VOLUME 5NUMBER 27FRI - SATJULY 1 - 2, 2011

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

BY JOEY AGUILAR, EDITOR

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – “There was nothing defamatory inthe questioned article of Lacson.”

MOKA loser loses suit Punto cleared of libel

With that, 1st Assistant City Prosecutor Nereo T.Dela Cruz “respectfully recommended that the com-plaints of Libel (2 counts) against all the respon-dents be DISMISSED.” Which was duly approved

on June 16, 2011 by Deputy Regional ProsecutorGiselle Marie S. Geronimo.

Thus was junked the P20-million libel chargesPAGE 6 PLEASE

WE HAIL the decision of 1st As-sistant City Prosecutor Nereo T.Dela Cruz dismissing the P20-million libel case filed by busi-nessman Rene Romero againstPunto! Central Luzon as a triumph PAGE 6 PLEASE

Triumph of press freedomNUJP STATEMENT

of press freedom.In a resolution dated June 16,

2011 dismissing the libel case,Dela Cruz said the article Rome-ro Ululating written by colum-nist Caesar “Bong” Lacson “is

merely a reply to the statementsof complainant (Romero)” andfound “nothing defamatory in thequestioned article...”

Further, that “the article

TRIUMPHANT. Ashley Manabat (left) and FredVillareal (right), top officers of the NationalUnion of Journalists of the Philippines-Pampanga, lead the salute to press freedom atthe filing last June of counter-affidavits of Punto’s(from left) Joey Aguilar, Ning Cordero and BongLacson at the City Prosecutor’s Office. FILE PHOTO

Ro

mer

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BY DING CERVANTES

ANGELES CITY – A 37-year-old Filipi-no on death row in Damman CentralJail in Saudi Arabia has only two months

PINOY FACING BEHEADING IN SAUDI

PAGE 6 PLEASE

OFW given 2 months to raise P35M blood moneyto raise “blood money” worth about P35million to escape beheading.

In a message sent to Punti via hisFacebook account, Rodelio “Dondon”Lanuza, who was jailed for killing a Sau-

di national in what he claimed as self de-fense in 2000, said the family of the vic-tim had agreed to spare him from thedeath penalty in exchange for the bloodmoney.

Last Monday, Arab News reportedthat the Saudi Reconciliation Commit-tee (SRC) had announced that Lanuzacould be saved from execution if blood

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REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINESREGIONAL TRIAL COURTTHIRD JUDICIAL REGION

BRANCH 53GUAGUA, PAMPANGA

IN THE MATTER OF CORRECTIONOF ENTRIES IN THE CERTIFICATEOF LIVE BIRTH AND MARRIAGECONTRACT OF ADELINA SALONGAPELAYO AND CERTIFICATE OF LIVEBIRTH OF HER SON, EMIL S. PELAYO, SP PROC NO. 11-2395

ADELINA SALONGA PELAYO,Petitioner.

-vs-

THE LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRAR OF STA RITA,PAMPANGA AND LUBAO, PAMPANGA AND THECIVIL REGISTRAR GENERAL,

Respondents.x——————————————————————————————x

ORDERThis is a verified petition filed by petitioner through counsel, praying

that after due notice, hearing and publication, judgement be renderedordering the following:

(a) Correcting the surname and date of the birth of the petitioner asappearing in her Certificate of Live Birth bearing Registry No. 801 fromMarch 20, 1950 to March 24, 1950 and SALUNGA to SALONGA andthe surname of her father, from SALUNGA to SALONGA;

(b) Correcting her name in her marriage contract bearing RegistryNo. 237 from AVELINA to ADELINA

(c) Correcting her name as appearing in the Certificate of Live Birthof her son EMIL S PELAYO from ADELAIDA to ADELINA.

Finding the petition to be sufficient in form and substance, the sameis hereby set for hearing on August 15, 2011 at 9:00 in the morningat the courtroom of this court.

Let this order be published once a week for three (3) consecutiveweeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the province of Pampangaat the expense of the petitioner.

Let copies of this Order and of the petition be furnished the Office ofthe Solicitor General at 134 Amorsolo St. legaspi Village Makati City; theOffice of the Provincial Prosecutor of Pampanga, City of San Fernando,Pampanga (P); the National Statistics Office, Quezon City; and the LocalCivil Registrar of Guagua, Pampanga.

The civil registrars concerned and any person having or claimingany interest under the entry where correction is sought may, withinfifteen (15) days from notice of the petition, or from the last date ofpublication, file their opposition thereto, and appear on said date and timeand show cause why this petition should not be granted.

SO ORDEREDGuagua, Pampanga June 6, 2011

MARIA CONCEPCION A. YUMANG Presiding Judge

Copy Furnished:Office of the Solicitor General134 Amorsolo St. Legaspi VillageMakati City

Prosecutor Christopher J. Dela CruzOffice of the Provincial ProsecutorCity of San Fernando, Pampanga

Civil Registrar GeneralNational Statistic OfficeEast Avenue Quezon City

Local Civil RegistrarLubao, Pampanga and Sta Rita Pampanga

Adelina Salonga Pelayo#61 San Jose Guagua, Pampanga

Atty. Santiago M. Beltran Jr.,2nd Floor St. Anthony Drug II,City of San Fernando, Pampanga

PUNTO! CENTRAL LUZON JUNE 17, 24, JULY 1, 2011

Republic of the PhilippinesREGIONAL TRIAL COURTTHIRD JUDICIAL REGION

BRANCH 43City of San Fernando, Pampanga

IN RE: PETITION FOR CORRECTIONOF ENTRY IN THE BIRTH CERTIFICATEOF EDCEL B. TORRES,

EDCEL B. TORRES,Petitioner.

SP. PROC. NO. 5412-versus-

LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRAR OF THECITY OF SAN FERNANDO, PAMPANGAand the CIVIL REGISTRAR GENERALOF THE PHILIPPINES,

Respondents.x————————————————————————————x

ORDERThis is a verified petition filed by the petitioner, assisted by the

Public Attorney’s Office (by Atty. Mary Ann P. Mendoza), praying that anorder be issued directing the respondents to make the necessarycorrection in the Certificate of Live Birth of the petitioner particularly,Column No. 2 of the petitioner’s birth certificate pertaining to her sex, fromMALE to FEMALE.

Finding the aforesaid petition to be sufficient in form and substance,the court hereby sets the hearing thereof at the Session Hall of theRegional Trial Court, Branch 43, Hall of Justice, City of San Fenrnando,Pampanga on July 18, 2011 at 2:00 in the afternoon, where and when allpersons who may have interest on the said petition may appear andshow cause why the same should not be granted.

Let a copy of this Order be published at the expense of the petitioner,once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of generalcirculation in the Province of Pampanga.

Furnish copies hereof, together with a copy of the petition and itsannexes to the Local Civil Registrar of City of San Fernando (P), theCivil Registrar General, Manila, the Solicitor General, Makati City andthe Office of the Provincial Prosecutor of Pampanga.

SO ORDERED.City of San Fernando (P), May 24, 2011.

CARMELITA S. GUTIERREZ-FRUELD Presiding Judge

PUNTO! Central Luzon: July 1, 7 & 14, 2011

NOTICE OF EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENTWITH WAIVER OF RIGHTS

Notice is hereby given that the heirs of GLORIA DIZON BASCO whodied intestate on May 20, 2005 in Angeles City executed an ExtrajudicialSettlement with Waiver of Rights of her estate more particularly describedas a parcel of land with existing improvements (Lot 1, Block 6, Psd-29328)situated in Barangay Pandan, Angeles City (PIN No. 108-04-018-08-072)containing an area of ONE HUNDRED THIRTY (130) square meters.

Punto! Central Luzon: July 1, 8 & 15, 2011

NOTICE OF EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENTWITH WAIVER OF RIGHTS

Notice is hereby given that the heirs of VICTORIA S. TALENS-FERNANDEZ who died intestate on July 4, 2008 in Mabalacat, Pampangaexecuted an Extrajudicial Settlement of her estate more particularly describedas a parcel of land (Lot 12, Blk. 2 of the subd. plan Pad-57554, L.R.C. Cad.Rec. No. 132) situated in the Bo. Mabiga and Mawaque, Mun. of Mabalacat,Prov. of Pampanga and covered by TCT No. 387473-R.

Punto! Central Luzon: July 1, 8 & 15, 2011

NOTICE OF EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENTWITH WAIVER OF RIGHTS

Notice is hereby given that the heirs of ARTEMIO S. CABEZAS whodied intestate on December 13, 2010 at Milpitas, Sta. Clara, California,U.S.A. executed an Extrajudicial Settlement with Waiver of Rights of hisestate more particularly described as a bank account at DevelopmentBank of the Philippines-City of San Fernando Branch under SavingsAccount No. 0580138644530.

Punto! Central Luzon: July 1, 8 & 15, 2011

BY DINO BALABO

MALOLOS CITY – De-spite threats to his life,Alfred Mendiola still wantsto stay at the Bulacanprovincial jail here.

However, ProvincialJail Warden Pepito Pla-menco advised that Men-diola, a state witness onthe Lozano-Evangelistamurder case, be sent toother safehouse under theWitness Protection Pro-gram (WPP) of the De-partment of Justice.

“He still wants to stayhere despite the fact thathe was attacked from theoutside,” said Ric Ibera,head of some 2,000 de-tainees at the Bulcan Pro-vincial Jail here.

He said that Mendiolafeels safer inside the pro-vincial jail than in safe-

houses of the DOJ.On May 25, Mendiola

left the DOJ safehouseand chose to stay at Bu-lacan provincial jail sayinghe felt safer here.

But a month after hisreturn to the said jail, hewas transferred again toan undisclosed safe-house.

This is due to an at-tack to his life on the ear-ly morning of June 25when two petrol bombsand two grenades werelobed into his cell fromoutside the jail.

Luckily, Mendiola andother inmates were not in-jured, while one of the gre-nades failed to explode.

Inmates here saidthat someone is servingas the eye of Mendiola’senemies inside the jail.Thus, they were able to

identify the exact locationof Mendiola’s cell, andthrow explosives from out-side the jail using a bam-boo ladder.

However, Ibera saidthat whoever is serving asthe eye of Mendiola’s en-emies inside the jail can-not do anything.

“They know they can-not make a move againstAlfred inside the jail, theyknow how we work here,”Ibera said noting that ev-ery inmate follows the di-rections of the jail wardenand commander.

For his part, Plamen-co told Punto that localinmates are willing to pro-tect Mendiola. However,he advised that Mendiolabe moved to a better safe-house.

He said that he don’twant other inmates to gethurt in case of another at-tack.

Meanwhile, JusticeSecretary Leila De Lima

said that they have madeimprovements in theWPP of government.

She added that theyhave 92 percent convic-tion rates of cases if wit-nesses are under theWPP.

De Lima said they al-ready made improve-ments in their WPP say-ing that 25 of witnesseswho enrolled with WPPcame between July 2010and April 2010.

“It’s a big number com-pared to the number of wit-nesses who joined theWPP since its inceptionin 1995,” she said.

De Lima added thatDOJ recorded a high 92percent on convictionrates of cases when wit-nesses are under theWPP. “We hope to con-tinue and further improveour WPP, its not easy,its actually very sensitivebut we are making head-way.”

Murder witness wantsto stay in Bulacan jail

ANGELES UNIVERSITY Foundation is staging a lec-ture series with renowned speakers in commemora-tion of the 150th birth anniversary of Dr. Jose P. Rizal,it was announced by AUF President Atty. JosephEmmanuel L. Angeles.

University of Hawaii professor of Indo-Pacific lan-guages and literature Dr. Lilia Q. Santiago will deliv-er a lecture entitled “Rizal’s Pepay: A Critique of Fem-inism, The Female as Subversive and Revolution-ary” on July 12 at 1:00 pm at the AUF Auditorium.

University of the Philippines Professor Albina P.Fernandez will talk on Reading Women and Art inand Out of Blank Space on July 19, while Ateneoprofessor and department chair for history Dr. Am-beth R. Ocampo will give another lecture on Rizal onJuly 20.

The lecture series is open to interested individu-als and other schools. Admission is free. Interestedparties can call (045) 625-2888 local 712 or visitwww.auf.edu.ph for details.

Rizal lectureseries at AUF

CLARK FREEPORT –Clark DevelopmentCorporation (CDC)President Felipe AntonioB. Remollo said thestate-owned CDC andvarious locators andinvestors here are fully-supporting the bid toaddress the lack ofclassrooms in Pampan-ga’s first congressionaldistrict.

Remollo said he hadrecently met withPampanga 1st DistrictRep. Carmelo “Tarzan”Lazatin and MabalacatMayor Marino “Boking”Morales to discuss thecongressman’s educa-tion program dubbed“Kabahagi Ako Adopt ASchool Program”launched last week atthe Stotsenberg Hotelhere.

On Thursday, morethan 500 guests fromthe private and govern-ment sector attendedLazatin’s Adopt ASchool Program wherepledges worth P178million or an equivalentof 229 classrooms werecollected.

The 229 classroomspledged on last Thurs-day’s education summitcovered at least 51percent of the 444-classroom backlog inthe province’s firstdistrict, which is com-posed of the towns ofMagalang, Mabalacat,and Angeles City.

“CongressmanLazatin and MayorMorales visited me a fewdays ago to discuss howthe CDC administration,including the variouslocator firms in theFreeport, can help put upthe remaining number of

classrooms needed tomeet the objectives ofthe education summit,”Remollo said.

Remollo said he hasalready set a meetingwith the Clark Investorsand Locators Associa-tion (CILA) and other topofficials of locator-firmshere to determine whichpublic schools to adopt.Aside from setting themeeting, Remollo alsostressed that he hasalready talked withexecutives of somelocator firms in an effortto boost the schoolbuilding project ofLazatin.

“Education is thegreat equalizer. Which iswhy the CDC is fullysupporting this educa-tion summit because webelieve in all of itsobjectives,” said Remol-lo, who sent his regretsprior to Lazatin’s educa-tion summit last Thurs-day to attend the wakeof one of his familymembers.

In relation to this,Remollo also said thataside from education,the CDC is also pushingto promote tourism inthe Freeport throughsports. He said theClark Freeport has avariety of facilities forsports tourism, whichstudents can, likewise,use for their extra-curricular subjects.

Remollo recentlyannounced the upcom-ing Sports TourismForum to be held on July19 at the Holiday InnClark, which the CDCco-organized SelrahcoManagement Consultan-cy Services and theDepartment of Tourism.

CDC, Clark locators eyemore classrooms forPampanga schools

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BY DINO BALABO

HAGONOY, Bulacan – Four short films produced and directed bya young Bulakenyo film maker made it to the 2011 Possible Fu-tures Film Contest based in San Francisco, California.

Running at an average time of five minutes, Herwin Cabasal’sfour films entitled “Stewards,” “Tactics”, “Starfish,” and “Pledge” couldnow be viewed and voted on at http://possiblefuturesfilmcontest.org.

In an interview, 24-year old Cabasal said that all his film entriespromote positive change in the world by envisioning the future.

He said that the contest is an ideal venue to share his vision forthe future which he described as a “vision that I dream of and hopefor.”

A Mass Communication graduate of the Centro Escolar Uni-versity and currently working as a segment producer at the ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corporation, Cabasal finds inspiration for hisfilm from people who devote their time and talent for the benefit ofothers.

“Those passionate people teach me that one’s life must be akind of service towards others,” he said.

As a young optimist, Cabasal added, “as I make my films, Irealize that everyone has the capacity to make a difference nomatter who they are and no matter how little or big they canoffer.”

“It is not about the quantity of what you can give but the sin-cerity of your passion to inspire others. In a world where all kindscatastrophes happen including man made, we cannot lose hopeas long as we see and hear stories about men and women whobecome heroes by shaping a positive future,” he said.

Cabasal also serves as one of the convenors of the HagonoyYoung Leaders Program (Hyleap), a non-profit organization thatpromotes servant leadership among Filipino youth.

He also doubles as head of Hyleap’s Mas Media ProductionUnit.

Bulakenyo’s short filmsmake it to int’l contest

ANGELES CITY – MayorEdgardo Pamintuan said yes-terday that his administration isfully supporting any effortagainst human trafficking.

He also reiterated his admin-istration’s firm stand to “upholdlaws against human traffickingand decency.”

Pamintuan expressed sup-port to recent raids conductedjointly by the Department of Jus-tice’s Inter-Agency CouncilAgainst Trafficking (DOJ-IA-CAT), the Department of SocialWelfare and Development(DSWD), and the Criminal Inves-tigation and Detection Group(CIDG) on girlie bars alongFields Avenue that reportedlyrescued 100 female workers.

“We fully support the cam-paign against human traffickingand acknowledge the CIDG andpolice authorities efforts at curb-ing trafficking in our city,” Pam-intuan said.

“That is why I keep on re-minding bar owners to observeand comply with national lawsand local ordinances concerningtheir operations to avoid theseincidents of raids conducted bythe national law enforcementagencies,” he added.

However, Pamintuan remind-

ed police authorities that thehuman rights of those who wererescued and detained should berespected and preserved accord-ingly.

He also said that his admin-istration will continue to cooper-ate with law enforcement agen-cies and begin to implement amore sustainable program atimproving and ridding Fields Av-enue of human trafficking andsex trade.

“This will include a total revi-sion of the physical and businessoutlook of Fields Avenue as a le-gitimate and wholesome touristdestination,” the mayor said.

Pamintuan stressed theneed for the city’s tourism planto gain full support from busi-nessmen and other stakehold-ers.

“In light of the close scrutinyon the entertainment strip, itbecomes all the more neces-sary to concretize the transfor-mation of Fields Avenue into awholesome district filled withbars and restaurants and with acontrolled area for adult enter-tainment,” he said.

Among his first official actsas mayor, Pamintuan issuedExecutive Order No. 13 on July23, 2010 creating the Angeles

EdPam: City upholds lawson human trafficking

BY JOEY AGUILAR

ANGELES CITY – The Baliba-go Waterworks System, Inc.(BWSI) will embark on a multi-million system-wide pipe reha-bilitation program from 2011 to2013 in a bid to serve its clientsbetter.

Ronald G. Baron, manager ofBWSI main branch, said the re-habilitation project will start atDiamond and Don Bonifacio sub-divisions this August amountingto about P21 million pesos in theinitial phase.

“This is one of our prioritiesin the next three years and weare working closely with theNational Water ResourcesBoard (NWRB) to continuouslyprovide dependable 24-hour wa-ter services in our service are,”

Baron said.He added that the multi-mil-

lion project is part of their con-tinuous improvement of theiroperations within their fran-chise.

BWSI, which started operat-ing in 1958, was awarded exclu-sive rights and franchises toserve other areas in Luzon, aswell. These include Dapdap

Resettlement site, Capasand Bamban towns in Tarlac;Essel Park in the City of SanFernando; Meycauayan, Guigu-into, Balagtas, Panginay andMalis in Bulacan; Sto Tomas,Magalang, Minalin, Porac, SanSimon, Arayat, Sta. Rita, Apalit,Sta Ana, and San Luis in Pam-panga; Victoria in Laguna; Sto.Domingo, Llanera and Zaragozain Nueva Ecija; Sta. Barbara,

Laoac and San Jacinto in Pan-gasinan.

Recently, it started operatingin Aritao, Alfonso Castañeda,Bagabag and Bayombong inNueva Vizcaya and Maria Auro-ra Province. BWSI is also ex-panding its operations in Bagu-io City and Passi City in IloIlo.

Baron said BWSI now has“33 water utilities under the um-brella of the company” and pro-vides running water to some70,000 households all over itsfranchise areas.

CSRAs part of its Corporate So-

cial Responsibility, he said thecompany also runs the “3HGrant Waterworks project of theRotary Club of Makati.

The project seeks to provide

service to the needy throughnon-profit ventures addressinghumanitarian, health and hungerneeds, Baron said.

“Through BWSI’s support,the project has been able to sus-tain itself and even grow from onebranch to two branches. It iscurrently serving more than1,000 low income families inPampanga and Tarlac,” he add-ed.

BWSI also donated trashbins to various public elementa-ry schools (Tinio, Amsic, Gue-co, Lakandula, Pulung Maraguland Pabalan) within its servicearea especially in BarangayBalibago and the surroundingareas, here.

Baron said they have openednew payment centers in differ-ent banks here and in SM City

Water firm to start multi-millionpipe rehab project this August

Clark. Bills payments could nowbe made at Bank of Commerce,Metrobank, Robinsonbank, Rob-inson’s place (all Balibagobranches), Philippine NationalBank Dau, Chinabank Marqueemall and SM Clark Bills Pay-ments.

MOST EFFICIENTCiting its 50 years of serving

various communities in the Phil-ippines, Baron said the NWRBconsiders BWSI the “largest andmost efficiently operated provin-cial privately-owned waterworksdistrict in the country.

“The awarding and grantingof franchises wee made possi-ble by BWSI’s outstanding rep-utation of being able to deliverthe best water service possible,”he said.

City Task Force Against HumanTrafficking which provides theregulatory and enforcement in-frastructure and the social, moraland economic rehabilitation ofvictims of human trafficking.

To help curb human traffick-ing in Angeles City, the city gov-ernment will come up with anordinance setting minimum ageof women working in night clubsto 21 years.

Pamintuan also asked barowners, workers and entertain-ment groups to police their ownranks. He also urged them tostrictly follow local laws, includ-ing regulations on getting busi-ness permits, licenses and inpaying taxes.

The raids on the Blue Nileand Golden Nile night clubs, re-portedly owned by Irish man Ri-chard Douglas Agnew, stemmedfrom the complaint lobbed by theCrusade Against Good Customsand Decency International, anon-government organizationbased in the city that fights sextourism.

Authorities also raided theSunshine Bar that resulted in therescue of sex workers and thearrest of the floor manager Ter-rence James Smith, an Austra-lian. –Angeles CIO

NI ERNIE B. ESCONDE

DINALUPIHAN, Bataan -Makalipas ang siyam na arawmatapos anurin ng malakas natubig sa isang sapa sa Baran-gay Tipo, Hermosa, Bataan,nakita noong Miyerkules nghapon ang halos naaagnas ngkatawan ng 5-taong gulang nabatang babae na nakasalak-sak sa mga singit sa ilalim ngkawayan sa ilog sa sityo Mag-indong, Luakan, dito.

Ito ay agad ipinaalam sapulisya ng Hermosa ni Supt.Enrico Vargas, Dinalupihanpolice chief.

Ayonkay Jun Gomunta,barangay Tanod ng Luakan,

Batang nalunodnakita makalipas

ang 9 na arawisang namimingwit ng isda angnakadiskubre ng katawan niDorina Reyes, 5, ng barangayTipo, Hermosa, Bataan.

Nakilala umano ng mgamagulang ang bata dahil sasuot nitong damit.

Sinabi sa Funeraria Tongolsa Dinalupihan na nakasuot ngshorts at sando ang bata naalsado na ang katawan.

Tumatawid sa sapa si Do-rina kasama ang kapatid na siMary Joy, 3 at inang si Raquelna kalong ang anak na isa atkalahating taong gulang nangbiglang lumakas ang tubig.Nakabitiw ang magkapatid sapagkakahawak sa ina at inan-od ng malakas na tubig.

TREE PLANTING. Despite the heavy rains, Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan and Vice MayorVicky Vega-Cabigting and other city officials lead the planting of 50,000 seedlings atPunta Verde in Barangay Pulung Cacutud as part of Angeles City's Arbor Day celebration.

PHOTO COURTESY OF ANGELES CIO

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Zona LibreBong Z. Lacson

E d i t o r i a l

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

LLL Trimedia CoordinatorsPublisher

EDGAR V. MOVIDOFounder

General ManagerEditor

Editorial ConsultantMarketing ManagerAdvertising Officer

LayoutCirculation

Atty. Gener C. EndonaJoey R. AguilarCaesar “Bong” LacsonJoanna Niña V. CorderoKarl Jason S. ManalotoDondie B. VenturaGilbert Mendoza/Alvin Dizon

An end to ululations“THERE WAS nothing defamatory in the questioned article ofLacson.”

With that, 1st Asst. City Prosecutor Nereo T. Dela Cruzrecommended the dismissal of the libel case filed against me andthe rest of Punto by businessman Rene Romero as president ofthe Pampanga Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and chairmanof the Advocacy for the Development of Central Luzon.

The case arose from my piece Romero Ululating published inour issue of Dec. 17-18, 2010.

The recommendation was approved by Deputy RegionalProsecutor Giselle Marie S. Geronimo on June 16, 2011.

Simple, succinct, even terse was the decision, belying thewealth of arguments and counter-arguments in rejoinders and repliesattendant to the case that are interesting, and to those learned injournalism praxis, even amusing.

Selective prosecutionRomero found my column defamatory but did not find its earlier

publication en toto in Sun-Star Pampanga as a letter to the editoras libellous. Indeed, Romero was even quoted in a subsequentstory in that paper as saying he was “amused” by my letter. Filinga case against Punto and not against Sun Star Pampanga for thesame article constituted selective prosecution.

Romero deposed “I did not find Sun-StarPampanga liable for merely publishing the Letterto the Editor in the Sun Star issue of December15, 2010 because a) the Lacson letter was plainlya Letter to the Editor and not a regular column…”

My response: Romero thereby shifted theactionability of libel from the content and contextof an article to its placement in a newspaper. Atotally absurd proposition Romero advanced:Neither defamation nor malice that may obtain inan article matters so long as it is published as aLetter to the Editor. Culpability arises though oncethe same article is published as a column.

Furthered Romero: “Lacson is obviouslytesting the waters when he sent a copy of hislibellous article as Letter to the Editor of Sun-Star Pampanga…”

My reply: What water is there to test?Lacson’s article is an exercise of his basic rightto reply as it is a reaction to the Sun-StarPampanga banner story of the previous day,“Sector: Why no biz awardee in MOKA” in whichRomero made unfounded allegations againstcertain but unnamed members of the MOKA panelof judges which included Lacson.

It was not Lacson who determined that hisrejoinder be printed as a Letter to the Editor butthe Sun-Star Pampanga editor who inserted theclarificatory note before the start of the article thus:“Editor’s note: The following is a reaction of amember of the Most Outstanding KapampanganAwards 2010 Board of Judges on our December14, Tuesday banner “Sector: Why no biz awardeein MOKA?”

Romero: “He was also trying to sow enmitybetween me and Sun-Star Pampanga – one ofPampanga’s most decent newspaper (sic)…”

My response: Absurd of Romero to infuse illmotives in a plain exercise of free speech. Here,however, Romero implied a close relationship withSun-Star Pampanga which is publicly known aspartly owned by Levy Laus, Romero’s friend andchairman in the Pampanga Chamber ofCommerce and Industry. It is that relationshipwhich may have prevented Romero from filing libelagainst Sun-Star Pampanga where the article inquestion first appeared. With his statementRomero virtually made an affirmation of Lacson’scontention that he is engaged in selectiveprosecution.

Defining “ululating”Romero took the title of the article Romero

ululating as by itself defamatory. He said “His(Lacson’s) choice of words in his column are

maliciously designed to sow intrigue and ridiculeme in public. The starting four-letter word “ulul”either in Kapampangan or Tagalog is an invective,a cussy word as it means crazy. Connecting thiswith the last syllables”lating” is the verb“ululating.”

My response: This can only be supremeabsurdity.

The choice of words in a story is the soleresponsibility of the writer, manifest as it is of hisor her own creativity. The level of comprehensionor miscomprehension of the reader does not fallwithin the writer’s responsibility as he would notknow who reads his articles. Lacson – the writer– therefore cannot be responsible on theunderstanding or misunderstanding of his wordsby Romero – the reader.

The article Romero ululating is written in theEnglish language. (But for the Tagalog quotationsof Romero cited in the Sun-Star Pampanga bannerit responded to.) Necessarily so, all the wordsused in that article should be taken in their Englishcontext. To append the meaning of a similar wordin another language or dialect is to perverse thecontext, indeed the very meaning of the word. Thewriter could not be held liable for such perversion,the act being that of the reader.

“Ululating” in its English dictionary meaningof “lamenting loudly” (The American HeritageDictionary) is a precise word to describe Romero’saction given his statements in the article “Sector:Why no biz awardee in MOKA”, to wit:

“xxx One or two of these, pardon my terms,‘termites’, would destroy what we and Capitol havestarted in terms of development. Wala bangqualified sa sector namin? Galit ba sila sa amin?Is this the kind of government we have whichallows such people to influence something?Where has professionalism gone? Changed withpersonal conflicts?...”

“xxx There are at least two in these committeeswhom we really don’t see eye to eye with. Withwhat happened , we might reassess and evaluateour position towards the provincial government andslow down a bit…”

Just read the statements and hear the lament– “ululation” – of Romero there. And what noisierhowl of lament can there be than when it is madethe screaming banner headline of a newspaperas “Sector: Why no biz awardee in MOKA.”

SO INDEED, as Asst. City Prosecutor DelaCruz penned: “The article “Romero Ululating”can be considered as part of the freedom ofexpression of its author Caesar Z. Lacson.

RecommitmentON THE occasion of the dismissal by theOffice of the City Prosecutor of the libelcase (2 counts) against PUNTO!, werecommit ourselves to our mission,appropriated from Joseph Pulitzer’s ownarticle of faith”

“A free press should always fight forprogress and reform,

never tolerate injustice or corruption,always fight demagogues of all parties,

never belong to any party,always oppose privileged classes and

public plunderers,never lack sympathy with the poor,

always remain devotedto the public welfare.”

Predators and plunderers, as well aspretenders, be forewarned. The public, beassured.

The standard of Truth, upon the groundof freedom, fairness and justice: that,PUNTO! shall ever be, in its service to thecommunity.

Clichéd as it is, “without fear or favor,”PUNTO! shall pursue with vigor andvigilance that mission that which yetanother great American journalist, WalterLippman, defined as “the beam of asearchlight that moved restlessly aboutbringing one episode and then another outof the darkness into vision.”

We – as any media worth its freedom –can do no less. That we owe to society.That being the very reason for our being.Libel cases, harassments and deaththreats, be damned.

And to that, “without any reservation orany purpose of evasion,” we totallyrecommitted.

So help us, God.

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Napag-uusapanlangNi Felix M. Garcia

Abuseof authority

ISANG ‘service crew’ sa gasoline stationAng itinawag nitong Lunes ng haponNg pamilya upang ako’y makatulongSa kanya sa isang gipit na situwasyon.

Laban sa isang pulis, na naging dahilanNg pagkatangal niya sa pinapasukanSanhi ng umano’y pagtanggi yata niyanNa ikuha ito ng tubig kung saan;

Kasunod ng sabing “bakit, boss ba kitaUpang utusan mo?” ang sagot yata niya;Na humantong sa puntong nagtalo silaNg dahil lamang sa utos nitong isa.

Na nagresulta sa di inaasahangPagdampot sa kanya at ikinulong yanNg kung ilang oras at binantaan pangKakasuhan nitong pulis na naturan

Pero matapos ang ilang oras yataAy kusa naman daw yatang pinalaya,Kung kaya di ko dinatnan ang bataNang sadyain upang siya’y tulungan nga.

Di ko nakausap nang oras na iyonAng hepe ng pinuntahan kong istasyon,Pero nang balikan ko siya ng gabing ‘yonAy nasa opis na at masuyo tayong

Hinarap ni Hepe ng mga sandalingTayo ay naroon at kami’y masusingNag-usap hinggil sa nais iparatingAt iba pa, na di ko babanggitin.

Ang ilang bagay na ating inilahadTungkol sa pulis na di ko nakaharap,Pero kilala ko ang personalidadBilang isang abusadong otoridad.

Tinanong ko kay Tsip ang klase ng utosNa naging ugat ng nangyaring sigalot;Pagkat kung personal ka’kong pag-uutosPosibleng ganun nga ang magiging sagot

Kasi, hindi komo siya’y isang pulisAy may karapatan yan upang ipilitIpagawa sa isang nilalang ang naisNitong ipag-utos pagkat di matuwid.

Puwera na lamang kung ‘in line with his duty’Ang ipagagawa, sabi ko kay Hepe;Pero kung iba ay may katuwiran kasiItong ‘gasoline boy’ para sa sarili.

At saka ika ko, Tsip kabisado koItong ‘subject’ kaya kumbinsido akoNa siya marahil ang nagkamali mismoO may pagkukulang sa nangyaring ito.

Minsan, nakabangga ko na sa ApalitAng taong yan noong si Capitan LopezAng ‘officer as Deputy Chief of Police’Sanhi ng di tamang klase ng matuwid.

Na nag-ugat sa di pag-responde nitoSa isang ‘trouble’ na ako’t ang anak koAng tumawag upang ayusin ang gulo,Pero di bumangon sa higaan nito.

At ikinagalit pa mandin ang tilaPagkabulabog niya sa pagkaka-higa,Kung kaya ang pobre ay nakapag-wikaNg hindi mainam na pananalita.

At nang ipatawag ng Mayor, saka langParang natauhan at humingi po yanNg dispensa, lalo nang kanyang malamangMamamahayag ang kwenta binastos niyan!

FOR HAVING born and lived for63 years along the riverbank inSan Fernando City, I have keen-ly observed the San FernandoRiver and therefore know its char-acteristics. Let me be allowedto present my observation aboutthe cause of flood in this city.My late father used to farm partof Juliana and St. Dominic sub-divisions, and Good SheppardMemorial Park. I can proudlydeclare that my father and hisfellows are expert in water man-agement because I observedthem during my farmer-traineeperiod for not letting their cropsbe inundated and destroyed dur-ing heavy downpour.

There is flood because rain-water is being blocked along itsways to the sea.

Water seeks its own leveland in our case its level and fi-nal destination is the sea, thePampanga Bay, which is 5 meterbelow San Fernando City. Howcould therefore the city whichhas an average of 5 meter abovesea level be perennially flooded?

The main conduit of rainwa-ter that comes from Angeles andwestern part of Mexico is theSan Fernando River. Its naturalflow is westward from Mexicothen passes through the city, toBacolor, Guagua, Sasmuan andthen to the sea. This is so be-cause of the topography of theland.

Aside from the rain directlypouring on the city, the bulk ofrainwater comes from the north- from Angeles City which is 50meter higher than San Fernan-do. As such when water flows itcomes rushing in and has ascouring effect on rivers andcreeks on the upstream, thenorthern part of the city. On theother hand the rainwater has asiltation effect at the downstreamportion of the river – the south-ern part of the city.

After Pinatubo erupted in1991 and lahar avalanched in1995, San Fernando River wasclosed at Barangay San Juan bybuilding the so-called St. Ferdi-nand Dike. The dike was spear-headed by a group of business-men in the hope of saving thecity from the onslaught of lahar.The construction of the dikestopped the natural flow of wa-ter of San Fernando River.

Yes the city is saved fromlahar but not from flooding asseen by yearly inundation affect-ing even the poblacion where thecity government is situated.

To save the city proper fromflood, from water coming fromSapang Balen in Angeles, a damwas constructed at the conflu-ence of Del Carmen-San JoseCreek and San Fernando Riverat Purok 4 of Barangay San Josein San Fernando. They reversedthe natural flow of water from“east to west” to “west to east.”Because of this water was di-verted to Mexico. This was donein the belief that the water will

Blocked rain waterBY FRANK MANGULABNAN

PRESIDENTPINAG-ISANG NANINIRAHAN SA TABING ILOG NG SAN FERNANDO

end up through a creek in Mex-ico to the so-called Erap Riveror Third River.

And to avoid the responsibil-ity of perennially scraping waterlilies and garbage that alwaysclog the Panlumacan Bridge inBarangay Jose the governmenthad the bridge raised. Now Mex-ico receives bulk of the water,water lilies and garbage comingfrom northern barangays of thecity and Angeles City.

This action rendered the SanFernando River totally enclosedand dead from Purok 4 Baran-gay San Jose to Barangay SanJuan. It has now non-flowingmurky water – a sewer for liquidwastes.

But there are other creekscoming from Angeles that flow tothe San Fernando River. The firstis the Del Rosario-St. Jude-SanJuan Creek, the second is theTelabastagan (Angeles)-Dolores(San Fernando)-Sta. Teresita-Ponduan Creek that lined theMacArthur Highway, and the thirdis the Juliana-Ponduan Creek.

And to drain San FernandoRiver, Mapalad Creek at the Si-tio Tinajero, Barangay Del Pilarwas converted from an inlet toan outlet - again reversing thenatural flow of water from theusual “south to north” to “northto south.” This creek used todrain excess farmland water ofBarangay Del Pilar to the SanFernando River.

Another old creek is the TarikCreek that used to drain excesswater from farmlands betweenthe city and Mexico where Lake-shore is located. The creektraverses along the boundary linebetween the city and Mexicoand connects to the San Fernan-do River. But the creek DISAP-PEARED with the constructionof SM Pampanga, Star Mill Rob-inson and Eastgate.

Almost all roads includingmajor roads leading to the cityproper were raised and repavedat an average of 1.5 meter (butnot all equipped with lateral ca-nals) resulting in the sinking andflooding of houses. Althoughroads were raised, some even3 times, they are still beingflooded isolating again the cityproper.

The banks of the creeks andrivers including bridges are en-croached by our poor kabalenand kababayan from other prov-inces. For having had nationaleconomic programs that do notreally solve poverty, we can nottotally blame these kababayan.

For having no centralizedsewer, commercial and industri-al liquid wastes including house-hold wastes like kitchen sinkwaste, laundry waste, and bathand toilet room waste end up incanals, creeks and rivers.

To sum up, San FernandoRiver is being blocked by man-made structures: The St. Ferdi-nand Dike; the dam at Baran-gay San Jose; San Fernando

River which is supposed to bewider as it approach the sea isnow narrower at its downstreambecause of “developments”; Thenew outlets of San FernandoRiver are creeks only (MapaladCreek at SitioTinajero, Del Pilarand a creek in Mexico) that arevery narrow for large amount ofrainwater to pass through.

With the construction of thedam and St. Ferdinand Dike,San Fernando now dumps wa-ter including liquid and solidwastes to Mexico and Sto. To-mas. This is a selfish approach– “saving oneself by dumpingwater and dirt to neighbours.”

The natural configuration ofall rivers including San Fernan-do River is that they becomewider as they approach the seajust like the expressway thatmultiples its lanes as it ap-proaches Balintawak. It is nowthe reverse.

The flood mitigating infra-structures instituted in SanFernando City are against thetopography of the land andtherefore against nature - theyare not scientifically studied.

The solution: San FernandoRiver should be rehabilitated toits original and natural configu-ration, meaning rehabilitating itfrom Mexico and San Fernando,and all the way toBacolor,Guagua, Sasmuan and up to thesea. This includes the disman-tling of the dam at the conflu-ence of Del Carmen-San JoseCreek and San Fernando River,the opening up of the St. Ferdi-nand Dike at Barangay SanJuan, and reviving and wideningits downstream portions at Ba-color, Guagua and Sasmuan.Make the water freely flow fol-lowing the law of gravity. Makeit a” trumpet-like rather than afunnel-like river.”

A province-wide approachheaded by the governor and sup-ported by the national govern-ment in introducing flood mitigat-ing infrastructures should be in-stituted rather than the “kanya-kanyang solusyon.”

No matter how San Fernan-do River is beautified through theSagip-Ilog Project without open-ing up its outlet at Bacolor,Guagua and Sasmuan, the pub-lic fund used into it will only bewasted, and the perennial floodwill surely be expected everyyear.

Maintain canals, creeks andrivers including the Third River byregular desilting.

Water lilies should not beallowed to overgrow and shouldbe scraped off the water beforethe onset of the rainy season.

And lastly the provisions ofthe Solid Waste Managementlaw should be strictly followedby the people and the govern-ment by regularly collecting gar-bage and a constructing provin-cial landfill to avoid garbage be-ing dumped on canals, creeksand rivers.

I really do believe I can accomplish a great deal with abig grin, I know some people find that disconcerting, butthat doesn't matter. –Beverly Sills

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REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINESREGIONAL TRIAL COURTTHIRD JUDICIAL REGION

BRANCH 57, ANGELES CITY

IN THE MATTER OF CORRECTION IN THEMARRIAGE CONTRACT OF MA. THERESAM. CASTRO and WILFREDO C. ISON,

MA. THERESA M. CASTRO-ISON,Petitioner,

-versus- SP. PROC. NO. 8630

OFFICE OF THE LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRAROF MABALACAT, PAMPANGA, and THE CIVILREGISTRAR GENERAL/NATIONAL STATISTICSOFFICE,

Respondents.X————————————————————————————X

ORDERA verified petition has been filed by the petitioner praying that after

due notice, publication and hearing, this Court renders judgment orderingthe respondents Local Civil Registrar of Mabalacat, Pampanga to correctthe entry in her Marriage Contract particularly the name of wife, fromMa. Theresa Y. Castro to Ma. Theresa Masanque Castro and the Nameof the Mother of the Wife, from Felipa Yumul to Norma Masanque.

Finding the petition to be sufficient in due form and substance, theCourt hereby sets the hearing thereof on July 21, 2011 at 2:00 o’clockin the afternoon to be held at the Session Hall of this Court, Room 101,Hall of Justice, Pulung Maragul, Angeles City after this Order shall havebeen published in a newspaper of general circulation in Angeles Cityand Pampanga at the expense of the petitioner for three (3) consecutiveweeks.

All persons interested in the said petition may appear before thisCourt on or before the scheduled date and show cause, if they haveany, why the prayer thereof should not be granted.

The petitioner is hereby directed to furnish copies of the Petition andits annexes the Office of the City Prosecutor, Angeles City, Office of theSolicitor General , Makati City, the Civil Registrar of Mabalacat,Pampanga, the Civil Registrar General , National Statistics Office, QuezonCity within ten (10) days upon receipt hereof and to submit to the courtproof of compliance.

Furnish copies hereof the respondents City, the Office of the Clerkof Court, RTC, Angeles City, the petitioner and her counsel.

SO ORDERED.Angeles City, May 18, 2011.

OMAR T. VIOLA Judge

PUNTO! Central Luzon: July 1, 7 & 14, 2011

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINESREGIONAL TRIAL COURTTHIRD JUDICIAL REGION

BRANCHY 60ANGELES CITY

IN RE: PETITION FOR CORRECTION OFENTRY IN THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE OFROBBIE JEAN ESPINO POLICARPIO,

SPEC. PROC. NO. 8644ROBBIE JEAN E. POLICARPIO,

Petitioner,x—————————————————————————x

ORDERThis is a verified petition for Correction of the Birth Certificate filed

by petitioner Robbie Jean E. Policarpio alleging, among others, thatpetitioner is of legal age, Filipino citizen, single and a resident of Sta.Ines, Mabalacat, Pampanga.

Petitioner seeks the correction of her Birth Certificate under EntryNumber 2 thereof, referring to Sex of the Child and where the genderMale was crossed out when petitioner is very much a FEMALE. Theerror in stating petitioner’s gender as Male was clearly a typographicerror due to the fact that her first name sounds very much like that of amale. She submitted herself to a medical examination by a licensedmedico-legal officer and it was verified that she is a female. Even just asimple look at petitioner will reveal no doubt that she is a female. Thecorrection sought in this petition is a mere error made without any intentto mislead or do falsehood against the public in general, and thegovernment, particular.

Finding the verified petition to be sufficient in form and substance,the same is set for hearing on July 25, 2011 at 8:30 in the morning at theRegional Trial Court, Branch 60, Angeles City, at which date and time,any person may appear and show cause if any, why the said petitionshall not be granted.

Let a copy of this order be published, at the expense of the petitioner,in a newspaper of general circulation in the Province of Pampanga andAngeles City, once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks.

Serve copy of this Order together with copy of the Petition and itsannexes, also at petitioner’s expense, upon the Office of the SolicitorGeneral, Makati City; and Office of the City Prosecutor of Angeles City.

Let copy of this order be also furnished the petitioner and hercounsel.

SO ORDERED.Angeles City, Philippines, June 9, 2011.

OFELIA TUAZON PINTO Presiding Judge

PUNTO! Central Luzon: July 1, 7 & 14, 2011

NOTICE OF EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENTNotice is hereby given that the heirs of RODOLFO CANLAS and

MARIE DE PAULA CANLAS who died intestate on January 5, 1996 andJanuary 21, 1993, respectively, in Angeles City executed an ExtrajudicialSettlement of their estate more particularly described as a parcel of land (Lot48 of the subdivision plan Psd-58913 Sht. 5, being a portion of Lot 50-D ofplan Psd-5107, L.R.C. Record No. 4435) situated in the Bo. San Jose(Santol), Municipality of Floridablanca, Province of Pampanga and coveredby TCT No. 427 (DAR CLOA Award No. 27069.

Punto! Central Luzon: July 1, 8 & 15, 2011

filed by businessmanRene Romero againstPunto Editorial ConsultantCaesar “Bong” Lacson,this editor, General Man-ager Gener Endona andMarketing Manager Joan-na Niña Cordero.

The case arose fromLacson’s article entitled“Romero ululating” pub-lished in Punto’s Decem-ber 17-18, 2010 issue.

Romero who identifiedhimself in his suit as “thepresident of the Pampan-ga Chamber of Commerceand Industry, the chairmanof the Advocacy for the De-velopment of Central Lu-zon, and the private sec-tor representative for busi-ness of the Regional De-velopment Council (Re-gion 3)” had called Lac-son’s article as “baselessallegations…shameful,heinous and unequivocal-ly malicious, while beingentirely false, malicious,offensive and derogatory tomy good name, characterand reputation tending tobesmirch and destroy myhonor, character and rep-utation – all to my dam-age and prejudice.”

However, the city fis-cal’s resolution said: “Areading of the article in itsentirety does not showany public and maliciousimputation of a crime, viceor defect, real or imagi-nary, or any act omissioncondition status or circum-stance tending to discreditor cause the dishonor ofRomero.”

FROM PAGE 1

MOKA loser loses suitThe decision also said

that Lacson’s article “ismerely a reply to the state-ments of the complainant(Romero)” in a news storyentitled: “Sector: Why nobiz awardee in MOKA?”published on December14, 2010 in local newspa-per Sun Star Pampanga.

Romero was nominat-ed in the business cate-gory of the Most Outstand-ing Kapampangan Awardswhere no winner was de-clared. Lacson was amember of the panel ofjudges.

The decision noted thatbeing one of the membersof the board of judges, Lac-son is expected to defendthe MOKA and to rebutRomero’s claims of irreg-ularities in the selection ofwinners. These include thepresence of alleged “influ-ence peddlers”, “termites”,“people I don’t see eye toeye” and allegations of“gone professionalism”.

Romero was also quot-ed in the news story assaying: “it simply meansthat despite our efforts andsupport of the provincialgovernment, parang si-nampal kami at sinabingwalang matinong negosy-ante sa Pampanga”.

In replying to thisstatement, Lacson seesRomero as “someone whoexpects a ‘payback’ andROI (return of In replyingto this statement, Lacsonsees Romero as “some-one who expects a ‘pay-back’ and ROI (return ofinvestment)” for all the helphe gave to the provincial

government. “If the complainant has

the right to comment on theactuations of the Board ofJudges of MOKA, respon-dent Lacson’s right to re-ply should also be respect-ed so long as it sticks tothe issue, nothing morebecause he is one of thejudges thereto,” it said.

Citing Lacson’scounter-affidavit, the deci-sion also noted that thewriter’s article is “deemedprivileged, a personal opin-ion in defense of himselfagainst the attacks ofRomero.” “A fair commentand an exercise of the con-stitutional guarantee offree speech.”

SELECTIVEPROSECUTION

On the other hand, re-spondents Endona andthis editor assailed Rome-ro for “selective prosecu-tion”. This is because thecomplainant did not file li-bel charges against SunStar Pampanga where thesimilar article appeared asa letter to the editor.

In a separate counter-affidavit, Cordero also as-sailed Romero saying thatshe has nothing to do withPunto’s editorial policies,content and its circulation,and therefore should not becharged with libel.

She claims for damag-es amounting to P0.5 mil-lion against the complain-ant for “sleepless nights,anxiety and besmirchedreputation brought aboutby the filing of the caseagainst her.”

Cordero also chargedRomero with maliciousprosecution for linking herin the said libel case.

However, the prosecu-tors dismissed Cordero’scounter-charge for lack ofmerit.

RESPECTED TRADERRomero blamed the

respondents for comingout with the article “withthe sole intention of attack-ing his virtue as a person.”

He said the article alsointends “to do interior andunjustifiable harm towardsmy profession and statureas a respected business-man in Pampanga and ashead of the PampangaChamber of Commerce…”

All of these were rebut-ted in the resolution dis-missing the case.

SUE ROMEROMeanwhile, veteran

broadcast journalist andformer Pampanga PressClub President Diosdado“Deng” Pangilinan said“since day one, I knewRomero will lose the casebecause we are merelytelling the truth and noth-ing libelous about thestatement of colleagueBong Lacson.”

He added that “Rome-ro was merelysour grap-ping for not winning theMOKA .”

Pangilinan disclosedthat he will ask his fellowPPC members to filecounter charges againstRomero for discrediting themedia in one of his state-ments.

Romero Ululating can be considered as part of thefreedom of expression of its author...”

We thank all those who stood with us in our deter-mination to see this case through which could have seta precedent for the enemies of press freedom, mas-querading as patriots, to deal a fatal blow to the legiti-mate working press. Ours is to expose anomalies and

FROM PAGE 1

Triumph of press freedomcorruption in government as well as unmask pretend-ers who crown themselves with awards to advance theircause for their own selfish interests.

We thank the Office of the City Prosecutor for up-holding the freedom of expression as we vow to be morevigilant against the enemies of press freedom.

Ashley Jay B. ManabatChairman, NUJP-Pampanga

money is paid to the fam-ily of his victim in twomonths’ time. The ar-rangement was made fourmonths ago.

Monterona also saidthe SRC told him that noPhilippine embassy repre-sentative attended themeeting last Mondaynight, during which an up-date on the blood moneywould have been dis-cussed.

Arab News said it triedto contact Ambassador-designate Ezzedin Tagoto get the embassy’s sidebut that he was reportedto be “out of the Kingdom.”

The SRC, whose exec-utive chairman is Dr.Nasser Bin Mesfir Al-Zahrani, is credited withsaving the lives of 173 peo-ple sentenced to deathsince its inception in 2008.

FROM PAGE 1

OFW given 2 months to raise P35M...Its mission is to preventhaggling by the families ofthe murder victims overblood money or “diya.”

Pardoning or forgivinga murderer is permissiblein the Shariah, for the sakeof Allah, or through thepayment of “diya.” In thecase of Lanuza, the eldestchild of the aggrieved fam-ily determined the amountof “diya” with the other op-tion to otherwise haveLanuza beheaded.

The Arab newspaperquoted last Tuesday JohnLeonard Monterona, Mi-grante-Middle East region-al coordinator, as sayingthe SRC had negotiatedwith the victim’s familymembers for six years toconvince them to accepta blood money settlementwhich is provided in SaudiArabian laws.

While the report did notmention the amount of

blood money demandedby the family, Lanuza, ina Facebook reply to Pun-to, estimated it to be aboutP35 million.

“Lanuza is worried thatthe aggrieved family maychange their mind unlessthe money is paid (imme-diately),” the newspaperreport added.

“On behalf of Lanuzaand his wife and two kids,Migrante-Middle East iscalling on President Beni-gno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino lll toraise the needed money,”the Arab newspaper quot-ed Monterona as saying.

Monterona said Lanu-za’s case has become anopportunity for the Presi-dent to “prove his criticswrong.” On Sunday, Mi-grante-Middle East gave a“failing grade to PresidentAquino for unsatisfactoryrating in his first year inoffice.”

Lanuza is allowed ac-cess to Internet in jail andhas gained some followingin his facebook account.

He and supporters re-cently launched throughFacebook a fund raisingdrive to raise blood mon-ey, giving out the numberof a bank account in Mal-olos, Bulacan. He also is-sued information on howhis parents could be con-tacted to authenticate thefund raising campaign.

Migrante-Middle Eastis also monitoring the cas-es of other death convictsin Saudi, including broth-ers Rolando and EdisonGonzales, Eduardo Arcil-la, Joselito Zapanta and,Carlito Rana.

(Note: Lanuza has askedthat details on his murdercase not be tackled as thismight prompt family to pur-sue his beheading instead)

THINK GREEN

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TheGossip-millerby Cesar Pambid

Sarah Geronimo kinakawawang sariling pamilya

GRABE ANG mga usaping nakarating sa amin through a neighbor nina Sarah Geronimo sa kanilang tinitirhan sa isang village malapitsa Mindanao Avenue.

Kumakain pa naman kami habang nagkukuwento ang aming source kaya medyo nawalan kami ng gana sa sobrang morbid nakuwento niya. Tumigil na lang kami sa pagkain para hindi na masuka.

Anyway, tungkol sa kalinisan nag kuwneto nito sa amin. Sosyal daw kasi ang village na tinitirahan nila, malinis at talaga namingmay sarili pang guwardiya. Kumbaga, de klase naman na hindi mo ikahihiya na puwedeng ipagmalaki sa mga bisita.

“Pero ang bahay nina Sarah, ang dumi ng paligid, mabaho, yung kanilang garahe, mapanghi dahil sa ihi ng aso nila. Marumi talagana nagkalat ng uu ng mga aso nila. Mga tamad sila, hindi naglilinis, palibhasa galing lang sila kung saan kaya di maka-maintain ngpaninirahan sa isang sosyal na lugar,” kuwento pa ng kasusap namin.

Dugtong pa sa kuwento ng aming source yung katamaran ng mga pamilya niSarah, lalo na raw yung dalawang kapatid niyang babaing mas matanda sa kanya. “Puro lang sila palamunin, si Sarah ang

nahihirapan, siya ang kumikita pero sila, nakahilata na lang halos maghapon, ayaw gumalaw, ni ayaw maglinis ng kanilang bakuran.Hindi kaya sila nahihiyang naaamoy ng mga dumaraan at mga kapitbahay ang alingasaw ng kanilang bahay,” sabi pa nito.

Dugtong pa nito. “Yung tatay ni Sarah, mahilig magsugal, sabungeo, lagi raw humihingi ng pera kay Aling Divine, para di na mag-away, nagbibigay na lang si Divine. Pero si Sarah, daming balita na ni hindi nakahahawak ng perang kinikita niya. Halos wala siyangtulog, puro pagpapasarap lang ang kanyang pamilya.”

Ni hindi na nga raw nakapag-debut ng bongga si Sarah,sa halip sa ASAP lang ito ginawa. Kumontra daw kasi yung dalawang kapatidna babae ni Sarah dahil sila di rin nakaranas na magkaroon ng debut party.

Mahirap talaga palang buhay ni Sarah, kaya siguro mas maganda lang itong tigil muna siya sa trabaho at asikasuhin naman angsarili. Pati lovelife niya noon, isinakripisyo, alang-alang sa mga kapatid na mga batugan naman.

So there!

Sampung taong di nagpakita, biglang lumitaw si Analou LorenzanaPARANG KAILAN lang talaga yung nasa mainstream na rin si Analou Lorenzana. Si Analou po ay dating talent promoter sa Japan na nagkaroon ng puwang sa showbizbilang singer. Nakapagpatayo siya noon ng isang sosyal na bar sa Timog na halos tambayan na ng mga taga-showbiz. Dami recollection ni Analou sa kanyang bar peroklasik yung mga revelation niya abot an aged singer at isang dating barakong aktor na ngayon ay sinabing nagladlad na.

“Nakakaawa na ngayon yung may edad ng singer, isang araw, tinawagan niya ako, humihingi ng tulong, wala na raw siyang pera at maysakit ang kanyang anak”Yung actor naman minsan nagkita kami, nagtawanan na lang kami, sabi ko, marami pa siyang utang sa kain dahil sa mga binasag niya sa aking bar noon,” sabi pa

ni Analou.Well, off the record yung mga kuwento kaya wa muna name names tayo sa kanila.Dagdag na kuwento ni Analou ay yung reklamo sa isang lady reporter na trumaidor daw sa kanya. Na oras na makita raw niya ito, maghahalo ang balat sa tinalupan.

Sobrang grabe raw talaga na ipinakilala na ni Analou sa isang group of friends at nagkapera nang malaki ang lady reporter, pero sa bandang hulo, siya pa’ng siniraan nito.“Lagot siya sa akin, harinawa, ‘wag magkrus ang aming landas, dahil pag nagkataon, ibabalik ko ang ___ niya. Sinasya naming gawing blangko yung bahagi ng katawangibabalik ni Analou dahil giveway ito na kapag sinabi namin, siya na yun, walang misteryo.”

Anyway, Analou is now co-managing Sophie’s Comedy Bar and Resto na nasa BF Homes malapit sa Tahanan Village. It is the onlycomedy bar along the circuit kaya madalas dayuin ito ng mga customer, particularly yung mga konektado sa politics. Annalou andArchitect Rhodel who co-owns Sophie’s Bar believe na dadayuin nga ang lugar nila na pawing magagaling ang mga bading nakomedyante at singer. And take note, may special day sila on Tuesdays na featured ang isang magandang singer na sexy atparang labanos sa kaputian. When we visited the place, bongga, dahil nag-sample ang mga bading, pati na yung femaleperformer na may screen name na GARA. Biritera ito and she can give any other singer in the biz a run for their money.

Analou is now dreaming to continue where she left off. Di ba, siya yung manager noon ni Rizza Villafuerte na sexy star saSeiko Films. Sa hindi maganda nagwakas yung samahan nila pero this time, with GARA as her talent, lahat daw talaga,gagawin niya para mapasikat ang kanyang alaga.

Welcome back Analou Lorenzana!

Clear na ang anak ni Erap…Albie Casino umaming ama ng ipinagbubintis ni Andi Eigenmann?

LUMALABAS NANG unti-unti ang totoo sa noon ay pahulaan lang na preggy young actress. Pero ngayon, usap-usapan sa apat na sulok ng showbiz ang pangalan ng girl, at ang lumalabas ay si

Andi Eigenmann.Kamakailan lang, naging hot news din ang Kapamilya star dahil sa ex-boyfriend niyang si Albie Casino.

Maraming isyu ang lumabas tungkol sa dalawa, na ngayon ay hinihinalang yung matinding away nila atsanhi ng break up ay dahil nga sa paglilihi ng young actress.

Dalawa nga’ng pinagdidiskitahang aktor pero out na yung anak ni Pangulong Erap na si Jackie.Mismong kapamilya na raw nito ang nagsabing kawawa naman ito, dahil walang kaalam-alam nadawitsa malaking eksandalo.

May mga nagsasalita namang umamin na raw si Albie pero this has to be confirmed yet. Sa mgabulungan sa mga umpukang showbiz, isa sa pinag-awayan nina Albie at Andi ay yunh di nito pag-inom ng pills. Sinasabi ngayon nga’y four months and a half na ang tiyan ni Andi, which means nanung nag-break nga sila ni Albie, mga mahigit na itong tatlong buwan.

Minsan nga raw, sa pictorial ng isang project, di na naitago ang tiyan ni Andi na biglang laki ngakaya nahalatang buntis siya. This according to rumors sparked the constant fight between Albieand Andi that led to a very scandalous separation.

Sa ngayon, wala na raw career na babalikan si Andi kung sakali man, at pati si Albie na biglangnagging partner ng isang baguhan would have to do a lot of good press para di rin masira. As it is,now good as goner na ang career ng dalawang ito.

Sayang naman!

Aljur Abrenica, Kylie pinalaya na ni Robin PadillaFORMAL ANNOUNCEMENT na lang ang kulang at officially on na sina Aljur Abrenica at KyliePadilla. Kung noon, maraming bawal at maraming ek tungkol sa relasyon nila, ngayon puwede nasilang magsalita ng mga totoong nangyayari sa kanila. We just wish na sana bigyang-laya na rinni Aljur na sabihin ang katotohahan sa kanila ni Rich Asuncion.

This would all set them free at wala nang hahalukayin pa’ng mnedia sa kanilang mga pinagdaanan.Isa pa, mawawala ang negatibong impression na playboy si Aljur dahil malinaw noon na si Richang kanyang special girl.

Si Kylie Padilla ngayon, mas masarap kausap dahil walang itinatago at walang bawal itanong atlahat ng tanong ay sinasagot na. Plus factor daw yun par magustuhan na siya ng press na dati ayturn off sa mga kaeklayan, kaartehan at kasinungalingan niya.

Pati mga kasama sa Blusang Itim, natutuwa sa kanya dahil masaya raw kahit naiinitan saprosthetics sa kanyang mukha. Sinagot din nito ang Aljur Abrenica questions, pero ang tagal sagutinang tanong kung nakatikim na siya ng “hotdog” ng actor.

Later on, inamin niyang sabay silang kumain ng ine-endorse na hotdog ng ka-MU at ka-exclusivelydating na binata.

Legal na nakakadalaw sa taping ng Blusang Itim si Aljur dahil maayos na nagpaalam kay Direk JayAltarejos at sa EP na si Jojo Aleta.

Pinayagan na rin sila ni Robin Padilla na lumabas, three hours every day at walang pinagbabawalsa dalawa dahil malaki ang tiwala ni Robin sa magka-MU.

Kasama si Kylie sa cast ng Mr. Wong, entry ni Robin sa darating na Metro Manila Film Festival, atgusto nitong kunin din si Aljur.

Kaya lang, nasa Panday 2 ang young actor at kapareha si Kris Bernal, pero matatanggihan ba ngGMA Films si Robin?

Concerned si Kylie sa rating ng Blusang Itim at ’pag mataas ang rating, may selebrasyon at mas natsa-challenge siya ’pag bumaba ang rating, kaya hindi siya puwedeng maging kampante.

Let us see, kung talagang puwedeng maasahan si Aljur.Hehehe! Ang alam namin, malikot ito sa aparato, at balita sa Pampanga yung pagdating sa babae, di siya

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MAGALANG, Pampanga – Some 675households in five barangays here will nowenjoy quality water services with the open-ing of the Balibago Waterworks System,Inc. (BWSI)-Magalang pump station re-cently.

“It will provide quality water servic-es to barangays San Jose, Camias,San Francisco, Sta. Cruz and San Nico-las II,” said BWSI General ManagerRonald G. Baron. He said the pumpstation here could service 500 to 1,000households.

Mayor Romulo Pecson, together withBWSI officials, led the inauguration of thepump station in Barangay San Franciscoin this town.

Pecson thanked the officials of BWSIled by its managing director, AlfredoSalinda and Area Manager Allam Kahil“for providing efficient quality water ser-vices in Magalang.”

Josie Bandiola, branch manager ofMagalang station, said that they areplanning to expand water services in otherbarangays here.

BWSI’s pumpstation opens

Mayor Pecson leads the blessing and launching ofBalibago WaterworksSystem, Inc.-Magalang pump station in barangay San Francisco recently.

Mayor Pecson opens valve to signify the free flow of potable water inMagalang, Pampanga.