VOLUME 4NUMBER 43FRI - SATAUGUST 27 - 28, 2010

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

BY JOEY AGUILAR

ANGELES CITY – Variousenvironmental groups andvisual artists have joined the

Green Youth Brigade in urgingGov. Lilia Pineda and Pampangamayors to help protect the environ-ment from further degradationcaused by polluters.

Strictly implementenvironmental laws

GREEN YOUTH BRIGADE TO PINEDA, MAYORS

PRESENTATION. Students of the Mabalacat College perform on Wednesday a cultural show as part of celebrating theBuwan ng Wika this August at the SM City Clark. PHOTO BY JOEY AGUILAR

ENVIRONMENTAL groups in Pampanga led by the Green Youth Brigadetry to show an image of a tree using their hands. They are urging localofficials to strictly implement environmental laws. PHOTO BY JOEY AGUILAR PAGE 6 PLEASE

In a manifesto, thenewly-formed environmen-tal group is urging the gov-ernor and local officials “toban or regulate the use ofplastic in groceries, super-markets, conveniencestores, stores, malls,palengke and/or institu-tions or establishmentsthat use plastic.”

It is also urging govern-ment officials, business-

men and different sectorsof the society “to protectthe trees along Mac-ArthurHi-way in Angeles Citygoing to the City of SanFernando and in othermunicipalities in Pampan-ga.”

Environmentalists whoattended a forum at theSpencer’s Fusion in baran-gay Balibago here on

BY DINO BALABO

MALOLOS CITY – Theprovincial government ofBulacan is set to filecharges against a giantcement company based inNorzagaray town for failureto pay back taxesamounting to more thanP765-Million.

This came as the pro-vincial treasurer’s office(PTO) intensified tax col-lection saying that a totalof more than P1.5-billionin back taxes are still tobe collected by the prov-ince from Holcim Cement,National Power Corpora-tion (Napocor), ManilaWater Services Inc.,(MWSI), and the operatorof the North Luzon Ex-

FAILURE TOPAY P765-M

BACK TAXES

PAGE 6 PLEASE

Bulacan tofile chargesvs. Holcim

BY DING CERVANTES

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – The Depart-ment of Labor and Employment (DOLE) hasslated a series of public hearings in Cen-tral Luzon to tackle the labor sector’s peti-tion for a P75 to P125 minimum wage in-crease in the region where the last mini-mum pay hike was over two years ago.

BY ARMAND M. GALANG

CABANATUAN CITY –At least five privatearmed groups (PAGs)are still “alive” to “ad-vance political and eco-nomic agenda of publicofficials or private indi-viduals” in Nueva Ecija,police disclosed onMonday.

Each PAG is com-posed of five to six mem-bers, said Supt. EdgarAllan Okubo, com-mander of the NuevaEcija police provincialpublic safety company(PPSC).

This as acting Nue-va Ecija police director,Senior Supt. RobertoAliggayu, reported thearrest of Arturo Bernar-dino, 33, of barangaySan Jose, Licab, NuevaEcija who is tagged asamong the remnants ofthe once dreaded“Alakdan Group”.

PAGE 2 PLEASE

Privatearmiesexist in

Ecija

Public hearing set on planned wage hike in CL

PAGE 6 PLEASE

This, even as Labor Sec. Rosalinda Bal-doz urged regional DOLE offices nationwideto adopt a project now being piloted in Cen-tral Luzon malls to ensure that malls, theirtenants and their sub-contractors are “labor-compliant.”

“Under this project, the mall, as well asits tenants and sub-contractors would bemonitored for compliance not only with min-

imum wage, but also with other commit-ments such as maintaining a drug-free en-vironment, protection of workers from sex-ual harassment, health and safety stan-dards and observance of single-parent priv-ileges, among other lawful requirements,”Central Luzon DOLE Director Ernesto Bi-his told Punto.

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Republic of the PhilippinesREGIONAL TRIAL COURT

Third Judicial RegionBRANCH 50

Guagua, Pampanga

IN RE: PETITION FOR THE ADOPTION OFTHE MINOR JEMIMAH RUTH DIMALANTADUCUT.

SP. PROC. NO. G-10-2325SPS. EMMANUEL V. MASA &IRMA DIMALANTA-MASA

Petitioners.x—————————————————————x

ORDEROn June 09, 2010 petitioners thru counsel, Atty. Carlos D. Maninang,

filed the Petition praying that after due notice, publication and hearing,judgment be rendered declaring, for all legal intents and purposes,Jemimah Ruth Dimalanta Ducut, as the child of the petitioners andhenceforth be freed from all the legal obligations of obedience andmaintenance with respect to her natural parents, and that the said minorshall be named JEMIMAH RUTH DIMALANTA MASA.

WHEREFORE, finding the petition to be sufficient in form andsubstance, the court hereby:

a) sets the case for hearing on November 26, 2010 at 8:30o’clock in the morning;

b) orders petitioners (1) to serve within seventy two (72) hoursfrom receipt hereof copies of the petition and its annexes to theOffice of the Solicitor General of the Philippines, Office of theProvincial Prosecutor, City of San Fernando, Pampanga, andthe Office of the Local Civil Registrar of Floridablanca,Pampanga, and (2) to show proof of said service to this court;

c) orders all persons interested in this petition: (1) to appear onsaid date and time before this Court, Regional Trial Court,Branch 50, Guagua, Pampanga; and (2) show cause, if any,why the petition should not be granted;

d) orders the Solicitor General to enter his appearance in thiscase for the state seventy two (72) hours from receipt of thisOrder;

e) orders the Branch Clerk of Court of this court to furnish copiesof this order to the petitioner, his counsel, the Solicitor General,the Office of the Local Civil Registrar of Floridablanca,Pampanga; the Provincial Prosecutor of Pampanga, the CivilRegistrar General of the Philippines and the National StatisticsOffice, who are given fifteen (15) days from receipt of thepetition or from the last due date of publication of such noticewithin which to file their comment/opposition thereto, if any.

Further, let the petitioners at their expense, publish this Orderbefore the date of hearing for three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaperof general circulation in the Province of Pampanga. Likewise, thepetitioners is directed to pay the amount of Five Hundred (Php500.00)Pesos to the Office of the Provincial Prosecutor, City of San Fernando,Pampanga as appearance fee of the Public Prosecutor and thru whoseoffice, the Solicitor General shall be represented in the proceedings, andto show proof to the Court of such payment made or before scheduledhearing.

SO ORDERED.Guagua, Pampanga, June 22, 2010.

AMOR M. DIMATATAC-ROMERO Presiding Judge

PUNTO! Central Luzon: August 13, 20 & 27, 2010

Republic of the PhilippinesREGIONAL TRIAL COURTTHIRD JUDICIAL REGION

BRANCH 43City of San Fernando, Pampanga

PETITION FOR CORRECTIONOF ENTRIES IN THE CERTIFICATEOF LIVE BIRTH OF MINOR ROMMELJAY SALTIVAN PASCUA,

SUSANA SALTIVAN PASCUA-GALVEZ,Petitioner,

SPL. PROCEEDINGS NO. 5276-versus-

ForCIVIL REGISTRAR OF CHANGE OF NAME AND/ORSAN FERNANDO, PAMPANGA CORRECTION OF ENTRIES INand CIVIL REGISTRAR THE CERTIFICATE OF LIVEGENERAL, MANILA, BIRTH

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

AMENDED ORDERThis is a verified Amended Petition filed by the petitioner, thru her

counsel, praying that after notice, publication and hearing, the HonorableCourt grants the petition and an order be issued allowing the followingcorrection to be made in the Certificate of Live Birth of minor ROMMELJAY SALTIVAN PASCUA:

a. Entry No. 6 Mother’s registered namefrom : SUSANA CARINO SALTIVANto : SUSANA SALTIVAN PASCUA

b. Entry No. 9 Father’s registered namefrom : ROGELIO FLORES PASCUAto : BLANK or UNKNOWN

c. Entry No.12 Date and Place of Marriage of Parentsfrom : OCTOBER 1, 1992, SAN FERNANDO, LA UNIONto : BLANK or UNKNOWN

d. As legal consequences of the above correction, the NAME ofminor ROMMEL JAY SALTIVAN PASCUA be corrected as follows:

Name : ROMMEL JAYMiddle Name : BLANKFamily Name : PASCUA

Finding the aforesaid pet i t ion to be suff ic ient in form andsubstance, the court hereby sets the hearing thereof at the SessionHall of the Regional Trial Court, Branch 43, Hall of Justice, City ofSan Fernando, Pampanga on September 13, 2010 at 2:30 in theafternoon, where and when all persons who may have interest onthe said pet i t ion may appear and show cause why the sameshould 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, Pampanga,the Civil Registrar General, Manila and the Solicitor General.

City of San Fernando, Pampanga, July 1, 2010.

CARMELITA S. GUTIERREZ-FRUELDA Presiding Judge

PUNTO! Central Luzon: August 13, 20 & 27, 2010

Alakdan Group wasreported to be engaged inrobbery-hold-up and gunfor hire activities in NuevaEcija and adjoining areas.

Aliggayu said Bernar-dino was arrested on thestrength of arrest warrantsfor illegal possession offirearms and violations ofOmnibus Election Codeissued by the 1st Munici-pal Circuit Trial Court ofQuezon-Licab on July 7,2010 and another warrantfor the same nature of of-fense in 2007.

Aliggayu said that whenAlakdan Group was neu-tralized though a series ofencounter with lawmen inthe past years, Bernardi-no joined a PAG with sev-eral other suspects, iden-tified as Enrico Sarmien-to, Vicente Fernando, Dou-

FROM PAGE 1

Private armies...glas Javier, Noli Roque,Sonny Corpuz and BoyingAquino.

But Okubo said thisinformation was cascadedto their office by the PNPintelligence directorate inCamp Crame in line withan effort to neutralizePAGs.

One of the PAGs alleg-edly existing in Nueva Eci-ja was identified as Kama-gong Group, reportedlyoperating in Bongabontown.

The rest of the groups,Okubo said, are scatteredin Nueva Ecija’s four con-gressional districts.

Bernardino’s groupwas placed “under closewatch and continuousmanhunt by the specialtask group of the PPSCespecially during and afterthe May 10, 2010 elec-tion,” Okubo said

BY JOEY PAVIA

ARAYAT, Pampanga –Gov. Lilia “Baby” Pinedayesterday vowed to providea 25-bed facility at the dis-trict hospital in BarangaySan Agustin Norte in thistown.

This after she herselfsaw more than 20 patientsstaying along the hallwaysof the one-storey medicalfacility during a recent vis-it at the Dr. Emigdio C.Cruz Memorial Hospital(DRECCMH).

“The population is get-ting bigger in Arayat andthis only means more pa-tients for their hospital.The extension is a must,”said Pineda in the dialect.

Dr. Benjamin Sibul Jr.,head of the Arayat districthospital named after a doc-tor, disclosed that the hos-pital’s capacity is only 25patients at a given time. Headded that they averageabout 50 patients a dayand they have no choicebut to put other patients

Pineda to give 25-room facility at Arayat hospitalalong the hallways.

Sibul said they hadasked for an extension inthe previous administra-tions but failed.

“This time we know itwill happen. There wasmisunderstanding be-tween the governor and theprovincial board membersthen,” Sibul said.

Mayor Chito Espino, inan interview, lauded Pine-da for the facility seen tobenefit hundreds of hisconstituents.

“The promise of thegovernor is good as done.She is the champion of thesick and the poor,” saidEspino, who accompa-nied Pineda during the visitat the hospital.

Pineda also vowed toprovide at least 25 hospi-tal beds and medicines forthe district hospital.

The first-term governorhad prioritized heath careservice improving the sup-plies and facilities in thedistrict hospitals in theprovince.

CARING NANAY. Gov. Lilia Pineda comforts young patient at the surgical ward of the DiosdadoMacapagal Memorial Provincial Hospital during an inspection of the facility. Health care is toppriority program in the Pineda administration. PHOTO BY BONG LACSON

BY JOEY PAVIA

ANGELES CITY – FirstDistrict Rep. Carmelo“Tarzan” Lazatin has pri-

Tarzan’s priority: Approval of Mabalacat cityhood billoritized the approval ofhis congressional billseeking to turn nearbyMabalacat town into acomponent city.

In a statement, Laza-tin recently filed an ur-gent motion for the ap-proval of House Bill 2509pending before the plena-

ry of the House of Rep-resentatives.

“It will take some moretime before the bill is ap-proved. But we expect

Mabalacat to be a citywithin our term of office,”said Lazatin.

The two- term solondisclosed that the De-partment of Finance(DoF) last February sub-mitted a report to Con-gress “vital to the approv-al of the bill.” He was re-ferring to the DoF memo-randum stating that Ma-balacat had generated atleast P100 million fromlocal taxes per year fortwo consecutive years.

Mayor Edgardo “Ed”Pamintuan of this cityearlier expressed oppo-sition to the 16 LocalGovernment Uni ts(LGUs) in the countryseeking to become acity.

Pamintuan, in a re-cent roundtable discus-sion with reporters, said“I am not against the cit-yhood of Mabalacat be-cause it had met the re-quirements set by law.”

The first-term mayor

said the town led by May-or Marino “Boking” Mo-rales had “undoubtedlyachieved the require-ments on population andlocal tax generated.” Headded that “we areagainst those towns withdoubtful documents.”

Morales, for his part,said “it’s a welcome de-velopment for the peopleas the mayor had notopposed the cityhoodbill.”

“Lazatin as a long-t ime publ ic servantknows what is best forMabalacat,” he said.

Morales added thatonce his town becomesa city, the delivery of ba-sic social services willimprove more.

In the house bill’s ex-planatory note, it said“the former sleepy townhad experienced rapideconomic growth, “busi-ness flourished and so-cial activities took placetwenty four hours a day.”

BY JOEY PAVIA

ANGELES CITY – The young-est son of Sen. Manuel “Lito”Lapid has announced his bidfor Pampanga vice governor in2013 barely four months afterthe last local election.

In an interview at The Court-yard here, Meynard Lapid saidhe had visited Gov. Lilia “Baby”Pineda to congratulate her af-ter she won and also informedher about his plan to run for vicegovernor.

“I am hoping that governorwill make me his runningmatein the next elections,” Meynardsaid.

But the younger Lapid saidhe will pursue his political planin the province even as an in-dependent candidate if Pinedawill not choose him as her run-ningmate.

“What’s important is that Igot the blessing of my father,”said Meynard. Sen. Lapid is aformer vice governor and unde-feated governor of Pampanga.He was recently re-elected assenator.

Vice Gov. Joseller “Yeng”

Sen. Lapid’s son eyesvice governor position

Meynard wants to tandemwith Pineda

SO, AGAIN we are in the forefront of a controversy this timecreated by some irresponsible media organizations whose onlydesire is to outdo each other in the ratings game.

It is sad to note that because of this network war the wholemedia community was put in a very bad light, exacerbated bythe fact that lives were lost due to the networks’ irresponsiblecoverage. These networks should be reminded that life shouldnot be sacrificed just to achieve top rating.

While we are overly zealous in protecting our rights to pressfreedom we must also prove that we are responsible enough tobe entrusted which such rights. Every right entails responsibili-ty.

We hope that government officials, especially the Congresswhich is now mulling on the idea of putting some restrictions onus, would realize that the media organizations who covered thehostage crisis which ended in a major debacle were not repre-sentative of the entire media community in the country and theirirresponsible coverage did not reflect the performance of thewhole community.

Soon, this event would be conveniently swept under the rug(after all, Imperial Manila Media giants control what’s news andwhat’s not), and who knows, these media networks would againbe in a race for awards for their coverage of that Dark Day at theQuirino Grandstand.

Guiao is on his third and lastterm and “this scenario is goodand tempting for aspirants,”said deng Pangilinan, chair-man of the Mabalacat WaterDistrict.

“Everyone has the right toserve in government so let’sgive them a chance. Anyway,the people will decide on theirfate and performance,” he said.

Talks among the membersof the Pampanga Mayor’sLeague (PML) disclosed thattwo of their members – boththree-term mayors – want torun for vice governor in 2013.

They are Mexico MayorTeddy Tumang and CandabaMayor Jerry Pelayo.

Asked about the plans ofLapid to run for vice governor,Tumang said “the more, themerrier.”

He has yet to categoricallydeclare his intention to seekthe vice governor post.

Pelayo, for his part, said“he is more focused in servingas mayor and PML president.”

He added that “retirementfrom politics is also a consid-eration.”

STATEMENT OF THE NATIONAL UNIONOF JOURNALISTS OF THE PHILIPPINES

On media(ir)responsibility

NI ERNIE B. ESCONDE

BALANGA City, Bataan – Dala-wang tricycle na nakaparada satabi ng bahay ng may-ari angdiumano’y sinunog sa hindi pamalamang dahilan madaling-araw noong Martes at nadamaypati bahagi ng bahay at ang sari-sari store na matatagpuan satabi ng kalsada sa barangayCentral dito.

Ayon kay FO1 GregorioFernandez, imbestigador ngBureau of Fire and Managementdito, patuloy pa ang kanilangpagsusuri upang matukoy angdahilan ng pagkasunog ng tricy-cle, bahagi ng bahay at ng sari-sari store.

2 trike na nakaparada sinunog“Pero pasok na sa intention-

al kaya may element na ito ngarson,” sabi pa ng fire investiga-tor.

Sinabi naman ni RicardoRodriguez, may-ari ng dalawangtricycle, na nagising siya ban-dang alas-3 ng madaling arawat naamoy niya na may nasus-unog at sumasagitsit kaya ginis-ing niya agad ang kanyang mgakasambahay.

Nagliliyab na umano ang dal-awang tricycle at bigla ang pag-laki ng apoy dahil sa karganggasolina sa tangke ng mga itokaya pati ang bahagi ng kanilangbahay at sari-sari store ay na-sunog din.

Tinantya ni Rodriguez na sa

dalawang tricycle pa lamang aymahigit P200,000 na ang sinirang apoy.

“Wala pa rito ang perang pi-nagbentahan sa tindahan at anghalaga ng mga panindang na-sunog,” sabi ng may-aring nan-lulumo.

“Wala akong alam na kagalitsapagka’t ang araw-araw na gi-nagawa ko lamang ay mula sabahay, trabaho at bahay uli atnakakatulong pa ako dahil pi-namamasada itong mga tricycleko,” sabi ni Rodriguez.

Sunog na sunog ang dala-wang tricycle samantalang maynasunog din sa bahagi ng ba-hay at sa mga paninda sa na-kasaradong sari-sari store.

SOME 35 registered nurses re-ceived on Tuesday their commu-nity health nurse certificatesunder the Outreach CommunityAdvocate Nurses Assigned inRural Service or OCA-NARS pro-gram.

This is in line with the city’sadvocacy of delivering basichealth care services to its con-stituents by producing compe-tent health personnel, particular-ly nurses with honed skills.

This is also part of the citygovernment eight point agendafor health dubbed “Beinte Kwa-tro Oras, sa Sakit Walang

Nurses receive health certificatesAtras”.

“Dahil sa ‘certificate’ na in-yong tinanggap, magiging mad-ali ang humanap ng trabaho parasa ating mga nurses outside thecity government,” said City May-or Oscar Rodriguez.

The certificate may be usedwhen applying in private hospi-tals for employment opportuni-ties abroad.

“Malaki ang pasasalamatnamin sa ating mayor [OscarRodriguez] para sa kaniyangOCANARS project. Bukod saemployment opportunity para saaming mga bagong nurses,

malaking tulong pa ang certifi-cate na aming tinanggap,” saidShiela Laquindanum, an OCA-NARS graduate.

Nurses under this programare given the opportunity to servethe Fernandino community forsix months as contractual nurseemployees.

Earlier, the city governmenthired additional 135 members ofOCANARS to be deployed in thecity’s 35 barangays to lead inthe local government’s healthprojects that include free medi-cal and dental mission and vac-cination, among others.

Mayor Rodriguez poses with Laquindanum, an OCANars, after awarding her communitynursing health certificate. Also in the picture are (L-R) Assistant Regional Director Dr.Benito Arca of the Center for Health Development 3, Councilor Jimmy Lazatin, and CityHealth Officer Dr. Eloisa Aquino. PHOTO COURTESY OF PAMPU/CSF

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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

RESILIENCY. COMPETITIVENESS. Twin values at the ClarkDevelopment Corp. under the leadership of President-CEO BenignoRicafort that ignited the export industry and spurred employmentin Central Luzon.

Resiliency. Competitiveness. Most manifest in the redefinitionof CDC goals, in the restructuring of productive areas for optimumcollaboration with the Clark stakeholders that translated to $891million in exports for only the first half of the year but alreadycomprising 33 percent of Central Luzon’s total export of $2.7 billionfor the whole of 2009.

For the record too, the first semester exports surpassed theyear-ago level of some $387 million or more than a 93 percentincrease this year, so Ricafort reported in his accomplishment paper“Expanding Development, Changing Lives.”

Hard data this time from Ricafort: “The increase in exports volumethis first half of the fiscal year was due to Nanox Philippines Inc.’sstrong showing with more than $493 million in the first semester oran increase of 59 percent from the same January to June 2009...

Ricafort’s forte

“Yokohama Tire Phils. Inc., on the other hand,also contributed strongly in the first semester asit placed second with a $106-million output –almost the same export volume last year...”

Bullish over these accomplishments, with themanufacturing sector showing all signs that theupward trend would continue, the CDC is confidentof reaching the targeted $1 billion worth of exportsin the second semester.

I hate to rain on Ricafort’s glorious parade ofaccomplishments, but there is something amisshere – at least from the perspective of my highschool economics lessons.

My dear teacher Mister Amurao impacted inmy young brain over 40 years ago that exports,alone, were never indicators of profitability. Thevolume of exports were always ranged againstthe volume of imports, with the resultant differenceserving as the determining factor of either gain orloss. Applied there is the basic cost-benefit ratioformula. As in: for the over P14 million Ricafortreportedly received last year, how much did he –directly and indirectly – contribute to the Clarkcoffers?

So the CDC exports for first semester 2010reached $891 million. So how much did theimports – materials for producing the exports, notto mention the labor cost – of the Clarkmanufacturing firms cost?

For all we know the imports cost $1 billion,thereby totally negating what CDC is braggingabout in exports.

So Ricafort talked of a record 58,023employment by the end of 2009, said to have

complemented the entire region’s 3,889,000partial count on employment for the year.

So how many of these workers were hired,rather than recycled, during his term.

So Ricafort talked of Clark’s P6.3 billion inactual investments as 19 percent of the region’sinvestment figure of P33.8 billion for 2009. So howmuch of these came from Subic?

So we indulge Ricafort’s fancy: “Clark’s biggercontributions are forthcoming as the globaleconomy recovers, as good projects in thepipeline are pursued, and the number of capability-enhancing measures instituted by CDC this yearbrings in positive results...

“Ultimately, it is CDC’s performance as adevelopment corporation that will determine theFreeport’s success. It is imperative that thedevelopment in Clark continue to elevate the livesof the thousands of people gainfully employed inthe zone, along with their families.”

So it is imperative too that Ricafort stayed putas CDC president-CEO?

“A resurgent Clark Freeport Zone is merely thestart. Clark proposes to be the catalyst forregional, if not national, economic development.Hence, CDC shall continue with its paralleldevelopment program which aims to uplift thestandards of business in the area.”

Yeah, so Ricafort shall continue with hisparallel development program which aims touplift further the P14-million standard of pay in2009?

Tooting one’s horn, a fortissimo. A greattrumpeter we have at the Clark Freeport.

Public trust“OUR QUARRY is anchored on trust and we want tomake sure that all our workers remain trustworthy andperform their functions and duties diligently.”

So spake Filologo Rodriguez, operations chief ofthe provincial quarry task group Kapampangan ALulugud at Matapat (Kalam), at a recent briefing forits 230 checkers and supervisors.

“Mataas ang quarry collection dahil sa matapatninyong trabaho kaya sana huwag ninyong sirainang tiwalang ito,” Rodriquez enjoined his peers.

In the first month of Gov. Lilia “Nanay Baby” Pinedaat the helm of the provincial government, quarrycollections amounted to P23.505 million,approximating that of the Panlilio administration.

The achievement was readily attributed to the totalsupport of the governor, the full cooperation ofmunicipal mayors, and the honesty, dedication andcommitment of the quarrymen of Kalam.

Trust and confidence bestowed by the politicalleadership returned by the quarrymen with the signingof individual work commitments, the violations of anyof its provisions being ground for dismissal.

Operational procedures and ethical standards thatcould be easily read as some Riot Act for erringquarrymen provide that while on official duty, thequarry frontline workers are required to wear theprescribed uniform and identification card, maintainorderliness and cleanliness of their respectivecheckpoint and premises, monitor the transport ofgravel, sand and lahar materials from quarry areas,check and verify the validity of necessary permits.

Allowing a hauling truck to pass without tearingoff the corresponding ticket is a “mortal sin” for thequarry checker and shall be a cause for dismissalfrom work.

Accepting free meals or any consideration of suchkind from anyone is to be avoided at all cost as thiswould lead to corrupt practices.

Any illegal quarry-related activities monitoredneed to be immediately reported to the shift and areasupervisors.

Checkers are tasked to check the authenticity andvalidity of original receipts and monitoring tickets,confiscate and seize illegally-sourced sand and laharmaterials as well as report violators.

A monthly assessment of the performance of thequarrymen covering the individual delivery of dutiesand responsibilities, as well as behavioral indicators,will be conducted.

Kalam is living up to its name – grace inCapampangan. And the people could not be anyhappier.

Napag-uusapanlangNi Felix M. Garcia

Di lang‘Pambansang Wika’

KAUGNAY PO ng ating Buwan ng WikaAy minarapat ng aba n’yong Makata,Ang pamuling sumulat ng isang tulaNa nauukol sa Pambansang Salita

Na marapat nating isisip tuwinaBilang siyang tunay nating lingua francaDito sa ‘ting bansa upang ang balanaNa may katutubong salitang kanila

Ay madali silang magkaunawaanSa iisang Sabing nai-intindihanNg lahat, maging ng nasa kabundukanO taga-lungsod at ibang lalawigan

Sa dahilang di lang limampung salitaAng ating gamit sa ating Inang Bansa,Gaya na nga lamang po riyan halimbawaNg Pangasinense at nitong Bisaya

Na posibleng hindi puedeng magkausapKundi sa iisang Sabi magka-usap;Kaya’t ang pambansang wika’y binalangkasNg gobyerno bunsod ng ganyang hinagap

Na mapadali ang anumang transaksyonNitong bawat isang hindi magka-rehiyonSa pamamagitan ng akda ni Quezon,Na tayo ay nararapat magkaroon

Ng iisang wika, at kung saan nga poSa sabing Tagalog sila nagkasundo;Kung saan ito ang siyang ituturoSa batang iskwela sa lahat ng dako.

Na nang lumaon ay naging PilipinoAng katawagan sa lingua francang ito,Bunsod na rin ng minsa’y pabago-bagoAng pina-iiral ng ating gobyerno.

At kung saan nitong si Sec Jesli LapusAng siyang ika nga ay naging DepEd boss,Sa ngayon di na lang salitang TagalogAng dapat ituro sa lahat ng sulok

Kundi pati na rin kinagisnang wikaNg sinuman, lalo’t nitong mga bataNa siyang unang dapat na makaunawaSa katutubo niyang minanang salita.

Bago pumalaot sa dako pa roonSa paghahangad ng tamang edukasyon,Pagkat darating din naman ang panahonNa matututo yan sa alin mang rehiyon.

Kaya kaugnay n’yan, bilang KapampanganAng sariling ating Sabing kinagisnanAy patuloy na pinangangalagaanSa ating probinsya sa kasalukuyan.

Kung saan ang ating World Class City Mayor,Na siyang Presidente rin ng Liga ngayonNg mga City Mayors sa buong rehiyonItong nangunguna r’yan sa preserbasyon

Ng ating sariling wika sa Pampanga,Liban sa ilang tanyag na Pamantasan pa;Gaya ng HAU, AUF at sakaAng U.P. sa Clark at marami pang iba.

At kung saan upang manatiling buhaySa Pampanga ang salitang kinagisnan,Si Mayor Oca ang kauna-unahangNagbukas dito ng mga paligsahan

(May karugtong)

RegardingHenry

Henrylito D. Tacio

WHEN I was still in high school, our English teacher assigned usto collect sayings, axioms and maxims, which should besubmitted in a book form before the year ended. That was how Istarted my hobby of gathering quotable quotes and inspiringstatements.

One adage that I could not forget had only four words: “Betterlate than never.” When I told my teacher about it, she correctedme by adding four more words: “It’s better never late.”

That is why when my editors give me an assignment, I usuallysubmit it two to three days in advance. However, there was onetime I failed to deliver what my boss wanted me. But it was notmy fault, though. When I asked him when he needed thedocuments, he replied, “Yesterday.” Well, he forgot to give methe letter two days before the deadline.

Now talking about traveling, one of the horrible things thatshould not happen to you is going to the airport late. “At onetime, I missed my plane,” a friend told me, “because I wasn’t ableto wake up early.” The night before he was to fly to Europe, heattended a birthday party and went home very late. The worstthing occurred. “It won’t happen to me again,” he promised.“Never!”

It’s better never late

If you arrive late at the airport, there are severalconsequences you will have to undergo. The firstthing is you will be denied in embarking yourplane (even if you are late for only 30 minutesand the plane is still there!). Your next option:take the next plane out – either that same dayor the following day and depending upon theavailability of seat. Also, you have to add morecash to what you have previously paid – that’sthe price of being late!

But the worst thing is when you are travelingthat same day and has a connecting flight in thenext destination. Welcome to your worstnightmare; stress is to tame to use. You willencounter all the hassles of rebooking your flightschedule, begging and distraught, staying lateat the airport (hoping you can catch anotherplane), and spending a day or two in a hotel. Ifthere’s someone who will pick you at the finaldestination, hope and pray that he will still bethere when you arrive late or the next day.

Now, what if your plane is late? There areseveral things that will happen as well.Generally, the company will book you for anotherflight. When my plane was cancelled, NorthwestAirlines transferred me to Canada Airlines for mytrip to Montreal.

If the plane is very late and the delay is toomuch to bear, some airlines offer their customershot meals and ticket discounts (should you wantto fly again with the same airline in the future).Those were things that Northwest Airlinesprovided me when our plane got stranded in NaritaInternational Airport in Japan for several hours.They also gave me a phone ticket which I coulduse to call once I was at the airport of mydestination in the United States.

If it’s already late at night and there’s no planeavailable, the company will bring you to a hotelnearby where you can have your dinner andsleep. It happened to me when our plane boundfrom Manila to Davao was cancelled. Thefollowing day, when we were flying, I noticed theguy whom I talked with the other night wasnowhere. I had two possible theories: he mayhave slept well in his hotel room and forgot towake up early (thus he missed the plane) or hefinally cancelled his trip.

There are several stories about being latewhen traveling. However, being late doesn’talways mean bad. Look at the brighter side. Letme share you a story that happened to me whenI was flying from Columbus, Ohio to Livingston,Montana to visit my sister and her family. It waswinter time and I had to make a stopover at theairport in Saint Paul/Minneapolis. When we wereabout to land, the captain told us that we had towait flying up the air for sometime because thelanding area had to be cleaned since it was ladenwith snow.

As there was no direct flight from Saint Paul/Minneapolis to Livingston, Montana, I had to fly

to Seattle, Washington then to Bozeman,Montana, where my sister was waiting. Whenwe were about to land in Seattle, I noticed that Ihad only thirty minutes left to find my plane. Oncewe had touched down, I squeezed myself out ofthe plane and immediately ran to the waiting area.But when I got there, the attendant told me thatmy plane was transferred to another building.“Go south, ride an escalator down, and wait fora train,” she instructed me. “Ride on that trainand once it opens again, go out. That’s thebuilding where you can find your plane.”

I did what she instructed me. Alone in thetrain, I looked my watch. The remaining timewas only five minutes. “Will the plane wait forme?” I wondered. When the train opened, I wentout right away and took the escalator going up.Then, I tried to find the waiting area for my plane.When I found it, I saw no people making a queue.The attendant was already cleaning the desk.

I was totally appalled. “I missed my plane,” Ithought. But even then, I still managed to askthe attendant. “Is this the waiting area boundfor Bozeman?” I inquired. The attendant smiledand answered, “Yes, Sir.” Then, she went on, “Iam very much sorry, Sir, but…” and before I cansay anything, “the plane is delayed for about 45minutes due to snow storm.”

Now, I was smiling. “That’s alright,” I said.She must be wondering why I was smiling whenother passengers were complaining. If only sheknew the reason!

Talking about delay, allow me to share thisanecdote which appeared in Reader’s Digest’s“Laughter, The Best Medicine”:

Three turtles, Joe, Steve, and Poncho, decideto go on a picnic. Joe packs the picnic basketwith bottled drinks and sandwiches. It takesthem ten days to reach the picnic site, which isone kilometer away. When they arrive, all threeare tired and hungry. Joe empties the basketand realizes that he didn’t pack a bottle opener.

The three tried to talk with each as to whoshould get the bottle opener. After it’s finallyagreed that Joe and Steve won’t start eating untilhis return, Poncho sets off down the road toretrieve the opener.

Twenty days pass with no sigh of Poncho.Joe and Steve are starving – but a promise is apromise. After waiting for four more days andstill no sign of Poncho, Steve gets restless. “Ineed food!,” he cries out.

“No,” Joe replies. “We promised.” Five moredays pass. Joe reasons that Poncho probablystopped to eat along the way, so they each graba sandwich from the basket and start munchingaway.

Jus then, Poncho pops out from behind arock. “I know it, I know it,” he yells. “Becauseof what you have done, I’m not going!”

For comments, write me at henrytacio@gmail.com

THE MOST powerful volcaniceruption in recorded history oc-curs on Krakatau (also calledKrakatoa), a small, uninhabitedvolcanic island located west ofSumatra in Indonesia, on thisday in 1883. Heard 3,000 milesaway, the explosions threw fivecubic miles of earth 50 miles intothe air, created 120-foot tsuna-mis and killed 36,000 people.

Krakatau exhibited its firststirrings in more than 200 yearson May 20, 1883. A Germanwarship passing by reported aseven-mile high cloud of ash anddust over Krakatau. For the nexttwo months, similar explosionswould be witnessed by commer-cial liners and natives on near-by Java and Sumatra. With littleto no idea of the impending ca-tastrophe, the local inhabitantsgreeted the volcanic activity withfestive excitement.

On August 26 and August27, excitement turned to horroras Krakatau literally blew itselfapart, setting off a chain of nat-ural disasters that would be feltaround the world for years tocome. An enormous blast on theafternoon of August 26 de-stroyed the northern two-thirdsof the island; as it plunged intothe Sunda Strait, between theJava Sea and Indian Ocean, thegushing mountain generated aseries of pyroclastic flows (fast-moving fluid bodies of moltengas, ash and rock) and mon-strous tsunamis that swept overnearby coastlines. Four moreeruptions beginning at 5:30 a.m.the following day proved cata-clysmic. The explosions couldbe heard as far as 3,000 milesaway, and ash was propelled toa height of 50 miles. Fine dustfrom the explosion drifted around

the earth, causing spectacularsunsets and forming an atmo-spheric veil that lowered temper-atures worldwide by several de-grees.

Of the estimated 36,000deaths resulting from the erup-tion, at least 31,000 were causedby the tsunamis created whenmuch of the island fell into thewater. The greatest of thesewaves measured 120 feet high,and washed over nearby islands,stripping away vegetation andcarrying people out to sea. An-other 4,500 people were scorchedto death from the pyroclasticflows that rolled over the sea,stretching as far as 40 miles,according to some sources.

In addition to Krakatau,which is still active, Indonesiahas another 130 active volca-noes, the most of any countryin the world.

Krakatau explodesTODAY IN HISTORY

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TheGossip-millerby Cesar Pambid

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINESMUNICIPAL CIVIL REGISTRY OFFICE

PROVINCE OF PAMPANGAMUNICIPALITY OF MEXICO

NOTICE FOR PUBLICATIONIn compliance with Section 5 of R.A. No. 9048, a notice is hereby served

to the public that PAZ GULAPA OCAMPO has filed with this Office apetition for CHANGE OF FIRST NAME from PAZ to MA. PAZ in theCertificate of Live Birth of PAZ GULAPA OCAMPO who was born onDecember 14, 1958 at Parian, Mexico, Pampanga and whose parentsare CLARITA GULAPA and GREGORIO OCAMPO.

Any person adversely affected by said petition may file his writtenopposition with this Office.

(SGD) ROSANA AGUAS City Civil Registrar

Punto! Central Luzon: August 27 & September 3, 2010

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINESREGIONAL TRIAL COURTTHIRD JUDICIAL REGION

OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF COURTANGELES CITY

RURAL BANK OF PORAC (PAMP.) INC.,represented by its President and GeneralManager Lourdes Connie C. Tayag

Mortgagee,EXTRA JUDICIAL FORECLOSURE

-versus- OF REAL ESTATE MORTGAGEUNDER ACT NO. 3135, AS AMENDED

SPS. MEDARDO AND NENITACAMERINO, F.C. Case No. 2010-618

Mortgagors.x——————————————————————————x

NOTICE OF SHERIFF’S SALEUpon extra-judicial petition for sale under Act 3135, as amended

filed by the Mortgagee, RURAL BANK OF PORAC (PAMP.) INC.against the Mortgagors, SPS. MEDARDO AND NENITA CAMERINOwith residence and postal address at 5954 Venue St., Doña AniciaSubd., Dau, Mabalacat, Pampanga in order to satisfy the outstandingmortgage debts which as of February 5, 2010 amounts to NINEHUNDRED SEVENTY THREE THOUSAND NINE HUNDRED FIVEPESOS AND FIFTEEN CENTAVOS only (Php 973,905.15), PhilippineCurrency, including unpaid interest and penalty but excluding theattorney’s fees, the expenses of the foreclosure and other chargesallowed by law, the undersigned Sheriff IV hereby gives notice andannounces that on September 14, 2010 at 10:00 o’clock in themorning, at the Municipal Circuit Trial Court, Mabalacat andMagalang, Pampanga located at 2nd Floor Marina Arcade Bldg.,Dau, Mabalacat, Pampanga will sell at public auction for CASH and inPhilippine Currency, the following parcel of land with all the improvementsexisting thereon, to wit:

TCT NO. 630640-RA parcel of land (Lot 1-F, of the subd., plan, Psd-03-

107231, being a portion of lot 1, Pcs-03-007704, L.R.C. Rec.No.), situated in the Bo.of Dau, Mun. of Mabt., Prov. of Pamp.Bounded on the SW., along line 1-2 by lot1-I (road), on theNW., along line 2-3 by lot 1-G, both of the subd. plan, on theNE., along line 3-4 by lot 4, along line 4-5 by lot 3, both of Pcs-03-007704, and on the SE., along line 5-1 by lot 1-E, by thesubd. plan x x x containing an area of TWO HUNDREDTWELVE (212) SQUARE METERS, more or less. x x x

Prospective buyers/bidders may investigate for themselves theabove-mentioned parcel/s of land for their information and protection.

In the event the public auction should not take place on the saiddate, it shall be held on September 21, 2010 at the same time andplace without further notice.

Angeles City, August 10, 2010.

JOVENCIO A. HIZON Sheriff IV

Copy Furnished:MS. LOURDES CONNIE C. TAYAGPresident and General Manager,Rural Bank of Porac (Pamp.), Inc.Sto. Rosario St., Angeles City

SPS. MEDARDO AND NENITA CAMERINO5954 Venue St., Doña Anicia Subd.,Dau, Mabalacat, Pampanga

Punto! Central Luzon: August 20, 27 & September 3, 2010

NOTICE OF EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENTNotice is hereby given that the heirs of REMEDIOS L. PANLILIO

who died on July 5, 1980; CRISTINO S. LAZATIN who died on February17, 1991; CONSUELO L. MADRIGAL who died on September 17, 1994;ESTER S. LAZATIN who died on July 17, 1999; JESUS S. LAZATINwho died on February 17, 2003; ANITA S. LAZATIN who died onSeptember 9, 2004; and CORAZON L. PECSON who died on April 5,2005, that all said deceased died intestate, executed an ExtrajudicialSettlement of their estate more particularly described as parcels of landsituated in Sto. Domingo, Mexico, Pampanga and Duquit, Mabalacat,Pampanga more particularly described as follows:

TCT NO. LOT NO. AREA (SQ.M.)680818-R 7 452680819-R 8 737680820-R 9 585680834-R 1011-A-2-B-6-I 541696676-R 6-B 313700279-R 25 985696678-R 6-D(ROW) 56696680-R 6-F 660696669-R 1 1236696670-R 2 431696671-R 3 381696673-R 5 155696674-R 6 560696684-R 1011-A-2-B-6-N-1 1336696685-R 1011-A-2-B-6-N-2 591700256-R 2 3077002567-R 3 283700258-R 4 55700258-R 5 636700260-R 6 401700261-R 7 476700262-R 8 302700263-R 9 377700264-4 10 127700265-R 11 148700266-R 12 957700267-R 13 650700269-R 15 298700270-R 16 204700271-R 17 63700727-R 18 42700723-R 19 380700724-R 20 129700275-R 21 42700276-R 22 1292700278-R 24 290700279-R 25 985700280-R 26 605700282-R 28 318700283-R 29 235700286-R 30 193700289-R 33 34700290-R 34 112700291-R 35 118700292-R 36 228700293-R 37 174700294-R 38 246700295-R 39 43700296-R 40 233700297-R 41 339700298-R 42 127700299-R 43 44700300-R 44 68700301-R 45 46700302-R 46 67700303-R 47 136700304-R 48 96700305-R 49 471700306-R 50 660700307-R 51 152700308-R 52 141700309-R 53 284700310-R 54 102700311-R 55 148700284-R 56 695700285-R 57 486

Punto! Central Luzon: August 20, 27 & September 3, 2010

NADALE NG food poisoning si Marian Rivera kamakailan lang. Si Dingdong Dante sang nagkuwentong ang pancit na kinain ni Marianang nakasira sa tiyan nito.

Sa pahayag naman ni Marian, ganioto raw ang nangyari.“Nagpunta kami ng hospital para talagang mabigyan ako ng tamang gamot. ‘Saka ma-check up lahat. Sobrang sumama talaga ang

pakiramdam ko. ‘Tapos yun nga, nagsuka ako. Sobrang dami ko yatang nakain. Although, gusto nila akong kuhanan ng mga tests paramakasigurado. E, pinapakiramdaman ko, nagiging okay naman ang pakiramdam ko.”

Tungkol kay Dingdong na nagsugod sa kanya sa hospital, ngiti ni Marian, “Oo, parang tatay ko nga. Kasi, siya talaga yung nagwo-worry, siya yung nagdala sa akin sa hospital, siya yung nakikipag-usap. Noong ginagamot ako, nandoon siya sa tabi ko.

“Kasi kapag may nararamdaman ako, hindi ko na kayang magsalita. Ibig sabihin no’n, hindi ko na kaya. Sobrang istrikto ng doctorko na yun, na lugaw lang ang puwede kong kainin,” natatawa pa niyang sabi. “Pero ngayon, kumakain ako ng rice na walang mantikalang.”

Wala pa ba silang balak pakasal ni Dingdong? “Kahit paulit-ulit nating sagutin ‘yan... well, para sa akin, hindi intriga ‘yan. Basta ang importante, love namin ni Dong ang isa’t isa.

Yun ang pinakaimportante. Yun ang pinanghahawakan kong talaga.”May pinagseselosan daw ngayon si Marian na kasama nila ni Dingdong sa trabaho?“May kategorya ‘ko bago ‘ko magselos at wala pang nakakapuno sa akin at nakaka-level sa category. At saka, walang selos... Ano

ba naman, lahat na nga ginagawa sa akin ni Dong, magseselos pa ‘ko, di ba?“Sobra-sobra na ang ginagawa sa akin ni Dong at alam ng lahat kung gaano kami katibay ni Dong at kung gaano namin kamahal ang

isa’t isa. Hindi naman sa isang iglap lang mawawala yun, hindi. Walang sinuman ang makakatinag sa aming dalawa.”

‘Walang makaaagaw sa akinkay Dingdong!’ –MARIAN

‘I’ll go wherever Robin takes me!’ –MARIELNAGPAHAYAG NG kanyang masidhing damdamin si Mariel Rodriguez tungkol sa kanilang pag-ibig ni RobinPadilla.

Bagama’t inamin naman ni Mariel na isang malaking risk ang kanyang ginawang pag-iwan sa trabaho atpagbabakasyon kasama si Robin, hindi raw niya pinagsisisihan ang kanyang desisyon.

“I’m taking a risk. It is a risk kasi hindi ko alam kung ano pa ba ang mababalikan ko. Sana makabalik pa rinako sa ginagawa ko. I’m really happy. I do not regret the decision I made. Finally, I’m going to be able to do whatI want. Finally, I want something for myself,” pahayag ni Mariel.

Sa tono ng TV host ay parang magpapakasal na siya kaya naman isa rin ito sa naitanong sa kanya niBianca.

Ilang sandaling hindi nakasagot si Mariel habang panay ang sabi ng “teka” na tila nag-aapuhap ng sasabihin. Pagkatapos mag-isip ng ilang minuto, aniya, “Kung ano ang gusto nilang isipin. At this point, parang I’ll justgo where life takes me. Gusto kong mag-joke pero parang hindi appropriate. Gusto kong sabihin na bahala na siBatman o bahala na si Robin,” she said laughing.

“We’ll see pagbalik ko. Pagbalik ko, tsikahin ko kayo ulit. You know, Robin said, kapag kami ang nagpa-kasal, kung magpapakasal kami, hindi namin ito isisikreto. In fact, sasabihin namin,” dug-tong pa niya.

Nang tanungin ni Bianca kung hindi ba siya nang-hihinayang sa showbiz career niyang mawawala kungsakali, sagot ng TV host, “but I also have my personal dreams as Mariel. Kasi feeling ko, at the end of the day,‘yon din naman ‘yon, e. Para saan ba ‘yong pagiging ca-reer woman na ginagawa natin? Para ma-attain natin‘yun as a person natin na dream, ’di ba? E, kung pu-wede ko naman i-try na gawin ‘yung gusto ko, hindinaman siguro masa-ma ‘yun. Baka na-man puwede nama-ng maging masaya.”

Sa nasabingpanayam ay kinum-pirma niyang na-rara-nasan niya rin ngayonang prinsesa treatmentmula kay Robin Padilla.Dito talaga kasi noted angaction star – sa pagtratongprinsesa sa kanyang mganaka-karelasyon.

“Simple, little things. Like,I thought kasi hindi na uso‘yung opening the car. He’d rath-er die than let me open my door,”kuwento niya.

Sa nasabing interview pa rin ayhindi masabi ni Mariel kung kailanang balik nila sa ’Pinas.

Venus Raj, kulelat satop 5 sa Miss U!

“IN MY 22 years of existence, there is nothingmajor, major problem that I have done in my life.Because I am very confident with my family andthe love they are giving to me. So thank you somuch”

Ito po yung sagot ni Venus Raj sa final questionsa kanya nang piliin na yung mga places sa natur-ang contest. Many opine na may kakulangan yungsagot kung kaya naging panlima lang siya finally.Bu this writer believes, perfect naman yung si-nagot niya. Kung sasabihing bobo si Venus da-hil sa sagot niya, aba, wala nang marunongsa mundo. Sinabi lang niya ng totoo, yunnaman talaga.

Tanggapin na kasi nating laking su-werte na yung nasama siya sa top 15at finally sa top five, so bonus na tala-ga yung nanalo siyang panlima sakanilang lahat.

What do we expect e talaga na-mang kung gandang universe, ku-lang talaga tayo. Kaya please lang,magtigil na sa panlalalit yung ibariyan kay Venus Raj, malakingkarangalan na yan ng ating ban-sa.

Kasi naman, daming mga in-ternet blogs na panay ang puri atnagsabing isa siya sa typ bet on-line. Ayan tuloy, disgusted sila kayVenus dahil kulelat siya sa lima.

Wednesday said it is bet-ter to prune the trees in-stead of cutting them out-right.

In the same manifes-to, the group also askedmayors and barangaycaptains to regulate poul-tries and piggeries (here,in Porac town and in theCity of San Fernando)that emit bad odor report-edly causing various res-piratory and skin diseas-es to local folk.

“Let us work hand inhand to protect the envi-

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Strictly implement environmental lawsronment. We cannot letthe government do italone. The Green YouthBrigade is working onbroad themes and specif-ic issues that promote ahealthy environment andits sustainable develop-ment. We are not doingthis for us. We are doingthis for the next genera-tions,” said former coun-cilor Louie Reyes whoheads the Green YouthBrigade.

The group is also work-ing to help push for thecleaning of river beds andcreeks especially the Sa-

pang Balen Creek and theBalibago Creek “from theindiscriminate throwing ofsolid wastes.”

Officials of the GreenYouth Brigade and othergroups also vowed to fileappropriate chargesagainst individuals and in-stitutions that violate envi-ronmental laws.

It earlier lauded the ef-forts of Bishop Ambo Dav-id in pushing for the SaveSapang Balen CreekMovement. It also laudedSM malls in initiating“green initiatives” like en-couraging people to use

green bags instead of non-biodegradable plasticbags.

PLANT,SAVE TREESEnvironmentalist Cecil

Yumul of the Save theTrees Coalition is also urg-ing colleagues and thepublic to “go back to thebasics.”

Yumul, one of the re-source speakers duringthe forum, stressed theimportance of backyardfarming and gardening.

She said it is better toplant calamansi or other

fruit bearing trees than buythem.

Yumul also noted thatSingaporeans who arenow in the country are in-terested to know how lo-cal folk saved the treesalong MacArthur High-waywith the help of visual art-ists.

Hermie Pineda, one ofthe artists who paintedhuman figures on thetrunks of more than 1,200trees, said he even spenthis own money to buypaint used for “such a no-ble cause.”

It could be recalled thatthe Department of Environ-ment and Natural Re-sources allowed the De-partment of Public Worksand Highways to cut thou-sands of trees along theMacArthur Highway aspart of the expansion ofmajor roads in the prov-ince.

“Killing a tree is like

killing the whole commu-nity,” Yumul said.

Another artist, Jun Fa-bian, conceptualizedGreen Youth Brigade’slogo and vowed to contin-uously help in other advo-cacies focused on protect-ing and saving the environ-ment.

MEDICINEMeanwhile, some stu-

dents of the Angeles CityNational Trade School alsojoined as members of theGreen Youth Brigade.They said that aside frombeing chosen as “greensoldiers,” they also con-sider themselves as “med-icines” for Mother Earth.

“On the global scale,there is a growing concernon the issue of globalwarming and climatechange. People are be-coming aware of the im-portance of the environ-ment,” Reyes said.

pressway.“We will file charges

against Holcim Cementanytime soon becauseof their misdeclaration oftheir real property tax-es,” said Belinda Barto-lome, the head of thePTO.

Based on records ob-tained by Punto, HolcimCement owes the provin-cial government morethan P765-million on backtaxes.

Bartolome said thatthe back taxes stemmedfrom Holcim’s acquisitionof new machineries wayback in 1998.

However, she said thatthe newly acquired ma-chine was not included inthe tax declaration of Hol-cim which is said to beproducing at least150,000 bags of cementeveryday from their plantin barangay Matictic,Norzagaray.

Bartolema noted thatthey based their assess-ment on Holcim’s finan-cial statement and theyhave already given thecompany a Notice of As-sessment which lapsedon August 17.

For their part, officialsof Holcim who made a pre-

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Bulacan to file charges vs. Holcimsentation last Monday be-fore the PTO and the Mu-nicipal Administrator ofNorzagaray town claimedthat they will file a peti-tion against the back tax-es being collected fromthem.

One of them even saidthat they have alreadypaid the said taxes.

At present, Holcim isonly paying about P43-million in real property taxto the municipal govern-ment of Norzagaray.

For his part, Gov. Wil-ly Alvarado said that it isthe right of Holcim to con-test the tax collection.

He said that Holcimcan always file a proteston the Board of Local As-sessment Appeal (BLAA).

Aside from Holcim, theprovincial government isalso running after Napocorand MWSI which bothmaintains offices inNorzagaray town, and theoperator of the NLEX inGuiguinto town.

Records showed thatNapocor has arrears tothe provincial govern-ment amounting to overP170-million; MWSI haveP580-million and NLEXoperator with only P4.3-million.

Earlier, Mayor Feli-ciano Legazpi of Norzaga-

ray town disclosed thatthey are demanding aboutP1-billion in back taxesfrom giant cement com-panies in their town.

“We are currently innegotiation mode and wehope to collect more thanP800-million in real prop-erty taxes,” Legazpisaid.

Legazpi was referringto officials of Holcim, La-farge and Republic Ce-ment factories based inthis town which is rich insilica, a major componentof cement production.

He said that the mu-nicipal government is en-titled to collect unpaidRPT in the last 10 years.

“Since 1998, theymade renovations in theirplants and based on ourassessment, we can stillcollect the unpaid taxes,”the mayor said.

However, Holcim Ce-ment submitted a paperto the municipal govern-ment declaring that theyonly have about P30-mil-lion in unpaid taxes.

“Based on their com-putation, they will onlypay P30-million for unpaidRPT in the last 10 years,but our computations aredifferent,” Legazpi said.

He said improvementsmade by the company in

their factories in the last10 years will have equiva-lent taxes.

In this regard, Legaz-pi said that if they areable to collect unpaid tax-es from the giant cementfactories, they will put themoney in education,health and infrastructureprograms of the govern-ment.

“Our priority is educa-tion and we have a com-munity college operatingsince 2007 where we haveover 1,700 full and partialscholars,” Legazpi saidnoting that taxes collect-ed can be used for expan-sion of the NorzagarayCommunity College.

Based on the LocalGovernment Code (LGC),host province is entitled to35 percent of collectedRPT of the municipal gov-ernment which in turn willget 40 percent whilebarangays are entitled to25 percent of collectedwithin its jurisdiction.

The LGC also statesthat one percent of col-lected RPT will go to theSpecial Education Fund(SEF), of which, 50 per-cent will go to the provin-cial school board, and theother 50 percent will gothe municipal or localschool board (LSB).

Bihis said he alreadyinitiated the project in amall in Bulacan which, iffound compliant, would bedeclared a “Labor Stan-dard Compliant Zone” andbe awarded plaques andstickers for public display.The DOLE, he said, willalso come out with an of-ficial list of such zones.

Bihis said the Region-al Tripartite Wage andProductivity Board (RTW-PB) in his region alreadyfinished consultationswith the management sec-tor which, he noted,seemed “open” to grant-ing new increases in min-imum wage. He said, how-ever, that he was not privyto how much wage in-crease the managementsector was wil l ing togrant.

The move for wage in-crease in Central Luzonwas initiated by a petitionfiled by a member of re-gional Trade Union Coun-cil of the Phil ippines

FROM PAGE 1

Public hearing set on planned wage hike..(TUCP) seeking a P75minimum wage increasein the region.

“That’s what theTUCP in the region wants,although we know the Ki-lusang Mayo Uno (KMU)has stuck to its P125wage increase demand,”Bihis said.

He said that the pub-lic hearings, to be attend-ed by both labor and man-agement sectors from allprovinces of Central Lu-zon, have been slated inOlongapo City and Bula-can on Monday and Tues-day next week.

“All the data arrived atduring consultation meet-ings and public hearingswill be tackled during thefinal deliberations in thepresence of the stake-holders, and representa-tives from our department,the DTI (Department ofTrade and Industry) andNEDA (National Econom-ic Development Authori-ty),” he noted.

Bihis noted that the la-bor sector in Central Lu-

zon tend to be sympathet-ic to the difficulties affect-ing the management sec-tor amid global economiccrunch and the effects ofsevere weather distur-bances last year amid an8.5 percent unemploy-ment rate in the region.

The last wage order inCentral Luzon was datedJune 16, 2008. Thepresent wage rates in theregion’s provinces, ex-cept Aurora, is P302 fornon-agricultural workersof firms with assets worthP30 mil l ion or more,P294.50 for workers forfirms with less assetsand P272 for agriculturalplantation workers andP256 for non-plantationworkers.

In hospitals with 20 ormore beds, the minimumwage is P293, while thosein hospitals with lessbeds get P278. Retail out-lets with 16 or more work-ers are supposed to givea minimum pay of P291while those with lessworkers pay them P277.

Cottage industry workersget a minimum of P256.

In Aurora, which is re-garded as most rural inthe region, the pay forworkers is P251 in thenon-agriculture sectorand in agriculture, P236for plantation workersand P216 for non-planta-tion workers, while retailindustry workers getP173. Those in the cot-tage industry get a payof P224.

Bihis said he expect-ed some employers af-fected by the economiccrunch would apply forexemptions in case anoth-er minimum wage is ap-proved in Central Luzon.He noted that amongthose significantly ad-versely affected are sec-tors in garments, tourism,transport and power gen-eration.

“I suppose that thosein retail and service em-ploying less than 10workers can be consid-ered from exemptions,”he added.

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FestiveFlairBy Ning V. Cordero

ON A formal dinner table, whichof the two stays on the right handside… salt or pepper shaker?What is the most expensive ho-tel room in the world that costs $65, 000 per night? Have you seenan ordinary bath towel pleatedinto a “lover-like- kissing swan”?What are the effective tools to bea successful hotelier? I guessyou were engrossed with all thesequestions and probably yearningfor the answers.

Not until the Northern Philip-pines Center for Hospitality andTourism, Inc. (NP-CHAT) stagedthe second Hospitality and Tour-ism Conference themed as, “Modernized Global Trends forBetter Opportunities “ at HotelStotsenberg Clark, Pampangalast August 23-24. Attended byalmost 700 enthusiastic Hospi-tality and Tourism students andfaculty all over the Philippines

Local hospitality and tourism go globalincluding delegates from GlobalKnowledge Academy Tarlac,Fernandez College of Arts &Technology Bulacan, CaviteState University, Collegio de Let-ran Manila, University of Visaya,STI, Systems Plus, DominicanCollege and other schools. Thetwo day conference meant toprovide the students unique ed-ucational tour, hotel familiarity,camaraderie and seminars thatwould impart new trends and dif-ferent career opportunities.

The event was formallyopened by an inspiring messagefrom Yolanda Olana TESDA Re-gion III Director and followed bydifferent seminars from top notchspeakers that included LawrenceTan of LKY Resorts and Hotels,recognized as the youngest VicePresident in the Philippines, gavean interesting discussion on theCareer Opportunity of the Hospi-

tality Industry in the 21st Centu-ry, Dra. Gloria Baken Wong-Siyof AAHHRMEI and Dean of Trini-ty University of Asia tackled onthe global trends and said “to becompetitive and successful youdon’t only need proper educationand skills but most importantlyyou need to have the right atti-tude”, Chef Josephine Mendozaowner of Tollhouse and Chef Ja-son Cruz whipped on GourmetFood Styling and Presentationand Modern Cake Decoration,Neofito Santos Hotel and Res-taurant Consultant in CaliforniaU.S.A. inspired the audience withEvent Management in 21st Cen-tury Goldmine, creative presen-tation on Cruise Managementwith Hands On Bed Making andTowel Folding lead by Mark Tan-doc Assistant Executive House-keeper Costa International, andlastly Terry Nacino-Velasco TES-

DA Assessor shared the BasicComputer Reservation System(CRS) particularly on the Aba-cus Whiz.

According to the Chairmanof NP-CHAT, John Chan, “thisconference is a communal andselfless efforts of differentschools and universities thatfocus on every HRM or Tour-ism student needs, at the endof the conference each studentis expected to learn the differ-ent tools that would prepare orguide her/his future career, up-grade and enlighten in the glo-bal spectrum, and also we willgive each student certificate ofcompletion of the five seminars.There are still lots of things toexplore and share to studentsand next year conference weare planning to pattern the pro-gram with the development ofairport and seaport”

Youngest VP Lawrence Tan receives certificate of appreciation fromNP-CHAT Romulo Mendoza and John Chan

(CLOCKWISE FROM TOP) TESDA Dir.Yolanda Olana, AAHHRMEI

President Dra.Gloria Siy, FernandezCollege Rosana Cuizon and STI

College Aida Ramos; Mark Tandocexplains Bed Making to delegates;

Hotel Stotsenberg Ethel Austria,Lawrence Tan and your columnist

NI DINO BALABO

NORZAGARAY, Bulacan– Nagbabala ang alkaldeng bayang ito na idede-manda rin niya ang mgataong nagsampa ng kasosa kanya mahigit 10 taonna ang nakakaraan mata-pos siyang absuweltuhinng Sandigan Bayan ka-makailan.

“Pasensiyahan potayo, babalikan ko kayo,sapagkat hindi ko matang-gap na ang inyong punon-gbayan ay kinakasuhanninyo ng mga maling para-tang,” ani Mayor FelicianoLegazpi.

Iginiit niya “na ang taokung minsan ay mabait,kung minsan ay nangan-gagat din.”

Mayor pinawalangsala ng Sandigan Nagbantang magdedemanda rin

Batay sa limang pahi-nang desisyon na ipinala-bas ng unang dibisyon ngSandigan Bayan nitongAgosto 12, si Legazpi aypinawalang sala sa ka-song graft and corruptionna isinampa ni Dr. Evan-gelina Ramos noong Ag-osto 2000.

Maging ang hold de-parture order at pagsusus-pinde sa tungkulin kayLegazpi ay pinawalangbisa.

Ang kaso laban sa al-kalde ay nag-ugat sa pag-tutol niya na pagbibigay ngdagdag na suweldo kayRamos na noo’y pataposna ng paglilingkod bilangmunicipal health officer.

Sa kanyang depensasa korte, sinabi ni Legaz-

pi na hindi mabibigyan ngdagdag na suweldo si Ra-mos dahil sa walang pon-do ang munisipyo at wa-lang ordinansang nagbibig-ay sa kanya ng kapang-yarihan.

Ngunit iginiit ni Ramosna may ipinalabas ngkautusan ang Departmentof Budget and Manage-ment, bukod sa isangisang kapasiyahang bay-an na nagsasabing dapatsiya’y bigyan ng dagdagna sahod.

Ngunit kinatigan ngSandigan ang posisyon niLegazpi na ang pagbibig-ay ng dagdag na suweldosa iisang tao lamang sapamamagitan ng ka-pasiyahang bayan ay la-bag sa batas.

THINKGREEN