budget bill, which fell on Saturday.
National Assembly Speaker Chung Sye-Kyun has extended the budget session to Monday for now. Whether a plenary session will be held to vote on the spending bill largely depended on the outcome of the meeting between the floor leaders.
The parties largely remained apart over the government plan to greatly increase the number of public employees by over 12,000 in next year alone.
- The Department of Health is ready to face any class action suit amid the controversial dengue immunization that was suspended due to health risks.
- The Malacanang Palace expressed hope that the Congress and the Senate would be able to set aside over the 2018 budget.
- Senator Leila de Lima filed a resolution calling for the probe on the government's 8888 hotline. De Lima, in a statement, asked the Senate to "look into the purported failure of the hotline in accommodating concerns and complaints about corruption in government offices."
- The US government remains committed to reach a resolution that would allow the return of the Balangiga Bells to the Philippines, according to US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim.
- US President Donald Trump could be forced to testify on sexual harassment allegations and if they found out that if he lies under oath, he could face impeachment.
- Toyota Motor Corporation uncovered the next-generation of Toyota Safety Sense suite of driver assists, which is set to be rolled out on production models starting next year. The Pre-Collision System has now been upgraded to detect pedestrians both day and nighttime as well as cyclists during the day. Also added is Lane Tracing Assist, Lane Departure Alert, and Road Sign Assist.
- At the LA Auto Show, America has a new hybrid supercar called the Aria FXE. Made from a company behind carbon fiber body panels in some cars as well as building concept cars, the Aria FXE combines a V8 engine with an axial-flux induction electric motors, resulting to 1,150HP of total power output.
In honor of Ferrari's 70th anniversary, Project CARS 2 introduced fans of Slightly Mad Studio's critically-acclaimed racing simulation game the world of Ferrari and it's an honor to have the Prancing Horse joining the ranks of PC2's car roster everyone can master on different race tracks offered in-game and I get to know what's what about the Prancing Horse's debut on PC2.
Here, I'm driving what it seems to be a GT3-spec version of Ferrari's latest midship supercar, the 488 GTB, around one of the most dangerous tracks in the world, namely the Autodromo Dino e Enzo Ferrari, better known to you and I as Imola. You know, the track with the corner that killed Ayrton Senna since the early 1990's? Maybe we should get going now...
The 488 GT3 is based on the 488 GTB that was tuned to compete in IMSA's GTD class and many other GT3-class races. It uses the same 3.9L V8 Twin Turbo engine as the normal 488 GTB but unlike the normal 488, it features wider wheel arches that accomodate racing slicks, a massive carbon fliber splitter on the front, large rear diffusers, large rear wing, and many other racing modifications made to accommodate GT3 specifications.
Imola is a very unforgiving racetrack to master for beginners but the Ferrari manages to hang in there like bread and butter on a full English breakfast and while I'm busy getting to understand the car as well as the infamous racetrack that claimed many of drivers, including the legend himself, let's get to know about the best racing machines from the Prancing Horse because this is Ferrari's 70th anniversary after all.
Prancing Horse fanatics should be familiar with this legendary racing machine because this here is Ferrari's legendary Le Mans racer, the 330 P4. Its P3 predecessor was meant to be the trump card against Ford's GT40 Mk.II but failed when Ford claimed its first win at the 1966 Le Mans. This is known to be the uprooted version of the said car. The design looks similar to the P3 but it was given an improved engine and a tail section, turning into the changed car you're toying with now. It won the 1967 24 Hours of Daytona race for a photo finish in response to Ford's Le Mans win a year ago.
Based on the 365 GTB/4 grand tourer, which earned the unofficial Daytona moniker by some, this Competizione version features a lightweight bodywork courtesy of its aluminium and fiberglass panels, with plexiglas windows. In later models, the V12 engine that powers it was tweaked with the highest producing 456PS of power output in 1973. Although Ferrari never raced with these machines, it was bountiful for private racing teams that flourished it to Le Mans success where in 1972, it took the first five places in the GT class.
Made to compete in the likes of IMSA's new World Sports Cars class, which replaced the GTP class, the 333 SP marked Ferrari's return to sports car racing after a two-decade hiatus. It was built by Dallara and later Michelotto for such regulations and in its lifespan, it participated 144 races with 56 wins and 69 pole positions. Powering the 333 SP is a 4.0L V12 engine mounted in the middle, which is the same engine that powers the 1990 Formula 1 car, producing over 600HP of power and mated to a 5-speed sequential manual gearbox.
The 488 GTE racing machine may look similar to its GT3 counterpart but it was tweaked to compete the GTE-Class of endurance racing, meaning the downforce is increased tenfold due to the less restrictive limits on downforce, as hinted by its large front lip spoler, fixed rear wing, and three-part diffuser. It made its debut at the first round of the 2016 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at the 24 Hours of Daytona and it finished 4th in the GTLM class. Months later, a Risi Competizione 488 GTE placed 2nd at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
So, now that I'm getting familiar with Imola and some of Ferrari's racing legends, do I have some substantial favorite, the one I considered the best Ferrari racing legend for 70 years? If I do, maybe it wants to stand a chance against the GT3-spec 488, which is amazingly one of the hero cars of Project CARS 2, for a time attack round Imola. Of course, there are so many Ferrari racing legends around here but for my consideration, because this is Ferrari's 70th birthday after all, my pick goes to...
...Ferrari's endurance legend, the 330 P4, and now this legend wants to take on one of the young jumpstarts on a time attack round Imola. This should be exciting as the past and the present ready to dish out what they're made off all for 70 years of Ferrari. Let's see how much they've evolved through the years...
After a brave lap round Imola, here are the results;
1967 Ferrari 330P4 - 2:06.8
2016 Ferrari 488 GT3 - 1:58.686
70 years of Ferrari and such result never fails to impress me, in the 488 GT3's case that is, but I had high respects on the P4 because apart from being an improved version of the P3, the one that was obliterated by the Ford GT40 at Le Mans, its legendary status should not be taken for granted because cars like this is what Ferrari's capable of.
It's an honor for Project CARS 2 to add Ferrari in the game and with seven decades of the Prancing Horse's greatness, there's so much to love about Ferrari in this game.
The FIA Formula E Championship is back for its fourth season and it begins with a two-part season premiere at the streets of Hong Kong where new and returning drivers have been gathered to experience the thrill of the world's premiere zero-emission racing series ever witnessed.
With chaos in every corner because of the narrowness this city course possesses, it's hard to predict the outcome for the drivers and all they need to do is to survive the narrow course or get caught up in a jam of shame.
In the first part of the race, DS Virgin's Sam Bird starts the season with a first place victory followed by Jean-Eric Vergne from TECHEETAH and Nick Heidfeld from Mahindra. In the second part of the race, meanwhile, Felix Rosenqvist from Mahindra wins while Edoardo Mortara from Venturi placed 2nd and Mitch Evans from Panasonic Jaguar Racing placed 3rd.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Although Hong Kong proved to be a chaotic way to start this season, there's more to expect in the fourth season of the FIA Formula E Championship as the next race will commence at Marrakesh, Morocco, on the 13th of January, 2018.
As the world awaits the second season of Amazon Prime's original motoring program, The Grand Tour, how about a little flashback? Because Jeremy Clarkson's annoyed by the appearance of Richard Hammond and the 707-horsepower Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, he went to Mugello to teach Hammond a very painful lesson on speed. With Mugello back at Forza 7, how about I'll recreate that memorable Grand Tour moment from that certain episode?
First, let's talk about the cars first, starting with the Aston Martin DB11. Although the V12 engine is now smaller and turbocharged, the power output it produces is rather smooth indeed because this is how grand tourers do. 608HP of power, 700Nm of torque, 0-60mph in less than 3.9 seconds, 200mph top speed, the DB11 wasn't unfazed by its performance figures because all it matters for this car is to cruise around the open road on a bright sunshine and while it was heavily focused for comfortable driving in mind, it can be downright decent on the track making this beauty a beast to behold in the eyes of the driver.
The Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat maybe based on the old Chrysler 300C underneath, which is based on the 1990's Mercedes E-Class, but putting a 707HP supercharged V8 engine on it is a complete madness. Although it was superseded by the limited-edition Challenger Demon by about a hundred and thirty-three, the Hellcat remains one of the most outrageous muscle cars ever to come out from the world's most powerful country that is now ran by an orangutan and his minions. So, outrageous, it can make a trip through historic places in Italy into a complete disaster because the roar of the supercharged engine and the endless squealing of tires. I know, this happened on that episode and you can't hide from the Hellcat's fury. Saturdays will be completely ruined thanks to the Hellcat.
In that episode, Jeremy lapped the DB11 at 2:18.79 while Billy Bob Hammond's Hellcat did it in 2:35. All I have to do is to do better than the GT folks while witnessing the very moment that the DB11 taught the Hellcat a very painful lesson. Let's roll the tape.
At the end of the flying lap, here are the results of my Grand Tour reenactment on Forza 7...
Hellcat - 2:22.648
DB11 - 2:15.469
Hey, history repeats itself as the "brown" Aston minced the Hellcat like crazy, although that didn't stop Richard Hammond from doing ridiculous things with the Challenger Hellcat. Still, it's great to have Mugello back on Forza 7 because without it, I couldn't recreate that classic Grand Tour moment in honor of the upcoming season of Amazon Prime's original series. They may be evolving but they never growing up. Get it?
Megastar Sharon Cuneta and action star Robin Padilla returns on the big screen but this time they star in a rather unusual rom-com about a fateful reunion after so many years have passed in a rather unexpected way they never saw it coming.
Directed by Cathy Garcia-Molina, the film Unexpectedly Yours stars Sharon and Robin as former high school friends reunited but only this time, they're neighbors and their kids are starting to turn their lives around. It also stars Julia Barretto and Joshua Garcia, among many others.
A rom-com with some values...that is very unheard of compared to every Filipino rom-coms you are familiar with and such values shouldn't be overlooked upon and this film really onto something here. Sure it has some above average bits that is rather typical in Filipino rom-coms but Unexpectedly Yours really does it rather nicely to give cinemagoers a value they will cherish it once the film ends.
Although nothing special to expect from a film that brings back two of the best stars in the industry, this rom-com is worth relaxing to watch and above all, it's rather good in so much ways.
Early Saturday morning at the U.S. capital of Washington, the Senate has passed the controversial Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, 51-49, which brings closer to become law before the year ends.
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act slashes the corporate tax by 20%, repealing the individual mandate of the Affordable Care Act, which critics say will leave 13 million Americans uninsured by the next decade, and lowers tax rates for most Americans until 2026. When signed into law, it would dramatically increase economic growth, wages, and take-home pay and simplify the tax code.
There are some last minute changes to this highly controversial tax plan which involves altering the state and local tax deduction - repealing the income tax deduction and capping the property tax deduction at $10,000 (about over 500.000 Philippine Pesos in today's money) as well as 23% deduction to pass-through businesses that don't pay the corporate income tax.
SIDE NOTE: The highly controversial tax reform some say that it puts the burden of tax to the poor rather than the rich but a handful of experts say that such criticisms are off the mark as hardworking families will be the biggest winners of the Tax Cuts and Jobs act, says Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform.
Could it be that America's Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has a similar undertone from the Philippines' Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion? Maybe but unlike the PH's TRAIN, there isn't any excise tax on everyday objects like cars, fuel, and sweetened beverages (although some US states did). Still, this tax reform repeats the trickle-down economics during the Reagan years but with a modern twist to make it sound complicating for some.
