MikeLigalig.com

By Loy M. Palapos
Sunday Post

      “The best thing going for me at this point is credibility.”

      “People know that when I say one thing, I mean it. When we are on the same side, you can rest assured that when you wake up, nothing has happened to your CONA.” Thus, were the exact words of the incumbent Vice Governor of the Province of Bohol when we met last week. And in an earlier question, when he answered “… we honor our commitments…” I told myself: “Here is one individual who says what he means, and means what he says. “A man with enough principle to gain anybody’s trust.

      As Mayor of the Municipality of Calape, he had proven his managerial and administrative skill, aside from his prowess for developmental strategies. His three terms as Vice Governor, most particularly his adept leadership of the Sangguniang Panglalawigan, have inter-woven into his capabilities in executive know-how that makes him ripe-for-the-picking as the next Governor of the Province of Bohol.

      For indeed, Atty. Julius Caesar Falar Herrera (JFH) has, in his political career, reached that point when his brand of public service fits the vision of his beloved Province.             

LMP: You have been known to be with the administration party these past years. What was your feeling and reaction right after you were informed that Lakasâ€"Kampiâ€"CMD has chosen another person to run as Governor for Bohol?

JFH: Let me correct that. I resigned from Lakas before the official candidate was announced. It actually made it easier for the party because they no longer had to make a choice.

LMP: Former Provincial Administrator Tomas Abapo, Jr. has always been identified with Governor Erico Aumentado. Now that he is your running- mate, does it mean that you have the support of Aumentado?

JFH: That is always one possibility although I do not want to speak for the governor especially as far as his choice for governor is concerned. Of course, it cannot be denied that many of the governor’s loyal supporters are comfortable with us because they know we honor our commitments.

LMP: Is Atty. Tomas Abapo, Jr. your personal pick to run as Vice Governor? Or was he endorsed? By whom? And for what considerations?

JFH: I would be lying if I say Atty. Abapo is my only choice. There were many potential candidates to choose from. In the end, I chose him because it became clear that we would complement each other. I listened to many people but I knew I would be the one to make the decision. After all, I will be working with my running mate and not with those who make recommendations. If by considerations you mean horse-trading, there is no such thing.

LMP: With Governor Aumentado accusing Congressman Edgar Chatto and Congressman Bob Cajes of discrediting him in the administration party, and with the  Cajes couple challenging him in the Second District of Bohol, it follows that Aumentado won’t be supporting the two in their respective candidacies. Is this good news for your political side of the fence? Why?

JFH: I would be a hypocrite if I would say this is not good news. To support one whom I had supported in my official capacity is very good news. Actually, it is now up to Cong. Chatto to prove that he is supporting Gov. Aumentado, the official candidate of his party, over Mayor Judith Cajes, who is an independent.

LMP: What would you consider as three of your top accomplishments as the Presiding Officer of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan for almost 9 years?

JFH: Under the legislative function, the SP passed notable legislative measures that contributed significantly to poverty alleviation to development initiatives. Of course, it should be stressed that the legislative department makes it a point to go in the same direction that the executive is headed for. Second, my personal initiatives included  assistance to thousands of barangay health workers, barangay tanods and barangay livestock aides and institutionalizing the SP committee secretariat. Third, education and human resource development, such training on Barangay Legislation which is a first in the country and being replicated nationwide.

LMP: Among the incumbent Municipal Mayors, how many are endorsing your gubernatorial candidacy?

JFH: If we go by the headcount, they are a minority up to this point. But many are sympathetic to my candidacy and most are only waiting for the right timing to come out. Of course, even the municipal mayors will admit that their support alone will not be sufficient. When one wants to be governor, he will need the support of the majority of the people because it is not just about winning the election but of winning the battle against poverty and the obstacles to their aspirations for a better life.

LMP: What platforms of governance are you disseminating in the campaign trail?

JFH: The priority at this time is agriculture development to put food on the table. My office has been distributing vegetable and coconut seeds to nearly all barangays. Of course, it always takes to two to tango. I am glad that Gov. Aumentado has thrown his unconditional support to this project. Health and social concerns include pumping more funds for the devolved ten hospitals and providing and empowering barangay officials of the need, such as medical and tanod kits. On education, the province is looking for ways to provide more funds to build more buildings for public schools because the DepEd can hardly cope with the growing population. We are also providing scholarships for students who desire to pursue their education but are financially challenged.

LMP: You were on the same side in the political fence with Congressman Chatto. Now that you are rivals for the same elective position, how does it feel? Is he still your friend? Or, enemy?

JFH: It would be all up to him. I had wanted him to be a friend always but the reality is that politics has a way of making enemies out of friends and vice versa.

LMP: As early as 9 years ago, before both you and Chatto started your 3-year 3 terms, Boholanos have been predicting that you would confront each other in the gubernatorial derby. The prediction has come true. What do you believe as your aces on your sleeves, which he doesn’t have?

JFH: I can always say my credentials, accomplishments and platforms are my aces, but those who disagree with me will say this is self-serving. The best thing going for me at this point is credibility. People know that when I say one thing, I mean it. When we are on the same side, you can rest assured that when you wake up, nothing has happened to your cona. People are also realizing that they can find me when there are problems and criticisms and not only when there projects to be inaugurated or speaking engagements. I have an advantage as far as being reliable and sincere is concerned.

LMP: Both you and Chatto come from the First District of Bohol. With the way things have turned out, people are predicting that Aumentado will support you in the Second District; Arthur Yap will support Chatto in the Third District; and the First District vote will be split. Is this a reasonable assessment?

JFH: It would be too simplistic to put it that way. I agree that Gov. Aumentado and Secretary Yap are crucial players in their respective districts, but there are many intangibles that come into play. In the final analysis, only the election results will validate which strategies are better.

LMP: There are many who believe that you have more right to the position of the Chief Executive of the Province of Bohol in accordance with the rule of ascendancy, you being next in rank to the Governor. Is this a valid conjecture?

JFH: If we consider the step ladder, yes. But that is not always the case. It should be stressed, however, that I prepared hard for executive responsibilities. This is the reason why I refused to consider running for Congress. If I did that, I would be throwing away everything that I worked for in the last nine years just for political accommodation. Many say I would have won hands down, but it will only be for political expediency and not sincere public service.

LMP: How strong is your line-up for the position of Board Members in each of the Three Districts of Bohol?

JFH: I am very confident that we will win the majority of the seats. Of course, this will be only a matter of opinion until the votes are tallied.

LMP: What criteria have your group used in determining your candidates to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan?

JFH: I have always preferred individual character, integrity, commitment to serve and teamwork. Winnability is only a minor consideration because the most important part is the task after the election.

LMP: Will crossing party lines be the mood in the 2010 elections? Why do you say so?

JFH: You cannot prevent people from switching party lines because the reality in Philippine politics is that there is not much difference between political parties. The truth is that there are only two parties: the administration and the opposition. In an election where the administration’s defeat is a foregone conclusion, we in the opposition feel that we have better chances to win the people over to our side than those who will no longer be in power after June this year.

LMP: In any Philippine election, one common denominator for winning is money to buy votes. Do you believe in this? Why?

JFH: Money is a crucial factor, there is no doubt about that. But it is not the only thing. This is the reason why I am trying to raise the level of campaign to issues and platforms and not just about bribing the people with cash on election day.

LMP: Do you consider being affiliated with presidential candidate Manny Villar, who is the richest among Senators in Congress, a plus factor in your candidacy? How?

JFH: When he became Speaker and Senator, Manny Villar was always the richest. I cannot see why his assets should be used as an issue against him now that he is running for President. Of course, it all depends on the colors of the glasses that you wear. Since I committed to support his candidacy, I like my chances because of this. Again, I do not want to reduce my campaign to money considerations. 

LMP: What are your parting words to the readers of this column?

JFH: Let me just point out, that I would prefer to go out poorer than when I came in if in the process the people become richer during my incumbency. I do not want to be remembered as one whose assets increased by millions when he was elected into public office.

      When the Roman General Julius Caesar exclaimed “The die is cast!” before crossing the river Rubicon, he knew what he was fighting for, and against whom. His was a formidable adversary, who was once a friend. A friend who, because of jealousy (the news about Julius Caesar’s victories, especially in conquering Gaul, made him the most popular Roman even among the powers-that-be in the Senate), saw in the victorious General a threat to his power, and wanted him eliminated.

      But Julius Caesar triumphed, and later became the Emperor of Rome, starting a dynasty that spanned several years in three continents. Rome at the height of its power as the City of Seven Hills, was Rome during the era of the Caesars.

      Will this feat be replicated in local governance? Not that Atty. Julius Caesar F. Herrera is putting up a dynasty, for this is not a part of his agenda. He just wants to be given a chance to a job that took him 9 solid years to prepare for. For this reason alone, he deserves the title.   

By Joe Espiritu
Sunday Post

Several retired professionals were practicing public speaking for the campaign weeks later. Some of them are academes who could express themselves well in English. They will be facing the grassroots so they have to express themselves in the vernacular. The effect was confusing. If they have to stick to pure Cebuano Visayan, whatever that is, they would not be understood.

Cebuano Visayan is assumed to be the “official dialect” of the Central Visayas. However, there are many variations to it that even true bred Cebuanos, whatever that is, do not agree on the meaning. Some even do not understand it. They cannot agree upon the semantics. An organization called Lubas sa Dagang Bisaya or known by its acronym Ludabi declared itself as the “official” source of the Cebuano Visayan. They assume the purist stance.

Visayan, whether Cebuano or its version Boholano is and old dialect. Since it is old, it is also static. The problem of a dialect is that they do not have words to depict certain things, qualities, situations and so on accurately and succinctly. A single word or term must be expressed in phrases, which often do not convey the true meaning. Modern living generated many terms not covered by the dialect, so we borrow words from other languages, which carried the true meaning. The result is a language called lingua frança The Ludabi objected to using “foreign” words so coined new words.  Unwittingly, they followed the steps of Dr. Jose Villa Panganiban.

The Institute of National Language followed a decree that Tagalog is to be used. Confusion followed when they could not decide on which Tagalog, Northern, Central or Southern Luzon Tagalog. So they agreed to use the accepted word of the region in which the Tagalog was used. But Tagalog, whatever version, is also an old language, which cannot cope up with the language of modern living. A purist Dr. Jose Villa Panganiban coined new words derived from the contraction or acronym of the word depicting the meaning.

Salipawpaw was used for air plane, which description in Tagalog means sasakyang lumilipad sa himpapawid. The phrase actually means a transportation, which flies in the sky. Then salumpuit and saksisid were used for chair and submarine. When faced with words like schizophrenia or chemical valence, Dr. Panganiban was lost. Frank Lacuesta stepped in. using terms derived from other dialects, he evolved an understandable Tagalog, the lingua frança of the National Language.

Back to Ludabi. When asked to write for a defunct vernacular Boholano newspaper, we warned the editor that our Visayan was the Third District Boholano version sounding like djawang bikog pre, bisag niremedyo remedyohon pud. Roughly meaning, heck man, even if I obtained it by doubtful means, it is also obtained from me by the same means. Or words to that effect. Well, using four legged, high flown words in Ludabi will be a negative factor in campaigning.

Guys, better stick to Third District Boholano to keep in touch with the grassroots. They are sensitive that when you are identified as purist, you can also be an elitist by inference. With that image you cannot even be appointed as barangay tanod. It is better to greet maadzong gabii kaninzong tanan. Bisag palis pa.

By Sunday Post

The cat is now out of the bag.

Maybe unknown to many Lakas stalwarts, the aborted exodus to the Nacionalista Party has the blessing of the officers of the League of the Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) â€" Bohol Chapter, this according to reliable party sources.

This revelation came in the wake of the recent manifesto signed by 11 Lakas mayors, four of whom are top officials of the LMP.

According to the same source, it was the  organization that allowed to be used in the defection of several administration mayors to the Nacionalista Party of Sen. Manuel Villar last year.

In its initial foray of raiding the dominant Bohol party, at least 25 Lakas jumped over to Villar’s party only to make a turnabout when Gov. Erico Aumentado, then Bohol’s top party henchman, came home  from an overseas trip.
The LMP along with former league presidents the likes of Mayors Exuperio Lloren of Jagna and Josephine Socorro Jumamoy of Inabanga joined their president Catigbian Mayor Roberto Salinas in what appeared to be  a party revolt when they assailed the leadership of both in the provincial and national levels.
Cong. Edgar Chatto is the provincial Lakas chair succeeding Aumentado.i 

But the mayors’ league officers  kept hiding under the cloak of Lakas until recent intervening events made no secret of their covert acts.

The intervening events included their long-calculated anti-Lakas leadership manifesto which they finally decided to be published as a paid newspaper advertisement just last Sunday.

The LMP, which Mayor  Salinas heads, was responsible in being caught “to waltzing with the enemy”. It  was the same league that mobilized the 25 town mayors who their took oath to Villar last year.

According to a press release from the camp of Cong. Chatto, it was Mayor  Lloren who was tagged as having facilitated the  “treacherous move” to Lakas using the LMP with “authority” from the league head.  Lloren is the past league president.

The same press source said LMP office personnel were used to contact as many mayors preceding the mass oath-taking to Villar’s party.  Those who were sworn to Villar’s NP were later made by then Lakas provincial party chairman Aumentado to “reaffirm” their loyalty to Lakas.

Both Salinas and Lloren signed the manifesto otherwise believed to be authored and composed not by them or any of their fellow signatories.  Ex-LMP head Josephine Socorro Jumamoy, now a board member, cast her lot to the manifesto, too.

This belief has led to a straight question---and a “test to the signatories’ honesty”---of who wrote the manifesto, which substantially dealt with the revocation of the Certificate of Nomination and Acceptance (CONA) of Aumentado. The manifesto read obviously in defense of Aumentado over the CONA issue.

By Sunday Post

I saw it coming.

This was the reaction of V-Gov. Julius Ceasar Herrera after learning that the dominant Lakas-Kampi CMD in Bohol was threatened with rebellion with 11 Lakas mayors expressing disgust of how the party was being ran. Herrera is running for governor under the Nacionalista Party.

Led by Catigbian Mayor Roberto Salinas, 11 Lakas mayors hinted of bolting the party if they continued to be treated like second class citizens by their own peers.
Salinas became “ a congressman that never was” when he was waylaid by a non-Lakas member in former governor Rene Relampagos on the way to be anointed as Lakas first district congressional bet. Relampagos has since became the Lakas congressional contender in the first district instead of Salinas under a fragile coalition with the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino  and Lakas. The LDP is Relampagos’ party.

In the center of the Lakas mayors’ attack was their gubernatorial bet Rep. Edgar Chatto.
Chatto however, reasoned out that he was not  privy to any  manipulation of the party he heads.             

According to Herrera, he knew that there were a lot of manipulations going on so “I decided to get out before it was too late”.           

Herrera said that Chatto was a sleek operator who gets what he wants from party bigwigs so he knew from the start that he would be eased out.           

He also revealed that during a meeting last year, it became obvious that the national party leaders were partial to Chatto.           

In that meeting, Herrera said he witnessed the heated argument between Gov. Erico Aumentado and Rep. Roberto Cajes.           

“Right there I knew who calls the shots in Lakas Bohol,” he recalled.           

The vice-governor said it was not his style to butter up so it was not surprising that Chatto would earn the nod of Lakas national officers.           

“I don’t know, but maybe that was one of the reasons why Secretary (Gabriel) Claudio resigned because he could no longer take the pressure,” he added.           

Herrera admitted that he already feared the slow death of Lakas Bohol due to the machination intended to cement Chatto’s control.           

He said that with Chatto and Cajes calling the shots, loyalty to the party was no longer important.           

“For as long as you commit to them, it does not matter if you are loyal to Lakas or not,” the vice-governor said.           

Herrera said that when Aumentado got the jolt of his life when his certificate of nomination and acceptance (Cona) was revoked, the vice-governor said he knew he made the right decision to leave Lakas.           

“They can chop the head of anybody who will not play their game,” he added.           

The vice-governor said he is just sad that many loyal Lakas party members in the towns in the second district are falling victims to the Chatto-Cajes group.           

“Could you imagine incumbent mayors either declared as independent or seeking refuge in other parties?” he noted.           

By Sunday Post

The rift between rival factions within Lakas-Kampi Bohol worsened as they swapped charges with neither side showing any sign of backing off.

      Stung by the position paper which was published exclusively in the Post last week and later in Cebu’s Sun*Star Daily, the camp identified with Rep. Edgar Chatto launched its own broadsides in a statement on the issue.

      In what has been turning out to be a war of position papers, the Chatto camp came out with its own statement entitled “Padayon Bol-anon” in reaction to the position paper published by the so-called “Group of 11”.

      “We, the officers and members of the Lakas Kampi CMD in the Province of Bohol are very much saddened by the recent developments in the ranks of our party,” the statement said.

      Noting that they were all part of the team which led Bohol to where it is today â€" one of the top tourist destinations of the country.

      “However, we lament the viciousness the present political campaign has taken. Instead of trying to tell our fellow Boholanos where we want to take them in the next ten years, we are being hit by those who are supposed to be part of our team using language such as ‘hypocrisy’ and ‘treachery’ which are being used even in propaganda materials and published in local, regional and national newspapers. We cannot allow ourselves to be drawn to such hate campaign,” the group said.

      Still in the spirit of respecting each other’s right to pursue the respective goals, the statement said “we welcome this development where those who have been pretending to be with us have shown their true colors”.

      The pro-Chatto group said they believe there was no way to avert it.

      “We may be hurt and prejudiced but we harbour no rancour over the expressed withdrawal of support by these colleagues because our goal is to heal Bohol,” they added.

      Vowing to work for the continued development of Bohol, the mainstream Lakas group said they stand committed and united “for a noble cause of working together in making Bohol the province we can truly be proud of”.

      “We recommit ourselves to a different type of servant leadership â€" one which is passionately convinced that sustainable development through people empowerment is the key to genuine progress,” the added.

      They said that the majority “and most sincere loyal leaders” of the Lakas Kampi CMD joined by supporters and friends boldly declare their full trust and confidence in the “leadership, integrity and honesty” of the provincial leadership headed by Rep. Edgar Chatto and Gov. Rene Dominguez.

      As this developed, the “Group of 11” came out with another position paper entitled “Excuses, Alibis And Lies But No Answers” as a rejoinder to Chatto with two more signatories.

      The same signatories of the first position paper entitled “No More Hypocrisy and Treachery” namely Catigbian Mayor Roberto Salinas, incumbent League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) Bohol president; Jagna Mayor Exuperio Lloren, LMP Bohol immediate past president; second district board member Josephine Socorro Jumamoy, also LMP Bohol past president; Danao Mayor Louis Thomas Gonzaga, LMP Bohol executive vice president; Mayors Theresa Camacho, Getafe; Telesforo Balagosa, Lila; Jono Jumamoy, Inabanga; Elsa Tirol, Buenavista; Juanario Item, Talibon; and Germinio Relampagos, Dagohoy; and Jagna Councilor Senen Lloren, Philippine Councilors League Bohol vice president who is running for third district board member.

      The new signatories were Mabini Mayor Stephen Rances and Dr. Mutya Tirol-Macuno, second district board member.

By SEN GUINGGUING
Sunday Post

He just played it coy. May be because it was true to his nature not to make a big deal of anything that somehow smacks of a bragging right. But to some election watchers, City Mayor Dan Neri Lim was supposed to feel he was on Cloud 9. 

But take it from the members party of former President Erap Estrada, and to Erap himself, who credited the leadership of Mayor Lim when he assembled such a mammoth crowd when the Pwersa ng Masa team barnstormed this city last Thursday.

A group of corporate moguls led by hotelier William Gatchialian joined Erap’s party which included reelectionist Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Jinggoy Estrada. Other senatorial aspirants joined Erap’s group including Kit Tatad, Joey de Venecia, Cong. Rodulfo Plaza and Con. Jun Lozada.

Describing the crowd, Lim said it was “better than expected”.           

“It was really impressive,” he remarked on Friday while the PMP Pilipino standard-bearer was about to leave the city.           

The mayor noted that the turn-out was particularly encouraging because Estrada was not perceived to be strong in Bohol.           

He also noted that Bohol is primarily a pro-administration province so Erap was not expected to figure prominently being identified with the opposition.           

At the same time, the former president is still occupying third place between the front-runners, Senators Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and Manuel Villar of the Liberal and Nacionalista parties respectively.           

Thursday’s turn-out, however, exceeded expectations.           

“I am happy for Pres. Erap,” Lim declared.           

He noted that slowly but surely, the people are flocking back to the former president after realizing that he was sincere in his desire to serve.           

Lim has always pointed out that the former President could have accepted the offer for him to leave the country with his family and retire in comfort.           

“Pres. Erap, however, chose to face the cases filed against him, suffered the shame and embarrassment as an accused during the trial, listen to all the trumped up charges and fabricated evidence and bear the pain of being convicted because he wanted to clear his name,” he added.           

The mayor said that it is not surprising that after all the allegations, ridicule and insults that he has received, the masses continue to support him.           

“The election has given him the opportunity to submit himself to the people once again and hear from them what they think of him not only as a person but as president,” he added.           

By Chito O. Aragon
Inquirer Visayas

Three people, including a lawyer and his wife, died in a fire that engulfed their house in Barangay (village) Guadalupe here early Thursday, authorities said.

Senior Police Officer 2 Jay Yballe, chief investigator of the Cebu City police homicide section, said Manuel Pastrana, 79, his wife Norma, 74, and a housemaid named Joy, perished in the fire that broke out at about 1 a.m. in the house in Calderon compound, Sitio (sub-village) Banawa.

Arson investigator Antonio Gonzales said the burned remains of the three were found a few meters from each other in the living room. He said the three were trapped when fire from the ceiling spread.

Witnesses told the authorities that the victims tried but failed to flee the house made of light and concrete materials because the blaze spread quickly.

ONCE again, government offers to the artistically gifted and talented Boholano adolescents a rare chance to bring out the best in their skills Filipino artist.

      Through the Philippine High School for the Arts (PHSA) at the National Arts Center in Mount Makiling, Los Banos Laguna where future scholars are homed in, the government puts up anew a special program suited for young gifted students.

      The school offers special education programs within the government arts institution now home to about 150 artists.

      In this year’s annual nationwide search for young arts scholars, the school puts up the 2010-2011 tests and auditions for would-be scholars at the Dr. Cecilio Putong National High School Monday, March 8, 2010, from 8 am to 5 PM, says PHSA Director Fernando Josef.

      For the auditions, young artists interested in dance would need complete ballet outfit or skirt for girls and long pants for boys for folk dance, soft pointed shoes for ballet, extra t shirts and music for prepared dance for three minutes.

      For the theater arts, applicants need to prepare a 3 minute solo performance in English or Filipino.

      For music for instrument and voice, applicants need to bring music writing sheets, musical scores or repertoire, the instrument (except piano) and a minus one for accompaniment for voice applicants.

      Applicants for creative writing need to bring a portfolio of sample works and short bond papers.

      In visual arts, applicants need to bring glue, paste, tape, cutter, scissors, any coloring medium, brushes, HB and 6B pencils and oslo paper.

      Eligible for the test and auditions are Grade VI students who have talents in music (voice and instrument), theater, dance (ballet and folk), visual arts and creative writing.

      Aside from the special education program, the school also puts in Basic Education courses in English, Filpino, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, PEHM and Arts studies.

      When successful, a scholar with an outstanding artistic ability gets free tuition, board and lodging and monthly allowances, the PHSA poster reads.

      Moreover, the PHSA scholars can participate in local and international competitions and be eligible for exchange student programs.

      Application forms are downloadable from www.phsa.edu.ph.

source: PIA

If we read our Philippine jurisprudence, we will find that there are hundreds of cases of incestuous rape. There is truth to the story presented here.

However, to say "Bohol men" is very conclusive and judgmental. Bohol's population is 1.2 million. Let's consider males aging 18 years above as men. And let's assume that there are 300,000 men out of the 1.2 million population of the province.

Are we going to say that 300,000 men currently living in Bohol are guilty of this evil crime?

Please choose your language.

Happy Birthday, Koddi. God bless you more abundantly.

At least 1,349 individuals and 146 livestock were treated during the recent two-day medical civic action program (MEDCAP) of the RP-US Balikatan 2010 in Barangays Pias, Salcedo, Ilocos Sur and San Jose, Sta, Cruz, Ilocos Sur.

Col. Eduardo L Collado, head of the Balikatan 2010 AFP Joint Civil Military Operation Task and Deputy Brigade Commander of the Army’s 503rd Brigade, said that the RP-US Balikatan Exercises 2010 in Ilocos Sur was purely for the delivery of humanitarian services.

“The presence of the U.S. military servicemen in Ilocos Sur had no other intention but to deliver humanitarian services,” Collado said.

“The humanitarian and civic assistance activities of RPâ€"US Balikatan 2010 in Ilocos Sur was mainly focused on revitalizing the inter-operability of the Philippines and US militaries in post-conflict response through the conduct of disaster rehabilitation and rural development projects in the areas hardly devastated by typhoons and other calamities,” he added.

Dr. Maribeth Tudayan, Salcedo town’s health officer, said, “the RP-US BALIKATAN 2010 Medical and Dental Mission is very timely for the local folks, who had been hit by epidemic especially the young and the old ones.

Zamboanga City - The local police are conducting an in-depth investigation to unmask the mother who abandoned her newly-born baby girl in this southern port city.

Chief Insp. Felixberto Martinez, Police Station 7 commander, said Friday the baby girl has miraculously survived despite abandonment by her mother.

Martinez said the baby girl was found around 6 a.m. Thursday near a policeman's house in Barangay Pasonanca, five kilometers north of this city.

Martinez said the baby girl, placed in a small box and wrapped with a plastic bag, was found hanging in the gate of a house near the policeman's.

The policeman and some of his neighbors brought the baby to the hospital for check-up after they found her still breathing, Martinez said.

He said the hospital physicians placed the baby in an incubator though they found her to be in good health condition.

The baby could have been born a few hours before she was found at Pasoville Drive in Barangay Pasonanca.

Martinez said appropriate charges would be filed against the baby girl's mother, once identified. (PNA)
LAP/Teofilo P. Garcia/utb

 The Philippine National Police (PNP) here has launched a thorough investigation on the kidnapping of a Filipino-Chinese businessman Friday morning.

Jordan Chua, 26 and a resident of Bacolod City, was kidnapped by unknown suspects at 7:30 a.m. in Purok Michell, Barangay Dulao, Bago City while his companion, Joel Arroyo, a resident of Barangay Mansilingan, in Bacolod City was shot and wounded by the kidnappers.

Arroyo is now undergoing treatment at the Bacolod City Sanitarium Hospital, a report from the Negros Occidental Provincial Police Office (NOPPO) said.

NOPPO director Sr. Supt. Manuel Felix alerted all police units in Central Negros and nearby towns and cities in the aftermath of Chua's abduction.

The two victims were on board their bicycles when four suspects, riding in a silver-grey Toyota Grandia without plate number, suddenly shot at Arroyo and later on, dragged Chua into their vehicle, said Police Chief Insp. Jefferson Descallar, chief of NOPPO's Operations and Plans Branch.

The suspects sped off towards nearby Barangay Felisa in Bacolod City after the incident, according to witnesses.

Policemen from Camp Alfredo Montelibano and the Bago City PNP assisted troopers of the Negros Occidental Provincial Public Safety Management Company, based in Barangay Dulao and led by Inspector Leo Canag, in the hot pursuit operations. -pna

Suspected communist rebels gunned down a local candidate on Thursday for refusing to pay the permit to win/permit to campaign (PTW/PTC) fees the rebels were demanding, a military report said on Friday.

Killed was Ponciano Numeron, 50, of Barangay San Antonio, Pasacao town in Camarines Sur, who was a candidate for a local post in said town.

Army 1st Lieutenant Allan Divina, commander of the 9th Infantry Division, said the incident happened around 4 p.m. Thursday when four New People’s Army (NPA) hitmen fired at him in close range the victim killing him instantly.

Numeron was visiting a community in South Ulaniban of said village to help restore the busted street lights when he was shot several times by the attackers armed with a caliber 45 pistol.

The attackers immediately fled the scene after the incident.

Numeron was a retired police officer and sat as a director of an electric cooperative in the province.

The victim is running for municipal councilor under the Lakas-Kampi banner.

According to close friends of the victim, Numeron received a text message from the rebels demanding for PTC fees. As a former policeman, Numeron refused to pay extortion money despite the grave threats he received.

Major Harold M. Cabunoc, chief of the Public Affairs Office of the 9ID, said that Numeron is the third victim of the summary executions perpetrated by the NPA rebels in Pasacao town alone.

Five militiamen, a farmer suspected as a military informant, and a rebel returnee were also killed by the communist rebels across Bicol Region for the past two months, Cabunoc added. -pna

Embattled incumbent Govrtnor Joselito “Jonjon” Mendoza on Friday said he will not step down from his post unless the Supreme Court tells him to do so.

Mendoza said he has 30 days to appeal the Comelec en banc decision or get a favorable ruling from the high court.

On the other hand, Comelec- declared Governor Roberto “Obet” Pagdanganan took his oath of office as the duly elected governor of Bulacan late Friday afternoon, after the poll body ordered the immediate execution of its ruling that declared him (Pagdanganan) as the rightful winner of the 2007 local polls over Mendoza.

In a five-page resolution issued last Friday, the Comelec en banc also denied Mendoza's appeal.

The poll body also ordered the Clerk of the Commission and the Electoral Contest and Adjudication Department (ECAD) to issue a writ of execution to the Provincial Election Supervisor of Bulacan and the Department of Interior and Local Government, ordering Mendoza to vacate his office in favor of Pagdanganan, a former governor.

Mendoza warned on Friday that violence would erupt if Pagdanganan forced his way into the provincial capitol. -pna

Two successive earthquakes hit the Batanes Group of Islands Friday morning, according to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs).

Phivolcs said the first quake, with 5.0 magnitude, occurred at 9:43 a.m. with its epicenter located at 54 kilometers east of Batanes with a depth of 28 kilometers.

The tremor was felt at intensity 4 in Basco, Batanes and intensity 3 in Sabtang and Itbayat Islands.

An aftershock of 4.7 magnitude and located at 30 kilometers south of Basco, Batanes with a depth of 28 kilometers followed two minutes later. Intensity 4 was again registered in Basco, Batanes. -pna

Oil prices rallied to settle above 81 U.S. dollars on Friday as the better-than-expected February employment report lifted market sentiment.

The U.S. Labor Department said U.S. employers cut a smaller-than-expected 36,000 jobs in February, leaving the unemployment rate steady at 9.7 percent, while economists expected it to rise to 9.8 percent.

Meanwhile, the number of temporary help jobs, which is regarded as a sign for future hiring, rose by 48,000 while the average hourly earnings of employees rose 3 cents to 22.46 dollars.

The report was closely watched by the market as the stabilization in the job market is crucial to a sustained economic recovery and investors believed the report may set the tone for the market in the coming one or two weeks.

Oil prices have been moving between 69 and 84 U.S. dollars a barrel in the past few months, as investors tried to define the strength and sustainability of recovery.

Light, sweet crude for April delivery gained 1.29 dollars to settle at 81.50 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. -pna

Asean Secretary-General Dr Surin Pitsuwan is projecting an economic growth of between 4.5 and 6.0 percent for the region this year, citing its sound economy management as a factor.

"We have saved a lot. We have created enough buffer zone by stimulating our economy during last year's financial crisis," he told the International Conference on Changing Global Landscape and Its Implications on Regional Architecture at the Bangkok Convention Center.

He said Asean gained a lot from the international financial and trade system due to its centrality role in the East Asian region and drew inter-connectivity with other big world players such as the United States, Europe and India.

Asean, he said, did not view the proposed East Asian Community consisting of Asean, China, Japan and South Korea as a challenge but as a recognition that Asean could contribute to the East Asia consultation and policies.

Former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who visited the Asean Secretariat in Jakarta yesterday, even commended Asean for its achievement thus far, he said.

"The world wanted Asean to succeed because if it achieved what it wanted to, then the world has one region less to worry about," Dr Surin said.

He said the East has now played an important role in the global economic situation as it was the East that the West asked to pull the world out of the economic crisis last year. -pna

China is now the world’s second largest industrial manufacturer, says a new report by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).

With this development, China unseats Japan and is trailing behind the United States, a press release issued by the UN Information Center (UNIC) said here on Saturday.

According to UNIDO estimates, the share of China in world total of manufacturing value added (MVA) at constant 2,000 US dollars has reached 15.6 percent in 2009, compared to 15.4 percent of Japan, while the United States maintains its first rank with 19 percent. These three countries combined produce half of the world manufacturing output.

The conclusion is made from the data published in UNIDO’s International Yearbook of Industrial Statistics 2010, which is the only international publication providing economists, planners, policymakers and business people with worldwide statistics on current performance and trends in the manufacturing sector.

Despite the lead of China in absolute amount of production, the report suggests that Japan is still the most industrialized country of the world in terms of MVA per capita. Japan’s MVA per capita for 2008 was almost 9,000 US dollars compared to about 700 US dollars of China.

The report also suggests that the effect of the recent financial crisis on industrial growth was severe for industrialized countries, but relatively mild for developing countries. Out of the top 10 countries in manufacturing production, two more countries from the developing world, namely India and Brazil, ranked ninth and tenth. - pna

A woman was stabbed repeatedly by her ex-lover after he saw a picture of her with her new boyfriend on Facebook.

Paul Bristol, 25, was found guilty at the Old Bailey of murdering Camille Mathurasingh, 27, at her east London home in April 2009.

The IT technician, who lived in Trinidad and Tobago, flew to London within two weeks of seeing the picture and killed the accountant.

Bristol, who denied murder, is expected to be sentenced later this month.

The court heard he could not accept "it was over" and had come to "win" his girlfriend back.

Bristol, who worked for the Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Administration, and Miss Mathurasingh met during the three years she worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers in Port of Spain, Trinidad. - BBC

A rebel ambush on a Philippine army patrol south of Manila has killed 11 soldiers, a military spokesman said.

A reconnaissance platoon was ambushed by about 60 guerrillas while on patrol outside Mansalay township on Mindoro island, a statement said.

The troops had been sent to the area to stop communist rebels of the New People's Army extorting money from candidates ahead of May's elections.

It was the army's biggest death-toll in battles with the rebels this year.

Colonel Romeo Brawner said seven soldiers were also wounded in a three-hour gun battle, in which a number of rebels were also injured.

"The troops fought it out literally to the last bullet," said Col Brawner.

He added that reinforcements backed by helicopter gunships had been deployed to track down the rebels, AFP reported.

The armed wing of the Communist Party of the Philippines, the NPA has an estimated 5,000 members and has been fighting the government since 1969 in one of Asia's longest-running insurgencies. - BBC News

Who do you think is the best PBA player of all time?

What is your prediction over this fight?

Secret Millionaire Donates to Alma Matter
watch at http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/secret-millionaire-donates-fortune-10014585

Jeanna Bryner
LiveScience Managing Editor

Dim lights can make it seem as if no one is watching, triggering moral transgressions in many people, a new study suggests.

Past research has shown that when people are concealed from view by others, say when they are wearing hoods, these individuals will be more likely to commit criminal acts and other bad behaviors.

But what about times when we're not actually anonymous - people can see us - yet we feel like we're hidden? The researchers of the new study describe it as the adult version of hide-and-seek: Kids often believe no one can see them when they cover their eyes even though they are hiding in plain sight. Turns out, a dark room can have a similar psychological effect on adults.

The results could play out in real-life office behavior, the researchers say. "Imagine that a person who is alone in a closed room is deciding whether to lie to a total stranger in an e-mail. Clearly, whether the room is well lit would not affect the person's actual level of anonymity," Chen-Bo Zhong of the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management and colleagues write in a recent issue of the journal Psychological Science.

In one experiment, 84 college students were placed in a dimly or well-lit room and were given two envelopes - one containing $10 and the other empty. Participants then had five minutes to complete a test in which they had to pick out two numbers that added up to 10 from each of 20 matrices. For each pair of numbers correctly identified participants could keep $0.50 from their money supply. The catch: Participants scored their own work, and they figured out how much money they got to keep, and transfer to the empty envelope, at the end of the experiment.

They all fared the same on the tests, though participants in the dim room cheated more than their counterparts. While those in the well-lit room reported an average of 7.8 correctly solved matrices, the dim-room students indicated an average of 11.5 correct responses. That resulted in a $1.85 difference in payout.

In another experiment students wore sunglasses or clear glasses while playing a money game in which they had to allocate some portion of $6 to a random stranger. Those wearing shades acted more selfishly, giving significantly less to partners, an average of $1.81, than did those with clear glasses who gave about $2.71 to partners.

Another round of this game with a different group of students showed that participants with sunglasses felt a greater sense of anonymity than those with clear glasses. For instance, the sunglass wearers were more likely to agree on average with statements such as: I was anonymous during the study; my choice went unnoticed during the study. And they were more likely to disagree with: I was watched during the study; and others were paying attention to my behavior during the study.

To all: please refrain from using a lot of emoticons. They are not only unnecessary, but annoying as well.

Raqz, happy birthday nimo diha. May the good Lord bless you more and more...

Cebu Pacific now flies to Pagadian, Zamboanga del Sur!

Fly to our newest destination Pagadian starting April 27!

Seats to Tuguegarao, Laoag and selected Cebu hub flights are also on sale for only P688!

Your number one domestic carrier has added a new destination to our extensive network with Cebu-Pagadian route starting April 27, 2010. Pagadian is the capital city of Zamboanga del Sur.

We will also start flying from Manila to Pagadian beginning June 9, 2010.

We're excited to offer a special ‘Go Lite’ seat sale for as low as P688 for the newest addition to our extensive ro! ute network starting now until February 25, 2010 only.

The P688 ‘Go Lite’ seat sale fare is available for Cebu-Pagadian flights, for travel April 27 to July 31, 2010. Manila-Pagadian flights are also up for grabs for only P1,088, for travel June 9 to July 31, 2010.

Flights from Manila to Tuguegarao and Laoag; and from Cebu to Ozamiz, Dipolog, Surigao, Butuan and Clark are on sale for the ‘Go Lite’ fare of only P688, for travel April 1 to July 31, 2010.

PDI: A large number of migrant workers from Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos face the threat of deportation from Thailand if the government goes ahead with its nationality verification process, an independent United Nations human rights expert warned last week.

In January, the Thai Cabinet passed a resolution allowing for a two-year extension of work permits for approximately 1.3 million migrants provided that they were willing to submit biographical information to their home governments prior to 28 February 2010.

However, migrants who fail to do so by this deadline risk deportation after the 28 February deadline.

Jorge Bustamante, the UN expert on the human rights of migrants, noted in a news release that carrying out the verification process in its current form places many documented and undocumented migrant workers at risk after 28 February.

“I am disappointed that that the government of Thailand has not responded to my letters expressing calls for restraint,” said the expert, who reports to the Geneva-based Human Rights Council.

“I reiterate my earlier messages to the Government to reconsider its actions and decisions, and to abide by international instruments,” he added. “If pursued, the threats of mass expulsion will result in unprecedented human suffering and will definitely breach fundamental human rights obligations.”

By Jerome Rivet
Agence France

Following Brazil's trail, Indonesia is encouraging foreign and local investors to lease huge swathes of fertile countryside and help make the country a major food producer.

"Feed Indonesia, then feed the world," was the recent call from President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono after the government announced plans to fast-track development of vast agricultural estates in remote areas like Papua and Borneo.

Between now and 2030 Indonesia expects to become one of the world's biggest producers of rice, maize, sugar, coffee, shrimp, meats, and palm oil, senior agriculture ministry official Hilman Manan said.

The world's fourth most populous country, with 235 million people, Indonesia has been self-sufficient in rice since 2008 and is already the top producer of palm oil.

"If everything goes well, Indonesia should be able to be self-sufficient in five years. And then it can start to feed the world," said Sony Heru Priyanto, an expert at Satya Wacana Christian University.

Agence France-Presse

elBulli, the Spanish restaurant repeatedly crowned the world's best, is to become a non-profit foundation from 2014, its avant-garde chef Ferran Adria announced Monday.

elBulli will become a "foundation for all avant-garde gastronomy lovers.., a breeding ground for new ideas and for new talents," he told a news conference at a culinary fair in the northwestern city of Santiago de Compostela.

He said the new "private and non-profit" foundation will grant between 20 and 25 scholarships annually for chefs and other industry professionals.

"We want it to be a think-tank of gastronomic creativity," said the controversial creator of "molecular gastronomy".

elBulli, on Spain's northeastern Catalan coast, last year came top of the World's 50 Best Restaurants list for the fourth year in a row following a poll of more than 800 chefs, restaurant critics and industry insiders for Britain's Restaurant Magazine.

Gourmets the world over reserve months in advance for a table in the establishment, where about 30 avant-garde dishes are available on a menu for a price of about 200 euros (270 dollars).

Agence France-Presse

Japan, which is one of the world's biggest consumers of cigarettes, plans to call for a nationwide ban on lighting up in bars, restaurants and other public places, officials said Monday.

The health ministry plans to send an advisory notice to local governments by the end of February to ask them to follow the country's initiative to fight second-hand smoke, a ministry official said.

At the moment, the central government calls on local authorities to provide separate smoking areas in public facilities such as amusement venues, schools, hospitals and department stores, hotels, train stations and banks.

"Now our ministry plans to upgrade the current separation of smoking areas to a total ban on smoking, which is a global trend," said the official, who declined to be named.

You might also consider posting a small ad at the Bohol Chronicle for its Sunday issue. You will certainly get feedbacks. Just provide your phone and email in the newspaper ad.

The truth is now out. click here to read Neil Cruz's expose in the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

PNA: When typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng hit the Luzon provinces last year and this city was also gravely affected, the city government of Santiago braces its effect to its residents using its limited disaster manpower and equipments in its rescue operations.

Assessing the damages wrought by these two super typhoons in the city, the city government formed a disaster and management office aimed at concentrating to the immediate responses to the needy citizens in times of calamities.

The former chief of the Department of Public Order and Safety Office Mr Claro Comoda was designated to head the office and initially used the existing equipments in its rescue operations then emerged its code-name 'Rescue 206', the name of rescue team of Santiago City disaster and management office..

Santiago City's 'Rescue 206' are responding to man-made and natural calamity victims giving immediate first-aids by its trained rescue personnel and transporting the victims using its newly acquired ambulances including a heavy heavy-duty fire-truck while there were also five rubber boats in using to flooded residents who are near the flood-prone areas.

Mr Claro Comoda said that he admitted the challenging role to head the newly-created office and the emergence of the 'Rescue 206' to help its constituents from hazard situations.

Sangpotanan Sa Paglinagyoay
sinulat ni Michael Ligalig
The Bohol Standard column

Usa sa mga magbabasa ning atong lindog sa Tumoy Sa Bangaw misulat ka nako dili pa lang dugay. Kadto isip reaksyon sa akong gisulat duha na kasemana ang nakalabay mahitungod kanatong mga Filipino nga molangyaw sa gawas sa pagtuo nga atua didto nagpaabot ang kalipay. Ang akong gisulti sa niagi mao nga sa kinabuhi dili tanan mapalit ug kwarta. May mga butang nga ang kwarta dili makatumpang sa iyang kabililhon. Pananglitan, daghang mga pamilya ang nagun-ob ug nahunlak tungod sa paglinag-anay sa bana ug asawa.

Gitaho sa atong magbabasa ang kahimtang sa mga Filipino didto sa Kuwait. Taguon lang nato ang iyang pangalan sanglit dili na angay mahibaloan sa uban kung kinsa ang nagbutyag sa mosunod nga inyong mabasa. Mao ni ang iyang gi-email kanako:

“Nalipay ko og nahimout samtang nabasa sa imong bulawanon kaayo nga mga puntos sa imong artikulo (reflective kaayo ang tima). Tinoud nga dunay mga butang sa baryo nga dili ikabaylo sa unsa may anaa sa gawas sa nasud. Ania nako karon sa Kuwait nanimpalad kuyog sa akong asawa og moabot nga anak, pero naghandum gihapon ko mouli diha sa atong pinalangga nga yuta sa Bohol para sa tiunay nga kinabuhing malinawon.

Dili pod ko kasabot sa atong mga kaigsounan nga mga Pilipino, kung makaabot na gani sa gawas sa nasud aron sa pagpangempleyo, sagulan pod dayon ug tinunto (kabit diri, kabit didto; ipon diri, ipon didto). Si Pinay nakig-ipon kang Pinoy diri sa Kuwait, bisan pareho sila dunay mga pamilya sa Pilipinas (normal kaayo na diri sa atong mga kaigsounan diri ang ingon anang mga kinabuhi). Pastilan nagnga-nga og nagmata og buntag ang mga pamilya nila sa Pilipinas nga walay nasayran sa mga panghitabo sa ilang kapamilya dinhi…”

Mao kadto ang sulat sa atong paisano sa Kuwait. Tinuod subo palandungon, hinuon dili tanan, nga samtang ang usa nagkandosingot ug atiman sa pamilya sa Pilipinas, ang kapikas sa kinabuhi nagduwa pud ug lain nga team. Magduwa man galing nang uban nga magtupad ug tulog magabii unsa na gyud kaha tong panagsa ra magkita?

Ang pangutana karon: ang kwarta makapatindog ba pag-usab sa nagusbat nga pamuyo? Pila na ka pamilya ang nahugno tungod kay naanod sa tentasyon ang babaye o kaha ang lalaki? Sama sa giingon sa atong higala nga atua na sa Kuwait: kabit didto, kabit diri, ipon didto, ipon diri. Ug nagmata ug buntag ang pamilya sa Pilipinas. Sanglit wala may aso nga makomkom ug mogawas ra man gihapon ang kamatuoran, moabot ra gihapon ang higayon nga mahat-ad ang tinuod nga estorya. Ug sa maong higayon, nawatas-watas na ang kasingkasing sa mga magtiayon. Ug ang mga anak nagkatibulaag. Karon, diha pa mahiamgohi nga dili salapi ang tinubdan sa kalipay.

Dunay mga sitwasyon nga angayan ang pag-abroad kung wala gyoy makakha diri sa atoa sanglit ang mga politiko ra man intawon ang nabulahan sa kabtangan sa nasod. Pero sa dili pa kini buhaton, timbang-timbangon gyud pag-ayo ang gitawag ug “pros and cons.” Adunay advantages ug adunay disadvantages. Asa ang mas bug-at? Ug andam ba kaha ang usag-usa nga mosagubang sa kasakit sa paglinagyoay ug ang kangolngol sa kamingaw?

Ang nakaparat ani kay mingaw pa sa sinugdan, apan kay lagi tawo ra man kita, ug adunay kahuyangon, adunay panahon nga mosimang ta sa matarong nga dalan. Dili unta kini mahitabo kung nag-uban pa ang bana ug asawa apan tungod kay haguka man usahay ang baroganan sa tawo, moabot ang higayon nga mahitumpawak ta sa bung-aw sa kasaypanan. Ang kwarta mopahid ba sa mga luha?

Diha gani sa amo sa Anda, niadtong panahon sa hulaw sa 1980s, nga dihay mga asawa nga nanimpalad sa Manila kay nagpa-maid ug gibilin ang mga bana sa among baryo. Hangtod karon, wala na manguli ang mga asawa. Nalingat sa mga talan-awon sa Manila. Ug didto nahidakin-as sa ubang mga bukton.

Sa pagpundar sa nasod, labing mahinungdanon ang lig-on nga pamilya sanglit dinhi man giumol ang mga kabataan nga mao unyay mahimong haligi ugma damlag sa nasod.

Mahimo nga mabulahan ang nasod tungod sa mga dollar nga gipadala gikan sa gawas apan tiunay ba kini nga kalipay? Hangtud kanus-a molungtad ang maong kalipay ug pag-uswag?

May mga butang sa kinabuhi dinhi sa Pilipinas nga dili ikabaylo sa dollar.

Nice site. Jas4's comment is constructive.

You should not limit your coverage sa Bohol ug Cebu lang. Cove the entire country.

Project STARS launched in Inabanga

INABANGA â€" A total of 1,200 students or two from each of this town’s 50 barangays will earn skills shortly in one of 12 fields of their choice to increase their employability or equip them with entrepreneurial skills.

  This after Bohol Gov. Erico Aumentado launched Friday the Project Skills Training Advocating Reliance on Self-Employment (STARS) at the cultural center here.

  The student-beneficiaries who may be youth or older individuals, barangay captains and councilors who chair the committee on education, Saint Paul Academy students and others Inabangnons witnessed the launching of the project that aims to make 1,200 currently jobless residents learn skills to make them productive.

  Project STARS is a short-course skills training in the trade areas of welding, small engine repair, plumbing, basic electricity, TV/radio servicing, cellphone repair, driving, tour guiding, household service, reflexology, manicure/pedicure and hair styling/cutting.

  Mayor Jose Jono Jumamoy, Provincial Board Member Josephine Socorro Jumamoy, Vice Mayor Wenceslao Lao, the Sangguniang Bayan (SB) members and employees welcomed Aumentado, Vice Governor Julius Caesar Herrera, Project STARS head secretariat Romulo Tagaan, Assistant Provincial Treasurer Primitiva Ontong, Provincial Liga ng mga Barangay (LnB) Executive Vice President Romulo Cepedoza, Dr. Mutya Tirol-Macuno, and Training Coordinator Alegarbes of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and other guests.

  Aumentado said the short course training will spur livelihood opportunities and  economic benefits to Inabangnons.

  For his part, Herrera noted that many people are unemployed because they don’t have the necessary skills. Training empowers the youth â€" and even the older ones â€" to start their own business afterwards, he added.

  Meanwhile, Board Member Jumamoy encouraged the participants to “contribute something to Inabanga” by enhancing their own selves to improve their lives while Mayor Jumamoy said his administration gives focus to intangible projects also but which can boost the town’s economy. 

Jagna produces graduates of long season farming course
By Gegorio a. Tavera

JAGNAâ€"This municipality produced recently 31 successful learners in the short term course on long season farming.

Most of the participants came Mayana, said to be this municipality’s  flower and vegetable barangay. Other participants came nearby villages completing a 12 hectic days comprehending lessons wrapped up in lectures and practicum methodology.

This agri-technological venture was sponsored by the Department of Agri-
culture (DA). The Harvest Corp., a private entity also augmented the activity to enhance skills and farming technology on the part of the participants. Some Harvest technicians provided essential monetary and moral assistance in the training period.

  The graduation rites was primarily attended by the family and supporters of the farmer learners. Other interested farm workers of neighboring Lonoy and Cabungaan were also present. Other spectators included the representatives from different offices of the Local Government Unit (LGU) here with functions relative to agri-industrial activities.

  The affair in barangay Mayana was graced with the presence of the local executive Mayor Exuperio Lloren and wife Nimfa with Vice-Mayor Teofisto Pagar. With the group were all the members of the Sangguniang Bayan
headed by Kag. Pacheco Rances, municipal council's chairman in agriculture.

  Mayor Lloren in his inspirational words expressed his heartfelt thanks and gratitude to the organizer of this activity. The mayor also lauded the participants of the big task geared towards the enrichment of the economic status of the people especially the farmers who are the backbone of the country.

  "What you have been doing here nowadays should be continued tomorrow and the days to come for our own good. This is the local administration's challenge to uplift the standard of living especially the marginal farmers as most of our townspeople are engaged in this activity of life,” Mayor Lloren said. This training under the greenhouse and in open field farming on high valued commercial crop was made possible with the efforts of the chief of the Municipal Agriculture Office (MAO) Camilo Rizano with the staff and technicians as the front liners of the undertaking.

  The DA awarded the greenhouse and other facilities to the MAO purposely for the open field project on crop protection technology would prosper as indicated by the demonstration of the technicians and other facilitators.

  Liza Quirog, provincial agriculturist, attended the affair with Daisy Dabalos the representative of Engr. Eugene Cahiles project manager of Bohol Agricultural Promotion Center (BAPC) who was in Iloilo.

  Clarissa Jomilo, representative of Harvest Corp. also a technician and a training lecturer was accompanied by her assistant Eddie Parado who also graced the occasion.   

4 Jagna pupils shine at CVIRAA’10 meet 
By Sunday Post

JAGNAâ€"Of the thousands of atheletes seeing action in the recent Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (CVIRAA) meet on February 8-14 in Danao City, this town has a share of successful competitors. Some intermediate pupils of Jagna Central Elementary School (JCES) brought home some gold, silver and bronze medals in their respective group and individual events participated.

  Janus Eduard Tavera a 12-year old 6th grade pupil was first in the 100 meter dash and also in the 200-meter run with a speed of 13.08 seconds in the sprint. The lanky and snappy dash is also the 2nd runner in the 4 X 100-meter relay of which the Bohol team was up.

  Joseph Neil Baygan another scholar from JCES got a silver medal in the 200-meter contest. Another athelete, Mark Joseph Orique a taller JCES regional contestant was Bohol's elementary boys division mainstay in volleyball that catapulted the team to become the runner up in the ballgame in the weeklong sports fest.

  The lone JCES girl CVIRAA competitor was Vanissa Galolo of barangay Pangdan who grabbed the bronze medal in the 100-meter low hurdle. Ponciano Galve, a teacher of Jagna district who was the dependable coach of Bohol's elementary boys athletic team that landed second best in the total tabulation was instrumental in the excellent performance of the JCES boys and girls performance in the Danao City encounter.

  SUCCESSFUL CVIRAA COMPETITORS.- From left to right: Mark Joseph Orique, Janus Eduard Tavera, Martin Tavera, Vanissa Galolo and Joseph Neil Baygan.

Catigbian Bohol holds pre-Valentine fete
By Sunday Post

February, the month of love and arts, is one of the most awaited time of the year for it brings romance in the air and beautiful memories for everyone. Traditionally, gatherings and parties are often held to add color and meaning. Indeed, LGU officials of Catigbian headed by Mayor Roberto Salinas and Vice-Mayor Necie Digaum sponsored a pre-Valentine show that showcased the acting prowess of Catigbianons.

“Salingsing sa Gabok nga Kahoy”, a stage-drama under its director, Rev. Fr. Danilo Maniwan, parish priest of Immaculate Conception overwhelmed hundreds of spectators who jampacked at the unfinished gymnasium, the  night before  Valentines Day.

“We are gathered here to celebrate the love month but more than  our presence here is our strong support to our Municipal Scholarship Program because proceeds of this activity will go the said program” Mayor Salinas echoed during his pre-valentine message.

It may be recalled that Catigbian Scholarship Program was legislated in 1999 but its implementation only happened in 2005. However, due to limited funds, only few qualified applicants availed of the program. To date, 24 have availed of the “Iskolar ng Bayan”, which carried a financial assistance of P10,000 per semester for baccalaureate degree and P5,000 per sementer for 2-year course taker.  Of the 24 beneficiaries, 4 have graduated while 2 voluntarily stop schooling due to personal reasons.

With the hope of sending more scholars to college, LGU Officials plan various fund sourcing activities for scholarship program to help augment the scarce government resources including solicitations from generours and kind-hearted Catigbianons who may have a little more in life amidst the financial struggle.

“The projected net proceeds of this activity from our Gold, Silver, Major, Minor Sponsors and admission fee from the general public will definitely go a long way, it assures a brighter future to those students who have right mental capacity but come from low income families”, the retired navy man added.

Actor-director Cesar Montano and his better-half Ms. Sunshine Cruz graced the occasion that culminated around 11:00 o’clock in the evening of February 13, 2010.

LAMP 2 Project in Catigbian gains support in 3 barangays
By Sunday Post

CATIGBIAN. Implementation of the Land Administration and Management Project (LAMP) Phase 2 initiated by this municipality gained  support from the constituents as observed during the project presentation in  barangays  Ambuan, Poblacion and Poblacion Weste.  Rannie Ibanez, community development officer of SAFO 5-Loon had given the municipal team the job training and technical assistance under the supervision of Reynaldo Casenas and Mrs. Glecerita Racho, PPIO technical operation manager.

“We assured everyone not to worry of your financial needs in connection with the Free Patent application because the local government will temporarily shoulder these expenses. Only then when the certificate of land titles are ready for distribution that you will settle your bills and arrange the mode of payment” Mayor Roberto Salinas aassured during the same activity.

It may be recalled that in 2007, LAMP 2 Project was presented by the government lead agency, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) at Bohol Tropics with then department secretary Lito Atienza, as the main speaker. It was during that time that Mayor Salinas as LMP president came to know the project. As a man of vision, who is very much concerned to the needs of his people, he pursued the goal of availing the project. Salinas conferred his strong intention to avail the project to the provincial head of DENR, Nestor Canda and to  Alfredo Doblas. Having failed the criterion to qualify for financial assistance from the Australian Aid to all LAMP-2 regular municipalities due to some technical errors in land classification of portion-workable lot, the mayor assured Bohol LAMP-2 that LGU-Catigbian will take charge of its financial requirements.

Clearly understanding the objectives of the project, the members of the local legislative body headed by Vice-Mayor Necita Digaum passed legislative measures expressing interest to avail of the program with the assurance that the LGU will allocate funds for the implementation of the project. The body also authorized the chief executive to sign the partnership  agreement between LAMP2 and the Municipality of Catigbian. For now, a total of P650,000.00 is allocated for the project.

In this program, land owners can have certificate of land title at a minimal cost and less hassle, application fee of P50.00, documentary stamp of P20.00 and cadastral cost which varies on the number of cylinder concrete post (mohon) utilized in a particular area.

LAMP 2 LGU-LED Team headed by Municipal Assessor Benjamin M. Lacea with CDO  Pedro Tocmo, CDAs, Mrs. Gemela Castro, Ms. Marissa C. Tambis, & Ms. Juvy S. Maglajos, SA’s Engr. Lovell Villacido, Arnel G. Rulida and Renante R. Madura are working 8-hour a day to conduct interview and assist in the filling of application forms to those interested land owners in their respective barangay halls.   

Loboc Youth Ambassador Band releases first album
By Sunday Post

         After two years of performing here and abroad, the Loboc Youth Ambassador Band has released its first album, a compact disc containing a repertoire of old time favorites and modern musical compositions.

   The album was first introduced during the inauguration of the Loboc School of Music and Recording Studio last January 24 and  distributed as  giveaways to the guests.

   Its carrier album called “TILAOB” is now for sale to all who love good music. The CD is sold at the Loboc Tourism Complex and the LYEA office at the Loboc JAD Auditorium,  and at the Loboc Children’s Theater during its  regular shows every Friday and Saturday evening.

   The Loboc Youth Ambassador Band  is also performing  by invitation in  shows and concerts in the towns and city in the Province of Bohol, Metro Manila and other provinces in the Philippines as well as overseas.

         The Band is now starting to record its second album which will now be in DVD format, showing  the beauty and heritage of Loboc.

   Proceeds of this project will be used to support the kids in their studies and other needs of the band.

   The Recording Studio in Loboc is not exclusive to the band. It accepts  recording from other individuals and institutions that want to produce music, documentary and other projects in CD/DVD format.

   The Loboc Youth Ambassador Band is a poverty alleviation project of the Loboc Youth Education Association, Inc. (LYEA) and supported by LGU Loboc, Province of Bohol, First Consolidated Bank (FCB), Philippines Australia Community Assistance Program (PACAP) and the National Commission of Culture and the Arts (NCCA).

   It is designed as a multi-stakeholder and counterparting project that involves government, non-government organizations, private individuals, civil society and foreign agencies. 

   Donors and supporters include President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Ambassador Carlos Chan, Secretary Arthur Yap, Congressman Adam Relson Jala and SEC Commissioner Eladio Jala, Vice Governor Julius Cesar Herrera, Country Bankers Insurance Corporation, Khandee Uy, Ricardo Lim, Misereor of Germany, Heirs of Antonio Digal, USA Mission Group, Bohol Sandugo Foundation thru Deputy Mayor Mario Uy,  Tagbilaran City Mayor Dan Neri Lim, Loboc Association of Barangay Councils, Diocese of Tagbilaran, and Tigum Bol-anon sa Tibuok Kalibutan through its president,  Ms. Betty Garcia.

   The beneficiaries are all interested kids, both boys and girls, from grades 3 to 4th year high school and residents of Loboc, who are trained in notes reading and instrumentation for free, and are provided with free musical instruments, solicited from patrons and donors.

   The objective is to support these kids to avail of free college education by becoming members in school bands in the province and elsewhere. Hopefully this will help in poverty reduction considering that education is the greatest equalizer.

   These students come from the barrios who have to walk from 3 to 6 kilometers just to study music. To date, the project has 495 students of the three batches and 350 of these students have their assigned instruments. Ninety-eight of these students are now college scholars in BIT-International College, Bohol Island State University, Holy Name University and University of Bohol, as members of their respective school bands.   

Abapo’s dream: Change face of Bohol politics
By Sunday Post

   â€œI have heard of and felt the nationwide and rampant graft and corruption happening in all levels of the government.  I have noticed how the poor are being continually oppressed and their needs and opinions disregarded; while on the other hand, how the rich and powerful continue to rule and get away with all kinds of injustice,” Abapo said in an interview Friday.  “But I guarantee to initiate change and give the Boholanos the life that they deserve.” 

         Abapo who resigned from his post as  provincial administrator to become the running mate of Vice-Governor Julius Caesar Herrera for the May election’s made this disclosure to dramatize his dream of changing the face of Bohol politics.

     Although he has stressed that his priority legislations are on food security, education and health, he could not just close his eyes and let the trapos rule.  In his 17 years in public service, he had taken note of all the injustices and oppressions made by those in position and in power. It opened his eyes so he would understand how the justice system is being twisted and how the country’s coffers are being unscrupulously emptied.  He could not take anymore the empty stomachs, the illiteracy and the “legislations” which are guised as solutions to people’s problems but which are, in truth, made to immobilize the public so they would easily fall as victims to graft and corruption.   

         Aside from being an educator, Abapo is also a lawyer who understands how the justice system is being run.  “I’m tired of watching the people slide from being less fortunate to being destitute, and eventually, to being hopeless, just because they allow themselves to be used in exchange for a few favors.”  This time around, Abapo vows to “restore dignity to the masses.”   

         Abapo strongly feels the problems of the less privileged for he used to be one of them.  Being where he is now, and considering his current status which he earned because of his perseverance, hard work and strong affinity with the masses, he strongly believes that transparency in public service and prompt solutions to problems besetting the people and the system would raise the Boholanos’ way of life.   

         â€œI am here to serve the people and although I admit that I am only human with frailties, I would never use this as an excuse to fail those who still believe and hope for a better way of life for them and their children,” Abapo assures the people.

US-based medical mission conducted in Tubigon
By Sunday Post

      The Philippine American Cultural Society (PACS) of Marina California, the Filipino Community of Salinas Valley CA , and co-chairs of the 2000 Filipino Festival of Monterey CA together with Mrs. Herry Uy, proprietor of the Matabao Beach Resort (MABERES) in Tubigon was responsible for the medical mission in the municipality.

Also coordinating the activity were San Mante of Salinas California and Nelson Uy  of the AL-PAZ Inc. Cebu City.

      It wasa dream come true for the people of Tubigon that a free surgical/medical treatment that catered to  the needs of the less fortunate in the community.

Mayor Luna Piezas was much thankful that Tubigon wass again the recipient and chosen among the 48 municipalities in Bohol. The two- day medical /surgical mission was held at the Tubigon Community Hospital and Tubigon Cultural Center last February 16-17, 2010. Different minor surgical operation was done at the Tubigon  Community Hospital.. Free check-up and consultations to include free medicines were held..The 34 barangays of Tubigon were divided into two groups for the two-day activity to make sure that everybody was accommodated..

      The Medical / Surgical Mission Team was headed by Dr. Cesar Sinnaco family practitioner in California with wife Mrs. Estela Sinnaco.  Other members of the team  were Dr. Hermilando Payen, Surgeon/Pathologist- Arizona; Dr. Gildo Soriano, Internist and Neprhrologist â€" Hawaii;Dr. Carmelo Villa, General Surgeon based in Georgia with wife Mrs. Laura Villa; Drs. Rogoelio S.Mupas OB-Gyn and Dra. Thelma F.Mupaz, Pathologist in Washington; Dr. Romeo Puzon, OB- Gyn/Flight Surgeon â€"Washington, Dr. Visminda Payen Gonzalez â€" Dentist based in Arizona and Dr. Rogelio Rufo of Ohio.

      The team was also assisted by Dr. Rolan Caturza, Surgeon; Dr. Aligarbes, Family Medicine; Dr. Lunette Piezas â€" Villaren, Pediatrics; Dr. Michelle Cosgafa, Pediatrics; and Dr. Bob Bernabe Batausa, municipa health officer. Engr. Eufracio M. Mascariñas, the hospital administrator and Dr. Imelda Pedreros chief of hospitalwere very much supportive in the preparations of the venue and  accommodations prior to the event.     

      Mayor. Piezas expressed  his gratitude to all who have worked and make the two day medical mission a successful one. He mentioned the special participation of Mrs. Herry Uy  for the effort exerted and for  being instrumental of this activity.  Certificates of Appreciation were given and a farewell party..( Ghaya Astronomo â€" Castillo MPIO-Designate)

Sunday Post: Ms. Farrah Faye Mian, a fourth year student of Holy Family of Nazareth School of Tubigon town l was crowned  Miss Central Visayas Regional  Athletic Association Meet (CVIRAA) 2010 last February 10. The pageant was held in Danao City Civic Center with 11 other candidates from the different divisions in Region VII.

      Farrah Faye, a 16- year old young lady of HFNS represented the division of Bohol Province in the CVIRAA 2010. She was awarded as Best in Philippine Terno. She wore pink beaded gown which was designed in Cebu City. Her simplicity and beauty was really dazzling and a reflection of a beauty queen. Her well versed answer and confidence in answering the question brought her to the top. With her intelligence, gorgeousness and attractive smile, she caught the eyes of all the viewers especially the five judges in the pageant. Together with Farrah was Giorgio Visitacion who won as Mr. CVRAA 2010. Visitacion is from the Division of Lapu-Lapu City in Cebu.

      Before joining the Ms. CVRAA competition, she was already the Miss BACS Personality 2009.She won the beauty and brain competition of the Bohol Association of Catholic Schools (BACS) in the Diocese of Tagbilaran. The pageant was held last November 27, 2009 in Catigbian, Bohol where she received different special awards: Best in Casual Attire, Best in Production Number, Best in Team Uniform, Miss Aldea Smile, and Best in Evening Gown.( Ghaya  Astronomo â€" Castillo MPIO-Designate)

By Sunday Post

Talibon â€"Anchoring on the theme "Wastong Rehistro; Lahat Panalo" one of the most progressive towns of this northern part of Bohol, the LGU-Talibon joins the whole nation in the observance of the Civil Registration Month which started last February 1.

     A mass wedding was one of  the top activities lined up for the  celebration with Mayor Juanario Item solemnizing the simple but fitting ceremony to 34 unwed couples last February 18.

     Hosted by Carmenena Bunado, registration officer I, a short program was held before the  awaited events conducted at the President Carlos P. Garcia Memorial Session Hall.

     Deliciosa Magallanes led the opening prayer, Bernadette Autida led the singing of hymns and Catalina Gurrea gave the opening remarks.

     V-Mayor Restituto Auxtero welcomed the  couples, their sponsors, children and their relatives.

     Eliazar Pinat, NSO representative elaborated the importance of getting married rather than engaged  in living together without benefit of marital blessing.

     Other activities designed for the month long celebration is the mobile registration services to seven barangays like San Pedro, Suba, Busalian, Magsaysay, Sag, Mahanay and Guindacpan.

     Meanwhile, some employees of LGU-Talibon were richer by P25,500 Mayor Item released the Comprehensive Negotiation Agreement (CNA) last February 16.

     Entitled to receive were employees holding a permanent appointment and casual plantilla.

by New Voice Company

Popular American pianist Jon Schmidt makes his first trip to Manila on February 27, 2010 to strut his stuff on the keyboards with his "New Age Classical" piano artistry. His work is often described as New Age music with pop elements of hook and melody. He is also noted for his treatment of harmony, counterpoint, and rhythm.

Jon will perform with fellow American Cellist Steven Sharp Nelson who has successful collaborations with Jon, Paul Cardall, Peter Breinholt amongst others. Steven has "Best Cellist" awards, nominations for "Best Studio Musician" by the FCMA.

Bringing youthful enthusiasm to this concert will be 14 year old Musical Theater prodigy Julia Abueva. Julia has performed in concerts and musicals in Singapore and the Philippines since she was 5 years old, sharing the spotlight with world class talents Lea Salonga, Monique Wilson, Deborah Gibson, among others. She was also handpicked by Oprah Winfrey as one of the "World's Most Talented Kids" and sang at the 2009 APEC summit for U.S. President Barack Obama and other world leaders. Julia is also the youngest consultant of Encore!, the Musical Theater School of Pocketful of Kids.

The Concert starts at 7pm on February 27, 2010. Tickets are available at P1,500 & P2,000. for ticket inquiries and sales, you can call 634-7888, 634-2888, 0939-495-4173. Via email: encoreinterarts@gmail.com, pocketfulofkids@yahoo.com. Details are also on our website: http://www.encoreinterarts.com

Saturnina Mangmang Bell is from Carmen, Bohol. I think she is connected with Municipality of Carmen Cooperative.

Anyone from Carmen, Bohol here?

If you have any contact information of Saturnina Mangmang Bell, please do let me know. I can be emailed at info@mikeligalig.com or texted at 0920-494-0649

Residents seek Comelec control for Dingras, Ilocos Norte
By Freddie G. Lazaro

Residents of Dingras, Ilocos Norte appealed to the Commission on Election (Comelec) to put their town under its control in anticipation of possible violence that may happen in the coming May 10 elections here.

They expressed their fear of possible election violence in their 18â€" page petition filed before the Provincial Elections Office in Laoag, citing among others recent violent incidents which believed to be politically motivated.

They mentioned the killing of Rey Ruiz, board chairman of the Ilocos Norte Electric Cooperative (INEC) and a native of Dingras, who was gunned down and killed last September 2009.

They also cited the ambush on a convoy of campaign leaders and supporters, where Joen Caniete Diego, barangay chairwoman of Lanas, Dingras, also a candidate for councilor of Dingras, was killed.

There were eight persons who were wounded in that incident, among them an incumbent provincial board member and a town councilor of Dingras.

Philippine National Police Chief Director General Jesus Verzosa, in a visit to Laoag last Feb. 15, confirmed that Dingras was already placed in the list of “hot spots” in Ilocos Norte this election.-PNA

An earthquake of magnitude 3.4 on the Richter scale jolted the province of Aklan, including the capital town of Kalibo, at 2:44 p.m. Friday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) reported.

Engr. Arlo Sabar of the Phivocs-Aklan said the epicenter of the tremor was traced at 20 kilometers southwest of the capital town of Kalibo at a deep of 2.9 kilometers.

The earthquake of tectonic origin was felt in other municipalities like Libacao with intensity 3, Leo and Malinao, intensity 2, and Banga, intensity 1.

Sabar said the tremor also caused the West Panay fault to shake mildly.

So far, no casualties or damage had been reported in areas hit by the quake. (PNA)

The First Division of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) central office in Manila has disqualified two mayoralty candidates in New Washington, Aklan.

The mayoralty candidates were Apollo Peralta and Welix Menez.

Report reaching the regional Comelec office based in Iloilo City said the disqualification stemmed from the same surname on the part of mayoralty aspirant Apollo and the incumbent mayor Edgar Peralta.

Atty. Ian Ananoria, Aklan Provincial Election Officer, said there’s a possibility that electorates might cast their votes to a wrong candidate of their own choice as a sort of mistaken identity.

On the other hand, Menez has been classified by the Comelec as a nuisance candidate.

The disqualification case against the two mayoral aspirants have been filed by Mayor Edgar Peralta, saying this would create confusion among voters because of their similar surname.

The incumbent mayor would only want to ensure that his votes will not mistakenly go to Apollo.

Mayor Peralta also clarified that he filed the disqualification case to protect the interest of the public and not for reason of personal interest. (PNA)

A passenger jeepney plying Dao-Cuartero-Roxas City and vice versa with 15 passengers onboard fell onto a deep ravine along a highway in Brgy. Mianay, Ivisan, Capiz Friday.

The violent fall inflicted serious injuries to 10 passengers and minor injuries to five others who were taken to a hospital in Roxas City for immediate treatment.

Mario Ebagat, 50, of Barangay Balucuan, Dao, Capiz , driver of the ill-fated passenger jeepney, was among those injured.

Meanwhile, the slightly injured passengers were declared outpatient by the hospital authorities after they were given proper medication from minor injuries.

The passenger jeepney was on its way to Roxas City when the incident happened.

The vehicle’s owner has assured victims to shoulder the hospitalization cost of injured passengers. (PNA)

By Malu Cadelina Manar

A highway robbery, which led to the killing of a political campaigner in a town in North Cotabato and the wounding of his two companions, was believed to be election-related.

Jun Obello, political officer of Nancy Catamco, a cable company owner here who is running as representative of the second district of North Cotabato, said the suspects that robbed employees of Pangao-an Cooperative along a road in a remote village in Magpet town last Friday were hired killers to silence George Cale, Catamco’s political coordinator.

Cale was driving his motorcycle on his way home when shot twice on his head at Barangay Magkaalam, a remote village in Magpet, around 4 p.m. on Friday.

After killing Cale, the suspects robbed the employees of the Pangao-an Cooperative of their cash amounting to P60,000 and exited towards Barangay Kinarum, a hinterland.

But the Magpet police, when asked, hinted Cale’s death was just coincidental.

“It was just a bad timing. Cale was on his home while the hold-uprobbery was ongoing at Barangay Magkaalam. The suspects thought Cale was the security escort of the employees of the co-op. So when the suspects saw he was coming, they shot him twice on his head,” said Magpet municipal police director, Insp. Luis Pederio.

Obello said they would ask the help of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Region 12 to investigate the killing. -PNA

Despite the release of retired Army sergeant from two weeks captivity, government troops continue to track down the whereabouts of the group responsible for former soldier's kidnapping in this southern port city.

Director Felizardo Serapio, chief of the Directorate for Integrated Police Operations (DIPO)-West, said the troops were scouring the hinterlands of Zamboanga Sibugay in search for the kidnappers.

Serapio said offensive was immediately launched by DIPO personnel, in coordination with the Zamboanga Sibugay police force as well as the military troops, after they rescued the victim identified as retired Army 2Lt. Benjamin Almonte.

Serapio said that Almonte was rescued around 9 p.m. Friday in the boundary of R. T. Lim and Tungawan towns in Zamboanga Sibugay.

Almonte, 55, was kidnapped last Feb. 6 while he was fishing off the coast of Barangay Manicahan, 20 kilometers east of this city.

Serapio said the troops rescued Almonte upon receipt of information from concerned residents in the area that two armed men were seen dragging along with them an unidentified man, which later turned out to be Almonte.

However, Serapio said the troops were already alerted a day before Almonte was rescued, citing they had received information that the victim would be brought to Zamboanga Sibugay province.

Serapio said the two suspects rattled and fled leaving behind Almonte upon seeing a convoy of vehicle with DIPO-West personnel on board approaching towards them.-PNA (source)

By Angeline Valencia

Grooming the second district as pilot area of countryside development could be the present provincial administration’s “graceful exit for a dramatic entrance”, laying down the finishing touches on the needs of the common people.

Governor Erico Aumentado calls it Barangay Master Planning under the Integrated Area Development Strategy, a concept he presented to barangay captains and the municipal officials, who will support them, when he inaugurated and turned over at least eight school buildings in the towns of San Miguel and Inabanga in his trip last week.

For the simultaneous growth and development of all the barangays in the second district, Aumentado has already allocated P1 million for the feasibility study on Barangay Master Planning under the Integrated Area Development Strategy the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) will conduct.

The governor expects replication of the development projects to the first and third districts.

He also proposed the construction of more schools, distribution of brand new computer units with internet connection and other equipment of modern technology, implementation of Gearing Up Internet Literacy and Access for Students (GILAS) in partnership with Ayala Foundation, revival of the Sine-Eskwela in partnership with ABS-CBN.

This is to uplift the quality of education in public schools, so they can stand at par the private and leading institutions.

He also proposed Barangay Road Support Program, completion of the Bohol Circumferential Road Project phase 3 that includes concreting of the roads traversing the towns of Ubay to Mabini, Candijay, Cogtong, Anda and Guindulman or the Anda Peninsula Highway, with funding assistance of P1 billion from the Korean government.-PNA

The New People’s Army (NPA) rebels have shifted their focus to electoral activities in preparation for the local and national May 2010 polls.

Col. Maximo Caro, commanding officer of 303rd Infrantry Brigade (303rd IB) based in Brgy. Minoyan, Murcia, Negros Occidental, said they received reports that key cadres of the CPP-NPA had been actively campaigning for their candidates aspiring for national positions in the government.

Based on the intelligence report, the NPAs have fielded their key political cadres in the barangays to campaign for their candidates.

Meanwhile, their allied groups also help in the voter’s education campaign conducted among residents in far-flung barangays in Southern Negros relative to the poll automation.

In Iloilo, the rebels also embarked on extortion activity, through the campaign fees during this election period victimizing a political candidate in northern Iloilo.

Fell victim to the recent rebels' extortion activity was mayoralty aspirant Ligaya Lipura of Lemery, Iloilo who refused to give in to their demand.

The Lemery PNP said seven armed rebels, led by Romulo Gangoso, alias 'Ka Regan' was tagged to have perpetrated the burning of Lipura’s farm tractor on Thursday morning in Brgy. Pakwan, a hinterland barangay located near the boundary of Maayon in Capiz.

Apart from the campaign fee, the rebels also demanded revolutionary tax of P50,000 from Lipura every time she harvested her crops, which the candidate also refused. - PNA

Some 2,194 overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and their dependents in the province of Albay have benefited from the free computer literacy training under the Microsoft Tulay Project of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) in Bicol from 2007 to January 2010.

OWWA Bicol regional director Jocelyn Hapal said the project aimed to provide opportunities to OFW families in terms of learning new technology, enabling them to communicate with their loved ones abroad through e-mail, chat, blogging, and other social networking tools.

“Our office is preparing to make the computer training mobile and bring it to other provinces, especially in Camarines Sur where there are many OFW families,” Hapal said.

She added this agency is already negotiating with the management of the Shoemart (SM) in Naga City for a space inside the mall to accommodate the training program.

Hapal said two batches of OFW families will be trained every Saturday and Sunday for two months at the OWWA regional office here. “One personal computer is designated for every trainee to facilitate efficient fast and efficient learning.”

Moreover, Hapal said Microsoft Corporation’s accredited trainers will provide training on at least eight courses including basic computer fundamentals, word processing, spreadsheet, power point, database, internet use, digital media, and web design.

OWWA in Bicol is also targeting affected families of Mayon eruption, particularly those displaced from their homes, to benefit from the same training program.-PNA

Governor Olga Kho of this province has sought the Department of Agriculture (DA), through its provincial office, for immediate cloud seeding to induce rainfall because the island’s soil has started drying up and the supply of water has become scarce.

Kho has expressed that the effect of El Nino has already affected the island province of Masbate.

The Provincial Agriculturist Office here has been monitoring the situation particularly its main island because the supply of water in the area was dropping fast.

Kho said the provincial government through the provincial agriculture office and the El Nino Task Force will jointly implement measures to counter the effect of the phenomenon.

The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration, in its El Niño advisories, said Masbate’s closest neighbors, including Capiz and Sorsogon, were already in drought as they suffered from lack of rainfall in the last few months of 2009.

“The rainfall deficiency and prolonged drought in this province will definitely affect farmers and livestocks,” Kho said.

The lady governor explained that the provincial government is doing its best to prevent severe damage of El Nino to crops, livelihood and even to lives of Masbatenos.

At least 50 hectares of riceland in Pangasinan were considered as heavily damaged and 3,800 hectares partially damaged as a result of drought, according to the Department of Agriculture.

DA Regional Director Cipriano Santiago expects the area affected by drought as a result of El Niño phenomenon to increase some more as no rain is forthcoming in March.

He said as an ultimate remedy, they will rush shallow tube wells to the partially affected areas in the hope of preventing the farms from totally drying up, so that farmers can still harvest their crops.

However, Santiago admitted that this is dependent on the availability of groundwater at this time in those partially affected areas.

He estimated the whole province of Pangasinan to lose 250,000 metric tons of rice as a result of the long dry spell if there is no rain coming from now till the month of March.

Santiago advised farmers whose farms are now drying up to use shallow tube wells if they can source out water from anywhere that is available.

He said that Task Force El Niño has received reports that some towns of Pangasinan have declared a state of calamity as a result of their drying up farms but these are still subject to validation.

“Our field men will go to the municipalities that declared state of calamity to know the kind of assistance that will be extended by our office to the affected farmers,” Santiago said.

At the same time, an official of the Abono partylist reported that farms are now drying up in south central Pangasinan, affecting the towns of Sto. Tomas, Alcala, Bautista and Bayambang, all along the Agno River.

Also affected, said Rosendo So, founder of the Pangasinan-based Abono partylist, are the farmlands in Pozorrubio and Sison, which are not irrigated.

But he said farmers from Urdaneta City to San Fabian are still lucky as water in their farms is still plentiful.-PNA

The National Police Commission (Napolcom) is now accepting applications for the Police Entrance and Promotional Examinations scheduled on April 25, 2010 at the Lorma College’s elementary and high school campus in San Juan, La Union.

Napolcom Region 1 acting director Josephmar B. Gil said the deadline for the filing of applications is on March 15, 2010.

Gil said that Napolcom would confer the PNP Entrace Eligibility, which is appropriate for their appointment to the rank of Police Officer 1, to the successful examinees.

On the other hand, those who will pass the promotional exams shall be conferred the eligibility appropriate for promotion to the ranks corresponding to the exam’s Eligibility Rank Coverage (ERC).

The PNP entrance test is open to civilians who are bachelor’s degree holders, not more than 30 years old, and 1.62 meters tall for male and 1.57 meters for female.

The PNP entrance exam is also a requirement for PNP officers with temporary status as Police Officer 1 who may wish to have permanent appointment in the police service.

On the other hand, the promotional exam is open to all qualified uniformed members of the PNP, i.e. the Police Officers, Senior Police Officers, Police Inspectors and Police Superintendents.

Gil said in the forthcoming exams, the Napolcom adopted a new procedure in the processing of applications wherein the ID photo of the applicant will be permanently printed in the application form and the notice of admission.

“The new procedure will require all applicants to file personally at the Napolcom regional office,” Gil said adding that Napolcom provincial offices are no longer allowed to accept or process applications and at the same time, mailed applications will no longer be entertained.

He said that the new rule will further protect integrity of the exams by preventing substitution committed by unscrupulous examinees.

Civilian applicants must bring two legal size window envelopes; two mailing stamps worth P9 each; transcript of scholastic record or diploma and birth certificate.

For the PNP member, the name tag should indicate the rank before the first, middle and last names while those with temporary appointment should submit a certified true copy of Attested Appointment, Plantilla Appointment or Special Order.

In addition to said requirements, applicants for the Promotional Exams should also submit report of Rating/Certification issued by the NAPOLCOM Central Office, Civil Service Commission (CSC) Certified Copy of Eligibility and/ or Board Certificate.

Gil said that an examinee of the entrance exam who fails in an exam or after being admitted to take the exam, fails to take it for one reason or another, need not resubmit the requirements should he/she applies again for the same exam in the same exam center.

The applicant will only have to submit the admission slip of the last exam applied for, fill out a new application form and index card with ID and pay the examination fee of P400.

In view of resource constraints, our regional office reserves the right to limit the number of examinees it will accommodate. Acceptance of applications shall be on a “first-come, first served” basis and, upon notice may be stopped even ahead of the deadline,” Gil said.

Application forms can be obtained for free at the Napolcom regional office located at the Government Center, Sevilla, San Fernando City, La Union or can be downloaded at www.napolcom.gov.ph.

Examination fee is P400.00 for both the PNP Entrance and Police Officer Exams, P450 for the Senior Police Officer Exam, P500 for the Police Inspector Exam and P600 for the Police Superintendent Exam.

The exam coverage for the PNP Entrance test consists of general information, verbal reasoning, quantitative reasoning and logical reasoning while the promotional exams cover general information, police administration, police operations and police values and ethical standards.(PNA)

Cebu City officials are asking President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to order an investigation into the “foolishness” and alleged anomalies at the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) 7 amid mounting complaints from taxi operators and drivers.

They will also bring to the President’s attention the request of the operators to replace LTFRB 7 Director Romulo Bernardes, when she attends the Cebu City Charter Day celebration on Wednesday.

At least 10 members of the Metro Cebu Taxi Operators’ Association (MCTOA) raised their complaints to Mayor Tomas Osmena and to city councilors, and said that LTFRB is slowly killing their businesses by issuing new franchises.

With 6,100 units operating, the MCTOA members said there is already an excess of taxi units, with some drivers unable to get passengers and barely able to pay their operators the rent for the day.

MCTOA members complained to the mayor about the undue favor that Bernardes is allegedly giving some taxi operators by giving them new franchises despite the moratorium.

They also alleged that the director has implemented “unlawful and invalid” circulars to justify the exemption he extends to some operators from the moratorium.

Lawyer Jose Lim, legal counsel for MCTOA, said the situation has to be looked into because there is already an excess of taxi units in the city, and new policies are being implemented without a public hearing and consultation with the local government units.

Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia said the provincial government plans to build satellite jails in Balamban town and in Toledo City to decongest the Cebu Provincial detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC), which recently became famous for its dancing inmates.

The satellite jails are expected to speed up the hearing of cases of inmates and shorten their travel time from jail to the court, thus minimizing risks.

But Acting Cebu Provincial Police Chief Erson Digal said he would discuss with Garcia the problems that might crop up to the plan to stop admitting inmates at the CPDRC.

While holding inmates is the job of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), Digal said the bureau handles only a few jails.

The rest are inadequate detention cells found in the towns’ police stations. These structures are not as well-built as the cells at the CPDRC, he said.

He has asked chiefs of police to request their local governments to improve the structures.

Digal said detention cells in some of the towns were not big enough to keep inmates.-PNA

Cebu’s furniture industry has opposed the proposal for a P128 across-the-board wage increase in Central Visayas.

In a position paper submitted to the Regional Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (RTWPB) 7, the Cebu Furniture Industries Foundation Inc. (CFIF) said any increase at this time would only cause more job losses and is “tantamount to a death certificate for the export furniture industry.”

CFIF president Angela Paulin said the major markets of Philippine export furniture remained “very weak” amid the global financial crisis and that stiff competition from China, Vietnam and Indonesia presented additional challenges.

CFIF, whose membership includes about 80 percent of the furniture manufacturers and exporters in Cebu and some companies in Negros Island, had already seen its membership plummet to 118, from 180 members in 2007, due to company closures, Paulin said in the paper presented to the regional wage board during a consultation with the furniture industry to get inputs on the proposed wage hike.

With their finances “at an ultimate low,” Paulin said those furniture firms that have continued to operate have had to right-size or reduce work-hours just to survive.

“The crisis has crippled even the top 50 furniture exporters in Cebu. Overall, export furniture shipments from Cebu fell about 70 percent from 2007 to 2009, according to Bureau of Customs data,” Paulin said.

For 2009 alone, the shipment volume of the top 50 furniture exporters in Cebu plunged to 4,500 containers, or 46 percent less that the 8,500 containers in 2008, she said.-PNA

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña has said he will increase the monthly allowances of judges and justices assigned in the city as his way of strengthening the judiciary and helping “underpaid” court officials deal with financial burdens.

If the plan pushes through, the allowance of judges in the city will be increased from only P5,000 a month to the equivalent of their monthly basic salaries, or at least P30,000.

They also get another P6,000 monthly allowance from the Cebu Provincial Government.

The allowances are given to 27 Regional Trial Court (RTC) and Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC) judges, some of whom are handling cases the City Government filed or is facing.

Six justices of the Court of Appeals Cebu station will also start to receive monthly allowances equivalent to their basic pay.

“The allowance will be equivalent to their salaries. If the monthly salary is P60,000, his allowance from the city is also P60,000. We will match their basic pay,” Osmeña said.

The city prosecutors, who recently drew criticisms from the mayor, are not as lucky. Their P5,000 monthly allowance will not be increased.

Cebu City Councilor Jose Daluz III, chairman of the City Council committee on budget and finance, inquired about the salary of judges and learned that it starts at P30,000.

The appropriation will be included in the P1.4-billion supplemental budget the executive department will propose next week.-PNA

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) en banc has approved the rules and regulations governing the conduct of the March 13 plebiscite for the separation of Sitios Banawa and Englis from Barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City.

In particular, Section 4 of Resolution 8774 set the information campaign period for the plebiscite to start on Feb. 18, or last Thursday, and to end on March 11, 2010.

“During this period, civic, professional, religious, business, youth, and any other similar organizations may hold symposia, public rallies or meetings to enlighten the voters of the said barangay on the plebiscite issues,” it said.

“Constructive discussions and debates shall be encouraged and the voters assured of the freedom to voice their opinion regarding the issues, advantages or disadvantages thereof,” it also said.

Lawyer Edwin Cadungog, Cebu City south district election officer, said he will wait for Comelec Manila to send him the funds for the publication of the resolution.

As election officer, he is also in charge of convening barangay assemblies for “constructive discussions and debates,” in coordination with local officials, the media, non-government organizations and religious groups.

The resolution included guidelines on the voting hours, which is from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.; the plebiscite committee composition, duties, compensation and functions; disqualifications; the official ballot; the preliminaries to the counting of votes; manner of vote counting; the selection of board of canvassers; the canvassing procedures; the distribution of the certificate of canvass and proclamation (COCP); and the applicability of the Omnibus Election Code and other election rules.

Guadalupe residents who can take part in the plebiscite are only those who are registered voters of the barangay as of the Nov. 29, 2009 election registration board hearing.

They will answer either “yes” or “no” to the question “Do you approve of the creation of a new barangay to be segregated from Barangay Guadalupe, to be named as Barangay Banawa-Englis, pursuant to Republic Act (RA) 9905 approved on January 7, 2010 by her Excellency President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo?”- PNA

High-powered firearms and ammunitions have been confiscated during a raid conducted at a barangay in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental.

Reports reaching here said the raid was conducted by the joint forces of Negros Occidental Provincial Public Safety Management Company and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.

Last Saturday, the raiding operatives pounced on the house of subject person Elmojer Arenio at Purok Malinog, Brgy. Binikwil, Kabankalan City.

Unfortunately, the subject person was not around during the raid.

But by virtue of the strong search warrant issued by the local court, the raiding operatives search the suspect’s house that led to the recovery of one M16 armalite rifle with three magazines fully loaded with live ammos, one .45 caliber pistol and two magazines fully loaded with live ammunitions, voluminous empty shells of various caliber of firearms.

The successful raid was conducted based on report received by PNP authorities that the suspect is hiding cache of high-powered firearms.

The recovered firearms were brought to the headquarters of the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOPPO) for proper documentation and the filing of appropriate criminal charges against a suspect who is still at large. (PNA)

By Jhunnex Napallacan
Inquirer Visayas

Nacionalista Party standard-bearer Manny Villar declared Cebu is no longer the territory of the administration because of the warm reception he and his partymates received as they barnstormed in the province on Saturday.

Cebu, which gave President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo one million votes in the 2004 presidential race, has been acknowledged by Ms Arroyo as the province that propelled her to victory in 2004.

Villar, his running mate Sen. Loren Legarda and their senatorial candidates were mobbed as they visited the different public markets in Metro Cebu Saturday.

Villar said they were received warmly in Iloilo, Aklan, Capiz but it was nothing compared to their reception in Cebu.

Villar and Legarda, who decided to separately barnstorm in different areas in Cebu during their two-day campaign here, arrived in their designated visit areas amid fanfare spearheaded by supporters who wore orange t-shirts, Villar’s signature color.

Sa Manginasal nga restaurant kay anaay option nga "Unlimited Rice" for one piece of bbq chicken and rice all for 79 pesos. Daghan napud mga restaurant karon nga misunod sa uso nga "unlimited rice."

HB, who is the smartest politician in Bohol? The one who could always get away with corruption cases?

By Cathy C. Yamsuan
Philippine Daily Inquirer

That’s according to Sen. Richard Gordon, who will have Filipinos eating less rice under his projected administration for the sake of health and the economy.

“We should eat less rice ... because [too much is] bad for our health. Diabetes comes with too many carbohydrates. I would like a campaign like that,” said Gordon, the standard-bearer of the Bagumbayan party.

Carbohydrates like rice break down as sugar and are stored as fat when not burned as energy.
And an eat-less-rice program fits the doctor’s prescription against lifestyle diseases like obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes, Gordon said.

Paradigm shift

His less-rice program is still sketchy at this stage, but he said it would involve the use of mongo, camote and cassava as replacements of the staple.

Asked if he thought the public would take to this gustatory shift, Gordon noted that Filipino migrants eventually adjusted to new cuisine.

By Philippine Daily Inquirer

The new machine readable passport and the now the ePassport will mean the end of the days of humiliation for Filipino travelers at immigration centers in airports worldwide, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo said.

Previously, the manually prepared passports caused Filipino travelers to be taken aside from immigration queues and questioned lengthily about their identities and their passports.

At the recent turnover ceremonies of the Department of Foreign Affairs-Office of Consular Affairs building, Romulo said: "When we were issuing green passports, other countries were already issuing International Civil Aviation Organization (Icao)-compliant passports. It was like being back in the Middle Ages. Now, we are one of the 60 countries now issuing the Icao-compliant MRP and ePassports."

Romulo said the new consular building completes the fulfillment of his dream for a world-class passport and consular building.

"In this intelligent building, instead of sweltering heat, our consular clients will be greeted with cool air at the moment they enter our doors. Instead of monobloc chairs, they will wait their turn sitting on ergonomically-designed stainless steel benches.

Instead of long queues, they can shorten their wait by accessing our online appointment system. Instead of going from building to building, they only need to move from ground to second floor," he added.

He said that DFA-OCA personnel will also enjoy the convenience of modern work stations, furniture, and equipment.

The new building is part of the ongoing modernization program undertaken by Romulo to further improve the DFA's frontline services which include harnessing new technologies in passport and visa issuances and streamlined procedures in the authentication of documents.

"Now, we have a passport and a consular building that is efficient, progressive and serviceable, and will give every Filipino ease, comfort and pride. With everyone's support, the Filipino can be truly world-class," Romulo added.

Also present during the turnover ceremonies were Development Bank of the Philippines President Patricia Sto. Tomas; John Kenneth Ocampo, owner and contractor of the building; representatives from the diplomatic and consular corps and other government agencies; and DFA officials.

During the event, awards, and citations were also conferred on individuals who contributed to the successful implementation of the MRP, the ePassport, and the construction of the new DFA building.

Conferred with the Gawad Mabini with the rank of Grand Cross (Dakilang Kamanong) was DFA-OCA Executive Director Eleanor Jaucian. Also conferred with Gawad Mabini with the rank of Commander (Dakilang Kasugo) were DFA Office of the Secretary Special Assistant Flerida Ann Camille P. Mayo, former DFA-OCA Passport Director Donna Celeste F. Gatmaitan, and DFA-OCA Principal Assistant Fernando Beup Jr.

The Gawad Mabini is the highest honor given to Filipino diplomats.

Citations were given to the following: Ocampo, DFA-OCA Consular Records Division Director Jocelyn Morales, DFA-OCA Authentication Division Director Luzviminda van Opstal, DFA-Adminstrative Service Unit's Angelita Aguilar, DFA Management and Information Service Division Director Patrick John Hilado, former DFA-OCA Acting Executive Director Lourdes Tabamo, Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Director Emmanuel Cuntapay, and DPWH Engineers Bayani G. David, Joselito P. Gonzales, Lamberto Bonifacio, and Louie Molina.

The new facility is located at the corner of Bradco and Macapagal Avenues in Aseana Business Park, Paranaque City, a few minutes away from the Mall of Asia.

The acquisition of the P530-million, 7,000-square meter, and four-story building was realized with the assistance of the DBP.

The new facility will be the home of the ePassport, the electronic authentication system, the electronic visa system, and digitalized consular records system.

An intelligent building, the facility is equipped with fiber-optic lines, CCTV cameras, and other high-tech information and communications infrastructure. Made of tempered glass and steel, the modern OCA office departs from the traditional concrete buildings.

To ensure quick, comfortable service, passport applicants are advised to check the passport requirements and secure an online appointment at www.dfa.gov.ph (consular tab), or to call the consular help-line number (02-556-0000) or DFA telephone number (02-834-4000). Applications may also be filed with the DFA's 19 Regional Consular and satellite offices.

By Nestor P. Burgos Jr.
Inquirer Visayas

The Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD) started on Saturday an indefinite rationing of water to customers in this city and six neighboring towns due to the continued drying up of water sources brought about by the prolonged dry spell.

The water supply in many areas served by the MIWD has been limited to only up to six hours daily. In some areas, water is available for eight a day three times a week.

MIWD provides around one million cubic meters of water to around 33,000 customers in Iloilo City and the towns of Oton, Pavia, Sta. Barbara, Cabatuan, Maasin and San Miguel.

Its main water source is the Tigum River through an intake dam in Barangay Daja in Maasin town, 29.5 km northwest of Iloilo City. It also obtains water from deep wells in Oton and San Miguel.

MIWD general manager Le Jayme Jalbuena said water from the Tigum River and the deep wells has been significantly reduced due to the El Niño phenomenon, which is characterized by extreme climatic changes including drought.

Jalbuena said the MIWD normally supplies an average of 28,000 to 30,000 cubic meters daily. But it was able to supply only 28,000 cubic meters on February 14 and 21,000 cubic meters on February 15 or a drop of 25 to 30 percent.

“We have to implement the scheduling of supply to our consumers to accumulate water in our stations,” Jalbuena said.

Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman

Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenally.
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.

All That is Gold Does Not Glitter
By J.R.R. Tolkien

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.

poem by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien

By Sarah Rainsford
BBC News, Madrid

The Spanish government says it will formally recognise one of the country's best-known poets as a victim of the dictatorship of Gen Francisco Franco.

It will present the family of the poet, Miguel Hernandez, with an official letter rehabilitating his memory.

Hernandez was imprisoned as a traitor 70 years ago for supporting the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War, and died in prison at the age of 31.

The family applied for his rehabilitation under a 2007 law.

The decision to rehabilitate him comes as Spain marks the centenary of the poet's birth with a series of events.

"We have always lived with this sadness, and finally we have cleansed his memory," the poet's daughter-in-law, Lucia Izquierdo, told the BBC.

"We wanted his image restored as a poet of the people, and a great man."

'Onion Lullaby'

The family applied for the rehabilitation under Spain's Historical Memory Law, passed in 2007 to recognise the victims on both sides of the Civil War, and during Franco's rule.

Republican forces lying in ambush in a village near Madrid during the Spanish Civil War
Hernandez never took up arms, but he staunchly supported Republican forces

According to Spain's justice ministry, 237 people had been recognised under the law out of 831 applications received up until October 2009, with 17 cases refused.

Ranked alongside Federico Garcia Lorca and others as one of Spain's finest poets, Miguel Hernandez was from a poor, peasant family.

A staunch Republican, many of his poems depict the horror of the Civil War.

He was arrested and imprisoned in 1940, when his family say he refused on principle to sign a confession and apology in return for permission to go into exile.

"He was never a traitor, he was always on the side of justice," Ms Izquierdo said. "It is frightening to think what they did to him."

"He never took up arms, but they were against him because he defended Spain with his pen," she added.

"His legacy is some of the most beautiful poetry we have. His unjust death deprived us of more."

Gen Franco commuted the death penalty against the poet to a 30-year sentence, but Hernandez died soon after when he contracted tuberculosis, which went untreated in harsh prison conditions.

Many of the poet's most moving works were written in prison, including the famous "Onion Lullaby".

He addressed that poem to his wife when he learned she and their child were surviving on nothing but onions.

The poet's family did not request compensation from the state for his treatment, as it could under the 2007 law - only his rehabilitation.

They are now preparing an appeal to the Supreme Court to get the original death sentence against him annulled and clear the last black mark against his name. - BBC

Lullaby of the Onion

The onion is frost
shut in and poor.
Frost of your days
and of my nights.
Hunger and onion,
black ice and frost
large and round.

My little boy
was in hunger's cradle.
He was nursed
on onion blood.
But your blood
is frosted with sugar,
onion and hunger.

A dark woman
dissolved in moonlight
pours herself thread by thread
into the cradle.
Laugh, son,
you can swallow the moon
when you want to.

Lark of my house,
keep laughing.
The laughter in your eyes
is the light of the world.
Laugh so much
that my soul, hearing you,
will beat in space.

Your laughter frees me,
gives me wings.
It sweeps away my loneliness,
knocks down my cell.
Mouth that flies,
heart that turns
to lightning on your lips.

Your laughter is
the sharpest sword,
conqueror of flowers
and larks.
Rival of the sun.
Future of my bones
and of my love.

The flesh fluttering,
the sudden eyelid,
and the baby is rosier
than ever.
How many linnets
take off, wings fluttering,
from your body!

I woke up from childhood:
don't you wake up.
I have to frown:
always laugh.
Keep to your cradle,
defending laughter
feather by feather.

Yours is a flight
so high,
so wide
that your body is a sky
newly born.
If only I could climb
to the origin
of your flight!

Eight months old you laugh
with five orange blossoms.
With five little
ferocities.
With five teeth

like five young
jasmine blossoms.

They will be the frontier
of tomorrow's kisses
when you feel your teeth
as weapons,
when you feel a flame
running toward your gums
driving toward the centre.

Fly away, son, on the double
moon of the breast:
it is saddened by onion,
you are satisfied.
Don't let go.
Don't find out what's happening,
or what goes on.

Lake Sebu is in South Cotabato

Quote from: hubag bohol on February 18, 2010, 07:36:50 PM
Sige kay naa koy ipapilpil nimo. Hinay-hinaya lang ha?

Mamuot man lang sab ta ani.

The situation for the nation's economy is "improving" said Japan's Cabinet Office in a report released on Thursday, despite revising downward Japan's composite index of coincident economic indicators for December, from a preliminary estimate released earlier this month.

The composite index of coincident economic indicators which revealed a preliminary expansion of 1.6 points to 97.6 against a 2005 base average of 100, currently stands at 97.4.

Despite the 0.2 retraction in December the index has still gained 1.4 points from November, marking the ninth straight month of growth on improvements in labor and industrial production-related readings.

The index of leading indicators, which predicts conditions over the next several months, was revised upward from 94.0 to 94.3, up 3.3 points from the previous month.

The index of lagging indicators reflecting conditions in the recent past was reduced from a preliminary reading of 84.3 to 83.7, but was still up 0.7 point from November's reading

While the revised composite index of coincident economic indicators reveal that industrial activity is picking up and demand for Japanese exports is increasing, the increase in consumer spending in December is of particular importance as this spending accounts for 60 percent of Japan's overall economy.-PNA

South Korean shipbuilder Hanjin Heavy Industries Corporation-Philippines, Inc. (HHIC-Phil) will be launching in this free port next year the biggest container ship in the world, company officials said.

Jeong Sup Shim, former president of HHIC-Phils, made the announcement during the recent visit of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at the Hanjin shipyard at Subic’s Redondo Peninsula here.

“We will be starting fabricating the biggest container ship in the world,” Shim said.

The ship will be finished by late next year or early 2012, Shim also said.

According to HHIC-Phil officials, the company has just recently completed the “APL Bahrain,” a 259.8 meter-long container ship built for the Singapore-based American President Lines (APL). The ship has a 4,330-TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) capacity.

Last week, APL Bahrain made its maiden voyage from the Hanjin shipyard at Redondo to the New Container Terminal 1 across the Subic Bay.

Last month, Hanjin also unveiled the 114,000-deadweight ton “Leyla K,” the first and biggest crude oil tanker built in the Philippines. The ship measures 241.3 meters in length and 44 meters in breadth.

To date, some 36 vessels, including two 180,000-ton Capesize bulk carriers for Taiwan-based shipping company Hsin Chien Marine Co., Ltd., are already lined up for fabrication at the Hanjin shipyard, with delivery schedules before the end of 2012.

Hanjin’s Subic operations started only in February 2006 with the construction of its shipyard, but the firm already delivered in 2008 its first Subic-made container ship, the “Argolikos” which was delivered to the Greek shipping company Dioryx. - PNA

Pfizer has assailed Unilab’s pronouncements challenging the patents of its existing products.

In a statement sent to media, Pfizer stated that it is confident that its patents will withstand scrutiny as these have been approved by the Philippine Intellectual Property Office after a rigorous and thorough examination.

According to Pfizer Spokesperson, Patricia Pascual, “Research-based pharmaceutical companies, like Pfizer, commit billions of dollars to discover breakthrough, life-saving medicines to address the world’s most feared diseases. This long-standing dedication to science and R&D has resulted in the development of life-saving medicines in its 160-year global history and the grant of numerous patents around the world. Companies like ours vigorously protect and uphold intellectual property because doing so allows us to continue to find more cures for more people and contribute to saving lives.”

Pascual further stated: “For patents which are valid and in force in the Philippines such as Lipitor’s, we just ask that it be respected until it expires in 2012.”

On Unilab's claim that Pfizer’s Regional Legal Director, Millette Asuncion has admitted that Lipitor’s Atorvastatin Calcium patent has already expired, Pfizer assertd that the patent, which is the basis of the infringement case, remains valid and existing until September 2012.

“It is unfortunate that the statements I and our other witnesses made in court as part of our testimonies were misappreciated. Pfizer has filed a motion for reconsideration to ensure that the court will have the chance to fully review evidence presented before it and to make a ruling based not on legal technicalities but on the full merits of the case and the patent in question,” Asuncion stated.

“It is more unfortunate that the defendant is attributing to me and to the other witnesses admissions that were not really made. We stand firm with our position that all of Pfizer’s patents had been properly issued by the Intellectual Property Office having passed the various tests for patentability. We are ready to prove this at the proper forum in due course,” Asuncion further added.(PNA)

The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on Thursday said it has directed its regional directors and revenue district officers (RDOs) to go after government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) and 56 local government units (LGU) in their jurisdiction and collect P22 billion in back taxes.

The collection is expected to boost the agency's chances of hitting its P830-billion target this year, according to BIR Commissioner Joel Tan-Torres, who gave the marching orders to the bureau's regional directors and revenue district officers (RDOs) where these erring firms are located.

Tan-Torres asked the RDOs to write final demand letters before the cases are submitted to the courts for resolution.

He also asked BIR Deputy Commissioner for Legal and Enforcement Gregorio Cabantac to coordinate the collection efforts and file criminal and civil cases in court against the heads and finance officers of the enterprises and LGUs for not settling the tax debts. (PNA)RMA/JCA

By Marie S. Neri

The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) urges its critics to refrain from any speculations about the possible refund after the Commission on Audit (COA) claimed that the distribution utility collected excess revenues for the year 2004 and 2007.

In a statement, Meralco president and chief operating officer Jose P. de Jesus said that "premature judgment and speculations could raise undue expectations by consumers of a refund," which should be disallowed since there was no final ruling yet on this matter.

“We (Meralco) maintain that we did not overcharge. Our unbundled rates were duly approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) in 2003 after extensive evaluation by the commission of the property we use and the expenses we incur in providing electricity service, ”de Jesus said.

Meralco vice president and Utility Economics head Ivanna de la Peña said that “only actual costs incurred and assets ‘used and useful’ in delivering service in the year 2000 were incorporated in the ERC-approved unbundled rates. The rates were not adjusted for any incremental costs/assets after 2000. Thus, none of these incremental costs were passed on to consumers.”

Year 2000 was the test year for the rate unbundling applications of all distribution utilities.

“So if we charged only those that had been allowed, how could we be accused of overcharging when we did not pass-on to our customers the so-called disallowed items in the first place?” de la Peña said.

The Meralco statements were in reaction to an earlier COA audit report, which claimed that the utility company committed overcharging by including unnecessary expenses, property and equipment in its rate adjustment approved by the ERC in 2003.

De Jesus also assured the public that the Meralco board of directors and its officials, both past and present, had always exercised prudence in their decisions, particularly with regard to those that directly affected customers. - PNA

Bacolod City has achieved a universal coverage for its indigent families, a recognition that was revealed during Wednesday’s 15th anniversary of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (Philhealth) here.

The city government received a plaque from the Philhealth for achieving a universal coverage and in providing the constituents access to quality health care services.

The plaque of recognition and a capitation of P740, 000 were awarded to Mayor Evelio Leonardia by Bacolod Philhealth officer-in-charge Vicel Bracamonte.

Bracamonte said that nationwide, PhilHealth reached 130 percent of its coverage in the highly urbanized city, including Bacolod City.

In Bacolod, Philhealth identified almost 10,000 to 15,000 indigent families.

Bracamonte said that the program of PhilHealh would have not been possible without the strong support coming from the local government units.

Bracamonte lauded the city government for its support to the program.

Leonardia said the P740, 000 capitation will be used for the improvement of city health facilities and medicines for better health care services. (PNA)

Golfer Tiger Woods (with 19 women linked to him) will "apologize for his behavior" Friday when he makes a statement at PGA headquarters in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, his agent said.

Agent Mark Steinberg said Woods would not answer questions. It will be the golfer's first public appearance since his November 27 car crash outside his home near Orlando, Florida.

"Tiger Woods will be speaking to a small group of friends, colleagues and close associates," Steinberg said. " ... Tiger plans to discuss his past and his future and he intends to apologize for his behavior."

A statement on Woods' Web site elaborated: "While Tiger feels that what happened is fundamentally a matter between him and his wife, he also recognizes that he has hurt and let down a lot of other people who were close to him. He also let down his fans. He wants to begin the process of making amends, and that's what he's going to discuss." - CNN

Guihulngan City has recorded the highest number of enrolees in the provincial government’s Provincial Health Insurance of Negros Oriental (PHINO).

The local government unit of Guihulngan has recorded a total of 1,000 PHINO enrolees in the province.

According to Information Officer Adrian Sedillo, a total of eight local government units have already availed of the PHINO program.

Pamplona has 700 enrolees; San Jose, 600; and in Jimalalud, Valencia, Zamboanguita, Amlan and Basay, 500 each.

At present, a total of 4,800 residents of Negros Oriental have been enrolled in PHINO.

PHINO is a unique insurance program of the province that is intended for indigent residents of Negros Oriental. The health insurance assures the patients of no expenses during hospitalization.

The convenor of PHINO, Dr. Ely Villapando, clarified that tricycle drivers and self-employed individuals could avail of the program with only minimal contribution.

He said the contribution would be based on the packages being designed to suit the needs of the people of Negros Oriental. - Phil. News Agency

Residents of a southern Italy town were evacuated on Tuesday following a dangerous landslide which brought down an entire hillside, state media reported.

During the weekend the area around Maierato, a town in the Calabria region near the Tyrrhenian coast, had been hit by heavy rainfall.

So far a total of 2,300 residents have been evacuated by the authorities, according to state television Rai that broadcast an impressive amateur video of the landslide, showing people escaping and the hillside coming down and burying the town under debris and mud.

Mayor Sergio Rizzo described the scene as "apocalyptic." However, no deaths or injuries have been reported.

In recent days the entire region has been severely affected by mudslides. Towns around Cosenza have also been evacuated this week due to floods which destroyed a water main on Monday, leaving thousands of homes without tap water.

In October a mudslide in the Sicilian city of Messina killed 37 people and left more than 700 homeless. Another landslide struck in November the island of Ischia, killing one person and damaging buildings.- PNA

The Philippine Army appealed on Wednesday to concerned groups to refrain from throwing accusations against the military organization regarding the recent arrest of the 43 New People’s Army (NPA) members in Morong, Rizal.

"The organization also calls on the families of the accused and their supporters to stop vilifying the military through publicity since the arrest is legitimate by virtue of a warrant of arrest," said Army spokesman Lt. Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos.

Burgos said cases have already been formally filed in court and the criminal charges against the 43 accused constitute sufficient legal grounds for their continued detention.

"The Philippine Army, in all its activities, always upholds the rule of law and trusts the country’s judicial system. It continues to follow the legal processes and is confident that the truth will surface and that justice would be served. Again, the organization maintains that the arrest of the 43 NPA members is legal, having been caught in the act of possession of illegal firearms and explosives. It would be up to them to prove their innocence in court," Burgos stressed.

He said the arrest of the "Morong 43" has greatly crippled surviving fronts of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People's Army (CPP-NPA) and showed the armed terrorist movement’s weakness by voluntarily exposing themselves.

"The Army will not be cowed by black propaganda of the NPA exerting all efforts to discredit the organization. The CPP and the ideology it is propagating is not illegal. However, the methodology that the NPA uses, employing violence to espouse their agenda, is a criminal offense and definitely against the law," Burgos added.- PNA

By Ferdinand G. Patinio

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has said there is no law prohibiting candidates from posting campaign posters or large stickers on public utility buses (PUBs).

According to Comelec Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer, there is no provision in the Fair Elections Act that bars political aspirants to post advertisement in the said public transport.

“There’s nothing in our laws that prescribes the particular sizes that should be allowed,” he said.

However, Republic Act No. 9006 specifies that written or printed materials should not exceed 8 1/2 by 14 inches, as well as posters with an area not exceeding 2 by 3 feet.

Ferrer noted that bus advertisements are placed in private properties, thus making them legal.

“If a private individual wants to make use of his private property the way he wants to, provided that it’s not contrary to the law, that should be allowed,” he said.

It has been noted that administration party presidential candidate Gilbert “Gibo” Teodoro Jr. and re-electionist Senator Juan Ponce Enriles are among the national candidates that have advertisements on PUBs.

Normally, the ads are placed at the back side of the vehicles.- PNA

By Gloria Jane Baylon

At the close on Tuesday of claims applications for one-time benefits for living World War II veterans, 12,846 were approved and paid a total of more than P7.2 billion by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA) in Manila, according to the U.S. embassy.

February 16, 2010 was the final day for such veterans to apply for one-time benefits created by the 2009 Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation provision of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Between February 17, 2009 and February 16, 2010, USDVA held 22 outreach events in partnership with Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) offices around the Philippines.

In addition, USDVA-Manila Director Jon Skelly and his staff appeared in dozens of TV and radio interviews to explain the benefit and the process, and to remind veterans of the application deadline of February 16, 2010. The USDVA even accommodated applications on February 15, even though it was a U.S. legal holiday.

Skelly thanked the Philippine news media and the PVAO in helping get out the word about the benefits claims. “Thanks to the Philippine news media and our partners at the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office, we were able to get the word out about the benefit to veterans living all over the Philippines and in the United States,” said Skelly in a statement to media.

“We had thousands of applicants on the final two days at our office and at PVAO, so we really did get the word out,” he pointed out.

To date, of some 40,000 applications received, around 7,000 have been duplicate applications, and 14,500 cases remain pending, the embassy clarified. Those cases will be adjudicated without delay, so that qualified veterans will get their benefit as quickly as possible, according to the USDVA. The USDVA-Manila staff includes 222 Filipino employees, working hard every day to serve these honored veterans.

USDVA also said that veterans who have already applied for this one-time benefit will receive an acknowledgement receipt from USDVA. There is no need to obtain additional military service information unless requested by the USDVA.

“We continue to pay around million monthly in previous and continuing benefits to Filipino veterans and their family members,” Skelly further said. “My staff will gladly review records of individual Filipino WW II veterans or their survivors because we want to make sure these heroes are receiving all benefits to which they are entitled.” (PNA)

Wall Street advanced on Wednesday as robust economic data and better-than-expected corporate earnings signaled the global recovery is gaining momentum.

The Dow Jones ended up 40.43, or 0.39 percent, to 10,309.24. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 4.64, or 0.42 percent, to 1, 099.51 and the Nasdaq rose 12.10, or 0.55 percent, to 2,226.29.

Both the Dow Jones and S&P rallied for the second day in a row, while the Nasdaq gained for four straight sessions.

Wednesday's move came after a batch of encouraging economic data, signaling a moderate recovery is on the way.

The Commerce Department said before the opening bell that construction of new homes and apartments rose 2.8 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 591,000 units. That was the highest level in six months and better than economists' expectations, showing the real estate market was stabilizing. - PNA

The dollar extended gains against the euro and the sterling pound on Wednesday after latest Fed minutes and strong economic reports boosted the greenback.

According to the latest minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee, some policymakers considered a sooner start of selling assets on the Fed's books and increasing overnight loans interest rates.

The Fed expected the economy to grow between 2.8 percent to 3.5 percent this year. Meanwhile, a growth of 3.4 percent to 4.5 percent is expected for next year and 2012.

The central bank also forecast that unemployment will stay high in the next two years, though it expects the jobless rates to fall next year.

While the document suggested different opinions among policymakers about when and how to withdraw liquidity, it offered more clarity to investors that boosted the dollar.

In other economic news, both construction of new homes and apartments and industrial production put on more-than-expected gains in January. - PNA

Oil prices increased on Wednesday as upbeat economic data and Fed's more confident tone in economic assessment offset a stronger dollar.

According to the latest minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed expects the economy to grow between 2.8 percent to 3.5 percent this year. Meanwhile, a growth of 3.4 percent to 4. 5 percent is expected for next year and 2012.

The Commerce Department reported that construction of new homes and apartments rose 2.8 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 591,000 units. That was the highest level in six months and better than economists had expected, showing the real estate market was stabilizing.

Applications for building permits, which was considered as a good barometer of future activity, fell 4.9 percent, but that was after two months of large increases.

Meanwhile, a separate report from the Fed showed industrial production in the U.S. rose a better-than-expected 0.9 percent last month, indicating factories were leading the recovery.

Malacanang is calling for more water conservation efforts nationwide.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Gary Olivar said these efforts, particularly in urban areas, will help ensure continuing availability of water for irrigation.

"We must conserve so there's still water left for our farmers," he said.

The Palace made this appeal as the onslaught of El Nino beginning late last year raised concerns about shortage of water for agricultural and non-agricultural use.

Authorities expect the dry spell from El Nino to last until around mid-2010.

Experts say an El Nino episode occurs when there is unusual warming of sea surface temperature along the equatorial Pacific belt.

El Nino-affected areas experience dry spells from below-average rainfall there.

The National Irrigation Administration confirmed that the dry spell already caused water elevation in dams and rivers nationwide to dip about halfway from its normal level, threatening irrigation of agricultural areas.

Department of Agriculture (DA) Undersecretary Bernie Fondevillas reported that corn and rice damage from the dry spell already amounted to over PhP1 billion. - PNA

An earthquake measuring 5.8 on the Richter scale hit New Zealand's Kermadec Islands in the south Pacific on Thursday morning, causing no casualties or damages.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake occurred at 8:38 a.m. local time (3:38 a.m in Manila). It was centered at 55 km south of Kermadec Islands' main Raoul Island, and was at a depth of 35 km.

The island, located northeast of New Zealand, is barely inhabited.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center did not issue tsunami warning. (PNA/Xinhua)

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will be the guest of honor during the 31st founding anniversary celebration of this province on Friday, Feb. 19, and serve as witness to the joint declaration of the entire province as “insurgency free.”

The founding anniversary coincides with the 122nd birth anniversary of Dona Aurora Aragon Quezon to be held at the Aurora Capitol Grounds at 10 a.m.

The President will be welcomed at the landing zone by Aurora Gov. Bellaflor Angara-Castillo, Senator Edgardo Angara, Baler Mayor Arthur Angara, Northern Luzon Command Chief Lt. Gen. Ricardo A. David Jr. and Philippine National Police Regional Director Chief Supt. Leonilo de la Cruz.

The reception party at the Aurora Capitol Grounds includes Vice Gov. Gerardo Noveras, Provincial Tourism Officer Michael Palispis, who is also the overall coordinator of this year’s Aurora Day celebration.

A wreath-laying ceremony at the Dona Aurora Aragon-Quezon monument will precede the program proper at the Capitol grounds.

Welcome remarks will be given by Gov. Castillo and will be followed by the presentation of the joint declaration of insurgency-free Aurora province by Gov. Castillo, Police Senior Superintendent Romulo Esteba and Col. Felicito Virgilio M. Trinidad Jr. of the Philippine Army.

Mrs. Zenaida Quezon-Avancena, representing the late President Manuel Luis Quezon and Dona Aurora Aragon-Quezon, will deliver a message.

Congressman Juan Edgardo M. Angara of the Lone District of Aurora, will also deliver a message before the President will be introduced by Senator Angara. - PNA

Palace seeks more private investments in tourism
By Catherine J. Teves

MANILA, Feb. 18 (PNA) -- Malacanang is calling on the private sector to invest more in tourism facilities to accommodate the country's constantly increasing number of tourists.

"Roads, ports and other infrastructure are in place already, so what's needed now is to set up these facilities," Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Ricardo Saludo said during a briefing at the Palace on Thursday.

He believes it is wise for the private sector to heed this call since indicators show encouraging prospects for Philippine tourism, which the government reported as recording a more than double expansion in the past five years.

To help address manpower needs, he said the state-run Technical Education and Skills Development Authority is offering training in tourism-related work.

For the January-September 2009 period alone, the government recorded a total of 5.2 million domestic and foreign tourists nationwide.

This is 16.66 percent higher than the total tourist volume the government reported for 2008.

Authorities are bullish the country's projected 2010 economic growth, which government estimates at between 2.6 percent and 3.6 percent, augurs well for even more tourist arrivals nationwide. - PNA

So that overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) will not experience a "duck out of water feeling" during their first foreign posting, Lakas-Kampi-CMD standard bearer Gilberto "Gibo" Teodoro Jr. said he will push for the establishment of facilities or centers where prospective migrant workers will be given cultural and employment laws of the country they are going to.

Teodoro made the statement in his sortie in Laguna on Wednesday when asked what reforms he would implement to ensure the protection of the country’s OFW labor force which presently stands at eight million.

"The establishment of such facilities will ensure that our OFWs will not be exploited or pushed around by their employers. Besides this, the cultural seminars will also enable them to mix freely with the natives of the country they will work in," the 1989 Philippine Bar Examination topnotcher said in Filipino.

Teodoro said that the centers should be put under direct supervision of the Department of Foreign Affairs as this could readily come up with cultural and employment briefing due to its diplomatic contacts.- PNA