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Moments after overwhelming Shane Mosley in a unanimous 12-round decision, undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr. flung down the gauntlet to Manny Pacquiao: Take the blood and urine test and we’ll fight.

“If not, no fight,” the American said.

(Pacquiao, who is campaigning in Mindanao for a seat in Congress representing Sarangani province, was not immediately available for comment. A Philippine Daily Inquirer reporter was told by a secretary that he was “still asleep.”)

Mayweather, boxing’s biggest box office draw, rebounded from a close call in the second round to dominate Mosley in their welterweight fight on Saturday (Sunday morning in Manila), then vowed he would not fight Pacquiao unless the Filipino star accepted his condition.

“If Manny Pacquiao wants to fight, it’s not hard to find me,” the American told a news conference. “If Manny Pacquiao takes the blood and urine test, we can satisfy all the fans.”

But if not?

“We don’t got no fight,” Mayweather said. - PDI

Red Cross' campaign against HIV. You bet Milla Jovovich likes the sign next to her that says, "The person next to you might have HIV."

Is the book available in hardcover and paperback editions?
Will it land in the New York Times' Best Seller List? If it would, I will buy it from Amazon.com!

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo inaugurated today a newly-completed 2.7-kilometer road project called Segment 8.1, connecting Mindanao Avenue and Circumferential Road 5 (C-5) in Quezon City to the North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) main in Valenzuela City designed to provide easier access to the 84-kilometer tollway for travelers coming from the eastern parts of Metro Manila.

The President led the capsule-laying ceremony signaling the start of construction of another road project called Segment 9 under the NLEX Phase 2 expansion program of the Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC).

Segment 9 is a 3.8-kilometer tollway that will link NLEX main to MacArthur Highway in Valenzuela City.

The MNTC is also constructing a cloverleaf interchange in Barangay Ugong, Valenzuela as part of the NLEX Phase 2 program. Also on the drawing board of the expansion program is Segment 10 connecting Valenzuela to Letre in Malabon City.

The President said the proposed Segment 10 section will also link the Manila port area to the Skyway along the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX).

These road projects are being pursued by the MNTC, builder-concessionaire of the NLEX, through a public-private sector partnership.

World number one John Higgins has been suspended from all future tournaments after reportedly agreeing to take a £261,000 bribe to lose frames.

World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn said he had to take "drastic action" following the News of the World report.

The paper says it has video of Higgins and manager Pat Mooney making a deal.

There is no suggestion Higgins has ever thrown a frame or fixed a match and Higgins said: "I have never been involved in any form of match-fixing."

The newspaper's video reportedly shows Mr Higgins and Mr Mooney meeting with an undercover reporter in Kiev, Ukraine, and agreeing to alter the outcome of frames in return for money.

In response to the allegations, Mr Higgins released a statement protesting his innocence, stating: "My conscience is 100% clear.

Hordes of job seekers trooped to the SM Mall of Asia SMX Convention Center in Pasay City Saturday to apply for over 100,000 local and overseas jobs offered by around 150 employers in a major job fair held in celebration of Labor Day.

"I came here to look for a job, I'm a fresh graduate," Anne Ramos, 20, from Pasay City, said.

Ramos, a graduate of management, said she wants to work in a hotel, either local or abroad.

She added that given the opportunity, she wants to work in Saudi Arabia because her father works there as a driver and her mother as a nurse.

Department of Labor and Employment Secretary Marianito Roque said Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), construction, hotel and restaurant management are among the top industries looking for additional manpower.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo delivered her keynote speech where she stressed how the economy improved, providing employment to Filipinos, during her nine-year term.

She also lauded the Filipino workers for keeping the national economy afloat.

Other SM malls in all regions of the country also held similar job fair on Labor Day.

Rafael Mapalo, director of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, urged the youth to use the internet productively, like applying in job sites, so they would not have to spend money scourging for work.

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has placed on its watchlist a Lebanese national suspected of illegal recruitment and deployment of overseas Filipino workers to Lebanon.

Immigration Commissioner Marcelino Libanan placed Fady Karout on the bureau’s watchlist at the request of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

Also placed on the watchlist was Karout’s Filipino wife, Rosalinda and a certain Remy Sacro, a suspected accomplice of the couple in their illegal recruitment activities.

Immigration spokesman Floro Balato Jr. said that inclusion of the three individuals in the bureau’s watchlist was an offshoot of a report from the Philippine embassy in Beirut.

Balato said that by being in the watchlist, Karout would be barred from entering the country unless he could present a clearance from the Philippine embassy in Beirut.

Ms. Karout and Sacro, on the other hand, may be barred from leaving the country unless they are cleared to travel abroad by the DFA.

Earlier, the Philippine embassy informed the DFA about a complaint filed against the suspects by one of their victims, identified as Rovelyn Liggayu Ballad.

Ballad said she was recruited by Farouk to work in Lebanon through Sacro, who submitted her documents to Karout for the processing of her visa and trip to Lebanon. - PNA

Police intelligence authorities have dismissed the supposed plot to spring Maguindanao massacre suspects, who include several members of the powerful Ampatuan clan, from the Metro Manila District Jail (MMDJ) as non-existent.

In his report to Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Jesus Verzosa, PNP Director for Intelligence Eugene Martin said that initial investigation conducted by his men found the reported plot as untrue and was a product of an “unwise joke.”

"The reported escape plot was initially determined to be part of a harmless yet unwise joke among the jail guards," Martin said.

Martin said that reports of the alleged plot came from an SMS exchange among two jail officers assigned at the MMDJ in Bicutan, Taguig City identified as SJO3 Angeles Bio and SJO4 Kenneth Quilona.

Martin said the reported plot initially was determined to be part of a harmless but totally uncalled for joke between the two jail guards.

In a report, Deputy MMDJ Warden Supt. Clemen Laboy also denied the existence of a plot allegedly involving an offer to free the detained Ampatuans in exchange for P50-million.

As documented by investigators, Quilona sent a text message to Bio saying: "patakasin natin edoy 50M sama ka edoy... tg 25M tayo... tinanggap ko na downpayment 10M (Let us spring them at 50 million...join me..25M each of us..I accepted 10M as downpayment)."

Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, founder of The Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name, formally endorsed the candidacy of administration standard-bearer Gilberto Teodoro Jr. Sunday night.

Quiboloy made the announcement before thousands of his followers attending the Thanksgiving and Worship Presentation at the Jesus Christ Open Field in Davao City in celebration of the Feast of Weeks.

The religious leader also endorses the candidacy of Liberal Party vice presidential bet Mar Roxas.(PNA)

Nabiktima si Edu Manzano sa pasalig ni GMA?

Ang mga Jala ra bay nabulahan. A book can be written with this title: The Ultimate Guide to Selling The Third District of Bohol

At least six persons were wounded when about 50 unidentified armed men attacked the house of Malimono, Surigao del Norte re-electionist mayoralty bet Teodoro Fortich Sinaca, Jr. at past midnight Friday, police said.

Surigao del Norte police chief Sr. Supt. Gilbert Dela Cruz Cruz told PNA in a mobile phone interview that the two police security escorts of Mayor Sinaca were not injured.

But four of Sinaca household members and two bystanders were hit by stray bullets” Cruz said.

Cruz identified the unhurt designated police security escorts of Sinaca as SPO1 Guadito Gordonas and PO3 Edgar Bagayas, who fight it out and defended Sinaca’s home from possible entry of the attackers until responding team arrived.

Cruz said police reinforcements from Surigao del Norte Provincial Police Office engaged the attackers, who were armed with high-powered firearms, for more than an hour of firefight.

“Without the valiant stand of the two police security escorts of Sinaca, I don’t know what could have happened to the Mayor and his household members, including the Mayoralty candidate’s own family”, Cruz said. p>Sinaca identified the five wounded victims, four of whom were his household members, as Crispiniano Sajor, Juncer Palen, Rodolfo Esmaquil and two bystanders, Anjelo Sinaca and Renieboy A. Pedida, all residents of Poblacion Malimono, Surigao del Norte.

Angelo Sinaca and Pedida were just passing the area aboard a motorcycle when fired upon by the perpetrators. Both were taken to nearby medical clinic here for immediate medical treatment, Sinaca told PNA.

A magnitude 4.3 earthquake hit portions of Western Visayas around 10:48 in the evening of Friday.

Intensity 4 was recorded in Mandurriao and Jaro districts here likewise in Lemery, Iloilo a report from the Philippine Institute of Volcanic and Seismologist (Phivolcs) obtained from the Office of the Civil Defense (OCD) here stated.

Simultaneously, Intensity 3 was also felt in Guimaras, Oton, Iloilo; Bacolod City and Hinigaran, Binalbagan, La Carlota City and Bago, City in Negros Occidental.

The quake’s epicenter was located 10.7 kilometers (km) north, 122.52 km east and three km northwest of Iloilo City.

The OCD here disclosed that no damages due to the incident have been recorded. (PNA)

Bohol’s Provincial Development Council (PDC) has endorsed the construction of a 120 linear meter-long bridge worth some P50 million to reduce by 14 kilometers the travel distance between two towns in the province so socio-economic conditions there can improve.

“The Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO), after review and evaluation, finds the project appropriate and necessary for the municipalities of Bien Unido and Talibon,” said lawyer and PPDO head John Titus Vistal.

PDC approved and endorsed this project for funding through the Austria-assisted President’s Bridge Program.

Once completed, this bridge will link Barangay Nueva Esperanza in Bien Unido and Barangay San Isidro in Talibon.

“Currently, the distance between Bien Unido and Talibon via Trinidad is 19 kilometers but with this project, it’ll be reduced to five kilometers only,” Provincial Engineer Edwin Vallejos informed PDC during a meeting.

The project will complement Gov. Erico Aumentado's and Vice-Gov. Julius Herrera's poverty reduction efforts for the province.

Aumentado said the project will facilitate establishment of educational and health services in both towns.

“This farm-to-market road project is part of the province’s infrastructure development priorities to boost agricultural productivity as well as to promote safer and economical access to basic services and support institutions,” he said.

Vallejos also said the project will directly benefit about 14,980 people in Bien Unido and 12,278 residents in Talibon by enhancing their locational linkages, giving them better economic opportunities and improving their accessibility to social services. (PNA)
scs/CJT/Angeline Valencia/jsd

A top police official today ordered a full-dressed investigation on the killing of school teacher and the wounding of his fellow teacher in Zamboanga Sibugay province Friday morning.

Sr. Supt. Federico Castro, Zamboanga Sibugay police chief, directed the Imelda town police to unmask the killers of Arnel Pindang and the wounding of Ibrahim Alunas where the incident took place Friday morning.

Pindang was teaching in one of the schools in Pagadian City, the capital of Zamboanga del Sur, while Alunas is a teacher in Titay, Zamboanga Sibugay province.

Initial investigation showed the victims were riding-tandem on a motorcycle on the way to visit a friend in the town of Ipil, the capital of Zamboanga Sibugay, when shot by one of two men riding-tandem on another motorcycle in the highway of Imelda town, Zamboanga Sibugay.

Police investigators said the suspects tailed the victims from Pagadian City and shot the two teachers in a secluded area of the highway in Imelda town. (PNA)

Two unidentified motorcycle-riding men lobbed a grenade at the house of Judge Kader Indar in Barangay Rosary Heights here past midnight Friday.

Nobody was hurt as Indar, presiding judge of the Regional Trial Court, Branch 14, and his family were in Davao City. Only house caretakers were present at the time of the attack.

Declaring it not election-related, police said the motive of the attack remained unknown but Indar told police investigators that he had been receiving threats from still unidentified men.

Operatives of Task Group Tugis, a military special unit assigned in Cotabato City, has also deployed civilian agents near houses of ranking government officials who have been receiving death threats while performing their duties. - PNA

Soldiers in Compostela Valley province spearheaded and finished the third in a series of peace rallies for honest, orderly and peaceful elections (HOPE), a military official said Sunday.

Col. Romeo Calizo, commander of the Army’s 1001st Infantry Brigade who hosted the event, said the latest HOPE rally was held Saturday at the municipal gymnasium of Maco town, Compostela Valley province.

Calizo said the half-day motorcade and peace rally that started around 8 a.m. was attended by some 1,000 local residents, candidates, local government units’ employees, non-government organizations and people’s organizations who witnessed the signing of a peace covenant among contending parties who agreed for a violence-free election in the province.

“The peaceful conduct of election this May is our main concern and by the rate we are going, we can see a bright outcome as we cast our vote barely 10 days from now,” he said.

Calizo said the overwhelming support and cooperation of the people, the candidates and other stakeholders in the peace rally “bespeak of our desire as one people to really have an honest, orderly and peaceful election.”

Cebu City Treasurer Ofelia Oliva has ordered around-the-clock security for the official ballots, which arrived Saturday afternoon and will be kept at the Cebu City Hall until these are distributed on May 9.

Oliva said she received 560 boxes, containing 1,000 official ballots each, from the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Manila through Air 21 cargo forwarder.

It took 20 minutes to transfer the ballots from the Mactan Cebu International Airport to City Hall, escorted by the Special Weapons and Tactics (Swat) police team.

The city treasurer has designated 12 distribution centers, six each for the north and south districts. The south district has 34 barangays, while the north district has 46.

Oliva designated assistant treasurers Emma Villarete and Tessie Camarillo to serve as overall team leaders in the south and north districts, respectively.

“We will exercise transparency, that’s why we are sending notices to all accredited political parties, all accredited citizens’ arms and accredited party-lists about our activities,” Oliva said.

An official of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said the P1.6-billion tunnel component of the Cebu South Coastal Road is now 97.5 percent complete.

An inspection team tasked to check President Gloria Arroyo’s priority projects visited the Cebu South Tunnel last Thursday.

Engr. Nilo Pamaylaon, DPWH project director, said the 2.5 percent remaining work include the control cubicle of the ventilation system, electrical control panel, telecommunications control, water pump system, generator, security cameras and emergency exit.

Maria Elena Bautista-Horn, head of the Presidential Management Staff (PMS), said Arroyo has a “big debt of gratitude” to the Cebuanos, who gave her one million votes in the last elections.

Bautista-Horn said Cebu South Tunnel and the P2.6-billion Cebu North Coastal Road project were examples that Arroyo cared for the Cebuanos.

The Cebu North Coastal Road project was among the priority projects Arroyo mentioned in her State of the Nation Address in 2007. The project was completed early this year.

Bautista-Horn said there were several projects Arroyo implemented for Cebu but the public is not aware of them.

The 1.23-kilometer tunnel project, which is called “Segment 3B-2 Subway (Tunnel) Section” connects South Road Properties, Sergio Osmeña Blvd. and the port area, was supposed to be inaugurated last April 5 to coincide with Arroyo’s birthday, but it did not push through because First Gentleman Mike Arroyo was hospitalized. - PNA

Officials of the Metro Cebu Water District (MCWD), Cebu’s main water supplier, said demand for water may increase by 10,000 cubic meters (cbm) in May, owing largely to the heat brought by the El Niño weather phenomenon.

The increased demand is more than what the Metro Cebu Water District (MCWD) could produce, an official said.

MCWD said the high temperatures that came with El Niño would push the demand for water higher.

MCWD assistant general manager for operations Ernie Delco said the water district projected the demand for water to increase from 160,000 cbm a day to 170,000 cbm daily in May.

Delco said they see a stronger demand for water in May as the dry spell at its strongest.

Delco warned that MCWD cannot meet the increased demand since they they can only produce 160,000 cbm daily.

In order to meet the full demand in May, MCWD plans to cut consumption of water by about five percent, which is equivalent to a cubic meter per a day, of their over-all water production daily.

Delco said MCWD was urging its 128,000 customers across Metro Cebu to heed their call in limiting their consumption of water.

By Ignacio R. Bunye

MANILA, May 2 (PNA) -- Last week, we explained why, as lender of last resort, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) extends emergency loans to banks experiencing temporary liquidity problems.

In this concluding article, we will explain the steps taken by the BSP, before and after granting a loan, to ensure that its interest is adequately protected.

To illustrate, we use here an actual case of emergency loans granted 12 years ago. In that instance, the borrower submitted collaterals to the BSP covering titles of various real estate properties located in a number of provinces and cities, including Norzagaray, Bulacan.

According to BSP General Counsel, Juan de Zuniga Jr., it is standard procedure for the BSP to engage an independent appraisal company. The appraisal company is tasked to inspect, verify the titles and appraise the value of properties offered as collaterals by the borrower.

The appraisal company reported that the titles were authentic as they are the same as those officially on file with the Register of Deeds.

Moreover, the properties were situated in areas not covered by CARP (Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program).

De Zuniga explained that based on representations of the borrower and the factual determination of the appraisal company, the BSP considered the properties as adequate collateral for the emergency loans.

The total appraised value of these properties met the loan valuation requirements of the BSP. Thus, the loans extended by the BSP were fully secured by the collaterals.

When the borrower defaulted, the BSP exercised its legal remedies by foreclosing on the mortgaged assets.

According to De Zuniga, the proceeds from the foreclosure exceeded the total loan amount plus interest and charges.

Titles to the foreclosed properties have since been transferred to the BSP. Said properties are now included in BSP’s program for disposal of acquired assets.

Some claimants, which included poor farmers and members of indigenous communities, have come forward claiming proprietary rights over the properties. These claims are now under litigation.

In these cases, the BSP has maintained and defended the validity and authenticity of its titles.

Nonetheless, De Zuniga asserted that the BSP will abide by the final judgment that may be rendered in these cases.

The foregoing illustrates the due diligence observed by the BSP as well the appropriate legal steps taken by the BSP to protect its rights whenever a borrower defaults. (PNA)

Roberto “Butch” Galicia: A colleague in Canadian press (Feature)
By Satur P. Apoyon

Unknown to many of our fellow Mindanaoan scribes, one of our kind is now making a name for himself in the Canadian press.

He is Roberto Galicia, popularly called Butch among friends and in his family circle back home in the Philippines especially Cotabato City and Manila.

In his PDF copy emailed to me last April 26, 20l0, his monthly community newspaper is called “Libreto”. My best friend stands as publisher-editor.

A partnership venture, Libreto is published in Toronto, Canada for its Filipino community in that snow country.

“I am now on my seventh edition, Butch partly said in his nostalgic email.

The April 2010 issue carried, among others, a postponed concert of Superstar Nora Aunor in Toronto to the last week of May 2010.

Libreto also carried PNA items. “Including a couple of your feature articles in earlier editions,” Butch told me.

Butch and I became close friends and colleagues when both of us were manning the bureau offices of the Philippines News Agency (PNA) in Mindanao â€" he in Cotabato City and me in Davao City â€" in the l980s.

One of our joint coverages was the hot pursuit of the 37 bank robbers from Lanao del Sur who raided four banks in Digos, Davao del Sur on December 16, 1981 and the visit of Camp Abubakar of the then fledgling Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Matanog at the border of Parang, Maguindanao on May 9, 1986.

As co-PNAer, our bonding was further galvanized in occasional provincial bureau chiefs’ conference in the central desk if not in the mother bureau agency â€" News and Information Bureau at the Malacanang Palace premises.

Before moving to Canada a few years back, Butch had served the Manila PNA central desk and other government media outfit in the national capital. He even filled my PNA vacated slot in Davao City after retiring in mid-2001 for a couple of months.

Since that brief sojourn here, Butch and I had lost contact until recently. (PNA)

By Freddie Lazaro

City officials and employees marked Labor Day by paying tribute to Vigan’s illustrious son Don Isabelo de los Reyes (Don Belong) who is regarded as father of the Philippine labor union movement.

Mayor Eva Marie Singson-Medina and Vice-Mayor Franz Ranchez Jr. led the wreath-laying and floral offering at the foot of Don Belong’s memorial marker in front of Leona Florentino House located at the entrance of Mena Crisologo Street within Heritage Village.

This event coincided with formal opening of the city’s annual Viva Vigan Binatbatan Festival of the Arts.

Part of this event was awarding of the city’s outstanding traffic aides and watchmen.

The city government sponsored this awarding in cooperation with the Knights of Columbus.

Medina said Vigan always honors Don Belong for his achievements and efforts to advance labor causes.

Don Belong was a prominent labor leader, journalist, scholar, historian, folklorist, and poet.

He was born in Vigan on July 6, 1864 to Elias de los Reyes and famous poetess Leona Florentino.

He was educated at Vigan Seminary, then went to Manila at age 16 to enroll at the College of San Juan de Letran.

His father died two years later.

After receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree from Letran, Don Belong studied law and paleography at University of Santo Tomas, finishing a course on notary public in 1886.

Being 22 years old at the time, however, he could not practice his profession as the law required 25 years as the minimum age to engage in such work.

To augment the monthly allowance he received from his mother, Don Belong worked as a journalist.

He wrote articles for El Diario de Manila, La Oceania Espanol, El Comercio, La Revista Popular, La Opinion and other Manila-based newspapers.

As a struggling journalist, he married on June 14, 1884 Josefa Sevilla of Malabon.

In 1889, he founded El Ilocano which became the Philippines’ first vernacular newspaper with himself as editor and publisher.

This newspaper did not last long, however.

As a journalist, he aroused the hostility of friars and Spanish officials due to his open criticism of evils amidst Spain’s rule over the country and because of reforms he advocated.

He particularly denounced the religious orders’ land ownership and demanded agrarian reform to improve lives of landless Filipino tenants.

For his deeds, Spanish authorities branded him a traitor. He was arrested and jailed in Bilibid Prison in January 1897, shortly after the 13 martyrs of Bagumbayan were executed, for being implicated in the revolution which Andres Bonifacio and other Katipuneros mounted in Balintawak in August 1896.

While he suffered torture and agonized in prison, his sick wife died.

Jail authorities disallowed him from attending his wife’s funeral and from seeing his children.

Inside prison, Don Belong was able to talk to several inmates who were Katipuneros and learned from them the Katipunan’s history and why they rose in arms against Spain.

With this information, he wrote during imprisonment the ‘Sensacional Memoria Sobre la Revolucion Filipina’ which became a valuable book on the revolution’s history.

Later, Don Belong fell in love with a Madrilena while he was working in the Spanish government’s Ministry of Colonies.

This lass, Senorita Maria Angeles Lopez Montero, was the daughter of a retired Spanish infantry colonel. They married in 1898.

This development did not diminish Don Belong’s love for the country.

In 1899, he published in Madrid La Sensacional Memoria Sobre la Revolucion Filipina which caused a stir in Spain for exposing evils of Spanish rule in the Philippines.

Don Belong founded on Feb. 2, 1902 Union Obrera Democratica Filipina (Philippine Democratic Labor Union), the country’s first labor union.

He served as the union’s president while Hermenegildo Cruz became its secretary.

Realizing the value of propaganda, Don Belong founded and edited the first labor newspaper in the country, La Redencion del Obrero (The Redemption of the laborer) which promoted labor rights.

During a meeting of about 42 union members at Centro de Bellas Artes in Quiapo on August 3, 1902, Don Belong launched the Philippine Independent Church and proclaimed Father Gregorio Aglipay as Supreme bishop.

Afterwards, he led a strike of factory laborers and farm tenants against American business firms and friars who owned "haciendas."

As mastermind of the strike, Don Belong was arrested and jailed in Malabon. A court convicted him of public disturbance and sentenced him to four months’ imprisonment.

After his release, Don Belong left Manila in February 1903 for China and Japan.

He returned to Manila and in 1905 sailed for Spain where he worked as a juror for the Spanish government in Barcelona until 1908.

On April 3, 1909, he returned to Manila with his Spanish wife and children. His wife died on Feb. 10, 1910.

In 1912, two events changed Don Belong's life: his third marriage to 18-year-old Chinese mestiza Maria Um from Tondo and his election as Manila councilor.

For the 1922 senatorial elections, Don Belong launched his candidacy in the First Senatorial District composed of the Ilocos provinces. His opponent then was Rep. Elpidio Quirino, a rising Ilokano politician.

He won after campaigning hard.

On May 27, 1923, while serving his term in the Senate (1922-1928), his third wife died of childbirth.

When his Senate term ended, Don Belong gave up politics and devoted the last years of his life to religion and writing.

In January 1829, Don Belong was stricken with paralysis and became bed-ridden. He died on Oct. 10, 1938 at age 74, leaving behind 15 of his 27 children from his three marriages. (PNA)
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The rallies held by labor and militant groups in Manila in celebration of the Labor Day Saturday were generally peaceful, the Manila Police District (MPD) said.

The MPD deployed sufficient number of policemen in strategic areas where militant groups converged to ensure the safety of both the rallyists and the general public.

Manila Mayor Alfredo S. Lim and Senator Francis Escudero attended the program held by members of the Kilusang Mayo Uno, Anakpawis, Partido ng Manggagawa, Gabriela, and Bagong Alyansang Makabayan starting at 10 a.m. at Plaza Miranda in Quiapo to honor the late labor leader and sectoral Rep. Crispin Beltran.

Beltran, who represented in Congress Party-list Bayan Muna from 2001 to 2004 and Anakpawis from 2004 to 2008, died after falling from the roof of his house in San Jose del Monte City on May 20, 2008.

The rallyists also marched toward Liwasang Bonifacio in Ermita, Manila at 1:30 p.m.

Mayor Lim and the MPD officials earlier called on the rallyists to guard their ranks from infiltrators during their march and programs on Saturday in time for Labor Day. (PNA)

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) found another ally in decentralizing its operations after the Quezon City local government cited the agency’s continuing reforms that have made it easier for foreigners to process their visas, and made it more convenient for them to stay in the Philippines for business and leisure.

Quezon City Mayor Sonny Belmonte, during the inauguration of the BI’s satellite office in the city, said the agency under the leadership of Commissioner Marcelino Libanan, has successfully decentralized its operations from the main office in Intramuros, Manila to the satellite offices located around Metro Manila and in other places in the country where many foreigners are staying.

"Bureaucracy is a deterrent to quick action. With all the people that need to be consulted and with all the initials needed to effect something good, all that is needed is a good dose of common sense among those in government so that we can do things quickly and efficiently," Belmonte said.

The mayor of the country’s largest city also said that reforms introduced by Libanan in the BI, like the cutting of the processing time and the documentary requirements of foreigners seeking to enter the Philippines or extend their stay here, have made an impact not only on foreigners here but most importantly on the image of the Philippines as tourists and investors-friendly country.

The reforms have made it easier for foreigners to process their papers, which resulted in more revenues for the government from visa fees.

With the shift of Philippine trade from traditional markets to free trade agreement (FTA) partners, the country is advised to intensify information dissemination and upgrade and use compatible rules of origin (ROO) to encourage more businesses to use FTAs.

This recommendation was made by a team of Asian Development Bank (ADB) researchers led by Ganeshan Wignaraja and his two Filipino associates, Dorothea Lazaro and Genevieve de Guzman, in a seminar organized recently by Universal Access to Competitiveness and Trade (UACT).

This came after the release of an ADB survey showing that only 20 percent of 155 companies in the electronics, food and electronics were using or have benefited from the FTA.

A lack of information was an impediment to majority of nonuser firms of FTAs even as the study recognized various Philippine efforts to disseminate information and raise industry participation in FTAs involving the country.

To raise overall usage of FTAs, the ADB researchers underscored the need for the Philippines to strengthen information through creation of FTA portal with FTA tariff rates, make ROO database available online and business process and step-by-step procedures.

FTA experts pool, highlight of success stories of other firms, small and medium enterprises-focused outreach and designation of an FTA desk officers in implementing agencies are also crucial, they said.

The Social Security System (SSS) has collected a total of P127.74 million of overdue contributions under an amnesty program that aims to help workers regain access to social security benefits and loans, a ranking official said.

SSS spokesman Joel Palacios said a total of 1,173 employers applied for amnesty, with 46 percent paying delinquencies in full and the rest paying by installment.

Palacios said employers who fully paid in cash remitted P59.95 million while installment payments, which represent the encashed post-dated checks and five percent downpayment, amounted to P67.79 million.

"In the spirit of Labor Day celebrations, we call on employers to uphold their duties to their workers under the Social Security Law," he said. "Part of their responsibility is to ensure that they are updated in remitting their employees’ contributions."

Payment of contributions is a major factor in determining members’ eligibility for SSS benefits, which protect workers and their families during times of disability, maternity, sickness, old age or retirement and death. SSS also checks the number of contributions in granting loans to members.

The SSS has been implementing a six-month amnesty program that allows employers to settle their delinquencies without paying the corresponding penalties. SSS charges a three percent monthly penalty for late contributions.

Security Bank Corporation (SBC) and the ECO-Asia Clean Development and Climate Program (ECO-Asia) announced that they have signed a cooperation agreement where both parties vowed to assist Philippine clean energy project developers in getting access local and international sources of financing.

SBC participation signifies its support to serve the funding requirements of local clean energy project developers.

It also recognizes the financial viability of environmental-friendly projects that will encourage the business sector to tap the potential of clean energy projects.

ECO-Asia, a project of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Regional Development Mission for Asia, develops policy and finance solutions for clean energy through targeted assistance, training, regional cooperation and knowledge sharing.

It takes a regional approach by building partnerships in the six countries where it works: China, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

ECO-Asia will assist SBC in assessing the technical and financial viability of clean energy projects through the Private Financing Advisory Network (PFAN), a multilateral partnership initiated by the Climate Technology Initiative (CTI) and managed in Asia by ECO-Asia.

Since early 2009, PFAN networks that match clean energy projects with sources of funding have been set up in the Philippines, China and Indonesia.

PFAN now has 35 projects in its pipeline in Asia with combined investment potential of over USD1.2 billion. (PNA)

Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company (Metrobank), in its disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, announced that its consolidated net income for the first quarter amounted to P2.5 billion, up by 31.7 percent from P1.9 billion last year.

The bank ended the quarter with consolidated resources of P833.4 billion, or 9.1 percent higher year-on-year.

This is mainly driven by the 8.6-percent growth in deposits to P602.1 billion.

Meanwhile, net loans and receivables increased by 2.1 percent to P338.7 billion, on the back of increased demand in the corporate segment, particularly for power generation and distribution and real estate development, as well as the sustained volumes from the consumer and middle market segments.

Total operating income increased by 6.8 percent to P11.4 billion due to higher fee income, sustained remittance flows and financial markets sales and trading.

Meanwhile, operating expenses grew 9.4 percent to P7.0 billion, driven by the 9.1-percent increase in manpower cost.

Metrobank maintained its prudent provisioning policy, setting aside P1.4 billion in provisions for impairment and credit losses.

At the end of the quarter, loan loss cover increased to 86.0 percent from 63.6 percent in the first quarter of 2009.

Asset quality continued to improve this quarter as gross non-performing loans (NPLs) further declined by P4.7 billion, thus NPL ratio was down to 3.5 percent from 5.0 percent in the first quarter of 2009.

Metrobank’s capital position rose by 8.4 percent to P75.1 billion, from the P69.3 billion registered in 2009.

Security Bank Corporation (SBC), through its Hedging and Financial Solutions Division (HFSD), recently conducted a seminar on hedging strategies for importers in Cebu.

This is part of the bank’s series of events that provide customized hedging solutions and services that will help clients manage the volatility and uncertainties inherent in the foreign exchange market.

The seminar is designed to provide both current and prospective clients with the basic knowledge, methods and strategies about hedging as well as the foreign exchange forecasts.

The hedging seminar is one of the strategic banking services that SBC provides to place its clientele at the forefront of business trends and economic developments.

The bank's Treasury Group and Fixed Income Securities Division is recognized for its expertise and consistency in delivering superior value for its customers and business partners.

SBC is considered as one of the best performing banks, consistently reporting better-than-industry figures in Return on Equity (ROE) and capital adequacy ratio indices that outperform even the bigger banks in the industry. (PNA)

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) has welcomed 12 officials from the National People’s Congress (NPC) of China, who were part of the mission to strengthen exchanges in financial and economic affairs between the Philippines and China.

NEDA and the Chinese officials discussed the Philippine economic development situation and prospective areas of investment and cooperation between both countries.

“We see the very strategic role that China has in the region, and we’d like to see that this be strengthened, particularly in Southeast Asia, together with the Philippines,” said NEDA Public Investment Staff director Jonathan L. Uy, who welcomed the Chinese officials led by Wang Shucheng, deputy head of the NPC’s Financial and Economic Affairs Committee.

Uy told the delegates that the Philippines had an increasing portfolio of official development assistance (ODA) since 2004, and a sustained cooperation with China would aid in the implementation of economic and development programs in the Philippines.

Marites B. Oliva of the NEDA National Planning and Policy Staff told the foreign officials that among the economic opportunities that could be developed through the Philippine-Chinese cooperation are in the areas of infrastructure, electronics and renewable energy.

Oliva said as a primary source of competitiveness, the government was committed to accelerating public investment in infrastructure through the Comprehensive and Integrated Infrastructure Program (CIIP).

“The total investment requirement of the updated CIIP amounts to P3.326 trillion. Available estimates indicate that the annual CIIP investment from 2009 to 2013 is at an average of 6.4 percent of GDP,” Oliva told the officials. - pna

Estudyante Blues - Lyrics

ang kawawang kawboy ** FRED PANOPIO
Kawawang Cowboy by Fred Panopio

bilmoko * FRED PaNOpI0

Pitong Gatang - Fred Panopio (Available in Stereo)
Pitong Gatang by Fred Panopio

Yoyoy Villame - Philippine Geography

Yoyoy Villame - Megellan

Yoyoy Villame & Max Surban - Megellan (Remix)

Yoyoy Villame & Max Surban - Dagohoy Rock Lapulapu Boogie

Max Surban - Budbud ug Bibingka

Yoyoy Villame - Butsekik

Yoyoy Villame - Hayop Na Combo

Max Surban - Unang Pag Tan-aw Ug Sine

Max Surban - Barkong Karaan

Yoyoy Villame - Bayle Tibook Kalibutan

Max Surban - Kuntis Sa Hambog

Funny Stage Drama Teban & Goliat

Part 5
GOLIAT & TEBAN JOKES PART 5

Part 4
GOLIAT & TEBAN JOKES PART 4

Part 3
GOLIAT & TEBAN JOKES PART 3

Part 2
GOLIAT & TEBAN JOKES PART 2

GOLIAT & TEBAN JOKES PART 1

Giapil ug putol ang tanang kahoy nga more than 10 years old pa. Mga himsog ug healthy kaayo nga mga kahoy.

Dili usa lang ka kahoy ang giputol kon dili daghan. All for the sake of ego trip...