Philippine News by MySearch Philippines

Your answers surprised us

2010-03-31T23:44:00.000+08:00

Of the hundreds who took our survey, 43% of you said you were looking for a "guaranteed process to identify profitable business opportunities."

This made us wonder... did you know that we actually sell an eBook that provides a detailed step-by-step overview of this exact process?

learn how to identify profitable business opportunities Our EBusiness Startup Handbook is a brand-new guide we created to help you overcome the enormous stumbling blocks that many aspiring entrepreneurs encounter when they're first starting out online.

This comprehensive guide walks you through every step of the initial market research you need to do if you want to ensure the success of your business BEFORE you invest a lot of time and effort in building it.

Your initial market research is the most important step of building your business. If you learn how to accurately identify a profitable business opportunity then 90% of the battle has been won! Compared to this stage, acquiring a product to sell and building your website is child's play.

The #1 Reason People Fail

So many people think they can just skip this step. They think they already have a great idea for a product to sell online, or they figure they can just sell any old product and they will eventually be successful.

But when you DON'T know how to properly do your initial market research, your chances of growing a profitable online business are about as good as winning the lottery. In other words, pretty darned slim.

If you're just starting out, we urge you not to let your success be based on random luck.

Discover the proven step-by-step system that will enable you to recognize great money-making opportunities when you come across them. It really is the only way to guarantee your success right out of the gate.

To learn more, click here now. Ebusiness Start-Up Handbook

To your success.

Avoid the #1 mistake that KILLS new websites

2010-03-29T23:43:00.000+08:00

Hi,

Today I have a new resource to tell you about that will stop you

from making the common start-up mistake that KILLS many new

websites...

It's called the "Ebusiness Start-Up Handbook," and it's a

must-read for anyone who wants to build a profitable long-term

ebusiness on a solid foundation.

Download it, and you'll avoid wasting massive amounts of time and

money getting your new business started.

What I like most about this Handbook is that it uses simple

language and lots of examples and graphics to clearly explain the

step-by-step process you need to follow to find a lucrative

online market with minimal competition.

Start your website *without* doing this critical groundwork first,

and prepare for a long and costly battle...

You'll struggle to attract visitors, to get ranked in the search

engines, and to convert the few visitors you do get into buyers.

Worse, you could find yourself going head to head with the

Internet's toughest -- and most well-funded -- competitors, like

Amazon.com and eBay.

The "Ebusiness Start-Up Handbook" was produced by the experts at

the Internet Marketing Center, who have generated over $100

million in sales online, so you know you can trust their advice.

I highly recommend you take the first step toward financial

independence by downloading this Handbook right away. You'll be

giving your new website its best chance of success.

Download it now at: Ebusiness Start-Up Handbook

Update on Haiti Relief Effort - Help for Orphans International

2010-01-29T16:01:00.001+08:00

Dear Friends and New Friends,

This is my personal update that I want to share with you today. If you didn't read my email from 2 days ago it is at the bottom of this one.

Help for Orphans International has a volunteer named Jonathan on the ground in Haiti right now. He is a pilot, personally using his own plane. I hear directly from Jonathan everyday.

He said there is a BIG need for morphine here in the hospitals (or at least oral narcotics). They are doing amputations without it. That might be the single most important item to distribute now. Apparently there are quantities in Port Au Prince but the army has taken over and distribution is very slow. Pass the word.

As I mentioned before, Jonathan has this knowledge because he has the only small aircraft on the ground in Haiti right now, which is shuttling in supplies and help. Due to his tireless efforts he has been able to bring medical personnel, supplies, food, water and medication directly to the people who need it most. It is because of the money we raise that enables him to continue to pay for fuel and supplies.

I want you to think about this for a minute. Can you imagine if your child, your brother, or your grandchild was in severe pain for days on end, with no medical care? Can you imagine your child losing ALL the family they have ever known and left to fend for themselves on the streets, surrounded by decomposing bodies? This is the situation for so many in Haiti.

These children need our help. I realize I may be sounding very dramatic here but this is the honest truth. I need every one of you to understand and pass on how severely help is needed there. Most of us, if not all, take for granted the food and water we have at our disposal. So many lives are being lost in Haiti – today - because they are lacking the simple essentials.

So, please, give whatever you can. A few dollars from everyone reading this will make a huge difference. Give up the Starbucks for just one week.

Text "support orphans" to 20222 to give $5 on your cell bill.

To make a larger contribution go to www.helpfororphans.org and click “Donate now" and most of all PLEASE spread the word to EVERYONE you know!

See our Press release released early this morning: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/01/prweb3505184.htm

Thank you again from the bottom of my heart!!

Love,

Josie Dobin

917.704.2131 mobile

Help for Orphans International

YouTube Video

How To Help Haiti

2010-01-26T15:56:00.001+08:00

Hi,

I am urging you to please read this message and respond accordingly and then to please forward this on to all your contacts.

As you may know, I am fortunate to be working for Help for Orphans International, a charity founded by Sarah Ehrlich four years ago. She has done a lot of work helping orphans in Kenya and is now solely focused on helping the orphans affected by the earthquake in Haiti.

I don't like to spread bad news but we have a volunteer from our organization who's been on the ground there since over a week ago. Words cannot describe the devastation that he has described to me. Imagine a little child losing ALL their family, wounded, no place to live and with little food/water. This is TRULY the situation.

Sarah and myself are going to Haiti in the next few days to raise awareness and to strategize HOW we are most effectively going to help. We will also be purchasing food/formula/diapers in the Dominican Republic to bring to the most hard hit areas.

Our volunteer there named Jonathan flew his 4 seater aircraft 2000 miles from Sag Harbor, NY and is shuttling back and forth between neighboring areas bringing supplies and medical personnel to the most desperate areas. Today he texted me that he was enroute to bring saws and morphine to a medical unit there.

The only way we can keep him doing this is to continue to send him funds.

Do NOT think that they have ENOUGH help because they don't. What we are doing IS making a difference! Jonathan says that he has the only small aircraft shuttling that he has seen. Additionally, because his aircraft is so small he has been cleared to land at Port au Prince airport.

We can NOT continue to do what we're doing without more donations! There's just NO way! Sadly, the surrounding areas have taken advantage of this tragedy and the cost of fuel and food etc.. has skyrocketed! All your donations are 100% tax deductible and you can know that we are actually USING your money RIGHT NOW to make a difference! Anything helps!

Here's how to donate:

1. Click this now Help For Orphans, then select "donate now" on the top left navigation.

2. Text 20222 from you cell phone and type "support orphans" and you will be charged $5 on your next cell phone bill.

3. Call me at 917.704.2131.

More about us:

Help For Orphans

Thank you from the bottom of my heart. If you would like to be kept updated PLEASE email me directly and I will add you to our list!

Love,

Josie Dobin

Almost sold out! Watch the webinar recording asap

2010-01-05T22:34:00.000+08:00

The webinar last night with my friend the former money manager was 'sold out'! He gave us more powerful trading content than most paid courses. And, because the webinar was filled to capacity we are posting the recording.

Here's the link to register for the webinar replay.

Exchange Traded Index Funds

One of the things he taught us is called the "Law of Association"; which states that in 5 years you will become like the people you hang out with and the books you read and the courses you study.

The bottom line is that if you want to learn to trade big, or profitably and consistently, you need to be around someone who does. Someone like our webinar instructor who used to trade $50 million at a time.

Here's a short list of only some of the highlights:

- A little known position sizing trick that can double your returns regardless of what market or system you trade.

- Two simple tricks that instantly remove 95% of your emotions in trading. As all traders know the emotions of fear and greed are the number one enemies of traders; beat them and you win.

- How some hedge funds hunt stops and a simple trick to avoid being a victim. Yes hedge funds, brokers and other individuals (not the "market") really do hunt stops.

- Why money managers only risk 1-2% per trade and still make great returns.

- Why trading is not a "zero sum game" and what this really means for the average trader.

- How to make strong profits using the daily charts and trading only 10 minutes per night.

- How Warren Buffett, Jim Rogers and others became great traders and investors.

- What the "gurus" selling hype trading courses are hiding from you and six easy ways to spot a counterfeit "trading teacher" from a mile away.

- One of his profit target strategies. (He has 4 proprietary tactics and gives us one, no charge).

- How to not be vague with your entries and stops like when others who say, "Buy a few cents, ticks, or pips above ___."

- A little known, no cost, scanner tool that can help you trade profitably, right now.

- A complementary excel sheet that does ALL the math for you so you can easily see the optimal position size and risk vs. reward ratio on all trades.

- Why ETFs are the best instrument to trade.

- Much more.

I promise it won't be a waste of your time. My friend really did do trades as large as 50 million before he left the world of money management. He did share a little of his story, but most of the hour is spent on the subjects above. As you know I like to share good content with my subscribers and this is one of them.

Click here to get the webinar replay:

Exchange Traded Funds

See you there,

Cheers,

Ave Ramel

P.S. The $1,997 bonus day trade course might already be gone!

A Scientific Breakthrough

2010-01-01T13:45:00.000+08:00

Hi,

At last, have finished the First VitaPlus Tour that will answer

a lot of your questions about this scientific breakthrough in

Health, Wellness, and Beauty.

You may now proceed to: First VitaPlus

The First VitaPlus Tour answers the ff:

- Five Power Vegetables

- Five Little Things You Should Know About First VitaPlus

- Prevention and Maintenance of Diseases

- Availability and Product Sizes

Cheers,

Ave Ramel

***Trust in the Lord with all your heart***

How The Rich are Debt-Free

2009-12-30T15:17:00.000+08:00

Hi,

===========================================

Crisis ???

The Rich are debt-free and do really have

a lot of options in life.

If you want to be rich, you must know

- what kind of income to work hard for,

- how to keep it, and

- how to protect it from loss.

That is the key to great wealth.

Discover this kind of income in:

Rich Dad Cashflow

===========================================

Cheers,

Board Games | Year 2012 End of the World

Philippine Central Bank sees 2009 BOP surplus at $4.9 bln

2009-12-27T13:44:00.000+08:00

MANILA, Dec 23 (Reuters) - The Philippines will likely end the year with a balance of payment surplus of $4.9 billion on the back of strong remittance inflows from overseas Filipinos, the central bank said on Wednesday.

The central bank's full year estimate is way above the surplus of $89 million last year, but lower than the record surfeit of $8.58 billion in 2007.

In October, it predicted a BOP surplus of $4-5 billion for this year.

Remittances have held up well this year despite the global financial crisis, with total inflows in 2009 expected to settle 4 percent higher than the previous year's $16.4 billion.

Filipinos overseas sent home $1.5 billion in remittances in October, bringing inflows in the first 10 months to $14.3 billion. These inflows are expected to climb further in the last two months of the year in the run up to the Christmas and New Year holidays.

The country's current account surplus stood at $6.2 billion in the nine months to September, exceeding the central bank's $6 billion surfeit estimate for the whole year, central bank data also showed.

The country's trade deficit narrowed to $4.175 billion in the ten months to October, compared with $7.07 billion in the same period last year.

Manila expects merchandise exports to fall 25 percent this year but grow 7-9 percent in 2010, and imports to slip 25 percent this year and climb 13-15 percent next year.

Filipino sadness rating matches all-time high

2009-12-26T19:56:00.001+08:00

Filipinos are known throughout the world for a happy outlook, enabling them to cope with an assortment of miseries, from multiple disasters in the same year to the constant threat of crime to sordid governance by their leaders.

But this year was worse than others, and the latest happiness index reflects it.

According to the Social Weather Stations' (SWS) most recent survey, 10 percent of Filipinos are sad this Christmas season, "which matches the all-time high sadness level... posted in 2004," said the pollster. The Christmas expectations poll began in 2002.

2009 saw a series of tragedies, including epic floods in Metro Manila and around Luzon, and one of modern history's most horrific crimes, the Ampatuan Massacre. As scandals continued to hound the Arroyo administration, fueling pessimism about the country's political future, the nation also lost its beloved icon of democracy, Corazon Aquino.

Despite the setbacks this year, and the record-tying sadness rating, three out of five Filipinos still expected a happy Christmas, the SWS said last Thursday.

The survey, conducted December 5 to 10, said 64 percent of adult Filipinos expected a happy Christmas this year while 10 percent expected it to be sad.

Twenty-six percent, meanwhile, said their Christmas will neither be happy nor sad, the SWS said.

As expected, Malacañang gave the survey results a positive spin, saying Filipinos have many reasons to look forward to next year.

"It has been a difficult year but we look forward with hope," said deputy presidential spokesman for economic affairs Gary Olivar in an interview on dwIZ radio.

Olivar said the global economy is recovering from last year’s meltdown, while the country will have its first automated polls in 2010.

“Nakatutulong kapag positibo ang pananaw natin... Kung negatibo ang pananaw, masama ang mangyayari, kung positibo, maganda (It will help if we maintain a positive outlook. If we have a negative outlook, bad things are likely to happen. If we have a positive outlook, we can expect good things)," he said.

While the survey results showed majority of Filipinos expected this Christmas to be happy, the happiness rating was much lower than the one in 2002, and the sad expectation was the highest since 2004.

Lower happiness

The SWS noted this year’s 64-percent happiness rating was considerably lower than the high 82 percent in 2002, when SWS first surveyed expectations about Christmas-to-come.

Happy expectations for Christmas dropped slightly to 77 percent in 2003, and fell to the 60s starting 2004 - 64 percent in 2004, 62 percent in both 2005 and 2006, 64 percent in 2007, and 63 percent in 2008.

On the other hand, the 10 percent who are expecting a sad Christmas in 2009 is slightly higher than the 7-8 percent reported from 2005 to 2008, the SWS said.

In 2002 and 2003, only 3 percent reported having a sad Christmas.

Happy expectation lower in NCR

Those expecting a happy Christmas in 2009 are 50 percent in Metro Manila, lower than the 62 percent in the rest of Luzon, 68 percent in Visayas and 71 percent in Mindanao.

In Metro Manila, the 50 percent expecting a happy Christmas in 2009 was five points down from 55 percent in both 2007 and 2008.

“By the same margin, those expecting a sad Christmas increased from 11 percent in the previous year to 16 percent," SWS said, adding that happiness with Christmas has been lower among Metro Manila respondents than in other three areas since 2003.

In 2002, 77 percent of Metro Manila respondents anticipated a happy Christmas, but slumped to 65 percent in 2003 and 48 percent in 2004. It rebounded to 55 percent in 2005 but fell again at its lowest 45 percent in 2006.

In Balance Luzon, those expecting a happy Christmas slightly increased from 59 percent in 2008 to 62 percent in 2009. Eight percent expect a sad Christmas this year, unchanged since 2006.

In Visayas and Mindanao, while the percentages of those anticipating a happy 2009 Christmas were similar to those who expected a happy 2008 Christmas, those expecting a sad Christmas slightly increased in 2009.

In Visayas, those expecting a happy Christmas in 2009 barely changed From 70 percent in 2008 to 68 percent this year. Those who expect a sad Christmas this year is 11 percent, up by three points from 8 percent in the previous year.

In Mindanao, the 71 percent who are anticipating a happy 2009 Christmas is similar to the 70 percent posted in 2008. Those who expect a sad Christmas this year is 9 percent, up four points from 5 percent in 2008.

Happiness with Christmas same across classes

Those expecting a happy Christmas in 2009 are about the same across all socio-economic classes: 66 percent among upper to middle classes ABC, 63 percent among masa class D and 64 percent among the very poor class E.

Among classes ABC, those expecting a happy Christmas declined from 71 percent in 2008 to 66 percent in 2009.

Compared with 2008, the percentages of those who expect a happy Christmas in 2009 barely changed among class D, from 61 percent to 63 percent, and class E, from 65 percent to 64 percent.

Among class E, those expecting a sad Christmas doubled from 6 percent in the previous year to 12 percent in 2009.

Those expecting a sad Christmas in 2009 barely changed among classes ABC, from 5 percent to 6 percent, and class D, from 8 percent to 10 percent.

Muslims neutral on happiness with Christmas

Most of the Muslim respondents were neutral on their expectations with Christmas, with 50 percent expecting their Christmas this year to be neither happy nor sad, 23 percent see it to be sad, and 25 percent anticipate a happy one.

Among the Roman Catholics, 65 percent expect a happy Christmas, slightly lower than the 68 percent among Other Christians who are also expecting a happy Christmas in 2009.

Happiness slightly higher among the youth

Those expecting a happy Christmas in 2009 were 68 percent among the youth [18-24] and 66 percent among the intermediate youth [25-34], slightly higher than the 63 percent among those aged 35-44, 60 percent among the 45-54, and 62 percent among those aged 55 and above.

The Fourth Quarter of 2009 Social Weather Survey was conducted from December 5 to 10, using face-to-face interviews of 2,100 adults divided into random samples of 300 in Metro Manila and 600 each in Balance of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

Sampling error margins of ±2.2 percent for national percentages, ±6 percent for Metro Manila and ±4 percent for Balance Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao, applied to the survey.

- with Johanna Camille Sisante/LBG/RSJ/HGS, GMANews.TV

Arum says Pacquiao-Mayweather fight is off

2009-12-24T13:37:00.002+08:00

GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan (AFP) - Manny Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, says the Filipino hero's planned welterweight mega-fight against unbeaten US star Floyd Mayweather is off because the sides cannot agree on drug testing.

Arum told the Grand Rapids Press, Mayweather's hometown newspaper, that he thought the American never really wanted to fight "Pac-Man", who took his pound-for-pound throne during a retirement that Mayweather ended in September.

"We're going in a different direction," Arum told the newspaper. "What I believe is that Floyd never really wanted the fight and this is just harassment of Pacquiao."

"Floyd, to me, is a coward and he has always been a coward. Not a physical coward, but a coward because he's afraid to face somebody who could beat him. And believe me, Manny Pacquiao could beat him."

"So he will go his way, we will go our way and that will be fine."

The last stumbling block after all other negotiations had been completed was on Mayweather's request for World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) doping test procedures rather than those commonly used at fights in Las Vegas.

"I have already agreed to the testing and it is a shame that he is not willing to do the same," Mayweather said. "It leaves me with great doubt as to the level of fairness I would be facing in the ring that night."

At issue is blood testing. Mayweather wants testing close to the fight as well as after, which became a deal-breaker for Pacquiao that has wiped out what could have been the biggest moneymaker of a fight in boxing history.

"We appeased Mayweather by agreeing to a urine analysis at any time and blood testing before the press conference and after the fight," Arum told the Press.

"Mayweather pressed for blood testing even up to the weigh-in. He knew that Manny gets freaked out when his blood gets taken and feels that it weakens him. This is just harassment and to me just signaled that he didn't want the fight."

Pacquiao agreed to random urine tests at any time and blood tests at a pre-fight news conference in two weeks in New York as well as after the planned March 13 bout.

Arum had sympathy for boxing fans who have been looking forward to seeing two of the sport's finest fighters meet in a fight expected to bring more than 100 million dollars in revenue.

"Sure they will be disappointed, but they've got to understand what's up," Arum said. "We're not going to keep appeasing this guy for no damn reason, especially over something that would affect, psychologically, my fighter."

"We're not going to be pushed around by this guy. We're not going to do it."

Arum said he backed out of talks on December 10 in favor of stepson Todd duBoef after Mayweather refused to consider a bid to fight in the 100,000-seat stadium of American football's Dallas Cowboys.

Two days later, Mayweather Promotions chief executive Leonard Ellerbe made the demand for WADA-style testing.

"I knew what was up. I'm not a fool," Arum said. "I knew the fight wasn't going to happen. But I could be wrong and that's why Todd made a 'college' try.

"Manny Pacquiao doesn't know anything about drugs. This is just typical nastiness by wise guys like Ellerbe and Mayweather."

Arum, who called the blood tests a psychological ploy to gain an edge over Pacquiao, said telecaster HBO tried in vain Tuesday to find agreement on the testing but to no avail.

"This is all a bunch of hooey and nonsense," Arum said. "Nevada has stringent drug testing, right before the fight and after the fight. The kind of testing we agreed to was designed, 100 percent, to detect everything.

"Remember, 40 years of fights in Las Vegas and nothing like this has ever come up. If you want more stringent testing, sure, as long as it doesn't inconvenience and psychologically affect Pacquiao, sure, who cares? They could analyze urine from today until tomorrow, it wouldn't affect anything."

"It's the blood testing close to the fight, while he's in training, that's unnecessary. And everybody who knows anything about drug testing will tell you it's unnecessary."

Another factor complicating the matchup should the sides sort out their testing woes is that Pacquaio is running for Congress in his homeland in May, wiping out the original May 1 date organizers had in mind for the bout.

Possible next foes for Pacquiao, Arum said, include Mexico's Juan Manuel Marquez, American Paulie Malignaggi or unbeaten Israeli Yuri Foreman, the World Boxing Association super welterweight champion.

Philippine investigative team wins AFP award

2009-12-19T13:47:00.002+08:00

MANILA (AFP) - The Philippine Center For Investigative Journalism has won Agence France-Presse's Kate Webb Award for its fearless work in the world's deadliest country for reporters, the agency announced Thursday.

The PCIJ has for two decades braved the wrath of powerful interests in the Philippines to expose corruption, the dangers of which were highlighted last month when 31 Filipino journalists were killed in a political massacre.

PCIJ executive director Malou Mangahas said it planned to use the 5,000 euros (7,250 dollars) in prize money from the AFP Foundation to train Filipino journalists in how to safely do investigative reporting on the nation's elite.

"The last stories of journalists killed in the Philippines are typically about local graft, local corruption and local criminal activities," Mangahas said.

The PCIJ is the second winner of the annual prize, which was created in memory of Webb after she died of cancer in 2007 at the age of 64.

New Zealand-born Webb was one of the finest correspondents to have worked for AFP, and earned a reputation while covering the biggest events in the Asia Pacific as a brave and compassionate reporter.

The Kate Webb award is for local reporters or media organisations in the Asia Pacific who have produced exceptional work in dangerous or difficult circumstances, or have demonstrated moral or physical courage while reporting.

The award is administered by the AFP Foundation, a non-profit organisation created to promote higher standards of journalism worldwide.

The AFP Foundation commended the PCIJ for 20 years of work worthy of the award, while also paying tribute to a series of in-depth reports in 2008 on the southern province of Maguindanao where last month's massacre occurred.

"The PCIJ's body of work is of the highest standard and we hope it will continue to inspire Filipino journalists to do their best even in the most difficult working conditions," said AFP Asia Pacific director Eric Wishart.

Mangahas said she wanted this year's Kate Webb award to recognise all reporters who worked courageously in the Philippines, particularly those 31 murdered in Maguindanao.

"It is very difficult, almost discomfiting, to say our situation as journalists from Metro Manila could even come close to the vulnerability of our colleagues in Maguindanao or in the provinces of the Philippines," she said.

"So I think a fitting tribute is to accept it in their honour."

The 31 local reporters were among 57 people abducted then shot dead in a massacre allegedly orchestrated by members of the province's ruling clan who were seeking to maintain their hold on power.

Those deaths brought the number of journalists killed in the Philippines since the fall of dictator Ferdinand Marcos 23 years ago to 134, cementing the nation's reputation as the world's deadliest place in which to report.

The training programme to be set up with the award prize money will focus on teaching reporters how to stay out of danger while carrying out investigative reports on the nearly 200 families that dominate Philippine politics.

The reporters, to be gathered from outlying regions of the Philippines, will then produce material to be published on the AFP Foundation's website as well as by the PCIJ.

"We hope this training programme will help promote professional safety, strengthen ethical standards and sharpen investigative reporting skills among Filipino journalists. And, quite possibly, save lives," Wishart said.

The PCIJ, a non-profit organisation that operates out of a small office in a Manila suburb, has a staff of 10 people and a large network of fellows who contribute investigative reports.

One of its highest-profile achievements was a series of reports on the ill-gotten wealth of then president Joseph Estrada, which played a key role in his downfall in 2001.

The Kate Webb award will be given to the PCIJ at a ceremony early next year in Manila attended by AFP's regional managers and members of Webb's family.

Wesley's run in World Chess Cup ends

2009-12-07T12:06:00.001+08:00

MANILA - Wesley So's astounding run in the 2009 World Chess Cup came to an end after the Filipino grandmaster lost his playoff match against Russian GM Vladimir Malakhov in the fourth round of the competition in Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia.

So (ELO 2640), who twice held Malakhov (ELO 2706) to a draw, yielded to the Russian GM in three straight tie-break matches of rapid chess.

The Bacoor-based chess player yielded to the 22nd-seeded Russian in 55 moves using the black pieces during their first-tie break match. This was followed by another win by Malakhov after 61 moves in the second match.

The 59th-seed So tried to fight back in the third game but Malakhov took advantage of the momentum to win the round in 32 moves.

The score was 4-1 in favor of the Russian.

Thus ended So's campaign in this year's World Chess Cup, which saw him winning over two chess heavyweights on his way to the fourth round.

Prior to facing Malakhov, So shocked Chess Cup defending champion super GM Gata Kamsky of the US in Round 3. He also pulled the rug from under World No. 12 GM Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine in Round 2.

So, who is already assured of $30,000 (P1.41 million) prize money for reaching Round 4, also defeated GM Gadir Guseinov of Azerbaijan in Round 1.

Best showing for RP So’s fourth-round finish is arguably the country’s best showing in World Chess Cup history, surpassing the efforts of his compatriots, GMs Rogelio Antonio Jr. and Mark Paragua.

Antonio and Paragua reached the second round of the competition.

GM Eugene Torre, Asia’s first GM, reached the quarterfinal stage under a different elimination format.

So earlier said he will be working to achieve super GM status by breaking the 2700 ELO barrier.

"I dream that sooner or later, I will come to the magical point 2700. I don't know how much time I will need for that," he said.

ABS-CBN

In Maguindanao, no one dares cross the Ampatuans

2009-11-24T22:45:00.004+08:00

The massacre on Monday of women, lawyers, and journalists by alleged gunmen of the Ampatuan clan shocked the nation. But people in Maguindanao have always known that you defy the Ampatuans at your peril. In 2008, journalist Jaileen Jimeno, then of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, ventured into Maguindanao, dared probe the hold of the Ampatuans over the province, and made it out alive. She reported on a place bristling with guns and on a clan supported by the Arroyo administration because the Ampatuans can virtually guarantee victory at the polls.

SHARIFF AGUAK, Maguindanao. The sound of sirens precedes the passing of a long convoy of 4×4 sport utility vehicles. As if on cue, jeepneys and private vehicles begin moving to the right side of the street, where they all then ground to a halt.

"Kailangan tumabi ka, kasi babanggain ka nila. Palalabasin nilang kaaway ka (You have to get out of their way, otherwise they'll hit your car. And then they'll make it appear you're one of their enemies)," explains an old man watching the scene by the roadside.

Asked if he knows whose convoy of black, heavily tinted vehicles is whizzing by, the man replies without hesitation: "Si Governor. Ganyan ang mga sasakyan niya (That's how his vehicles look like)."

In the last two weeks, this southern province has become one of the sites of a cat-and-mouse battle between soldiers and rebels from a faction of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), displacing thousands of people. But the armed clashes aside, residents here know that only one family wields real power in Maguindanao: the Ampatuans, led by its acknowledged patriarch, Governor Andal Ampatuan.

It may not only be peace between combatants but respite from political clans that Maguindanao needs.

The Ampatuans are just the latest in a long line of political dynasties that have thrived in Mindanao. Yet while the Ampatuan clan has lorded over Maguindanao only since 2001, its members already have a hold over key government positions, elective and appointive, and not only in the province itself.

In 2005, Andal Ampatuan's son Zaldy, then 38 years old, became the governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), the youngest ever to head the regional government.

And if the results of the recent AMMM polls are any indication, the Ampatuans seem to be digging in for the long haul. The baby-faced Zaldy took more than 90 percent of the votes among seven candidates in the ARMM elections held just a few weeks ago. His closest rival Indanan Mayor Alvarez Isnaji got just a tad over two percent of the votes.

It did not help Isnaji any that he was battling kidnapping charges filed by the Philippine National Police (PNP) against him and his son Haider, midway through the campaign. But Ma. Krizna Gomez of the Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE) observes: "We were all surprised to not see any election campaign materials (other than Zaldy Ampatuan's) around the province. The dynasty runs deep into the entire political set-up and this is capped by the election result itself."

Guns, Palace blessing

Andal Ampatuan has four wives and over 30 children, and intermarriages with other political clans have made his political stock stronger. But political analysts trace the clan’s formidable clout to two main factors: guns and the blessings of Malacanang. They even note that no less than the Palace made it legal for the Ampatuans to have hundreds of armed men and women under their employ.

The 1987 Constitution bans private armed groups. In July 2006, however, the Arroyo administration issued Executive Order 546, allowing local officials and the PNP to deputize barangay tanods as "force multipliers" in the fight against insurgents. In practice, the EO allows local officials to convert their private armed groups into legal entities with a fancy name: civilian volunteer organizations (CVOs).

Interestingly, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo issued the EO just weeks after a bombing in the Shariff Aguak public market that killed five people. Andal Ampatuan, who has survived several other ambushes, was said to have been the target.

According to a military officer who served for 16 years in ARMM - five of them in Maguindanao - Andal Ampatuan employs about 200 CVO members. The officer adds that Ampatuan's sons and relatives maintain armed men, supposedly for their protection. (Andal's eldest son Saudi was killed in a bomb blast in Shariff Aguak 2002.)

"Everybody carries firearms, mga paltik (homemade guns)," says the military officer. "Or (they) either borrow from the military or the PNP, or they buy."

A soldier who spent five years on assignment in Maguindanao says of the CVOs here: "They support the internal security requirement of the capitol or the municipio." He adds that while some of the CVOs are paid by the local government in areas where they serve, they are often "borrowed" for personal use by local officials.

And whenever they board the back of spiffy pickups that are staples of Ampatuan convoys, these CVO members typically lug long firearms. At times, the convoys of 20 vehicles or more also begin and end with pickups mounted with big machine guns.

Indeed, long before the military resumed chasing the MILF in earnest across the region, Maguindanao was already dotted with checkpoints. Soldiers manned entrances to municipal halls, and armored vehicles hogged major road networks.

PCIJ tried for months to interview Andal Ampatuan here and during his visits in Manila, but Maguindanao provincial administrator Norie Unas repeatedly said the governor does not grant interviews. Instead, it has been Unas who has fielded questions from PCIJ.

In an interview with PCIJ late last year, Unas said that the older Ampatuan's political stance has earned his clan several enemies, hence the need for heightened security. Unas explained that while previous Maguindanao leaders played footsies with secessionist forces, "Governor Ampatuan is not really sympathetic to the MILF or other forces wishing for a separatist Muslim state."

But Datu Michael Mastura, former congressman of Maguindanao's first district, seems less than convinced by the argument. "I will tell you, the word 'impunity' does not even suit it. It's inappropriate," he says, referring to the Ampatuans' chronic show of force. Pointing to the clan's numerous bodyguards and vehicles, Mastura wonders aloud: "Just imagine, how do you maintain them? How do you house them?"

No one here is ready to come forward with any answers to that, but at the very least, the presence of armed men and women helps explain why residents would rather not do anything to cross an Ampatuan. One journalist who unwittingly did is certainly thankful that all he got was a dressing-down from the provincial governor.

The journalist had helped a colleague get in touch with the Ampatuans for an article that the governor apparently perceived to be unflattering. The helpful journalist says he was summoned to the governor's mansion and there received a tongue-lashing. "I just sat there," he recalls, "and took it, not saying a word."

'Hello, Garci' then 12-0 in '07

To some political analysts, it is easy to explain why the Ampatuans command solid hold on Maguindanao: The clan enjoys close ties with the Palace in faraway Manila, simply because the clan has managed to deliver the votes for administration candidates.

In its 2007 Elections Forensics Report, the Center for People Empowerment in Governance (CenPEG) noted: "The Ampatuan dynasty based in Maguindanao province is Arroyo's present conduit in helping ensure her influence over the whole of Mindanao, which hosts many of the country's grizzled but otherwise powerful political clans."

During the 2004 presidential elections, "(Governor Andal) Ampatuan addressed the political requirement of Arroyo," says Bobby Tuazon, CenPEG's director for policy study, publication, and advocacy. "She needed somebody to control the votes."

In the controversial "Hello Garci" recordings, then elections commissioner Virgilio Garcillano was heard saying that Maguindanao would not be "much of a problem" for President Arroyo. His words turned out to be more than prophetic, with Maguindanao giving Arroyo 193,938 votes, against the 59,892 votes obtained by popular action film star Fernando Poe Jr. In Ampatuan and Datu Piang towns, Poe even scored zero, and in the capital Shariff Aguak and other Maguindanao towns, received just a handful of votes.

In the 2007 congressional and local elections, the 12 senatorial candidates of the administration's Team Unity slate made a clean sweep of the polls in Maguindanao, or scored 12-0, to be exact. Family members and allies of the Ampatuans who ran for local positions also clinched wins.

Maguindanao officials have since brushed off suspicions of election fraud, saying local candidates did not bother campaigning for their own seats. They say that "negotiations" were held before the elections to "amicably" settle the battle for positions. Besides, they note, many of the Ampatuan candidates had run unopposed and thus had devoted time to campaign for the administration’s senatorial slate.

In his interview with PCIJ last year, Maguindanao provincial administrator Unas said political contests here are settled even before any balloting through "consultation and consensus-building."

"People are critical of our system and ridicule us for the manner by which we choose our leaders," he said. But, he asserted, it is a system that works for the province, "not that demo-democracy."

"We know that the Manila system does not fit us," Unas said. "We have stabilized the political landscape because there's no contest every election. This is one better way for us Muslims coming out with our leaders."

CenPEG fellow Ely H. Manalansan Jr., however, insists that shura or the Islamic practice of consultation was not a factor in Team Unity's 12-0 win in Maguindanao. He says that even Islamic experts dismiss such an assertion, adding, "(It) merely serves as a justification for the widespread and systematic fraud perpetrated by the administration during elections in Mindanao."

Last year, public schoolteacher Musa Dimasidsing had also revealed that days before the 2007 vote, he had seen teachers and students writing and then putting their thumbmarks on ballots. Days after he spoke up, Dimasidsing was shot dead; his murder remains unsolved.

No 'Big Man' monopoly

CenPEG's Tuazon, though, cautions against stereotyping this conduct of elections as unique to Maguindanao and ARMM. "Oligarchs also rule in Luzon and Visayas, and you will see a lot of similarities in what is happening there in the Moro homeland," he says.

"Ampatuan is no different from (Luis) Chavit Singson," points out Fr. Eliseo Mercado Jr., who briefly chaired the government peace panel with the MILF. Singson, former governor of Ilocos Sur in northern Luzon, has built a reputation for keeping an iron grip on his home province.

Unas himself acknowledges the perception that Ampatuan is a warlord. Reached by phone by PCIJ recently, he said, "May katotohanan din siguro. The same way na may perception na warlord sina Joson (of Nueva Ecija) at Singson, (Probably there's truth to that. The same way there is a perception that the Josons and the Singsons are warlords)."

But the provincial administrator denied that the capitol pays for the CVOs protecting Ampatuan and his clan. He said that the CVOs are hired and funded by town mayors, while those who guard the governor are made up of soldiers, policemen, and civilians "who, as Muslims, will die for their leader."

This relationship between leaders and the governed, said Unas, has its roots in the history of Muslim communities down south, and is found not only in Maguindanao.

Poverty, mega projects

In Mercado's view, the resiliency of the Ampatuan clan will rest mainly on its ability to deliver the needs of its constituents. Then again, if Mercado is right, the Ampatuans' days in power may be numbered, based on the province's sorry showing in several sectors.

For one, despite the Ampatuans' expanded powerbase, Maguindanao's poverty numbers are worsening. In 2000, the poverty incidence was recorded at 59.3 percent. It grew to 60.4 percent in 2003, and rose further to 62 percent in 2006, turning Maguindanao into the third poorest province in the country.

For another, Maguindanao's spending for education remains low, even as the elementary teacher-to-pupil ratio has worsened to 51 in school year 2005-06, from 43.9 in school year 2000-01.

These dismal statistics are among the reasons why, according to the Philippine Human Development Report (PHDR) of 2005, only 39.7 percent of adults in Maguindanao have six years of basic education, compared with the national average of 84 percent.

Too, the PHDR reveals that Maguindanao has the second lowest life expectancy in the Philippines at 52 years, edged out only by Tawi-Tawi's 51.2 years. The National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) reports as well that the number of health stations in the province has remained stagnant at 163, from 2000 to 2006.

Amid worsening poverty and education services for its population of 600,000 as of last year, Maguindanao has been pouring money into new town halls and a bigger capitol. The latter is now estimated to cost the province about P116 million, or nearly twice as much as the original price tag of P60 million.

According to Unas, Andal Ampatuan had asked President Arroyo for help in funding the new capitol project. Arroyo, Unas said, committed an initial P20 million, paving the way for construction work to start.

The renovation project has since evolved into a government center that will feature other huge structures, including a sports-and-culture center that would cost P80 million.

Young guns, young terror

ALL OVER the world, the practice of engaging children and teenagers in criminal gangs and private armies continues unabated. The Philippines is no exception.

A little-known academic study documents how minors are being recruited down south in private armies better known as civilian volunteers organizations or CVOs. These groups help keep village adults in a perpetual state of fear and obeisance, even if some of the "volunteers" have not moved past puberty.

The 80-page study was conducted across a five-month period in 2003 by researchers led by Agnes Zenaida Camacho of the University Center for Integrative and Development Studies (UCIDS) at the University of the Philippines.

It focused on three towns of Maguindanao and the use of minors by the pagali or clan to keep itself in power. The researchers interviewed 10 young CVO members, who had to be assigned pseudonyms in the report, for their own protection.

Most of the young CVO members were recruited into the armed group as replacement for their fathers who had been killed in action, the researchers learned. Of the 10 interviewees, only two were 18 years old at the time they started working for a pagali. One interviewee was drafted into CVO service when he was only 10 years old, and the seven others, in their early teens.

Maguindanao is not lacking in funds. On top of benefiting from foreign and ARMM-funded projects, it received an internal revenue allotment (IRA) of P555 million in 2005, which grew to P633 million the following year.

Yet of the P590 million budget the capitol lined up for 2006, P124 million or 21 percent was set aside for the provincial governor's office alone. Over P185 million or 31 percent, meanwhile, went to the salaries and benefits of the capitol’s 587 employees.

The people's view

The people in Maguindanao offer a common opinion of Andal Ampatuan as "mabait (a good person)." One resident says, "If you need a job, he'll provide one for you." Another intones, "We don't say no to him because he takes care of us."

But such positive comments almost always come with a caveat: "Basta sundin mo ang gusto niya (As long as you do as he says)."

"He is like a pharaoh, that's what people call him," says Mastura, himself a member of one of Mindanao’s prominent families. "You don't go against his wishes."

The one person who has tried to keep the Ampatuans in check, albeit in his own turf, is Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte.

Over the years, Duterte, who is known for his tough stance against crime, has repeatedly warned various clans - not only the Ampatuans, to be sure - against "misbehaving" in Davao City. But Duterte has also zeroed in on younger Ampatuan scions for using sirens whenever they drive around Davao. In 2006, Duterte let it rip when three Ampatuan youths were arrested in his city for possession of high-powered firearms, including rifles fitted with telescopic sights, and rounds of ammunition.

"Davao City is not your kingdom," a fuming Duterte reportedly said. "If you want to show off, you better do it in your place, not here."

Unfortunately for Duterte, Maguindanao has no known nightlife to keep privileged youths entertained and occupied.

Once the sun sets in this province, the roads turn empty, save for one or two vehicles rushing to their destinations, and the occasional convoy of huge, black cars and pickups flashing their lights and sounding their sirens. Invariably, the convoy carries an Ampatuan as passenger. - PCIJ

GMANews.TV

PACMAN SONG TO FLOYD (MAY-WITHER)

2009-11-20T23:53:00.003+08:00

To the tune of "Sometimes When We Touch"

They asked you if you'll fight me

And you choked on your reply

I'd rather Arum deal with you

Than mislead you with a lie

And who am I to judge you,

On what you say or do

The fans are now beginning

To see the real you

And someday when we tats

My LEFT will be too much

That you have to close your eyes

Where do you hide?

I wanna pound you 'til you're white

'Til your face breaks down and cry

I wanna beat you

'Til you dream and say, goodnight.

You think you are a strategist

That you can insult my pride

But through your insecurities

You're ZERO loss seemed right

You're just another fighter

So far from what is true

An overrated boxer

Who never gives his due

And someday when we tats

My RIGHT will be too much

That you have to close your eyes

Where do you hide?

I wanna pound you 'til you’re white

'Til your face breaks down and cry

I wanna beat you

'Til you dream and say, goodnight.

At times I'd like to break you

And drive you to your knees

The fans would like to watch you

And see your first defeat

Your huggers understand you

And we know how hard they try

I've watched your Dad protect you

And your Uncle loves to smile

My coach thinks you're a loser

Still searching for a break

You think your odds are better

But then the public bets AGAINST!

And someday when we tats

My SPEED will be too much

That you have to close your eyes

Where can you hide?

I wanna pound you 'til you’re white

'Til your face breaks down and cry

I wanna beat you

'Til you dream and say, goodnight!

Posted by Kyoss

Dumb Comments of Floyd Mayweather Sr. About Pacquiao

2009-11-16T11:24:00.000+08:00

'Cotto has the edge over Pacquiao' - Floyd Mayweather Sr.

Controversial American trainer Floyd Mayweather, Sr. said Puerto Rican Miguel Cotto has the upper hand over pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao.

Mayweather said he thinks Cotto will prevail over Pacquiao on Saturday (Sunday in Manila) because he said not all of the boxers knocked out by the Filipino boxing icon were stunned by his speed.

"Cotto has the edge over Pacquiao," the elder Mayweather told ABS-CBN News.

He even dared Pacquiao and Cotto with the pronouncement, "Whoever wins this Pacquiao-Cotto fight will challenge my boy," referring to his son, former pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather, Jr.

Floyd Jr. came out of retirement in May. He remained unbeaten (40-0, with 25 knockouts) after defeating Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez by unanimous decision in September.

Cotto (34-1, 27 KOs) will defend his WBO welterweight title against Pacquiao (49-3-2, 37 KOs) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The WBC diamond belt will also be at stake.

Mayweather"s father and boxing trainer Floyd Sr. fired the opening salvo against Pacquiao when he speculated that the Filipino boxer could be using "some type of supplements."

"In my honest opinion, I believe that he's on some type of supplements," Floyd Sr. told Michigan's Grand Rapids Press. "I think they're pushing Pacquiao too much -- even if he's got [ste]'roids in his body."

"I don't think that he can beat Little Floyd with steroids in him or not. He don't have that kind of talent or that kind of skill -- whatever he has in him," said Floyd Sr., whose boxer Ricky Hatton was knocked out by Pacquiao in just two rounds.

Pacquiao's coach Freddie Roach, for his part, said Floyd Sr. is just bitter over his ward's victories, especially over Hatton.

"Steroids? Where in the hell did that come from? You know, these guys, they had to come up with a reason why they lost. They lost because [Floyd Sr.] sucks as a trainer and I had the better fighter," said Roach.

Ariza (conditioning trainer) also took the time to hit back at Mayweather Sr and his puzzling steroid accusations:

"We want Manny to be explosive and we want him to build up muscle in moving up to 145 pounds," he said. "We use supplements, not steroids. Someone who never finished high school, like Floyd Mayweather Sr., wouldn't understand the difference and that's why they make dumb comments."

Oakland Raiders Celebrate Filipino Heritage

2009-10-16T08:53:00.002+08:00

The Second Annual Raiders Mabuhay Fiesta, presented by Lucky Supermarkets, will be held Sunday, October 18th, when the Oakland Raiders take on the Philadelphia Eagles at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The Raiders will pay tribute to Filipino Heritage Month by showering the stadium with Pinoy excitement.

The Raiders have a long-standing tradition of multicultural initiatives and became the first team in American professional sports to launch its own Tagalog language web section when www.raidersintagalog.com went live in 2007.

"We are pleased to again celebrate Filipino Heritage Month and to salute our Filipino fans as part of our long standing tradition to our global and multicultural fans," said Raiders Chief Executive Amy Trask.

Fans are encouraged to visit Raiderville - the very latest in pre-game entertainment - located in the Coliseum's parking lot 'G.' On the Raiderville stage, there will be a lineup of Filipino artists which includes Lil Jordan, Mike Dash E, Desi Arnez, Divo Bayer, TTB Hip Hop's Bwan and Mr. Rey, Jern-Eye, Jeremy John, and the dance groups Soulciety and Step, Styles & Spotlights. Filipino DJs CMC, B-Strut, Steez-O, Samala will be commanding the turntables on stage.

The Raiders will hold and on-field ceremony to honor the following Filipino non-profit organizations: Filipino American Arts Exposition, Filipina Women's Network, The ABS-CBN Foundation and The Young Filipino Professional Association.

These organizations are beneficiaries from the Raiders ticketing fundraising program and are key contributors to the Raiders Mabuhay Fiesta. A portion of the proceeds from ticket sales will help these organizations and the four of them will donate those proceeds to the relief and rehabilitation efforts for the victims and survivors of Typhoon Ondoy in the Philippines.

Top Rank fighter Manny Pacquiao was scheduled to appear at the game, however Pacquiao is heavily involved in the relief efforts in his home country.

"World Champion Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines was looking forward to appearing at the Oakland Raiders Filipino Heritage game this Sunday, Oct. 18. Manny has thousands of fans in the Bay area. He was thrilled to be the guest of honor at the 2009 Raiders Mabuhay Fiesta game," said Top Rank Chairman of the Board Bob Arum.

"Manny, a national hero, and his team worked tirelessly to assist displaced families. It is heart-breaking. Manny believes, as do we at Top Rank, the right thing is to remain at home during his national catastrophe."

A video message from Pacquiao, during which he salutes the Raiders Filipino Heritage Game and encourages the Raider Nation to support the relief efforts, will be showcased during Sunday's game. World Champion boxer Ana "The Hurricane" Julaton, among other Filipino celebrities, will be present in Raiderville prior to the game to participate in a special autograph session in exchange for donations to benefit the victims of the catastrophe.

One of the most celebrated choirs in Asia and the world, The University of the Philippines Madrigal Singers, will perform the National Anthem. The halftime Filipino cultural presentation will feature three dance ensembles showcasing distinct folk styles. Parangal Dance Company will present the ceremonial worship dance Subli, Likha Pilipino Folk Ensemble will participate in a Tinikling traditional dance while Kawayan Folk Arts will be dancing to Pandanggo Sa Ilaw using tinghhoy oil lamps simulating fireflies at dusk.

The Raiders Mabuhay Fiesta 2009 will feature a special commemorative limited edition Filipino rally towel. The Raiders, who have long been a leader in NFL merchandise sales, are reaching out to the Raiders international fan base by offering a new t-shirt commemorating the team’s Filipino Heritage Game. The Raiders Filipino t-shirt will be available in the stadium’s merchandise stands, select Raider Image stores and online at www.raiderimage.com.

The Raiders have long been pioneers, both on and off the field, with regards to the team's global outreach. The Silver and Black maintains a global presence and communicates with the worldwide Raider Nation through the team’s official web sites which feature original and translated content in six different languages - Tagalog, Japanese, German, Chinese, Spanish and English.

Source: globalnation.inquirer.net

White House's Pinay chief awarded for culinary excellence

2009-10-08T08:15:00.001+08:00

The first Filipino executive chef of the White House was awarded a certificate and a medal in a recent dinner reception hosted by the Philippine Embassy in Washington.

Cristeta Comerford holds the distinction of being the only Filipino chef to have served three US Presidents in the White House. Cristeta Comerford received a Certificate of Recognition for Culinary Excellence from Mama Sita Foundation President Clara Lapus, the Department of Foreign Affairs said.

"Mrs. Comerford was also presented with an 18-carat gold medal during the occasion," the DFA said.

Comerford, born Cristeta Pasia in Manila, is the first female and Filipino-American to be selected as White House executive chef.

Philippine Ambassador to the US Willy Gaa hosted the dinner reception at his house in Washington D.C., the DFA said.

Comerford, initially appointed in 2005 by Mrs. Laura Bush, was reappointed by new US First Lady Michelle Obama early this year to continue serving under the current administration.

GMANews.TV

PNP seeks phaseout of barangay tanod

2009-10-03T11:15:00.000+08:00

The Philippine National Police (PNP) is eyeing the phaseout of the system of employing barangay tanod across the country as it pushes for the creation of a new peacekeeping force in every barangay that will be supervised by local cops.

Dubbed as Barangay Peacekeeping Action Team (BPAT), members of the new unit will serve as replacement of barangay tanod in more than 42,000 barangays in the country once the recruitment becomes full-blown starting late this year.

''It will take sometime before the phaseout of barangay tanod is done but we hope to accomplish our program, the BPAT, at the end of next year,'' said Senior Supt. Agrimero Cruz, of the Directorate for Police Community Relations (DPCR).

Unlike the hiring system of barangay tanod, Cruz said the term of office of those who will be hired as BPAT members is not co-terminus with the barangay officials since the town or city mayors, with the direct assistance of the local police, will be the ones who will approve the application of would-be members.

Under the present time, the responsibility of choosing and employing barangay tanod is entrusted to the barangay captain with the approval of the barangay council. Those who are chosen would serve under the pleasure of the barangay captain and the council.

But under the BPAT system, Cruz explained that any BPAT member will remain on their post until he resigns or is found guilty of wrong-doing. The only participation of the barangay captain and the council, he explained, is submitting recommendation and forwarding the intent to join the BPAT by those interested in joining the barangay peacekeeping team.

''So they will not be under the barangay captain. The barangay captain will only serve as co-supervisor of a representative from the local police unit,'' said Cruz.

''We would like also to clarify that BPAT members will not be handpicked, only those interested to volunteer as BPAT members from various sectors like student groups or other non-government organization, will be considered.''

Manila Bulletin

How and where can we help victims of Typhoon Ondoy?

2009-09-30T02:40:00.002+08:00

Here's a list of some very important information for Filipinos everywhere to take part in the relief efforts for Typhoon Ondoy victims:

From the National Disaster Coordinating Council - http://ndcc.gov.ph/home/

TS Ondoy Donations

TS Ondoy cash donations may be deposited to the NDCC Donated Funds current account (Philippine Currency-Peso) #0-00149-435-3 (with shift code: DBPHPHMM Account #36002016), Development Bank of the Philippines, Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo Branch, Camp Aguinaldo, QUezon City, Philippines.

DONATION DROP OFF-POINTS

Pasay Area

National Resource Operation Center
Chapel Road, Pasay City

Mrs. Francia Fabian
852 8081
918 9302356

Quezon City Area

Disaster Resource Operations Monitoring and Info Center (DROMIC)
DSWD Central Office

Rey Martiga or Imee Rose Castillo
951 7119 / 951 2435
or Assistant Secretary Vilma Cabrera
0918 9345625

Manila Area

DSWD- NCR
San Rafael Corner Legarda St.
Quiapo, Manila

Dir. Thelsa P. Biolena
Dir. Delia Bauan
734 8622 / 734 8642

Ever Gotesco

Distribution Point Center for Relief

NDCC Relief Center

Kalayaan Hall, Malacanang Ground
Luli Arroyo and all female members of PGMA's Family
734 2192 / 734 8642

MMD-DOH Central Office

Engr. Dave Masiado
0917 8163400

NDCC Missing Person Hotline:

Marikina: 0920-9389914
QC: 0921-6555262
Pasig: 0918-9356318
Cainta: 0917-5606241

From the Philippine National Red Cross - http://www.redcross.org.ph/

1. CASH or CHECK

Please send cash or check donations to the PNRC National Headquarters in Manila. Checks should be made payable to The Philippine National Red Cross. We can also arrange for donation pick-up.

2. BANK DEPOSIT

Account Name: The Phil. Nat’l. Red Cross

PNRC PESO ACCOUNT

ALLIED BANK
Intramuros Branch
PESO ACCOUNT : 1941-01347-1
Type of Account : CURRENT
SWIFT CODE : ABC MPH MM

BANCO DE ORO
Port Area Branch
PESO ACCOUNT : 453-0018647
Type of Account : SAVINGS
SWIFT CODE : BNOR PH MM

BANK OF PHILIPPINE ISLAND
Port Area Branch
PESO ACCOUNT : 4991-0010-99
Type of Account : CURRENT
SWIFT CODE : BOPI PH MM

METRO BANK
Anda Circle Port Area Branch
PESO ACCOUNT : 151-3-04163122-8
Type of Account : SAVINGS
SWIFT CODE : MBTC PH MM

PHILIPPINE NATIONAL BANK
Sta. Cruz Branch
PESO ACCOUNT : 3623-3680-0011
Type of Account : SAVINGS
SWIFT CODE : PNB MPH MM

PNRC DOLLAR ACCOUNT

BANCO DE ORO
Port Area Branch
DOLLAR ACCOUNT : 453-0039482
Type of Account : SAVINGS
SWIFT CODE : BNOR PH MM

BANK OF PHILIPPINE ISLAND
United Nation Branch
DOLLAR ACCOUNT : 8114-0030-94
Type of Account : SAVINGS
SWIFT CODE : BOPI PH MM

METRO BANK
Anda Circle Port Area Branch
DOLLAR ACCOUNT : 151-2-151002182
Type of Account : SAVINGS
SWIFT CODE : MBTC PH MM

PHILIPPINE NATIONAL BANK
Sta. Cruz Branch
DOLLAR ACCOUNT : 375-283500026
Type of Account : SAVINGS
SWIFT CODE : PNB MPH MM

UNION BANK OF THE PHILIPPINES
Sta. Cruz Branch
DOLLAR ACCOUNT : 132-070001012
Type of Account : SAVINGS
SWIFT CODE : UBPH PH MM

PNRC OTHER ACCOUNT

METRO BANK
Binondo Branch
EURO ACCOUNT : 016-201650005-9
Type of Account : SAVINGS
SWIFT CODE : MBTC PH MM

METRO BANK
Anda Circle Port Area Branch
YEN ACCOUNT : 151-2-15130001-9
Type of Account : SAVINGS
SWIFT CODE : MBTC PH MM

For your donations to be properly acknowledged, please fax the bank transaction slip at nos. +63.2.527.0575 or +63.2.404.0979 with your name, address and contact number.

Credit Card

Please fax the following info to +632.404.09.79 and +632.527.0575: Name of card member, billing address, contact nos. (phone & mobile), credit card no., expiration date, CCV2/ CVC2 (last three digits at the back of the credit card), billing address, amount to be donated.

In-Kind Donations

LOCAL

Please send in-kind local donations to The Philippine National Red Cross – National Headquarters in Manila. We could also arrange for donation pick-up.

INTERNATIONAL

1. Send a letter of intent to donate to the PNRC
2. A letter of acceptance from PNRC shall be sent back to the donor
3. Immediately after shipping the goods, please send the (a) original Deed of Donation, (b) copy of packing list and (c) original Airway Bill for air shipments or Bill of Lading for sea shipments to The Philippine National Red Cross–National Headquarters c/o Secretary General Gwendolyn Pang, Bonifacio Drive, Port Area, Manila 2803, Philippines.

SMS and G-CASH (Globe)

SMS
text REDAMOUNT to 2899 (Globe) or 4483 (Smart)

G-CASH
text DONATEAMOUNT4-digit M-PINREDCROSS to 2882

Most urgent needs:

Food items: Rice, noodles, canned goods, sugar, iodized salt, cooking oil, monggo beans and potable water

Medicines: Paracetamol, antibiotics, analgesic, oral rehydration salts, multivitamins and medications to treat diarrheal diseases

Non-food items: Bath soaps, face towels, shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, plastic mats, blankets, mosquito nets, jerry cans, water containers, water purification tablets, plastic sheetings, and Laundry soap

Rehabilitation Programs: Shelter materials for house repair

For OFWs, here are some specific places where you can help:

Ayala Foundation – for online donations (Visa, Mastercard, Diners, GCash, SmartMoney), go to https://www.myayala.com/ondoy/Default.asp

TXTPower (Paypal, SmartMoney, GCash) – http://technology.inquirer.net/infotech/infotech/view/20090927-227196/Help-Ondoy-victims-via-Paypal

American Red Cross – Tel: 1-800-435-7669

World Food Programme

SINGAPORE

* Embassy of the Philippines in Singapore (20 Nassim Road, Singapore 258395). Donors are discouraged from sending used clothing, which is prohibited for importation into the Philippines under Republic Act No. 4653. Organizations wishing to donate are advised to refer to the Embassy's guidelines for donations to the Philippines, which are available online at: http://www.philippine-embassy.org.sg/index.cfm?GPID=53. Further queries may be directed to Ms. Pearl Camento at php@pacific.net.sg, subject: "Typhoon Ondoy"

* A-Freight Cargo (304 Orchard Road, #03-19 Lucky Plaza, Singapore 238863). Donations/drop-offs accepted, contact Maureen Schepers 6235-1011.

* i-Remit Singapore (304 Orchard Road, #03-69 Lucky Plaza, Singapore 238863). Will be waiving charges for donations to the Philippine Red Cross.

* LBC Singapore (304 Orchard Road, #04-77 Lucky Plaza, Singapore 238863). Will waive remittance charges for donations made to the following organizations: ABS-CBN Foundation, GMA Foundation, Philippine National Red Cross, and the National Disaster Coordinating Center.

* World Vision Singapore

* Singapore Red Cross (15 Penang Lane, Singapore 238486). Walk-in cash donations accepted. Send cheques to the Singapore Red Cross Society and indicate your name and return address for receipt purposes.

Calls for help flood cyberspace as ‘Ondoy’ pummeled Luzon

2009-09-27T19:12:00.003+08:00

It's the old Filipino practice of bayanihan, expressed in the age of Web 2.0. As strong winds, torrential rains and extensive flooding due to tropical storm "Ondoy" buffeted Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon, Filipinos turned to various Internet sites not only for the latest news updates, but also to share information and to call for help.

The online world of social media became a convenient means to keep connected as land lines went busy, cell phone networks conked out, and government websites bogged down. In the microblogging site Twitter, for example, "Ondoy" and "NDCC" (the government’s National Disaster Coordinating Council) became top-trending topics on Saturday, mostly due to Filipinos twitting contact numbers of disaster relief agencies that they could contact for help.

At another microblogging site, Plurk, Filipino users not only "plurked" emergency numbers but also suggested ways to channel donations to the disaster victims. "Let us reach out to the victims of typhoon Ondoy. In this time of need, every charitable act will matter," said a Filipina who goes by her username pearlychelle.

The social networking site Facebook was also flooded with calls for help and wall posts on information about relief centers and hotline numbers. GMANews.TV's Bagyong "Ondoy" Facebook page became an interactive bulletin board where Filipinos can post contact numbers, addresses, calls for help, inquiries and various messages of people stranded in flooded neighborhoods and buildings, vehicles trapped in gridlock, and travelers stuck in ports and terminals.

Bloggers and other citizen journalists did the same, often staying up overnight to update news tidbits, advisories, interactive spreadsheets and maps to help rescue teams, government agencies, non-government organizations, and concerned individuals take action. A tech-savvy Filipino who goes by username KaninLamig (Cold Rice) created an interactive Google map that pinpointed dozens of locations that reported urgent calls for rescue, evacuation, food relief, and other emergencies related to "Ondoy."

A number of volunteers soon offered to help update the map.

Blogger Manuel L. Quezon III, for his part, kept his site well updated, and provided links to other helpful sites, including KaninLamig's Google map. "Fellow bloggers may want to help on collating specific types of information they encounter online: appeals for rescue, traffic/flood updates, places to send relief goods, power failures, etc. This allows relief workers and media to focus on who needs help," Quezon said in a blogpost on tropical storm "Ondoy."

A site entirely dedicated on "Ondoy" was built in the blogging platform Tumblr. Photos of various heavily flooded areas were posted on the site. Videos of flooded areas were also uploaded on YouTube. Through clicks, posts, tweets and blogs, Filipinos found alternative means to extend simple acts of help to those in need of them.

The "Ondoy" experience showed that the Filipino sense of community really can overcome any storm - with a little help from technology. - GMANews.TV

Stop politicizing energy issues, Reyes tells critics

2009-09-26T00:20:00.003+08:00

Energy Secretary Angelo T. Reyes took direct assault on critics and the lawmakers who have been insistently blocking his confirmation at the bicameral Commission on Appointments.

"I don't try to politicize the issue because energy is very, very important issue. That should not be politicized, and they should stop politicizing it," has been the energy chief's fierce comment to critics.

Reyes further noted that since energy is a commodity that affects everybody; people conveniently ride with the issues to gain mileage for political brownie points.

"Energy is a very, very politicized issue that affects everybody, so people would like to ride on it. But please, we should stop doing it," Reyes said.

He further pointed out that the issue being thrown against him is the Department of Energy's (DOE) supposed passive stance on oil pricing, especially in controlling upward adjustments.

"Well, bad news, I cannot really control oil prices," Reyes said, explaining that external factors have stronger influence on how pump prices are set by market.

"Number one, the law (referring to the Oil Deregulation Law) does not allow me; and number two, the reality is that prices of oil are set in the international market," he explained.

Reyes enthused it was quite unfair that the issues thrown against him by some members of the CA are something that goes beyond his control because these are market fundamentals that even the most powerful leaders in the world cannot hold sway over.

"Sometimes people are tempted to say something that is very, very popular even if it's not exactly true. That's not right," he stressed.

While at the department, Reyes said he will just keep on doing what is being expected of him based on the mandates of the policies governing the energy sector.

Sometimes, he said, leaders must keep working beyond the political noise, especially if the agenda of the others are just anchored on selfish political intensions.

He bared that the other lawmakers' dislike of him are actually deeper than oil pricing issues; but on concerns that can be traced back when he was still at the helm of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

By MYRNA VELASCO, Manila Bulletin

Bata rules Texas tilt

2009-09-21T19:41:00.001+08:00

Efren "Bata" Reyes rose back from the losers' bracket to beat American Shannon Daulton twice in the finals and win the Galveston Classic One Pocket tournament on Friday at the Moody Gardens Hotel and Convention Center in Galveston City, Texas.

It was Reyes' third consecutive title in less than a month after he ruled The Manny Villar Cup Kadayawan Leg in Davao City and the 2009 World Cup of Pool with partner Francisco "Django" Bustamante in Quezon City.

The 55-year-old Reyes, a member of the Billiards Managers and Players Association of the Philippines and Senator Manny Villar's Team Villards, was sent into the losers' bracket late in the elimination round but bounced back by beating Cliff Joyner to earn the second finals slot against the erstwhile undefeated Daulton.

Reyes, who is one of the best One Pocket players in the world, had a tall task of beating the American twice and he did that by winning the first match, 3-1, and then scored a pulsating 3-2 squeaker to rule the inaugural edition of this tournament and pocket the $25,000 top prize.

Reyes is set to take on fellow Asian pool legend Chao Fong-pang in Face Off Series 3 - The Grandmasters slated on Oct. 28-29 at the posh Club Capo Exclusive in Tomas Morato, Quezon City.

Manila Bulletin

HCSB dancers fete their wins abroad via 'Salute to Pinoy'

2009-09-18T23:07:00.000+08:00

At the Halili-Cruz School of Ballet (HCSB), the most fitting way to celebrate thanksgiving and triumph in dance is through a dance performance.

"Salute to Pinoy," a dance concert, is a celebration by and for the energetic and enthusiastic HCSB dancers. The concert will be held at the Main Theatre of the Cultural Center of the Philippines on Sept. 13, 6 p.m.

The dance concert will feature all HCSB dancers who have won a grand slam victory for the country in different international competitions. Some of these international dance competitions were in Bangkok, Thailand; Singapore; Malaysia; Korea; and Los Angeles, California, USA.

Last July 16-21, 2009, the Shirley Halili-Cruz dancers competed as the Philippine representatives in the 11th Asia-Pacific Dance Competition held in Bangkok, Thailand, besting more than 800 dancers from Australia, China, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Japan, India, Malaysia, Hongkong, and Indonesia.

There, the Philippines emerged as the Grand Prize Winner, garnering 12 Perpetual Trophies (awarded to competitors who garnered the highest grade in the major categories), 22 Gold Trophies, First prize winner and the Grand Champion in both Classical Ballet and Modern Contemporary Dance!

"I had been going around the world as adjudicator of different international dance competitions, but I have never seen such strength, versatility, technique, and artistry. You are truly world-class artists," said the competition judges of the HCSB dancers.

The achievements of the Halili-Cruz dancers made the international community recognize that the Philippines has a great reservoir of talents and creativity which showcase the depth of the Filipino soul. The 70 young and talented dancers proved to their counterparts that dedication, good training, and teamwork are keys to success.

The three-day event proved to be challenging to the HCSB dancers who competed against 25 dance troops in various categories.

From the successful recitals last March 29 and June 4, 2009, at the Meralco Theatre and CCP Main Theatre, the successful participation in the Dance Excellence 2009 in Los Angeles, California, last April 4-11, 2009, where they brought home four First Prizes, and in the Ansan Arts Festival in Korea last May 2-6, 2009, the teachers and students of the HCSB show how great the enthusiasm is in their ballet classes, rehearsals, and performances in different venues around the country and in international dance competitions.

This year, the school is preparing 70 students for entry into various categories of classical ballet, modern dance, neo-classical, and national.

The school's dedicated and committed artistic team is headed by artistic director Shirley Halili-Cruz and ballet teachers Grace Garalde-Perez and Anna Tuazon-Balmadrid who choreographed 59 new numbers for the 11th Asia-Pacific Dance Competition.

The HCSB delegation is composed of the following:

Professional Category: Cheka Cabreza, Lemuel Capa, Nordic Caraig, Gabby Quinto, Glenn Ragel;

Under 18 Category: Regine Magbitang, Nicole Orteza, Aira Rostrata, Misha Bernas, Rizza de Jesus, Sophia Magadia, Lindsay Lopez;

Under 15 Category: Agatha Bongosia, Princess Brillantes, Chelsea Cacho, Bei Castigador, Frances Castro, Nicole Chiong, Chi Chi Chua, Iye Cortez, Jackie del Pilar, Joyce Dizon, Mary Ann Farro, Precious Flores, Princess Flores, Raja Gavina, Jeng Guerrero, Jolina Leonardo, Alyssa Morales, Katja Palisoc, Erika Rapinan, Cheekey Reyes, Cassey Ruiz, Anna Santos, Sharmaine Valeroso, Allysa Escota

Under 12 Category: Camille Asi, Kariz Bautista, Leila Caro, Tisha Caro, Franzia Castro, Krisha Castueras, Jackie Chua, Kimberly Davies, Allison Ee, Nyssa Escarez, Rieza Escarez, Andrea Evangelista, Nica Ferrer, Ella Francia, Allyza Francisco, Ferro Lao, Kelly Lao, Pia Leido, Louisse Lopez, Summer Magsino, Gabby Paras, Nicole Paredes, .Isabelle Sarrosa, Angela Rivera, Eia Tagaban, Kahrie Tizon, Loise Tizon, Nicolei Umali, Alee Young

Under 8 Category: Nica Mendoza, Toni Noel, Yana Hermoso, Jill Feliciano, Ianne Francisco, Angela Esluzar

Manila Bulletin

Mary Travers of 1960s folk anthem trio dies at 72

2009-09-17T23:04:00.001+08:00

Note: The trio sang at the 1986 EDSA Revolution the Bob Dylan's song "Blowin' In The Wind"

BOSTON - Mary Travers, of the folk trio Peter, Paul, and Mary, that used beautiful, tranquil harmonies to convey the angst and turmoil of the Vietnam antiwar movement, racial discrimination and more, died after a yearslong battle with leukemia. She was 72.

The band's publicist, Heather Lylis, said Travers died Wednesday at Danbury Hospital in Connecticut.

Bandmate Peter Yarrow said that in her final months, Travers handled her declining health with bravery and generosity, showing her love to friends and family "with great dignity and without restraint."

"It was, as Mary always was, honest and completely authentic," he said. "That's the way she sang, too — honestly and with complete authenticity."

Noel "Paul" Stookey, the trio's other member, praised Travers for her inspiring activism, "especially in her defense of the defenseless."

"I am deadened and heartsick beyond words to consider a life without Mary Travers and honored beyond my wildest dreams to have shared her spirit and her career," he said.

Mary Allin Travers was born on Nov. 9, 1936, in Louisville, Kentucky, the daughter of journalists who moved the family to Manhattan's bohemian Greenwich Village. She quickly became enamored with folk performers like the Weavers and was soon performing with Pete Seeger, a founding member of the Weavers who lived in the same building as the Travers family.

With a group called the Song Swappers, Travers backed Seeger on one album and two shows at Carnegie Hall. She also appeared (as one of a group of folk singers) in a short-lived 1958 Broadway show called "The Next President," starring comedian Mort Sahl.

It wasn't until she met up with Yarrow and Stookey that Travers would taste success on her own. Yarrow was managed by Albert B. Grossman, who later worked in the same capacity for Bob Dylan.

In the book "Positively 4th Street" by David Hajdu, Travers recalled that Grossman's strategy was to "find a nobody that he could nurture and make famous."

The budding trio, boosted by the arrangements of Milt Okun, spent seven months rehearsing in her Greenwich Village apartment before their 1961 public debut at the Bitter End.

Their beatnik look — a tall blonde flanked by a pair of goateed guitarists — was a part of their initial appeal. As The New York Times critic Robert Shelton put it not long afterward, "Sex appeal as a keystone for a folk-song group was the idea of the group's manager ... who searched for months for `the girl' until he decided on Miss Travers."

The trio mingled their music with liberal politics, both onstage and off. Their version of "If I Had a Hammer" became an anthem for racial equality. Other hits included "Lemon Tree," "Leaving on a Jet Plane" and "Puff (The Magic Dragon.)"

They were early champions of Dylan and performed his "Blowin' in the Wind" at the March on Washington in August 1963.

And they were vehement in their opposition to the Vietnam War, managing to stay true to their liberal beliefs while creating music that resonated in the American mainstream.

The group collected five Grammy Awards for their three-part harmony on enduring songs like "Leaving on a Jet Plane," "Puff (The Magic Dragon)" and "Blowin' in the Wind."

At one point in 1963, three of their albums were in the top six Billboard best-selling LPs as they became the biggest stars of the folk revival movement.

It was heady stuff for a trio that had formed in the early 1960s in Greenwich Village, running through simple tunes like "Mary Had a Little Lamb."

Their debut album came out in 1962, and immediately scored a pair of hits with their versions of "If I Had a Hammer" and "Lemon Tree." The former won them Grammys for best folk recording and best performance by a vocal group.

"Moving" was the follow-up, including the hit tale of innocence lost, "Puff (The Magic Dragon)" — which reached No. 2 on the charts, and generated since-discounted reports that it was an ode to marijuana.

Album No. 3, "In the Wind," featured three songs by the then-22-year-old Dylan. "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" and "Blowin' in the Wind" both reached the top 10, bringing Dylan's material to a massive audience; the latter shipped 300,000 copies during one two-week period.

"Blowin' In the Wind" became another civil rights anthem, and Peter, Paul and Mary fully embraced the cause. They marched with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in Selma, Alabama, and performed with him in Washington.

In a 1966 Times interview, Travers said the three worked well together because they respected one another. "There has to be a certain amount of love just in order for you to survive together," she said. "I think a lot of groups have gone down the tubes because they were not able to relate to one another."

With the advent of the Beatles and Dylan's switch to electric guitar, the folk boom disappeared. Travers expressed disdain for folk-rock, telling the Chicago Daily News in 1966 that "it's so badly written. ... When the fad changed from folk to rock, they didn't take along any good writers."

But the trio continued their success, scoring with the tongue-in-cheek single "I Dig Rock and Roll Music," a gentle parody of the Mamas and the Papas, in 1967 and the John Denver-penned "Leaving on a Jet Plane" two years later.

They also continued as boosters for young songwriters, recording numbers written by then-little-known Gordon Lightfoot and Laura Nyro.

In 1969, the group earned their final Grammy for "Peter, Paul and Mommy," which won for best children's album. They disbanded in 1971, launching solo careers — Travers released five albums — that never achieved the heights of their collaborations.

Over the years they enjoyed several reunions, including a performance at a 1978 anti-nuclear benefit organized by Yarrow and a 35th anniversary album, "Lifelines," with fellow folkies Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Dave Van Ronk and Seeger. A boxed set of their music was released in 2004.

They remained politically active as well, performing in 1995 on the anniversary of the Kent State shootings and performing for California strawberry pickers.

Travers had undergone a successful bone marrow transplant to treat her leukemia and was able to return to performing after that.

"It was like a miracle," Travers told The Associated Press in 2006. "I'm just feeling fabulous. What's incredible is someone has given your life back. I'm out in the garden today. This time last year I was looking out a window at a hospital." She also said she told the marrow donor "how incredibly grateful I was."

But by mid-2009, Yarrow told WTOP radio in Washington that her condition had worsened again and he thought she would no longer be able to perform.

Travers lived for many years in Redding, Connecticut She is survived by her husband, Ethan Robbins, and daughters, Alicia and Erika.

By JAY LINDSAY, Associated Press Writer

Palace flip-flops on text tax

2009-09-16T05:34:00.000+08:00

In the wake of bitter protests from some consumer groups and mobile phone companies, Malacañang Friday backtracked from its earlier support for a congressional proposal to impose new taxes on text messages.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said the Palace will instead wait until the two houses of Congress pass the final version of the proposed five centavo tax on every text message sent from mobile phones before making any decision.

"At this point, it is premature to say that the administration is for it. We have to study carefully the final version of the bill that will be tackled by the Senate," Ermita said in a radio interview.

"For now, we cannot say if we can support it because we don't know the nuances and details of the proposed measure," he added.

Deputy Presidential Spokesman for Economic Affairs Gary Olivar pushed for a thorough study on the new tax proposal on text messages amid concerns the measure was an additional burden to low-income consumers.

Olivar, speaking to reporters in the Palace, said the lawmakers should scrutinize the measure "very carefully because we are talking about a major industry in our country" and make the necessary adjustments.

He admitted though that the administration supports the "no-pass on provision" in the proposed tax on text. "

"We are talking about a major revenue gain but would create political issues. We don't want to be wrong messages to investors from outside. We don't want to give the policy that we are soaking the rich just because they are rich," he said.

"If you are seeing objections coming from both sides of the fence, there is really room for further study and maybe some revisions are in order," he added.

Olivar said as far as he knows, the controversial measure is not among the priority administration bills pending in Congress. "Those original measures had a benefit of close study by the Department of Finance including very clear and well measured estimates of the revenue impact," he said.

In a bid to raise additional revenues for government programs, Malacañang earlier threw its support behind the proposed tax on text, which could generate as much as R36 billion every year, but with certain conditions.

Deputy Presidential Spokesman Anthony Golez said the Palace will endorse the proposed tax on text as long as the measure was not passed on to consumers. Golez added that lawmakers should also make clear on how the tax will be implemented and ensure the proceeds are used for specific purposes such as education.

Last Wednesday, Ermita said the government will support "any measures that will help generate funds and resources for governance" amid moves in Congress to pass the new tax on text.

Early this week, the House committee on ways and means approved a proposal imposing a five-centavo tax on text, multimedia messages, and calls. The proceeds will be allocated for the education sector, particularly for skills training.

Congress is expected to debate the bill next week.

Manila Bulletin

E-passport spares OFWs from embarrassment, says DFA

2009-09-14T05:27:00.000+08:00

An e-passport is a passport which features microchip technology. An integrated circuit (chip) within its pages contains the data that are essential in verifying the identity of the passport holder. These data include the personal data found on the data page of the passport, the biometrics of the passport holder, the unique chip identification number, and a digital signature to verify the authenticity of the data stored on the chip.

The new electronic passport or e-passport will spare overseas Filipino workers (OFW) from being embarrassed in other countries, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Friday.

"The embarrassment that our Filipino workers experience is no longer there (with the e-passport)," said DFA Secretary Alberto Romulo told reporters in a press conference held in Manila on Friday.

As of now, Filipinos are either using manually scripted passports (green or brown) or machine-readable passports (MRP).

But the DFA said the e-passport is more advanced than the two because it has a 64-kilobyte microchip where the security features and personal data of the holder are stored – a measure meant to combat fraud and tampering of the travel document.

Using it, Romulo said OFWs can just pass through the immigration of the host country without any problem - unlike previous instances when many of them are held there for a long time.

"You are waved through with hardly any questions asked, kumbaga, balewala (in other words, no hassle)," he said, adding that if the Filipino is asked anything, it would just be how long he or she will be staying the country.

According to Romulo, the Philippines is one of the 62 "progressive countries" issuing e-passports to its citizens.

The DFA said it will be releasing an initial two to four million e-passports which can be availed within three to four days for P950 each. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was the first Filipino to receive an e-passport with code EA000001.

But it clarified that machine-readable passports will remain valid until their expiration date. On the other hand, manually scripted passports will no longer be recognized starting April 10, 2010.

GMANews.TV

Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto

2009-09-12T23:47:00.002+08:00

BRONX, New York - Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto hardly spoke ill at each other Thursday afternoon that one would have thought they were band members about to embark on a worldwide tour when they took the dais for a press conference at the Yankee Stadium.

There was so much respect between Pacquiao, the pride and joy of the Philippines, and Cotto, the shining glory of Puerto Rico, that reporters barely had enough words to write on their notepads after the momentous affair.

Pacquiao, regarded today as boxing's best pound-for-pound, described his 28-year-old opponent as "strong and big" and somebody not to be messed around with.

Even Pacquiao's trainer Freddie Roach, who had been very vocal and blunt about the 30-year-old Pacquiao when he fought Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton, was tight-lipped when asked about the possibility of another devastating Pacquiao win. He instead focused on the plus points of Cotto rather than his own fighter's attributes.

Cotto also talked along that same line although he managed to sneak in some harsh words towards the end of his conversation with reporters.

"He's facing Miguel Cotto who knows how to move inside the ring. I am not Oscar De La Hoya or Ricky Hatton," said Cotto.

"I am going to train the hardest I have ever had in my career (for this fight with Pacquiao)," added Cotto.

It was amusing that the only abrasive remark spoken happened when Cotto's father Miguel Sr., was given the chance to say a few words during the formal introductions.

And talk tough Cotto Sr. did.

"Since we have started working, we urge Mr. Roach to do the same with his fighter because we don't want any excuses (after the fight). No excuses," who sat beside his son.

Cotto Sr. was obviously referring to the fact that Pacquiao has yet to enter training camp while his son has already been working out the last five weeks.

Actually, Pacquiao's preparations for Cotto took a giant step early Thursday when the southpaw braved the icy winds and jogged around Central Park, just a couple of blocks away from his suite at the Lowes Regency on Park Ave.

Meanwhile, the traveling circus shifts to Puerto Rico at noontime on Saturday when Pacquiao and Caguas host a press conference at the Centro de Bellas Artes in Cotto's hometown of Caguas.

To prepare for that event, the respective camps of Pacquiao and Cotto as well as the promotional team from Top Rank are scheduled to head to Newark Airport in neighboring New Jersey on Friday to catch the 7 pm Continental Airlines flight to San Juan.

Manila Bulletin

FVR, Lakas originals split from coalition

2009-09-10T07:53:00.004+08:00

MANILA, Philippines - Original members of the administration party Lakas led by former President Fidel Ramos and Pangasinan Rep. Jose de Venecia Jr. decided yesterday to break away from the Lakas-Kampi-CMD and form a new coalition with other political parties and support their own presidential candidate in next year’s elections.

At the same time, the group, composed of more than 50 members calling themselves the Lakas Originals, declared that the merger of Lakas and Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi) last May 28 was illegal and null and void.

In a statement issued after the meeting at De Venecia's residence in Forbes Park, Makati, the group quoted Ramos as saying the merger was "highly irregular" and violated the constitution and bylaws of Lakas.

Members of the Lakas-Ramos-De Venecia wing said their party is still a "reigning party" since its merger with Kampi was not approved by the Lakas national assembly and the new officers were elected illegally.

President Arroyo was elected chairman of the merged Lakas-Kampi-CMD, with Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno and Speaker Prospero Nograles as co-vice chairmen.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita was chosen party president and Presidential Adviser for Political Affairs Gabriel Claudio as secretary-general.

Reached for comment, Nograles said he was not aware of the meeting held and the decisions made by the Lakas Originals.

The Ramos-De Venecia faction created a committee that will decide which political parties it will coalesce with. The committee will also choose the presidential candidate it will support.

De Venecia was chosen to chair the panel, with Ramos' sister former Sen. Leticia Shahani, former interior secretary Cesar Sarino, Ramos' media handler Ed Malay, former Samar Rep. Jose Tan Ramirez, Marieta Primicias Goco and former Pasig Rep. Toti Carino as members.

During the meeting, Ramos reportedly emphasized the international character of Lakas-CMD (Christian Muslim Democrats), which is affiliated with Christian Democrats International.

CDI is composed of more than 100 political parties worldwide, and its members include German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

De Venecia is a CDI vice president, chairman of CDI Asia-Pacific and chairman of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties, which is meeting in Kazakhstan this month.

More than two weeks ago, Ramos announced that he was not accepting merged Lakas-Kampi-CMD's offer to be its chairman emeritus but said he would keep his post as Lakas chairman emeritus.

He said Mrs. Arroyo merged the two parties without consulting Lakas leaders like him.

He aired the same misgivings before the May 28 merger. After that, it was reported that Ermita and Claudio met with him and that they were able to patch up their differences over a bottle of expensive cognac.

Ermita and Claudio have announced that they would meet again with Ramos, their former Palace boss.

Ramos said he would listen but that no "expensive dinners" could convince him to support the Lakas-Kampi merger.

He was referring to the costly steaks, lobsters, wine, escargot, and soft shell crab that Mrs. Arroyo and her large entourage enjoyed during her recent visit to the United States.

Two members of her entourage, Representatives Martin Romualdez of Leyte and Danilo Suarez of Quezon, reportedly paid $35,000 for the two expensive dinners in New York and Washington.

The Lakas Originals met at the Makati residence of De Venecia, and passed a resolution reaffirming former President Ramos as chairman-emeritus, De Venecia as party president and many of those in attendance as the duly elected officers of the party.

Amado Valdez, the Lakas Originals' lawyer, explained that those elected last March 10, 2008 at the Manila Hotel were illegally elected, and the subsequent appointees of President Arroyo as officials of Lakas-Kampi were likewise illegal.

Among those who attended the meeting were former Sen. Santanina Rasul, former Reps. Jose Tan Ramirez, Bert Lumauig, Mars Pineda, and Bojie Cabochan, former cooperative chairman Bert Zingapan, Col. Willy de la Cruz, former Social Security System commissioner Ildefonso Remolona, Fernando Peña, former transportation secretary Luis Lagdameo, Boy Saycon, Lakas treasurer Tony Vilar, Wainright Rivera, deputy Lakas secretary general Luis Corral, columnist Chit Pedrosa, Ramos' son-in-law Freddie Jalasco, ex-mayor Felipe Siapno, Vice-Mayor Teddy Manaois, Malvar Rama, June Battung, Mary Ann Robles, Lakas CMD’s deputy executive director.

Palace downplays meeting

Presidential Adviser for Political Affairs Gabriel Claudio, the chief architect of the Lakas-Kampi-CMD merger, however, downplayed the meeting and expressed belief that Ramos was more objective than the group portrayed him to be.

He also noted that most of those who attended the meeting were incumbent officials, implying that they do not have much influence with their elected party mates.

"Obviously they want to enlist the support of other Lakas-Kampi-CMD but we are not belittling them. Let's just wait for the decision of the Comelec," Claudio told The STAR in a telephone interview.

He said it was "awfully premature for the group" to talk about alliances with other party when the Comelec has yet to rule on their motion.

"By what basis are they representing the party? Precisely the case has yet to be decided by the Comelec," Claudio said.

With Paolo Romero - By Jess Diaz, Philstar News Service

Bata, Django regain World Cup of Pool crown

2009-09-08T08:45:00.001+08:00

Efren "Bata" Reyes and Francisco "Django" Bustamante didn't disappoint, rallying back from two racks down to nip Ralf Souquet and Thorsten Hohmann of Germany, 11-9, and regained the PartyCasino.net World Cup of Pool title before a jampacked crowd at the SM North Edsa Mall Sunday night.

The two pool legends survived two grueling matches in a nine-hour span to win back the championship of the meet they first dominated during its inaugural staging in Wales in 2006.

None was more important than their come-from-behind win over the deadly German pair in a game that saw the Filipinos bounce back from a 7-9 deficit.

Efren 'Bata' Reyes whoops it up after he and partner Francisco 'Django' Bustamante beat German pair Ralf Souquet and Thorsten Hohmann to win the World Cup of Pool crown Sunday in Quezon City. "We started out strong, but slowed down a bit in the middle of the championship match. Good thing we're able to get back our rhythm and win this one," said Bustamante.

Reyes, a former world champion and regarded as the best pool artist ever to play the game, sank the winning 9-ball to the delight of the Filipino crowd.

"Nakaka-nerbyos pa rin," he said after making the winning shot and then capping it by dancing to the cheers of the hometown fans. The celebrated Filipino pair won the $60,000 top prize from the total cash pot of $250,000 in the prestigious tourney.

Souquet and Hohmann settled for the runner up prize of $30,000. Reyes and Bustamante earlier beat out China's Fu Jian-bo and Li He-wen in a classic hill-hill battle of the first semifinal match, 9-8. But Souquet and Hohmann denied an all-Filipino title showdown when they frustrated the other Filipino pair of Dennis Orcollo and Ronnie Alcano in the other semifinal pairing, 9-6.

GMANews.TV

Sy, Villar, Marcos allies in RP's 40 richest

2009-08-29T17:35:00.002+08:00

MANILA - The recent Forbes Asia magazine's accounting of the wealth of the Philippines' 40 richest people just might be an indication of economic recovery.

Published last August 25, Forbes Rich List showed that the total networth of the country's wealthiest has reached $16.4 billion, higher than last year's $14.2 billion.

Nine of the top 10 and 25 of all 40 in the list posted higher wealth compared to the previous list available last October 2008.

Forbes attributed this to signs of recovery as various industries benefited from continuously growing money sent home by Filipinos working abroad and healthy consumer confidence that kept Filipinos spending.

It also cited the 52% uptick in the Philippine Stock Exchange composite index since the beginning of the year and 67% increase since bottoming out in October 2008.

Share values are still 26% off the 2007 peak, but Forbes said the current levels are "enough to begin to turn around the fortunes of the country’s richest."

Forbes based the networth calculation on share prices of companies listed in the stock market and an estimation of the worth of privately held assets if they were listed. The figures also included the share of the individuals in their family's fortunes.

Share prices and exchange rates were based on prevailing rates as of August 14.

Mall power

Retail mogul Henry Sy again topped the list. His wealth increased by $700 million more since Forbes' last list in October 2008.

His current $3.8 billion networth was attributed to the appreciation of the share prices of his main holding family, SM Investments, which appreciated by 28% since October. SM Investments has stakes in banking, insurance, property, and malls.

The Sy family has the widest network of retail outlets - from malls to hypermarkets - nationwide. Four of his over 100 malls in the Philippines and China are included in the world's biggest malls.

The wealth culled from the retail business has propelled a new entrant, Marian Rosario Fong, into the Top 40 list.

Fong, who grabbed the last spot, was a former partner of Sy's supermarkets and still has a 1% stake in SM Investments, Forbes noted.

These accounted for her networth of $38 million, which Forbes said is still higher than the $30 million networth of the person who held that last spot in October. The networth of the last on the Philippine list again made the Philippines the easiest to make in all 14 countries in Asia that Forbes tracks for its Rich List.

Meantime, tycoon Lucio Tan (#2) and Ayala conglomerate's chairman emeritus Jaime Zobel de Ayala (#3) took the next slots.

Both used to clinch the top spot.

Tan, who is of Chinese descent, has interests in tobacco, beer, and banking. He is also in highly regulated industries, including aviation. Philippine Airlines, where he has a controlling stake, has been having financial troubles as it faces tougher competition and after hedging fuel supply when prices reached record highs last year.

On the other hand, Zobel de Ayala, who is of Spanish descent, has left the day to day management of his family's interests in property, retail, banking, telecommunications, and water to his children. He is now an art advocate and is into photography.

Business and politics

A notable member of the top 10 is Sen. Manuel Villar (#9) who is a May 2010 presidential aspirant. He has interests in real estate, which includes listed home developer Vista Land and Lifescapes.

Villar and his wife, Las Piñas Rep. Cynthia Villar, have been topping the list of richest solon with a P1.05 billion combined networth as of 2008.

However, Forbes calculate his current wealth at $530 million or about P25 billion.

Richer than Villar are two more politically connected individuals: Eduardo Cojuangco Jr. ($660 million, #7) and Enrique Razon Jr. ($620 million, #8).

Razon is into the ports business through International Container Terminal Services Inc. He emerged into prominence due to his closeness with First Gentleman Mike Arroyo, a golf buddy. Razon also helped in a recent campaign of senatorial aspirants who are allies of President Gloria Arroyo.

The closeness of the Arroyo couple and Razon is apparent as the latter would even include official visits to countries like Brazil and Syria, which have little trade or migrant labor relationship with the Philippines. Razon recently started operating ports in these countries.

Razon also won a concession for the power transmission business, a recently privatized monopoly. Roberto Coyuito Jr. ($290 million, #18), who was recently part of the consortium behind the transmission business, also made it to the Forbes list.

Razon and Coyuito's consortium was previously dragged to court by nickel businessman Salvador Zamora II for allegedly being favored by the state agency overseeing the bid. Zamora and his partners eventually lost the bid.

Zamora's $20 million fortune last year put him at the 32nd slot. This year, Forbes lumped his wealth with that of his brother, Manuel Zamora.

The Zamora brothers' combined $110 million networth pushed them to the 27th slot.

Marcos' allies

Cojuangco was an ally of former President Ferdinand Marcos who allowed Cojuanco to monopolize commodity businesses in the Philippines, including coconut. About 20% of diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corporation, which he controls, is still under litigation for allegations of ill-gotten wealth.

Cojuangco made a bid for the presidency in 1992 but lost. He has since focused on regaining and growing San Miguel, and has become a kingmaker of sorts. He is currently chairman of the political party Nationalist People's Coalition.

Another Marcos ally that made it to the top 40 is Benjamin Romualdez ($70 million, #30), younger brother of Imelda Marcos. Romualdez is still battling various sequestration cases, but his sons are well-entrenched in politics and business: Benjamin heads a high-profile mining industry federation and Martin is a Lower House member as representative of hometown Leyte.

Martin Romualdez was recently dragged into a scandal for allegedly picking a $20,000 dinner tab for President Arroyo and her entourage in a recent official visit to Washington. The dinner cost became hot topic amid increasing hunger rates and widening national budget gap.

One notch richer than Benjamin Romualdez is President Arroyo's trusted ally Tomas Alcantara ($75 million, #29). Forbes considered his interests in mining, power, property, energy, and agriculture, all housed under Alcantara Group. Alcantara is said to have migrated to Canada.

Forbes also noted David Consunji (#17) as one of the big gainers. The stock price of his construction firm, DMCI, has doubled, propelling his networth by $300 million. This figure is $200 million more that his networth last year.

DMCI's mining related assets may have not grown as much due to declining mineral prices, but it had been clinching deals left and right. It has already expanded into water and tollroad businesses, where it sealed partnerships with the likes of San Miguel Corporation and other Manila's biggest conglomerates.

Poorer and missing

Nine of the Top 40 are poorer than a year ago. This includes married couple Rolando and Rosalinda Hortaleza who founded personal care products company Splash.

The couple's combined networth of $39 million was considerably lower than their $90 million last year. Forbes attributed this to the weak performance of Splash, best known for skin whitening products. Share price of Splash dropped by more than 50% since last October.

The Hortalezas slipped to the 39th spot this year from 27th last year.

Noticeably absent in the list this year is Manuel Pangilinan. He previously held the 37th slot in 2007 with a $35 million personal fortune and the 39th in 2008 with $39 million.

He is considered one of the highest paid executives in the country and the only professional who had been included in the Forbes list.

Pangilinan runs the leading telecommunications firm in the country, Philippine Long Distance Company where he represents the interests of Hong Kong-based First Pacific Holdings Inc. The latter is controlled by the Salim family of Indonesia.

Up to 80% of First Pacific’s investments are in the Philippines, essentially proving how much the Salims trust Pangilinan. Aside from telecommunications, Pangilinan has since clinched deals involving the juiciest businesses in the Philippines. Through another First Pacific unit, Pangilinan has added health services, property, water distribution, power distribution, tollroads, mining, media, and more to the business portfolio.

by Lala Rimando, abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak

Corazon Aquino, Philippines President, dead at 76

2009-08-01T07:41:00.002+08:00

MANILA, Philippines - Former President Corazon Aquino, who swept away a dictator with a "people power" revolt and then sustained democracy by fighting off seven coup attempts in six years, died on Saturday, her son said. She was 76.

The uprising she led in 1986 ended the repressive 20-year regime of Ferdinand Marcos and inspired nonviolent protests across the globe, including those that ended Communist rule in eastern Europe.

But she struggled in office to meet high public expectations. Her land redistribution program fell short of ending economic domination by the landed elite, including her own family. Her leadership, especially in social and economic reform, was often indecisive, leaving many of her closest allies disillusioned by the end of her term.

Still, the bespectacled, smiling woman in her trademark yellow dress remained beloved in the Philippines, where she was affectionately referred to as "Tita (Auntie) Cory."

"She was headstrong and single-minded in one goal, and that was to remove all vestiges of an entrenched dictatorship," Raul C. Pangalangan, former dean of the Law School at the University of the Philippines, said earlier this month. "We all owe her in a big way."

Her son, Sen. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, said his mother died at 3:18 a.m. Saturday (1918 GMT Friday).

Aquino was diagnosed with advanced colon cancer last year and confined to a Manila hospital for more than a month. Her son said the cancer had spread to other organs and she was too weak to continue her chemotherapy.

Supporters have been holding daily prayers for Aquino in churches in Manila and throughout the country for a month. Masses were scheduled for later Saturday, and yellow ribbons were tied on trees around her neighborhood in Quezon city.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who is on an official visit to the United States, said in a statement that "the entire nation is mourning" Aquino's demise. Arroyo declared a period of national mourning and announced a state funeral would be held for the late president.

TV stations on Saturday were running footage of Aquino's years together with prayers while her former aides and supporters offered condolences.

"Today our country has lost a mother," said former President Joseph Estrada, calling Aquino "a woman of both strength and graciousness."

Even the exiled Communist Party founder Jose Maria Sison, whom Aquino freed from jail in 1986, paid tribute from the Netherlands.

Aquino's unlikely rise began in 1983 when her husband, opposition leader Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr., was assassinated on the tarmac of Manila's international airport as he returned from exile in the United States to challenge Marcos, his longtime adversary.

The killing enraged many Filipinos and unleashed a broad-based opposition movement that thrust Aquino into the role of national leader.

"I don't know anything about the presidency," she declared in 1985, a year before she agreed to run against Marcos, uniting the fractious opposition, the business community, and later the armed forces to drive the dictator out.

Maria Corazon Cojuangco was born on Jan. 25, 1933, into a wealthy, politically powerful family in Paniqui, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) north of Manila.

She attended private school in Manila and earned a degree in French from the College of Mount St. Vincent in New York. In 1954 she married Ninoy Aquino, the fiercely ambitious scion of another political family. He rose from provincial governor to senator and finally opposition leader.

Marcos, elected president in 1965, declared martial law in 1972 to avoid term limits. He abolished the Congress and jailed Aquino's husband and thousands of opponents, journalists and activists without charges. Aquino became her husband's political stand-in, confidant, message carrier and spokeswoman.

A military tribunal sentenced her husband to death for alleged links to communist rebels but, under pressure from U.S. President Jimmy Carter, Marcos allowed him to leave in May 1980 for heart surgery in the U.S.

It was the start of a three-year exile. With her husband at Harvard University holding court with fellow exiles, academics, journalists and visitors from Manila, Aquino was the quiet homemaker, raising their five children and serving tea. Away from the hurly-burly of Philippine politics, she described the period as the best of their marriage.

The halcyon days ended when her husband decided to return to regroup the opposition. While she and the children remained in Boston, he flew to Manila, where he was shot as he descended the stairs from the plane.

The government blamed a suspected communist rebel, but subsequent investigations pointed to a soldier who was escorting him from the plane on Aug. 21, 1983.

Aquino heard of the assassination in a phone call from a Japanese journalist. She recalled gathering the children and, as a deeply religious woman, praying for strength.

"During Ninoy's incarceration and before my presidency, I used to ask why it had always to be us to make the sacrifice," she said in a 2007 interview with The Philippine Star newspaper. "And then, when Ninoy died, I would say, 'Why does it have to be me now?' It seemed like we were always the sacrificial lamb."

She returned to the Philippines three days later. One week after that, she led the largest funeral procession Manila had seen. Crowd estimates ranged as high as 2 million.

With public opposition mounting against Marcos, he stunned the nation in November 1985 by calling a snap election in a bid to shore up his mandate. The opposition, including then Manila Archbishop Cardinal Jaime L. Sin, urged Aquino to run.

After a fierce campaign, the vote was held on Feb. 7, 1986. The National Assembly declared Marcos the winner, but journalists, foreign observers and church leaders alleged massive fraud.

With the result in dispute, a group of military officers mutinied against Marcos on Feb. 22 and holed up with a small force in a military camp in Manila.

Over the following three days, hundreds of thousands of Filipinos responded to a call by the Roman Catholic Church to jam the broad highway in front of the camp to prevent an attack by Marcos forces.

On the third day, against the advice of her security detail, Aquino appeared at the rally alongside the mutineers, led by Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and Lt. Gen. Fidel Ramos, the military vice chief of staff and Marcos' cousin.

From a makeshift platform, she declared: "For the first time in the history of the world, a civilian population has been called to defend the military."

The military chiefs pledged their loyalty to Aquino and charged that Marcos had won the election by fraud.

U.S. President Ronald Reagan, a longtime supporter of Marcos, called on him to resign. "Attempts to prolong the life of the present regime by violence are futile," the White House said. American officials offered to fly Marcos out of the Philippines.

On Feb. 25, Marcos and his family went to the U.S.-run Clark Air Base outside Manila and flew to Hawaii, where he died three years later.

The same day, Aquino was sworn in as the Philippines' first female leader.

Over time, the euphoria fizzled as the public became impatient and Aquino more defensive as she struggled to navigate treacherous political waters and build alliances to push her agenda.

"People used to compare me to the ideal president, but he doesn't exist and never existed. He has never lived," she said in the 2007 Philippine Star interview.

The right attacked her for making overtures to communist rebels and the left, for protecting the interests of wealthy landowners.

Aquino signed an agrarian reform bill that virtually exempted large plantations like her family's sugar plantation from being distributed to landless farmers.

When farmers protested outside the Malacanang Presidential Palace on Jan. 22, 1987, troops opened fire, killing 13 and wounding 100.

The bloodshed scuttled talks with communist rebels, who had galvanized opposition to Marcos but weren't satisfied with Aquino either.

As recently as 2004, at least seven workers were killed in clashes with police and soldiers at the family's plantation, Hacienda Luisita, over its refusal to distribute its land.

Aquino also attempted to negotiate with Muslim separatists in the southern Philippines, but made little progress.

Behind the public image of the frail, vulnerable widow, Aquino was an iron-willed woman who dismissed criticism as the carping of jealous rivals. She knew she had to act tough to earn respect in the Philippines' macho culture.

"When I am just with a few close friends, I tell them, 'OK, you don't like me? Look at the alternatives,' and that shuts them up," she told America's NBC television in a 1987 interview.

Her term was punctuated by repeated coup attempts - most staged by the same clique of officers who had risen up against Marcos and felt they had been denied their fair share of power.

The most serious attempt came in December 1989 when only a flyover by U.S. jets prevented mutinous troops from toppling her.

Leery of damaging relations with the United States, Aquino tried in vain to block a historic Senate vote to force the U.S. out of its two major bases in the Philippines.

In the end, the U.S. Air Force pulled out of Clark Air Base in 1991 after the eruption of Mount Pinatubo forced its evacuation and left it heavily damaged. The last American vessel left Subic Bay Naval Base in November 1992.

After stepping down in 1992, Aquino remained active in social and political causes.

Until diagnosed with colon cancer in March 2008, she joined rallies calling for the resignation of President Arroyo over allegations of vote-rigging and corruption.

She kept her distance from another famous widow, flamboyant former first lady Imelda Marcos, who was allowed to return to the Philippines in 1991.

Marcos has called Aquino a usurper and dictator, though she later led prayers for Aquino in July 2009 when the latter was hospitalized. The two never made peace.

By HRVOJE HRANJSKI, Associated Press Writer

___

Associated Press writers Jim Gomez and Oliver Teves contributed to this report.

Even in Philippines, Spoelstra asked about Wade

2009-07-29T10:41:00.003+08:00

MIAMI (AP) - Making his first trip to his mother's native Philippines in 35 years, Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra heard a familiar question.

What does Dwyane Wade's future hold?

That's what Spoelstra was asked Tuesday after he, Heat assistants David Fizdale and Chad Kammerer, and others held a clinic for about 200 kids from the Filipino city of Zamboanga. The kids quizzed Spoelstra on several topics, including whether Wade would stay with the Heat past next season.

Spoelstra said he thought he was "answering questions at a postgame press conference."

Spoelstra is part of a sports envoy trip to the Philippines organized by the U.S. State Department and the NBA. Spoelstra, the NBA's first Filipino-American coach, hasn't been to the nation since he was 3.

Ka Freddie clarifies 'monkey' remark

2009-07-13T21:36:00.002+08:00

MANILA - "Bayan Ko" singer Freddie Aguilar has clarified his controversial remark that drew flak from fellow singers Arnel Pineda and Gary Valenciano.

"Hindi ako nagsasabi ng monkey. Ang sabi ko kaya tayo binabansagan, [tayong] mga Filipino, [na] unggoy dahil manggagaya tayo," Aguilar said in a taped interview aired on "The Buzz" Sunday.

In one of his interviews, Aguilar reportedly slammed Pineda, the Filipino vocalist of American rock band "Journey," and international singing sensation Charice for proving what international singer Mariah Carey had reportedly said about Filipinos.

Carey had allegedly likened Filipinos to monkeys because they would only mimic the styles and songs of other international artists.

Aguilar maintained that he never mentioned Pineda in that interview.

"Si Arnel (Pineda) hindi ko siya isinama doon. Binanggit lang iyong pangalan ni Gary (Valenciano), tapos si Regine (Velasquez) din. Sabi nila tinawag ni Mariah Carey na ganoon (monkey) tapos dinugtong ko na lang iyon. Pero actually isa lang ang tinanong, si Charice lang," he said.

The Filipino folk music icon, however, stressed that he has nothing against Charice and Valenciano. He said he was merely voicing out his opinion.

"Tinanong ako sa opinion ko. Alangan naman ang ibigay kong opinyon hindi iyong nararamdaman ko," he stressed.

He acknowledged though that Charice is a good singer. He added that he would be impressed more if she sings original Filipino music in her gigs abroad.

Aguilar, who is behind the worldwide hit "Anak," also made this challenge to all Filipino singers: "Ako magtatanong sa lahat ng mga singer na Filipino. Bakit puro banyaga ang kinakanta ninyo? Iyan ang tanong ko. Hindi iyong tinatanong niyo sa akin kung bakit ko kayo tinatawag na unggoy."

"Kayo ang nagpatawag na unggoy dahil gaya-gaya kayo," he added.

ABS-CBN

Pinoy academic receives back-to-back international health awards

2009-07-08T23:43:00.000+08:00

MANILA, Philippines - A Filipino PhD student won back-to-back awards from two international health conferences for his research work on the health and welfare of seafarers.

Don Eliseo Lucero-Prisno III was judged to have the best studies at the 11th Conference of International Society of Travel Medicine in Budapest, Hungary on May 24 to 28.

"Both studies came out receiving the top scores out of the many studies submitted. ISTM President Frank von Sonnenburg extended his congratulations to the Lucero-Prisno," the Department of Foreign Affairs said in an article on its website (www.dfa.gov.ph).

Citing a report from the Philippine Embassy in London, the DFA said Prisno is a medical doctor and Nippon Foundation Fellow at the Seafarers International Research Center.

He is taking his doctorate degree at Cardiff University in Wales, the DFA added.

Prisno submitted two studies entitled, "International Seafarers as Patients: Towards a Model of an Effective Global Health System" and "Global Seafarers: Why Risky to STIs and HIV When They Work and Travel."

After receiving his award in Hungary, Prisno received medals for the studies he presented at the First International Congress of Maritime, Tropical and Hyperbaric Medicine at Gdynia, Poland held on June 4-6.

His paper presentations were "An Analysis of the AIDS Epidemic in the Maritime Industry" and "The Anatomy of Stress: the Filipino Seafarer and His Work."

The second study was conducted together with Nerissa Espiritu and Eva Lopez of the National Maritime Polytechnic of the Philippines.

"The government-funded study was based on a survey of 3,000 Filipino seafarers. Dr. Bogdan Jaremin, director of the Institute, handed the medals," the DFA said.

Lucero-Prisno has been a long-time advocate of Filipino seafarers, with his calls for reforms in the maritime industry and social corporate responsibility from ship owners.

His work on AIDS in the maritime industry has yielded several substantive programs, and he continues to champion health and welfare protection for the global seafarer.

He recently co-authored the book, International Medical Guide for Ships, published by the World Health Organization, which is carried by all ships and used as a guide for health problems onboard.

In 2005, he won the World Science Forum research competition in Budapest, Hungary and in 2008 received the British Council’s SHINE International Student Award in the UK.

GMANews.TV

Vote for Pacquiao in ESPY Awards

2009-07-02T03:42:00.000+08:00

The world's best pound-for-pound fighter is up for two awards at the 2009 Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly (ESPY) Awards of US cable television sports network ESPN.

Manny Pacquiao has been nominated in the "Best Play" and "Best Fighter" categories.

His second round knockout of Britain's Ricky Hatton last May 2 gave him the IBO/Ring Magazine light welterweight title and solidified his status as the pound-for-pound king.

ESPY awardees will be determined by the number of votes they receive online.

Sports fans must first register before voting over at http://promo.espn.go.com/espn/specialsection/espys2009/#/home/.

Voting closes on July 11 at midnight (PST).

Michael Jackson, the 'King of Pop,' dies at age 50

2009-06-26T08:40:00.000+08:00

LOS ANGELES - Michael Jackson, the sensationally gifted child star who rose to become the "King of Pop" and the biggest celebrity in the world only to fall from his throne in a freakish series of scandals, died Thursday. He was 50. Jackson died at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles. Ed Winter, the assistant chief coroner for Los Angeles County, confirmed his office had been notified of the death and would handle the investigation.

The circumstances of Jackson's death were not immediately clear. Jackson was not breathing when Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded to a call at his Los Angeles home about 12:30 p.m., Capt. Steve Ruda told the Los Angeles Times. The paramedics performed CPR and took him to UCLA Medical Center, Ruda told the newspaper.

Jackson's death brought a tragic end to a long, bizarre, sometimes farcical decline from his peak in the 1980s, when he was popular music's premier all-around performer, a uniter of black and white music who shattered the race barrier on MTV, dominated the charts and dazzled even more on stage.

His 1982 album "Thriller" - which included the blockbuster hits "Beat It," "Billie Jean" and "Thriller" - remains the biggest-selling album of all time, with more than 100 million copies worldwide.

The public first knew him in the late 1960s, when as a boy he was the precocious, spinning lead singer of the Jackson 5, the music group he formed with his four older brothers. Among their No. 1 hits were "I Want You Back," "ABC," and "I'll Be There."

He was perhaps the most exciting performer of his generation, known for his feverish, crotch-grabbing dance moves and his high-pitched voice punctuated with squeals and titters. His single sequined glove, tight, military-style jacket and aviator sunglasses were trademarks second only to his ever-changing, surgically altered appearance.

"For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don't have the words," said Quincy Jones, who produced "Thriller." "He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever. I've lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him."

Jackson ranked alongside Elvis Presley and the Beatles as the biggest pop sensations of all time. In fact, he united two of music's biggest names when he was briefly married to Presley's daughter, Lisa Marie.

But as years went by, Jackson became an increasingly freakish figure - a middle-aged man-child weirdly out of touch with grown-up life. His skin became lighter, his nose narrower, and he spoke in a breathy, girlish voice. He surrounded himself with children at his Neverland ranch, often wore a germ mask while traveling and kept a pet chimpanzee named Bubbles as one of his closest companions.

In 2005, he was cleared of charges he molested a 13-year-old cancer survivor at Neverland in 2003. He had been accused of plying the boy with alcohol and groping him. The case took a fearsome toll on his career and image, and he fell into serious financial trouble.

Jackson was preparing for what was to be his greatest comeback: He was scheduled for an unprecedented 50 shows at a London arena, with the first set for July 13. He was in rehearsals in Los Angeles for the concert, an extravaganza that was to capture the classic Jackson magic: showstopping dance moves, elaborate staging and throbbing dance beats.

Singer Dionne Warwick said: "Michael was a friend and undoubtedly one of the world's greatest entertainers that I fortunately had the pleasure of working with........we have lost an icon in our industry."

Hundreds of people gathered outside the hospital as word of his death spread. The emergency entrance at the UCLA Medical Center, which is near Jackson's rented home, was roped off with police tape.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Michael Jackson has just died," a woman boarding a Manhattan bus called out, shortly after the news was announced. Immediately many riders reached for their cell phones.

In New York's Times Square, a low groan went up in the crowd when a screen flashed that Jackson had died, and people began relaying the news to friends by cell phone.

"No joke. King of Pop is no more. Wow," Michael Harris, 36, of New York City, read from a text message a friend sent to his telephone. "It's like when Kennedy was assassinated. I will always remember being in Times Square when Michael Jackson died."

By LYNN ELBER, Associated Press Writer Lynn Elber

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Yes, the Pinoy 'Cannes'

2009-06-11T09:49:00.000+08:00

Yes, the Pinoy 'Cannes'Lino Brocka must be applauding in his grave.

The trail he had blazed in Cannes has just produced a star in the person of indie director Brillante "Dante" Mendoza who won Best Director (for Kinatay) at the just-concluded 62nd Cannes Film Festival, the most prestigious film event in the world, beating such Goliaths (previous winners) as Ang Lee (Taiwan), Pedro Almodovar (Spain), Jane Campion (New Zealand), Lars von Trier (Denmark) and Quentin Tarantino (USA).

A UST Fine Arts graduate (major in Advertising), Dante, 49, is the first Filipino to win perhaps the most prestigious and most coveted award in the film world. Kinatay (literally meaning "massacre"), a gritty look at the slow "chop-chopping" of a prostitute with blunt kitchen knives, was his second entry at the festival's Main Competition, following Serbis (about a family who lives in and operates a rundown porno theater) last year.

Both films drew mixed reactions - you know, you either love them or hate them.

Brocka paved the way to Cannes for Filipino directors, first by joining the Directors Fortnight in 1978 with Insiang, starring Mona Lisa and Hilda Koronel as mother and daughter involved with the same man (Ruel Vernal), and then two years later in the Main Competition with Jaguar (starring Phillip Salvador), followed by Bayan Ko: Kapit sa Patalim (also with Phillip) in 1984. No other director broke into the Main Competition until Dante came along.

Dante is the latest addition to the roster of Cannes Filmfest Best Directors including, among others, Francois Truffaut, Terence Malick, Werner Herzog, Julian Schnabel, Ingmar Bergman, Luis Bunuel, Robert Bresson, Costa Gavras, Nagisa Oshima, Bertrand Tavernier, Martin Scorsese, Wim Wenders, Joel Coen, Robert Altman, Mike Leigh, Wong Kar-Wai, David Lynch, Gus Van Sant and Michael Haneke.

Loosely based on a true story, Kinatay is Dante's seventh indie, following Masahista, The Teacher, Kaleldo (Summer Heat), Foster Child, Tirador and Serbis.

If it was panned by critics, why did Kinatay run away with the Best Director plum?

Some of the mostly-female nine-member jury headed by French actress Isabelle Huppert defended their verdict.

Nuri Bilge Ceylan, a filmmaker from Turkey: "It's the most powerful film in the selection. It's one of the most original...It created (its own) style for the subject matter."

Hanif Kureishi, a screenwriter from the United Kingdom: "It's not a date movie. I wouldn't suggest that you bring your lover to watch it. It's not a film I would see again. But good art is something hard."

And Huppert (who told Dante that she couldn't take her eyes off the film from start to finish): "We found ourselves being attracted to the same films...movies that deserve to get the world's attention."

It's sad that the Philippine government didn't give Dante the same reception it has accorded Manny Pacquiao and other Pinoys who have won for the country international honors. Dante's Cannes triumph is the same as winning a Pulitzer Prize, a singular achievement that boggles the mind, including that of Dante's.

"It hasn't sunk in yet," admitted Dante. "I still keep on pinching myself."

Thank heavens that Mandaluyong City Mayor Benhur Abalos "surprised" Dante with a band that welcomed him upon his arrival at the airport last Tuesday (May 26). Dante is a Mandaluyong resident.

Meanwhile, now that we know him as a prize-winning director, let's get to know more about Brillante "Dante" Mendoza the man.

What kind of films did you grow up with?

(Laughs) "Tony Ferrer’s Tony Falcon movies. I was a kid then, in the late '60s. My father was fond of action films and everytime he watched movies in the moviehouse in San Fernando (Pampanga), I would go with him. I think I watched all of Tony Ferrer's movies with my father."

What's one movie that had a great impact on you?

"Ironically, it was a drama, not action - Ishmael Bernal's Broken Marriage and Relasyon (both starring Christopher de Leon and Vilma Santos). I love the scene in Broken Marriage where Christopher and Vilma are quarreling in bed. Very realistic! Nagduduruan sila; away mag-asawa, you know. Ganda ng eksenang 'yon. Very memorable sa akin 'yon."

From who else did you get your passion for film?

"From directors whom I worked with, like Chito Roño for whose films, one of them Private Show (starring Julio Diaz and Jaclyn Jose), I worked as the production designer. I won a Best Production Design(er) award. I also worked with (directors) Peque Gallaga, Celso Ad. Castillo, (the late) Tata Esteban and William Pascual. They are passionate directors; their works are visually exciting."

So you really started with Chito, huh.

"Ang galing ni Chito mag-kuwento, ang galing ng visuals niya! One of his recent films that really struck me was La Vida Rosa (with Rosanna Roces and Diether Ocampo)."

I notice that your films are very lyrical, very poetic. You tell your story more in visuals than in dialogues.

"When I edit my films, I turn the sound to "mute." I want to see na kaya mag-kuwento ng aking visuals. Remember, film is a visual medium. The sound and music should only help enhance the story-telling. If you notice, there's not so much musical background in my films."

Any other directors that you look up to?

"Mike de Leon. I love two of his films, Itim and Kisapmata. Some people say that Kinatay reminds them of Kisapmata. You remember Vic Silayan in Kisapmata as the controlling father of Charo Santos? Natatakot siya even when he's not doing anything; he can sow fear even with just his eyes. Ganyan daw sa Kinatay. Matatakot ka even if nothing fearful is shown on the screen; you just feel it. And, of course, there was Lino Brocka. I worked with him not as a production designer but as an extra in one of his films. I don't remember which one. We were visiting the set as observers and Lino needed extras to play reporters. I was one of them."

You said you also worked with Peque Gallaga (who started as a production designer)?

"Yes, as a production designer...in Virgin Forest. And then, Takaw, Private Show, Salamangkero, Great American Dream, etc. I worked as a production designer in the movies until the early '90s then I switched to doing commercials for an advertising agency, also as an art director."

And then, of course, in 2005 you ventured into directing indies.

"I was making good money in commercials. But then, I really wanted to direct movies."

By producing your own films, I understand. What did you have to sacrifice for that dream?

"Well, mostly financial. In the beginning, I was spending my own money. It was only later that I got co-financing from foreign partners."

Your background is production design, not acting. So how do you motivate your actors? Is it true that you are not "script-oriented"?

"Of course, I work with a scriptwriter; in Kinatay, my scriptwriter was (Armando) Bing (Lao) who has been working with me in several projects. Bing is my mentor; he's responsible for what and where I am now. My actors usually don't know what the story is or what the ending would be. I don't let them read the whole script. I just give them copies of the portions na nandoon ang characters nila. My stars in Kinatay didn't know what the ending was until they saw the final copy. Coco (Martin) and Mercedes (Cabral who was also in the cast of the South Korean entry, Thirst, by Park Chan-wook who won a Special Jury Prize along with Britain's Andrea Arnold for Fish Tank) saw the movie only in Cannes. Coco plays the chop-chopped cop and Mercedes, his wife."

Why are your films, especially Kinatay, very violent?

"I am not a violent person; I'm just very passionate. Kinatay is not really that violent. People think it's violent maybe only because I lead them into thinking that it is. There's not so much blood; the violence is more felt than seen. Remember the shower scene (with Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins) in (Alfred Hitchcock’s) Psycho? You don't see Anthony's knife touching Janet's body; you see only Janet's facial reaction. The editing is brilliant, so you feel the violence of the scene even if there isn't that much 'visual' violence on screen. In Kinatay, the audience becomes captive witnesses to the crime. I intended it to be that way."

With Kinatay, either you like it or you hate it. No grey area.

"I welcome that kind of reaction. Extremes. Walang in-between. That kind of reaction generates discussion and I like it. It means that people are interested and involved enough in your film to say what they feel, whether negative or positive. Both are valid reactions. You know what people like in your film and what they don't like."

Weren't you intimidated by the A-lister directors in competition - you know, the Goliaths of international cinema?

"Of course, I was! Hehehehehe! Ang liit-liit ko compared to them; isa lang akong yagit. Ako lang ang walang pangalan, so it was intimidating. I saw all of them but it was only Quentin (Tarantino) na talagang naka-usap ko face-to-face."

After your victory in Cannes, how can you top yourself? You are being compared to Brian de Palma.

"It’s scary! Honestly, I don't know yet what I will do next."

(E-mail reactions at rickylo@philstar.net.ph or at entphilstar@yahoo.com) - CONVERSATIONS With Ricky Lo (Philstar News Service, http://www.philstar.com/)

Philippine senator angered by Alec Baldwin's joke

2009-06-09T11:56:00.000+08:00

MANILA, Philippines (AP) - Alec Baldwin's joke about getting a Filipino mail-order bride provoked a sharp response in the Philippines, with one senator saying Monday that the "30 Rock" star faces violence if he ever visits.

Baldwin, 51, who is divorced with a teenage daughter, said in a May 12 interview on "The Late Show" with David Letterman that he would love to have more children.

The Emmy-winning actor quipped that he was "thinking about getting a Filipino mail-order bride at this point ... or a Russian one."

Baldwin has been involved in a bitter dispute with his ex-wife, Oscar-winning actress Kim Basinger, over custody of their 13-year-old daughter, Ireland.

Philippine Sen. Ramon Revilla said Monday that Baldwin's comment was "insensitive and uncalled for" and an insult to millions of Filipinos.

He called the actor "arrogant" and said he is apparently unaware that the Philippines has a law against mail-order brides.

"Let him try to come here in the Philippines and he'll see mayhem," Revilla said, using a local idiom that implies the speaker will personally administer a beating.

The senator is a former action-movie star who occasionally still appears on Philippine TV.

Asia's dark pics make a splash at Cannes

2009-06-06T11:53:00.000+08:00

CANNES, France (AFP) - - Asia made a splash at Cannes with films from Korea, Hong Kong and the Philippines this weekend, almost all throwing dark violent blood-spattered visions of the world onto festival screens.

Hong Kong's Johnnie To offered "Vengeance", starring aging French rock idol Johnny Hallyday as a father out for blood after a family murder. A gangster movie shot like a western peppered with Triad shoot-outs, it is one of 20 films competing for the festival's coveted Palme d'Or.

A crowd of around 10,000 chanting "Johnny, Johnny" swarmed for a glimpse of the 65-year-old rock star for the evening premiere. "Do you have an invite? Johnny is my whole life," said one French fan.

Hallyday was last seen in a movie 24 years ago by Jean-Luc Godard.

From the Philippines, and also vying for the Palme, controversial love-him-or-hate-him director Brillante Mendoza's "Kinatay" (meaning "massacre") notably features corrupt cops hacking a prostitute to pieces with blunt kitchen knives.

Lone exception to the blood-and-gore on offer was "Mother" by Korea's young cult director Bong Joon-ho, although he is no stranger to violence in previous films such as "The Host" and "Memories of Murder".

His latest movie is a highly intense emotional tale of a mother's readiness to fight to the extreme to save her son, and it won the award-winning 39-year-old a standing ovation at its Cannes premiere.

But even that film, running for the Un Certain Regard prize for fresh upcoming talent, revolves around a murder and is fraught with contained tension.

"I'm interested in violence, but in this film I wanted the violence invisible though just as intense," Bong told AFP.

Casting veteran 70-year-old Korean star Kim Hye-ja as a mother ready to do the worst to save her mentally challenged son, Bong said in an interview that "after exploring Korean society in previous films, this time I wanted to concentrate on psychology."

"When a father or mother loses their reason because of love for a child, they can return to the state of beast," he added. "A mother can be a noble figure or a savage."

Mendoza, at Cannes for the second year running, (last year was the first time since 1984 the country had a film competing for the Palme) again split the critics, drawing both hisses and applause for "Kinatay".

Last year's "Serbis" was set in a Manila porn-theatre with long close-ups of festering boils and overflowing toilets, as well as the poverty and distress on the streets.

Still determined to portray the social reality around him, Mendoza in "Kinatay" traces 24 hours in the day of a trainee policeman, happily beginning with his wedding in the morning to close with the young man's first outing at night with a band of corrupt colleagues.

To his surprise, fear and anguish, they pick up a prostitute accused of betrayal and wind up torturing, raping, killing and hacking her before disposing of the body parts across Manila.

"This is not just entertainment, these kinds of stories are real," Mendoza said at a news conference.

Asked about his novel style and the lack of action and slow rhythm of his films, Mendoza said "I want people to have a different kind of experience, to be with the character rather than just watching from outside."

To's fast-action flick came as a stark contrast but failed to wow critics.

"This time I approached the movie like a western," To told AFP.

"I am a big fan of Sam Peckinpah, so this movie follow these codes," he said, referring to the legendary director of violent, but beautifully shot westerns such as "The Wild Bunch" and "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid".

Commenting on Hallyday, who variously speaks French and English in the film, To said: "I would describe him as an authentic tough guy. His eyes, you feel they carry a lot of stories, a lot of history, a lot of past with them."

Scientists seek better screening of new born

2009-06-03T15:35:00.000+08:00

Filipino scientists are considering improvements in local genetics research to increase the chances of detecting disorders in the newborn.

"We want to do more tests to improve the quality of life of our patients," said Dr. Carmencita Padilla, University of the Philippines National Institutes of Health (UPNIH) Institute of Human Genetics and Newborn Screening Research Center Director.

Padilla said currently, newborn screening in the country can only detect only five disorders: congenital hypothyroidism, congenital adrenal hyperplasia, galactosemia, phenylketonuria (PKU), and homocystinuria.

"We want to expand metabolic screening in thee country in 10 to 15 years," Padilla said.

Padilla lamented that the country's budget for research is "so small" that local scientists can only do "one genetic mark at a time."

Very strong research has enabled the United States to start newborn screening as early as 1960, Padilla said adding that US researchers had the capability to screen 30 disorders in 2002 alone.

"Almost all babies in the US are using this technology. The Philippines is still not in this level," Padilla said.

In Asia the technology is used at a rate of 50 percent.

President ready to sign poll budget

2009-06-01T15:31:00.000+08:00

It's all systems go for the automation of the 2010 national and local elections as mandated by law with President Arroyo set to sign into law its appropriate funding soon, Malacanang said yesterday.

Presidential political adviser Gabriel Claudio said President Arroyo will sign immediately P11.3-billion supplemental budget for the automation of next year's elections as soon as she receives the enrolled copy from Congress.

Claudio said the Comelec should also ensure the computerized electoral systems would be free from cheating and any form of irregularity.

"As far as the Palace is concerned, it's all systems go for full automation of the 2010 polls as provided by law. We thank Congress for passing the supplemental budget in accordance with the timetable of Comelec and the certification of urgency issued by the President," Claudio said. "President Arroyo will sign the law immediately."

With the funding in place, Claudio said the poll body must carry out administration measures to ensure the automation system is "not only tamper-proof but also compliant with the law."

For instance, Claudio said, there must be way that Comelec could provide for the generation of election returns and certificates of canvass on the local level simultaneously with the electronic transmission of election returns for president, vice president, and senators on the national level without the need for further legislation.

"That way, the election results for national positions will be known in three to four days as committed by Comelec, at the same time providing local candidates the official basis for ascertaining local poll results in their respective areas," he added.

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said the government remains supportive of the full automation of the 2010 elections, rejecting moves by some lawmakers for a hybrid electoral systems.

Remonde said the full computerization of the electoral process is a "consistent" priority of the President before she steps down in office next year.

Meanwhile, Sen. Francis Pangilinan yesterday said Comelec must "move heaven and earth" to ensure the success of an automated 2010 polls.

Electoral fraud and a botched automation could create an "unprecedented level of uncertainty and instability," he said.

"This may be used as an excuse for either adventurist to resort to extra-constitutional means to seize power or for President Arroyo's loyalists to remain in power beyond 2010 by imposing emergency rule," Pangalinan said.

Pasig River clean up project launched

2009-05-29T15:24:00.000+08:00

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.

OWWA 7 is offering loans to displaced OFWs

2009-05-27T15:21:00.000+08:00

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).

OFWs benefit from expansion of New Zealand dairy industry

2009-05-25T15:15:00.000+08:00

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.

Web frenzy over T-shirt

2009-05-24T00:46:00.000+08:00

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

Nograles promotes employment for students

2009-05-22T15:10:00.000+08:00

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.

Kultura Filipino - Unveiling a new perspective on our lineage

2009-05-20T15:06:00.000+08:00

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.

Help OFWs' families become entrepreneurs themselves - Noli

2009-05-18T15:03:00.000+08:00

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.

DepEd allocates P3.2B for construction of new schools

2009-05-16T14:58:00.000+08:00

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.

Failon camp mulls filing charges vs. cops

2009-05-07T08:50:00.000+08:00

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

Climate change initiatives urged on RP

2009-05-05T04:43:00.000+08:00

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.

Manny in devastating KO win

2009-05-03T16:32:00.000+08:00

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

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2009-04-21T03:14:00.000+08:00

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2009-03-11T05:17:00.000+08:00

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Principal says she did not suspend bloggers

2009-01-30T21:33:00.000+08:00

The principal of the Quezon City Science High School (QCSHS) said yesterday she was not primarily responsible for suspending four of the school's students for writing statements critical of her and her policies on their www.multiply.com blogs.

Dr. Zenaida Panti-Sadsad said the QCSHS had merely recommended the suspension of the four students and the ultimate decision to impose it was made by the Quezon City Division of City Schools, headed by Dr. Victoria Fuentes.

"The school's role in this case was only recommendatory; it was the Division of City Schools that approved the ordeal of the four students," Sadsad said.

However, the students' parents said a letter from QCSHS recommending the 10-day suspension to the Division of City Schools came from Sadsad and "a committee of discipline" she had formed to investigate the blogs.

Sadsad said a STAR report about the suspension of the four students, which came out Jan. 16, was incorrect since the students had not been suspended at the time "because of an appeal made by (their) parents."

The Department of Education-National Capital Region office had ordered the lifting of the suspension order a few days before it was due to start on Jan. 19, pending an investigation into an appeal filed by the parents of the four students. The order was issued by the Quezon City Division of City Schools.

Sadsad denied that she had closed down the two school newspapers, The Banyuhay and The Electron. "Both of these school papers are qualifiers to the National (Schools) Press Conference, which will be held in Naga City come February," she said.

She also denied that she removed Rex San Diego as the faculty adviser of the two school papers.
"San Diego was never sacked from his position. His appointment from the Civil Service Commission was Regular/Permanent Teacher I, English. His new teaching assignment as the teacher of Technical Writing I, was approved by the Division Office," Sadsad said.

San Diego, however, belied Sadsad's claim that she did not remove him from his post. "She was the one who decided it. She was the one who ordered it," San Die-go told The STAR in an interview yesterday.

San Diego said his relief was not justified since the school's two papers had won a string of honors and trophies as best campus papers during the last 14 years that he had served as adviser.
QCSHS, he said, has become the only high school that won the best campus paper for both its English and Filipino versions in the history of the National Schools Press Conference held annually by the DepEd.

San Diego said many students have complained about changes in the curriculum of QCSHS since Sadsad assumed the post of school principal less than two years ago. He said students opposed the changes since they followed the curriculum of regular public schools, not that of a science high school.

By Rainier Allan Ronda (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com)

QUEZON CITY: The ICT Capital of the Philippines

2007-01-15T17:52:00.000+08:00

For forty years now, Quezon City is home to six major television stations, making our former capital city the biggest broadcast communication hub of the country, a little that remains unchallenged up to this day.

Broadcast giants ABS CBN Ch 2, GMA Ch 7, ABC 5, are all QC originals. The government-run stations, NBN 4, RPN 9 and IBC 13 are all QC-based as well. Twelve major radio networks operate from Quezon City.

Today, as the Philippines positions itself as a global market place for information and communications Technology (ICT), the city is keeping pace with its neighboring cities in undertaking initiatives to maintain its status as a leading player in the information technology field.

The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) has just declared Quezon City the "Most Business-Friendly City" Hall of fame Awardee for winning the title for 3 consecutive years (2003,2004& 2005). The strong partnership of the business sector and local government continue to impressive economic results.

The recently passed ordinance creating the Trade Promotion and Development Center was very timely because it will help rationalized the system and processes of trade investment accreditations, promotions and development activities in the city.

It will propose measures that will be undertaken and initiate strategic measures for the city to continue to be a major player in the ICT field.

Mayor Sonny Belmonte, who transformed the city into the "richest" LGU in the country today, envisions the stretch of EDSA from East Avenue as the new Central Business District and ICT Center of the city.

The huge tracts of land for expansion, huge domestic market, excellent educational institutions, cutting-edge communication facilities, transportation, infrastructure, entertainment and shopping centers, competitive commercial spaces are plus factors in luring foreign investors to established head quarters in our city.

Currently, there are about 70 contact centers and 50 registered Business process Outsourcing (BPO) establishments in the country.

Next to India, we have the potential to corner the huge chunk of the world's BPO market specifically coming from the US, Australia and European countries.

Today the biggest concentration of Technology Parks and Economic Zones are in Quezon City.

Eastwood City Cyberpark is the country's first ever Information Technology park. As per data of the Philippine Economic Zone Authority (PEZA), Eastwood City Cyberpark is the most successful IT park/zone in terms of total number of employees and export revenues.

Eastwood has 64 locators (IT & non IT) and close to 15,000 ICT professionals. Its combined export revenues for the year 2004 is 58.746 million US dollars. It is the home of Epixtar International Contact Center Group, IBM Daksh, Customer Contact Center (C3), Sitel Corporation, One Touch Center, Call Asia, Global Stride and eTelecare.

The developer, Megaworld, is currently building a new state-of-the-art 24x7 office to take advantage of the growing demand for space by IT and BPO companies. Called 1880 Eastwood Avenue, Phase I is targeted to be completed by 2007 – with new 40,000 sq. meters of IT-friendly facilities.

Occupying more than 9,200 square meters floor area with 1,500 work stations, Teletech Customer Care Management Philippines, Inc. opened it newest facility in Robinsons Cyber Place, Novaliches with huge investment in information technology.

It is first multi-million Call Center within a shopping mall in the far north of the metropolis.

The Araneta Cyber Center in Cubao composed of Gateway Call Center, Gateway Office Tower, Aurora Towers, Manila COD IT Building is the choice of Accenture Business Processing company, likewise, the future home of the only PSE-listed Advanced Contact Solutions, Inc. (ACS).

The UP Science and Technology Park and UP-Ayala Techno Park, both in the University of the Philippines, are also accredited IT Buildings specializing in institutional development and researches.

All in all, there are now seventeen (17) IT Buildings in Quezon City accredited by PEZA. Seven of them are located in the Eastwood City Cyberpark.

This is followed by the Eugenio Lopez, jr., (ELJ Towers) Communication Center in Mother Ignacia Avenue. RMH Teleservices Asia Pacific, Inc. is a 1,000-seat call center occupying the whole 5th floor of the building. It has reserved 2 more floors for expansion this year.

The Diliman Commercial Center in North Commonwealth, Quezon City is the home of Convergys, a global leader in integrated billing, customer care, employee care and transaction management software and services.

BOI-registered Sykes Call Center recently opened its Quezon City office in K-Point Bldg. In Aurora Blvd. And Gilmore St. A huge Cyberpark recently accredited by PEZA, HPMT Cyberpark is now in full development located in Barangay Ugong norte, District III.

Employment in IT-related establishments grew by 20% according to DoLe, averaging 80,750 in 2004. This covers the programmers, technicians, consultants, network specialist, IT sales, telemarketers, database administrators, IT planners, IT engineers, software developers, contact provider & designers, medical transcriptionists, animators, IT managers, web designer & technical customer care representatives.

The results of the 2004 survey commissioned by the IT Association of the Philippines show that Quezon City has the biggest contribution in the growth of BPO-Call Center industries specifically in the IT infrastructure and educational programs.

Two of the top 3 universities in the country offering adequate ICT degree programs are the Ateneo de Manila University and the University of the Philippines, both institutions located in Quezon City. While the vocational/technical schools offering Certificate course are likewise QC-based with the AMA Computer School on the lead followed by STI and Informatics.

Truly, QUEZON CITY is now the undisputed ICT CAPITAL OF THE COUNTRY. Two major land-based broadband providers have a strong presence in the city. The PLDT and Globe Telecom provide essential state of the art communication link and infrastructures in BPO and contact center operations.

The country's leading mobile telecommunications companies such as PLDT-Smart, Globe, Sun Cellular, Next Mobile, Talk & Text and Piltel have extensive operations and massive technical infrastructure in the city.

The mobile telecommunications providers, being one of the most compelling sectors for national growth, provide business to over 10,000-micro and SME entrepreneurs in the city.

These are the phonecard retailers, accessory shops, wholesaler, business center, wireless application developer, web providers as well as e-loading centers. With over 2.3 million population of young adults, Quezon City stands to be the biggest mobile phone market in the country today.

The worldwide demand for outsourcing services is expected to grow to $200 billion by the year 2010. With our cost advantage, English proficiency and close ties with the US, the Philippines is expected to be one of the major beneficiaries of this growth opportunity and Quezon City, being an ICT-friendly city, will definitely reap the rewards of the new technology driven economy.

Nathan C. Zulueta, October 20, 2005, Manila Bulletin

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Ayala Young Leaders Congress: Where mavericks are made

2006-12-06T01:13:00.000+08:00

For most people, Tagaytay is either where they can get a glimpse of Taal volcano, or the alternate spot for vacationers out to avoid the summer heat.

But from the 16th of February up to the 18th, Tagaytay was more than just a summer getaway for 70 students gathered from all across the country.

Gathered at the San Miguel Corporation Management Training Center, these young students were to be come part of the 7th Ayala Young Leaders Congress - the AYLC.

Established in 1998 by the Ayala Group of Companies, the AYLC was seen as "an investment in the youth and the future of the country."

The Congress provides these students access to mentors and role models from all sectors of society - from development work, to politics, and even the performing arts.

The AYLC also provides these aspiring leaders to meet other people like them and hopefully, form bonds that will be sustained as they graduate from school and plunge into whatever fields they've chosen for themselves.

Ayala Group of Companies president Jaime Zobel de Ayala thought that 1998 was as good a time as any to establish a congress that helps encourage leadership among the youth.

"We wanted to address the need for young people to start getting aligned with leadership goals and start learning leadership skills," he says.

"The country itself was lacking young people with leadership skills, and we thought that it would be a great contribution on our part if we could get together once a year and get to meet role models they can look up to."

Ayala goes on further to add that the Congress teaches the students something unusual by Philippine school standards.

"Here, they're taught to question," Ayala says. "We try to bring out those who are questioning the establishment to make a difference, and help them question in a productive way."

STRINGENT REQUIREMENTS

Getting to rub shoulders with some of the country's most outstanding minds and development workers is certainly something not to be trifled with, and the Congress' organizers make sure that only those who deserve to be part of the group get in. And sometimes, those who are most deserving aren't exactly the usual suspects.

"When it comes to leadership, people sometimes focus on good grades in school and doing well. The whole concept of leadership is sometimes not taken that seriously."

Ayala says about the Congress requirements, some of which state that applicants need to be part of the top 10% of their college or department, have excellent communication skills, and be an active leaders or officer of any student organization.

Ayala Foundation president and Ayala Corporation managing director Victoria Garchitorena further explain the Congress selection process.

"We ask the school to have their own selection process. It allows them to nominate students leaders with different perspectives," she says."

"After that, the people from our own companies subject them through a paper screening. They go through the documents submitted and look for students involved in projects outside of school. We make it a point to look for leaders and not just for good grades."

"Of course, sometimes the mavericks don't end up getting nominated," she admits. "But we haven't thought of a better way."

RONALD S. LIM – February 21, 2005 - Manila Bulletin

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Profiling the Pinoy creative advertising winner

2006-11-14T00:42:00.000+08:00

The preparation for the 19th Philippine Advertising Congress to be held at the Waterfront Hotel Lahug in Cebu City from Nov. 16 to 19 is in full swing.

One of the much awaited event in this biennial conference is the Araw Creative Awards, which will be staged on the last night of the three day gathering of marketing communications professionals.

Melvin Mangada, chairman of the Congress' Creative Committee, reports that more than 3,000 entries were submitted for scrutiny. The pre-screening was held recently with seasoned creatives representing several ad agencies doing the initial pass.

The Araw Awards give honor to outstanding creative works during the last radio and print craftsmanship, interactive tools, graphic design, direct mail, outdoor pieces, and multi-media campaigns. Three foreign judge were flown in to join a formidable group of local juniors to select the finalists and winners.

In this year's competition, a new special award will be given, the Kodak Vision Award, the winner of which will be chosen by a jury composed of the best cinematographers in this country.

WHAT ARE ARAW WINNERS MADE OF?

The Araw Awards continue to flourish because of the high level of interest Pinoy creatives have shown for the competition. The motivation of being honored in this prestigious creative showdown pushes them to consistently generate the power to turn simple ideas into big ideas, cut through the competitive clutter, or get differentiated from a slew commercial messages all out to win the hearts and minds of identified audiences.

How do Pinoy creatives come up with award-winning ads? What makes them creative? How do they develop ideas? Is there any creative training template that can make an aspiring copywriter or visualizer win an Araw Award? These were some of the questions that were given enlightenment by the thesis done by Rowena C. Cruzat for her MS Advertising course at the UST Graduate School. Cruzat currently works with BBDO/GO.

The study entitled The Profile Selected Fifty Araw Creative Award (ACA) Winners of recipients from the1993 to 2003. It aims to determine the factors that can lead creative people to become award-winners. It also examines their demographic profiles, hobbies and interests, childhood data, educational backgrounds, special trainings, and work experiences.

The respondents of the study were gathered from the list of Araw winners provided by the Advertising Board of the Philippines (ADBOARD). The list was then tallied on a per ad agency basis and were ranked by the number of awards won. Some names were not included because they were either out of the country during the time of the study, deceased, and for some personal reasons would not want to be interviewed.

WHO ARE THEY? WHERE DO THEY COME FROM?

The Araw winners of 1993-2003 are mostly single, male, around 30-40 years old, fine arts or visual communication graduates of the University of the Philippines and the University of Santo Tomas, have won the best thesis during their college days and have graduated with cum laude honors. They are either an only child or the youngest in the family and have passed through the doors of Ace Saatchi & Saatchi, one of the leading ad agencies in the country.

They have varied choices, interests and favorite - colors, movies, writers, books, pets, and collections - rarely giving just one answer to the interview questions. They are open to different things that allow them to develop as a creative person. The diversity of their interests helps them grow faster in a highly demanding, highly stressful creative arena.

Most Araw winners believe that they are naturally inclined to the arts and the written word. They have the tendency to play by their lonesome, manipulating and challenging their imagination to create things that can provide solutions to problems and extra excitement to every discoveries. Interaction or playing with other kids during their growing up years is a rare opportunity for them. A number dream of becoming astronauts or scientists.

The study likewise shows that Ace Saatchi & Saatchi have trained the most number of 1993-2003 Araw winners. Though most of them are graduates of art-related courses, not all became art directors. Some ended up as copywriters or producers. Within that same decade, Leo Burnett came out to be the advertising agency with the most number of Araw winners.

Two things surfaced when the Araw winners were asked to define creativity in advertising.

First, creativity is the panacea to a brand's lackluster market performance and that its primordial concern is to sell the product.

Second, creativity is all about freshness of ideas and uniqueness of executions. A creative ad must move people, shake the marketplace and make the target market react to the advertising stimulus that can possibly result to consumer preference. They all agreed that a winning idea sprouts from what is new, different, and disruptive. It redefines beliefs, emotions and how brands are looked at. The respondents echoed that there is no formula in creating award-winning ads.

A creative ad must be able to find a way to sensually, rationally and emotionally bond with its defined audiences. Great ads that turn award-winners come from solid consumer insights. Creating ads that will win award is a concern, but is not be-all of their jobs. Ads per se must be capable of being noticed, be singled out for their creativity, but at the same time able to bring the brand into every consumer’s shopping basket. Winning an Araw is seen as a bonus, a great recognition given by peers, and a big ego-booster.

In the conceptualization process, most of the respondents follow certain habits or rituals, some of which are pretty normal, and some understandably weird. For example, some can whip up ideas during unholy hours of the day. Others have to consume large doses of caffeine to make the ideas flow or make them think more vividly, or have a full stomach before buckling down to work. And still some like to have a clean table while at work, believing that a cluttered or messy table may hamper the creative process.

MENTORING A WINNER

Most Araw winners have been influenced by good mentors, These mentors play a huge role in shaping their creative souls. To be the best in the field, one has to work with the best. Who one’s partner is in the creative process is very critical. A copywriter/visualizer tandem must have chemistry, genuine friendship, a healthy professional interaction, and an equal amount of passion to be able to churn out excellent work.

The physical setup of the ad agency where creative people work impacts on their outputs. The atmosphere or environment in the workplace sets the creative mood. And as they work, the Araw winners have a way of dealing with reviews and criticism, looking at current best. They look at put downs (subtle or otherwise) as something that can help improve the creative product.

Araw winners accept that the award derby is significant because it serves as a venue for camaraderie among advertising creatives. Its highly competitive nature has helped raise the standard of Philippine advertising as it pushes the Pinoy creatives to spheres of excellence both locally and internationally.

Cruzat's study further reveals that there are several changes that may take place after being recognized as Araw winners. First off, more responsibility is placed on their "creative" shoulders. For the more senior creatives, the need for greater motivation and guidance of their subordinates become even more intense. Aside from doing creative stuff, there is the added administrative work to mind.

Second, Araw awardees move up to higher positions, which of course come with higher salaries. Third, the pressure for better delivery is heightened, knowing that they are only as good as their last award winning campaign.

All of us are born creative and the environment where we grow up is a big factor in either dulling our talents or sharpening our creative gifts. If the environment we move in is nurturing and inspiring, the chance of generating excellent, as well as exciting, results will be greater.

Most of the Araw winners love the thinking process involved in the work, as well as discovering unique ways of executing ideas in an atmosphere of experimentation, positivity, trust and open mindedness.

REBELS WITH A CAUSE

Being weird is one of the popular labels attached to creative people, a branding the respondents don't really mind. Many find creative people weird not necessarily because of their fashion sense, but because of the way they think. They are often mistaken as spaced-out geeks, with unusual approaches to doing things. They are seen to be out-of-the-box thinkers, unconventional, aggressive, liberal-minded, moody, resilient, hard-working, passionate, unique and unpredictable.

To Araw winners first step of breaking into the advertising scene is to study in a good school where one can efficiently learn basic communication skills, creativity and technical abilities.

From there, an aspiring creative must learn from gurus, encounter new things, read books, watch movies, constantly observe human behaviors, and do other things that will help in discovery and enlightenment. Ideas may not be captured in the confines of the four walls of the agency cubicle. It may come through a variation of processes, a widening of one’s field of experience, bringing passion into every creative endeavor, and not easily giving p or tiring out.

Hence, creative people should never stop until the get a solution or approach right. A right that can lead to a recognition of the work accomplished, not only from their countrymen but also from people from other parts of the world.

Araw winners are very optimistic that the Philippines can reach global acclaim if everyone in the ad industry works in unison to achieve this elusive dream. Philippine advertising has revved up and is ready to step on the gas to drive our advertising works to the worldwide creative race-track.

Through the predictable barriers continue to persist – conservative clients, review restrictions and lack or insufficient logical supports – but under these conditions, new discoveries can, without a doubt, be unearthed.

Will the sun shine on the Pinoys' advertising creative parade?

Bong R. Osorio, November 27, 2005, Manila Bulletin

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New state university put up in the Visayas

2006-11-07T00:32:00.000+08:00

Central Visayas has a new state university.

A new law has jut upgraded the central Visayas Polytechnic College based in the Dumaguete City into a full-fledged state university to be known as the Negros Oriental State University (NORSU), according to Cebu Rep. Eduardo Gullas.

"This is not a simple conversion of a state polytechnic college into a (state) university. Congress, in the NORSU charter – Republic Act 9299 actually merged into a whole a state college and three local government-run schools in Negros Oriental," he said.

Gullas said the Genaro Goni Memorial College in Bais City, the Siaton Community College in Siaton town and the Mabinay Institute of Technology in Mabinay town will be integrated with the Central Visayas Polytechnic College to establish NORSU.

NORSU, which will have its main campus in Dumaguete City, is expected to eventually match, if not surpass the exceptional quality of education now being offered by the Protestant mission-run Silliman University, one of the country’s oldest institutions of higher learning.

Gullas said NORSU, the first state university in Negros Oriental, would further build up Central Visayas as a hub of higher learning in the Visayas as well as Mindanao.

"Congress should see to it that adequate funding for the new state university is included in the 2006 national budget," he said.

Gullas' family founded the University of the Visayas, one of the largest and most progressive private institutions of higher learning in Cebu.

A Board of Regents will govern NOSU.

Serving as regents are the chairman of the Commission on Higher Education, the university’s designated president, the chairmen of the Senate education committee and the House higher education committee, regional directors of the National Economic Development Authority and Department of Science and Technology, the heads of the federations of faculty unions, student councils and alumni associations of the university, and two distinguished citizens based in the province.

The board's first order of business will be to chart a five-year development plan for the new university.

NORSU will provide advanced academic, professional and technical instruction and training in the arts, sciences, engineering, education, commerce, agriculture, forestry, fishery and other related fields of study.

The university will also promote research and extension service and provide progressive leadership in its areas of specialization.

October 16, 2005, Philippine Star

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With ADB Funding, Puerto Princesa Eyes to be No.1

2006-10-30T20:14:00.000+08:00

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY - Almost P2 Billion worth of infrastructure projects funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in this city are boosting its $100 million development plan which will make it ready for a massive tourism promotion that aims to bring in 600,000 tourists in just three years' time.

Known as the Philippines' last frontier because of its strong environmental program, Puerto Princesa wants to be the country's no.1 tourist destination for its eco-tourism.

It is currently among the top or major tourist destinations in the country. At its height, tourism arrivals reached 170,000 but have since gone down drastically with the terrorism scare caused by 9/11 and the infamous kidnapping by the Abu Sayyaf at one of its popular island resorts in 2001.

Starting on the third quarter of 2002, tourist arrivals have increased with the City gaining popularity as a conference and sports destination.

The man behind the city's ambitious development is Mayor Edward S. Hagedorn, a living legend in his own right due to his checkered past and close affinity to past and present national leaders. He was one of the local government officials who pledged crucial support to President Arroyo at the height of the political crisis in July.

He says he is not in a hurry to promote his city as yet, as he implements his development plans which put a premium on sustainable development above all else.

Among the beautification and improvements in infrastructure he is undertaking are the widening of Rizal Ave., reclamation of the wharf, and putting a promenade along the boulevard, just like Manila’s Baywalk. He is also purchasing additional police officers to beef up the current police force complement.

It is for this reason that he is grateful for the major infrastructure projects funded by the ADB that were recently completely or near completion which consist of an arterial road network, a sanitary landfill and fisheries project.

The P1.6 billion Palawan North Road is a 134-kilometer road which stretches from the city to Roxas, cutting travel time for four to five hours to just one and a half hours. The concrete road was made with a special concrete paver, making it much smoother than normal concrete roads. Engineers boast that it is a world-class road.

It was completed in 2004. The road is part of the ADB's sixth Road Project which aims to improve infrastructure in the country side to boots economic development. The project consists of the 80.34-kilometer Puerto Princesa-Langogan road and the 54.14-kilometer Langogan Roxas road. It is located along the northeast coast to Palawan.

"These nice roads are catalyst for development. Normally, investors, when they come, they first look at the roads network, for the delivery of goods and products. Road are a major aspect of development," says Hagedorn. "We would like to thank the ADB for making us a part of their major programs, particularly in insfracture."

"Before, when you go to Roxas, you stop at san Rafael which is 75 kilometer s from the city. All buses stop there to eat because the trip is long. After the uphill climb in Longogan, there’s another eatery, and they eat again because hungry again," says Simeon Alarcon, Vice president of the Palawan chamber of Commerce.

"Now, the buses don't stop anymore."

The Palawan North Road boots the tourism economy of the province, which is one of only two industries after agriculture. It leads to major tourism spots likes Honda bay, the Underground River, and its famed world-class resorts like El Nido, Club Noah-Issabel, etc.

Another ADB-funded projects is the P200-million sanitary landfill in barangay Sta. Lourdes, touted to be the first local government-controlled sanitary landfill in the country. It was one of the projects submitted for ADB funding in 1991 under the Philippine Regional Municipal Project. It is now operational and the Mayor is calculating in his constituents to be conscious of solid waste management by having proper waste disposal form the source.

"If you don't have comprehensive solid waste management program, if you get a huge influx of tourist, you won’t know how to address the garbage problem. So we're lucky that before the influx of more tourists, we are now ready for a massive solid waste management program," Hagedorn says.

The project will cover the entire urban population and more than half of the rural population. The required capacity is for 20 years waste generation. With the implementation of the zero waste management program and R.A 2003, the City expects that the life san of the sanitary landfill will extend to 50 years or more.

The sanitary landfill will be implemented is six phases on a 26.9 hectare lot. Phase 1 covered the construction of a leachate treatment plant and pumping stations; composting plant; and auxiliary facilities like access road, perimeter fence and gate, cut-off ditches and drainage system, monitoring wells, protection dikes, gas vents, waste recovery shed, equipment yard and wash bay, weighbridge, guard house, and administrative building. Dump trucks and a landfill vibratory compactor were also purchased.

The 3rd ADB project in the city is the Fisheries Resources Management Project which supports the strong environment vision of Hagedorn. Under the P40 million project; 370 hectares have been declared fish sanctuaries, prohibiting fishing and any other human activity.

"We are achieving our goal of sustainable development and reduction in poverty," says Hagedorn. The city also maintains nurseries with mangrove seedlings and the maintenance of the full-grown mangroves.

The project has an income diversification component, through community participation for the sustainable livelihood of fishermen who were once engaged in destructive and or unsustainable means of fishing, by providing microfinancing for such activities as crab fattening, fish drying, processing etc. It covers 56 coastal barangays. In Honda Bay alone, there are 18 coastal barangay benefiting from the project while in Puerto Princesa Bay, it covers 22 barangays.

Ironically, the mayor has a strong environmental advocacy not because he has been an environmentalist all his life but because he was among the first loggers in Palawan.

"The turning point was when I was elected mayor in 1992. It was a humbling experience that you are not from here and you were elected. That's what changed my outlook. Because of the trust and confidence of Palawenos, I promised I am going to protect the resources that rightfully belong to the Palawenos."

And this strong environmental advocacy has garnered for the mayor and his city numerous environmental awards not just locally but from international organizations as well.

Rita Festin, Philippine Star, October 17, 2005

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The Urban Renewal of Manila

2006-10-22T20:51:00.000+08:00

A partnership between business and local government can cause the urban renewal of Manila into the country’s strategic center for such sunrise service sectors as a education, tourism, business process outsourcing, entertainment, logistics, and health, wellness and beauty.

A road map for such an urban renewal was discussed in a conference organized by the City Government of Manila with the Philippine Association of Realtors and the Manila Board of Realtors. R A Cuervo Inc., a leading realty company, provided the intellectual in put to the conference.

The urban renewal plan will build on the many programs already implemented by Manila Mayor Lito Atienza, who was the keynote speaker of the conference that was billed as “Business Opportunities in Manila’s Urban Renewal.”

Already Manila is a top destination for tourists – both foreign and domestic – because of its cultural treasures, entertainment establishment establishments and parks facilities, especially along the Roxas Boulevard. These are concentrated in the Malate and Ermita districts of Manila.

The next major facelift is targetted for the university belt within the Sampaloc district despite efforts of universities to relocate outside of the National Capital Region, Manila is still the premier educational center with an estimated 300,000 of the country’s students in tertiary education.

The urban renewal plan will consist mainly in redeveloping properties in the Sampaloc area into medium-rise student dormitories that will improve the living condition of hundreds of thousands of university of students who at present are forced to live in crowded and unhygienic facilities providing unfavorable environment to intellectual work.

Only a very small fraction of these students are fortunate enough to reside in student dormitories run by religious or charitable organizations committed to student welfare. A pioneer in student dormitories construction is Enrique Moras, who introduced the cooperative approach to constructing high-rise buildings. Moras was one of the speakers.

Various speakers presented vital information convincing real estate developers that constructing residential units for students, especially those coming from outside Manila, can give sufficient returns to the investments.

Many middle-income and high-income families, about twenty percent of the population, can invest in these residential units for use of their children studying in the universities around. Because of the high costs of transport – both in time and money – even families living in suburbs like Alabang and Sta. Rosa may find it worthwhile to invest in these residential units, which have a high resale value to the parents of future university students.

The prospects for these student dormitories were further brightened by the report given by Congressman Rodolfo Bacani, Representative of the 4th District of Manila, about a proposed legislator that will give incentives for the development of quality dormitories in the university belt.

Providentially, Mayor Atienza is slated to attend a Spain-Philippine Forum in Madrid (November 30December 1, 2005) during which he will meet with another dynamic politician, Madrid Mayor Alberto Ruiz-Gallardon who is also in the midst of a through-going urban renewal of Spain’s capital.

As an article in the International Herald Tribune (IHT), November 7, 2005 reported, “Madrid is currently undertaking the greatest process of urban transformation in its history, and one of the most ambitious in Europe.” A technology that Mayor Atienza could transfer from Madrid to Manila is the centuriesold concept of the “Collegio Mayor” (residential college) of which there are hundreds all over Spain.

These residential colleges, many of them run by non-governmental organizations, provide not only comfortable and economical living quarters for university students.
More importantly, they contribute to the improvement of the quality of higher education by providing by the residents complementary humanistic, cultural and spiritual formation which they may not obtain in the universities where they are studying.

Because of the large number of universities in Manila, it may also be the best location for the investors going into business process outsourcing, especially the non-voice segment of the industry, such as animation, accounting design, legal documentation and medical transcription.

More than 25 percent of accounting and finance students are in the universities in Manila. Law, architectural, medical, and nursing schools also bound in the university belt. Endowed with very advanced telecom facilities, many underutilized properties in the Sampaloc area, for example, can accommodate cyberzones like Eastwood City in Quezon City.

I am sure Mayor Atienza will comeback with a few more initiatives for the urban renewal of the Manila after his historic meeting with Mayor Ruiz-Gallardon of Madrid. The two of them have parallel visions: to make their respective cities global leaders in urban renewal in the 21st Century.

For comments, email bvillegas@uap.edu.ph

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Sony Ericsson promotes RP coffee

2006-10-15T18:26:00.000+08:00

For three consecutive years since the National Coffee Development Board staged its annual Coffee Break trade exhibition in Makati City. Sony Ericsson, the country’s second leading mobile phone manufacturer, has been actively participating in all coffee trade shows.

Coffee Break is partnership between the Coffee Board and the Ayala Center.

“This is because our company believes that in promoting the interest of the local coffee industry we help speed up the development of the sector and the coffee farmers of the country and the economy as well,” Sony Ericsson’s marketing manager Patrick E.S. Laraga said.

The 3rd Annual Coffee Break, which started last Oct. 1 until today at the Glorietta 4 in Ayala Center, has 14 coffee traders offering free taste of coffee and selling fresh beans to the public.

Sony Ericsson also has a special promo called “Perfect Blends 2005” where purchases of Sony Ericsson phones, especially those marked with Perks Pack stickers, entitle the buyers to several coffee perks like two tubs for free coffee concoctions in participating merchant’s shops.

Outlet included in Sony’s promo program are: Bluegre, Cordillera Coffee, Coffee Dream, Coffee Nook, Gourmet Farms, Mocha Blends, McCafe, Siete Baracos and the Coffee Beanery plus selected outlets of Bo’s Coffee Club, Figaro and the Coffee Experience.

The annual Coffee Break held every October aims to create a awareness among the people about the Philippine coffee sector – a major dollar earner in the sixties – which is now being revived by the private sector-led Coffee Board and the government. It was started by former Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo Jr.

At the opening Coffee Board vice chairman Pacita Juan of Figaro Coffee said the Philippine coffee sector is the only one that has all four types of beans robusta, excelsa, Arabica and liberica or barako (or REAL for short) which has long been a stable source of foreign revenues for the country.

Major coffee growing areas include Basilan, Jolo, Kalamansig, (Sultan Kudarat), Kitanglad (Bukidnon), Marawi (Lanao del Sur), Mt. Apo (Davao), Surigao del Sur, Batangas, Cavite, Benguet, Kalinga, Mt. Province, Bulacan, Orani (Bataan), and Calinog (Iloilo).

The number of participating coffee traders has also been increasing for the last three Coffee Breaks reaching 14 in the current coffee fair in Glorietta 4. These include: Batangas Brew, Boyds, Café Amadeo, Coffee Experience, Coffee Figaro, Gourmet Coffee, Holsum Foods, Mocha Blends, Monks’ Blend, Montanosa Coffee and Site Baracos.

The Coffee Board also offers Coffee 101 seminar on the basics of coffee, the different bean varieties, the beans’ path from the farm to the cup, coffee making equipment, how to brew the perfect cup of coffee and factors affecting coffee quality. Participants will also be taught how to start a coffee shop business.

A seminar or sustainable coffee and vegetable farming teaches farming teaches participants to choose the best locations for coffee farms, the best time to plant coffee, how to choose the right varieties for particular locations, field preparations and coffee tree care in a sustainable and organic farming concept.

This is accompanied with lessons on vegetables farming since vegetables are intercropped with coffee trees to provide revenues while waiting for the coffee tree to bear fruit. This seminar is on Oct. 20 at 2 to 4 p.m. at the 2nd floor AIM Conference Center, Benavides St., Legaspi Village.

October 16, 2005, Rosa de la Cruz, Philippine Star

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RP tops foreign countries in Osaka's Midosuji Parade

2006-10-09T08:12:00.000+08:00

The Philippines placed second in the famous Midosuji Parade in Osaka, Japan recently, but topped all the foreign entries that included the united states, Russia, China, Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.

The prestigious win is the Philippines' third in less than six months since the country won the gold in the nature’s Wisdom Award and the Global 100 Eco-Tech Award in the World Expo 2005 in Aichi, Japan.

Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano heap praises on the winning Philippine float that colorfully featured Negros Occidental's Masskara Festival and its dancers.

Co-sponsered by Philippine Airlines, the Parade witnessed by more than a million Japanese Spectators, and millions more through their TV set as the event was covered by all of Japan’s major TV networks, according to Durano.

The feat further boosted the philippines’ vigorous tourism promotional campaign targeted at Japan's 17.4-million outbound market, which is projected to surge to 20 million by 2010.

Participating in 3.5-kilometer parade members of the Filipino community in Osaka. The parade winners were announced at the international friendship reception in the Osaka City Public Hall.

Aside from the Parade, the Philippines took part in various performances in different venues in Osaka before and after event, including the Heisei Rakuichi Marketplace festival at the Minatomachi Riverplace and the International Marching Band festival at the Expo '70 Commemoration Park in Suita City.

The Philippine has been participating in the annual Midusoji Parade for seven years now, featuring the traditional Santacruzan in 1999, Rice Terraces and the Kalinga culture in 2000, Pista sa Nayon and the Philippine Dance Company's Osaka group in 2001, the exotic vinta in 2002, the Bulakan Panagbenga Festival and Sindaw Dance Troupe in 2003, and the Philippine eagle and Maria Clara in 2004.

October 23, 2005. The Philippine Star

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Reform boost GSIS position as top GOCC

2006-08-27T21:30:00.000+08:00

The Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) remains the most profitable government owned and –controlled corporation (GOCC) in the country, statics form the department of finance (DoF) showed.

The DoF data on the consolidated public sector deficit (CPSD) said the GSIS surplus for the first half of the current year significantly offset the negative cash position not only of other GOCCs, but also of the national government.

The January to June 2005 CPSD showed that P23.566 billion in surpluses were chipped in by the GSIS, the Social Security System, and PhilHealth. The GSIS contributed P13.74 billion or about 58 percent of the three GOCCs’ combined surpluses.

The GSIS’ P13.74-bvillion surplus for the first semester has exceeded by P5.1 billion the P8.607-billion projected cash flow surplus of the state pension fund for the period.

The emergence of GSIS as the best for performing GOCC is largely due to the reforms initiated by GSIS President and General Manger Winston Garcia to plug loopholes that were previously draining the funds of government employees.

These reforms include prudent spending and the implementation of programs such as the Premium-Based Policy and the Claims and Loams Interdependency Policy (CLIP).

The Premium-Based Policy, in a nutshell, entails the granting of benefits and privileges to member based on the actual and correct premiums the GSIS received from its members. The CLIP, on the other hand, cross defaults the members’ outstanding dues.

The GSIS and the other GOCCs strong fiscal position complemented the improve cash position of the national government, which according to the CPSD data manage to reduced by almost 60 percent its budget deficit.

The government registered a deficit of P94.299 billion in the first six months of 2004. But due, Among others, to its cost-saving measures, the country’s budget deficit now stands at only P41.619 billion.

23 October, 2005, Manila Bulletin

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Top lady of IAFEI puts Philippines on world stage

2006-08-15T12:28:00.000+08:00

A Ph.D. in organization and development planning from the Southeast Asia Interdisciplinary Development Institute, an MDP from Harvard Business School, an MBA from Ateneo, a BSBA University of the Philippines and a long string of sterling career achievements.

These are what Dr. Conchita L. Manabat carries with her as the chair of the International Association Financial Executives Institutes (IAFIE) and the person top on of the now abrewing 2005 World Congress of Financial Executives to be held at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel on December 4-7, 2005.

The IAFIE Annual World Congress brings together hundreds of finance professionals, practitioners, academicians and business leaders from across the World and provides the global platform for sharing of authentic information and relevant insights on the world’s important financial developments and drives promotion of best practices and forging of strong networks.”

The 2005 World Congress has been organized by IAFEI’s Philippine member institute, FINEX (Financial Executive Institute of the Philippines).

The theme of the Congress is “Global Markets: Thriving in Shifting Financial Landscape.” It is expected to bring in some 500 delagates comprising of CEOs, CFOs and finance executives from across the world with the participation from developed economies like Germany, Italy, Japan, USA and Singapore as well as developing economies such as China, Taiwan, India, the Philippines and Thailand.

A very busy person, Dr. Manabat shuttles to and from Europe where the IAFEI headquarters is based, with Switzerland as legal domicile and Austria as secretariat site. She is the first female and first Asian to head this global organization.

The IAFEI is federation of Financial Executives Institutes of various countries, and is a private, non-profit, non-political organization.

With more than twenty member institutes comprising more 100,000 financial executives, IAFIE is the largest global organization of its kind, and operates with the key objective of promoting networking opportunities for finance executives, building a wider understanding the financial practices worldwide and promoting ethical and best practices of financial management throughout the world.

Aside from attending to IAFEI matters, Ms. Manabat is also chair of her own company, CL Manabat and Co./Deloitte Touche and Tomatsu, a Trustee of University of San Carlos in Cebu City, and chair of Capital Market Development Council.

This petite but cerebral woman from Binan, Laguna, having been a financial executive for decades, knows fully well the demands expectations of the finance executive. She says that to stay ahead in the competitive landscape, finance executive need a combination of updated financial, strategic organizational skills, strong business networks and a clear big picture world view.

Asked what one can expect from attending this Congress, Manabat says that “financial executives will learn from leading global, regional and local financial luminaries the big picture of emerging and future economic and financial trends with a special focus on the significance of Asia in an everchanging world. There will be technical updates and finance best practice insights raging from international accounting and global financial markets to finance best practices and attributes of the global Chief Finance Officer. Attendees will also be able to reaffirm the common and continuing values expected of finance professionals in high ethical standards and corporate governance.”

The lady is a real achiever. With all the financial luminaries that she has attracted to our shores, she has raised the Philippines a notch higher in the world spectrum.

October 24, 2005, Manila Bulletin

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Production of edible vaccines vs HIV, E. coli in RP being studied

2006-08-09T15:15:00.000+08:00

While edible vaccines using banana and tomato are currently being studied by plant molecular biologists and immunologists at the University of the Philippines (UP) – Manila and Los Banos to cure salmonella typhii, studies on edible vaccines to cure other infection diseases including the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are also being considered for possible production.

According to Arlene Obmerga of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resources Research and Development under the Department of Science and Technology (PCARRD – DoST), studies on the possible production of the edible vaccines against the infectious agents such as Escherichia coli or E. coli, Vibrio cholerae and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are being considered by Filipino plant molecular biologists and immunologists for possible production in the country.

Based on research, salmonella typhii is a pathogen which causes typhoid fever while E. coli can cause sever cases of diarrhea in all age groups by producing a powerful endotoxin and may be caused by poor toilet hygiene as well as other unsanitary practices.

It can be recalled that E. coli had been a hot topic during the summer after a daughter of a congressman died of the said infection.

Cholera, on the other hand, is a severe diarrheal disease cause by the bacterium vibrio cholerae.

Dr. Nina Gloriani Bargaza informed that edible vaccines "are cost effective and reliable in production and delivery, especially in developing countries like the Philippines."

"Compared with injectable vaccines are easier, simpler and cheaper to administer and are more acceptable to the public," she said.

Obmerga said the edible vaccines are envisioned to be consumed in powder form or dry form and packed in sachets so as to enable the vaccine to mix with food and drinks.

UPLB Institute of Plant Breeding (IPB) division head Dr. Pablo Magdalita earlier said that with genetic engineering, the Philippines can produce an edible vaccine against Salmonella typhii made from banana which could cut down the country's expenses on vaccine importation since vaccines against the Salmonella typhii "is not locally available."

October 22, 2005, Madel Sabater, Manila Bulletin

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Pinoy new coach of Vietnam national team

2006-08-03T17:24:00.000+08:00

The next time Vietnam faces the Philippines in men's basketball, they may not be so easy to beat anymore. In fact, they may show up with some of our own tricks. On Tuesday, Vietnam appointed a new head coach to accelerate the improvement of their men’s national basketball program.

The new mentor is a Filipino. His name is Ricky Magallanes.

Originally, Magallanes a coach in the high school program of De La Salle Greenhills, was sent by the Basketball Association of the Philippines to Vietnam upon their request to find a dynamic young coach to spearhead their young men's basketball program.

Magallanes arrived in Ho Chi Minh City April 20 with no coaching staff, and a language barrier facing him, not to mention simmering hostility from the Vietnamese and Chinese coaches already employed by the national federation there.

"A lot of trials happened since April, since we're not Vietnamese," Magallanes said in an e-mail to THE STAR. It's good thing my assistant coach and my translator are very supportive and work hard to make my work lighter. I really had to start from scratch, because basketball is not that popular here."

Magallaness relates that, although the federation still was not that trusting of his programs and projects, he was still able to win a local championship in his first outing. As a result, his contract was extended and he was promoted earlier this week to head coach of the national men's team, as well. His assistant will be the former head coach, a Vietnamese Chinese named Mr. Minh.

"Next year, I hope to be able to implement the coaching clinics and player clinics I was originally planning." I plan to bring both the men's and young men's teams to the Philippines to improve their skills. It's a little difficult now, because I'm running both teams."

Magallaness isn't the only Filipino coach to makes wave internationally. Last Monday, members of a group of Filipino coaches – mostly from the high school ranks – returned from a two-moth stint in Malaysia to scout for and train players for AMBAC, the rival group of the Malaysian Basketball Association or MABA.

Beaujing Acot, head coach of the Benedictine International School Tiger Sharks, was the head of the delegation. Acot and company were recommended by Ateneo de Manila head coach Norman Black, who has conducted trainings in Malaysia over the past few years.

October 16, 2005, Bill Velasco, PhilStar

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Philippines' "Jurong Birdpark" gets Audubon Certification as cooperative sanctuary

2006-07-13T13:53:00.000+08:00

The Philippine version of Singapore’s Jurong BirdPark and the home of the Malagos Garden's Interactive Bird Show is now a certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary.

Malagos Garden resort, 12-hectare art and nature theme park in Davao City, is the first property in the country and the 39th in the world to be certified in the Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Business and Properties of Audubon International, a worldwide organization based in the USA.

Audubon International is a non-profit, environmental education organization that spearheads education and conservation assistance programs that promote environmental sustainability.

The Malagos Garden facility provides a habitat for Mindanao lorikeets, a number of rehabilitated native hornbills and some smaller eagles, and butterflies.

The Malagos Garden's landscape is also strewn with a vast collection of assorted plants, orchids, fruit tress, palms, and the Waling-waling (dubbed as the Queen of Philippine orchids).

Malagos Garden is best known for the Malagos Garden’s International Bird Show, the only full production bird show in the country and seen by over 300,000 people in its four-year run.

Hosted by Roberto "Dr. Bo" Puentespina Jr., DVM, the project is meant to help urban dwellers to appreciate the wonders of Filipino exotic birds and to teach important lessons in environmental responsibility.

The show's second in Metro Manila will be mounted at the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Center, QC, from Oct. 20- Jan. 29, 2006.

The Malagos Garden's Interactive Bird Show is spearheaded by the Malagos Wildlife Preservation Foundation, Inc., in cooperation with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

November 20, 2005, Manila Bulletin

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P2 M okayed to reconstruct eroded Banaue rice terraces canal

2006-07-08T22:31:00.000+08:00

KIANGAN, Ifugao – Rep. Solomon Chungalao and Vice Mayor Patrick Puguon here approved the released of P1.9 million for the construction of over two kilometers of an irrigation canal to water over 20 hectares of small paddies in the world-famous, centuries-old Banaue rice terraces here.

Ifugao ancestors had ingeniously carved out the rice terraces from the Banaue mountain slopes centuries ago, using crude farming tools and sourcing water for irrigation from upland streams that where kilometers away.

The terraces have been hailed globally for its modern engineering design. Through the ages, the Ifugaos maintained this world heritage, including its irrigation canal. During the pre-war, a village crier would shout for help downstream whenever a portions of the terraces’ canal eroded.

Each household would carry a shovel and join the rest in following the irrigation canal upstream to riprap damaged portions.

Today, younger generations are struggling to maintain worn-out terraces and irrigation canals through the "bayanihan spirit" known in Ifugao as "Ubbo." But constant canal repairs uses up farming time, prompting younger generation farmers to formally organize an irrigators association to negotiate for government's assistance.

The government needed the call of the Indutmog Farmer's Association in Kiangan, Ifugao for a more permanent irrigation canal with the release of P1.9 million irrigation fund sourced out by Ifugao Congressman Chungalao and Vice Mayor Puguon.

Though it will water only over 20 hectares of small patches of terraced rice paddies, the canal, once in operation, will benefit over 100 farmers and their families.

Wilbert Bayawon, 37, a village councilman and president of the association, said that Puguon assured him last Tuesday that funds would be released for the over two-kilometer community irrigation canal under the "Patubig Program" of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA).

The association members will construct the canal themselves with a counterpart fund of P190,000.

October 26, 2005, Mike Guimbatan Jr., Manila Bulletin

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New rice strain rich in iron, zinc developed

2006-07-04T20:13:00.000+08:00

The Philippines has released a bio-fortified rice rich in iron and zinc as a first stage of a long-term development of multi-nutrient rice which is seen to become a trend over the decade.

"Philrice (Philippine Rice Research Institute) released it. It's now being planted in Bukidnon and Laguna," said International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) deputy director William G. Padolina in an interview.

IRRI, a little reluctant to label that the rice called Maligaya Special (MS 13), is "iron-rich," stressed the commercialization of the bio-fortified rice as approved by the National Seed Industry Council will continue to undergo evaluation, testing, and improvement.

"We're saying this is just an initial release. As time goes, we'll be releasing improved bio-fortified rice. We don't want to say it's iron rice, and then its price will go up so that only the rich can afford. Who's going to buy it? Our aim is to improve iron content without labelling," said Dr. Glenn Gregorio, IRRI scientist.

IRRI started developing the bio-fortified rice in 1996 and was in fact a flagship program of then Estrada administration. While rice is basically all starch, some varieties have higher iron level. Here, an iron-rich rice variety from Africa was crossed with a progeny that is high-yielding and iron-rich.

This has more than double iron content from 1.5 parts per million (PPM) to five PPM while zinc content is also double. Increased zinc content in the rice variety itself is beneficial for the plant, for insects, and for human since plant cannot readily obtain zinc from the traditionally zinc-deficient soil.

Despite the development, rice breeders must continue developing the variety since iron content still falls below nutritional requirement of iron-deficient population.

Besides, absorption of iron of the body can be a major hurdle.

"There’s only 15 percent absorption which is very low," said Gregorio who stressed Filpinos with iron deficiency should both be given bio-fortified and an education on rice cooking practices.

To retain its iron content, rice must be washed only one or be cooked unwashed since any bacteria in it can be killed in boiling. Rice also has the iron in its coating which is lost in milling. Less rice milling is thus recommended since a 20–21 PPM iron content drops to one to 1.5 PPM with milling.

The bio-fortification of rice is seen as a long-term trend in rice breeding. Since it was established in 1965, IRRI has developed rice varieties resistant to pests and diseases, tolerant to drought or to salty water- all meant toward raising volume of rice production. But now, rice quality is more of the concern.

"Developing good quality rice is a potentially large area for very poor people," said Duncan Mckintosh, IRRI information chief.

To the bio-fortified rice's advantage is its high tolerance to tungro and its minimal fertilization requirement. It is very tough to weevil.

A future work is in developing protein-rich rice varieties.

"This will be more on lysine where we have deficiency. It will be genetic modification where protein gene will be transferred from corn or soybean," said Gregorio.

Brown rice is traditionally a source of richer protein in rice with its vitamins B1 or B2 in the bran, but some consumers do not prefer it because of its hard eating quality. Some local varieties, Milagrosa and Azucena, are rich in protein, too.

October 20, 2005, Melody M. Aguiba, Manila Bulletin

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MMC acquires cutting edge technology on heart care

2006-07-01T18:42:00.000+08:00

An in area where lifestyle diseases are on the rise, there's a greater demand for health care. The medical sector's booming technology helps address these demands quickly and accurately.

With heart disease now the major killer in the ASEAN region, it is timely that the latest technology on heart scanning is now operational in the country.

The Computerized Imaging Institute (CII) of Makati Medical Center, located at the hospital's ground floor, has acquired from GE, the LightSpeed VCT, the first true 64-slice Volume CT scanner that ushers in a new era in computed tomography imaging.

This equipment produces the most detailed images available not only the brain, chest, abdomen and spine, but particularly of the heart's arteries in a non-invasive manner.

"This machine is revolutionary that it landed on the cover of the Sept. 5 issue of Time magazine. You no longer have to undergo a battery of tests to know the condition of your heart," says Dr. Benjamin Adapon, recognized radiologist and official member of the American Society of Neuroradiology. Adapon is chief of the hospital's Computerized Imaging Institute.

Adapon came back home 25 years ago a balikscientist to pioneer CT scanning. In 1989 he also established the first operational MRI and in 1997, the first Endovascular Stroke Unit in the country. And just two weeks ago, he had the first true 64-slice CT scanner installed and operational at MMC.

Time magazine reported that new cardiac scans are helping to fuel a more aggressive focus on prevention. The 64-slice CT scanners enable more accurate diagnoses of arterial blockages, aortic dissections and pulmonary embolisms, by using unprecedented resolution and speed.

"A growing number of cardiologists are using the new cardiac scans to determine which of their otherwise asymptomatic patients need more intense medical treatment with stations and other drugs," the report said.

"The most dramatic benefits of the heart imaging revolution will probably show up first in emergency rooms. In just the US alone, about 5.5 million people go to the hospital each year complaining of chest pains," the Time article noted.

An effective tool to managing chest pain, LightSpeed VCT's Triple RuleOut provides high-resolution images from the apex to the based of the lung, assists physicians in ruling out the three leading causes of mortality in patients with chest pain: aortic dissection, pulmonary embolism, and coronary artery disease.

All in just 12 seconds, in one simple, non-invasive out-patient examination.

The high-technology apparatus enables physicians and the medical staff to see the whole heart in just five beats. No longer are doctors limited to imaging only those patients who can hold their breath for 10, 15 or even 20 seconds.

"You can diagnose cardiac disease at a remarkable five seconds speed without the need for the other invasive diagnostics. Speed accuracy, and reliability in addition to hard earned experience are vital," Adapon added.

October 16, 2005, Philippine Star

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Milkfish as tuna bait seen to increase industry profit

2006-06-26T21:14:00.000+08:00

DAVAO CITY – The Philippines' milkfish industry is expected to generate higher revenues in the succeeding years following the development of foreign markets for post fingerling bangus (milkfish) which is now used by tuna long line fishermen for bait.

Local commercial fishing operators alone, particularly those in Mindanao, purchase at least 10,000 pieces of post fingerlings every week for their regular tuna catch.

Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) 11 Director George Campeon said Taiwanese commercial fishermen who regularly dock at the region's commercial fish complex, are the top foreign buyers of bangus fingerlings.

Campeon said Taiwanese fishermen are using bangus fingerlings as bait because of their "shiny" silvers scale compared to the regular baits such as "moro-moro."

He said the Davao region produces about 300,000 to 500,000 pieces of post bangus fingerlings. It is only Southern Mindanao where its production is high.

Data from BFAR-11 showed that January to August this year, over 2.1 million pieces of bangus fingerlings had been accessed by local and foreign commercial fishermen.

Campeon said the industry developed when BFAR-11 started venturing into fish cage as well as the growing demands for six inch-sized bangus Regions 8,10 and other part of Luzon.

Also, Campeon said bangus growers in the region began selling the fingerlings since the cost of production is lower than those grown in commercial sizes.

"Our bangus growers earn much they 'to wait for their fish to grow to commercial sizes. The bigger the size, the higher the production cost," he said.

Apart from the post fingerlings, BFAR is also pushing for the production of marinated bangus due to the high demand from United States and Japan.

October 24, 2005, Manila Bulletin

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LMP official talks on developmental governance in RP

2006-06-25T18:42:00.000+08:00

Language of Municipalities of the Phillipines (LMP) Secretary General Gerardo V. Calderon outlined the LMP advocacy of developmental governance before some 200 regional directors participating in the Department of Trade and Industry Regional Operations Group (DTI-ROG) Management Committee Meeting at Trades Hotel in Pasay City the other day.

The theme of the meeting was "Enhancing Regional Integration for Development and Trade."

While development of the country's economy is a responsibility of the national leadership, in practical terms such development can only take place at the local level.

"But given the perennial financial constraints faced by the municipalities, local executives should learn how to be less politicians than the economic managers, giving full play to their individual capacities to creativity, innovation and resourcefulness in their respective drives for development," said Calderon.

"Above all, kailangang may tapang kang harapin ang mga demanda," stressed Calderon, citing the fives lawsuits he has already from the DENR.

According to Calderon, this approach to local governance was initiated by the Binalonan, Pangasinan Mayor Ramon N. Guico Jr. who upon assuming the LMP presidency in 2001 urged the league members to discard the patronage system of traditional politics in addressing multifarious needs of their constituents.

"True, our share in the IRA (international revenue allotment) and the doleouts from the CDFs (countrywide development fund) of our legislators are a big help, but still for purposes of long term development they remain lamentably inadequate," said Calderon.

As a case in point, Calderon cited the heavy siltation of the Agno River which until 1998 had been the perennial cause of flooding that deterred the economic development of the town.

"We needed some P2.5 million to dredge the river. But for a municipality that operated on a measly P36 million budget, there is no way to get the amount from local funds." Explained Calderon.

"So what I did was hail every gravel and sand truck that came by, offering to the owners free filling materials. Of course they had to dredge the river to get the materials, still they took the offer as a bargain. Now the river has gone to a depth of 15 feet has widened even."

Calderon said the LMP has taken cue from such individual experiences of each member municipalities and has decided to focus on tourism as its theme for its forthcoming 2005 General Assembly: "Lakbayin ang Magandang Pilipinas, Showcasing Exemplary Practices in Local Governance."

The Assembly will be held at the Westin Philippine Plaza from November 14 to 16 in which on top of the traditional plenary session and fellowship the member municipalities of LMP will be conducting exhibits in various forms depicting the development they have the undergone over the years.

October 23, 2005, Manila Bulletin

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Living up to his name

2006-06-24T00:41:00.000+08:00

Brilliant are the visuals of the inside film Masahista, winner of best picture (video competition) at the Locarno Film Festival.

After touring three more foreign film festivals (Toronto, Vancouver and Chicago), Masahista will finally have it commercial run in Metro Manila theaters starting tomorrow, Oct. 19. It was given an R rating (without cuts) by the Movie & Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB).

Masahista is the first directorial job of Brilliant Mendoza. He was named Brilliante because his family hoped he would be a lucky child (the youngest of eight kids).

He did have some luck in life. After his finishing his Fine Arts course (major in Advertising the University of Santo Tomas), he worked as a graphic artist in and firm for six month before enrolling in a film workshop at the Mowelfund. (Edgar Martin Littaua and the late Tatus Aldana were in his batch.).

He didn't finish the film course anymore because halfway through the workshop, he impress his teachers so much (among them Peque Gallaga and Mel Chionglo) he got swamped with his offers to do movies.

One offer he was unable to resist was to serve as art director in the 1985 Peque Gallaga period film Virgin Forest.

From there, his status was immediately elevated to that of a production designer this time to Chito Rono in the 1986 sex drama Private Show, which eventually won for him a trophy in that year’s Star Awards for Movies.

His lucky streak in the awards division continued because in the same year, he won two more trophies for production design at the Metro Manila Film Festival (for Salamangkero) and the Gawad Urian (for Takaw-Tukso). In the Film credits of these films, he used his nickname Dante – instead of Brilliante.

As he did more films, his luck continued more on the financial aspect. For many years, he did a string forgettable sex and action movies of Seiko Films that paid him well, but did nothing to satisfy his thirst to do more quality pictures (and hopefully give him more awards).

Around that period, he already had his chance to direct his first film, except that it was going to be either run-of-the-mill or law-grade action which were the trend in the movies during that time.

He choose to get away from the movies instead and returned to advertising where he stayed for 10 years.

The opportunity to return to cinema and finally direct his first film came when he was offered by this friend, actor-talent manager Jhman Esturko, to do Masahista, the concept of which came from Ferdinand Lapuz, a familiar name to The Philippine STAR readers because he serves as Funfare's international correspondent.

Produced by Gee Films (investors are based in the US), Masahista was originally just for video release. But the project became bigger and bigger – and so did the budget, which eventually became P4 million, a huge amount when you compare it to other digital films that were completed at the cost of half a million pesos.

Brilliante and his team also had to do a tour of funeral parlors because this film is rich with images and parallelism – and so we see the lead character (Coco Martin) undressing his client (Allan Paule), while his thoughts are about helping dress up the dead body of his father inside the morgue.

In their research they also discovered that it was in Pampanga where white coffins were first used – an idea introduced by Pampangos.

Going around massage parlors in Metro Manila, they also found out that more than 50 percent of masseurs come from Pampanga.

Brilliante Mendoza, a native of Pampanga himself, believes most Pampangueno's were spoiled materially by having an American base (and its PX goods) within the province and another one nearby and so some – not all, the stresses – are lured into prostitution because it is an easy way to earn a living to be able to afford products with familiar American bar code.

A lot of dialogues in Masahista, incidentally, are in Kapampangan. But non – Pampango speakers need not worry. There are English subtitles to guide them by.

After its Metro Manila run (also to be shown simultaneously in some provinces), Masahista is schedule to be screened in 10 more film Festival abroad – one of which is Berlin. Yes, Brilliante Mendoza will have a full schedule ahead of him – doing foreign trips mostly.

His success in the movies undeniably is making the Mendoza family proud of their precious Brilliante. And they were right. He truly is the lucky one.

October 18, 2005, Butch Francisco, The Philippine Star

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La Mesa Eco Park Opens

2006-06-19T23:05:00.000+08:00

QUEZON CITY – Listen to birds chirping, have a picnic, take a walk while enjoying nature's display, bathe on salt water pools… appreciate the seclusion, value and beauty nature in La Mesa Eco Park in East Fairview.

Nestled in the heart of Quezon City, the La Mesa Eco Park attracts the people for so many reasons. This garden-like park provides opportunities for visitors to relax and unwind while enjoying a wide variety of trees and plants, particularly orchids.

In addition to excellent recreation, the park also boasts of its salt-water swimming pools.

Known as the only park having salt-water swimming pools open for public use in Manila, La Mesa Eco Park administrator Delia Abesamis asserted that it is one of their facilities that no other park in Manila has.

"It is the only salt-water pool in Manila open to the public. With a swimming fee of P30 and P60 per person, swimmers can enjoy clean, and healthier water," said Abesamis.

Manage by the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS) and other private firms, she disclosed that salt-water pools require more supervision and upkeep compared to ordinary swimming pools.

"Health experts say salt-water pool is healthier than ordinary pool, which has chlorine content. The maintenance of salt-water pools is more expensive than ordinary pools but we see to it that pool water is clean and safe for the public," she said.

Aside from its salt-water pools, the park offers a broad range of recreational opportunities including camping, while children can play on green fields.

"Visitors can use the amenities at the park, tables and chairs, which had been specifically constructed for the families, so they can enjoy their quality time together while having fun. We also provide cooking and grilling areas if they want to prepare their meals hot and fresh. Unlike other parks, we do not restrict the visitors to bring in foods and drinks," she enthused.

But she noted that visitors should clean their spaces before leaving, emphasizing on the cleanliness of the nature park.

"We also want the visitors to be accountable in maintaining the cleanliness of the park. As long as they keep the park clean, we allow them to do their own cooking," she added.

For the orchid enthusiasts, the Orchidarium is the 'must-see' area. It is an enclosed orchid trail exhibit featuring a wide variety of orchids in bloom from the Philippine Orchid Society (POS) and some donated by Senator Franklin Drilon.

Some of orchid species and ornamental plants to be seen at the Orchidarium include Aerides odora, Ascocen-trum aurantiacum, Cymbiduim finallysonianum, Dendrobium anosmum, Dendrobium crumenatum, Dendrobium secundum, Eria ornata, Lipares condylobulbun, Macropo danthus philippinensis, Paphiopedilum haynaldianum, Paphiopedilum philippinense, Ascda, Hilo Jewel, allied Cattleyas, standard Dendrobiums, Oncidium Sweet Sugar, Phalaenopsis shelleriana, Renanthera storiei, Rhychonstylis praemorsa, Trichoglottis amesiana, Trichoglottis latisepala, Trichoglottis philippinensis, Trichoglottis tamesii, Vanda lamellate, Vanda luzonica, Vanda ustii, Waling-waling, Ariods, Bromeliads, and Ferns.

Abesamis averred that many are amazed with the orchid collection displayed that some wanted to buy them or take them home. She revealed it is one of the park's difficulties – how to handle deceitful people.

"There are people who pick flowers without permission, especially if the guards are not looking. We appeal to people to just appreciate the beauty of the flowers," the Eco Park administrator lamented.

For corporate functions such as seminars, conventions, parties and conferences, she said the park’s cluster of pavilions can be used.

"We have Narra, Neptune and Ipil pavilions where companies can hold corporate functions. Christmas parties had been held here also," she added.

Through the park is not yet being opened fully and still need more resources to finish the park has been open for the general public since April.

Aside from relaxing, Abesamis said that students also visit the place for the educational purposes. To encourage Quezon City students, 50% discount can be availed while entrance is free for senior citizens. She said around 250 individuals troop the park every day and guests are foreseen to surge as rehabilitation and progress continues.

The park is predicted to be fully operational on March 2005 where visitors can go fishing, go boating, camping and biking, among others.

"We are currently putting up the boating lagoon and viewing deck. We also plan to put up biking trails, meditation area and hopefully by Mach we have already completed all the facilities," Abesamis said.

To keep the park smoke-free, Abesamis appealed to people not to insist on entering their vehicles.

"As much as possible we do not allow the visitors' cars to enter the vicinity of the park. It is our responsibility to protect the nature and an element is to keep the air clean free of pollution, that is why we do not allow vehicles to enter the premises of the park. However, admittedly, sometimes it is hard especially if we have VIPs and officials visiting the place," she said.

Inaugurated on April 28 of this year, La Mesa Eco Park is a joint effort of the Quezon City government with Mayor Sonny Belmonte, Metropolitan Water-works and Sewerage System (MWSS), Bantay Kalikasan Foundation, private firms and other sponsors.

The establishment of the park was to uplift the environmental consciousness of the people in Metro Manila.

"The park may be a good place for them to value God's gift to mankind," marked Abesamis.

According to Delia Abesamis, La Mesa Eco Park administrator, the park has been there since the time of the Marcoses. After decades of being overlooked, with the support of the Quezon City government and other officials, Bantay Kalikasan, private companies and donors, the La Mesa Eco Park on of the oldest park in Quezon City, was revived to a nature park.

December 27, 2004, Annaliza T. Villas, Manila Bulletin

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High-priced RP coffee beans come from animal droppings

2006-06-15T21:13:00.000+08:00

INDANG, Cavite – Its origins might put off some coffee drinkers, but an exotic bean that draws top dollar from connoisseurs is plucked from animal droppings.

Not just any animal. The coffee comes from beans eaten but undigested by the palm civet, a nocturnal, fruit eating cousins of the mongoose that roams tropical forest.

Civet coffee, which some aficionados consider among the world's best, sells in the United States for as much as $660 a kilogram or $300 a pound. Only 250 kg are produced worldwide each year, says Antonio Reyes, Executive Director of the International Coffee Organization Certifying Agency.

Although they normally eat sugar palm nuts, civets prefer the ripest coffee cherries during harvest season, which runs from December into March, but the beans pass through their system undigested and are deposited as sausage-like clumps onto the forest floor.

Reyes says the civet's digestive process, particularly enzymes in its stomach, probably gives the brew its distinctive flavor and aroma.

"It’s a special type of post-harvest processing. It ha been processed in a very natural way," he says.

Smelly or not in the forest, civet coffee in the cup has a "chocolatey aroma and the taste is bold and nutty," says Alvira "Vie" Reyes, a businesswoman who has branched into selling the exotic beans. Other fans described civet coffee as full-bodied with medium acidity and no bitter aftertaste.

Reyes and her husband, Basil, who are not related to Antonio Reyes, are trying to reheat local interest in producing civet coffee around Indang, a coffee- and sugar palm-producing town in Cavite province south of Manila.

Elders here say people used to gather civet dropping so their families could still have coffee even if they sold all their conventionally harvested beans.

Reyes says her company, which mainly makes vinegar from sugar palm sap, has produced only about 25 kg in two years and sold nearly all of it, keeping a little for their own use.

Antonio Reyes says Indonesia, where civet coffee is known as "kopi luwak," is the top producer, but he thinks it's an opportunity for the Philippines.

"If we can make a systematic collection of these droppings and produce them on a more systematic basis, maybe we can have a quantity available that we can produce for the export market," he says.

He says the Philippines, a coffee drinking nation but a small producer, should aim for "small volume but high value" coffee.

"We've been looking for types of coffee that we could sell in a niche market abroad because we don't have the quantity," he says. "But if these are coffees that are unique and different in taste, then we can get value for it."

Eleuterio Balido, a farmer who gathers sugar palm saps to make into vinegar for the Reyes’ company, says he sells a kilogram of dried civet beans for P1,000 ($18), about 45 times what he gets for conventional coffee beans.

The roasted beans are sold locally in 50-gram and 100-gram bottles for P250 ($4.50) and 500 ($9).

Balidio says he forages the forest floor and river banks for civet droppings near his home in Indang. "It's very difficult to look for it. It's like digging for gold."

Back home. He washes the clumps, separates out the beans and dries them in the sun.

"Some are smelly, others are not," he says "If you are lucky, you can gather up to kilo in a day. You just have to be hardworking."

December 28, 2004, Oliver Teves, Manila Standard

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Gordon cites volunteerism as tool of national progress

2006-06-10T00:29:00.000+08:00

Sen. Richard Gordon graciously accepted Friday night the prestigious General Emilio Aguinaldo Award, Cavite's highest honor accorded to civilians, in ceremonies held at the Tagaytay International Convention Center in Tagaytay City.

Gordon was chosen as one of the 10 recipients of the awards for his exemplary service to the community in his various roles as Olongapo City mayor, founding chairman of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA), long time officer of the Philippine National Red Cross, tourism secretary and senator.

"I am deeply honored to receive this award," said Gordon, who currently serves the chairman of the PNRC. "With this, I hope to foster the spirit of volunteerism through which we, as a nation, can rise from adversity and difficult challenges."

The senator was feted for "overcoming great odds in the Philippines" when he:

• Led the conversion of the United States' naval base in Subic Bay into a Bustling free trade zone in the 1990's
• Inspired an army of 8,000 volunteers to preserve the Subic base after the Philippine Senate rejected a treaty extension in 1992, thereby ending a century of US military presence in the Philippine.
• Led numerous relief and rescue operations for over 25 years to aid victims of disasters and conflicts, as seen when he negotiated the release of 18 Abu Sayyaf captives without ransom in 2000.

Aside from Gordon, the other awardees were Efren Abueg (literary arts), Amado Angat (education), Katrina Belamide (music and entertainment), Rodrigo Camia (cooperative service), Capt. Asistio Castaneda Jr. (maritime service), Juan Sajid Imao (sculptural arts), Dr. Gloria Remulla-Lopez (medicine), Evelyn Pantig (tourism service) and former senator Ramon Revellia Sr. (cinematic arts).

Governor Ayong Maliksi hailed the selection of the 10 in the ceremony which saw Environment Secretary Mike Defensor serve as guest of honor and principal speaker.

"We pay tribute to them for their outstanding achievement, their exemplary lives and their individual contributions to social, cultural, educational and economic development of Cavite," Maliksi said. "They have done us proud by their accomplishments," he added.

October 19, 2005, The Philippine Star

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Filipino bands among the world’s bests

2006-06-07T23:27:00.000+08:00

The Philippines is a reservoir of undiscovered band talents who can rock along side the best of the world.

This is the reason why the Philippines was at the very top of the list of Global Battle of the Bands (GBOB) founder Tore Lande and coordinator for the Asian region Arnt Pettersen and when they were looking for new territories international competition.

"Last year, there were 16 countries who joined the world finals, most of which were from Europe and the Americans. It was natural for us then to look at Asia for our expansion," Pettersen reveals.

"Tore was having talks in UK with Indian people who might be interested to have an Indian leg. Lo and behold! They told Tore that if GBOB wants Asian countries to join, The Philippines should be among the first to consider because you would always find Filipino musicians across the Asian club and bar circuit. GBOB would not be complete in Asia if the Philippines is not in," Pettersen continues.

This expansion plan has turned into a reality. GBOB, now on its second year in the international scene, has jumped up to 24. As such, one band representing the Philippines will be testing their mettle against counterparts from Denmark, England, Finland, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Jamaica, Jordan, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Scotland, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, United States, Wales, Canada, Australia, Thailand, Germany, and Mexico.

GBOB has partnered with the Manila Broadcasting Company (MBC) to hold until October a series of weekly, regional, and national eliminations open to both amateurs and professionals. The most basic rule in GBOB is that a band must consist of two to ten members and must play only original, unrecorded songs.

A complete copy of the rules available through the GBOB secretariat (832-6109 / 6156) and the competition website www.gbob.com.

"MBC has a good track record of success and performance. It has a very popular and large network which makes it easier to get the GBOB message across. Above all, we always want to work with people whom we could trust," Pettersen says.

The band that comes out on top of this grueling elimination round earns the right to go all-expenses-paid to London, England as the Philippine representative playing for US $100,000. Win or lose in the international competition, the Philippine representative will also come home to commercial endorsement deal with Asia Brewery and a recording contract.

To sweeten the pot, MBC will be providing cash prizes throughout the Philippine leg of GBOB. P20,000 await weekly winner who will advance to the regional finals. Weekly competition to be held in Ratsky Malate, Mora to, and Cebu and other popular live band venues in Baguio and Davao will be shown over RPN Channel 9.

Ten band will advance to the national finals where P500,000, P300,000 and P200,000 await the first, second and third placers. The seven other bands that make it to the national finals will receive P100,000 each.

Before organizing GBOB, Pettersen and Lande belonged to a popular Norwegian rock band. The pair has been organizing several battles of the bands across Scandinavia since the 70s.

Pettersen gives this tip to Filipino bands that are thinking about playing original Filipino composition, "Music is universal. Music speaks from the heart and from the soul that one doesn't need any specific language to understand the message. We also know lots of songs making it big in the international arena that are not even in English."

"There are so many competitions for solo artist all over the world. Nothing of this magnitude and scope has been held specifically targeting band music. This is more relevant too in the Philippine landscape because you have lots of talent here albeit untapped. Filipinos are among the world’s best in music. You’ve proven this time and time again," he concludes.

04 September, 2004, Manila Bulletin

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Fine jewelry exports up 71 %

2006-06-03T20:28:00.000+08:00

The country's export of the fine jewelry by 71 percent over last year's total value, Maria Luisa Diokno Unson, President of the Guild of Philippine Jewelers (GPJ), said yesterday.

Unson said the GPJ, the country's largest organization of fine jewelry makers, is mounting a targeted campaign increase orders of foreign buyers in the ornament categories of gold, silver, pearl.

Confident of its medium to high-value wares, GPJ is also out to get the most support it can from the local market.

On Oct. 18 to 21, the GPJ mounts an exhibit at the Manila F.A.M.E. International, Asia Pacific’s second longest running bi-annual trade show, at reception Hall of the Philippine International Convention Center.

Unson said 13-member-companies presenting at the Manila F.A.M.E. are Alcon Jewelry Inc., Dam Good Stuff, Inc., DJ Distinction House of Jewels, Goldenas Jeweler Inc., Jeweler, Lanero Jewelry, Marcelles, Moisanite, New Life Jewelry, Oro Y Plata, Sterling Gifts Inc. and Yamang Katutubo.

The guild's presence at the Manila F.A.M.E. also provides strategic head start for its selling show, which is set on Nov. 18 to 20, 2005 at the Power Plant Mall. International buyers have been invited to this show where 18 GPJ members participate.

In both shows, clients well set eyes on GPJ members' craftsmanship in the execution of jewelry designs for time-held favorite and for sets that denote wearer's preferences for the new, the ethnic exotic, the avant-garde, says Unson.

Unson said GPJ is also visible in international shows. This year several GPJ members came from successful participation in the Influential Vicenza Oro 1 and 2 and the OroGemma in Vicenza, Italy as well as the well-attended Hong Kong Jewelry and Watch Fair at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center.

Funds for their overseas exposure, training and the other forms of assistance have been partly provided by support agencies, among them Canada’s CIDA Pearl 2, the confederation of Philippine Exporters and DTI's Center for International Trade Expositions and Missions, recounts Unson.

"As a whole, we continue to grapple with many concerns affecting the industry, ranging from the slow implementation of the Jewelry Development Act to changing modes of business transactions on the part of foreign buyers and suppliers," she narrated. "But with concerted effort, the guild is optimistic these are all surmountable, enabling us to take up the wide spectrum of opportunities awaiting us," she says.

October 17, 2005, The Philippine Star

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Eraserheads still flag bearer of Pinoy pop-alternative

2006-05-28T14:49:00.000+08:00

Here's a legend any Filipino music lover would attest to be true:

A dozen years ago, four brilliant but then underrated musicians cast rocks into a pond.

Then lo' and behold! Instead of causing ripples, it created a tsunami that swallowed everything in sight.

They were the Eraserheads. The pond was Original Pilipino Music.

And the tsunami was pop alternative; proudly Pinoy, made flesh then and has dwelt among us since. The end. Not.

Years after Ely Buendia, Raymond Marasigan, Buddy Zabala and Marcos Adoro a.k.a. Eraserheads has parted ways, the music of the acknowledged flag bearer of Pinoy pop alternative music continues to course through the veins of the very generation they defined.

It's all because they made nine groundbreaking studio albulms collectively sold more than a million copies; churned out, oh, only just about dozen or so hit singles that composed the collective soundtrack of a nation and; won every imaginable award the industry could give them.

And though some of their disciples seem to have move on to R&B or acid jazz, trance or acoustic music and maybe even other pop alternative bands, make no mistake about it:

All still feel "Ligaya" and welcome "Toyang" "With A Smile" when they see her "Minsan" during "Sembreak;" standing under a "Maselang Bahagri" in the "Alapaap," just above the "Tindahan Ni Aling Nena" beside the "Magasin" stand where she dances "Ang Huling El Bimbo" in "Overdrive."

Who's "Toyang?," "Wag Mo Nang Itanong," "Pare Ko."

More fantastically, The Eraserheads still serves as shining example to today's new artists, whether they admit it or not.

They admit – hence, "ultraelectromagneticjam."

Slated to become the biggest OPM album of 2005, the 17-track album produced by Jam 88.3 and distributed by Sony BMG Music Entertainment is composed of refurbished Eraserheads' tunes done by an all-star roster tapped from diverse genres in the current OPM umbrella.

These are Paolo Santos (who did "Magasin"); Radioactive Sago ("Alcohol"); Imago ("Spolarium"); Isha ("Torpedo"); MYMP ("Wag Mo Nang Itanong"); Orange & Lemons ("Wag Kang Matatakot"); Rico J Puno ("Ang Huling El Bimbo"); Kitchie Nadal ("Ligaya"); Barbie Almalbis ("Overdrive"); Sponge Cola ("Pare Ko"); 6CycleMind ("Alapaap"); FrancisM with Hardware Syndrome ("Super Proxy"); Cueshe ("Hard To Believe"); Brownman Revival ("Maling Akala"); South Border ("With A Smile") and; Sugarfree ("Tikman").

Eric Perpetua, Associate Program Director of Jam 88.3 who masterminded the tribute album for this unlikely radio station to bankroll it, says pulling together "utraelectromagneticjam" would’ve been a Herculean task had things not fallen into place.

"When I started doing this album, there were so many difficult hurdles," says Eric. "Will Eraserheads give their imprimatur? Will Sony BMG Music Entertainment allow it? How will artists to the project? Which Eraserheads song will each do? And how does one give the justice to E-heads' songs without being derivative?"

Fortunately, the gods of alternative music were listening and so sent friendly arrows along the way. When Eric broached the idea to Sony BMG Music Entertainment that owns the band's catalogue, they readily gave their go signal – provided only named bands do the work "as befitting the stature of the Eraserheads." So one down. Somewhat.

Next, Eric spoke to prospective top artists. You know, the ones who don't need to be "bothered" at this point to contribute to a compilation are already busy plotting their next albums, promoting their current touring all over and / or going back and forth to the bank.

The response Eric got from them floored him.

"Everyone jumped at the idea!" says Eric. "It's as if, they, were waiting for something like this to happen. All were excited; couldn't wait to hit the studio. Like us, the only question on their lips was But which Eraserheads song?"

Unknown to them, Eric has been reviewing the works of The Eraserheads. See, he was hoping of suggesting the right songs to them if they so much ask.

Unknown to him, no one had intentions of doing so – after all, each artist already has his own favorite E-heads' song long before "ultraelectromagneticjam" came up.

These choices would tickle a smile from any The Eraserhead's fan and, maybe, even from the boys themselves.

Isha, known for her Tori Amos-eque piano-and-vocals ways, lets it all rock a change while adding a quirk to 'Torpedo;' a song with lyrics that predisposes it for a male!

Ditto with Kitchie Nadal who couldn't keep a straight face (caught on record) while mouthing the line "ilang buhok pa ba ang aahitin?" from "Ligaya." To this day, she won't say which crop from which part of her body she was thinking of then.

As for Imago and Radioactive Sago Project, who would've foreseen them doing unreleased E-heads' singles? The first dredged up "Spolarium" from the album "Sticker Happy" and made it single material. The second did "Alkohol" circa-"Circus" in fashion that provides liquid, even if that be liquor, seeks its own level.

And remember "Superproxy" that Eraserheads and Francsis Magalona team up? This time, they turn the tables on each other with Francis doing the singing and Ely busting the rhymes!

Wild. Crazy. Out of the box. But then, did anyone really expect different from anything that involves Eraserheads music?

"People have asked me, 'Why the Eraserheads?' The reasons are simple: No other band has made an impression and impact as big as they have on the music scene. No other band can create musical magic the way Ely, Marcus, Raymund and Buddy do when they come together. No other band is as witty, cheeky, spunky and as Filipino when it comes to lyrics. No one comes close to the Eraserheads, then and now," says Eric. Amen.

To the credit of all who participated in this landmark album, these (approximating all the above) were never an issue, anyway. Instead, all went into the studio with a mind to pay tribute to greatness – the essence of which is universality and, most of all, individuality that allow it to be remodeled successfully any which way.

Indeed, there's simply no right way of doing Eraserheads music. All are valid; all can only add to inexhorable, inexhaustible template.

By the way, Eric did get the blessings of every Eraserheads member. Maybe not as quickly as he wanted. But he did.

"Maybe approval was not as forthright because they did not think I was serious. So many have attempted to pull this off in the past in vain, that's why. But we were lucky. And now that the album is out, we say that we are honored," Says Eric.

And where better to launch the album on Nov. 29 than in UP Diliman, the alma mater of Eraserheads?

To be participated in by all of those involved in the fruition of the album, one can rightfully suspect it will turn out to be event of the year, too.

Now, nobody's sure if the Eraserheads would be there, of course.

But nobody doubts it would be one "ultraelectromagneticjam."

November 27, 2005, Manila Bulletin

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eLGU project starts to lift off the ground

2006-05-25T22:13:00.000+08:00

When RA 8792, known as the E-commerce law, was passed in 2000, it mandated all agencies of government to use electronic means in government transaction within two years.

Three years after the deadline, it is not clear if the agencies concerned have sufficiently complied with the provision of the law.

But Manila-based bureaus have yet to make significant strides in digitizing their functions, local government units (LGUs) in the countryside are staging the quiet revolution in their attempt to make electronic transactions a real part of their everyday business.

This momentum was primarily triggered by a program called eLGU (Jumpstarting Electronic Governance in Local Government), an initiative of the National Computer Center (NCC) in collaboration with he department of Science and Technology.

Two components under the program, the development of E-Government Applications for LGU and the community eCenter project- are aimed at building up the technological capability and access for the municipalities and the rural folks.

At a recent opening of a Community eCenter in Lubao, Pampanga, these initiatives have started to make it presence felt for the town and its people.

The Mayor, Dennis Pineda, said the municipality is almost done in converting its paper records to a computerized database.

"We started in January but it's taking some time because it is manual process of inputting all our records into the database. But once we finished this, we expect to have a smooth sailing."

October 31, 2005, Melvin Claimag, Manila Bulletin

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Eggplant now RP’s top vegetable crop – UPLB

2006-05-23T23:40:00.000+08:00

Time was when eggplant was just ordinary vegetable crop.

The common notion then, too, was that it had low nutritional value.

Now, it is the country’s number one vegetable in terms of volume of production (about 179,000 tons per year valued at almost P2 billion) and hectares (some 20,000 hectares, almost one-third of them in the Ilocos Region).

The once “lowly” talong also has been found to have a high anti-oxidant property in a study done by the UP Los Banos Institute of Plant Breeding (UPLB-IBP) with funding support form the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Agricultural Research (DA-BAR).

These were among the eggplant’s qualities shared by Dr. Desiree Hautea, UPLB-IBP director, and cyber press journalists from Luzon whom attended a workshop on biotechnology held in Los Banos, Laguna, last Sept. 28-29.

Billed “Media Workshop: Understanding and having Fun with biotechnology,” the activity was part of the continuing education program on modern biotechnology by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and research in Agriculture-Biotechnology Information Center (SEARCA –BIC), Agricultural Biotechnology Support Program III (ABPII), and Philippine Science Journalists Association, Inc. (Psci-Journ).

Records show that as of 1999, eggplant had displaced tomato as the country’s number one vegetable crop, according to UPLB-IBP scientists.

Encouragingly, too, talong has been found to be among the best health crops.

Dr. Hautea said eggplant has an antioxidant property, as confirmed by a study done by UPLB researchers led by Dr. Virgilio Garcia.

Antioxidants, known as the “modern-day anti-aging nutrients,” are phytochemicals or substances (mostly present in vegetables and fruits) that neutralized or counterbalance the free radicals generated by the body during normal metabolism (chemical changes in living cells).

A report of the Los Banos-based Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and development (PCARRD) also stated:

“Free radicals are the most vicious and the most toxic by-products of metabolism. When not neutralized, they can travel through the body cells, disrupting the structures of proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates, and cause cell damage. Such damage is believed to contribute to aging and degenerative diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, stroke, cataract, and the like.”

In the UPLB study, eggplant exhibited the highest antioxidant (98.68 percent). It was followed by sayote (93 percent), ampalaya (91 percent) alugbati (90 percent), sitao (89.78 percent), and malungay (89.61 percent).

Now, you can stuff yourself with eggplant and be healthy.

October 16, 2005, Rudy Fernandez, Philippine Star

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Canadian firm confirms presence of high grade gold and silver in South Cotabato

2006-05-20T20:48:00.000+08:00

GENERAL SANTOS CITY (PNA) – A Canadian mining firm working on a proposed large-scale mining operation in T’boli, South Cotabato has confirmed the presence of a potentially high-grade gold and silver resource base in the area.

Alicia Nicholson, director of the Sur American Gold Corp. (SAGC), said the company’s ongoing explorations have yielded favorable results that enhanced the viability of the area’s gold and copper deposits.

“The high-grade gold-silver veins at T’boli rremain open at depth and along strike and the potential for further substantial additions to the source both within the initial block and surrounding areas are considered by the company to be excellent,” she said in a statement.

Nicholson said the company’s 2,700 hectare T’boli gold-silver epithermal project has outlined an inferred resource more than 400,000 ounces of gold and 1,500,000 ounces of silver.

The initial drilling results showed the resourced grading at 5.5 grams per ton (g/t) of gold and 21g/t silver.

The company and its local partner Tribal Mining Corp. (ITMC) have established a mineral processing plant to accelerate its ongoing exploration activities.

The company acquired a small carbon in-pulp (CIP) plant to facilitate the treatment of the mineral ores.

Rennie Blair, SAGC president, said the purchase of the plant will hasten its exploration activities which are focused on “conducting tunnel mapping and sampling as well as trenching over many areas of the deposit to confirm previous grades and determine the bulk mining potential in western areas of the deposit.”

Since last year, Blair said the company has undertaken necessary infrastructure projects which include the rehabilitation of the main access tunnel and the preparation of the tunnel portal area for necessary electrical office installation.

The T’boli area is located in area of high grade epithermal gold and silver veins and stockworks. At this very early stage of the project development, management considers the projects to have a potential in the order of 500,000 to 5 million ounces of gold with silver credits to date showing a 4:1 silver-gold ratio,” the company said.

It added that the T’boli projects “has great potential to host a much larger resource than currently defined.”

SAGC and TMC, which is mainly composed of local businessmen, started its exploration area two years ago after acquiring a 40-percent equity interest in the latter.

October 31, 2005

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Coco-biodiesel producer sets sights on overseas markets

2006-05-18T22:05:00.000+08:00

Chemrez Incorp., one of the two certified distributors of coco-methyl ester(CME) or coco-biodiesel products in the country, is planning to export its output to Japan, Korea and Taiwan.

Chemrez Operations Manager Dean Lao Jr. said that once their multi-billion peso coco-diesel plant went full stream, the company would need a market for its output.

Lao said there is a need for the lawmakers to pass the Biofuels Law that would mandate the use of one percent coco-biodiesel blend in the transport sector.

“Initially, our preference is to sell CME domestically. God knows we need it more than Japan. But if we remain slow in adopting it (law), when the plant is up and we will have to keep it running – then we will have to export it first,” he said.

According to Lao, it is high time for the Philippines to pass a law to develop such environment-friendly and cost-affective alternative fuels in the light of the continued rise in global oil prices.

“Japan, Korea, Taiwan. But, a lot of these countries are starting their biofuel law. Just like Malaysia they just passed a law mandating the use of bio-diesel by five percent to take effect by 2007. We hope we could be ahead of them in terms of implementation. There are markets that will be served by competing countries, as everything will now depend on the price of vegetable oil – coconut oil is not the cheapest oil. The cheapest oil is palm oil – so the palm oil producing countries like Malaysia and Indonesia will have an advantage on price,” Lao explained.

But Lao said the country should take the advantage of having an abundant supply of coconut.

“The Philippines, since we’re using coconut oil and though expensive, will have the advantage on the property of the bio-diesel. Its proven time and time again that coconut diesel is better,” he said.

Lao said the industry is looking forward to the commitment of Congress to pass the law within the year.

Lao said there is a sufficient supply of CME in the country. “The export volume is actually big and could take the entire production of the country and will still be insufficient. We want to set aside 70 million liters for the country a year and just export supply surplus,” he added.

Chemrez is putting up the country’s first biodiesel-dedicated manufacturing plant in Asia worth P2.2 billion.

The company is currently constructing Phase I of the in Eastwood, Quezon City and they would spend about P650 million. Target completion is on March 2006.

Phase 2 which would be three times bigger than initial phase, would involve another P1.5 billion capital which will be undertaken by the company within the next two to three years.

October 17, 2005, Donnabelle L. Gatdula, Philippine Star

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Canada toasts outstanding Filipino-Canadians

2006-05-16T23:01:00.000+08:00

Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines Peter Sutherland recently hosted a luncheon at the Canadian official residence in Makati City to honor distinguished Filipino-Canadians who were given the presidential Banaag and Pamana ng Pilipino Awards by no less than President Arroyo in ceremonies in Malacanang recently.

These Presidential Awards are given biennially to outstanding Filipino individuals and private organizations for advancing the cause of Filipino communities abroad or for supporting specific sectors and communities in the Philippines.

The awards were organized by the Philippines’ Commission for Overseas Workers and the Department of Foreign Affairs though the Philippine embassies and consulates worldwide.

“It is a pleasure meeting our awardees today. It is an exceptional honor to be recognized out of the 400,000 Filipino-Canadians and the eight million Filipinos living outside the Philippines,” Sutherland said to more than 30 special guests who were invited to meet the honorees.

“You are worthy ambassadors not just for the Philippines but for Canada as well. You are distinguished both by your professional accomplishment and for what you have contributed to your communities in Canada and in the Philippines. We can all learn from your example.”

This year’s recipients of the Presidential citations included two individuals and to organizations: Lawyer Alicia Natividad from Ottawa, the first Filipina lawyer admitted to the Ontario Bar, and founder of the Canada-Philippines Business Council; Art Viola, former Mayor and two-time Deputy Mayor of Niagara-on-the-Lake; the renowned Fiesta Filipina Dance Troupe from Toronto, and the acclaimed Panday Tinig Choral Ensemble from Montreal, both honored for promoting Filipino culture to foreign audiences.

December 27, 2006, The Philippine Star

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AFP Literacy Drive Gets DepED Prize

2006-05-16T00:28:00.000+08:00

PALO, Leyte – A military project designed to combat rural illiteracy and ultimately reduce the problem of insurgency in Northern Samar won this year’s national search for the “Most Outstanding Literacy program” conducted by the National Literacy Council (NLC), an agency under the Office of the President but attached to the Department Education (DepEd).

DepEd Region 8 Director Dr. Sol Forcadilla- Matugas identified the winning program as the “Army Literacy Patrol System” (ALPS) of the Army’s 63rd Infantry Batallion based in Catubig town under the command of Lt. Col. Manuelito R. Usi.

Matuga said ALPS was the official regional entry of Eastern Visayas to the NLC’s 2005 competion for best literacy program.

Lt. Col. Usi, who has always believed the education is vital towards reducing the spread of insurgency in the countryside, personally received a presidential trophy, during an appropriate rites held recently at the Manila Pavillion.

The rare occasion was witnessed by Matugas and other DepEd 8 officials including Northern Samar Schools Diversion Superintended Dr.Thelma Catubig and Dr. Linda C. Cinco, regional chief of the DepEd’s Bureau of Alternative Learning System (BALS).

Matugas said that the ALPS, launched several years ago by the Army battalion commander, through coordination with the DepEd regional office, has benefited thousands of Northern Samar villagers, mostly illiterate adults who failed to complete their elementary education and out of-school youths who dropped out of elementary or secondary school largely due to poverty.

The project, Matugas said, utilizes qualified Army enlisted men as mentors, most of whom have earned some academic units in college, to teach rural folks in one barangay basic literacy skills, notably reading, writing and numeracy.

After the local learners complete the literacy course, the soldier-teachers, who are provided supervisory assistance by DepEd field officials, move to another barangay and repeat their instructional work to another group of “students.”

According to Matugas, the ALPS has been noted by many concerned local government officials to be “slowly but surely combating the evils of insurgency in the countryside.”

Matugas said she has directed the DepEd regional office Alternative Learning System Division to strengthen its support to the Army’s literacy project so it could continue performing its commendable work.

October 22, 2005, Tony Pe Rimando, Manila Bulletin

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ABS-CBN expects hefty profits from Internet TV

2006-05-09T01:17:00.000+08:00

ABS-CBN expects its Internet television business to be a major revenue earner as company officials project number of subscribers to easily double by next year.

Through ABS-CBNnow!, an internet based video-on-demand service, viewers primarily the overseas Filipino workers, anywhere in the world can watch ABS-CBN programs using a personal computer with high-speed Internet or broadband connection.

ABS-CBNnow! sales and marketing director Rowell Tolentino revealed that their Internet TV service currently has 23,000 subscriber worldwide.

“Our target is to add another 23,000 by next year or to double existing subscriber base. We also expect average revenue per user to increase,” he said.

The biggest share of our subscriber comes from Filipinos in the United States, more than 8,000 of who have subscribed to ABS-CBNnow!

Another 6,000 are in the United Kingdom, 4,000 in Canada, and the rest in Korea, Japan, and the Philippines, and other Asian countries.

In the Philippines, there around 7000 customer for the service which was launched in April last year.

While the Middle East is a potentially huge market, Tolentino said the limitation is that Filipinos there have no credit cards.

“Their option is to have their relatives in the Philippines buy the prepaid cards and just send the personal identification number (PIN) to them,” he suggested.

In Japan, he disclosed that a Japanese broadband provider which has 15 million subscribers is currently in talks with ABS-CBNnow! for the latter to provide content.

Tolentino revealed that their subscribers base has been increasing at a rate of more than 1,000 every month.

For subscription fee of $4.95 per month, Filipinos abroad can access through the Internet 87 ABS-CBN shows, in addition to pay per view shows for which they can pay $1.99 per show for a seven-day access period.

He said that ABS-CBN will continue to add shows to the menu. “The key to making ABS-CBNnow! is to improve the content,” Tolentino stressed.

Just recently, ABS-CBNnow!, in partnership with BTI Global Communications Japan launched a new type prepaid card service in Japan. Dubbed as an “E-wallet” prepaid card, it has features to make calls, text, and payments for ABS-CBNnow! and Pinoy Big Brother licenses.

In most countries, subscribers can pay either through credit cards, G-cash, prepaid dealer pins, and money orders.

October 10, 2005, Mary Ann Ll. Reyes, PhilStar

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BEST OF PINOYS - ECONOJET CAR FUEL SAVER

2006-03-12T02:01:00.000+08:00

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How does it improve engine performance?

Improved compression pressure, good spark production and ideal air-fuel mixture complete the three conditions in proper engine operation, resulting to better engine performance.

When the air-fuel mixture is close to the ideal air-fuel ratio at idling condition, the engine is burning fuel efficiently.

A slightly higher temperature in the combustion chamber occurs that cleans the chamber and spark plug from unburned carbon deposits.

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City Hall Clock Tower to Become Tourist Lure

2006-03-02T21:39:00.000+08:00

Manila Mayor Jose Atienza, Jr. is planning to transform the City Hall clock tower into a tourist attraction, Reynaldo Gatchalian, the city hall’s building superintendent and maintenance officer, said.

Gatchalian said an executive lounge will be built near the clock tower as an observatory station where department heads of the Manila city government would hold their weekly meeting.

An elevator will also be put up to transport sightseers to the clock, which is located at the 11th floor of the City Hall tower.

Atienza earlier ordered the repair of the clock tower s mechanism to give an accurate and synchronized time.

Aside from the replacement of the clock’s mechanism, its architectural design has also been redone to enhance its historical value.

Two clock keepers are tasked to check the mechanism of the clock daily to ensure that it is in good working condition all the time.

Prior to the clock’s restoration, foreign engineers from Italy and Switzerland were tasked by the previous administration to repair the neglected clock, Gatchalian said.

Gatchalian said there were many clock repair crews who attempted to revive the clock. Despite its repair, electromechanical disorders kept stalling the clock’s mechanism. It was finally repaired when P100,000 worth of local spare parts were installed.

Upon Atienza’s order, Gatchalian led the repair of the clock tower’s mechanism and the installation of a sound system, complete with a CD (compact disc) player and high-fidelity speakers that would chime every 15 minutes as well as every hour.

Gatchalian said Atienza insisted on synchronizing the time shown on the four clocks outside the City Hall building, especially the clock tower, for one main reason - to see where the city and the people are heading.

“If you can’t run the clocks, how can you run a city effectively. We need to see the time to know where we are heading,”Gatchalian said in the vernacular. He said that just like Atienza, he believes that synchronizing the clock s time is both a symbol and a necessity.

The clock has become one of the most recognizable landmarks in the city.

June 12, 2005, Manila Bulletin

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Marikina Leads The Way

2006-02-20T02:00:00.000+08:00

Marikina City is carving out a 66-kilometer lane from its thoroughfare for the exclusive use of bicycles as an alternative transport to mitigate the effects of surging world oil prices.

Ms. Carlota Contreras, officer-in-charge of the Marikina City Bikeways Office, said the bikeways project began when the Department of Public Works and Highways proposed a pilot component of the Metro Manila Urban Transport Integration project for a non-motorized pedestrian and bicycle path in Marikina to connect communities with employment centers and Light Railway Transit (LRT) stations.

Besides saving on fare transport, bike riding is also good for one’s health, particularly the heart, Marikina officials led by Mayor Marides Fernando said.

“This non-motorized transport component includes a network of about 66 kilometers of bikeways, 50 kms of which will be developed along existing roads and 16 kms of bikeways along the Marikina river banks,” Contreras said.

Local officials in the metropolis have expressed their support for the creation of bike lanes proposed by the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

Among local government units in Metro Manila, Marikina City, located in the eastern part of the metropolis, is the only local government unit that has embarked on an integrated bikeways system.

Marikina has already planned an efficient and economical way of easing perennial traffic by allocating a bicycle lane for the commuting public long before the oil crisis.

Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Bayani Fernando who was then the mayor of Marikina requested the World Bank for assistance for funding.

“Because of proper traffic management, Fernando thought it is possible for the creation of the bicycle lanes as part of the city’s transport network,” Contreras said.

Of the 66-kilometer proposed bicycle lanes, Marikina has completed 30 kilometers. “We are targeting to finish by February next year 16 kilometers of the bike lanes,” she said.

In 1999, the World Bank released $1.3 million as grant for the bikeway project. Despite the grant, the city government shouldered 85 percent of the project cost.

“Financial assistance from foreign institutions is not enough. The city has to allocate its own so we can continue with the project. Here in Marikina, we are determined in finishing and promoting to our people the bicycle program,” she said.
“The bikeways project shares a big pie in the financing of the city government. We are not entirely dependent on grants,” she added.

Contreras said Marikina is the pilot city in the implementation of a bikeways system and is certain other LGUs will follow suit.

The bike lane is considered by President Arroyo as one way of decongesting Metro Manila and an alternative to save on fuel.

Rudy Lamco, an officer of the Ondabag Cycling Club, expressed elation over the MMDA proposal to create bicycle lanes in the metropolis.

“We in the club are happy because the government has considered coming up with bike considered coming up with bike lanes it is a necessity especially nowadays,” Lamco said, as he stressed the various benefits of cycling.

Among the benefits include physical exercise, savings on fuel and transport fares.
“Riding a bike is discipline. It’s a personal thing. You can go on adventure outdoors and meet friends by biking. We could grow by simple riding a bicycle,” he said.

Roberto Tapales, a Marikina resident, said he would rather use his bike in going around the city, especially when he would visit his relatives in a nearby subdivision.

“Instead of taking a tricycle ride or jeepney ride, I would rather use my bike since these bike lanes proved to be very useful and safe,” he said.

The bikeway office conducts bicycle safety education campaign to schoolchildren 10 years old and above.

Lamco said their club, one of the volunteer cycling clubs in the city, helps in teaching the basic fundamentals and skills of biking to schools.

“Many people think that biking is dangerous. That’s why we need to instill the safety precautions of riding bikes to the people, especially the young ones,” Lamco said.

The city has bike patrol volunteers that roam around the city, and report any untoward incidents to the police.

Bicycle riders have easier access to various areas in the city since the bike lanes interconnect the different barangays.

As part of promoting urban cycling in the city, the bikeways office has initiated several programs for the riding public.

Among these include an interest-free bicycle loan program for low-income city employees, Bike Night at the Marikina Sports Park which encourages women and children to bike and holding an annual summer cycling events and competitions.

August 28, 2005, Manila Bulletin

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Indons Flock to Davao to Enrol in TVI Courses

2006-02-18T00:28:00.000+08:00

DAVAO CITY - Indonesians are flocking to this Southern Philippines trade and education center to undergo technical vocational trainings (TVTs), specifically on automotive mechanics and electronics, because studying here are higher than in their own country.

The assessment was made by Egmedio Valdez, officer-in-charge of the Korea-Philippines Vocational Training Center (KPVTC), in the wake of increasing interest among many Indonesians to study at KPVTC in this city.

On September 12, 2005, the first batch of 20 Indonesians will arrive in Davao City to undergo a two-month training on vocational courses.

The Indonesian trainees will undergo an on-the-job training (OJT) for two weeks in the city’s industrial plants after completing the course.

Valdez said only 20 of the 60 Indonesians who underwent the prescreening at the KPVTC passed the assessment examinations.

He said most of the examinees failed both in theory and practice.

“This indicates that the Philippines is ahead of Indonesia in terms of technical vocational skills, specifically on industrial automation and mechatronics,” Valdez explained.

KPVTC was created in accordance with the Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation between the Philippine and Korean governments signed in 1983.
The Korean government provided a grant aid of $5 million for the project, which included the construction of the center at the Technical Education Skills Development Authority (TESDA) regional training center complex in Davao.

August 28, 2005, Manila Bulletin

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