Olongapo Subic Volunteers

New SBMA Chairman and Administrator/CEO

2011-04-19T08:53:00.001+08:00

Outgoing execs welcome new SBMA officials
Arreza said Reyes was “a fellow volunteer at the SBMA” when it was overseen by its founding chair, former Sen. Richard Gordon.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view/20110418-331858/Outgoing-execs-welcome-new-SBMA-officials
Outgoing execs welcome new SBMA officials - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos
newsinfo.inquirer.net
SUBIC BAY FREEPORTOutgoing Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Administrator Armand Arreza said over the weekend that he was preparing to step down and give way to President Benigno Aquino IIIs newly appointed SBMA team.
23 hours ago · Like · Comment
Chii Villeza, Emily Gillispie and Arlene Dyon Montilla-Velasco like this.
Leonardo Perez As one of the original SBMA volunteers,
21 hours ago
Leonardo Perez Reyes, he is a good man & deserve the position. Congrats sir!!
21 hours ago
Olongapo City Subic Bay News Philippines
Congratulations to the graduates of Lorraine Technical School!

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150163378562295&set=a.10150163376877295.298638.734807294&type=1
Lorraine Technical School - 47th Commencement Exercises
www.facebook.com/subicbaynews April 16, 2011 Theme: Manggagawang Magaling, Produkto ng Kasanayang Teknikal
By: Edwin Piano
Yesterday at 7:26am · Like · Comment
Carolyn Mitchell, Manny Mendoza Libut, Amelita Reg Biasong and 3 others like this.
Olongapo City Subic Bay News Philippines
Palace appointed new executives of the SBMA.

Roberto V. Garcia replaces Feliciano Salonga as chairman.

Rafael L. Reyes replaces Armand Arreza as SBMA administrator/CEO

Alfonso S.P. Siapno replaces Ariel Bonaventura B. Castro as member-representative of the private sector

Wilfredo S. Pineda replaces Mr. Garcia as member-representative of the business/investment sectors
Saturday at 8:27pm · Like · Comment
Jose Cruz Jr., Usman Aththas and 2 others like this.
Danah Mae Villanueva oh ok
Saturday at 8:32pm · 1 person
Danah Mae Villanueva kelan magiging chairman si roberto v. garcia admin?
Saturday at 8:46pm · 1 person
Olongapo City Subic Bay News Philippines
New set of Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority Directors w/ appointment until 2016 >>> Roberto V. Garcia - Chairman
Rafael L. Reyes - CEO
Benjamin Antonio III
Philip Camara
Ramon Sesdoyro
Norberto Sosa
Gerald Sam Del Rosario
Francis Garcia
Bienvenido Benitez
Alfonso S.P. Siapno
Wilfredo S. Pineda

Restore Hope and Rebuild our Country

2006-04-16T11:39:00.000+08:00

"The Eagle Will Not Fly Without the Poor"
By Antonio P. Meloto, Gawad Kalinga
Ateneo de Manila University Commencement Exercises
25 March 2006

I asked some members of the senior class last week why they chose me as their commencement speaker. I have no business empire. I hold no political power. And I am no academic genius. I am just an ordinary Filipino, a graduate of the Ateneo, who did not even excel as a student... just an ordinary man who loves to tell stories about the extraordinary things that people are doing for our country today.

And they told me--- because I represent a movement that presents hope at this time when many in our country are in despair. You are lookiing for hope in me, but I am here to tell you that this school and the other members of this university have been a source of hope and inspiration for me in the last three years.

When Father Ben Nebres and the Ateneo Board of Trustees bestowed the Ozanam Award on Gawad Kalinga through me on July 23, 2003, they triggered A REVOLUTION OF HOPE in the Ateneo...sweeping the Ateneo from grade school, high school, college, to the Alumni... then leading the way for other universities, corporations, government institutions and Filipino organizations abroad to follow their example and joining the bandwagon for nation building. The Ateneo is showing the world that "The eagle will not fly without the poor".

Thank you Father Ben for your great love for our country and for inspiring the young to make a difference in the lives of our people.

Caring for the poor and restoring the dignity of the Filipino in his own country have now become an urgent mission for Filipinos here and abroad. This is not just healing for our country's poor and neglected but it is healing for me and many like me as well.

Unknown to most of you, for 32 years it wasn't easy for me to return to Ateneo. I didn't come to the reunions and homecomings, simply because of a sense of guilt of a person who grew up with the suffering poor but later forgot them after I got an Ateneo education. I was so focused on repackaging, and building up myself that I forgot the accompanying responsibility that came with the privilege of an Ateneo scholarship. I forgot the poor... I left them behind. I left them like so many others before me.

There are many who blame the rich and powerful for the plight of the poor. I know there is basis for the accusations but I cannot bring myself to blame them. How could I expect them to love the poor whom they do not know when I grew up poor and yet forgot to help them, too.

I realized my great shortcoming as a Filipino in 1985 when I joined Couples for Christ. It was then that I found my faith and grew a conscience and decided to live a righteous life... to correct the mistakes and the injustice committed to our country and to our people by people like me. Couples for Christ taught me to repent for my sins and to be genuinely sorry for the things I failed to do for my country and for my people.

I am really sorry for the state of things, because of my failure to do something about it. And many are now sorry, just like myself because of this state of degradation... But feeling sorry is not enough. Sorry does not restore beauty, sorry does not restore dignity, sorry does not restore the plan of God for man. Sorry begins it, but sorry is not enough.

What needs to be done is to bring sorry to action, to convert regret to reform, to lift apathy to compassion and development. We who have not done well by the talents and treasures we have been gifted with, we who have abdicated our responsibility of shepherding the poor and the young to their birthright of enjoying the treasures of a beautiful and abundant country, we who have seen the errors of our ways and are sorry --- we must now restore what we destroyed... or allowed to be destroyed.

Because the Ateneo is a Christian university which believes in the mission of forming students to become persons for others, the principle of good over evil goes beyond the fundamental understanding of right and wrong. It is not enough not to do wrong. To battle evil, we must do good. The path of reform and transformation for Ateneans... for Christians, must be one of peace. It must believe that good is more powerful than evil, and only in the exercise of good can evil be eliminated. Thus, the path of reform and transformation, personal and social, must be a path of good works.

Build homes. Build communities. Build capacities. Restore dignity. Restore abundance. Restore beauty. Restore peace. Build and restore, build and restore.
And you did! The eagle has landed in Payatas. Because you could not bring the poor of Payatas to Ateneo, you brought Ateneo to the poor of Payatas. In this once desolate place, you restored dignity, you have brought back hope!

The former squatters now have security in their land. You transformed 200 shanties -- the slum and the garbage have now become a beautiful middle class community. Crime has virtually disappeared. Forrmer streetchildren are now in school. The idle have been motivated to find employment and are now living productive lives. Nawala ang sindikato sa lupa, sa tubig, at sa ilaw. You have transformed hell into a piece of heaven... all because you cared, you shared and you learned to work together. The grade school worked with their parents, the high school students gave up their parties... the college students gave up their weekends. And the Alumni from all over the world also helped.

I salute and honor the eagles of Payatas, especially Steph Limuaco, former President of the Ateneo Student Council and now full-time worker of Ateneo for Gawad Kalinga, students, parents, the caretaker team from CFC and Mayor Sonny Belmonte who not only paved the way for the poor to own the land in Payatas but also paved the roads.

Again you performed the same miracle in Gabaldon!
The surviving flood victims who were once squatters living in dangerous areas now have their own land in sites that have been cleared as environmentally safe and their own sturdy homes. Now the people are growing their own food and planting trees. Land for the landless, homes for the homeless, food for the hungry... For this I honor Mark Lawrence Cruz, the 300-strong Team Gabaldon and Mayor Mandia. You washed away the mud of despair and brought out the gold in the poor of Gabaldon.

Gabaldon is part of a massive rehabilitation and reconstruction effort called Kalinga Luzon that goes beyond the usual relief operations after the calamity. Malaki ang tulong dito ng 3 Atenista in helping 40,000 survivor families of the Luzon typhoons and floods... Secretary of National Defense and NDCC Chairman Avelino "Nonong" Cruz , Smart-PLDT Chairman Manny Pangilinan and former Agriculture Secretary Cito Lorenzo.

This afternoon I invited the proud leaders of Payatas and Gabaldon, together with the mayors of Cabiao, San Isidro, and Gen. Tinio, Nueva Ecija who have also benefited from the help of Ateneo. They are here to witness the graduation of a new breed of Ateneans and Filipinos who not only have the brains but also the heart for our country and our people.

The journey to rebuild our country is just beginning and moving towards massive upscaling with the entry of corporations, national government agencies, LGU's and Filipino organizations abroad.

Corporations too are searching for a deeper and better __expression of corporate social responsibility. Rival corporations are rising above business competition to help. P&G and Unilever, Jollibee and McDonalds, Shell and Petron, Pfizer and Wyeth and Smart-PLDT... and over a hundred others. Sabi ng Shell "Kung may layunin, malayo ang inyong mararating". Sabi ng Smart "We're not just building homes, we're building a nation" . Both campaigns are inspired by the spirit of Gawad Kalinga, the spirit of being a person for others - going beyond conventional charity towards helping the poor become better stewards of their families and their communities. Converting our human resource from liability to asset, expanding the market base by empowering the poor make good business sense!

This afternoon we have with us the country chairman of Shell Philippines, Mr. Ed Chua, who is from La Salle and the president of Pfizer, Mr. Gerry Bacarro, who is from Ateneo. Both are firm believers of corporate social responsibility geared towards nation-building. It is our hope that the stiff rivalry between Ateneo and La Salle in basketball will be elevated to a higher level of nobility of building the most number of houses and communities and educating the most number of poor children.

My fellow Ateneans, when you leave this campus, many of you will join these corporations and will be happy to note that they have a keener sense of social responsibility and a work environment that will nurture your idealism.

In the field of governance, more than 300 mayors and governors have chosen the same path of nation-building. Hundreds more will join this year and members of Congress are being inspired to do the same. Many of you will be the future mayors, governors and members of congress... and again will be happy to note that your predecessors have begun the path of building and restoring our country.

Even Filipinos abroad have found a reason to hope and a way to concretize their love for the motherland. Many have gone beyond sending resources... they themselves are coming home to help build the nation of their dreams... Bicolanos helping Bicol... The Ilonggos helping Negros and Panay... the Cebuanos helping Cebu... And the Fil-Am doctors are going beyond the usual medical mission and are building healthy communities as a way of giving back to a country that they have never stopped loving.

When you care for others, especially the weak and the powerless, you will be amazed at how God will take care of you and the people you love. Today I thank God for my wife and my five children who have joined me in this mission to help restore this beautiful land. This is the best legacy I can give them. I honor my son Jay, who at 22, left his job and an exciting life of fast cars and beautiful girls in L.A. to help the typhoon victims of Bicol... and my son-in-law Dylan Wilk who left his country England, his family and friends, his extravagant lifestyle - his Ferrari, his Porsche and BMW... in exchange for the poor families in this country that he has learned to love and care for.

And of course, the nameless and unrecognized workers and heroes of other Ateneo initiatives like Pathways, Tulong Dunong, Jesuit Volunteers of the Philippines, Leaders for Health and other NGOs and cause-oriented groups who love this county... Today there are tens of thousands of them... tomorrow there will be millions. Together we will build a slum-free, squatter-free, crime-free Philippines.

And so in the same spirit of heroism, I urge you young Ateneans to do the same. After you leave this campus, there is no doubt that you will soar to great heights but it will all be meaningless if you fly alone. The poor do not have strong wings like you do and they need you to carry them, inspire them to discover their own strength and greatness. Sana eto ang walang iwanan.

For the parents, as you have invested in the future of your children by giving them the best education possible... support also your children's desire to invest in the future of this country. They will honor you even more if you value their aspirations for nobility and their dreams for a better country that will be a source of pride for them and their children.

As we go through this defining moment of Philippine history, let us strive never to forget four things:
(1) Never stop hoping for our country.
(2) Don't stop caring for our people.
(3) Demand greatness of yourself as a Filipino.
(4) Inspire greatness in other Filipinos.

As you leave the campus to join the real world, let your vision and the power that you have discovered to change the world, define what is real to you.

Make your love for this country and our people, especially the poor, your reality and your priority. Make it the foundation of your career plans, your dreams and ambitions for your children and the goal of any political or economic power that you have the privilege to wield.

Wherever you are in the world, excel and prosper but remain connected to the motherland and dedicate your success to the fulfillment not just of your dreams but to the many in your country who have lost their capacity to dream.
Do not be content in finding artificial security in gated subdivisions when you can provide yourself a buffer of peace by caring for the needy around you. Nor be content with living in first world luxury in a third world environment and contributing to the discontent and the growing threats around the security of your own family.

Give value to the land of your birth by sharing with those who for generations have been deprived of its use and abundance. Be a blessing to your children's future by making it your responsibility to be father or mother to the abandoned and neglected.

Be the healing of the soul of this nation and the fulfillment of the dream that we have forgotten.

Be the proud Filipino that we are not yet, but soon will be.

Be the hero who finds courage and the conviction that this country is worth saving, because it is a gift from God and that your life is meaningless if it is not dedicated to the fulfillment of a divine destiny to be a great people.

Let me end this speech and send you off with a prayer.

Dear God, pour out your blessing upon our new graduates. Guide them in their journey to greatness. Show your power and majesty to this troubled and sinful nation through these young Filipinos who will strive to live lives of righteousness and excellence. Make them healers of our wounded people and restorers of our broken land. Anoint them as the new generation of living heroes who will bring this country to our destiny of greatness.

Mabuhay kayong mga bagong bayani ng bayan! Kayo ang bagong lakas ng pagbabago! Kayo ang magandang mukha ng kinabukasan!

http://news.subicbay.ph
.
Happy Easter!!!

Sponsorship Speech for Automation of Elections

2006-03-28T07:31:00.000+08:00

SPONSORSHIP SPEECH
Senator Richard J. Gordon
on Senate Bill No. 2231
(Amending Republic Act No. 8436
An Act Authorizing the Commission on Elections
to Use an Automated Election System)

Mr. President, it is the distinct honor of this representation and the Committee on Constitutional Amendments, Revision of Codes and Laws, to sponsor this Committee Report before this Chamber of the 13th Congress of the Republic of the Philippines at this crucial moment in our country's history. We are at a crossroads right now where our capability to keep our democracy is being tested.

Let us take a good look at our country today, Mr. President. We have a beleaguered President, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, whose legitimacy in office has been put into question largely due to the "Hello Garci" tapes which remain, up to this day, neither resolved nor even adequately explained. In the middle of this all, President Arroyo instituted her Calibrated Preemptive Response (CPR), which has replaced maximum tolerance in the police dispersal of protest rallies and assemblies against her. She also issued Executive Order No. 464 (EO 464) to principally keep the Executive officials mum on the relevant issues facing her. Her general and wanton invocation of executive privilege through EO 464 continues to violate the principle of the co-equality of the branches of government and separation of powers. Presidential Proclamation No. 1017 declared the country to be in a State of Emergency after threats of a coup d'etat, prompting even more protests, that were broadcast in the international media, painting a picture of chaos and instability in the nation, scaring away potential investors and tourists. Civil society is in a constant state of unrest, rallying in the streets, calling for the President to step down. Administration representatives in Congress and some executive and local government officials are so pre-occupied with proposing Charter Change as a panacea to our problems that even the most basic responsibility of passing the budget has been relegated to the back burner. All of this happened because of the lack of credibility of the electoral process.

Mr. President, if we are to refer to the writings of John Locke and Jean Jacques Rosseau on the concept of a social contract, both thinkers believed that we once lived in a "state of nature" where every person had the freedom to do as they pleased. However, human beings decided to improve their lot by agreeing to create a political society and thus order human affairs more satisfactorily. They argued however, that a contract is only binding as long as all parties adhere to its terms, and these terms state that some people were given the right to rule on the condition that individual rights and liberties were maintained.

Mr. President, we are Asia's first democracy, and as such, one of the crucial rights upon which we are founded is the right to choose our leaders, the right to choose those who would be given the right to govern. But given this situation, our people do not seem to be enjoying the blessings of democracy and getting the leaders and the government that they deserve. At the very least, there is a strong sentiment that they are not getting the leaders that they chose because the electoral process has lost its integrity. If we cannot assure our people that they are governed by the leaders of their choice, can we genuinely say that we are able to promote the true values of democracy where sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them expressed through their sacred right of suffrage? Today, our people are adrift in a state of complacency, cynicism and apathy.

Senate Bill No. 2231 addresses this question with a resounding YES. Our Constitution has intended for our people to enjoy "free, orderly, honest, peaceful, and credible elections." The government has the highest duty and responsibility to guarantee fair, transparent, and free elections, and I believe that this proposed policy will facilitate the efficient performance of this duty and perhaps turn the tide against the sea of cynicism.

Mr. President, the Committee on Constitutional Amendments, Revision of Codes and Laws, submits for the consideration of this Chamber, Senate Bill No. 2231 under Committee Report No. 58, entitled:
"AN ACT AMENDING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8436, ENTITLED "AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS TO USE AN AUTOMATED ELECTION SYSTEM IN THE MAY 11, 1998 NATIONAL OR LOCAL ELECTIONS AND IN SUBSEQUENT NATIONAL AND LOCAL ELECTORAL EXERCISES, PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES",

in substitution of the bills authored by Senators Edgardo Angara (Senate Bill No. 1069), Ralph G. Recto (Senate Bill No. 1371) and this representation (Senate Bill No. 1851).

At this juncture, Mr. President, the Committee would like to express its gratitude to the dedicated and knowledgeable men and women who helped craft this bill during the Technical Working Group Meetings.

Commissioner Dondi Mapa of the Commission on Information and Communication Technology who served as the Chairman of the TWG, Commissioner Rex Borra and Director Ernie del Rosario, former COMELEC Chairman Christian Monsod, and Atty. Rafael Olaño of the Commission on Elections, Mr. Tony Tinsay and Ms. Bing Van Tooren of the Philippine Computer Society, Mr. Jun Malacaman and Mr. Gus Lagman of the Information Technology Foundation of the Philippines, Secretary Estrella Alabastro, Undersecretary Fortunato dela Peña and Engr. Peter Banzon of the Department of Science and Technology, Mr. Raffy Saldaña of the Ateneo de Manila, Mr. Benjie Pineda of the Office of Senator Recto, and Atty. Cabaliw of the Office of Senator Angara, all gave valuable input in crafting this proposed legislation. We would also like to thank Senators Angara and Recto whose bills served as the basis of this proposed legislation.

Mr. President, Republic Act No. 8436, authorized the COMELEC to use an Automated Election System (AES) in accordance with the policy of the State to ensure free, orderly, honest, peaceful and credible elections, and assure the secrecy and sanctity of the ballot in order for the results of elections, plebiscites, referenda, and other electoral exercises to be fast, accurate and reflective of the genuine will of the people.

But to this day, R.A. 8436 has not been fully implemented, for two reasons.

First, the Supreme Court, in the case of Information Technology Foundation of the Philippines, et al. v. Comelec, et al., G.R. No. 159139, 13 January 2004, scrapped the billion-peso automated election contract awarded to Mega Pacific Consortium due to anomalous bidding, rendering the counting machines useless.

Second, the legislation was too specific that it almost decided for the COMELEC what machine to buy. Out of 57 companies who bought the bid specifications, only two submitted responsive bids due to the stringent requirements of the law particularly the requirement that the Counting Machine be an "optical scanning/mark-sense reading device or any similar advanced technology". This unduly limited the technology that may be used in the automation process and did not allow for flexibility in case of advancements.

Consequently, the May 2004 elections were done manually, from the voting to the canvassing of the results. The process was slow, tedious, and subject to criticism since the security of the electoral process and its capacity to preserve the sanctity of the ballot and the will of the electorate was put to question; a question that continues to haunt the credibility of the current administration to this day. This haunting question has placed the political, mental and psychological faculties of the entire country out of focus, which has resulted in political gridlock and system dysfunction.

Mr. President, this bill seeks to authorize the COMELEC, with the help of an Advisory Council and a Technological Ad Hoc Evaluation Committee, to use an Automated Election System that is technology-neutral with accompanying safeguards against tampering and electoral fraud in the 2007 national and local elections and subsequent electoral exercises.

It also aims to respond to the high incidence of voting irregularities consistently reported throughout our country, which is overwhelming, to say the least. Indeed, in Philippine elections, there are no losers - only the winners and the cheated. Hence, to address this perennial concern, Senate Bill No. 2231 declares that it is "the policy of the State to ensure free, orderly, honest, peaceful and credible electoral exercises, using an automated election system that will assure the secrecy and sanctity of the ballot in order that the results of elections, plebiscites, referenda and other electoral exercises shall be fast, accurate and reflective of the genuine will of the people." This law will ensure that the state policy to "ensure the sanctity and secrecy of the ballot" and "free, orderly, honest, peaceful, and credible elections" is not just an empty promise, but a concrete reality.

As such, Mr. President, let me now discuss the specific amendments proposed by our Committee.

Senate Bill No. 2231 provides for the use of an Automated Election System (AES), which is defined as a "system using appropriate technology for voting, counting, consolidating, canvassing, transmission of election results, and other processes in the conduct of electoral exercises." It expands the scope of the current automation law - Republic Act No. 8436 - by authorizing the use of an Automated Election System (AES) that is more flexible, using the most appropriate, applicable, and cost-effective technology available. It does not preclude any current or future technology. Flexibility is key, for it must be the best technology, not just the cheapest, but that which is practical, speedy, and cannot be trifled with.

It also provides for the secure ELECTRONIC TRANSMISSION of electoral results from the precinct level to Congress, the various Board of Canvassers, the parties, the accredited citizens' arm, and the media. This prevents wholesale cheating because tampering with the Certificates of Canvass will no longer be possible. The election returns and certificates of canvass transmitted electronically and digitally signed shall be considered as official election results and shall be used as basis for the proclamation of a candidate. This is a new feature not previously found in Republic Act No. 8436 and it addresses that part of the election process most vulnerable to wholesale cheating.

Mr. President, the greatest source of doubt in the credibility of any election is the number of hands that handle the ballot. If I may quote from former US Congressman Bob Shaffer, "There are many hands touching ballots after a voter drops his ballot into the ballot box. There is no guarantee of ballot secrecy for anyone, which makes the whole system vulnerable to intimidation and bribery." This Committee believes that an automated process will respond to this concern by limiting the amount of human handling of the ballots, through the use of technology, thus limiting the opportunities to tamper with them.

Automation also means speed, giving no time for the sore loser to tamper with the ballot. The longer the period between the time that the vote is cast and the time that the winners are announced, the greater the time and opportunity to tamper with the results. This leads to violent elections as losing candidates who feel the stab of every vote counted against him or her, begin to resort to extra-legal means to change the tide of their fate. The psychological effect of impending loss, and the shame of losing face prompt losing candidates to use guns, goons and gold to tamper with the ballot. Juxtapose this with the statesmanlike example set by Vice President Al Gore who gallantly conceded defeat to President-elect George W. Bush, during the 2000 US Presidential elections despite the imperfections of the electoral system. The point is, Mr. President, the absence of a reliable system that works robs every Filipino of the capability to be a statesman, and this is the fundamental reason why we cannot move forward.

For Filipino candidates, when guns, goons and gold prove inadequate, they resort to filing electoral protests, which clog our courts and the COMELEC. Millions of pesos are spent on resolving these cases, resources which are better spent addressing the immediate needs of the communities represented by these candidates, and addressing the requirements of the justice system. Losing candidates become perpetual roadblocks to the efforts of winning candidates, sowing animosity and disunity in the community.
There is simply no sportsmanship and civility in a slow count. This brings to mind the words of Knut Rockne, which is constantly repeated to us by the Jesuits in the Ateneo, as he called for sportsmanship in battle:

"Lord, in the battle that goes on through life, I ask for a field that is fair;
A chance that is equal with all in strife, and the courage to strive and to dare.
If I should win, let it be by the code, with my faith and my honor held high,
but if I should lose, let me stand by the road and cheer as the winner goes by."

With the technology that we have today, it is entirely possible for the results in every polling precinct to be automatically, simultaneously and electronically transmitted to the Board of Canvassers, the political parties and the media, so that results of the elections are known on election day itself.

We have also pre-empted the Americans by proposing a system with a voter-verifiable paper audit trail, in order to leap from the pitfalls of a dimples and hanging chads system.

Hence, in determining which election technology to use, it is vital that the technology chosen is the most APPROPRIATE, APPLICABLE, and COST-EFFECTIVE. Cost should not be the only determinant. It must be the best technology, which is practical, speedy, and cannot be trifled with.

This automation process must facilitate FASTER results, by using ballots as proof of votes already cast, through automation, as opposed to ballots counted manually.

It must also deliver FAIR and RELIABLE results by automating the process of transmitting the results, and requiring the System to ensure secure electronic transmission of encrypted election results.

The technology will be supported by the provision that among the three regular members of the board of election inspectors in every precinct, at least one shall be an "information technology-capable person, who is trained and certified to use the Automated Election System (AES)." Each Board of Canvassers shall also have as consultant an information technology expert trained and authorized to use the AES. For this purpose, the Comelec shall deputize information technology experts from government offices and agencies.

The bill also proposes the creation of an Advisory Council to review and recommend the most appropriate, applicable and cost-effective technology to be applied in the AES, and participate as non-voting members of the bidding and awards committee in the conduct of the bidding process for the AES.

The Advisory Council shall include one representative each from the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), the Department of Education, the academe, three members from Philippine-based Information Communications Technology (ICT) professional organizations, and two members from non-governmental electoral reform organizations.

A Technical Ad Hoc Evaluation Committee shall be created to certify, not later than three months before the date of the electoral exercise, that the AES is operating properly, following the successful conduct of a field testing process in a mock election event in one or more cities and municipalities, and other tests.

The evaluation committee shall be composed of a representative each from the Senate, the House of Representatives, the Comelec, the CICT and the DOST.

The AES chosen must also provide for a contingency system in the event of a systems breakdown or ANY EVENTUALITY resulting in the delay, obstruction or non-performance of the system, as well as provide for the necessary safeguards to protect itself from fake or counterfeit ballots.

Mr. President, almost every Presidential election in our recent history has been fraught with allegations of cheating, which has divided our country and paralyzed our progress as a nation.

Former President Marcos declared himself to be the winner of the Presidential Snap Elections in 1986. The people disagreed and flocked to the streets resulting in the overthrow of his government in a bloodless revolution and installing former President Cory Aquino into the highest office in the land.

Our very esteemed colleague, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago protested the results of the 1992 Presidential Elections, which declared former President Ramos as the winner, a protest that she maintains to this day.

The nation had a brief respite when his opponents for the Presidency immediately conceded to former President Estrada's victory, which led to his quick proclamation.

But again, in 2004, the credibility of President Arroyo's victory was questioned by the opposition alleging that Mr. Fernando Poe Jr. was the real victor, an issue that remains unresolved to this day, an issue, which continues to haunt, divide and paralyze the Philippines as a nation.

And we are only speaking of the Presidential post here, Mr. President. Today, there are still many unresolved electoral protests for provincial and local positions still pending with the Commission on Elections and our courts from as far back as 2002. This is such a waste of time effort and money for the candidates, the COMELEC and our courts.

It is not enough that our elections are free, it must also be clean and must be perceived to be so. It is vital that every vote count, and that every vote be counted as cast; otherwise it will be in the results that we eventually pay, as we are paying now. In the words of Mr. Tom Stoppard, an English playwright, "Its not the voting that's democracy, it's the counting."

In the midst of all this chaos, Mr. President, majority of our population continue to live in poverty, the educational sector continues to suffer from shortages, prices continue to go up and our people continue to lose hope everyday. Instead of focusing on ways to attract investors, generate job opportunities and provide our people with a safe and stable environment that is conducive to progress, we have given them division and unrest.
Mr. President, the Committee believes that the passage of this law is crucial in bringing a new sense of civility and order in our country, and reinvigorating our democracy. It is more than just an Automation Law, it is a commitment to respecting the right of our people to choose those who will lead them. It is a launching pad for a renewed sense of unity among our countrymen through the assurance that the process through which they choose their leaders is clean, free and credible, and they believe it. Let us be united in trying to bring about transparent, free and clean elections.
Inasmuch as the doubt that has paralyzed our country emanated from the sentiment that the results of the elections were tampered with, substantial electoral reform through an Automated Election System will be a strong start towards once again building the confidence of our people in their government, arresting the spiral of cynicism and curbing the apathy brought about by the lack of faith in the integrity of the system.
Today, the government is at a standstill, and the Presidency and our nation is in a morass, because of the lack of credibility of our electoral process. This brings to mind the words of Benjamin Franklin in Poor Richard's Almanac:

"For the want of a nail, the shoe was lost; for the want of a shoe the horse was lost; and for the want of a horse the rider was lost, being overtaken and slain by the enemy, all for the want of care about a horseshoe nail."

When this law is passed - and I say when, not if - it then remains to be seen whether this country's leaders are as committed to clean, honest, fair, transparent, and peaceful elections as they say they are.

Our Constitution declares that sovereignty resides in the people and all government authority emanates from them. Therefore, it is our paramount duty to safeguard and improve the electoral system, and we will not waver in our commitment to protecting the sanctity of the democratic process, where fast and fair elections stand as its cornerstone. For, borrowing from the words of Abraham Lincoln, "the ballot is stronger than the bullet."

Our people have lost confidence in our country's ability to fairly and accurately run an election. That is simply unacceptable. Elections are the very fiber and bedrock of our democracy. Our people deserve elections they can trust using only best technology for voting as well as a reliable, secure, and credible electoral process.

There are those who would say that this is another exercise in futility, but to them I respond with a quote from St. Francis of Assisi, "Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible."

Let us begin with passing this law, Mr. President, because it is necessary to institute reform in our electoral system, to make it possible to restore our people's confidence in our country, in its governance, and in themselves, and finally achieve what seems impossible at this stage; creating a caring, compassionate, competitive, united, liberal, transformational, secure and successful Philippine society. It is for these reasons and the foregoing explanations, that the approval of this bill is earnestly sought.

Thank you, Mr. President.

IN BEHALF OF DEMOCRACY

2006-03-28T07:12:00.000+08:00

A Privilege Speech
Senator Richard J. Gordon
27 March 2006

"Constitutionalism, in a narrow sense, is the practice of limited government ensured by the existence of the Constitution. Thus Constitutionalism can, in this sense, be said to exist when government institutions and political processes are effectively constrained by constitutional rules. More broadly, Constitutionalism is a set of political values and aspirations that reflect the desire to protect liberty through the establishment of internal and external checks on governmental power. Constitutionalism ensures that authority arises 'from below', and is always grounded in legitimacy. The classic expression of this doctrine is that government must be based upon the 'consent of the governed'. In this sense, Constitutionalism is a species of political liberalism."

Mr. President, honorable colleagues, good afternoon. The statement that I just quoted came from the writings of contemporary political thinker Andrew Heywood on Constitutionalism.

I stand before you today on a matter of personal and collective privilege to call for the strengthening of liberal democracy, a democracy that our forefathers gave their lives to achieve. This democracy is under severe threat Mr. President, from faceless people who come like thieves in the night, hoping to seize power while the Filipino people sleep soundly on the bed of their apathy.

Who are these faceless people? These faceless people are political opportunists with forked tongues whispering sweet chicanery, promising a cure for all the nation's ills. They propose a charter change through people's initiative using barangay assemblies, a proposal that sounds deceptively legitimate. But, Mr. President, let our people not be fooled by their sweet promises lest we awaken to a nightmare where our rights have been trampled and our democracy lies in shambles.

Erosion of the Value of the Constitution

The Constitution is the fundamental law of the land, but today, Mr. President, we bear witness to a time in our history when the Constitution is steadily losing its value. Politicians motivated by blind ambition and selfish interest have made a travesty of the Constitution by blatantly ignoring the processes that it prescribes in its sacred pages that should govern the conduct of our country. The political maelstrom that continues to plague our country has tested our character, and sad to say, Mr. President, we have been found wanting.

The highway of our national history is littered with the muddy footprints of politicians and entities that have intervened in the process of Constitutional changes starting from the 1935 Constitution to the 1987 Constitution.

The first Philippine constitution was drafted during the American period under American tutelage. It was enforced starting in 1935. Two amendments were introduced in 1940. The first was to create a bicameral legislature, and the second was to amend the original term of office of the President from six years to four years with re-election.

In 1946, the constitution was revised granting parity rights to Americans. In line with the thrust for full independence, a Constitutional Convention was convened in 1971, but President Marcos intervened and declared martial law to lengthen his hold on power. Shortly thereafter, the draft of the 1973 Constitution was formally approved by the Constitutional Convention and was submitted to the Citizen's Assemblies for ratification through a show of hands. This Constitution set up a modified parliamentary system of government with unicameral National Assembly.

In 1981, another amendment was made modifying the Parliamentary System by giving the President control over the ministries.

In 1984, the Constitution was amended to restore representation in Batasan Pambansa by district, create the office of the Vice-President and give the President power of legislation.

When Ferdinand E. Marcos was ousted in 1986, the new government led by Corazon C. Aquino promulgated what is now known as the Freedom Constitution in order to legitimize her administration. This 1987 Constitution restored the presidential form of government.

What I wish to highlight here Mr. President are the interferences and infirmities in the processes of amending the Constitution; interferences and infirmities that the proponents of charter change today seek to propagate and once again, introduce. All these experiences have led to the decline of the Philippines from Asia's number one to Asia's used to be.

To date, the 1987 Constitution still stands, but the lobby for another charter change is so intensive that its proponents are willing to resort to extra-constitutional means to achieve it, despite the Filipino people's clear rejection of the proposal reflected in the Pulse Asia Survey showing that 60% of Filipinos oppose a shift to a parliamentary system of government and 55% think it inappropriate to amend the Constitution now.

Severe Challenges to the Constitution

Mr. President, we were the first democracy in Asia, but in these days of uncertainty, where true character is bound to reveal itself, our democracy has bared its weaknesses, like an ill-trained boxer tottering in the ring.

The first barrage of blows was dealt by the executive, when threatened by the people's dissatisfaction with its performance, instituted a Calibrated Preemptive Response (CPR), which has replaced maximum tolerance in the police dispersal of protest rallies and assemblies against her. It threw a one-two combination with Executive Order No. 464 and Presidential Proclamation 1017.

The first blow was a shot to the stomach through EO 464. This was quickly followed by a right haymaker to the breadbasket with the issuance of Presidential Proclamation No. 1017 which declared the country to be in a State of Emergency after threats of a coup d'etat. These two major blows to the body came after a series of punches to the ribs with a previous declaration of a State of Rebellion during the May 1 uprising known as EDSA III and again during the Oakwood Mutiny.
These declarations were actually unnecessary as the inherent powers of the President would have enabled her to deal with these uprisings. The fact that she declared them shows a pattern of increasing brazenness, which caused a chilling effect on the people's enjoyment of their civil liberties, especially with the issuance of Proclamation 1017, and the warrantless raid and arrests that followed.

Mr. President, the concept of liberal democracy ensures the rule of law, where the government is subject to law, the Constitution is the criterion of validity, civil rights are guaranteed, there is an independent judiciary and the people's welfare is paramount.

These blows have considerably weakened the rule of law. Our democracy stands bloodied and bruised in the middle of the ring. Our people whose fate is tied to our democracy have been whipped into submission, its body weakened, about to be knocked-out.

We have always relied on the Supreme Court to ring the bell to end the round; to uphold the Constitution in our behalf. But the Supreme Court is so overloaded right now with constitutional cases of extreme national importance. Let us not further put our democracy to the test and burden our political system, particularly the Judiciary with matters that can be amicably settled out of self-restraint and respect between co-equal branches of the government. It is about time that we as citizens come to the defense of democracy.

Mr. President, today, let me speak in behalf of democracy, to lay bare the sham that threatens to throw the knock-out punch.

Mr. President, several attempts have been made to facilitate charter change.
First, the Consultative Commission was convened by the President to study possible amendments to the Constitution without any legal justification nor appropriation for the same.

Second, the proposed No Election (NO-EL) scenario was floated to muster support for charter change, which remains a possibility to this day despite ethical considerations. The intention of the NO-EL provision reveals itself plainly for the incumbent elected officials to perpetuate themselves in power. Clearly what they seek is change for their benefit and not for the benefit of the Filipino people.

Third, the House of Representatives proposed a Constituent Assembly and insinuated that the Senate was a dispensable party in this process. The Senate responded to this insinuation by passing Resolution No. 473, expressly stating that "the sense of the Senate that any proposed amendment to, or revision of, the constitution requires the approval of the Senate and the House of Representatives, voting separately."

And now, their most recent attempt is passing off a DILG scheme for a people's initiative. This scheme was spurred into motion by Memorandum Circular No. 2006-17 dated February 23, 2006 and Memorandum Circular No. 2006-25 dated March 10, 2006, setting the dates for Barangay Assemblies on March 25 and October 21, 2006. In several interviews with the press, government officials admitted that the purpose of these assemblies was to gather signatures in support of charter change. Their chicanery allegedly bore fruit as they claimed to have collected four million signatures in support of this proposal.

The concerted move to change the Constitution through the DILG-initiated barangay assemblies nationwide are useless at this time and are a waste of precious time and resources. Congress has yet to provide for the implementation of the exercise of people's initiative to propose amendments to the Constitution. There is a need for an enabling law to be first enacted by Congress for the exercise of this right. Thus, those who want to propose amendments to the Constitution via people's initiative must first go to Congress and get an ENABLING LAW passed. Furthermore, there can be no people's initiative when government money is being spent to spur it on. It is a masquerade, an abomination. It must not be allowed to happen. Perhaps we should investigate the DILG for misappropriating funds for this dubious exercise.

In a previous attempt to propose an amendment lifting the term limits of all elective government officials, the Supreme Court has already declared that Republic Act No. 6735, The Initiative and Referendum Act, is inadequate to cover the system on initiative on amendments to the Constitution in Santiago vs. COMELEC, G.R. No. 127325, 27 March 1997. Since no law has yet been passed by Congress, the same situation holds true at present and any effort to change the Constitution via people's initiative will only be futile.

However, this lack of legal foundation has not stopped its proponents from taking steps to promote this initiative, another vivid example of cheap politics and lack of regard for the rule of law, which continues to steal our dignity as a people and as a nation.

In Zambales, a certain politician launched an innovative signature campaign in connection with this same people's initiative that we see today. Bags of rice, canned goods and other food items were distributed to the townspeople. She invited the poorest of the poor to her birthday celebration and gave them rice and sardines on the condition that they apply for, and surrender, their cedulas. This is the epitome of patronage politics and lack of respect, that these politicians would exploit the poverty of our people to propagate their political agenda. As early as that week, I already sounded the warning that moves like this can be used to promote charter change. This is what it has become. Politicians are giving rice, goods and money in exchange for signatures in support of charter change. They have begun to identify people who are "buyable". Minamaliit nila ang Konstitusyon, habang binobobo at inaapi ang mga tao dahil hindi sila nabibigyan ng sapat na pagkakataong pag-aralan ang Konstitusyon.

A people's initiative form to change the Constitution was also circulated in Olongapo City containing the following question: "Do you approve of the amendment of Articles VI and VII of the 1987 Constitution, changing the form of government from the present bicameral-presidential to a unicameral-parliamentary system of government, in order to achieve greater efficiency, simplicity and economy in government, and providing an Article XVIII as Transitory Provisions for the orderly shift from one system to another?"

This proposal is not just an amendment to the Constitution, it is practically a revision of the entire Constitution. Hence, this cannot be done through a people's initiative. People's initiative as a mode to change the Constitution only covers amendments to, not the revision of, the Constitution. The power to propose any revision of the Constitution belongs only to Congress or a constitutional convention.

People's initiative must be clearly specific on a particular amendment they wish to propose in the Constitution, one that leaves no room for doubt. Changing the form of government has too many details, which the people cannot adequately propose through initiative. Article VI on Legislative Department of the Constitution has 32 sections, while Article VII on Executive Department has 23 sections. What portions of these two major articles of the Constitution do they want to change? What transitory provisions do they have in mind for the shift to a unicameral-parliamentary system of government? This necessarily involves much debate, which can only be threshed out in Congress or a constitutional convention as it entails a revision of, and not merely an amendment to, the Constitution.

For the sake of clarity, let me define revision and amendment. According to Father Joaquin Bernas, a known Constitutionalist, and the Dean of the Ateneo School of Law, both signify change in the constitutional text. An amendment envisages an alteration of one or a few specific and isolated provisions of the Constitution. Its guiding original intention is to improve specific parts or to add new provisions or to suppress existing ones accordingly as addition or subtraction might be demanded by existing conditions.

In revision, however, the guiding intention and plan contemplate a re-examination of the entire document or an important cluster of provisions in the document to determine how and to what extent it should be altered. The end product of a revision can be an important structural change in the government or a change which affects several provisions of the Constitution.

Mr. President, according to Section 397(b), Chapter 6, Title I, Book III of the Local Government Code fathered by our esteemed Minority Floor Leader, Nene Pimentel:
"The barangay assembly shall meet at least twice a year to hear and discuss the semestral report of the sangguniang barangay concerning its activities and finances as well as problems affecting the barangay. Its meetings shall be held upon call of the punong barangay or of at least four (4) members of the sangguniang barangay, or upon written petition of at least five percent (5%) of the assembly members."

Furthermore, the powers of the barangay assembly are also provided in Section 398 which states that:

"The barangay assembly shall:
(a) Initiate legislative processes by recommending to the sangguniang barangay the adoption of measures for the welfare of the barangay and the city or municipality concerned;
(b) Decide on the adoption of initiative as a legal process whereby the registered voters of the barangay may directly propose, enact, or amend any ordinance; and
(c) Hear and pass upon the semestral report of the sangguniang barangay concerning its activities and finances."

Hence, the purpose of a barangay assembly is simply to resolve matters concerning the barangay. Furthermore, any genuine initiative from this assembly should emanate from the ground up instead of the other way around like this proposal for charter change.

Simply put, the barangay assembly is being misused as a forum to push for the political agenda of charter change that is so remote from local barangay matters. It is being used for a purpose for which it was not intended and in the process becomes an unauthorized use of public funds and resources. To add insult to injury, our people are unable to comprehend this dubious agenda, with the complex question propounded to them.

The jurisdiction of the barangay assembly is limited to problems affecting the barangay and the local community. Unfortunately, certain politicians have chosen to overlook this lawful limitation to use the barangay assembly as a means to change the form of government. The dirty handprints of their intentions are clear. They are like prowlers, enemies we do not see, whose purpose is to snatch democracy from beneath our own feet.

In a people's initiative, the COMELEC would indispensably have to certify the sufficiency of a petition to propose an amendment to the Constitution, assuming that there is already an enabling law for charter change. Unfortunately, the credibility of our electoral process has been placed in serious doubt due to the Hello Garci controversy and the anomalous bidding for poll automation. Hence, before any amendment to the Constitution, we must reform the electoral process to ensure that the Philippines is capable of conducting free, orderly, honest, peaceful and credible elections. As such, before we embark on amending the Constitution, should we not focus on reforming the COMELEC and the electoral system first? The electoral system is the basic foundation of a liberal democracy. We must secure the sovereign will of the people through a clean, effective and efficient electoral system. Inevitably, charter change would also have to go through the process of a plebiscite under the COMELEC's watch. Thus, the COMELEC must primarily be strengthened as a vital democratic institution.

Mr. President, we all read the news, and the realities that I have cited today are not new to any of us. In fact, all of them have become such old news, that our people have long since ceased to be amazed or alarmed by any of them. And it is precisely this lack of alarm, this jaded apathy, and a growing sense of helplessness that will enable this blatant sham of a proposal to slip through.

Those who will trample on the Constitution for their personal agenda are relying on our people's inaction. They are relying on the premise that our electorate has become "buyable". They are relying on our people not caring that they will lose their right to vote over the fundamental law that will govern them. Mr. President, let us prove them wrong.

Let us render their attempt to subvert the Constitution futile. Mr. President, each of us was elected to this Chamber by the entire nation. We each took an oath to support and defend the Constitution. Let us do our duty, Mr. President, let us fulfill our oaths.

They have vested us with the right to legislate the laws that will govern them, and in the same vein protect them by upholding the Constitution that guarantees their rights and civil liberties.

And so, Mr. President, esteemed colleagues, we must act now to ensure that our people are not led to blindly sign their names onto a future they hardly know anything about. We must stop this diabolical plan that uses government resources to implement a plan that serves the interests of a powerful few. We must not allow liberal democracy to be put in peril. We must act now. Because as Voltaire said, "So long as the people do not care to exercise their freedom, those who wish to tyrannize will do so; for tyrants are active and ardent, and will devote themselves in the name of any number of gods, religious and otherwise, to put shackles upon sleeping men."

I call upon the Senate today to perform this sacred duty, to truly stand in behalf of the interest of our constituents by opposing any and all moves towards Charter Change that does not respect and abide by the provisions and processes enshrined in the Constitution. Perhaps at some better time in the future when there are no questions on the credibility of our electoral process, and no questions on the election of the President, we can then amend the Constitution. But now is not the time.

Mr. President, evil can only flourish when good men do nothing. In the children's story, The Emperor's New Clothes, the wily tailors would have gotten away with their dastardly deed, having correctly relied on the foolishness of the king and the people's fear of pointing it out. All it took was one child, one child in the crowd who dared speak the truth; the king was naked, the clothes were a sham.

The barangay assemblies are a sham, Mr. President, a sham concocted to circumvent the Constitution and undermine democracy. Let us be the Senate that exposed it. Let us awaken the people from their slumber of apathy. Let us not allow them to settle for the crumbs of patronage, before they are led to slaughter.

Thank you and good afternoon.

GORDON: EFFORTS TO CHANGE THE CONSTITUTION VIA PEOPLE’S INITIATIVE ARE USELESS AT THIS TIME

2006-03-28T07:06:00.000+08:00

In response to the concerted move to change the Constitution via people’s initiative through the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG)-initiated barangay assemblies nationwide, Senator Richard J. Gordon stated that “efforts to change the Constitution via people’s initiative are useless at this time and are a waste of precious time and resources.”

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendments, Revision of Codes and Laws, Gordon said that “Congress has yet to provide for the implementation of the exercise of people’s initiative to propose amendments to the Constitution.” He added that “there is a need for an enabling law to be first enacted by Congress for the exercise of this right. Thus, those who want to propose amendments to the Constitution via people’s initiative must first go to Congress and get a law passed.”

Gordon explained that “in a previous attempt to propose an amendment lifting the term limits of all elective government officials, the Supreme Court has already declared that Republic Act No. 6735, The Initiative and Referendum Act, is inadequate to cover the system on initiative on amendments to the Constitution in Santiago vs. COMELEC, G.R. No. 127325, 27 March 1997. Since no law has yet been passed by Congress, the same situation holds true at present and any effort to change the Constitution via people’s initiative will only be futile.”

Referring to a people’s initiative form to change the Constitution which was circulated in Olongapo City with the following proposition: “Do you approve of the amendment of Articles VI and VII of the 1987 Constitution, changing the form of government from the present bicameral-presidential to a unicameral-parliamentary system of government, in order to achieve greater efficiency, simplicity and economy in government, and providing an Article XVIII as Transitory Provisions for the orderly shift from one system to another?” Gordon stated that “the proponents of this move are proposing not an amendment to, but practically a revision of the entire Constitution.”

Gordon added that “people’s initiative as a mode to change the Constitution only covers amendments to, not revision of, the Constitution. The power to propose any revision of the Constitution belongs only to Congress or a constitutional convention.”

Gordon stressed that “people’s initiative must be clearly specific on a particular amendment they wish to propose in the Constitution, one that leaves no room for doubt. Changing the form of government has too many details which the people cannot adequately propose through initiative. Article VI on Legislative Department of the Constitution has 32 sections, while Article VII on Executive Department has 23 sections. What portions of these two major articles of the Constitution do they want to change? What transitory provisions do they have in mind for the shift to a unicameral-parliamentary system of government?”

“This necessarily involves much debate which can only be threshed out in Congress or a constitutional convention as it entails a revision of, and not merely an amendment to, the Constitution,” Gordon said.

Gordon added that “the move to hastily change the Constitution is highly suspicious. It seems obvious that there are individuals out there who are deviously doing everything in their powers to have charter change under the pretext of a people’s initiative this time.”

“They continue to impose their will upon the people, despite a recent Pulse Asia survey showing that a majority of Filipinos oppose a shift to a parliamentary system of government (60%) and think it inappropriate to amend the Constitution now (55%),” said Gordon.

“The reasons speak for themselves: ‘Charter change is not the solution to the country’s many problems (24%); changing the form of government from presidential to parliamentary will not work if the politicians will not change (19%); charter change is just being used by the incumbent leadership to divert public attention from the current political crisis being faced by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (17%); charter change is being pushed by some politicians only because they want to be the ones to lead the country (12%); there is no need for charter change at all (10%); the Philippines is not ready for a parliamentary government now (9%); and charter change is just being used to ensure the graceful exit of the President (7%)’,” cited Gordon.

Gaano kaligtas ang mamamayan sa paglabas ng kanilang tahanan?

2006-02-24T13:06:00.000+08:00

EDITORYAL - Ang Pilipino STAR Ngayon 02/24/2006

SA isang isinagawang survey isang taon na ang nakararaan, marami ang nagsabing natatakot na silang lumabas ng kanilang bahay pagkagat ng dilim. Iyan ay dahil sa lumalalang krimen. Delikadong maholdap, makidnap, ma-rape, mahablutan ng kuwintas, cell phone at iba pa. Kung magsusurvey muli baka ganyan din ang maging resulta. Mas marami ang nais na manatili na lamang sa bahay kaysa mabiktima ng mga halang ang kaluluwa. Ang isang kakatwa, kahit mismo sa sariling bahay ay hindi rin naman masasabing ligtas. Maaaring umatake ang Akyat Bahay Gang o iba pang grupo ng mga magnanakaw at limasin ang ari-arian. Ang mas nakatatakot, ay kung matapos pagnakawan ay patayin pa ang may-ari ng bahay.

Sa mga nangyayaring krimen lalo na sa Metro Manila, malakas naman ang loob na sabihin ng mga awtoridad na mababa ang crime rate. Paano nila nasabing mababa ang krimen gayong sunud-sunod ang mga panghoholdap sa mga pampasaherong jeepney, bus at FX. Kamakailan, isang armory ng pribadong security agency ang pinasok ng mga kalalakihan at tinangay ang 35 M-16 rifles, 15 shotguns at 15 bulletproof vests. Noong isang araw, hinoldap ng dalawang naka-motorsiklo ang accountant ng kompanya na may dalang pangsuweldo sa mga empleado. Natangay ang milyong piso.

Ang kinatatakutan ngayon ay ang sunod-sunod na pangka-carjack. Isang buwan na ang nakararaan, isang lalaking nursing student ang inagawan ng kanyang van habang naghihintay sa babaing kapatid na nasa loob ng isang 24-hour store. Tinutukan ang nursing student at nang ayaw ibigay ang sasakyan, binaril siya. Bumulagta ang estudyante. Lumabas sa store ang kapatid at nakita ang duguang kapatid na nakahandusay at duguan. Isinugod sa ospital pero patay na nang idating doon.

Nakapangangamba ang ganitong nangyayari. Saan pa nga bang lugar dapat magpunta ang mamamayan para matiyak na siya ay ligtas? Maski ang pagkalat ng mga illegal na droga (mayroon pang "shabu tiangge") ay walang puknat sa pagdami.

Ang pagkalat ng mga baril na ginagamit sa paggawa ng krimen ay nararapat masugpo ng mga awtoridad. Bakit hindi matiktikan ng pulisya kung saan nanggagaling ang mga baril?

Malaking hamon sa awtoridad ang mga nangyayaring krimen. Bigyang kapanatagan ang isipan ng mamamayan kapag lalabas sila ng kanilang tahanan.

TagBoard 21Feb2005

2006-02-21T21:32:00.000+08:00

Subic Bay News
Who's On Your Site?
Detail Domain Name Location Last Page View
1
219.20.196.# Tomobuchicho, Osaka 9:14:59 pm
http://subicbaynews.blogspot.com/
2
axti.com Subic, Zambales 9:14:53 pm
http://subicbaynews.blogspot.com/
3
singnet.com.sg Queenstown Estate, Dakar 9:16:02 pm 3:26
http://subicbaynews.blogspot.com...sidents-warned-of-deceiving.html
4
3erm.com Baltimore, Maryland 9:07:25 pm 1
http://subicbaynews.blogspot.com/
5
subictel.com Subic, Zambales 9:20:20 pm 10 75:39
http://subicbaynews.blogspot.com/

olongapo.fil.ph: Yay! thanks a lot ill send email or post message here, pero baka email para mas maganda decent
edpiano: Be sure to give us advance notice so we can coordinate with the person in charge
olongapo.fil.ph: Thanks for the link Sir Ed
olongapo.fil.ph: Yay! thanks Sir Ed, last time kasi na nag punta ako nag paalam ako kung pwedeng mag take ng pictures and sabi hindi daw e
edpiano: If you need museum photos > > http://olongapomuseum.blogspot.com/
edpiano: go ahead Edward, open sa public yon. Si Yang Elane in-charge doon.
Aiza: Pestong sold out na raw tickets!!! Kaasar! Sa labas na lang ako at maghihintay na masilayan man lang kahit limo nila! haha! Pathetic.
Gret: Kitakits tayo. You can stay with us. Lapit kami sa venue.
Gret: Aiz & Ilangilang check nyo YM nyo. You can buy in Lawson. I left a message for you, guys. Nandoon ang code.
Ilangilang: Aiz, manonood din ako!!!! May ticket ka na ba?
olongapo.fil.ph: Sir Ed pwede mo ba akong bigyan ng access sa olongapo city museum pra kumuha ng pictures?
edpiano: Hindi po totoo ms. silvergirl. Pls read http://subicbaynews.blogspot.com/2006/02/new-comment-on-olongapo-residents.html
olongapo.fil.ph: silvergirls de naman ata totoo yung mga kumakalat na text messages tungkol sa mga kidnap kidnap kung totoo man bakit hindi nakaka agaw ng attention? i mean sa TV etc.
silvergirl: totoo b yung balita kanina n may n kidnap n nmn daw s gordon hghts n 4 n bata?
olongapo.fil.ph: nakuh wag kayong mag aaway masama yan

Gret: Ako kaya kong harapin mga tao dito sa forum. Di ko nagpapalit-palit ng nick. La sa lahi namin impostor.
Gret: Yeah. It was so funny then. Nagbigayan ng number sa public forum? LOL!
Nya: susko..may worse pa nga last tym..dito sila sa forum nag uusap ng business nila!! may i apartment na daw ibenta...galore..
Gret: Yan din feeling ko. Hehe!
Nya: ok naman U2. pero sa yokohama eh. di man sila punta ng osaka
Nya: haha! oo nga eh..naramdaman ko na ang aura niya (nila?)
Nya: hehe! ms Gret,mali pala tagalog ko! well...i can sense na bumalik na nman ang mga impostor
Gret: Andito na ba mga apple pickers, Nya? Hehe!
Gret: Well, walang pakialamanan lang dito mga, tsong. Kung dito kami mag-uusap, it's our choice. Hwag nyo lang basahin, manggalaiti pa kayo sa inggit nyan.
Gret: Yup. Pupunta kami. Ewan ko kay Nya. Di nya masyado feel ata ang U2, e.
Aiza: Guys in Yokohama! May concert daw U2 dyan sa April. Ms. Gret, Nya di ba sa Japan kayo? Kita-kits sana dun.

LIly: Hwag masyadong arogante pwede naman kayong magtawagan no.
Cebu: American daw asawa but...Galing pala sa Hitler place
Cebu: Baka naman ung nag-aastang magaling di2.
Dong: yap yap yap. May Hitler daw asawa di2.Este galing sa yun n yun. Taga doon n yun.
*lam: sensya na Olongapo.fil.ph nabasa ko lang kay Mrs. Gret na may impostor daw di2.
Sal: very exagerated naman tong dalawang to tawagan nalang kayo no.
Gret : Kaya play safe tayo. Total naman di ko naman siya niloloko no? We're just having fun!
Gret : Haha! I remember the clubbing galore! Good, hwag mo ngang i-cmail yon. Binabasa nya mail ko at in-ask ako if I understand his pronunciation.
Vie: Hi! Queennie happy wedding. Good luck good health and great success.
Nya: Ms Gret, reminder sa 25th..clubbin! di ako maka text sayo about dat, baka mabasa pa ni chad at magtampo na he`s not invited!haha!
Nya: Hi Ms Gret! my date was ok.it`s so depressing. while nagliwaliw at naglulustang tayo ng pera (sori ms gret..ako lang pala naglulustang ng pera), natatabunan nman ng mud mga kabs natin sa leyte
olongapo.fil.ph: about school hindi ako nag graduate dito sa Olongapo ng high school, graduate ako sa capitol institute sa talipapa QC
olongapo.fil.ph: Thanks for always backing me up Sir Ed, about email kasi i would like to keep my privacy kaya un ang reason kung bakit hindi ko nilagay tunay na email ko, hope you understand
edpiano: saan school ka graduate edward, anong batch? maraming sjs, columban at ocnhs d2 sa board
edpiano: *lam i dont think olongapo.fil.ph is an impostor, edward ang nick nya kaya lang whatever@whatever.com email add nya kaya mahirap din mag verify
olongapo.fil.ph: Bakit ako naging impostor? ano ba ginawa ko?
Gret: Oy, Nya sorry di ko masyado na-read posts mo. Hehe. Musta pala date mo?
Aiza: So depressing naman ng mga recent news sa atin. Mula stampede tragedy hanggang mudslide. Hay, buhay.
*lam: baka impostor ka din Olonggapo.fil.ph n sinasabi ni Ms. Gret marami daw impostor dits.
Aiza: Ilangilang asan ka na?

Sean: limited kasi coverage mo, olongapo lang, d tulad d2 buong subic bay, sakop zambales at karatig/relevant news like clark
Sean: at walang mga patalastas di tulad ng site mo na may advertizement, sorry pero no thank you nalang sa invitation mo
Sean: mas madali pa mag share ng article d2. as easy as 1 - 2 -3
Sean: okay na kami d2, simple lang gamitin at d na kailangan mag register, complicated doon sa site mo, kaya iba na lang invite mo
olongapo.fil.ph: Yan meron na sa main navigation hehe submit ka ng article para mas malinay kulang kulang kwento mo e
olongapo.fil.ph: teka lagyan ko ng submit artocl baka hindi nyo agad makita e hehe
olongapo.fil.ph: Sulat ka ng article post mo sa olongapo.fil.ph mas maraming makaka rinig sayo
Sean: kala namin kwento lang yong binaril nyang nagkakabit ng ilaw sa provincial capitol dahil nakaharang, totoo pala
Sean: wala rin patawad si andar ano? hamakin mo kamag-anak nyan mas matanda sa kanya, public official at sa harap ng maraming tao nagawa nya yon
Sean: yong pala nag pang-abot na talaga
Sean: Sabi kasi sa channel 2 ay nagkasagutan lang sina cong diaz at "andar" ba yon?
Sean: Medyo tone down na pala ung narinig naming balita sa TV Patrol
olongapo.fil.ph: Also nag hahanap ako ng mga balita about olongapo latest event's etc. pwede kayo mag submit ng artcle
olongapo.fil.ph: community website pra sa olongapo
Gret: oo, you're so kulet. What's in there ba?
olongapo.fil.ph: Please visit olongapo.fil.ph ang kulet ko ba?
Dennise: don't worry buddy, i am as far as i can be from andar
/-: Hoy! Dennise taga saan ka? Make sure that you are not within reach of "Andar" else your life is in danger
Dennise: buti na lang at matapang ang kanilang vice governor na si mon lacbain, may pag-asa pa cla
Dennise: kawawa naman mga taga zambales, nababalot ng takot ang kanilang pamumuhay
Dennise: Kaya cguro di na nagtanong mga board members ng zambales at pinagbigyan agad gusto ni andar dahil takot mabanatan
olongapo.fil.ph: Please visit www.olongapo.fil.ph
/-: kakatakot sa zambales, mga namumuno, nagsusuntukan sa harap ng mga tao
Gret: Hello, girls. Nagiging masaya ata usapan these days, a. Lol! At napapa-join nyo sa kalokohan nyo si Tatay NoPAd.
Ilangilang: ano naman meaning pag ang laughter ay bwahahahaha?hehe!
Aiza: Ganun ba yon? I laugh he he he. Lol! So I love sex?Kaasar ka naman. Ba't pinanganak ka agad?!
NoPAd: sabi nila . . .people who laugh he he he love sex and . . .
NoPAd: people who laugh ha ha ha are intelligent
NoPAd: wala lang just to let you know hAe HAe hAE
Aiza: Nakupo! Tatay na pala kita, NoPAd. Na-excite pa naman ako sa yo. Akala ko ikaw na future ko! Hehe!
Ilangilang: thanx for the answer NoPAd.im 28,bisaya.hehe
NoPAd: 52 ilocano manang
Ilangilang: NoPAd,would you mind if i ask your age and nationality?
Aiza: Hmn, ganun? Hey, baka hinahanap mo GI Dad mo, NoPAd. Here's your chance. Hehe!
zip316j2ya@yahoo.com: I help find Fathers in The U.S. for free of course.
zip316j2ya@yahoo.com: I am glad I found this,I have a daughter in PI,I was there last Sept. to see her for the 1st time since 1975. Anyone needing help finding their American fathers contact me.
NoPAd: I hope this does not awaken a sleeping giant
NoPAd: they know before hand that this is a typical Muslim response when their religion is attacked
NoPAd: it could also be a deliberate ploy, "testing the waters" to check the strength/unity of radical Muslims in their locality
Gret: Freedom of expression? Come on! It's irresponsible journalism!
Gret: I am not a Muslim but I sympathize with them in their protests against newspapers in Europe and Australia for publishing and republishing the controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.
Nya: NoPAd,i agree!Never heard of NPAs raping women.
Gret: I agree with you, NoPad. Another controversy to silence the subic gang-rape case.
NoPAd: d subic rapists -killers who introduced themselves as NPAs is an obvious CIA operation aimed to blur the GI gang-rape case
Nya: taga Bali yun ms Gret.bka ganun din itsura taong kakilala natin!hehe
Nya: mas nakakatawa dati,sabi nya ?gib uf da fyt".hehe.kala ko dati,haf noypi/haf blak cya.kaya nga ako nagka idea sa ?ITA" image na yan.hehe.
Nya: ok sana mag gitara at gus2 ko mga kinakanta nya.yun nga lang mga words,minumurdr nya.
Nya: Ms Gret,madalas ako dun.ilang beses ko na nga napanood performance nya.
Gret: Yup, ganda ng boses. Kinanta nya fave song mo ang "I Shot the Sheri..."Hehe! La nga lang 'f'! LOL!
Gret: Oy Nya, nagpunta pala kami ni Chad sa Tin's Hall after ng dinner nating 4 and we saw this guy kumakanta dun, kulot ang buhok, payat, may kaitiman...half-half daw siya! Sounds familiar?
ilangilang: hello rommel!napasyal ka di2 sa forum!
romel : hi 2 ol la lng npadaan lng
Gret: Palagay ko nagpunta.
Nya: hello!may mga tao pa ba di2? kawawa naman mga nasawi sa stampede! ms. gret, d kaya nagpunta din yong mga impostor natin kachika sa forum dun sa show na yun? sana, d kac wala na akong katunggali!
Aiza: Oo nga, e. Kawawa naman sila. Ganyan na ba ka-poor sa tin?
Gret: Hey, guys. Have you heard about the stampede? Napaka-depressing naman. Embarrassing and depressing.
Aiza: Asan ka naka-base?
Aiza: Oks lang, Ilang-ilang. Ako nga nakiki-join lang din dito. Pro di ko masyado ma-dig pinagsasabi dito nila NYA and GRET cuz I'm new here also.
Gret: Hehe! I am so excited to meet you and boy tiklo together, at last!!!

17 Central Luzon villages 'high-risk'

2006-02-21T13:06:00.000+08:00

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO--At least 17 upland villages in three Central Luzon provinces are at "high-risk" to landslides, according to the chief geologist of the regional Mines and Geosciences Bureau here.

Orlando Pineda identified the highly vulnerable communities as Paltic, Caragsacan, Tanawan and Davil-Davilan in Dingalan town, Dimanayat and Diteki in San Luis town, Villa Maria in Maria Aurora town, Amper and Dinadiawan in Dipaculao town, all in Aurora; Labi in Bongabon town, Sawmill, South Poblacion, Malinao and Pantoc in Gabaldon town, all in Nueva Ecija; and Maamot, Sula and Lubigan in San Jose town in Tarlac.

Pineda said the risks in these villages were determined after a geo-hazard mapping last year.

Straddling the Central Luzon parts of the Sierra Madre and Zambales mountain ranges, these communities experienced landslides following four successive typhoons in November and December 2004.

MGB officials declared Paltic and Villa Maria as "no man's lands," meaning these were not suitable anymore for human settlement.

More than 100 people died in Paltic and five others in Villa Maria at the height of Typhoon Winnie in 2004 when debris from the mountains rolled down and the rivers there changed course, burying the villages.

Pineda said residents in San Miguel in Bulacan experienced damming last year and should also guard against a repeat of a flash flood.

According to him, Villa Maria, Diteki and Dimanayat face isolation as these are bounded by two rivers bulging now with debris. Rescue and relief missions there are possible only through air operations.

On Monday, Pineda advised Governors Bellaflor Angara-Castillo of Aurora, Tomas Joson II of Nueva Ecija, Jose Yap of Tarlac and Josefina de la Cruz of Bulacan to urge vigilance among the residents living in those areas.

Other parts of the country were also found to be landslide prone.

In Sitio Calambuan, Tayasan town, continuous rains brought a landslide. The site is 90 km north of Dumaguete City.

Richard Dayucos, village captain of Ilaya, said no one was reported hurt although the landslide damaged crops and pieces of property in a three-hectare area.

The landslide happened on Friday, two hours before the landslide in St. Bernard, Southern Leyte.

Residents of Ilaya Village have moved out of the place since the 1980s when a river overflowed and brought devastation.

The landslide brought boulders and white silica sand down a 100-meter slope and turned a portion of the Ilaya River into a lake 100 meters wide.

Dario Amistoso, a resident of Barangay Ilaya, said he could hear the landslide from his house some 200 meters away.

Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon Desk with a report from Alex Pal, Inquirer Visayas Bureau

OCNHS Project wins 2nd in National Science Project

2006-02-21T13:02:00.000+08:00

Talisai Seed as an Additive for Fuel Diesel

Biology intensified in SIHAY '06

By MINI A. CAMPOS / UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES LOS BAÑOS

Revolutionizing the customary biology quiz contests at the University of the Philippines Los Baños, SIHAY, UP Cell Biological Society’s foremost activity, was born at a time of great uncertainty and supposed shortcomings.

UP Cells members conduct DNA extraction during the workshop.

SIHAY THROUGH THE YEARS

Two years after its inception on August 9, 1990, the Institute of Biological Sciences-based and Bio students-exclusive UP Cells sought ways on repackaging biology and giving it a whole new image. Cellpukan ng Galing at Talino a trivia quiz contest was introduced as an intellectual food for the hungry minds.

It was not until March 1996 that the society’s junior adviser, Norberto Cruz III and Education Committee head Glen Neira materialized the concept of a high school biology quiz contest in Region IV and CALABARZON. SIHAY, derived from the union of si (from silid) hay (from na may buhay), the crowning glory of the weeklong celebration of CELL WEEK was finally firmly established.

The 1st SIHAY Inter-High School Biology Quiz Contest was first administered on February 8, 1997 at the D.L. Umali Hall, UPLB. With the unexpected crowd turnout and triumph, SIHAY became one of the organization major activity since then.

The annual success of SIHAY led to a sprout of pioneering ideas for the promotion of the biological sciences. February 2, 2001 marked the 1st SIHAY Inter-High School Biology Competition, which, aside from only the Quiz Contest, also include a logo making contest, an essay writing contest for instructors and students, and an inter-high school Biology Fair).

This year, in UP Cell’s crystal (15th) anniversary, the organization, together with its junior adviser Marni Cueno and Education Committee head Kathleen Ann Enriquez, repackaged and intensified SIHAY into a bigger – extending it to as far as Luzonwide – and exceptional event.

BIOLOGY CONGRESS

Bearing the theme "Looking at Our Own: The Coconut Biotechnology", the recently concluded two-day 1st SIHAY Biology Congress 2006 held at UPLB was packed with several activities such as field tours on various laboratories in UPLB, a series of seminars on the recent advances in Biotechnology, workshops on laboratory protocols, Sihay Inter-High School Quiz Contest and Sihay Biology Research Competition. The congress, duly endorsed by the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and hosted by the UP Cells, was participated in by 250 high school students and instructors all over Luzon.

Designed to expose the participants to the current biotechnological advances existing in the country, particularly in Los Baños, the field tour saw high school students and instructors being toured at the Institute of Plant Breeding (IPB) Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory, Genetics Laboratory and Biochemistry Lab. The participants were also given the chance to explore the National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (BIOTECH) Central Analytical Service Laboratory, Electron Microscopy Services Laboratory and Immunology Laboratory.

To disseminate advances in science and technology, particularly the state of Coconut Biotechnology in our country, a series of seminars was conducted by academician Evelyn Mae Tecson-Mendoza, Dr. Erlinda Rillo and Dr. Rita Laude.

In Understanding Biotechnology, Dr. Tecson-Mendoza emphasized the importance of genetic engineering, as well as the issues and concerns of biotechnology. On the other hand, Dr. Rillo discussed the coconut tissue and embryo culture program of the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA). This technology is now being used to mass produce the Makapuno coconut in the country. Dr. Laude, pointed out that coconut molecular biology works focused on three main discoveries, particularly gene discovery, isoform discovery and discovery of an ontogenetic pattern of expression in coconut, to conclude the seminar series.

To impart basic knowledge on advance laboratory techniques, workshops on DNA and RNA extraction were conducted by several members of U.P. Cells.

SIHAY Inter-high school quiz contest, participated in by high school students from various schools in Luzon, aimed to establish awareness on the basic concepts in Biology and the recent developments in the field. The Philippine Science High School Main Campus team, comprised of Mark de Jesus, Laurenzo Alba and Vanessa Laneta, emerged as the champion. Placing 2nd and 3rd are Saint Bridget College and Mother Goose Special School System, Inc., respectively.

Current and on-going science projects of high school students from different schools in Luzon competed in the SIHAY Biology Research Competition. U.P. Rural High School, represented by Vittorio Lloyd Salac, once again claimed the top spot with the research entitled "DNA Markers for Assessing the Genetic Diversity and Phylogenetic Relationships of Selected Cultivars of Kappaphycus alvarezii (Soleriaceae, Rhodophyta). Olongapo City National High School’s entry entitled "Methyl Ester from Talisai Seed as an Additive for Fuel Diesel" landed on the 2nd spot while Muntinlupa Science High School’s entry entitled "Chemical Characterization and Bacteriistatic Assay of Areca catechu Seed Extract Using Paper Disc Immobilized Bioluminescence Technology" came in at 3rd.

(The author is a graduating B.S. Biology, major in Cell and Molecular Biology, student at the University of the Philippines Los Baños. She also is the Secretary of the UP Cell Biological Society.)

Officials warn of more disasters

2006-02-20T12:46:00.000+08:00

By Luige A. del Puerto
Inquirer

UNLESS an early warning system is set up to advise people living in flood- and landslide-prone areas, a disaster similar to what took place in St. Bernard town in Southern Leyte province could hit the country's eastern seaboard again, the defense department warned yesterday.

"Over the next four months, there is the danger that this flooding and landslide will happen again ... These flood-prone and landslide-prone areas could be hit," Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz Jr. said.

The eastern seaboard refers to provinces that lie near the Philippine Sea and Pacific Ocean. They include Cagayan, Isabela, Quirino, Aurora, Quezon, the Bicol provinces, Samar and Leyte islands, Surigao and Agusan provinces and Davao Oriental.

Once La Niña comes, these areas would be the hardest hit, according to Dr. Graciano Yumul, chief of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA). La Niña is a weather phenomenon characterized by heavy rains.

In fact, in the next 24 hours, heavy rains brought by La Niña are expected to hit Davao Oriental, the Cotabato provinces and the Caraga region -- all in Mindanao, PAGASA said.

Without citing specific places, Cruz said landslides, in fact, had already been reported in other areas of the country.

Mapping

Cruz said the government had begun mapping out the towns prone to floods and landslides. Once the list is ready, he will ask the media to help disseminate the information.

Officials of the National Disaster Coordinating Council will also discuss the matter with governors, mayors and village chiefs.

The House committee on housing and urban development yesterday asked the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to promptly publish the list of all landslide- and disaster-prone areas in the country to adequately forewarn the public.

Committee chair Representative Eduardo Zialcita of Parañaque said the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) of the DENR had come up with a landslide susceptibility map as early as 2004 but nothing was done to relay that information to local government units (LGUs).

Zialcita said the MGB report would be useful in the government's assessment of what had been done to educate LGUs about the map.

He lamented that the MGB had failed to issue the necessary warning to residents of St. Bernard and, thus, the catastrophic landslide that buried an entire village in the town.

Preventable

"The [MGB must] update us on how they have conducted their information dissemination for their landslide susceptibility map," said Zialcita.

On Saturday, an official of an environment protection group blamed the government for failing to take safety measures that could have prevented the landslide.

Clemente Bautista, national coordinator of Kalikasan-People's Network for the Environment, said the government had identified St. Bernard as a landslide-prone area in 2003.

He said the deaths could have been prevented, if not minimized, if the government had acted early enough by initiating a massive reforestation program and by setting up a locally based early warning system.

"There should be proper information dissemination of all matters pertaining to potential landslides and other disasters. A publication of all areas that are vulnerable to landslides should be the first step in educating and forewarning our people," Zialcita said.

Early warning

There are three things that local officials can do to prepare for a disaster, officials said.

One is to evacuate the residents to safer ground. Another is to apply an engineering solution to an impending disaster, such as the building of dikes. The third and cheapest way is to set up an early warning system, such as the one now in use in Aurora and Quezon provinces.

Cruz narrated how residents in flood-prone areas in Southern Luzon had placed posts that can measure the rise of water in a river.

Alert level 4, for example, would mean that the people need to leave their homes for higher ground.

"In Quezon, when (the water) reaches level 4, the mechanism (in place) is to ring the church bells. One person would ride a bike telling the people that the water is rising. There are many indigenous and creative ways (to set up) early warning devices," the defense secretary said.

The Citizens Disaster Response Center (CDRC) has urged the government to adopt concrete measures to address the causes of people's vulnerability to disasters.

CRDC advocacy officer Katharina Ann Berza said in a statement that an average of 317 disasters hits the country every year, affecting millions of Filipinos.

She noted a rising frequency in disasters during the last decade and a subsequent increase in the number of people affected. Last year, a total of 10.4 million people were affected by 440 disasters. Ten years ago, 408 disasters affected 9.9 million people.

"One would assume that given these disasters, a comprehensive disaster management system and program should have already been in place and a separate government body that gives special and undivided attention to the many tasks of disaster management formed," CRDC said.

Disappointingly, the CRDC observed, the disaster response system in the country was reactive, emergency-focused and relief-centered.

The group noted that while the government was allotting more than 30 percent of its annual budget to foreign debt servicing, it was setting aside a measly 0.1 percent for calamity funds.

For his part, Von Hernandez, campaigns director of Greenpeace Southeast Asia, urged the government to prepare for the consequences of logging and climate change.

"There had been warnings that the combined threats of destructive logging and an increase in extreme weather events caused by climate change would intensify the impact of disasters," Hernandez said in another statement. With reports from Michael Lim Ubac and Delfin T. Mallari Jr., PDI Southern Luzon Bureau

Don’t let VFA ‘benefits’ blind you

2006-02-17T12:42:00.000+08:00

IBON FOUNDATION WARNS ARROYO

By Jun P. Yap, Daily Tribune

Instead of allowing itself to be blinded by so-called “benefits,” the Arroyo administration should seriously weigh the pros and cons of the Republic of the Philippines-United States (RP-US) Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).

This was the reminder made yesterday by the independent think-tank Ibon Foundation in the wake of killings of members of militant groups and the rape of a 22-year-old Filipina in Subic, Olongapo City last November.

“Sovereignty has no price. Moreover, this ‘aid’ does not benefit Filipinos but even raises many issues on the humanitarian and development aspects of foreign aid,” Ibon research director Antonio Tujan said.

Besides, Tujan added, the aid provided by the VFA is not being used to uplift people’s conditions but is only a tool for “pacification.”

He said it is useless for Philippine officials like Presidential Commission on the VFA executive director Zosimo Paredes to warn the country could lose some $8 million a year in military aid.

Tujan pointed out the “aid” had become prominent in campaign against rebel groups, involving the systematic killing and repression of unarmed civilians.

Last year alone, he said 74 activists, including human rights lawyers, local government officials, Church workers and community organizers were killed supposedly by the military.

Earlier this week, members of the militant Bayan Muna non-government organization were killed in the provinces. Militants immediately blamed the military for the incident.

“Development programs and projects are being implemented not to truly address the development needs and agenda of poor Filipinos but to address the military and economic agenda of the US,” Tujan said.

He added so-called special relations with a past colonial master have no place in a country that claims to be independent.

“These relations must be established on the basis of mutual benefit and the non-compromise of each country’s sovereignty. The VFA clearly violates this basic principle and thus should be terminated,” he said.

A look at Gordon’s tourism bill

2006-02-13T09:13:00.000+08:00

INSIDE CEBU By Bobit S. Avila, The Philippine Star

Our good friend Sen. Richard "Dick" Gordon is quite visible these days selling his latest tourism idea through a proposition called the Senate Bill No. 2138, otherwise known as the "Tourism Act of 2005".

Honestly, I don’t know if this proposal is an amendment of previous laws on tourism or whether this is entirely a new bill. But nonetheless, President Arroyo has certified that Gordon’s bill should be considered "urgent" and therefore a priority bill of her administration.

Gordon is proposing to create Tourism Philippines, a corporation combining the functions of the Philippine Convention and Visitors Corp. (PCVC) and the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA), which would also include the promotions and marketing departments of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). This is purportedly to strengthen the tourism industry.

But before I could get the comments of the members of the Hotel, Resorts and Restaurants Association of Cebu (HRRAC) on this proposed bill, another group called the National Association of Independent Travel Agencies (Naitas) chaired by Bobby Joseph called a press conference last Wednesday to object to the proposal, citing that "the majority of the tourism stakeholders, those who will be directly affected by the measure, were never consulted when the bills were considered in the Senate and the House of Representatives."

One key objection is the collection of a tourism fee of $5 per day/night on top of the rack rates for all hotels. I don’t know the thoughts of Gordon on this but certainly the tourists paying top dollar at the Mactan Island Shangri-la Resort or Plantation Bay wouldn’t mind paying that fee but to a downtown hotel that sounds pretty steep. They could end up losing clients altogether.

Perhaps next week, the HRRAC would have their own comments on this bill, not to mention those coming from the Hotel and Restaurant Association of the Philippines (HRAP).

I reckon that Gordon just has to respond to the objections. After all, as Mrs. Arroyo promised when she took her oath of office her administration will be a government of consultation and Cebu will be a major tourism hub, the backbone of the government’s effort to improve tourism industry.

We’re not saying that Gordon doesn’t know the problems of tourism in this country. Of course he does, but that doesn’t mean that he shouldn’t consult with the people in the industry who would be affected by his tourism bill. He should!

I was just browsing through the proposal and yes, it calls for a huge reorganization of the present inutile set up in the Department of Tourism (DOT) and the agencies handling tourism.

Gordon is right when he says, "At present, there are three lead agencies in tourism — the DOT, the PTA and the PCVC. But they don’t have clear functions, mandates and powers. All three are involved in promotions.

DOT and PTA and local governments are involved in tourism development. There’s not enough money to go around as it is, yet we still have to divide it into three. PTA was supposed to develop tourism zones. Did it do that? No, instead it went into business, but all its businesses are losing money. And to think, it receives P500 million a year from travel taxes, and they have nothing to show for it. For PCVC, when it was established in 1981, Manila was the number one center for international conventions in Asia, and number eight in the world. But because PCVC never got the money to promote the Philippines, we just disappeared from the radar.

The bill proposes that DOT should focus on drafting regulations in cooperation with the private sector. The PTA will be reorganized into the Tourism Enterprise Zone Authority to develop tourism zones together with the private sector, and PTA’s businesses will be spun off or liquidated. PCVC will be reorganized into a joint public and private sector effort that will get the money it needs to promote the Philippines.

I do not doubt the noble goal that Sen. Gordon has set for the tourism industry and I know that after reading this column, I’m going to get a call from Dick. So early on, let me say that his proposal has good points, which should be magnified but there are certainly some objectionable points, which need to be clarified before all hell breaks loose!

My first major objection is Sec. 13 which calls for the setting up of regional offices just like any government department. I don’t know if this is a political compromise hatched by Gordon to please the other members of Congress who would demand a tourism office even if it will take eons to bring tourists to their shore, otherwise they might not vote to pass this bill. What Gordon is doing is recreating the same bureaucracy which as you know will be staffed by people who know nothing about the tourism industry because they are mere "bata bata’s" of politicians! If you ask me, this is nothing but a job creation that the tourism industry doesn’t need. Give us a break, Dick.

Another objection I have is the renaming of the Philippine Tourism Authority (PTA) to the Philippine Tourism Assets Corp. (PTAC), which will supposedly replace the moribund and inutile PTA under whose supervision Cebu lost its famous Gary Player designed Kang-Irag Golf Course. The Kang-Irag Golf course was 85 percent completed when the PTA sequestered it after the EDSA Revolt. PTA gave Kang-Irag to that boastful Jose Go of Ever Gotesco who proceeded to bulldoze the entire golf course against our protestations. If they only listened to us, we would have saved at least nine holes of that golf course. Today, nothing is left and no one in the government has been jailed for this horrifying disaster in Cebu!

Why can’t the government simply shutdown the PTA and sell all those assets which they already know are losing money for the government? If you ask me, this bill is merely changing the collar of an already inutile dog called the PTA. We should get rid of the dog and all its fleas! I strongly believe that the government should get out of business, which we all know have become the "milking cow" of the political patronage system. Just take a good look at all the sequestered TV and radio stations 20 years later and find out who is pocketing some of the loose change there? Finally, I support Sec. 12 creating the Bureau of Tourism Standards, Regulations and Industry because we need to create a "Culture of Tourism," which is something we already wrote about a few years ago but since we’ve ran out of space we shall write more about this issue in future columns.

Behave like ambassadors, US Embassy warns GIs

2006-02-12T08:11:00.000+08:00

AMERICAN troops in this year's "Balikatan" exercises are barred from hiring sex workers and ordered to behave like "informal ambassadors."

The United States Embassy yesterday reiterated that American soldiers taking part in joint RP-US military exercises in the country are barred from hiring sex workers, which it said is a crime punishable under US military law.

It also said US troops participating in this year's Balikatan exercises are ordered to behave as "informal ambassadors" of their country, treat Filipinos with military courtesy whether on or off duty, and refrain from making statements or wearing clothing "which may offend a Filipino."

Also, no liberty or annual leave will be granted to US Armed Forces personnel while they are here for Balikatan 2006, the mission announced.

The embassy made the statement a day after being visited by a Philippine congressional committee pursuing the government's bid to gain custody of four US Marines charged with raping a 22-year-old Filipino woman at the Subic Freeport in November last year.

Humanitarian activities

Widely considered a test of RP-US relations, the case triggered a resurgence of anti-US sentiments as many saw it as a throwback to the years when the country hosted US military bases and American troops accused of committing crimes against Filipinos largely eluded prosecution.

The embassy tackled the matter of "sexual conduct," notably, also in the wake of media reports of how local sex workers have started "flocking" to Jolo, Sulu, regarded as a conservative Muslim town in Mindanao.

About a dozen US troops aboard a Philippine Navy vessel arrived at the Jolo pier early yesterday morning in preparation for a humanitarian mission. They unloaded a container, four Humvee vehicles, power generators and earth-moving equipment to be used by US forces later this month.

Not here for combat

Some 250 soldiers are expected to take part in the exercise, which will focus on civic works and humanitarian activities for the impoverished residents, from Feb. 20 to March 5.

Just minutes before the Americans arrived, the head of police intelligence in Jolo, Henry Elumbaring, was shot dead by a suspected Abu Sayyaf gunman as he was walking from his home just a short distance from the gates of the national police camp.

His assailant fled into a nearby housing area, evading police who gave chase.

Capt. Leo Lebriech, head of the US mission, stressed that the US forces would not be in Jolo for combat operations, saying "we are here for the humanitarian mission and engineering capabilities and nothing else."

While the Americans and their equipment were taken to Philippine military camps, videoke bars featuring scantily dressed women had sprouted near the area, the Inquirer reported on Tuesday, quoting a local official.

Most of the sex workers were young and had come from Pagadian City, Dipolog City and Zamboanga City, the report added.

Wings clipped

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, co-chair of the Legislative Oversight committee on the Visiting Forces Agreement (Lovfa), said that because of the rape case, "the American military has become more strict about the liberty of their soldiers, especially when it comes to looking for [sex workers]."

The US military had issued General Order Number One for the RP-US Balikatan exercises this year which prohibits American soldiers to leave their camps in the Philippines.

"One dire result of this rape case is that there is a general order for Balikatan 2006 that there will no longer be any leave or liberty for American soldiers. They will no longer be allowed to leave their military camps," Santiago said.

"They will no longer be allowed to go out while they're in the country. They'll only be doing full-duty work while they're here," said Sen. Richard Gordon, a Lovfa member.

Lovfa members on Thursday morning visited the four Marines who are under guard at the US Embassy.

Santiago explained that in every scheduled Balikatan exercise, the US military issues a general order that states what American soldiers can and cannot do while they are in the Philippines.

Not even merienda

"This general order [for 2006] means that they can no longer buy T-shirts or merienda [from Filipinos] wherever they are assigned in the country," she said.

Santiago also pointed out that US President George W. Bush in September 2005 made it a crime under American law for US soldiers to look for sex workers.

The Lovfa members met for about an hour with the four US Marines-Staff Sgt. Chad Brian Carpentier, 27; Lance Corporals Daniel Smith, 20; Dominic Duplantis, 21, and Keith Silkwood, 23-and were surprised by the soldiers' youth. (INQ7)

Expressway execs condemn rallyists for 'mob mentality'

2006-02-12T08:03:00.000+08:00

By Marna H. Dagumboy, Sun Star

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- Officials of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) recently condemned protesters for their "mob mentality" in their demand to freeze the Anti-Overloading Law.

This, after well-meaning leaders made an observation in accordance to the radical protest action at the NLEx premises allegedly staged by certain people with vested interests in their demand to freeze of the said law.

Meanwhile, the Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC) appealed for sobriety among the protesting truckers in order to share common concern for the greater welfare of our people.

In a related development, Transportation Undersecretary Ricky Alfonso defended the NLEx ban on overloaded trucks, adding that since last year, the DOT has forewarned them already.

"We are being laughed at by the international community because we are not implementing our own laws on overloading," the official said in an early interview.

"While the government and MNTC are not defenseless should our offer for peace is spurned, we still believe that genuine dialogue will continue to make winners of us all. Let's keep our expressway and other streets free from harm and mischief," Marlene Ochoa, MNTC director for communications, stressed.

Ochoa said the rallyists used trucks and other vehicles as their means to block some entry and exit points of the NLEx, which caused monstrous traffic jams in several areas.

"We deeply regret the precipitate action of an association of truck drivers to block and slow down traffic leading to the new NLEx in their attempt to force the hand of government to suspend the Anti-Overloading Law," Ochoa said.

Safety and anti-overloading advocates described the protest action as a "desperate attempt" to force the government to suspend implementation of Republic Act 8794 commonly known as the Motor Vehicle Users' Charge (MVUC) Law.

On the other hand, lawyer-advocate Rafael dela Torre viewed the barricades as a "senseless and condemnable machination being employed by those opposing strict enforcement of the anti-overloading law."

"It is about time for the authorities to crack the whip and compel this recalcitrant mob to adhere to the rule of law. It is bad enough that they are endangering public safety and welfare by demanding that they be allowed to flagrantly violate the Anti-Overloading Law," dela Torre said.

"This latest ploy to promote their selfish motives at the expense of public safety is even worse. This is tantamount to terrorism and economic sabotage which must not be left unchecked by the authorities," he added.

He said enforcement of the laws "is a State commitment beyond lip service because this is a serious matter, short of being a life-and-death issue."

Enacted in 2000, RA 8794 sets a load limit of 13,500 kilograms per axle as stipulated by the MVUC, reputedly the highest load limit in the world.

Public-school achievement tests set

2006-02-12T08:00:00.000+08:00

By JONATHAN M. HICAP, Manila Times Reporter

Public elementary and high-school students will wrap up the school year with various exams to test their competencies.

Acting Education Secretary Fe Hidalgo announced Friday that in the high-school level, the National Achievement Tests will be given on March 9 for the first year, March 14 for the fourth year and March 15 for the second year. The NAT for Grade 6 pupils will be on March 7.

The English and Filipino reading tests for Grade 3 pupils in all public schools will be on February 28.

An oral reading test and constructed response test will be given on a sample student population by the National Education Testing and Research Council from March 20 to 31.

In last year’s achievement tests, public elementary and high-school students fared poorly, with average scores below the passing mark.

Pupils in public elementary schools posted a 59.10-percent score in Math, 59.15 percent in English, 54.12 percent in Science, 61.75 percent in Filipino and 59.55 percent in Hekasi. The scores are way below the passing grade of 75 percent.

Students in public high schools also garnered scores that were below the passing mark. Based on the mean-percentage scores, public high-school students posted scores of 50.7 in Math, 51.33 in English, 39.49 in science, 42.49 in Filipino and 50.01 in Health and Sibika. The achievement tests covered the five subject areas.

Gov’t adopts new scholarship scheme

2006-02-12T07:52:00.000+08:00

By Sandy Araneta, The Philippine Star

The government has adopted a new scholarship program called the "scholarship voucher," which allows pubic school students to be transferred to private learning institutions.

The voucher scheme is described as a two-pronged approach to the current educational problem. By transferring scholars from public schools to private learning institutions, enrollment rate is improved in these institutions and overpopulation in public schools is reduced.

President Arroyo recently distributed 250 high school scholarships to five public elementary schools during her visit to Pangasinan.

The recipients of the new program include the Dulag Elementary School, Cabayaasan Elementary School, Dupong Centro Elementary School, Pagawas Elementary School and the Matic Matic Elementary School.

Under the program, each school will award scholarships to 50 deserving students for enrollment in a private high school.

The high school voucher program aims to enroll deserving public elementary school graduates who cannot be accommodated by public high schools due to lack of classrooms.

Some P500 million has been allotted by the government for the construction of new classrooms and the delivery of new textbooks and instructional materials.

Funds have been allotted for more high school scholars in private schools in the 2006 budget.

Wowowee: Hope amidst tragedy

2006-02-12T07:48:00.000+08:00

IMMIGRATION CORNER By Michael J. Gurfinkel
The Philippine Star

In the aftermath of the tragic stampede in Pasig (Ultra) that resulted in the deaths of at least 74 persons, and injuries to hundreds more, some are calling for the end of the popular noontime TV show "Wowowee", and the dismissal of its popular host Willie Revillame, because the show somehow "exploits the poor." While I respect these points of view, I would like to humbly offer my own opinion about a person who really has a kind heart, and a show that brings hope and joy to so many.

Preliminarily, I offer my sincerest sympathy and condolences to the victims and their families. It is a tragedy that no one wanted to happen. I see that Willie and ABS-CBN are stepping forward and addressing the needs of the victims and their families. But I would also feel sorry for the millions of viewers who will lose the chance to be entertained and the hope of striking it big if Wowowee is pulled off the air.

While I have had the privilege to work with many celebrities, the thing that struck me most about Willie was his sincere passion and desire to help people in need.

When I accompanied him to the US Embassy in Manila for the processing of his entertainer’s visa for a series of Wowowee shows in the United States, people approached him to narrate their problems and greet him. He listened to each one of them, and gladly accommodated all those wanting autographs. Each eager fan was treated like a close friend.

In New York, Filipinos also came to him in droves, despite the bad weather, hoping to solicit help for their personal problems. Not only did he listen, he followed through with solutions, when he could. One contestant, Daniel Costes, had not seen his daughter for 9 years. Willie asked me to help, and we are assisting Daniel in bringing his daughter to the U.S. But that would have never happened, without the help of Willie.

This intense desire to help people in any way he can, has endeared Willie and Wowowee to millions of Filipinos all over the world, who watch his show thru ABS-CBN International and The Filipino Channel. It is not surprising then that so many Filipino balikbayans have made it a point to watch Wowowee live when they are in Manila and gladly give $10, $20, or more as prizes to the poorer members of the audience. Willie’s spirit of "giving" is contagious to others. He loves his audience, and would never dream of bringing harm to them.

Entertaining people and offering them some hope should be commended, not condemned. It is heartwarming to see people having fun, smiling and laughing at Wowowee, and some going home with bundles of money or goodies that they have won at the program.

I do not believe that Wowowee exploits the poor. The show (or its format) is really not the issue in this case, but instead how crowd control was handled and who may be responsible. (On that issue, I take no position and have no opinion. I leave it to others to resolve that point.) While everyone agrees that the tragic deaths are something no one wanted to happen, game shows such as Wowowee, offer "hope" to people. Saying we should end a show because it offers hope means that shows such as American Idol, Star for a Night, Night of Champions, and even beauty contests should likewise end, because they also offer hope and promise of fame, fortune, and a better life. But isn’t it hope that keeps us going? It enables us to bear the unbearable, all because of a chance, however small, of raising one’s self up from their present condition.

Using the same logic for canceling Wowowee, doctors should stop practicing medicine for the terminally ill, as it gives them hope. Lawyers should turn away clients with problems too difficult to resolve, as it may give the person "hope". But if turning away the hopeless is to be commended, how many of my own clients would still be in despair? Many had hopeless cases, but we offered them hope. And for those clients who believed, many were able to achieve their American Dream.

While not everyone would win a house, tricycle or money, all fans of Wowowee find the hope and inspiration it offers to give them strength. In the end, we may all learn from this tragedy, but shows such as Wowowee should be allowed to continue to entertain and offer hope and inspiration to viewers, audience, and contestants.

Usec. Luz transfer a ‘mockery’ of civil service, says CSC officer

2006-02-11T10:34:00.000+08:00

By Jonathan M. Hicap, Reporter And Candice Cerezo, Manila Times Researcher

CHAIRMAN Karina Constantino-David of the Civil Service Commission said that Malacañang’s transfer of Education Undersecretary Juan Miguel Luz is undermining the security of tenure of career officers and “making a mockery” of efforts to uplift government service.

“The message that is being sent is that career officials better tow the line set by the political leadership, no matter what, lest you be another Luz,” David said in her dissenting opinion concerning the decision issued by the commission on the appeal filed by Luz regarding Malacañang’s order transferring him from the Department of Education to the labor department.

Luz lost in the case after Commissioners J. Waldemar Valmores and Cesar Buenaflor voted to dismiss his appeal, saying the commission had no jurisdiction over the case.

David was the lone dissenter in the three-man panel, which decided the case.

She contended that the commission had jurisdiction over the case being the central personnel agency of the government tasked to handle cases involving personnel actions such as transfer, reassignment, demotion and separation.

She believed that Malacañang’s order was prompted by political motive following Luz’s refusal to accept three checks worth P15 million from the President’s Social Fund for the supposed scholarship program of Rep. Antonio Diaz of Zambales.

“If a career official can be taken out of the department [either by termination or by other means such as reassignment], for no apparent reason, then the ‘insecurity’ of the rest of the career bureaucracy, is a reality,” David said.

She said Luz’s reassignment to the DOLE “was tainted with bad faith and was not done in the interest of public service.”

He position was backed by the CSC Office for Legal Affairs, which recommended the grant of Luz’ appeal.

Luz sought the CSC’s help after Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita issued a memo on October 4, 2005, telling him that he was being reassigned to DOLE.

David said while Luz can be transferred to another department, he being a career executive officer, there is no vacancy for an undersecretary in the labor department, a requirement under a resolution by the Career Executive Service Board.

She found out that all three undersecretary positions at the DOLE are occupied and Luz would probably be placed at a lower position with diminution in his rank and salary.

“Or worse, he might even end up on ‘floating’ status, which is a violation of [CESB rules],” David said.

The commissioner said President Arroyo’s power of discretion to reassign an official is not absolute since “there are conditions that must be met.”

She said Malacañang tried to transfer Luz after it failed to terminate his service since Luz is a career executive officer.

“Obviously, the reassignment option was reached because the first option, that of removal, did not work,” she said.

The other thing that convinced David that Luz’s transfer was done in bad faith was that the Office of the President failed to submit to the commission the November 12, 2002, appointment of Luz, a crucial evidence in the case.

“The inescapable conclusion is that the Office of the President wants to suppress this piece of evidence,” she said.

The November 12 appointment assured Luz of his security of tenure as education undersecretary, David said.

She said the transfer “was not done in the interest of public service” as Malacañang claimed, since Luz’s position as undersecretary for administration and finance “is particularly crucial.”

“Definitely, his reassignment would unduly derail the smooth operations of the department, which will ultimately prejudice the service,” she said.

David said Luz would be more needed at DepEd, a department with close to 500,000 employees, than at the labor department, with only a little over 7,000 employees.

Senators press SC for TRO vs EO 464

2006-02-11T10:12:00.000+08:00

‘Warn of crisis in gov’t

FAILURE of Cabinet officials to appear before budget deliberations by invoking Executive Order 464 prompted 17 senators led by Senate President Franklin Drilon to ask the Supreme Court yesterday to immediately issue a temporary restraining order against the so-called gag order.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye and Interior Undersecretary Marius Corpus invoked EO 464 as reason for not appearing before the Senate Wednesday for the hearing of the proposed 2006 budgets of their respective offices.

This prompted senators to propose a P1 budget for the Office of the Press Secretary and the Department of Interior and Local Government. They also warned of rejection by the Commission on Appointments of appointees who will snub confirmation hearings.

On Thursday, senators virtually declared war on Malacañang and vowed to get back at officials who will invoke EO 464 in refusing Senate invitations to congressional and confirmation hearings.

EO 464, signed by President Arroyo last September 27, prohibits department heads and generals in the Armed Forces and the National Police from appearing before congressional hearings without permission from Arroyo.

In October last year, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita issued Memorandum Order 192 which allows officials to attend confirmation and budget hearings up to Dec. 31, 2005.

Last Jan. 27, he issued MO 192-A which allows the officials, "unless otherwise specifically directed," to attend budget and confirmation hearings until June 30, 2006.

But Ermita on Wednesday said they had come up with another directive revoking MOs 192 and 192-A. He said this was on the advice of the Palace’s legal department pending resolution of petitions before the Supreme Court questioning the legality of EO 464.

No copy of the directive has been made available by the Palace.

Sixteen senators asked the Supreme Court in October last year to declare EO 464 unconstitutional, saying it violates the principle of separation of powers and corollary checks and balance by frustrating the functions of Congress and infringing on the basic principle of transparency and on access to information.

Their urgent motion, filed late yesterday, followed a Supreme Court resolution setting oral arguments on February 21.

The petitioners aside from Drilon were Senators Juan Flavier, Francis Pangilinan, Aquilino Pimentel, Rodolfo Biazon, Pia Cayetano, Jinggoy Estrada, Loi Estrada, Juan Ponce Enrile, Richard Gordon, Panfilo Lacson, Alfredo Lim, Sergio Osmeña III, Ralph Recto, Mar Roxas III, Jamby Madrigal, and Manuel Villar.

Villar, who was out of the country at the time, was not among those who signed the October petition.

In the urgent motion, the senators through lawyer Pacifico Agabin said the implementation of EO 464 will lead to "another crisis in the bureaucracy" as even legislation grounds to a halt.

"In the light of the above developments critical to the nation, petitioners respectfully pray for the intervention of the Honorable Court and for the immediate resolution of their application for TRO and/or writ of preliminary injunction," Agabin said in the seven-page motion.

Agabin said hearings for the P1.05 trillion proposed national budget for 2006 have been blocked because of the invocation by officials of EO 464.

Failure to pass the budget will result in the reenactment of the 2005 appropriations.

Senators have said under a reenacted budget, Arroyo will be able to realign and transfer funds from one office to another.

Agabin noted that even nominees for Cabinet-level positions have refused to appear for confirmation hearings, also invoking the EO.

"This will lead to another crisis in the bureaucracy since the chairman of the CoA (Commission on Appointments) has threatened to reject all nominees for top Cabinet positions who refuse to appear before the Commission, and that thereafter, they will have to vacate their positions which they are temporarily occupying," Agabin said.

In their October petition, the senators said EO 464 was a case of a "blatant executive overreaching into legislative authority at its worst, the timing of its enactment showing that it is intended no less than to insulate the President and virtually all government officials from justified public scrutiny and congressional inquiry."

The senators said the President’s "executive privilege does not shield executive officials from testifying before Congress" and that the trend in jurisprudence is toward more liberal access to information, and more restricted use of the privilege.

Aside from the senators, other groups that opposed the EO were the party-list Bayan Muna, the Alternative Lawyers Group, former Solicitor General Francisco Chavez, and the PDP-Laban led by Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay.

The Office of the Solicitor General has said EO 464 was intended to ensure the observance of the principle of the separation of powers, adherence to the rule on executive privilege, and respect for the rights of public officials appearing in legislative investigations.

Biazon yesterday said Malacañang’s move to clip the Senate’s powers would only make palatable to the public extra-constitutional means being pushed by some sectors to oust Arroyo.

Biazon said the continued implementation of EO 464 would lead to the "erosion of the credibility of government institutions and the breakdown of institutional processes."

This, he said, could then "lead to a total loss of institutional options to correct what is wrong in government."

"The loss of institutional options and constitutional processes would make extra-constitutional means as a last resort acceptable to the people," he said.

He said sectors that have up to this time rejected the idea of another popular uprising to oust Arroyo could reconsider and agree to take to the streets.

Biazon also said that because of the EO, senators could not pursue investigations into the North Rail contract, the anomalous use of the multi-billion fertilizer fund, the disbursement of the Marcos fund, the wire-tapping issue and the alleged cheating in the May 2004 elections.

A group calling itself Counsels for the Defense of Liberties (Codal) said Arroyo and her officials are criminally liable for their failure to submit a "written and official justification for the President’s refusal to allow executive officials to appear before the Senate."

It said EO 464 violated three provisions of the Constitution, namely, Congress’ power to conduct legislative investigations and to approve the budget and the people’s right to information on matters of public concern.

Pangilinan said he was "dismayed by the deliberate attempt of Malacañang to stifle our public servants from fulfilling their mandate to serve at the pleasure of our countrymen."

He said: "Malacañang does not have an exclusive franchise on determining what constitutes matters of national interest. In fact, history has shown that a number of official acts of a sitting president have been shown to be inconsistent with the national interest."

He asked Arroyo to withdraw EO 464 immediately.

Recto asked Malacañang to appoint a "bridge" to the Senate to end its "cold war" with senators.

"If Malacañang would like to reconcile with President Estrada, why can’t it not do the same to the Senate? If it is willing to talk peace with 100,000 armed men, why can’t it now settle its differences with 23 individuals?" Recto said.

Gabriel Claudio, presidential adviser for political affairs, said backchannel efforts to appease senators are ongoing. He did not elaborate.

Claudio said they expect the confusion to be resolved as soon as the Supreme Court rules on EO 464.

Presidential chief of staff Michel Defensor said he feels that the budget hearings would eventually resume but hopes that some form of "parameters" would be set to prevent the hearings from being abused.

Ermita said Thursday there have been instances when members of the executive branch were being grilled on issues outside the budget. – Evangeline de Vera, Joan Dairo and Jocelyn Montemayor - Malaya

Subic freeport zone hitting the doldrums

2006-02-10T09:33:00.000+08:00

by Willie Ng
Manila Bulletin 27 September 2000

THE administration should pay some attention to the Asian Wall Street Journal's piece (Sept. 21) on the decline of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

In 1997, according to AWSJ reporter Robert Frank, "economic developers worldwide were trekking to Subic to study the Philippine miracle."

That was an era when Acer, FedEx, fiber-optic cable factories and the Malaysian-run casino were going great guns.

* * *

Today, Acer has slashed over 1,000 of its original 2,600 workers from the payroll and moved one PC line to China and two notebook lines back to Taiwan.

"The factory has so much empty space that workers have started playing soccer on the testing floor," wrote Frank.

It is hoped that the return of China Air Lines and Eva Air Lines flights will lower freight costs and flying time for motherboards and other parts from Taiwan, thereby normalizing Acer's operations.

* * *

The Subic management cites 30 new projects, 20,000 new jobs and over $1 billion in exports for the past year.

All that, according to locals, have been offset by a rash of closings and cutbacks.

There is over $30 million in back rentals, according to Frank, and residents say that "brown-outs, smuggling and crime have returned."

* * *

Add to this the requirement for Subic companies to hire only from the Subic jobs center where workers are from Bataan, the bailiwick of Subic Chairman Felicito Payumo, former Bataan congressman.

According to Frank, Payumo said this was to correct the favoritism of his predecessor, Dick Gordon, toward Olongapo residents.

A company which wanted to hire "a talented Web-site designer from Olongapo'' had to wait for weeks to get approval.

Last Sunday, a visitor to Subic, coming to a full stop at an intersection while waiting for the intersecting traffic to cross, finally made his move only to be challenged by a traffic policeman who asked him why he failed to stop.

Obviously that fellow must be from Bataan. The former policemen, all Olongapo natives, knew what they were doing.

Welcome to Subic, Olongapo, Philippines

2006-02-09T20:18:00.000+08:00

BRIEF HISTORY

The story of Olongapo is derived from a colorful legend about a well loved chieftain called Apo, whose headless body is one day found at the beach of the fishing village. A long and andent search ends when his missing head is found impaled atop a bamboo pole. The announcement of the discovery becomes a rallying cry for unity for the demoralized tribe. So "Ulo ng Apo" or head of the Chieftain became the name of the fishing village on the shores of lovely Subic Bay.

Well endowed with natural beauty, legend and lore paint Olongapo as a romantic spot in Western Luzon. A fishing village inhabited by peace-loving, Tagalog speaking people, Olongapo became host to a Spanish navy arsenal and shipyard in the late 19th century. The Spaniards were attracted to the place by the deep waters of the natural harbor and the protection from fierce storms offered by the surrounding mountains, the same factors that attracted the Americans several years later.

As can be expected in any military setting, the imperatives of war shaped the form of the community. The naval station became a naval base which was later complemented by a naval air station. In between, the Japanese used what facilities they found to produce patrol boats of the sampan type. The second world war saw increased military activity at the Subic Naval Base which resulted in a marked demand for civilian support services.

Corollary to the growth of the US Military establishment in Subic Bay, the host community of Olongapo grew from a simple provincial village into a bustling town. On December 7, 1959 it gained municipality status after the US Government reliquished its naval reservation to the Philippine Government. In 1966, Municipal Mayor James L. Gordon agitated for city status and got it on June 1 of the year.The chartered city become the first highly urbanized city in Central Luzon on December 7, 1983 and gained independence from the mother province Zambales.

OLONGAPO CITY LOCATION

Situated at the Southern entry point of Zambales and the Northwestern interior of the Subic Bay area, Olongapo City approximately 127 kilometers North of Manila. It's total land area of 18,500 hectares is distributed among 17 barangays (Asinan, East Bajac-Bajac, Banicain, Baretto, New Cabalan, Old Cabalan, Gordon Heights, East Tapinac, West Tapinac, Kababae, Kalalake, Ilalim, Kalaklan, Mabayuan, Pag-asa and Sta. Rita) former US reservation and the Negrito Resettlement areas. Other than the city proper, which is located on a 6.48 sq. kms. Tidal flatland, Olongapo City is characterized by rugged and mountainous terrain.

Because of its peculiar geographic location - the Zambales mountains on its three sides, Bataan and Subic Bay at its base - development of city land is limited. Also, the territorial borders from nearby towns are not properly marked. This isn't considered to be a disadvantage, however, since this same position has situated Olongapo City strategically within easy access from our neighbors in the Asia - Pacific, resulting in a growing commercial relationship between the Philippines and the said countries.

The population of Olongapo City is more than 310,000 and is projected to increase to 453,894 by the year 2000. This rapid growth is attributed to the heavy influx of migrants from neighboring towns and other parts of the country, attracted by the booming industry and employment opportunites offered by Olongapo City, through the Subic Bay Freeport.

There are no main dialects in Olongapo City. The people generally speak and understand Filipino and English.

Literacy rate is 99.11 percent.

Climate - cool and dry from November to February. Warm and dry from March to May. Wet from June to October. Temperature ranges from 25.6 degrees celsius during the coldest month. If January to 28.3 degrees celsius during the warmest month of May.

To make it accessible to the general public, Olongapo City can now be reached by air with easy access through.

By Sea

Olongapo City is accessible through the international seaport of the Subic Bay Freeport. At present, it is being utilized as a general cargo port by the Investors of the Subic Bay Freeport but is envisioned to be developed into a fully-operational international port.

By Land

Olongapo City is a two hour drive from Manila via the North Expressway, passing through Bulacan, Pampanga and Bataan. Turning right at the San Fernando exit, you can head straight to Olongapo via the Olongapo Gapan Road, which will lead you to Dinalupihan, Bataan and eventually, Olongapo City. From Zambales to Pangasinan, Olongapo City can be reached through the National Road, going Southward.

There are buses that ply the Olongapo - Manila route - Victory Liner with terminals at Pasay City, Monumento and Cubao. And Saulog Transit located at Dr. Lopez Jaena St., Cavite City.

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

Nature has blessed Olongapo City with beautiful scenario. Subic Bay's calm waters can be viewed by everyone in just one easy ride from Olongapo proper going to the North. In viewing Subic Bay, one also sees its natural harbor protected by mountains on three sides and its recreational area for tourists and visitors. One may explore other interesting places in Olongapo City such as:

GORDON MEMORIAL PARK

This is where the late Mayor James L. Gordon, dubbed as the "Father of Olongapo City" was interred. From its landscape location at the edge of the Kalaklan bridge (near the public cemetery), the beautiful and breathtaking Subic Bay can be viewed.

SUBIC BAY LIGHTHOUSE

A panoramic view perfect for picture taking, this old lighthouse is found along the National Highway going to the North. It overlooks the Subic Bay Area.

GROTTO OF OUR LADY OF PARDON

Located near the side of Kalaklan Bridge in Barangay Mabayuan, Catholic devoteed, pray and pay homage to the Lord of Pardon at this Sacred Place.

MARIKIT PARK

Designed for the enjoyment of children and the young at heart, this park located at the center of the city features a scenic playground and a scattering of benches for relaxation.

FRIENDSHIP PARK

Adjacent to the main gate of the Subic Bay Freeport, this long, narrow park stretches along the Perimeter Road. A mini-children's park lies at the Northern side. The Olongapo Bremerton Sisterhood Marker, symbolizing the sister city relationship between Olongapo City and Bremerton City can also be found here.

WORLD PEACE MEMORIAL

The dove that greets visitors at the entry point to Olongapo City stands as a sign of peace, in memory of those who died during the battle of Zigzag Pass, one of the longest and most hazardous battles during World War II.

MAGSAYSAY DRIVE AND RIZAL AVENUE

Chains of bars, nightclub, restaurants, hotel and sauna baths can be found here. Definitely the business center of Olongapo City.

SPORTS ACTIVITIES

LIGA NG MGA BARANGAY

This sports activity is usually participated in by every Barangay. It aims to promote friendship between the neighboring Barangays.

Same as Sports Activities in Subic Bay Freeport Zone

FESTIVALS

First Quarter (January to March)

New Year's Celebration
Chinese New Year (Chinese Community)
Valentines Day Celebration
Holy Week
Graduation Day (Schools)

Second Quarter (April to June)

Holy Week Activities (Sinakulo, Pabasa)
Santa Cruzan
Barangay Fiesta
Independence Day

Third Quarter (July to September)

Fil-Am Friendship Day
Intramurals (School)

Fourth Quarter (October to December)

October Fest (Mardi Grass)
All Souls Day
Christmas Celebration
Olongapo City Town Fiesta

ACCOMMODATIONS:

Olongapo City offers more than enough rooms ranging from furnished housings and luxurious condominiums to modest hotel accommodations. Amenities include air-conditioned rooms, hot or cold water and restaurants. While most resorts are located at Bo. Barretto, going North to Zambales. Most hotels and resorts accommodate walk-in customer. During peak season, however, reservations are highly recommended in major tourist establishments, most of which have booking offices in Manila.

A rationalized transport scheme started in 1983 is being implemented to maintain orderly traffic flow within the City. Color coded jeepney's and tricycles, each representeing a specific route strictly follow traffic rules and regulation. Following are the color schemes and their respective routes.

Public Utility Jeepneys

Sta. Rita/Pepsi to Main Gate - Yellow Jeepney
Gordon Heights to Main Gate - Red Jeepney
Gordon Heights to Pag-asa - Orange Jeepney
Gordon Heights to Balic-Balic - Beige Jeepney
Cabalan/New Cabalan to Public Market - Brown Jeepney
Mabayuan to Public Market - Green Jeepney
Subic to Olongapo City - Blue Jeepney

Color - coded Jeepneys and Tricycles are affordable modes of transportation throughout Olongapo City and Subic.

TagBoard

2006-02-09T20:15:00.000+08:00

Aiza: Kaasar ngamga pangyayari, e. Hay, naku. Wala silang magawa sa buhay kasi. Kadami na ngang problem sa mundo dinagdagan pa ng mga newspapers na yon.
Ilangilang: gosh!yan lang rxn ko sa nakikita kong chaos sa europe regarding the cartoon outrage. NoPAd: I hope this does not awaken a sleeping giant
NoPAd: they know before hand that this is a typical Muslim response when their religion is attacked
NoPAd: it could also be a deliberate ploy, "testing the waters" to check the strength/unity of radical Muslims in their locality
Gret: Freedom of expression? Come on! It's irresponsible journalism!
Gret: I am not a Muslim but I sympathize with them in their protests against newspapers in Europe and Australia for publishing and republishing the controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.
Nya: NoPAd,i agree!Never heard of NPAs raping women.
Gret: I agree with you, NoPad. Another controversy to silence the subic gang-rape case.
NoPAd: d subic rapists -killers who introduced themselves as NPAs is an obvious CIA operation aimed to blur the GI gang-rape case
Nya: taga Bali yun ms Gret.bka ganun din itsura taong kakilala natin!hehe
Nya: mas nakakatawa dati,sabi nya ?gib uf da fyt".hehe.kala ko dati,haf noypi/haf blak cya.kaya nga ako nagka idea sa ?ITA" image na yan.hehe.
Nya: ok sana mag gitara at gus2 ko mga kinakanta nya.yun nga lang mga words,minumurdr nya.
Nya: Ms Gret,madalas ako dun.ilang beses ko na nga napanood performance nya.
Gret: Yup, ganda ng boses. Kinanta nya fave song mo ang "I Shot the Sheri..."Hehe! La nga lang 'f'! LOL!
Gret: Oy Nya, nagpunta pala kami ni Chad sa Tin's Hall after ng dinner nating 4 and we saw this guy kumakanta dun, kulot ang buhok, payat, may kaitiman...half-half daw siya! Sounds familiar?
ilangilang: hello rommel!napasyal ka di2 sa forum!
romel : hi 2 ol la lng npadaan lng
Gret: Palagay ko nagpunta.
Nya: hello!may mga tao pa ba di2? kawawa naman mga nasawi sa stampede! ms. gret, d kaya nagpunta din yong mga impostor natin kachika sa forum dun sa show na yun? sana, d kac wala na akong katunggali!
Aiza: Oo nga, e. Kawawa naman sila. Ganyan na ba ka-poor sa tin?
Gret: Hey, guys. Have you heard about the stampede? Napaka-depressing naman. Embarrassing and depressing.
Aiza: Asan ka naka-base?
Aiza: Oks lang, Ilang-ilang. Ako nga nakiki-join lang din dito. Pro di ko masyado ma-dig pinagsasabi dito nila NYA and GRET cuz I'm new here also.
Gret: Hehe! I am so excited to meet you and boy tiklo together, at last!!!

CHAT'R

2006-01-27T13:53:00.000+08:00

perlita c. basa: ipakulong c perlita c. basa ang isang deped official na most corrupt!
Gret: AC, kng ur just lurking around the corner, patahimikin mo "business partner" mo!
Gret: Naiirita ko sa mga pini-preach mo. Stop. Ayaw kong pag-awayan natin lalaking yon. Gosh, I don't want to start fighting over some guy.
Gret: Tsaka sa previous posts ko kita mo naman nagmellow na ko. My anger was no longer thru the roof. Tumahimik ka na lang sana. At mamatay tong forum na to.
Gret: Hwag idaan dito. Unahin mo "business partner" mo. Kami, what we have for AC would just die a natural death kng la nakikialam.
Gret: u would have understand. u have the audacity to preach, sinabi mo pang parang di kami prof, well, then, if indeed u have direct contact with the guy who started this, tell him personally.
Gret: If you've been around a long time in this forum as you would like us to believe, i'm sure u've read how mean he was to me.
Gret: It was pretty obvious na umalma ka lang sa mga sinabi namin against AC at di sa sinabi ni AC against us.
Gret: I don't care naman if u r. Ang sa kin lng, stop preaching.
Gret: Yon nga ang point dun, e. Di naman tayo nag-usap pro andami mo ng sinabi sa amin, kunwari dinaan mo sa pa-advise effect. Tsaka obvious naman sa mga lines mo na loyalist ka ni AC.
mel: hindi ka talaga nakakaintindi sorry for my word. i mean dito nga sa chat room ko nalaman ung issue na yun. AT sy mismo nagsabi nun
mel: dont worry walang fake to.
mel: wht? well i dont think so. How could it be nagusap na ba tayo? kilala mo ko? kaw naman.
Gret: please make a plausible story naman.
Gret: u, business people here - kinda strange! u expect as to believe that?
Gret: u make it sound na para ka lang nagmention ng "oy, kaw pala nakabili ng apartment sa kanto." hmn...that kind of thing is only discussed by 2 longtime friends.
Gret: ur a strange business woman, mel. and AC, too...if u could talk about something as personal as his lovelife on a first meeting! it was a humiliating experience, ha. nagawa mo lang i-mention casually?
Gret: u, too mel. i've heard you before...
Gret: gigs, u sound familiar...
mel: ok. maglalunch n rin ako.

CHAT

2006-01-19T17:18:00.000+08:00

Nya: pero buti nlang naki cjoin kami sa forum, at least ngayon, alam na ni AC na di lahat ng pinay dito entertainer.ang dami ring students dito, Masters at PhD.at meron din mga eng teachers
Nya: actuali Jovie. di naman talaga sila prosti, entertainer lang. they chat with the tired japanese men.kawawa din sila dito e.pag magka asawa ng hapon..most of them battered wives pah!
Nya: Sorry.. kung baliktarin ang CA..AC pala..sorry
Nya: kac yung Jovie of CA,kung baliktarin CA! hehe! at AC u under estimate people kac, dats why naloko ka ng gf mo dati
Nya: Yo pips! AC asan ka na? matanong nga apple picker ka ba dyan? hehe! joke lang naman...akala ko siamese twins kayo ni Jovie..joke na nman!
Jovie of CA: Well gustong gusto nya kasing machalenge yan ang weakness nya. By the way he's my cousin.
Gret: Posible ba namang mahulog loob mo sa taong di mo nakita kahit picture?
Gret: Ba't naman pala siya mahihiya dito? E, faceless naman mga tao rito, a. Kanino siya nahihiya? Sa akin? Kanino ba raw siya nainlab sa amin ni NYA? Haha. Kakatuwa friend mo, a.
Gret: Tsaka, bakit nga pala kilalang-kilala mo si AC? Mag-ano ba kayo? Di kaya konsensya mo siya? Hehe.
Gret: Hwag syang mawalan ng pag-asa. Andami namang matinong Pinay dyan. I'm sure marami din dyan sa US. Kung nakinig ang asawa ko sa sabi-sabi ng mga friends nya about Filipinas, nagkatuluyan ba kami?
Gret: Ever since di naman ako naghahanap ng makarelasyon kahit online. Gusto ko lang may makausap na kababayan about the rape issue. Dito kasi puro busy ata mga tao. No time for it.
Jovie of CA: kaya ganyan na lang ang galit na kung minsan.
Jovie of CA: at kapag nakikipagchat yan sa net karamihan sa nakakachat kase humihingi ng money kaya nawawalan sya ng gana makipagrelasyon sa pinay.
Jovie of CA: Hehe ayaw na raw makipag chat dito kase binisto namin. Anyways sorry daw kase nga sa nangyari sa kanya. Lalo n kase daw dyan kayo naka base sa JApan maraming prosti daw dyan.
Gret: Ang girl kapag nanghingi ng pera sa bf, tiyak walang delikadesa yan at di yan mag-se-second thought manloko. Kaya dapat mag-ingat kayo.
Gret: Tinawag nya pa kong idiot and sick daw. Loko siya talaga. Kala ko dati siyang prosti na nakapag-asawa ng Kano kaya ganun na lang ang pagtatanggol sa mga Amboys. Hehe.
Gret: Ok lang sa amin ni Nya makipag-diskusyon. Ang ayaw lang namin ay yong namecalling. Kaya pati kami ay nag-ganun din. Imbes na mag-away sa isyu naging personal na.
Gret: Grabe naman.Dapat di siya nagtiwala agad.Parang life story ng brother-in-law ko.
Jovie of CA: kaya hate nya ang mga girl.
Jovie of CA: Pasensya na kay AC gustong gusto lang kase nyang machalenge kase may gf na nanloko sa kanya pinay hiningihan ng pera. Kaya naging ganyan kung minsan. pinadalhan ba naman ng 50,000peso or more

Guest Book Entries

2006-01-16T16:53:00.000+08:00

01/16/06 03:16:23 GMT
Name: juan perez
Location: tucson az
Comments:
very very good work!

01/09/06 11:36:46 GMT
Name: eduardo valenzuela
Location: Santa Catarina, Brazil
Comments:
I'm so happy that i found your site, atleast I'll be updated with the city news and other information related to the community and the people whom i love so much.

01/07/06 03:56:20 GMT
Name: STELLA MARIE CURTISS
Location: Cavite
Comments:
ANY1 FROM ST.ANNE HERE??? HELLO...GUS2 KONG MKIBALITA...KMUSTA N MGA TG GAPO!! ITS 15 YEARS SINCE IM GONE THERE... MISS KO N MGA KLASM8S KO AND KBATCH...IM STELLA MARIE CURTISS..BK NTTANDAAN NYO P AKO...IM NOY AKO H....

12/30/05 00:28:29 GMT
Name: Henry
Location: al khobar K.S.A
Comments:
What can i say!! a job well done.. i miss my hometown... Thanks for this site kasi feeling ko asa gapo pa rin ako kahit na wala hehehehe. A big thanks sa mga taong asa likod nito.. just saying hi to my family there. especially to Farinas and Pusing Family. Sir Ed regards na lang din po to Mr. mike Pusing. tnxx

12/30/05 00:28:05 GMT
Name: Henry
Location: al khobar K.S.A
Comments:
What can i say!! a job well done.. i miss my hometown... Thanks for this site kasi feeling ko asa gapo pa rin ako kahit na wala hehehehe. A big thanks sa mga taong asa likod nito.. just saying hi to my family there. especially to Farinas and Pusing Family. Sir Ed regards na lang din po to Mr. mike Pusing. tnxx

12/27/05 18:39:23 GMT
Name: John Griffin
Location: San Diego
Comments:
I was stationed in Subic Bay from 1989-1992 in Security (FSD). Some of the locals called it OPM. If you knew me and would like to contact me please feel free to. I went to bars on Gordon Avenue a lot. Bars like Viva Young, Terry's, Cindy's, The Body Shop, Tides and all the rest on Gordon Ave. I also went to a few bars on Magsaysay like D'rock, D'bird, State Rock and Slims Tavern just off the street. The Barrio I didn't go out to much but if I did it was J&B, Abracadabra and maybe a couple others. I made a few runs out to subic city but not many. If you worked in one of these bars and remember me please feel free to contact me.

12/26/05 23:40:30 GMT
Name: Don Griffin (John)
Location: San Diego
Comments:
I was stationed in Subic Bay from 1989 thru 1992. I worked in the Security Department. Also called FSD or sometimes OPM by the locals. If you knew me while I was stationed there please feel free to contact me. Bars I went to were, Viva Young, Cindy's, Tides, Runway, Terry's, My Place, T's, New Jersey, Cindibar, Hot Lips, D'rock, D'Bird, Cal Jam, Metallica, Slim's Tavern, State Rock, USA Tavern and a few others.

12/24/05 07:44:50 GMT
Name: Cayetano Santos
Location: Oxnard, CA
Comments:
Naval Supply Depot, Bldg 1022. Tatay had 21 years of service from 1967 to 1988. I will be glad to forward any messages to Tatay from his former co-workers. Please write him a note. He just got off from the hospital due to a recent stroke. He will celebrate his 60th Birthday on Dec 30. Please write if you know him, I want to lift his spirits thru your letters. Thanks.

12/15/05 02:18:16 GMT
Name: Dean

Location: Manila
Comments:
5 December - International Volunteer Day! I did not see any postings or activities in your end. Just a reminder. For some reasons, I also forgot to remind you of this annual event :-)

12/15/05 00:01:45 GMT
Name: Mike Koffler
Location: California
Comments:
Stationed in Phil 1974, 1978-1979.
12/08/05 07:42:11 GMT
Name: WWII VET

Location: PI
Comments:
US Veterans and World war 2 Veterans suffered from mental, and physical hardship as well as financial benefits. Veterans hospital in the philippines that is supposed to be for World war 2 veterans use extensively by the philippine Congress, Senate, but those who suffered the most are Not being taking care off. What kind of leadership is being practice by the philippine congress ? Former President Ramos should look into the matter since he is war veterans himself. Filipinos that served the world war 2 must be taking care off. Our greatest achievement in life is not how much we make but how we take care of those who made ultimate sacrfice, our Veterans that survived must be taken care off. No country will endure for a longer period of time without giving respect to our fallen heros and veterans of war.Let's not forget that freedom is not cheap. Soldiers have to die for it and give life to others. MABUHAY, MY FELLOW VETERANS

12/05/05 23:56:56 GMT
Name: nagrereunion
Location: Olongapo
Comments:
Hi mga taga olongapo and Subic! Bisita naman kayo sa WWW.OLONGAPO.TK dahil ang lahat ng tao ay may karapatang magsalita. dito kayo magpost ng inyong damdamin, mga saloobin, mga gusto ninyong sabihin. Online Community kasi yan ng mga taga-Olongapo. Mabuhay!

12/05/05 18:01:42 GMT
Name: Ron BeaudoinL
L
Location: Albany N.Y.
Comments:
stationed from 1979-1981 subicbay. Played softball for the Subic Bay Admirals durning that time.

12/01/05 16:44:34 GMT
Name: Ma. Luisa Gamat
Location: bataan
Comments:
There's a certain Marilou Gamat in the volunteers list ...Please help me find this person--she may be a blood relative. Thank you

11/23/05 01:20:20 GMT
Name: Subic Gal
Location: Olongapo
Comments:
I am filipina concerned citizen about the rape case. I am raised by my parents and right now i'm working in a company. About the rape case, I dont understand why shes in the middle of the night with those guys by herself. I 'm not depending the dependant but If you analyzed. Ito ba ang tawag n dalagang pilipina, nasa club with guys. Asan ang kanyang dignidad na sinasabi nasa club almost madaling araw na. Yes its true, First of all shes drunk, alam naman natin na pag nakainum ka humuhina ang pagkalakas mo. 2nd of all Shes stupid. Siguro lasengga sya. o yan na talaga ang trabaho nya. Just analyze it, Ang babaing nasa club in the middle of the night by herself ano ang tawag mo dyan. Talagang naghahanap pero di nya nakaya dahil nga sabi nya marami sila. For all other filipinas na kagaya ko Please dont ever ever go to the night clubs talagang sasabihin sa yo bayaran ka kase nasa club ka e Please lang mga kagaya kong dalaga lalo na ang mga nagtratrabaho sa night clubs dahil sa inyo parepareho ang mga tingin ng mga foriegner sa atin e . At sa rape case naman. BAKIT ka nasa club in the middle of the night at nagdidirty dancing ka pa sa mga kano ofcourse ang tingin sa you e bayaran ikaw rin naman ang may kasalanan. Those ladies working in a club why not to find disenting trabaho atlease walang masasabe ang mga iba how can a parents approved their ladies going out in the middle of the night and sa clubs pa. Are those parents desperate? How can a filipina stayed in a bar for almost in the morning na ? How can we as a filipina protect our dignity to any alliens if others are prostitute.How can you tell that a filipina rape case is an innocent if shes in the middle of the night dancing dirty dance to those navy's. We all knows that the marines ay nasa laot for mostly 6-1 year. Ngayon lang sila naka hantong sa lupa we expect that they are very hunger for everything. At sa mga pinay naman if you realy dont want to communicate with them sana dont intertain them

11/22/05 05:37:38 GMT
Name: girlaloo

Location: philippines
Comments:
to stella ruiz, how dare u say that mr. raul garcia is a fake?! he helped a lot of people alredy!! keep up the good work mr. raul garcia!

11/21/05 21:19:36 GMT
Name: Ed Garcia
Location: Subic Bay
Comments:
Go sir Ed, Keep up the good work! We're here to support you!!! Mabuhay Olongapo!

11/20/05 17:54:20 GMT
Name: cesar medina
Location: united arab emirates
Comments:
i worked at office of the provost marshall (opm)

11/14/05 01:29:27 GMT
Name: Manolo W. Marin
Location: Madera, California.
Comments:
Kamusta na ang mga taga Olongapo?

11/14/05 01:29:22 GMT
Name: Manolo W. Marin
Location: Madera, California.
Comments:
Kamusta na ang mga taga Olongapo?

11/08/05 16:51:16 GMT
Name: leahL
L
Location: california
Comments:
fantastic site

11/08/05 16:14:14 GMT
Name: leah
Location: california
Comments:
Just found this site...hope my friends will see me here.Good Memories will carry on to remeber. May the Lord bliss and guide us to reach to keep intouch.

11/05/05 03:59:05 GMT
Name: arnel m vergara
Location: australia
Comments:
hello. just visiting

10/31/05 18:38:41 GMT
Name: Ron "Mac" McCarroll
Location: San Diego, CA
Comments:
This is a group website. I've been to Subic on numerous deployments and remember it all as if it was yesterday. My last trip was in late 1987 onboard USS Carl Vinson with HS-4. Drop me a line if anyone remembers me.

10/31/05 01:18:48 GMT
Name: Steven C. Dickson
Location: SanDiego
Comments:
Looking for anyone that was on the USS ENGLAND DLG-22 We went on WestPac, stayed at Subic Bay for a while, and then back once again before going back to SanDiego.. 74-75??? can't remember the dates 30 years is a long time.... Ha....SH-3 Steven C. Dickson

10/30/05 22:46:03 GMT
Name: Doug "Stegall" Summers
Location: Napa, CA
Comments:
I lived in Subic Bay from 1974-12/78. Looking to contact anyone I went to school with.

10/29/05 19:32:53 GMT
Name: Beautyful Lady
Location: South Africa
Comments:
Please show the whole photo of Olongapo City Proper in this Web Site. Thanks for your consideration

10/25/05 06:16:28 GMT
Name: Rob Delft
Location: Holland
Comments:
Hi, good site! Just was looking for travelling matters Philippines...

10/24/05 03:42:58 GMT
Name: Gord Cresine
Location: Edmonton Alberta Canada
Comments:
We are working on our family tree....I see at least two "Cresine's" as volunters in this Subic Bay site.I would like to see how you are related.There are many Cresine's in Canada and the U.S.A. Hope to hear from you.

10/15/05 21:18:25 GMT
Name: jimmy edwards
Location: Kinston,N.C. U.S.A.
Comments:
Hi , My name is Jimmy Edwards ,I reside in Kinston, N.C. I have a story I think you might be interested in.30 years ago I had a daughter born in The Philippines and due to me being in the navy I lost contact with her mother. I have not seen my daughter since 1975,I found her with some help from people on the internet,in March the day before her 30th birthday.I am not able financially to go see her,but guess what. A German T.V producer heard of our story and decided to do a documentary on us,they are paying for everything , I left Sept.17th for The Philippines and returned to The U. S. on Oct 1st . Thank God after all these years I got to see my daughter and grandsons . Now I help Amerasians find their fathers in America now. Let me show you the letter I send to people asking for help.My contact info ,should you want it is. Jimmy R. Edwards 214 Williams Loop Rd Kinston,N.C. 28504 252-522-9646 Letter of Introduction I am Jimmy Edwards the father of an Amerasian in The Philippines ,I had been searching for my daughter since 1980,with the help of Amerasianfoundation and Marissa Navidad,she was located on the day before her 30th birthday,Thank God.After me and my daughter started talking, I found out about her siblings and a lot of Amerasians that were looking for their fathers, and in some cases mothers even,so I resolved to try and help them.I found a “Search Angel” that was willing to do the searches,Thank God for her. So with Marissa in The Philippines, our “Search Angel’ and me in the states, we started our little adventure,helping Amerasians .That is my introduction,and I hope we will be able to help you. You know the best thing about it ,THIS IS TOTALLY FREE. No cost to you ever ,if you would like to make a donation to www.usabound.org it would be greatly appreciated,however, that is up to you.We will never ask any money for what we are doing,never. So if you want us to help you, please provide what info you have on your relative, and any other information you have been told that would be a clue in helping us find the person you are looking for. Information needed for a successful search is as follows, Your name, Date of Birth Mothers name,Dob Fathers name,Dob,Hometown and State Branch of Service Social Security Number Related Websites , www.usabound.org www.amerasians.us/ . Dear Friends, I have just read and signed the online petition: "Amend PL 97-359" hosted on the web by PetitionOnline.com, the free online petition service, at: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/clg7ad37/ I personally agree with what this petition says, and I think you might agree, too. If you can spare a moment, please take a look, and consider signing yourself. Best wishes, Jimmy Edwards

10/05/05 16:01:12 GMT
Name: L
Location:
Comments:
We are looking for anyone that has served on the USS Virgo. Please contact max@uss-virgo.com or visit the website at uss-virgo.com. We hold a reunion each year and would love to see more old friends.

09/23/05 13:56:46 GMT
Name: Ma. Soledad Dones Tan
Location: Sta. Rosa, Laguna
Comments:
Hi! I've been wanting so much to hear from my classmates of St. Joseph's School Batch 80. Please help me.

09/20/05 23:02:58 GMT
Name: FredL
Location: Germany
Comments:
Keep up the good work !

09/02/05 20:11:39 GMT
Name: stella ruiz
Location:
Comments:
hi everyone For those who are searching for somebody in this site be sure that you are being helped by the right person I have known some searchers being asked by this person and then HE is using this website without permission trespassing this website getting clients where in HE is asking BIG PAYMENT to do his searching for his clients...So everybody pls. Beware of this person he is not associated with the real persons who really behind this site.PLS BEWARE OF MR. RAUL GARCIA HE IS FAKE HE WILL JUST USE YOU HE CHARGES A LOT

09/02/05 20:10:37 GMT
Name: stella ruiz
Location:
Comments:
hi everyone For those who are searching for somebody in this site be sure that you are being helped by the right person I have known some searchers being asked by this person and then HE is using this website without permission trespassing this website getting clients where in HE is asking BIG PAYMENT to do his searching for his clients...So everybody pls. Beware of this person he is not associated with the real persons who really behind this site.PLS BEWARE OF MR. RAUL GARCIA HE IS FAKE HE WILL JUST USE YOU HE CHARGES A LOT
09/02/05 03:45:18 GMT
Name: 456

Location:
Comments:
#330 Posted by Jimmy 01st September 2005 - 01:51:01 AM #327 Posted by Jimmy Edwards 30th August 2005 - 07:12:23 PM Dear Friends, I have just read and signed the online petition: "Amend PL 97-359" hosted on the web by PetitionOnline.com, the free online petition service, at: http://www.PetitionOnline.com/clg7ad37/ I personally agree with what this petition says, and I think you might agree, too. If you can spare a moment, please take a look, and consider signing yourself.

09/01/05 23:15:53 GMT
Name: Accident Waiting to Happen
Location: Mainland
Comments:
I was watching the devastation of New Orleans in television and I was really horrified. I remember one time I went to see the dike in Namatacan, is this not the same situation that our town San Narciso is put into? I noticed that the river bed is silted and way up higher than the town below. What if a rain of this magnitude would poor on this area (siyam-siyam) it might break the dike and flood our whole town, as what was happened in a few years past. I heard some farmlands there that have been seeping water from the ground. I am hoping I am wrong, but somebody please take notice and inform the authorities about this. Someone of knowledge about waterways(like a civil engineer) should be asked to investigate this. I also remember way up is a lake that has put underwater the barrio Aglao in San Marcelino and some part of Sta. Fe. You can see that on your way up to the mines. Will somebody in this forum dare to check on this, or say something about this? Thanks, Gene

08/30/05 12:36:53 GMT
Name: ApongGubat
Location: Manila
Comments:
Olongapo City belongs to the people of Olongapo. Not to the Gordons, or to their minions. But, the people of the city CHOOSE the GORDONS. Mahirap bang intindihin yon? Politically and socially, SBMA belongs to Olongapo. The Magsaysays should stay away from Olongapo. They already have the big chunk of Zambales Province to administer and govern. Mas mahirap yatang intindihin ito? Hurray to the GORDONS and MAGSAYSAYS!

08/29/05 09:37:02 GMT
Name: Edgardo G. Tumang
Location: Sharjah , U.A.E.
Comments:
Just to say HELLO to ALL people there in Olongapo City. I am now in UAE.

08/27/05 05:14:38 GMT
Name: kimble
Location:
Comments:
who will replace them?

08/25/05 14:03:33 GMT
Name: ApoGado
Location: insider
Comments:
We just had a confirmation, another merc died last night at iraq when a rocket propeled grenade hit him while on a convoy going back to the camp And here at local news, if you happen to be reading our guestbook regularly, here's something that you will have the privilage to know even before the media has it , , , SBMA Chairman Licuanan resigned and SBMA Administrator Antonio will be relieved anytime this week.

08/25/05 05:31:40 GMT
Name: Emily
Location: VA. Beach
Comments:
Looking for my good old friend Elizabeth Katina or beth. Remember me? Emily.

08/21/05 08:28:37 GMT
Name: Gapo-Mercs
Location: M.E.
Comments:
When we die here in the Middle East Our bodies maybe totally gone We want our families and friends to remember us at the Volunteers' Shrine.

08/18/05 00:37:21 GMT
Name: D.C. Bennett

Location: Ret
Comments:
Subic is still a beautiful place. Angeles City is the hub of current ex-pat activity. Angeles also has a thriving bar scene reminiscent of Olongapo in it's heyday . "When I die, I'll go to hell; because I served MY time in heaven (subic/Olongapo)" > GMG2 D.C. Bennett (NavMag/7th Flt ShoPat/AFP)

08/17/05 01:56:29 GMT
Name: JORDON
Location: HK
Comments:
Hello to all!!! I am not a servicemen dependent, but my family grew up in Olongapo City. My mom, Elenita Delfino, used to work as a nanny and helper in the Binictican Housing Facilities to some high ranking officers, while my dad, Manny Delfino, used to work as a proud "and I mean very hardworking" employee of the Public Works Center - Housing Facilities . I am working in Hong Kong now as a singer of a band in the streets of Wan Chai, Lan Kwai Fong and Kowloon. Whenever I walk the streets of Wan Chai, I can remember my younger days when I was walking Magsaysay Drive. Girl Bars, Clubs, Restaurants were abundant before the Mt. Pinatubo eruption. Everyone in Olongapo City is contented and happy working along side the said base. The Mardigras is one of the best happenings in town. I have seen so many things with my young eyes whenever I stroll around Magsaysay Drive in the night time because we get very clean and potable water near the main gate. Then girls from those bars, as I can remember, The Road Runner, situated at the corner of the street going to Columbian College . I thank Subic Naval Base on whatever I have right now. My father served PWC - Housing for 23 long years. I can speak very good English because of the exposure to American Officers like Bill (I dont know his surname) and our best buddy, when I was like 10 years old, who lived in our place. Lt. Cmdr. Walter Millowic. He was a very fine Bachelor at that time. He gave us American treatment, plays basketball with us, gives us Halloween trick or treats, Christmas parties and everything, and because of his high rank we had the opportunity to go inside the base and board a cargo plane named "Miss Piggy" and I had the chance to ride a helicopter. They gave us "Foo Dogs" shirts, then we got to go to those beaches... the All Hands Beach, Dungeree Beach and Officers Beach Clubs . After the memorable hand over to the Philippine Government, my dad wants me to have an exam to join the US Navy, but I was not lucky because I needed to be 15 to have the exam and I was 14 years old when the turn over happened, after the Pinatubo eruption. Richard Gordon then made his visions for Olongapo because, if there was one person to know Subic Bay, Dick Gordon was one of them. I even joined his "Volunteer for Subic Bay" program where I worked as a lifeguard in the 3 major beaches, which were turned to tourist attractions. I was a professional swimmer that was at times was a varsity player for Olongapo City National High School. I graduated High School March 1994. My School was famed for the name Jackson High School because it was once ran by an American Officers . My Dad, Manny Delfino, worked as a contractor on the first years of SBMA with Dick Gordon sitting as the chairman of SBMA in Building 229, where the Drydocks used to be placed. Then he was absorbed by the American owned company, Enron - Subic Power Corporation, as a Purchasing Manager. My dad was granted the special immigrant status to go to the US, but he was denied almost 5 times, and that is a real heartache to us, for almost all of his colleagues who worked with him in Subic Bay are already residing in the states, while he is still in the Philippines. He worked there for 23 memorable years and I know he is very proud of the American way of life. He always tells us about good things, like the driving lesson he had, the seminars he attended and all of those archirtectural/ drafting reading materials he gave me . Now Olongapo City is just one of the falling cities of the Philippines where once we don't even want to go out of the city because living there is just relaxing. We don't usually go to Manila, for there is so much traffic, pollution, crime and everything. We love Olongapo very much when the American bases where there . One of the great bands of the late 80's was the AMO band. the keyboard player Elmer told me about Olongapo and he said if Olongapo was still the same, he would just stay there coz he could earn what I am earning here in Hong Kong in those times . OLONGAPO RULES!!!

08/16/05 08:01:44 GMT
Name: Nichols
Location: USS Hopewell DD681
Comments:
I was fortunate to have gotten out of the bars in HK to meet and enjoy the local expats. Made my Navy time a true "See the world" experience. Ah, to have a lot overlooking Subic Bay to build a retirement bamboo shack... Nichols, MM3 USS Hopewell DD681

08/15/05 22:46:14 GMT
Name: Gene de Dios
Location: Houston, Texas
Comments:
Hello to all former SRF. Miss ko na ang gapo .

08/15/05 07:30:13 GMT
Name: Mike Oran
Location:
Comments:
I've lost touch with someone from calapandayan. His name is Lupo Catubay he could be found along National Highway next to where the Bay Veiw Hotel is (or use to be) If their are anyone residing in that area that would like to help it would be greatly appreicated. Thanks Mike Oran

08/15/05 02:47:09 GMT
Name: Ken
Location:
Comments:
wow, nice job . ! Looking for William E. Campion -US Navy . Pls forward this to your friends who was stationed in the PI from 1970-1979. Ken SHCM Ret
07/26/05 07:31:08 GMT
Name: Fernan

Location: Subik
Comments:
Tim, John, you can have a cross-selling MOA with the Yupangco Group's Zoobic Adventure, and include Conservation intl., and everybody who wants join your Information & Education Campaign Advocancy for Nature. These guys in Manila & the earth Island Institute are eyeing global fund sources for their own agenda.If they want funds, they have to be creative and work for in,not engage in Media Manipulation for Publicity with the end of sourcing foreign donations to their NGO's.Don't allow them to use you to increase their coffers. Just keep on going guys, u have lots o enlightened supporters.My friends see these detractors as what they are, so just disregard them Eventually, they will turn around. It can happen.Meanwhile, full steam ahead, as they say!When are you going to open the 80-room hotel?

07/20/05 10:05:50 GMT
Name: Fernan
Location: Subic
Comments:
Marine park in Subic to stay open, says DENR . The park serves a useful educational function to inform, educate, and mobilize visitors to conserve the species they see there. If I were the species involved, I would sacrifice a few( ourselves, if need be),to be able to survive, and teach humans to be caretakers of the earth. So I vote that the park stay open, but find better ways of promoting their mission. Instead of closing it, the proponents of closure can work with Corcoran & co. 2 find ways of getting what we all want in a win-win situation. These advocates could not even feed the people living under the bridge in Kalaklan, so what right have they to bellyache? It's all a question of making noise to get funds from the public globally . Everybody does it. Excuse me, but I know we must not find, but let's get things in perspective!

06/26/05 12:52:13 GMT
Name: Peter Sharpe
Location:
Comments:
Sunken Ship Scavengers . I note with alarm the recent publicity concerning removal of artifacts from sunken ships in Subic Bay and call on authorities to tighten-up regulations that govern Dive Operators within the area . Removal of such artifacts will destroy the country's history reducing tourist attractions within the Bay. Surely all dive operator's should forget personal disagreements or professional jealousy and strive to maintain their livelihood within the bay area, maybe by forming their own industry police body.

06/21/05 22:58:55 GMT
Name: Philip Basilio
Location: Seattle, Washington
Comments:
great website very imformative. mabuhay ka kabayan........

06/18/05 02:51:59 GMT
Name: J Farrales
Location: San Diego
Comments:
2005 20TH SRF TIGERS ANNUAL REUNION POTLUCK PICNIC , The SRF Tigers Annual Reunion Potluck Picnic will be held on Saturday, July 16, 2005, from 10:00AM till 5:00 PM at the Admiral Bakers Field in San Diego, California on Admiral Baker Road Everybody bring your families and enjoy the camaraderie with co-Tigers' families. Invite also your friends from the other commands to come. Bring your own favorite dish and your own drinks to share with fellow Tigers If you have any questions or concerns, please call anyone of us: pwc Claire Bash (619) 424-9417, . Peping/Norma de Leon (858) 565-7964 , . Pepe/Ting Farrales (858) 292-7018 , . Dick/Zeny Gonzales (858) 278-2568

06/16/05 23:58:45 GMT
Name: murfgw
Location:
Comments:
>I am looking for a phone number of a friends nephew who lives in Olongapo City. I found your site and thought that you might be able to help? > >I am looking for Ronald Mellow > 18 Calimbas Street > Mabayuan Olongapo City > Zambales, Philippines > >If you could obtain his phone number I would be so happy. > >Thanks in advance. > >gene Murphy
06/15/05 18:52:46 GMT
Name: Ron McCarrollL
L
Location: San Diego, CA
Comments:
I believe I may a child in Subic Bay, P.I. I made numerous deployments to Subic with my last deployment in Dec 1988. At that time I was with a young lady named Aida, who worked in the "Jungle". If anyone has information please feel free to contact me. Thanks.

06/12/05 08:31:29 GMT
Name: edPiano
Location: Subic Bay
Comments:
Hi JTB, As of the moment, we don't know of any direct flight from Japan to Subic Bay. The Subic Bay International Airport has a regular direct international scheduled and chartered flights. Far Eastern Air Transport Corp. provides international scheduled flights to Taipei and Kaoshiung Taiwan on Sundays and Fridays while Uni-Air flies to Taipei, Taiwan on Mondays and Fridays. Air Asia operates once a week to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia while the Cebu Pacific flies twice a week to Manila and Guangzhou, China. Subic International Air Charters Inc. operates chartered flights to different parts of the Philippines and Southeast Asia region depending on the schedule set by the passenger. If you will pass by Hong Kong, you may opt to travel via CR Airways. here's d link http://www.crairways.com/eng/c3s3.html If you'll pass by Korea, Asiana Airlines will bring you to Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (Formerly Clark Air Field) where traveling by land to Subic is faster. Although with the newly upgraded North Luzon Expressway, traveling from Manila becomes more pleasurable. Below are some artivles in our blog that may give additional info: More international commercial flights at Clark http://subicbaynews.blogspot.com/2005/03/more-international-commercial-flights.html Malaysian airline is set to start twice-a-day flights... http://articlesphotos.blogspot.com/2005/03/malaysian-airline-is-set-to-start.html More flights in Subic Int’l Airport seen http://subicbaynews.blogspot.com/2005/05/more-flights-in-subic-intl-airport.html SUBIC BAY FLIGHTS http://subicbaynews.blogspot.com/2005/05/subic-bay-flights.html Thank you for visiting our website, edPiano

06/12/05 08:08:16 GMT
Name: JTB

Location: SASEBO, JAPAN
Comments:
I LIVE IN SASEBO, JAPAN. HOW CAN I FLY INTERNATIONAL TO SUBIC BAY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ??? DO I HAVE TO LAND IN MANILLA FIRST ??? I WANT TO VISIT AGAIN I CAME IN US NAVY SHIP, THANK YOU.

06/11/05 05:45:34 GMT
Name: Jim Rogers
Location: ILLINOIS / Iraq.
Comments:
Hello. I am looking for Herminia Carpio. She used to live at 125 Irving St. Olongapo City. I was in the U.S. Marines stationed at Subic Bay from 1990-1991. If anyone knows her or where she is please give her my email address. I would really like to talk to her. She has a sister named Desiree.

06/09/05 23:52:58 GMT
Name: greg hoffert
Location: cleveland ohio
Comments:
was stationed in the usn at nsd from july 69 to sept 71 loved it please anyone i kkew contact me

06/09/05 10:18:09 GMT
Name: Gene
Location:
Comments:
Volunteerism after the bases' dismantling happened because by that time those workers got paid with their severance pays, so for a few months they could afford not to get paid. Also their partners like me were already abroad working and got job ahead of time, I did not wait the exact date of departure of the Americans to look for another job. Some co-workers from SRF did it because of political affinity and friendships with the administrative officials then. But there were lessons still to be learned from this events, like plans and coordination between local leaders and national government.The bases union leader should be condemned at this point in time. There was a very strong credit union inside the base what happened to it , I do not know now.There were a lot of resources left to be tapped for good use and one thing never thought of were the highly skilled workers . Nobody never thought of organizing and tapping this very important dollar earners . Nevertheless, we all should be proud of the leadership and commitment of then Mayor Richard Gordon...comparing what happened to San Miguel and Clark hope you will be true to that till Malacanang

06/07/05 23:23:37 GMT
Name: gigi
Location:
Comments:
hi fellow zambaleños :) i have just uploaded the pages of the coffee table book me and my husband made... titled "around zambales"... it is a 38 pages book containing photos around zambales... 5inches x 7 inches in size... its constructed using double page spreads (left and right) print on one sheet, then cut in the middle to produce 2 pages... pages are printed with the newst photographic digital printing technology... modern binery incorporates a blend of traditional and handmake book making techniques... it is mounted to a core paper stock making the print about 1/8 inch thick... black synthetic leather for the cover... pages looks like the childrens storybook :) price- P2,500 if interested just or call... :) www.photonski.com/gigipaler/Book thanks so much :)gigi

06/06/05 20:42:29 GMT
Name: ken chan
Location: Cebu
Comments:
We are selling one of the hottest cars in the Philippines right now.... that sells like pancakes.... why? it is fuel efficient and very much affordable. http://www.geocities.com/aike75/shem.htm tell your loved ones here in the Philippines or abroad (OFW, Expats),... we can help. Verify us first before you buy from us. from Aiken Chan Shem Trading Corp. 63917-4688107 6332-2556934 6332-2549349 aike75@yahoo.com

06/05/05 05:50:50 GMT
Name: Edgar
Location:
Comments:
Is volunteerism still alive in Subic today? richard gordon wrote: http://www.senate.gov.ph/photo_release/photo_rel052905.htm "What this country needs is not a change OF men but a change IN men."

06/02/05 07:31:05 GMT
Name: anonymous

Location: gapo
Comments:
its unfair po sa mga current SK Officials na sbhin they are trained para maging corrupt.if we go to the other side of the issue, SK po is very important in a community.usually po ang SK ang inaasahan ng mga tao pag may mga commnity development activities for assistance.honestly poh. on the other hand, postponing the elections is quite advantageous sa community.their leaders will be more experienced resulting to better performances. furthermore, for unacceptable officials, people cud make petitions and their entitled to that naman.and if they do really not like their current sk or brgy. officials bcuz of unlawful acts,8 is but proper to change him/her and may batas po tayo para jan.

05/25/05 15:05:58 GMT
Name: benny d
Location: usa
Comments:
hi all nice site

05/25/05 01:14:51 GMT
Name: anonymous
Location: Olongapo
Comments:
kung lagi na lang na ipo-postpone ang eleksyon sa barangay, baka sa sunod i-postponed na rin ang halalan ng mayor, governors, congressmen at mga senador dahil sa kawalan ng pondo.pwede sigurong magamit ang IRA ng barangay at SK na nauuwi lang sa walang katuturang paggamit. Sumasang-ayon naman po ako na gawing volunteer body na lamang ang SK dahil maaga tayong nagti-train ng mga BATANG CORRUPT na LIDER.

05/23/05 08:27:17 GMT
Name: Renz
Location: Subic Freeport
Comments:
Talaga bang di na mapipigilan ang port project, may mga bisita kami last week, very upset sila nang makita ang massive reclamation project, bakit kasi ang pinoy kung ano ang maayos, un ang cnisira, dami namang dapat gawin na iba, Hay naku, mali ba pananaw ko? Bakit parang walang kumikibo?

05/17/05 15:13:15 GMT
Name: ann
Location:
Comments:
Hello. I am Japanese. I am a student who goes to the junior high school. My cousin is Filipino. I love F4. I learnt the thing of F4 by "Boy from the flower" of the cartoon of Japan. Jerry is very ..parentheses.. good. However, because the drama of F4 is not telecasted in Japan, it is grateful. I think that I save up money and buy DVD of F4

05/10/05 13:14:00 GMT
Name: jhun motos
Location: winnipeg canada
Comments:
hello sir edwin,dito na ako canada,musta na dyan?kakamiss parang bitin stay ko,ingat na lang lagi dyan,regards na lang sa family,sya nga pala,meron akong hamradio dito iseset up ko na lang,god bless

05/10/05 03:18:02 GMT
Name: jhun motos
Location: canada
Comments:

04/28/05 06:16:54 GMT
Name: Ray
Location: California
Comments:
I am looking for Violet who use to work at the Hong Kong Bar and Grill in June of 1969 in the 170th block of Razal street. I was station on the USS John R. Craig

04/23/05 01:40:18 GMT
Name: James Stinson
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Comments:
A great picture! Thanks for this site. I hpe we all find our loved ones soon.

04/20/05 03:10:08 GMT
Name: Ana Araga Cajudo
Location: San Diego, Ca.
Comments:
Please help me to locate my friend, Her name is Eden Deano,, she's married now, but I don't remember her married name. I really want to get in touch with her,I know that she's working at SBMA. My number is 619-281-4221 or she can. thanks in advance, Good day to all our kababayan. God bless,

04/15/05 18:01:14 GMT
Name: MGBADA
Location: lome
Comments:
mypeople good site

04/10/05 12:17:48 GMT
Name: David Farqueman
Location: Sydney-Australia
Comments:
Good site, will definitely come in handy with my African Charity work. Thanks.

04/08/05 07:50:35 GMT
Name: Juvy Vergara
Location: Olongapo City
Comments:
More success!

03/28/05 09:19:33 GMT
Name: joel p wanha
Location: arizona.usa
Comments:
I was lucky to have made it to Subic Bay and Olongapo City, Clark Sibic City and Gaines Beach. I was aboard the USS Mars AFS-1 from 1970 to 1973. Many fond memeories of the Philipines. Oh a;so Baguio. Nice web site.

03/22/05 01:54:54 GMT
Name: CALVIN FLETCHER
Location: ANCHORAGE ALASKA
Comments:
My first and only time in PI was on board the USS NEW JERSEY in 1986 whow what a time never forget it. I was EN3 battleship sailors live on

03/16/05 06:22:58 GMT
Name: Joseph
Location: USA
Comments:
Congratulations! I was very pleased to find this site

03/11/05 04:18:58 GMT
Name: AidanLMY URL: Visit Me
Location: USA
Comments:
Nice site!

5,500 US troops to 'invade' Sulu

2006-01-11T07:36:00.000+08:00

US forces will hold two-week-long military exercises in the Philippines despite a controversy over four US Marines accused of raping a Filipina after the last such exercises, officials said Tuesday.

The exercises, involving some 5,500 US personnel, will be conducted from February 20 to March 5 in different locations including the southern islands of Sulu, a known haunt of Muslim extremists linked to the Al-Qaeda network.

US embassy spokesman Matt Lussenhop said the exercises had been planned for some time and "nobody from either government has proposed stopping or postponing them" despite the rape allegations.

He said the scheduled "Balikatan" (Arm-in-arm) exercises would not be affected by charges that four US Marines raped a Filipina on November 1, just after taking part in exercises in the former US naval base of Subic, Zambales.

Under a bilateral agreement covering the legal status of US troops, the four were turned over to the custody of the US embassy pending trial. But many prominent Filipinos are demanding they be turned over to the Philippines while the legal proceedings continue.

The case has attracted national attention in this former US colony where there are still sensitivities over America's influence.

Lussenhop said the exercises would include humanitarian activities by some 250 US personnel in the southern islands of Sulu, a stronghold of the Abu Sayyaf Muslim extremists who have carried out bombings, kidnappings and other attacks against foreigners and Christians in this country.

The Abu Sayyaf have been linked to the Al-Qaeda network of Osama bin Laden.

However Lussenhop said combat training would be carried out in the northern and central Philippines and not in Sulu where local troops are still struggling against the Abu Sayyaf. AFP

Minimum wage earners now exempted from withholding taxes

2006-01-07T12:32:00.000+08:00

By Des Ferriols, The Philippine Star

Minimum wage earners, including government employees, are now exempted from withholding taxes, a move that was estimated to cost the government at least P400 million in foregone revenues.

The Department of Finance (DOF) announced yesterday that Finance Secretary Margarito B. Teves has finally signed the revenue regulation that would exempt minimum wage earners from the withholding tax.

Being exempted from withholding tax payments, however, will not mean that minimum wage earners are completely exempted from income taxes.

The exemption only meant that minimum wage earners will be given the option to pay their annual income tax directly to the BIR at the end of the taxable year on April 15.

"The law already gives minimum wage earners the option of opting out of the withholding taxes, that’s why the exemption would only require a revenue regulation from the BIR," Teves said. "We are just implementing that provision but they still have to pay the tax on their own."

Realistically, however, the source said minimum wage earners who have been exempted from withholding tax payments are not likely to actually pay the lumpsum amount to the BIR.

"In practice, it’s going to be a de facto exemption," said a source from the DOF.

At present, the source said only about 13 percent of the country’s minimum wage earners are still covered by the tax net.

The majority of minimum wage earners no longer pay the income tax anyway since most of them had qualified deductions that ultimately exempt their net income from taxation.

From this 13 percent, the source said the government collects around P445 million every year. If the exemption is implemented, the source said the government expected to lose P400 million and collect only P45 million a year from minimum wage earners

981,337 OFWs deployed

2006-01-06T11:07:00.000+08:00

THEIR DOLLAR REMITTANCES BOLSTER PESO STRENGTH. For the land-based sector, the number of overseas employment contracts for OFWs reached 679,009 as of December 31, 2005, surpassing by 28,803 the 650,206 processed in the same period in 2004.

LEE ANN P. DUCUSIN
People's Journal

GLOBAL demand for Filipino workers surged in 2005, despite restrictions imposed by Japan on Filipino entertainers and the ban on the deployment of workers in Iraq.

Labor Secretary Patricia Sto. Tomas said 981,337 overseas employment contracts were processed for Filipino workers from January 1 to December 31, 2005. The figure is roughly four percent or 39,615 higher than the 941,722 contracts processed in 2004.

The Department of Labor said the number of deployed Filipino workers abroad could be more since figures from regional exit were not included.

"Our figures are preliminary and do not yet include the records from the country's regional international exit points. We expect the total global deployment and number of overseas employment

THEIR DOLLAR REMITTANCES BOLSTER PESO STRENGTH. For the land-based sector, the number of overseas employment contracts for OFWs reached 679,009 as of December 31, 2005, surpassing by 28,803 the 650,206 processed in the same period in 2004.

contracts for 2005 to increase further as the final data come in," Sto. Tomas said.

Regional exit points include Davao, Clark and Laoag.

She said the gains in the global employment market were achieved amidst the government's relentless efforts against illegal recruitment and human trafficking. Efficient marketing efforts complemented by the push to improve the welfare and protection of OFWs worldwide also helped, she said.

"Our global welfare thrusts for the OFWs have been strengthened further with the reinvigoration of our more than 30 Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLO) in key cities overseas with significant OFW populations, including two new POLOs situated in Brussels, Belgium which is the seat of the European economy, and in Jordan complementing other POLOs in the Middle East," the labor chief noted.

Sto. Tomas said the overseas labor market in 2005 was highlighted by the continuing preference for both land-based OFWs and Filipino seafarers.

For the land-based sector, the number of overseas employment contracts for OFWs reached 679,009 as of December 31, 2005, surpassing by 28,803 the 650,206 processed in the same period in 2004.

"Per our preliminary data, more overseas employment contracts were processed for new hire land-based workers, reaching a global total of 399,696 in 2005, or 8,933 higher than the 390,763 processed in 2004," she said.

The DoLE official said contracts processed for rehired OFWs also grew to 279,313 in 2005, or 19,869 more than the 259,444 previously processed.

The total global employment contracts processed for Filipino seafarers surpassed the 300,000 mark for the first time in 2005, reaching 302,328, or 10,812 higher than the 291,516 contracts processed during the previous year.

"On the average, some 2,711 overseas employment contracts for both land-and sea-based OFWs have been processed on a daily basis in 2005, or almost five percent more than the average 2,594 contracts processed daily in 2004," Sto. Tomas added.

RJG Interview

2006-01-06T10:17:00.000+08:00

Con-Com, Judge slaying and Subic Rape Case Transcript of Interview

ON CHA-CHA / CON-COM ISSUE

SEN GORDON: I know na kailangan nating magbago ng Constitution pero hindi ako pabor ngayon sapagkat ang atensyon ng tao ay kabuhayan at ang makahanap sila ng good governance. Hindi naman porke nagbago ka ng Constitution ay magbabago ang gobyerno diba? Kailangan pa rin ayusin natin ang ating bayan upang umunlad.

REPORTER: Yung committee ninyo will tackle the cha-cha proposal?

GORDON: We will consider the proposal but we are going to take it like any suggestion of any citizen but I don't think we are going to go that far. Nasira na sila doon sa "no-el". Halatang-halata na itong ginagawa nila sa "no-el" ay talagang lumalabas ang katotohanan na ito'y para sa kapakanan lang ng iilang may kapangyarihan.

REPORTER: Pero ita-tackle din ninyo?

GORDON: We will see. Dadalhin natin sa committee iyan. Pero ako ang pakiramdam ko ay na turn-off talaga ako doon sa "no-el". You will discover the true intention of these people. This is really sugar-coating and bribing the senators and all the others. They know that the people don't like it so what they want to do is to offer a bribe by way of no-election. So that the machinery of these people who are no longer running for election will be used to campaign for these constitution.

REPORTER: Ano na ang plan of action ng committee ninyo?

GORDON: My plan of action, kung maglalabas ako ng Constitutional amendment I will do it phase by phase. I will not do it in toto. The plan of the committee is also to come out with a bill and during the holidays I have been talking with people to try and get a computer that can be transparent, speedily undertaken so that the integrity of electoral process cannot be put in doubt. So sa akin iyun muna, 'yung counting machine, 'yung electoral process ay dapat malinis para sa ganoon there will be no doubt as to the counting of votes.

REPORTER: Pati 'yun plebiscite, sir, phase by phase?

GORDON: Yes. People must really understand what it is that they are voting for and for any Constitutional election we must have an honest Comelec and the electoral process must have integrity.

REPORTER: Kailan magsisimula ang inyong committee na i-tackle ang cha-cha?

GORDON: Few days before the session starts.

REPORTER: Mayroon ka na bang kopya ng con-con report?

GORDON: Wala.

REPORTER: This is the Con-Com propoposal, hindi ba dapat ang mag-endorse noon ay Malacanang?

GORDON: Actually, like I said, it will be treated like any suggestion by any citizen because wala namang legal basis 'yung pag-create noon. It is really consultative.

REPORTER: Somebody has to put it in a deal?

GORDON: Correct. We would have to file a resolution. A resolution to amend the following provisions of the Constitution.

REPORTER: The committee will do it for them or will you wait for another senator to put it into.?

GORDON: Well we will see. Like I said, mayroon akong proposal sa isang constitutional assembly that I think should be done first before we even overhaul or revise the Constitution.

REPORTER: Sir, may na-file na daw kayo na bill para doon sa revision of the Constitution?

GORDON: No. What I said is that we are going to file a resolution later on, not now because we are still busy with other bills pero dadalhin naming iyan unti-unti for example the provisions that do not necessarily go into the structure of government but in really yung mga basic things lang. So you file one at the time o kaya 3-4 amendments at the time so that people can really analyse the provision that you want to change. What is most important, for me, is that people understand what we are amending.

REPORTER: Sir, even the Comelec ay nag against"No-EL"

GORDON: Well, that is good if they feel that way but you know if they really have to do a lot of laundering.

REPORTER: ."no-el" is just indeed transitory provision?

GORDON: It is critical because lumalabas na para ma-approve ang Constitution they have to do "no-el"

REPORTER: Iyan ang pambili.

GORDON: Iyan ang pambili. It is an insult to the intelligence of our countrymen and of the Senate. Ibig mong sabihin ay magbabago ka ng Konstitution tapos lalagyan mo ng "oh wala munang election". Ibig sabihin si Sen Frank Drilon will be there until 2010. Bribery iyan.

REPORTER: Have you read Abueva's assertion?

GORDON: I find the Abueva ads really indecent. Where are they getting the money to pay for that ads. There is another ad in the Inquirer today. Who's paying for all these ads? Who's funding it?

REPORTER: Sir, yun consultation with the other members only on the date?

GORDON: No, on whether we should consider all the amendments in toto or should we do it piece meal? Or should we clean up the Comelec first and put in the electoral machines first before we take this up. Bale wala lahat 'yan kung madumi ang eleksiyon.

REPORTER: Personally sir, ano ang gusto ninyo?

GORDON: Linisin muna ang Comelec. Ilagay natin ang voting machine. Change the Constitution but not the parliament, not the unicameral or anything like that. Gawin muna natin yung talagang nakakaligalig sa ating bayan tulad ng economic provisions.

REPORTER: But they are hiding under the shield that they are constitutional offices.

GORDON: Who?

REPORTER: Comelec.

GORDON: They may be constitutional offices but they are not exempted from the violations that they will commit. The prosecution that will come after they have committed the violation. And the Supreme Court has already said that they are also subject to the Ombudsman. Can you imagine, sabi doon sa Supreme Court decision pwede silang tirahin ng Ombusdman. Pangalawa, these guys should really answer for bakit hanggang ngayon wala pa yung ID card. Tayong lahat pumila doon pero hanggang ngayon there's is no ID card. Pangatlo, what are you going to do with the machine? 1 bilyon ang ginastos. Is there any move by the government? The Macapagal administration should try to get back the money from these people.

REPORTER: So matatagalan pa ito?

GORDON: Oo. I don't think yung cha-cha will prosper anyway. I have not seen a survey where people want the cha-cha. Because they doubt it. I think they want it but they doubt the integrity of the proposal because hinaluan ng "no-el"

JUDGES KILLING

GORDON: When you kill a judge you are killing the law practically. This is really a slap on the face of every lawaker and makes the judiciary impotent because they are intimidated by people who will try to kill them. You are making the judge afraid to do the law and many more judges may not be ready to pass judgment. We have to enable the judiciary to be brave and to make sure that they are protected. And the best protection is to make sure that anybody involve in a shooting of a judge must immediately be arrested and the full investigative power of the law must be put to bear upon this people.

SUBIC RAPE CASE

REPORTER: Can we get your reaction to the statement made by the VFA that the government is re-asserting its right to gain jurisdiction over the 4 US marines?

GORDON: We should not be surprised about that. I meaning If we can assert our sovereignty, after all, this is nothing to do with the VFA. These are personal crimes committed by a serviceman and they should answer for it. And if the United States is our friend, they should allow these people to be placed in the custody of our government.

REPORTER: Can we take custody of the 4 US Marines?

GORDON: When a warrant of arrest is issued, there are procedures. As far as I am concerned, the moment a warrant of arrest has been issued, we should custody of them. Of course, they can always appeal but then like I said this goes beyond legal. Ang mas mahalaga dito is the relationship between the two countries. And if you put any value to the relationship, the United States should respect our court and our processes. You know they should not be legalistic and then we should try to prosecute the case as quickly as we can. So if they are found guilty then they will be punished and if they are not guilty then they should released.

REPORTER: If the US refuse to yield jurisdiction over these. Will this affect the RP-US relations.

GORDON: I think so but I think it will affect the relationship because they chose a very limited respect for our laws and our processes. I think, each government should try to respect each other processes. This crime is a lot less that the VFA. The VFA is a national interest concern. The crime committed really should not reduce the basic function of the VFA. It can stand even if the crime had been committed. So if the crime had been committed, we should punish these people. We should really try and pursue the case in accordance with our legal processes and if I were the Americans, my advice to them will be to allow our legal processes to go through with it.

REPORTER: 'Yung VFA ay hindi raw ni-ratify ng US?

GORDON: That is correct. That is nothing new, the US Senate does not ratify this military bases agreement and they really do it under executive agreement which is the same value as a treaty but unfortunately it is also.our Constitution. That is why, one of the change that we should change in that Constitution is that very strict requirement because it is very, very restrictive. The fact that it has to be ratified as a treaty by our Congress and ratified by the other contracting party and it has to go to a plebiscite for that purpose. So to me, if there are any changes in the Constitution, 'iyan dapat because it severely hamstrings our foreign policy. For example, if there is an attack on the Philippines by a foreign nation we cannot even ask for help without conducting a treaty. We cannot bring in foreign soldiers here without conducting a treaty with those who will help us. By the time we enter into a treaty we may have been overrun already and you can not discount that because after all that has happened many times in Europe when Belgium was attacked by the Germans and they did not respect their neutrality and if that happened we better be sure that we can have allies that can come in and help us.

REPORTER: Sir kailangan bang i-push natin 'yun custody doon sa 4 US Marines?

GORDON: We should really assert that and like I said, ang dapat gawin ng mga Amerikano ay pagbigyan tayo d'yan because afterall 'yung VFA naman ay hindi maaapektuhan. Ibigay lang nila ang costudy, symbolic lang iyan, ang nirerespeto nila ay ang ating mga batas at husgado. And then Litisin natin sa lalong madaling panahon hindi 'yung patagalan at wan to sawa.

END

"What this Country needs is not a change OF men but a change IN men."

Female US envoy for RP named

2006-01-05T08:44:00.000+08:00

By AL JACINTO, The Manila Times Correspondent

President George Bush has nominated Kristie A. Kenney to become the US ambassador to the Philippines, making her the first female American envoy to Manila once her appointment is approved.

In a report posted on the US Embassy website, Kenney will replace Francis Ricciardone, who stepped down in May, once the US Senate approves her appointment.

A Clemson University political science graduate, Kenny served as senior adviser to the assistant secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs at the Department of State. She earlier served as US ambassador to the Republic of Ecuador.

Kenney is a career US Foreign Service officer. She was also the economic counselor at the US Mission in Geneva, economic officer at the US Embassy in Argentina, and worked as consular officer at the US Embassy in Jamaica.

She served as executive secretary of the State Departmentthe first woman to hold that position.

As executive secretary, she headed a staff responsible for inter-agency policy coordination and crisis management, working directly for former State Secretaries Colin Powell and Madeleine Albright, respectively.

Kenney also led the State Department transition team from the administration of former US President Bill Clinton to President George Bushs.

Her Washington assignments included being director of the State Department Operations Center; a detail to the White House as a member of the National Security Council staff; and political-military officer in the Office of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Affairs.

Kenney has a masters degree in Latin American Studies from the Tulane University and a bachelors degree in political science from the Clemson University.

She also attended the National War College. She speaks Spanish and French.

NEWS ARCHIVE

2006-01-01T10:49:00.000+08:00

Happy New Year!
2 US Marines in Subic rape case back in Okinawa
CDC chief bares 2006 goals for Clark ecozone
Representatives of the Ship for Southeast Asian Youth Program (SSEAYP) Pay Courtesy Call on Prime Minister
13 hurt in stampede caused by firecrackers
Legal war over custody of 4 US Marines looms
Cash Gift for Olongapo City Gov't Employees
New Year's reminder from Mayor Bong
Olongapo City Fiesta Queen Coronation Night
4 GIs charged with rape Prosecutor demands custody of accused
Reader's Chat
44 people indicted in fix marriage investigation
Number of jobless Filipinos up 7.4%
Filipino Pride
Schwarzenegger endorses Filipino Veterans Equity Act
23rd SOUTH EAST ASIAN GAMES VOLUNTEERS
Lawmaker sees need for multilingual skills for Pinoys
PLDT firm pushes distance learning via satellite
Got a problem? Take a photo
Jamboree all set
Mga kompanya sa SBMA magsasara dahil kay Calimlim?
BSP NCR-CLR Jamborette 2005
FINAL BSP JAMBOREE CAMPSITE INSPECTION
Robbers shoot Brit and Pinoy seaman
Favila confirms plan to place BCDA under DTI
Banicain Fishport Inauguration Today
Olongapo DepEd Wins National School Journalists Awards
Linggo ng Kabataan
5 Taiwanese firms infuse P432-M fresh investments in Subic
P3-B buwis nakolekta sa SBMA
10 Taiwanese firms to invest P1b in Subic
NPA attacks SCTEP expressway construction site in Tarlac
No rape: Subic driver contradicts his 1st affidavit
Subic expressway guard gunned down
BCDA ordered to stop roadwork in Luisita
Van driver denies witnessing rape by US servicemen
Third court date for Subic rape case
Gordon to PTA: Dispose of white elephants
Reader's Comments
Fiesta Queen 2005 2nd Canvassing
PR: 72% diskwento sa Mass Land Titling, hanggang Dec na lang
Subic food processing center to rise
Rookie canoe-kayak bets good for silver
Archers pick up two golds
Golds for RP Archery Team and a silver in canoeing
Gold-silver sa Pinay archers
Bronze in SEAG Triathlon in Subic Bay
Gold in Women's Individual Archery
RP paddlers make it to canoe finals round
Filipino bags gold in sailing
BOC-Subic reports P2-B collection in January-October
12 inmates bolt Olongapo jail
RP team sailing for gold
12 inmates bolt Olongapo jail
RP archers advance to medal column
All Foreign Judges fielded in Archery
Philippines get early lead in Women's Archery
5 of 6 US Marines deny raping Filipina in Subic
VFA body airs assurance on case vs 6 US Marines
Gilas
1 lang ang nang-rape sa akin -- Pinay victim
Volunteers' Final Briefing
Canoe and Kayak Teams ready for the game
The legacy of US military bases
Archers aim for 3 golds in meet
SEAG torch relay reaches Subic
2 gas station workers burned to death
2005 Volunteers' Day photos
Subic rape complainant not backing out--lawyer
More jobs await Pinoys in 2006
BoC seized P500m worth of goods
12 Olongapo jail inmates escape
Customs seizes P30 million in ‘ukay-ukay’ shipment
2005 Volunteers' Day Photos
Court lifts TRO stopping construction of SM Clark
How r u der?
Please Inform all your Female Friends!!!
P175B lost yearly to technical smuggling—Roxas
SEAG torch relay big hit in Cebu
Driver in US Marines’ case fails to submit his affidavit
Reader's Chat
American Hero
A good word for dropouts
CHED told: Close all diploma mills
RP paddlers take home 1 silver, 2 bronzes
NBI storms 3 internet cafés
'Dr. Ecstasy' laments the rave drug's notoriety
Nothing moves at Clark; 'Pinoy Big Brother' revives Centennial Expo
Pinoy wins prestigious international math award
Annual January 2006 tour: WOW Philippines
READER'S COMMENTS
Prosecutor names driver as respondent in rape case against Marines
Gonzales: Hindi ko pinagbantaan si Magsaysay
Bush appoints Fil-Am to head US advisory body
Protests greet probe into rape allegations against U.S. Marines in Philippines
Rape victim not attending hearing
Olongapo court starts rape charge probe today
Subic execs misled on VFA -- Gonzalez
US Marines to appear before prosecutors over alleged rape
US Embassy silent on custody transfer plea
Volunteers' Day Celebration all-set
PROCLAMATION NO. 839
READER'S COMMENTS
VOLUNTEERS' DAY CELEBRATION - PROGRAM
'Gapo launches "Ride a bike"
No need to augment Subic security force – Lomibao
State's case vs 6 US soldiers weak - VFA exec
DTI asked to promote investments
Subic rape case up at DoJ budget hearing
New gov't rules on dual citizenship elate Fil-Ams
94th Anniversary of the Young Men’s Christian Association
Retraction will not sink rape case, says DOJ
Bush names new envoy to RP
Militants demand end to US military presence in RP
RP eyes ‘economic corridor’ with Taiwan
Subic rape inaareglo
RP jurisdiction is clear in rape case against GIs
A culture of savings
Homeschooled Fil-Am wins $10,000 in 'Jeopardy!'
US custody for rape suspects violates Charter -- lawyer
4 held for P.5-M marijuana
SEAG Mascot Gilas meets Precious
Uneasy feeling on Subic rape case
FedEx to prioritize RP employees’ relocation
Torch Relay to Signal Start of SEA Games
Sister City relations of Olongapo City and National City proclaimed
Prosecutors deny 6 GIs' bid for more time
Australia opens its doors for Filipino professionals
Zambales furniture makers fight to save industry
Why they are named so ...
Half of RP graduate courses substandard
SUBIC: Where the Show Never Stops
Reconstructed Cubi bar from Subic Bay
ConCon to cost gov’t R2.6 B
Ex-Cebu governor urges return to 2-party system
Smuggling should be taken seriously
50 schools say 'no' to smoke belchers as RP celebrates Clean Air Month
Pinoy's coconet tops BBC World Challenge
Barangay elections may be scrapped
Dagupan fights styrofoam problem
Contractor offers to pay fees required of SM Clark
800,000 workers deployed abroad
'No terror threat to SEA Games'
How r u der?
Please Inform all your Female Friends!!!
Fair offers 1,000 overseas jobs
2 hurt in mock plane crash
CHAT BOARD CONTENTS
RP sailors' English sounds Greek to Norwegian firm
Relearning English in public schools
Child pornography sa RP malala na!
Gov’t eyes 65,000 jobs in new program
Dual citizenship rules liberalized—Fernandez
Please pass this on to our fellow Filipinos.
Candaba's migratory birds are flu-free
RELATED ARTICLES ARCHIVE 13 OCT 2005
GMA biased against poor buyers of second-hand cars
TAGBOARD CONTENT
SUBIC RAPE CASEUS marines' plea for deadline extension on affidavits denied
US marines' plea for deadline extension on affidavits denied
DFA asks US for custody of 6 marines in Subic rape case
PHILRED CROSS WINS INTL GOVERNING BOARD SEAT
Subic-clark-Tarlac work delay to result in P250M losses
DOJ: Subic rape case transfer to Manila is last resort
Subic rape: 7 new witnesses surface
Joint congressional panel hears Subic rape case today
OLONGAPO-SBMA JOINT RIVER CLEAN UP, MULING AARANGKADA!
JUNK DEALERS, LILINISIN ANG PANGALAN SA MGA NAKAWAN SA 'GAPO
US Embassy served summons for 6 GIs
4 tiklo sa kasong rape
RP overseas absentee voter registration starts
Mirant Philippines lights up Subic’s Grande Island
Driver ng 6 Kano ‘di raw sinuhulan
Angeles City court issues TRO vs Clark mall project
Subic rape witness hides
READY FOR THE GAMES
US Senate recognizes RP WWII veterans
Greenpeace urges global offices to denounce attack vs members
VFA 13 beses ‘nilabag’ ng Kano – Villar
Palace will let 6 US marines leave RP
12 Greenpeace members in Iba incident charged with trespass
US to hire more lawyers for GIs
German activist beaten up in Zambales anti-coal protest
DNA tests begin on evidence in Subic rape case
DOJ puts heat on rape van’s driver
Use of US Navy oil tank, pipeline in Subic to store ethanol proposed
Pasugalan inilipat sa Subic Bay
Zambales folk excited over small drugstores
UPDATE ON ALLEGED SUBIC RAPE
WE MUST HOLD CONTINUOUS HEARINGS AND BRING JUSTICE TO 22-YEAR OLD FILIPINA
Evidence against 6 US Marines ‘strong’
SENATOR ASSERTS PHILIPPINE JURISDICTION OVER US MILITARY PERSONNEL IN THE VFA
6 US Marines held for rape
Subic security chief axed over spate of robberies
Brave Gordon
Gordon says a mouthful
SBMA losses P1.7M to thieves
ICDF grants SBMA request for loan grace period extension
Group says pollution in Manila Bay unlikely in Subic
SBMA & 3 locators losses millions to thieves
November 1 images
Bataan town bats for share of SBMA taxes
Korean firm eyes $1-B facility to build ships in Subic Freeport
Holiday Greetings!
Japan bank clears sale of Masinloc plant
Text tax concern
Subic Freeport locators to get P.20/kWh rate cut
Plastic bags, hirit ibawal
Payatas now a tourist destination
What is the secret of this rock?
Pinatubo Funds
Wi-Fi to boost growth of SMEs
Aviation institute up soon at Clark ecozone
CAMPI mulls installation of radio frequency devices on local cars
Ecop bucks Labor Code amendments
VoIP windfall on ofws
S spy case shows e-mail unsafe from prying eyes
Unliquidated cash advances hit P3.3B
Ex-SBMA chief breaks silence, scores Gordon
Barangay,SK polls moved to 2007
Sept 16, 2005 photos of KaleBeach, Halfmoon Beach, Dumlao and Oceanview
Lawmaker, CICT propose e-budgeting project for gov't
50,000 pitch in to save Manila Bay on World Cleanup Day
Palace retrieves postdated checks
P20 milyon ni Antonio Diaz
'Splogging' polluting blogosphere with spam, expert warns
Job Fair held at Rizal Triangle
Subic Volunteers
Tag Board
Arroyo adviser for Central Luzon eyed as new SBMA head
Gordon assails �frailocracy�
DENR takes over emission testing
Duty-free goods illegal
Chat board contents
Battle for SBMA Chairmanship heats on
Importers of used vehicles move from Subic to Cagayan's Port Irene
Gordon: No politics in Subic shake-up
Government vows justice for rape victim
Palace: RP trial for GIs in rape case, DFA to handle case
Raped girl no sex worker
6 sundalo sa rape mapaparusahan — US
ATM Alert!
Photocopy the content of your wallet and save time later!
Honoring the dead
Philippine Culture 101
Survey shows electronic firms fail on toxic responsibility duty
Endless slide
HOW TO ACQUIRE WISDOM
NPA out to kill cop, military execs
DFA warns against illegal recruitment in Australia
More US troops arrive for military exercises in Luzon
P7-M worth of Pentium 4 processors smuggled
Rich, self-employed evade P106B in taxes
Power rates in Clark the nation's lowest
GMA launches today seafood fest in Clark
Subic Air maybe in trouble
ConCom recommends shift to federal form of government

Reader's Chat

2005-12-31T17:27:00.000+08:00

AC: I know shiela and Gret are thesame person

AC: I just thought na maybe if your husband is puti maybe they are communist, liberal, socialist kaya ganyan na lang ang galit nyo.

AC: but for me I am bless na nandito ako at nakakatulong sa atin.

AC: Sana nga wala kayong kamaganak dito kase sa nakikita ko parang inaabuso sila

AC: Why kung meron ka mang kamaganak dito inaabuso ba sila? Hope wala ka nga sanang mga kamaganak dito

AC: What Did you give in return to america na ganyan na lang ang galit mo did you give any.I prove itthat they never ever took advantage to us a filipino instead we are here to have a better life.

AC: maybe you dont have any even 1 relatives in here thats why ganyan na lang ang galit nyo sa mga puti. I know naman na nagasawa ng puti ang fren mo

AC: Pag sa pines ako nagaral e tambay pa rin siguro ako. America helps me alot to achieved my goal in life.Kaya nga lots of people from different country comes here to achieve their goal e

AC: Well,dont worry I finished my University here in America. And right now I'm happy bout the apportunity given to me. Maybe pag nasa pinas ako I would say na siguro nasa kalye ako tambay

Shiela: Hindi ko yan ikinakaila dahil nag-e-excel kaming Pinoy sa Japan. Pero ikaw sigro di ka makakapasa pag nag-apply mag-aral abroad so you better shut your mouth up! And stop judging people.

Shiela: Ikaw sana ang tumahimik dahil tila hindi ka nakapag-aral. Sabihin mo pang mas mabuti mag-aral sa Pinas? Oo naman. Maganda naman dito sa atin.

Shiela: Kita mo, halos hahalik ka na sa mga yapak ng mga puti! AT milyung-milyong Pinoy siguro ang ganun ang thinking sa yo.

Shiela: Siguro na misinterpret mo siya.Malinaw niyang sinabi na nakatulong nga pero sobra-sobra ang naging kapalit.YOU ARE the best example ng bad effect ng help nila.

Shiela: I think she mentioned that for every assistance the US render to other countries they get twice or more in return. THAT I AGREE 100%!

Shiela: I've read her comments about the American Foreign policy, etc. and I agree with it.

Shiela: But I happened to study in Japan twice. So I can understand her. And the English school she was referring to is for the JAPANESE.

Shiela: I'm not sick, AC. I was just trying to point out that Gret has a point. I agree with her. Does that make me sick? I am entitled to my opinion, too. And I don't know her.

Lanie of CA: I agree some of your comments but, I didn't agree some of it. But not to worry about it kase tao nga lang tayo

Lanie of CA: Think twice kase pagmagsulat kayo para di naman kayo nakakasakit. I know Gret you feel about the comments but next time kase be make sure na wala kayong matamaan

Reader's Chat

2005-12-22T07:59:00.000+08:00

Kristopher: I am a scout from the Quezon City Council I hope thet the NCR CLR camping in SBDMC will be successful
Dean: 5 December - International Volunteer Day! I did not see any postings or activities in your end. Just a reminder. For some reasons, I also forgot to remind you of this annual event
Clark White: I', looking to move to the phillipiems & hopefully find a wife
Mel: I lived in Sunset District. Also here in San Francisco
Betty: Really! We lived here in San Francisco too.
Mel: Hi Betty, Where you live here in America? I lived here in San Francisco.
Betty: I'm married to a Europian and we're here in America. We love here. Wala kaming against s America
AC: Did you ask what policy we got in the Phils.? What policy you are talking about in America. There are different kinds of policy.
AC: Well, I do believe your an intertainer in Japan. thats how you end up with your husband
Gary: hmnn! Well Maybe she wants people to believe her. What an idiot
Kas: What is this? even tagalog you cant make a sentence? Shocking
Kas: Why should people believe you study your english words specially your first messages. Not the latest
mary: TAma na sobra n iisa lang ang inyong lahi bat di na lang kayo magtulungan let the court decide and hopefully di sila masilaw ng pera.
Gret: Hi, Liza. I used to live in Oregon. Then, Hawaii. At nag-move back dito sa Tokyo. Malungkot dun kasi dahil lahat ng close friends ko sa Japan naiwan.
Gret: We have an English conversation school. At tulong sa kapwa Pinoy? Madami na. Andami kong naipasok na kababayan natin sa mga factories ng kaibigan ko. At sa school ko mismo.
Gret: Kaya nag-compromise kami na dito manirahan. And in my case, ako ang tumutulong sa mga Amerikano dito. Nagspo-sponsor ng visa.
Gret: Tsaka this is the closest we could get to the Philippines with the amenities of the First World na nakagawian ng asawa ko. We tried to live in RP pero di kaya ng mga anak ko. They always get sick.
Gret: Dito kasi ako nag-college, dito rin nag-Masters although sa UK nag-Ph.D. at nagpost doc.
Gret: Tsaka we don't live in the US. We are here in Japan. I've been there and it was okay but I always miss Tokyo.
Gret: AC basahin mabuti mong sinabi ko. Kung dati nga nakakabili na ako ng pangangailangan ko at nakakapagtravel na nasa Pilipinas pa ako how much more ngayon?

44 people indicted in fix marriage investigation

2005-12-18T15:32:00.000+08:00

IMMIGRATION CORNER By Michael J. Gurfinkel
The Philippine Star

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recently announced that a total of 44 people, many of them based in Orange County, CA, had been indicted, based on an elaborate scheme to obtain fraudulent immigration visas for hundreds of aliens through sham marriages to U.S. citizens. The indictments capped a 3-year investigation, known as Operation "Newlywed Game". The suspects now face a variety of federal criminal charges, including conspiracy, fraud and misuse of visas, making false statements in passport applications, marriage fraud, and inducing aliens to enter the U.S. illegally (alien smuggling).

According to ICE, the fraud scheme involves "facilitators", "recruiters" and "petitioners". The facilitators charge up to $60,000 to "fix" marriages between aliens and U.S. citizens, and submit fraudulent immigrant visa petitions on behalf of the aliens. The facilitators often use recruiters, who were typically paid $1,000 for each referral (finding U.S. citizens willing to marry aliens and submit the immigrant visa petitions). The U.S. citizen petitioners were paid thousands of dollars, plus travel expenses, in order to travel to the aliens home country to meet and marry them.

After the sham marriage, the facilitators helped the petitioners and aliens file bogus immigration petitions, and would coach the petitioners and aliens on what to say at their adjustment of status interviews, in order to convince the USCIS officers that it was a "love marriage".

However, the scheme began to unfold when some of the facilitators used the same petitioners over and over again, with some of the U.S. citizens having several "spouses" at the same time, and submitting numerous fraudulent spousal petitions. When the California Service Center started matching the same petitioners submitting several petitions on behalf of different "spouses", they alerted ICE agents, which started the investigation.

According to investigators, the suspects went to elaborate lengths to make the sham marriages appear legitimate, through wedding pictures, fabricated love letters, and even fraudulent joint tax returns.

This should be a lesson for anyone considering a fixed marriage. While obtaining a green card through marriage to a U.S. citizen is one of the fastest and easiest ways, it is critical that the marriage must be for love. You must intend to have a life together, live under the same roof, etc.

Not only does this investigation point to the criminal consequences of fixed marriages, but immigration law also provides for a lifetime ban for anyone who is ever caught in a fixed marriage. This means that if a person is ever caught in a fixed marriage, they can never get a green card through any other means - whether they are petitioned by another U.S. citizen (for love), an employer, or even a U.S. citizen child.

That is why it is so important that you seek the advice of a reputable attorney, who can advise you on legitimate ways to legalize your status, so that you will not resort to schemes and scams.

* * *

WEBSITE: http://www.gurfinkel.com/

Four offices to serve you:

PHILIPPINES: 894-0258 or 894-0239

LOS ANGELES: (818) 543-5800

SAN FRANCISCO:(650) 827-7888

NEW YORK: (212) 808-0300

Number of jobless Filipinos up 7.4%

2005-12-16T09:23:00.000+08:00

By Darwin G. Amojelar, Manila Times Reporter

THE number of jobless Filipinos increased in October because more people are joining the labor force than there are jobs available, a National Statistics Office poll showed.

In its latest quarterly Labor Force Survey, the NSO said the unemployment rate in October jumped 7.4 percent, from 2.4 million in the same period last year to 2.6 million.

The NSO said about 48.4 percent of the unemployed are aged 15 to 24, an indication that they are new high-school or college graduates.

The NSO used the International Labor Organization definition of the unemployed as persons who are 15 years old and older on their last birthday. They are reported to be without work, currently available for work, seeking work or not seeking work due to valid reasons.

The number of persons who joined the labor force rose by 264,000 to 35.5 million in October this year, slightly up from 35.23 million in July this year.

On a quarterly basis, the unemployment rate dropped to 7.4 percent in October from 7.7 percent in July.

This means the employment situation in the country 'continues to improve as the latest result of the October 2005 Labor Force Survey recorded an increase of 3.6 percent in the number of employed. There were 32.9 million reported to be employed during this period compared with 31.7 million a year ago,' the NSO said in a statement.

The NSO report also said underemployment went up to 21.2 percent from 16.9 percent a year ago.

In an interview, Socieconomic Planning Secretary Augusto B. Santos admitted that the government is falling short of its goal to create one million jobs yearly.

But he said the employment rate in the agriculture sector has risen, signaling a better farm output in the fourth quarter of the year. 'We expect agricultural production to rebound in the last quarter,' Santos added.

The NSO said employment in the agriculture sector grew by 3.3 percent, or 390,000 new agriculture workers. On the other hand, the industry sector posted the lowest increase6,000and only the manufacturing and mining and quarrying sub-sectors posting an increase of 26,000 and 20,000 workers.

Employment in construction dropped by 27,000 and in electricity, gas and water by 13,000.

Employment in the services sector had the highest increase739,000. Within this sector, wholesale and retail contributed the bulk of increase (426,000), followed by private households with employed persons (93,000); hotels and restaurants (72,000) and public administration and defense, compulsory social security (44,000).

The employment rate among the laborers and unskilled workers remained the highest during the period with 32.3 percent from last year's 31.9 percent.

Among regions, Cagayan Valley posted the highest employment rate at 97.4 percent, followed by Zamboanga Peninsula with 96.8 percent.

The lowest employment rate was recorded in Metro Manila at 86.3 percent and in Region W-A (Calabarzon) with 89.7 percent.

SURVEY SAYS:

48.4 percent of the unemployed are aged 15 to 24

Employment in the services sector had the highest increase with 739,000 new workers

The industry sector posted the lowest increase with 6,000 new workers

Filipino Pride

2005-12-15T17:11:00.000+08:00

Katrina <ksegundo@m...wrote:
many of them don't know is that there are people like . . .

AGAPITO FLORES who in the early 1940's invented the FLOURESCENT LIGHT,thus the name FLOUR-RES-CENT.

EDWARDO SAN JUAN, a Filipino, who in 1969 worked for Lockheed Corporation and was the conceptual designer of the Lunar Rover or the Moon Buggy.

In 1948, Olympic gold medalist, VICKY MANOLO DRAVES, was the first woman to win high and low diving events.

BOBBY BALCENA in 1957 was the outfielder for the Cincinnati Reds;

ROMAN GABRIEL, quarterback f or the Los Angeles Rams (1962-1973) He was the 1969 NFL MVP and Player of the Year;

LIZ MASAKAYAN, pro beach Volleyball champion player who lives in San Diego;

ERNIE REYES, JR., martial arts expert, movie actor and director;

BEN CAYETANO, governor of Hawaii since 1994, the highest ranking Filipino American in U.S. government;

TESS SANTIAGO, Mayor of the city of Delano, California's first Filipina Mayor since November 1994.

ANDY BUMATAI, standup comedian from Hawaii;

LOIDA NICOLAS LEWIS, CEO of the largest African-American owned corporation, TLC Beatrice;

The late, LARRY DULAY ITLIONG, labor organizer (1965 grapes strike leader), 1st Vice-President of the United Farm Workers union.

The late, PHILIP VERACRUZ, co-founder of the United Farm Workers union.

DANNY MODELO, the first Filipino American animal trainer at Sea World in the United States, a Filipino w ho grew up in South San Diego.

Judge LILIAN LIM, 1st Filipina judge in the U.S., appointed in 1988 and also from San Diego.

ROBIN TULAO MANGARIN, the 1st Filipina American television news anchorperson in San Diego history.

JOEL DELA FUENTE, TV actor who plays the character of Paul Wang on "Space Above and Beyond";

NIA PEEPLES, from the "North Shore", & star of the former TV show, "Party Machine";

TAMILYN TOMITA, from the "Karate Kid II" and the "Joy Luck Club";

TIA CARRERE, from "Wayne's World I & II", "Rising Sun", & "True Lies";

ROB SCHNEIDER, who you all know from Saturday Night Live, the movie "Judge Dredd", "Demolition Man", and "Down Periscope";

EMILIO ESTEVEZ, from the movie "Young Guns I & II", "Men at Work", & "The Mighty Ducks I & II";

CHARLIE SHEEN, from "Major League I & II", "Hot Shots", and "Navy Seals";

And then you got that one guy formerly known as PRINCE. Where do you think he gets his rhythm from?

Don't know about Prince having pinoy blood, but I can believe it considering his frame is smaller than most Afro-Americans.

May I add:

Emy Coligado of Miss Saigon who has recurring roles in "Malcolm in the Middle" and "Crossing Jordan".

Leon Lontoc who served as Gene Barry's chaffeur and confidante in the original 1960s series, "Burke's Law"

Radmar Agana Jao, son of Tessie Agana and was a regular in the short-lived TV series, "Union Square" (1997). He played a technician in Spielberg's "Minority Report"

Lou Diamond Phillips of "La Bamba"

Alan Pineda of the Black Eyed Peas

Schwarzenegger endorses Filipino Veterans Equity Act

2005-12-15T09:42:00.000+08:00

By ROY C. MABASA, Manila Bulletin

California Gov. Arnold Schwar-zenegger has sought the support of US President George W. Bush for the immediate passage of the "Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 2005" now pending before the US Congress.

In a letter sent to the White House, Schwarzenegger told President Bush that "action is needed in this Congress because the number of surviving Filipino veterans of World War II decreases with each passing year." The letter was dated Dec. 8, 2005.

"I feel the United States government should recognize the military service of these veterans and provide them the benefits they deserve. While Congress has adopted legislation that provides a limited number of benefits to some of these veterans, the Filipino Veterans Equity Act would eliminate gaps in coverage that remain and would ensure all Filipino veterans receive the same benefits available to American veterans of that war," he said.

House Resolution 302 or the Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 2005 was introduced by Rep. Randy Cunningham and co-sponsored by Bob Filner (California) while Senate Bill 146 was introduced by Sen. Daniel Inouye (Hawaii). The legislation will amend the Rescission Act of 1946, which stripped Filipino soldiers drafted into US military service in the Philippines during WWII of their US veteran status.

The California governor noted that while an estimated 300,000 Filipino veterans served in the U.S. Armed Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) in World War II, a federal law was passed in 1946 that rescinded their eligibility for veterans benefits.

"I am writing in strong support of bipartisan legislation currently pending in Congress that would address the inequity in current law by providing full veterans benefits to Filipino veterans who served at the request and under the command of the US military in World War II. The Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 2005 has broad support in Congress and a similar bill considered by the last congress was co-sponsored by over 200 members of the House," Scwarzenegger said.

Passage of both bills will mean official recognition of Filipino veterans as American veterans. They will be eligible for veterans benefits such as health care, disability compensation, pension, burial, housing loans, education, and vocational rehabilitation

Currently, less than 30,000 Filipino veterans are living in the United States and the Philippines. Most are not entitled to the full array of benefits offered to American veterans, specifically disability pension benefits. These benefits, he said, were promised to and earned by these veterans, but the promise was not fulfilled after the war.

The governor added that an existing budget proposal in the House of Representatives would provide the veterans with a modest $200 monthly disability pension to complement the veterans health care benefits that Congress had restored in 2003 upon the request of the Bush administration.

"I know that you share my commitment to our nations veterans and ask that you join me in supporting efforts to give these veterans their long overdue recognition and the benefits they deserve," Schwarzenegger told President Bush in his letter.

Visit http://SubicBay.Ph
for latest developments in Olongapo Freeport City, GawangGapo, Sanggunian, BagumbayanVolunteers, InterGapo Wow Wow Win Subik

23rd SOUTH EAST ASIAN GAMES VOLUNTEERS

2005-12-14T19:03:00.000+08:00

23rd SOUTH EAST ASIAN GAMES VOLUNTEERS
Held at Subic Bay Freeport
November 24 to December 5, 2005

OLONGAPO RESCUE TEAM

Layug, Angelito
Campano Romeo
Antes Andy
Orca Eduardo
Laborete Jesus
Arcalas Benjamin
Tuico Jose, Jr.
Abiertas Abraham
De Mesa Juan
Laranang Reagan
Neneng Allan
Mejia Danny
Lim Antonio, Jr.
Escobar Roosevelt, Jr.
Silva Llyod Byron
Buenvenida Jeffrey
Jahnke Allan
Manalad Ferdinand
Salgado Jun
Monje Glenly
Ramos Lydia May

PHILSOC ADMIN

Vice Mayor Paulino Rolen City Council
Bravo, Rowil Dan (Canoe/Kayak) Gordon College
Cabales, Therese Grace Gordon College
Esteban, Arjay Henry Metro Subic College
Fabunan, Olympia Florence OCNHS
Fredeluces, Jocelyn
Guevarra, Glen Allan Ross(Canoe/Kayak)
Guevarra, Veron
Liguid, Dianalyn Metro Subic College
Lopez, Christopher OCNHS
Manalastas, Maria Gordon College
Mora, John Erder (Canoe/Kayak) Gordon College
Operania, Janice St.Joseph College
Reyes, Mary Lynn Rose OCNHS
Sabio, Jamie Ann Columban College
Sales, Jessica St.Joseph College
Samanlego, Frederick St.Joseph College
Samonte, Danilo (Canoe/Kayak) Gordon College
Sarmiento, Romeo Jefferson Columban College
Valenzona, Ruel

COMMUNICATIONS

PIANO, EDWIN Olongapo Telecom Board
DALLUAY RUDY R. DX3UNA Radio Grp 4F3 RUY
LOO DANIEL Y. DX3UNA Radio Grp 4F3 DYL
OLA, M.D. VALENTINO T. DX3UNA Radio Grp 4F3 UNA
SALLES SR. Brgy. Councilor DAVID B. DX3UNA Radio Grp 4F3 DBS
LEZADA Fr. APOLINARIO V. DX3UNA Radio Grp DU3 ACG
KATO YOSHIHARU DX3UNA Radio Grp DV3 WUZ
JOHNSON MICHAEL G. DX3UNA Radio Grp DU3 PSA
EMETERIO, JR. HONORIO NORMAN G. DX3UNA Radio Grp DU3 NGE
LEE AMOR G. DX3UNA Radio Grp DU3 YOB
DALLUAY , JR. LEONCIO R. DX3UNA Radio Grp DU3 LDJ
DALLUAY MICHELLE A. DX3UNA Radio Grp DU3 DMW
SALLES ALEXANDER R. DX3UNA Radio Grp DU3 AWS
SALLES, JR. DAVID R. DX3UNA Radio Grp DU3 KSS
RODRIGUEZ NESTOR P. DX3UNA Radio Grp DY3 RPN
DALLUAY EUFEGENIA A. DX3UNA Radio Grp DY3 HAD
BORROMEO ROMEO F. DX3UNA Radio Grp DY3 YWR
YOUNG DUNCAN A. DX3UNA Radio Grp DY3 DAN
CIOCO NOLAN A. DX3UNA Radio Grp DY3 NAC
BANAL ALLEN R. DX3UNA Radio Grp DY3 ARB
ROMERO MARC DAMSEV T. DX3UNA Radio Grp DY3 DTR
YAGO KHEM KENNETH Y. DX3UNA Radio Grp DY3 MPS
SABANDO JEFREY A. DX3UNA Radio Grp DY3 JAS
BALLON JERICO C. DX3UNA Radio Grp DY3 JEC
PIANO JOHN PATRICK P. DX3UNA Radio Grp DY3 DRJ

SECRETARIAT

Asuncion, Frandel
Ayson, Josminia PPMD-SBMA
Baltazar Laidilyn
Borromeo Demie Jr. Gordon College
Daylo, Ira Chloemn Gordon College
Ednave, Celina Gordon College
Estacio, Ma. Theresa
Fulgar, Roel
Manzanares, Maria Dorotea Gordon College
Medina, Mark Genesis
Pineda, Ma. May Gordon College
Sandoval, Lea SBMA Tourism
Sunga, Sharmeine Gordon College

MEDIA CENTER

Agasa, Alfred
Alba, Christian Paul Columban College
Ballon, Jollie April Gordon College
Baruelo, Wilmer
Chavez, Kevin Rei Columban College
Cristobal, Jennifer Columban College
Eslava, Hipolito Jr. Columban College
Fernandez, Victoria Gordon College
Linzaga, Dan David St.Joseph College
Pangan, Ryan Columban College
Pozon Sunshine Joy OCNHS
Roaquin, Ferdinand SBMA-Tourism
Rodriguez, Andrea Mae Columban College
Saflor, Kriscell
Vizcocho Victorio III
Agatan, Myra

MARSHALS

Bonga, John Reanald Gordon College
Calderon, Reysther OCNHS
Gascon, Joel Gordon College
Laus, Nino OSBCC
Mabita Eduardo Jr. Gordon College
Mendoza Mayco OCNHS
Nelgas Nelson SBMA -Tourism
Philips Jason Gordon College
Pingue Alfredo Jr.
Regadio Marcelo Jr.
Vacal Delbest SBMA-Tourism

SAILING (SBMA)
Baltazar Florizel Lee Blue Phyton Swim team

CANOE- KAYAK (SBMA)
Bravo, Rowil Dan Gordon College
Dabu Jessica
Esteban, Arjay Henry Metro Subic College
Guevarra, Glen Allan Ross(Canoe/Kayak)
Loggronio John paulrigo Gordon College
Megu Romeo
Mora, John Erder Gordon College
Ocina Dennis Gordon College
Pinlac Ricardo St. Joseph College
Provido Dennis Gordon College
Samonte, Danilo Gordon College
TRIATHLON (SBMA)
Alinea Romeo Columban College
Dave Arlene Gordon College
Magrata Hubert Lew Gordon College

SCUBA DIVERS (NSA)
Agato Romeo
Albeza Bonifacio
Alisbo William
Casalan Angelo
Demaano Angelito
Jimenez Ronald
Rejos Soliven
Reyes Romeo

IN-CHARGE OF FOOD (PHILSOC)
Clifford Clifford Millard OCNHS
Mendoza John Christopher Gordon College
Resumendero Rachel Metro Subic College
Samonte, Danilo (Canoe/Kayak) Gordon College

COMMITTEE-MERCHANDISING (PHILSOC)
Bergonia Maruja OCNHS
Caliso Mae Metro Subic College
Cannu Olivia OCNHS

COMMITTEE-BROADCAST MANAGEMENT(PHILSOC))
Abdun Greg
Harris Gallardo

COMMITTEE RESULT MANAGEMENT (PHILSOC)
Fiao-Ag Efren
Marmito Allan Troy
Roson Caesar

CANOE- KAYAK (PHILSOC)
Lloren Cristituto
Prado Merjorie

ARCHERY (PHILSOC)
Dumlao Saturnino
Espiritu Wilfredo
Eugenio Demson
Galanga Florentina
Martin Ferdinand
Reyes Reynald
Sagabaen Alfonso
Santos Alleen grace
Sungcoco Lalyne

SCORE BOARD KEEPERS (ARCHERY)
Abad Roneil john
Abrigo Lammuel
Barcenas Perpetua (KABALIKAT) Kablikat Civicom
Demacali Priscella (KaBALIKAT) Kablikat Civicom
Figuerres Jelson Daryl
Gongora Bryan
Gregorio Rojie
Ibarrat Richard
Johnson Rod Zulueta
Mustar Juvimin
Olesco Charlie
Paguinto Eric (KABALIKAT) Kablikat Civicom
Pescador Fidel
Recelbido Mc Gringo
Recelbido Melissa
Ruiz Luzviminda (KABALIKAT) Kablikat Civicom
Salazar Christian James
Salazar Cristine Jasper
Sales, Jessica (Program) St. Joseph College
Seballos Juliegar C. RMTU

COMPUTER ENCODERS (ARCHERY)
Alman Rauchelle
Arangat Imeeleen
Concepcion Leandra Mae
Cosina Fil James
Estanislao Ruh
Fastidio Leby
Mallari Marikhar
Merencilla D'jahm
Operania, Emmauel
Tuyogon Allen

RUNNERS (ARCHERY)
Asio John Mark
Bravo, Rowil Dan (Canoe/Kayak) Gordon College
Buela Arwin
Beuno Narciso III
Esteban Arjay Henry (Canoe/kayak) Metro Subic College
Macam Aljohn Dave
Mora, John Erder (Canoe/Kayak) Gordon College
Ramos Jaymar

MARSHALLS (ARCHERY)
Andrade Ava Mae
Balanay Bernardine
Balbin, Karen (Program) OCNHS
Bantican Jasmin
Corilla Jennylyn
Esteban Lea
Gonzales Maricris
Fabunan, Olympia Florence (Program) OCNHS
Laranang Reniza Lyceum
Ledesma Katherine Mae
Leonardo Lovely Joy
Perea Joanne
Saldana Joey Marie
tejares Maria Crisrtina Jesseca
Villalobos Ruby

TABULATOR (ARCHERY)
Bagason Jason
Bonayog Aldrin
Chico Rogelio
Exala Marlon
Javier resty
Jayme Raulito
Joaquin Deogracias
Mobo Froilan
Paloma Rolando Jr.

FIELD ATTENDANTS(ARCHERY)
Asaro Christoper (program) Metro Subic College
Buenconsejo Rex (KABILIKAT) kabalikat Civicom
Cabales Theresa Grace Gordon College
Cumbis Sheldon
Dulce Wilfredo (KABALIKAT) kabalikat Civicom
Guevarra Veron (Program)
Hamera Gilbert
Lopez Christoper (program)
Lopez Daryl (KABALIKAT) kabalikat Civicom
Maaghop Tracy Lloyd
manalastas Maria (Progaram) Gordon College
Mendoza Efren Sr. (KABALIKAT) kabalikat Civicom
Paguinto Cresencio (KABALIKAT) Kabalikat Civicom
Paguinto Martie (KABALIKAT) Kabalikat Civicom
Paguinto Martin (KABALIKAT) Kabalikat Civicom
Pascua Jhun (KABALIKAT) Kabalikat Civicom
Samaniego Frederick (Program) St. Joseph College
Sarmiento Romeo Jefferson (Program) Columban College
Tolentino Gilbert (KABALIKAT) Kabalikat Civicom
Valenzona Ruel (Program) Metro Subic College
Villanueva Mark Alvin

SCORERS (ARCHERY)
Angel Marietta
Atienza Lily Joy
Belisario Flora Mae
Cabatac Edward
Calimbas Melody May
Dimacali Carol (KABALIKAT) kabalikat
Dizon Carmellaine
Duran Bea Felice (Program) OCNHS
Espiritu Richard
Francia Charlie
Fredeluces Jocelyn (Program)
Gallofin Phoebi
Linic Joreannie (KABALIKAT) kabalikat
Maceda Corazon
Rodin Aris
Sabio Jamie Ann (Program) Columban College
Syfu Robee
Vargas Shilahmee
Acabado Rogelio kabalikat
De Chavez Mark Lester kabalikat
Dela Rosa Renato kabalikat
Acabado Rogelio kabalikat
De Chavez Mark Lester kabalikat
Dela Rosa Renato kabalikat
Dimacali Rolando . kabalikat
Dominguez Nestel kabalikat
Espino Joselito kabalikat
Gernson Melnardo kabalikat
Martin Ronald kabalikat
Nicdao Diosdado kabalikat
Ortiguerra Ryan kabalikat
Peralta Noel kabalikat
Laranang Reagan
Layug Amgelito
Mc Coy Kerwin
Palmares Karen
Ramos Lydia Mae

VENUE COORDINATOR (SBMA)
Delos reyes Racquel
Fulgar, Roel (Secretatrial)
Macam Julious
Mayor Rodel

VENUE AND ACCOMODATION COMM ESCORT SCAN INTERNATIONAL

Lawmaker sees need for multilingual skills for Pinoys

2005-12-12T19:06:00.000+08:00

THE Commission on Higher Education (CHED) should push schools to sell foreign language courses to encourage more Filipinos to develop multilingual skills needed in information technology-enabled services (ITES), an educator-turned-lawmaker said.

We may need more college graduates with foreign language skills in order to secure and develop the Philippine brandour niche in the global business process outsourcing [BPO] industry, Rep. Eduardo Gullas of Cebu said.

He noted that local call centers servicing United States-based clients have been aggressively recruiting through print ads and offering premium pay to customer-service agents with non-English foreign language skills, particularly Spanish.

This is because a growing number of American customers making calls to centers here are Spanish-speaking US immigrants from Mexico, Gullas pointed out.

He cited an IBM Corp. report indicating that over 31 million Americans, or 12 percent, of the US population now speak Spanish.

We should keep our focus on English proficiency, which is our best asset as a brand. English is still the language of technology. Our English skills have enabled us to get 30 percent of all IT-enabled service jobs being offshored from the US, Gullas said.

However, we should also not lose sight of the need to add more value to the brand. It would be good if we produced young people with multilingual skills, he added.

Gullas has a bill that seeks to revive English as the medium of instruction in schools. Two House committees earlier jointly endorsed the bill for floor approval.

He said the University of the Philippines College of Arts and Letters has a full-fledged Department of European Languages that could serve as a model for other schools.

Next to the US, the European Union (EU) is the biggest source of IT-enabled service jobs being offshored to low-wage countries like India and the Philippines.

Outside of English, the top five most commonly spoken languages in the EU are German, French, Italian, Spanish and Dutch.

German, French, Italian and Spanish are also among the top 10 languages on the Internet, along with English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Russian, according to Global Reach, a consulting firm specializing in multilingual online promotion.

PLDT firm pushes distance learning via satellite

2005-12-12T19:02:00.000+08:00

By Erwin Lemuel Oliva, INQ7.net

MABUHAY Satellite Corp., a company owned by Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), will push more satellite services, starting with distance learning using satellite technology next year, an official told INQ7.net.

Quietly launched a month ago, Mabuhay Satellite's e-learning service is now being used by computer school AMA to broadcast lectures from Metro Manila to more than 100 campuses nationwide, said Ramon Fernando, director for sales and marketing of Mabuhay Satellite Corp.

AMA has been using the Internet to broadcast lectures to its students in other parts of the country. However, the Internet proved to be slow in transmitting video.

As providers of satellite services move from just selling "bandwidth" to selling services, Fernando said that Mabuhay Satellite would be providing more value-added services for different clients wanting to take advantage of distance learning via satellite.

He said that the cost of doing distance learning via satellite is still expensive. However, the price of the terminals used to receive broadcasts is going down.

Mabuhay Satellite said that it would partner with AMA computer school, which would provide the facilities, such as the receiving stations, that others can rent, he said.

Both Mabuhay Satellite Corp. and AMA are still negotiating how they intend to package this service.

The cost of using satellite services for one day ranges from 300,000 to 500,000 pesos, Fernando said. If schools or private organizations are able to get more people to use the service, the cost could go down, he added.

"We're working with AMA as a partner in the delivery of distance learning services," the executive said.

Mabuhay Satellite is also looking into to selling distance learning services via satellite to other markets, such as the pharmaceutical industry and government.

The company is also planning to offer Internet connections via satellite for remote areas in the country.

"Satellite technology is often misunderstood. People don't know that it can now be used for telephony and other services, apart from broadcasting," the executive said.

Mabuhay Satellite, which is partly-owned by a group of Chinese investors, has mostly telecommunications firms as clients. In the Asia Pacific region, its biggest client is Indonesia.

Got a problem? Take a photo

2005-12-12T19:00:00.000+08:00

By Tarra V. Quismundo, Inquirer

TIRED OF SEEING garbage on the road? Are you bothered by the sight of open manholes or vendors who block traffic by hawking their wares on sidewalks? Then take a picture and send it to the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).

Beginning next year, residents in the metropolis who own a cellular phone equipped with a camera can shoot pictures of any situation or problem they encounter on the road and forward them to the MMDA for action.

"This is one way of communicating with our citizens. The whole idea is to involve [the public] ... As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words," said MMDA general manager Robert Nacianceno.

The new mobile phone feedback service, to be launched in January, is an upgrade of the agency's present feedback system which allows the public to send their complaints through text messaging or by calling up 136, the MMDA hotline.

"We are now developing the system. We have already set it up, and we are testing it internally first among our directors, and how we could refer the message to the proper department upon receipt," said Nacianceno.

Once available, motorists and commuters can forward their complaints, ranging from delinquent MMDA traffic enforcers, flooded streets to mounting piles of trash, to the agency using the Multimedia Messaging Service feature of their cellular phones.

Nacianceno said the MMDA was still working on a mechanism that would inform senders of the action taken on their complaints.

The mobile phone feedback service system was also undergoing more tests to ensure that computers processing the picture messages would not crash when deluged with multiple messages.

The MMDA has also talked with officials of telecom firms Globe, Smart and Sun Cellular about their possible involvement in the new feedback service system.

Blas F. Ople: A citizen of the world

2005-12-11T12:27:00.000+08:00

Blas F. Ople, born to a poor family in Hagonoy, Bulacan, rose to become one of the countrys great statesmen and intellectuals. Through self-education and hard work, he became an accomplished journalist, teacher, writer, propagandist and labor unionist.

He helped draft the Constitution of 1987, and wrote 10 books.

As senator (two terms), he chaired the powerful Committee on Foreign Relations. He was elected Senate President in 1999. He was the first Asian to be elected President of the International Labor Organization Conference. Ople served in two Cabinet positionsSecretary of Labor and Secretary of Foreign Affairs. He died on December 14, 2003, while on a foreign mission. In this tribute, three former colleaguesSenators Ernesto Herrera, Sergio Osmeña 3rd and Orlando Mercadoremember Ka Blas, a citizen of the world, and the man they considered the Senate resident intellectual, on the second anniversary of his death.

Blas brought a wonderful humanity to politics

By Ernesto Herrera

The name Blas Ople conveys a lot of things to a lot of people: statesman, writer, journalist, hero, patriot and, for some, even adversary. To me, Blas was someone far more important. He was my friend: my dearest, most trusted and most loyal friend. And in the world of politics, where friendship, trust and loyalty are, most of the time, negotiable commodities, he was one of the few true friends Ive ever had.

I met Blas before we shared the Senate session hall together as senators, long before the media dubbed us "Batman and Robin," after the famous comic-book dynamic duo.

Blas was a demigod in the labor movement when I was starting out as a labor organizer with the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines. He was the countrys longest serving labor minister, having been appointed by Marcos during the latters second term and staving on the job through the martial law years until the fall in 1986.

Even before we were formally introduced, I respected the fact that Blas started his career as a labor-welfare advocate like me. He was a good friend of the trade union movement, in fact, a unionist himself. Blas broke bread with a man we all respected in the labor sector, the great labor leader Cipriano Cid, who was also the editor of the Evening News.

Blas and I became fast friends even if I did not share his addiction to cigarettes, coffee and alcohol (he would eventually be able to conquer the last). Like many others, I was drawn by the mans passion. Whatever the issue, whomever the person, Blas had a view that he strongly held, forcefully offered, and vigorously defended. Blas without an argument would have been like his favorite sarsaparilla without the fizz.

But Blas wasnt one who would try to relentlessly pummel you with his brilliance for the sake of making an impression. He packaged his issues and ideas not so much for public consumption but for the public good.

Blass footprints would be forever imprinted on the labor sector. God knows what could have happened to Filipino workers rights and welfare if a different, less principled man was given the labor portfolio during Marcoss time.

But Blas was the real thing. As much as he read (he was a library personified), his idea of patriotism did not come from a book. It was the essence of his life, the foundation that shaped and formed all his other convictions. You may disagree with his talk on certain issues, but never with his ideas, for he always put the interests of the country and the people first.

There was one incident that forever cemented my admiration for Blas. In October 1983, less than two months after the assassination of Ninoy Aquino, I was one of five people appointed by Marcos to the Fact-Finding Commission created to determine who killed the former senator. The others were Dante Santos, the president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce Inc. and chair of the Philippine Appliance Corp., lawyer Luciano Salazar, lawyer Amado Dizon and retired Justice Corazon Agrava, who headed the Commission.

It was Blas who recommended me to Marcos to represent the labor sector. Marcos trusted Blas, and he knew Blas and I were like brothers. Yet throughout the arduous investigation, not once did Blas talk to me to ask what we were up to in the Commission, or much more, toward a particular position. He just told me to do the right thing.

When the four of usSantos, Salazar, Dizon and Isubmitted a separate report, dissenting from Agrava and putting the blame for Ninoys murder squarely on Gen. Fabian Ver (Marcoss military) chief and his men, Marcos was naturally furious. But again, I never heard anything from Blas. He just told me to be careful.

In all the four decades I have been involved in politics as a legislator and as a workers advocate, Ive seen how power corrupts, how even the prospect of power corrupts. Ive seen what power does to those who wield ithow it changes them, how they lose control. The seduction of politics has consumed many an idealistic soul.

Blas was one of the few exceptions to that norm. At a time when it seemed everyone in the martial law regime wanted to climb the greasy pole of politics for power and money, Blas practiced politics as a means to restore the innate dignity of the common Filipino.

In an age when the majority of people dismiss anything that comes out of the mouths of politicians as rubbish, Blass words remind us of the potential good that can come out of politics when it is used as a means to an end, rather than an end in itself.

In the many positions he held in governmentas labor minister, constitutionalist, senator and foreign ministerhe did not merely seek to make better laws and policies, he sought to make lives better. He strove to make politics relevant, especially for those to whom it seemed remote: the people who are lacking in education or opportunities, people who reminded him of his humble beginnings. Indeed, he brought a wonderful humanity to politics.

Blas never profited from public service in the way people commonly think of now. His rewards were more spiritual. As a testament to his honesty, when the dictatorship was toppled, his house was in mortgage. Blas was probably the only public official close to Marcos who was financially in dire straits. Even Cory Aquino could not believe it.

Still, broke as he was after decades of being in the highest echelons of power, Blas was one of the few people who could have told me that politics had been his life, and that it had been a life worth living. And I would have believed him because, in his case, such a statement could never be truer.

Then again, he wasnt one to brag. .

About the author: Ernesto Herrera served as senator and a member of the House of Representatives

Memories of Ka Blas

By Serge Osmeña III

I remember the first time I met Ka Blas. It was during the1995 election campaign. The candidates for the Senate of the Lakas-Laban coalition were on a sortie in Bulacan and the team was hosted by Ka Blas to a late dinner at his home in Hagonoy.

He was quite subdued and proper. Able to banter one minute and be deep in thought the next. He was not the fiery Ka Blas I had read about. I learned that he had suffered a stroke a year before, which slowed him down a bit.

I joined him in the Senate a few months later. He was aligned with the opposition group and we did not get to collaborate closely on legislative measures.

In 1998 I moved my constituency office to the Marbella Tower on Roxas Boulevard. It was located next to his office.

Ka Blas and I maintained late hours. Many a night, on my way out, I would notice his entire staff still at work. His office entrance was a glass door so a passerby could see what was going on inside. Once in a while I would pop in and ask his receptionist if he would care to receive an unexpected visitor. He was never too busy to visit with me.

Ka Blas seemed to work two shifts. During the day he would attend to his Senate duties with the mandatory break at noon for lunch and a shave at the Muni golf barbershop.

After sessions, he would repair to his Marbella office with his close-in staff. He would have his dinner watching CNN news on TV. Then undergo massage and physical therapy. Then write one or two of his eight weekly newspaper and magazine commentaries.

I inquired of him how he found the time to write so many columns. He explained his technique. While riding in his car, he would compose in his mind the outline of his article. Upon arrival at the office, he would type it out on his desktop computer. Like a brilliant man, his mind never seemed to stop. I suspect it still continued to function even while he was asleep.

I liked to tease his staff, especially his ever-loyal Mila and daughter Toots, if they received overtime pay. They cheerfully replied that they had long become used to his interminable work hours.

Ka Blas had the stamina of a bull. Many a night he would leave Marbella at 10 p.m. to drive to Bulacan to attend the wake of a political leader or of an old friend. Hed get home not earlier than 2 a.m.

Because we were among a handful in the Senate cursed by an addiction to nicotine, Ka Blas and I often found ourselves sitting togetherat hearings, meetings, dinners and socials. Wed share an astray. I discovered he outsmoked me three to one. During one dinner reception, I counted the number of cigarettes I had consumed. Four. Ka Blas had 12. The filter tips of our cigarettes had different colors.

During his last year in the Senate, before he resigned to take on the Foreign Affairs portfolio, we were seated beside other. Ka Blas used to wear a barong every day. One day, he arrived at the session hall in a dashing black double-lit western suit. I ribbed him, "Ka Blas, mukhang management tayo ngayon." He liked that. Every time he came wearing a suit, hed announce, "Management tayo ngayon." Ka Blas had served as Secretary of Labor for 20 years.

I missed out on the thunder years of Ka Blass political life. He never engaged me in long discussions, ideological or philosophical. Maybe he didnt want to waste his time and energy on a philistine like me.

On the floor or in caucus, he would not speak long. Except when he delivered sponsorship speeches. But he was always able, in a few short sentences, to capture the essence of an issue and place it in the proper perspective. The depth of his knowledge and the breadth of his experience allowed him a wide-angle view, which he always shared with his colleagues. He was quite impressive at doing this. Many of the senators would leave the table muttering, "I never thought of it that way."

Every one knew that Ka Blas was the most widely read among the senators. And the most traveled. He observed, he learned, he analyzed and he absorbed. The true philosopher is described by Plato as a "spectator of all time and all existence." Ka Blas was our resident philosopher. He played a subtle but important role in the broadening the knowledge and honing the judgment of most, if not all, his colleagues.

Ka Blas and I did disagree on some issues but not too many. He sponsored and I opposed the Senate approval of the ratification of the RP-US Visiting Forces Agreement.

I advocated the use of English as a medium of instruction. Ka Blas opposed itbeing an heir of Balagtas.

I sponsored, and he opposed, the liberalization of the retail trade sector. Ka Blas stuck to his nationalist roots. He was not amused when I once teased him for wearing Bally shoes and using Mont Blanc fountain pens.

But Ka Blas was ever the statesman. He never took offense at those who took opposing views. And delighted in being teased. Friendships remained warm.

I was deeply saddened by the passing of Ka Blas. Even now, I sometimes drop by his office, (since taken over by his daughter, Toots) to say hello to his staff. I dont enter his inner office. Perhaps I want to pretend he is still in therereading a book, watching the TV news or writing his column.

There are people that you meet in life that you just take a liking to. Ka Blas was one person I liked very much. We enjoyed many light-hearted times together and I shall always be grateful for his friendship, tolerance, understanding and guidance. He made my years in legislative service so much more pleasant and fulfilling. I shall miss him.

About the author: Serge Osmeña 3rd is a senator of the Republic of the Philippines.

On Ka Blas Ople

By Orlando S. Mercado

The life span of a media man is relatively short. I guess that is because of our lifestyles and the pressures of deadlines that are part of the job. In the days when we used to drink to forget a lousy broadcast or to celebrate a good one, the National Press Club building was the place to go. It was cheap, and in the sixties and the seventies it was the place to swap jokes, brag and tell tall stories, get into an argument, and sometimes get involved in a fight.

I never had the privilege of going on a binge drinking session with Ka Blas but the stories told were oft repeated by the old timers. Never mind if it had been a number of decades that he had been a teetotaler. The Ka Blas I got to know was not the Ka Blas the Press Club old timers described to me. I was elected as opposition assemblyman in the regular Batasang Pambansa in May 1984. Those were the most exciting days of the nations roller-coaster political life. It was not quite a year since Sen. Ninoy Aquinos assassination on August 21, 1983. Not many of us knew how the turbulent times would end.

Ka Blas was a longtime member of President Marcoss Cabinet. This did not bother me. Somehow I saw Ka Blas in a different light. I knew he was a towering intellectual but with a pragmatic side.

I was drawn to him because of a common background. We both came from the Left. Our days as fire-breathing Marxists might have been over but a few friends provided a shared connection to the past. Mine was a Hagonoy-born former Communist Party politburo member: Ka Sammy Rodriguez.

I met Ka Sammy in 1973 when I was transferred from Camp Aguinaldo (where I was interrogated) to a detention complex at Fort Bonifacio benignly called the Ipil Reception Center.

Among us young activists, there were two original members of the Communist Party led by Luis Taruc whom we considered bearers of the Marxist ideals: Angel Baking and Sammy Rodriguez.

After Ka Sammy and myself were released, we kept in touch. I was able to return to television via a public-service program, Kapwa Ko, Mahal Ko. Ka Sammy arranged for our medical team to go to Hagonoy to provide medical aid to the indigent barangays. Ka Sammy and the other prominent leaders invariably talked about Ka Blas, who was a native of Hagonoy. My admiration for Ka Blas grew after hearing kind words about him from his provincemates, especially from one I considered a mentor: Rodriguez.

So in 1984 when I would see Ka Blas regularly in the sessions of the Batasang Pambansa, it was like we were old friends in spite of our age difference.

When Ka Blas ran for the Senate in 1992, we were on the same team. Halfway through the physically taxing campaign Ka Blas lost his voice. His stentorian voice was reduced to a murmur after delivering too many speeches. This obviously aggravated by his constant smoking.

I felt proud when he asked me to deliver his campaign speech when his turn came. I did my job with so much gusto that he once remarked that maybe we should keep that arrangement throughout the campaign: he would simply acknowledge the audiences cheers while I extolled his achievements to high heavens.

When he got back his voice, he made quite a blooper at a rally in Cebu City. We were all on the stagethe candidate for president, Speaker Monching Mitra, Chief Justice Celing Fernan, his running mate, and all the 24 senatorial hopefuls. When his turn to speak came, he ended his speech with the usual exhortation, saying, "At huwag ninyong kalilimutan ang tambalang Marcos-Fernan." After correcting himself, he sheepishly smiled as if to acknowledge that some old habits die hard.

It was in the Senate where Ka Blas repeatedly challenged us to think of the issues we were debating in a larger context. His favorite word was strategic. And indeed, he somehow succeeded in putting many of our discussions in a larger context.

While in the Senate, I went back to my alma mater, the University of the Philippines, to get a doctorate in political science. It was my chance to reread the works of great political theorists.

One day he noticed me reading Thomas Hobbess Leviathan in the Senate lounge. In between incessant sips of coffee that he never seemed to stop drinking, he told me why he thought the social-contract theorists should he required reading for all who formulate and implement public policy. It was with Ka Blas that I could discuss political theory.

He was not "schooled" but was truly educated. His formal education was interrupted by more urgent and important endeavors but he continued to educate himself to the end. Blas Ople had a sharp mind, one which he must have constantly honed. He also had a great heart that went with his intellect. I consider myself lucky to have known a great Filipino.

About the author: Orlando S. Mercado was a member of the Philippine Senate and Secretary of Defense in the administration of President Joseph Estrada.

Driver in US Marines’ case fails to submit his affidavit

2005-12-11T00:12:00.000+08:00

By JONAS REYES Manila Bulletin

OLONGAPO CITY — The preliminary investigation on the alleged rape of a Filipina by 5 US Marines were cut short yesterday afternoon by Olongapo City Prosecutor Prudencio Jalandoni.

The investigation was stopped by Jalandoni after he found out that Timoteo Soriano, the alleged driver of the van carrying the 5 US Marines, represented by his counsel, lawyer Raul Paras, failed to submit his counter-affidavit.

Paras tried to submit an affidavit executed by Soriano, but he pointed out to Jalandoni that Soriano is neither a respondent nor witness in the case.

"Soriano is neither a witness for the five respondents nor is he a respondent in this case," he said.

He also said that he has found no complaint against Soriano, and because of this there is no need for a counter-affidavit.

"Based on the records and evidence found, there is no formal complaint against my client (Soriano)," Paras said.

Jalandoni said that he had asked for the submission of the counter-affidavit of Soriano through a subpoena he had issued to him and that he could make him a respondent if the evidence so warrants.

The Olongapo City prosecutor scolded Paras and his client, saying that Soriano’s inability to provide a counter-affidavit makes a mockery of the proceedings.

"Your client is making a mockery of the proceedings. Soriano can be made a respondent in this case if the evidence and statements made here warrant it, " he said.

Jalandoni did not accept the affidavit that Paras had earlier submitted, insisting that the proper counter-affidavit being asked of him should be submitted.

Paras and Jalandoni agreed, however, that Soriano is to be made available to submit the counter-affidavit and to swear to the veracity of his statements.

The counsel for the other respondents also submitted to Jalandoni a copy of a sworn affidavit by one Corporal Juan Victor Correa III.

The sworn affidavit was submitted by Correa to the consulate of the Philippines in Naha, Japan.

Correa is a US Marine whose sworn statement corroborates those of accused Corporal Burris and Corporal Lara that they were back on the USS Essex at 12:45 a.m.

In his statement , Correa said that he went on liberty from the ship on Nov. 1 at around 7:15 p.m. Correa was accompanied by by Corporal Corey Burris, Lance Corporal Albert Lara and Corporal Daniel Bulaszek. .

Correa stated that at around 9 that evening, he and his group went tothe Neptune Bar and met with Corporals Daniel Smith, Keith Silkwood, and Dominic Duplantis.

He said that no other US Marines were there and that he only remembers Corporal Lara dancing the salsa with some of the female Marines from the ship.

He also stated that they took out some pizzas and were back on the ship by midnight and that he had seen Lara and Burris checking in behind him.

Jalandoni accpeted the affidavit of Correa and decided to terminate the proceedings and reset it to Dec. 19, 2005.

Reader's Chat

2005-12-10T22:31:00.000+08:00

Gret: Hi, Liza. I used to live in Oregon. Then, Hawaii. At nag-move back dito sa Tokyo. Malungkot dun kasi dahil lahat ng close friends ko sa Japan naiwan.
Gret: We have an English conversation school. At tulong sa kapwa Pinoy? Madami na. Andami kong naipasok na kababayan natin sa mga factories ng kaibigan ko. At sa school ko mismo.
Gret: Kaya nag-compromise kami na dito manirahan. And in my case, ako ang tumutulong sa mga Amerikano dito. Nagspo-sponsor ng visa.
Gret: Tsaka this is the closest we could get to the Philippines with the amenities of the First World na nakagawian ng asawa ko. We tried to live in RP pero di kaya ng mga anak ko. They always get sick.
Gret: Dito kasi ako nag-college, dito rin nag-Masters although sa UK nag-Ph.D. at nagpost doc.
Gret: Tsaka we don't live in the US. We are here in Japan. I've been there and it was okay but I always miss Tokyo.
Gret: AC basahin mabuti mong sinabi ko. Kung dati nga nakakabili na ako ng pangangailangan ko at nakakapagtravel na nasa Pilipinas pa ako how much more ngayon?
Beth: Who? What?
lara: May boyfriend ka rin ba sa Europe?and parts of Asia? Wow ha
Lara: Is your husband a socialist?
tery: not like other dyan nagkukunwarian lang e nandito rin pala
tery: I'm proud I'm here in America. I'm also proud to be a Filipino but at least now nababawasan na ang problema sa aming pamilya like financial problem. I'm happy to be here
Veteran: DApat sisihin dito ang government, I'm lucky I'm here but i feel sorry to those veterans that they dont get what they need to get.
Liza: Hi Gret, San ka galing before?
TOny: Well be fair, We all know yes kano helps as pero may mga bagay na ayaw natin gaya ng pagkaliberated nila we all very conservative. I dont others. kaya naiinfluensyahan kung minsan ang mga pinoy.
AC: bakit ngayon ba di ka nakakabiling gamit? dapat doon ka nalang para makatulong ka pa
Gret: Tsaka about work in Pinas before di naman ako milyonarya dun pero di naman naghihirap. Nakaka-afford naman akong bumili ng pangangailangan ko at nakakapagtravel.
Gret: And as to my honey, we are politically compatible. Kaya nga kahit Amerikano minahal ko. If he were a typical Amboy nungka ko siyang papatulan. Pero he's one of the "enlightened ones".
Gret: Their assistance was never ALTRUISTIC. Theirs is always EGOISTIC. So is that commendable?
Gret: If you've read between the lines, which I'm sure now most of you guys didn't I was telling all of you that for every help they extend to us they get twice the worth in return.

American Hero

2005-12-10T21:50:00.000+08:00

By Joanne Rae M. Ramirez, People Asia Magazine

That ours has become a borderless world hits you when you realize that the chief of the Joint United States Military Assistance Group (JUSMAG) and US defense representative to the Philippines is a Cavite-born American who likes laing and Bicol Express, with a fierce devotion to baseball and the Virgin of Peñafrancia.

JUSMAG chief Col. Mathias Velasco - the first Filipino-American and the second Asian-American to assume the post since 1947 - was born in Sangley Point in Cavite to Matias Velasco, a Navy man from Bicol and a naturalized American citizen, and his wife Remedios. An American citizen from the day he was born, Mathias Velasco attended the International School in Manila, and among his classmates were Imee Marcos, the daughter of a Philippine president, and Angel Ramos, the daughter of a future president.

He has always had a liking for pancit and spicy Bicolano food, and has devotion, like his mother has, to the Lady of Peñafrancia of Bicol. In a glass-encased cabinet in his office at the US Embassy in Manila, a statue of the Lady of Peñafrancia occupies a prominent space amongst an impressive array of awards, medals, military books and other paraphernalia. On a wall in his office are photos of American baseball legends. Truly an all-American guy with Pinoy tastes.

That he is the first Fil-Am to become JUSMAG chief was no big deal to him. His wife Michele - a California girl who has learned to cook Filipino dishes - was the first to point this out to Velasco. "I did not pay attention to it because I go to postings where the military tells me to go," explains this dutiful soldier.

Thus, it did not mean that he worked harder or gave his job the extra effort, just because he happened to be posted in the land of his forebears. He has been giving his best since Day One, from New Jersey to Germany, from South Korea to the Philippines, where he was posted in 2002.

Velasco commanded units in New Jersey, Germany and South Korea, and held various staff positions at Fort Dix, NJ, Fort Hood, TX, Fort Leavenworth, KS, Germany, South Korea and the Pentagon.

"I don't believe (being Fil-American) affects my mission here. But, at the same time, there are challenges being the chief of JUSMAG no matter who you are. You not only have to work within the US government and military to do the training and the advising with the Armed Forces of the Philippines. You also have to work with the AFP and Department of National Defense so that both countries' efforts are aligned in terms of cooperation. It's challenging in that the Philippine military is in the long process of trying to reform itself," says Velasco, a father of four and a grandfather of one (going on two in November).

Still, one might think Velasco was more warmly received than his predecessors in a country where bloodlines run deep and where a lot of people share his surname.

"Being Fil-Am does not automatically give me the inside scoop to anything. It's still a matter of you having to show your competence and your ability as well. You have to earn the Filipinos' respect. To most Filipinos, I'm just another American coming to be in charge of JUSMAG."

However, it can be an advantage when you speak the language, he concedes.

So, I ask him, "Naiintindihan mo ba ako?" ("Do you understand me?")

"Opo (yes)," he smiles.

Growing up in a military base in Sangley, Velasco, an only child, looked up to his father and wanted to be like him. "My dad gave me a good example of service to country. He instilled in me the belief that it is not only loyalty to country that is important, but also service."

Velasco wanted to join the Army right after graduating from IS in Manila, but was prevailed upon by his father to seek a college degree first. It was sound advice that he took to heart, and with no regrets.

He went to Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA, where he obtained a BA in Psychology. He later earned a master's degree in Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University and in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island.

Velasco's troop unit experience included tours with the 5th Infantry Division (mechanized), 2nd Armored Division, 37th Transportation Group and 4th Transportation Brigade. His teaching assignments as Professor of Military Science and as Combat Service Support Battle Operating System Chief, Battle Command Training Program (BCTP) include teaching young cadets in ROTC and observing/controlling leadership in corps and division level war fighters.

Velasco is Airborne and Ranger qualified. His awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, Soldier's Medal, Defense Meritorious, Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, Army Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Joint Service Achievement Medal, the Army Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster and Army Staff Badge.

I express admiration for his decorations, and Velasco shrugs me off, saying, "Everybody is a decorated soldier. Everybody gets awards. A lot of that has got to do with longevity. I've been in the service for 28 years now."

To those who have worked him, Velasco is making a difference in his posting here, not because his forebears are Filipino, but because by serving his country well, he is contributing to the cause of peace and progress in his Philippine post.

"I believe more and more Filipino military officers and defense personnel are finding they may be able to do reform in the military. We are assisting the DND through schooling. We send a lot of Filipino officers and enlisted men to US military schools. We give them advice in terms of, how do you train a battalion? We bring subject matter experts to the Philippines. We even assist them in buying equipment. (Editor's note: In the fiscal year 2004, $84.68 million in US military aid was channeled to the Philippines, excluding aid that went with military exercises). A lot of the assistance we provide, especially now, is technical. For example, in the basics of infantry tactics, we sent Filipino soldiers to train in Louisiana."

Velasco is not daunted by the fact that one of his predecessors - Col. Nick Rowe - was assassinated in the line of duty. He knows that risks are inherent in his post, but refuses to let the risks alter the way he and his wife live their lives.

"On weekends, my wife Michele and I go by ourselves around Makati and Greenhills. My wife rides public transportation," he reveals.

Taxicabs? "No jeepneys, buses and the LRT," Velasco corrects me. "She's not scared of anybody. We have a van and although she drives it around, parking is tough. People leave her alone."

Velasco, however, hopes that one day, Filipinos - and not just foreigners - will feel safe in their homeland. "I look forward to the day when the Philippines would not have to worry about insurgencies. The day when anyone can come to the Philippines and Filipinos can go anywhere in the Philippines without having to worry about terrorists or insurgencies."

Having lived here in his youth, and in the past three years, he has seen the immense potential of Filipinos and is sad it remains largely unfulfilled.

"I wish the Filipinos will reach the potential that they have. At some point they can and should lead in Southeast Asia. It's a matter of whether they take that ball and run with it, and start thinking about the Philippines, instead of just their communities."

He stops short of talking politics, which he believes is not a soldier's turf. "We don't do politics," stresses Velasco. "We support the constitutional government of a country. That hasn't changed for anyone and it holds true for the ambassador and the military guys as well. We're very careful of what we say. It's not useful, especially here, to favor one over the other. I always tell the AFP, we support your constitutionally elected government, we support your continued support of that government, that Constitution. Your oath is to your country and Constitution. It's the same for us."

Can the military ever be detached from politics?

"We are detached from politics. In the US, from our perspective, it's irrelevant to us who the president is. We vote. We do not always agree on whom we vote for, but once the president, congressman or senator is elected, our job is not to do anything illegal because that individual has been democratically elected. The same thing here. The best case for the AFP moving towards being apolitical and being representative of the people and the country is the statement that General (Efren) Abu made. He said, 'Hey, our job is not to be involved in political matters. Our job is to support and defend the Constitution. We are to stay out of these political matters because it doesn't do us or the country good.'"

I ask Velasco, one of whose daughters is a lieutenant in the US Army, if he can name me two Filipino officers he admires.

"I can name you 20 if you want," he says seriously. Offhand, he names me three. "For example, in Basilan there are two officers who are doing yeoman's work: Brig. Gen. Raymundo Ferrer and Col. Darwin Guerra. They're helping to transform Basilan into a productive and economically vibrant province by showing the people that the military is not the enemy. They do civic action projects.

"There are a lot of officers out there who were not involved in Oakwood, who know that the way to fix the problems is not through a mutiny or illegal means but within the system. It does not necessarily make them popular nor does that make their voices heard, but they're fighting every day to get their military going. A lot of them are very young. They do good work, unseen, unheard."

Velasco feels for the Filipino soldier and believes he is largely taken for granted. "The insurgency in Mindanao has been going on for 30 to 40 years. I believe the AFP is tired. They've been fighting for too long. I also believe that the people are complacent about the way the AFP has been fighting. I don't think Filipinos see the AFP fighting. They just see the bad side of it. War isn't news anymore when it's everyday. A Filipino soldier gets killed every day in the Philippines - by the New People's Army, the Jemaah Islamiya, by all sorts of people. That's part of the reason why the military is not seen here as the protector of the people, because no one thinks it's a war. In the US, we know we're at war."

For Velasco, an officer and a gentleman is, "A professional, competent officer who believes in loyalty to country first; who believes in doing his job to the best of his ability, who believes fighting for country is right no matter the consequences."

Being JUSMAG chief may just be another post to Velasco, one to which he gives his heart and might, as he has always done in his 28 years in the US Army. But his Philippine post obviously touches a chord on his soul, and the chord connects his to us.

A good word for dropouts

2005-12-10T10:19:00.000+08:00

We would like to be among the first to congratulate Dr. Adrian E. Cristóbal, former publisher of The Manila Times, for the honorary doctorate in the humanities he received Wednesday from the University of the East.

Cristóbal spent three semesters at the university 50 years ago before calling it quits. He never looked back as he struggled to become a writer and journalist, using his inborn intelligence. He succeeded, of course, for which reason UE invited him to become the first dropout to address a graduating class.

His achievement recalls an earlier scene when, in 1979, Blas F. Ople, then secretary of labor, addressed a major commencement at the University of the Philippines. Ople, who had studied and dropped out of the UP, had an erratic education, but this did not stop him from becoming an accomplished journalist, labor secretary, senator and, before his death, secretary of foreign affairs.

Cristóbal and Ople exemplify the rare breed of Filipinos who stopped their formal education at an early age for reasons of poverty or to support a new family. Stepping into the world without a college diploma did not stop them from achieving their dreams. In Cristóbals case, he became an eminent author and journalist, public lecturer and an intellectual. His public service includes becoming secretary of labor, presidential spokesman and speechwriter and director of a policy think tank.

Who are the eminent school-leavers? They include the National Artist Nick Joaquín, former senator Francisco Tatad, former ambassador J.V. Cruz, the journalist, artist and gourmet Emilio Aguilar Cruz. Abroad, the honor roll includes Bill Gates, Peter Jennings, Leon Uris, Herman Melville, John Major -- famous names in electronic technology, journalism, literature and politics.

They are largely self-taught, read voraciously, had a great sense of curiosity and a gift for expression, and kept learned men among their friends. We refer to them as the graduates of "the university of life" who search for enlightenment not in the fine universities but through "the interstices of making a living in the harsh world of the city."

Their life and work tell us that learning is a continuing process, that it pays to be literate, and that a lifelong engagement in reading beats a college degree. At a time when law graduates cannot express themselves, when English majors have difficulty with the language and, yes, even newspapermen habitually break the rules of grammar, a personal commitment to learning, self-development and growth can help rescue the multitudes who are doomed to lifelong ignorance by a poor educational system, money-mad schools and ill-equipped teachers.

and for the hometown press

It is interesting that National Press Month celebrates community journalism. The conference that opens today at a well-known Manila hotel banners the quiet heroism of the hometown press.

The truth is that the brunt of heroism the media must suffer falls on the shoulder of regional newspapers. Occasionally, Metro Manila-based journalists get the ire of political and business warlords but, looking at the big picture, it is the hometown editor or reporter who principally falls victim to onion-skinned political or underworld lions.

The local press has grown from family business to modern operations. From weeklies, many provincial papers have graduated into dailies. While coverage used to focus on provincial and town news, todays countryside papers report and comment on national and international events.

Leading the pack are the successful hometown papers in Cebu, Panay and Mindanao. Baguio City boasts a vigorous and lively press. Pangasinan pioneered in investigative reporting. The Bicol and Southern Tagalog press has contributed its share of victims to the national pantheon of media martyrs.

Muckraking and exposés are not the principal concerns of most homegrown papers. They contribute mainly to civic education, developing community pride and helping build democracy, a rare commodity in the cities lorded over by powerful politicians, businessmen and crime bosses. Reporting the news as clearly as possible and making sense of events is a daily task most editors and reporters are happy to carry out.

The Publishers Association of the Philippines Inc., which puts under one tent all or most of the hometown papers, has organized once more a national meeting for the regional dailies and weeklies. We are sure that the Association will be pleased to respond to President Arroyos call for a responsible and accountable press not during the three-day congress but in the day-to-day work of the hometown papers, the indispensable institutions that stand for freedom, courage and democracy in the backward hinterland.

CHED told: Close all diploma mills

2005-12-10T09:54:00.000+08:00

ABS CBN NEWS

Senate President Franklin Drilon on Friday warned the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) of drastic budgetary cuts if it fails to take sanctions against diploma mills or substandard schools.

In a statement Drilon urged CHED Chairman Carlito Puno to take more stringent measures against colleges and universities as well as academic programs that were supposed to have been phased out for repeated failure to produce professionals.

These colleges and universities, Drilon noted, have been ordered closed down because the passing rate in licensure exams for four consecutive academic years ranged from zero to five percent.

Drilon also deplored the apparent failure of CHED to publish the names of the diploma mills in newspapers of general circulation to warn parents against enrolling their children in them.

During the Senate committee of the whole hearing this week on the proposed CHED budget for 2006, Puno revealed that a total of 205 academic programs and 194 schools were ordered closed for the dismal performance of their graduates in professional licensure exams.

"Its about time CHED took drastic and concrete steps to stop these diploma mills from making milking cows of students as well as parents and providing substandard education," Drilon said.

"If CHED cannot immediately padlock these substandard schools, the least it can do is publish their names to warn parents in advance," he added.

The National Union of Students of the Philippines (NUSP) had complained that CHED was allowing schools offering questionable courses to increase their tuition.

NUSP leaders had called on CHED officials to prevent other diploma mills from deceiving their students. At least 26 schools, the NUSP said, were still operating 49 programs without the government permits, while 115 colleges and universities have been phased out for failing to produce professionals.

In his testimony before the Senate, Puno submitted a document listing 78 schools with zero passing rates in licensure examinations as well as 205 academic programs that were ordered phased out.

Listed as schools with zero passing rates in licensure examinations were:

Rizal Memorial College, Southwestern Mindanao Islamic Institute, West Bay College, Agusan del Sur State College of Agriculture and Technology, Aklan College, Aklan State University-Makato, Annunciation College, Arellano University-Manila, Arellano University-Pasay, Assumption College of Nabunturan, Cagayan Capitol College, Cagayan State University-Lal-lo, Cagayan State University-Sanchez Mira, Canossa College, Carlos A. Hilado Memorial State College-Bacolod, Cebu State College of Science and Technology-Lahug, Central Maguindanao Institute, Cotabato City State Polytechnic College, Cotabato Foundation College of Science and Technology, Divine World College of Urdaneta, Dr. Carlos S. Lanting College-Quezon City, Dr. Emilio B. Espinosa Sr. Memorial Agricultural College, Dynamic Computer Centrum-Legaspi, Eastern Samar State College-Borongan, Estanislao Kotska College, Fatima College of Camiguin, Foundation University, Golden Gate Colleges, Holy Infant College, Iloilo College of Business and Computer, Isabela Colleges Foundation, Isabelo B. Calingasan Memorial Institute, Jamiatu Marawi Al-Islamia Foundation, Jose Rizal Memorial State College-Dapitan, Kalinga Apayao State College (Kalinga Community College), La Carlota City Community College, La Consolacion College-Bacolod City, La Consolation College-La Carlota City, Lanao Agricultural College Ext.-Lanao del Sur, Lyceum Northwestern, Lyceum of Northern Luzon, Medina College, Metro Tagaytay College of Business and Arts, Midway Maritime and Technical Foundation, Mount Carmel College-Baler, Muntinlupa Polytechnic College, National University, Navotas Polytechnic College, Negros Maritime College Foundation Inc.-Dumaguete, Northeastern Mindanao Colleges, Northern Negros State College of Science and Technology, Northern Zambales College (Virgen DRC)-Olongapo, Northwestern Visayan College, Olivarez College, Osmeña College-Masbate, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Pasay, Panay State Polytechnic College-Dumarao, Panay State Polytechnic College-San Carlos City, Partido College, PASS College, Pedro T. Mendiola Sr. Technological and Polytechnic College, Perpetual Help College of Pangasinan, Philippine College of Science and Technology-Calasiao-Pangasinan, Rizal Technological University, Saint Columbans College-Lingayen, Saint Gabriel College-Kalibo, Saint Joseph Institute of Technology, Saint Louis College-Valenzuela, Metro Manila, Saint Marys College-Boac, Siquijor State College, Southeastern College-Pasay, Southeastern Baptist College, University of Northern Philippines-Candon, Zamboanga del Norte Agricultural College, Zamboanga del Sur Agricultural College-Dumingag Zamboanga del Sur.

Visit http://SubicBay.Ph
for latest developments in Olongapo Freeport City, GawangGapo, Sanggunian, BagumbayanVolunteers, InterGapo Wow Wow Win Subik

RP paddlers take home 1 silver, 2 bronzes

2005-12-05T04:52:00.000+08:00

By Anthony Deleon, INQ7.net

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT -- Philippine paddlers Jeremiah Tambor and John Oliver Victorio bagged one silver while Norwell Cajes and Marvin Amposta got one bronze each in canoe/kayak competitions held here Sunday at the 23rd Southeast Asian Games.

Tambor and Victorio, who both hail from Taytay and are competing for the first time in the 11-nation biennial meet, took the silver in the 500-m men's canoe double in 1:49.50 behind the Indonesian duo of Asnawir and Romadi, who got the gold with a clock-in of 1:48.16.

Tambor and Victorio engaged Aung Lin and Win Htike in the last 150 meters at the Malawaan fishing port, then overtook the Myanmar duo in the final 50 meters to clinch the silver.

Aung and Win settled for the bronze in 1:49.85, ahead of the Thai pair of Thammarat Phaophandee and Rangsan Mausum in 1:53.15

Vietnam came in fifth in 2:15.29.

The silver and two bronzes surpassed the lone bronze medal achievement by Carmelito Dacasin in canoe singles division in Vietnam two years ago.

Head coach Len Escalante fondly recalls that both Tambor and Victorio used to be spectators of the RP team when they did their rounds at the Manggahan Floodway.

"These kids used to hang around and practice with us. I saw a potential medal winner in them and so I recruited them to come on board. I am not disappointed, because they were able to bring in a silver medal," she said.

Cajes, 20, competing for the first time in the biennial meet, won the bronze in the 500-m canoe single in 2:02.96 won by Nguyen Duc Canch of Vietnam in 1:59.84. Yuyu Fernando of Indonesia got the silver in 2:00.41.

Amposta, 20, from Abucay, Bataan, duplicated the feat of Cajes in the 500-m kayak single in 1:48.74, ahead of Vietnam's Nguyen Dinh Ha, who clocked 1:50.90.

The event was won by Phone Myint Tayzar in 1:46.47, beating silver medalist Indonesia's Sayadin in 1:47.30.

April Mae Penalosa failed in her bid and wound up fourth in 2:13.23 in the 500-m kayak women single ruled by Sarce Aronggaer of Indonesia in 2:01.61.

Naw Ahie Lashe of Myanmar got the silver in 2:03.70, while Dong Thi Cach of Vietnam took the bronze in 2:05.75.

What motivated them was the challenge posed by former Philippine Sports Commission commissioner and now purchasing officer Freddie Mendoza, who told head coach Escalante that this year's canoe/kayak team will not win a medal.

"The kids took that as a challenge and saw to it that they would be ready during the games," said Escalante, a former national volleyball player and member of the team that won the last gold in volleyball in SEA Games in 1993 in Singapore.

Escalante further noted that the Philippine canoe team members are younger than those of the other competing countries.

Association president Dr. Sim Chi Tat was happy with the achievement of his athletes.

"I'm happy because they surpassed the one bronze achievement in Vietnam. Our athletes are young and do not have enough experience unlike our foreign rivals. But they showed they can win a medal against tough opposition," Sim added.

NBI storms 3 internet cafés

2005-12-04T05:58:00.000+08:00

Agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) seized 286 units of desktop computers containing unauthorized reproductions of unlicensed Microsoft softwares worth R10 million during successive raids at three internet cafés in Manila, Mandaluyong, and Quezon City, the bureau reported yesterday.

Raided were Expressions Center for Learning and/or EXCEL located at the 4th Floor of SM Manila, Arroceros Street, Manila; Expressions Center for Learning or EXCEL, 2nd Floor, EDSA Central Pavilion Mall, EDSA Central, Shaw Boulevard, Mandaluyong City; and Expressions Center for Learning or EXCEL located at the basement of Ali Mall in Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City.

Investigation conducted by Intellectual Property Rights Division (IPRD) headed by lawyer Jose Justo S. Yap showed that the raids on three EXCEL internet cafés were the first operations of the NBI since the moratorium on firms engaged in unauthorized use of Microsoft softwares ended on Sept. 16.

The raids stemmed from the complaint of Microsoft Corp. represented by Quisumbing Torres.

Armed with the search warrants issued by Judge Antonio Eugenio Jr., of Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 24, the NBI raiding teams swooped down on three EXCEL branches at noon last Thursday. (Jeamma E. Sabate) TEMPO

Visit http://SubicBay.Ph
for latest developments in Olongapo Freeport City, GawangGapo, Sanggunian, BagumbayanVolunteers, InterGapo Wow Wow Win Subik

'Dr. Ecstasy' laments the rave drug's notoriety

2005-12-04T05:52:00.000+08:00

By Jason Szep, Reuters

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts - The scientist who introduced Ecstasy to the world in the 1970s fears the drug's notoriety and popularity at nightclubs is destroying any chance that it might be used to treat the mentally ill.

"It's very excellent potential for being used as medicine has been badly jeopardized," Alexander Shulgin, told Reuters after defending the merits of mind-altering drugs at a symposium on the human brain at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology this week.

"It's gone out of control," lamented Shulgin, a tall Californian with a mane of white hair and a Santa Claus-like beard, who is widely known as "Dr. Ecstasy."

A psychopharmacological researcher who once had a license from the U.S. government to develop any illegal drug, Shulgin believes so strongly in the power of psychedelic drugs in unlocking the human mind that he plans to publish a 1,500-page encyclopedia next year of all his creations.

The 80-year-old former lecturer at the University of California at Berkeley, who self-tested many of his experiments and admits to more than 4,000 psychedelic experiences, finds little comfort in Ecstasy's image as the drug of choice at all-night nightclub dance parties or raves.

"These rave scenes have added kindling to the fire of governmental disapproval," he said.

Use of the drug, known for inducing euphoria and energy while reducing inhibitions, surged 70 percent from 1995 to 2000, according to United Nations data.

Ecstasy-related deaths, while relatively rare, make enough headlines to force authorities to regularly issue health warnings. Australia's National Drug and Alcohol Research Center in April said users risked harmful psychological effects.

Tracing that rise of the drug leads straight to Shulgin. A gifted biochemist and former National Institutes of Health consultant, he unearthed a formula for MDMA -- a synthetic drug with psychedelic and stimulant effects -- in a 1912 chemistry text and synthesized it into Ecstasy in 1976.

After testing it on himself, he became convinced of its power to treat mental illness. He gave the drug to psychotherapist and close friend, Leo Zeff, who sampled it, agreed, and passed it to hundreds of other therapists.

Shulgin, who had already quit a senior job at Dell Chemical after sampling mescaline in 1960 in a life-changing introduction to psychedelic drugs, enjoyed a period of celebrity as a cutting-edge chemist.

He described his first experiment with psychedelic drugs as a "very delightful experience" in which he could "see clearly what he could not appreciate before."

Ecstasy was used in its early days as a treatment for depression and other illnesses, but that ended abruptly in 1986 when it was banned by the US Drug Enforcement Agency.

Recently, however, Ecstasy has had a modest comeback in clinical therapy. US authorities gave researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina permission last year to use MDMA in a small study of patients suffering post-traumatic stress.

In August, researchers at Duke University in North Carolina found that amphetamines, including Ecstasy, reversed the effects of Parkinson's disease in mice, raising the possibility of exploring related treatments for humans.

Meanwhile, Shulgin, whose involvement in psychedelic drug research spans 40 years, is at work compiling his encyclopedia on 1,000 psychedelic compounds. It is modeled on the Merck Index of chemical properties.

"It will be everything that is known to be, has been tried but not found yet to be, or should be tried because they are apt to be psychedelic," he said of the work, which he expects to self-publish by the middle of next year. Reuters

Visit http://SubicBay.Ph
for latest developments in Olongapo Freeport City, GawangGapo, Sanggunian, BagumbayanVolunteers, InterGapo Wow Wow Win Subik

Nothing moves at Clark; 'Pinoy Big Brother' revives Centennial Expo

2005-12-02T18:50:00.000+08:00

The incentives impasse at the Clark Special Economic Zone in Angeles, Pampanga has virtually stopped the flow of new investments in the area but the former US military air base still has a lot of business opportunities to offer. Executives of Clark Development Corp. (CDC) are aware that the zone sits on a sprawling property over an area that will ultimately host the countrys future premier airport and serve as new mecca for tourists.

Clarks main economic zone consists of the 2,200-hectare international aviation facility, 335 hectares of tourism area 266 hectares of industrial lots and 81 hectares of residential complex. The sub-zone, meanwhile, occupies 28,000 hectares that are being transformed into an agro-industrial area with a housing site that will support the main zone. The sub-zone will be the site of an entertainment center, facilities for light industries, a water dam and a large-scale arboretum and nursery.

Clark, in addition, hosts the controversial Philippine National Centennial Exposition (Centennial Expo). The expo, which served as centerpiece for the commemoration of the countrys 100th anniversary of independence on June 12, 1998, has become almost a white elephant after former President Joseph Estrada discontinued the exhibits in the facility. Its 35,000-seat capacity amphitheater occasionally serves as venue for concerts and ecumenical services.

Pinoy Big Brother

The Centennial Expo, however, will soon resurface into the consciousness of the Filipino masses. CDC has clinched a deal with ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. to host the grand final of Pinoy Big Brother on Dec. 10. The popular reality show will telecast its final show on Centennial Expo and pick the winning contestant, the one who will manage to survive for over a hundred days locked up in a house without making contact with the outside world. CDC edged Araneta Coliseum, which almost bagged the deal.

But Pinoy Big Brother is a one-shot deal and unless more concerted efforts are made, the Centennial Expo will become one huge relic that can only be appreciated a hundred years from now. A source noted that CDC could negotiate with investors to lease the facility and easily earn billions from it.

The grapevine, meanwhile, said potential projects at the Clark Special Economic Zone are quickly shot down because of the management style of CDC board chairman Rizalino Roy Navarro. The former chief of the Department of Trade and Industry has made it a point that no project will be implemented in Clark unless the board unanimously approves it. The CDC board, as it turns out, can not pass one major project because at least one board member always poses an objection to it. A simple majority decision is not enough for the board to carry out one single project.

The grapevine said the Centennial Expo, for one, could be transformed into a regular showcase of Filipino art and culture and made part of the itinerary of the scores of Korean and Japanese tourists directly flocking to Subic and Clark. Plans were also afoot to transfer the Manila zoo to Clark but typical bureaucracy in the CDC board led by Navarro and president Antonio Ng put the project in limbo.

Incentives lack

The incentives stalemate at Clark is more worrisome to foreign investors than the impact of soaring oil prices on their businesses. A recent consultation between the DTI and foreign and local investors revealed that the issue of the scrapping of tax incentives for Clark locators was their top business concern.

The Supreme Court issued a 32-page unanimous decision nullifying Section 5 of Executive Order 80, as well as Section 4 of the Bases Conversion Development Authority Board Resolution 93-05-032, which had allowed CDC to grant the same tax and duty-free privileges available at the Subic Bay Freeport.

The high court ruling means that the 627 locators at Clark could no longer enjoy fiscal incentives such as income tax holidays and duty-free importation of raw materials.

E-mail: rayenano@yahoo.com or business@manilastandardonly.com

Pinoy wins prestigious international math award

2005-11-30T06:07:00.000+08:00

By JONATHAN M. HICAP, The Manila Times Reporter

A Filipino educator who has dedicated his life to improving and promoting mathematics education in the country was selected as one of three winners of the prestigious Paul Erdos Award for 2006, given by the World Federation of National Mathematics Competitions.

Dr. Simon Chua, president of the Mathematics Trainers Guild-Philippines and principal of the Zamboanga Chong Hua High School in Zamboanga City, is the first Filipino to win the award.

Chua was recognized for his efforts to promote mathematics education in the country. The guild has, for the last 10 years, trained Filipino students to take part in international math competitions. The so-called "mathletes" have reaped awards in contests here and abroad. Chua is also the author of numerous math books.

The federation hands out the Paul Edros Award and prize money to three individuals every two years "for sustained and distinguished contribution to the enrichment of mathematics education."

Chua told The Manila Times Monday that he has received notification from the federation about his winning.

"Im very happy that finally, a Filipino has won the much-coveted award," Chua said. He will formally receive the award together, with cowinners Ali Rejali of Iran and Alexander Soifer of the United States, in July next year at the WFNMC Conference at Robinson College of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England, where mathematics experts from around the world will meet.

In its citation, the group said: "In difficult conditions Chua has established the Mathematics Trainers Guild of the Philippines which organizes identification of talented students and training them for events such as international competitions. Simon also is an academic contributor, composing problems and for example working on small juries in events, such as the international Junior Olympiad, to which he takes Philippine teams."

Chua said he wants to promote math as an easy subject. "Learning math is supposed to be fun," he said.

Through the guild, Chua encourages slow learners to love math and trains gifted and promising students for international competitions.

Recently, four MTG-trained high-school students won bronze medals in the International Mathematics and Science Olympiad in Jakarta, Indonesia. They are Immanuel Encarnacion of Colegio San Agustin, Biñan; Audrey Celine Lao of Saint Jude Catholic School; and Kenneth Co and Brendon Go of Xavier School.

The federation is an affiliate of the International Commission for Mathematical Instruction founded in 1984. It serves as a resource for the promotion of math through competitions.

The award is named after the Hungarian Paul Erdos, described as "one of the greatest, most prolific, most original and most love-worthy mathematicians of all time."

Until his death in 1996, Erdos had authored and coauthored 1,500 articles and books and had worked with mathematicians. He was credited for the development of the Ramsey theory, probabilistic method, combinatorics and analytic-number theory.

Olongapo Subic Volunteers

New SBMA Chairman and Administrator/CEO

Outgoing execs welcome new SBMA officialsArreza said Reyes was “a fellow volunteer at the SBMA” when it was overseen by its founding chair, former Sen. Richard Gordon.http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view/20110418-331858/Outgoing-execs-welcome-new-SBMA-officials

Olongapo City Subic Bay News PhilippinesCongratulations to the graduates of Lorraine Technical School!http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150163378562295&set=a.10150163376877295.298638.734807294&type=1

Restore Hope and Rebuild our Country

Sponsorship Speech for Automation of Elections

IN BEHALF OF DEMOCRACY

GORDON: EFFORTS TO CHANGE THE CONSTITUTION VIA PEOPLE’S INITIATIVE ARE USELESS AT THIS TIME

Gaano kaligtas ang mamamayan sa paglabas ng kanilang tahanan?

TagBoard 21Feb2005

17 Central Luzon villages 'high-risk'

OCNHS Project wins 2nd in National Science Project

Officials warn of more disasters

Don’t let VFA ‘benefits’ blind you

A look at Gordon’s tourism bill

Behave like ambassadors, US Embassy warns GIs

Expressway execs condemn rallyists for 'mob mentality'

Public-school achievement tests set

Gov’t adopts new scholarship scheme

Wowowee: Hope amidst tragedy

Usec. Luz transfer a ‘mockery’ of civil service, says CSC officer

Senators press SC for TRO vs EO 464

Subic freeport zone hitting the doldrums

Welcome to Subic, Olongapo, Philippines

TagBoard

CHAT'R

CHAT

Guest Book Entries

5,500 US troops to 'invade' Sulu

Minimum wage earners now exempted from withholding taxes

981,337 OFWs deployed

RJG Interview

Female US envoy for RP named

NEWS ARCHIVE

Reader's Chat

Reader's Chat

44 people indicted in fix marriage investigation

Number of jobless Filipinos up 7.4%

Filipino Pride

Schwarzenegger endorses Filipino Veterans Equity Act

23rd SOUTH EAST ASIAN GAMES VOLUNTEERS

Lawmaker sees need for multilingual skills for Pinoys

PLDT firm pushes distance learning via satellite

Got a problem? Take a photo

Blas F. Ople: A citizen of the world

Driver in US Marines’ case fails to submit his affidavit

Reader's Chat

American Hero

A good word for dropouts

CHED told: Close all diploma mills

RP paddlers take home 1 silver, 2 bronzes

NBI storms 3 internet cafés

'Dr. Ecstasy' laments the rave drug's notoriety

Nothing moves at Clark; 'Pinoy Big Brother' revives Centennial Expo

Pinoy wins prestigious international math award

Outgoing execs welcome new SBMA officials
Arreza said Reyes was “a fellow volunteer at the SBMA” when it was overseen by its founding chair, former Sen. Richard Gordon.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view/20110418-331858/Outgoing-execs-welcome-new-SBMA-officials

Olongapo City Subic Bay News Philippines
Congratulations to the graduates of Lorraine Technical School!

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150163378562295&set=a.10150163376877295.298638.734807294&type=1