Philippine News by MySearch Philippines

The ABS-CBN Foundation Inc. (AFI) and the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC) yesterday formally launched the "Kapit Bisig sa Ilog Pasig" a massive cleanup project that aims to rehabilitate the polluted 24-kilometer long Pasig River.

AFI Managing Director Regina Paz "Gina" Lopez said the project will take seven years to complete and will involve the support of not only the private sector and local government units but also the media as well.

"No matter how much money you spend to clean the river, the river is still going to be dirty. We have to change the way we look at the river. We should use the media to awaken the consciousness and the reverence that people should have for the Pasig River," Lopez said at the project's launching at the Makati Park and Garden in Guadalupe.

Mayors Feliciano Belmonte Jr. of Quezon City, Alfredo Lim of Manila, JV Ejercito of San Juan, Marides Fernando of Marikina, Jejomar Binay of Makati, Ben Hur Abalos of Mandaluyong, Sigfrido Tinga of Taguig, and Vicente Eusebio of Pasig pledged their support for the project.

Others who also vowed to help were the Manila Water Co., Maynilad Water Services Inc., the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, ABS-CBN, Deparment of Science and Technology, and Deparment of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Seretary Lito Atienza.

Goldilocks Bakeshop donated P6 million, while Vice President Noli de Castro promised the support of the national Housing Authority in his capacity as the chairman of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council.

"Kapit Bisig sa Ilog Pasig" is a product of a memorandum of agreement between AFI and DENR, through PRRC, which makes the AFI - Bantay Kalikasan and the DENR co-managers of the Pasig River Rehabilitation project.

The project aims to achieve a zero toxic input into the Pasig River including tributaries
esteros, and creeks leading to it. The project also aims to raise at least P700 million to acquire the technology and meet operational expenses to clean the river within seven years.

Under the project, focus is on the cleanup of an initial 10 esteros that flow towards the four major tributaries in San Juan, Marikina, Taguig, Pateros and Napindan. There are 47 major and minor tributaries in the metropolis, for which the Pasig River serves as the catch basin.

Under the project, the PRRC, AFI and their partner organizations aims to revive the polluted Pasig River through "clean river zones" where the discharge of toxic waste will be lessened or stopped with the use of community-based facilities for the treatment of solid and water wastes.

Lopez added that the project aims to treat water flowing into the Pasig River with the use of catchments and filtration systems and bioremediation. Bioremediation is the process that uses microorganism, fungi, green plant of their enzymes to return the natural environment altered by contaminants to its original condition.

The project has begun the fist phase of its seven - year program, which focuses on the relocation of informal settlers living on the banks of the Pasig River and contribute heavily to the river's pollution.

A study by the PRRC shows that 60 percent of the garbage dumped in Pasig River comes from households and 35 percent from industries.

Under the "Kapit Bisig sa Ilog Pasig" about 1,100 informal settlers living along the Pasig River will be relocated to a resettlement site in Calauan, Laguna by June. In the relocation site, the informal settlers will be provided by private sponsors with housing, education and health facilities and livelihood assistance.

The project also aims to relocate 4,040 informal settlers from Quezon City, Mandaluyong, Tondo, Manila, Makati-Guadalupe Viejo, Pasig, and Taguig.

ABS-CBN chairman and chief executive officer Eugenio Lopez III added that ABS-CBN will be heavily contributing to the success of the project.

"Other AFI programs like Bayanijuan, Bantay Bata 163, Bantay Kalikasan, Sagip Kapamilya, Bayan Micro-Finance, and E-Media will also take part. Everybody’s working together so the settler will be happy to transfer to the resettlement sites,” Lopez said.

According to Lopez, the Philippines is the only country in Southeast Asia which has not yet cleaned up its major rivers, such as the Pasig.

"All the other Asian countries have solved their problems regarding the rivers that run through them," he said.

Meanwhile, Gina Lopez called on the private sector, the military and the national government to lend their support to the project.

"Just imagine if we succeed in cleaning the Pasig River, this can be a model for all the endangered river systems in the country. We're sending a signal to everybody else that you need to revere the river because it is not your toilet bowl, it is your life." she said.

Labels: ABS-CBN Foundation, Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission, philippine news online

CEBU CITY - The Region 7 office of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) 7 is offering loans for displaced overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who need start-up capital for their business ventures.

Ma. Benidez Dayo, OWWA 7 Information Officer, said that the OWWA 7 is offering loans of up to P50,000 loans to the workers displaced by the global financial crisis.

Dayo said that as of Feb. 6, the regional office of OWWA 7 has registered 281 overseas displaced workers, and most of them were deployed in Taiwan.

"Based on our records and the records of Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) 7 most displaced workers came from Taiwan because most of them were previously working in electronics companies, which were badly hit by the economic crisis," she said.

Dayo also said that aside from the loan which is payable in two years and which has no collateral, OWWA 7 is also offering free scholarships to the displaced workers who can meet the requirements.

"We are offering vocational scholarships to interested displaced workers," she said.

She said that each scholarship grant amounts to P14.500, which will be used as tuition fee, among others.

Dayo said that OWWA 7 scholars can choose any vocational course they want to enroll in and they can choose any school as long as it is accredited by the Technical Education Skills and Development Authority (TESDA).

Labels: OWWA, philippine news online, TESDA, vocational scholarships

The rapid expansion of New Zealand's dairy industry continues to benefit Filipino workers flocking to that country in search of the proverbial "greener pasture."

No less than New Zealand's dairy farm owners and recruiters, through that country's mass media, have been reporting many vacancies.

Published reports furnished The Star by a Filipino now working in New Zealand showed that Filipinos have great promise in this island nation of 4.3 million people situated southeast of Australia.

One newspaper, The Southland Times, quoted NZ farmers and recruiters as saying that more than 3,000 workers are needed to fill the gap created by the rapid expansion of the dairy industry.

"Spurred by soaring milk prices that will result in the 11,600 dairy farmers grossing six-or seven-figure sums each this year (2008), the industry is growing so quickly employment recruiters cannot keep up," it stated.

Vacancies for dairy farm workers in Southland and Otago in NZ's southern region are expected to be filled by workers from other countries, among them the Philippines, said Peter MacFarlane, Director of the Southland agricultural recruitment company Greener Horizons.

The Straight Furrow also reported: "Filipino dairy workers to relieve the shortage on New Zealand farms were becoming a reality after Weimate man Hayden Creed interviewed about 1,000 applicants in the Philippines recent (2008)."

Creed had planned to bring 200 Filipino workers in 2008 but the number was unlikely to be enough. "Next year (2009) we may have to get triple that number to satisfy demand."

He noted that Filipino workers are generally liked by NZ farmers and many of them could go on to apply for residency and become New Zealand citizens.

"They are going to benefit in New Zealand. These guys in five years time are going to be herd managers," Creed projected.

Another newspaper, Otago Southland Farmer, once headlined an article thus "Filipinos find opportunity to progress."

The Southern Rural Life bannered: "Filipinos find opportunity to progress."

An agency also once advertised that Filipinos in its dairy farm staff are "experienced" with good English, hardworking, honest and reliable.

In it's Sept. 17, 2008 issue, The Southern Rural Life featured Fabela and Elmer Maglaqui as among about 500 Filipinos now working in dairy farms in New Zealand's Southland. There are about 15,000 Filipinos in New Zealand.

"As the dairy industry expands, there is insufficient labor to meet its needs, so people like Mr.Maglaqui and Mr.Fabela are welcomed by farmers," article author Yvonne O'hara wrote.

The two are workers of Quadrant pastoral on a 360m Orawia farm owned by Jol.

Labels: Greener Horizons, Otago Southland Farmer, philippine news online, The Southland Times

Something strange happened this week in Amazon.com's apparel section.

For a day or two, a black T-shirt featuring an image of three wolves baying at a full moon claimed the top slot at the online store's clothing bestseller list,, beating out the usual, unremarkable mix of Levi's 505 regular-fit jeans, Crocs clogs and Adidas running shoes.

Three Wolf Moon T-Shirt, Available in Various Sizes

And really, why wouldn't you buy the shirt, which is priced from $7.65 to $17.93, depending on your size? Just read the long and growing list of customer testimonials promising earth-shattering experiences or psychedelic vision quests upon purchase.

"I bought this shirt and instantly old girlfriends started calling me again," wrote one reviewer."My doctor says the cancer has gone into remission," wrote another. "

Thanks for changing my life!"The shirt's page at Amazon.com had quietly existed for years without much comment, but after a snarky link from CollegeHumor.com, the "Three Wolf Moon" shirt suddenly sprouted hundreds of five-star ratings.

Reviewers have dreamed up epics about its powers, weaving fantasies involving everything from the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland to the pop group Duran Duran.

As the joke caught on and got passed around the Web, Photoshopped spoofs of the shirt started appearing online -- featuring corgi puppies, spiders or haddock instead of the now-famous wolves.

CollegeHumor.com, a comedy site started in 1999 by a couple of high school friends who grew up together in Timonium, Md., also claimed victory this week for rigging an online poll run by the state of Nebraska to select a new license-plate design.

The site urged its readers to vote for what it deemed the most boring design available to Nebraska drivers. That gray-and-white plate won.

Officials in Nebraska said they monitored Web traffic to screen out visitors coming directly from
the humor site, but CollegeHumor.com was still, credibly, claiming the joke a success this week.

"Together we pranked the entire automobile-owning population of Nebraska," wrote a CollegeHumor.com editor, in a Wednesday posting. "Congratulations."

This type of online rabble-rousing appears to be catching on more than ever over the past year, said Tim Hwang, the organizer of ROFLCon, a convention dedicated to celebrating Internet memes.

After all, another Web-based prank crossed over into the real world just last month when a 21-year-old college student, known by the online moniker "m00t," sailed to the top of Time's "most influential person" list in an online poll, beating out the likes of President Obama and Oprah Winfrey.

Gathering nearly 17 million votes, the world's "most influential" person is the founder of another jokey Web culture site, 4chan.org, whose proprietor is known offline by the name Christopher Poole. If you don't get why the shirt, and its reviews, are so funny, don't worry.

CollegeHumor.com co-founder Josh Abramson said it's a case where the shirt is so uncool that it's cool."A lot of things that become popular on the Web are based around just being ironic and being an inside joke," Abramson said.

"This resonates with a geeky, hip crowd that is very Web-savvy. When something resonates with that circle, crazy things can happen."Abramson said his team had considered licensing the wolf shirt for sale.

CollegeHumor.com, which had 7 million unique Web visitors last month, also has an online store that sells T-shirts with ironic catchphrases and designs, called BustedTees.com. But it appears that the site may have been a bit slow to catch on to its own meme.

"We're kicking ourselves that we didn't," he said.The New Hampshire company that makes the "Three Wolf Moon" shirt said that it doesn't generally mind being the butt of this joke."You have to be able to laugh at yourself," said Michael McGloin, a partner and art director at the Mountain, who added that he finds some of the reviews to be "freaking hilarious."

The company certainly doesn't mind the shirt's recent uptick in sales: "Three Wolf Moon" is sold out, and the Mountain has started printing up a fresh batch.

It seems that the wolf theme was growing in popularity even before the Internet hipsters descended, McGloin said."Wolf shirts are super hot right now," he said. "It's the year of the wolf, I guess."

Click now to Three Wolf Moon T-Shirt, Available in Various Sizes

By Mike Musgrove, Washington Post Staff Writer

Labels: ironic tshirt, philippine news online, the mountain, three wolf moon, tshirt, wolf moon, wolf shirt, wolf t-shirt

Speaker Prospero C. Nograles yesterday said congress, in close coordination with the agencies of government, is exploring all avenues to promote education while expanding the government's employment generation programe, especially for the youth.

"We have to inculcate the value of education and hardwork in the mindset of the young," Nograles stressed as he endorsed the early enactment of the proposed broadening and expansion of the coverage of the Special Program for the Employment of Students(SPES).

In consonance with the global trend, the Speaker noted that the SPES program mandated under R.A. 7323 has been extending employment opportunities to students taking up vocational and technical education.

"This program would surely expand the benefits derived by the students, their parents and employers," Nograles said.

The amendatory SPES measure under House Bill 5388 lowers the minimum employment size on participating establishments from the current 50 persons to only 11 employees.

Committee on labor and employment chaired by Rep. Mantanggol Codilla Sr. said the Senate and House bicameral conference committee will start formal meeting on Thursday (Feb. 26) to reconcile whatever conflicting provisions found in the two chambers respective approved versions.

However the bill provides that the students enrolled in the secondary level should only be employed during summer and/or Christmas vacations, where those enrolled ion the tertiary level, vocational or technical education may be employed at anytime of the year.

Principal authors of the substitute bill include Rep. Edgar Chatto, Eufrocino Codilla Sr, Mary Ann Susano and Joel Villanueva (for HB 203) and Rufus Rodriguez who filed HB 2340.

HB 5388 provides under section1 that "person or entities employing at least more than 10 persons may employ poor but deserving students 15 years olds, paying them salary or wage not lower that the minimum wage for private employers and the applicable hiring rate for the national and local agencies."

"Provided further, that their period of employment shall be from 20 to 52 working days only, which may be counted us part of the student's probationary period should they apply in the same company or agency after graduation," it added.

The measure also provide that the students employ in activities related to their course may earn equivalent academic credits as may determined by the appropriate government agencies.

The program likewise provides that a percent of their salaries shall paid by the employers in cash and 40 percent by the goverment in the form of vouchers which shall be applicable on the payment of tuition fee and books in any educational institution.

Facilitation services for the applicants to the program shall be done by the Public Employment Service office and no beneficiary of the SPES may avail of any other government emergency or temporary employment program concurrently.

The Secretary of labor and Employment , the Secretary of Budget, the Secretary of Social Welfare and Development and the Secretary of Finance shall issue the corresponding rules and regulations to carry out the provision of the act.

Labels: philippine news online, Prospero C. Nograles, SPES program

To capture the divergent layers of culture that lay in our country's 7,107 islands one needs to look towards different avenues of history, art, music, dance and even food if someone is to say that it is step towards understanding it.

However, anyone can capture the essence of our cultural distinctiveness through Kultura Filipino, a program launched by the Department of Tourism.

Kultura Filipino showcases performances that depict the life and ways of the Filipino through various exhibitions around Manila's history town, Intramuros.

One of its highlights includes several shows by Filipino artists, recognized here and abroad, that will be shown every Tuesday and Thursday at Barbara's Restaurant. The restaurant also served as the venue for it's launching last January 27.

"One of the main staples in a tourist's itinerary is cultural performance, and having one main venue to showcase our diverse artistic traditions to local and international audience helps to solidify our cultural identity," said Tourism Secretary Ace Durano.

Barbara's was once again illuminated as performances from musical acts such as Sitti, the Mandaluyong Childrens's Choir and the Bayanihan Dance Company graced the stage of the famed restaurant.

Timeless tunes from yesteryears filled the walls as the Bossa Nova singer serenaded the guests with her own unique renditions of songs form the country's great composers.

The Mandaluyong Children's Choir also proved why they bagged top honors in the 2004 World choir Olympics as they put together an amazing performance.

A dance medley coming from the Bayanihan Dance troupe, demonstrating different folk and ethnic dances replicated a party which would commonly occur there a few hundred years ago.

Durano also added that Kultura Filipino should establish Manila; a city entrenched in history and culture, as a major destination in terms of cultural awareness as the project aims to be one of the highlights in their city tour packages. Interested groups are also urged to participate in the said campaign.

Kultura Filipino is planning to expand their repertoire to more than just music and dance. Other fields such as sculpture, painting, photography, printmaking, and cinema are also being considered to be added on.

Other traditional activities such as theater plays and poetry readings are also eyed to be included in their future campaign.

Mounting these exhibitions in Intramuros should also serve as an incentive as its walls capture the historic coupled with an old world charm. This should provide another perspective as it transcend towards a unique cultural presentation.

Director Elizabeth F. Nelle, DOT Office of Product Research and Development said, "With the country’s different regions tapped to participate in Kultura Filipino, the audience can expect a colorful presentation from a whole spectrum of different traditions and performing arts."

For the month of March, the different dance groups slated to perform in Barbara's include the Bayanihan Dance Company, Ramon Obusan Folkloric Group Halili Cruz dDance Company,Lahing Bulakenyo,and Sining Kumintang Batangas,Philipiine National University – Kislap Sining, Technological university of the Philippines- Kalinangan Dance Troupe,Sinukuan Performing Arts, Centro Escolar University Dance Troupe are also set to perform.

Barbara's is located at Plaza San Luis Complex, General Luna Street Intramuros Manila.

Labels: Department of Tourism, Kultura Filipino, philippine news online

Vice President and Presidential Adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers Noli de Castro has called on the private and civic sectors to help families of overseas workers become entrepreneurs themselves.

Speaking at the pre - Valentine Dinner of the Alay sa OFW fund raising project at the Endelrun College in Makati on Feb. 12 De Castro said that by setting up new and viable businesses, OFWs' families will be helping their overseas-based member come home much sooner.

Organized by the United States-based Filipinos, the dinner was aimed at raising funds for OFWs affected by the global financial crisis. De Castro assured the participants that the government is taking steps to help troubled OFWs.

Last Monday, on the instruction of President Gloria Arroyo, De Castro said a multi-sectoral forum was held in Malacanang to come up with effective and timely interventions for workers who have been displaced by the recession.

He said the government has met with the business sector to find ways of preserving existing jobs and creating new ones.

De Castro said he has directed the Pag-Ibig Fund to set aside P 82 billion for housing and multi-purpose loans.

In addition, De Castro, said Pag-Ibig along with SSS will implement loan restructuring programs, including condonation of penalties.

Labels: Alay sa OFW, philippine news online, Presidential Adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers

The Department of Education (DepEd) has earmarked some P3.2 billion for the construction of new schools and repair dilapidated classrooms as well as put water facilities in all schools across the country.

Education Secretary Jesli Lapus said of the total amount, some P1.6 billion had been allocated for the construction of school buildings in ares experiencing acute classroom shortage while the other P1.6 billion was earmarked for rehabilitation of school buildings and water and sanitation facilities.

He said 1,908 new classrooms, 6,322 new toilet, 2,513 repairs of existing classrooms and 194 repairs of toilets are targeted for completion under its 2009 School Building Program before the school opening in June.

"This is an important undertaking of the government that will benefit many sectors. It will fill the gap in classroom shortage and at the same time help pump up the economy by employing many people in the building and construction business," said Lapus.

He said that new buildings will also be constructed in Southern Philippines under the Support to Philippine Education Reform (SPHERE) Projects.

Statistics from the DepEd Physical Facilities and School's Engineering Division (PFSED) showed that requirement for classrooms for 2009 Based on 1:45 double shift is 7,087. of the figure, 3,785 classrooms are for elementary and 3,302 for high schools.

The top five areas with acute classrooms shortage are the National Capital Region (NCR), Region 4a, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), Region 7 and Region 9, according to the latest PFSED report.

In 2008, the DepEd was require to build at least 6,549 classrooms - 3,417 for elementary and 3,125 for secondary schools.

In terms of water and sanitation facilities, PFSED documented a total of 80,042 shortage in toilet bowls and 136, 252 urinals in 16 regions across the country. Region 5 tops in toilet bowl shortage with 8,189 while Region 4A ranks first urinal shortage with 15,504.

Engr. Oliver Hermandez, PFSED chief, admitted the allocation is still not large enough to cover the backlog in classrooms, toilets and other facilities.

He added that the DepEd would need at least P50 billion to address such concerns.

Aside from the DepEd budget allocation, Hernandez disclosed that another P2 billion has been allotted by the Department of Public Works and Highway (DPWH) for the construction of buildings.

The amount is part of DPWH's regular allocation under the Roxas Law, he added.

Labels: Department of Education, DepEd, Jesli Lapus, philippine news online, SPHERE

MANILA, Philippines - The camp of broadcast journalist Ted Failon is now considering filing charges against the Quezon City policemen for the arrest and detention of Failon's household members.

Lawyer Alfred Molo, Failon's legal counsel, said they are still contemplating suing the members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit for arbitrary detention.

"Arbitrary detention is a possible charge against the complainants but we are still studying that," Molo today said.

The Quezon City Prosecutors' Office dismissed yesterday the obstruction of justice raps against Failon and five of his household members due to insufficient evidence.

Molo said they are hoping that the National Bureau of Investigation's probe on the death of Failon's wife, Trinidad Etong, will come out soon.

"The witness’ statements and evidence point to a suicide so we hope that will be the conclusion," he said.

By Dennis Carcamo, Philstar News Service

Labels: Alfred Molo, philippine news online, ted failon, Trinidad Etong

The Philippines must actively participate in global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to help prevent extreme climatic changes that cause natural disaster, Sen. Loren Legarda said yesterday.

Noting efforts by them European Union (EU) to draw up the "most ambitious plan" on reducing emissions during UN climate talks in Poznan Poland, Loren said the Philippines "must do its share to fight global warming."

She urged the government to adopt the Albay Declaration as a starting point of its climate change initiatives, which, she said, should include efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change already being felt in the country.

"We, Filipinos, must implement a workable course of action to reduce greenhouse emissions in our part of the world, as well as set a timetable on achieving the goals we will lay down," she said.

"The Philippines must march in cadence with the rest of the world in trying to stop global warming and the weather extremes that cause natural calamities like floods, tsunamis, landslides, and droughts."

In the 12- day Poland talks on climate change, the EU has proposed that its members and other developed economies cut their emissions by 25 t0 40 percent by 2020 based on the 1990 levels. The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) is organizing the conference which started Monday.

Loren lauded the EU's initiative saying other countries should set lofty but realizable targets no matter how high the economic price they may entail.

No economic price is too big when ranged against the environmental benefits to be derived from a shift to less- polluting technologies such as wind and water power, she said.

Global warming is measured by the increase temperature of the Earth's surface, air, and water. Among its many feared effects are rising sea levels, glacier retreat, mass species extinction, and climatic change.

"Climate change is very real and it is going to get worse unless something is done about it," said the senator, who was cited in 2001 by the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) for her environmental advocacy.

"The rain we are experiencing late in the year may be attributable to its already, along with the water shortages felt by many areas in the south," she said.

Labels: Albay Declaration, climate change, global warming, philippine news online

Note: I think this is the best article I have read about the Pacquiao-Hatton fight.

FILIPINO beakbuster Manny Pacquiao broke many Englishmen's hearts by dealing their countryman his most devastating defeat with a spectacular second round knockout to wrest the Ring Magazine's welterweight crown from the kid from Manchester Ricky Hatton.

The end came via a powerful left hook late in the second round which sent Hatton crashing into his back. Referee Kenny Bayless immediately waived his hands up in the air to end the fight.

Hatton lay motionless for several minutes, his eyes rolling over as his handlers tried to revive him.

Pacquiao was a favorite coming into the fight but many never expected the bout to end so soon.

The Filipino boxing sensation made it clear right in the first round that it would be a short and pitiful night for Hatton.

The man from Manchester tried to establish his rhythm by crowding Pacquiao at the opening bell and throwing his vaunted body punches but Manny deftly danced out of harm's way and landed the first telling blow with a thundering right hook in the early going which untracked Hatton.

He would mix up his punches with left straights.

With barely 40 seconds left in the first canto, Manny uncorked a powerful right hook off a missed jab from Hatton.

It sent Hatton on all fours with his forehead touching the canvass.

Hatton rose at the count of eight but a worried face was splashed all over the television.

Manny chased him and Hatton tried to answer back.

But with 12 seconds left, a one-two combo attack capped by a signature left straight from Manny sent Hatton crashing down into his own corner with just the lower rung of the ring preventing his head from touching the canvass.

Referee Bayless again gave Hatton the mandatory eight count and the two trade punches when the bell sounded for the first round.

Ricky Hatton was still visibly hurting during the break as he kept nodding to the advices from his corner men.

He was again in his element at the beginning of the second round and tried to lure Manny into a phone booth brawl.

But it was not meant to be. Manny wisely hugged Hatton while covering his face with his left hand.

Then the climactic ending came.

A right jab set up Hatton for a left straight that looked like a hybrid of a left hook.

Hatton fell on the canvass with a big thud like the proverbial London Bridge.

With the win, Manny joined the rarefied circle of boxing greats who won world titles in at least five different weight categories.

Pacquiao, who started as a light flyweight, had captured world crowns in the flyweight, superbantamweight, super featherweight, lightweight in addition to the welterweight title he wrested from Hatton.

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum proclaimed Pacquiao as "the greatest fighter to have ever lived."

That may be a little too early but with only a megafight with former world pound for pound king Floyd Mayweather Jr. looming in the horizon as a stumbling block to that accolade, Manny's greatness as one of the most devastating punchers in modern times is now cemented and etched in the hallowed walls of Las Vegas, the Mecca of world class boxing.

Mayweather has signified his interest to fight the winner of the Pacquiao-Hatton bout.

That fight could come in the fall when Mayweather Jr. shall already have his tune up fight in the summer.

It was the first time I watched Manny's fight live on cable outside of General Santos City.

In Cagayan de Oro City, virtually all villages in the heart of the city set up widescreen viewings - for free - for residents in their respective areas.

At the square center of Cogon public market four big television sets were already mounted as early as 6:00 in allowing marketgoers unhampered view from four sides.

Betting was heavy in favor of Pacquiao ending the fight as early as the third round.

When the first two knockdowns were registered against Hatton in the first round, audiences already saw the end coming just as long-time Pacquiao coach Freddie Roach correctly predicted.

The Englishman now knows what others have known before him.

That Manny's speed is like no other and that while Manny may miss the bullseye on the dartboard inside Hatton's pubhouse, his punches are as good as a 'bulls out' in a 501 game of darts.

That Hatton only lasted two rounds against Manny should sent a message across the boxing world that a new king has emerged in the world of boxing.

That his win over Oscar de la Hoya was by no means a fluke.

That Manny ably filled up the void left behind by de la Hoya who chose to retire after being handed out his most lopsided loss by the Filipino puncher-slugger turned into sweet-punching executioner.

The mantle has been passed and it fitted to a T with Manny's recent decisively and clinical conquest of Hatton.

By Edwin G. Espejo, PhilBoxing.com

Labels: hatton, manny pacquiao, pacman