VOLUME 3NUMBER 108WEDNESDAYSEPTEMBER 23, 2009

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BY DING CERVANTES

SASMUAN, Pampanga – TheSupreme Court affirmed itand the Commission on

Elections (Comelec) en bancordered it, but law enforcers havecontinued to ignore it.

DILG ignores Comelec orderTo immediately installnew mayor, vice mayorin Pampanga town

BY JOEY AGUILAR

ANGELES CITY – Be careful in writing letters, es-pecially when you are the city mayor. One wrongword could backfire at you and put your allies in trou-ble.

The word “Resolution”, which should have been“Ordinance”, in a letter from the office of Mayor Fran-cis “Blueboy” Nepomuceno has triggered “word wars”between the vice mayor and the majority floor leaderduring a special city council session here on Fridayat the Shanghai Restaurant.

Majority floor leader, Councilor Pitong Del Rosa-rio was insisting that the proceedings should contin-ue saying that it was an honest mistake by the may-or and that “everyone knows a supplemental budget

NI DINO BALABO

MALOLOS CITY—Paghandaan ninyoang isang malagim na delubyo.

Ito ang babalang iniwan ni Dr.Renato Solidum, ang direktor ng Phil-ippine Institute of Volcanology (Phiv-olcs) sa mga opisyal ng Bulacan mata- PAGE 7 PLEASE

Babala ng Phivolcs sa Bulakenyo: Maghanda sa delubyopos ang isang committee hearing hinggilsa kalagayan ng Angat Dam na isinaga-wa sa Sangguniang Panlalawigan noongBiyernes ng hapon, Setyembre 15.

Iginiit naman ng mga opisyal ng Na-tional Power Corporation (Napocor) at ngMetropolitan Waterworks and SewerageSystem (MWSS) na nananatiling matat-

ag at walang lamat ang Angat Dam,ngunit hindi pa rin kumbinsido si BiseGob. Wilhelmino Alvarado.

“I suggest that you prepare for theworst scenario on your disaster manage-ment and coordinate with the managersof the Angat Dam,” ani Solidum sa mgakasapi ng SP tulad nina Alvarado at mga

Bokal na sina Vicente Cruz at Ariel Ar-ceo na nanatili sa nasabing committeehearing.

Sa nasabing pagdinig ng Sanggu-nian, kinumpirma ni Solidum na angmain dike ng Angat Dam ay nasa iba-baw o malapit sa West Valley Fault na

PAGE 7 PLEASE

PAGE 7 PLEASE

Blueboy’s lettersparks ‘word war’

NI ROMMEL RAMOS

MALOLOS CITY—Kinum-pirma ng bunsong anak nababae ng yumaong siSenador Blas F. Ople nainaalok siya ng dalawangpartido na kumandidatobilang Senador.

Ayon kay Susan“Toots” Ople, ang dala-wang partido na nag-aloksa kanya na tumakbongsenador sa tiket ng mgaito ay nabibilang sa hanay

Anak ni Ka Blas, inaalokna humabol ng Senador

BY JOEY PAVIA

CITY OF SAN FERNAN-DO – Pampanga 3rd Dis-trict Board MemberJohnny ‘JQ’ Quiambao

DESPITE LAPSE OF OFFICIAL LEAVE

‘Missing’ BM charged with rape not yet AWOLhas failed to extend hisleave which lapsed on Sep-tember 15 and has appar-ently opted to stay in Can-ada rather than face therape case filed against him

by a 16-year-old girl whois now pregnant.

Sangunniang Panla-lawigan (SP) SecretaryLuis Rivera said on Fridaythat Quiambao has yet to

communicate with his of-fice regarding any exten-sion to his leave of ab-sence. He earlier filed aleave up to August 4 when

PAGE 7 PLEASE

ng mga oposisyon.“Hindi ko muna sinag-

ot dahil pinag-aaralan kopa,” ani Toots na noong2004 national elections ayinalok ng partido ng ad-ministrasyon na kumandi-datong senador.

Ngunit hindi niyatinanggap dahil daw saayaw niyang sumakay sasimpatiya ng mga tao sapagyao ng kanyang ama.

Kilala sa tawag na “KaBlas,” ang matandang

Ople na yumao noong Di-syembre 14, 2003 habangnaglilingkod bilang Secre-tary of Foreign Affairs.

Si Ka Blas ay unangnaglingkod bilang Ministerof Labor and Employmentsa panahon ng yumaongsi Pangulong FerdinandMarcos kung kailan ay in-akda niya ang Labor Codeof the Philippines na hang-gang sa kasalukuyan ayhindi pa nababago.

PAGE 7 PLEASE

PROTEST. Students of the Angeles University Foundation (AUF) march on the streets ofAngeles City on Saturday demanding justice for their schoolmate, 16-year-old Keith Ballesteros,who was killed in her dormitory near the school last September 3. The rally was organized byex-ABC President Efren De La Cruz and Father Jun Mercado. PHOTO BY JOEY PAVIA

PREPARING FOR NEXT GOV? A man takes arest after doing repair work in front of thegovernor’s office at the Capitol yesterday. ButVice Gov. Joseller Guiao says the work has nofinancial appropriation. PHOTO BY JOEY PAVIA

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BY JOHNNY R. REBLANDO

BOTOLAN, Zambales – A to-tal of 3,578 victims of floodingfrom four evacuation centershere benefited from the feed-ing program spearheaded byand the Zambales Police Pro-vincial Office (ZPPO) and theConvoy of Hope Philippines, a

Cops, NGO lead feeding programnon-governmental organization.

Sr. Supt. Rolando Felix, Zam-bales, ZPPO director, and RaulManuel, director of the Convoyof Hope, Philippines led the feed-ing program held at Babon SanJuan Evacuation Center, Capa-yawan Elementary School, Ban-gan Barangay Hall, and SouthCentral Elementary School

Sr. Supt. Rolando Felix (center) together with Zambales police and personnel of theConvoy of Hope Philippines lead the feeding program and distribute relief goods tovictims of floods in Botolan, Zambales. PHOTO BY JOHNNY R. REBLANDO

Paco, all in this town.The group also distributed

rice and other daily needs of theevacuees.

Meanwhile, still floodedbarangays include: Carael, SanJuan, Paudpod, Capayawan,Beneg, Bangan, Taugtog, SanMiguel, Batonlapoc, Tampoand Paco all in Botolan town.

ANGELES CITY – What betterway to dramatize the campaignagainst human trafficking thanwith a free concert by MTV fea-turing two of the most popularbands in the Philippine musicindustry.

MTV Philippines, Clark Inter-national Airport Corporation(CIAC), Diosdado MacapagalInternational Airport (DMIA) TaskForce for Migrant Protection andTrafficking in Person, VisayanForum Foundation Inc. and theUS Agency for International De-velopment (USAID) will be stag-ing the MTV EXIT (End Exploi-tation and Trafficking) concert atthe SM City Clark in this highly-urbanized city at 6 p.m. on Sep-tember 26 to highlight the fightagainst human trafficking.

The concert, featuring thebands Sponge Cola and Sug-arfree – two of the most popularartists in the music industry, isthe second of four free concertsacross the Philippines that aimto raise awareness and increasethe prevention of human traffick-ing and exploitation.

The concert series kicked-offin May at the SM Mall of Asiaconcert grounds with over30,000 supporters. Two moreconcerts are slated to be heldon October 15 in Davao City andOctober 24 in Cebu.

Prior to the concert, advo-cates will gather to show theirstrength, unity and commitmentto fight human trafficking by con-ducting a Freedom March to beparticipated by the Visayan Fo-rum Foundation, CIAC, the DMIATask Force for Migrant Protec-tion and Trafficking in Person andthe Ing Makababaying Aksyon(IMA) Foundation.

They are expected to articu-late their battle cries againsthuman trafficking and encourageothers to join the war to elimi-nate this escalating social prob-lem.

At 3:30 p.m. on September26, marchers will assemble atthe Diamond Park and will marchthrough MacArthur Highway enroute to the SM City-Clark En-tertainment Center where theconcert will be held.

Human trafficking is definedby the United Nations as “therecruitment, transportation andreceipt of a person for sexual oreconomical exploitation by force,fraud, coercion or deception” inorder to make a profit.

The UN estimates that at anyone time, there are 2.5 milliontrafficked victims in the world,with the majority of these victimsin Asia and the Pacific. It is thesecond largest illegal trade af-ter drugs, with traffickers earn-

Free concert vs.human traffickingto be held in AC

ing over US$10 billion every yearthrough the buying and sellingof human beings.

MTV demographics showthat victims are often young menand women who are guilty onlyof wanting a better life.

The MTV EXIT campaign isan award-winning multimediainitiative against human traffick-ing and exploitation. Launchedin Europe in 2004 in partnershipwith the Swedish InternationalDevelopment Cooperation Agen-cy (SIDA), the campaign ex-panded across Asia with USAIDin 2007.

To date, MTV has producedmany MTV documentaries andother programming on traffick-ing, including “Traffic: An MTVEXIT Special” presented by LucyLiu; “Inhuman Traffic” presentedby Angelina Jolie; over a dozenlocalized language versions pre-sented by Asian celebrities;short films; public service an-nouncements; and animation.

MTV EXIT has also estab-lished partnerships with 100 non-government organizations. It alsodistributed thousands of anti-traf-ficking brochures in over 25 lan-guages and reached out to mil-lions of young people throughanti-trafficking messages at con-certs and music festivals featur-ing artists R.E.M., Radiohead,The White Stripes, The Hives,Thievery Corporation, and hun-dreds of other international andlocal artists.

CIAC, operator of the DMIAin the Clark Freeport Zone inPampanga, through its Presi-dent and CEO Victor Jose I.Luciano, has been taken up thecampaign to stop human traffick-ing at the airport.

It is also the base of theDMIA Task Force for MigrantProtection and Trafficking inPerson which includes 12 gov-ernment agencies attached to itto address and arrest the prolif-eration of traffickers at theDMIA, the second gateway tothe Philippines.

Visayan Forum FoundationInc. is a non-government orga-nization established in 1991. Itis at the forefront of the Waragainst Human Trafficking cam-paign launched in August 2008.

The free concert is present-ed by Mtvexit.org, USAID andthe Visayan Forum Foundationand co-presented by SM City-Clark. Its official residence isHoliday Inn-Clark and its mediapartners are ARMVET PrintingCompany, Bite Magazine,Friendster, Business World andPhilippine Star and radio part-ners Mellow 94.7, NU 107, UR105.9 and Y1010 Cebu.

BY ERNIE B. ESCONDE

ORION, Bataan – Scores of vol-unteers composed of govern-ment workers, cops and mem-bers of non-governmental orga-nizations spearheaded thecleaning of the seashores ofBataan in observance of the In-ternational Clean-up Day onSaturday.

The clean-up was visible inone city and 11 towns in Bataanwhich all have coastal areasexcept Dinalupihan, the onlylandlocked municipality in theprovince.

Using rakes, shovels andbrooms, the volunteers clearedthe coastlines of varied kinds of

Coastal clean-up held in Bataanwastes. On standby were gar-bage trucks where sacks oftrash were loaded.

At least 57 members of thePhilippine Guardians focusedtheir cleaning activities at Baran-gay Capunitan here where squat-ters reside on houses with bam-boo posts standing on waterfrom the sea. Manolo Aganan,president of the Guardians inCapunitan, said they were join-ing the clean-up drive in ManilaBay.

“Narito ang mga Guardiansna nakahandang tumulong ngwalang bayad sa paglilinis ngtabing dagat,” said the leader.

Government workers fromthe Bataan Economic Zone and

the municipality of Mariveles fo-cused on cleaning the sea-shore.

Balanga City Mayor JoseEnrique Garcia III joined city hallemployees and barangay folksin cleaning the coastal areaswhere a big celebration of theforthcoming Philippine Bird Fes-tival will be held from October 8– 10. They started as early as6:00 a.m. parading first from thecity hall to “show people of theneed to protect our environ-ment.”

Gov. Enrique Garcia saidBataan has been an active par-ticipant in the InternationalClean-up program for manyyears.

Available at Punto office

BY ARMAND M. GALANG

PALAYAN CITY – A govern-ment bank is in danger oflosing some P54-million tothe provincial government ofNueva Ecija as the sanggu-niang panlalawigan (SP)questioned the release of theamount which was usedreportedly for the construc-tion of a sports facility.

Vice Gov. Edward ThomasJoson, presiding officer of theboard, disclosed on Sundaythat he filed criminal andadministrative charges forgraft against Gov. AurelioUmali, and Land Bank of thePhilippines (LBP) DepartmentHead Regina Nimes beforethe Office of the Ombudsmanand Malacanang.

Nimes, documentsshowed, was head of the LBP

Ecija SP raps loan deal Denies repayment fund for P54-million loan with LBP

Nueva Ecija Lending Centerwhen the transaction thatinvolved the loan was made.

But besides filing thecases, the board has repeat-edly denied approval ofbudget for repayment of theloan, it was learned.

Joson explained that “itwas because the loan dealbetween Umali and the LBPwas not authorized by theboard.”

In his complaint, Josonalleged that Umali executed aPromissory Note with Assign-ment of Internal revenueAllotments and Lease Rent-als and other Receivablesafter receiving from the LBPthe principal sum of P54-million, allegedly withoutproper authority from theprovincial board on July 8,2008.

By accepting the notesand releasing the moneywithout proper asking forauthority from the board,Nimes “acted with manifestpartiality, evident bad faith orgross excusable negligencewhich caused undue injury tothe Sangguniang Panlalawi-gan” for having its authoritybaypassed, Joson charged.

The money was reportedlyused in the construction of asports coliseum in this city.

Joson noted that the oldboard had to pass a specificauthority to former Gov.Tomas Joson III for and onbehalf of the provincialgovernment in connectionwith the same loan.

Section 8.23 of an existingloan agreement between theNueva Ecija provincial govern-ment and the LBP, according

to the complaint requires“Borrowing resolution passedby the Sangguniang Panla-lawigan, authorizing its LocalChief Executive and, approv-ing and ratifying all terms andconditions of the loan.”

The charges against Umaliand Nimes were among thefour sets of cases filedagainst the provincial chiefexecutive. Joson has earlierfiled seven other cases.

However, some appointeesof Umali at the provincialgovernment have also filedgraft charges against Joson,his father and former Gov.Tomas Joson III and otherofficials.

Umali, as well as Nimes,has yet to comment on thecharges. But Umali’s campsaid the charges can easilybe seen as political.

CLARK FREEPORT – Presi-dent Gloria Macapagal-Arroyois expected to grace the 2nd

National Information and Com-munication Technology (ICT)Summit 2009 from November5-7 at the Millennium Hall ofthe Clark Expo here.

The summit, to be hostedby the Metro Clark ICT Coun-cil (MCICTC) chaired byGeorge Sorio, Sr. ExecutiveVice President of Cyber City,is in recognition of the impor-tant role of the ICT in advanc-ing today’s growing businessactivities here and abroad.

The Clark DevelopmentCorporation (CDC) and CyberCity Teleservices, Inc., theleading business process out-sourcing firm here, are spear-heading the summit, whichaims to realize Ms. Arroyo’svision to make the Philippinesglobally competitive in the ICTindustry.

CDC President BenignoRicafort said the event is fullysupported by the state-ownedcorporation as the Freeport isenvisioned to be the center forthe ICT industries and otherrelated investment projects inthe country.

MCICTC, according toSorio, is a member of the Na-tional ICT Confederation of thePhilippines (NCIP), which rep-resents the national venue ofunited partnership for the Phil-ippines ICT industry. TheNCIP is the hub of super re-gions in Asia with ready Infor-mation Technology platformsfor investment destinations.

Sorio said the 2nd Nation-al ICT Summit will be partici-pated in by a wide variety ofsectoral members of ICT in theacademe, ICT-related busi-ness industries, and other re-lated investment projects inthe country.

The three-day summit isalso being supported by theCommission on Informationand Communications Technol-ogy and sponsored by Pere-grine Global Gateways, Com-Clark, Savers Group of Com-panies, Cyber City and CDC.

Organizers also includethe Department Trade and In-dustry (DTI), National Eco-nomic and Development Au-thority (NEDA), Clark Inves-tors and Locators Associa-tion, and Philippine Society ofInformation Technology andEducators (PSITE).

The event, Sorio said, is abroad collaboration among in-dustry players, supporting thelegal and regulatory environ-ment for the Philippines’ ICTindustry structure, impedi-ments to growth and recom-mended undertakings for sus-tainable development are eyedto be some of the areas of dis-cussions during the summit.

“It will open doors to busi-nesses and to be attended byvarious professionals and ex-perts in the following areasuch as the ICT profession-als, ICT companies, trade andprofessional organizations,consultants and experts,business people, governmentleaders and various schools,colleges and universities,”Sorio said.

GMA to grace2nd nationalICT summit

in Clark

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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

acaesar.blogspot.com

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

Tel. No. (45) 636•6327 Cel. No. 0917•481•1416e-mail address: puntogitnangluzon@yahoo.com

pdf file at http://www.punto.com.phPunto! Central Luzon is a proud member ofThe Philippine Press Institute

General ManagerEditor

Editorial ConsultantMarketing Manager

Administrative StaffLayout

Circulation

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

LLL Trimedia CoordinatorsPublisher

EDGAR V. MOVIDOFounder

Fighting WILDTHE RAINS are here to stay – for some time yet. Sosays the usually unreliable Philippine AtmosphericGeophysical and Astrological, er, Astronomical,Services Administration, otherwise known as thehopeless PAGASA.

Anyways, the Department of Health (DOH)continues to raise the alarm over what it called theWILD diseases that come with the rainy season: water-borne diseases, influenza, leptospirosis and dengue.All of them more widespread and causing moredeaths than the highly sensationalized Influenza A(H1N1). Especially the dreaded and deadly denguefever.

“Currently, we have some 1, 400 cases of dengueall over Central Luzon, with at least 11 deaths.” Sostated DOH Regional Director Rio Magpantay as hewarned of the further increase in dengue cases “ifprecautionary measures are not observed.”

The DOH has been at the forefront of an anti-dengue campaign dubbed simply as 4S: search anddestroy, self-protection measures, seek earlyconsultation, and say “No” to indiscriminate fogging.Yes, merely smoking out the mosquitoes is no way ofpreventing the spread of dengue.

“We can prevent dengue fever by keeping thesurroundings clean and making sure that there is nostagnant water where mosquitoes can breed,”Magpantay said, emphasizing – for the informationof the public – that dengue is caused by the mosquitoaedes Aegypti that bites only during the day andthrives in dirty surroundings and stagnant waters.

Clean up the home and the backyard. The DOH isin effect telling all of us.

“The WILD diseases have been around longer thanInfluenza A (H1N1) and affect young children,particularly during this time of year. Actually, properhand washing and good respiratory manner willprotect our children not only from H1N1 but also formost of these diseases,” Magpantay said.

More than an information, that can well serve as aforewarning, and therefore – as the cliche goes –forearming.

The DOH is doing its share. Now, let the localgovernment units assume their responsibility and thepublic its duty. The unified, concerted efforts of allsectors in the implementation of the 4S strategy isthe surefire solution to these menace to public health.

As the former Health Secretary Juan Flavier waswont to say, “Let’s all DOH it.”

BLACK BERET with a star crowning a handsome frowning face,left eyebrow slightly raised, long wavy hair.

That photograph – omnipresent in protest movements from thestreets of Paris to the dirt roads of Kampala; plastered on mountaincamps from Colombia to Nepal, pasted as amulets on rifle butts;enshrined in student dorms from Sorbonne to Diliman;commercialized in public cafes, tabacaleras and record bars;emblazoned in shirts captioned hasta la victoria siempre or itstranslations in hundreds of languages around the world – madeChe Guevara the most recognizable, if not most revered, icon ofrevolution.

Thus, by the benchmark of Che shall all revolutionaries bemeasured. Thus, the ideal glossing over the real.

Oscar S. Rodriguez did not make the dashing revolutionary ofpop culture fixity. But his contributions to the struggle were notdiminished any.

So I wrote in About Oca: A Story of Struggle, the proto biographyof Rodriguez. And went on with narratives of the Ka Jasmin role heplayed in the anti-Marcos struggle, his incarceration under martiallaw.

The Revolutionary Oca

A revolutionary death – so common in thosewho raged against the “dying of the light” –Rodriguez was spared of. To continue arevolutionary mission, as written in his bio: Onhindsight, in revolutionary parlance: Pinagkaitansi Oca ng tadhana na maging martir ng armadonghimagsikan upang kaipala’y biyayaan ngkasaysayan ng takdang papel na gagampanansa patuloy na pakikibaka tungo sa ganap nakalayaan at tunay na demokrasya. (Fate deprivedhim of martyrdom in the armed revolution, onlyfor history to gift him with a definitive role in thecontinuing struggle for total liberation and truedemocracy).

All these thoughts of the Revolutionary Oca ina different arena of battle consumed me as Ilistened to Dr. Jesus Estanislao of the Institutefor Solidarity in Asia speak of a different revolution– “a revolution of good governance” – at theconferment of the institutionalized status on theCity of San Fernando in the PerformanceGovernance System (PGS), the first ever in thewhole Philippines.

Spoke Estanislao: “While other governmentagencies and units are just starting their PGS,you are actually now institutionalizing it. This isbecause of the commendable and exemplaryperformance of your city officials led by MayorOscar Rodriguez and the selflessness of your veryown Multi-Sectoral Governance Council…

“This is a revolution in governance for

development, because all the while, we have beenemphasizing democracy, freedom. And that’s fine.That is a battle we have already won. What weare really looking at is, can we use that democraticspace for the genuine, integral and totaldevelopment of our people. And I think you havethe best example right here in San Fernando. Youcan lead the way…

“With citizen participation, public-privatepartnership, all the projects you are doing likethe emphasis on education, the integrated schoolsin elementary and high school and the citycollege, I haven’t heard so much of thoseelsewhere in the country...

“That is why the leadership of Mayor Oca iscritical. And these good things are coming rightout of San Fernando. With the country’s corruptionindex going up and up and things going the wrongway all the time, you come to San Fernando andask: Is this possible? Are really in the Philippineswhen you begin seeing and talking about all theseprojects?

“That is why, if you are looking at a realrevolution in governance, it is right here in SanFernando.”

Yes, a revolution – not in the mold that KaJasmin would have prescribed – did Rodriguezinitiate in the City of San Fernando, to the greatestof benefit to the Fernandino. And that revolutioncontinues.

Magsilbi Tamu.

Napag-uusapanlangNi Felix M. Garcia

NAKAKAPANGAMBA ang babalang iniwan ni Dr. Renato Solidumng Philippine Institute of Volcanology (Phivolcs) sa SangguniangPanglalawigan ng Bulacan noong Biyernes, Setyembre 18.

Sabi niya: “Prepare for the worse!”

Ito ay dahil na rin sa nakatayo ang main dike ng Angat Dam saibabaw ng West Valley Fault o ang mahabang bitak sa ilalim nglupa, na kung lilindol ay maaaring maghatid ng delubyo sa maramingbayan ng Bulacan.

Dasal ng mga Bulakenyo: “Huwag namang sanang mangyari!”

Hindi pa man nangyayari ang kitatakutang delubyo, ay isa ngdelubyo ang sumalanta sa Sangguniang Panglalawigan ng Bulacan.

Ito ay ang delubyo ng pagkakahati-hati, dahilsa bitak na bungang pulitika ng pagkakampi-kampi.

Ipapaliwanag ko. Noong Setyembre 8 ay nagkaisa ang buong

Sanggunian na magsagawa ng isang imbestigasyon o pagdinighinggil sa kalagayan ng Angat Dam matapos ang isang privilegedspeech ni Bise Gob. Wilhelmino Alvarado.

PuntongBulacan

Dino Balabo

Delubyo saSanggunian

Masungitkay Among Edang Comelec?

(KARUGTONG NG SINUNDANG ISYU)

IPAGPALAGAY ng ya’y basta na lamangItinambak sa isang sulok o patungan,Imposible namang mawala’t sukat yanSa kinalalagyan kung walang nakialam.

At ni ang Clerk mismo na tagapag-ingatNg mga papeles na masok at labas,Ay walang masabi gayong siya dapatAng unang kailangan na may kopyang hawak.

Nakapagtatakang hindi rin matukoyPati sa tanggapan ng Legal Division,Kung saan dapat ay may kopya rin doonUpang masuri ang nasabing petisyon.

Kung “sufficient in forms and substance” ang kasoBago maglabas ng Resolusyon itoO ng ano pa man at “well informed” pihoAng “respondent” at ang “petitioner” mismo.

Imposibleng hindi malaman ninumanSa tanggapan ng Comelec ang folder n’yan,Pagkat di lang isang dibisyon din namanAng may kopya dapat, na lubhang kailangan.

Malinaw sa rekord ni Temmie Lambino,(Provincial Comelec Supervisor mismoDito sa Pampanga) na ‘fowarded’ itoSa Central Office ng Comelec diumano.

Pero tila wala rin naman yata siyangMasabi hinggil sa kinahinatnan n’yanLiban nga lamang sa naipadala yanSa kanilang pinaka-sentrung tanggapan.

At wala naman daw po siyang natanggapNa resolusyon o ano pa mang ulat,Hinggil sa Petisyon mula nang iakyatNg kanyang tanggapan sa nakatataas.

Sabihin na nating ‘moot and academic’Ng maituturing at ito’y na-‘dismissed,’Bakit ni anumang kalatas o ‘notice’Ay di nakatanggap ang taong nag-‘submit’?

Nitong “Petition for Disqualification”Hanggang sa ngayon at umabot sa puntongKagaya po nitong tagilid si AmongSa takbo ng “Recount” na isinusulong!

Kasi kung ito nga nama’y nariyan paKahit papano’y may pananggalang siya,Ngayong ang Comelec ay tila bingi naSa anumang mosyon na isampa niya.

Kasi liban na lang sa naturang mosyonAy ano pa nga bang baraha ni AmongNa puedeng magamit o maisusulongUpang harangin ang nasabing Komisyon?

Sa tuloy-tuloy na pagsasagawaNg ‘recounting’ kahit na may mosyon yataSi Among, na itigil pansamantala,Ang bilangan pagkat maghahanap pa nga;

Ng maipambayad niya o panggastosSa mga “revisors” sa “ongoing recount;”Ngunit ang Comelec ay tila ‘maramot’Na sa ano pa mang kahilingan ni Gob?

Nagka-isa sila noon na didinggin angimbestigasyon ng buong Sanggunian bilang“committee as a whole.” Pero noong Biyernes,tatlo lamang sa kanila ang natira sa pagdinighanggang sa iyon ay matapos bandang ika-6 nggabi.

Ilan sa mga Bokal ay hindi dumalo sa

pagdinig noong Biyernes. Ilan naman ay umalisagad matapos marinig ang pahayag ng mgaopisyal ng Napocor at MWSS na walang cracko lamat ang dike ng Angat Dam tulad nginilarawan sa mga balitang naunang lumabas satelebisyon.

Totoo. Parang sapat na sa mga Bokal naBulakenyo na “walang crack” ang Angat Dam, athindi na sila intresado sa iba pang sasabihin ngmga opisyal na dumalo sa pagdinig.

Halos ganoon din ang naging ugali ng ilang

opisyal ng Bulacan nang sila ay magsagawa ngisang biglang inspeksyon sa Angat Dam noongLinggo, Setyembre 13 sa pangunguna ni Gob.Joselito Mendoza kasama ang mgamamamahayag.

Parang sapat na sa kanila na madinig na“walang crack ang Angat Dam” at hindi nagsagawang pagsusuri sa mga dokumento ng Napocor atiba pang pasilidad ng Angat Dam.

Sa totoo lang, mukhang taliwas sa protocol

ang ginawang biglang inspeksyon sa Angat Damnoong Setyembre 13.

Matatandaan na nagkasundo ang Sanggunianna magsagawa ng isang imbestigasyon sapamamagitan ng pagdinig matapos ang privilegedspeech ni Alvarado noong Setyembre 8. Bakitumakyat agad sila sa Angat Dam samantalanghindi pa naisasagawa ang pagdinig sa bulwaganng Sanggunian?

Kasi daw ay umakyat na si Alvarado sa Angat

Dam noong Sabado, Setyembre 12 at nagpa-interview doon sa ABS-CBN at GMA 7.

Teka, ano bang klaseng pulitika ito? Unahansa pagpapainterview sa media? Ang pamamahalaba ay paramihan ng interview at photo-ops?

Kung nagpainterview man si Alvarado sa noong

Sabado, Setyembre 12 sa Angat Dam, kailanganbang sagutin iyon ni Gob. Jonjon at mgakakamping Bokal nang isa ring interview?

Hindi ba dapat ay nagsagawa muna sila ngisang malalim na pagsusuri at pag-aaral bagohumarap sa kamera at mikropono ng mga media?

Kasi daw ay dapat mabalanse ang lumabas

na balita sa telebisyon na may crack ang AngatDam na ipinangamba ng maraming Bulakenyo.

I see, nais nilang pasinungalingan yungbalitang may crack ang Angat Dam. Pero hindiba dapat ay Napocor at Phivolcs ang magbigayng pahayag doon o kaya ay gumawa ng inisyatibaupang magpaliwanag?

Ngayong nasabi na ng Napocor at MWSS na

walang crack ang Angat Dam, mukhang satisfiedna ang mga Bokal ng Bulacan.

Ano naman kaya ang kanilang gagawin sababala ni Solidum? Magpapa-interview ba uli silaat sasabihing, “hindi pa mangyayari iyan?”

Kung ganyan ng ganyan ang magiging

pamamaraan ng pamamahala, malamang naabutan nga tayo ng delubyo.

Dapat talagang magsuri ang mga Bulakenyoupang hindi na lumawig ang governance by pressrelease, maging ang reaksyunaryong pulitika naumiinsulto sa talino ng lahing pinagmulan ng mgadakilang bayani at natatanging alagad ng sining.

ON THIS DAY in 1846, Germanastronomer Johann GottfriedGalle discovers the planet Nep-tune at the Berlin Observatory.

Neptune, generally theeighth planet from the sun, waspostulated by the French as-tronomer Urbain-Jean-JosephLe Verrier, who calculated theapproximate location of theplanet by studying gravity-in-duced disturbances in the mo-

TODAY IN HISTORY

Eighth planet discoveredtions of Uranus. On September23, 1846, Le Verrier informedGalle of his findings, and thesame night Galle and his assis-tant Heinrich Louis d'Arrestidentified Neptune at their ob-servatory in Berlin. Noting itsmovement relative to back-ground stars over 24 hours con-firmed that it was a planet.

The blue gas giant, whichhas a diameter four times that

of Earth, was named for the Ro-man god of the sea. It has eightknown moons, of which Tritonis the largest, and a ring sys-tem containing three bright andtwo dim rings. It completes anorbit of the sun once every 165years. In 1989, the U.S. plane-tary spacecraft Voyager 2 wasthe first human spacecraft tovisit Neptune.

Source: www.history.com

He who is drowned is not troubledby the rain. –Chinese Proverb

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TheGossip-millerby Cesar Pambid

MATAGAL NA ang publicity blitz ng Lovers In Paris. Mula pa sa inception nito at lalabas ngang bilang mga bida sina Piolo Pascual atKC Concepcion, hindi na tumigil yung pagli-link sa kanilang dalawa. Bagay na biglang iniliko nga ngayon nina KC at Piolo.

Sa grand presscon ng Lovers In Paris, nagpaliwang si Piolo kung bakit hindi na sila dapat pang i-link ng anak ni Mega. Aniya, sakana lang ‘yun pag-usapan kapag tapos na’ng teleserye. Sa ngayon kasi, lalabas na puro mga insinuation lang ang lahat, mas mabuti rawna kapag tapos na ang series, saka sila magsasalita. “Para naman, hindi kami lalabas na nambobola lang,” ayon pa kay Piolo. “If afterthe series , kami na, sasabihin naming ang totoo. Kung hindi naman kami, that’s it, makikita ninyo na malinaw ‘yun.”

So far, ganyan din halos ang sagot ni KC Concepcionna tila ayaw rin sa paliko-likong usapan.Instead, KC opted top talk about a few things na tila lalong na-enhance ang kanyang pagiging mabuting tao.Noon kasi, talaga naman kitang-kita ‘yung pagiging mabuting tao ng anak ni Mega dahil nga sa magandang upbringing nito. She was

sheltered and until the day she came out in the open, saka lang natin nalaman ang maraming detalye about her.Marami rin ang mga pagkakataong pinagdudahan si KC. Na super plastic nga raw ito pero biglang nawala yun nang ma-invoved si

KC sa mga public affairs na may kinalaman sa pagseserbisyo sa tao.Anyway, panay ang puri ni direk FM Reyes kay KC at aniya pinabilib siya ni KC nang mag-shooting sila sa Smokey Mountain.

Nakita raw niya’ng excitement ni KC while interacting sa environment sa Smokey Mountain at ditto nga lalong lumutang ang pagigingtotoo at mabuting tao ni KC Concepcion. “I was amazed, hindi ko inakalang maa-appreciate niya ang Smokey Moutanin.

“Minsan, after the taping, madaling araw na akong nakauwi, nakatanggap ako ng text message mula sa kanya. Sabi niya, ngayonlang daw niya nakita at nakasalamuha ‘yung mga taong nakatira run. The more daw niya nakita’ng realidad ng buhay. Na napakasuw-

KC Concepcion lumabas ang pagigingmabuting tao sa Lovers In Paris

erte daw pala niya for being sheltered all her growing years gayung may mga taga-Smokey Mountain na nag-daranas ng kahirapan ng buhay. Pinahanga ako ni KC at talagang dun ko nakita kung gaano kabusilak angkanyang puso,” kuwento pa ni direk tungkol sa kanyang bidang babae sa Lovers In Paris.

Zanjoe Marudo pinapurihan ng movie pressat ng direktor ng Lovers in Paris

IF THERE’S one actor na dapat talagang magdiwang dahil sa tuluyan na nga siyang kinilalang aktor sa tunay nakahulugan nito, ito ay si Zanjoe Marudo.

Napaganda kasi ng review sa kanya bilang baguhang aktor ng ilang pressna dati raw ay hindi naman huma-hanga sa kanyang kakayahan.

But seeing how effective he is sa ilang projects niya sa Kapamilya network, ayan nga raw at napakagaling nani Zanjoe at puwede na talagang ihilera sa mga big actors ng ABS-CBN.

Sa mga ganitong komento, tila asiwa si Zanjoe at lagi na lang idinadaan sa biro ang kanyang mga komento.Pero higit na naging kapani-paniwala ang sinasabing mahusay na actor na nga si Zanjoe nang mismong si

direk FM Reyes na ang nagsalita about it.“Mahusay siya, very receptive sa mga instruction sa kanya. Dito sa Lovers In Paris, talagang mahusay

niyang nagampanan nang buong husay ang isang layered character nahindi naman ganuon kadali kung tutuusin. Bilang si Martin, Zanjoeportrayed his role so clearly na defined na defined kugn sino siMartin bilang character at kung ano si Zanjoe bilang aktor.

“I tell you, after this series, Zanjoe will be launched as one ofour biggest actor in the industry,” sabi pa ni direk FM Reyes.

So there!

Allen Dizon mulingnagpakita ng galing sa Dukot

SA BAWAT pelikula ni Allen Dizon, he shows some kind ofdevelopment. Kulang na lang talaga, masabing napakagal-ing na ni Allen bilang isang tunay na aktor.

Unang nagpapansin si Allen saTwiglight Dancers and in fact, nagka-roon pa siya ng premyo sa kan-yang role bilang laos na machodancer sa nagging klasikangmovie ni Direk Mel Chionglo.

Sumunod na nanggilas siAllen ay sa Paupahan whichalso garnered some nominationfor him as an actor at sa ma-raming technical aspects pang naturang film.

Magaling din si Allen saButas na nakita natin kungpaano mag-under acting siAllen bilang lalaking iniputansa ulo ng minamahal niyangasawa.

Sa Marino naman, verylight ang acting niya pero mak-ikita mong talagang defined nadefined ang kahusayan niyasa pelikulang ito.

And finally nga, sa Dukotwhich is directed by JoelLanangan, Allen Dizon showedsome mastery of acting. Effortlessnga acting niya at naipakita niya’ngpains ng isang biktima ng militar nangdukutin sila ng katambal niyang si IzaCalzado.

Iza was also great actress in this filmpero talagang ‘di nagpahuli si Allen saipinakita niya.

Marami nga sa mga technical peoplena invited sa isang preview ng movie angnagsabing tiyak ns sasali si Allen sa lis-tahan ng mga actors na nominado samaraming award-giving bodies next year.Napakagaling nga kasi si Allen in thismovie at para sa kanya, learning processang bawat movie niya. “Sana nga, sa nextmovie ko, maramdaman ko talagangmahusay na ako. Sa ngayon kasi, I feelang dami ko pang dapat na matutunan. Ifthey say na mahusay na ako, so farnararamdaman ko rin ‘yun pero para saakin talaga, kulang pa,” sabi pa ni AllenDizon na halatang di mawala ang excite-ment sa bawat papuring naririrnig niya mulasa mga kritiko.

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This was the lament ofMozart Panlaqui, defeatedmayoral candidate in thistown in the 2007 polls, asthe Department of Interiorand Local Government(DILG) in this provincefailed as of yesterday toreinforce a Comelec enbanc order dated lastSept. 8 to unseat “imme-diately” Mayor Nardo Ve-lasco and install ViceMayor Fernando BaltazarJr. as acting mayor.

“The case has beenthere even before the 2007elections and now that ithas been decided uponwith finality, authorized

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DILG ignores Comelec orderpeople seem to be ignor-ing it,” said Panlaqui whohas also filed a petitionbefore the Supreme Courtasking for him to assumethe mayoral post since thecancellation of Velasco’smayoral candidacy in2007 made him the onlymayoral candidate in thelast polls.

In an order dated lastSept. 8, the Comelec enbanc told Velasco “to im-mediately and peacefullyvacate the office of themayor, Municipality ofSasmuan, Pampanga.”

“We declare that thereis no more legal impedi-ment or obstacle to theimplementation (of an ear-

lier decision for the ousterof Velasco), “ the poll bodysaid in its four-page deci-sion signed by ChairmanJose Melo and Commis-sioners Rene Sarmiento,Nicodemo Ferrer, Luceni-to Tagle, Armando Velas-co, and Elias Eusoph.

The verdict also or-dered Baltazar, who wasPanlaqui’s running mate,to assume the mayoralpost and for senior mu-nicipal councilor Anasta-cio Agapito Jr. to assumethe post of vice mayor.

The Comelec specifi-cally ordered the DILG to“immediately” enforce itsdecision.

Panlaqui said that the

DILG should have imme-diately complied with theComelec’s order by install-ing Baltazar as actingmayor pending the resolu-tion of his appeal to benamed mayor.

“My petition is ongrounds that Velasco wasnever a candidate from thevery beginning since he didnot possess the local res-idency requirement for alocal candidate. Thus, Iwas the only mayoral can-didate in the 2007 polls,”he said.

Provincial DILG chiefAngelica Blanco could notbe reached, but her staffwho identified herself asIrene Bacani said that herboss “was just being care-ful” and wanted the orderto come from Interior andLocal Governments Sec.Ronaldo Puno before shewould implement the oust-er of Velasco.

Velasco had resided inthe US and returned to thistown less than a year be-fore the elections, contraryto the requirement of thelaw for one year residen-

cy of a candidate in a lo-cality.

Even before the elec-tions in 2007, the localBoard of Election Inspec-tors (BEI) already citedthis as reason for disqual-ifying Velasco, but a mu-nicipal court overturnedthis to enable him to pur-sue his mayoral bid.

Velasco, who was can-didate of the NationalistPeople’s Coalition (NPC),won and was proclaimedamid protests from hisonly rival Panlaqui whowas candidate of the Ka-balikat ng MamamayangPilipino (Kampi party).

This town is withinPampanga’s second dis-trict which includes near-by Lubao where Pres. Ar-royo is registered voter.

The Comelec’s finalverdict last Sept. 8 re-called that in July, 2007,its second division had al-ready issued a resolutionaffirming an earlier deci-sion of the local Board ofElection Inspectors declar-ing Velasco as lacking thequalifications for a mayor-

al candidate and declaringthat “thus his proclamationis deemed null and void.”

On Oct. 15, 2007, theComelec en banc junkedVelasco’s appeal for re-consideration of the deci-sion of the second division,but his ouster was prevent-ed by his appeal to theSupreme Court.

Earlier this year, theSupreme Court eventuallydismissed Velasco’s ap-peal for lack of merit andlifted its status quo orderthat prevented his ousterfrom mayoral post.

But because of the fail-ure of government agen-cies to enforce the ousterof Velasco, Panlaqui filedlast Aug. 5 before theComelec en banc a peti-tion “to direct Velasco toimmediately vacate theposition of mayor” and “tocease and desist from per-forming the functions ofthe said office/position.”

The latest order askingthat the earlier order beenforced, however, re-mained ignored as ofpress time.

is an ordinance and not aresolution.”

However, Vice MayorVicky Vega-Cabigting whorefused to proceed with thespecial session said: “Letthe letter of the mayor bebrought back to his officebecause it is not our dutyas legislators to correctthe mistakes of the exec-utive.”

Nepomuceno’s lettersaid: “This is to respect-fully request your good of-fice for a special sessionon September 18, 2009,(Friday), 2:00PM atShanghai Restaurant,Brgy. Balibago, AngelesCity for the following: 1.‘Resolution approving theSupplemental Budget No.3 with a total appropriationof Php 812,629,717.50,pursuant to the provisionsof the Local GovernmentCode and in conformancewith existing rules, lawsand regulations…’”

Cabigting and Council-or Willie Rivera, a lawyer,said the special sessioncannot proceed since asupplemental budget is an

ordinance and not a reso-lution.

“The process in ap-proving a resolution is fardifferent in approving anordinance as specified inthe Local GovernmentCode (LGC),” Cabigtingsaid.

She also assailedCouncilor Pogs Suller,also a lawyer, for defend-ing Nepomuceno and say-ing that “it was just “a cler-ical error”.

Cabigting said shedid not expect such ex-planation from a lawyersince spellings and ter-minologies are critical incourts.

In a telephone inter-view, Barangay CaptainRodelio “Tony” Mamac ofBalibago, who waspresent during the specialsession together with oth-er barangay captains toldPunto that Del Rosariomust be fully aware of theseparation of the power ofthe executive and the leg-islative.

On the other hand, DelRosario has accusedCabigting of “railroadingthe procedures” to delay

the approval of the ordi-nance which seeks to ap-propriate P812.6 million forthe construction of asports complex.

He said the P812.6-million loan was alreadyapproved by the PhilippineVeterans Bank, thus, thesupplemental budgetshould be passed imme-diately. But Del Rosariofailed to show any docu-ments on his claim.

BELT-TIGHTENINGMeanwhile, Councilor

Jay Sangil assailed Nep-omuceno for requesting aspecial session to be heldin a private place like theShanghai Restaurant inBalibago.

Sangil said the office ofthe mayor earlier issued amemorandum for belt-tightening measures “andnow why are we having asession in this restau-rant?”

Sangil and Cabigtinghave asked council mem-bers to hold sessions atthe City Hall where morevisitors and stakeholderscould listen to delibera-tions and discussions.

FROM PAGE 1

Blueboy’s letter...

he left for Canada last Julybut extended it up to Sep-tember after being chargedwith rape by a former wait-ress residing in Bacolortown.

“Malamang mag-ex-tend ‘yan,” said Rivera. Headded that it will not be aproblem under the SPrules if Quiambao extend-ed his leave anew.

Asked to comment if

Quiambao is consideredon AWOL — absencewithout official leave – withthe expiration of his ex-tended leave of absence,Rivera said “not yet.”

He disclosed that Qui-ambao would be consid-ered AWOL if he fails toattend the regular SPmeetings for three consec-utive weeks.

Earlier, Quiambaowrote a letter to the SPmembers and apologized

FROM PAGE 1

‘Missing’ BM...to them. He added that hewas “being tried by public-ity.”

The complaint filed lastAugust 4 by the victim andher mother before the pro-vincial prosecutor indicat-ed that Quiambao, 45, isfacing more than simplesexual misconduct butstatutory rape amid theclaim of the girl she wasonly 15 when Quiambaoallegedly forced himself onher.

“I want to come up withmy own platform and rea-son, hindi kasi puwedengsumakay na lang ako sasintimyento ng mga sup-porters ng aking ama,”aniya.

Sa kasalukuyan, siToots ay ang pangulo ngBlas F. Ople Policy Cen-ter, isang non-governmentorganization na naglil-ingkod sa mga OverseasFilipino Workers (OFWs).

Isa sa mga isyu nakanyang ipinaglalaban

para sa mga OFWs ayang pagbubuwis sa textmessaging.

Aniya, malaking pabig-at para sa mga OFWs angpagsingil ng buwis sapagtetext.

“We cannot deny nadependent na rin ang mgakababayan nating OFWssa text kapag nakikipag-communicate sa kanilangpamilya, tapos papatawanpa ng buwis,” ani Toots.

Binigyang diin pa niyana bukod sa pagpapahatidng pagbati at ibang men-sahe ng pangungumusta

Anak ni Ka Blas...FROM PAGE 1 sa pamilya, gamit din ng

mga OFWs ang text mes-saging sa paghingi ngsaklolo kung nasa orasng kagipitan.

“Imagine, hihingi langng tulong ang mga OFWthrough text ay sisingilinpa sila ng tax, hindi natama iyan,” ani pa ni Tootsna nagsilbi ring communi-cation consultant ni Sena-dor Mar Roxas, at Under-secretary ng Departmentof Labor and Employmentmatapos maglingkod nachief of staff ng kanyangama sa Senado at DFA.

bahagi ng Marikina faultline system.

Ayon sa direktor ngPhivolcs, nakapagtala ngapat na malalakas napagyanig ang Marikinafault line sa loob ng 1,000taon na umabot sa mag-nitude 7 na lindol.

“The interval of themajor movement of theWest Valley Fault is be-tween 200 and 400 years,”aniya at binigyang diin nakatatapos lamang ng low-er interval na 200 taon ngpagyanig.

Dahil hindi niya matiy-ak kung kailan muling yay-anig o gagalaw ang WestValley Fault, sinabi ni Soli-dum na “probability wise,parang malapit na yungsusunod na movement.”

Gayunpaman, nilinawniya na ang West ValleyFault ay kasalukuyangnaka-lock o hindi guma-galaw sa mga nagdaangtaon.

“Walang danger kungmatibay ang dam, peroyou have to enhance yourcurrent flood preparednessplans, para in case namagkaroon ng paggalaw,nakahanda ang Bulacan,”ani Solidum.

Ipinaliwanag din niyana ang lakas ng pagyanigng isang lindol ay dependesa haba ng fault line.Kung mahaba daw angfault line ay mas tiyak namalakas ang lindol namararamdaman.

Batay naman sa pag-aaral ng mga dalubhasanoong 2002, kinumpirmanila na ang West ValleyFault ay nakabatay mulasa Taal Lake sa Batangas

FROM PAGE 1

Babala ng Phivolcs...hanggang sa Angat Riversa Bulacan.

Ito rin ang isa sa mgadokumentong pinagbatay-an ng MWSS para bigy-ang katwiran ang panuka-lang konstruksyon at op-erasyon ng Laiban Damsa Tanay, Rizal.

Binanggit ng MWSSang Report No. 1 ni Dr.Kaare Hoeg ng NorwegianTechnical Institute noongNobyembre 29, 2002 nanagsasabing, “the new in-formation about the Mariki-na Fault and the uncer-tainties related to the fu-ture earthquake loads,and due to lack of perfor-mance monitoring to eval-uate the present condi-tions of the structures, thelevel of risk involved is un-acceptable.”

Para naman kina In-hinyero Romualdo Beltranng Napocor at InhinyeroJose Dorado ng MWSSwalang dapat ipangambahinggil sa Angat Dam da-hil nananatiling matatagumano ito.

Ipinaliwanag ni Beltranna ang Angat Dam ayisang rock-fill dam at hin-di kongkreto.

Ito ay nangangahu-lugan na kung sakalinglumindol ng malakas ayhindi basta masisira angdike ng dam tulad ng mgakongkretong dike.

Ipinagmalaki pa ni Bel-tran na pumasa sa pam-antayan ng mga Haponang dikeng itinayo noongunang bahagi ng dekada60.

“Kung sakaling masi-sira ng lindol, hindi bastamagigiba yung dike ngdam, instead, its rock, soiland sand composition will

only be compacted be-low,” ani Beltran.

Inayunan naman ito niDorado at sinabing “AngatDam is safe under normalcondition.”

Katulad ni Beltran, sin-abi ni Dorado na walanglamat ang dike ng AngatDam.

Ang pahayag iyon ninaBeltran at Dorado ay lum-abas na naging sapat napara sa ibang kasapi ngSP dahil ilan sa kanila ayumalis at hindi na tinaposang pagdinig kaya’t hindinila narinig ang babala niSolidum.

Hindi naman kumbinsi-do si Alvarado sa paliwangng dalawa, at sinabingmay mga bagay pang da-pat patunayan ang Napo-cor at MWSS upang tuluy-ang maibsan ang pangam-ba ng mga Bulakenyo namaaaring maapektuhan ngposibilidad ng pagsambu-lat ng dam.

Ayon kay Alvarado,tama lamang ang babalani Solidum at dapat mag-ing handa ang mga Bulak-enyo sa mga darating naaraw upang maiwasan angposibilidad ng isa pangdelubyo.

Binanggit din niya naminsan ng dumanas ngdelubyo ang Bulacan, par-tikular na noong Oktubre27, 1978 kung kailan uma-paw ang dam at aksident-eng sumobra ang pagbu-bukas ng floodgates nito.

Naging sanhi iyon ngmalalim at malawakangpagbaha sa lalawigan naikinasawi ng maramingbuhay, at ikinasalanta ngbilyong halaga ng ari-ari-an at pananim sanhi ngrumaragasang tubig.

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BY DING CERVANTES

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO –Elections Commissioner Nico-demo Ferrer has expressedconfidence that the electoralprotest that led to the recountof gubernatorial votes cast in2007 in this province will be re-solved before the May electionsnext year.

This, even as Ferrer, whoheads the Comelec’s seconddivision handling the case, ap-pealed to the public to “at leastpresume that we are honest un-less proven otherwise”.

Ferrer issued this appealduring his recent meeting withofficials of the Pampanga Par-ish Pastoral Council for Respon-sible Voting (PPRCV) and theSocial Action Center of the HolyRosary parish of Angeles Cityamid claims that the Comelechas been giving special treatmentto the electoral protest filed bydefeated gubernatorial candidateLilia Pineda, known as a friendof Pres. Arroyo.

“Give us the benefit of thedoubt,” he said, as he notedthat the Comelec is frequentlycriticized by losing candidatesand their supporters after eachelection.

In an interview with Punto,Comelec lawyer Josllyn deMesa said that the second di-vision has yet to “appreciate”whether to consider as valid thealiases of both Gov. Eddie Pan-lilio and defeated gubernatorialcandidate Lilia Pineda who hadfiled the electoral protest.

Gubernatorial row to end before 2010 polls – Ferrer Poll body exec appeals for trust

De Mesa said that the 21committees which “revised” thegubernatorial votes did not yetconsider the aliases “Nanay”,“Baby”, and “Nanay Baby” in fa-vor of Pineda, as well as thealiases “Among” and “Ed” in fa-vor of Panlilio.

The committees finished lastWednesday “revising” ballots in4,683 ballot boxes from all overthis province. The committeeshave 10 days within which toconsolidate their reports.

“Revision is different from re-count,” De Mesa said.

She added that the 21 com-mittees did not just recount thegubernatorial votes but also tooknote of the protestations fromrepresentatives of both Panlilioand Pineda during the revisionprocess for the later assesse-ment of the Comelec’s seconddivision.

“It’s up to the second divi-sion to consider or junk thealiases as valid,” she said.

De Mesa, who said she waspart of one of the 21 revisioncommittees, said “there was noreversal” shown in the result ofthe vote recount of her commit-tee which revised 223 ballot box-es. She declined to elaboratebut added that the difference be-tween the revised votes for Pan-lilio and Pineda was “verysmall.”

She stressed, however, thatshe was referring to the resultsof the revision done only by hercommittee. The Comelec hasso far not released any informa-tion on the results of the entire

revision done by all the 21 com-mittees, amid text messagescirculating in this provinceclaiming that Pineda had won.

In a recent meeting with thePPRCV and the Social ActionCenter of Angeles City, Ferrersaid he expected Pineda’selectoral protest to be finishedbefore the 2010 elections amidprospects that it could reach theSupreme Court.

Ferrer admitted that Pine-

da’s electoral protest was un-precedented in terms of how theComelec acted on it, as he not-ed that the formation of 21 revi-sion committees was the big-gest ever so as to cope with timeconstraints. He recalled that insimilar cases in the past, onlyup to 12 committees wereformed, partly also because oflimited space at the Comelecoffice in Manila.

The revision of gubernatori-

al votes stemmed from the elec-tion protest filed on May 25,2007 by Pineda on allegationsof mis-appreciation and mis-reading of ballots, as well asfraud and irregularities she at-tributed to Panlilio’s camp.

Pineda was the candidate ofthe administration Kabalikat ngMamamayang Pilipino (Kampi)while Panlilio, a former parishpriest of Betis in Guagua town,ran as independent.

POINT OF ORDER. Angeles City Councilor Willie Rivera, minority floor leader, explainsto the majority bloc that the process in approving an ordinance is far different fromapproving a resolution. Story on page 1. PHOTO BY JOEY AGUILAR