VOLUME 4NUMBER 39MON - TUEAUGUST 16 - 17, 2010

P 8.P 8.P 8.P 8.P 8.0000000000

BY DING CERVANTES

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO –Faced with mountinggarbage at the rate of at

least 88,000 tons per month,provincial leaders led by Gov. LiliaPineda agreed in a meeting hereover the weekend to negotiate forthe purchase of 100-hectare,German-technology sanitarylandfill in Barangay Kalangitan inCapas, Tarlac.

German-technology landfilleyed to solve garbage mess

Pampanga execs: LGUs can’t afford Kalangitan fees

PAGE 6 PLEASE

ANGELES CITY – Mayor Edgar-do Pamintuan awarded a certifi-cate of commendation to a citygovernment employee who provedto the world that there are greaterthings other than money.

Apolonio Dizon Nacpil, 49,from the Angeles City Establish-

Angeleño commended for honestyments Concerns, Compliance andRegulatory Office (ACESCCORE),found a bank check amounting toP20,000 last August 4.

Without thinking twice, he gavethe check to the City InformationOffice at the city hall to find the right-ful owner of the check.

The check has an accountname of Taericen MaintenanceContractor. As soon as they noti-fied the owner, they immediatelyset a meeting for the proper turn-over.

With grin on his face showingPAGE 3 PLEASE

COMMENDATION. Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan awards a Certificate of Commendation to ApolonioDizon Nacpil, a city hall employee, for returning a check he found at the city hall amounting toP20,000.

CLARK FREEPORT –The All iance of Con-cerned Teachers (ACT)appealed yesterday toCongress to first investi-gate the “excessive” sal-aries and allowances ofGovernment Service In-surance System (GSIS)executives, under itsformer president and gen-eral manager WinstonGarcia before probing oth-er government-controlledcorporations or financial

TEACHERS’ GROUP TO CONGRESS:

PAGE 6 PLEASE

‘Probe GSIS first’institutions.

“We welcome theCongress’ moves to lookinto the scandalously ex-orbitant salaries and al-lowances of certain gov-ernment officials, butthey should begin withthe GSIS,” ACT SecretaryGeneral France Castrosaid.

Castro recalled that in2001, the late BayanMuna partylist Rep.

ANGELES CITY – A multi-sectoral group has calledfor the abolishment of theDepartment of Environ-ment and Natural Re-sources-EnvironmentalManagement Bureau(DENR-EMB) for failing toaddress environment con-cerns here and in nearbyPorac town.

Ruperto Cruz, chair ofthe Pinoy Gumising KaMovement (PGKM),lashed at DENR-EMB Re-gional Director LormelynClaudio saying that for the

Group calls for abolishment of EMBpast seven years theagency has failed to ad-dress pollution problemscaused by piggery andpoultry farms in AngelesCity and Porac town.

“Walang nagbago,”Cruz said, adding that theEMB’s policies “run con-trary to President BenignoAquino III’s ‘pagbabago’administration.”

Cruz noted that Aqui-no’s State of the NationAddress (SONA) focusedon a government “that ismore effective, proactive

and a responsive bureau-cracy.”

“The Aquino adminis-tration is bent on eradicat-ing laggards in govern-ment,” Cruz said.

He also said thePGKM has been advocat-ing the regulation of pig-gery poultry farms in An-geles City and the munic-ipality of Porac town whichhave been the subject ofnumerous complaints byresidents and businessestablishments in thearea.

He said the indiscrimi-nate disposal of animalwastes and the dubiousoperations of the farmshave, for years, causeddeath and sicknessamong affected residents.

The PGKM, Cruz said,has held countless dia-logue with the EMB for thepast seven years. He alsocriticized the agency say-ing it “has no intention ontheir part to submit the re-quested list of piggery andpoultry farms that have

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – The Mines and Geo-Sciences Bureau (MGB) here has raised “criticalconcern” over the threat of the collapsing and over-aged Arnedo dike that could combine with La Niña’sheavy rains to cut a wide swath of destruction in thisprovince this rainy season.

For Gov. Lilia Pineda, the threat from Pampangariver has overtaken other disaster-related concernsin this province.

“It will take more than the entire yearly budget ofthe Department of Public Works and Highways(DPWH) to actually repair the entire Arnedo dikingsystem along the Pampanga river, but it still makessense to rehabilitate some critical parts of it to less-en the threat,” said Pineda in a press briefing yester-

MGB SAYS

Arnedo dikeat Pampangariver critical

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MALOLOS CITY – The JudgesAssociation of Bulacan (JAB)and the Integrated Bar of thePhilippines (Marcelo H. Del Pi-lar-Bulacan chapter) have joinedhands in cautioning legal criticsto stop advocating the resigna-tion of Supreme Court Associ-ate Justice Mariano Del Castillobecause “ it is setting a bad pre-cedent that undermines the in-tegrity of the entire judiciary.”

Regional Trial Court-Br. 84Judge Wilfredo Nieves, JABpresident, and Atty. RenatoSamonte, Jr., IBP-Bulacan chap-ter president, assailed the trialby publicity on the plagiarismcase filed against the SC Asso-ciate Justice by lawyer HarryRoque, Jr.

This is in behalf of the 70comfort women whose petitionbefore the High Tribunal seek-ing an apology and reparationsfrom the Japanese governmentwas dismissed in a ruling pennedby Del Castillo last April.

“The Supreme Court has cre-ated an ethics committee to lookinto the charges made by Atty.Roque. Let us not pre-empt thefindings of the committee by con-ditioning the mind of readers andthe public that Justice Del Castillois already guilty of plagiarism.Let’s observe due process,” theBulacan judges and lawyers saidin a joint statement.

The committee will investi-gate Roque’s accusation that

Bulacan judges,lawyers caution

critics of SC justice:‘Observe due process’

PRESS RELEASE

Del Castillo lifted portions of thecourt’s decision from threesources published in Yale LawJournal of International Law,Cambridge University Press andCase Western Reserve Journalof International law without prop-er attribution.

“Condemning outright thedecision of the Supreme Courtwhose “ponente” happens to beJustice Del Castillo is a bad pre-cedent and tantamount to mobrule. We should always observethe maxim that innocence is pre-sumed until proven otherwise,”said Atty. Jose dela Rama, Jr, aformer IBP-Bulacan chapterpresident.

A perusal of the controversial34-page ruling of the SupremeCourt revealed that Justice DelCastillo made footnotes and at-tribution to every portions thatwere lifted from the decision offoreign legal journals.

Earlier, Supreme Courtspokesman and administratorJose Midas Marquez said Jus-tice del Castillo would be inves-tigated by a six-member ethicscommittee chaired by Chief Jus-tice Renato Corona and co-chaired by Associate JusticeTeresita Leonardo-De Castro.

The ethics committee wastasked to submit a final report,including its recommendations,for the approval of the SupremeCourt en banc or sitting in fullsession.

BY JOEY PAVIA

STO. TOMAS, Pampanga –Despite having the lowest annu-al yearly budget, the municipalgovernment’s scholarship pro-gram benefited some 700 poorbut deserving students here.

Mayor Joselito “Jun” Naguityesterday disclosed that theirP54-million budget for this yearhad included giving scholarshipsto high school and elementarystudents in all seven barangayshere. This municipality’s budgetis the lowest in the province.

“I was the first Sto. Tomasmayor to give scholarships formany students because I believethat education is very impor-tant,” Naquit said.

The two-term mayor said hehad worked for the constructionof at least 30 additional class-rooms in public elementaryschools since his first term. Headded that more new class-rooms are needed in this town.

San Matias Barangay Cap-tain Pong Lingat said Naguit “hadhit the mark” in helping morepeople get back to school.

Lingat, president of the As-sociation of Barangay Captains(ABC) here, added that “manyhad enrolled this year due to themunicipal government’s help.”

ANGELES CITY – MayorEdgardo Pamintuan has ex-pressed support to the opposi-tion of the League of Cities ofthe Philippines (LCP) to the cit-yhood of 16 municipalities forfailing to meet legal require-ments.

Pamintuan, public relationsofficer of the LCP, called on thestrict compliance of the legalprinciples of Republic Act 9009in granting cityhood to munici-palities.

“These municipalities willbecome cities even if they arenot qualified under the law. Thisis very indiscriminating,” Pam-intuan said.

RA 9009 mandates that alllocal government units (LGU)aspiring for city-hood status

Pamintuan backs LCP vs. cityhood of 16 townsshould meet three main criteriathat include: land area of 100kilometers, population of at least150,000 and locally generatedincome of P100 million.

Pamintuan also said thatupgrading of salaries for city hallemployees will not be imple-mented nationwide if the num-ber of cities continue to rise.

“If more and more municipal-ities would become cities with-out fulfilling the legal require-ments, funding for salary in-creases would decline as itwould be dissipated to more cit-ies,” he said.

He expressed alarm over theconversion of the 16 towns intocities despite their failure to meetthe income requirement of P100million set by RA 9009.

The 16 towns pushing for cit-yhood are Baybay (Leyte),Bogo, Naga and Carcar (Cebu),Catbalogan (Samar), Tandag(Surigao del Sur), Borongan(Eastern Samar), Tayabas (Qu-ezon province), Lamitan (Basi-lan), Tabuk (Kalinga), Bayugan(Agusan del Sur), Batac (IlocosNorte), Mati (Davao Oriental),Guihulngan (Negros Oriental),Cabadbaran (Agusan del Norte),and El Salvador (Misamis Ori-ental).

Pamintuan said the internalrevenue allotment share of 122LCP members would be reducedand transferred to other citiesthat had failed to meet the re-quirements of the cityhood law.

The SC said the declarationof cityhood for the 16 municipal-

ities was unconstitutional sincethey failed to meet requirementsto become cities, including hav-ing an annual income of at leastP100 million.

It was the LCP which filed thepetition asking the SC to annulthe cityhood of the 16 towns,arguing that they did not meetthe new income requirement tobecome such.

RA 9009 amended the in-come requirement from P20 mil-lion to P100 million.

The high court also said thecityhood laws violated Sections10, Article 10 of the Constitution,as well as the equal protectionclause.

Section 10 provides that “noprovince, city, municipality orbarangay shall be created, divid-

ed, merged, abolished or itsboundary substantially altered,except in accordance with thecriteria established in the localgovernment code and subject toapproval by a majority of thevotes cast in a plebiscite in thepolitical units directly affected.”

The high court also said thatthe cityhood laws also violateSection 6, Article 10 of the Con-stitution as it prevented a fairand just distribution of the na-tional taxes to LGUs.

The respondents-municipal-ities said cityhood would bringin more local and foreign inves-tors and results to economicdevelopment.

But Pamintuan said theyshould work to meet all the re-quirements as called for by thelaw, adding that the LCP was notagainst their petition if they canfulfill the requirements.

“We are not against city-hood. Actually, we are support-ing the bid of five more towns tobecome the newest city of thecountry but they should work forit,” he said.

Pamintuan also said thatthere were towns who had evenexceeded the income require-ment such as Taytay, Rizal withP142 million; Cabuyao, Lagunawith P400 million; Cainta, Rizalwith P311 million; Bacoor, Cav-ite, P256 million; Carmona, Cav-ite, P250 million; Dasmarinas,Cavite, P244 million; and Imuswith P229 million who were notin a hurry to be converted intocities.

“What is important is not cit-yhood only to entice develop-ment but rather good gover-nance,” the mayor added.

Pamintuan said the LCP isdoing everything in its power tocommunicate their argument inwhich they see support fromSupreme Court Chief JusticeRenato Corona and SenatorBong Revilla. –Angeles CIO

700 scholarsbenefit from

mayor’s project

an obvious sign of relief, Sebas-tian Magistrado, the GeneralManager of Taericen Mainte-nance Contractor and owner ofthe check, thanked Nacpil forhis honesty and concern by re-turning the check.

Mayor Edgardo Pamintuanimmediately commended theheroic effort of Nacpil.

Angeleño commended...FROM PAGE 1 “This is an example of what

a true Angeleño does for hiscommunity,” said Pamintuanpertaining to the deed of the gov-ernment employee.

The mayor hopes that theincident will inspire others to dothe same and encourage cityemployees to practice honestyand good deeds to the commu-nity.

“It’s because we follow the

day at the Clark Freeport .Pineda said the situation

faced by thousands of folk nowfacing threat of devastating flashfloods from the Pampanga Rivercould almost approximate thelahar threat from Mt. Pinatuboafter its eruption in 1991.

“It’s not only because thedike is crumbling but this, incombination with the unusuallyheavy rains that scientists linkto global warming, that reallyworries me,” she added.

“In those days, there was thequestion of evacuating entiretowns amid lahar threat from thePasig-Potrero river, but then,there were those who opted tobuild the anti-lahar megadikeinstead. Now we know the dike,despite its cost, saved not onlylives, but even bigger invest-ments in the saved communi-ties,” Pineda noted.

The regional office of theMGB headed by geologist Or-lando Pineda told Pampangaofficials of the serious dangerposed by the crumbling Arnedodike which was built 53 year agofor a lifespan of 50 years.

He noted that the dike is sup-posed to guide the flow of watersfrom Nueva Ecija and Aurora

Arnedo dike...FROM PAGE 1 through the Pampanga river down

to the Manila Bay, away fromescaping to populated areas ofArayat, Candaba, San Luis, SanSimon, Sto. Tomas, MInalin,Apalit, and even parts of the cap-ital City of San Fernando.

Some P77 million from theJapan International CooperationAgency (JICA) was supposed tobe used for the repair of someportions of the dike, but this wasordered frozen by the new Aqui-no government pending reas-sessment of project priorities.

Pineda said that apart fromrehabilitating the dike, engineersand affected folk along the Pam-panga river have pushed for thedredging of the already siltedoriginal water channel of thePampanga river. She asked theDepartment of Public Works andHighways (DPWH) to “work forthe reprogramming of this old riv-er-channel and come up with amore comprehensive design andmaster plan as soon as possi-ble.”

Jose Datu, district engineerof the Pampanga First Engineer-ing Office, disclosed that theDPWH has started the excava-tion of the said water channelfew years back, but this wasstopped amid lack of budget.

–Ding Cervantes

leader”, Nacpil said when themayor commended him for hisdeed during the awarding prop-er at the city hall.

–Angeles CIO

THE PHILIPPINES’ largest national flag carrier,Cebu Pacific (CEB) announced recently that itspassengers to Korea and Japan increased in the1st half of 2010, as compared to the same peri-od in 2009.

“The number of our passengers to Korea grewby 10%, while our passengers to Japan grew by56%, based on year-on-year growth figures fromJanuary-June 2009 and 2010. We will continueto offer CEB’s trademark low fares to encourageeven more to visit the Philippines and other in-ternational destinations,” said CEB VP for Mar-keting and Distribution Candice Iyog.

Because of this, the airline is offering a Ko-rea and Japan seat sale from August 12-14, 2010or until seats last, for travel from October 1 toNovember 30, 2010.

Manila-Osaka seats are on sale for the ‘Go’fare of P3,999, while Manila-Seoul (Incheon),Cebu-Seoul and Cebu-Busan seats are up forgrabs for the ‘Go Lite’ seat sale fare of P2,899.

Those with check-in luggage will just addP100 to ‘Go Lite’ fares upon booking.

CEB’s Japan, Koreapassengers increase

Offers seats as low as P2,899CEB flies from Manila and Cebu to Seoul

(Incheon) daily, and from Cebu to Busan twiceweekly. Meanwhile, the airline flies from Manilato Osaka thrice weekly. It plans to make itsManila-Seoul (Incheon) flights twice daily in Jan-uary 2011, after the expected delivery of morebrand-new Airbus A320 aircraft in the last quar-ter of 2010.

Iyog said guests who wish to book flightsand tour packages can do so viawww.cebupacificair.com or http://funtours.cebupacificair.com or reservation hot-lines (02)7020-888 or (032) 230-8888. The lat-est updates can also be found at cebupacificairon Twitter or Facebook.

Asia’s third-largest carrier, CEB flies themost extensive network in the Philippines, andis the only low-cost carrier with flights from thePhilippines to the major North Asian countriesof China, South Korea and Japan. CEB is setto launch direct Manila-Brunei flights on Au-gust 21, 2010, and Manila-Beijing flights on Sep-tember 5, 2010.

THINKGREEN

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Zona LibreBong Z. Lacson

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

acaesar.blogspot.com

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

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

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

General ManagerEditor

Editorial ConsultantMarketing Manager

Administrative StaffLayout

Circulation

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

LLL Trimedia CoordinatorsPublisher

EDGAR V. MOVIDOFounder

Flights of fancySTARTING OCTOBER 31, 2010 South Korea’s Jin Airwill start its daily service of the Clark-Seoul route.

A subsidiary of Korean Airways, Jin Air is a budgetairline expected to increase passenger traffic at theDiosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA), whichis now nearing the annual 700,000 mark.

So read a press release from the Clark InternationalAirport Corporation (CIAC).

“We are expecting more passengers with the entryof Jin Air...Now Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) cango home as often as they want because of the cheapfares.”

So was CIAC President-CEO Victor Jose Lucianoquoted in the press release, further announcing that asidefrom Jin Air, deals have also been firmed up with SouthKorea’s Air Busan that will fly between Clark and Busan;Middle Eastern carrier RAK Airways that will fly betweenClark and the United Arab Emirates via India; and Helenikof Greece.

A very promising proposition for the Clark airport thereindeed.

“Luciano is the only CIAC top executive whosuccessfully invited foreign and local airlines to launchinternational flights out of the Clark airport.”

So praised the release of CIAC’s so-called “BoyBakal” recently haled to the Office of the Ombudsmanby Clark-locating Candaba Mayor Jerry Pelayo for allegedcomplicity, if not outright culpability, in the demolition of17 buildings and disposal of the resultant scrap materialsin the aviation area.

So, even as we welcome Jin Air to Clark and hope forthe coming of the other airlines, we cannot help butentertain doubts in our malicious minds of theseannounced developments being nothing more than pa-pogi points to prop up Luciano’s position at CIAC. Acounter-propaganda in fact to canalize the public mindout of the scrap scandal and the barrage of allegationsof irregularities the CIAC Board itself is reportedlythrowing at Luciano.

And while at it, may we ask Luciano what hashappened to Zest Air and the Spirit of Manila flights out ofthe DMIA?

After its high-profile maiden flight to Hongkong nearlya year ago, nothing more has been heard of Zest Air.Has it lost its zest for Clark?

After its hush-hush inaugural flight to some point inthe Middle East – or is it Taiwan? – the Spirit of Manilaappears to have been so dispirited as to ground itsallegedly aged fleet not even at the DMIA hangars but atthe locators’ parking lots.

So sorry, with aborted developments as these, wecannot help but be guardedly pessimistic with CIAC’stalks of airlines flying to Clark. Some flights of Luciano’sfancy, we see there.

A NATION of cheats. So the Philippines was called in the wake ofthat cheating scandal that wracked the licensure examinations fordoctors – or was it for nurses? – a few years back.

The scandal blackened the whole medical profession beforethe world, our export of doctors and nurses suffering theconsequences.

A nation of cheats, we are being dubbed anew: in the pilotsbeing churned out of our aviation schools. No corresponding mediahype as yet here, but the devastating effects are already being felt.

“India has virtually blacklisted some of our aviation schools amidreports of cheating in certifying the number of flying hours requiredfor flying courses.” So disclosed Benhur Gomez to Punto, as carriedby our banner story Wednesday.

Gomez is one of the founders of Omni Aviation Corp. (Omni),among the first locators at the then Clark Special Eco-Zone and awell-established aviation school with world renown.

Gomez has warned that because of these cheats, prospectivestudent pilots from other countries are being dissuaded to come tothe Philippines.

Probing

According to Gomez. China alone will need20,000 more pilots in the next three years. Butbecause of malpractices of some aviation schools,the country is squandering its opportunities asthe most viable training ground for the Chinese.

Gomez noted that the Philippines is only some1,700 kilometers away from Shanghai, while theUS is about 15,000 kilometers away and Australia,7,000 kilometers.

“The Philippines is the most convenient,inexpensive and culturally acceptable trainingground for Chinese aviation students,” he reiteratedhis statements at a recent aviation schools forumin Shanghai.

It pained Gomez to hear one foreign airlineexecutive described pilot licenses being issuedin the Philippines as “mere bubble gum” even asthe Chinese government bared plans to sendstudents to train in aviation schools in the USand Australia.

Gomez is urging the Civil Aviation Authority ofthe Philippines to probe all these reports ofmalpractices by some of the country’s aviationschools in issuing certifications on the number offlying hours of students way above the actual hoursspent for “private pilot courses” which are basicrequirements for commercial pilot course.

Yes, the deterioration of quality in pilot trainingin Philippine aviation schools needs to be arrestedbefore it is too late – when the integrity, andtherefore the concomitant credibility of the countryas a solid training ground for international pilotsbreak to pieces.

Of another kind but still important is the probeordered by Angeles City Mayor EdgardoPamintuan on the reported rampant lewd showsstaged by bars along Fields Avenue and otherareas in the city’s entertainment district.

“No one will be spared, if found guilty ofdegrading the image of our beloved city anew,”Pamintuan declared.

The mayor has ordered the different

departments of the city government to review allbusiness permits issued to establishments as aninitial move to identify the legality of theiroperations. This will also allow a special task forcecreated by the mayor to monitor businessesviolating national laws and local ordinances.

Pamintuan also took exception to the wrongperception of Angeles City held by certain officialsof the Aquino administration.

Clearly misinformed, Department of Interior andLocal Government Secretary Jess Robredoreportedly asked Pamintuan recently to stophuman trafficking in the city.

“I told Secretary Robredo that we have noproblem on human trafficking in our belovedAngeles City,” Pamintuan said, “And that his figureof 1,000 bars here is way off the mark of only 230bars which are closely monitored.”

Still, to make sure, Pamintuan said he hasinstructed Senior Supt. Danilo Bautista, city policedirector, to “conduct a follow-up investigation todetermine if there is a laxity on the part of hisofficers who are expected to enforce laws againstlewd shows.”

Yet another probe was called for by AngelesCity Councilor Jay Sangil urging the citygovernment to intensify its monitoring operationson internet cafes operating near schools andchurches.

Sangil said some internet cafes are being usedas front for e-Casinos, other internet-based gamingand “possibly illegal gambling” hence he is callingon Mayor Pamintuan “to order concern offices ofthe city government to do their job of checkingand monitoring these establishments.”

“The future of our youth is at stake here, sowe can do no less in making sure thatdistractions from their studies , especially of thepatently immoral kind, be obliterated,” Sangil said.

Probe. Probe. Probe. May all be taken to theirfull completion, the errant punished, the city andits citizens all the better for it.

LET THIS space leave to otherjournalists the boiling issues ofthe day. With a plethora of thingsthat can be written about, I fo-cus here on something different.Cool, as the young ones wouldprobably put it.

You've heard of Medjugorje?It's a place in Bosnia-Herzegov-ina that had landed cover pageof Life and other internationalpublications. You don't remem-ber? Okay, it's where theBlessed Virgin Mary has beenappearing to six persons (all stillalive and remaining visionaries)starting 1981 when they were butchildren.

Their names: MirjanaDragicevic, Ivanka Ivankovic,Marija Pavlovic, Jakov Colo, Vic-ka Ivankovic, and IvanDragicevic. Since then, theBlessed Mother have appeared

Halo-haloBy Ding Cervantes

Living earthlingstestify to Heaven

Napag-uusapanlangNi Felix M. Garcia

Di nga kayaningas kugon ang

bagong Mayor?MALAKING LUBHA ang pinagbago ngayonNg lahat kumpara sa eksena noonSa tanggapan ng Alkalde ng San SimonKung saan dati ay mahirap matukoy

Kung darating kaya o hindi si MayorNg maaga-aga o sa bandang hapon,(Kundi man baka di sumipot maghapon)Pagkat kakaiba ang ‘leadership’ sa ngayon

Nitong bagong halal na siyang pumalitSa dating kapag di pumasok ng LunesAy baka di mo na makapa sa opisNg diretso hanggang sumapit ang Biernes.

(Na aywan kung anong ‘official business’Mayrun ang alkalde ‘out of town or office,’Pero ‘within the past 9 years of his serviceas town executive that’s all what we observed’

At kung saan pati iba pang tanggapanAy tila nahawa sa puntong naturan,Na walang ‘official schedule’ ang ilan,Kung anong oras ang pasok at uwi n’yan;

Pagkat kadalasan lampas alas otsoNa ng umaga kung magsidating ito,At kung umuwi ay mabibihira moItong inaabot diyan ng alas singko;

May mga instansya nga kasing madalasAlas kuwatro pa lang ay di mo na mahanapSa kanyang puesto ang ilang masisipagMagsi-alis ng wala sa takdang oras.)

Kaya sa pag-upo nitong bagong MayorNa palaging ‘on time’ sa kanyang ‘schedule,’Napakalaki ng pinagbago ngayonNg munisipyo sa bayan ng Simon

Una, ng dahil sa pagiging mahigpitO pagdisiplina ng ‘chief executive,’Tuluyang nabura ang kanilang ‘practice’Na parating ‘late’ kung pumasok sa opis.

Itong aywan kung yan ay gumagaya langSa kanilang mayor nitong nakaraan,Na walang tiyak na oras ang dating n’yanKung kaya’t yan na rin ang nakasanayan.

Di ko sinasabing naimpluwensyaanNg di mabuti ng mayor na nagdaanAng ilan sa mga empleadong naturanKaya nahiligan ang di kainaman

Kundi ang atin ay kwenta paalalaO ‘peace of advice’ lang sa lahat-lahat naNa nasa gobyerno, kasama pati naAng mga ‘elected’ nating opisyal pa.

Pagkat sila bilang mga ‘public servant’Ay marapat lang na maglingkod ng tapatAt ilagay pati na sa tamang orasAng kanilang pasok at saka paglabas.

Sana nga ay hindi lamang ningas kugonO pakitang-tao itong ‘introduction’Na ipinamalas ngayon ni Mrs. Wong,Kung saan mula umaga hanggang hapon

Ay madaratnan mo sa kanyang tanggapan,Na lubhang kakaiba sa ibang opisyal;Kung saan kaya raw nagtatago minsanAy dahilan yata sa nanghihingi riyan

Ng kung ann-ano, na sila rin namanItong kumbaga ay nagpasimula riyan,Nang sila’y humingi ng boto sa bayanUpang ang balana yata’y matulungan?

GREETINGS to the editorialstaff of one of the widely-read lo-cal newspapers.

I would like to clarify someitems in your recent editorial ar-ticles dated August 6, titled“Clark Crawling” and August 9-10, 2010 titled “Clark’s top in-come earner.”

On the first item, please al-low me to reassure the publicthat there has been no signaturecampaign – whether for oragainst any of the current offi-cials of CDC.

It may be recalled that cur-rent presidents of the two exist-ing unions in CDC as well as theassociation of mid-level manag-ers had previously issued state-ments that there have been noattempts by current top execu-tives of CDC to get endorse-ments from their Unions/Asso-ciation. Such statements weredirectly quoted in some localpapers published recently.

In my meetings not only withemployee groups but also withother stakeholders, I explainedfurther that a report of accom-plishments of CDC for the pasttwo years has been readied forthe information and perusal ofthe Aquino Administration.

This is being done in recog-nition of the fact that in the ex-ercise of a Presidential preroga-tive a new set of top CDC offi-cials may soon be installed, andwe are paving the way for asmooth transition in such aneventuality.

Contrary to what was said inyour editorial that some are “try-ing to epoxy themselves to theirposts,” we guarantee that pro-fessionalism and decency aresurely being practiced in theCDC.

Modesty aside, I would liketo cite my own contributions tothe tremendous development ofClark. For the past 17 years, mystability of values has remainedunquestioned from four Philip-pine Presidents.

Further, I have in fact issueda statement expressing my grat-itude to CDC employees for theirsupport to implement programsand projects I have sought topursue since August 2008 whichresulted in the following:

1. Additional CommittedInvestment of US$2.814 billionand 11,214 Committed Employ-ment from contracts signed forthe period 2008-2010.

2. Resolution of the CAAPRestrictions on Height of struc-tures in the CSEZ paving theway for the Php 3.2 Billion ofActual Investments.

3. Upgrading of Power In-fra; Bulk Water Study and Inter-connection of Subic-Clark corri-dor telecom lines.

4. Institutionalized theQuality Customer Care and Af-ter Sales Service Program aswell as Parallel Development

Programs - tie up with Key Tour-ism Partners (Clark FreeportTourism Association and Great-er Clark Visitors Bureau), ClarkInvestors-Locators Asso.,Hiringof 88 Aeta Security Force and25 Aeta Tourist Guides.

5. Harmonization of Busi-ness Processes and streamlin-ing of Investments-Registration/policies/ procedures.

6. Completed the CDC2010-2014 Development Strate-gies and chaired the SteeringCommittee of the Philippine In-vestments Promotion Planwhich formulated the foundationof development strategies for the11 Investment Promotion Agen-cies ( Freeport Zones nation-wide) in coordination with De-partment of Trade Industry.

7. Involvement in Corpo-rate Social ResponsibilityProjects. 1,425 Beneficiaries forthe year 2008-2010 (CataractSurgery, Provision of Prosthesisand Wheelchairs, Harelip andCleft Palate Operations, AetaScholars, among others)

8. Accreditation of the BSAircraft Maintenance Technolo-gy (BS AMT) Program of ClarkPolytechnic by the Commissionon Higher Education (CHED),and other technical courses incooperation with the Don Hono-rio Ventura State University (DH-VSU) and FEATI, which are pro-grammed to qualify under theTESDA Ladderized System.The programs are in support ofthe development and manpowerrequirements of Clark and avia-tion -related locators.

The CFZ garnered the follow-ing awards during PresidentRicafort’s term:

• Center of Excellence for In-formation Communication Tech-nology (ICT) in June 2010

• SSS awardee as Employ-er of the Year 2008

• fDi Magazine of the Finan-cial Times (FT) Group rankedClark as Top 19 among 700Freeports in the world; No. 1 inCost Effectiveness and No. 7 inOver-all Economic Potential .

On the issue of salary andother funds as carried by thePhilippine Daily Inquirer, therehave been inaccuracies in themanner the news report was pre-sented which I would also liketo clarify.

As far as I can recall in my17 years of service in CDC, oursalary structure is closely super-vised, rationalized and justified. The salary I now receive,Php173,172 per year before tax-es (Net pay of approximatelyP122,00 per month) is the sameamount as when I started in Au-gust 2008. This was a pass onfrom prior years and has notbeen adjusted for 2010. For yourinformation, I voluntarily statedin our Board meeting in the past,that I will discourage any upwardadjustment ON MY SALARY, if

any.The CIAC compensation of

per diem is an entitlement as amember of the Board of Direc-tors of CIAC representing CDCwhich for some years has beenin existence, way back all otherformer CDC President predeces-sors.

Another item I wish to clarifyis the amount of Php 10.0 mil-lion which has been lumped un-der my name and accountabili-ty - not as part of my compen-sation - but as described in theCOA report for extraordinary andmiscellaneous which does notconsist of compensation andbenefits. This is subject to auditand validation.

People in business, industryand management would knowfrom experience that some ex-pense items cannot be predict-ed with strict accuracy but areclassified as necessary andneeded when they surface dur-ing the current year operations.

In as much as CDC’s annualbudget is established, pre-ap-proved, and fixed in advance bythe CDC Board (OPEX, CAPEX,MOEE, etc), a fund is estab-lished and is used for certain de-velopments that may occur dur-ing the year that may be regard-ed as essential to growth andGOCC welfare, and are criticalcorporate initiatives for growthand expansion that cannot be setaside (e.g. promotions, adver-tisements, public-client rela-tions, community programs,security and emergency events,etc).

The fund usage is for unpre-dicted and extra ordinary ex-pense items as mentionedabove. The authority and ac-countability is entrusted to theP/CEO not for his personal use,but for purposes left to his judg-ment and that of his executiveofficers as these items occur. Bethat as it may, a guideline andpolicy format is put in place forsuch authorization.

This process is basic andessential in allocating funds us-ages and allotments for identifi-able accounts that serve as aLimit and Guide for the use ofManagement, and the procedurehas been in place since the in-ception of CDC in 1993.

I wish not to burden you andyour readers with so much de-tails but for purposes of furtherclarification, I have attachedherewith a copy of my letter tothe PDI for your perusal.

I hope to have been able toclarify things. I will be most will-ing to welcome any other ques-tions and other concerns thatyou might still have.

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,(Original Signed)Benigno N. RicafortPresident and CEO

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

PAGE 6 PLEASE

to them some 13,000 times, theapparitions continuing on regu-lar basis up to these days.

I will not dwell on the detailsof Medjugorje here. Google cando that role more exhaustively.And this piece is not for any self-proclaimed cynic or atheistmost of whom end up believersanyway.

In this column, I borrow,word for word, an interview doneby Fr. Janko Bubalo with someof the visionaries, two of whomwere physically taken by theBlessed Virgin to Heaven.

The following is the transcriptof his interview with Vicka.

Fr. Bubalo: “You told me, andI read it in one of your note-books, that on All Soul’s Day,1981, you, the Seers – and allof you were gathered exceptIvan, the Virgin showed you

Heaven. It is recorded that Heav-en is inexpressibly beautiful,with a multitude of people andangels. And when you asked theVirgin why She showed youHeaven, it is noted in the journalthat She said so that you mightsee what it would be like forthose who remain faithful to God.

Clarifications

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TheGossip-millerby Cesar Pambid

NAGING KONTROBERYSAL yung pagpa-interview ni Liezl Sicangco tungkol sa di umano’y pagpapabaya ni Robin sa kanyang mgaanak. Pero nanatiling di kumibo si |Robin dahil ayaw na niyang mas lumaki pa’ng isyu.

Pero ayan, heto at nagsalita rin ng kanyang panig si Robin. Tumulong din sa paglilinaw ang ilang kaibigan ni Binoe sa industrya.Sa ngayon, malinaw na ‘yung isyu at di na siguro kailangan pang magsalita pa ni Robin.

Heto ang kanyang maikling mensahe, na ipinaabot sa pamamagitan ng kanyang manager na si Betchay Vidanes: “Ang RA-MADAN ay buwan ng pag-aayuno, pagpapatawad at pagmamahal. Ako ay nakikiisa sa Islam sa pagbibigay halaga sa mga INA.Sapagkat ang PARAISO ay nasa paanan lamang ng mga INA. Kaya’t ako mismo ang kakausap sa aking mga anak na umuwi nasa kanilang ina. Kung ako man ay may pagkukulang bilang ama, ako’y humihingi ng tawad sa Allah, ni Liezl at mga bata.”

Bagamat mapayapa ang tono ng pahayag ng action star sa mga tinuran ni Liezl kung saan sinabi nitong babawiin niya kay Robinang bunsong anak na si Ali, taliwas naman ito sa reaksiyon ng ilang taong malapit sa Kapamilya host.

Sa isang panayam sa Quezon City, isang source ang ang nagkuwento sa writer na ito na desisyon ng tatlong bata—sinaQueenie, Kylie at Ali—na manatili dito sa bansa.

Aniya, “Mas gusto nilang kasama ang daddy nila.”Tungkol sa umano’y hindi pagpasok ng 10-taong-gulang na bunso nina Robin at Liezl sa eskuwela, wala raw katotohanan ito, ang

pagtatanggol ng source. Sa katunayan, hatid-sundo pa raw ni Binoe (palayaw ni Robin) ang anak sa eskuwelahan sa Greenhillskung saan Grade 4 ito, at isinasama sa set ng Pilipinas, Win na Win!

Paano raw magiging iresponsableng ama si Robin samantalang kahit hindi nga niya kadugo ay tinutulungan daw nito, kasama naraw dito ang mga maliliit na manggagawa na kung minamaltrato ay ikinagagalit daw niya.

Naikuwento rin ng aming kausap na kahit nasa poder ni Liezl si Zhenzhen, ang pangatlo nilang anak, ay pinapadalhan daw ito niRobin ng allowance na US$2,500 dahil yun daw ang karampatang sustento na isinaad sa batas ng Australia.

Robin Padilla walangpagkukulang sa mga anak

Tungkol naman sa unang sinabi ni Liezl na mas maraming panahon na ibinibigay si Robin sa napapabalitang girlfriend nito na si Mariel Rodriguez kaysa kay Ali, angkuwento ng source:

“May panahong nagkasakit si Mariel at siyempre, bilang mangingibig, inalagaan niya si Mariel nung time na yun. Pero nagkikita sila ni Ali at hindi totoongipinaubaya na lang sa mga driver at katulong.”

Saad pa niya, “Ang point ba diyan, wala bang bata na hindi nalulungkot pag wala ang nanay niya?”Naikuwento rin ng aming kausap na yung 1.2 million pesos na diamond ring na regalo ni Binoe kay Mariel

ay maliit na halaga kumpara sa ibinigay ng action star sa dating asawa.Aniya, “Binigyan naman si Liezl ng almost P2 million na lupa sa Pampanga. Yung tatlong bahay sa

Australia na worth P100 million, ibinigay na rin sa kanya. Ano pa bang hahabulin niya kay Robin? Siya angnaunang nagpakasal sa isang New Zealander noong September 19, 2009? Kung magmahal man si Robinngayon, nauna naman siya.”

Sa ngayon, “nasa proseso ang annulment nila sa ‘Pinas,” ang sabi ng source. Sa New Bilibid Prisonsa Muntinlupa noong 1996 sila ikinasal, habang nakakulong si Robin for illegal possession of firearms.Gaya ng sinabi rin ni Liezl, aprubado na yung divorce nila ni Robin sa Gold Coast, Australia, kung saanikinasal sila sa isang mosque noon.

Bilang panghuli, nilinaw din ng source na hindi nagsasama sa iisang bubong sina Robin at Mariel.“Inalagaan lang niya si Mariel nung may sakit ito. Papayag ba naman ang pamilya ni Mariel, e,

napaka-conservative nun. Takot lang ni Mariel kay Boy [Abunda, manager niya],” saad pa niya.

Andi Eigenmann may boyfriend nadi puwedeng pakialaman ng ina!

SINAGOT NI Andi Eigenmann yung paratang ng ilan sa kanyang ina na sobra itong mag-stage momsa kanya. Lahat daw kasi pinakikialaman ni Jaclyn Jose to the point na nasasakal na’ng ank niya.

Jaclyn Jose has been quoted as saying that her daughter is already overworked. Hinggil ditosinabi ni Andi na natural lang na pagmalasakitan siya ng kanyang ina.

“A few months ago, nagkasakit ako ng bronchopneumonia at sinabi niya sa akin na, ‘Over-worked ka na yata, kailangan mo nang magpahinga.’ Yun lang yun. Napapagod rin ako perodesisyon ko naman yung mga tinatanggap kong projects at mga endorsements. Gusto korin naman ang mga ginagawa ko.

“She’s my mom and she always looks after me and my safety. Like all mothers,siyempre it’s her responsibility to watch over me and make sure I’m okay. She knowshow it is in the industry since she’s been here for more than 13 years. Pero hindinaman nun ibig sabihin nagrereklamo na siya.

“Napagkikita si Andi na laging may kasamang lalaki at di nga maipagkakailangspecial guy ito sa kanya. She refused to disclose his identity. But she did revealthat he is Chinese and has known him for many years.

“Dati, lagi kong sinasabi na kailangan ko muna mag-adjust kasi I’m new atwala akong time for that. Pero now, I’m at that stage of my career na medyomaluwag na. I’m not gonna answer if I have a boyfriend or not but I can saythat I’m happy.”

Has she introduced him to her mother? “Kilala na siya ni mom ko kasiwala naman akong ‘tinatago sa mom ko. Matagal na kaming magkakilala.”

Sa Kapuso o sa Kapatid???

Saang network lilipat si Willie Revillame?MARAMI NGA ang hindi naniniwalang kinukuha ng GMA 7 si Willie Revillame oras namaayos yung paglisan niya sa ABS-CBN.

Malakas ang ugong na nagkakaroon na ng interes ang GMA 7 na saluhin ang tv hostna si Willie Revillame.

Ito ay matapos mag-issue ng statement kamakailan lang ang GMA na wala raw silangoffer sa tv host na pinarusahan ng ABS-CBN dahil sa kabastusan nang hamunin ang nag-bigay sa kanya ng kayamanan.

Lalo pang marami ang nag-isip dahil sa mahabang interview ni Mike Enriquez ng 24 Oraskay Revillame last Friday night na live sa bahay nito kasama ang kanyang abogado.

Wala naman daw bagong sinabi ang nasabing tv host na nagdeklara last week pa na walana siyang kontrata sa Dos kahit malinaw pa sa sikat ng araw na hanggang September 2011 pasiyang nakatali sa dati niyang home studio.

Binibigyan naman siya ng show, ayaw nga lang daw ni Revillame kaya walang lusot na walasiyang offer, at ang sinasabi niya ngayon ay puwede na raw siyang makipag-deal sa ibangchannel kaya may nagsasabing iniisip daw ng GMA na i-consider si Revillame.

Saan kaya siya ilalagay eh kalilipat pa lang ni Edu Manzano?Anyway, bakit nga kaya live siya sa 24 Oras?Nakatulong naman kaya siya sa rating ng news program ng GMA 7?Matapos mag-live sa Friday edition ng 24 Oras, ipinalabas na naman kagabi ang

nasabing interview ni Revillame sa weekend edition ng nasabing programa sa GMA 7. Kaya angfeeling ng marami, baka nga nagbago na ang isip ng Kapuso channel? Baka type nilang magingtagasalo?

Kaya lang, balitang may banta si Joey de Leon oras na kunin ng kanyang home studio angmatindi niyang kalaban, magri-resign daw si Joey.

Last saturday hindi na napanood si Joey sa Startalk.Ito na kaya ng senyal na lilipat nga si Willie Sa Kapuso network?Kaugay naman nito, issng malapit kay Willie ang nagsabing sa Tv5 talagang lilipat si Willie.

Marami itong pasakalye tungkol dito pero antayin na lang natin ang September na kung saan ngasinabi ni Willie na magkakaroon na siya ng bagong show.

“Maghitay lang po kayo at araw-araw na nyo akong makakasama,” pahayag pa ni Willie saPaparazzi nuong Linggo.

Saan nga ba talaga, sa Kapuso o sa Kapatid?

It is also added that Ivanka saw her de-ceased mother there, and another wom-an known to her…

“…Let me remind you of this too: justfour days later, it is noted in that journalthat the Virgin suddenly, as though atonce, disappeared, and that hell ap-peared before you. That was observedby you, Jakov, and Marija. It is recordedthat it was awful! Like a sea of flame.Within a large group of people. It is stat-ed that in the midst of all was seen ablonde longhaired woman with horns, andthat the devils are leaping toward her fromall sides. Something like that…Did theVirgin tell you why She showed you that?

Vicka: “Yes, yes! She told us thatShe showed it to us so that we mightknow what it is like for those who gothere.”

Fr. Bubalo: “…The Virgin took you andJakov somewhere to show you Heavenand hell…tell me about it now as fully aspossible.

Vicka: “…Fifteen days – I don’t knowexactly – after this vision of hell…I andJakov went to Citluk for something. Wereturned about three in the afternoon. Westopped at my house a bit, and then con-tinued on to Jakov’s to return him safelyto his mother…His mother was outsomewhere, and the Virgin appeared tous immediately. She greeted us with‘Praised be Jesus!’ and said to us thatShe would take us to Heaven…We be-came frightened. Jakov began to cry. Hesaid he wouldn’t go since he is his moth-er’s one and only, and that I should goby myself.

Fr. Bubalo: And the Virgin?Vicka: She said nothing. We were

still kneeling. She took me by the righthand, and Jakov by the left hand andstood between us, with Her face towardus, and we immediately began to liftupward…straight up through the ceiling.The house disappeared, and we wereoff…It seemed to me that we went up-ward…

Jakov was questioned about his ex-perience with Heaven, Purgatory, and hellin a talk he gave to pilgrims in Medjugor-je on October 12, 2007:

“…when Our Lady took us to Heav-en, I was very afraid. I was only elevenand when Our Lady told us that She wasgoing to take us with Her, I didn’t want togo with Her. I was afraid I would die. AndI said to Our Lady, ‘why don’t you takeVicka only. Her mother has eight chil-dren and I am the only child my motherhas.’

In another interview, Vicka stated:Vicka: “The Blessed Mother has

shown me Heaven, hell, andPurgatory…Many people today do notbelieve there is a place or state of lifeafter death of the body. They believe thatwhen we die, life is over. The BlessedMother says no; on the contrary, we areonly passengers on earth. She has cometo remind us of the eternal truths of theGospel.

Question: Are Heaven and hell actualplaces?

Vicka: Yes. I saw them.Question: How?

FROM PAGE 4

Halo-haloVicka: Two ways – I saw with my

eyes… And then I visited these places.Jakov and I were taken there by theBlessed Mother.”

Marija was interviewed by a Friend ofMedjugorje on November 6, 1986 abouther visions of Heaven, Purgatory, and hell.The following is part of the interview:

Question: “When you saw the visionof Heaven, did you see Purgatory at thesame time?

Marija: “I saw all the visions at thesame apparition – Heaven, Purgatory,and hell.

Question: “Has Our Lady ever revealedto you if a soul in Purgatory can be lostand go to hell?

Marija: “No, once they are in Purga-tory, they can only go to Heaven.

Question: “In your opinion, some peo-ple that are constantly going from goodto bad, bad to good, good to bad, yetlove God, will they go to hell?

Marija: “I don’t know. When a mandies, God gives him special graces andblessings to decide where he should gohimself. God gives him a scene, review-ing his whole life, what he has done inhis life, and so God gives him graces todecide where he should go, according tohis life. He has a free choice.

Question: “Well, say that you deservehell but you want to go to Heaven. Whathappens then because didn’t God giveyou a choice?

Marija: “Yes, but God gives you thesespecial graces to understand fully so youwill only answer truthfully.

Question: “So, He gives you so manygraces you say, ‘God, I don’t deserveHeaven, I deserve hell or Purgatory.’ –like truth serum?

Marija: “Yes, correct.Question: “So, God never sends any-

one to hell, they decide it themselves?Marija: “Yes, we are judges to our life.Question: “So when it is stated, ‘God

sends no one to hell, they send them-selves,’ it means just that?

Marija: “Yes, correct.Question: Have you, Marija, ever

asked Our Lady if you will go to Heaven,like Jacinta, Francisco, and Lucia of Fa-tima did? They asked Our Lady, ‘Are weto go to Heaven?’ and She told them,‘Yes.’

Marija: “No, I have never asked Herthat!

Question: “Are you scared?Marija: “I would be happy to be be-

hind the gates in Paradise, if only I couldbe there.”

Marija also adds from another inter-view:

Marija: “We choose Heaven, hell, orPurgatory for ourselves. The BlessedMother explained to me that at death weare the same person we are in life, thoughwe no longer have the use of our body. Itreturns to the earth. We receive the lightat death to see the plan God has had forus from the beginning. We then under-stand how we have chosen to comply withHis Divine plan. In the light of truth, weknow where we belong, where we fit, andwe choose Heaven, hell, or Purgatory.”

(Next column will dwell on their descrip-tions of Heaven.)

“The rate for dumpingthere is not affordable tolocal government unitsand it could be more eco-nomical to purchase it,”Pineda told the media hereas she pointed out thedangers to health posedby the already illegaldumpsites still in operationin some parts of this prov-ince.

The landfill belongs tothe Metro Clark WasteManagement Corp.(MCWMC) and was esti-mated to cost P400-millionwhen completely finished.It started operations in2002 under a build-oper-ate-transfer scheme over25 years.

Pineda met with Ange-

FROM PAGE 1

German-technology landfill eyed to solve garbage messles City Mayor EdgardoPamintuan and Pampan-ga 1st district Rep. Car-melo Lazatin to discussthe government’s renego-tiating with the MCWMCfor the purchase of thelandfill facility.

The MWCMW chargesabout P4,000 per tonwhich local governmentscould not afford, Pinedasaid.

She said she recentlytalked to the managementof MCWMC to ask for a 50percent discount for Pam-panga, as she noted thatwhile the landfill is largelyin Capas, Tarlac, parts ofit are within Pampanga. Sofar, she has not receivedany response from themanagement.

“It’s just unacceptable

that the landfill takes inwastes from other areaslike Baguio City, but cannot accommodate gar-bage from the areas host-ing it without special con-sideration,” she said.

Pineda said that itcould be more economicalto purchase the MCMWCfacility as she cited the ur-gency of coping with thewaste problem not only inPampanga and in otherprovinces.

For his part, Pamintu-an, who assumed postonly after the last elec-tions, said that he is con-sidering moving AngelesCity’s garbage to otherlandfills as the city govern-ment could not afford therates of MCWMC.

He noted that the

MCWMC had limited itsintake of city garbage af-ter the former city admin-istration still owed it someP63-million for landfill ser-vices.

The construction of thesanitary landfill, reputed tobe the only one of its kindin the country, was start-ed in 1999 by the Germanconsortium IngenieurburoBirkhan Nolte and Geers& Brockstedt.

It was reputed to evenexceed official governmentenvironmental standardsaccording to Germantechnology.

To prevent leachingfrom waste materials, the

landfill is lined underneathwith .75-meter thick clayliner and 2.5-millimeterplastic liner. It also has adrainage system forleachate towards a treat-ment plant where there isan “aeration pond” to puri-fy anew the wastes fromthe drainage pipes.

Built in phases, the firstphase with about 3 hect-ares area for a landfill fa-cility was implemented in2002 whereas the secondphase consisting of a“landfill gas capture sys-tem” covering another 1.5hectares landfill pit areawas slated for completionin 2007.

The German consor-tium later formed theMCWM which is 40 per-cent owned by the Ger-mans and 60 percent byvarious Filipino investors.The landfill can accommo-date 1,000 to 3,000 tonsdaily.

The 100-hectare areaallotted for the project iswithin the domain of thesub-zone of the state-owned Clark DevelopmentCorp. (CDC). The plan wasto use 70 hectares forlandfill facility, 10 hectaresfor recycling facility, fivehectares for infrastructure,and 15 hectares for envi-ronmental buffer zone.

Crispin Beltran exposedthe excessive salariesand allowances of Gar-cia’s GSIS executives,including Garcia himself,based on a 2001 report ofthe Commission on Audit.

He noted that theCOA report in 2001 indi-cated that top officials ofGSIS received as muchas P724,000 each inChristmas bonuses,apart from their “alreadylarge salaries they re-ceived monthly.”

The report also re-vealed that GSIS presi-dent, with a salary gradeof 31, received monthlypay of P564,869.55 al-though his basic salarywas pegged only atP356,979.

“The lowest paid GSISemployee or the laborerwith a salary grade of 3,got a monthly take-homepay of P27,021.50 includ-ing allowances and hisbasic salary of P14,670.

“When teachers andgovernment employeesfail to submit necessaryreports to the GSIS,whether financial or oth-erwise, they are penal-ized. Why not the GSIS?”she said.

“It is puzzling and dis-turbing that recent COAreports being cited re-cently on the status ofother government agen-cies do not mention theGSIS which lacks trans-parency, especially onhow the funds, contribut-ed by GSIS pensioners

FROM PAGE 1

‘Probe GSIS first’and members, are beingused,” Castro said.

This, even as she alsonoted that COA’s websitehas not been accessiblelately.

“The GSIS has beenfor a long time a bane forteachers and other gov-ernment employees.Teachers are burdenedwith its illegal and exploit-ative policies such as theClaims and Loans Inter-dependency Policy(CLIP) at PremiumBased Policy,” Castrosaid.

She called on the law-makers “to render justiceto the teachers and gov-ernment employees, whohave endured inadequatesalaries and the exploit-ative GSIS policies, whileGSIS executives enjoyexorbitant salaries andmore than enough perks.”

“If our Congress is sin-cere in investigating ex-cesses in the governmentservice, they should pri-oritize investigation of theGSIS which has longbeen scourging teachersand government employ-ees,” Castro added.

This even as ClarkDevelopment Corp. pres-ident and chief executiveofficer Benigno Ricafortdismissed as “quite inac-curate” published reportsthat he ranked only sec-ond to Subic Bay Metro-politan Authority admin-istrator Armand Arezza inthe list of highest paidgovernment corporationexecutives.

A report quoting the

COA claimed that in2009, Ricafort receivedP14,506,466.74.

“Unfortunately, thenews item is inaccurateand unfairly featured astory damaging to thereputation and integrity ofour company,” Ricafortsaid in response to thepublished news item.

He said he receives asalary of only P2.078million per year which,he noted, is the samepay he was entitled towhen he assumed theCDC post in 2008.

“This was a pass-onfrom prior years and hasnot been adjusted for2010,” he noted.

“I voluntarily stated inour board meeting some-time past, that I will dis-courage any upward ad-justment, if any. On theClark International AirportCorporation [CIAC] com-pensation of per diem,this is an entitlement asa member of the Board ofDirectors of CIAC repre-senting CDC. This has al-ways been so in the caseof all my predecessors inthe CDC,” he added.

“The P10 million citedas part of the P14.5 mil-lion cited in reports wasactually lumped under myname and accountability,not as part of my com-pensation. The COA ac-tually listed the amountas under extraordinaryand miscellaneous ex-penses. All is subject toaudit and validation,”Ricafort stressed.

–Ding Cervantes

complied with biodigesterand waste water treatmentfacilities.”

“Many residents havealready died from respira-tory sicknesses. Why arethey indifferent and insen-sitive to these cases?” la-mented Cruz.

He added that “toomany stories and ex-poses have been pub-lished and broadcasted inthe media but still, no ac-tion has been taken.”

“The PGKM has beenwondering that despite the

FROM PAGE 1

Group calls for abolishment...flak thrown at the EMB,Claudio has not acted onthe problem. Could she beon the take from these pig-gery and poultry farms?”Cruz asked.

He added that asidefrom air pollution, theswarms of flies are alsoputting the health of resi-dents at risk.

“Way back in 1993,former President CoryAquino and her entire fam-ily were witnesses to thisas they were plagued bya swarm of flies in a visithere during a furnitureexpo,” Cruz revealed.

He said the formerPresident was guest ofhonor of a furniture andhandicraft exhibitlaunched by Cruz in 1993.The President, accordingto Cruz, even had difficul-ty eating her lunch be-cause of the swarms offlies that pestered her andthe rest of the event’s par-ticipants.

“Tita Cory was embar-rassed. Nilalangaw patimga furniture,” Cruz said.

“If she (Claudio) cannotdo her job well then shehas to resign,” he added.

–Peter C. Alagos

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LUNGSOD NG MEYCAUYAN –Drug overdose. Ito ang nakiki-tang dahilan ng pagkamatay ngisang lalake dito kamakailan.

Ayon sa pamilya ng bikti-mang si Mark Anthony Montal-bo y Dionisio, 29, may-asawa attatlong anak, residente ngPoblacion, Bulac Malhacan,Meycauyan, Bulacan, nasobra-han umano ito sa paggamit ngipinagbabawal na gamot nanagresulta sa maagang pagka-matay nito noong Linggo nghapon.

Ang itinuturo naman ngpamilya Montalbo na nagpag-amit ng iligal na droga sabiktima ay isa umanong nag-ngangalang Frederick Ignacioalyas Pley, residente ngBarangay Caingin, Meycauyan,Bulacan. Magkabarkada atmagkumpare ang dalawa.

Ayon sa ina nito na siTeodora Montalbo, nagtungoang kanyang anak sa bahay niPley noong Huwebes ng haponupang makipagkasiyahan.

Ngunit Biernes ng haponnaman ng tawagan sila ni Pleygamit ang celfone ng biktima atsinabing puntahan ito sakanyang bahay dahil sa ito aynagwawala.

Ayon umano mismo kayPley, pina-tira umano angbiktima ng isang class A nadroga.

Dahil doon ay sinundo ngpamilya Montalbo si MarkAnthony sa mismong bahay niPley at nakitang wala nga ito sakatinuan habang namumula atpuro rashes ang mukha.

Nagwawala ito at nagmumu-ra at sinasabing tumira nga siya

ng napakaraming droga.Nang sunduin si Mark

Anthony ay inuwi ito sa ka-nilang tahanan at pinaliguanupang mahimasmasan, ayon saina nito. Dagdag pa niya na laging nagwawala at bigla nalamang naninigas ang anak.

Kung anu-ano na rin aniyaang sinasabi nito nang wala sakatinuan.

Linggo ng hapon namannang dumaing umano ito nanagsisikip ang dibdib at hindimakahinga kayat isinugod nanila sa ospital.

Ngunit makaraan ang ilangoras ay binawian na ito ngbuhay.

Dahil dito, katarungan angsigaw ng pamilya Montalbo.Nais nilang sampahan ng kasosi Pley upang papanagutin sasinapit ng anak.

Hinihintay na lamang ngpamilya ang ilalabas na autopsyreport bago pormal na kasuhansi Pley.

Obserbasyon pa ng pamilyaMontalbo sa bangkay ngbiktima, nagkakaroon itongayon ng patse-patseng putisa mukha nito na tila epekto ngtinirang droga.

Si Mark Anthony ay magan-da umano ang kalusugan atmay matipunong pangan-gatawan ngunit biglang binawianng buhay dahil lamang sadroga.

Ngunit aminado ang pamilyaMontalbo na dating nalulong sadroga si Mark Anthony maysampung taon na ang na-kakaraan.

Ngunit muling nakatikimumano ng droga ng imbitahanng kaibigang si Pley sa tahanannito noong nakaraang Huwebes.

Lalake nasobrahansa droga, patay