VOLUME 3NUMBER 126THURSDAYOCTOBER 22, 2009

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BY DING CERVANTES

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -Gov. Eddie Panlilio saidyesterday that Pres.

Arroyo’s unusually frequent visitsto her second district in thisprovince constitute “early andirregular campaigning” amidreports she will run for Congressin next year’s polls.

Gov twits GMA forearly campaigning

BY JOEY PAVIA

ANGELES CITY – “Councilor Sangilwas asking is it the same Bernie Cruzwho endorsed and raised the hand ofCouncilor Yabut?”

Thus asked Vice Mayor VickyVega-Cabigting in the minutes of the

Yabut endorser ‘corneringcontracts in Angeles City’

meeting of the city council session onOctober 6 as they raised questionsover the awarding of city governmentprojects to well-known contractor Bern-ie Cruz of this city and his son, Mark.

“As fas as I know, the Bernie Cruzthat I saw in the newspaper raised the

POLITICAL CONTRACT. Contractor Cruz raises hand of congressionalwannabe Yabut in his October 2 announcement. With them arecouncilors Robin Nepomuceno and Agapito Del Rosario.

PHOTO BY JOEY PAVIA

BY PUNTO I-TEAM

CLARK FREEPORT —“Hot Air Balloon fest orga-nizers led by Jose MariRoa had been treatingpeople in Clark like dirt.”

Thus revealed an insid-er at the state-run ClarkDevelopment Corporation(CDC), who noted that Roais yet to submit financialreports after the holding ofthe Hot Air Balloon Festi-vals in the past two years.

“The Clark Develop-ment Corporation gaveP3.5 million to Mr. Roa inthe last Hot Air BalloonFestival but just like before

Morales

PAGE 6 PLEASE

BY JOEY PAVIA

MABALACAT, Pam-panga — Mayor Mari-no “Boking” Moralesyesterday asked offi-cials of Kuwait Gulf andLinks (KGL) to prioritizethe hiring of his constit-uents once the 167-hectare Global Gate-way Logistics City(GGLC) at Clark be-comes operational .

Morales met withDennis Wright, presi-dent of Peregrine De-velopment Interna-tional recently at thelogistics complex de-signed to provide aworld-class logisticsand services hub in theAsia-Pacific region.Wright said the logis-

‘Global’jobs forMab’t

workers

CITY OF SAN FERNAN-DO - Permanent reloca-tion of thousands of fami-lies has surfaced as amajor consideration for thegovernment amid likeli-hood that the ill effects ofglobal warming, in themagnitude of storm Ondoyand typhoon Pepeng,could now be a pattern, anofficer of the Departmentof Social Welfare and De-

PAGE 6 PLEASE

DSWD SAYS

Global warming effectsmay force permanent

relocation of thousandsvelopment (DSWD) in Cen-tral Luzon said yesterday.

DSWD regional direc-tor Minda Brigoli said thatanother 200 families livingat the foot of Mt. Arayat inthis province will no long-er be allowed to moveback to their homes amidserious threat from land-slides.

Similar situation alsoPAGE 6 PLEASE

‘Hot Air Balloon fest organizertreats Clark people like dirt’ No liquidation of P3.5-M from CDC

he failed to submit a com-plete financial report as tohow he spent the amount.Mr. Roa had been treatingthe people at Clark likedirt,” said the CDC insiderwho asked not to benamed.

Although Clark hadbeen the site of the Philip-pine International Hot AirBalloon Fiesta since1996, the source said “Mr.Roa did not really promoteClark.” Roa is the presi-dent of the Hot Air BalloonClub of the Philippines,Inc. (HABCPI).

The CDC and HABCPIheld the 14th Philippine In-

ternational Hot Air BalloonFestival last February in abid to develop the tourismindustry in the metro Clarkarea and surrounding com-munities.

A memorandum ofagreement (MOA) be-tween CDC and Roasigned on November 11,2008 indicated that CDCinfused P3.5 million ”tohelp finance the designservices and productioncost of promotions and forall the media launch whichwill be held separately inManila and Clark Freeportfor the said project.”

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BY JOEY PAVIA

BALER, Aurora – Wanted:Books for three new courses of-fered at the Aurora State Col-lege of Technology (ASCOT) inthis capital town.

ASCOT President Dr. Euse-bio Angara disclosed that theyneed books for the tourism, ho-tel and restaurant managementand fisheries courses.

He said that groups basedin Switzerland are set to sendthe books they need before theyear ends.

Aurora state college needs books For 3 new courses

Aurora lone district Rep.Juan Edgardo Angara, on theother hand, gave someP100,000 for the purchase ofthe said books, said Dr. Anga-ra.

“But we still need more dueto the fast-growing number ofstudents at ASCOT,” said An-gara. He said their school wasestablished in 1994 through theefforts of Sen. Edgardo Angarawith some 300 students.

Today, Dr. Angara added,ASCOT has some 1,800 stu-dents. At least 1,000 of the to-

tal number belong to the threenew courses.

Dr. Angara said they have anextension in Casiguran town of-fering fishery and agriculturecourses.

“We also need books at ourextension office,” said Dr. An-gara.

Dr. Angara said Sen. Anga-ra and his sister, Aurora Gov.Bellaflor Angara-Castillo, hadprioritized education in the Cen-tral Luzon province named af-ter the wife of former PresidentManuel Quezon.

“Almost all of our studentsare scholars of the Angaras,” hesaid.

Dr. Angara said ASCOT has11 departments with 44 facultymembers .

“We are also short of teach-ers in both campuses in Auroraand Casiguran,” said Dr. Anga-ra.

He disclosed that the gov-ernment through the prodding ofSen. Angara had given seventeachers to ASCOT.

“We were the only ones giv-en new teachers in all of thestate colleges in the entire Re-gion III last year. We are thank-ful but we still need more asmore students are expected toenroll at ASCOT,” said Dr. An-gara.Dr. Angara

DONATION. Mabalacat Mayor Marino “Boking” Morales turns over checks againworth P250,000.00 to Angeles City Kuliat Jaycees President Avilaine Nepomuceno atStarbucks in SM City Clark. The donation was solicited by Morales from TIPCO,Fontana and Rosanna Realty. He fulfilled his pledge to solicit P500,000 donations forthe victims of Typhoon Ondoy. The Operation Tulong Ondoy was initiated by SecretaryEd Pamintuan and the Jaycees. PHOTO COURTESY OF DENG PANGILINAN

BY ERNIE B. ESCONDE

ABUCAY, Bataan- More showsfor the actor Teri Onor translatesto more benefits for the constit-uents of Vice-Mayor DexterDominguez in Abucay town.

This, Teri, the real life vice-mayor, announced over theweekend.

He explained that last Au-gust he had a show in Americaand part of his income from itwas spent in the purchase of 10wheelchairs that he distributedto grateful beneficiaries duringhis medical mission.

“Ang susunod naman po nat-ing tutulungan sa pamamagitanng insurance ay ang mga tsu-per ng tricycle at jeepney saAbucay at ito’y manggagaling sabahagi ng kinikita ko sa Dar-na’,” the vice-mayor said.

Teri is one of the “taong tuod”fighting “Darna” in the GMA 7television series on prime timestarring Marian Rivera and MarkAnthony.

“Habang patuloy na lumili-pad si Darna para ipagtanggolang mga tao, si Teri naman poay patuloy na maglilingkod sakanyang mga kababayan satulong ng kanyang mgashows,” the actor-singer-co-median said.

More shows mean morebenefits for people

The beneficiaries of thewheelchairs profusely thankedthe vice-mayor. “Maraming sala-mat Teri at kami’y makalalabasna ng bahay ngayon,” they said.

He also initiated a blood-let-ting project through the help ofthe Philippine National RedCross. “Ito’y bilang pagtupad kosa aking pangako kay Pia Ma-galona na tutulong ako sa pag-likom ng dugo bilang handogkay dabarkads Francis Magalo-na,” Teri said.

The vice-mayor also helpssenior citizens by way of givingbirthday cakes and 1,500 day-care pupils in the form of schoolsupplies.

“Sa mga proyektong ito, wa-lang perang nanggagaling sakaban ng bayan ng Abucay kun-di sa bahagi ng kinikita natin bi-lang artista at sa tulong na rinng ilang ahensiya ng pamaha-laan,” he said. For the medicalmission, he thanked the Depart-ment of Health in Region 3 ledby Regional Director Dr. RioMagpantay, the Abucay HealthOffice, PNRC and Rep. Hermin-ia Roman of Bataan’s First Dis-trict, among others.

Members of the Sanggu-niang Bayan of Abucay which hechairs assisted Teri in hisprojects.

SAN FELIPE, Zambales - A tricycle driver and his 3-year-oldpassenger were killed, while three others were injured whenthe tricycle they were riding collided with an Army ambulancealong the National Highway in Barangay Rosete of this town,police said.

Zambales Police Provincial Office (ZPPO), Director, Sr. Supt.Rolando Felix, identified the victims as tricycle driver TeodoroSimon, Jr., 25, of Barangay Manglicmot, San Felipe and pas-senger, Kirby Angelo Elcano, 3-years old.

Simon, Jr., was pronounced dead on arrival at PresidentRamon Magasaysay Hospital in Iba, Zambales while Escanodied while being treated at the said hospital.

The injured passengers were identified as Myrna Fajotina,48; Kristeneil Fajotina, 16; and Simon Earl Elcano, 1, all resi-dents of Barangay Sindol, San Felipe.

Initial investigation disclosed that the tricycle driven by Si-mon, Jr. with plate number QR-8662, was traversing the Na-tional Highway heading north when it attempted to overtakeanother tricycle and accidentally collided with the incoming L-300 van ambulance (SHB-668) driven by SSgt Alberto PeraFabro, 47, married, of the Philippine Army based at Fort Mag-saysay, Nueva Ecija and a resident of 57 Col.Estacio St., Pal-ingon, Taguig, Metro Manila.

Reports added that the ambulance came from relief opera-tions in Botolan, Zambales when the accident occurred.

–Johnny R. Reblando

Trike driver, totkilled in collisionwith ambulance

THE RURAL BANKERS Asso-ciation of the Philippines(RBAP), a group consisting ofmore than 630 rural bank mem-bers to date, heaved a sigh ofrelief after the ways and meanscommittee of the House of Rep-resentatives backpedaled andsent the controversial bill thatseeks to slap a five-centavo taxon text messages back to thecommittee for further revision.

“This is most welcome. Theissue is not over yet but we hopethat lawmakers will eventuallyreconsider and scrap the bill al-together,” said RBAP PresidentJoseph Omar Andaya.

The House ways and meanscommittee has agreed to revertback to the proposed bill just twoweeks after approving it for ple-nary voting on Sept. 8, appar-ently feeling the continued heatof public resistance in increas-ing the cost of texting.

Mr. Andaya said a tax on textwould adversely affect rural bankclients, mostly coming from thepoor sector of society, as the useof mobile banking through textmessages has been on the rise.

“Texting is the cheapest wayof electronic communication andit has also emerged as the mostconvenient way to avail of bank-ing services because they cando it wherever they are without

PRESS RELEASE

RBAP heaves a sigh of reliefover ‘tax on txt’ deferral

incurring the usual travel costsand hassle when going to thebank,” he added. “Making thecost of texting higher becauseof this bill will severely limit theiraccess to banking services. Theservice providers have alreadyindicated that any additional taxwill be passed on to the con-sumer.”

Through a partnership be-tween RBAP and Globe Tele-com, Inc.’s G-Cash, rural bankclients get access to differentmobile phone banking servicesfrom anywhere they are, includ-ing high conflict areas, just byusing their cellphone.

Among the mobile phonebanking services available in-clude Text-A-Payment, Text-A-Remittance, Text-A-Deposit,Text-A-Withdrawal, Text-A-Bill-Pay, and Text-A-Sweldo.

By providing mobile phonebanking services, rural banksare encouraging development inrural areas through these differ-ent services and also providingeasy access to banking servic-es to the underserved rural com-munity and the small and medi-um enterprises in far flung areasof the country.

“Additional levies on textingcost would discourage, insteadof encourage, business and ex-pansion of financial services in

the rural areas,” Mr. Andayapointed out.

Text-A-Payment is most es-pecially helpful for rural banksclients which have availed ofmicrofinance services of ruralbanks. This service allows mi-croborrowers to make microfi-nance loan payments. New, ex-isting and repeat borrowers canuse the service for payments oftheir loans.

Rural bank clients only needto enroll at their bank branch,register their mobile phone withGlobe’s G-CASH service, andthen easily load their mobilewallet at any G-CASH Cash-Incenter or re-seller. After complet-ing these steps, bank clients canconveniently and remotely sendtheir loan payment to the bankwithout incurring the time andexpense associated with travel-ing to a rural bank to make aloan payment. Loan borrowerscan pay the loan without theirrespective businesses.

A Text-A-Credit service,which will allow banks to releaseloans through their clients’ mo-bile phone wallets and whereinbanks may also allow pre-ap-proved credit lines for their pre-ferred clients, is currently underdevelopment.

Mobile phone penetrationPAGE 6 PLEASE

Pilmicans pose for a souvenir photo after taking the tree-planting challenge.

PILMICO Animal Nutrition Corpora-tion supported the Aboitiz’s “I takethe Aboitiz 1 Million Trees Chal-lenge” in Sitio Kawili-wili, Brgy. Cut-Cut II, Capas, Tarlac last October10, 2009 to extend the company’sgoal to promote environmentalconservation as part of its corporatesocial responsibility.

The main goal of this environ-ment-related project this year is to

Pilmicans take the 1-M Trees Challenge

P R E S S R E L E A S E

plant 1, 000 Ilang-Ilang seedlingswithin the area of Kawili-wili Elementa-ry School. The project will be apositive action to the environment toprevent the recent calamities triggeredby incessant rain and flooding whichaffected many lives.

The first and second tree plantingproject of the company held 2006 &2007 took place within the vicinity ofCapas National Shrine where its swine

breeder and finisher farm operate inwhich the volunteers planted 1,000seedlings of Mahogany each year.

The engagement of the 70 volun-teers from Pilmico’s feedmill and swinedivision strengthened the real identity ofbeing a Pilmican as a consistent“Partner for Growth”. Everyone wasindulged with eagerness to undertakethe challenge of tree planting.

Pilmico Animal Nutrition Corporation

is the manufacturer of the high qualityfeeds. It continuously supplies high-nutrition quality feeds, animal nutritionadvise and superior piglets to hograisers. It has commercial feedsmanufacturing plant in Sto. DomingoII, Capas, Tarlac and in Iligan City. Italso has a swine breeding andfinishing operations in barangaysAranguren and Cut-Cut also in Capas,Tarlac. –Mark C. Yamson

CAPAS, Tarlac—Governor Vic-tor A. Yap led the groundbreak-ing ceremony of the four-millionCooperative Bank [coop bank]building here last October 19.

The construction of the newcoop bank here is aimed to fur-ther spread out their operation-al workplace for cooperative andmicro-financing purposes.

To date, Cooperative Bankof Tarlac has grown tremen-dously stronger because of thesupport of the provincial govern-ment of Tarlac under the lead-ership of Yap, that it can al-ready compete with rural banks.

According to Wilfredo A. An-timano, general manager of Co-operative Bank of Tarlac, the

provincial government of Tarlacwas lauded by no less thanPres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyofor the support extended to thecooperative bank.

“The President said that itis only the provincial govern-ment of Tarlac that gives muchassistance to cooperativebanks such as ours. No otherlocal government unit does thesame,” Antimano pointed-out.

Yap in his speech said thathe is in full support of the pro-grams of the coop bank to re-spond to the challenge of pov-erty alleviation in the province.

“This is one way of declar-ing war on poverty, Dapat supor-tahan ng gobyerno ang mga

Yap leads groundbreaking of new coop bankYap lowers down time capsule with coop bank officers.

MARIVELES, Bataan- Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Sundaylaunched a component of the P14.5 million-Bataan Information Hub(iHub) project at the Mariveles National High School while ex-pressing the wish that all public high schools in the country willhave computers complete with connectivity to the internet similarto Bataan.

“Salamat kay Abet na naging halimbawa ang Bataan sapagkakaroon ng mga computers sa high school na may connectiv-ity sa internet na siya kong hangarin sa lahat ng high school sabuong bansa,” Mrs Arroyo said in a short speech.

Abet is Rep. Albert Garcia of Bataan’s Second District whoinitiated the iHub project to provide students and teachers maxi-mum use of information and communications technology and buildan ICT-enabled community in 14 high schools in the district withcombined student population of 23,965 and a total teaching forceof 769 teachers.

“Importante ang connectivity sa internet at kahit isang comput-er lamang basta interconnected, iyon ang mahalaga kesa 20 com-puter pero wala namang connectivity na magagamit lamang sacomputer games,” the Chief Executive emphasized.

With the assistance of Gov. Enrique Garcia, CongressmanGarcia, Mariveles Mayor Jessie Concepcion and Buhay PartylistRep. Carissa Coscolluela, the President also handed Certificatesof Award for computers to all public high schools in the towns ofPilar, Orion, Mariveles, Limay and Bagac and the City of Balanga.

The certificates involve the distribution of 500 personal comput-ers units with accessories, 14 laptops, 14 LCD TV, 14 wi-fi routersand printers with accessories, productivity tools and software to14 public high schools.

Upon arrival at past 12:00 noon, Mrs. Arroyo was met by plac-ard-bearing women near the entrance to the Mariveles NationalHigh School at the town’s poblacion. The placards read “We loveyou Madam President”, among some other statements of support.

The President then led in the ribbon cutting of the iHub projectand later joined high school students attending to 65 computerunits. She operated on one of the computers that signaled thelaunching of the project.

Coscolluela who donated 65 computer units to Mariveles Na-tional High School said the iHub project would bring down the ratioof computers to students from one computer to 98 students (1:98)to 1:50. “Mas lalong lalabas ang galing ng mga kabataan sa Bataansa pamamagitan ng iHub project na ito,: she said.

Governor Garcia and his congressman son said Mrs. Arroyohas helped Bataan more than any other president. They said thataside from the iHub project, Mrs. Arroyo has recently signed Re-public Act 9715 that placed the 45-kilometer Mariveles-Bagac Roadeligible for funding by the national government.

They said that it is the only unpaved perimeter road in the pen-insula. “Mabubuksan ang maraming potential ng turismo sapagka’tnandito ang pinakamagagandang beaches at coves na malapit saMetro Manila,” Congressman Garcia said.

There was sunny weather when the President arrived and dur-ing the entire length of the program. Rains fell after she left thestage. –Ernie Esconde

PGMA launches iHubproject in Bataan

kooperatiba para malabananang kahirapan”. Yap said.

Aside from the economicbenefits, there are also otherbenefits from cooperatives. First,cooperative members developthe habit of thrift and savings.Second, cooperative serves asthe training ground for its mem-bers in simple business opera-tion, democratic leadership andresponsible citizenship.

Also present in the ground-breaking are Mayor ReynaldoCatacutan, members of thesangguniang bayan of thistown, clients and members ofthe board of directors of Coop-bank of Tarlac.

—PIO Media Affairs

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Zona LibreBong Z. Lacson

E d i t o r i a l O p i n i o nO p i n i o n

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Business & Editorial office at Unit B Essel Commercial Center,McArthur Highway, Telabastagan, City of San Fernando

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Atty. Gener C. EndonaJoey R. AguilarCaesar “Bong” LacsonJoanna Niña V. CorderoMa. Teresa U. VillanuevaDondie B. VenturaGilbert Mendoza

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EDGAR V. MOVIDOFounder

SMALL TOWN urbanism.Barrio urbanidad, the city ethos transplanted to the rustic village?

It sounded like a new philosophy too, the first time I heard thephrase from Normandy Canlas, foremost Kapampangan architectand my long-time espresso mate at La Nilad, SM City Pampanga.

“It’s my advocacy, it’s the core value of my practice,” said theman from Minalin, which happened to be closest neighbor to myhometown of Sto. Tomas.

Normandy laments the total absence of holistic planning in thedrive to develop the rural areas. Which, as often, results to“infrastructural monstrosities” and urban blight.

“A sense of balance, of symbiosis must be the overriding principleto development. Utmost care must be taken to balance things, toavoid the mistakes of urbanization,” said he, making me like adutiful student listening to a very interesting professorial lecture.But of course, Normandy having taught for a time at the Universityof the Assumption’s College of Architecture.

Architecturaladvocacy

“It is high time for a shift in the developmentparadigm, with policies and practices thoroughlyrestructured. We can begin with neighborhoodsbeing diverse in use and population; communitiesdesigned equally for pedestrian, public and privatetransits. All this in keeping with the socio-economicand cultural diversity of the residents.”

How about the green element to living? Askedenvironmental me.

“Planning for both cities and towns shouldincorporate physically defined and universallyaccessible public spaces and communityinstitutions, the green component integrated there.Urban places need to be framed by architectureand landscape designs that do not only conformto climate and the ecology but also celebrate localhistory and culture.”

Flashed in my mind there were visions ofMayor Oscar S. Rodriguez’s City of San Fernandoas the “Habitat for Human Excellence,” by 2030,as projected.

How about the impact of frenzied housingdevelopment in Pampanga, where formerricelands and sugarlands, even wetlands are beingconverted for residential, commercial andindustrial uses?

“Land use policies in Pampanga should beguided by this basic principle of maximizing theassets and sustaining economic growth withoutradically altering the character of the place or thelifestyle of the Kapampangan and theenvironment.”

Perhaps, you need to talk to your cabalen thegovernor and give him some inputs in this regard.Normandy simply shrugged off my suggestion,and continued with my lessons.

“My work philosophy is this: In a world of limitedresources, an architect has to focus on theessentials that can add value to homes, thecommunity and the environment.”

No environmentally degrading “destroy-in-order-to-build” mindset for this architect.

“I am a strong advocate of environmentalpreservation. I am frustrated by the disregard ofgovernment planners for the environmentalelement in infrastructure designs. Look at thosemonstrous flyovers. Had architects been involvedin the design, those flyovers could have beenarchitectural marvels with enough flora for bothaesthetic and ecological purposes, instead ofbeing arid, ugly concrete jungles.”

Okay, well taken. You have made somebeautiful edifices that added aesthetic value tothe City of San Fernando, like the HSBC building,Chevrolet Pampanga, and the Guagua Rural BankCorporate Plaza, to name just three. How aboutone great architectural wonder you’d like to do?

“Rice terraces ala Banaue on the denudedportion of Mount Arayat, even as the rest of thearea is reforested.”

Wow, the melding of the cultural and theecological there. Perfect symbiosis.

Yeah, as an architect of the first order,Normandy can last.

Agyu Tamu!AtbpEdgardo “EDPAM”

Pamintuan

IF IT doesn’t change direction, potential supertyphoon “Ramil”,according to PAGASA the 18th weather disturbance this year, willhit Cagayan this Wednesday evening or Thursday morning. Ramilpacks winds of 175 km per hour gusting up to 210 kph. PAGASApredicts that Ramil will smash across Cagayan , Kalinga, IlocosNorte, Apayao and the Batanes group of islands on October 22,2009, and exit toward the South China Sea.

Pampanga and Angeles City in particular appear to be not inthe path of Ramil, but there’s nothing wrong in getting prepared forany emergency.

Some people give out of their abundance and should be

commended for their giving; some give whatever little they mayhave until it hurts and should deserve equal praise, if not more so.

For all giving is good, especially more so when the giving benefitsthose in real need. And whoever gives until it hurts deserves greaterpraise because the giver gives not only to fill a material need of afellow human being but also actually gives a part of himself tosuch an one to fill the need of both body and spirit. Such giving ismost uplifting and ennobles both the giver and the receiver.

Let us not tire but continue to give to those of our kababayanswho have fallen victims of Ondoy and Pepeng, and to those whomay also become victims of Ramil. Let us continue to love andcare, for that is what true giving really means.

Give until it hurts

Last week, I received a letter from Department

of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)Undersecretary Luwhalti F. Pablo requesting meto waive the toll fees due for more than 100 trucksloaded with relief goods, including all vehiclesjoining the caravan scheduled to ferry relief itemson October 19, 2009 to various provinces ofRegions I, II, III and Cagayan Autonomous Region(CAR). This was in connection with the reliefoperation called “Sama-samang Pagtulong”organized by the DSWD together with the differentgovernment and non-government agencies relativeto the directive of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to all government agencies to help thevictims of typhoon Ondoy and Pepeng.

I immediately contacted Manila North TollwaysCorp. (MNCP) President/CEO Rodrigo E. Francoand Bases Conversion and Development Authority(BCDA) Chairman Al Santos to waive tollwaysfees due to all those trucks and vehicles that joinedthe caravan ferrying relief goods for delivery to thevictims of Pepeng, and both MNCP and BCDAquickly responded favorably to the request.

In anticipation of Ramil, the DSWD had also

made arrangements with the Department ofNational Defense (DND) Secretary Gilbert “Gibo”Teodoro, who is also the Chairman of the NationalDisaster Coordinating Council (NDCC), for two (2)C-30’s to deliver 46,297 pounds of food andemergency items to Central Luzon (the affectedtowns of Bulacan and Pampanga in particular)

and 46,501 pounds of relief goods to the Cordilleraregion (Benguet, Baguio, Kalinga, and others),including Pangasinan.

The caravan was to ferry truckloads of reliefitems for distribution to some 500,000 families in19 provinces in the Ilocos, Cagayan Valley,Central Luzon and the Cordilleras. The DSWDreported that 30 private and internationalorganizations were prepared to join the reliefcaravan. It said that more than 1.5 million victimsof Ondoy and Pepeng continue to receivegovernment aid. Of these, 1.1 million in 222,292families were victims of Ondoy, while 336,346 in70,612 families were victims pf Pepeng, includingthose in evacuation centers.

By itself, the DSWD has given Php34.8million worth of food and non-food items to Ondoyvictims, while Php31.0 million w3orth ofassistance was given to victims of Pepeng. ABS-CBN and GMA-7 have raised between themhundreds of million worth of relief goods sinceOndoy struck Metro Manila last September 26,2009 which they distributed to storms and floodssufferers.

Meanwhile, I can see the continuing efforts of

Angeles City, Mabalacat and San Fernando City,and Pampanga officials and private citizens, civicgroups and professional and religious groups togive donations (cash and in kind) for calamityvictims. May our good God continue to blessthem. May their goodly tribe increase!

Until here, see you all next week, Mabuhay!

Napag-uusapanlangNi Felix M. Garcia

Kailangan ne paning Siyudad y

Oca bilang Mayor(KASUGLUNG NING MILABAS A ISYU)

(MAKANIAN TA’YA pung buring ipangilagSagupa y Oca keng pialung a e patas;Ngeni ken mung biasang magpalundag-lundagAt mapera ‘tin yang peligrung mabalag.)

Kasasanting namu keng kasu nang Among,Makaba-kaba na murin ing panahun,A pangalukluk na bayu ya minaksyunIng Korte inggil king mesabing petisyon.

Pero nung atin yang sapat a gamitanY Panlilio, magkang maragul ya laban;At mekad miras na’ing tutuking alalanMapaliaring e la pa pu katuranan

Mabayat dili keng sugal a bangkilasO itang ausan dang ‘kara y krus’ deng anak,Ing atsanan ‘dobli kara’ nung iniasa’tY Rodriguez e ta’ya pamu sasabak..

At antining y Among minurung nia murinKeng ‘presidential race,’ ing pekamasantingYanang mag-reelect, ba’na namu nitingApatunayan ing e ya mig-‘vote buying;’

At ya pu talaga ing tune sinambut;(King ngara menekas yamu kanu y Gob,Inia ing ‘Balas King’ at ‘Queen’ ning gambling lordIkua no’ pu kanu ‘atang apasakob?)

Sakali’t mikalma yang sambutan na laDing adua katau (lalu ining Lilia,A mengibabo keng ‘recount’ laban kayaKabud simbut ne keng pangaduang sultada.)

Inia para kaku mas masanting ata,E na no’ pin pamu papatasan OcaDing ninu man karing aduang mesambitlaBan lunto ing tune buri na ning malda!

At e paytake ing World Class City MayorKeng sutsut, agia mang dakal lang susubung,King ya na ing tagal bilang gubernadorAntining ya namang pupuluk nang Among.

(Nung tutu king iti ping ‘priest-turned-governor’Magbalik nia mu keng sadia nang bokasyon,Kaibat ning balamu anti ria mung sibung,Ding mitustus kaya king mapaling pugun

Uling ila mismu, kalukluk na pamuInatake ra neng e pabiru-biru,At ining Panlilio kabud-abud namuPakuldasan da ne, e na kanu agyu!)

Nanu’t-nanu pa man ken ing maging pinalNang desisyun Among – tagal ya e tagal,Masanting na ing e ne pamu pin tatagalY Mayor Oca keng puestong pang-probinsyal;

At ing pamagsilbi na bilang AlkaldeKing kabalitan a ‘competitive city,’Ya na pang isundu nang gampanan nitiKambe da ring bibilug king MSGC.

At saka uling ya e sikat keng gimikA kalupa nining magsirko keng lubid,Magkang ini pa ing binotu ring dyaskisA binang mahilig keng ausan dang showbiz.

(Atin ya pang kasuglung)

ON THIS DAY in 1962, in atelevised speech of extraordi-nary gravity, President John F.Kennedy announces that U.S.spy planes have discovered So-viet missile bases in Cuba.These missile sites--under con-struction but nearing comple-tion--housed medium-rangemissiles capable of striking anumber of major cities in theUnited States, including Wash-ington, D.C. Kennedy an-nounced that he was orderinga naval "quarantine" of Cuba toprevent Soviet ships from trans-porting any more offensiveweapons to the island and ex-plained that the United Stateswould not tolerate the exist-ence of the missile sites cur-rently in place. The presidentmade it clear that Americawould not stop short of militaryaction to end what he called a"clandestine, reckless, and pro-vocative threat to world peace."

What is known as the Cu-ban Missile Crisis actually be-gan on October 15, 1962--theday that U.S. intelligence per-sonnel analyzing U-2 spyplane data discovered that theSoviets were building medi-

TODAY IN HISTORY

Cuban Missile Crisisum-range missile sites in Cuba.The next day, PresidentKennedy secretly convened anemergency meeting of his se-nior military, political, and dip-lomatic advisers to discuss theominous development. Thegroup became known as Ex-Com, short for Executive Com-mittee. After rejecting a surgi-cal air strike against the mis-sile sites, ExCom decided ona naval quarantine and a de-mand that the bases be dis-mantled and missiles removed.On the night of October 22,Kennedy went on national tele-vision to announce his decision.During the next six days, thecrisis escalated to a breakingpoint as the world tottered onthe brink of nuclear war betweenthe two superpowers.

On October 23, the quaran-tine of Cuba began, butKennedy decided to give Sovi-et leader Nikita Khrushchevmore time to consider the U.S.action by pulling the quarantineline back 500 miles. By Octo-ber 24, Soviet ships en route toCuba capable of carrying mili-tary cargoes appeared to haveslowed down, altered, or re-

versed their course as theyapproached the quarantine,with the exception of one ship--the tanker Bucharest. At therequest of more than 40 non-aligned nations, U.N. Secre-tary-General U Thant sent pri-vate appeals to Kennedy andKhrushchev, urging that theirgovernments "refrain from anyaction that may aggravate thesituation and bring with it therisk of war." At the direction ofthe Joint Chiefs of Staff, U.S.military forces went to DEF-CON 2, the highest militaryalert ever reached in the post-war era, as military command-ers prepared for full-scale warwith the Soviet Union.

On October 25, the aircraftcarrier USS Essex and the de-stroyer USS Gearing attempt-ed to intercept the Soviet tank-er Bucharest as it crossedover the U.S. quarantine ofCuba. The Soviet ship failed tocooperate, but the U.S. Navyrestrained itself from forciblyseizing the ship, deeming itunlikely that the tanker wascarrying offensive weapons.On October 26, Kennedylearned that work on the mis-

sile bases was proceeding withoutinterruption, and ExCom consideredauthorizing a U.S. invasion of Cuba.The same day, the Soviets transmit-ted a proposal for ending the crisis:The missile bases would be removedin exchange for a U.S. pledge notto invade Cuba.

The next day, however, Khrush-chev upped the ante by publicly call-ing for the dismantling of U.S. mis-sile bases in Turkey under pressurefrom Soviet military commanders.While Kennedy and his crisis advis-ers debated this dangerous turn innegotiations, a U-2 spy plane wasshot down over Cuba, and its pilot,Major Rudolf Anderson, was killed.To the dismay of the Pentagon,Kennedy forbid a military retaliationunless any more surveillance planeswere fired upon over Cuba. To defusethe worsening crisis, Kennedy and

his advisers agreed to dismantle theU.S. missile sites in Turkey but at alater date, in order to prevent the pro-test of Turkey, a key NATO member.

On October 28, Khrushchev an-nounced his government's intent todismantle and remove all offensiveSoviet weapons in Cuba. With the air-ing of the public message on RadioMoscow, the USSR confirmed itswillingness to proceed with the solu-tion secretly proposed by the Amer-icans the day before. In the afternoon,Soviet technicians began dismantlingthe missile sites, and the worldstepped back from the brink of nu-clear war. The Cuban Missile Crisiswas effectively over. In November,Kennedy called off the blockade, andby the end of the year all the offen-sive missiles had left Cuba. Soonafter, the United States quietly re-moved its missiles from Turkey.

The Cuban Missile Crisisseemed at the time a clear victoryfor the United States, but Cubaemerged from the episode with amuch greater sense of security. Asuccession of U.S. administrationshave honored Kennedy's pledge notto invade Cuba, and the communistisland nation situated just 80 milesfrom Florida remains a thorn in theside of U.S. foreign policy. The re-moval of antiquated Jupiter missilesfrom Turkey had no detrimental ef-fect on U.S. nuclear strategy, butthe Cuban Missile Crisis convinceda humiliated USSR to commence amassive nuclear buildup. In the1970s, the Soviet Union reachednuclear parity with the United Statesand built intercontinental ballisticmissiles capable of striking any cityin the United States.

Source: www.history.com

Living on reliefLIFE IS a can of sardines, a bowl of noodles, a cupof rice.

That is for 2,518 families in Botolan, Zambaleswhose sole means of subsistence are the relief goodsfrom Good Samaritans.

The houses of the evacuees have been reclaimedby the Bucao River on which channel they had stoodfor a long time.

“So far, the families have never run out of reliefsupplies donated mostly by NGOs. Donor fatigue hasnot surfaced yet, the governor wants to rushrehabilitation projects for them immediately.Dependence on donations can’t go on for a long time.”So said Graciela Macabare, chief of the provincialdisaster coordinating council of Zambales.

Meanwhile, in Candaba, Pampanga yesterday,President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo attended thebriefing and ceremonial distribution of the UN-WorldFood Program donations to flood victims.

And in her hometown of Lubao, PGMA inspectedthe proposed rehabilitation of classrooms at the Sta.Lucia Elementary School and the requested roofingof the barangay basketball court in Barangay SanJuan.

Where has the presidential sense of prioritiesgone?

Police watch“I JUST don’t like the growing number of unsolvedcrimes anymore.”

So spake Central Luzon police director Chief Supt.Leon Nilo de la Cruz as he relieved last week AngelesCity police director Senior Supt. Pierre Bucsit.

Early this year, alarmed by the rise in slayings ofbusinessmen and tourists in the city, we called forBucsit’s head. But we were not heard.

When the killings continued – and police continuedtoo being clueless about the suspects – we renewedour call on the authorities to fire Bucsit. Most especiallyafter he made the classic blunder ever recorded inthe city’s crime-fighting annals: “The killings were hardto solve because they were pre-meditated.”

It was good for De la Cruz to issue that ultimatumto all provincial and city police directors as well asmunicipal chiefs of police to identify in two weeks’time suspects in high-profile crimes in their areas orface ouster.

That led to Bucsit’s relief.Now, even as we say good-bye, but not so long, to

Bucsit and welcome his replacement, Senior Supt.Dan Bautista, we would like to assure everyone thatwe shall be as vigilant as ever in watching our policework. Or goof.

Make those P1.2-million-per-unit bikes work forthe peace of the city, Sir.

In reality, serendipity accounts for one percentof the blessings we receive in life, work andlove. The other 99 percent is due to our efforts.

–Peter McWilliams

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TheGossip-millerby Cesar Pambid

HINDI NAMAN kaila sa publiko na naging karelasyon ni Dingdong Dantes si Antoinette Taus. Nagkasama ang dalawa sa isang TVshow noon at malinaw namang sila na nga. At kung paniniwalaan ang mga tsismis na naglabasan noon sa Angeles City, whereAntoinette hails, nagkaroon pa ng anak ang dalawa.

Anyway, nagkalabuan nga sila. Matagal bago pumasok sa eksena si Karylle na noon ay ka-loveteam ni Dingdong. ‘Yung gimikay humantong nga sa tunay na relasyon which was halted by the entrance of Marian Rivera sa buhay ni Dingdong. Alam naman ngpubliko kung paano ‘naagaw’ ni Marian nang tuluyan kay Karylle si Dingdong.

Hanggang ngayon nga ay sina Marian at Dingdong pa rin. Mukhang sa kasal na magwawakas ang kanilang romansa.Kailan alng, nakipagkuwentuhan si Dingdong Dantes sa press sa autograph signing ng kanyang bookazine titled Yes! Life

Stories.Ano ba ang ang rebelasyon niya saYes! Life Stories?“Hindi siya ‘yung normal information na parating alam ng karamihan. Kumbaga, mas detalyado rito ‘yung mga pagkuwento ko

especially mula sa pagkabata, lahat ng fantasies ko, lahat ng dreams ko lahat nandoon.”Nandoon din ba ang love stories niya with Karylle, Marian Rivera?Hindi raw nila tinatalakay ‘yung kay Karylle pero ‘yung sa kanila ni Marian ay may mga ibang rebelasyon. Pati na kung kailan

nag-start ang relasyon nila, kung sa Marimar days ba o Dyesebel days?“May mga detail kung paano kami naging close ni Marian. ‘Yung kina Karylle, Antoinette (Taus) na-mention lang, pero hindi

naman masyadong binigyan ng….Tatlo lang sila?“’Yung iba kasi, hindi na mga artista. Rati pa ‘yun. Pero noong

pumasok na ako na maging ano… mga partner ko na. He!he!he,”

Karylle, Toni Taus burado nasa buhay ni Dingdong Dantes

say pa niya.Sa palagay ba n’ya last girl na si Marian sa love life niya?“Ayaw kong isipin, eh! Pero gusto ko siya. I hope siya na,” deklara ni Dingdong.Pero hindi kaya nagseselos si Marian kay Rhian Ramos dahil may chemistry sila at kilig factor

sa kanilang serye na Staiway To Heaven?“Nagpapasalamat ako sa GMA dahil to begin with naniniwala sila sa project na ito. Kumbaga,

istorya pa lang magmula noong dati noong ginawa ang Korean version, nag-hit na siya. Kumbaga,noong inulit lang ngayon confident sila na it’s a nice show. Plus dinagdagan lang ng kauntingelemento ng pagiging kami at interpretation namin doon sa characters kaya nagpapasalamatkami dahil maganda naman ‘yung naging resulta.

“Pero walang dapat ipagselos si Marian. Wala talaga,” aniya.Baka maulit ‘yung nangyari kay Karylle?“Alam ko naman ngayon na hindi siya parehong sitwasyon. Sigurado ako roon. Importante

sa akin ngayon ay nakakapag-concentrate ako roon sa ginagawa ko. Hindi siya madalinggawin at the same time may kaunti siyang challenge coz hindi ko na kasama si Marian dito,iba naman. So, kumbaga nate-test din ‘yung versatility .‘Yun dapat ihiwalay talaga nila ‘yungpersonal at saka ‘yung trabaho,” deklara niya.

Lumang bags at sapatos ni Angel Locsinibebenta para sa mga binaha

SABIHIN MANG used bags and shoes at ibang item ang isusubasta ni AngelLocsin upang makailak ng pondo para sa mga sinalanta ng bagyo, pero malak-ing halaga pa rin ang malilikom dito ni Angel Locsin.

Ang Shop and Share project ni Angel, kung saan ang mga designer itemay ibebenta for auction sa Ebay Philippines ay matagumpay ang takbo sangayon.

Maging ang ilang mga artista ay tumulong din sa kanya, tulad nina LuisManzano, Anne Curtis, Ruffa Gutierrez, Kris Aquino at Pokwang.

Nagbigay din sila ng items na isusubasta tulad ng mga Louis Vuittonbags at iba pang signature items.

Nang i-post ni Angel ang mga item na in auction, napakarami na agadbidders. At take note, talagang hindi natulog ang young actress at siyamismo ang personal na nag-upload sa Internet ng items kasama ang kinaAnne, Kris, Pokwang at Ruffa.

Sa mga gustong makita ang for sale na designer items, mag-log-onlamang sa www.shopandshare.ph.

For sale ang mga Louis Vuitton, Prada at Burberry bags nina Anne,Kris at Angel. Si Ruffa naman, ang Tory Burch heels ang naka-auctionhabang si Pokwang ay ang Louis Vuitton Magnolis heels.

Proceeds of the sales will go to the Philippine National Red Cross’disaster relief efforts.

Heart nanghihinayang at ‘di siyanatuloy sa Patient X

SI HEART EVANGELISTA sana ang gaganap na title role sa Patient Xpero dahil sa aberya, hindi siya natuloy at si Cristine nga ang naging bidarito.

Hindi ba siya nanghihinayang sa pagkatanggal sa Patient X at pinalitansiya ni Cristine Reyes?

“Sayang, hindi ko iki-nakaila. Pero nawala man ako sa Patient X napal-itan naman ng isang Sharon movie na matagal ko nang dream magmulanang pasukin ko ang showbiz,” sabi ni Heart.

Hindi na itinatago ni Heart ang excitement sa pagkapili sa kanya saMano Po 6 bilang anak ni Sharon Cuneta. Entry sa Metro Manila FilmFestival Philippines ’09 ang naturang pelikula.

“Ever since ay isa na akong Sharonian. Bata pa ako ay may napakalak-ing poster na kami sa bahay na picture ni Sharon. Kaya nang malaman kongkasama ako sa movie ni Ate Shawie ay ‘di na ako mapalagay. Sa bahay palang ay pinag-aaralan ko na ang script para pagdating ng take ay hindi akomapahiya,” kuwento ni Heart na super sexy at lalong gumanda.

Ito ang dahilan kung bakit nga kahit nanghihinayang siya sa pagkabubutasa Patient X. ipinagmamalaki pa ng ex-girlfriend ni Jericho Rosales na magan-da rin ang nakapalit ng movie nila sana ni Richard Gutierrez.

Isabel Oli may bagong lalaki sa buhayMISMONG SI Isabel Oli ang nagbabalitang may special guy na sa kanyangbuhay. Isang negosyante raw ito mula sa Cebu at dahil non-showbiz ayaw naniyang magsalita pa ng marami tungkol dito.

“At para matigil na rin ‘yung tungkol sa amin ng isang basketbolista. Kawa-wa naman siya, may girlfriend ‘yung tao, masyado siyang nakakaladkad. Satrue lang po, friends lang kami pero ngayon, hindi na kami nagkikita’t nag-uusappara matigil na lang ang lahat,” sabi pa nito.

Nang matanong naman tungkol sa present state ng girlfirend na buntis niPaolo Contis, si Lian Paz nga na isang EB Babes member, sianbi nitong natu-wa naman siya. “Kahit kailan, a baby is always a blessing, sana lumigaya nasilang dalwa,” medyo asiwang sabi pa ni Isabel Oli.

NOTICE OF SELF ADJUDICATIONNotice is hereby given that Marlon Salonga, of legal age, widower,

Filipino with residence in Camba, Arayat, Pampanga and sole heir ofMARY CRIST DAUS SALONGA who died intestate on October 4, 2009 inCamba, Arayat, Pampanga executed an Affidavit of Self Adjudication of herTime Deposit with Account No. 324802884062 in Banco De Oro in SM CityPampanga.

Punto! Central Luzon: October 22, 29 & November 5, 2009

Isabel Oli

The President wasagain in her hometown inLubao yesterday to in-spect the rehabilitation ofclassrooms at the Sta.Lucia Elementary Schooland a roofing project for abasketball court in Baran-gay San Juan. Two daysearlier, she was also in thetown where she is a regis-tered voter also to inspectlocal projects.

“Definitely, her frequentvisits lead to an early andirregular campaigning,”Panlilio told Punto in a textmessage.

By the count of thegovernment Philippine In-formation Agency, yester-day’s visit was the Presi-dent’s 39th to Pampanga.Local media have noted,however, that of this num-ber, 36 were within her dis-trict comprising of Lubao,

Gov twits GMA for ‘early campaigningFROM PAGE 1 Sasmuan, Guagua, Florid-

ablanca, and Porac.While Malacañang has

never categorically deniedreports that the Presidentwill run for Congress in herdistrict, a growing numberof Kapampangan folk takeher frequent visits to thesecond district as confir-mation of such reports.Presidential son Rep.Mikey Arroyo, who is stillentitled to a third term ascongressman from thesecond district, will report-edly run under a sports-oriented partylist.

“Mahihirapan ang tata-pat sa kanya (Pres. Ar-royo) sa halalan sapagkatultimong trabaho ng baran-gay captain ay pinapatu-lan niya. (Anyone will findsome difficulty challengingher because she takes oneven jobs fit for a baran-gay chief),” noted Panliliowho once exposed alleged

“payola” of local govern-ment officials after a meet-ing with Mrs. Arroyo inMalacañang.

The PIA said apart fromher visit to Lubao, thePresident’s itinerary yes-terday consisted of theceremonial distribution ofUnited Nations-WorldFood Program donationsto flood victims at MissEarth Park in Candaba,which is part of Pampan-ga’s fourth district and re-lief goods distribution inflooded San Agustin alsoin Candaba.

Most of the Presi-dent’s recent visits to thesecond district were cou-pled with medical-dentalmissions called PGMA(her initials) Serbisyo Car-avan.

Prof. Randy David, anative of Guagua, hasopenly declared his plan tochallenge the President in

the congressional race.David is the elder brotherof Pampanga Bishop Vir-gilio Pablo David.

In a recent interview inMabalacat, Bayan MunaRep. Satur Ocampo said“we are wondering whyshe is over-concentratingin Pampanga, speciallythe second district”

“For a president with aconstituency in the entirecountry, it would be at theleast too much of a bias ifyou concentrate it in one

district unless she has po-litical plans. We are watch-ing whether she would optto run for congress as aminimum safety netagainst the possibility ofbeing out of power entirelyand being prosecuted oncethere is a change of gov-ernment under the opposi-tion,” Ocampo said.

There have been nag-ging reports that Mrs. Ar-royo will run for congressin her district in next year’selections, although Mala-

cañang has kept mum onthis, at times even sayingthat the President’s fre-quent sorties to her districtwas only to manifest heraffection to her “cabalens.”

Ocampo said that hisBayan Muna partylistwould support whoeverwould challenge the Pres-ident in such a congres-sional race in the seconddistrict. So far, Prof. Ran-dy David already an-nounced he would chal-lenge Mrs. Arroyo.

face another 2,518 familiesfrom Barangays Karael,Paco, Bangan, Baton-lapok, San Juan, Paud-pod, and San Miguel inBotolan, Zambales whichhave become the channelof the Bucao River since adike gave way last Aug. 6during typhoon Kiko, shesaid. There are reports thattheir homes were built inareas that used to be theoriginal river channel.

“We are now preparingpermanent relocation sitesfor these families. TheDSWD has allocatedsome P44 million for thedisplaced Botolan resi-dents,” Brigoli said.

Zambales Gov. AmorDeloso has donated a five-hectare lot for their reloca-tion in Barangay NewTaugtog, also in Botolanand another 10-hectaresite is being studied by theMines and GeosciencesBureau (MGB) also forpossible relocation project.

FROM PAGE 1

Global warming effects...Brigoli said that in

Arayat, where 12 personswere killed in a landslidelast Sept. 26 at the heightof Ondoy, 200 familieshave remained in evacua-tion centers as theirhomes in Barangay SanJuan Banyo have beendeclared to be located ina danger zone.

She said that the gov-ernment is considering of-fering them existing hous-es in government-backedhousing projects or build-ing a new relocation com-munity for them.

At the same time,Brigoli and Regional Di-saster Coordinating Coun-cil (RDCC) chairman andCentral Luzon police direc-tor Chief SuperintendentLeon Nilo de la Cruz saidthe region is prepared forthe effects of typhoonRamil.

De la Cruz said all di-saster coordinating coun-cils at the provincial, cityand municipal levels havebeen on high alert since

threat from the typhoon,internationally named Lu-pit, was announced byweathermen.

“All rescue, evacuationand relief plans have beenmapped out and put inplace. We are more pre-pared now after Ondoy andPepeng when we did rela-tively well in coping withemergencies,” de la Cruzsaid.

For her part, Brigolialso said that her regionaloffice has prepared 15,000bags of relief goods to aug-ment any shortage at lo-cal government level.

“Our department wasdecentralized, but we havemaintained close coordi-nation with social workersat the local governmentlevel,” she noted.

Brigoli also noted thatduring the emergenciestriggered by Ondoy andPepeng, cell phone tex-ting provided efficient infor-mation that enabled socialworkers to set up priori-ties.

hand of our colleaguehere, Ares Yabut, is a con-tractor. I just don’t know sowe have to find out if BPCruz is the same personwho raised the hand ofCouncilor Yabut,” saidCouncilor Jesus “Jay”Sangil. He was referring toa press conference onOctober 2 when three-term Councilor Yabut de-clared his intention to runfor congressman and Cruzwas present to expresshis support.

Sangil disclosed thatB.P. Cruz Builders got thecontract for the re-chan-neling of the portion of theAbacan River. The fundsfor the project, he added,would come from the ca-lamity fund. The M.S.Cruz, on the other hand,is reportedly Mark Cruz,son of Bernie.

“ What is the point?The point is, Councilor DelRosario, I think Mr. Cruzis also my kumpare is thesame Bernie Cruz whoraised the hand of Coun-

FROM PAGE 1

Yabut endorser...cilor Yabut. Medyo kailan-gan siguro, out of propri-ety kasi po ang indicationpo niyan ang impressionmalakas si Mr. Cruz dahilsinusoportahan niya angisa sa ating mga konse-hal. Ang impression dinpo is that malapit po siyasa city government that iswhy doon sa comment niCouncilor Sangil halosnakukuha po niya lahat ngmga proyekto po dito. Tothe people and to othersmay malaking indicationpo iyon. I think CouncilorSangil is questioning thisbecause we want to knowwho these people are andif is he the same personna nagtaas ng kamay niCouncilor Yabut for anoth-er position then yun poang kinakabahan natin.Ang ibig pong sabihin in theminds of other people itopo yung potential na polit-ical supporter who mightbe asking for somethingduring this time and afterthe election,” said Cabig-ting.

“Madam Chair for theinformation, kung yung

Bernie Cruz na nagtaas ngkamay ni councilor Yabuteven at the time of Con-gressman Lazatin (asmayor) kaibigan na namanni Bernie. Kung ito pongpagtataas ng kamay kayCouncilor Yabut dahilkaibigan po niya at kaibig-an rin siya ng mga miyem-bro ng city council,” saidMajority Floor LeaderCouncilor Agapito Del Ro-sario in defending Yabutand Cruz. He is a mem-ber of the majority bloc andally of Mayor Francis“Blueboy” Nepomuceno.

In the same minutes ofthe meeting, Sangil andCouncilor Willie Rivera al-leged that some of thecontracts awarded toB.P.Cruz Builders, M.S.Cruz Builders and B-12Builders had lacked theneccesary requirementssuch as program of workand notary.

“Kahit tissue paper la-mang, wala silang ipini-prisinta sa konseho, taposi-aaward natin sa kanilaang proyekto?” Sangil la-mented.

tics project is expected togenerate 70,000 jobs forFilipinos.

“We are taking advan-tage of this great employ-ment opportunity. I askedthe GGLC officials to pri-oritize the hiring of Mabal-aquenos,” said Morales.

The town of Mabalacathas a pool of English-speaking and highly tal-ented workforce that canfill up jobs at the GGLC,according to Morales.

The development of alogistics and services hubin Clark is being support-ed by President GloriaMacapagal-Arroyo whograced the groundbreakingfor the $1.025 billionGGLC at the 2,500-hect-are Clark Civil AviationComplex.

The logistics projectwill complement the na-tional government’s grandplan to develop a logisticsand services hub in theSubic-Clark corridor andthe development of the Di-

FROM PAGE 1

‘Global’ jobs for Mab’t workersosdado Macapagal Inter-national Airport (DMIA).

The agreement pavesthe way for the creation ofsome 70,000 jobs andwould benefit the surround-ing communities of ClarkFreeport Zone as well asof Northern and CentralLuzon. DMIA is beinggeared as the next premierinternational gateway ofthe country.

The first stage ofthe project costs $25 mil-lion for the development ofinfrastructure such asroads, lights, fence, land-scape, sidewalks, utilities,and access points. Thesecond stage will costabout $1 billion for the con-struction of facilities andbuildings.

The KGL project will bean aviation-related anddependent businesses in-cluding but not limited towarehousing, distribution,multi-nodal logistics, lightmanufacturing alongsidecomplementary businessoperations and facilities tosupport aviation-related

activities within the CivilAviation Complex of theairport.

KGL will occupy atleast 167 hectares of landwithin the civil aviationcomplex for the develop-ment of a combined uselogistics hub and technopark. The project is locat-ed at the Industrial EstateFive near the YokohamaTire Philippines and otherJapanese firms in thearea. KGL investmentcompany is an internation-al alternative investmentfirm engaged in privateequity; venture capital andinvestment banking.

KGL is a global leaderwith over 50 years of expe-rience in transportation, lo-gistics, stevedoring, pas-senger transport, ware-housing, supply chain man-agement and port opera-tions. KGL’s current oper-ations include Kuwait, Unit-ed Arab Emirates, Jordan,Tunisia, Oman, Namibia,Morocco, Pakistan, Ger-many, Ireland, Cayman,Mauritius and Egypt.

The event organizershowever failed to elicit thesupport of Pampanga-based mediamen afterthey were not allowed tocover the event. The Pam-panga Press Club (PPC),one of the oldest mediaorganizations in the coun-try, condemned organizersof the Hot Air Balloon festfor not issuing mediapasses to local reporters.

Based on the report ofHABCPI, the Hot Air Bal-loon fest organizers gave

‘Hot Air Balloon fest...’FROM PAGE 1 out 5,731 complimentary

tickets during the Febru-ary 12 to 15 events thisyear but not one memberof the PPC received acomplimentary ticket or amedia pass.

At least 49,638 ticketshad been sold and 5,735vehicles parked in the des-ignated parking area dur-ing the 4-day fest.

It said that the orga-nizers “worked for bettermedia coverage” but failedto include the local mediaduring the event.

The source said that

“CDC is not requiring Roato submit his financial re-port.” This could be thereason why Roa was notsubmitting financial re-ports in the past twoyears, according to thesource.

Inquiries from CDCabout the offices and con-tact numbers of Roa yield-ed negative results as ofpress time.

(Editor’s Note: This pa-per is open to any andall reaction from Roa orhis associates.)

rate in the Philippines hit75 percent as of end-2008,as the number of subscrib-er identity module, or SIMcards, sold by the coun-try’s top three operatorsreached 67.9 million.There are currently over80,000 users of mobilebanking services, and thisnumber is still on the rise.

Globe Telecom said ithad a total subscriberbase of 24.7 million, in-cluding both Globe andTouch Mobile subscribers,

RBAP heaves a sigh of relief...FROM PAGE 2 as of December 2008.

On the other hand, thePLDT group said it had35.2 million subscribersas of December 2008, in-cluding 20.9 million SmartCommunications sub-scribers and 14.3 millionTalk ’N Text subscribers.

Meanwhile, the thirdplayer in the mobile phoneindustry, Digital Telecom-munications of theGokongwei group, said ithad more than eight mil-lion subscribers under itsSun Cellular network dur-ing the same period.

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BY ERNIE B. ESCONDE

BALANGA CITY- ArchbishopSocrates “Soc” Villegas on Sun-day revealed his secret prayerfor Bataan less than two weeksbefore he leaves the peninsulaand assumes as vicar of the Di-ocese of Lingayen-Dagupan inPangasinan.

“My secret prayer to God isthat this province be known notonly as a place of heroism, cour-age and valor but of holiness andthat when people arrive here,they will be coming to holyground,” the former bishop said.

“Sana matuklasan ang la-lawigan sa buong mundo hindilamang dahil sa Mt. Samat kun-di dahil sa kabanalan at pag-uwing mga bisita ay may dala si-lang karanasan tungkol sa Diy-os,” Villegas said.

He explained that touristscome when the surroundings arebeautiful and the mountainsfresh that will remind us of God.“Kapag may kabayanihan lalona’t may kabanalan, tiyak paba-lik-balik ang mga turista. He saidthat the province was made holyby the blood shed on its soilfrom north to south during WorldWar II.

Villegas officiated in theblessing of the still unfinishedmulti-million-peso Bataan Tour-ism Center in Balanga City. Gov.Enrique Garcia said that theyrequested the new archbishop tobless the new building beforeleaving for Dagupan on Novem-ber 2.

Archbishop Soc reveals secret prayer for Bataan

“May ‘Midas touch’ si bish-op dahil lahat ng nabasbsanniya ay nagtatagumpay kayakahit hindi pa tapos ay ginanapna ang blessing,” the governorsaid.

Archbishop Soc explainedthat when he first arrived inBataan, he saw something thathe said was not given much at-tention – that of Bataan beingnot only a place of heroes butof holiness.

The former spokesman of thelate Jaime Cardinal Sin took overas bishop of the Diocese of Ba-langa on May 3, 2004.

He explained that it wasclear that Bataan is a groundof heroism because presi-dents come during the cele-bration of the “Fall of Bataan”observed as “Araw ng Kagit-ingan” every April 9. He saidthat by merely looking atMt.Samat and the “DeathMarch” markers, it was evi-dent that Bataan is a hero.

But he emphasized that tour-ists visit not only places of he-roes but holy lands. “Ang Lour-des, Fatima, Rome, Jerusalemay dinadayo ng mga tao buhatsa iba’t-ibang bansa sapagka’t

may kabanalan sa mga lugal naiyon kahit na walang kabayani-han,” Villegas said.

Vicky Garcia, chair of theBataan Tourism Council, ex-pressed the hope that throughthe new center, Bataan will beplaced in the tourism map of thecountry “for God and country.”“We will be missing you,” shetold Archbishop Soc.

Although Villegas said it wasstill not be bye-bye time, Balan-ga City Mayor Jose EnriqueGarcia III presented the archbish-op with a drawing of the St. Jo-seph Cathedral by Robert Ale-

jandro.Alejandro was in Balanga

during the 5th Philippine BirdFestival to draw birds but whileseated at the city plaza, the art-ist made the sketch of the stun-ning cathedral. “Tuwing makiki-ta po ninyo ang larawang ito,maaalaala ninyo na libo-libongtaga-Bataan ang nananalanginpara sa inyo,” the mayor toldVillegas.

Aeta children belonging to theBangkal Choir rendered songnumbers while wives of townmayors presented a dance num-ber.

HOMEOWNERS. Mayor Oscar Rodriguez and Councilor Jimmy Lazatin poses with the newly elected Essel ParkHomeowners Association, Inc (EPHAI) officers headed by incoming president Raymund David last October 17, 2009at the Essel Park Clubhouse.