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Volume 9 Number 55Mon - WedDecember 14 - 16, 2015

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OFF LIMITS. Local journalists protest with their thumbs order of RTC judge barring them from entering RTC building. Photo by Bong Lacson

By Ashley Manabat

ANGELES CITY – The Pinoy Gumising Ka Movement (PGKM) said here on Monday that the plan of the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) to negotiate with Emirates and Etihad airlines to mount more flights

from the Middle East to Mactan-Cebu (MCIA) and Clark international airports via “triangular routes” is nothing but “a stupid idea.”

CAB exec scored on ‘triangular routes’

By Bong Lacson

ANGELES CITY – No mere up-start is the new kid on the ho-tel block, having a distinguished pedigree – the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, one of the world’s largest and most dynamic in its

Park Inn by Radisson Clarkups ante in local hotel industry

class. Only the second in the Philip-

pines, Park Inn by Radisson Clark opened Thursday at the sprawling SM City Clark complex, Mabalacat City side, immediately raising the ante in the burgeoning local hotel industry.

“We are proud to open the doors of Park Inn by Radisson Clark and welcome another mile-stone of SM Hotels and Conven-tion Corporation together with the Carlson Rezidor Group,” said Thomas Hagemann, Carl-

Photo by Bong Lacson

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Members of the media were once again barred from cov-ering the trial of detained real estate developer Delfin Lee on Monday.

Atty. Gino Capati of the Of-fice of the Clerk of Court met newsmen at the entrance to

DELfIN LEE CASE

Media barred from RTC anew

the Regional Trial Court (RTC) building and reiterated Judge Ma. Amifaith Fider-Reyes’s or-der not to allow the media in-side the building.

Capati said he was again instructed by Reyes, presiding judge of RTC Branch 42 where

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By Ding Cervantes

CLARK FREEPORT - A digital firm has warned the bids and awards committee (BAC) of the Ma-nila International Airport Authority (MIAA) of more legal actions amid its alleged disregard of a pend-ing graft case before the Office of the Ombuds-man on the negotiated bidding for a P486-million camera system at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

In a letter dated last Dec. 7 to retired Maj. Gen. Vicente Guerzon Jr, Enrico Quiambao, legal

MIAA warned on bidding for P486-M CCTV project at NAIA

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CITY OF SAN FERNAN-DO -- Central Luzon’s Regional Development Council (RDC) has ap-proved a P2.11 billion-in-frastructure rehabilitation plan for areas damaged by Typhoon Lando.

“The strategy is to re-

RDC 3 okays P2.11-B ‘Lando’ infra rehab plan

habilitate affected irriga-tion systems and trans-portation and commu-nication linkages using upgraded climate and disaster standards and specifications as well as build new redundant

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CITY OF SAN FER-NANDO – A P15/day increase in the mini-mum wage in Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales and P20/day in Aurora for minimum

Minimum wage hike to take effect in CL

wage earners were ap-proved on Wednesday by the National Wages and Productivity Com-mission (NWPC) - the newest wage order in Central Luzon.

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CLARK FREEPORT – “A rich harvest of Kapampangan greatness.”

Gov. Lilia G. Pineda called the 2015 crop of winners of the annual Most Out-standing Kapampangan Awards at the culmination of the celebrations of the 444th founding anniversary of Pam-panga – “Aldo ning Kapampangan” – last Dec. 11.

“I am awed and humbled by the tal-ents, the skills, the dedication and ac-complishments of our awardees,” Pi-neda said in the Kapampangan lan-guage. “Truly, they are a source of Kapampangan pride and joy.”

In her tribute, Pineda cited all MOKA awardees for their “strong re-solve to make excellence the core of their daily pursuits” which, she said, re-sulted to the numerous gains the prov-ince achieved through the years, “es-pecially in the aftermath of the Mount Pinatubo devastations.”

Of this year’s MOKA winners, she said “their accomplishments will serve as inspiration to every Kapampanga to work and achieve more so they are worthy to be recognized and emulat-ed.”

Women power marked this year’s MOKA with Ambassador Laura Quiam-bao-Del Rosario who excelled in the

Gov. Lilia Pineda (4th from left) together with MOKA 2015 Awardees. Photo courtesy of Jun Jaso, Pamp PIO

MOKA 2015

Gov hails ‘harvest of greatness’field of Government Service and Judge Maria Angelica Paras-Quiambao in the field of Judicial Service leading the awardees.

Ambassador Del Rosario, Asia-Pa-cific Economic Cooperation-Senior Of-ficers Meeting leader, served as diplo-matic and consular officer in the Phil-ippine Embassy in Vienna, Singapore, and Washington D.C. She was also ap-pointed as the Philippine Ambassador to India and Nepal on a non-resident capacity from 2003 to 2007. She then served as Ambassador to Vietnam in 2007 to 2009.

Judge Quiambao was a recipient of the Supreme Court’s Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos Judicial Excellence Awards in 2013.

Sr. Eloisa L. David, the 72-year-old awardee for Social Service, is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the KAKAK Foundation-Mother Bles Birth-ing Clinic who has dedicated gave her life in helping disadvantaged communi-ties and families.

Matrose P. Galarion, Ph.D., MOKA awardee for Education, is the Regional Education Program Supervisor of Plan-ning, Policy and Research Division of the Department of Education Region 3. She is also a winner in the national out-

standing teachers’ award.Comet Dimla-Dumangeng, in the

field of Law Enforcement, is the lone lady among the winners in the 2014 Country’s Outstanding Policemen in Service, a joint venture of the Metro Bank Foundation and PNP.

Parenthood becomes Juliette Go-mez-Romualdez, widow of Ambassa-dor Kokoy Romualdez, and a recipi-ent of the National Mother’s Day and Father’s Day Foundation Inc.’s Ulirang Ina Awards for Socio-Civic and Reli-gion.

She was escorted to the awards night by her son, Leyte Rep. Martin Ro-mualdez.

Winner in the field of Arts is Cesar Victor P. Reyes, an eminent art critic, painter and scholar. He was named twice as the Philippines’ Art Critic of the Year. He is also a well-known figure in the Philippine advertising industry with many local and international awards to his credit.

For Business and Entrepreneur-ship, Michael L. Escaler made a big name in the corporate world through-out the country. He has been at the helm of multinational companies hold-ing key positions, a living testament to his acumen in the field.

Dr. Virgilio Malang, for Science and Technology, is the “Prodigious Inno-ventor” recognized for his award win-ning-inventions that included Psidium Guajava effervescing gynecological in-sert (gold medal), patient side-turning hospital bed (silver medal), external vaginal cleanser (bronze medal) light refracting ear-pick (bronze medal) and broom’s way of hanging.

Jayson C. William, for Sports, is the PBA’s Most Improved Player in 2010-2011; PBA Best Player of the Confer-ence for three seasons and PBA All Star for 2013-2015.

In the field of Culture, Eduardo T. Mutuc is the only Kapampangan recip-ient of the Gawad Manlilikha ng Bayan Awards or National Living Treasure Award of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), one of the most prestigious awards given to traditional artists in the Philippines, similar to the National Artist Award.

Ruperto S. Nicdao, awardee in the field of Mass Media, is president and director of Manila Broadcasting Com-pany and chairman of the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas.

The 2015 MOKA was held at Holi-day Inn Resort-Clark. – Bong Z. Lac-son with Pampanga PIO

They are really needed by the people. We must really help, espcially the sick and poor ones,” said David, sister of the late Porac Mayor Roy David.

A registered nurse and doc-tor, David is the aunt of former Second District Board Mem-ber and Porac councilor bet Fritzie David-Dizon and Porac Vice Mayor Dexter David.

“I am happy for Fritzie and Dexter. They are in public ser-vice just like their parents,,” said David. The late former Acting Pampanga Gov. Edna De Ausen David was the wife of the former mayor.

“I do my mission different-ly compared to them. But we serve the same people,” she added.

David organzied the The Kapansanan ng Kawarayan at Kakurian Foundation, Inc. (Ka-Kak) Foundation. Inc. The op-erates in Leyte, Samar, Cebu, Pampanga, Bukidnon and An-tique.

Last October, Mayor Con-dralito De La Cruz, Vice May-or David and David-Dizon led the opening of the Mother Bles Birthing Clinic at the Porac Model Community, a resettle-ment area for Mt. Pinatubo vic-tims in Barangay Pio.

The birthing clinic is under the supervision Kakak whose chief operating officer is David.

David-Dizon said the es-tablishment of the birthing station “is most welcome in a thickly populated area such as the one in Pio where there are many young people and teen-agers.”

She cited a data of the

United Nations Population Fund- Philippines. It said preg-nancy among girls under the age of 20 increased by 65 per cent over a 10-year peri-od, from 2000-2010, despite a reverse trend in teen marriag-es, which is on the decline, ac-cording to the National Statis-tics Office.

In 2010, live births by teen-age mothers registered with the NSO were 207,898, compared with 126,025 in 2000. On the other hand, teenage marriag-es registered with the agency shows a slow but steady de-cline from 14.8 per cent in 2000 to 13 percent in 2010.

The Department of Health said there is a high risk of ma-ternal deaths among young mothers.

Vice Mayor David said their aunt recently sent four Aetas to Leyte. They will study mid-wifery.

“Their expenses, including transporation and scholarhips, were shouldered by Sister Da-vid.” said the vice mayor.

“Once they are done study-ing, the four Aetas will help in running the birthing stations of Kakak in the Porac Aeta vil-lages, including Barangay Ka-mias,” he added. –PR

CLARK FREEPORT – “The services on health touch the lives of people.”

Thus said Sr. Eloisa L. Da-vid, O.S.B., a native of Porac, Pampanga, shortly after she recieved the Most Outstand-ing Kapampangan Awards (MOKA) in the field of so-cial service at the Holiday Inn Clark on December 11.

David, who celebrated her 73rd birthday one day before the highlight of the founding aniversary of the province, is-sued the statements after she was asked on why she and Gov. Lilia Pineda are both passionate in delivering health services to the people.

“The projects of the gover-nor on health are admirable.

MOKA awardee: ‘Health services touch people’s lives’

Sr. Eloisa L. David, O.S.B. with niece, former 2nd District Board Member Fritzie David-Dizon and her brother, Vice Mayor Dexter David. Photo courtesy of Leo Villacarlos

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IN TIME for the Christmas season, the Social Security System (SSS) has earmarked a total of P6.34 billion for the 13th month pensions of over two million SSS pensioners for retirement, disability and death which is scheduled for release to the pensioners’ bank ac-counts and via mail this De-cember.

SSS Vice President for Benefits Administration Divi-sion Agnes E. San Jose said that with the 13th month pen-sion, SSS pensioners would receive double the amount of their regular monthly pension this month. The 13th month pension is an SSS year-end tradition that started in 1988.

“The allotted funds for the 13th month pensions were al-ready disbursed to SSS part-ner banks in November. As in previous years, SSS pension-ers can expect to receive their 13th month pension at the same time as their regular De-cember pensions,” San Jose

SSS allots over P6-B for 13th month pensionssaid.

Over 99 percent of SSS pensioners are enrolled in the Pension Payment thru the Bank Program, formerly known as the Mag-Impok sa Bangko Program, which en-ables them to receive their monthly pensions directly at their designated savings ac-counts. Some 12,500 pension-ers opted to receive pension checks sent through the mail due to reasons such as lack of automated teller machines in their area.

“Almost P6.31 billion for 13th month pensions are scheduled for release through pensioners’ bank accounts. The remaining P34.61 million would be in the form of checks mailed to the designated ad-dresses of the other pension-ers,” San Jose said.

The SSS deposited the 13th month pension funds to the respective banks of pen-sioners two weeks before De-cember. SSS partner banks

would then credit the money to pensioners’ bank accounts, and these pensions are al-lowed for withdrawal in accor-dance with the member’s date of retirement, death or disabil-ity.

“Given a member who re-tired on January 15 and whose spouse, who was also an SSS member eligible for pension, passed away on March 20 would able to withdraw his SSS retirement pension ev-ery 15th day of the month, and SSS death pension every 20th day of the month,” San Jose explained.

The SSS provides pen-sions for retirement, death and disability under the Social Se-curity (SS) Program, and for disability and death under the Employees’ Compensation (EC) Program which offers ad-ditional benefits for work-relat-ed contingencies.

SS retirement pensions of P4.01 billion accounted for over 60 percent of the funds al-

lotted for 13th month pensions. Meanwhile, P2.06 billion was disbursed for SS death pen-sions, P200.30 million for SS disability pensioners, P52.71 million for EC death pensions, and P5.21 million for EC dis-ability pensioners.

“With 2016 just around the corner, we call on pensioners to already mark in their calen-dars their respective sched-ules for the ACOP (Annual Confirmation of Pensioners). We have made it easy for pensioners to remember their ACOP schedule since it is now based on the member’s birth-day,” San Jose said.

Under the ACOP, pension-ers are required to make a once-a-year visit to the near-est SSS branch or deposito-ry bank to confirm their con-tinuing eligibility for pension. Those unable to make a per-sonal visit can send the re-quired ACOP documents to the SSS, or request for a home visit.

By Johnny R. Reblando

SUBIC, Zambales --- A drunken employee of the Department of Environ-ment and Natural Resouc-es (DENR) was arrested by elements of the Subic PNP while conducting check point at Barangay Calapac-uan of this town.

Chief Inspector Leon-ardo Madrid, chief of Subic PNP, identified the suspect as Gerardo Malapit, 50, and resident of Barangay Man-gan Vaca, Subic town.

Reports said that the PNP was at a Oplan Lam-bat Sibat checkpoint when the suspect was apprehend-ed driving a motorcycle (CA 67493) without helmet and under influence of liquor.

Malapit reportedly intro-duced himself “arrogantly” as a DENR employee and allegedly tried to corrupt and intimidate members of Subic PNP conducting checkpoint.

He was brought to the police station and given a traffic citation ticket and was brought to San Marcelino District Hospital for liquor test.

The suspect was locked up in jail facing violation of Indirect Assault Upon Per-son In Authority, violation of RA 10054 (Motorcycle Act of 2009), RA 10586 (Anti Drunk and Drugged Driv-ing Act of 2013) and Article 212 of Revised Penal Code (Corruption of Public Offi-cials).

‘Drunken’ DENR employee faces multiple cases

SAN MARCELINO, Zam-bales -- Under Oplan Man-hunt Charlie the Zambales PNP arrested the No. 8 Most Wantef Person in this municipality.

Led by Senior Inspec-tor Geoffrey Javier, police nabbed Andrew Hans Chris-tian y Soria, 19, single, job-less, resident of Barangay San Isidro here.

The suspect was arrest-ed at Barrio Barretto, Olon-gapo City by virtue of a war-rant of arrest issued by Pre-siding Judge Raymond C. Viray of RTC Branch 75, Olongapo City for violation of RA 6539 with fixed bail of P180,000, and another war-rant of arrest issued by As-sisting Judge Jesusa Myl-ene C. Suba-Isip of RTC Branch 74, for violation of RA 6539 with fixed bail of P180,000.

The suspect is now un-der the custody of San Marcelino Municipal Police Station.

–Johnny R. Reblando

No. 8Most

Wanted arrested

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acaesar.blogspot.com

Zona Libre Bong Z. Lacson

E d i t o r i a l Opinion

TOday In PhILIPPIne hISTOrySource: www.kahimyang.info

LLL Trimedia Coordinators, Inc.Publisher

General ManagerEditor

Marketing ManagerLayout

Circulation

Atty. Gener C. EndonaCaesar “Bong” LacsonJoanna Niña V. CorderoDondie B. VenturaJojo Manalo/Lacson Macapagal

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

Tel. No. (45) 625•0244 Cel. No. 0917•481•1416puntogitnangluzon@yahoo.com or marketing@punto.com.ph

http://www.punto.com.ph

Championing Clark

“CLARK AIRPORT is just as good as the airports in Manila and the government must maximize that.”

So declared survey-leading presidential bet Rodrigo Duterte, adding: “The only problem is that (government) really abandoned what is conceived to be a possible alternative to at least reduce the growing traffic (in Metro Manila).”

Pushing the Clark cause further: “Lalagyan natin ng fast lane (railway), para ma-encourage ang mga kababayan natin na gamitin yung airport ditto.”

Duterte’s nemesis former Justice Secretary now-Senate-bound Leila de Lima had as much to say for Clark: “It’s about time given the problems besetting NAIA particularly the problem of congestion. Ako nga I experienced already several times yung paikot-ikot lang sa itaas because of the air traffic.”

“Let us not wait for an accident to happen because of air traffic congestion. Paano kung kung dumami ng dumami yung mga naka-suspend sa itaas waiting for their turn and clearance to land,” De Lima stressed. “More than that is also yung pagde-develop ng Clark particularly the airport it will benefit North and Central Luzon in terms of economy...there will be a ripple effect…”

Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, a Kapampangan on his mother’s side, said: “Bakit hindi natin ginagamit ‘yung Clark? Unang-una, mas maganda at mas malaki ang facility kesa NAIA. So bakit naman nagsisiksikan tayo rito? Ang sikip-sikip na nga rito.”

The “irreversible northern push” of development is another “impetus” for the full development of the Clark International Airport as premier international gateway, said Romualdez.

Vice presidential candidate Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. much earlier had made a stand on the Clark airport as “engine of economic growth” for Central and Northern Luzon.

Also VP-seeking Senator Allan Peter Cayetano has made the development of the Clark airport a recurring mantra at each visit to Angeles City and Pampanga.

A political issue taken to the national stage, the Clark airport has become.

Raising the hope of the local stakeholders that the neglect of the past and present administrations will turn to concrete action by the next.

Home for ChristmasTHIS SEASON of joy makes – to me – an occasion for tears.

If only for one carol – I’ll be home for Christmas. Whoever sings it, Bing Crosby or Michael Buble, Whitney Houston or Josh Groban, reduces me to a crying heap.

Just the first strains are more than enough to work up the lacrimal glands –

I’m dreaming tonight of a place I loveEven more than I usually do

And although I know it’s a long road backI promise you…

Thoughts of toiling fathers in the desert sand, of seafaring husbands amid the winter seas; of care-giving mothers in some retirement home, of child-rearing sisters in some high-rise flats – all of them longing, pining —

I’ll be home for ChristmasYou can count on me

Please have snow and mistletoeAnd presents under the tree

Aye, presents under the tree, but not so much – indeed, not ever – for snow and mistletoe. As for the parol, simbang gabi and bibingka, puto bumbong, suman and tamales.

And – above all – family —

Christmas eve will find youWhere the love light gleams

At the Misa de Aguinaldo singing Gloria in Excelsis welcoming with the angels and the

shepherds the birth of the Savior. And then, from the humblest hovels to the grandest mansions, the whole family, in prayerful thanksgiving, partaking of the noche buena feast.

I’ll be home for ChristmasIf only in my dreams.

The overseas Filipino worker sings. And I just can’t help but cry with him.

Still, he, she can dream of some homecoming.

Alas, that is not so with the folk uprooted, displaced, death-visited by Yolanda, and earlier, Pablo.

Home for Christmas is now all in the heart, pained memories of what once was.

Of them, what can we sing?Only dirges to haunt the barely surviving. Suffering deepening. The weeping

unceasing.Yet, hope eternally springs.There in the Book a cause for some soul-

uplifting: “And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.”

No home at His aborning. Home for all mankind is in Him.

Rejoice.

ON DECEMBER 14, 1897, the Pact of Biak-na-Bato was signed by General Emilio Agu-inaldo and Spanish Gover-nor-General Fernando Primo de Rivera to provisionally stop the armed conflict between the Filipinos and Spaniards. Don Pedro Alejandro Paterno was appointed by the Span-ish Governor-General as sole mediator in the discussion of the terms of peace.

The following are the con-ditions according to General Aguinaldo through his book, True version of the Philippine revolution published on Sep-tember 23, 1899,

1. That I would, and any of my associates who de-sired to go with me, be free to live in any foreign country. Having fixed upon Hongkong as my place of residence, it was agreed that payment of the indemnity of $800,000 (Mexican) should be made in three instalments, namely,

Pact of Biak-na-Bato is signed$400,000 when all the arms in Biak-na-bato were delivered to the Spanish authorities; $200,000 when the arms sur-rendered amounted to eight hundred stand; the final pay-ment to be made when one thousand stand of arms shall have been handed over to the authorities and the Te Deum sung in the Cathedral in Ma-nila as thanksgiving for the restoration of peace. The lat-ter part of February was fixed as the limit of time wherein the surrender of arms should be completed.

2. The whole of the mon-ey was to be paid to me per-sonally, leaving the disposal of the money to my discretion and knowledge of the under-standing with my associates and other insurgents.

3. Prior to evacuating Bi-ak-na-bato the remainder of the insurgent forces un-der Captain-General Primo de Rivera should send to Bi-

ak-na-bato two General of the Spanish Army to be held as hostages by my associ-ates who remained there until I and a few of my compatriots arrived in Hongkong and the first installment of the money payment (namely, four hun-dred thousand dollars) was paid to me.

4. It was also agreed that the religious corporations in the Philippines be expelled and an autonomous sys-tem of government, political and administrative, be estab-lished, though by special re-quest of General Primo de Rivera these conditions were not insisted on in the drawing up of the Treaty, the General contending that such conces-sions would subject the Span-ish Government to severe crit-icism and even ridicule.

The truce, however, failed due to suspicions on both sides, and fighting resumed in May 1898.

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Napag-uusapanLangFelix M. Garcia

Ing PaskuING PASKU nanu ya ? Nanu ya ing Pasku?Obat katuklu ning ‘ber’ keng kalendaryu,Umpisan da na lang patigtig keng radyuDing pekapopular a kantang pamasku?

At balamu wari mabilug ketawanA tatangaran na ning aranyang bulan,Masayang magkoplas, daralit kundimanBusal ning kikingking a benging kaniglan.

Pati na sampaga busal da ring ardinPabangluan da samyu ing marimlang angin,Inya nanu’t e ta’ malaguang apansinKaras ning Setyembre ing magpasku na pin?

Ing Pasku, e yamu kabud panaun naNing pamilibayan rigalu, at sakaKaring tegawan keng binyag pamamuntaBanting maniad tamung pamasku karela

Nune ban ganakan ing Aldo BeitanNing Anak ning Dios king meto’ sabsaban,At e king malambut a kamang pagkeranDing Ari ampo ring taung mayakayan

At antining y Jesus yang bugtung Nang anakNing Dios a Linalang king banua at labuad,Obat e king bale o palasyung pilakAmpon pagkeran a kasing lambut bulak?

Kasi pin ing Ginung Kakataskatasan,Kababan lub ampon lubus kapayapanIng keti king yatu nasang ipatangalKaring tau inya Keyang pepalyarian

Ing misteryung iti, pati pamanatbusKing sala ning tau ning Malam a Jesus,A nu’ya linasa at mipaku king KruzKabang ala nemang gewang e makatud

Nune tinipa ya mu pin keti sulipBan keta ing yatu akua neng asagipKing panga-guno na nanu mang penanditBurian ning Ibpa ing lasawan neng pilit

Ampon e manabu king larung bubukal(Ngarang magsalita ding talapanaral),Ing taung king bie na mikasalang dakalPotang miras na ing tauling kayatulan.

Inya mangaintulid mung ing pangasapwakNing Nino sukat tang’ ipagpasalamatKing Dios a Miglalang kambe ning masampatA pamangilala king bugtong Nang anak.

King yang tinubud Na king yatung karinanBa’na lang atbusan ding makasalanan;Yan maulang bage dapat tang’ ablasanKasuywan a lusuk king banuang katasan.

Pablasang bistaman madalas, menasaAnti ta’lang pane lalabagan kusaDing kautusan ning Ibpang Mayupaya,King tau e ya pa lubus migpabusta.

Nu’ne binye Ne pa y Jesus a anak NaKing yatung karinan ban manatbus salaDing Keyang lelangan, pero nang’ gewa ra,Ayamyam da reting king Krus ipaku Ya!

Sumangid ning ala’ng bakas kasalananY Kristo Jesus a Anak ning Miglalang,A mibait mu king metung a sabsabanKapamilatan na ning Virgen a Nuan.

Ing Pasku simbulu ne ning kapayapanAt ning lugud ning Dios king meto’ ketawan,Inya nanu’t e pin mo pami-abiayanAt pamisausig ing papanatilian?

TODAY is the eve of Pampan-ga Day.

It is our pride and joy to honor the beauty and rich-ness of Pampango culture - its heritage, arts and litera-ture. It is also a fitting honor to the illustrious Kapampangans who have distinguished them-selves in different areas of en-deavor through Pampanga’s storied history.

For many, Pampanga is an enigma. It is a place that brings together many of the elements that make tourism so special. Here, guests can enjoy some of our country’s greatest food offerings, awe-inspiring nat-ural attractions like the Mt. Pinatubo crater-lake, cultur-al gems like its centuries-old churches, adventure tourism and in recent years’ eco-tour-ism.

Pampanga’s tourism

COMMENTAry

Honoring Pampangagrowth outlook is robust and the future excites us. Clark Freeport Zone, is home to the Diosdado Macapagal Interna-tional Airport, Luzon’s second International Airport and des-ignated as the Philippines’ fu-ture premier gateway site.

Within the Clark Special Economic Zone are well estab-lished hotels and resorts ca-tering to various business es-tablishments operating within its enclaves. Tourism is key to the city’s economy, and Pam-panga is fast becoming known as an iconic Philippine desti-nation. Demand for accommo-dation has increased over the years and will increase further with the announced develop-ments happening inside the Clark Freeport Zone.

Without a doubt, exciting things are happening in Pam-panga.

Our vision at SM Hotels and Conventions is to build and operate hotels that take pride in Filipino warmth and hospitality. And nowhere else are these traits more apparent than in the Kapampangans.

So, as we commemorate Pampanga Day we also cele-brate the arrival of Park Inn by Radisson in this historic prov-ince.

The second Park Inn ho-tel to open in the Philippines, Park Inn by Radisson Clark of-fers a vibrant, friendly environ-ment that provides both busi-ness and leisure travelers with the hotel experience they de-sire. From today, let Park Inn by Radisson Clark “add color to your life!”

Thank you for the opportu-nity to share this occasion and celebration with you.

Dacal a salamat.

(Opening message of Peggy Angeles, senior vice president for operations of SM Hotels and Con-ventions Corp., Park Inn at Radisson, Dec. 10, 2015)

CHERISH yesterday and cel-ebrate tomorrow with the loud-est New Year’s countdown here at Fontana Hot Spring Leisure Parks!

Bring your loved ones at the most anticipated New Year Countdown Party at Fontana as we all welcome the pros-perity of brand new year 2016 with our massive and exciting twists, just for you all.

Happening from 8PM of December 31, 2015 to late of the very first day of 2016 in our Palms Bar Parking Lot, Fontana gives you the best delights for your senses. We have the Photo Signature Wall where you can write your

greetings and wishes for 2016, live band and live performers for euphoric music, outstand-ing acrobats, fire dancers to bring you flames, and other more scenes and surprises.

Not only that, because your stomach will surely thank you as we offer mouth-watering dishes from our buffet stations all prepared by our prime Fon-tana chefs.

And what is New Year Par-ty without the bash of fireworks in the night sky? Of course, we shall witness the jolt up of cre-ative fireworks to energize us all!

What’s more? The Fon-tana Lucky Tree will await you

to lock your luck? How’s that? You must come!

Tickets for 3 pax is worth PHP2,016.00 while for 1 pax is worth PHP750.00. Each ticket is inclusive of buffet dinner, glass of sparkling wine, and souvenir. So what else can you ask for?

Lock your luck at Fontana for an auspicious 2016!

For queries, just call +6345 599 5000 and it will be our pleasure to serve you. Also, you can visit our website: www.fontana.com.ph, or like us on facebook.com/FontanaClark, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram at fontana_2015.

–Press release

#LOCKYOURLUCK@FONTANA:New Year’s Eve Countdown 2016

GIFTS become more mean-ingful with personal touches that warm the heart. And the good news is that you can be a wrap star instantly with a lit-tle help from SM Stationery.

These are extraordinary wraps – treat boxes for say-ing it sweet, and eco friend-

Be a wrap star with SM Stationeryly woven gift bags that make gift giving convenient and so much fun. You’ll make pres-ents perfect with stylish gift totes, eco-friendly pouches and gift bags, treat boxes, and colorful collapsible gift boxes and merry gift enve-lopes.

These gift- wrapping ideas are available at the Statio-nery section of selected SM Stores. Also, become a fan of their Facebook page and follow them in Instagram in smstationeryph. Visit their website at www.smstationery.com.ph for more info.

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NOtICE Of SELf-ADJuDICAtIONNotice is hereby given that fE C. tIONgSON, of legal age, Filipino,

widow and resident of Teodoro St. corner Jocelyn St., Sta. Maria Village, Angeles City executed an Affidavit of Self-Adjudication on the estate of BuRt S. tIONgSON who died intestate on April 27, 2015 at Sacred Heart of Jesus Medical Center, Angeles City, more particularly described as a parcel of land (Lot 8-B of the subdivision plan Psd-03-132552, being a portion of Lot 8, Block 12, (LRC) Psd-97252, L.R.C. Rec. No. ), situated in the Barrio of Balibago, City of Angeles and covered by Transfer Certificate of Title No. 133825, before Notary Public Elaiza S. Sabile-David as per Doc No. 1953, Page No. 64, Book No. XXII, Series of 2015.Punto! Central Luzon: December 2, 9 & 16, 2015

Republic of the PhilippinesOFFICE OF THE CITY CIVIL REGISTRAR

Mabalacat City, PampangaPublication NoticeR.A. 10172

NOtICE tO tHE PuBLICIn Compliance with the publication requirement and pursuant to OCRG

Memorandum Circular No. 2013-1 Guidelines in the Implementation of the Administrative Order No. 1 Series of 2012 (IRR on R.A 10172) Notice is hereby served to the public that JEAN R. NAVALtA-LIWANAg has filed with this Office, a petition for correction of entry in the sex from MALE to fEMALE in the Certificate of Live of Birth of JEAN ROMANO NAVALtA at Mabalacat, Pampanga and whose parents are TEOfILO NAVALATA and MARYSOL ROMANO.

Any person adversely affected by said petition may file his/her written opposition with this office not later than seven (7) days after the completion of the publication period.

VICTOR TERRY A. MEDINACITY CIVIL REGISTRAR

FOR THE CITY CIVIL REGISTRAR:SGD. PERLA S. HALILI

Assistant City Civil RegistrarPunto! Central Luzon: December 9 & 16, 2015

Republic of the PhilippinesOffice of the Civil RegistrarPROVINCE Of PAMPANgA

Municipality of Sta. AnaNOtICE tO tHE PuBLIC

In compliance with the publication requirement and pursuant to OCRG Memorandum Circular No. 2013-1, Guidelines in the Implementation of the Administrative Order No. 1, Series of 2012 (IRR on R.A. 10172), notice is hereby served to the public that AMELIA P. DIZON MAgAt has filed with this office a petition for change of first name from EMELIE to AMELIA in the certificate of live birth of AMELIA P. DIZON who was born on June 5, 1972 at Sta. Ana, Pampanga and whose parents are Felixberto Dizon and Conchita Pangan.

Any person adversely affected by said petition may file his written opposition with this office not later than December 30, 2015.

SHEILAH MARIE M. ABADES Municipal Civil Registrar

Punto! Central Luzon: December 16 & 23, 2015

“What is the wis-dom of triangular flights (routes)?” asked PGKM Chair Ruperto Cruz. He said no airline would agree to mount flights to any destination with-out making profits just like when Emirates air-lines suddenly stopped its Dubai-Clark-Dubai flights after only seven months of operation from October 1, 2012 to May 1, 2013 due to alleged “excise tax on jet fuel and the low passenger load factor.”

CAB Director Victor Jose “Chichos” Luciano, former president of the Clark International Air-port Corp., has said that he would meet officials of Emirates and Etihad airlines on December 15 to tackle the triangular routes that would “boost” MCIA and the CIA.

CAB exec scored on ‘triangular routes’from page 1 But Cruz said Lucia-

no’s announcement is “a stupid idea” apparent-ly referring to Mar Rox-as’ reply to Rep. Oscar S. Rodriguez when he asked him on the pro-posed Sangley and Bula-can airports and the wid-ening and extension of the Ninoy Aquino Inter-national Airport (NAIA).

“Why should Emir-ates airlines fly to Cebu and then to Clark if it is not allowed to pick up passengers domestical-ly due to the Cabotage law?” asked Cruz.

Cabotage is defined as the carriage or trans-portation of passengers or cargo between two points within a country by a vessel or aircraft registered in another country.

“If they (foreign air-lines) cannot pick up do-mestic passengers; that is only serving the true

masters of the DOTC (Department of Trans-portation and Communi-cations) - PAL and Cebu Pacific,” said Cruz.

He explained that the triangular route is not necessary since a di-rect flight from Dubai to Clark is a better option because about 70 per-cent of overseas Filipi-no workers (OFWs) are from Northern and Cen-tral Luzon. He described the triangular route as a waste of jet fuel and time.

Cruz pointed out that with the rate things are going with the DOTC, the Clark airport will not have more flights.

Political willHowever, Cruz said

the PGKM agrees with Luciano’s observation that “political will” is the answer to putting more flights to Clark.

But sadly, he said, the political will to develop Clark is missing.

“Unfortunately, what we see is a deliberate attempt to sabotage the Clark airport like the so-called dual airport or twin airport system,” he not-ed.

Cruz said the dual air-port system is not work-ing because the DOTC failed to develop Clark.

“Because they failed to develop the terminal, Etihad airline passen-gers were not allowed to deplane and were stuck inside the airplane,” he said.

The DOTC order not to allow passengers of Etihad Flight EY424 to Clark last October, with more than 400 passen-gers and crew, “is a de-liberate attempt to sabo-tage Clark,” he said.

The said Etihad flight was rerouted to Clark

because of the conges-tion at the NAIA. The report said passengers were not allowed to de-plane and stayed inside the aircraft for over 10 hours. They were al-lowed to take buses to Manila only the following day.

“Naturally, the reac-tion of those stuck inside the cramped plane for several hours is to con-demn Clark,” he said.

The issue became an international incident which added to the infa-my of the NAIA and now the CIA.

Cruz explained that “under the twin airport system, the terminal should have been de-veloped so that in times like this, the passengers could have been allowed inside the terminal. Can you imagine sitting in-side the plane for so many hours,” he said.

“The twin airport is not to our disadvantage. They use it to downplay the Clark airport,” he added.

“How can Clark be an alternative airport when passengers cannot even be allowed in its termi-nal?” he asked.

“They did not book them (passengers) in our hotels here because they don’t want to show people that we already have many hotels here,” he said. “We have every-thing except the termi-nal,” he added.

The stakeholders of the Clark airport are left at the mercy of greedy businessmen in Manila and have no decision at all, Cruz said.

The PGKM calls for the passage of the Clark authority bill so that we can move on in fully de-veloping the Clark airport now, Cruz said.

counsel of Joint Venture of Annex Digital, Inc. and Geutebruck Pty. Ltd., urged Guerzon and oth-er members of the BAC from pursuing plans for a negotiated bidding on the closed circuit tele-vision camera (CCTV) project.

This, after the BAC issued days earlier a let-ter dated last Dec. 7 in-forming digital firms on “Pre-Submission of Pro-posals Conference on Dec. 11, 2015, delivery of proposals on or be-fore Dec. 18, 2015, and the opening of the pro-posals on December 18,2015 at 1:30 p.m.” relative to a negotiated bidding.

Earlier, Quiambao, in behalf of his client, filed against MIAA offi-

MIAA warned on bidding for P486-M CCtV project at NAIAfrom page 1 cers and two private sec-

tor firms, criminal cases for violations of Repub-lic Act No. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and viola-tions of Republic Act No. 9184 also known as the Government Procure-ment Reform Act.

The case was based on allegations that bid-ding for the project was rigged in favor of either of two bidders.

“There have been se-rious violations commit-ted by concerned MIAA officials and employees involved in the bidding of the CCTV Project. Despite the internation-al and national outrage against the MIAA, the violations of its officials continue with reckless abandon and boldness,” Quiambao said amid the claim of MIAA officials

that two biddings of the P486-million project had failed to justify negoti-ated bidding. Under the law, negotiated bidding on a project could be held only after two failed biddings on it.

He insisted that only one bidding for the proj-ect was held by the BAC. In his letter, he noted that “technically speaking, a second bidding has yet to be done because on Aug. 29, 2014, the proj-ect titled ‘Design, Supply, Installation and Commis-sioning of CCTV Camer-as and Surveillance Sys-tems at the NAIA Com-plex’ was changed” by dropping the term “de-sign” allegedly to accom-modate a favored bidder.

Quiambao noted that such change in the terms of reference (TOR) inval-idated an earlier bidding

last year, thus making a bidding held on Feb. 24 this year as the first bidding for the CCTV project and that no sec-ond bidding has so far been held.

He warned the MIAA officials of “more law-suits” if they pursue ne-gotiated bidding. “There appears to be no more respect for the law and rules,” he said in his let-ter.

Quiambao claimed that amid delays in the implementation of the CCTV project, NAIA General Manager Jose Angel Honrado has al-legedly been using the “tanim-bala” scandal at the NAIA to “justify emer-gency procedures for the installation of the CCTV system to unqualified but favored contractors.” During a recent Senate

inquiry into the tanim-ba-la scandal, Honrado cited two alleged failed bidding on the CCTV project that could have shed more light on the scandal.

Quiambao said his client will not participate in the negotiated bidding now being pursued by the BAC, as “what is ille-gal cannot be legalized.”

“The participants to this patently illegal pro-cess would open all av-enues for the filing of ad-

ministrative and criminal cases against the mem-bers of the BAC and the head of the procurement entity as well as the fa-vored bidders who will participate are equal li-able under the law,” he added.

Quiambao furnished Transportation and Com-munications Sec. Emilio Abaya and Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Mo-rales copies of his letter to Guerzon.

and alternate key infra-structure systems for im-proved resiliency,” RDC Vice Chair and National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Re-gional Director Severino Santos said.

The projects to be funded from the P2.11 billion will be implement-ed by the Department of Public Works and High-ways (DPWH), National Irrigation Administration (NIA), and NIA-Upper Pampanga River Inte-grated System (UPRIIS).

Santos said that “through the assessment of project sites by the Mines and Geosciences

RDC 3 okays P2.11-B ‘Lando’ infra rehab planfrom page 1 Bureau, the plan aims to

locate new non-hazard mitigating infrastructures outside danger zones.”

Under this plan, DPWH will rehabilitate about 95.1 km. national roads; rebuild 3.5 km. of flood control dikes; and restore or build schools, municipal halls and multi-purpose buildings with a total of 21 units at the amount of P1.8 bil-lion, he said.

He said NIA will im-prove its national irriga-tion system with about 62 km. of main canals, 10 units of canal struc-tures and three units of diversion tops pegged at P158 million.

“It will also rehabil-

itate its communal irri-gation systems or irriga-tion systems with irriga-tion service areas of less than or equal to a thou-sand hectares; rehabil-itate less than half kilo-meter of canals; and im-prove four units of canal structures which is esti-mated at P376 million,” Santos noted.

He also reported that “under UPRIIS, areas in Nueva Ecija and certain areas in Tarlac will be rehabilitated including main canals, line canals, and gravel roads and is projected to cost around P250million.”

The RDC-3 is the high-est policy-making body in Central Luzon and serves

as the counterpart of the NEDA Board at the sub-national level.

It is the primary insti-tution that coordinates and sets the direction of all economic and social development efforts in the region and serves as a forum where local ef-forts can be related and integrated with national development activities.

The RDC members include all governors, city mayors, municipal mayors of capital towns, presidents of municipal mayors league, regional directors of national gov-ernment agencies and representatives from the private sector.

–Ding Cervantes

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The GossipmillerCesar Pambid

Heart immune na sa bashers

SA DAMI ng mga nagkalat na troll sa social media, dedma na lang daw si Heart Evangelista sa mga basher niya at maging ng mga basher ng kaniyang asawang si Sen. Chiz Escudero.

Nasanay na raw siya sa mga basher dahil wala namang katotohanan ang pinagsasabi nila sa social media lalo na sa Facebook, kwento ni Heart nang sila ay mag-guest ni Chiz sa “Bawal ang Pasaway” ni Mareng Winnie Monsod sa GMA News TV nitong Lunes.

“In the beginning, it drove me crazy. Especially ako sanay ako sa social media. I’m very active on Instagram, Facebook, so nung umpisa nakikita ko lahat,” sey ni Heart patungkol sa mga troll sa social media.

Pinayuhan daw siya ni Chiz na huwag pansinin ang mga basher.“Pero siyempre bilang asawa or bilang kaibigan din, parang nasasaktan ako para sa kanya. Hindi ba? So I have learned to let go,” sabi ni Heart.

“Eventually, siguro, you get immune din to what they throw at him or even to me,” dagdag pa ng misis ni Chiz na nangungunang kandidato sa pagkabise-presidente base sa mga survey.

grace Poe manok ni ErapHINDI na nakatiis ang dating pangulo at ngayo’y Manila Mayor Joseph “Erap” Estrada mula sa ginagawa diumanong panggigipit sa inaanak na si Senator Grace Poe ng kanyang mga kalaban sa pulitika.

Ani Erap, hindi niya kayang talikuran ang anak ng best friend na si Da King Fernando Poe Jr. habang ito ay hinaharangang kumandidato sa pagka-pangulo ng mga kalaban sa pulitika.

Sa isang panayam sa radyo kamakailan, sinabi ni Erap na naniniwala siya na ang mga tangkang pagpapadiskwalipika kay Grace ay mga gawa-gawa lamang ng mga katunggali ng senadora sa pulitika.

“Sa aking pananaw, kung hindi siya kandidatong presidente, hindi naman malalabas ‘yan... Pero ngayong kandidato nang presidente, hinahanapan na ng butas,” sabi ni Erap patungkol sa mga kwestyon sa kandidatura ni Grace.

“Malamang na malamang” daw ay si Grace ang manok niya sa labanan sa pagka-pangulo dahil anak ang senadora ni FPJ na itinuring niyang “higit pa sa kapatid.”Kwalipikadong-kwalipikado raw na tumakbo bilang pangulo si Grace, ayon kay Erap, at umaasa siya na papayagan ang senadora na makalahok sa halalan ng

Korte Suprema kagaya ng nangyari kay FPJ noong 2004 eleksyon.Dapat daw aniya ay hinahayaan ang taumbayan na siyang humusga kung sino ang gusto nilang maging susunod na lider ng bansa.

“As far as I am concerned, she is a Filipina because she was born in the Philippines. She was elected as senator. Vox populi, vox Dei. The voice of the people is the voice of God. Let the people decide,” sey pa ni Erap.

Albert Martinez leading man material pa rin

HINDI inililihim ni Albert Martinez na 54 years old na siya, kaya hindi makapaniwalang at his age, puwede pa siyang leading man at magkaroon ng sabay na teleserye sa ABS-CBN. Napapanood siya sa hapon sa

All Of Me at sa gabi Ang Probinsyano. Six times a week ang taping niya at minsan, naglala-gare siya sa isang araw. Four hours na lang ang tulog niya at madalas, sa biyahe na siya natutulog.

After ng All of Me, gustong magprodyus ng movie ni Albert na sila ni Yen Santos ang bida dahil gustong after sa TV, ma-panood sila ng fans sa big screen. May kinausap na siyang scriptwriter at pinipili na ang director.

May mga gusto na mala-Pretty Woman ang gagawin nina Albert at Yen o May-December affair, pero gusto ni Albert, something different at nanini-wala siyang hindi na isyu ang age. “It’s all about love na ang habol ng tao ngayon.”

Samantala, kung gagawa ng biopic ng Philippine heroes si Albert, gusto niyang gawin ang biopic ni President Manuel L. Quezon.

“Ang later years ni Quezon, noong president na siya ang gusto kong gawin. I find him very interesting at parang perfect ang age ko to portray him noong nasa Malacañang Palace na siya. Challenging din na ang dark years ng Philippines ay sa kanya. Binabasa ko na ang life story niya back in the 90’s pa,” sabi ni Albert.

Endorsers ni

Mar di puwedeng bumoto

OBSERVANT talaga ang netizens. Ang viral ngayon ay ang komento nila tungkol sa lumabas na music video ni presidential candidate Mar Roxas lalo na sa mga kumanta na sina Billy Crawford, Jay-R at Kris Lawrence.

Isa lang daw ang common denominator ng tatlo -- American citizens! Hanep, ’di ba?

Wala kaming alam kung naging dual citizen na sina Billy, Jay-R at Kris. Pero alam naming Amerikano ang father ni Billy na amin nang nakilala nu’ng child actor pa siya. Sina Jay-R at Kris, nadiskubre sa States bago sinubukan ang career sa bansa.

Kung American citizen pa, dapat naging knowledgeable ang mga taong nasa likod ng kanta at music video. Hindi kasi sila puwedeng bumoto kung hindi pa sila dual citizens. Heart Evangelista

Republic of the PhilippinesREGIONAL TRIAL COURT

Third Judicial RegionBranch 44

City of San Fernando (P)

IN THE MATTER OF THE CANCELLATION OF THE CERTIFICATE OF LIVE BIRTH OF LYLORD YLON CUETO LOPEZ IN THE CIVIL REGISTER OF SAN FERNANDO CITY, PAMPANGA,LYLORD YLON CUETO LOPEZ,Represented by his biological motherMARIA LUIS REYES CUETO, Petitioner, - versus - SP. PROC. CASE NO. 5714

LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRY OFFICE OF SAN FERNANDO CITY, PAMPANGA and CIVIL REGISTRY GENERAL AND NOLY SAGUN LOPEZ, Respondents.

x-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------xORDER

This is a verified amended petition filed by the petitioner, represented by his representative, by counsel, praying that after due notice and hearing, an Order be issued directing the Local Civil Registrar of City of San Fernando, Pampanga and the Civil Registrar General, National Statistics Office, Quezon City to cancel the Certificate of Live Birth of Lylord Ylon Cueto Lopez, with Local Civil Registry No. 99-2959.

Finding the aforesaid amended petition to be sufficient in form and substance, the Court hereby set the hearing thereof on March 1, 2016 at 8:30 in the morning at the Session Hall of this Court, 2nd Floor, RTC Building, City of San Fernando, Pampanga, when and where all persons who may have interest in the said amended petition may appear and to show cause, if any, why the same should not be granted.

The petitioner is ordered to serve within five (5) days from receipt of this Order, copies of the amended petition and its annexes to 1). the Office of the Solicitor General at 134 Amorsolo Street, Legaspi Village, Makati City; 2). the City Civil Registrar of the City of San Fernando, Pampanga; and 3). the Civil Registrar General, National Statistics Office, Quezon City, and to show proof of said service to this Court.

Let the petitioner at her expense, publish this Order for three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the Province of Pampanga.

Furnish copies hereof the petitioner; his counsel; the Office of the Solicitor General, Makati City; the Civil Registrar General, National Statidtics Office, Quezon City; and the City Civil Registrar of the City of San Fernando, Pampanga, through registered mail with return card.

SO ORDERED.ISSUED IN CHAMBERS this 6th day of November, 2015 in the City of San

Fernando, Pampanga.ESPERanZa S. PagLInawan-ROZaRIO

Presiding JudgeCopy furnished:PROS. LEILA NAVARETTE-ANGULO NOLY SAGUN LOPEZOffice of the Provincial Prosecutor #188 Dela Paz NorteCity of San Fernando, Pampanga City of San Fernando, Pampanga

ATTY. LIONELL M. MACABABBAD THE CIVIL REGISTRAR GENERALCounsel for Petitioner National Statistics OfficeMACABABBAD LAW OFFICE Quezon CityRm 1526 15F City & Land MegaplazaADB Avenue cor. Gamet Road THE CITY CIVIL REGISTRAROrtigas Center, Pasig City City Hall, City of San Fernando, PampangaLYLORD YLON CUETO LOPEZ,Represented by his biological mother OFFICE OF THE SOLICITOR GENERALMARIA LUIS REYES CUETO 134 Amorsolo Street,Petitioner Salcedo Village, Makati CityPutting Bato East, Calaca, Batangas OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF COURT RTC, City of San Fernando, Pampanga

PUNTO! Central Luzon: December 2, 9 & 16, 2015

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son Hotels Asia Pacific vice president for future openings and special projects.

And in a bullish mood: “We are confident that Park Inn by Radis-son Clark will add to the vibrant tourism land-scape of Pampanga and will set a new benchmark in hospitality. The hotel and brand will appeal to both domestic and inter-national travelers as we guarantee a stay that is fresh and uncomplicat-ed.”

Park Inn by Radis-son Clark has 154 rooms and is a few steps from the SM City Clark mall. It is 10 minutes away from the Clark International Airport and near tourist local attractions, muse-ums and historical land-marks.

It is no more than a 10-minute leisurely walk to the city’s central enter-tainment district of Fields Avenue.

The pivotal location of the new hotel was underscored by SMH-CC President Elizabeth Sy saying, during the launch: “With the open-ing of Park Inn by Radis-

Park Inn by Radisson Clark...from page 1 son Clark through our

continued partnership with the Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group, we look for-ward to working hand-in-hand with the province of Pampanga and contrib-ute to its economy and tourism.”

Mabalacat City May-or Marino Morales for his part could only en-thuse over the “brightest prospects of economic growth Park Inn will most certainly generate” for his city.

“Not to mention its ‘landmarking’ in the glob-al tourism map, given Carlson Rezidor Group’s pre-eminent position in the international hotel in-dustry,” a beaming Mo-rales said at the side-lines of the opening cer-emonies.

Park Inn by Radis-son is a segment-lead-ing brand with a track record of delivering a quality guest experience. The brand is one of the fastest growing brands in EMEA and also expand-ing rapidly in the US, Canada and Asia Pacif-ic. There are about 130 operational Park Inn by Radisson hotels in the world and another 60 in the pipeline.

The latest entry in the Greater Clark hotel in-dustry boasts of its “Add-ing Color to Life” sig-nature concept, where guests are greeted by vibrant decor and com-plimentary high speed internet inside its rooms.

It offers “the best venue for meetings and social events” with its 203-square meeting room that can be divid-ed into three separate rooms which makes it an ideal venue for small and mid-size events. Full seating capacity is 120 guests.

Perfect for both open socialization and inti-mate tete-a-tetes is “The Living Room” ambiance at the hotel lobby.

Sports and fitness find some fulfilment in its swimming pool and gym.

Aptly named in keep-ing with its “Adding Col-or to Life” signature concept, is its in-house restaurant Hues, serving a wide array of exciting food and beverage op-tions.

For bookings, inter-ested guests may vis-it www.parkinn.com/ho-tel-clark.

– with Park InnPress release

CHEErS. The ceremonial lighting of the Christmas Tree at the hotel’s opening with Peggy Angeles, SVP for operations-SMHCC; Andre de Jong, VP for operations Southeast Asia and the Pacific, CRHG; Mayor Marino Morales; Elizabeth Sy, SMHCC president; Zeny Alcantara, Park Inn by Radisson Clark GM; and Thomas Hagemann, VP for future hotel operations and special projects, CRHG. Photo by Bong Lacson

Lee’s syndicated estafa case is being heard, not to allow the media inside the building. Capati con-firmed that Reyes’ No-vember order barring the media still stands.

Members of the me-dia including print and broadcast journalists were again forced to stay outside the RTC build-ing.

Monday’s hearing was on the proposed transfer of Lee from the provincial jail at the Cap-itol compound to the de-tention facility of the Bu-reau of Jail Management and Penology in Baran-gay Telabastagan here.

MotionAtty. Roni Garay,

counsel of Lee, said he filed a “Motion for Leave to Take Deposition Upon Written Interrogatories” in the continuation of the trial. He said this is done when the witnesses are jail inmates.

Garay said the prose-cution now has 15 days to comment on their mo-tion while they will have another 10 days for the defense to file their reply.

Asked to comment on Lee’s transfer to anoth-er jail facility, Garay said this is already remote.

“Malabo na siya ma-ta-transfer dahil wala naman grounds at may-roon kaming witnesses na wala namang special treatment (The possibil-ity that he will be trans-ferred is already vague because there are no grounds and we have witnesses that there is no special treatment (ac-corded to Lee)),” the law-yer said.

HomeownersMeanwhile, thou-

sands of homeowners at Xevera subdivisions in Bacolor and Maba-lacat City in Pampan-ga are vigorously urging the Supreme Court (SC) to “immediately resolve the cases regarding the alleged housing scam” against Lee citing that

Media barred from RtC anewfrom page 1 “their ownership of their

houses has been placed at risk.”

The homeowners al-leged in a four-page let-ter in Pilipino to Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno that the Pag-IBIG Fund has been us-ing the pending cases as “an excuse to reject their monthly amortizations and decline to recognize them as homeowners.”

The homeowners said Pag-IBIG stripped Globe Asiatique of the authority to collect monthly payments from them and were directed to pay instead directly to Pag-IBIG or the Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF).

The Xevera home-owners claimed that the situation became “more complicated” when Pag-IBIG allegedly told them it would only accept their monthly payments if they would press charges against Globe Asiatique.

They alleged that Pag-IBIG ended up re-fusing their payments al-together when they re-fused heed such condi-tion.

“Ngayon po, ang tanging naisasagot lang po sa amin ng mga opisyales ng Pag-IBIG ay wala silang magagawa ‘hanggang hindi nakaka-pagbigay ng kasagutan ang Korte Suprema sa usaping legal tungkol sa kasong kinakaharap ng aming developer,’ ka-hit pa sa aming pagka-ka-alam ay natalo na ang Pag-IBIG sa usaping civil sa (Regional Trial Court) at Court of Appeals kung saan ang Pag-IBIG ay hinatulang may sala sa kaguluhang ito,” the homeowners said in their letter.

“Kami po ay dumudu-log sa inyo upang mabig-yan po ng kalinawan ang aming mga katanungan at lubos na nananalig na magkakaroon din ng kalutasan ang aming suliranin at kaganapan ang aming mga mithiin,” they added.

But the homeowners clarified that they want

no involvement in the cases filed by Pag-IBIG against Globe Asiat-ique, of which Lee is the founder and president.

“Kung politika man o ano pa man ang kanil-ang motibo, marapat po lamang na hindi po kami madamay lalu’t higit na magdusa pa habang naghihintay sa pinal na resulta ng legal na asun-to ng dalawang panig mula sa Korte Suprema sa apela ng talunang Pag-IBIG,” they said.

The homeowners told Sereno that they have already appealed to Pag-IBIG to re-establish the loan records of over 3,000 homebuyers or borrowers, and resume accepting their monthly amortization.

“Today, we contin-ue to live in uncertain-ty and suffer the risk of being dispossessed of our homes that we have bought with hard-earned money,” they said.

“As buyers of homes, we simply relied on a government housing pro-gram which we believed was working to serve the interest of the poor. But it seems we were proved wrong. And now we suf-fer for having placed our trust in the system,” they added.

The homeowners pointed out that in her testimony during the Senate blue ribbon com-mittee hearing on the al-leged “housing scam,” Pag-IBIG President Dar-lene Berberabe admitted under oath that Globe Asiatique does not owe Pag-IBIG Fund P6.5 bil-lion but on the contrary it is the funding agen-cy that owes Globe Asi-atique more than P600 million.

The letter was signed by the respective offi-cials of the homeowners associations including Chook Santos, Emman-uel Timpug, Ann Pad-riga of Xevera Mabala-cat, and Antonio Galura, Eduardo Dungao, and Dolores Dimabuyu of Xevera Bacolor.

–ashley Manabat

The minimum wage increase in Bataan, Bu-lacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales “shall be giv-

Minimum wage hike to take effect in CLfrom page 1 en in two tranches”- P8

upon implementation of the order and P7 on La-bor Day (May 1, 2016).

For Aurora, “the in-crease of P20/day shall likewise be given in two

tranches” – P10 upon the implementation of the order and the addi-tional P10 on Labor Day (May 1, 2016).

“With this, the high-est minimum wage in

the region is now P364, which is above the pov-erty threshold of P248 for a family of five as of December 2012,” De-partment of Labor and Employment (DOLE) Regional Director Ana Dione said.

In a statement, DOLE Secretary and NWPC Chairperson Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz said: “We have unanimous-ly affirmed Wage Order No. RB III-19 which rais-es by P15/day the min-imum wage in Bataan, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac and Zambales and by P20/day in Aurora for work-ers in retail and services establishments with less than 16 workers.”

Baldoz said, “With this, DOLE was able to meet its target that all of the country’s 30 min-imum wage rates will

be above the poverty threshold level before President Aquino’s term ends” on June 30, 2016.

“This is a victory not only for Filipino workers but for all Filipinos,” Bal-doz added.

“This latest wage or-der applies to all mini-mum wage earners in the private sector in Re-gion 3 regardless of po-sition, designation, sta-tus of employment, and methods by which the wages are paid,” Dione said.

Those who are not covered by the wage or-der are kasambahays and persons employed in personal service of another, including fam-ily drivers and workers of Barangay Micro Busi-ness Enterprises.

In issuing the wage order, the Regional Wage Board encour-

ages establishments to adopt productivity im-provement schemes such as time and motion studies, good house-keeping, quality circles, and labor management cooperation, as well as to implement gain shar-ing programs.

Dione said com-plaints for non-compli-ance with Wage Order RB III-19 shall be filed with DOLE Regional Of-fice 3 and shall be sub-ject of enforcement pro-ceedings under Article 128 of the Labor Code.

Any person, corpo-ration, trust or firm, part-nership, association, or entity which refuses or fails to pay the pre-scribed wage rates shall be subject to penal pro-visions under Republic Act 6727, or the Mini-mum Wage Fixing Law.

–ashley Manabat

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estate, liquor distribution and other specialty business.

For the logistics sec-tor: Philippine Coastal Stor-age and Pipeline Corp., with P3.4-billion worth of invest-ment in fuel terminal and stor-age tank farm that can hold 4.6 million barrels of petroleum and petroleum-related prod-ucts; Subic Bay International Terminal Corp., a P906-million company that manages and operates the New Container Terminal 1 and is committed to further develop the facilities; and Subic Bay Freeport Grain Terminal Services, Inc., with investment of P683 million for bulk grain handling for Central and Northern Luzon grain im-porters.

Then for the manufactur-ing and maritime sector, the awardees were: Hanjin Heavy Industries Inc., Phil., Subic’s biggest investor with over US$2 billion investment and a total of 33,863 workers; Sanyo

15 top Subic Freeport investors fetedDenki Phils., Inc., a P3.2-billion company with 3,500 workers engaged in the manufacture of electric machineries, applianc-es and computer and electron-ic wares; and Tong Lung Phils. Metal Industry Co., Inc., which has over P2.1 billion in invest-ments and over 2,100 workers for the manufacture of resi-dential and commercial lock-sets and door closer.

The Subic Bay Freeport and the Clark Freeport Zone in Pampanga remain to be major contributors to the country’s economic development, as their combined export values last year provided about 11 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

The SBMA said that Subic and Clark’s combined export value last year amounted to around US$6 billion and was very significant to the gross regional domestic product (GRDP) , which contributed 11 percent to the Philippine GDP.

By Ashley Manabat

CLARK FREEPORT -- Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez urged government to put in place stricter controls on the operations of firms that lure the public into putting their hard-earned money in dubi-ous investments.

Romualdez was here last Friday to support his mother, Juliet Gomez-Ro-mualdez, for being award-ed as the Most Outstand-ing Kapampangan Awardee (MOKA) for parenthood. The MOKA capped the weeklong celebration of Pampanga’s 444th foundation anniversa-ry on December 11.

“The public should be on the alert against pyramid-ing or Ponzi schemes that promise very high returns on investments,” Romual-dez said following the recent conviction of a couple by the Regional Trial Court (RTC)

Rep. Martin Romualdez joins his mom Juliette in a pose with Gov. Lilia Pineda during the MOKA rites. Photo courtesy of Deng Pangilinan

Romualdez: Gov’t should protect people from financial scams

in Makati City for selling un-registered securities.

The court sentenced spouses Saturnino and Ro-sario Baladjay, owners of Multinational Telecoms or Multitel, to a jail term of 455 years or seven years each for 65 counts of violation of the Securities Regulation Code (SRC).

The couple reportedly vic-timized close to a million peo-ple, and gypped them of an estimated P100 billion since they started the investment scam in the late 1980s.

Multitel attracted inves-tors by offering a four-percent guaranteed monthly interest for a minimum investment of P10,000, or double your mon-ey for investors who choose the 18-month lock-in scheme.

“The Securities and Ex-change Commission is on the right track in monitoring the activities of investment firms engaged in ‘get-rich-quick’

schemes aimed at defraud-ing the public and making them part with their hard-earned money,” Romualdez said.

“Government should take decisive moves against those responsible for invest-ment scams and demon-strate its compassion or malasakit for ordinary folk enticed by greedy individ-uals to put their savings in pyramiding schemes,” the lawmaker said.

Romualdez, a lawyer, is a member of the House Committee on Banks and Fi-nancial Intermediaries and president of the Philippine Constitution Association (Philconsa).

The lawmaker, who is on his last term as congress-man, is running for senator as a guest candidate of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) and presidential aspi-rant Rodrigo Duterte.

By Ernie Esconde

BALANGA City - Bataan Bishop Ruperto Santos on Friday afternoon led in the opening of the Diocesan Holy Door of the Cathedral Shrine of Saint Joseph here that he designated as one of five pil-grim churches in the province during the extraordinary Jubi-lee Year of Mercy.

The bishop started the cer-emony with prayers at an im-provised stage near the closed door of the church, declaring “Ngayong bukas, ako’y pa-pasok at itong Panginoon ay papupurihan.”

With a mallet, Santos hit three times on the door that opened. After the bishop re-turned to the stage, two wom-en placed flowers on the sides of the door, followed by two al-tar boys who put white cloth below the door. Then, two nuns pour Holy Oil on some portion of the door.

The bishop returned to the door and kneeled. Standing up, raising the Holy Bible, he said “Halina at sa pinto ay tu-muloy nang makamtan ang awa at pagpapatawad.”

This signaled the altar boys to enter the church. The priests and the bishop came in next, followed by the faithful with many kissing the door be-fore entering.

The same liturgical cele-bration will also be done in four other designated churches which are Saint John the Bap-tist in Dinalupihan, Saint Cath-erine of Siena in Samal, Dioc-esan Shrine of Divine Mercy in Balanga and Diocesan Shrine of San Roque for Healing and Pastoral Care of the Sick in Lamao, Limay town.

By Malou Dungog

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) has con-ferred its first SBMA Mabuhay Business Awards to 15 busi-ness locators here who have strengthened the local econo-my and contributed significant-ly to the growth of the coun-try’s gross domestic product.

Organized by the Office of the Chairman and Administra-tor and the SBMA Business Group, the Mabuhay Business Awards were given to the top 15 locators whose combined investments have reached a total of $3 billion and togeth-er have employed over 40,000 workers.

“These locators have breathed life into the local economy,” said SBMA Chair-man Roberto Garcia. “They have transformed vacant par-cels of land into busy commer-cial establishments and facto-ries; a target range into a lead-ing shipbuilding facility in the world; and a marsh land into a hi-tech manufacturing facility

producing high value electron-ic components used by global brands.”

“The awards we’re giving them are just a small measure of our appreciation in helping build the Subic Bay Freeport into what it is now,” Garcia added.

According to SBMA Depu-ty Administrator for Business Ronnie Yambao, the 15 in-vestor-awardees were chosen from the 1,536 Freeport-reg-istered companies based on their actual investments, jobs generated, and multiplier ef-fect caused by the locators’ business operations.

For the general business sector, the awardees were: Honeywell Ceasa (Subic Bay) Co., Inc., a P435-million firm providing repair and over-haul of aircraft wheels, brakes and other aircraft equipment; Petron Freeport Corp., a whol-ly-owned subsidiary of Petron Corp., with P422-million in-vestment in Subic; and Anglo Asia Commodities Corp., a P350-million investment en-gaged in export/import, ware-

housing, and transshipment of general cargoes and mer-chandise.

For the information and communication technology sector, the awardees were: PLDT Subic Telecom Inc., a P550-million project that pro-vides telecommunications ser-vices in the Freeport; S-Corp Philippines, Inc., a P166-mil-lion company with 1,800 work-ers in the field of technology services; and Moon Kkang Talk, Inc., a P97-million in-vestment with 173 workers that provides online direct re-sponse marketing, live order taking services, on-line learn-ing center, among others.

For the leisure sector, those cited were: Subic Bay Town Center, Inc., with invest-ment of P1.6-billion for the operation of the Harbor Point Mall; Royal Duty Shops Inc., also a P1.6-billion investment that engages in retail busi-ness; and Fertuna Holdings Corp, a wholly-owned subsid-iary of Cosco Capital Inc., with P250 million committed invest-ment in the field of retail, real Bishop opens

Diocesan Holy DoorThe respective vic-

ar foranes of the four other churches will simultaneously officiate in the liturgical cele-bration Saturday morning.

“We have chosen the five churches to serve as God’s channels of mercies and to share them to our people,” the bishop of the Diocese of Bal-anga said.

He asked those passing the Holy Doors to reflect on their valuable roles in life

“When the Church opens her door, it means that she knows everybody and invites everyone. The Church wel-comes and accepts all, recog-nizing all as her children. So, for her there is no barrier, no separation, no distance, no discrimination,” the Bataan prelate said.

He said that the Church makes everybody feel at home with her, regardless of social position, conditions and ori-entations. She treats and ac-cepts all equally, regardless of contributions and connections, the bishop said.

“When the Church opens her door, it means that God is there, waiting for us. God is always watching us. God is ready to walk with us to lead us back to the gates of heav-en. When the Church opens her door, it is now our turn, our time to open our hearts to Christ,” Santos said.

Pope Francis has officially declared December 8, 2015 to November 20, 2016 as Year of Mercy with the desire that “the Holy Door will become a door of mercy through which any-one who enters will experience the love of God who consoles, pardons and instill hope.”

THINK GREEN

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