Punto!PANANAW NG MALAYANG PILIPINO!

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CLARK FREEPORT – More than 2,000 Mabalaqueños trooped to the Royce Hotel here on Monday for the Federalism Forum organized by Mabalacat City Mayor Marino “Boking” Morales and the PDU30 CoRe (Constitutional Reformers).

FEDERALISTS SALUTE. Participants to the Federalism Forum led by PDU30 CoRe convenor Raul Lambino and Mayor Marino Morales give the Duterte salute as affi rmation of their approval of federalist system of government for the country. P!"#" $"%&#'() "* V+,+-/ V'0'1

Mabalacat City backs federalism

CITY OF SAN FERNAN-DO – The Ambassador of South Africa is eyeing a twinning agreement between his country and the province of Pampan-ga on agriculture, fi shery and even manufacturing industry.

This was gleaned during the courtesy vis-it of His Excellency Am-bassador Martin Slab-ber to Governor Lilia G. Pineda at the Provincial

CALL. South African Ambassador Martin Slabber gives token gift to Gov. Lilia G. Pineda during his courtesy call at the Capitol on Monday. P!"#" 2) B"/3 L-$("/

South African envoy eyes twinning pact with Pampanga

Capitol yesterday.The two offi cials have

also talked on how to strengthen the coopera-tion and connection be-tween South Africa and Pampanga in terms of agriculture and invest-ment.

The Ambassador was welcomed also by Pro-vincial Administrator Atty. Andres S. Pangilinan, Jr., historian Fray Fran-

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ANGELES CITY- The National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) said it expected a “spirited and interest-ing” continuing talks with the government in Oslo, Norway starting Oct. 6 up to 10.

“All the Recipro-cal Working Groups (RWGs) are functioning well and the Recipro-

EDPAM LEAVING FOR OSLO

NDFP sees ‘spirited’ peace talkscal Working Committees (RWCs) have conduct-ed meetings too. I think it’s all systems go for the next round. We’re ready for peace,” said this city’s Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan who is mem-ber of the government’ peace panel.

In a statement, the NDFP noted that “the 1987 Constitution of the Republic of the Philip-pines (GRP) and the

Communist Party of the Philippines’ (CPP) Guide for Establishing the People’s Democrat-ic Government and the Program for a People´s Democratic Government of the National Demo-cratic Front of the Philip-pines (NDFP) will serve as ‘guiding frameworks’ in crafting an agreement on social and economic reforms under the pro-

Pamintuan

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Scrap PHL Reclamation AuthorityCLARK FREEPORT - The fi sherfolk group Pambansang Lak-as ng Kilusang Mama-malakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) has urged Pres. Duterte to abolish

the Philippine Reclama-tion Authority (PRA) for “rampant destruction of coastal communities and marine environment that led to widespread dis-placement and demoli-

tion of fi sherfolk and peo-ple living in the coasts.”

Pamalakaya said “the creation of the PRA has no any legal basis that it even contradicts the

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CABANATUAN CITY – Whatever excitement and fear that Novo Eci-janos entertained on the projected transfer of the National Bilibid Prison (NBP) to Nueva Ecija are

Excitement,fear over ‘bilibid’

transfer to NE gonegone.

This came out follow-ing the statement made by Justice Secretary Vi-taliano Aguirre during the congressional hear-ing recently about the al-leged illicit drug activities

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ANGELES CITY – The in-creasing number of vehicles on the streets highlighted by the lack of infrastructure as well as the lack of foresight of some government offi cials is now causing the horren-dous traffi c jams in the city’s main thoroughfares.

This was the gist of the message delivered by City Councilor Carmelo “Pogi” Lazatin, Jr. at the media fo-rum “Batirulan qng Café Juan” organized by the Ca-pampangan in Media, Inc. in cooperation with the Clark Development Corp. and the Holy Angel University here last Friday.

Lazatin said the main problem of the city is the vol-ume of vehicular traffi c due to the increasing daytime activi-ties compounded by the ever increasing population.

He said the estimated allotted budget of P1.5 billion for road widening is not enough. “The increasing budget is in-deed vital to road construction because the population keeps on increasing but the roads are not getting any wider,” he said.

Lazatin also stressed that the lack of traffi c lights is part of the dilemma that is why he fi led a resolution in the city coun-cil for the immediate repair of busted traffi c lights especially at the intersection of Rizal Street going to Porac town and the Clark Circumferential Road.

Lazatin said rush hour traffi c at the said intersection is “horrendous” because of the busted traffi c light.

But he lamented that the city council refused to approve the said resolution which could have been easily funded through his brother, 1st District Rep. Jonjon Lazatin. Some P5 million is needed for the repair, Lazatin said.

Sadly, my colleagues are just waiting for the public works department to make a move instead of being proactive in cas-es like this, he lamented.

“For me, the people have the right to a speedy delivery of public services,” he said. - Trisha Soto/UA OJT

THE ANGELES City local government will host a traffi c summit to address the growing problem of traffi c congestion in the city. With the theme, “Abe-abe king problema, saup-saup king solusyun,” the day-long conference will tackle the is-sues on public transportation, traffi c management, traffi c legislation, the impact of the full-utilization of Clark Inter-national Airport (CIA) and the future plans and projects of the local government that are geared towards the improve-ment of traffi c.

Expected to attend the conference are offi cials from the neighboring municipalities of Porac and Magalang and the neighboring cities of San Fernando and Mabalacat. Of-fi cials from regional govern-ment offi ces, including DPWH, LTFRB, LTO, NEDA were also invited.

Other invited participants include the public trans-port sector, represented by PASADA for the public utility jeepneys and FEDTODA, rep-resenting the tricycle drivers and operators, not only from

AC to host traffi c summitAngeles City and Pampanga, but from other provinces in the region, as well.

Commuters, private ve-hicle drivers, students, offi ce workers and businessmen are very vocal in their frustrations and anger during rush traffi c hour, especially along Ange-les-Magalang Road in Cutud, Sapa Libutad, Pandan Road. Friendship Road, where Korea town is located, as well as the intersection of Angeles-Porac and Friendship Highway in Brgy. Cutcut, are among the traffi c hotspots in the city.

Mayor Edgardo Pamintu-an ordered the Angeles City Traffi c Management Board (ACTMB) to conduct this sum-mit in order to prepare the city and the people for the massive development that will reach the city, specially now that the fo-cus of the national government is to fully utilize CIA as a re-gional gateway of the country.

“We cannot allow Angeles to be the next EDSA and we cannot allow our city to suff o-cate because our main arterial roads are blocked.” While we at the government level are

working and doing our best to mitigate the problem, we need the support and cooperation of the people, motorists, pedes-trians, business people, and all major stakeholders.” Pa-mintuan stated.

“We have to impose disci-pline on the road and there will be no let-up in our campaign to clean our roads from illegal-ly parked vehicles, encroach-ment, obstructions, sidewalk vendors and garbage,” Pa-mintuan added.

The mayor even men-tioned that “no matter how many roads will be construct-ed, there will always be traffi c because roads attract vehi-cles.”

Meanwhile, ACTDO Chief Dan Concepcion said that his offi ce is aware of the many problems that our motorists and commuting public en-counter on the road and he is constantly thinking of how to introduce solutions.

The traffi c summit will be held at Royce Hotel in Clark Freeport Zone on Wednesday, September 28, 2016.

–Angeles CIO

POGI LAZATIN

‘Traffi c mess is AC’s principal dilemma’

Lazatin

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO - The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) recently gave P4-million to the provincial government of Pampanga recently for the livelihood assistance of at least 138 Cabalens.

According to PESO man-ager Luningning Vergara, P4 million worth of livelihood program includes the distri-bution of nego trailers to 12 kapampangan associations with 15 members each, as-sistance to 50 sewers under

DOLE gives Pampanga P4-M for livelihood of 138 cabalens

Mananahing Kapampangan, 10 individual nego-kart ben-efi ciaries, 16 group starter kit benefi ciaries with 5 members each and 50 push carts for the scavengers.

Vergara said that this was made possible through the DOLE Integrated Livelihood and Emergency Employment Program (DILEEP) that will fund the various livelihood pro-grams of the provincial gov-ernment.

Vergara added that con-tinuous monitoring of the dis-

patching of nego trailers, nego karts and push carts units will be performed by the agency in cooperation with the local employment offi ces to gauge the success of the project and the impact to the benefi ciaries.

The distribution of nego trailers and nego karts is an eff ort of the provincial gov-ernment to provide alterna-tive source of livelihood for the workers from the infor-mal sector. – Ma. Reina Len Luna/Pampanga PIO

DOLE Regional Director Ana Dione awards to Gov. Lilia Pineda and Vice-Gov. Dennis ‘Delta’ Pineda the P4-M check for the livelihood assistance with members of the provincial board in attendance.

GREAT SHOPPING deals and amazing fi nds await all shoppers at SM City San Fer-nando Downtown as it holds its 3 Day Sale on September 30, October 1 and 2. Enjoy longer shopping hours when the mall opens as early as 9AM until 9PM for 3 days straight. That’s an exciting bargain hunter’s itinerary of 12 hours of shop-ping, good food and fun!

Bag the biggest discounts and prices off of up to 70% for all your needs - apparel items, fashion accessories, home furnishing, baby needs, sport-ing goods, electronic gadgets and home appliances from The SM Store, Supermarket, ACE Hardware, Watsons, SM Appliance and all boutiques mall wide.

What’s more, SM Advan-tage, BDO Rewards or Pres-tige card holders may take ad-vantage of the 2-hour special of 10% discount on top of the already discounted items on the fi rst day, September 30, from 9am to 12 noon.

SM City San Fernando Downtown makes your 3 Day Sale shopping even better with thrilling prizes up-for-grabs! Get a chance to win a brand

new Suzuki Celerio with every P1,000 purchase from all SM affi liates or from any of the par-ticipating mall establishments! Winning is easy - fi ll out raffl e stub and drop the raffl e entries at the designated drop boxes located at the Ground Level near BDO. Double your stubs mean double you chances of winning when you play the su-per catcher Kinect game locat-ed at the 3rd Level.

What’s more, be one of the three (3) Biggest Spender win-ner and win an overnight ho-tel accommodation at Park Inn by Radisson Clark. While on October 2, fi rst 100 custom-ers with minimum purchase of P2,000 gets Sky Ranch pass-es!

PLUS, The SM Store is giving away one (1) Huawei Smart Watch to eight (8) win-ners with every P3,000 pur-chase. Winning is easy - fi ll out raffl e stub and drop the raffl e entries at the designated drop boxes located at The SM Store.

Don’t miss the biggest deals at SM CITY SAN FER-NANDO DOWNTOWN 3 Day SALE on September 30, Oc-tober 1 and 2. –Press release

Great fi nds atSMSF Downtown

3-Day Sale

THINKGREEN

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“EMPOWERING people to take an active role in the preservation of the ocean is a way of helping in the con-servation of the ocean.” SM Olongapo is keeping its com-mitment to promote and sup-port the International Coast-al Cleanup by joining the ac-tivity in Kalaklan Lighthouse, Olongapo City on September 24, 2016.

SM affi liates , tenants, agencies and employees en-gaged in this noble activity to help eliminate trash and de-bris from beaches and water-ways that contribute to pollu-tion.

SM Supermalls share the

SM Gapo joins Int’l Coastal Cleanup 2016

same advocacy with OC-IC-C(Ocean Conservancy-In-ternational Coastal Cleanup) through the SM Cares pro-gram on Environment and Vol-unteerism which works active-ly to safeguard our natural eco-systems, provide information and educate the public on var-ious environmental concerns and encourage the community members to do their share to preserve mother nature.

Volunteer organizations, patrons of SM Olongapo, LGU representatives, Department of Environment and Natu-ral Resources, the Philippine Coast Guard, PNP, Bureau of Fire Protection, business

groups,17 Barangays, Boy Scouts of the Phils. and Girl Scouts of the Phils. Olon-gapo chapter, students and teachers participated in the Coastal Cleanup.

According to Ocean Con-servancy report more than 18 million pounds of trash was collected by nearly 800,000 volunteers during the 2015 International Coastal Clean-up.

This annual activity em-powers people to stop the fl ow of trash before it hits the ocean. SM Olongapo con-stantly supports this kind of activity and adhere to one common purpose. –PR-SMOL

SM affi liates , tenants, agencies, employees and

other organizations engage in this noble activity to

help eliminate trash and debris from beaches and

waterways that contribute to pollution.

THE PHILIPPINES’ leading carrier, Cebu Pacifi c Air (PSE: CEB), yesterday took deliv-ery of the very fi rst ATR 72-600 High Capacity aircraft at an event in Toulouse, France. The delivery is the fi rst of a US$673-million order of 16 aircraft that was placed at the 2015 Paris Airshow, which also includes an option to acquire additional ten more planes.

The new ATR 72-600 which will be operated by Cebgo, the wholly owned subsidiary of CEB, features advanced avi-onics, enhanced performance in hot and high environments and increased cabin space along with additional seating capacity. The additional seat-ing capacity will help further lower unit seat costs enabling CEB to pass on the benefi ts through lower fares to its cus-tomers.

CEB will progressively re-place its current fl eet of eight ATR 72-500s – which are con-fi gured with 72 seats – with the fl eet of 16 new ATR 72-600s, with 78 seats. Deliveries of the ATR 72-600s will run until 2020. The airline is moderniz-ing its fl eet with the most pop-ular regional aircraft to sub-stantially expand its route net-work and frequencies across the archipelago and continue to support the growing Phil-ippine economy. In a particu-larly competitive environment, the new high capacity ATR72-600s will help the airline re-duce its fl eet’s fuel consump-tion and cost per seat while answering the growing de-

CEB takes delivery of fi rst ATR 72-600 High Capacity aircraft

mand for inter-island connec-tivity.

Commenting on this major delivery, Lance Gokongwei, President and CEO of Cebu Pacifi c Air declared: “We are honored to be the launch op-erator of the largest-capacity confi guration of the ATR 72-600. These aircraft will enable us to provide the most mod-ern standards of comfort and even more competitive fares to our guests, while expanding our inter-island network. The opening of new routes and destinations will help strength-en links between local com-munities and encourage more business and tourism opportu-nities. The Required Naviga-tion Performance-Authoriza-tion Required (RNP AR) and Vertical Navigation (VNAV) capability of our new ATR 72-600 fl eet will further increase airfi eld access, benefi ting the economies of remote provinc-es, as well as facilitating more effi cient air traffi c manage-ment.”

Patrick de Castelbajac, CEO of ATR, commented: “The ATR 72-600 is particularly successful in South East Asia as it off ers the optimal answer for regional travel, in terms of both operating costs and pas-senger experience. The new high capacity option is particu-larly adapted to the operation-al needs of a successful low-cost carrier in this part of the world. We look forward to see our fi rst 78-seater fl y with one of the fastest-growing carriers, Cebu Pacifi c. ”

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E d i t o r i a l

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. VenturaLacson Macapagal

Business & Editorial offi ce 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

acaesar.blogspot.com

Zona Libre Bong Z. Lacson

Opinion

Up1,031 KILLED during police operations.

592 killed by unidentifi ed assailants.133 bodies found away from the crime

scene.So stood Death in Numbers in the War on

Drugs post of the ABS-CBN Investigation and Research Group as of Sept. 26, 2016.

DownP48.25 to $1.

So closed the peso in trading on Sept. 26, 2016, a seven-year low.

Aside“THE PACE of the net outfl ows in the past two months has been faster than other periods historically, averaging above a billion pesos a day. There is still some debate if the cause of which is profi t-taking, uncertainty over the Fed hike, or concerns on domestic stability. It’s likely an unknowable mix of all three–though one thing is for certain, this sell-off is certainly not regional.”

So said Papa Securities, a local stock brokerage.

And furthered: “We suspect that President Duterte’s often-quoted statements merely aggravate foreign selling in a relatively ‘fragile’ market.”

More telling is S&P: “When combined with the President’s policy pronouncements elsewhere on foreign policy and national security, we believe that the stability and predictability of policymaking has diminished somewhat.” Affi rmed Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) economist Emilio Neri Jr.: “Most of the investors who have raised their concerns with us fi nd the uncertainty about Philippine foreign policy and diplomacy to be most unsettling.”

We are not saying anything. We, along with the Filipino people, can

only brace ourselves for more suff ering. With the hope of change truly coming.

Freedom of ExemptionsMOST EXEMPTIONS, least information.

Indeed, with its 166 exemptions, is there still anything left of substance, if not of consequence, to President Duterte’s executive order on Freedom of Information in the Executive Branch?

“Freedom of Exemptions.” So National Union of Journalists secretary-general Dabet Panelo called – so aptly – the administration’s much-hyped FOI in an ABS-CBN interview with Karen Davila.

More impact on the people than on the media, Panelo lamented of Duterte’s FOI though, given in-depth research, investigation and vetting integral in media procedure at getting at the news.

Said Panelo: “The FOI is actually for the people because we will do our job anyway. The people, this is their weapon. Pag pumunta sila sa barangay, bakit walang gamot sa barangay? Bakit walang gamot, bakit walang paracetamol? Nasaan ang listahan? Bakit naubos? Bakit walang nebulizer? Nasaan ang gastos? ‘Yun ‘yun eh.”

Yeah, and the people have the elemental right to know what government is doing or not doing for them and why.

“Precisely in the public interest.” So the erudite Vergel Santos, chair of the board of trustees of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, said of the listed exemptions in the FOI. Also in the same interview with Davila.

“The more general problem is that every exception necessarily narrows the freedom,” Santos lamenting the curtailment of what the measure professes to open.

Santos expressed no surprise in the FOI unacted in the House and the Senate “because the potential target of FOI are members of Congress.” And segued to the President.

“There’s so many self-contradictory things about the President. He tells you he’s a populist leader…This falls perfectly into the sort of character that he is. He is ruling with an iron fi st.” Santos calling the spade a shovel there.

Seeing a national peril in President Duterte’s “soaring popularity rate” leading “people to believe everything that he says.”

Yeah, how can President Duterte, with his 91 percent – now said to be 97 percent – across the nation approval rating can ever be wrong?

Believe. As his legions of lemmings do.Or perish. Perhaps with a cardboard saying

“Anti-Duterte. ‘Wag tularan.” Outrageous? Yes. Outlandish? Think again.Observed Santos: “We are now surrendering

to the idea that every issue in this country should be decided by the numerical majority.”

Yeah, as in the 16 million voters who went for Duterte believing themselves the majority rather than a simple plurality.

Yeah, as in the congressmen and senators of varied colors – the yellows and reds included – coalescing with Duterte’s handpicked heads for both Houses, who in the preceding regime were but by their lonesome sorry selves.

Indeed, the rightness and righteousness of everything Duterte now fi nding rightful ground there. Hence, the wrongness of everything not Duterte.

Santos, en punto: “So this is our point: Democracy has its own checks when it comes to these things.”

As in the protection of the right of the minority against the tyranny of the bully, in the silence of the majority.

An FOI that is truly free, there. Not one with the exemptions making the rule.

Or, am I just being biased? Having written this after watching and reading “bias media” ABS-CBN?

Shucks. My own FOI – freedom of interpretation.

ON SEPTEMBER 28, 1910, Diosdado Pangan Macapa-gal, 9th President of the Phil-ippines serving from 1961 to 1965, was born in Lubao, Pampanga.

Known as the “Poor Boy from Lubao”, Macapagal, who fi nished law at the Universi-ty of Santo Tomas through the assistance from a friend, topped the 1936 Bar examina-tions with a score of 89.95 per-cent.

He was the father of Pres-ident Gloria Macapagal-Ar-royo, 14th President of the Philippines.

President Macapagal earned his Master of Laws de-gree in 1941, a Doctor of Civ-il Law degree in 1947, and a Ph.D. in Economics in 1957.

Diosdado P. Macapagal is born in Lubao, Pampanga

Among his most signifi cant career achievements was the abolition of tenancy accom-panying the land reform pro-gram in the Agricultural Land Reform Code of 1963 which underscored his endeavor to fi ght mass poverty.

Macapagal changed the Philippine Independence Day from July 4 to June 12 which symbolized his policy of pro-moting and achieving true independence from foreign domination. He placed the peso on the free currency ex-change market, and liberal-ized foreign exchange and im-port controls.

Macapagal also served as vice president in 1957 in the administration of President Carlos P. Garcia. He defeated

Garcia in his reelection bid in the 1961 elections.

He also became repre-sentative of the fi rst district of Pampanga in 1949 and was consistently selected by the Congressional Press Club as one of the Ten Outstanding Congressmen during his ten-ure. He was selected as “the Best Lawmaker” in his second term in Congress.

He retired from politics fol-lowing his 1965 loss to Presi-dent Ferdinand Marcos.

Macapagal, who devoted much of his time to reading and writing books in his re-tirement, died of heart failure, pneumonia and renal compli-cations on April 21, 1997. He was buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani.

Don’t be discouraged by a failure. It can be a positive experience. Failure is, in a sense, the highway to success, inasmuch as every discovery of what is false leads us to seek earnestly after what is true, and every fresh experience points out some form of error which we shall afterwards carefully avoid. –John Keats

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Napag-uusapanLangFelix M. Garcia

Sino sa DFA ang dapat sisihin?ISA SA ‘king anak ang nagkaproblema

sa pagkuha n’yan ng Pasaporte niya

dito sa DFA natin sa Pampanga

nang dahil sa sobrang higpit lang ng isa.

Na aywan kung ito’y may sapat na ‘training’

hinggil sa ilang bagay na kinakailangan din

namang mabigyan ng kaukulang pansin

ng nakatoka sa counter ng processing.

Gaya riyan ng bagay na di kasalanan

nitong aplikante ay hindi nabigyan

n’yan ng positibong aksyon na kailangan

gayong okey na sa ibang kasamahan.

Nakuhanan na ng litrato at lahat

o kumbaga ay plantsado na at sukat

ang ‘documentation’ at iba pang dapat

daanan – hanggang sa nakauwi agad.

Pero kung kailan at siya’y nakauwi na

saka tinawagan upang bumalik siya

sa DFA at ang sabi’y di uubra

ang huling papeles na sinumite niya.

Yan ay ang tungkol sa ‘birth certifi cate’

nitong si Mary Jane na ‘authenticated’

ng City Registrar ng City of Pasig

ay ni-reject pa ng offi cer na buwisit

Na nakadestino sa processing section

ng ating DFA dito sa Third Region,

dahil may Pasig daw saka Mandaluyong

na nakalagay sa Record ng NSO

Gayong gaya na nga ng aking nasabi,

ay napakasimple nitong ‘discrepancy’

na naitala sa ‘birth cert’ na nasabi,

ng sinumang dating MCR nga kasi.

Although in contrary or to support rather

Applicant’s lawful claim, the Local Registrar

Of now Pasig city issued birth cert for her

To correct what has been mistakably written?

Hindi pa ba sapat na dokumento yan

para itong applikante ay mabigyan

ng konsiderasyon sa puntong naturan

bilang ‘law abiding citizen’ din naman?

O baka naman ay kulang lang sa pansin

Itong masungit na opisyal ng ating

DFA kung kaya sa napakasimpleng

bagay lang ay sobra kahigpit marahil?

Kung aniya’y kailangang kumuha ng bago

ang ‘applicant’ ng ‘birth certifi cate’ nito,

Di kaya lalo nang magka-lukoluko

ang record ng aking anak sa NSO?

Kasi ay ‘lawfully registered’ na nga yan

bilang pang-anim sa supling naming siyam

ng aking esposang apelyido’y Viray

at ni ‘yours truly’ na ama niyang tunay.

Lalong di uubra kung ‘late registration’

ang i-apply pagkat mayrun na nga itong

‘birth cert on fi le’sa main offi ce ng NSO,

na ang kopya n’yan ay hawak na niya ngayon.

Kaya kung nang dahil lamang sa posibleng

kapalpakan ng ibang opisyal natin

ay di nakalipad itong anak namin,

sino sa DFA ang dapat sisihin?

THE PEACE talks between the Philippine government and the National Democratic Front of the Philippines was (sic) vir-tually on a standstill during the administration of former Presi-dent Benigno Simeon C. Aqui-no. Like it or not, this was be-cause some of the appointed negotiators operated on the framework of “peace” based on the surrender of arms of the revolutionaries, and not on a political settlement founded on the resolution of the root causes of the armed confl ict.

After a hiatus of 6 long years, the peace negotiations with the NDFP was (sic) suc-cessfully revived after Pres-ident Rodrigo Roa Duter-te gave the go signal for the release on bail of several top-ranking leaders the Com-munist Party of the Philip-pines (CPP). Among them are Benito Tiamzon and Wilma

COMMENTARY

We are ready for peaceB A"" . E#$%&#' D. P%()*"+%*

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Austria-Tiamzon, who are said to be the Chairman and Sec-retary General of the CPP, re-spectively.

The fi rst round of talks held in Oslo, Norway on August 20 to 26, 2016 was very success-ful with the signing of a Joint Statement anchored on major agreements including the uni-lateral indefi nite ceasefi re an-nouncements from both sides. This cessation of armed hostil-ities has been holding and this could lead to the Declaration of a Joint Ceasefi re Agree-ment.

All the Reciprocal Working Groups (RWGs) are function-ing well and the Reciprocal Working Committees (RWCs) have conducted meetings too. It is all systems go for the next round. We are ready to accel-erate the peace negotiation. We are ready for peace.

The CPP and NDFP to-

gether with its armed wing, the New People’s Army, have been waging a nearly 5-decade war in the Philippine countrysides. They are pushing for genuine agrarian reform, national in-dustrialization, independent foreign policy and other pro-grams. President Duterte has acknowledged that basic re-forms must be implemented. In fact, the choice of progres-sive individuals in key social reform departments of gov-ernment was a clear indication that the President is serious in addressing the roots (sic) causes of this protracted war.

Allow me to salute the RWC and RWGs of both pan-els. With the dedication and commitment of everyone – es-pecially of the Chairman and Members of Peace Panel – the road to peace, which has been long and bumpy, is be-ginning to be paved.

(26 September 2016, Angeles City, Pampanga, Philippines)

MAYOR Edwin “EdSa” Santi-ago was named as one of the Presidential Lingkod Bayan (PLB) awardee in Central Lu-zon during the 2016 Search for Outstanding Public Offi -cials and Employees by the Civil Service Commission (CSC).

The award was received by Mayor EdSa from CSC Exec-utive Director Arthur Luis Flo-rentin and Regional Director Myrna Macatangay last Sep-tember 26 at the Widus Hotel in Clark Freeport Zone.

The PLB award is con-ferred to an individual for ex-ceptional or extraordinary con-tributions resulting from an idea or performance that had nationwide impact on public interest, security and patrimo-ny. These contributions in-clude innovation, superior ac-complishment, among others.

Mayor EdSa was com-mended for his 10 point De-velopment Agenda and Fer-nandino First: Fernandino ing mumuna, Fernandino ing manimuna, a concept for t pur-suit of excellence as a way

EdSa named Presidential Lingkod Bayan awardee

of life. These guide the city government in planning and implementing programs and projects for Fernandinos who have been seeing continuous progress, more social services and empowered barangays.

With his Mayor EdSa’s stewardship, the city’s busi-ness climate has remained very favorable. Registered businesses increased by 15% from 2012 to 2015. For two consecutive years (2014-2015), the city was named as the Most Business Friendly Local Government Unit by the Philippine Chamber of Com-merce and Industry.

He also implemented long term solutions for social is-sues including programs that address the birth-to-retirement needs of the citizenry.

His directive to attract in-vestments that generate a high level of employment with no negative eff ects on the en-vironment is refl ected in pro-grams like the Plastic Free Or-dinance, full implementation of Ecological Solid Waste Man-agement Act, establishment of

Organic Trading Post, among others.

In an interview, Mayor EdSa has dedicated this rec-ognition to the Fernandinos. “I am truly humbled to be giv-en this award. If our work as public offi cials made people’s lives better then we have ac-complished our sworn duties”, he said.

He also encouraged his fellow awardees to keep on improving the government’s quality of service so that the public shall be served better.

“Remember that awards and recognitions are our dash-boards and barometers, they keep us on track on how we do our job of serving the people” he added.

Other PLB awardees in the region are Dr. Ricardo Orge of Philippine Rice Research In-stitute, PSUPT Rhodel Sermo-nia, Provincial Director of PNP Bataan, and Governor Albert Raymond Garcia of Bataan.

Other civil servants were also awarded in the Pag-asa and Dangal ng Bayan catego-ries. –CSFP-CIO

Presidential Lingkod Bayan awardee Mayor Edwin D. Santiago, CSC Executive Director Arthur Luis Florentin, and other winners of the 2016 Search for Outstanding Public Offi cials and Employees in a photo opportunity.

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F��� ���! 1

The forum, the fourth in the province, was the biggest federalism gath-ering in the country so far, according to ac-tress Vivian Velez who is the speaker, ways and means chairperson, and media liaison offi cer of the PDU30 CoRe which has helped organized about 50 forums since June 10.

Lawyer Raul Lambi-no, lead convenor of PDU30 CoRe and one of the principal speakers, said the forum is import-ant because it is meant to let the people under-stand the change in the system of our govern-ment.

He said this is not an easy thing to do that is why the forum is meant to educate the people on what federalism is all about so that they can make the right decision.

“This the reason why our countrymen in Maba-lacat like city offi cials, ba-rangay offi cials, leaders of diff erent organizations as well ordinary folks are here to learn about fed-eralism,” he said.

From his own obser-vation, Lambino said, federalism is well ac-cepted by the people be-cause they realize that it empowers them and gives them much faster access on their needs unlike the present sys-tem which has been in place for more than a

Mabalacat City backs federalismcentury since the time of the Americans and in the beginning of our govern-ment.

Lambino said the change in the system of government has become more vital in the light of our growing population which has now exceed-ed 100 million.

He explained that in the 1920s, there were only 15 million Filipinos but now we have 30 mil-lion poor Filipinos. “We need to address the needs the growing num-ber of poor Filipinos and allow them faster access to basic services,” he said.

Filipinos can now re-alize that they have a choice for a better future and this is federalism, he pointed out.

But Lambino said it will take another two to three years before the change in our Constitu-tion can be implemented. “And as soon as we have achieved the change in our Constitution we will now have a new onen, and we now have to con-tend with a long transi-tion period which could last for another three years,” he noted.

According to Lambi-no, Senate President Koko Pimentel and House Speaker Bebot Alvarez told him that by March next year, Con-gress will begin talking about forming a constit-uent assembly who will outline a new Consti-

ADVOCATE. Former Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr. fi elds question at a press conference prior to his talk on his “advocacy of over 30 years” at the Federalism Forum sponsored by the Mabalacat City government at Royce Hotel Monday. With him are Clark Airport International Corp. president Alex Cauguiran, lawyer Raul Lambino of PDU30 CoRe, Mayor Marino Morales and Vice Mayor Christian Halili. P!"#" 2) B"/3 L-$("/

tution. They will be as-sisted by a constitution-al commission whose members will be appoint-ed by President Duterte.

He said they will take about six to nine months to outline a new Consti-tution and whatever they created will be present-ed to the Filipino peo-ple who will then ratify it through a plebiscite.

For his part, Mayor Morales said federalism will strengthen the local government units. “This will certainly promote genuine local autonomy that is why we support this to encourage the de-velopment of the coun-

tryside,” he said. “This is also one way to decon-gest Metro Manila,” he added.

Mabalacat City Vice Mayor Christian C. Halili, who made the welcome remarks, described the forum as a good oppor-tunity for Mabalaqueños, especially barangay offi -cials, to learn and under-stand what federalism is all about which is be-ing pushed by President Duterte.

“This is a good oppor-tunity for our people to be equipped with knowl-edge so that they could understand better what federalism is all about,”

he said.Meanwhile, former

Senator Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel, the main speaker in the forum, said he has been advo-cating for a shift to a fed-eral form of government since some 30 years ago.

But he said it was hard to even call for a charter change “unlike now that we have a sup-portive president that also advocates a federal form of government. The time is now for a genuine change.”

But he stressed that the ultimate responsibil-ity for adopting a feder-al system belongs to the

people.“It is important for the

people to know about fed-eralism so that they can have a basis for wisely de-ciding in favor or against the proposal,” he said.

Other speakers were Atty. Larry Garon who spoke on “Introduction to Parliamentary” and Of-fi ce of the Court Admin-istrator Atty. Jose Midas Marquez who articulated on the “Court in a Federal System of Government: A Proposed Perspective for the Philippines.”

The forum, hosted by former Rep. Kim Bernar-do-Lokim, began at 1 p.m. and lasted until 6 p.m.

posed framework and outline exchanged by the NDFP.”

Earlier this week, the NDFP exchanged with the GRP a proposed “framework and outline” for the Comprehensive Agreement on Social and Economic Reforms (CASER), the second substantive agenda to be tackled in the next round of peace negotia-tions in Oslo on October 6-10.

The exchange of “framework and out-line” was agreed upon

NDFP sees ‘spirited’ peace talksF��� ���! 1 during the meeting of

the Reciprocal Working Committees on Social and Economic Reforms (RWC-SER) of both Par-ties last August 24. The substantive agenda on social and economic re-forms is next to be nego-tiated by the two parties according to the frame-work agreement set by The Hague Joint Decla-ration of 1992.

“We anticipate a spir-ited and interesting dis-cussion on the frame-works, and at the same time expect it to be a bit contentious,” said NDFP consultant and RWC-

SER member Randall Echanis.

However, Echa-nis said, “the interests, rights and welfare of the people, and addressing the roots of the armed confl ict should be of ut-most importance.”

Echanis added that “under the NDFP pro-posal the responsibility for implementation of the agreement shall be joint and separate.”

The Guide for Es-tablishing the People’s Democratic Government is a 1972 document of the CPP that is being used by the NDFP as ba-

sic law in setting up the organs of people’s po-litical power in guerrilla bases and revolutionary territories.

According to the NDFP proposal, the main CASER objectives are: a) carry out agrar-ian reform and national industrialization; b) ad-vance the rights of ex-ploited, oppressed, dis-criminated and disad-vantaged sectors of so-ciety; c) uphold, protect, defend and promote economic sovereignty; and d) conserve the na-tional patrimony and pro-tect the environment.

In addition to the GRP’s 1987 Constitution and the CPP’s Guide for Establishing the Peo-ple’s Democratic Gov-ernment, the NDFP also proposed that the CAS-ER refer to “universal-ly accepted principles and instruments of in-ternational law, such as

the International Cove-nant on Economic, So-cial and Cultural Rights of 1966, the Internation-al Labor Convention of 1948 on Freedom of As-sociation and Protection of the Right to Organize and other similar or rel-evant international cove-nants.”

Philippine Water Code, which prohibits fi lling of lands into the bodies of water because it de-stroys the marine en-vironment and ecosys-tem.”

“There can be no ar-gument in our demand to abolish the PRA for it is environmentally and legally out of basis. We want the PRA to be abol-ished for it persistent-ly approves reclamation and conversion projects that put our marine en-vironment at risk,” said Pamalakaya chair Fer-nando Hicap in a state-ment yesterday.

The PRA, former-ly Philippine Estates

Authority, was created during late dictator Fer-dinand Marcos’ regime under the Presidential Decree No. 1084 and was tasked to conceptu-alize and approve recla-mation projects and con-vert coastal waters into income-generating gov-ernment property, Hicap noted.

Pamalakaya said PRA’s National Reclama-tion Plan (NRP) involves more than 100 reclama-tion projects covering more than 30,000 hect-ares of coastal areas na-tionwide. More than two-thirds of the NRP or 38 of its projects are found in Manila Bay which covers 26 thousand hectares, the group added.

Reclamation in Manila Bay includes the newly-approved 600-hectare Pasay rec-lamation project which was awarded to SM Prime Holdings Inc., amounting $2 billion dol-lars and the 650-hectare Navotas Boulevard Busi-ness Park (NBBP) which was approved both by the PRA and local gov-ernment.

“Too many fancy and luxurious establishments have been built to dis-place us. Past admin-istrations, through the PRA have rolled out red carpets for private and big business interests in exchange for produc-tive fi shing communi-ties and tranquil lives of

the coastal people. This grand sell-out of our coastal waters that kill our fi shers has to stop,” Hicap said.

The fi sherfolk group lamented that “due to large-scale reclamation in Manila Bay, fi sh catch of small fi shers has dra-matically decline; from 5-10 kilos before down to 2-5 kilos nowadays.”

“We challenge Presi-dent Duterte to uncondi-tionally abolish the PRA and scrap all the exist-ing reclamation projects if he wants to contribute in the restoring of our coastal communities es-pecially Manila Bay back to its healthy stage,” Hi-cap said.

–Ding Cervantes

Scrap PHL Reclamation AuthorityF��� ���! 1

cis Musngi and Board Member Ananias Can-las Jr.

In between their talks, the ambassador told the governor about the similarities between his country and the prov-ince such as in the agri-culture sector where Afri-cans grow and eat corn as their staple food.

The diplomat realized this similarity upon read-ing the profi le of Pam-panga and the possible opportunities the similar-ities may bring to their country and the province.

“I saw the possible collaboration of affi nities between Pampanga and South African provinces particularly in the fi elds of fi shing and agricul-ture, and that’s why I’m here today just to speak to the governor about some of these opportu-nities and how we can take them forward,” the ambassador said.

The ambassador and

Governor Nanay also talked about projects of joint research in agri-culture and aquaculture which is a growing indus-try in South Africa.

Slabber recognized the province as one of the strongest producers of aquaculture produce in the country.

Furthermore, he said that the Philippines’ economy is growing strong for the past days.

“This country has the fastest growing economy in Asia,” he added.

Governor Pineda also said that the provin-cial government offi cials might visit South Afri-ca to study the situation and practices that can be adapted to the province’s practices for innovation especially in agriculture, aquaculture and handi-craft making.

“They also off ered us to visit their country to study their practices and compare it with ours,” she said. – Philip Oca-mpo/Pampanga PIO

South African envoy...F��� ���! 1

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SpotlightRey Pineda

NOTICE OF EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENTNotice is hereby given that the heirs of FEDERICO C. CASTRO and

ROSARIO G. CASTRO who died intestate on October 23, 1976 and November 20, 1986, respectively, both in Angeles City executed an Affi davit of Extrajudicial Settlement with Waiver of Rights of their estate, more particularly described as a parcel of land (Lot 5, Block 8 of the subdivision plan (LRC) Psd-48978, being a portion of lot 630-A-2, Psd-15855, (LRC) GLRO Rec. No. 124) with existing improvements, situated in the Barrio of Cutcut, City of Angeles, Island of Luzon and covered by Transfer Certifi cate of Title No. 38580 of the Registry of Deeds of Angeles City, before Notary Public Eric V. Mendoza as per Doc No. 2146, Page No. 103, Book No. 70, Series of 2016.

Punto! Central Luzon: September 12, 19 & 26, 2016

NOTICE OF EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENTNotice is hereby given that the heirs of HENEDINA P. ANGELES-

CARLOS who died intestate on April 26, 2014 at the A.U.F.M.C. in Angeles City executed an Affi davit of Extrajudicial Settlement with Waiver of Rights of her estate, more particularly described as a parcel of land (Lot 8, Block 29 of the subdivision plan Psd-49971, Sheet , being a portion of Block 16, described on plan Psd-46477, L.R.C. Rec. No. 124), situated in the Municipality of Angeles, Province of Pampanga and covered by Transfer Certifi cate of Title No. 113611, before Notary Public Rodolfo S. Uyengco as per Doc No. 1269, Page No. 101, Book No. XLVII, Series of 2016.

Punto! Central Luzon: September 19, 26 & October 3, 2016

NOTICE OF EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENTNotice is hereby given that the heirs of ESTANISLAO F. SUNGA who died

intestate on October 24, 2006 executed an Affi davit of Extrajudicial Settlement with Waiver of Rights with Sale of his estate, more particularly described as a parcel of land (Lot 27, Block 3 of the subdivision plan (LRC) Psd-168938 (Sheet I), being a portion of Lot 1985-G, (LRC) Psd-22586, LRC Cad Rec. No. 344) with improvements erected thereon, situated in the Barrio of San Vicente, Mun. of Apalit, Prov. of Pampanga, Island of Luzon and covered by Transfer Certifi cate of Title No. 167800-R, before Notary Public Dervin V. Castro as per Doc No. 55, Page No. 11, Book No. XXX, Series of 2016.

Punto! Central Luzon: September 19, 26 & October 3, 2016

NOTICE OF EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENTNotice is hereby given that the heirs of ROSALINA Q. MANALANG who

died intestate on June 8, 2012 in Sta. Lucia, Magalang, Pampanga executed an Affi davit of Extrajudicial Settlement with Deed of Absolute Sale of her estate, more particularly described as a parcel of land (Lot 269-C-2-H of the subd. plan Psd-03-091834, being a portion of Lot 269-C-2, Bsd-03-000848 LRC Rec. No. ), situated in the Bo. of San Pablo & Dela Paz, Mun. of San Simon, Prov. of Pampanga and covered by Transfer Certifi cate of Title No. 439613-R, before Notary Public Miguelito S. Pama as per Doc No. 6, Page No. 2, Book No. 2, Series of 2016.

Punto! Central Luzon: September 19, 26 & October 3, 2016

Former actress Sabrina M. arrested in buy-bust operation

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FORMER sexy actress Sabrina M was arrested in a buy-bust operation.In the initial report of GMA News online, the Quezon City Police Deistrict (QCPD) did not send details,

however they have publicized a surveillance video of Sabrina allegedly using drugs.QCPD Police Director Senior Superintendent Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar, through Police Chief Inspector

Titoy Cuden gave details on how the sexy actress was caught together with two other companions.“The arrest of former sexy actress popularly known as Sabrina M. and two pals engaged in drug session

at about 11:45 pm last night, in a joint buy-bust operation conducted by the District Anti-illegal Drugs-Special Operations Task Group (DAID-SOTG) and District Special Operations Unit (DSOU) personnel led by Police Senior Inspector John Wayne Versoza in Quezon City.

“Sabrina M, 36 y/o, (Karen Salas Palasigui in real life) was arrested after a poseur buyer arranged to buy Php 6,000 worth of shabu in her residence at No.9 Pulangui St., Napocor Village, Brgy. Pasong Tamo, Quezon City.

“Also arrested during the operation were Erwin Suba San Martin, 29 y/o, with same address as Sabrina M. and Edwin Locsin Coloma, 38 years old, residing at Roque 1 Extension, Brgy Pasong Tamo. The two were caught in the act of sniffi ng shabu inside the actress’s house.”

Sabrina became famous in the 90’s through her movies like: Karanasan: The Claudia Zobel Story (1995), Makamandag na Bango (1996), at Totoy Mola (1997).

She was last seen in the 2013 fi lm “Jumbo Jericho”.

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINESREGIONAL TRIAL COURTTHIRD JUDICIAL REGION

OFFICE OF THE CLERK OF COURTANGELES CITY

HOME DEVELOPMENTMUTUAL FUND, Mortgagee, FC Case No. 2016-1368 -versus- Extra-Judicial Foreclosure of Real Estate Mortgage underCZARA KHRISNA A. CABRERA, Act 3135, as amended by Act 4118 Mortgagor.

x------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------xNOTICE OF SHERIFF’S SALE

Upon extra-judicial petition for sale under Act 3135, as amended fi led by the Mortgagee, HOME DEVELOPMENT MUTUAL FUND with their Branch Offi ce at Suburbia Commercial Complex, Mc Arthur Highway, Maimpis, City of San Fernando, Pampanga against the Mortgagor, CZARA KHRISNA A. CABRERA with residence and postal address at 2201 Kalikasan Homes, Pulanlupa, Las Piñas City or Lot 11 Blk. 22 Tagavilla St., Xevera Subdivision, Tabun, Mabalacat, Pampanga in order to satisfy the outstanding mortgage debt which as of February 26, 2016 amounts to ONE MILLION ONE HUNDRED FIFTY SEVEN THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED EIGHTY EIGHT PESOS AND FORTY TWO CENTAVOS (Php 1,157,288.42), Philippine Currency, principal inclusive of interest and penalty charges but excluding the attorney’s fees, foreclosure expenses and other charges allowed by law, the undersigned Sheriff IV hereby gives notice and announces that on November 9, 2016 at 10:00 o’clock in the morning, at the Municipal Trial Court of Mabalacat and Magalang, Pampanga located at the Mabalacat City Hall, Xevera Subd., Brgy. Tabun, Mabalacat, Pampanga will sell at public auction for cash and in Philippine Currency, the following parcel of land with all existing and future improvements thereon, to wit;

TCT NO. 172333A parcel of land (Lot 11 Block 22 of the consolidation-subdivision

plan, Pcs-03-016531 being a portion of consolidation of Lots 5 & 6, Pcs-03-000950, Lot 546-A (LRC) Psd-217854, Lot 544-B-2-A-3 Psd-03-169696, Lot 4-D Psd-03-170954, LRC Record No. ), situated in the Barangay of Tabun, Municipality of Mabalacat, Province of Pampanga, Island of Luzon. Bounded on the NE., along line 1-2 by Lot 10, Block 22; on the SE., along line 2-3 by Lot 13, Block 22; on the SW., along line 3-4 by Road Lot 35; and on the NW., along line 4-1 by Lot 9, Block 22, all of the cons.-subd. plan. x x x containing an area of FORTY FIVE SQUARE METERS & FIFTY SQUARE DECIMETERS (45.50), more or less. x x x

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

In the event the public auction should not take place on the said date, it shall be held on November 16, 2016 at the same time and place without further notice.

Angeles City, September 26, 2016.

CARLO ROBERTO C. MEDINA Sheriff IV Copy furnished:

ATTY. JOSEPH P. QUIBOLOYDepartment Manager IIIHOME DEVELOPMENT MUTUAL FUNDSuburbia Commercial Complex,Mc Arthur Highway, Maimpis,City of San Fernando, Pampanga

CZARA KHRISNA A. CABRERA2201 Kalikasan Homes, Pulanlupa,Las Piñas City or Lot 11 Blk. 22Tagavilla St., Xevera Subdivision,Tabun, Mabalacat, Pampanga

PUNTO! Central Luzon: September 26, October 3 & 10 , 2016

at the national peniten-tiary in Muntinlupa City.

“The national govern-ment is abandoning the plan of the previous ad-ministration to build the P50.18-billion state-of-the-art New Bilibid Pris-on inside the Fort Mag-saysay Military Reser-vation…,” the secretary said during the hearing covered live by television and radio.

“The cost and trans-fer of the building is too high and is, therefore, not practical,” he was quoted as further saying.

The projected trans-fer of the NBP to Ba-rangay Nazareth within the military reservation in Gen. Tinio town was started during the pre-vious administration. It was given a green light by the National Econom-ic and Development Au-thority after it was en-dorsed by the Region-al Development Coun-cil-Region III (RDC-3).

It was to be carried out under the public-pri-vate partnership scheme as an undertaking of the Department of Justice and Bureau of Correc-

Excitement, fear over ‘bilibid’ transfer...F!"# $%&' 1 tions.

Supposed to be transferred to the pro-posed Nueva Ecija NBP are 20,000 inmates from the prison facili-ties in Muntinlupa City and 2,000 from the Cor-rectional Institution for Women in Mandaluyong City.

Under the plan, the Muntinlupa penitentia-ry, valued at P42 billion, would be converted into a mixed-used commer-cial area.

Aguirre also intimat-ed that bidders from the private sector are reluc-tant because there is no visualized big income from this project.

“The cost of the trans-fer (of the NBP) is pro-hibitive. We will just re-furbish the 551-hect-are prison in Muntinlupa City,” he said.

Among those “sad-dened” by the scrapping of the NBP transfer to Nueva Ecija were work-ers, entrepreneurs, busi-nessmen and others who were expecting to earn much from the project. Businessmen said that one big reason for the rise of the former Muntin-lupa town to a city, where

many businesses, subdi-vision and many estab-lishments fl ourished in the area, was because of the NBP there.

“The scrapping of the planned transfer of the bilibid to Nueva Ecija meant a lot for business-men, laborers, farmers, and others in particular and our province in gen-eral,” said Dr. Reynatyo Arimbuyutan, chapter president of the Philip-pine Chamber of Com-merce and Industry in Nueva Ecija. “It could have opened packages of commerce and econ-omies in terms of food production, lodging plac-es, transport services, manual services for con-struction, and even tour-ism,” he added.

He said the place where it was supposed to be established was near an undeveloped tourism area which is Minalun-gao Park. Speculators for relevant businesses in the area in Gen. Tino and nearby towns and cities were downhearted, he added.

Arimbuyutan was a member of the RDC-3 that endorsed the trans-fer of NBP to the Fort

Magsaysay Military Res-ervation.

During the public hearing here called by former Gov. Aurelio Um-ali amid concerns over environmental and so-cio-economic impacts of the proposed NBP trans-fer to the province, it was said that some 40,000 workers will be hired for the construction works. In addition, the facilities will need some 4,800 custodial and rehabilita-tion offi cers and 9,000 people for prison mainte-nance.

It was also pointed out that production of foods and other needs of the prisoners will pro-vide a boom, to farmers particularly. Other bene-fi t expected is that “it will turn the province of Nue-va Ecija from a sleeping tourism giant into a tour-ist mecca once the peni-tentiary is completed”.

Many others in the province said then, how-ever, that the province may have unwanted troubles once the NBP operates in the province. For one, they feared that illicit drug trade may pro-liferate inside the prison facility and its environs.

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Festive FlairNing Cordero

WHEN Quest Hotel and Conference Center Clark Pampanga opened the new Café Mequeni, it has exuded a gravitational pull for local food lovers and classic eaters as the most favored all-day buff et restaurant they absolutely must visit. Tapping into a brilliant dining trend that focuses on traditional cooking fare of diff erent countries, talented Executive Chef Joachim Felber serves a creative and dynamic spin of the menu featuring global infl uences on soulful, timeless dishes.

“I still believe that Asian should be Asian and Italian should be Italian. I believe in the traditional cooking of food from diff erent countries, because like culture they should be shared as is and should be taken with respect to their origins,” Chef Felber shares.

Raised in a house of experienced hoteliers in Switzerland, worked as executive chef of top hotels around the world and, was part of the opening team of the world famous Burj Al Arab (Arabian Tower) in Dubai. Indeed, Chef Felber brings an eclectic background to his cuisine.

The new Café Mequeni features the most superb and delightful buff et spread. There’s a lot to choose from and there’s a lot going on inside the cozy, authentic and homey “Kapampangan” inspired restaurant. Expect a wide variety of dishes from diff erent cheeses and breads, colorful fresh salad assemblage, best meat selection, to downright extraordinary desserts.

Apart from daily breakfast, lunch and dinner, the restaurant off ers a special Sunday Brunch buff et at a very aff ordable price. Children below the age of 12 can enjoy the buff et at 50% off . While kids aged 4 and below can dine-in with their parents or guardians for free.

Combine an old-fashioned charm and comforting fl avors of traditional cooking, and you’ve got a Café Mequeni you really do need to visit.

For reservation, call Café Mequeni Outlet Manager at +63 (916) 405 2619.

Love to hear from you please write me marketing@punto.com.ph, FB@Joanna Nina V. Cordero IG@ FESTIVE FLAIR by Ning V. Cordero

The classic global fl avors of Café Mequeni

Chef Felber

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NEXT GAMES OUTSOURCING, INC.

R2 Buliding Fontana Leisure Park, Clark Freeport Zone

URGENTLY NEEDS THE FOLLOWING FOR ITS BPO SERVICES:

MANAGERS: Graduate of 4-yrs collegiate course with atleast 2 yrs work-related experience.

SUPERVISORS: Graduate of at least 2 yrs collegiate course with at least 1 yr work experience

CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE- attained atleast 1 yr. college schooling with pleasing personality (work experience desired but not necessary)

APPLICANTS FOR ABOVE POSITIONS SHOULD BE ABLE TO SPEAK, READ AND WRITE CHINESE-MANDARIN, CANTONESE, FUJIAN AND SOUTH FUJIAN DIALECT AND SHALL APPLY IN PERSON AT THE ABOVE-WRITTEN ADDRESS.

TEL. NO. (045)499-1675CELLPHONE NO. 09176206849

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CITY OF SAN FERNAN-DO – The importance of collaborative eff ort in im-proving human rights ed-ucation under the new K to 12 basic educa-tion curriculum was un-derscored recently by Secretary Leonor Mag-tolis Briones of the De-partment of Education (DepEd).

A report from the DepEd said Briones urged colleagues and stakeholders in the high-er academics for their support in the responsi-bility to “extend the net of sources” and lend ad-ditional substantive con-tent to diff erent learning materials, especially in writing textbooks.

According to Curricu-lum and Instruction Un-dersecretary Dina Ocam-po, the inclusion of mar-tial law in the new basic education curriculum is not confi ned to the sub-ject Araling Panlipunan or Social Sciences.

The lessons, which echo the K to 12 curricu-lum’s emphasis on “kara-patan, pananagutan at pagkabansa,” are also learned by students through other subjects like Edukasyon sa Pag-papakatao .

She also empha-sized that DepEd works with competent people in various disciplines to provide evidence-based and age-appropriate

DEPED

‘Collective push’ urged to improve human rights education in K to 12

content and context.“Older kids might be

more able to handle nar-ratives, but as for the younger children, we will have to be very careful. Balancing authenticity of sources and making it age-appropriate are the challenges,” Ocam-po said.

Briones also stressed that while lessons on hu-man rights and democra-cy, and chapters on mar-tial law are already inte-grated in the curriculum, capturing and teaching a bigger picture of the era remain to be a challenge because the fi gures at hand cannot be deemed conclusive.

“We consider this a continuing work, not a defi nitive list. This list of 70,000 [people ar-rested], for all we know, could be more. Perhaps the best documentations are from Luzon but how about those in Visayas, in Mindanao? And how to translate these in text-books is the responsibil-ity not only of DepEd but all of us,” Briones point-ed out.

The education secre-tary, who admitted that she has had her share of misinformation on Phil-ippine history as a child, underlined the crucial role of teachers and in-formation technology in reviewing and augment-ing the lessons on mar-tial law, especially while still in the transition peri-

od of the basic education system.

She commended teachers who take the initiative to research, ei-ther from the internet or DepEd’s learning por-tal, and conduct school activities to ensure that the young learners are attuned to the history of their nation.

The Commission on Human Rights, in coordi-nation with DepEd, par-ticipates in teaching the value of human rights across the subject ar-eas through its core proj-ect of developing lesson plans suitable for Grades 1 to 10. The Commission also undertakes capac-ity building programs to empower participating teachers to use these additional learning re-sources.

The National Histor-ical Commission of the Philippines is preparing infographic and interac-tive displays at the Mu-seo ng Kasaysayang Pampulitika ng Pilipinas in Malolos, Bulacan on October 11 as part of its responsibility-sharing with DepEd and for Fil-ipinos to have a deeper understanding of the dif-ferent social and politi-cal struggles that shaped our history, foremost of which is the martial law regime.

“We want to teach our children to be critical. . . Sa Grade 2 pa lang tinuturo na ang human

rights and democracy. Sa Grade 6 sinasama na ang history, may portion na ng martial law. Ang pinaka-theme ay human

rights, may chapter sa Grade 6 about dictator-ship not just in the Phil-ippines but all over the world. . . If we would re-

view this part of our his-tory in textbooks, we should review the scope of all administrations,” Briones said.

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MASANTOL, Pampanga ---- Dahil sa mataas na bilang ng mga absences at drop outs sa isang paaralan sa coast-al baranggay ay apat na school boats ang ipinagkaloob sa mga estudyante dito.

Bakas sa mukha ang saya ng mga mag-aaral ng Tarik Suliman High School sa Masantol dahil sa apat na bangka ang ipinagkaloob ng libre ng Yellow Boat Foundation (YBF).

Ayon kay Dr. Anton Lim, co-found-er at pangulo ng YBF, mataas ang bil-ang ng mga estudyante na lumiliban sa klase maging ang mga drop-outs dahil sa kawalan ng masasakyan na bangka papasok ng paaralan.

Ayon kay Lim, layunin nila na mat-ulungan ang mga mag-aaral sa mga coastal barangay na nahihirapang magtungo sa kanilang paaralan sa kawalan ng masasakyang bangka mula sa kanilang tahanan.

Ang apat na yellow school boats ay gagamitin ng mga estudyante papasok at pauwi mula sa paaralan sa minimal

4 bangka pinagkaloob sa mag-aaral sa coastal barangay ng Masantol

na gastos gaya ng bayad lamang sa gasolina.

Ang YBF ay matagal nang nama-mahagi ng mga libreng bangkang de motor sa ibat ibang panig ng bansa upang makapagtapos ang mga batang estudyante na ang tanging means of transportation ay bangka.

Karamihan sa mga mag-aaral ay nakikisakay lamang sa mga fi shing boat upang makapasok sa paaralan at kapag nalampasan ay lumiliban na la-mang sa klase.

Iniuugnay ang mataas na drop out sa mga liblib at nakatira sa mga isla na barangayang kawalan ng masa-sakyan.

Mataas na pagpapahalaga sa edu-kasyon ang nagtulak sa YBF upang magbigay ayuda sa nangangailangan ng bangkang masasakyan ng mga mag-aaral.

Halos 30 estudyante ang kayang ilulan sa isang bangka.

Ang inspirasyon daw ng grupo ay ang maiahon sa kahirapan ang mga tao at matutupad ito kung nakapag-aral ang isang indibidwal.

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CABANATUAN CITY - Responders rushed 10-year-old John Mark Fontanilla in an attempt to save him after one of the bullets intended for his father waywardly hit him at about 8 p.m. on Tuesday.

Police said John Mark was inside their house, along with his father

Sales agent, son killed in gun attackDominador Fontanilla, 50, in District 4, Cuyapo, Nueva Ecija when two unidentifi ed suspects barged in and fi red their guns several times.

The father, a sales agent, was included in the local police drug watchlist and an alleged member of Quinto rob-bery and gun-for-hire gang, said PO3 Larry Te-sado, investigator.

Investigation showed the older Fontanilla died instantly due to multiple gunshot wounds from .45 pistol.

John Mark was de-clared dead upon arriv-al at a district hospital in nearby town of Guimba.

Police said follow up investigation is being conducted for possible identifi cation of the sus-pects.

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OLONGAPO CITY--- The No. 8 in the target list of drug personalities here and four others were nabbed by oper-atives of the Zambales Criminal Inves-tigation and Detection Team (ZCIDT) in separate anti-drug operations in Ba-rangay Sta. Rita and West Bajac-Bajac in this city.

Under Oplan Pagtugis and Big Ber-tha of the ZCIDT headed by Chief In-spector Antonio Ananayo, Jr., the ar-rested suspect was identifi ed as Ariel Datu y Fabian, 53, aka Sarhento Mus-lim, resident of No. 21 Santolan Street, Purok 1, Sta. Rita.

Datu was arrested by virtue of a warrant of arrest issued by Judge Ray-mund Viray of RTC Branch 75 for viola-tion of Section 11, Article ll of RA 9165 with recommend bail of P200,000.

No. 8 in drug list, 4 others arrestedReport said that during his arrest,

the suspect was found to have his right pocket two transparent plastic sachets of shabu.

In Barangay West Bajac-Bajac sus-pect Ernesto Castillano y Rombana, aka Kano, 57, was arrested selling sha-bu worth P300 to a police poseur-buyer.

Recovered from his possession were three transparent plastic sachets of shabu and the marked money.

CIDG operatives also caught in the act sniffi ng shabu Mike Castilano y Rombana, 53, Michael Guerrero y Javi-er, 33, and Evelyn Arcenas y Cargullo, 44, all of Barangay West Bajac-Bajac and recovered shabu residue and as-sorted drug paraphernalia.

The suspects were all detained at ZCIDT detention cell in Barangay Bar-retto facing charges for violation of RA 9165.

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CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Three of the most awaited and out of the ordinary lifestyle destina-tions in the region fi nally opened on Friday with Gov. Lilia “Nanay Baby” G. Pineda and Mayor Edwin S. Santiago leading the grand launch at The Orchid Gardens complex along Lazatin Boulevard, Barangay San Juan here.

The Orchid Gardens Resort Wave Pool and Raging Waters, The Tavern Hotel and Villas, and the Imang Nene Fastfood and Casual Din-ing all located in the said complex are now open to the public.

Joining the governor and the mayor at the ribbon-cutting ceremony were owners, Nelson and Maureen Castro, Carolina de Guzman of the Department of Tourism-Region 3, and John Todorovic, president of the Hotel and Restau-rant Association of Pampanga.

Fr. Marius P. Roque led the invocation and of-fi ciated the blessing of the Administration Offi ce and Resort while Fr. Homer M. Policarpio offi ci-ated the blessing of the Imang Nene restaurant.

A guided tour around the resort was person-ally handled by resort owner Mau Castro who surprised guests especially Gov. Pineda who was heard saying that the restaurant can be compared to the posh restaurants in Manila.

Pineda noted that the resort truly refl ects the Kapampangan culture for its array of world-re-nowned foods and delicacies as well as its am-biance.

Castro said they were very meticulous with the materials used to reveal the ethnicity of the true Kapampangan.

“The Orchid Gardens promotes the culture of the Kapampangans,” she said.

Mayor Santiago noted the ingenious way of maximizing the land area of the resort and its splendor which he said could become the num-ber one tourist destination of the city.

For other guests, the guided tour was a last-ing experience as Castro was able to unleash the beauty of the resort by her delicate but de-tailed annotation amplifi ed by her eloquence.

- Trisha Soto and Sharina Regala/UA OJTs

THE ORCHID GARDENS

3 extraordinary lifestyle destinations open

NOW OPEN. Owners Nelson and Maureen Castro fl ank Gov. Lilia G. Pineda as they cut the ceremonial ribbon along with Mayor Edwin Santiago, Carolina de Guzman of the Department of Tourism Region 3, and John Todorovic of the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Pampanga opening The Orchid Gardens complex. P!"#"( 2) B"/3 L-$("/

Wave pool. Villas of your choice.