MikeLigalig.com

By Bohol Chronicle

The bidding of the multi-billion Panglao Bohol International Airport is a "done deal," amid reports of pre-arranged deals beteween the provincial government and the supposed winning bidder.

In a one-page statement released to the media yesterday, the Corruption Watch Philippines (CWP) alleged that CM Pancho Construction will be awarded the project since arrangements were already sealed "in consideration of P100 million."

The allegation was denied by Gov. Erico Aumentado who categorically said the "provincial government has nothing to do with the bidding since it is being handled by the bids and awards committee of the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA)."

The same group identified a certain Nards de Guzman as the trusted man of the governor involved in the alleged arrangement.

It likewise questioned why CM Pancho Construction was included in the bidding when said firm was blacklisted by the World Bank.          
Aumentado, however, admitted that CM Pancho has a good performance in the implementation of the Bohol Circumferential Road Project, particularly between Valencia to Candijay towns.

But, despite this good performance, "I don't expect CM Pancho Construction to win in the bidding considering the heavy competition posed by other internationally known bidders," Aumentado stressed.

"Mark my word, CM Pancho Construction will not win the bid," the governor said.

BIDDING POSTPONED

The bidding of the phase I of the P7 billion airport project was postponed to Feb 5, in an information relayed to the governor last Friday.

Originally, the bidding was supposed to be conducted at the MIAA offices tomorrow.

Asked on why the bidding was moved, Aumentado cited the entry of new interested bidders who joined the group that conducted site inspection last week.

Among the bidders who sent representatives during the site inspection were CM Pancho Construction, Inc., JF Legaspi Construction, Vicente Lao Construction, BSP & Co, Inc., First United Cobtractors Corp., RD Policarpo & Co.Inc., Sunwest Construction & Development Corp., Santa Clara International Corp., AM Oreta & Co. Inc.,/ Aquino Construction & Development Corp., RD Policarpo & Co.,Inc., OR Sarmiento Construction , DL Cervantes Construction & Towing Construction Readycon Trading Construction Corp., Young Builders Corp., and Dimson-Manila, Inc.

Listed in the interested bidders but failed to join the inspection team were representatives from Hanjin Heavy Industries, China State Phil. Construction Corp., Ron Daniel Construction Corp. and Equi-Parco Construction Co.

PHASE I BIDDING

Phase I of the project includes the initial stage of the 2.5 km runway worth P1.52 billion.

This includes the cleaning and grubbing, excavation , construction of embankment and drainage system; facilities for engineer and employer, project vehicles, project equipment and survey equipment.

The Panglao Bohol International Airport's project cost is P7.5 billion based on the latest estimates submitted to the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), the MIAA and the Department of Transportation and Commuunications (DOTC).

from bohol chronicle

In a bid to improve the rank of their favored bets in the local elections, a widely circulated "instruction slip" asked people to used several email addressed in order to vote repeatedly.

This scheme was known when a copy of the slip reached the studios of station dyRD last Friday narrating the "technical guide", including the specific instructions saying "so as not to waste our votes if we are to send the text again, resend the text vote after a lapse of time. Also, multiple sim number are encouraged."       

With this scheme done, a person can vote as many times as he can thereby creating an effect of having "flying voters" in the on-line survey.

The instruction slip specified that senders should cast their votes to Julius Herrera for governor and Tomas Abapo, jr. for vice governor.

The same slip spceified the instruction to use public computers at computer cafes or shops for multiple votes.

PRECAUTION DONE

The on-line survey at the website of dyRD instituted measures that votes cast from the same senders will be rejected in the computer system so as to maintain the credibility of the survey.

During the past two weeks, the trending showed the people's preference for governor, vice governor, congressmen, city mayor and city vice mayor.

However, because of this advisory to register more votes for their favored candidates, the results are expected to shift from the previous trend.          
In the Jan 17 tally, Rep. Edgar Chatto maintained his lead over Vice Gov. Julius Herrera in the gubernatorial race. Out of the 230 respondents, Chatto garnered 103 votes (45%) followed by Cesar Montano with 72 votes (31%) and Herrera, third with 55 votes (24%)

After reports on the massive "instructional campaign" for Herrera and Abapo got implemented, the results as of 7:30pm last night showed a sudden shift giving Herrera the lead over Chatto.

Out of 654 respondents, Herrera ranked first with 365 votes (55%), Chatto, 198 votes (30%) and Montano, 100 votes (15%)

In the vice gubrnatorial race, Abapo ranked first with 328 votes (62%), Concepcion Lim, 114 votes (21%) and Elpidio jala, 90 votes (17%).

ADVISORY

In order to serve the purpose of the on-line survey, dyRD News & Public Affairs advised the public not to resort to "flying voting," meaning one sender should vote only once.

Casting more than one vote for each sender will only create an unrealistic survey result which will not serve the purpose of the candidates to monitor the real preference and trend of the voters.

UPDATES

In the 1st district congressional race, City Kagawad Oscar Glovasa pooled 285 votes (57%) against former Gov Rene Relampagos with 188 votes (37%) and Edgar Kapirig, 30 votes (6%) Gov. Erico aumentado continued to lead in the 2nd district congressional race with 348 votes (73%) followed by Trinidad Mayor Judith Cajes, 99 votes 21%), Andy manated and Danilo mendez with 16 votes each (3%)
In the city mayoralty race, Vice Mayor Jose Antonio Veloso maintained lead over Mayor Dan Lim with 223 votes (53%) against 200 votes (47%) while in the city vice mayoralty race, Barangay Captain Glorivic Yap-dela Serna with 248 votes (56%) against former Vice Mayor Nuevas Montes, 195 votes (44%).

pls click here to read the entire article...

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By Roy Luarca
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Even the fans at the stands won’t be denied seeing the Manny Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey showdown for the World Boxing Organization welterweight crown on March 13 up close.

The 5-foot-6 Filipino ring icon and his 5-foot-8 Ghanian challenger will be magnified as 70-footers on the world’s largest high definition television when they battle it out at the $1.2-billion Cowboys’ Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Billionaire Jerry Jones, owner of the Dallas Cowboys and co-promoter of the first boxing bout at the world’s biggest domed stadium, put up a grand kickoff press conference for “The Event” Tuesday in Arlington, with pompom-waving cheerleaders, former boxing champions and former Super Bowl winners in attendance.

No wonder, Pacquiao, Clottey and promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank gushed over the 80,000-seat facility that would be reconfigured to accommodate 40,000 fight fans close to the way it was during the lavish news conference emceed by Michael Buffer.

“I feel really good about this (fight),” said Pacquiao. “The fans will like what we’ll do in the ring come March 13.

“It’s going to be a good fight,” Pacquiao added. “Clottey, he is a good fighter, a top fighter, and he is bigger than me. I have to prepare hard for this fight and train hard and focus.”

Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 04:23:00 01/21/2010

Erich Segal, the Ivy League professor who attained mainstream fame and made millions sob as writer of the novel and movie “Love Story,” has died of a heart attack, his daughter said Tuesday. He was 72.

Francesca Segal said her father, whose popular romantic drama coined the phrase “Love means never having to say you’re sorry,” died Sunday at his home in London.

She said he had suffered from Parkinson’s diseaseâ€"a neurological condition that affects movementâ€"for 30 years. His funeral was held in London on Tuesday, she said.

Segal was a Yale classics professor and screenplay writer when he turned a proposed movie about two college studentsâ€"preppy Oliver and smart-mouthed Jennyâ€"into a novel.

Published in 1970, “Love Story” was a weeper about a young couple who fall in love, marry and discover she is dying of cancer. It was a million seller guaranteed to make readers cry and critics scream.

A much bigger audience caught up with the film version, which starred Ryan O’Neal and Ali MacGraw.

The hit movie, which won an Oscar and was nominated for six others, tells the story of a wealthy young man, Oliver, who becomes estranged from his father when he marries Jennifer, a woman from a less privileged background.

But the tale takes a tragic twist when Jennifer develops leukemia and eventually dies.

Oliver’s father has a change of heart when he hears what has happened and races to see him, telling his son he is sorry to hear the sad news.

By Christian V. Esguerra, Miko L. Morelos, TJ Burgonio
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Midway into his job as President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s chief communicator, he began experiencing what his widow, Marit Stinus Remonde, called a crisis of “credibility” owing to the consistently negative publicity his boss was getting.

Speaking with reporters at Remonde’s wake at the Heritage Memorial Park in Taguig City shortly before Ms Arroyo arrived at 4:40 a.m. Wednesday, Marit said the issue of credibility had meant a lot to her husband of 15 years.

When asked if she regretted not being by her husband’s side on the day of his death, Marit collected her thoughts and replied: “I believe we made the most out of our lives.”

She said that for the past nine years, she and her husband were living apart because of his work in Malacañang.

“He was bothered that people didn’t believe him anymore,” she said of Remonde, who was a longtime broadcaster before joining the Arroyo administration in 2001.

She added that her husband had planned to join a Manila newspaper at the end of Ms Arroyo’s term on June 30.

Per Marit’s account, Remonde was initially “very excited” about his new job, which she said he got in February 2009 without the help of political connections.

By Kristine L. Alave
Philippine Daily Inquirer

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) Wednesday charged Pamatong with direct contempt and ordered him to be detained at Manila City Jail, after he interrupted the promulgation proceedings of the second division.

Pamatong, a self-proclaimed author and lawyer who once tried to sue Pope Benedict XVI, attempted to walk out of the Comelec session hall as the division was set to announce the ruling on the disqualification case he filed against ousted President Joseph Estrada and President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

‘You’re all thieves’

“I want to leave! Mga magnanakaw kayong lahat (You’re all thieves)!” Pamatong yelled at Commissioners Nicodemo Ferrer, Lucenito Tagle and Elias Yusoph.

As Pamatong left the room, an angry Yusoph shouted an order to the guards. “Arrest him!” he said.

In a statement distributed to the media, Pamatong accused the commissioners of accepting P5 million each so that Vetellano Acosta, the candidate of Kilusang Bagong Lipunan, would be included in the list of presidential candidates.

By Philip Tubeza, Kristine L. Alave
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Why just be a “kingmaker” when you can be the “king” yourself?

Fresh from getting the nod of a division of the Commission on Elections for him to take another shot at Malacañang, deposed President Joseph Estrada Wednesday said he would not withdraw from the presidential race.

Estrada said he would slug it out “to the end” because he wanted to be “king again.”

Estrada said the Comelec decision would have a “big impact” on his campaign” because his detractors were spreading “disinformation” that he would withdraw from the race or be disqualified.

Now that the poll body has ruled in his favor, he expects his ratings in surveys to rise.

Estrada, the candidate of the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino, has been a consistent third placer, after Senators Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and Manuel Villar.

Speaking at a forum at the Lyceum of the Philippines University, Estrada dismissed allegations that he would eventually withdraw and play the role of “kingmaker” by supporting another presidential candidate.

“I want to be king again myself (and) recover my throne that was stolen from me,” he told reporters when asked if he was going to be a “kingmaker.”

“Why will I withdraw? No way. No way,” he said. “I have a contract with the Filipino peopleâ€"till death do us part.”

The Comelec’s second division ruled that Estrada was not covered by the constitutional provision barring an incumbent president from reelection because he was not a sitting president seeking a second term.

He hurdled the first legal obstacle in his second run for the presidency when the division dismissed the three petitions seeking to declare him a nuisance candidate and to disqualify him from the May 10 presidential election.

By Christian V. Esguerra, Dona Pazzibugan
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Malacañang is not desperate to douse the long-running suspicion that the point behind President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s run for Congress in 2010 is to push Charter change (Cha-cha)â€"and possibly bring about a shift to a parliamentary government, where she could bag the post of prime minister.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita Wednesday acknowledged that the amendment of the 1987 Constitution remained a priority of Ms Arroyo, who did the unprecedented when she filed her certificate of candidacy for Congress on Tuesday.

“Yes, even in the previous SONA (State of the Nation Addresses) of the President, she said she was gunning for it,” Ermita told reporters at the Sofitel Hotel in Pasay City.

Ermita expressed confidence that Ms Arroyo would easily win as representative of the second district of her home province of Pampanga, and that she would continue to wield influence in the 15th Congress.

“Let’s be realisticâ€"the President is the President,” he said. “Because of her stature, when she gets [elected], definitely she will have a lot of clout on anything in Congress ... You can be sure that should she be elected, definitely she will have clout among the congressmen.”

By Jerome Aning, Philip Tubeza
Philippine Daily Inquirer

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo should resign for diminishing the stature of her office with her decision to run for a seat in the House of Representatives, former President Fidel Ramos said Wednesday.

Deposed President Joseph Estrada also called on Ms Arroyo to step down, saying that she has an undue advantage over her opponents as a sitting President.

“She has all the government resources [at her disposal]. I pity her opponents who will have no chance (of winning). Out of delicadeza (propriety), she should resign,” Estrada said last night at the “Harapan” presidential debates at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila.

Before leaving for Australia, Ramos told reporters at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) that Ms Arroyo’s resignation was only fair to other candidates running for the second legislative district of her home province, Pampanga.

“In the interest of fair play, she should resign so as not to give her undue advantage over whoever will run against her in Pampanga,” Ramos said.

He described Ms Arroyo’s decision as “inexcusably mysterious,” adding that her seeking local office “diminishes the stature of the presidency.”

“Can you imagine the fairness of it all? Youâ€"the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, Chief Executive with the power of appointment and removal, head of state, head of government, national budget controller, including the disbursement of pork barrelâ€"will run against this little lady here [and an] engineer from Porac or a little mayor ... or this guy here,” Ramos said.

Ang manga dili mamunga ug santol. Like father, like son. Zero projects in the third district of Bohol.
Like GMA, so addicted to power...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pab_Bc-33PE
Manny Pacquiao trusts in God alone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Y9bel6PHJI
Manny Pacquiao vs Julio Chavez Jr

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcVMwK0TR64
Miguel Cotto Preparing for Manny Pacquaio

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XnqRSKW3QgI
Why Manny Pacquiao Trains in Baguio City

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMgEI22GI04
philippine flood victims...

This story is very inspiring. Please watch the video to get a better picture of what's going on in that school. Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8299780.stm

BBC - Microsoft will issue its biggest ever security update on 13 October.

The update will include 13 bulletins that between them tackle 34 vulnerabilities.

Microsoft said that eight of the bulletins were rated as critical - the most serious sort of vulnerability.

The security patches will close loopholes in many different programs including different editions of Windows, Internet Explorer and some elements of Office.

One update, rated as critical, tackles a loophole in Internet Explorer 8 running under Windows 7. The next version of Microsoft's operating system is due to be released on 22 October.

Most people will get the updates automatically but links to download them can also be found on Microsoft's security pages. Once applied to a PC, the machine will need to be re-started before the fixes take effect.

In a blog posting giving an outline of the updates, Jerry Bryant, a Microsoft security expert, said two of the fixes were for problems flagged up in earlier advisories.

One of those loopholes, for the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) bundled in with Microsoft's Internet Information Server, is already being exploited by some hi-tech criminals.

Windows is by far the most popular target for cyber criminals and the vast majority of the millions of malicious programs, including worms and trojans, are aimed at the operating system.

Prior to the bumper October security update, Microsoft's biggest every update was released in June 2009. That package of 10 fixes tackled 31 vulnerabilities.

BBC correspondent Alastair Leithead in Manila

The rain is still coming down in Marikina, the worst affected part of Manila, but it certainly has got through the worst of what the storm threw at it.

All the streets were under metres of water. There's a thick coating of mud over everything. At the bottom of the road, there's a pink car which is balanced on the diagonal on its roof on top of another. The only people who escaped the floods were those who went up onto the upper floors of their buildings. All the shops and businesses on the ground floors have been destroyed.

Now people are just focusing on clearing up, trying to get what possessions they can together, along with food, water and some shelter, because more rain is forecast.

Torrential rains from Tropical Storm Ketsana flooded the capital, Manila, and 25 nearby provinces on Saturday.

Some 80% of Manila was submerged, displacing 450,000 people. More than 115,000 are now in makeshift shelters.

Production of H1N1 vaccine over the next year will be "substantially less" than the 4.9 billion doses previously forecast but one dose should provide adequate protection, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

Based on clinical test results from some 25 drugmakers, weekly production of the new vaccine will be less than 94 million doses, WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said.

"The real figure will be substantially less than 4.9 billion (over the year)," Hartl told reporters.

city of mud


marikina riverbanks, total wasteland


up close

alone


wasteland


greenhills, san juan

ayala avenue underpass


eastwood city, quezon city


chaos


hypermarket, silver city


marikina city

valle verde


ghost-looking road




araneta avenue, quezon city


before


after

near xavier school


katipunan avenue


wading through raging waters


loyola grand villas area


stranded cars


cars swallowed by angry waters

the following manila flood photos are shared by Joyce Castillo, M.D.


De Lasalle University, Taft Avenue


Quezon City area

Life is too short to wake up with regrets. So love the people who treat you right.. Forget about the ones who don't. Believe everything happens for a reason. If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.

No one falls in love by choice, it is by CHANCE.
No one stays in love by chance, it is by WORK.
And no one falls out of love by chance, it is by CHOICE.

Suspects in Williams' Murder Arrested
published by the Bohol Chronicle

In its manhunt operations police arrested on Thursday two youngsters involved in the brutal killing of British national Martin Williams (aka Martin Hawthorne) who was found dead Tuesday morning in Boloc-boloc Spring, barangay Mansasa, this city.

The City Police confirmed they arrested one Christian Gulle, 22 years old, and his female teenage companion, 19-year old Irene Borja, both residents of barangay Mansasa.

Operatives found an identification card of Gulle at the crime scene which gave them a lead to arrest the male assailant who was at his parents’ house Thursday morning. Investigators said Gulle admitted to stabbing Williams 14 times after the victim allegedly tried to rape and hurt his teenage companion.

Gulle confessed that he met Williams Monday night at Bojol Grill where both shared food and drinks.

Later that night, at around 10 p.m., Williams purportedly invited Gulle and Borja to continue their drinking spree at Boloc-boloc Spring, just about a hundred meters from the Bohol Mangrove KTV Bar and Lodging house where the British man was checked in.

According to Gulle, he was a few meters away from Williams and Borja whom he believed to have been bathing at the spring when he heard the latter shout. Upon rushing to the scene, Gulle said he saw Borja lying on the ground and in pain. He said he tried to help the girl get up but Williams allegedly started shouting at him which he could not understand.

Gulle admitted “things happened so fast” and when he took his knife to stab Williams several times, he did not stop as he was scared that the heavily-built foreigner would get back at him.

Gulle provided policemen the identity of his alleged cohort (Borja) who sought refuge in the house of a brother-in-law in a remote barangay in Sierra Bullones.

She was arrested by elements of the Sierra Bullones Police Thursday afternoon and was later turned over to the Tagbilaran Police who launched a full investigation regarding the suspect.

Williams, 43, had been wearing just sandals, shorts and t-shirts and was dead for several hours when his body was discovered, according to Dr. John Paul Bernaldez of the city health office.

The United States' defence department says China is developing "disruptive" technologies for nuclear, space and cyber warfare.

These are shifting the military balance in Asia and have implications beyond the region, said the latest report by the Pentagon on China's armed forces.

It again criticised Beijing for a lack of transparency in reporting military spending and security policy.

The report also welcomed the rise of a peaceful, stable and prosperous China.

"However," it adds, "much uncertainty surrounds China's future course, particularly regarding how its expanding military power might be used." - BBC

A top New Zealand telecommunications company has hired a teenager who admitted to taking part in an international cyber-crime network.

TelstraClear said former hacker Owen Thor Walker was advising corporate customers on internet crime.

Mr Walker had been at the centre of a criminal network that infiltrated more than a million computers globally.

He was investigated by the authorities in the US, Europe and New Zealand while he was just 16 and still at school.

As well as taking part in an advertising campaign, Mr Walker had delivered a series of seminars to help senior executives and customers understand the security threats to their networks, said TelstraClear spokesman Chris Mirams.

"It was really just ... to let them know the type of cyber threats that are out there, developing," said Mr Mirams, according to the Associated Press news agency. - BBC

Thanks Ben for the lead. We're waiting for more details surrounding the death of this Briton.

How far to that village?

“How long will it take me to walk into the village from here?” inquired
the English tourist.
“No idea,” replied the Kerry farmer.
Off trudged the Englishman muttering to himself.
“Come back, sir,” called the Kerryman.
“What now?” asked the tourist.
“It’ll take you about ten minutes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that in the first place?” asked the Englishman.
“Sure I didn’t know how fast you walked!” smiled the farmer.

Rocket to the Sun

“You know that the Americans and Russians have sent rockets to the Moon and Mars?” said Profes­sor Muldoon. “Well, I’m designing a rocket to go all the way to the Sun.” “Surely the heat would be too strong,” mused O’Connor, “and the rocket would melt?” “No, no,” assured Muldoon, “I’ll be sending it at night!”

Tidbits from Ricky Lo, the Philippine Star columnist

Even long before he was diagnosed to be suffering from leukemia (the most aggressive type) in August last year, Francis Magalona knew that he would die young.

“Yes, he told me that during our early years,” confessed Francis’ widow Pia Arroyo who is revealing more hitherto unknown facts about Francis in this afternoon’s edition of Startalk (GMA, 2:30 to 5 p.m.). “We were newly married then and I told him to stop saying that, that we should stay happy and look forward to enjoying life with our children.”

In hindsight, Pia, who has remained “a pillar of strength” up to this very minute, said that she now realized why Francis was in a hurry to accomplish so many things, which he did. In his 44 years, Francis the Master Rapper recorded albums of nationalistic songs (Mga Kababayan, Kaleidoscope World, etc.) that cemented his reputation as, if I may coin a new title for him, the Pambansang Boses.

“And that, I think, is the best legacy he left not only for us his family but for all Filipinos,” added Pia who, together with her eight children, were in Malacañang a few days ago to receive a posthumous Presidential Medal of Merit Award.

Last Sunday which marked the ninth day after Francis’ death and the baptism of daughter Clara, 8, Maxene noticed a brown butterfly hovering around the family during a Mass.

“I knew it was Papa,” said Maxene, eyes welling with tears. “Sarado ang doors at windows, so how could a butterfly enter and stay that long? It just disappeared without anybody noticing it.”

In October, the month when her dad would have turned 45 (Oct. 4), Maxene will graduate from Ateneo with a degree in Social Sciences and she plans to write a thesis about her father.

“It was only after he died did I learn a lot more about Papa,” said Maxene.

By June Blanco
Sunday Post

  “I will resign my position if the Panglao Bohol international Airport will be a no-go.”

  Thus Bohol Gov. Erico Aumentado staked his governorship over the latest skepticism in the construction of the proposed P4.2-billion airport, expressed this time by Tagbilaran City Mayor Dan Lim.

  Speaking during his weekly program The Governor Reports simulcast live over the city’s two radio stations, Aumentado gamely took Lim’s challenge.

  It came in the form of a letter to the governor dated March 13.

  Lim had responded to the governor’s letter of even date reminding the former to honor his promise to construct a wastewater treatment facility (WTF) in Taloto District in the city “after the conditionalities thereto have been met.”

  These conditionalities included the completion of the paving with concrete â€" instead of asphalt as originally planned â€" of part of Pres. CPG North Ave., and the construction of the San Jose outfall that drains into Tagbilaran Bay.

  Lim had announced the promise and its conditionalities during coordination meetings for the Bohol Circumferential Road Improvement Project Phase 2 (BCRIP 2).

  The project has since been inaugurated by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the outfall completed, but efforts to construct the WTF have been few and far between.

  Aumentado said he thought the facility will now be taking shape with the conditionalities already met, but was surprised â€" and was even worried â€" when informed by officials of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) central office that the city had not yet accomplished the requirements for the bank to process and release a loan for the purpose.

  He said DBP told him that the papers for the loan for the concreting of various city streets were already in but not those for the WTF.

  The governor said he cannot emphasize more the importance of the treatment facility. It is the ultimate solution to the flooding of Pres. CPG Ave. and the foul odor from the drainage canals even as it would prevent the pollution of Tagbilaran Bay that he calls “an environmental disaster,” hence his letter.

  But in his response, Lim said he has not been sleeping on the job. He took Aumentado’s move as “meddling” in the affairs of the city.

  He said Aumentado should instead focus on constructing the Panglao Airport â€" conceptualized when the governor was still a congressman. Lim said the project has not  taken off until now that Aumentado is on his third term as governor.

  In contrast, he said, the WTF â€" talked about only some three years ago â€" will be finished ahead of the airport.

  Aumentado preferred not to be belligerent.

  He thanked Lim for already taking seriously the WTF concern, adding that it is expected to be finished ahead because it requires a shorter gestation period than the airport.

  He thanked the mayor further because then, Tagbilaran will be up to the wastewater treatment requirements of a growing city, and the unnatural population boom expected from the influx of tourists, visitors and investors brought about by international and domestic flights â€" and even by budget airlines attracted to Bohol’s potentials.

  Aumentado is confident that civil works for the airport will start between July and October this year. It will be financed solely by local funds â€" no loans or Official Development Assistance (ODA) â€" hence, canceling the need for a loan application process.

  The airport will also be constructed in two phases â€" and the current phase in two packages undertaken simultaneously, to boot â€" to cut on the working days requirement.

  Plus, he said, the runway will now be asphalt-paved like European and some US airports instead of being concreted as the latter would be too abrasive for the planes’ wheels. This will cut construction time as the period for curing or seasoning of the concrete will already be deleted.

  At the same time, he challenged those in the same situation as he to similarly resign if they cannot make good their promises to the public.

Senator Francis Escudero on Saturday opposed the plan by the Commission on Higher Education to extend the nursing education from four years to five years.

“I am against adding another year for nursing, or for any other course,” the senator said in a statement e-mailed to media outfits.

“Our nurses are being praised all over the world. Why in the world does CHED want to change what is not broken?” he asked.

Escudero said CHED should instead weed out diploma mills that have proliferated due to the increase in the number of nursing students. He also called for stricter supervision of nursing review centers.

Echoing the call of the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines and the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Associations against the CHED plan, Escudero said making nursing a five-year course would mean an additional financial burden to parents and students.

“Parents set aside a budget for the education of their children. Based on current figures each nursing student needs about P100,000 annually for matriculation plus textbooks, excluding review courses. Adding another year to the course makes it more expensive,” the senator pointed out. - PDI

The political season heats up with the onset of summer as the country’s treasurers auditors and assessors ended their 76th annual convention with a new contribution to the list of possible candidates: Finance Secretary Margarito Teves.

Teves’ name cropped up as a possible vice presidential candidate during the convention, held March 16-19 at the Manila Hotel and attended by more than 4,000 members nationwide.

During the convention, the president of the Philippine Association of Municipal Assessors, Mario Magcalas, endorsed Teves as the ideal running mate of Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, who last week announced his intention top run for president in elections scheduled for May 2010.

“This is a formidable and explosive duo,” said Magcalas, referring to the tandem as “T ’n T,” or Teodoro and Teves.

Magcalas, in a press statement, said the team-up favors the country’s grain of political tradition because Teves represents the Mindanao and Visayas islands and Teodoro, Luzon.

He said that with the country hobbled by two serious problems â€" national security and the economy â€" Teodoro and Teves would make an ideal tandem for the country. - PDI

By Dona Pazzibugan
Philippine Daily Inquirer

A six-year-old girl has been found to have acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) through mother-to-child transmission of the deadly disease, according to the Department of Health.

This was only the 48th case of AIDS or human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission through pregnancy that has been reported since the DOH began in 1984 to screen and monitor those infected with AIDS and HIV.

A total of 65 new HIV-positive and AIDS cases, or an average of two new cases per day, were confirmed in January this year, the highest ever recorded in a month since 1984.

The average number of new cases each month has steadily risen in the last four years, climbing from 18 in 2005, to 26 in 2006, 29 in 2007, and 44 in 2008.

Of the 65 HIV-positive cases in January 2009, three were reported as full-blown AIDS cases, including the six-year-old girl. All the rest of the new cases acquired the virus through sexual transmission.

Most of the new victims were men, according to the DOH's HIV and AIDS Registry. Half of the new victims are in their 20s.

The youngest new case is six years old and the oldest is 57 years old. There were no reported deaths in January, and 95 per cent of the cases were still asymptomatic at the time of reporting.

The DOH also noted the increasing cases of bisexual sex as a mode of sexual transmission.

According to the latest data of the registry, the 65 new HIV-positive cases confirmed in January 2009 represented a 63 percent increase compared to the 40 new cases reported the previous month.

“This is the highest number ever reported in a month, averaging two new cases per day,” the DOH said.

Most of the cases were from the National Capital Region. But 12 of the cases were overseas Filipino workers aged 29 to 57 who all acquired HIV through sexual contact.

Sexual transmission remained the top mode of transmission, but the DOH noted that bisexual sexâ€"involving people who practice heterosexual and homosexual sexâ€"was fast catching up with homosexual and heterosexual sex as the mode of transmission.

Dr. Eric Tayag, head of the DOH's National Epidemiology Center, had said that since 2007 they have noted that there were far more men than women getting HIV.

He attributed this to recent increase in cases of “men who are not gays but who have sex with men.”

Since 1984 there have been 3,654 HIV positive cases, of which 806 developed into AIDS. A total of 317 have died.

UCSI University

Founded more than 20 years ago, we were conferred the University status on the 6th October 2008 and thus giving birth to UCSI University. Catch the excitement as we forge ahead with aggressive expansion plans.

In tandem with our mission statement in providing excellent education programs with a pool of dedicated, qualified educators; we invite outstanding individual, who have what it takes to embrace our philosophy and generate the organization onwards and upwards.

Job Description

Requirements:

1. PhD candidates with teaching experience are encouraged to apply. Master's Degree  candidates with relevant experience and passion for teaching and research will be considered

2. Ability to work in a team with good interpersonal skills, analytical and leadership skills.

3. Candidates with research background in Pharmacy stand an advantage.

4. Able to obtain working permit

5. Only full time positions available.

School Of Pharmacy

- Pharmaceutical Technology

- Pharmacology

- Clinical Pharmacy

- Social Pharmacy

- Pharmaceutical Chemistry

- Biostatistics For Pharmacy

- Hospital Pharmacy Practice

- Pharmacoeconomics

- Pharmaceutics

- Medicinal Chemistry

- Physiology

- GI System & Therapy

- General Chemistry

Attractive remuneration schemes and fringe benefits await suitable candidates. Applicants should submit their résumé stating comprehensive details of experience and qualifications, current and expected salary, a recent passport-size photo (n.r.) and contact telephone number to the address below to :-

Senior Manager, Human Resource

UCSI University

No. 1, Jalan Menara Gading,

UCSI Heights,

56000 Kuala Lumpur

Malaysia.

Tel: 603-91018880

Fax: 603-91023370

E-mail: recruitment@ucsi.edu.my

All applicants will be treated with strict confidence.

Only shortlisted candidates will be notified.

If men could get pregnant, the world won't be a better place to live...

An editorial of the Bohol Chronicle

Since the Top Honcho of City Hall had once said: I don't believe in tourism - it is of little wonder he treats the environment like a piece of s*** (pun intended).

The environment as any high school kid will see is vital to tourism. A polluted sea destroys the charisma of an island resort like Bohol, particularly the seaport of entry where the drainage outfall is situated just few meters across. A stinking drainage at the main artery at that like CPG Avenue and the polluted seawaters at the Tagbilaran City Port is a tourist embarassment and a health hazard to residents. We blame the City Mayor for both.

The City 's Top Public Servant failed to do his part of the bargain after securing a CPG Avenue concreting and a drainage improvement. He did what he is consistently good at: promising. He promised to build a waste water treatment facility -in return- whose very shadow we have yet to see.

Because of that and by not cutting the illegal connections to the city drainage last year (which he promised to do), CPG North had its worst nightmare of flooding for two years. Then he illegally opened the San Jose waste water outfall that threatened Tagbilaran Bay , its marine life and nearby resorts into extinction.

Now with the fiestas and the TBTK (4 year Boholanos world-wide homecoming) nearing, the carefree mayor's solution to yet another God-awful foul stench at CPG and near the City Public Market in Dao district is to illegally open the old outfall in the corners of CPG Aveneu and Visarra, Del Pilar and Inting streets -threatening tourism and health once again.

Indeed the mayor of this city is an Environmental Predator, no less.

The Governor Rico Aumentado had egged him through a strongly -worded letter to get his act together and save the city-by building that long-overdue waste water treatment facility. The onion-skinned City Public Servant reacts like a paranoid, insecure brat and hits back Capitol with non-sequitors like the alleged delay in the Salcon and Panglao Airport issues. Mr Diversionary Tactic at his best (or worst) again.

The City Mayor even had the gall to boast that his water treatment project will be finished earlier than the Governor's GMA-endorsed Panglao International Airport.

Aside from that, the Governor must now be particularly pissed off because even as Chief Executive of the province had in the past bent backwards to accommodate the whimsical change of behaviour of the City Mayor on the drainage issue. The arrogant mayor , at times, even behaved as if he had a higher ranking than the provincial governor even how he repeatedly claims maintaining respect to the governor.

Today, the Father of the Province is just reminding an errant son who seems unable to do his task in running a medium-sized city. It is akin to a Chairman of a conglomerate putting to task an executive of an affiliate (the City Mayor , in this case) who is sleeping on his job (figuratively and literally as well -we were told). Now Mr. NPL (Non-Performing Liability) is hot under his huge collar? Why?

The provincial top executive is just admonishing the City Mayor of his obligation under Section 17 of the Local Government Code to abate foul odor, pollution and other environmental malady in his area of responsibility.

Governor Aumentado is understandably annoyed because while he tries to develop the province into an agro-tourism entity, his very entry point - the City of Tagbilaran - is not living up to its name as a veritable gateway to paradise.

Then Mr Mayor predictably throws the blame on everyone in sight -except himself. He claims (now he does) that Capitol and allies should follow up with NEDA for the approval of the drainage. He had five years to do that when his relative Romulo Neri was on top as NEDA Chair -but he dilly-dallied and watched boxing bouts instead. Now that Neri is gone to act as GSIS Commissioner, Mr City Public Servant wails he is helpless.

The Promising Mayor also said (earlier) he had it wrapped up with DBP (Development Bank of the Philippines) for a P 400-Million loan for the project. The Capitol finds out the City Hall had not yet fulfilled the banking documentary requirements. If that is not sleeping on the job, we do not know what is.Oversleeping, the doctors told us, is not good for the health.

Finally the Top Honcho runs under the skirt of his Environmental Engineer-Consultant. who, among others, wants (as a monumental advice) to close the city of Tagbilaran while the pollution plague devours its innards. With friends like them, who needs enemies for the city?

No excuses, please, just build that waste water treatment facility - can you, Mr. Mayor. Will you ever?

DEMOLITION JOB ON THE MAYOR?

Whenever issues against the City Mayor are brought to the media fore, the mayor who is deathly afraid of not being reelected in 2010 - cries : this is a demolition job. So this next issue will not be an exception.

In a move interpreted to hold a sword of Damocles over 70% of the city's business firms, the City Hall has not issued renewal permits to them. This leaves them patently open to shakedown and harassments whenever these 70% firms run afoul with the mayor and his favored business cronies or allies.

This is a shameful malady that is uniquely strange for a city -once a Dream City turning into a huge Nightmare- courtesy of a warped governance methodology of a twisted City Mayor. A class suit is burgeoning which should land on the laps of the DILG, the Ombudsman or Malacanang itself. This is a clear violation of the Local Government Code.

Even the Capitol has not been spared. It is now feeling the unorthodox taxation methods of City Hall, particularly City Ordinance RC-001which in effect denies Business Permit to Operate for lessees in the Capitol unless the latter pays the lessor's fee, deemed an ultra vires act, according to the governor himself.

The Governor asked Vice Governor Julius Herrera to have this "illegal act" deleted since a city local ordinance is always subordinate to a national statute or law. He hinted that failure to do so could result in the operators at Capitol to leave their premises with budget impact on the coffers of the provincial government.

Internet cafes too, reportedly, have also not been issued renewal licenses, in the flimsy excuse that they lure students out of their classrooms. This is an oppressive class act of governance because bars, cafes, moviehouses, malls (likewise) do lure kids out of the campus as well. -if they want to.It is no different from the billiard halls in certain cities(like Dumaguete City) that once upon a time attracted even law students then (out of their classrooms) when it was in top vogue.

Do we therefore ban motorcycles from the streets because we may die riding on them?

Do we ban cigarettes because they are a hazard to one's health?We are just told they are dangerous to our lives and limbs-period.

The situation at hand. therefore, is unfair to internet cafes -especially because internet itself is a beneficial global information highway that is the object of many students' researches today. City Hall has turned anti-deluvian in its policies, it seems.

As for not giving renewals to 70% of the city's business firms- this is an apparent blackmail on firms to toe the City Mayor's line -or else. If not that, then tax harassment. A Nightmare of a city, indeed.

The City business men are angry -and will soon act.

So, the Media does not actually need to do a Demolition Job on the City Mayor- because he is already doing a good job at it himself.

Shooting himself in the foot is now his new hobby-congratulations!

By Ric Obedencio
Bohol Chronicle

A dolphin was washed ashore and found dead by a fisherman who was about to go fishing in the early morning of last Wednesday, police report said.

Ben Gamayot, a representative of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources and Vice-Mayor Jorge Buslon here confirmed this in an interview Thursday of last week.         

Police report bared that a certain Jerry Tambago, the fisherman, was preparing for fishing at about 5 in the morning in barangay Canmanico when he found the unusual huge mammal looked drifted and lifeless. He then reported to the authorities what he saw.

Though the specie was not immediately identified, the police said that the estimated 120-kilo black dolphin with white at its belly was measured at 2.8 meters in length and 1.8 in diameter.

It was not however known what was the cause of its death, that prompted the authorities concerned to entomb the mammal near the municipal agricultural officer's (MAO) office.

By Bohol Chronicle

A combined police and task force operatives in the city aborted an attempt of the hold-up gang of four to bring with their loot on Friday night.

Police identified the rob suspects as Vincent Arcales, age unknown; Mechor Peligro, 22; Ken Sabihon, 19 and a teenager (name withheld) after the operatives blocked their way to escape during the chase.

They were onboard L300 van with license plate number GKV 917.

The report said suspects just victimized three persons shortly before they were cornered by the police.

A certain Nesa Panganduyon, 22, reported to the police that she was robbed at about 12:45 Saturday dawn. This prompted the police to respond and chased the said van up to barangay Ubujan, this city.

Panganduyon was robbed of her belongings including a cell phone and unaccounted cash.

Meanwhile, the authorities concerned intensified the campaign against illegal possession of drugs and substances that proliferated in some towns, assured Intelligence Officer 3 Felimon Ruiz.

Separate report bared that a couple are facing charges before the court of law (R. A. 9165) for possession of illegal drugs after operatives raided them in the island of Nasingin, Getafe town. The spouses were identified as Danilo and Diosdada Torrejos of said island.

The province of Cebu was pointed to be the source, if not the transshipment sites of drugs.

Published by the Bohol Chronicle

Bohol media has strongly condemned the recent harassments and threats to its members and the "senseless, shameless assault to press freedom."

In an approved en masse board resolution, the Bohol Tri-Media Association (BTMA) outpoured its dismay over the on-going affronts towards its members---and the very freedom of the press which is enshrined in the Constitution---after a series of recent harassments.

The group cited these recent assaults to press freedom victimizing, first, radio blocktimer Roberto "Batchoy" Alba, then radio reporter Roger Balamad and, most recently, radio blocktimer Nestor Daarol.

The BTMA loudly denounced the harassments and threats, saying they have only shown a bankruptcy in understanding the indispensable role and supreme responsibility of the media.

It said it is the profession of the media to act as a watchdog of good governance and public interest and to report on often controversial issues affecting the community it serves.

Bullying and threatening individual mediamen as retaliation for unfavorable reporting do not only put at risk the target journalists and their families, according to the BTMA.

Print journalist Ven Arigo was physically harmed and threatened over a year ago before the series of recent attacks and harassments involving victims Alba, Balamad and Daarol.

The biggest press organization in this part of the country said attacking and threatening the media people is also clearly detrimental to the need of the greater public for vital informations to be published or aired.

The BMTA assailed the harassment to the members of the media in the performance of their work as an evident suppression of the people's right to know.

The officers of the association vowed to stand in rock solidarity with their colleagues who, for their courageous work, have become victims of aggression.

Those who signed to conform to the board resolution are president Lito Responte, vice president for radio Peter Dejaresco, treasurer Jerry Pabe, secretary Ven Arigo, auditor Batchoy Alba, and board directors Kit Bagaipo, Tibbs Bullecer, Jr., Atoy Cosap, Nestor Daarol, Bob Galero, Arnold Lucas, BJ Torralba and Chito Visarra.

As the Fourth Estate, the media or press has to act as guardian of public interest to sustain the uncompromising crusade for truth in a modern democracy, the group said.

The BTMA said any attempt to silence the press is death to the people's democratic right to express.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD4K9CTSkAI

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16

By ANGELINE VALENCIA

      The Office of the First Gentleman warns concerned local government units in Bohol at the brink of falling prey to a con artist offering to facilitate immediate release of funding assistance in exchange of a monetary consideration.

      First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo issued the warning after receiving reports that a certain Jericho Gamulo had tried to convince some mayors that he could facilitate speedy release of their respective special allotment release orders (SARO) in exchange of a certain amount of money.

      In transacting with the mayors, Gamulo allegedly claimed to be a close aide of the First Gentlemen.

      The First Gentleman, however, denied having known Jericho Gamulo and said he “never authorized anyone to represent him in any government or non-government transactions”.

      The First Gentleman’s chief of staff, Jurius Umali-Soliman, sent a communication to Governor Erico Aumentado and Mayors Telesforo Balagosa of Lila, Roberto Salinas of Catigbian, Simplicio Maestrado Jr. of Sierra-Bullones, Fanuel Cadelinia of Bilar, Gregoria Pepito of Batuan and Dan Lim of Tagbilaran City, informing them of Gamulo’s racket of misrepresenting the Office of the First Gentleman.

      Soliman had also furnished National Bureau of Investigations Director Nestor Mantaring and Assistant Director Pedro Bulaong a copy of the communication. - Sunday Post

A forwarded story via email

Last week, I took my children to a restaurant.

My six-year-old son asked if he could say grace.

As we bowed our heads he said, "God is good, God is great. Thank you for the food, and I would even thank you more if Mom gets us ice cream for dessert. And Liberty and justice for all!  Amen!"

Along with the laughter from the other customers nearby, I heard a woman remark, "That's what's wrong with this country. Kids today don't even know how to pray.  Asking God for ice cream! Why, I never!"

Hearing this, my son burst into tears and asked me, "Did I do it wrong? Is God mad at me?"

As I held him and assured him that he had done a terrific job, and God was certainly not mad at him, an elderly gentleman approached the table.

He winked at my son and said, "I happen to know that God thought that was a great prayer."

"Really?" my son asked.   

"Cross my heart," the man replied.

Then, in a theatrical whisper, he added (indicating the woman whose remark had started this whole thing), "Too bad she never asks God for ice cream. A little ice cream is good for the soul sometimes."

Naturally, I bought my kids ice cream at the end of the meal. My son stared at his for a moment, and then did something I will remember the rest of my life.   

He picked up his sundae and, without a word, walked over and placed it in front of the woman. With a big smile he told her, "Here, this is for you. Ice cream is good for the soul sometimes; and my soul is good already."   

The Obama administration and US senators have reacted angrily to the bonus payouts to executives announced on Sunday by US insurance giant AIG.

President Barack Obama's economic adviser Larry Summers said the recent goings on at AIG were "outrageous".

But he conceded that legal obligations meant the company had no choice but to pay the $165m (£116m) in bonuses.

AIG has received bailouts from the US government totalling $180bn (£127bn) since coming close to collapse in 2008.

"There are a lot of terrible things that have happened in the last 18 months, but what's happened at AIG is the most outrageous", said Mr Summers. - BBC

Bone tests on teenage Chinese athletes have shown that thousands had faked their age, often in order to keep competing in junior events.

A study in the southern province of Guangdong found one in five had lied, with some discovered to be seven years older than their registered age.

At last year's Olympics, some of China's winning gymnasts were alleged to be below the minimum age of 16.

After an inquiry, the sport's governing body cleared them of any wrongdoing.

At the weekend it emerged that a badminton player who had won a provincial title as a 14-year-old admitted to being 17 at the time. - BBC

A British mother jailed for adultery in Dubai has lost a second appeal and will stay in prison.

Marnie Pearce, 40, hoped to be freed but will have to serve the rest of a three month term. It had been reduced from six months at her first appeal.

She will be deported on her release and fears she will lose custody of her two young children.

Ms Pearce says her ex-husband accused her of adultery to gain custody of their two children, a claim he denies.

Difficult case

In a posting on her campaign website, her supporters said: "It is with great sadness that Team Marnie have to announce that the verdict will remain the same and Marnie will have to serve her time and, for now, be deported.

"We will continue to apply pressure to have the deportation order lifted, and thank everyone for their continued support."

Ms Pearce, who is originally from Bracknell, Berkshire, denies the adultery claims made by her ex-husband, Egyptian national Ihab El-Labban.

They had two children together, Ziad, four, and Laith, seven. - BBC

Mental powers start to dwindle at 27 after peaking at 22, marking the start of old age, US research suggests.

Professor Timothy Salthouse of Virginia University found reasoning, speed of thought and spatial visualisation all decline in our late 20s.

Therapies designed to stall or reverse the ageing process may need to start much earlier, he said.

His seven-year study of 2,000 healthy people aged 18-60 is published in the journal Neurobiology of Aging.

To test mental agility, the study participants had to solve puzzles, recall words and story details and spot patterns in letters and symbols. - BBC

Top 10 reasons why I prefer attending funerals over weddings
Published by Everything2.com


Don't interpret this as me preferring death and endings over life and new beginnings. I'd rather hear news of a happy couple opening the door of their life together than see the lid close on a life already lived. But the ceremonies that I've attended have been . . . well, stressful. Surprisingly, coffin lids seem better oiled than chapel doors.

And now for the top 10:

10. It's easier to take off from work for a funeral than a wedding.

9. Cemeteries are nicer meeting places than the insides of churches or reception halls, even in winter. Funeral homes usually have couches too.

8. Nobody obliges you to dance, act wild or overindulge in food and alcohol.

7. There is no expectation of gifts, only a card and consolation.

6. Funerals are (generally) quieter, without blaring music. People are also more willing to listen so communication is possible.

5. They're shorter, so I can use the day for other things too.

4. There is no pressure to help make it "the best day" in someone's life.

3. It's easier to be invited to a funeral than a wedding, since nobody wants to leave you out. You'll be more likely to meet people you already know or make new acquaintances.

2. Nobody expects you to pretend that you're having a good time if the event becomes boring.

1. Nobody ever asks "so when do you think it will be your turn?"

Published By Sunday Post

The rise and fall of  this hotel magnate is a textbook story of  legends  that makes good copy for interesting news stories.

Rising from poverty to own a hotel and other money-making enterprises, it was indeed a rags-to-riches saga for this poor boy from Antequera who then made good in this city.

The intrepid life story of Taray dated back to his school days as a working student at the University of Bohol. He then completed his Bachelor of Commerce degree, a course he used as his ticket to a promising career in business  entrepreneurship.

It was not until he earned his pile when his marriage was headed to splitville after a supposed third party came into the picture. 

This was the sordid spectacle of the life and times of Victorino Taray who was killed Thursday morning after attending mass at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Ubujan district this city.

Considering his prominence in the city’s hotel circuit, his murder immediately became the subject of radio talk shows.

The big question: who has the motive to kill Taray.

At first, the account of the killing purely centered on allegations that he has no  known enemies in business. Business rivalry was then ruled out with dispatch.

As the circumstances of the murder started to trickle in, lawyer Nereo Zamora II bared a sketchy report  of a marital break-up between the couple. He stopped short of telling  DYTR News that he was the lawyer of at least three cases-one criminal and two civil with Taray as the respondent.

WIFE DENIES HAND IN HUBBY SLAY

Speaking through her lawyer Esther Gertrude Biliran, the wife Aurelia Taray dispelled rumors circulating around  that she might be behind the killing of her husband.

Saying that she was still in a state of emotional shock, Mrs. Taray said she came out with the statement as prepared by her lawyer “to clear her name”.

Estranged since last year, their relationship turned sour, after it was reported that her husband had maintained another woman.

Mrs. Taray also said that even if they were no longer living under one roof, she denied having a role in his husband’s murder. She said she does not use violence to seek justice adding she allowed the wheels of justice to turn through the cases she has filed in court.

The hotelier was supposed to appear during Thursday hearing where he was the respondent of a criminal filed by his wife for marital infidelity. Taray was supposed to be arraigned that day before the sala of Presiding Judge Achilles Melicor.

Two civil cases also filed by his wife against the victim was for violation of Section (1) of Republic Act 9262 otherwise known as Violence Against Women and their Children Act. The two civil cases are pending before  Judge Melicor after the family court Judge Venancio Amila inhibited from handling the two civil cases.

THIRD PARTY

As a result of the case of marital infidelity, it was gathered that police were looking into the possibility of a third party being involved in the slaying of the hotel owner.  Taray was reported living  at the Via Bohol Tourist Inn along Graham Avenue when he was still alive while his wife was residing at their conjugal  abode in Basak, Taloto.

As to Taray having kept an alleged paramour, it was learned that the lady is  working in the Taray-owned tourist inn.

A reliable source revealed that the other woman earned her keeps while working in the United States. Right now, she is said to have managed a school for the deaf and the blind.

The same report said that the other woman has a husband who is hooked into drugs and this was the reason that their marriage was also on the rocks.

URGENT MOTION

As the wife was nursing the pain of losing her husband, reports reaching the Post indicated that only the other day, she filed an urgent motion for immediate closure of Via Bohol Tourist Inn and Immediate Stoppage of Business with Judicial Separation of Properties and Businesses with Application for Receivership and Prayer for Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction.

In her urgent petition, Taray’s estranged wife mentioned of the couple’s properties that included the tourist inn, a boarding house along Torero St., the Relvic Enterprises Native Products in Taloto district and the Relvic Nino Oishimanju Food House at the Island City Mall.

During happier days, the Tarays  built around  their fortune selling Antequera-made native products and sold them in wholesale basis to buyers. They then constructed the four-storey pension house along Graham Avenue. The Tarays have two children.

WIFE BARRED FROM SEEING DEAD BODY

Another sad episode of their broken marriage was when the wife pleaded to relatives to see the remains of his estranged husband while at the hospital morgue.

According to Mrs. Taray, she went to the Ramiro morgue to request the parents and siblings of her husband that she be allowed to view the remains of her dead partner.

When Mrs.Taray and her lawyer made the request to the husband’s relatives they were told that it would be better if they would not show up at the morgue and even during the vigil.

Given the negative response of the Taray family, the wife and her counsel have no other recourse but to heed to their request not to show themselves there.

Meanwhile, City Mayor Dan Neri Lim called on the local National Bureau of Investigation to look into the Taray murder and ferret out the perpetrator as early as possible.

At the same time, the city mayor Also ordered the dismantling of a makeshift hut located just across the murder scene. He said the hut was used by the suspect in waiting for his target before morning murder took place.

By June Blanco
Sunday Post

Bohol Governor Erico Aumentado has asked the Bohol Provincial Board to review the tax ordinance of Tagbilaran City and find out if indeed it had submitted the revenue code (RC) to the Board for approval.

  The governor sought the review in the light of the certification of Board Secretary Bonifacio Quirog Jr. that “per records on file in our Legislative Tracking System, there is no Provincial Resolution approving City Ordinance No. RC-001 (An Ordinance Enacting the Revenue Code of the City of Tagbilaran).”

  In a letter to Vice Gov. Julius Caesar Herrera and the members of the Board, Aumentado said the city government has used the revenue code to demand illegally for the provincial government to pay a lessor’s permit as a precondition for the issuance of a mayor’s permit to the occupants â€" including the Land Bank of the Philippines â€" of the office spaces in the Provincial Capitol Complex, in violation of the Local Government Code (LGC).

  He said the ultra vires or illegal provision is found in Section 4A.01 (Subsection 16) â€"for “Operators of hotels, motels, pension inns, drive-ins, dormitories, dwellings and other space for lease or for rent â€" P360.00.”

  Aumentado said the provision is ultra vires because it runs counter to and in derogation of Section 133 of the LGC which sets common limitations on the taxing powers of local government units (LGUs).

  It says unless otherwise provided, the exercise of the taxing powers of provinces, cities, municipalities and barangays shall not extend to the levy of, among others, taxes, fees or charges of any kind, on the national government, its agencies and instrumentalities, and LGUs.

  The governor pointed out that It is an accepted principle in this jurisdiction that an ordinance is always subordinate to a national law or statute. Thus, the Supreme Court in Primicias vs. the Municipality of Urdaneta, Pangasinan, held that “Whenever there is a conflict between an ordinance and a statute, the ordinance must give way to the statute” (93 SCRA 462).

  He said unless the illegal provision shall be struck down by the Board, “the city government shall have the sword of Damocles hanging over the head of LBP and other occupants of the Capitol Complex office spaces.”

  The city can harass them no end by simply withholding issuance of the mayor’s permit to operate business without the provincial government paying the lessor’s permit required under the revenue code, he observed.

  As a consequence, Aumentado said, if the SP will not decisively act against the said provision, the possibility looms that the present occupants at the Capitol Complex will transfer their business operation to other places which will adversely affect the income of the provincial government and its basic services to our people.

Will You Be Willing to Be a Sperm Donor? What is your stand on this issue?

March 13, 1781: The planet Uranus discovered.

On this day English astronomer William Herschel first observed Uranus. He described how he found “a curious either nebulous star or perhaps a comet,” distinguished from the stars by its clearly visible disk. Its lack of any trace of a tail and its slow motion led to the suggestion that the observations were consistent with those of a planet moving in a nearly circular orbit.

You can’t seem to make up your mind, you eat and eat and then you hide a purge or you starve yourself for weeks until you are at the lowest weight that you have ever been in your life. Anorexia and bulimia used to be considered the health problems of some confused young girls with troubled lives real or perceived.

Lately doctors have found that more and more women are being diagnosed with an eating disorder of some kind. Other misconceptions about eating disorders are that people think that they are psychological problems that can be treated with medication easily and then the person is cured for life. Neither is true. In fact, this disorder is not easily treated and the person is left to deal with it affects throughout their lives. Doctor’s believe that hormonal variations occurring near the menopause of a woman may be the reason the eating disorder developed such late in life.

These women see themselves as being overweight despite the fact that they are extremely thin. These women developing strange eating rituals or eat and regurgitating over and over again. Body dissatisfaction is the main focus of these women. For unknown reasons they can’t seem to become comfortable in their own skin. They often believe that their behaviors are secret and no one notices or cares enough to pay attention.

The idea that middle-aged women are having this problem is troubling to physicians as they work hard to try and prevent the disorder in young women. However, doctors can’t be sure if the middle aged women that are receiving treatment are new to the disorder. The thought is that they had these problems when they were very young and as they got older realized that they should seek treatment.

Complicating things is that these women are finding it difficult to locate proper treatment because for so long the focus was put on the younger woman. The women that are suffering from anorexia and/or bulimia many times suffer from perfectionism, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and anxiety. Substance abuse issues also many times play a role in many cases of both younger and older women. The most memorable and recent case occurred with a South American woman, a 24 year old teacher weighting only 77 pounds at 5 foot 2 inch tall when she passed away.

You or someone close to you might be suffering from this condition. It is a very harmful thing to suffer from, and if you suspect that someone is having trouble with an eating disorder then you should immediately take action to intervene. Do it in a graceful way so that the victim knows that you are looking out for her best interests. But don’t let it go on for any longer than it has to. Therapists are the most common way to deal with eating disorders, but there are also entire camps and seminars devoted to getting the victims back to regular eating habits.

The treatments include therapy, medication, and counseling and more counseling. Some others treatments tried are yoga. Studies have tried to link the two yoga and anorexia but studies were inconclusive and did not produce any significant changes in behavior or eating habits. Dissonance â€"based therapy which works as therapy and counseling aimed at the person’s competing ideas. There are group meetings and other more intensive therapies for those with severely dangerous cases of anorexia and/or bulimia.

Many women have been able to make positive life changes to battle their self inflicted disorder and go on to live healthier lives. It has been reported that these women will have to battle the urges and cravings to purge or starve themselves for the rest of their lives. Since no cures exist for this disorder it is the hope of therapist and people suffering anorexia and/or bulimia, that some kind of definitive preventive measures can be developed or found.

Editorial of the Bohol Chronicle

"Waterless municipalities", according to NAPC (National Anti-Poverty Commission), are those towns where less than 50% of HH (Households) have access to potable water.

There are currently 432 "waterless" towns in the country, 16 of which are located in Bohol-rivers, lakes and waterfalls, notwithstanding. There are also 210 such communities in Metro Manila, according to NAPC.

As of 2008, according to statistics, only 36.6% of Bohol HH have access to potable water or 32,884 HH of the 89,816 HH total. This 36.6% is below the national total of 46.32% HH with water access.

Those in Bohol with High Access (40-49%) but nonetheless below 50% access rate to water include: Loon (48%), Pilar (46%), Sevilla (46%), Ubay (43%) and Buenavista (40%).

Those with Medium Access (20-39%) access to potable water are: Ben Unido (33%), Catigbian (21%), Carmen (36%), Inabanga (35%), Jetafe (28%), San Miguel (34%).
Those with Low Access (20% and below): Buenavista (14%), Pitogo (14%), Talibon (19%) and Trinidad (7.5%).

Tagbilaran City and some parts of nearby Baclayon and Dauis are adequately serviced by the private-run Bohol Waterworks Utilities Inc. (BWUI) while the rest of the towns are run by their own municipal water systems.

The above is not too encouraging news for the province as water is essential to life and basic to minimum sanitation. There are of course current efforts of water system development to provide this basic necessity to Boholanos but we should stop entertaining silly ideas to sell the precious mineral to neighboring Cebu before our province mates.

Of total Philippine HH of 2,486,261 only 1,151,701 are classified as having a plus 50% of HH accessed to potable water.

That is the reason "Water Provision" is one of the priority goals of the government and an anti-poverty advocacy.

To get 50% of HH in the country to have potable water, water supply and sanitation facilities must be increased by 87%, according to Millenium Goal of government.

Municipalities who cannot wait for the Bohol "mega water projects" to be in place can still write to WASCO (Water & Sanitation Coordinating Office) NAPC 3/Floor ATI Bldg., Eliptical Road, Diliman, Quezon City for project proposals.

Baseline information (basic) is needed like: current water coverage level, projected cost of water project, and program of work. Co-implementors with the municipalities of the water project could include NGO's, water districts or water cooperatives. Likewise, it appears that the DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) can actually provide counter-part funding versus the finances provided by the LGUs.

We have always taken the position that government must ab initio take a pro-active stance as the provider of Boholano's basic needs: food, water, heath and shelter before mega projects whose pro-poor impact is not that immediate. For poor Juan de la Cruz, time is a luxury he cannot afford.

Prostate cancer, one of the most common forms of cancer in men, is not widely talked about in male circles. Yet, statistics have shown that one in six men should expect this diagnosis. This slow growing disease and today’s treatments ensure that only a few may die from it. Of course, the more you know about the disease the better the chance of being one of the few to prevention and fighting it if necessary.

High risk category patients will be those who have a family history or are currently experiencing symptoms, but regular examination can spot the cancer early by testing the amount of prostate-specific antigens in the blood. Using the most effective means of testing is the digital rectal exam where the doctor inserts a finger into the rectum and manually checks for abnormalities on the prostate. As uncomfortable as this may seem, priority will encourage you to seek regular testing the catch the cancer early to increase the chances of experiencing the effects of prostate cancer, which are much more uncomfortable than the examination.

Prostate cancer in its most common form develops in the glandular cells, typically very slowly with the possibility to spread to areas surrounding the prostate and continuing to attack the lymph nodes, lings, liver, and possibly other organs if not quickly diagnosed and treated. The prostate gland is walnut sized in the front of the rectum and below the bladder and produces the fluid that protects and supply nourishment to the sperm cells.

The scary part about prostate cancer (and many other types of cancer as well) is that the signs are not always immediately noticeable. You may have the disease for months before it grows big enough to become noticeable, and by then it may be too late. Therefore if you have even the slightest suspicion of a tumor, you should get an examination just to be doubly sure.

While the risks of prostate cancer increases with age it is also more likely to occur in black men rather than white and Hispanic men; and occurrences appear to be extremely low in Asian men. The reason for this is still unknown but at any rate, family history plays a big factor and can double your risks of actually contracting prostate cancer. Many cases of prostate cancer are symptom free with minor notification like difficulty in urination, hip and /or back pain, burning during urination, or just a weak stream of urine, or pain during ejaculation.

The encouragement to see a doctor if you experience these symptoms won’t be necessary as most men will immediately seek medical attention if these symptoms occur. Detection of the cancer is priority one, and if detected the doctor will then grade the cancer stage from 1 to 5 depending on the amount and presence of the number of cancerous cells as compared to the amount of abnormal cells. A determination of the aggressiveness of the cancer is then evaluated to produce what is called a Gleason score. The higher the score the more aggressive the cancer.

There is high hope of cure if detected and treated early. Treatments include the watch and wait approach which, as the name implies, monitors the progression for slow growing cancerous cells. Radiation treatments that can be linked to impotence, Radical prostatectomy where the prostate gland is removed, Chemotherapy drugs used for advanced stages, or hormone therapy which can slow the progression and manage the disease.

The main point is to seek immediate care if you think that you may be experiencing problems and not to let the examination scare you out of your chances for survival. Take care of your body, particularly as you enter the older stages of your life. Being cautious leads to longevity and happiness, and prostate cancer is certainly something that you need to be cautious about. For further reading, check out a book from your library, or ask for literature from your doctor.

Maintaining Healthy Gums

Your gums are practically cesspools for bacteria. It is extremely easy for your gums to come down with diseases that are quite unpleasant. These gum disease affect up to 80% of people, according to the Mayo Clinic's website. Imagine that many people, each ignoring their gums and reaping the consequences in the form of strange and horrible problems. This is an issue that can, and does lead to tooth loss. Dentists say that gum disease also leads to more serious health conditions, as it creates a pathway for viruses and bacteria to enter the body directly through the area that gets the most traffic â€" the mouth.

So what is it that causes someone to get gum disease? The answer is that most people slowly let their gums fester. Chances are that the diseases have been working their evil quietly in their teeth for quite some time. This person has been getting accumulative effects of poor dental hygiene for many years now. Sometimes they may notice the illusion that their teeth are getting more prominent, or longer. This is called gum recession and it goes hand-in-hand with gum disease. It affects a huge amount of people, even if they brush and floss their teeth religiously.

If food buildup occurs enough, tartar forms. Tarter creates a perfect environment for bacteria to flourish and grow in, and some of the time brushing and flossing will do absolutely nothing to stop it from happening. Professional cleaning will usually get the job done, but many people only visit their dentist once every year. Therefore you should try to figure out home solutions to keep your teeth as clean as possible and prevent from building homes for the bacteria to live in and gather forces to invade your neighboring gums. It may sound impossible, but it can be done.

First of all you should try to eat a healthy diet. If you are eating a bunch of sugar and junk food, your teeth’s integrity will be compromised much faster, giving extra places for bacteria to roam. You should also brush and floss religiously if you haven’t already. While these things may not be enough to prevent tartar, they will still hold it off for a much longer time than if you hadn’t done so. On top of these things, you should try out different products. Many types of special toothpaste are formulated to kill tartar. They work great, and are generally not too much more expensive than regular toothpaste.

On top of these things, you should probably go to the dentist more often than just when they send you reminder cards. 6 months is a good interval. Go in for a cleaning and an examination. The professional cleaning should get rid of all of the tartar that your own efforts have missed, and the examination will catch any cavities that could lead to tooth loss and gum disease.

Your teeth are a very important part of your life, since you use them to do so many things. If you’ve ever seen someone without any teeth try to eat, you should be plenty motivated to keep on top of things. So today, start making the move towards better oral hygiene. You will reap the benefits later in life when you have healthy gums and a mouth full of teeth.

An active mind is a healthy mind, so keeping your mind sharp is a good portion of aging well and living a better life as you grow older. If you continue to challenge and engage your brain with activities such as continued learning and healthy dieting you can maintain your healthy brain. Some activities like completing daily crossword puzzles or learning a hobby, or maybe exploring a new language will add content and continued exercise of the brain.

Expanding your horizons daily and engaging in activities that require you to think on your feet and assess information quickly and accurately will make a world of difference as you grow older. Sometimes it may take a little more effort than it used to require, but continuing to stretch your brain muscles will definitely pay off in good memory and cognitive skills.

If you are interested in maintaining brain health in the later years of life and continuing to keep your mind sharp, then listen up. Brain masses shrink a little as you get into your sixties, with some areas shrinking more than others like the frontal lobe which is the area of the brain that handles mental abilities, and the hippocampus where memories are formed. Thinning of the brain in the area of the cortex, and decreases in white matter are some reasons why brain disorders occur in the elderly.

Changes in these areas are what slow down the cognitive processing which handle decision making, problem solving, and attention. All of which have a tendency to fade as you grow older, unless…you continue to exercise these areas by forming new memories daily and allowing for a good intake of new information. With this said, aging is not a decline of brain activity. In fact the brain grows stronger and sharper as long as you continue to use it. For example; if you were an avid reader in your younger years and you continue to be a voracious reader into your golden years the rate of speed that you read and the amount of information that you are able to process as you read will increase as in “practice makes perfect,” you are actually getting better with time. Most of our abilities normally get better with time, including wisdom and problem solving skills. Keep in mind that other illnesses and ailments may contribute to any decline in the normal activity in the brain.

Simple things, like more formal education, can contribute to intellectual stimulation of the brain and may ever strengthen the brain cell networks to help in preventing mental function damage. Physical activity has always been know to have positive effects on the brain and brain functioning. Getting into an aerobic regime is the best for continued brain health as oxygen is free flowing and throughout the body and is particularly beneficial to the brains proper functioning. Having a good sense of self and knowing that the things that you do in life make a difference and believing that you are contributing to the common good has shown to reduce cognitive decline in older adults.

So to slow down the effects of the degenerative parts of the brain it would be wise to learn to concentrate and make an honest effort to pay attention. Stay organized and don’t rush, so that you are able to focus on the tasks that you are attempting. The all time favorite is repetition. Also, try your best to stay as stress free as possible as tension causes some types of memory lapses. Those senior moments can turn into senior memories if you continue to exercise your brain. So do whatever it takes to preserve your mental agility, and keep happy even as you enter your older years. When you look at the attitudes of older people, you see either depressed people, or extremely happy and satisfied people. Try to leave yourself in the latter category.

How To Prevent Strokes

When blood circulation in the brain fails, the result is a stroke. Also known as a brain attack, brain cells die from decreased blood flow and lack of oxygen. The two main categories of a stroke are those where a blockage of blood flow to the brain and those caused by bleeding in or of the brain.

Not usually life threatening, the blockage of a blood vessel in the neck or brain a causes roughly 80 percent of all strokes. Bleeding into the brain or surrounding areas of the brain causes the second kind of strokes or a hemorrhagic stroke. Sudden numbness, confusion, speech slurring, dizziness or loss of balance and headaches without cause are the symptoms that some suffering from a stroke may experience. Prevention is the key to managing your risk and prevents you from having to go through the damaging effects of a stroke. Simple lifestyle changes can greatly reduce your risk for strokes and increase your overall health simultaneously.

Many factors contribute to a person’s risk for stroke, age is one of them. Anyone can have a stroke at any age but a person’s risk increased double after the age of 55. African Americans unfortunately have a higher risk for strokes than other races. If you have suffered a stroke in the past or have experienced a mini stroke, this increases your chances of having another in the future. Alcohol use and smoking both are contributing factors of persons who have suffered a stroke and being overweight. Persons with high blood pressure, high cholesterol and irregular heat rhythm can cause a person to have a stroke. The ways to reduce your chances of having a stroke are many and very manageable and will produce some beneficial life changes. First and foremost, stop smoking. If you smoke, stop as soon as you can. Smoking is the major cause of numerous illnesses. Drink less alcohol and loss weight if you are overweight.

Try your best to control any other illnesses such as diabetes and high blood pressure and change your eating habits. You have the power to prevent strokes by incorporating any or all of these very minor lifestyle changes. One of the most effective methods is to eat healthier foods. Almonds, apples, cinnamon, fish and oatmeal all contain ingredients that lower cholesterol and heart diseases as well as the possibility of having a stroke. Dark chocolates, tea, and strawberries are other foods that contain nutrients that benefit the body and help to maintain good immune systems. If you have suffered from a stroke in the past there are things that you have control over to prevent the reoccurrence of strokes. Prevention of a reoccurrence of a stroke and maintaining good health include medications and getting regular exercise to control heartbeat and breathing. Reducing your intake of harmful agents like caffeine, animal fats, and sugars and limiting your intake of processed foods. The most important thing is to rearrange your lifestyle to a healthier way of living, taking care of your body in whole to prevent diseases of all kinds to improve your quality of life for the long term.

No matter if you are above the age of 55 or if you still have decades to go, you definitely need to consider the prevention of strokes. You may have had a horrible diet and awful exercise habits in the past, but changing can help you see positive effects right away. On top of the mental clarity that comes from physical health, you can prevent things like strokes from happening. So tomorrow instead of wasting time in front of the TV or reading the paper, you should get your tennis shoes on and go for a run or a brisk walk. If that doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, you can also benefit from stretching, swimming, playing tennis, or any other physical activity that you enjoy.

By Angeline Valencia
Bohol Sunday Post

The overflow of wastewater from the manholes of the drainage system along three major streets in Tagbilaran City traced back to its very closure that the Department of Public Works and Highways had undertaken earlier.

On this, City Environmental Consultant Cecil Corloncito recommended the opening of the drainage that DPWH had closed and that DENR has to determine the establishments that discharged wastewater.

The consultant also sought for a check on the actual closure of the three streets by opening the CPG drainage cover to confirm and an explanation from DPWH and DENR about the closure action.

In the status report dated March 6, 2009, Corloncito cited that the main cause of the overflow was the closing of the drainage along V. Inting St., M.H. del Pilar and G. Visarra Sts.

"The action is going beyond the DENR order which only asked to close 'illegal connections' from establishments by closing main line drainage along these three streets," Corloncito pointed out.

His analyses stated that the overflows along the three streets "happened exactly at the same time when DPWH conducted the 'cleaning' three weeks ago".

How To Keep Mentally Alert

Have you recently noticed that your mind tends to wander no matter what you are doing? Do you walk into a room only to forget why you even came in? You are not alone. This sort of absentmindedness plagues a huge percentage of the world’s population. It can be very frustrating, and so you should try to do your best to keep an alert mental state. There are many ways to do this, and if you are not taking advantage of any of them then you should start today. Read on to find out about some of the most common and popular ways to maintain mental alertness.

Exercise is the one that you will hear the most. It is easy to get caught in a rut of going to work and then coming home and relaxing. Instead of sitting in front of the TV all night, why don’t you lift some weights or go for a run? Exercise releases just the right chemicals into your brain to make you more alert, not only during the exercise, but for the rest of the day until you go to sleep. This is why so many people like to start off their days with a good run through the neighborhood. The type of exercise you choose will depend on what options are available to you.

Another way to increase mental alertness is to stimulate your mind at least once per day. It is very healthy to always teach yourself new things. Whether you sit down and read a science fiction book with interesting scientific theories, or you read a college textbook and discover new things about biology, there is everything to be gained from learning new things. Not only do you get to keep the great knowledge, but you also will sustain higher levels of alertness due to the effort that it takes to learn all of those things. So go to the library today and find a book that piques your interest.

A good amount of sleep is crucial to being mentally alert. If you are only getting 5 hours of sleep per night and you are complaining about being forgetful, then you should slap yourself in the face right now. The answer is very obvious. All you need to do is regularly sleep more. If you don’t give your mind enough time to recuperate, then you can expect to see poorer performance. If your job requires you to get up early, then go to bed earlier. If you have too much to do, then all you need to do is plan your days out better so that you get things done more efficiently and leave more time to sleeping.

Ultimately the best thing to do is to combine these three methods to remain as mentally awake as possible. If you start to utilize all 3 of these, you should start seeing improvements in a matter of days. Hopefully you will stop losing things, stop forgetting important dates, and generally stop being so absentminded. If the problem persists, then you should talk to a doctor or a shrink about any stressors that could be causing you to mentally stray away from other areas in your life. Hopefully it doesn’t come to that, but you shouldn’t ignore the possibility.

How Exercise Can Improve Your Sex Life

Candlelight dinners, sweet gifts, and soft music are some things people do to initiate intimate relations. But can exercise work just as well and contribute to a healthy sex life? According to the American Council on Exercise it can. Heating your sex life can be accomplished through maintaining a good exercise regimen improving sexual function in both men and women. Exercise is not only a physical but mental activity much like sex is. Exercise can enhanced sexuality because of the benefits gained in muscle strength, endurance, and cardiovascular functioning. Increased performance of blood flow and increased levels of testosterone levels all lead to a robust and energetic sex life. Studies published in the Electronic Journal of Human Sexuality conclude that people who regularly exercise have a better perception of themselves, and are more confident in their physical abilities, and find themselves more sexually attractive which all add to feelings of competency in love making. They also experience higher levels of satisfaction or may feel more sexually desirable to the opposite sex.

For men, a good healthy body contributes to a good healthy erection and reduction of the risks for impotency. Adding years to a man’s life, exercise increases blood flow allowing for better erections with a more than 30 percent lower risk of impotence than men who do not regularly exercise. Because good circulation is necessary for good sexual functioning, it stands to reason that performance is enhanced with better circulation and increased blood flow to organs used when having sex. On the other hand, men who are obese or overweight have mental and physical limitations that interfere with the positive affects of good circulation. They may feel less adequate when having sex, or experience difficulty with the physical demands of sexual activity. Slimming down is a great ego boost, and it gets some of the “extra baggage” out of the way.

For women, a good exercise program could have a positive effect on their sex loves with increase enthusiasm, cardio, and muscular endurance as well. Females may find that they are able to hold positions for longer periods of time and enjoy longer lasting sex and greater comfort. Greater comfort during sex and increased endurance has the possibility of better ability to achieve orgasms for women who have a problem achieving satisfying orgasms. Conditioning of the body and its muscle groups allow for greater flexibility, making the sexual activity more enjoyable as you are able to try new things that might not have been possible before. I’ll let you use your imagination for this one.

Boosting your sex life with physical activity is boosting your overall general health and the healthier you are the better your sex life can be. The psychological benefits such as improved self esteem, good mood, and increased confidence along with stress reduction benefits are immediately noticeable. The more your health and physical abilities improve the better your sex life can be. Simple exercises like walking briskly at least two miles per day can reap wonderful benefits in the bedroom. So just imagine the benefits you could gain from an overall exercise regime. So, getting healthy and staying healthy only has more benefits than you might have originally though.

If you are really interested in getting fit, you should look into a membership at your local gym. You can use their cardio machines and weight machines to gain considerable stamina and muscle mass. You may even skip the gym membership, and go for a run every day. This will get you in great shape as well, it just depends on how much you want to get into the whole fitness thing. Being fit has hundreds of benefits, and better sex is just one of them. So as soon as you can, start doing more research related to how you can get fit, and how it will help you in life.

Enhancing the quality and length of your life by quitting smoking is a worthwhile effort. It is definitely not an easy task, but it can be accomplished with time and patience. To quit smoking successfully, finding out what your options are. Knowing where to go for help is a wise first step.
Quitting smoking is the best move that you can make for your health and the health of all of those around you. Just about everyone knows by now that smoking causes diseases that shorten your life or those that may even end it. Diseases such as lung cancer, throat, esophagus, bladder, and kidney, and pancreas cancers are some horrible things caused by smoking for a start. Not to mention some leukemia, stomach, and cervix cancers, and newly added by the Surgeon General is pneumonia. People who smoke are more than three times as likely to die due to heart attack as non smokers. Smoking is a major risk factor for a disease that narrow the blood vessels that transport blood to the limbs and muscles called peripheral vascular disease as well as the disease that causes some strokes.

If that‘s not enough to convince you to stop smoking, let’s look at your appearance. Premature wrinkling of skin, chronic bad breath, discolored fingernails and hair, and an increase risk of macular degeneration a leading cause of blindness in the elderly. Smoking over the age of thirty-five if you are a woman can put you in a high risk group for stroke, heart attack, and blood clots of the legs, low birth weight of babies and miscarriages. But the hopeful portion of this message is that if you decide to quite regardless of how long you’ve smoked or how much, quitting will help you to live longer. In as little as twenty minutes after quitting smoking the heart rate and blood pressure drops and in one to nine months following quitting smoking, circulation in your hands extremities and lung function increases. Shortness of breath decreases and your lungs begin to function properly, cleaning the lungs and removing mucus that causes infection. Fifteen years of non smoking and your risk of heart disease is that of non smoking persons. These benefits can be obtained from quitting smoking even if you are suffering from a smoking related illness already. Smoking is less socially accepted now more than ever. Smoking bans have been placed in just about every workplace in the nation along with airports, public buildings. Even friends may insist that you not smoke in their houses or cars. Some people may even find dating more difficult because of a bad smoking habit. So the social impacts of not smoking will probably change your life for the better if you quit.

If you have a family, that is another great motivation to quit smoking. The main reason is that the secondhand smoke could pose serious health problems for others who do not deserve such things. You should also consider what kind of role model you are being to any small children that you live with, whether they are your own kids, siblings, nieces and nephews, or any other relation. You may be living with kids who look up to you as an authority figure, and if you teach them that smoking is alright you will feel very guilty later in life.

Some of the many new products used to help an individual to stop smoking are really very effective. Counseling services, reading materials, medicines, and patches are all widely available and have produced some amazing results. Educational materials alone may be the best beginning start to an attempt to quit because once you know what kind of damage you are doing to your body the prudent and reasonable person will definitely see that it is the very best thing to do. However, it has been documented and researched that the highest success rates occur when a combination of methods are used simultaneously. Take the time and do it for yourself and your loved ones, quit for life.

You wanna pick up a fight? Be my guest

By Boy Guingguing
BGLante Column, Sunday Post

The microphone-friendly former mayor of Panglao Dr. Doloriech Dumaluan went to town last week to malign the integrity of this BGlante. Tit for tat? I love this game.

Before this BGlante goes any further, let me assure the good mayor that anything bad thrown at my direction is always welcome. Nothing personal. Truth to tell, tirades of the false kind always drive our adrenalin level to new heights. So, it is always a big deal if people of Dr. Dumaluan's kind do make our day right. You wanna pick up a fight over the air lanes? Be my guest.

If those who listened to Dumaluan's tirades thought that I was hurt, you better think again.

After having been subjected to all kinds of brickbats, barbs, innuendoes, insinuations, malicious imputations, derogatory statements, demolition jobs, libelous remarks etc., for the last 30 years, there really is nothing new about our checkered life as a mediaman.

This BGlante had been through to the worst verbal attacks ever known to human kind and yet we survive as always with flying colors.

If our information were correct, the good doctor even went to the extent of insinuating that we are one worst enemy of municipal mayors.

In one of our polite repartees to Dumaluan's charges during our early morning radio program last week, we said without batting an eyelash, that all the former mayor will do is see for himself if not majority of all municipalities of Bohol are subscribers of our newspaper, The Bohol Sunday. The subscription copies range from as low as 15 to as high as 100 per municipalities per issue. And this subscription arrangement was going on for years already. That alone will demolish any insinuation of a bad blood between this BGlante and Bohol mayors.

Not only that. If Dumaluan's eyesight is not betraying him, may be can pore over the files of our newspapers if not 90% of all municipal ordinances are printed in the Bohol Sunday Post.

What drove Dumaluan's goat when he was frothing in the mouth castigating us of our so-called "sins of omission" was our civic duty to file a civil action against his failure to file a Statement of Assets and Liabilities (SALN) when he was mayor of Panglao.

The former town mayor took offense of our civic mindedness. One of my strong defenses against the malicious attacks of the former mayor is that any citizen of this benign republic has its own civic duty. When ex-mayor Dumaluan ran for public office and won, did he not swear to the Panglao electorate to perform his civic duty of serving the people? That exactly was my motive in filing the legal suit against Dumaluan before the Office of the Ombudsman for violation of Republic Act No. 6713 otherwise known as the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

After all is said and done, this BGlante's advice to the good mayor is that if he feels offended why a case was filed against him, all he has to do is avail of the legal remedies accorded to his defense.

The ex-mayor was also quoting falsehoods known in legal parlance as "fruit of a poisoned tree". He mentioned of some financial shenanigans in our stint as an insurance executive more than 30 years ago. If the good mayor can produce any paper trail indicating any wrongdoing on our part, we challenge him to produce the same. I will offer a free space in my paper to accommodate any damaging information against this BGlante.

Our hunch is that he was being mislead of this information by someone who turned out to be the most polluted source hereabouts.

By Fred Amora
Associate Editor, the Bohol Standard

For allegedly hiring media barkers, he calls basurero, Tagbilaran City Mayor Dan Lim is now on a warpath, rampaging towards the camp of first district congressman Edgar Chatto.

“Mora mog tan-awon boutan mo kaayo, unya inyo diay kong giluib…. sa inyong pamaage (you look saintly but you stab me in my back),” the city mayor said yesterday.

“I am not concerned about vice mayor Toto Veloso kay lamba ma nang suntok ani, dimana siya scientific.”

“Sooner, I will go to Balilihan (hometown of Cong. Chatto) and I will attack him there personally. Let us see if he likes what I do,” he added with determination.

* * * * *

Now this is all about media barbs that the city mayor really is so conscious.

I myself, stopped speaking on radio despite my hefty talent fee, since the Mayor who actually is my kind benefactor, had manifested he don’t like my style when I am on radio. Dili daw ko kaantigo mamakak!

So dapat tingale hilom na lang ko oy!

Pero, mas maayo, undanga na ninyo nang dinautay sa radio. Wa man na ayo.

Now since the mayor is talking about some “media for hire” out to allegedly destroy his name, I am afraid this could contaminate the media industry.

Bayad gani hisgutan, morag wala jod mobalibad.

* * * * *

So my clear message now, is whoever wants to hire a media barker, be sure they are assets, not liabilities. Kon inyo media barker notorious pud, di mapagan lang sad ka hinoon.

Ako, sulaye ko. You will be thankful you had my services, but on one condition. If my candidate wins, I want to be appointed as Bids and Awards Committee chairman.

Hee..hee. Maayo nang sabot tang daan!

Think about this: “Many things happen between the cup and the lip.”
(Robert Burton, 1577 - 1640)

Recuva (pronounced "recover") is a freeware Windows utility to restore files that have been accidentally deleted from your computer. This includes files emptied from the Recycle bin as well as images and other files that have been deleted by user error from digital camera memory cards or MP3 players. It will even bring back files that have been deleted by bugs, crashes and viruses!

Download link: http://www.recuva.com/

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The promotional seat sale is valid for travel from April 1 to July 31, 2009. Domestic fares are all-inclusive; International passengers need only to pay travel taxes, except OFWs and foreigners staying in the Philippines for less than a year who are exempt. Promo fares are non-refundable.

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From a forwarded email.

It is popular in Japan today to drink water immediately after waking up every morning.

Furthermore, scientific tests have proven  its value. We publish below a description of use of water for our readers. For old and serious diseases as well as modern illnesses the water treatment had been found successful by a Japanese medical society as a 100% cure for the following diseases:
Headache, body ache, heart system, arthritis, fast heart beat, epilepsy, excess fatness, bronchitis asthma, TB, meningitis, kidney and urine diseases, vomiting, gastritis, diarrhea, piles, diabetes, constipation, all eye diseases, womb, cancer and menstrual disorders, ear nose and throat diseases.

METHOD OF TREATMENT

1. As you wake up in the morning before brushing teeth, drink 4 x 160ml glasses of water .....interesting

2. Brush and clean the mouth but do not eat or drink anything for 45 minutes

3. After 45 minutes you may eat and drink as normal.

4. After 15 minutes of breakfast, lunch and dinner do not eat or drink anything for 2 hours

5. Those who are old or sick and are unable to drink 4 glasses of water at the beginning may commence by taking little water and gradually increase it to 4 glasses per day.

6. The above method of treatment will cure diseases of the sick and others can enjoy a healthy life.

The following list gives the number of days of treatment required to cure/control/reduce main diseases:

1. High Blood Pressure - 30 days

2. Gastric - 10 days

3. Diabetes - 30 days

4. Constipation - 10 days

5. Cancer - 180 days

6. TB - 90 days

7. Arthritis patients should follow the above treatment only for 3 days in the 1st week, and from 2nd week onwards - daily.

From a forwarded email

It is nice to have a cup of cold drink after a meal. However, the cold water will solidify the oily stuff that you have just consumed. It will slow down the digestion.

Once this 'sludge' reacts with the acid, it will break down and be absorbed by the intestine faster than the solid food. It will line the intestine. Very soon, this will turn into fats and lead to cancer. It is best to drink hot soup or warm water after a meal.

By Gerry Plaza
Philippine Daily Inquirer

“That’s so funny,” singer-composer-actor Ogie Alcasid said in a short message to the Philippine Daily Inquirer in denying reports that he has separated from girlfriend Regine Velasquez.

Even talent managers of both Alcasid and Velasquez denied this.

“Not true,” said Leo Dominguez, Alcasid’s manager when asked by the Inquirer about the reports. In addition, entertainment reporters said they spotted “Ogie last Saturday and sensed nothing (wrong).”

For her part, Cacai Velasquez, sister and talent manager of Regine, told the Inquirer in a separate message that the reports were also “not true.”

Reports reaching INQUIRER.net from insiders in GMA Network said there was talk about the separation.

Other sources claimed that this was the network’s strategy to draw attention away from the controversy between talent manager Annabelle Rama and network executive Wilma Galvante.

An editorial of the Bohol Chronicle

Time there was when people feared because : You Can't Fight City Hall.
Today, the slogan is: Can City Hall defend the indefensible?

For instance Top Honcho's Executive Assistant Arlene Karaan got her foot inside her mouth instead after displaying a City Accountant certification that of the COA-reported P 722,643 of her unliquidated advances, a huge 80% of that or P 572,361 is stilll unliquidated.

Now thanks to the  "sound advice" of the City Hall legal clowns, Karaan may have to face the Ombudsman -for this is already 2009 and 2007 cash advances still unliquidated. The same with His Immensity, who has sang the "Sound of Silence" on his humongous P 3.0-Million in unliquidated 2007 advances per COA. Let's see the COA 2008  Report, for good measure, too.

The same Ms. Karaan was so peeved about her messing up of public funds, at DYTR she threw foul-smelling liquid to the face of broadcaster Nestor Daarol (last February 28) who was merely commenting on the COA's recent expose. This was done inside the very premises of a media outfit, a literal desecration of freedom of speech and the press.

Ms. Karaan's gall was probably because she had the full weight of His Immensity behind her dastardly act - because the City Mayor defended rather than reprimanded her act of violence. Cebu -based Boholano broadcaster Choy Torralba of Station DYRF -in his well received radio commentary program - hit the "violent act of a public official."

The rule of violence -and not the law-has taken over the City?

Why not indeed? Leadership is always by example. Let us go back in time.

Back  in 1988, broadcaster Choy Torralba was slapped by the Violent Honcho in the city airport -because, then -as now -   the Mayor of this Tourist City -did not like what Choy said in media.
The Supreme Court, according to Choy Torralba, convicted this sitting mayor for the violence done on a media practitioner.

Is this City proud to have a mayor like this ? To say nothing about the barnyard language he continues to use today to belittle the critics of his awful governance?

Lawyer Victor de la Serna also rhethorically asked: "After Nestor, who? After foul water,what?"
Are the critics of the City Mayor now all under violent siege?

The City Mayor, again full of himself, acted as judge and said in his radio program: In any weighing scale, (his critics) Nestor Daarol and Batchoy Alba will not pass the grade. The problem with listening to ignorant advisers is that the poor Chief Executive of the city does not even know that both Daarol and Alba passed the (Kapisanan ng mga Broadkaster ng Pilipinas)  KBP accreditation exams.

One has to take a competitive test of the KBP before being accredited. What weighing scale is His Immensity using then when he himself is not accredited broadcaster by the KBP.

And in contrast , what can we say about a hallucinating broadcaster who sometimes doubles as a Mayor who pontificates on the airwaves as if he owed everyone a living?

As a Fourth Estate , there is this popular adge that media is a natural critic. "It is there to comfort the afflicted, and to afflict the comfortable". It is to even the field of power. But in functioning as a commentator masquerading as a city hall achievement reporter, the City Mayor wants "to comfort the comfortable." He wants to rate himself as a public official.

Something crude, there. But we will defend his right to say those things in the same way we honor the right of Daarol and Alba to say theirs - especially because the latter are legitimate broadcasters. Let the people judge.

This Emperor hallucinating as a Broadcaster had said all the issues against him are "fabricated". If you really believe they are, Mr. Mayor - go defend yourself for the unliquidated advances, for the "grossly disadvantageous Agora deal" and Department of Finance for tax harassment. And then wait for your trial for environmental offenses.

You boasted you are a crack lawyer who will "legally tear my opponents apart." Well, Paper Tiger?
We know the founder of Bohol Journalism and the Bohol Chronicle Jun Dejaresco was a good lawyer -schooling in Cebu City (University of San Carlos) with the likes of Tommy Toledo, Blike Suarez and Ondoy Gallares. He was good enough to teach law at the Holy Name school then.

Your minions had desecrated his name (a dead man who cannot defend himself, those cowards) by insinuating he was not paying his taxes. He was a good lawyer - who did not pass the bar by accepting " bar exam leakages"- or spending his law school days copying from others on taxation and human rights in the classroom.

The City Mayor should defend himself in the courts he had taken himself -because legal cases  cannot be won on the airwaves.

In his radio program  yesterday, His Arrogance stated that he if just wanted peace and quiet, all he would do was to put all his advertisements in the Bohol Chronicle and Station DYRD. Wrong, Mr. Mayor.

We are not for sale. The City Mayor should stop using people's money to ingratiate himself to his sycophants and attempt to buy his enemies and the neutrals.

Even if City Hall uses the entire budget to fatten our advertsing reveneus- we will not stop criticizing his Governance of corruption, violence, vendetta and anti-environment.

Well, truly, one can never really defend the indefensible. And as for honor?

Well, one cannot defend what one does not have.

By the Bohol Chronicle

The police investigators here are still facing a blank wall as to who were the perpetrators of the kidnap try of a teenager that took place here last week in this northern municipality, said P02 Jake Catane in an interview yesterday.

An eight-year old kid eluded kidnapping try from his four masked abductors on board of white van along the highway of barangay Moto Sur, of this town.

In an interview with Contact Point over DyRD, P02 Anselmo Mesiona of Loon police station said that while the kid (name withheld) was on his way to Moto Sur Elementary School along the national highway at about 12:30 high noon, a van all of a sudden stopped and two unidentified masked men tried to snatched the kid to the waiting white van. The bonnet-wearing men failed.

It was not clear how the kid eluded the snatching attempt when the two men tried to grab the would-be victim The kid wasted no time and ran for his life.

The kid told police that before he could ran away he saw two female kids who were hogtied and their mouth zipped up inside the van.

Police are still probing the incident and reported it to police main office at Camp Dagohoy in this city. No report yet of the license plate number of the van and identity of the van owner.

Catane said that they already alerted the neighboring towns immediately after the incident. He added that the PNP of this town have checked every public school if there are children reported missing. But there was none.

The police here was wondering why the incident was not immediately reported to them until five hours later.

The Chronicle has withheld the identities of the kid and his father who is an official of the said barangay. (RVO)

By the Bohol Chronicle

A dispute among relatives over a piece of inherited land led to the slaying of a couple on Friday in the town of Inabanga .

The slain couple’s 12-year old son saw the violent killing of his father Francisco Piadora y Roxas, 59, and mother Leonita Piadora y Sentinales, 48, around 4:30 p.m. along the barangay road in Baguhan, Inabanga.

Based on the boy’s account, his parents were on their way home when the suspects identified as Ramon Bustamante and Constaniani Sentinales accosted them.

Bustamante and Sentinales, who are close relatives of the victims, were said to have been waiting for the Piadora couple.

Leonita sustained two bullet wounds on her forehead and was also stabbed on the chest.

Ramon, on the other hand, was stabbed on the neck, according to the victims’ son who is now in the custody of relatives after the incident.

The couple died on the spot, police said, as the two suspects fled.

Sentinales was later arrested by the Inabanga PNP in a hot pursuit operation. She is currently detained at the Inabanga Police Station. Bustamante remains at large.

By the Bohol Chronicle

Broadcaster Nestor Daarol filed last Tuesday before the City Prosecutors Office grave coercion charges against the city mayor’s top aide, Arlene Karaan who allegedly doused him liquid of unbearable foul odor when he was about to anchor his weekly program over dyTR last Saturday.

Sworn before City Prosecutor I Viviana Bautista, the broadcaster charged Karaan for grave coercion under Article 286 of the Revised Penal Code while reserving his right to file a separate complaint as a public official for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and for violation of Republic Act No. 6713.

Daarol narrated that Karaan and her companions suddenly emerged when he entered the offices of the radio station and immediately doused the liquid that caused him to fall dizzy and disoriented and difficulty of breathing. The physical condition prevented him from anchoring his radio program which followed right after the program of the city mayor last Saturday.

The broadcaster stressed that he know Arlene Karaan because she used to facilitate the serving of refreshments among media persons during press conferences conducted by the city mayor.
Because of the incident, he could not anchor his program last Saturday.

Daarol said the “forced prevention was due to the violence done by respondent and her companions, by their material force and display of force as to produce intimidation upon me.”
After dousing, Karaan “drew a hard object that resembled a rattan stick while shouting invectives and threats against me.”

He recalled respondent telling him “Tingalig wala ka kaila nako? Nganong hilabtanon ka kaayo?” (Don’t you know me? Why are you such a meddler?).

“Because of the continuing violence and sensing that I faced danger of further physical harm, instinctively, I retreated to the adjacent news anchor’s booth as a measure of self preservation,” the broadcaster narrated.

Daarol in his affidavit stated that the “incident was triggered because I was exposing the release of the P6.5 million unliquidated cash advances incurred by officials of the city government led by the city mayor and his assistants.”

“There is no other reason for Karaan who is an executive assistant of the city mayor and her companions John Does to restrain and prevent me from going on the air than try to, and successfully, prevent me from exposing these anomalous unliquidated cash advances incurred by city officials,” he continued.

Daarol said he underwent medical examination to determine the extent of the harm of the liquid substance upon his health.

In his radio program yesterday prior the filing of his complaint, the broadcaster vowed to continue his crusade to expose anomalies in government.

By the Bohol Chronicle

The recent incident involving an executive assistant of the city mayor was condemned as an "affront to press freedom."

Cebu based Boholano broadcaster Choy Torralba of dyRF-Cebu went on air last Thursday to lambast the city mayor for condoning, instead of repremanding Arlene Karaan, an executive assistant of the mayor who doused liquid of extremely offensive odor to the face of broadcaster Nestor Daarol inside the offices of station dyTR last Feb 28.

He said that the act of Karaan was unbecoming of a public servant especially that she holds a key position in the office of the city mayor. 

Since the city mayor defended the act of Karaan, then the public can suspect that she was ordered to do such act to the broadcaster, Torralba asserted.

He reminded the mayor to be transparent in his public actuations especially when they involve people's money being indiscriminately used by public officials.

"Public accountability was what broadcaster Daarol was asking, thus does not deserve such act from a public official," he continued saying that if she was indeed cleared of such accusations of unliquidated cash advances, then she has to explain in public and not resort to such dastardly act."

Torralba recalled that he got the city mayor convicted of slight physical injuries up to the Supreme Court when he was slapped  by the mayor at the City Airport in June 1988.

Because of what he knows of the mayor's personality, he was not surprised on what his top aide is also doing, the radio commentator said.

By the Bohol Chronicle

In an effort to explain the P722,643.41 unliquidated cash advances attributed to her name based the 2007 year end report of the Commission on Audit (COA), the city mayor’s Executive Assistant Arlene Karaan revealed her outstanding cash advances of P572,361 as of December 31, 2008.

Meanwhile, the city mayor remain silents on his P3 million unliquidated cash advances as reported by the Commission on Audit as of Dec.2007. The "missing" supporting document  from the 2007 COA Report was ordered release last week by COA  Chairman Reynaldo Villar.

Presenting a certification from the Office of the City Accountant during the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) session on Friday, Karaan bared she already submitted a liquidation report on her cash withdrawals in fiscal year 2007.

The accounting records showed that during 2008, Karaan partially liquidated a total of P110,882.41.

An examination of the records however revealed that the said liquidation included cash advances since September and October 2007 and December 14, 2006.

Based on the city accountant’s records of liquidation, Karaan was granted a cash advance for a “City Hall family get together” worth P15,382.41 on December 14, 2006; the National Open Youth and Woomen’s Amateur Boxing Championship worth P45,500 on September 19, 2007; and Senior Citizen’s Social Assistance Program amounting P50,000 on October 30 2007.

Of the P722,643.41 unliquidated cash advances of Karaan at the end of 2007, P572,361 are still outstanding to date.

During the launching of the Sandugo celebration in 2007, Karaan was given a cash advance of P50,000 on March 16, 2007. The liquidation report had been submitted to the Accounting office but is still pending review.

P412,361 was also released to Karaan on March 20, 2007 for travel of several officials participating in a Lakbay Aral to Metro Manila and Luzon cities on March 21 to 24.

The liquidation report for this activity was submitted to the Accounting office but later returned to Karaan due to lack of supporting papers.

On June 29, 2007, Karaan again advanced P50,000 for the 41st Charter Day celebration. A liquidation report was also submitted to the Accounting office last year but is still pending review.
A P60,000 boxers’ honorarium was likewise granted to Karaan on October 30, 2007 which is also pending review at the Accounting office.

The certification presented by Karaan was not personally signed by City Accountant Kurt Adolph Bungabong.

By the Bohol Chronicle

Considering the need for an independent inquiry into alleged manipulations in the bidding for P168-million worth of heavy equipment to be purchased by the provincial government, Vice Gov. Julius Caesar Herrera yesterday instituted the creation of a committee to conduct an investigation of the procurement process.

During the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP) session yesterday, the Committee on Public Accountability was formed to immediately look into a complaint filed by Kowa Tsusho Ltd., a supplier who failed to submit its bid on time due to procedural lapses of the provincial government’s Bids and Awards Committee (BAC).

Lawmakers unanimously passed the ordinance creating the group chaired by Board Member Aster Piollo with Board Members Jose Veloso, Cesar Tomas Lopez, Amalia Tirol and Josil Trabajo as members.

The committee is scheduled to meet this week to conduct its own investigation.
“With due respect to the probe and findings of provincial legal officer Atty. Handel Lagunay, the SP should conduct inquiries in aid of legislation to give us a clear understanding on how the bidding was carried out,” Vice Gov. Herrera said.

According to Herrera, provincial lawmakers have oversight functions in monitoring compliance on measures and whether these are properly administered by the BAC.

“We have to eliminate wastage of funds, more so, the public perception of dishonesty and corruption among government officials,” Herrera said.

The complaint of Kowa Tsusho had been the subject of a privileged speech by Board Member Lopez who urged the BAC to strictly adhere with Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the Government Procurement Law, RA 9184.

The SP first referred the supplier’s complaint to the committees on good government chaired by Board Member Veloso and the committee on government properties headed by Board Member Tirol.

Both lawmakers however manifested that their committees do not have jurisdiction over the BAC and the equipment that has yet to be purchased.

By the Bohol Chronicle

Amid the furor of rampant graft and corruption in the country, City Hall officials and employees with unliquidated cash advances were urged yesterday to “come out in the open and explain to erase public doubts of anomalous use of government funds”.

“We are up to the challenge for a ‘house cleaning’ as this is the only way to get to the bottom of this controversy,” said City Vice Mayor Jose Antonio Veloso said throwing back the challenge at the city mayor whose name appeared with an unsettled cash advance of over P3-million as of December 2007.

The list of unliquidated cash advances, provided by the Commission on Audit (COA), included two top executives under the office of the city mayor â€" Executive Assistant Arlene Karaan with P722,643.41 and City Administrator Walter Toston with P235,715.

The details of the P6,478,903.46 unliquidated cash advances was finally released by City Auditor Teresita Irig after receiving orders from COA Chairman Reynaldo Villar who had been informed by Veloso that copies of which are withheld by the city auditor and city accountant Kurt Bungabong.

The Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) committee on public accountability, chaired by Kag. Mariquit Oppus, “should trace the accounts and identify the underlying transactions behind the cash advances,” Veloso added in his interview over top-rated radio program “Inyong Alagad” yesterday.

According to the vice mayor, there are several names in the list and they should be summoned by the committee to check if they have already liquidated their cash advance.

“Incurring cash advances is normal as long as it is for a valid purpose and the liquidation is done on time,” Veloso stressed, “if not, then we remind them of their responsibility to settle their accountabilities.”

Under COA rules, there are two types of cash advances â€" regular and special. A regular cash advance are those released to disbursing officers (ex.: for salaries and wages) while special cash advances are for official travels.

Elected officials can be granted cash advances for their official travel expenses while appointive officials may be granted advances but limited to their cash bond to the Bureau of Treasury which is renewed every year.

A cash advance for local travel should be liquidated within 30 days and foreign travels in 60 days.
However, the vice mayor noted that there are several accounts in the list that are long overdue, in fact, there are a number that remain unliquidated for more than a year now.

“We cannot blame the people to entertain doubts as the city accountant and city auditor tried to conceal the list despite repeated demands by lawmakers in the minority bloc,” Veloso said.

Veloso cited the cash advance of the city mayor that showed an unsettled balance of more than P3 million which means his travel expenses must have been more than the remaining unliquidated balance.

“That’s a huge expenditure for travel. It has to be examined for what purpose the cash advances were used,” he said.

COA rules do not allow additional cash advances if there are unsettled accounts or the limit of the bond has been exceeded.

“You would wonder why the cash withdrawals were allowed. Are these justified by the official? Or, did the COA send demand letters and the accountable official still failed to liquidate?” Veloso asked.

The vice mayor added that if it is proven that there have been demands for liquidation, then there is prima facie evidence that can be a ground for charges of gross neglect of duty as prescribed by COA and civil service guidelines.

Veloso also awaits an updated audit report for fiscal year 2008 that should be considered by the committee of Kag. Oppus.

By the Bohol Chronicle

Examiners of the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) are suspicious of fake money claims on insured deposits of the closed Pilipino Rural Bank (PRBank) Tagbilaran Branch.

The careful evaluation of deposit claims has delayed the releases to depositors even as the PDIC ends its first batch of payout on Friday, March 6.

This as some clients of the closed bank were alarmed that fake claimants are allegedly taking advantage of filing bogus bank documents.

A PDIC representative bared over “Inyong Alagad” yesterday that they already paid some depositors with regular savings below P100,000 and they are careful in reviewing proofs of deposit shown by claimants.

Some bank clients however complained to the PDIC representatives as their names were not included in the masterlist of depositors.

According to the PDIC, PRBank-Tagbilaran has not yet submitted complete bank records which is the reason for the absence of some clients in the masterlist.

Until all records have been examined and verified by PDIC, not all claims can be processed, the deposit insurer’s representative said.

There is no definite date when the PDIC will be back to process the next batch of claims which covers deposits above P100,000, the PDIC personnel concluded.

By the Bohol Chronicle

Broadcaster Nestor Daarol filed yesterday before the City Prosecutors Office grave coercion charges against the city mayor’s top aide, Arlene Karaan who allegedly doused him liquid of unbearable foul odor when he was about to anchor his weekly program over dyTR last Saturday.

Sworn before City Prosecutor I Viviana Bautista, the broadcaster charged Karaan for grave coercion under Article 286 of the Revised Penal Code while reserving his right to file a separate complaint as a public official for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and for violation of Republic Act No. 6713.

Daarol narrated that Karaan and her companions suddenly emerged when he entered the offices of the radio station and immediately doused the liquid that caused him to fall dizzy and disoriented and difficulty of breathing. The physical condition prevented him from anchoring his radio program which followed right after the program of the city mayor last Saturday.

The broadcaster stressed that he know Arlene Karaan because she used to facilitate the serving of refreshments among media persons during press conferences conducted by the city mayor.
Because of the incident, he could not anchor his program last Saturday.

Daarol said the “forced prevention was due to the violence done by respondent and her companions, by their material force and display of force as to produce intimidation upon me.”
After dousing, Karaan “drew a hard object that resembled a rattan stick while shouting invectives and threats against me.”

He recalled respondent telling him “Tingalig wala ka kaila nako? Nganong hilabtanon ka kaayo?” (Don’t you know me? Why are you such a meddler?)

“Because of the continuing violence and sensing that I faced danger of further physical harm, instinctively, I retreated to the adjacent news anchor’s booth as a measure of self preservation,” the broadcaster narrated.

Daarol in his affidavit stated that the “incident was triggered because I was exposing the release of the P6.5 million unliquidated cash advances incurred by officials of the city government led by the city mayor and his assistants.”

“There is no other reason for Karaan who is an executive assistant of the city mayor and her companions John Does to restrain and prevent me from going on the air than try to, and successfully, prevent me from exposing these anomalous unliquidated cash advances incurred by city officials,” he continued.

Daarol said he underwent medical examination to determine the extent of the harm of the liquid substance upon his health.

A forwarded message...


A carrot, an egg, and a cup of coffee... You will never look at a cup of coffee the same way again.

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her.  She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up.  She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen.  She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire.  Soon the pots came to boil.  In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans.  She let them sit and boil; without saying a word.

In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners.  She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl.  She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl.  Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl. Turning to her daughter, she asked, ' Tell me what you see.'

'Carrots, eggs, and coffee,' she replied.

Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they were soft.  The mother then asked the daughter to take an egg and break it.  After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard boiled egg.

Finally, the mother asked the daughter to sip the coffee.  The daughter smiled as she tasted its rich aroma.  The daughter then asked, 'What does it mean , mother?'

Her mother explained that! each of these objects had faced the same adversity:  boiling water.  Each reacted differently.  The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting.  However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak.  The egg had been fragile.
Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened.  The ground coffee beans were unique, however.  After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

'Which are you?' she asked her daughter.  'When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond?  Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

Think of this:  Which am I?  Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff ?  Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?

Or am I like the coffee bean?  The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain.  When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor.  If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.
When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level?  How do you handle adversity?  Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?

May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.

The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.

When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.

Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.

You might want to send this message to those people who mean something to you (I JUST DID); to those who have touched your life in one way or another; to those who make you smile when you really need it; to those who make you see the brighter side of things when you are really down; to
those whose friendship you appreciate; to those who are so meaningful in your life.

Patients commonly get hepatitis A after taking some infected food or having sex. Such viruses can produce acute hepatitis but the probability of appearing of a chronic hepatitis is not actually high. To prevent your body from getting hepatitis A you can execute special vaccination that is quite efficient. Patients from states of the third world have hepatitis A significantly more frequently. To evade the probability of getting infected people should keep a very exacting hygiene and do not utilize any unpeeled raw fruits and vegetables.

For example, if your ex is ignoring you and does not pick up the phone, a common mistake is to call your lover again and again hoping that he/she will eventually pick up the phone.

To read the whole article, please click the link below:
http://www.writeups.pictyors.com/Article/Mistakes-You-Must-Avoid-To-Get-An-Ex-Back---How-Can-I-Get-My-Ex-Back/140469

The first thing you should do after reading this article is grab a notebook, PDA or some other way to keep track and start recording your spending. Write down every purchase you make, even a soda or snack from a vending machine. Keep it up for at least a month and then look at where your money goes.

Please click the link below to read the whole article:
http://www.writeups.pictyors.com/Article/7-Easy-Ways-to-Save-Money/8390

But if lung cancer is detected early, according to American Cancer Society a survival rate of 47 of the most frequently performed X-ray examinations. Unfortunately the random detection of lung cancer in early stage (Stage 1) with an X-ray image is difficult. It is known that a shadow of around 5-10 mm can be easily overlooked.

To read the full article, click the link below:
http://www.writeups.pictyors.com/Article/Lung-cancer--a-hidden-killer/140481

Published by the Bohol Chronicle

Another broadcaster became a victim of "media harassment"  in a water-throwing tantrum courtesy of a top aide of the city mayor yesterday.

Radioman Nestor Daarol was soaking wet of foul smelling water, believed to be taken from the toilet bowl,  hurled at him by Arlene Karaan, an executive assistant to the city mayor, inside the offices of Station dyTR, shortly before he was to board his weekly radio program yesterday morning.

A police blotter filed by Daarol at the City PNP stated that around 10:15 yesterday morning, the unsuspecting mediaman entered the radio station unaware that Karaan had been waiting for him, allegedly together with some companions.

The city hall official who is a known trusted aide of the mayor attacked Daarol while shouting invectives as he was about to go on air for his weekly radio program “Kasayuran” aired right after the city mayor’s weekly report in the same radio station.

"Basig waka kaila nako" (you seem not to know who I am), the mayor's aide shouted at the broadcaster. Karaan was identified as the same lady who was looking for the broadcaster last Thursday afternoon after his other program "Silab" over dyRD.

Daarol said the incident could have been triggered by his unrelenting expose on the P6.5 million unliquidated cash advances of city officials and employees which listed Karaan with an unsettled account of P722,643.41 as of December 2007. However, he said he has never mentioned the name of Karaan since he did not have a copy of the list of names of city hall officials involved with the P6.4 unliquidated cash advances when he anchored his noontime program last Thursday. He only said that "according to reports, a cook at the city hall is among those with unliquidated cash advances amounting to almost half a million pesos."

The unliquidated funds had been the subject of inquiries by city lawmakers belonging to the minority bloc after it was cited by the Commission on Audit (COA) among other questionable items in its 2007 audit report of the city government’s financial transactions.

Shortly after the incident, Daarol disclosed in his radio program “Silab sa Udtong Tutok” over Station dyRD that Karaan also attempted to assault him using a rattan stick.

According to Daarol, he sought shelter at the anchorman’s booth after he saw several men accompanying Karaan even as he failed to go on air due to the unbearable stench coming from the polluted water splashed at him.

“I am dismayed by this cowardly rude behavior of a government employee but this will not stop me from exposing anomalies at city hall,” Daarol stressed.

He said that someone from dyTR called his residence yesterday morning to warn him of Karaan’s intentions. However, Daarol had already left his home when the telephone call came. The security guard of the radio station likewise tried to warn him but did not saw the broadcaster entering dyTR.

On several occasions, Daarol noticed the city mayor had called on listeners over the airlanes to turn-off their radio sets after his radio program urging them not to listen to Daarol’s commentary.
The mediaman said he is contemplating on filing charges against Karaan.

The other crusading broadcaster harassed by city hall was Kagawad Roberto "Batchoy" Alba, anchorman of the top-rated Pulso over dyRD. His advertisers were pressured by city hall to terminate their sponsorships with the program while his house in barangay San Isidro was subjected to an attempted arson last Nov. 1, 2008.

By Joseph Lariosa

Chicago - The bookkeeper of Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao was sentenced Friday (Saturday in Manila) afternoon to serve a minimum of 16 months in a state prison after pleading no-contest during the continuation of the preliminary hearing of the case.

Shiara Davila-Morales, spokesperson of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office in California, told this reporter over the phone that Pia Anatalia Quijada was sentenced by Commissioner Henry Hall of the Los Angeles Superior Court.

Quijada pleaded no-contest to grand theft of personal property after the Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Linda Kwon agreed to drop the other felony charges of 32 counts of forgery.

Commissioner Hall also ordered Quijada to pay $89,383.49, the approximate amount of money she stole from Pacquiao.

Contacted by phone by this reporter, Deputy Public Defender Jacqueline Baskerville, who represented Quijada at the hearing Friday, merely said: "I have no comment."

By Gloria Grejalde
PNA

Norway honored a Filipino farmer for his discovery of high-yielding and pest resistant rice during the first year celebration of the Svalvard Global Seed Vault on Thursday, February 26, 2009.

Norway Minister of Agriculture and Food Lard Peder Brekk praised Tay Gipo who was “one of the most memorable voices” during the first global seed vault seminar one year ago where 150 guests representing 33 countries and five continents were present, among them the president of the European Community, Jose Manuel Barrosso; the Director General of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Jacques Diouf; and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dr. Wangari Maathai.

“He was a farmer who, despite having only four years of formal education, discovered a rice variety that proved to be high-yielding and pest resistant, the sample of which is among the thousands of seeds kept at the global seed vault,” he said.

The Philippines through the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is the highest donor to the global seed vault. It reportedly contributed 70,000 different varieties of rice from 120 different countries.

“I (mentioned) his name for two reasons. (First), to illustrate how the field-level knowledge of our farmers continues to be the most important element of crop conservation and second, to keep his memory alive. Just days ago, we received word that our fellow agriculturalist, Tay Gipo, passed away this month at the age of 64.”

“His legacy remains in the fields of the Philippines - where his “Bordagol” is grown by his neighbors - and their neighbors. And his legacy remains here in Svalbard where seeds of his “Bordagol” are safely stored for the future.”

Minister Brekk recounted how Tay Gipo discovered the rice which he himself named as “Bordagol.”

“During a particularly tough year, he noticed one plant in his field that did not succumb to the virus “tungro.” He literally had to pull the plant from the mouth of a farm animal who was planning to have it for a snack â€" he saved the seeds, replanted them and the next season he harvested 25 kilograms just from the seeds of that one plant.”

“With his incredible success, the rice he himself named “Bordagol” was born. He shared his success by sharing his seeds with his neighbors. The word spread and, in spite of his lack of education, he was invited to join a research institute where he learned rice breeding and improved his “Bordagol”, increasing its yield and resilience and therefore increasing the yields of the other farmers in his area.”

“When he spoke here last year, he ended his talk by asking - and then answering - a question that obviously was on his mind when he made his Odyssey to Svalbard - he asked how the Seed Vault would help him and his family. He answered it himself - frank and straightforward - “I don’t know. I don’t know if it will.”

“I call upon all of us in this room and countless others who have been involved in this process at all of its levels - the gene banks, the plant breeders, the international organizations, the research institutions, the governments - to remember his question because his answer was in many ways the correct one.”

“No one knows if the Seed Vault ever will be needed and no one knows if and when the seeds will be sent back to their depositor to restore a seed collection that has been lost.”

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is described as the ultimate safety net for the world’s seed banks. The Seed Vault is part of an international network for storage and use of genetic resources. It serves as the ‘central bank” of seeds.

“No country is entirely self-sufficient when it comes to genetic resources. Food security in every country depends on food crops that originate from other continents. Global collaboration is therefore essential to ensure correct storage and fair distribution of the value generated by their use in research and development. Safeguarding the genetic diversity of food plants is also fundamental to our ability to adapt to climate change. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is a concrete and important step in this kind of global collaboration, and the initiative is supported by the United Nations,” Ola Westengen, operation manager of NordGen/Svalbard Global Seed Vault said during an interview with him a year ago before the opening of the seed vault.

Meanwhile, Minister Brekk stressed that the world is now facing an unprecedented challenge “a challenge that threatens the quality of life on every continent â€" the climate change.”

”I want to emphasize that the challenges we face can only be met through our joint efforts. Climate change and food insecurity are closely linked, and hence our policies must reflect this reality and be mutually supportive. The sustainable management of our resources will serve to mitigate the effects of climate change but sustainable management also must be seen as the most critical pre-requisite for development.”

Agriculture depends on the diversity of plant and animal genetic resources, and on their ability to adapt to change. As we face climate change, all of us in the global community need to dedicate ourselves to initiatives to preserve and ensure sustainable use of these resources â€" initiatives like the Seed Vault, the Minister explained.

“As science tries to keep up with the looming threats of changing climates and weather patterns, increasing temperatures and melting ice caps, we here in Svalbard are well aware that the most important use of crop diversity in the coming decades will be helping agriculture adapt to these changes.”

At the macro level, I call your attention to the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture that now has been signed by 119 nations. It is a compelling example of what can be achieved through collaborative action.

The Treaty establishes common rules to make crop diversity freely accessible and to ensure that any benefits derived from that access are shared. It recognizes farmers’ rights - the contribution to the conservation and development of crop diversity that has taken place in the fields of farmers like Tay Gipo and his neighbors over the millennia - farmers who still use local crops in traditional agricultural systems.

Trade is another area where the links to both climate change and food security are undeniable. The Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture stated quite firmly that all Members needed to make commitments to non-trade concerns and specifically mentioned food security and the need to protect the environment.

“This is a thought that should guide our future work. We cannot solve the global challenges of climate change, poverty reduction and food security by leaving food production to a handful of powerful exporters. It is increasingly important, and acknowledged, that all countries should maintain an appropriate level of self sufficiency.

By expressing his uncertainty; Gipo also expressed the notion that until now, gene banks, have been a “secret” treasure. Who outside of the small community of plant geneticists understood the importance of collecting, cataloguing and conserving our agricultural heritage - a heritage that is also our future food supply? I do not think it is so secret anymore! I think the Svalbard Global Seed Vault has raised understanding and awareness: that we must - and we will - protect crop biodiversity in order to feed a warming world.

Of course Gipo was not sure whether he - as a subsistence farmer - would ever benefit from access to genetic resources. After all, he was the end of a chain coming from Svalbard, from the gene banks, from the plant breeders, from the seed dealers. Gipo might also have been concerned for his future ability to produce and sell his own locally adapted rice varieties on the local markets.

Norway believes that to give positive answers to the kinds of challenges the hundreds of millions of other farmers like Gipo are facing, it is necessary to be pro-active.

“I want to emphasize that the challenges we face can only be met through our joint efforts. Climate change and food insecurity are closely linked, and hence our policies must reflect this reality and be mutually supportive. The sustainable management of our resources will serve to mitigate the effects of climate change but sustainable management also must be seen as the most critical pre-requisite for development,” he said.

By Michael Lim Ubac
Philippine Daily Inquirer

The country’s roads are the most dangerous in Asia, Senator Francis Escudero said in a statement released Saturday.

Citing a study conducted by the United Nations Children’s Fund last year, he said that three of five road accidents involved child pedestrians and road accidents were the leading cause of injury admissions to hospitals.

Escudero’s statement came after a 10-year-old pupil from Ateneo died this week after being run over inside the school parking lot.

A separate study by child safety groups in the country shows that six children die from accidents in the country daily, the senator said, adding that the country has a total of 2,500 vehicular accidents monthly involving both children and adults.
Citing another study by the Asian Development Bank in 2006, Escudero said: “Overall, the 7.8 percent of the 100,000 people who die as a result of traffic-related accidents a year is one of the highest in Asia according to the Asian Development Bank.”

A 16-year-old girl from Essex was fired after she described her office job as "boring" on her Facebook page.

Kimberley Swann, 16, of Clacton, had been working at Ivell Marketing & Logistics, in Clacton, for three weeks before being fired on Monday.

"I think they've stooped quite low," she said.

The firm's Steve Ivell said of the decision: "Her display of disrespect and dissatisfaction undermined the relationship and made it untenable."

Miss Swann said: "You shouldn't really be hassled outside work. It was only a throw-away comment.  - BBC

A newborn baby girl may have died when her mother kissed her, an inquest in Lancashire has heard.

Jennifer Schofield was 11 days old when her vital organs failed after contracting a strain of herpes in November 2006.

The baby's mother, Ruth, 35, of Binyon Court, in Lancaster, transmitted the virus by kissing her or breastfeeding.

Coroner Dr James Adeley recorded a narrative verdict, and said nobody was blamed for failing to spot the virus.

The inquest heard the infection herpes simplex virus (HSV) was the type passed on through a cold sore. - BBC

What do you call some of the most unlucky people in Britain?

Justin Case, Barb Dwyer and Stan Still.

It sounds like a bad joke, but a study has revealed that there really are unfortunate people with those names in the UK.

Joining them on the list are Terry Bull, Paige Turner, Mary Christmas and Anna Sasin.

And just imagine having to introduce yourself to a crowd as Doug Hole or Hazel Nutt.

The names were uncovered by researchers from parenting group TheBabyWebsite.com after trawling through online telephone records. - BBC

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) said it expects whoever wins the bidding for Philippine American Life and General Insurance Co. (Philamlife) to unconditionally honor all of the firm's benefit obligations to its more than one million policyholders.

"Our union members, many of whom are policyholders of Philamlife or wholly owned subsidiary Philam Plans Inc., are counting on the acquirer to immediately assure policyholders that all their valid policies will remain intact and unchanged," said former Senator and TUCP secretary-general Ernesto Herrera.

"We must stress that the prospective new owner of Philamlife is absolutely duty-bound to honor all insurance and pre-need contracts, without in any way altering or amending the terms and conditions of the original policies," Herrera said.

"We are counting on both Philamlife and the future new owner to promptly write to all policyholders to this effect," Herrera added.

Herrera was reacting to reports that three "preferred bidders" for Philamlife have emerged, namely: Ayala-owned Bank of the Philippine Islands in alliance with Britain's Prudential plc; Henry Sy's Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. and partner Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A of Italy; and Canada's Manulife Financial Corp.

Philamlife has been put on the auction block for $800 million to $900 million (P37.6 billion or P42.3 billion) by its New York-based parent, the American International Group Inc. (AIG).

Herrera said TUCP was counting on regulators "to exercise some oversight with respect to the sale of Philamlife, to ensure that the prospective new owner categorically pledges to unconditionally honor all binding policy contracts entered into by Philamlife."

Both the Insurance Commission (IC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) "should see to it that the hopes and dreams of Philamlife's over one million policyholders are adequately protected in the transaction," Herrera said.

"Many policyholders, mostly salaried workers, have been asking us about their savings in Philamlife. We've been telling them they should stand still. Their money in the trust funds of Philamlife or Philam Plans, which are outstanding brands, cannot be touched by anyone. That even the new owners cannot touch the funds, except to pay maturing policies or valid claims," Herrera said.

According to filings with the SEC, Philam Plans alone, which has more than 300,000 plans in-force, had over P30-billion worth of assets in its trust funds as of December 31, 2008. - The Bohol Standard

Isn't it strange how we send jokes in e-mails and they are forwarded right away, but when we are going to send messages about God, we think about it twice before we share it with others?