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Six undocumented Filipina women bound for Lebanon who disguised as nuns were intercepted Thursday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), immigration officials on Saturday said.

BI Acting Commissioner Ronaldo Ledesma said Rodolfo Magbuhos, supervisor of the bureau’s Travel Control Enforcement Unit (TCEU) reported that the female domestic workers were dressed as nuns and about to board Cebu Pacific flight 5J 501 bound for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with a connecting flight to Lebanon.

Ledesma said that Magbuhos, together with TCEU agents Marlene Pedrealba, Joel Valencia, Rose Perez, Jun Manahan and Jonathan Orozco, became suspicious when the six “nuns” lined up at the Immigration counters for clearance and stamping of their passports.

The six overseas Filipino workers, whose identities were withheld pending further investigation, were apprehended and later admitted they were actually applying for household jobs in Lebanon, but without the required work permits, he said.

Ledesma said the Immigration agents handed over the six women, who are victims of human trafficking, to the Inter Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for proper disposition.

He said the fake nuns were barred from boarding their flights since they failed to present the necessary clearance and employment permits from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA). The workers only had tourist visas, he added.

According to Magbuhos, the Immigration agents were initially reluctant to apprehend the “nuns,” not wishing to show disrespect to religious people.

Magbuhos said BI agents later on discovered that the six were impostors who dressed like nuns to evade being questioned by immigration officials. (PNA)

Sa Pilipinas, walay mopalit if the plant is not in the pot.

Malacanang said it is prepared to evacuate the 6,500 Filipinos working and studying in Egypt should the rioting in that country escalate.

This was disclosed on Saturday morning by Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte in an interview on Radyo ng Bayan as she announced that President Benigno S. Aquino III has tasked the Departments of Foreign Affairs, National Defense and Labor and Employment and the Presidential Management Staff to meet that day to agree and make recommendations on what measures to take should the peace and order situation in Egypt worsen.

For the peace of mind of Filipinos with relatives or friends in that country, the government has set up three evacuation centers in Cairo and one in Alexandria to prepare for any eventuality, Valte said.

“The President has been constantly monitoring the situation in Egypt since last night until early this morning. In fact, he has already given instructions to the agencies concerned for them to come up with recommendations on augmenting current efforts,” Valte said.

The DFA also said it is ready to repatriate all the 6,500 Filipinos in Egypt right now. “Nobody will be left out -â€"documented or not,” Valte said.

DFA Assistant Secretary Ed Malaya said of the 6,500 Filipinos based in Egypt, half are overseas contract workers (OCWs) and domestic helpers, around 1,000 are students while the balance are there in unspecified capacities and presumed to be working there.

Worth noting is that there are still no Filipino casualties from the unsettling conditions in Egypt, continued Valte, adding that the embassy has advised all Filipinos to stay in their homes for their safety. (PNA)

Ga-tira-pasagad pud ilang design.

By Joel C. Atencio

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said it is preparing the proposed national budget for 2012 ahead of time for submission to Congress a day after President Benigno S. Aquino III's second State-of- the-Nation Address (SONA) on July 25.

Budget Secretary Florencio "Butch" Abad made the statement during the Communication and News Exchange (CNEX) Forum at the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Central Office along Visayas Ave. in Quezon City on Friday morning.

The forum, a weekly briefing and discussion with government media, is sponsored by the PIA in cooperation with the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO).

Abad said the early "first budget call" to different government agencies is part of efforts to ensure that the bureaucracy is in line with the Aquino government's transparency thrust.

The former Batanes congressman said he is prioritizing six line agencies in the preparation of the 2012 government spending bill.

These are the Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

Abad, who is also a former Education secretary, said Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) will be consulted for ongoing programs and projects of the six agencies.

He said this is the first time that the DBM is tapping the participation of CSOs and other stakeholders in the budget preparation process for key government agencies.

In the case of DepEd, Abad said they will be needing a huge amount of money for the construction of additional 17,000 classrooms, hiring of more than 15,000 public elementary and secondary school teachers as well as procurement of textbooks and school supplies.

Abad said the additional educational provision is aimed at addressing the perennial shortages of school buildings, classrooms and teachers nationwide every school opening.

“This is the first time that the participatory budget approach is being implemented,” he said, adding that this is being done to promote monitoring of government’s key public services.

Abad said that government agencies must now submit budget proposals that enable the people to inspect each and every detail of how they intend to spend their budget.

"For this reason, we will gradually move away from the often-shadowy practice of lump sum budgeting," Abad said.

"We started the process of preparing the 2012 national budget early. This should give ample time to all departments and agencies to flesh out their proposed budgets into programs and projects to be funded, location of projects and amounts allocated," he added.

Abad explained that the no-lump-sum policy will also allow agencies to measure outcomes of their spending.

The "first budget call" fleshes out the budget preparation framework and process, including the budget preparation calendar.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has embraced a new policy in line with its “right project, right price and right quality” thrust.

DPWH regional director for Western Visayas Evelyn T. Barroso said that there have been changes in the “implementation arrangement and procurement activities” of the agency.

Under the new policy as stipulated in Department Order No. 55 signed by Secretary Rogelio L. Singson, the regional office is no longer allowed to hold biddings “except if funds are directly released to the region.”

In the previous administration, the regional office was “authorized to do procurement activities of projects P50 million to P200 million” where bidding is a component.

The new policy has empowered district engineering offices to undertake the planning, preparation of the program of works and the approved budget cost likewise handle the procurement and implementation of projects that cost up to P50 million.

Specifically, the approval of the plan for projects up to P20 million is with the district engineer (DE) likewise the approval of the resolution to award and contract for projects up to P50 million.

The DE under the implementation aspect will have to sign the issuance of the notice to proceed, sign the certificate of inspection prior to first and final payments and approve the statement of work accomplished (SWA) and consequently the payment of claims.

On the other hand, the regional office through the regional director has the authority to approve the plans, program of works and the approved budget cost for projects worth P20 million up to P50 million.

The regional office also undertakes the preparation of plans, program of works and the approved budget cost for projects worth more than P50 million.

Further, it is the responsibility of the regional office to implement projects, prepare the SWA and recommend for approval and payment of projects worth more than P50 million while at the same time supervise those with amount up to P50 million only.

All other responsibilities have been left to the central office to undertake.

Barroso said that they are now in the process of preparing the required preparatory works for projects under the 2011 line item. - pna

By M. Antonio G. Ibarra

The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said the Aquino administration has saved around P555 million from newspaper advertisements for project bidders’ invitation with the use of the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System (PhilGEPS).

Budget Secretary Florencio "Butch" Abad told the Communication and News Exchange (CNEX) Forum on Friday at the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Conference Room in Quezon City that with DBM using the PhilGEPS website, publication of the invitation to bid for government projects is done away with, thus the big saving.

CNEX Forum, a weekly briefing and discussion with government media, is a project of the PIA headed by Director General Atty. Jose A. Fabia in cooperation with the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO).

During the forum, Rosa Clemente, project manager of the Government Electronic Procurement System Group, said the exact amount saved by the government was P555,295,254.

Clemente explained that PhilGEPS is DBM’s implementation of Section 8 of Republic Act No. 9184, or the Government Procurement Reform Act which provides, “To promote transparency and efficiency, information and communications technology shall be utilized in the conduct of procurement procedures.”

She said it is the single, centralized electronic portal or gateway that shall serve as the primary and definitive source of information on government procurement.

”Government entities are required to post all procurement opportunities, bid results and other related information on the procurement of goods and other support services, civil works and consulting services,” she added.

The DBM official explained that among the PhilGEPS’ objectives are: To establish an open, transparent, efficient and competitive marketplace for government procurement; to get better process; to build the framework to continually improve the procurement processes; and to maintain sustainability over the long-term.

Clemente has invited the media and the forum participants to visit the PhilGEPS website, http://www.philgeps.net.

She said that the PhilGEPS’ features are: electronic bulletin board which includes posting of procurement opportunities, notices of awards, electronic distribution of bid documents and automatic notification of amendments; electronic catalogue, a centralized price list of common use goods, supplies, materials and equipment; and virtual store (pilot implementation) which supports online procurement of both common and non-common use item. - pna

Four persons, including two firemen and a three-year-old girl, were wounded in an explosion at a firecracker warehouse in this southern port city Friday.

Lt. Col. Randolph Cabangbang, Western Mindanao Command (Wesmincom) spokesman, said fire immediately broke out just after the first explosion around 3:30 p.m. at the firecracker warehouse of businessman Benjie Chiong along Nuñez Extension road, this city.

The two injured firemen identified as Raymond Gutierrez and Romeo Santos were among the firefighters of the Bureau of Fire Protection's Zamboanga City Fire District who rushed to the scene of the incident.

The other two wounded were identified as Aileen Ang-os, 32, and her three-year-old daughter Glyca Christine, who are staying near the firecracker warehouse.

Firecrackers continued to explode inside the warehouse while the firemen tried to contain the fire.

The firecracker explosions were followed by five big explosions - three around 4:12 p.m., one around 4:18 p.m. and two around 4:31 p.m. while the firemen continued the firefighting efforts.

The BFP firemen were later joined by the Filipino-Chinese Volunteer Brigade, and firemen from Wesmincom and Edwin Andrews Air Base (EAAB).

Aside from the firecracker warehouse, a warehouse of tires and other hardware stocks to include flamable materials and rubber tires was also burned as well as around 10 houses in the vicinity of the warehouses.

Officials of the Ciudad Medical Zamboanga, a private hospital near the firecracker warehouse, have evacuated their patients to other hospitals in this city for safety.

Some of the patients were taken to the EAAB hospital and other hospitals for temporarily shelter.

The firefighters have yet to totally contain the fire while the police investigators have yet to determine the cause of the incident as of press time (PNA)

By Joann Santiago

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) believes that the average rate of price increases this year would remain below the midpoint of the three to five percent target even as upside risks turn up.

In a briefing at Malacanang Friday, BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said they see inflation to average at 3.6 percent this year, lower than the 3.8 percent actual average in 2010.

He explained that their average forecast already included the possible hikes in toll fees and oil and rice prices, among other factors.

He stressed that if these upside risks materialize, then inflation would average around 3.8-4.2 percent.

“It’s still around the midpoint of the target range for 2011. Inflation outlook is favorable as inflation expectations, based on our survey, continue to be within the inflation target range for the year,” he said.

Tetangco, who confirmed Thursday night that he has accepted President Benigno S. Aquino III’s offer for another six-year term as BSP head starting August this year, noted that inflation has started to rise in other Asian countries, thus, monetary officials in some of these countries have lifted price controls, which in turn resulted in increases in interest rates.

“In our case, inflation remains favorable and we don’t see an urgency for changing our monetary policy stance at this point,” he said.

Relatively, Tetangco said they plan to continue putting in reforms in the country’s financial system to strengthen economic foundation of macroeconomic analysis vis-à-vis the monetary policy.

“What we intend to do is to sharpen our tools in order to make monetary policies even more responsive and even more effective in maintaining price stability,” he said after citing BSP’s mandate of maintaining price stability and a sound banking system.

The BSP chief said they have started, at the early part of this month, internal capital adequacy assessment program to check if banks' capital remains sufficient to cover risks they have taken in.

“We will try to have stronger academic grounding for our assessment to monetary policy and then at the same time, we’d like to have sustained exchange of information with our counterparts around the region and in the other regions as well,” he added.

Meanwhile, Tetangco said they expect inflows from Filipinos abroad to reach US$ 20 billion this year.

As of last November, remittance totaled to US$ 17.1 billion, 8.2 percent higher than year-ago’s US$ 15.78 billion, with the growth already ahead of the eight percent full-year target of the central bank. (PNA)

President Benigno S. Aquino III assured on Friday that the P29.25 billion dividends and other remittances turned over by 19 government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) will be given back to the people in the form of social services, including anti-poverty programs.

“As you can see, we are working overtime to bolster our abilities to give back to the Filipino people what they have given us," the President said. “Uulitin ko po: Sila ang boss natin. We will do this, not only because this is what we are mandated to do, but more importantly, because this is the right thing to do.”

In his message at the ceremonial turnover of GOCCs check dividends and remittances at the Rizal Hall of Malacañang, the Chief Executive said dividends and other remittances from GOCCs will allow the government to frontload its expenditures and speed up the implementation of anti-poverty programs, among others.

He reminded the GOCCs that the money belongs to the Filipino people who, he said, are the government’s shareholders, and not to the Board of Directors of GOCCs nor to officials of his administration

“The people are our shareholders. It is their interest that we have been tasked to protect. We give them what they own, and we give them the government they rightfully deserve: one that works for the public interest. It is in their trust that we hold our respective offices. Sila ang boss ko. Sila ang boss ninyo. We must always remember that,” he said.

Stressing that good governance is the cornerstone of his administration, the President said he is working on achieving a transparent and accountable government, worthy of the people’s trust, thus the need to undertake reforms to enhance the ability of GOCCs to act as stewards of the people’s resources.

These reforms, according to the President, will be implemented with the help of Congress.

He noted that GOCCs have weak board governance, lack of transparency and disclosure practices, poor oversight and multiple and conflicting mandates.

Early on in his administration, the President, having discovered that GOCC board of directors receive exorbitant allowances, issued Executive Order No. 7 directing the rationalization of the compensation and position classification system in GOCCs and Government Financial Institutions.

“GOCCs will no longer be milking cows for politicians and their wards,” he said, adding that competent CEOs and Directors were chosen and they are expected to deliver improved services and finances in the GOCCs.”

The President said GOCC directors will soon be required to sign a performance contract with the Office of the President and their supervising secretaries so there will be basis to remove non-performing board members.

Moreover, the Department of Finance is developing an IT-based reporting system that will require full disclosure of several aspects of GOCC operations so the public will have access to the financial and operational results, remuneration policies, related party transactions, governance structures and policies, among others.

“Make no mistake about it: our positions are not our privilege, but an obligation placed by the people upon us. We promised to do, not only everything we can, but that we do it with honesty and with only the people’s welfare in mind. We pledged to serve them with commitment to professionalism and integrity, and they expect no less than this. We must not fail them,” he said. - pna

President Benigno S. Aquino III has offered P1 million for the arrest of the perpetrators of the Jan. 25 bus blast that killed 5 passengers and wounded 13 others on EDSA in Makati City.

In an ambush interview in Malacañang after the ceremonial turnover of dividends from the Government Owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCC), the President said the reward will be increased if necessary to show government resolve to solve the case.

He said his decision to put up a bounty was made during a meeting with various intelligence services Thursday afternoon. He added that the money will be sourced from the Office of the President contingency and intelligence fund.

During the security cluster meeting, he ordered a review of all plans, travel advisories and potential threats to make sure that every detail of the potential area of concern would not be missed.

The President said the security cluster approved the maximization of security guards, barangay tanod, barangay chairmen and other community-based peace and order personnel in helping and coordinating with the Philippine National Police. - PNA

A total of P29.25 billion were remitted by 19 government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) to the national government (NG) on Friday.

The checks, representing prior year dividends, the balance of the 2009 cash dividends following the completion of the Commission on Audit (COA) reports, and 2010 partial dividends pursuant to President Benigno S. Aquino III in ceremonies held at the Ceremonial Hall of Malacanang.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) topped the list with a total of P14.23 billion in remittances representing prior year dividends of P9.31 billion and the balance of 2009 cash dividends of P4.92 billion.

The Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank) remitted P4 billion representing the balance of 2009 dividends and partial dividends of 2010.

The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), turned over P2.8 billion while the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) Corp. handed P2 billion representing payments for guarantee fees due and other payables.

The Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) turned in P1.8 billion representing the government’s share in the sale of assets, and the Manila International Airport remitted P1.49 billion, representing P1.21 billion dividends and P292 million representing government share. The other GOCCs that turned over their dividends included the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority (P2 million); National Home Mortgage Finance Corp. (P3 million); National Electrification Administration ((P14.5 million); Cebu Ports Authority (P40 million); National Development Company (P49.4 million); Clark Development Corporation (P100 million); Philippine Leisure and Retirement Authority (P140.6 million); Trade Investment and Development Corporation (P150 million); Philippine Economic Zone Authority (P221 million);

Philippine National Oil Company (P452.9 million); Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (P500 million); Philippine Reclamation Authority (P335 million); and Philippine Ports Authority (P650 million).

“This is a good start for the government but I believe this can be further improved,” Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, in a press briefing in Malacanang, said.

He added that beginning this year, GOCCs will give their performance report to the President every January. This is similar to a stockholders meeting in private corporations.

He added that a good governance agenda for GOCCs will soon be implemented to further improve their performances and be at par with private companies.

He noted that GOCCs hold a total of $ 141 billion in government assets while equity amount to more than $ 41 billion or more than P6 trillion. - PNA

Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said on Friday the Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations (GOCC) Governance Act of 2011, a bill that will reform the structure and operations of GOCCs, is among the priority bills the Aquino Administration will ask Congress to pass.

In a press briefing in Malacanang, Purisima said the Aquino Administration wants to imitate Singapore's and Malaysia's utilization of their GOCCs in the creation of opportunities for the people.

Senator Franklin Drilon, principal author of Senate Bill No. 2640 or the proposed GOCC Governance Act of 2011, said that there is a need for much-needed reforms in the government corporate sector to make it an effective vehicle in achieving social and economic progress.

“The days when the GOCC boards can act independently of the national government are over. We are confident that once this bill becomes a law, the excesses and abuses we saw in the operation of the GOCCs will be a thing of the past," Drilon said.

The bill proposes the creation of the Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG) whose main task will be to conduct regular assessments and evaluations of the state firm's performance.

The GCG will also recommend to the President whether a GOCC should be reorganized, merged, streamlined, abolished or privatized.

The GCG will develop a new compensation and position classification system for all officers and employees of the GOCC. It will put a limit on the compensation of directors who had enjoyed excessive bonuses in the past, he added.

The bill makes it clear that directors are not entitled to compensation as directors but may be entitled to reasonable per diems only and emphasizes that directors are not entitled to retirement pay as seen in other GOCCs. - PNA

Intelligence and police authorities showed President Benigno S. Aquino III the sketches of two people who sat on the sixth row where the bomb was placed in the bus that exploded last Tuesday based on artists and computer sketches extracted from witnesses. The two are being hunted as “persons of interest” (or POIs) who could lead authorities to those behind the bombing.

At the same time, they informed the President and the media of the heightened security efforts in Metro Manila and around the country to constantly ensure the safety of the people against terrorists and criminals.

Such efforts include: increased police visibility; deployment of 300 uniformed cops in all buses plying Epifanio de los Santos Avenue and some interior streets; coordinating with security agencies on the “target hardening” and helping them improve their security coverage of the different establishments in the country; organizing a barangay peacekeeping action teams to help the police in maintaining order in their respective areas.

Among those who briefed the palace reporters about security efforts being undertaken were: National Security Adviser Secretary Cesar Garcia; Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Gen. Raul Bacalzo and Gen. Nicanor Bartolome chief of the National Capital Regional Police Office (NCRPO).

Bartolome said that although the two “persons of interest” were said to be in row 6 of the bus, where the 81-mm mortar was lodged and detonated via a Nokia cellphone, ”we want to invite them for questioning about their knowledge of the bomb” that killed 5 people and injured more than 10 bus riders.

The physical descriptions of both POIs are: fair-complexioned, around 35 to 37 years old; 50 to 70 kilos and around 5 feet 5 inches to 5 feet 7 inches tall.

They boarded the bus in front of Heritage Hotel in Pasay City bound for Ayala and alighted at Malugay Street before Ayala Avenue. - PNA

Baguio Congressman Bernardo Vergara on Friday said that he supports the move for the re-imposition of death penalty in the wake of the commission of heinous crimes.

He said however that the Courts must always afford the accused with due process and the conviction of any person should be based on moral certainty or the so-called quantum of evidence which is beyond reasonable doubt.

After the gruesome killings of two vehicle traders from Metro Manila and other sensational killings in the country, many of the lawmakers have come up with the opinion that the death penalty re-imposition will serve to stem the tide of criminality in the country.

Records show that although death is imposed as penalty to capital offenses and certain complex crimes, the government has suspended its imposition after the clamor of the Church and various human rights groups, including other civic organizations.

Despite the clamor of some legislators for death re-imposition, there are still some of them not sold to the idea.

Meanwhile, Vergara also said that he is not supporting the move to hasten the process of annulling marriage.

He explained that there are enough laws by which couples make their choice of how to end their relationships saying that "I always support the family unity and the sanctity of marriage." - pna

A village official was shot and critically wounded early Friday in a west coast village in this southern port city, a police official disclosed.

Zamboanga City Police Office (ZCPO) director Sr. Supt. Edwin de Ocampo said the incident took place shortly after 6 a.m. Friday in Sitio Mantayabas, Barangay Baluno, 28 kilometers west of this city.

De Ocampo identified the victim as Felix Custodio, 50, the barangay chairman of Baluno, who suffered two bullet wounds in the head.

Investigation showed Custodio was walking home from his office at the Barangay Hall when shot with a caliber .38 revolver, De Ocampo said.

He said there could be two people behind the shooting of Custodio since the responding policemen have recovered a shotgun and a slipper few meters away from the crime scene.

He said the motive of the incident could be work-related citing the victim is against the illegal small scale mining in his barangay.

The barangay of Baluno, which is rich in natural resources like ore, zinc, lead and copper, was the home of the defunct Zambales Base Metal Incorporated (ZBMI) in the 1970s. (PNA)

Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse M. Robredo said Friday he ordered the relief of the warden of Cotabato City jail following the predawn escape of 16 prisoners.

Robredo ordered the temporary relief of Jail Inspector Buenaventura Edrita, who was immediately replaced by Jail Chief Inspector Brendan Fulgencio as officer-in-charge of the city jail.

The Interior Secretary directed the new jail warden to look into reports that most of the escapees were forced to bolt out of jail after they had been prohibited by jail guards from saying Islamic community prayers inside their cells.

At the same time, he also asked Cotabato City police chief, Police Senior Superintendent Willie Dangane, to pursue and arrest the escapees, and to alert all police stations and nearby areas about the prison break.

“The police should seal all entry and exit points in the city and establish checkpoints in key areas to prevent the escapees from roaming to other towns,” Robredo said.

Early Thursday morning, 16 inmates of the Cotabato City Jail sneaked out of their cells by sawing off the steel bars of their cells and lowering themselves into a nearby river through blankets that were fashioned into ropes.

One of the escapees, Darwin Hervias, was intercepted by patrolling watchmen in barangay Poblacion VII.

Police and jail authorities are now hunting down 15 other escapees, including notorious criminals who are facing robbery, frustrated murder and murder charges.

Two of them, Mandi Kasubidan and Malik Ariman, were charged with murder for the killing of a teacher, who served as an election inspector during the recent polls.

This is the second jailbreak in Cotabato City since 2009. On April 17, 2009, 14 inmates bolted the city jail. (PNA)

DUPAX DEL NORTE, Nueva Vizcaya, Jan. 21 (PNA) â€" Mayor Clarita Egmin-Epi here said more farm-to-market roads will be constructed in upland villages this year through the assistance of the Department of Agriculture (DA).

She said the Canadem, Buwayo roads, the Tacbao-Bitnung to Bua, Kasibu road, Mantata Macabenga to Masate Kasibu road and the Pag-asa Belance to Bitanay Macabenga road which were submitted as request projects during the visit of Agriculture Secretary Prospero Alcala in September last year are now being validated by the employees of the agency in Cagayan Valley.

The road projects, she said are some of the priority concerns of the local government unit to boost agricultural productivity and help upland farmers in bringing their products to the market.

“Hopefully, these proposals will be given funds so that they will be implemented the soonest possible time,” Epi stressed.

She said the construction of the farm-to-market roads will further boost the town’s agricultural potential.

Their Gawad Kalinga site in barangay Malasin, she added was included as one of the top six Best Bayan Anihan Farm in the country. (PNA)

The first batch of policemen who underwent back-to-basics training in line with the new thrust of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to hone the skills of all its uniform personnel graduated Friday at Camp Diego Silang in San Fernando City.

Those who completed their training were at least 60 uniformed personnel of the Police Regional Office 1 (PRO1), who comprised the first batch of participants in the training which forms part of the PNP's Eight Foundation Initiatives (EFIs).

The batch is composed of 40 personnel from the San Fernando City Police Station and 20 from the Agoo Municipal Police Station.

They underwent the seven-day training in their respective police stations. Both stations are under the La Union Police Provincial Office (LUPPO).

The training actually opened on Jan. 11, simultaneous with other police stations nationwide, in line with the pronouncement of PNP chief Director General Raul Bacalzo, "to re-train PNP personnel on the basic skills of a police officer."

Police Regional Director Chief Supt. Franklin Bucayu initiated the back-to-basics training in the region in keeping with the PNP thrusts to develop better peace officers.

"We will train and re-train our personnel to do his basic job with competence. At the same time, we will intensify their training on basic capabilities like investigation, proper first-responder actions and procedures, crime scene preservation and management, case build-up, proper use of firearms, arrest and handcuffing techniques, and the like," Bucayu said. - PNA

Twenty high-risk detainees of the North Cotabato District Jail in barangay Amas here were transferred to Kidapawan City Jail facility following the escape of 16 prisoners from the Cotabato City jail.

Jail Inspector Israel Arboleda, Kidapawan City jail warden, said most of the high-risk detainees are facing murder, illegal drugs and involved in series of bombings in North Cotabato.

Arboleda said jail officials in the province have received intelligence information of a possible jail attack by lawless groups to rescue high risks inmates.

In 2007, some 40 inmates, including the three suspected bombers responsible in bombings in various areas in Mindanao, bolted the provincial jail.

Most of the escapees remained at large despite the provincial government's bounty for their re-arrest.

Arboleda said tight security were being observe inside and even within the surrounding of the jail facility to preempt similar incident that happened in Cotabato City jail on Wednesday.

“We are implementing strict inspections to all visitors to ensure that no bladed weapons can get inside our jail facility,” Arboleda said.

Inmates are also not allowed to get out of their cells to make sure that they are properly accounted once the jail guards conduct a routine head count.

The Kidapawan City jail, situated at the heart of the city near the city hall, is now home for 69 inmates. Sixty-five of them are males while four are females.

Arbomeda said the 20 high-risk detainees were placed together in one cell of the jail facility for easy identification.  - pna

The provincial government of South Cotabato plans to launch a livelihood program for inmates at the South Cotabato Rehabilitation and Detention Center or the provincial jail to allow them to raise funds for their basic needs and the required expenses for their pending court cases.

South Cotabato Governor Arthur Pingoy Jr. said Friday they came up with such plan to provide poor inmates the opportunity to earn some income while in jail and open up alternative means for some of them to raise the necessary funds for the litigation of their cases as well as the payment of their bail bonds.

He said the move will allow the pending cases of some inmates to move and eventually help address the jail facility’s problems on overpopulation.

In a meeting with prosecutors and trial court judges in the province earlier this week, the governor said he found out that one of the main reasons why many inmates were overstaying at the provincial jail was their inability to pay for their bail bonds.

“There are a lot of inmates who were already allowed by our courts to post bail and return to their homes but had failed to do so because they can’t afford to pay the required bail bond,” the governor said.

Lawyer German Operiano, president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) South Cotabato chapter, immediately expressed support to the local government’s plans.

He admitted that some of the inmates at the jail could already gone home a long time ago if not for their hefty bail bonds.

“We cannot just adjust the amount of the bail bonds, especially for capital offenses, but we can help the inmates raise them by providing them some income opportunities,” he said.

Felicito Gumapac, acting South Cotabato jail warden, said the provincial jail facility currently houses some 902 inmates. = PNA

By Mar S. Arguelles

Thousand of villagers of a remote upland village in Oas town in Albay is about to be permanently relocated as disaster authorities fear that the entire village will be wiped out once a major landslide occurs.

Albay Governor Joey Salceda, chairperson of the Albay Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC), is recommending for the relocation of 219 families or 1,136 people in barangay Calaguimit, Oas town, which lies at a mountain slope and is very vulnerable to landslides.

The permanent relocation of the residents came up after a landslide that hit the village buried on Thursday at least six houses.

Salceda quoting a report from Oas town Mayor Gregorio Ricarte said the incident occurred at around 2:30 p.m. Thursday when rains saturated the soil of a mountain slope that triggered a landslide measuring 10 meters deep, 20 meters wide and 50 meters in length.

No one was reported hurt by the avalanche as neighbors were quick to move the families to a safer ground.

Houses buried in the landslide were made mostly of concrete and light materials.

The six families composed of 29 people are temporarily housed at the barangay hall.

In an interview, Abundio Orcio, a village resident, said he and eight laborers were working on a road pavement when they noticed that water from the mountain slopes was flowing and heard a rumbling sound.

Sensing that a possible landslide may occur anytime Orcio said he immediately shouted to the neighborhood to abandon their homes as an avalanche would occur.

He said “I felt the earth shook and heard a thunder like sound then the soil detached and fell and slid down the creek.”  - pna

Police authorities here are hunting down a certain Jun Farinas from Metro Manila who has been reportedly brokering the sale of used cars to armed groups for use as getaway vehicles in kidnapping wealthy Filipino-Chinese traders.

The name of Farinas, whose is also known in the underworld here as “Pulang Puso,” surfaced last week after the abduction by seven gunmen of businessman Adin Yu, whose clan operates the oldest hardware store at the city’s main commercial district.

“We have been hearing stories from people that worship in mosques under our respective watch that there is this Mr. Farinas that is helping kidnappers here acquire second hand cars from Metro Manila as their getaway vehicles,” said Ustadz Usman Esmael, a Muslim religious leader.

Senior Supt. Willie Dangane, Cotabato City police chief, said most of the recovered getaway cars of kidnappers now in police custody were found to be registered in Metro Manila and Luzon.

“We’re doing our best to know the owners of these getaway cars and we end our paper trail to Metro Manila," Dangane said.

Major Marlowe Patria, civil-military relations chief of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, said religious leaders and local officials in Maguindanao have lately been active in gathering information on the movements of suspected kidnappers in the province.

Ustadz Jaafar Ali, a key official of the National Ulama Council of the Philippines, declared as “satanic” the activities of kidnappers and extortion rings in Central Mindanao.

Two Chinese traders here, Nelson Tay and Conchita Tan, were also snatched by kidnappers in August and, subsequently, in September respectively. - source: Philippine News Agency

Members of the 4th Special Action Force Battalion of the Philippine National Police (PNP) based in the Police Regional Training Center in Barangay Mintal, Davao City recovered a cache of high- powered firearms about to be buried in the public cemetery at Barangay Rosary Heights Mother in Cotabato City Thursday evening following a tip from a concerned citizen.

Superintendent Fernando Ortega, commanding officer of the 4th SAF Battalion, said the contraband included five .50 caliber machine guns, one .30 caliber machine gun with tripod, one .30 caliber machine without a tripod, one eight- millimeter mortar tube, one 60-millimeter mortar with plate and tripod, one 60-millimeter mortar without plate and tripod, three assorted shotguns, nine spare barrels for .50 caliber machine gun, one rifle of an unknown caliber and a shovel.

He said all weapons are functional.

Ortega said investigators are still determining the possible owner of the contraband.

"No one was around when we arrived in the area, but there were indications that the perpetrators were about to bury the weapons," he said in a telephone conversation with Philippine National Police chief Director General Raul Bacalso.

Ortega revealed that their unit received the specific tip of the activity from a concerned citizen from the city, prompting the police to conduct an operation leading to the recovery.

A three-year-old boy died while three of his siblings were hospitalized after eating a pomelo they found carried away by floodwaters in Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur on Thursday.

Arnold Mondejar, 3, of Barangay Astorga, Sta. Cruz, did not reach the emergency health headquarters put up by the local government to attend to the residents affected by the flash flood last Monday.

Health officer Dr. Loremie Ann Lindong, in a television interview, said the child died due to severe dehydration.

Arnold, together with his siblings, Amira, 9; Artemio Jr., 7; and Armie Jane, 5, have eaten a pomelo which they recovered from floodwaters in their barangay Thursday morning.

After eating the fruit, the four children suffered from vomiting and loose bowel movement.

Amira, Artemio Jr. and Armie Jane were rushed to the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) for immediate treatment.

Their mother was in Malita, Davao del Sur to seek assistance from their relatives thereat in order to help her in providing the needs of her 10 children after they were affected by the flood.

With the incident, the municipal health office advised residents against drinking water from unclean sources particularly in areas affected by the flood. - pna

Compostela Valley Rep. Maria Carmen Zamora-Apsay urged agencies regulating the employment and welfare of foreign workers to work harder to ensure the protection of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Saudi Arabia.

She made the call after a congressional fact-finding mission sent to the country reports of abuses on Filipino workers.

Apsay said this sad reality is an eye-opener for her as a public servant.

“It is a personal yet painful validation of what we have long been hearing and seeing from news sources. There is much abuse - physical, psychological, even sexual - and employment contract violations against our migrant workers in Saudi Arabia and something drastic must be done about it,” she said.

Apsay joined a congressional fact-finding mission on the conditions and employment issues confronting the OFWs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia from January 8-13, 2011.

The delegation was headed by House Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs Chairman Walden L. Bello, with Rep. Zamora-Apsay, DIWA Party-list Rep. Emmeline Aglipay and COOP-NATTCO Rep. Cresente Paez.

She said they visited the Philippine consulates in Riyadh, Jeddah and Al-Khobar, as well as the migrant workers resource centers and shelters in said cities to meet with distressed OFWs.

Apsay said their interaction with the workers, mostly domestic helpers, brought to fore horror stories about their subhuman employment conditions; violations of their contracts by unscrupulous recruiters; physical maltreatment and sexual abuse; and harrowing tales of escape from oppressive employers.

“Many of them sought the relative safety of our embassy resource centers and shelters only to get away from abusive bosses. They are also having problems with their legal documents so repatriation is not a sure thing and they may have to wait for a long time before they can come home. The most downtrodden of the lot are those languishing in jails, and some are on death row. There are those who are also crying for greater legal representation. The problem is so complex that a systematic redress by the government is needed,” she said. - pna

PNA: A World Bank (WB) team will visit and review next week the beneficiaries of the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapanâ€"Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services: Kapangyarihan at Kaunlaran sa Barangay (KALAHI-CIDSS: KKB) project in the Davao Region.

Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) regional director Ester A. Versoza said the mission intends to look into the project implementation under KALAHI-CIDSS and appraise initial activities under the KALAHI-CIDSS Additional Financing scheme.

Versoza said based on the itinerary of the team, it will have a four-day visit to key areas in the Davao Region, including its consultation with the Davao City government and civil society organizations on helping the urban poor.

After meeting regional officials of the DSWD on January 24, the team will motor to Laak in Compostela Valley to interact with local chief executives and the municipal coordinating team of the project.

In the afternoon, the team will visit the KALAHI-CIDSS barangay health station sub-project in Barangay Kaligutan and meet with KALAHI-CIDSS community volunteers, she said.

On the following day, she said the team will motor to Nabunturan, Compostela Valley to meet with Gov. Arturo T. Uy and other provincial government officials.

Uy is a known supporter of the project, having replicated its mechanisms in implementing provincial projects.

The team then will visit Compostela municipality and interact with the local government officials and project implementers. It will proceed to Barangay San Miguel to look at another KALAHI-CIDSS sub-project in the village, a potable water system Level 2. A meeting with community volunteers has also been set.

On the last day of the visit, the team will meet with Davao City Mayor Sara Z. Duterte-Carpio and other city officials. The meeting will also include representatives of non-government organizations and civil society groups. - pna

Two children died while their sister suffered burns when a fire razed their house in the outskirts of this city early Friday morning.

The victims were identified as Alquin Autida, 11; and his younger brother Sarneyem Autida, 8; of Purok 10, Nacilla Village in Bugac, Ma-a district.

The other sibling identified only as Inday, 10, was brought and confined at the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC) for burns she sustained in the body.

Fire investigators revealed that the children’s mother, Rosita, went out of the house Thursday evening leaving the three children when the fire broke out around 1:00 a.m. Friday.

Having no electricity, the children reportedly left a candle unattended when they fell asleep.

Responding neighbors tried to rescue the three children but only Inday was located and snatched out of the house.

Their mother arrived home minutes later and broke down upon learning that two of her children were already dead. (PNA)

Perhaps they stock Viagra pills while in Afghanistan and use them when they come home. 

Murag naay gipasabot nga makapaghiwaos sa balatian. 

Yes, Bran, Ilocanos eat frogs and many other insects that we Boholanos don't eat. e.g. they eat grasshoppers.

Ilocanos would love this. They eat baki / frogs.

Better bitaw ni nga style. Very unlikely nga mabuhian.

Mao nay problema kay kung ang otot naay sagol igit. 

Kuwag tambag ning bayhana seguro. 

Cameron Diaz and Angelina Jolie ang klaro gihapon nga gwapa bisan tiguwang.

Lupig pay nagburos ug triplet. 

Walay nisulod diri nga fair nga gamug-ot.

Some people are too curious about this matter.

Ajaw intawon walisa kay mosamot pa ka lawom.

Pwede diay pud for men.

Piligro ni nga kasilyas sa Pilipinas kay daghang manglili.

By the Bohol Standard

BOHOL would establish at least five mariculture parks within the first quarter of 2011, said the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) head here.

Another mariculture park would be due in the succeeding quarter, according to BFAR Cresencio Pahamutang.

The parks would be a venue for new hatcheries of abalone, lapu-lapu, sea bass, snappers, groupers, pompano and kitong, fish that are in high demand for tourists and locals who have not been so used to feasting on fresh water fish.

This way, we could help stabilize the supply of fish especially during the colder months when pelagic

Fishes would be migrating to warmer and thus deeper seas, he said as he explained the noted lower fish catch during the monsoon (habagat) season and the succeeding colder months of the year.

Sharing the seasonal tendency of fisheries, he said that off season would mean lower catch, doubly complicated by the fact that the season also coincides with the heightened buying capacity of people with the holiday season’s fat bonuses.

These factors help build up and push the prices up as the demand is high and the supply is miserably low.

To help stabilize local supplies during the colder months, the government through the Department of Agriculture-BFAR has pushed for the establishment of the mariculture parks where first class fish could be bred and harvested as easily.

He revealed that the beginning month would also witness the launching of high-value fingerlings for lapu-lapu, sea-bass, snappers, grouper and kitong at Sinandigan Island in Ubay town.

Eyed as locations for the mariculture parts are Panggangan Island, in Calape, islets in Ubay, Talibon and Candijay, separate sources said. This has yet to be confirmed by BFAR however.

Capitol’s Liza Quirog also said that apart from the establishment of mari-culture parks, the government is also into urging people to start backyard fisheries at fresh water impounding systems, farms and ponds to increase the production and fill in the gap left by reduced commercial fishers. (racPIABOhol)

Published By Bohol Standard

Ortigas Center, Pasig â€" Mayor Jimmy Jimenez of Dauis, Bohol took the lead in presenting the Bohol Marine Triangle (BMT) local economic development (LED) idea last December 13, 2010 at Crown Plaza Hotel. Under the Local Governance Support Program (LGSP), eleven (11) LGU alliances nationwide compete for LED assistance from the CIDA-DILG LED program. Mayor Jimenez as the Chairperson of the alliance â€" PADAYON BMT Management Council, gave the snapshot and vision of how the Bohol Marine Triangle area covering the towns of Panglao, Dauis and Baclayon become better-positioned, resilient and sustainable. In 10-minutes, Mayor Jimenez communicated briefly and justify the BMT LED idea summarized as SHARES â€" “Stake Holders Accessing Resources Equitably Shared and sustained”. This project seeks to address the 18% unemployment rate in the BMT area, limited participation by micro-small enterprises in the booming tourism industry, and weak LGU management of environmental and economic facilities. BMT LED SHARES targets to develop the competitiveness of local unemployed, under-employed, marginalized sector particularly women, and micro-entrepreneurs to be mainstreamed into the growing tourism industry while sustainably practicing biodiversity conservation-enabling activities thru public-private partnerships. The LED Actions to pursue includes TechVoc (technology vocational), value chain analysis of BMT LED SHARES, policy formulation and enforcement.

The BMT LED SHARES idea was collectively conceptualized from participatory process, the mark of Boholano culture in engaging development. Mayor Benedicto Alcala of Panglao and Mayor Alvin Uy of Baclayon were individually interviewed to discuss their Executive Legislative Agenda (ELA) and update of DTI-GTZ LRED as ongoing complementary initiative for LED, and a BMT Stakeholders LED idea forum held last December 9, 2010 at the Governor’s Mansion, Tagbilaran City with the inspirational leadership of Governor Edgar Chatto, the 32 multi-stakeholders participants reflected on the current situation and gave their insights for innovative solutions towards creating a vibrant and sustainable local economic development. Present were representatives of DILG, TESDA, DENR, BFAR, the MPDCs, Municipal Tourism Officers, MSWD, MLGOO of Panglao, Dauis and Baclayon, Baclayon Agri.Technician and Dauis MAO staff, Cristal E-College, Panglao Parish Pastoral Council, Resident Manager of Balicasag Island Dive Resort and Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA, formerly PTA), BANGON, PBSP, and people’s organizations of PASEO, ISKPCFA, DOPAFIAS and BIFA. Chairman of ABCAI was also interviewed.

In line with the provincial development cry, which is prosperity, PADAYON BMT Management Council is taking the driver’s seat for a balance ecological and economic development pursuit because of its active stakeholders from fishing, diving, hotel and resort, transport, academe, LGUs, NGAs sectors are jointly taking the development challenges of local governance to sustain biodiversity of a world renown and globally significant BMT resources where tourism and fisheries are depending upon. Mayor Jimenez, concluded his presentation with an appeal to the LGSP LED selection committee and to the alliances nationwide to help in realizing the BMT LED SHARES as vehicle of transforming poverty to prosperity and that Bohol will be able to continue its commitment to the implementation of the Philippine Biodiversity Priority Setting Program of averting hotspots to sustainable condition for quality of life, and enjoin all to work together to keep our seas alive!

Published by the Bohol Standard

On his first term in the provincial board, Ramonito “Monching” Torrefranca, posted a remarkable performance of having sponsored and approved a total number of 56 resolutions, topping all the records of his equally neophytes colleagues in the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.

Torrefranca chairs the Committee on Culture, Arts, NGOs and Civil Society. He is also a co-chair for the Committee on Ways and Means.

In a report submitted by SP Secretary Bonifacio M. Quirog, records show that the Philippine Councilors League-Bohol Chapter president posted an almost perfect attendance in the 24 session days of the SP’s first six-months in office. He had 19 attendances; two on official business and just one absence.

In should be noted that Torrefranca only assumed office on August 16, 2010 after his election as PCL president.

Topping the list of the most number of sponsored-approved resolutions is third district board member Dionisio D. Balite with 151 and first district board member Ceasar Tomas “Yul” Lopez with 55, followed y second district board member Josephine Socorro “Roygie” Jumamoy with 37.

Board Member Torrefranca traced his roots to a breed of politicians from Carmen, Bohol. He rose from his rank serving as Municipal Councilor, and then become Vice Mayor of Carmen, a world-renowned tourism destination.

The trust that his people gave to him inspired him so well to widen his service to the rest of the Boholano constituencies now as provincial board member. His election into the top post of the PCL-Bohol was just a key to this dream.

BM Torrefranca, a businessman, is a model of hard work and entrepreneurial drive. His entry in government to imbibe change in every people’s lives entails patience and lots of philosophical details that he learned from business. He espouses a battle cry of having the vision “Public Service Above Self”. And he is doing it well as proven in his record performance in the sanggunian. (With reports: Michael G. Maslog)

STRONGER private sector presence in partnership with the public sector can be very good for the tourism industry in Bohol, take it from a tested businessman member of the Bohol Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

According to Fortunato Lim of the Fortune Enterprises fame, there is still a good room for development in tourism infrastructure facilities in Bohol to make us globally competitive.

Speaking for the BCCI, Lim said the private sector can do a lot about the things we need to get right to make Bohol a memorable tourism destination.

Himself having been sent to Phuket for a tourism benchmarking trip, Lim said Thais have a very competitive tourism development with the help of the private sector.

At the Kapihan sa PIA aired live over DyTR, Lim said that Boholanos can still be very hopeful of the tourism boom which is still expected to reach greater heights this year.

In fact, he said the BCCI is actively engaged in public and private sector partnerships to press on the philosophy of cooperation.

He said the Chamber has been actively meeting with local government units and agencies to help craft development plans to ensure sustainability.

Lim said that the Chamber sits to local planners and an urban master planner for the creation of a zoning ordinance in Panglao, Bohol’s most profitable growth area in the next few years.

One of the problems of the tourist island is that it has not legislated its zoning ordinance yet that land owners have a fairly free hand in their development without considering the integral development of the place.

A good road network in the plan would help spur economic activity, an ace that could make the island more investor friendly.

With Tagbilaran as a tourist gateway, Lim said suggestions to rid the main thoroughfares of ugly tangles of sagging power and phone lines have been put up and could possibly be a priority to enhance the islands tourism value. (racPIABohol)

BOHOL peace advocates see an overwhelming need to enhance its human rights monitoring capacity inbed in its peace and order council’s Local Peace Forum (LPF).

At least the multi-sector representatives gathered at the Bohol Tropics January 4, to be oriented at the Ateneo Law School Human Rights Center’s project to establish Multi-sectoral Quick Reaction Team (MSQRTS) here to help monitor human rights and document possible allegations of violations.

At the gathering, church representatives led by Bishop Leonardo Medrosos, ecumenical groups, local government unit representatives, lawyers from Bohol law schools, non government workers, security forces, government agencies, representatives of the court and the media listened to the nuances of the MSQRT established to monitor extra judicial killings and enforced disappearances.

MSQRT program coordinator Atty Ma. Krishna Gomez said that aide from the monitoring and documentation, the project also includes training packages for human rights mainstreaming, and psychosocial counseling to beneficiary provinces.

She shared that since the project started in 2008, the MSQRT has shared Information and shown greater transparency and accountability amongst member institutions as well as enhanced trust amongst members.

The establishment of the body in some provinces has brought in constructive involvement of the media and opened up tables for discussion on the surfacing of issues and joint efforts in finding solutions to EJK and ED.

On this, Governor Edgar Chatto hailed the efforts of Ateneo vene as he pointed out that the victim centered mechanism brought about by the MSQRT concept is an apt move.

He however stressed that while the confluence of interests is shown in the faces of the attendees and that the multisectoral effort is the right approach, he insists that a dialog would be done in proceeding with the project that deems to be reactive and proactive at the same time.

Asked if the MSQRT would not be a duplication of the already set LMB, Atty Gomez said most of the decisions would come from local stakeholders.

“It may be something new, taking the form of the old and perhaps a hybrid of the old and the new”, Atty. Gomez said.

On the other hand, DILG Rustica Mascarinas said “I think that what we have LPF but the scope does not include ELK and ED, so this could be an added feature of the LPF. (racPIABohol)

WE have built a digital communication infrastructure that could boost local jobs, but will investors take the bait?

Taking the cue from the country’s overtaking India as the business process outsourcing (BPO) capital of the world, Bohol officials eye offering Bohol to investors as a future BPO center in 2011, reveals Governor Edgar Chatto during his weekly radio program.

Recently completing a fiber optic link that connects Bohol to a major information communications hub, local efforts have also succeeded in opening up slots to accommodate at least 10,500 seats for call center and BPO agents, Chatto said.

Recent records tell that Bohol has only a single call center operating in Tagbilaran despite an infrastructure that could accommodate practically a thousand times more, a graduate from a computer learning center shared.

With at least five Bohol schools offering ICT and call center operations courses, even the manpower support has proven to be a formidable force for now, he added.

A year after putting up the infrastructure support for the miracle industry that has netted billions of revenues for the government, government leaders here are taking a serious look at the prospects of a bullish BPO here.

The newly organized Bohol Information Communication Technology Council (BICT) supervised by the Department of trade and Industry and the Provincial Government has been in a series of meetings to usher in the golden age of ICT in Bohol, the latest of which was this week, Capitol sources said.

Governor Edgar Chatto, at the recent Kita ug ang Gobernador Friday was ecstatic about the present Bohol capability to accommodate seats for call center and outsourcing industries.

Now with the digital infrastructure and manpower support, Bohol is in a threshold of opening the gates for investors to bring in job opportunities for communication technology workers here and nearby provinces.

More on this, the governor said he is inviting the Commission on Information Communication Technology (CICT) through Commissioner Monchitio Ibrahim to meet with the local council and leaders to iron out the details of the plan.

The moment ICT starts in Bohol, there would be more to come as the government could build more and more infrastructure to enhance the industry, Chatto said. (racPIABohol)

Published by the Bohol Standard
By: Rey Anthony Chiu

BOHOL is under a heightened security alert over intelligence reports from region 12 that a band of Abu Sayyaf bandits head here to kidnap foreign nationals.

While the police and military authorities received the report which has been negative since last Monday, Bohol police provincial commander Constantino Barot urges people to help them get information on time so that security operatives and crime busters can immediately react.

Speaking reassurances of a prepared force amid speculations and alarm, Barot stressed that information gathering is everyone’s responsibility.

Sharing their preparations based on the reports, Barot also added that his men are in fact acting on other reports that armed men have landed in some coastlines of Mabini, italicizing the adequate preparations by strategically relocating its resources where they are most needed.

Upon receipt of the texted report about the coming of a double engined speedboat with Abus Sayyaf on board, he said he immediately called a conference with police forces of Panglao, Dauis and Public Safety Company to map out action plans.

Consequently, additional troops were sent to Panglao and the local tourist police office has been beefed up to allow deployment of security forces in strategic points, he said.

Highlighting the lack of manpower, Barot revealed that in coordination with other government security forces, the Philippine Navy has sent a patrol boat in Balicasag, one of the islands habituated by foreign and local torists making authorities concerned.

He also added that a Regional Mobile Group detachment (RMG) would be deployed to replace the security operations in Pamilacan island, which is temporarily handled by Baclayon police elements.

Over the question of whether government sea assets can really go after the sleek and mainstreamed speedboats used by illegal elements, he said the Regional intelligence and Investigation Division has coordinated with the Air Force, who in turn has committed an attack helicopter and a utility chopper for the security operations.

On the fact that bandits may be hitting other areas in Bohol, Barot said he has declared a heightened alert around the province including beach resorts in Pitogo and Anda.

Another intelligence agent shared that before getting to Bohol, the band of bandits would be tracked by security operations set up by the provinces of Dumaguete and Siquijor.

By the Bohol Standard

Police and army units in the province are still placed on heightened alert after receiving “raw information” on an alleged plot by the terrorist group Abu Sayaff to kidnap foreign tourists in resorts here.

Bohol Provincial Police Office director SSupt. Constantino Barot Jr. said that he initially received a forwarded text message on Monday from SSupt. Augusto Marquez, chief of the Police Regional Office (PRO 7) Regional Intelligence Division, prompting them to beef up security especially in resorts on Panglao Island and coastal areas of the province.

The forwarded message read: “Sir, gud pm. Yong Alpha ko sa Zamboanga nagsabi na may 5 na ASG na lumakad kanina gamit ang double-engine na speed boat papuntang Bohol. May kikidnapin daw po sila na 2 foreigners probably in Panglao. Grupo po ito ni Dr. Abu. Nauna na raw po last week doon ang 2 spotters.” [Sir... my Alpha in Zamboanga said that 5 ASG men left on a double-engine speed boat for Bohol. They will reportedly kidnap two foreigners, probably in Panglao. The group is headed by Dr. Abu. Two spotters went ahead to Bohol two weeks ago.]

But Marquez, who personally came here Wednesday, later told Barot the information was not an intelligence report from Mindanao and was forwarded to him from the police in Region 8.

However Barot said they still took the information seriously and coordinated with the military in the province through Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner of the 2nd Special Forces battalion to verify the information but so far, they have not confirmed it.

“Our intelligence units (in the PNP and military) are investigating the source of the message. We want to dig deeper into this,” Barot said.

He added that those who circulated the text message could be a person or a group wanting to destroy the image of Bohol as a tourist destination.

But even if the text message was unverified, Barot said, he beefed up the security in Panglao and other coastal towns.

He said he declared the whole PNP in the province under heightened alert since Monday and has assigned more policemen in strategic areas near the different resorts. Major entry and exit points are being manned by checkpoints since Tuesday.

The Maritime police in the province also conducted sea patrols in Panglao and other strategic locations.

According to Barot, coastal towns that are hosts to many resorts in the province are now tightly secured by joint patrols conducted by the Philippine Navy, Philippine Coast Guard, Bantay Dagat task forces and the PNP tourist police units based here.

In a separate interview, Lt. Col. Brawner said quick response teams are ready against any eventuality that the reports are true regarding the plot of five Abu Sayaff bandits who were purportedly seen aboard two twin-engine speed boats crossing from northern Mindanao towards Bohol.

Brawner said that military intelligence operatives are validating the threat information but the AFP and PNP are “prepared for any eventuality”.

Bohol Governor Edgar Chatto has called up municipal mayors early Tuesday to closely coordinate with authorities and put in place contingency measures to address the reported Abu Sayaff threat.

The intelligence report identified the 5-man Abu Sayaff team to be led by a Dr. Abu Pula.

Police and military intelligence operations are likewise tightened in other parts of the region to pre-empt the terrorist groups plan to stage attacks in the Visayas.

SSupt. Marquez added that Abu Sayaff extremists could hardly launch terrorist attacks in other provinces as they are apparently on the run in their hideouts in Mindanao following their reported attacks during the holidays.

“If there are people who wanted to kidnap tourists in Panglao, they seemed to be committing suicide because we doubled our security in the area through the tourist police and provincial mobile group," Marquez said.

Marquez talked with police officials here in the province last Wednesday.

“The situation here is normal,” Marquez said.

He confirmed that a similar text message has been circulating in Negros Oriental and Cebu because several people from those areas called him up to inform him about the supposed arrival of five Abu Sayaff men led by a certain Dr. Abu.

The police official said security forces have “significantly reduced” the threat posed by the Abu Sayyaf group, which has terrorized the nation with bombings, murders, and high-profile kidnappings.

“I don’t think they can do it because they have been on the run. Even in Zambonga they cannot go there (and) do any (terrorist activities), how much more in other provinces?”

Based on military intelligence, the Abu Sayyaf bandits have broken into “very small groups” to evade relentless operations against them by military troops. The military’s latest estimate placed the Abu Sayyaf's strength at 405 rebels.

by the Bohol Standard

THERE is no need to be alarmed, assures Governor Edgar Chatto as he stressed Bohol has prepared to repel the threat of Abu Sayyaf bandits, reportedly planning to abduct foreign tourists here for ransom.

"We have adopted a policy of being prepared all the time, and even then we have approached everything with a high degree of preparedness," Chatto said after a briefing by military and police security operations at a forum held at the Bohol Tropics Friday.

In his threat briefing, 2nd Special Forces Batallion Commander, Col. Romeo Brawner said he, along with other Bohol key officials received circulated text messages Monday last week about an intelligence report from a Zamboanga agent.

The message bared that a band of Abu Sayyaf bandits took on a double-engined speedboat Monday morning heading for Bohol to kidnap and abduct two foreign nationals.

The reports also said that the group led by a certain Dr. Abu, has already a spotter group in into Bohol a week ahead.

Sharing the preparations in place to safeguard tourists and Bohol tourism industries, Col Brawner said command conferences were immediately called by the army and other security agencies to prepare for the crisis management.

The former army spokesperson said the country’s internal security keepers already exhausted five scenarios, which would most likely be attack entries of bandits.

The tackling of scenarios always help tactical operation planners explore possibilities and plan strategic actions to repel and deny any possible attack, a military strategic planner shared.

Security operations were prepared for possibilities of onshore abduction, fast-craft interception, sea-craft high-jacking, intercepting dolphinwatching tourists and bandits using diversionary tactics including bombs.

“We are not alarmists, we do not want to cause alarm, but we planned actions that could be taken to safeguard our peace,” Brawner said.

On this, the military said they have coordinated with other local security keepers to get assets in the area and beef up local security, especially in Panglao, Balicasag and Pamilacan Islands.

“We are still in the process of collecting information, intensifying security operations at entry points, beefing up shore patrols and preparing for crisis management,” Brawner added.

On this, Brawner showed on powerpoint a synchronization matrix to assign areas of security responsibility among the police, Philippine Coast Guard Philippine Navy, Army, Philippine Air Force, Maritime Police and the special forces.

But while the intelligence reports have been negative as yet, Brawner urged people to report any suspicious looking persons and boats, to the quick reaction hotlines.

Apalisok Clan in Bohol
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Preciados Family Tree in Bohol
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Ladera Family Tree in Bohol
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Paquibot Family Tree in Bohol
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The threat of further flooding is severe in Australia's northern New South Wales (NSW), where more than 1,700 people have been stranded in their homes by floodwaters, authorities said on Tuesday.

Flood warnings remain in place for some 14 rivers in northern NSW.

The State Emergency Service (SES) says that the number of people cut off is expected to increase, as more rain falls on Tuesday.

Areas around Grafton in the Clarence River Valley in northern NSW, 630 kilometers north of Sydney, are of most concern to the SES on Tuesday, SES spokesman Phil Campbell said.

The Clarence River has swollen to 4.2 meters at Grafton on Tuesday morning and is expected to peak at 6.5 meters early on Wednesday, potentially cutting the Pacific Highway and requiring the evacuation of caravan parks.

"Ulmarra, downstream from Grafton is experiencing major flooding which is expected to cut the Pacific Highway and result in around 200 people there being isolated," Campbell said.

Further north in the Clarence River valley, 500 people are trapped at Bonalbo, about 200 at Urbenville and another 300 at Tabulam.

To the south, at Darkwood on the Upper Bellinger River more than 500 people are cut off by floodwaters. - pna

By Ben Cal
Philippine News Agency

Here’s good news for Filipino World War II veterans.

Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA, San Mateo/San Francisco District) has introduced a bill in the United States Congress that seeks to make Filipino World War II veterans equally eligible for all benefits given to all American veterans, including lifetime monthly pension.

Grace S. Valera, executive director of the US-based Migrant Heritage Commission (MHC), told the Philippines News Agency in an e-mail that if passed, Speier’s bill -- Filipino Fairness Act of 2011 -- will repeal the Rescission Act of 1946 that stripped about 200,000 Filipino WW II veterans and their widows and children of full benefits, out of the 66 allied nationalities that fought with the U.S. during the Second World War.

It may be recalled that the Philippines was a Commonwealth of the U.S. before and during the war, and Filipinos were considered American nationals.

Then President Franklin Roosevelt promised the Filipino soldiers full and equal military benefits as any American veterans. Later, President Harry Truman echoed the same commitment but was ignored by the U.S. Congress.

Some 450,000 Filipino soldiers fought side by side with the American troops during the Second World War against Imperial Japan but only 250,000 were recognized by the U.S.

Speier said that the bill will fully recognize the U.S. military service of the Filipino veterans whose eligibility can be based not only on the “Missouri List,” the official record of the U.S. Army personnel, but also on all military records that would serve as reference to their heroic military service during the war.

In 1973, the “Missouri List” was gutted down by fire. As much as 80 percent of the original list of U.S. Army personnel from 1912 to 1960 was lost.

Felino Punsalan, a Filipino WWII veteran, now 93, said that before he dies, all he wants is that the U.S. government will recognize him as full American veteran. Punsalan was denied of lump sum benefit because he was not included in the so-called “Missouri List.”

“This is not only a matter of just compensation but of honor and justice,” Punsalan was quoted by Valera as saying.

Ramana Battung, widow of a Filipino war veteran, said her late husband had never received a pension when he was alive and neither does she now.

Battung is one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed against the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) last year. She was disqualified to receive any lump sum because her husband died weeks before the enactment of the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation (FVEC), Valera said.

The bill filed by Rep. Speier also proposes to repeal the “quit claim” or the waiver of right to receive future benefits like lifetime monthly pension upon acceptance of a lump sum, as provided in the FVEC approved last February, 2009 as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) signed by President Barack Obama.

“The U.S. government abandoned the brown American soldiers who victoriously defended an American territory and the ideals of democracy in Asia. Now is the chance to redeem itself,” explained Ago Pedalizo, president of the Justice for Filipino-American Veterans (JFAV)-San Francisco Bay Area Chapter.

According to Lt. Gen. Ernesto Carolina (ret.), administrator of the Philippine Veterans Administration Office (PVAO), there are some 40,000 surviving veterans living in the Philippines and 11,000 others in the U.S.

The DVA last year received 41,000 claims for the lump sumâ€" far from the initial estimate of 81,000.

Last year, the Filipino veterans and widows filed a class lawsuit against the DVA after at least 42 percent of all the 41,000 lump sum claimants were denied.

The Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation (FVEC) granted one-time lump sum of $ 15,000 for U.S. citizens and $ 9,000 for non-U.S. citizens. Those who became widows before, as opposed to those after the enactment of the law were automatically disqualified to receive any benefit.

“Justice is never begged for, we got to fight for it,” said Washington-based Arnedo Valera, lead attorney of the lawsuit and one of the three MHC executive directors.

“This is the time to rectify this great injustice against the Filipino veterans. The U.S. owes them a formal apology,” Valera said.

The Association of Widows, Advocates and Relatives for Equality (AWARE), JFAV and the MHC support the lawsuit.

“This new legislation complements court litigation efforts,” said Maria Galang, president of AWARE San Francisco Bay Area Chapter.

A separate lawsuit was initially filed in San Francisco court demanding that the eligibility of WWII veterans be not restricted in the “Missouri List.”

“We can no longer afford to have half-Americans,” said Speier during the election campaign last year in reference to the Filipino WWII veterans who received partial benefits like hospital access and burial benefits but were never treated as full American veterans and thus not qualified for full benefits.

“The Filipinos deserve full measure of justice,” said CA Senator Leland Yee who promised to sponsor a resolution in the CA Senate supporting full equity for Filipino WW II veterans and their widows and children. (PNA)

Freezing rain has badly disrupted air traffic at Moscow's airports and left more than 400,000 people in and around Russia's capital without electricity.

Rain that immediately turned into ice on the ground caused power failures, shutting Domodedovo airport for hours and stranding thousands of people. The power was later restored.

Dozens of flights to and from other Moscow airports were cancelled.

Bad weather also turned many streets in the city into ice rinks.

Domodedovo airport remained shut for more than 10 hours on Sunday, after the power supply was cut off, officials said.

The outage was caused by tree branches touching power lines loaded down with ice. - BBC

Eight American tourists died and 21 were injured when their bus hit a stationary lorry in southern Egypt, say media and police.

The crash happened early on Sunday as the bus was travelling from Aswan to the ancient temple site of Abu Simbel, Egyptian news agency Mena reported.

The bus driver and a tour guide were also hurt.

The injured were taken to a military hospital where they were treated for fractures and cuts, Mena said.
Critical condition

The accident reportedly happened around dawn, shortly after a three-coach convoy had set off on the 115-mile (185km) journey from Aswan to Abu Simbel. - BBC

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has told his nation it must unite in the face of military aggression from the North.

Mr Lee said in a national radio address that what was at stake was "the survival of this nation".

He added: "If [we] are afraid of war, we can never prevent war."

The Korean peninsula has been tense since the North shelled the Southern island of Yeonpyeong last month, killing four people.

On Sunday, it was announced that South Korean and Chinese defence ministers would meet in Beijing in February amid the rising tension. - BBC

The number of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) is increasing every year, said Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) 6.

Samuel Madrid, OWWA-6 regional director, stressed that based in national data, about 1,422,586 deployed Filipinos are currently working in different countries both in land-based with 1,092,162 workers and sea-based with 330,424.

In Western Visayas, a total of 156,532 OFWs are registered to OWWA-6.

Of the number, 104,670 workers are land-based while 51,862 are sea-based.

Madrid said Iloilo has the highest OFWs with 75,468; followed by Negros Occidental, 43,678; Capiz, 13,983; Antique, 10,483; Aklan, 8,650; and Guimaras, 4,270.

Madrid added 75,932 OFWs are female while 80,600 are male.

Based from last year’s record of OWWA-6, the Top 10 countries of common destinations are Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Hongkong, Qatar, Singapore, Kuwait, Taiwan, Italy, Canada and Bahrain.

“The same countries are also the common destinations of OFWs for this year," he said during recent press conference at Max restaurant, SM City Mall here.

On the other hand, Madrid said OWWA-6 offers some reintegration programs for OFWs and their families to ensure that they maximize the gains of overseas employment.

The two components of this reintegration are economic and psycho-social.

Economic component includes social preparation programs for livelihood projects or community-based, income generating projects, skills training and credit facilitation and lending.

Presently, Madrid said OWWA-6 is offering OWWA-NLSF Livelihood Development Programs, Groceria Project and Filipino Expatriates Livelihood Support Fund (FELSF) for OFWs.

The regional director said 21 OFWs have availed the livelihood and 38 groups with 834 members also availed the groceria project while 279 members availed of the FELSF. (PNA)

By Joann Villanueva

Money sent home by overseas Filipinos (OFWs) registered its new record-high level of US$ 1.7 billion in October 2010.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. on Wednesday said remittance grew by 9.3 percent year-on-year in the 10th month this year against year-ago’s US$ 1.57 billion.

This brought to nearly US$ 15.5 billion the inflows in the first 10 months this year, 7.9 percent higher than year-ago’s US$ 14.2 billion and is a tad closer to the eight percent full-year 2010 growth forecast of the central bank.

BSP said majority of the inflows came from the U.S., Canada, Saudi Arabia, Japan, the U.K., United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Italy, Germany and Norway.

Tetangco traced this increase to steady inflows both from sea-based and land-based overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

Citing initial data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), Tetangco said approved job orders in the first 11 months this year reached 578,535 and 39.2 percent of which were for service, production, professional, technical and related workers.

Most of these workers were sent to Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Tetangco said strong demand for skilled and professional OFWs alongside the expansion of tie-ups of domestic banks and non-bank money transfer service providers with their foreign counterparts continue to boost inflows coursed through the formal channel.

“In particular, the continuing efforts to improve on the variety and coverage of the global remittance networks have enabled more overseas Filipinos to send remittances using more innovative financial services offered in the market,” Tetangco said.

By GMA 7 News

Hubert Webb, the son of a former senator, and six others in the Vizconde massacre case, can now walk free from the New Bilibid Prison.

In a vote of 7-4-4 on Tuesday, the Supreme Court (SC) reversed two lower courts' findings that found him and eight others guilty of killing three members of the Vizconde family almost two decades ago.

While nine people may have been convicted, the court only took action on the seven of them. This is because the two others, Artemio Ventura ad Joey Filart, remain at large to this day.

According to SC spokesman Jose Midas Marquez, the court acquitted the seven "for the failure of the prosecution to rule their guilt beyond reasonable doubt," said Marquez.

"They are ordered released from detention unless for another lawful cause," said Marquez.

Aside from Webb, those acquitted were:
# Antonio Lejano;
# Michael Gatchalian;
# Miguel Rodriguez;
# Hospicio Fernandez;
# Peter Estrada, and
# former policeman Gerardo Biong.

Those who voted in favor of the acquittal were:
# Associate Justices Roberto Abad;
# Conchita Carpio-Morales;
# Diosdado Peralta;
# Lucas Bersamin;
# Jose Perez, and
# Ma. Lourdes Sereno.

Those who dissented were:
# Chief Justice Renato Corona;
# Associate Justices Martin Villarama;
# Teresita Leonardo-De Castro, and
# Arturo Brion.

Four justices inhibited themselves from the deliberations. They were:
# Associate Justices Antonio Carpio
# Eduardo Nachura
# Diosdado Peralta, and
# Mariano del Castillo.

Webb was accused of raping Carmela Vizconde, who was killed in her family's Parañaque home on June 30, 1991. Her mother, Estrellita, and sister, Jennifer, were also killed.

Webb was among the nine people convicted by Paranaque Regional Trial Court Branch 274 Presiding Judge Amelita Tolentino in January 2000 for the killings. The Court of Appeals upheld the conviction in December 2005.

Tolentino is now an Associate Justice of the Court of Appeals.

Webb then elevated the case to the Supreme Court and asked that a DNA analysis be conducted on a semen sample or vaginal smears taken from the body of victim Carmela Vizconde. â€" VVP, GMANews.TV

by Abs-cbn

The Supreme Court has acquitted the main suspects in the much publicized Vizconde massacre case, ending their years of burden for being incarcerated in jail.

Rather than closing the case that has gripped the hearts of a grieving husband and father and the whole nation, it has further provoked many questions, including: Who really killed Estrellita Vizconde and her daughters Carmela and Jennifer?

Voting 7 for acquittal, 4 to uphold the lower court ruling, and 4 abstentions, the high court has allowed Hubert Webb, the son of a former senator, and other scions of influential families to be freed.

The acquittal ruling bars the filing of an appeal as per the doctrine of double jeopardy.

Aside from Webb, the others are: Antonio "Tony Boy" Lejano, son of actress Pinky de Leon; Michael Gatchalian and Miguel Rodriguez, sons of prominent lawyers; Peter Estrada, son of a wealthy businessman; Pyke Fernandez, son of a retired commodore; Joey Filart, supposedly a relative of former Capital Region Command Chief Marino Filart, and Dong Ventura, son of a businessman.

Four magistrates inhibited: Associate Justices Antonio Carpio, Antonio Eduardo Nachura, Mariano del Castillo and Presbitero Velasco, Jr.

For many months, the nation waited for the decision of the Supreme Court following the failure of police authorities to present the one last evidence that could have further held Webb as the culpable partyâ€"the sperm specimen found in the body of Carmela.

The grieving man

The wait, however, was said to be more excruciating for the complainant. Lauro Vizconde found himself at a loss as to how such kind of carnage has befallen his family.

On the morning of June 30, 1991, the 47-year-old Estrellita, 18-year-old Carmela and 7-year-old Jennifer was found murdered in their home in BF Homes Subdivision in Paranaque.

It was only after 4 years that an eyewitness, Jessica Alfaro, emerged and gave context to the crime.

Alfaro, who was a confessed drug addict, submitted several testimonies that befuddled the minds of legal pundits, conspiracy theorists and film makers alike.

In the end, then Paranaque trial court Branch 274 Judge Amelita Tolentino gave credence to the issues raised by the prosecution including the relevance of Alfaro’s testimony.

The accused were convicted on January 6, 2000.

Alfaro’s testimony

Alfaro, who is now in the United States and married to one of her then bodyguards, testified that she was with the suspects on the night of June 29, 1991.

They had then finished a shabu session until they decided to go to Carmela’s house. Webb was supposedly smitten with the young lass and decided he would rape her.

Alfaro said she was tagged along because Estrellita only allowed her daughter to entertain female visitors. The group, in 3 different cars, had to go back and forth the subdivision waiting for the right moment to enter the Vizonde’s home. All had sniffed shabu with each turn.

Alfaro said she saw Webb follow Carmela while the others acted as lookouts. Estrellita was supposedly killed first before Webb raped Carmela.

Jennifer tried to stop Webb but was hurled to a wall and then later killed.

Estrellita had sustained 13 stab wounds, Carmela had 17 and Jennifer had 19.

After the carnage, Webb called policeman Gerardo Biong supposedly to clean their “mess.” Biong supposedly destroyed vital physical evidence such as the clothing and the bloodied bedsheets.

The charge sheet

The panel of prosecutors, which filed the case in 1995, said “neither can we discredit Alfaro merely because of the inconsistencies in her two sworn statements. In Angelo, the Court refused to discredit the testimony of a witness accusing therein petitioner for the slaying of one Gaviano Samaniego even though said witness failed to name Angelo in his affidavit which was executed five (5) months earlier. Granting, the Court continued, that a part of the witness' testimony is untrue, such circumstance is not sufficient to discredit the entire testimony of the witness."

On the defense’s rebuttal, the prosecution said “denial is a self-serving negative which cannot be given greater evidentiary weight than the declaration of a credible witness who testified on affirmative matters.”
Their alibis were supposedly weak, including Webb’s claims that he was miles away when the murders happened.

Departure stamps

The defense produced documents and presented 95 witnesses while the prosecution presented only 7 witnesses. The accused were meted out the penalty of reclusion perpetua.

They also lost the case before the Court of Appeals on December 16, 2005. This was affirmed on January 2007.

Dissenting opinions emerged there, however. They gave credence to Webb’s  passport issued by the Bureau of Immigration which bears a departure stamp of March 9, 1991 and arrival stamp of October 27, 1992.

Webb also presented certifications from the US-INS Washington DC confirming his entry to the United States.

Then Justice Lucenito Tagle, who is now Comelec commissioner, said: “To hold an accused guilty as a co-principal of conspiracy, there must be sufficient and unbroken chain of events that directly and definitely links the accused to the commission of the crime without any space for baseless supposition or frenzied theories to filter through.”

Supreme Court

Legal wheels continued to turn after the SC announced it was deciding the case even without the DNA sample it had asked.

The lawyers of Webb filed contempt charges against the police authorities who supposedly lost the exculpatory evidence.

Fiscals, on the other hand, said that the same evidence is not anymore important considering the voluminous texts and other pieces of information they had submitted. Their case, of course, is anchored on their wins before the lower courts.

The controversy came to another peak when Biong was released from prison after having fully served his sentence.

The Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, where Vizconde is a member, cried foul. It said Biong’s release from prison showcased of things to come.

The decision of the magistrates proved their fears.

By Tetch Torres
INQUIRER.net

The Supreme Court today acquitted Hubert Webb for the murder of Estrelita Vizconde, and daughters Carmela and Jennifer.

Webb is the son of former senator Freddie Webb.

temptation of the eyes...

By Philip Tubeza
Sun Star Balita

The Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) warned on Tuesday graduates of medical courses against illegal recruiters offering jobs in fictitious hospitals abroad.

POEA Jennifer Jardin-Manalili said the agency had received various reports regarding the illegal recruitment of medical professionals and skilled workers for fictitious hospitals in Guam, Israel, and even Switzerland.

"Medical students, graduates and practitioners seem to be the favorite targets of employment scammers," Manalili said.

The Philippine Embassy in Berne has verified that a certain Semino Private Hospital, which has been touted to have a student program and has offered internship jobs in Switzerland by email, does not exist, according to Manalili.

Some applicants told the embassy that Semino has been recruiting medical students through e-mail and offering substantial allowances to lure victims.

However, Semino Private hospital is not in the list of hospitals in the Canton of Vaud and is not familiar to residents there. The hospital also has no listed telephone number in Switzerland, according to the Philippine Embassy.

And while the Semino Private Hospital created a "mock" website, seminohospital.com, the website has been traced to Nigeria, the embassy added.

In its website, Semino claims that it shares the same address with Clinique Cecil, a prestigious hospital at Avenue Ruchonnet 53, CH -1003 Lausanne, Switzerland.

In Israel, Labor Attaché Merriam C. Cuasay reported that unscrupulous recruiters were offering nursing jobs for the “Jordan Valley Medical Center.”

However, no such hospital exists, Cuasay’s office has learned. Israel also has job openings for home-based recruiters but not for nurses, according to the POEA.

The Consul General in Agana, Guam has also alerted the POEA of a fake hospital on the island, the “Guam General Hospital.”

The supposed hospital has created a website---www.guamgeneralhospital.com---which has been soliciting applications for employment as nurses, the POEA said.

It added that another website---www.westernpacifichospital.com---was recently discovered and had the same content as that of www.guamgeneralhospital.com.

"This online scam is now being investigated by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation," the POEA said.

It added that there was only one hospital in Guam, the Guam Memorial Hospital (GMH).

Ni Jonathan F. Tumulak
Sun Star

MAGUWANG niunay sa pagdunggab-patay sa iyang manghod human kini nilaban sa iyang asawa nga nasumbagan.

Ang pagpanunggab nahitabo pasado alas 3:00 sa milabayng hapon sa Quijano compound Barangay Calamba, siyudad sa Sugbo.

Ang patay na nga nadangat sa Cebu City Medical Center (CCMC) mao si Edgar Pelaez, 38, ug negusyante og scrap diha sa maong lugar.

Gitumbok nga nagdunggab kaniya mao si Carlos Pelaez, 43, ug susama niya ug kapanginabuhian.

Sa taho nga nasayran gikan kang PO3 Geofrey Gutual sa Homicide Section nagbutyag nga unang gidapatan sa biktima ang usa nila ka silingan nga menor de edad tungod sa kasuko sa biktima nga maoy naggalgal sa iyang anak ug anak sa suspek nga mangawat ug butang ug gipatimbang.

Niabot ang asawa sa suspek nga si “Salome” ug nibadlong sa biktima sa dili pagdapat sa menor de edad, apan mao na hinoon ang nasumbagan nug mipalaban sa iyang bana.

Naabot ang suspek, hangtud nga nagkalalis ang managsuon nga niresulta ngadto sa sinumbagay, wa magdugay nilakaw ang biktima nibalik nga may dala nga bato og gibato ang iyang maguwang ang suspetsado.

Wa na kaagwanta ang suspek, nikuha usab kini og kutsilyo ug gidunggab ang biktima sa iyang kilid ug buko-buko.

Ni Guam P. Logroño
Sun Star Balita

TUNGOD sa sulsol nga di iyang anak ang kapin sa tuig nga si James Amper, nahimo sa amahan ang krimen dihang nagkaaway sila sa iyang kapuyo niadtong Dominggo sa hapon sa Sitio Poster Barangay Maravilla, lungsod sa Tabuelan.

Kini maoy gipadayag sa amahan nga si Alfredo Taglucop Jr., 29, dihang ni-atubang kagahapong adlawa sa mga sakop sa media sa buhatan ni Sr. Supt. Erson Digal, director sa Cebu Provincial Police Office (CPPO).

Sumala niya nga ang iyang inahan ug silingan nagsigig sulsol kaniya nga di iyang anak ang bata.

Giangkon niini nga nagmahay siya sa iyang gihimo nga wala maminaw ug motuo sa gisulti sa iyang kapuyo nga si Maribel, gani human iyang napatay ang iyang anak daw mura siya nawala sa kaugalingon.

“Nakahinumdom ko sa ako kaugalingon dihang nipisik ang dugo nga nahilam-os sa akong nawong mao to nga nakuyawan ko patay naman nidagan ko paingon sa bukid,” suma ni Taglucop.

Gikompirmar niya nga sa miyembrosa kapunongan sa iyang amahan nga si Alfredo Sr., chapter leader sa ilang lugar sa usa ka kulto.

KRITIKAL ang kahimtang sa usa ka bana human niinom og hilo niadtong Domingo mga alas 8:00 sa gabii sa Sto Niño, Barangay 31, ning siyudad sa Cagayan de Oro.

Giila ang biktima nga mao si Dose Norman Grones, 50, minyo, sa susamang dapit kinsa nanglagom ug nawad-an sa panimuot nga nakita sa asawa niini.

Gisaysay sa asawa sa biktima nga aduna siyay gilakaw nga importante niadtong tungora ug sa iyang pag-uli naabtan nga naka-inom ang iyang bana.

Dugang sa asawa nga wala na iyang bana dihang milakaw siya sa puloy-anan kay giingong nag-inom naman kini kuyog ang mga silingan.

Nakurat na lamang ang asawa dihang naabtan nga hubog ug naglasong kini sulod sa puloy-anan.

Wala masayod ang asawa kung unsa ang hinungdan paglasong sa iyang bana apan nagduda ang asawa nga tungod kay dugay siya nakauli niadtong tungora.

Nakurat pag-ayo ang asawa dihang kalit lang kini nawad-an og panimout ug naligid sa salog, nakita niya ang botelya sa hilo nga "malathione" nga maoy giyarok niini. - Sun Star Balita

By Jhunnex Napallacan
Inquirer Visayas

The Cebu City government also scored a victory in last Sunday’s fight of pound-for-pound boxing king Manny Pacquiao against Mexican fighter Antonio Margarito.

The city government gained more than P500,000 in amusement tax and other collectibles from establishments that imposed fees for the pay-per-view showing of the fight, Cebu City Treasurer Ofelia Oliva said Friday.

These establishments included cinemas, hotels, restaurants, and coliseums, she said.

Some of the establishments, especially restaurants, offered different promotions like food and drinks, depending on the amount of the entrance fees that ranged from P200 to P500.

Oliva said that the city treasurer’s office reported that 34 establishments that had pay-per-view showing of the fight were assessed a total of P511,664.49 in amusement tax.

However, the city government has so far only collected P352,171.39 because five establishments that have payables totaling P159,493.10 refused to pay the amusement tax, she said.

Agence France-Presse

Teenagers from the Chinese city of Shanghai have the best education in the world, according to a major international study of standards in in maths, science and literacy released Tuesday.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development's "Pisa" report, released every three years, studied 470,000 15-year-old pupils in 65 countries around the more developed parts of the world.

South Korea and Finland topped the country rankings in the survey but, taken separately from China, the huge city of Shanghai -- taking part in the survey for the first time -- came top in all three of the disciplines.

"More than one-quarter of Shanghai's 15-year-olds demonstrated advanced mathematical thinking skills to solve complex problems, compared to an OECD average of just three percent," the OECD said.

Other Asian countries and regions also scored particularly well, and OECD education expert Eric Charbonnier said the continent's success was a result of educational values that favor equality as well as quality.

"In Shanghai, a city of 20 million, they followed policies to fight against social inequality, to target the schools that were in most difficulty and send them the best performing heads and most experienced teachers," he said.

South Korea came second in comprehension, fourth in maths and sixth in science and Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and Japan were well-placed.

Finland, whose educational system has been hailed by Western experts, remains the best performing European country, coming third in comprehension, second in science and third in maths.

Seven European countries performed better than the OECD average: Belgium, Estonia, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Switzerland. Of these, Poland was praised for making rapid progress through school reform.

The United States, Sweden, Germany, France, Ireland, Denmark, Britain, Hungary and Portugal scored around the average for richer countries, but pupils in Sweden and Ireland performed worse than three years ago.

By Mike Ortega Ligalig

Aduna lang koy gamay nga obserbasyon. Kaniadto pagmoabot na ang September, daghan nakog madungog nga mga Christmas song nga ipatokar sa radio. Karon, hapit na mag-December, panagsa naman lang motokar ug Christmas song ang mga am ug fm station.

Mahimo nga nasayop lang ko ug seguro wala ko ka-timing sa pagpaminaw. Pero taud-taud na ni nako nga naobserbahan matag tuig. Mura man ug nagkawala ug gana ang mga tawo sa pagsaulog sa Pasko.

Sama sa akong gihisgutan sa nangagi nga nagkaanam ug kaminghoy ang mga fiesta sa Bohol. Mga tawo wala nay gana mag-fiesta. Wala na kaayoy manguli sa Bohol panahon sa fiesta. Mura ba ang mga tawo ug okay nalang ug walay fiesta, okay ra pud ug naa.

Mahitabo kaha nga okay nalang sab sa mga tawo nga walay Pasko?

Kung ang pagsaulog sa Pasko gipasikad sa materyal nga butang, mahimong wala nay bili ang December 25 kay lagi nag-agad man ang ilang kalipay sa tinagingting sa bulsa. Apan kung ang pagsaulog sa Pasko nagagumikan sa kasingkasing nga diin dili igsapayan kung naay hukaron o wala, nan padayon nga magmabulokon ang diwa sa Pasko karong tuiga.

Sa kinatibuk-an nga pagpaniid, ug sa ako nang nasulat sa unahan, nagkaanam kanihit ang mga awit sa Pasko. Ug mahimo nga adunay nagpaluyong katarungan ngano nga naingon niini. Posible nga dili na ganahan ang mga tawo maminaw sa balik-balik nga awit kay wala nay bag-ong awit nga namugna? Posible nga ekonomikanhon ang hinungdan nga diin ang kapobrehon sa tawo maghatod lang niya ug kaguol sa Pasko kay matandi man niya ang iyang kahimtang sa uban.

Pananglitan, ang imong kusina walay gipaanokan sa gabii sa petsa baynte kwatro, unja ang imong silingan nangalimyon ang kahumot sa bag-o lang gihaon nga biko sa kaha. Mahimo nga mingawon nuon ka sa kanhiay nga panahon nga diin isalindot lang nimo ang biko kay giyam-isan naka ug kinaon.

Daghang nag-ingon nga commercialized kaayo ang pagsaulog sa Pasko. Tungod sa maong pagsagol sa material nga aspeto sa spiritual nga bahin, nalawgaw ang kahulogan sa Pasko.

Nagsugod ning tanan sa mga bata pa ta. Mas sikat pa si Santa Claus kay sa rason ngano nga adunay Pasko. Kung dunay gasa, ingnon dayon nga gikan daw ni Santa Claus. Daghang mga sayop nga gitudlo nato.

Pananglitan, sa gamay pa kong bata, asige mi pahalokon adtong ubi nga gi-display atubangan sa belen. Di jud mi pahikapon sa ubi kay makagaba. Pero panahon ra pud sa Pasko makagaba ang ubi. Ug dili Pasko, okay ra ipusdak ang ubi. Kay bata pa lagi ta, tuo lang pud ta, ajo ug malatosan ta ug mosupak. Nah sauna, kada balay sa among baryo, naa gyud nay belen nga naka-display sa sala bisag nahunlak na. Pero karon, wala na gyud ko kakita ug panimalay nga adunay belen. Si Evelyn lang ang naa.

Mga kausaban sa atong panahon nga mag-aghat nato sa paghandom sa mga nanglabay nga katuigan.

Happy Birthday, Ben. Thank you for your friendship. God bless you and your family.
Enjoy your most special day today.

Adunay Mga Balak Nga Magpabiling Tanghaga
sinulat ni Mike Ortega Ligalig

Bisan ang paglibkas
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Adunay mga balak
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walay pangalan...

With the country facing a succession of typhoons since the onset of the rainy season, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) received a very timely aid of 25 million Chinese yuan or P172 million worth of engineering equipment from the People’s Republic of China-Ministry of National Defense (PROC-MND).

The equipment, expected to be of great contribution to the government's ongoing rehabilitation efforts in areas ravaged by typhoons, was unveiled by the Republic of the Philippines-Department of National Defense (RP-DND) in a blessing and formal handover ceremony Thursday at the GHQ Grandstand.

Defense Secretary Voltaire T. Gazmin graced the event as guest of honor and speaker, while China’s Ambassador to the Philippines Liu Jianchao served as the special guest.

The AFP, the direct recipient of the aid, was represented by Chief of Staff Gen. Ricardo A. David Jr.

The 33 units of engineering equipment arrived at the Port of Manila on July 11 with the informal handover and takeover signed by Col. Chen Fangming and Rear Admiral Mario A. Catacutan, representatives of PROC and RP, respectively.

The PROC shouldered all the expenses for transporting the equipment to the Philippines. The Philippine side paid for all the expenses incurred upon the arrival of the equipment. The AFP processed the documents for the release of the said equipment in coordination with PROC representatives.

The equipment is composed of eight graders, two loaders, three road rollers, four backhoe loaders, three dump trucks, two road wreckers, one aerial vehicle and 10 bulldozers. The AFP Corps of Engineers evaluated the distribution of the equipment to different engineering units in the country.

Gazmin expressed his deep appreciation over the military aid to the Chinese government.

“As a tangible testimony to the kindness and helpfulness of a great friend and neighbor, the People’s Republic of China, we have now an array of engineering equipment for our Armed Forces, that would be of utmost assistance in our many developmental nation-building and construction endeavors throughout the country. On behalf of the Philippine government and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, allow me to therefore convey, through His Excellency Liu Jianchao, our profound thanks to the Government of the People’s Republic of China, it’s Ministry of National Defense, and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army for the generous assistance that we shall treasure as a token of enduring friendship and cooperation between our two nations and peoples,” said Gazmin

Jianchao, for his part, said that the military aid from China is a testament to the friendship and cooperation between the governments of China and the Philippines which has been strengthened in the recent years. The equipment will be used by the AFP Engineering regiments in disaster relief and other humanitarian assistance endeavors, in response to the natural disasters being experienced by the country, to which China was no stranger as well. Ambassador Liu Jianchao hopes that through the equipment, those who will be affected by natural disasters will be given urgent assistance and hope at a better life. - PNA

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I got this email message and I hope someone from Talibon could assist this woman. Her email address is qtieh40@yahoo.com

Hello Mike!

         I found the TubagBohol.com while searching some information. I'm glad to see
to find a contact info, from someone in Talibon. I would like to inquire if you live near
the Munisipyo, the registrar building where you can request the birth and marriage
certificate. My parents was born and married in Talibon Bohol, then moved to Cebu..and
I'm one of their daughter. My parents and I doesn't live in the Philippines anymore, but I
still have a brother and sister in Cebu.

        Anyhow, my sister will be there hopefully next week to get the certificates from
the Registrar. The only thing I need is the contact information of the Registrar's office, or
from someone that work there who handles the processing of the Birth certificate. We would like to know what papers are needed, to apply for a late registration of my parents
birth and marriage certificates. I hope you can help me inquire regarding this information.
Thank you in advance, and I hope to hear from you before Monday.

Best Regards,
Marlyn

I got this email message and I cannot provide answer to the inquiry. Please help, if you can.

Hi, Mike!
Pleasant greetings.
I would respectfully request for a biograpgical info of the late Mayor Cruz P. Ranario  of Garcia-Hernandez. The man will be honored in the pages of a local history book here in  North Agusan, Mindanao Island.
Please just send it thru this email ad: fam121755@yahoo.com.ph
Thankyou so much and God bless!
Florante More

The Department of Science and Technology (DoST) based here said Monday export of high-value bamboo veneer products is expected to expand with the introduction recently of a newly improved veneering machine.

The new machine, designed and fabricated by Engineers Belen B. Bisana and Dante B. Pulmano; and Foresters Felix B. Tamolang, Carolyn Marie C. Garcia and Elizabeth N. Dioso of the Forest Products Research and Development Institute (FPRDI), is an improved version of the old bamboo veneering machine designed by FPRDI researchers sometime back.

The old machine version can only produce a veneer with maximum width of 50 centimeters and one millimeter thick, largely contributing to the limited export of the bamboo products from the Philippines, UPLB officials said.

They said with the new machine, bamboo poles can now be developed into high-value products such as tiles, tabletops, panels, decorative laminates, toys, and other novelty items both for export and for local consumption.

The newly improved bamboo veneer lathe shaping machine can produce bamboo veneers of varying thickness ranging from 0.5 millimeters to two millimeters.

Officials said the improved machine is simple, cheap, sturdy, space-saving, and even safer than the old veneering lathe, and proven technically and financially viable for commercialization in the technology fora and demonstrations held recently in Angeles, Pampanga and Iloilo City. (PNA)