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Central bank officials previously said the flow of funds representing the foreign exchange earnings of up to 10 million overseas Filipinos should no longer surprise anyone this year, its volume having been believed to have reached its peak already.

They were wrong.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas data released on Monday showed OF remittances totaled $ 1.623 billion in June alone, the single largest flow of remittances sent home in any month since this first passed the $ 1-billion level consistently since May 2006.

“In June alone, remittance flows peaked at $ 1.6 billion, reflecting a year-on-year expansion of 8.3 percent boosted by remittances from both sea- and land-based workers,” BSP Governor Amando M. Tetangco said in a statement.

The next highest BSP official, Deputy Governor Diwa C. Guinigundo, had said they would not be surprised if the flow of overseas Filipino remittances were to stabilize the rest of the year and not pull any more surprises.

Both Tetangco and Guinigundo said the remittances should continue to expand this year at a fast clip of some eight percent on average.

But in June alone, the remittances posted growth rate exceeding eight percent over last year, allowing the first-half remittances also to expand by just under seven percent to $ 9.062 billion.

Assuming the full year remittance flows post average growth of eight percent as expected, then such remittances should total more than $ 18 billion by the end of the year.

“The continued deployment of professional and skilled Filipino overseas workers, given favorable global employment opportunities, underpinned the resilience of remittances,” Tetangco said of the data coming out for the month of June.

Anti-narcotics agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) arrested a village chief, a rookie policeman and another person in a shabu session in Cotabato City over the weekend, PDEA said Monday.

In his report to PDEA Director General Dionisio R. Santiago, Director Bryan B. Babang, Regional Director of PDEA-ARMM identified the suspects as Mahdi Saglayan, alias Mahd, 41, married, owner of Manitz Enterprises; and Aziz Lidasan, alias Aziz/Kap, 40, Barangay Chairman of Matanog, Maguindanao.

The policeman was identified as PO1 Marhom Saglayan y Bagunda, alias Tex, 36, married, assigned at the Kapatagan, Lanao del Sur Municipal Police Station.

The accomplishment was the result of a telephone call that reported a group of male persons sniffing shabu inside the Manita Enterprises office in Bagua 2, Cotabato City.

Operatives were dispatched to verify the report and upon seeing that the suspects were really in the act of sniffing shabu, they immediately made the arrest. (PNA)

“Go reach, grow rich”, guv’s primary aims for Davao Oriental
By Ferdinand O. Zuasola


CITY OF MATI, Davao Oriental, Aug. 16 (PNA) â€" "Go reach, grow rich", this has become the mantra of Governor Corazon Malanyaon every time she visits highly impoverished villages in the province which are now the primary targets of the provincial government's intensified anti-poverty programs.

Drawing lessons from the government's dismal performance to combat poverty especially in the countryside, Gov. Malanyaon says the "doleout" character of most of the government's poverty alleviation programs diminishes whatever headway it gained in its anti-poverty efforts.

This province's change-maker leader draws her strength from her strong sense of mission to make a difference in the lives of her people.

And to see her anti-poverty efforts gaining much headway is a big shot in the arm who strongly believes that the battle against massive abject poverty in the countryside can greatly be won by transforming the heart and mind of her people.

"It's about changing mindsets. That's the be-all thing, I think, if we are to succeed and make a dent in fighting poverty," Malanyaon said after having a long talk with residents of a slum area in Barangay Central in the City of Mati.

"I am deeply glad that we have somehow successfully inculcated a culture of enterprise in a number of villages in the province. And these poor people have now become entrepreneurs.

"As a matter of policy and practice, we shun doleout character in our anti-poverty programs because it will not in any way solve the miserable condition of the poor," the governor adds as she and her team have gathered for a brainstorming session to assess the performance of her Rural Entrepreneurship Advocacy Towards Change (REACH) program that mark its first year in implementation.

The REACH program is entrepreneurship development training and advocacy program intended to propagate and influence a culture of enterprise and wealth in the province, according to Gov. Malanyaon.

She said the program also serves as a complementary program of the existing economic development programs and projects of the provincial government.

These are the Agriculture and Fisheries Development Program; the Agri-Business Development Program: and the Pagkain at Kita Program. All the beneficiaries of these economic development programs which include farmers, fishermen, and micro enterprises are to go through the process of entrepreneurial values and skills trainings, orientation and advocacy.

A brief of the REACH program said "In order for the economic development programs of the provincial government to make a significant dent on the targeted beneficiaries, there is a felt need for parallel initiatives that will influence change in people's mindsets toward taking advantage of and nurturing these opportunities to maximize its benefits.

"The provincial government would want to influence a cultural evolution where people will need to be creative rather than passive, capable of self-initiated action rather than dependent. They will need to know how to learn rather than be taught.

"They will need to be enterprising in their outlook and not think and act like employees or clients. The organization in which they work, the communities in which they live and societies in which they belong will, in turn, also need to possess all these qualities."

"This program is anchored on a theory that there is a significant link between economic performance and cultural values and that a nation that thinks of doing things better is really doing better economically. This would lead us to conclude that a community or an area's level of economic activities is directly proportionate to the degree of enterprising culture that exist in that community," the REACH project brief said.

"Enterprise is about attitudes, the process, the person or persons who do it and the socio-economic environment within which it happens," Malanyaon saying that herself a successful entrepreneur.

"Enterprise is about having a 'can-do' attitude and making it happens. Efforts, therefore, to develop a culture of enterprise should essentially be about changing mindsets," the governor added.

The Pagkain at Kita and Agri-Business Development Programs of the provincial government provides technical and technological assistance to the marginalized lowland, upland and coastal farmers.

Specific livelihood projects under the Pagkain at Kita and Agri-Business Development Programs are: Expansion of rice and white corn production; Barangay goat enterprise development; Cassava production and processing; Rubber production and processing; Coconut replanting and expansion; Coconut and banana intercropping; and Fishery development program.

Gov. Malanyaon said while the provincial government's Pagkain at Kita and Agri-Business Development Programs provides technical and technological assistance to the marginalized farmers, fisherfolk and micro enterprises, the REACH program will complement her poverty alleviation efforts by providing trainings "to change mindsets" and capacitate the indigent beneficiaries to become entrepreneurs.

The REACH program was formalized through an executive order issued by Malanyaon in May last year, according to Thelma Tajore, the program's coordinator.

Tajore said the one-year-old REACH program has already made considerable success in changing the mindsets of many indigent people in the eleven municipalities of the province.

During her regular visits especially to the highly impoverished villages in the province, Malanyaon and the movers of the REACH program would share many "tips in getting rich" to the indigent beneficiaries of the REACH program.

Among these "getting rich" tips are: Learn the value of time, Set life-long goals, Stay out of debt, Learn to accept failure, Develop winning attitudes and habits, Keep everything in focus, Work with the right kind of people, Develop total self-discipline, Have faith and Make happiness. (PNA)
LOR/Ferdinand O. Zuasola/lvp

Former police Sr. Supt. Cezar Mancao III is expected to be transferred to the safe house of Department of Justice â€"Witness Protection Program (DOJ-WPP) anytime soon.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima presided over the meeting regarding the transfer of Mancao to the safehouse after the former police superintendent categorically expressed his preference to be placed under the custody of the DOJ-WPP and not the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

De Lima directed on Monday NBI Director Magtanggol Gatdula to sanction his official- Deputy Director for Intelligence Services Ruel Lasala - as she reiterated the WPP coverage on was never been suspended nor terminated.

While she agreed with the NBI that Mancao remained an accused in the Nov. 2000 killings of publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito, the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) has yet to discharge him, de Lima said.

DOJ-WPP did not suspend nor terminate the WPP coverage on the former police officer, she said.

De Lima said she directed Gatdula to sanction Deputy Director for Intelligence Services Ruel Lasala for saying that the WPP coverage of Mancao was suspended.

“Mancao is still in the custody of the NBI. WPP director Leo Dacera notified the bureau to take custody of Mancao. There was no mention that there was suspension of WPP coverage (referring to letter of Dacera). I made a mistake in the choice of words. He is still covered by the Witness Protection program,” said Lasala.

By Lilybeth G. Ison

MANILA, Aug. 16 (PNA) -- Lawmakers on Monday said they will continue to display their names in projects funded by their priority development assistance fund (PDAF) or the so-called "pork barrel" for the sake of transparency and for their constituents to know where the funds went.

Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez and Zambales Rep. Ma. Milagros Magsaysay, in the weekly meeting of the minority bloc of the House of Representatives, said this was the position of the group, and even some lawmakers he knows from the majority.

Both lawmakers said displaying their names on public works projects is one way of showing their constituents that they have not failed on the promises they made during the campaign period.

Suarez said they are also willing to shoulder the cost of printing their names and even their photographs and billboards, if the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will insist on implementing President Benigno S. Aquino III’s directive.

Camarines Sur Rep. Elmer Panotes said that some other politicians like mayors might claim responsibility for the project if it does not have the congressman’s name on it.

"We really need to put our names there because sometimes, the mayors display their photograph on them," he said.

If President Aquino is firm about the ban on politicians’ names on billboards, Panotes said he should ask Congress to pass a law, but stressed that this should cover all officials, from the President to the village officials.

President Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III on Monday administered the oath of lawyer-academician Maria Lourdes Aranal Sereno as the 169th Associate Justice of the Supreme Court (SC).

Sereno is the first appointee of President Aquino to the Judiciary.

Her appointment to the SC completes the 15-member High Tribunal.

Sereno fills in the vacancy in the Judiciary with the assumption of now Chief Justice Renato Corona to the top post in the highest court of the land last May 17 with the retirement of then Chief Justice Reynato Puno.

She first saw the light on July 2, 1960.

At 50 years old, Sereno is now considered as the youngest to be appointed to the Judiciary in the 21st century.

She will also be one of the longest-serving justices so far as she is set to mandatorily retire after a 20-year term in 2030.

"I will serve my fellow Filipinos with integrity and conviction, holding myself to the ideal of justice that refutes the abuse of strength and instead labors to succor the weak...; justice that may serve as one of the several foundations for rebuilding institutions and restoring the people's faith in good government," Sereno said in her first official statement issued on Monday. (PNA)

The Philippine Airlines (PAL) expressed optimism on Monday that it would resolve its labor woes with pilots and flight attendants next month.

"Hopefully, we can resolve our labor problems as soon as possible," PAL spokesperson Cielo Villaluna said.

She disclosed that four new pilots will pinch in to fly PAL Airbus A-320 planes by September and four pilots by October.

“They are going to complete their training and fly as A-320 captains, starting next month and in October," she said.

Furthermore, she revealed the management's contingency plans of tapping management pilots and pilots from sister company, budget airline Air Philippines.

"If they push thru with the strike, one of the contingency measures is to use management pilots," she said.

The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Monday assured long lasting food security for Filipinos in the coming months due to the bumper harvest by farmers despite the effects of the El Niño Phenomenon.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala also said during a press briefing at the DA Central Office in Quezon City that his office and the local government units (LGUs) have forged a partnership for food security, self-sufficiency.

Alcala said he has began consulting with local government executives to renew and strengthen partnerships to successfully attain President Benigno C. Aquino III’s food security program, particularly in attaining rice self-sufficiency by 2013.

“I have already met with LGUs like the officials from Davao region. There, I met with governors and mayors during the special board meeting of the Davao Integrated Development Program (DIDP), chaired by Davao del Norte governor Rodolfo del Rosario,” Alcala told reporters.

The DA chief said he sought their support to open up more rice areas, plant more upland organic and fancy rice for domestic and export, increase production of white corn to ease the pressure on rice, and rehabilitation and maintenance of irrigation systems.

He said the DA has efforts to achieve in various agricultural products (crops and farm animals) that will ensure better income for farmers and assure food security for consumers.

He emphasized that as much as possible, rice importation would be limited. The money used for importing rice should be used to buy rice produced by local farmers so that they will be motivated to produce some more.

The First Asian Bird Fair will be held in Davao City on Sept. 24 and 26 at the Waterfront Insular Hotel in tandem with the 6th Philippine Bird Festival, the country’s premier avian conservation and eco-tourism event.

Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) information officer Tatit Quiblat said the three-day event is co-hosted by PEF and the Davao City government.

Quiblat said Wild Bird Club of the Philippines (WBCP) president Michael Lu and about 200 guests from Taiwan, Singapore and other Asian countries as well as from United Kingdom, Australia and the United States will join the event.

She said the event will have its official launching on Friday at the official opening of this year’s Kadayawan sa Dabaw festival celebration at the Rizal Park.

The event will carry the theme “Nurture Nature, Save Our Future” with Mayor Sara Duterte to grace the launching.

The theme is the common initiative of the WBCP, the Bird Conservation Society of Thailand, the Chinese Wild Bird Federation, the Wild Bird Society of Taipei, the Malaysian Nature Society and the Nature Society of Singapore, she said.

Quiblat said the event will highlight the respective bird festivals of the participating countries, seek to enrich eco-tourism through birdwatching and promote the natural and cultural heritage of host cities.

It is a significant move to draw attention to pressing conservation issues, according to Alice Villa-Real, event organizer.

By Leonardo V. Micua

DAGUPAN CITY, Aug. 18 (PNA) â€" A university professor considers that the plan of a local investor to build an international hotel in Dagupan City is consistent with the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) of the city drawn up by the people in 2003.

Professor Nicanor Melecio, who teaches in the Master in Business Administration (MBA) program of the University of Luzon (UL) and the University of Pangasinan, said the CSI Hotel and Resort will be built in Barangay Lucao, one of the areas pinpointed in the CLUP as well as in the zoning plan of the city as a growth area.

Melecio was consulted by five committees of the city council to provide inputs that could guide their decision on a draft resolution pending in the council seeking to endorse the application of the CSI Group of Companies for a location clearance of its project.

The plush CSI Hotel and Restaurant, proposed to be of international standard, will consist of floating cabanas with a wide fishing area, a day resort open to the public and a five-storey hotel that will have three swimming pools reserved for the public as well as hotel guests.

Melecio, who admitted being part of the group that prepared the CLUP, believes the project will not impact on the ecology of the place even if it will be built on former fishponds that used to produce the tasty Dagupan bangus and malaga (siganid).

The professor, who once served as environmental consultant of Mayor Benjamin Lim during his first and second terms of office, observed that the project will be built beside the new Jose de Venecia Expressway Extension.

He admitted that when the CLUP was prepared starting in 2001 and finished in 2003, the highway named after the late father and namesake of then Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. was still but a dream.

By Jhunnex Napallacan
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Another vehicular tragedy was prevented Friday when a minibus carrying mostly students was prevented by a firmly-rooted pine tree from plummeting into a ravine in Dalaguete town, 85 km south of Cebu City.

Insp. Bonifacio Lucerna, chief of the Dalaguete Police Station said, said mini-bus NB Boy with 35 persons on board, mostly vocational students bound for a spiritual retreat, was maneuvering uphill on a zigzag road at 10 a.m. on Friday when the engine overheated and the radiator exploded.

About 13 persons were slightly hurt after they jumped off the bus.

The bus rolled backward and the efforts of the driver’s helper to stop the bus by blocking the wheel with a rock proved futile, Lucerna said.

The bus continued to roll toward the ravine when its rear portion rammed into a pine tree that was planted by a resident several years ago, he added.

Lucerna noted that without the pine tree, the bus would have fallen into the deep ravine beside the road and several lives would have been lost.

The passengers of the mini-bus included 29 vocational students, two facilitators and the spiritual director of the Don Bosco Technology Center in Barangay Labangon, Cebu City who were bound for a retreat in the school’s retreat house in Mantalongon, Dalaguete.

In the remaining days of August, two holidays are up.

Malacanang has declared August 21 (Saturday) as a nationwide special non-working holiday in observance of Ninoy Aquino Day.

Meanwhile, August 30 (Monday) is a regular Philippine Holiday, allowing the commemoration of the National Heroes Day.

By Proclamation 13 signed by President Benigno Aquino III, it reiterated that observing Ninoy Aquino day on August 21 instead of August 23 will avoid the imposition of unnecessary financial burden upon employers.

Aquino also said it ensures the continuity of government, business and commercial transactions, promotes productivity while preserving at the same time the solemnity of the observance.

It may be recalled that Republic Act 9492 has included Ninoy Aquino Day as a nationwide special holiday to be observed on a Monday nearest August 21.

This was subsequently cleared by Pres. Proclamation 1841 which has set Ninoy Aquino Day August 23 (nearest Monday).

But, as provided by RA 9492, which allows the President to modify the days of observance of holidays by Presidential proclamation, Presidential Aquino came out with Proclamation 13.

On the other hand, Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda has said that Malacanang sticks to the August 30 holiday, Monday.

The option not to move the holiday was also carried by national dailies last week.

Executive Order 292 issued in 1987 stated that National Heroes Day would be celebrated on the last Sunday of August.

However, Proclamation 1841 issued by former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo set the holiday on the last Monday of August based on Republic Act (RA) 9492 or the holiday economics law.

Lacierda said that Malacañang would review RA 9492 on a case-to-case basis.

RA 9492 rationalized the holidays in the country by moving them to the nearest Monday unless modified. (racPIABohol)

By Nancy C. Carvajal
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Celso de los Angeles, owner of the bankrupt Legacy group, has been ordered by an Ormoc City judge to be jailed in Ormoc City, a government lawyer said Thursday.

"De los Angeles arrived this morning escorted by police from Manila and was brought directly to the provincial jail after a routine medical examination," said Atty. Carl Magsuling of Ormoc City RTC Branch 12.

De los Angeles has been charged with several syndicated estafa suits for defrauding rural bank depositors billions of pesos in deposits.

US deported almost 400,000 people in 2009, with just over a quarter of them described as criminals, the Homeland Security Department said Wednesday.

A total of "393,000 foreign nationals were removed from the United States, the seventh consecutive record high," the DHS said in a statement. Most of the undocumented immigrants were from neighboring Mexico.

Of the total number deported, 128,000 were criminals, the report added.

The overwhelming majority of those deportedâ€"72 percentâ€"were from neighboring Mexico.

President Barack Obama has said his government would take on the thorny issue of immigration policy reform. There are more than 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States mostly from neighboring Latin America. - source: AFP

By Delmar Cariño
Inquirer Northern Luzon

To be able to radically change the types of tests given in the bar exams, the Supreme Court intends to create a data bank or central repository of multiple choice questions (MCQs) for the 2011 exams.

Supreme Court Associate Justice Roberto Abad, chairman of next year’s bar exams, said at least 1,000 MCQs would be collected for each test subject to be whittled down to at least 100 that will appear in the exams.

Abad met here Saturday with judges and lawyers who teach in the various law schools in northern Luzon to tell them about the changes in the bar exams.

He said multiple choice questions will replace the traditional problem-solving or essay questions that have dominated the tests since 1901.

The MCQs, he said, are meant to address the flaws of the essay-type questions which do not necessarily guarantee the makings of a good practicing lawyer.

He said the essay questions suffered from defects. The questions followed the classroom model which could not cover a wide section of the other laws. Sometimes, incorrect answers merited high marks since these were eloquently presented, he added.

He said other defects were inconsistency in correcting the tests due to the mood of the examiners and the tendency of examinees to forget the basic laws.

“Uniformity and fairness in correcting the papers were not assured since about 6,000 notebooks had to be checked in five months,” he said.

On Saturday, more than 100 law teachers joined a workshop on formulating MCQs so these could be adopted in their law school exams this year.

Some of those present found the task difficult and time-consuming, but most said they welcomed the change.

By Tetch Torres
INQUIRER.net

Sixty percent of the 2011 Bar examination will be multiple choice questions (MCQ), while only 40 percent will be essay, the Supreme Court said.

Associate Justice Roberto Abad, chairman of the 2011 Bar Examinations Committee, said it will not only be a test of the examinees’ knowledge on codal provisions or provisions of the law “but also their comprehension and analysis.”

The MCQ exams, the high court said, should be able to assess three main skills of the examinees: knowledge and recall; comprehension or understanding; and analysis and application.

The MCQ exams will have the following advantages: objective correction of the papers since every question has one definite answer; encouragement of the mastery of subject because of the difficulty of distinguishing between a correct and a nearly correct answer; and the employment of a wider scope of topics since the examiner can ask as many as 100 questions in an hour and a half exam, among others.

As for the examiners, the time spent in preparing the MCQs will be more than compensated by the time saved in correcting the examination papers.

Court Administrator and SC spokesman Jose Midas Marquez earlier stressed that the proposed two-step Bar examinations for 2011 is most likely to be approved by the court en banc. The two-step Bar examinations proposal came following consultations with deans from various law schools, he added.

The Bar examination are currently comprised of generally essay-type questions for eight subjects: Political Law, Remedial Law, Taxation, Criminal Law, Civil Law, Mercantile Law, Labor Law, and Legal Ethics and Practical Exercises.

The high court annually conducts the Bar exams pursuant to its constitutional mandate to promulgate rules governing, among others, the admission to the practice of law.

The Bar exams are traditionally held in four consecutive Sundays of September. This year’s Bar examinations is spearheaded by Justice Conchita Carpio Morales, chairperson of the 2010 Bar Examinations Committee.

By Jeannette Andrade
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Chitra Deepak Punjabi, 27, had such a bad feeling about the results of the physicians licensure exam that she did not even want to look at them.

It turned out that she not only passed the board exam given by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), she topped it over 1,596 others who also passed.

“It felt like I was in the twilight zone. It was really unbelievable,” the Baguio-based new doctor told the Inquirer in a phone interview.

She said she had known on Tuesday night that the results would be posted on the PRC website the following day but she chose not to look.

“I never planned on looking at the results. I had bad vibes I would not pass,” she said.

She said the exam was so tough she did not harbor any expectations but simply hoped that her batch at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) would achieve a hundred-percent passing rate.

She learned that she not only passed but topped the boards from a friend who called her up to break the news. “I was super shocked. I never expected that. A friend told me and I was really surprised,” she said.

The new doctor revealed that UST did not achieve a hundred-percent passing rate but it did get 99 percent.

Punjabi took a pre-medicine course at Saint Louis University in Baguio City and her medicine proper at UST in Manila.

By Tina Santos
Philippine Daily Inquirer

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) yesterday denied that its drive against “colorum” (illegal) vehicles and other traffic violators is losing steam.

“There were reports that after the first few days, our enforcers stopped apprehending errant drivers, resulting in worsening traffic conditions,” said MMDA Chair Francis Tolentino.

He cited statistics showing that the agency was able to apprehend over a hundred vehicles from Aug. 3 to 4, adding that they continued to catch an average of two violators a day from Aug. 6 to 18.

“The succeeding apprehensions were not as many as at the outset, but this is only because our first week was very successful. We sent a strong signal to operators of colorum vehicles, thus the majority of rogue operators no longer traverse our public thoroughfares,” Tolentino said.

He pointed out that the reported traffic buildup during the morning of Aug. 19 was not due to the heavy volume of vehicles but because of the dismantling of a waiting shed by the MMDA Traffic Engineering Center (TEC) along EDSA-Santolan in Quezon City, asphalting work at EDSA-Taft Avenue and diggings by Manila Water at Evangelista-EDSA in Makati City.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is investigating alleged irregularities in the awarding of four infrastructure projects in Iloilo province by the previous administration.

According to DPWH Western Visayas director Rolando Asis, the DPWH Internal Audit Service officer Ardeliza Medenilla has sent Ranulfo Suyom to Iloilo to “investigate and gather documents” in connection with a complaint filed by former Iloilo provincial administrator Manuel Mejorada who charged that bids were conducted on May 7, 2010 “without the approved budget for the contract having been determined.

“There was no basis for establishing the Approved Agency Estimate (AAE) for each contract,” he said in his complaint, dated July 22, 2010.

And yet, the lump sum appropriation of P600 million, released under Special Allotment Release Order (Saro) No. A-10-05014, to cover the contracts was issued by the Department of Budget and Management on May 21, “a full two weeks after the opening of bids,” Mejorada said.

The Saro, signed by then Budget Secretary Joaquin Lagonera, covered various infrastructure projects, including P545 million for local projects for roads, highways and bridges as well as P55 million for flood control.

By Norman Bordadora, Vincent Cabreza, Inquirer Northern Luzon
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Government regulators have started reviewing documents to make sense of a transport industry practice called “kabit-franchising,” which is allegedly how a bus company involved in the death of 42 people in Sablan, Benguet, on Wednesday had been operating.

Like the practice of subcontracting, “kabit” are bus owners who operate by illegally using a different company’s franchise, said lawyer Brenda Poklay, legal counsel of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) in the Cordillera Administrative Region.

Evidence of kabit is rare and usually turns up only after a major accident occurs, much like Bus No. 801 of the La Union-based Eso-Nice Bus Line that turned out to be owned by a different operator, said Robert Pocais, chief of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) in Baguio City.

Police reports said the bus, which came from Baguio and was on its way to San Fernando City in La Union, fell into a 150-foot ravine along the Naguilian Road after its brakes failed.

But President Benigno Aquino III is not convinced that defective brakes were entirely to blame for the accident and wants a deeper probe of the accident.

“I was asking both the Highway Patrol Group and also the LTO to expedite the investigation to find out what actually transpired,” Mr. Aquino told reporters in an interview at a car show in Pasay City on Thursday.

“Faulty mechanical brakes really seem such a lame excuse to me,” he said.

By Nikko Dizon
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Smuggling charges were filed Thursday against one of the biggest luxury car dealers in the Philippines for allegedly defrauding the government of P68 million in taxes and customs duties in the first five months of the year.

Viking Haulers Inc. paid only P17.4 million in taxes for bringing in three Lamborghinis, three Porsches, three Mercedes Benzes, and a Masserati Quadroporte between January and May, said Customs Commissioner Lito Alvarez.

Charges of misdeclaration, misclassification and undervaluation of taxes were slapped against Viking president Reynaldo Pazcoguin, vice president Rodelito Biag, corporate secretary Ofelia Pazcoguin and customs broker Benjamin Valic.

The book value of the vehicles would have earned the government P85.8 million, Alvarez said at a news conference on the latest victim of a shame campaign mounted in a bid to eliminate corruption and raise revenues in the face of a P325-billion deficit.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has recommended no bail for the policeman implicated in the murder of Mati City-based broadcaster Jessie Camangyan last June 14.

Due to the gravity of the offense, Assistant State Prosecutor Nestor Lazaro recommended that no bail be granted to PO1 Dennis Lumikid, previously assigned at Manay Police Station in Manay, Davao Oriental.

The murder case against Lumikid was filed before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) in Mati City and pending for raffling.

Lumikid is presently under camp restriction at the PNP Provincial Police Office in Davao Oriental.

Limikid’s co-accused Barangay Captain Romeo Antoling of Barangay Old Macopa, Manay, Davao Oriental was dropped from the charges for insufficiency of evidence.

Lazaro directed the police to conduct further investigation on the case to determine the identity of Lumikid’s companion.

Camangyan, a broadcaster of Sunrise FM in Mati City, Davao Oriental, who kept on lambasting local officials allegedly involved in illegal logging operations, was gunned down while emceeing an amateur singing contest at Barangay Old Macopa, Manay, Davao Oriental.

It was Antoling who invited Camangyan to be the host of the singing contest during that time.

Antoling was implicated in the killing after he failed to extend assistance to Camangyan shortly after he was shot.

But Lazaro ruled that Antoling’s act was insufficient to hold him for trial for the murder of Camangyan.

Lumikid was positively identified by Camangyan’s live-in partner Ruth Matinong as the man bringing a firearm and left from where the broadcaster was shot.

Lumikid, on the other hand, claimed in his counter-affidavit that he was not at the crime scene when the incident happened and it was impossible for him to be at the place where Camangyan was killed.

He even presented affidavits of witnesses supporting his claim that he was at Barangay Guza, Manay, Davao Oriental which is eight kilometers away from Barangay Old Macopa where Camangyan was killed. - PNA

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) is now helping 49 Ilonggos pursue degrees in science, mathematics and engineering fields through its scholarship programs.

Data from the DOST regional office here showed that for this school year some 49 Ilonggos are already enrolled as first year college students in their school of choice in Western Visayas under the Republic Act 7687 or the Science and Technology Scholarship Act of 1994.

Of the 49 scholars, three are from Aklan, four each from Antique and Capiz; 18 from Iloilo; 19 from Negros Occidental and one from Guimaras.

Three additional scholars; one from Romblon and two from Siquijor are also enrolled in a state university in Iloilo.

Under the law, they are enjoying tuition and other school fees subsidy not to exceed P6,000/semester; allowance for prescribed textbooks and other essential school supplies at P5,000/academic year; outright grant for Physical Education uniform of P500; free transportation of one economy-class round trip far for those staying outside of home province and monthly living allowance.

They are also entitled to a group health and accident insurance; additional privileges during summer and post-graduation clothing allowance.

Meantime, the DOST also announced that they are now accepting applications for those who are interested to take the scholarship examinations intended for the next school year. - PNA

Cebu Pacific offers seat sale as low as P888!

Seat Sale to Hong Kong, Macau and select destinations in the Philippines

Cebu Pacific, the Philippines largest national flag carrier increases frequency of flights to Hong Kong and Macau.  Starting November 24, 2010, CEB will add a daily service between Manila and Hong Kong for a total of five flights per day.

Because of this, CEB offers a seat sale from now until August 22, 2010 or until seats last, for travel from October 1 to November 30, 2010.  Those going from Manila and Cebu to Hong Kong, as well as from Manila to Macau, can avail of P1,999 'Go Lite' seat sale fares.  Meanwhile, those going from Clark to Hong Kong and Macau can avail of P1,499 'Go Lite' seats.

Select domestic destinations are also available for P888 'Go Lite' seat sale fares.  These are from Manila to Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Tagbilaran, Puerto Princesa and Zamboanga.

Orderliness
Personality Description:

systematic, scheduled, planned, prefers structure, disciplined, desires the predictability of routine and habit, responsible, does things by the book, meets obligations on time, uncomfortable with imperfection, hard working, serious, practical, plans ahead, focuses on achieving goals, cautious, more logical than abstract, plays it safe, success driven, achiever, not easily distracted, law abiding, detail oriented and sometimes obsessed, prefers the familiar to the unfamiliar, likes the security of working for a company - source: similarminds.com

Stability
Description:

calm, patient, easy-going, never gets too emotional, remains cool when others panic, not quick tempered, less prone to depression, trusting, optimistic, self confident, not swayed by emotions, not prone to envy, rarely worries, well adjusted, less prone to physical and mental sickness, more likely to exercise, able to bounce back from hardships

Explanation of Extraversion

easily expresses emotions, not drained by social interaction, smiles a lot, believes most people like or will like them, bold, likes to lead, would rather be a participant than an observer, gregarious, loves night life activities and crowds, likes to participate in group discussions, oftens assumes the role of "Entertainer" or "Performer", easy to get to know, spends more time with others than alone, competes for the spotlight, fits in most places, likes to be popular, frequently touches people, spontaneous, likes to amuse, optimistic, social chameleon, charmer, tends to be confident

By Jerome Aning
PDI

A Malaysian national was arrested Wednesday morning at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport after customs agents found in his baggage 14 kilos of methamphetamine hydrochloride or shabu worth P80 million.

The suspect, Teoh Chee Keong, 41, a resident of Selangor, Malaysia, arrived from Bangkok, Thailand, on board Philippine Airlines flight PR-337 at around 4:30 a.m.

Bureau of Customs deputy collector for passenger services Thess Roque said examiners at the baggage x-ray counter saw that Teoh's bag had a false bottom, which, when opened, revealed seven plastic bags of shabu.

A fellow passenger and suspected accomplice, Richard Oh, was able to leave NAIA. Oh's bag, which was checked in next to Teoh's, also has a false bottom likewise containing seven plastic packs of shabu. Oh is now being hunted by authorities.

Teoh denied being a drug trafficker and claimed that someone at the Bangkok airport gave him a new luggage bag because his was damaged. He also denied knowing Oh, even if the airline records showed they checked in together in Bangkok and were seated together inside the plane.

Roque said initial tests on the substances showed they were high-grade shabu.

Teoh was turned over to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Unit, which will file the proper charges against the Malaysian.

How to test your personality, proceed to http://similarminds.com/global-adv.html
Just fill in the form, then click next, then start answering the statements. Just be honest with yourself.

What is Peter Pan Complex?

avoids responsibilities, people tell them they are childish and need to grow up, would rather live in their head than the real world, wants success to just happen to them, focuses on fantasies more than reality, believes they deserve to have whatever they want, life lacks direction, never know what to do next, does dumb things frequently, inconsistent performance, lazy, slacker, does the minimum to get by, does things without thinking, does not feel they have any reason to accomplish anything, tend to ignore or put off problems, believes fun is the most important thing in life, most people think they are crazy, forgets scheduled appointments, more past than future, gets attention through negative behavior

THE PLOT OF THE MOVIE "LIMBUNAN": (showing at gaisano mall, davao city on august 20, 2010) ticket: 300 pesos as donation.

Set in 1989, the film captures the ritual motions of the women in a family preparing for the wedding of 16-year-old Ayesah who has been betrothed to a man she barely knows. As Maguindanaon tradition dictates, she will be kept from public view in her private quarters â€"limbunanâ€" where she will be prepared, readied, and pampered for her wedding.

As preparations for her union is underway, Ayesah is reunited with her childhood tutor Maguid who returns to the village as a militiaman after an absence of five years, reawakening Ayesah’s past memory of childhood infatuation.

Throughout Ayesah’s confinement her precocious and rebellious eight-year-old sister Saripa becomes her eyes to the world beyond her room. Her mother Amina keeps her composure despite the fact her husband sleeps with his second wife half of the time, finding solace in the belief that it is both her religious and familial duty to be an obedient wife.

Ayesah’s aunt Farida is tasked to ensure that she is prepared for the wedding. However, Farida’s dark past challenges Ayesah’s resolve finding herself choosing between love and loyalty to tradition and family.

By Karin Zeitvogel
Agence France-Presse

Most young Americans entering university this year can't write in cursive, think email is too slow, that Beethoven's a dog and Michelangelo a computer virus, according to an annual list compiled by two academics at a US college.

To students who will get their bachelor's degrees in 2014, Czechoslovakia has never existed, Fergie is a pop singer, not a duchess; Clint Eastwood is a sensitive movie director, not Dirty Harry; and John McEnroe stars in TV ads, not on the tennis court, Beloit College's "Mindset" list says.

The Mindset list was first compiled in 1998, for the class of 2002, by Beloit humanities professor Tom McBride and former public affairs director Ron Nief.

It was intended as a reminder to faculty at the university that references quickly become dated, but quickly evolved to become a hugely popular annual list that gives a snapshot of how things have changed, and chronicles key cultural and political events that have shaped a generation.

The Internet as Social Movement by n+1

“From the first, and in no small part because of its fervent supporters, it has felt less like a technology and more like a social movementâ€"like communism, like feminism, like rock and roll. An ideology we could call webism. While the rest of us look up movie times, buy sweaters, and post jihadi videos, the webists proclaim the new age.”

The Road to Pandora by James P. Othmer

“For those who work in advertising, simply being fascinated with the future isn’t enough. We have to glean insight from it and process it and wrap it up in a bright shiny message that sells this incrementally better future to the rest of the human race (or, at the very least, our target market), brought to you on behalf of Brand X.”

The Fallacy of the Great Idea by Trevor Ginn

“Many entrepreneurs feel that they cannot start a business without a great idea. They believe it will be impossible to succeed without a completely new concept, as the market will already be cornered by established businesses. Only by venturing into uncharted territory can they achieve their dreams. This is the fallacy of the great idea.”

How Time Pressures Shape Behavior (And Provide Clues to Solve Thorny Issues in Business, Health, and Society) by Adrian Ott

“No matter whether you are a business, government entity, or non-profit organization, understanding the Time-onomic forces that shape behavior and define a situation provides clues to solve some of our most challenging issues in business, health, and society.”

The Six Invaluable Factors by Dave Crenshaw

“Every day the market you work inâ€"regardless of the industryâ€"asks ‘Are you invaluable?’ Did you answer the question satisfactorily today? Well done. Get ready to answer it again tomorrow.”

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To take the benefit of bad credit cash advance services, you have to fulfill some eligibility criteria. To be able to get this payday loans for bad credit you have to provide the details of your employment. For example, the name of your present employer, how much monthly salary are you getting and how stable your job is. By verifying this information, the lender company satisfies itself that you are having a regular source of monthly income.

Sunday Post: Two Bohol town mayors have expressed alarm yesterday over reports that an armed robbery was pulled off involving a tourist van loaded with domestic tourists en route to  a heart-rending attraction in the municipality of Danao. 

Mayors Jose Jumamoy, Jr. of Inabanga and  Louis Thomas Gonzaga of Danao sounded the alarm bells after the tourist van was waylaid by at least seven armed men in the boundary of the two towns.

Reports reaching the Sunday Post indicated that the men armed with short and long firearms robbed the passengers of the tourist van with undetermined amount of cash and other personal belongings.

The robbery took place in sitio  Boho, barangay San Jose, in Inabanga. The barangay shares a common boundary with Danao via the Sagbayan provincial road.

According to Mayor Gonzaga, the San Jose getaway is the shortcut entry point to the town’s famous EAT Danao tourist attraction from Sagbayan. The tourist site is famous for its zipline rides.

In expressing alarm about its effect to Danao’s tourism traffic, Mayor Gonzaga said he coordinated with Mayor Jumamoy and Sagbayan Mayor Ricardo Suarez for a possible cooperation to stop another  occurrence of similar crime.

Although it may be an isolated incident, Mayor Gonzaga said that it cannot be discounted that it may discourage tourists from visiting Danao for fear that the vehicles they will be riding will be waylaid along the way.

The Danao mayor proposed to Mayor Jumamoy along with the mayor of Sagbayan to mount a joint police outpost in the robbery-prone area.

It was gathered that the suspects may have operated with impunity in the area including robberies, extortion, among other incidents, because they apparently knew that the barangay captain identified as Ely Socorin may have been looking the other way every time they committed a crime in  the place frequented by vans hired by tourists.

Increasing tourist traffic in the area makes it vulnerable to crimes like hold-ups.

In the case of the latest heist, it was gathered that the seven men which was also reported to be armed with long firearms flagged the van and announced the hold-up.

Of the 19 passengers on board, six of them were divested of cash and other personal belongings.

One of the victims was identified as Gemma Pilapil, 55 of barangay Ilijan, Tubigon town who was robbed of P8,000 and a necklace worth P18,000.

Another victim was identified as Marissa Congson, 48 of Consolacion, Cebu whose P7,000 was carted away and a cell phone valued at P3,000.

Other victims were identified as Elinita Manatad,44 of Consolacion, Cebu, who was robbed of P12,000 cash, a P15,000 watch and cell phone worth P5,000; Rona Pilapil, 32 of Ormoc City who was divested of an expensive cell phone valued at P8,000 and bracelet worth P3,000; Angelita Pilapil, 59 of Ormoc City who lost a gold plated watch worth P2,000 and Almaria Labarios, of legal age of Tubigon who lost her wallet with P200.00 in it.

Meanwhile, also on Friday, a delivery truck bound for Talibon was also held up by five unidentified men who were also armed.

Loaded with rice, the delivery truck was owned by Talibon Councillor Epifanio Quimson.

According to a police report, the delivery truck was speeding towards barangay Magsaysay when flagged down by the armed men and announced the hold-up.

The truck ignored the presence of the armed men but one  of the suspects shot the fleeing vehicle hitting the truck boy in the process.

Question: Why the Bohol Chronicle did not report this highway robbery?

By Carlo Agamon, Jeoffrey Maitem
Inquirer Mindanao

KIDAPAWAN CITY, North Cotabato, Philippinesâ€"The North Cotabato provincial board on Tuesday placed the entire province under a state of calamity following the devastation wrought by floods on crops and properties.

The declaration would enable Governor Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza to use the five percent calamity fund to help more than 11,000 families affected by the floods in nine of the province’s municipalities.

But the session that led to the declaration also uncovered the massive cash withdrawals made by the previous administration from the provincial coffers.

The Sangguniang Panlalawigan (provincial council) was told that only P5.1 million remained of the P64 million earmarked for calamity this year.

Board member Socrates Piñol said they wanted to know why the funds were nearly depleted.

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By Abigail Kwok
INQUIRER.net, Agence France-Presse

At least 35 passengers were confirmed dead and six others seriously injured when a passenger bus plunged into a ravine in Benguet province Wednesday morning, a police spokesman said.

Senior Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr. said the driver of the Eso Nice bus (AYB 549) suddenly lost control of the vehicle while negotiating the zigzagged highway in Barangay (village) Banangan, Sablan town at 9:20 a.m.

As a result, the bus, which was on its way to La Union from Baguio City, had 47 passengers on board when it plunged into a ravine 35 feet deep.

Cruz said police have retrieved the bodies of 35 passengers. Six other passengers were rescued but they sustained serious injuries. They were also reportedly unconscious.

The bus conductor, John Patrick Flores, said he survived by jumping out of the door before the vehicle plunged into the ravine.

"The driver tried to ram the bus into a mango tree to prevent it from falling, but failed," Flores said.
Police Senior Inspector Leo Guay, who led the search and retrieval operations, said the destroyed vehicle rested on its side on shrub-covered ground.

He said the steep slope made it difficult for rescuers to retrieve the mangled bodies from inside the wreckage.

"There were a few survivors, including the driver and the conductor. It happened very quick, the driver just lost control," Guay said.

Guay said police were in the process of informing relatives of the victims, but said no one from the company that owned the bus had so far come forward to help.

chinook helicopter

Aduna ba?

aduna bay history ani?

read more at http://www.writeups.pictyors.com/Article/Online-Bill-Payment-Benefits-Customers-and-Businesses/16301
Everyone from private individuals to businesses themselves are taking advantage of the options offered by online bill payment methods. One of the quickest and most secure ways to both get and send money, online banking options are taking the hassles out of making payments.

The Legendary Shots: Free Fall Shot
alabama adventure

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Installing anti-virus software will offer some protection against prying eyes into your online banking business. There are a lot of these anti-virus software packages on the market names such as Mcafee and Norton are well known. Some anti-virus software advisers will even refer to "FREE" anti-virus software packages for the task of providing security. This is a false economy. People in some quarters advocate AVG but a paid version as opposed to a sponsored one.

learn more at http://www.writeups.pictyors.com/Article/How-to-Choose-a-Good-Small-Business-Bank/14318
Does your banking institution provide online banking, so you can pay bills, transfer money in and out of your account and make other banking transactions?

learn more at http://www.writeups.pictyors.com/Article/100--Guaranteed-Approval-On-Payday-Loans/13601
You have to fill up an online form to apply for no fax instant payday loan. The application process is simple and they will mainly ask you about your basic personal information, employment details and your bank details. These finance companies have a foolproof system, which enables them to approve your application within minutes, through Internet. You are not required to fax any documents to get these loans

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New accounts and special offers crop up all the time, and it may be worth your while to change banks. You can also point out the competition's rates when negotiating terms with your own bank, often these are flexible and a bank may offer you improved rates if you hint that you are considering taking your business elsewhere. Stay on top of bank charges

Oscar Dela Hoya on Manny Pacquiao
Oscar de la Hoya on Manny Pacquiao

In most cases, the next group after the opening series of numbers represents the routing number of the card-issuing bank, the group after that is the user's account number, and the final digit is a check digit. The check digit is a number that is calculated by applying a special formula to all of the other numbers. The check digit is the result of that formula and is used as an anti-fraud check.
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If the card is for personal use, decide why and for what do you really need it for. If you plan on using it instead of cash and checks throughout the month but plan to pay it off each month, know what the card's grace period is and what happens if you miss it.
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Payday loans are short-term loans that are extended between two pay days. A payday loan is normally provided for 14 days. The borrower, on acceptance of the loan conditions, provides a check favoring the lender as security against the loan. On the due date, the lender deposits this check to recover the loan dues.
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Since those times, banking evolved in many aspects. Banking regulations were formulated, additional services such as lending became part of banking and things such as adding interest to loans became common bank practices. Now with the emergence of the latest technologies and the Internet, banking has taken a new face.
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A DNA test has determined that the late chess champion Bobby Fischer is not the father of a nine-year-old Filipino girl, her lawyer has said.

The Supreme Court in Reykjavik had ordered Mr Fischer's body exhumed to prove whether Jinky Young was Mr Fischer's daughter.

However, lawyer Thordur Bogason said the report "excluded Bobby Fisher".

The US-born chess player died in Iceland in 2008 but left no will. His estate is estimated at $2m (£1.4m).

"The DNA report excluded Bobby Fisher from being the father of Jinky Young, and therefore the case has come to a close," said Mr Bogason.

The other claimants to Mr Fischer's estate are Japanese woman Myoko Watai, who claims to be Mr Fischer's widow, and the chess master's two nephews.

The US government is also claiming unpaid taxes from the estate.

Jinky is the daughter of Marilyn Young, who had a relationship with Fischer while he was living in the Philippines.

Jinky lives in the Philippines with her mother but flew to Iceland last year to provide her own sample.

The court case over the inheritance dispute is still before a Reykjavik court and proceedings are expected to continue next month, Icelandic newspaper Morgunbladid reported. - BBC

Banking Internet options also include virtual banks. This is the truest form of banking Internet simply because these banks only exist online. Banking Internet options have become popular because they save customers time and money, which is a very trendy combination.
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Some of you may not even know what forex trading is. If you don't know this, you defiantly need some forex training. Forex stands for foreign exchange. Forex trading is basically the exchange of one countries currency for another countries currency.
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When it comes to managing money many times it is best left up to the professionals and financial services that are knowledgeable and experienced.
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How do you determine if you have an attractive tax break? What determines attractive at your house? At mine, any form of a refund warrants the term attractive. Do these loans increase your refund? On average the increased refund dollar, based on the itemized deduction portion of the return, is so small it doesn't even warrant a measure.
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Hi Agnes, we would like to know the full details of this program without attending the seminar as we are far, far away from bohol and it is not possible to fly to our province just to attend the seminar.

thank you for posting the complete details.

As credit card users frequently make purchases for their daily activities, credit companies also provide rewards points for their purchases. Awarding of points for these purchases may vary depending on the items they buy, the special features of their credit cards and the reward items that their accumulated points can redeem.

learn more at http://www.writeups.pictyors.com/Article/Accumulating-Credit-Card-Points-In-Exchange-For-Travel-Miles/9245

A man who broke into the Turkish embassy in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv has been arrested and taken to hospital with gunshot wounds.

The man had taken two hostages but they were later freed. Officials said he was shot by embassy security guards.

Israel's foreign ministry identified the man as a Palestinian who stormed the UK embassy in Tel Aviv in 2006.

There are reports that the man, named as Nadim Injaz from the West Bank, was demanding asylum in Turkey.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the situation at the embassy was under control and all staff were safe. - BBC

ako, gilok tanan.

Do you know how to dance Lambada?

The Provincial Roads Management Facility (PRMF) is a governance and institutional reform program aimed to increase economic growth and improve access to public infrastructure and services in the Southern Philippines .  The PRMF provides grant assistance directly to, or in support of, selected Provincial Governments. The objective is to improve the sustainable GOP provision, management and maintenance of a core network of provincial roads in targeted provinces in Mindanao and the Visayas. PRMF is currently operating in two provinces in the Visayas (Bohol & Guimaras) and five in Mindanao (Agusan del Sur, Bukidnon, Misamis Occidental, Misamis Oriental, Surigao del Norte).  It is expected to expand in 3 more provinces.

The components include (1)  Capacity Building for Road Sector Planning and Management aimed at providing provinces to have institutional, financial, operation, planning and management capacity to develop and implement road sector plans in support of broad-based sustainable social and economic development and (2) Road Network Rehabilitation and Maintenance with targeted outcome of provincial roads being rehabilitated and sustainably maintained on an annual basis.

To support the implementation of activities, PRMF is seeking general expressions of interest for future short-term (up to 180 days) and long term opportunities from qualified and experienced professionals with expertise in the following areas:

*       Capacity Development

*       Community Development

*       Construction Management

*       Economic Development

*       Environmental Management

*       Development Communication

*       Gender and Social Inclusion

*       Geographic Information System

*       Governance and Public Administration

*       Human Resource Development

*       Infrastructure (Road Construction and Maintenance)

*       Institutional Reform /Organisational Development
   

*       Information Technology

*       Land Use Planning

*       Local Development Planning

*       Monitoring and Evaluation

*       Peace and Conflict Development Analysis

*       Procurement

*       Project Management & Contract Management

*       Public Financial Management

*       Urban and Regional Planning

*       Social Development

*       Training Development and Management

*       Transportation Planning

Please click here to register your interest with PRMF, Coffey International Development. Job reference is COFF-955.

We are seeking expressions of interest from both men and women.

We are seeking expressions of interest from Filipino citizens.

For further information: please contact Ms Ivy Almoro Ivy_Almoro@prmf.org.ph or Ms Kali Sercombe Kali_Sercombe@coffey.com

Please forward to colleagues and friends who may be interested. 

Women buy sexier clothes when they're ovulating, researchers from the University of Minnesota found in a study they say could impact how products associated with looks are marketed.

"The desire for women at peak fertility to unconsciously choose products that enhance appearance is driven by a desire to outdo attractive rival women," said Kristina Durante, a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management and lead author of the study.

"If you look more desirable than your competition, you are more likely to stand out."

The researchers found that ovulating women chose sexier clothing and accessories for themselves after being shown photographs of attractive local women than when they were shown photos of unattractive women from their area or women who live more than 1,000 miles away.

Women who were not ovulating did not make the same choice, and the ovulating women made it unconsciously, the researchers found.

The aim of preening during ovulation is to attract the best romantic partner, said Durante. - Agence France Presse

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We have literally slashed the first number off our lowest year-round fares in a seat sale from now until August 16, 2010 or until seats last, for travel from June 1-July 31, 2011!

Up for grabs are P99 ‘Go Lite’ seats from Manila to Bacolod, Boracay (Caticlan), Calbayog, Catarman, Cauayan, Cebu, Coron, Dumaguete, Iloilo, Kalibo, Laoag, Legazpi, Naga, Puerto Princesa, Roxas, San Jose, Tacloban, Tagbilaran, Tuguegarao and Virac.

The same goes for flights from Davao to Cagayan de Oro, and from Cebu to Bacolod, Boracay, Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, Clark, Davao, Dumaguete, Dipolog, Iloilo, Puerto Princesa, Siargao, Surigao and Tacloban.

These destinations’ lowest year-round fares range from P499-P999!

Travel from Cebu to General Santos, Legazpi, Ozamiz, Zamboanga or Pagadian, as well as from Davao to Iloilo or Zamboanga for the ‘Go Lite’ seat sale fare of P199.

Those coming from Manila to Cagayan de Oro, Davao and Surigao can avail of P699 ‘Go Lite’ seats, while those from Manila to Butuan, Cotabato, Dipolog, General Santos, Ozamiz, Zamboanga and Pagadian can avail of P799 ‘Go Lite’ seats.

The lowest year-round fares for these routes range from P1,199 to P1,799!

By Tarra Quismundo
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Basketball star James Yap, the estranged husband of celebrity host Kris Aquino, has sought rights to visit their three-year-old son James, saying his wife, now seeking their legal separation, had denied him time with their child.

Appearing before reporters with lawyer Lorna Kapunan on Monday afternoon, Yap said he last saw Baby James on July 30, when he, Aquino and half-brother Josh returned from their vacation in the United States.

“(When) they came back, on July 30... he watched my game. 'Di kami masyado nakapag-bonding dahil may jetlag siya (We were not able to bond because he had jet lag). When I brought him home that was the last time I saw him and after that I received a text from Kris na I can't see Baby James muna (for as long as) 'di matapos kaso (the annulment case is not settled),” said Yap in a rare interview about his separation from Aquino.

Yap added he was hurt by Aquino's petition that would strip son James of his surname.

“Nagulat talaga ako na gusto niyang ibahin ang name ni Baby James, so tanggalin niya ung Yap. As a father, talagang 'di pwede yon. Syempre anak ko yon eh. So don lang talaga nagulat talaga ako non (I was surprised that she wants to change Baby James’ name, to remove Yap as his surname. To a father, that is unacceptable. Of course, we’re talking about my son. I was just stunned when that issue came up),” Yap said.

Agence France-Presse

Oscar-winning US actor Michael Douglas, 65, is fighting throat cancer and will undergo chemotherapy, People magazine reported Monday.

Hollywood royalty Douglas, a son of screen legend Kirk Douglas, was set to receive eight weeks of radiation and chemotherapy treatment, his spokesman told People online.

His doctors expect Douglas to make a full recovery, the spokesperson added.

"I am very optimistic," Douglas was quoted as saying in a statement.

His spokesperson did not immediately confirm the report to AFP.

Douglas has starred in hits such as "Fatal Attraction" (1988), "Wall Street" (1988), "War of the Roses" (1990), "Basic Instinct" (1992) and "Traffic" (2001).

In September he will appear in the "Wall Street" sequel by Oliver Stone "Money Never Sleeps."

By Carsten Hauptmeier
Agence France-Presse

A German pop star made a tearful courtroom apology Monday for keeping her HIV status a secret from her sexual partners, before being confronted by an ex-lover who contracted the virus.

"I am so sorry," the 28-year-old Nadja Benaissa, dressed in a purple shirt, jeans and with her hair tied back, told the court in Darmstadt near Frankfurt.

She denied however intending to infect anyone with the virus that causes AIDS as she went on trial for grievous bodily harm. If convicted the mother-of-one faces between six months and 10 years in prison.

"When I was arrested I realized that the way that I had dealt with the illness had been wrong ... I made a big mistake," her lawyer quoted her as saying in a statement read out to the court.

Benaissa, a member of the all-female pop group No Angels, was arrested in April 2009 just as she was about to perform at a Frankfurt nightclub. She was held in custody for 10 days before being released.

By Jeannette Andrade
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Allegedly fed up with being cheated, a 45-year-old passenger jeepney operator smothered to death his common law wife before hanging himself inside their home early Monday in Manila.

Valentino Perez, 45, of 1760 F. Varona Street in Tondo, sent his suicide note through text message to his sister, alleging that he had “accidentally” killed his live-in partner Krisleen Celis, 25, whom he accused of cheating on him, and decided to end his own life.

Police Officer 3 Jay Santos of the Manila Police District (MPD) homicide section said that the bodies were discovered by Lilibeth Cruz, Perez’s sister, at around 12:20 a.m., on Monday, inside her brother’s house.

Santos pointed out that Perez had suffocated Celis with a pillow, while she was lying on a sofa, before hanging himself with a nylon bag strap.

Before the discovery, the case investigator said, Cruz received a text message in Filipino from Perez stating: “To my siblings, forgive me, I did not mean it. Len and I have many problems. I accidentally killed her. Ask dade (daddy) and mame (mommy) for forgiveness. Farewell to all of you. I am just so tired of the deceit I have been receiving. FORGIVE ME. Shai (his 5-year-old daughter) is in the room. Please go to her.”

Used as an expression in a conversation, what does it mean when people say: "Mura ka ug iring gilaygit."

DOUBLE or multiple registrants have surfaced at random and it is all because of the AFIS.

Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) the program being used by the government’s poll agency in registering voters automatically matches the print traces of a single individual and raises red flags when similar fingerprint match surfaces, explains Atty Ariel Selma of the city Commission on Elections office.

Because of the AFIS, more than 400 voters from Tagbilaran alone have popped red flags when their prints were cross-matched while re-registering elsewhere.

Atty. Selma however was quick to add that the red flags were noted when former Tagbilaran City voters resettled and registered anew in their new precincts of choice.

Most of these red flags were not deliberate as instead of just requesting for transfer of records, they re-registered so the computer program picks them out.

A case he cited was for a Tagbilaranon who was demanded Comelec records in support of his employment abroad.

Having been a registered voter in Tagbilaran and being in Manila at that time, the concerned instead filed for a new registration, not knowing that the computer can pick him out due to his available and valid registration in Tagbilaran, Selma narrated.

Also, some of the 400 cases in Tagbilaran were traced to women who failed to request for change of status after marriage and registered instead as new voters with a different family name.

Names and status, even faces easily change, but the fingerprints stick to truly identify the person, Selma said further elaborating on the peculiarity of the fingerprint as a true identifying mark of a person.

There are signs that people who may be involved in these red-flags are innocent, but in some cases, as this is criminal offense, it may not be too far-fetched when COMELEC would file appropriate suits, Selma added. (rac/PIABohol)

SNIFFING dogs, yes. But drug sniffing askals, why not?

Noting that an askal (asong kalye) at Camp Dagohoy has become his daily companion in his early morning conditioning runs, Bohol’s top cop said, perhaps training a native dog to sniff out drugs and contraband goods may work out.

If, without asking the dog to get after me, he regularly follows during my morning runs, then it shows that by training, the native stray dog can easily cope up with the routines.

Himself feeling the concern on the proliferation of illegal drugs that could only pass through the ports from Cebu, PSSupt Rodolfo Llorca said Bohol may be in dire need of drug sniffing dogs to weed out these contraband items being shipped to Bohol.

But knowing the staggering costs of acquiring imported dogs, keeping their food allocations and paying for their training and trainors, Llorca said he would like to know if training askals would be just as effective.

Llorca told the media during the Talakayan sa Isyung Pulis last Wednesday at the Camp Dagohoy that as a metro drug buster, he recalled the indispensability of sniffing dogs to hunt for drugs  that may be easy to stash.

Once, he said his men were not able to apprehend the suspect who inserted sachets of drugs in her underwear absent a search warrant.

But with the succeeding raid, and with a sniffing dog in tow, police were able to confiscate the drugs as the courier knew the dog would just be as relentless as stripping her underwear off.

Llorca stressed that the presence of sniffing dogs at the ports of entry would be a big crime deterrence and would easily cut the technicality of search warrants that could not be had just as fast.

Dogs have an unusually keen sense of smell that as soon as they distinguish the scent of the item to be searched, from bombs to drugs, they could be relentless until they can find the item sough after.

Over this, a more thorough study on the feasibility of using native dogs as sniffers over German shepherds, Labradors and St. Bernands may prove a better bargain for Bohol.

Rather than seeing the problem of stray dogs as causes of too many road accidents and the spread of rabies, using them as sniffing dogs may increase their use and would allow them to be truly worth the monicker as man’s best friend. (rac/PIABohol)

IS THERE any hope left for the scholar siblings of barangay officials?

The question seemingly hounds most of the sons and daughters of barangay officials who, according to law qualifies for scholarship grants that lets them through college paying only miscellaneous fees.

While there is a provision of law that mandates that, the glitch however is that the law is silent as to where the funds to pay for the grants could be taken.

That means, there is a law but there is no specific funding provision incorporated in the law that would allow the annual appropriation for such to be downloaded to the state universities and colleges upon where the scholars enroll.

Needless to say, students who believe they are qualified scholars are frustrated to know that there is no such budget for them.

Every semester, hundreds upon hundreds of government officials send kids as scholars to colleges and universities making some schools finally reveal the situation or decide to reject granting the scholarships for the above reason.

“We can not use the funds downloaded for operation and maintenance to pay for the scholars because it would affect our operational efficiency,” Dr. Elpidio Magante of Bohol Island State University (BISU) allegedly told the media.

At the Kita ug and Gobernador Friday, media representatives also asked Governor Edgar Chatto what he can do to remedy the situation.

Admitting he was certain the law puts no funding support to the scholarships, he said he has talked to the Commission on Higher Education and the state colleges and universities on the matter.

The last time that I know, CHED has promised to fix the matter, said Chatto.

During his weekly engagement at the Mansion with the media, the governor said he knew it was a problem.

He also revealed that he used to contribute in the pool for funds to pay for the government scholars during his term as congressman, just to make sure that Bohol scholars are funded.

In the past years, Bohol representatives pool support funds to pay for the scholars, but the schools may have to re-establish the linkage again to keep the funds coming, said observers who heard the governors statements. (racPIABohol)

FOR want of material time, a Commission on Elections (COMELEC) authority here believes it may be too late to assume reset the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections slated October 25.

City Comelec registrar Atty Ariel Selma, at the recent Kapihan sa PIA aired live on DyTR said “the normal process of amending a law is just too tedious and considering the time left to get the amendment done, it may not get the immediate time most needed to get it though Congress.

He explained that an amendment to the law setting the local barangay and SK polls needs to get “through the mandatory three readings”, one on each session date, and the time to get it done is apparently absent.

Over the idea that the slated elections would breeze through, despite pending bills passed emanating from the House of Representatives and the Senate, the Comelec has passed Resolutions 9002, 9003, 9004.

The resolutions generally set the tone and put in place the ground-works for the scheduled manual polls, Atty Selma explained.

Again, the resolutions came prior to a guideline from the poll agency detailing the governing policies of the upcoming elections.

Comelec Resolution 9002 governs guidelines in the clustering of established precincts for the purpose of the barangay and SK elections.

Comelec Resolution 9004 are the rules governing the registration of the voters for the SK elections in 2010 while Comelec Resolution 9005 prescribes the rules and regulations governing the resumption of the system on the continuing registration for elections, Comelec information officer juvenal Beniga added.

The same resolution also mandates that the registration for the regular registrants started August 4-13 while registration for the SK started August 6 to August 15, 2010, from 8:00 in the morning to 7:00 PM, Atty. Selma added. 

As to the clustering of precincts, Selma explained that established precincts would be clustered to 400 voters at most, while smaller precincts where the SK registrants are can be clustered to a precinct at maximum of 500 voters.

Moreover, Comelec said needed during the registration would still be valid identification cards with signature of agency head issuing the cards, postal ids, drivers license and passports if any. (rac/PIABohol) 

OF BOHOL’s 47 towns and a city, not even half of them have convened their town peace councils, reports Interior and Local Government Provincial Director Rustica Mascarinas.

At the recent Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) meeting held in time for the HEAT Caravan in the island town of President Carlos P. Garcia August 10, Mascarinas however said about 20 towns more may have met.

But owing to the fact that reckoning is based upon submitted accomplishment reports including the agenda of their peace council meetings, these directive in these towns are not considered accompished.

She said only 19 towns led by their town chief executives have successfully accomplished their Municipal Peace and Order Council (MPOC) meetings, based on the reports furnished the Department of Interior and Local Government in Bohol.

It may be recalled that Governor Edgar Chatto has instructed the DILG to make sure that MPOCs are reactivated within the month of July to get them in line with the provincial governments aim for better network of collaborative peace and order councils.

Over this, Mascarinas assumed that the problem may lie with the 22 newly minted mayors who may have difficulties in getting used to the tasks.

Twenty-two mayors here have been reelected, another 22 are new and 3 are former mayors who were elected back to their previous positions.

In earlier meetings, the PPOC has stressed the crucial role of MPOCS and its barangay Peace and Order Councils in the implementation of the Bohol Local Internal Security System (BLISS).

Last February of this year, internal security operations, which in most cases are handled by the army, has been turned over to the PPOC following a very successful convergence of efforts by community, government and the military in counter-insurgency.

Faced with the real threat of the rebels coming back, the PPOC put in the BLISS as a program that engages the vigilance of the communities in keeping the peace in Bohol.

The MPOCs and BPOCs as supervised by the DILG would be very crucial in keeping the system working and secure communities against the reports that communist insurgents mean to regain their lost mass bases through their District White Area Committees now organizing in the towns, military sources said. (rac/PIABohol) 

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Deputized policemen manning the traffic would soon do cursory flag-downs on motorcycles aiming for helmets, tail-lights, noisy mufflers and drunk drivers.

This was according to PSSupt. Rodolfo Llorca during the recent Talakayan Sa Isyung Pulis (TSIP) held every second Wednesday of the month at the Director’s Office of Camp Dagohoy.

Going tough now against motorcycle riding criminal elements, which have stirred the usually peaceful province, Llorca believes as soon as his men can get the proper deputization from the Land Transportation Office, they can aggressively pursue these criminal elements.

Despite the presence of a very good road-network that works similarly as an advantage for criminal elements, Llorca said checkpoints manned by deputized members of the police force would lessen if not solve the porous boundaries that lend help to criminal elements.

During the Regional peace and Order Council meeting held recently, Region 7 police headquarters reported an increase in crimes perpetuated by motorcycle riding criminal elements.

PSSupt Melvin Ramon Buenafe said there were 29 reported crimes by motorcycle riding elements in Bohol during the first quarter of the year. It rose to 36 during the second quarter.

On the situation Bohol Police Director Llorca said his men could not just apprehend without the LTO deputization orders, one that he has scheduled within the week.

The LTO deputization also legalizes the issuances of Temporary Operator’s Permits (TOP) as citations to violators.

Llorca, who also aired his concern over the rising cases of motor vehicle accidents, often resulting in fatal injuries and even death to helmet-less drivers and tandem riders said a national law can be implemented here.

He was also talking about the Bohol Road safety Plan which zeroes in on zero death in Bohol.

The plan, he explained to the media would be two pronged.

He would vouch on safe roads complete with accident warning signages, mandatory rest stops and engineering corrective measures on accident prone roads.

On the other hand, he would want strengthened traffic management and the presence of enforcers as guide to ease traffic coupled with keeping non-roadworthy vehicles off Bohol streets. (racPIABohol)

will online dating work?

Kris Aquino has "accepted" that her fate is to be single, she revealed in a magazine article she wrote.

In her confessional feature "Endings and Beginning," she said she is now resigned to the fact that she will stay single.

"I'm not miserable on my own... I've reached a point in my life when I sincerely like myself, I am comfortable with who I am and what I am, and I enjoy my own company. Being single suits me," she wrote.

She said that it is enough for her to have her two sons Joshua and James Jr., and for them to love her unconditionally.

"I am extremely blessed to have all the love I could ever wish for coming from my two sons, and they are the only two men I wish to give my whole heart and entire being to, because I know they will reciprocate my love and accept me for all that I am and appreciate me for being me," she wrote.

Kris said she is done with "any romatic illusions." - ABS-CBN

Joint operatives from Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) and the La Union police office arrested a village Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) chairman and two others during a drug buy-bust operation in Barangay Poblacion, Santol, La Union on Wednesday night.

PDEA Region 1 Information Officer Bismarck Bengwayan identified the three as Marvin Ligauen, 20, the SK chairman of Barangay Ramot, Santol, La Union; and his companions, Willy Madiwo, 26, also of Barangay Ramot, Santol and Alex Modag of Barangay Poblacion, Santol, La Union, all suspected drug pushers.

The three were on board a motorcycle that was flagged down by policemen manning a checkpoint in Poblacion, Santol.

Seized from the them were 100 kilograms of dried marijuana leaves with an estimated value of P250,000 based on the standard set by the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB).

Bengwayan said that four other companions of the suspects are still at large and are now the object of massive manhunt operations by the police.

He said the identities of the four suspects now being hunted are still being withheld pending their arrest.

Bengwayan said that the arrest of the suspect came at about 11:00 p.m. Wednesday at a checkpoint established by the lawmen at the approach of Poblacion in Santol town.

The arrested suspects and the marijuana leaves confiscated are now under the custody of PDEA Regional Office in La Union.- PNA

The disaster preparedness program of Nueva Ecija received a big boost after the Spanish government extended a P144-million package that will be used for the province's four municipalities and a city that were severely affected by calamities in 2009.

The fund, which will be used for trainings on actual implementation of risk reduction activities, was coursed through the Spain's Agencia Espanola de Cooperation Internationale para el Desarulo (AECID) and the Philippines' Department of Interior and Local Government-Local Government Academy (DILG-LGA).

Marivel Sacendoncello, executive director of the LGA, said their agency picked Nueva Ecija to be among the pilot areas because of its "well-placed" disaster management scheme.

She said the program actually kicked off through a two-day workshop seminar at Microtel Suites here last Tuesday.

The workshop involved a study on previous disasters that struck and devastated some parts of Nueva Ecija.

Dr. Abraham Pascua, provincial director of DILG and co-chair of the provincial disaster coordinating council (PDCC), said the money was allocated to the municipalities of Rizal, Carranglan, Pantabangan and Llanera and San Jose City. - pna

The city government will give financial assistance to illegal fish pen operators so they can find alternative livelihood instead of doing unregulated cage operations along the Iloilo River.

Mayor Jed Patrick E. Mabilog said he is planning to give the amount of P3,000 each to intended beneficiaries.

Earlier, he ordered the City Agriculturist Office to rid the riverbanks of fish pens and illegal settlers in order to clean the surroundings and preserve the river’s natural resources.

A total of 75 illegal fish pen operators mostly from South San Jose, Molo and Sooc, Arevalo have been identified by City Agriculturist Jose Gil Parreñas in his report to the local chief executive.

Parreñas met with the operators Tuesday to discuss the mayor’s alternative source of income for them.

Mabilog said Punong Barangay Genoveva Cabulong of Dungon-A in Jaro district, who has her own fish business, is giving an orientation to the affected operators and workers so they can find opportunities for work at the Iloilo Fish Port Complex. - PNA

Deputy House Speaker for Mindanao Congresswoman Maria Isabelle Climaco is personally pushing for the transfer of the Zamboanga International Airport (ZIA) in the populous center of the city to a less populated new site near the shorelines at Mercedes-Talabaan barangays in the east coast of the city.

The ZIA does not have adequate security, because its front area for cars and airport visitors does not have a perimeter fence of wires or concrete walls.

Stores doing business at the open area in front of the Airport building are not enclosed within the facility.

People, including those responsible for the explosion at the airport that killed two people and wounded others in the evening of August 5, did not have to pass through checkpoints or gates to the airport premises.

Some families are also claiming ownership of the property dating back to the times when the American Occupation forces of World War II, constructed the runway of its air force.

The runway - now modernized - stayed where it was and is now used by the Philippine Air Force and the airport.

Climaco, of the first congressional district of Zamboanga City said moves for the transfer can be possible because the Department of Transportation and Communication (PNA)- has already completed a feasibility study on the transfer.

The proposed new airport is estimated to cost about P9.8 billion. The current airport located between barangays Canelar and Sta. Maria has been servicing international flights but only as far as Sabah , Malaysia.

It occupies a 232 hectare area of prime commercial property.

Earlier, Zamboanga Airport Manager Celso Bayabos told the Philippines News Agency (PNA) that the area occupied by the present airport could be sold for over P8 billion and that the money can be used to construct the new airport.

By Jason B. Neola

NAGA CITY, Aug. 11 (PNA) -- To spur economic growth and strengthen Naga’s position as the “Shopping Center of Southern Luzon” and to enhance public-private partnerships, City Mayor John G. Bongat Office and the business sector launched the “Great Naga Sale” on Tuesday.

With an estimated three million visitors, pilgrims, and tourists expected to flock to the City of Naga in September, the City Government has embarked on a groundbreaking economic project dubbed “The Great Naga Sale,” the first of its kind in the country.

Bongat said the project will be done annually and aims to promote participating business establishments selling both goods and services especially with the upcoming grand celebration of the 300th year of devotion to Our Lady of Peñafrancia in September.

After a series of meetings and discussions by city officials, members of the Metro Naga Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MNCCI) and representatives from Camarines Sur Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) in July, the concept of a city-wide discount sale for goods and services of participating businesses came about.

The event will also be supported by Trias, a Belgium- based organization which currently provides assistance in entrepreneurship development.

Under the “Great Naga Sale” project, participating establishments will voluntarily place discounts ranging from 10 to 50 percent or more on their goods and services. The promo period, according to Bongat, will be from August 27 until September 1 and will be held in the same period annually. The promo includes all forms of products and services from food items to amusement.

The military's 6th Infantry Division here has commended soldiers and anti-narcotic agents the arrest of an American ex-soldier and his Filipino wife for possession of prohibited drugs and unlicensed firearms.

"Patience and correct intelligence gathering led to the successful operation," Major General Anthony Alcantara, 6th ID division commander, said.

Lieutenant Colonel Col. Benjamin Hao, 6th ID spokesperson, said Jeffrey Bennitt, a 54-year-old former US Army and his wife Sarah Cabugatan, did not resist arrest when Philippine police and soldiers swooped down on their home in Tamontaka district at 12 noon.

Hao said the raid came after two weeks of surveillance operations. The couple refused to talk to media.

The Army said the raiding team also seized from the couple five-gram of shabu, a 12-gauge shotgun and two high caliber pistols and shabu paraphernalia.

Both are now undergoing interrogation at the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) office.- PNA

Series of bomb drills were held in this city Wednesday in preparation for security measures to be undertaken during the 25th Kadayawan Festival celebration starting next week.

Task Force Davao (TFD) spokesperson Lieutenant Arvin Pedrosa said five bombing scenarios were staged all over the city starting at 7:50 a.m. conducted by several agencies of Davao City Oplan Laban sa Terorismo (DColt) where an unattended box believed to be containing an improvised explosive device (IED) was set up at the parking area of the Davao City International Airport, bringing in the Army's Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) and K9 team to the area.

DColt is headed by Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio and the members were represented by the Davao City Police Office (DCPO) headed by Senior Superintendent Rene Aspera, TFD headed by Colonel Romy Cabanalan of the Philippine Army and Public Safety Command Center (PSCC) headed by Colonel Mario Verner Monsanto.

Pedrosa said the airport drill, however, caused some confusion among the responders as the unattended box was reported not by someone who was part of the planned drill but by a bystander who did not know about the activity.

Right after the IED in the airport was disposed, another report came around 8:50 a.m. that an unattended baggage was also sighted in front of the Chowking restaurant fronting Victoria Plaza in Bajada, J.P. Laurel Av. The area was cordoned and the IED was disposed.

Around 9:05 a.m., a black and gray Kawasaki motorcycle without a plate number suspected to be carrying an IED was seen at SM city Mall heading towards the downtown area.

Units from Central 911 and Mobile Patrol Teams were alerted and stopped the staged bomber on the spot. The IED was also disposed.

At 9:25 a.m., a black Starex van plate number LGP 194 parked in front of the Davao City Overland Transport Terminal Office (DCOTT) was discovered to be containing unattended baggage suspected to an IED. The vicinity was cordoned and the IED disposed.

The last scenario was staged with an explosion and several casualties in the area.

At 9:50 a.m., Pedrosa said a suspicious-looking person wearing white T-shirt, maong pants and red baseball cap carrying a black pack bag was spotted walking along Quimpo Boulevard, rode a white multicab with plate number LWM-844, and then headed towards Marco Polo Hotel.

The multicab was stopped beside Osmena Park where 29 persons looked to be victims of the explosions. Emergency medical respondents were quick to aid the "victims." Enforcers were able to place everything under control around noon.

Social workers of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) expressed alarm over the continuing increase in the number of abandoned children in Ilocos region.

Jocelyn Mariano, the focal person of DSWD Region 1, said that at least 108 abandoned children were now under the custody of the agency since January to August this year.

“At 108, it is higher from the recorded number of abandoned children for the same period last year,” she said.

Mariano said that most of the abandoned children were illegitimate and offspring of Guest Relation Officer (GRO).

She said that one of the causes of child abandonment was the inability of the mother to sustain the child due to poverty. (PNA)

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Thursday submitted a proposed bill to Malacañang, which calls for the abolition of the Sangguniang Kabataan and the subsequent election of a youth representative during the barangay elections on Oct. 25.

DILG Secretary Jesse M. Robredo said that he is proposing for the repeal of Section 423 to 439 of the Local Government Code that will in effect totally abolish the SK.

Robredo is also seeking the amendment of Section 387 (a) and 390 of the same Code to include a youth representative in the barangay, who shall be elected at large by the youth aged 15 years old but less than 18 years old during the barangay elections.

Robredo said there is a need to abolish the SK council since it has not proven itself to be functional and effective in delivering its services under the Local Government Code.

However, he said that this will not deprive the youth of their voice in the barangay because this will actually strengthen the position of the youth owing the position as a regular member of the barangay council as youth representative. (PNA)

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Computational Mechanics of Materials
Course Description

It is a graduate level course on Computational Mechanics of Materials. The primary focus of this course is on the teaching of state-of-the-art numerical methods for the analysis of the nonlinear continuum response of materials. The range of material behavior considered in this course includes: linear and finite deformation elasticity, inelasticity and dynamics. Numerical formulation and algorithms include: variational formulation and variational constitutive updates, finite element discretization, error estimation, constrained problems, time integration algorithms and convergence analysis. There is a strong emphasis on the (parallel) computer implementation of algorithms in programming assignments. The application to real engineering applications and problems in engineering science is stressed throughout the course.

Course Description

This course introduces analysis techniques for complex structures and the role of material properties in structural design, failure, and longevity. Students will learn about the energy principles in structural analysis and their applications to statically-indeterminate structures and solid continua. Additionally, the course will examine matrix and finite-element methods of structured analysis including bars, beams, and two-dimensional plane stress elements. Structural materials and their properties will be considered, as will metals and composites. Other topics include modes of structural failure, criteria for yielding and fracture, crack formation and fracture mechanics, and fatigue and design for longevity. Students are expected to apply these concepts to their own structural design projects. - source: MIT

Structural Mechanics

Course Description

Applies solid mechanics to analysis of high-technology structures. Structural design considerations. Review of three-dimensional elasticity theory; stress, strain, anisotropic materials, and heating effects. Two-dimensional plane stress and plane strain problems. Torsion theory for arbitrary sections. Bending of unsymmetrical section and mixed material beams. Bending, shear, and torsion of thin-wall shell beams. Buckling of columns and stability phenomena. Introduction to structural dynamics. Exercises in the design of general and aerospace structures. - MIT

Aerodynamics of Viscous Fluids: Course Description



The major focus of 16.13 is on boundary layers, and boundary layer theory subject to various flow assumptions, such as compressibility, turbulence, dimensionality, and heat transfer. Parameters influencing aerodynamic flows and transition and influence of boundary layers on outer potential flow are presented, along with associated stall and drag mechanisms. Numerical solution techniques and exercises are included. - MIT

Course Description: Compressible Flow

The course begins with the basics of compressible fluid dynamics, including governing equations, thermodynamic context and characteristic parameters. The next large block of lectures covers quasi-one-dimensional flow, followed by a discussion of disturbances and unsteady flows. The second half of the course comprises gas dynamic discontinuities, including shock waves and detonations, and concludes with another large block dealing with two-dimensional flows, both linear and non-linear.