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VOLUME 7 NUMBER 53FRI - SAT

OCTOBER 11 - 12, 2013

PAGE 10 PLEASE

BY ASHLEY MANABAT

CLARK FREEPORT – A 10-hectare water theme park is now under construction

here even as the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and its corporate social responsibility arm the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) urged local folk to prepare for the effects of climate change during a forum only last month in nearby Angeles City.

THREAT TO CLARK WATERSHED

BBI gets fl ak for ambitious water theme park project

NI JOHNNY R. REBLANDO

OLONGAPO CITY--Walo na ang namamatay, samantalang ma-higit sa 300 katao ang ginaga-mot sa James L. Gordon Memo-rial Hospital sa pagkalat ng ep-

Leptospirosis outbreakAng mga pasyenteng may leptospirosis na nagsisiksikan sa dami sa James L Gordon Memorial Hospital. KUHA NI JOHNNY R. REBLANDO

8 patay, 300 ginagamot sa hospitalidemya ng leptospirosis mula pa noong Sabado ng hapon magpa-hanggang Huwebes.

Anim mula Olongapo City, isa sa Subic at isa pa sa Dinalupihan, Bataan ang iniulat nang namatay.

Pinangangambahang dadami

pa ang bilang ng mga mamama-tay kapag hindi kaagad ito nabi-gyan ng kaukulang lunas sa hos-pital dahil sa dami ng pasyente ng leptospirosis.

Maging ang pasilyo, confer-PAGE 10 PLEASE

High schoolers mystifi ed by old mailbox. PHOTO BY BONG LACSON

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – The thrill of receiv-ing a love letter – scented and “sealed with a kiss” – have been long buried in the directness of the internet.

Students barely know what a stamp is for or have a totally different notion of the mailbox – pc-embedded in their minds as against the freely standing or hanging steel contraption or yore.

Letter-writing the old way at SM City

Pampanga for a day

PAGE 10 PLEASE

ANGELES CITY – “Where can you fi nd a fence that costs more than the house? Only at the Clark International Airport (CIA).”

This was the question and answer posed by the Pinoy Gumising Ka Movement (PGKM) as it lambasted what it called the redundancy of the proposed construction of a P400-million double security high-tech fence that will soon enclosed

PGKM puts down CIA fencethe 2,200 hectares area of the CIA.

Ruperto Cruz, PGKM chair, said the construc-tion of the expanded CIA terminal only cost P360 million based on its press releases. But just recently, he said, the CIA came out with anoth-er announcement that its fence will cost more at P400 million which is hard to imagine.

Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) vice

president for operations Reynaldo Catacutan said earlier that the con-struction of the fence will begin on January 2 next year primarily “to ward off informal settlers.” He described it as a “double security fence” which will be about “25 kilometers enclosing the whole air-port complex” with a “pe-rimeter intrusion detec-tion system.”

Cruz noted that CIAC offi cials have lost their

sense of priority since they will be spending for another project that has no immediate impact on the airport because it has an existing fence al-ready.

“On top of that, there is the security force guarding the airport,” Cruz said. “Are they that inutile to need a more expensive fence?”

“This is absurd,” Cruz said expressing con-

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BY DING CERVANTES

ANGELES CITY- The fl ag-ship Conditional Cash Trans-fer (CCT) program that Pres. Aquino hailed as a major strat-egy in “inclusive growth” in his speech at the Asia Pacifi c Economic Cooperation sum-mit in Bali, Indonesia could be tainted with anomalies worth about P3.74 billion.

“The fl agship conditional cash transfer (CCT) program hailed by Pres. Benigno S. Aquino suffers billions of pe-sos worth of problems in its accounts and operation,” re-search group IBON Founda-tion Inc. (IBON) said yester-day.

In his speech during the Bali summit, the President had

P3.74-B anomalies taint CCTReport counters PNoy speech in Bali

hailed the CCT, also known as the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipi-no Program (4P’s), as a major strategy of his administration for achieving inclusive growth in the country.

IBON Executive Director Sonny Africa said that “if ir-regularity is established, this could mean that at least P3.76 billion in Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) funds including under the current ad-ministration have been used as a pork barrel either for pa-tronage purposes, lost to cor-ruption, or both.”

Africa cited a Commission on Audit (COA) report on the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) for 2012 which, he noted “found billions of pesos worth of prob-

lems in the 4Ps/CCT program such as unliquidated disburse-ments, grants released to non-benefi ciaries, and grants released in violation of estab-lished guidelines, among oth-ers.”

He also noted that “as of end-2012, disbursements of P3.44 billion for grants paid from 2008 to 2012 remained unliquidated.”

“This includes grants paid totaling P1.32 billion for the period 2008-2011 and P2.11 billion for 2012. The COA re-port correspondingly said that this ‘[casts] doubts on the pro-priety of disbursements of grants’”, he said.

Africa also cited the COA as saying that at least P50.2 million worth of grants were

paid to 7,782 household ben-efi ciaries not on the list of val-idated and registered house-hold benefi ciaries.

“The DSWD had also ap-proved payments of P 29.0 million to 4Ps beneficiaries in July and August 2012 for calamity support even if there was no compliance with 4Ps conditionalities,” he added.

Africa also said the COA report “questioned the va-lidity of payments to farmers and fi sherfolk of P89 million in 2012 and P7.1 million in 2011 supposedly for cash-for-train-ing/work projects but which did not have supporting doc-uments.”

“Doubts were also raised on the existence of some P27.7 million in so-called PODER projects, while 36 bank accounts with P112.8

million in balances were found to have been opened appar-ently without specifi c authority or legal basis,” he added.

Africa said “these apparent vulnerabilities of the 4Ps/ CCT program underscore the prob-lem of maintaining a multi-bil-lion peso cash fund whose use is in practice diffi cult to con-trol.“

He said this called for “thor-ough accounting” and that “the problems also reinforce the ar-gument that CCT funds do not really reduce poverty beyond the short-term dole-out and are better used in the direct public delivery of vital social services.”

“All these make the pro-posed expansion of the 4Ps/ CCT to P62.6 billion in the 2014 national government budget imprudent,” Africa also said.

BY ASHLEY MANABAT

CLARK FREEPORT – A well-attended forum on the Department of Health’s (DOH) “Central Luzon Stakeholders’ Meeting” in achieving its “Mil-lennium Development Goals (MDG)” proved to be the prop-er venue to harmonize the health monitoring efforts and the commitment to the pro-

gram of local government units (LGUs).

At the Holiday Inn Resort here on Wednesday, DOH Regional Director Leonita P. Gorgolon expressed satisfac-tion in harmonizing the efforts of LGUs in the department’s MDG as refl ected by the high attendance.

The forum sought to get the commitment of LGUs for

the implementation of the de-partment’s investment plan for health and for the attainment of the MDGs by decreasing maternal and infant mortalities and decreasing the rates of tu-berculosis, HIV, and rabies in-fection among the citizens.

Dr. Marcelo Jaochico, Pampanga provincial health offi cer, said the commitment of local offi cials will become an

investment fund in the prov-ince’s programs for health. “If there is a plan and if there is a budget, the implementation of the programs will become clearer especially in attaining the MDGs,” he said.

The national government will provide the infrastructure like hospital buildings, medical equipment and facilities while the regional counterpart will be the training of staff and tech-nical support as well as the

training of health workers. The LGU counterpart will be the hiring of health personnel, Ja-ochico said.

Pampanga Gov. Lilia “Nan-ay Baby” Pineda gave a de-tailed update on her province’s program for health which was presented as a benchmark for its best practices during the fo-rum.

Pineda was cited by the DOH for her initiative in “zero balance billing” for her prov-ince’s 11 hospitals by replicat-ing it with the department’s “no balance billing.”

During the forum, DOH Assistant Secretary Gerardo V. Bayugo discussed the DOH ISO Certifi cation for quality government service under-scoring that the certifi cation is not a destination but a journey.

Atty. Alexander Padilla, PhilHealth president, gave an update of the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. and entertained questions from the stakeholders.

Padilla said beginning Oc-tober 6, a new system was im-plemented where delinquent members who lack qualifying contributions are still entitled to health benefi ts by merely updating their accounts.

Among those who attend-ed the forum were Governors Victor Yap of Tarlac, Hermo-genes Ebdane of Zambales, Albert Garcia of Bataan, and Aurelio Umali of Nueva Ecija, as well as LGU heads form all over the region.

DOH-LGUs harmonize programsPampanga cited for best practices

PAMPANGA DELEGATES. Gov. Pineda with members of the Pampanga Mayors’ League poses with DOH Assistant Sec. Bayugo and Center for Health III Dir. Gorgolon before signing the pledge of commitment during the Central Luzon Stakeholders Meeting. PHOTO COURTESY OF JUN JASO, PIO PAMPANGA

BY MALOU DUNGOG

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT – Offi cials of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and other Japanese fi nancial institutions visited this free port recently to assess the status and fi nancial and eco-nomic potentials of projects funded by the fi nancial institution.

The group, led by JICA chief representative Takahiro Sasaki, was welcomed by Subic Bay Met-ropolitan Authority (SBMA) chairman Roberto Gar-cia, together with several offi cials from the SBMA seaport department.

Sasaki said the group’s visit to Subic was part of their two-day tour of the Philippines to understand the actual fi nancial and economic potential of the country and also to introduce JICA’s projects and programs here.

During the meeting, Garcia and seaport offi cials

briefed the visitors on the seaport facilities available within the free port, as well as the performance of the New Container Port Terminal.

The terminal project, along with the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway that connected the two former bases of Subic and Clark, was completed with fund-ing from JICA’s Offi cial Development Assistance (ODA).

Last month, a group composed of members of the House of Councilors from Japan also visited Subic and commented that the Philippines has a huge po-tential and that it needs to take advantage the grow-ing manufacturing sector.

The group added that the Philippines and Japan have a lot in common and that continuous communi-cation and information exchange is very important for mutual development.

The group also stressed the importance of Subic port in decongesting the port of Manila.

SBMA Chair Garcia (right) confers with JICA ‘s Sasaki on the status of projects funded through JICA-ODA in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone. PHOTO BY MALOU DUNGOG

JICA in Subic to assess funded projects

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BY DINO BALABO

BALIWAG, Bulacan—The Philippine weather bureau is now another step closer to its goal of localized weather forecasting.

This came as SM City Baliwag launched on Monday its automated weather station (AWS) making it the 39th of SM’s 47 malls across the country to operate its own online weather in-strument.

Engineer Emmanuel Gatmaitan, building ad-ministrator of SM City Baliwag, said weather forecasts from their AWS can now be accessed through the website of the Weather Philippines Foundation (www.weather.com.ph).

“People can now see weather forecast in their locality through weather.com.ph,” said Gatmaitan. He explained that their recently launched AWS is just one of many.

Records showed that Weather Philippines Foundation and its partners have installed 1,480 AWS across the country by the end of Au-gust. Additional 500 AWS will be installed by the end of the year.

Gatmaitan said that installation of addition-al AWS is part of the efforts of WPF, SM In-vestment Foundation and their partners’ efforts to reduce weather related disaster risks in the country.

An AWS has the capability to forecast amount of rainfall within a 20-kilometer radius, along with wind speed, direction, temperature and humidity.

Other AWS have even wider radius.According to Architect Andrew Cristobal,

SM City Baliwag Mall manager, their AWS was meant to keep the people informed.

He said: “All they have to do is access weather.com online to monitor their weather.”

SM City Baliwag’s AWS is made possible by the partnership between SM Investment Foun-dation and WPF which also partnered with Me-teomedia of Switzerland and other private spon-sors.

39 of SM’s 47 malls have online AWS

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BY DING CERVANTES

ANGELES CITY- The labor group Kilusang Mayo Uno condemned yesterday justifi -cations issued by Social Secu-rity System (SSS) offi cials for the more than P10-million bo-nus they got in 2012 as “mere excuses” and “unacceptable.”

The KMU also lambasted the declared increase of the SSS premium contributions of its members amid records of the agency’s alleged dis-mal performance and its huge funds invested in various out-fi ts, including risky ones.

“The imposition of a 0.6 percent increase in members’ premium contributions also point to the bad performance of the SSS executives as members pay their premiums

KMU hits huge bonuses of SSS execsdutifully and there’s no reason for the fund to go bankrupt,” the KMU said in a statement.

“The SSS may be increas-ing members’ premium contri-butions to increase funds that it will contribute to the govern-ment’s Public-Private Partner-ship program’s funds which go to big capitalists’ investments,” it also noted.

Jerome Adonis, SSS cam-paigns offi cer of KMU said in a statement that “as long as SSS members suffer from meager wages, contractual employ-ment, violation of rights, and delayed and meager benefi ts, the agency’s executives do not have any right to amass huge sums from the workers’ money.”

“The main thing here is that SSS executives are handling workers’ money – money that’s

paid for by workers’ sweat, tears and blood,” he stressed.

He said that “as far as SSS members are concerned, the agency did not perform well in 2012.”

Adonis cited a report of the Commission on Audit in 2012 indicating “slow processing and payment of death, disabil-ity and retirement claims did not meet the commitment of SSS of providing prompt, con-venient and meaningful social protection service to the mem-bers and their benefi ciaries.”

KMU, in a statement, said “the SSS leadership can-not brag about increasing the workers’ fund when it delays the release of workers’ bene-fi ts and penny-pinches on the amount of these benefi ts.”

It again cited a COA report

citing the failure of the SSS “to take legal steps in order to collect P367 million in un-paid premiums from employ-ers, including 139 delinquent large-account employers.”

“It’s very diffi cult for workers to believe that SSS executives are doing their job well when benefi ts, meager as they al-ready are, are being released late. Good performance in this case must be measured by improvements in members’ condition, not in mere increas-es in the workers’ fund which the SSS leadership can use in ways that won’t benefi t mem-bers,” Adonis said.

The KMU statement con-demned SSS President-CEO Emilio de Quiros “for saying that the granting of the bonus-es is moral on the basis that

HIKE IN CONTRIBUTIONS DECRIED

the agency needs to maintain people who can opt to work in the private sector.”

“If De Quiros and other ex-ecutives of the SSS want sal-aries comparable to that given to their counterparts in the pri-vate sector, then they should resign immediately and go to the private sector. Govern-ment offi cials, especially SSS offi cials, should be driven by the spirit of public service, not greed,” Adonis said.

KMU also cited indepen-dent think-tank Ecumenical Institute for Labor Education and Research’s study saying that “SSS has a P350-billion investment reserve fund as of 2012 which the agency uses as equity investments in the business ventures of the big-gest capitalists in the country.”

BALANGA CITY – Bishop Ruperto C. San-tos on Wednesday announced that the Dio-cese of Balanga will join the entire country in the ringing of church bells on Friday against the pork barrel and “all the evil that it brings.”

Under the diocese are all parish-es from 11 towns and one city in the Bataan.

“All bells in the churches will be rung to send our message that pork barrel should be abolished be-cause it has become the deadly instrument of corrup-tion,” the prelate lovingly called as “Bishop Stud” said.

The bishop said that in the place of the Priority As-sistance Development Fund should be a more effec-tive, direct and clean way of delivering service, assis-tance and justice to the people, especially the poor.

“We should make the loudest sound possi-ble to awaken our lawmakers, our government of-fi cials, the politicians and the citizens that peo-ple’s money not spent for the good and wel-fare of the people is stolen money,” Santos said.

The bishop has given the full support of the dio-cese to the “Million People March” through the offer-ing of prayers and Holy Masses. – Ernie Esconde

Churches ring bells against pork barrel BY DINO BALABO

MALOLOS CITY—Bu-lacan mayors hailed the impartiality of the Commission and Elec-tions (Comelec) in the disqualifi cation of the mayor of Norzagaray last week.

They also noted the speed of the decision of the Comelec fi rst di-vision which was re-leased within the fi rst 100 days in offi ce of disqualifi ed Mayor Al-fredo Germar.

“This is unprece-dented in speed and disposition of the case,” said Mayor Christian Natividad of Malolos City, who, like Germar ran under the banner of the Liberal Party last election.

Comelec impartiality in mayor’s disqualifi cation hailedNatividad added that

the Comelec deserved praise in its decision, however, he said that the Commission must also be wary of the rights of the protestee.

The same was echoed by Mayor Am-brosio Cruz of Guiguinto who ran under the ban-ner of the Partido ng Ma-sang Pilipino (PMP) in the May polls.

Cruz also recognized Comelec’s impartiality and stressed that “what is important is the ruling should be fair to all con-cerned.”

Last week, the Comelec First Division disqualifi ed Norzagaray Mayor Alfredo Germar for massive vote buying in the last May’s elec-tions.

The case stemmed from the charges fi led by former Mayor Feliciano Legazpi a day after the election.

The charges were based on confi scated evidence that includ-ed more than P500,000 worth of cash contained in individual small brown envelopes with sample ballots for candidates of the Liberal Party.

Along with the con-fi scated money, Legazpi was also able to consol-idate over 200 affi davits from local voters that de-tailed massive vote-buy-ing.

In a telephone inter-view the other day, Le-gazpi also praised the Comelec’s decision and noted that it vindicated his loss in the last elec-

tion.He said “the fi rst di-

vision’s decision only proves that there mas-sive vote-buying in our town last elections and it is not just hearsay.”

However, the fi rst di-vision’s decision is not likely to benefi t Legaz-pi as the Comelec fol-lowed the rules of suc-cession based on the local government code of 1991. This means that the elected vice mayor of Norzagaray town will take over the position of mayor once it becomes fi nal and ex-ecutor.

For Legazpi though, it was partly a consola-tion because incumbent vice mayor and now in-coming mayor, Arthur Legazpi is his son.

BY ARMAND M. GALANG

CABANATUAN CITY - A retired military offi cer was arrested and the po-lice reportedly recovered from his possession guns and explosives in a raid on his residence in Barangay San Francis-co, San Antonio, Nueva Ecija Monday morning.

Former Army Col. Edito Nisnisan, former commander of the Phil-ippine Army’s 70th In-fantry Battalion, yielded one hand grenade, one cal. 45 pistol, one .9mm pistol, three live ammu-nition for M79, and sev-eral rounds of bullets, according to the criminal investigation and detec-tion team.

Ex-colonel yields guns, explosives

The haul was pre-sented to Chief Supt. Raul Petrasanta, chief of the Central Luzon police, at the Nueva Ecija police provincial offi ce here.

Chief Insp. Mario Oc-ampo, CIDT Nueva Eci-ja head, said his team swooped down on Nini-san’s compound on the strength of a warrant is-sued by Judge Angelo Perez of RTC Cabanat-uan City for violation of Republic Act 9516 or il-legal possession of fi re-arms and ammunition.

Police said Nisni-san’s neighbors com-plained of alleged indis-criminate fi ring activity by the former military of-fi cer.

Nisnisan admitted

ownership of the guns but denied knowledge of the presence of the hand grenade. He also admit-ted the lack of docu-ments to cover his guns.

He maintained though the fi rearms were intended for self-de-fense.

Petrasanta mean-while stressed the police intensifi ed drive against illegal fi rearms as the vil-lage elections draw near.

The provincial police offi ce has so far netted at least 27 different kinds of fi rearms in various checkpoints and service of warrants as about 100 villages were being closely watched due to expected intense con-test among aspirants.

THINK GREEN

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what is happening),” said Eb-dane who was a former direc-tor general of the Philippine National Police and former secretary of the national de-fense during the administra-tion of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

But he said he learned as of late that somebody request-ed the National Bureau of In-vestigation (NBI) to conduct a parallel investigation.

“I welcome this,” he said adding that he requested the police to coordinate with the NBI.

However, Ebdane said in practice, the fi rst to investigate is usually the one handling the case.

He said because he is a rel-ative of the victims, he is given a weekly briefi ng by the PNP.

“Hindi naman sila nagpa-pabaya (They are not remiss in their job),” he said.

On September 20, the Ede-jer couple Nick, 42 and Cora, 47, and their son Kenneth, 19; nephew Nelson Dominico, 17; housemaids Teresita Lansan-gan, 40; and Kaykay, 27; and masseuse Benigno Villanue-va, 52 were massacred inside their residential compound at L&S Subdivision located in the boundaries of Angeles City and the City of San Fernando.

The police have yet to identify a suspect even as a P2-million reward has been put up by relatives and friends of the victims.

Kin satisfi ed with police action on Edejer massacre

NI ROMMEL RAMOS

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- Nagsagawa ng forensic examination kamakalawa ang mga chemist ng Nation-al Bureau of Investigation (NBI) sa crime scene ng na-ganap na pagpatay sa pito katao sa loob ng Edejer res-idence sa Barangay Tela-bastagan sa lungsod na ito.

Ito na ang ikalawang araw ng pagbisita ng NBI sa crime scene kaugnay ng kanilang isinasagawang parallel investigation sa nasabing kaso.

Sa pangangalap ng mga ebidensya, inuna ng NBI ang lugar kung saan napatay ang mag-amang sina Nolan Kenneth Edejer, Nicolas Edejer at sina More-na Osias, Nelson Dominico at Benigno Ingar.

Kasunod naman ay ang kubo kung saan napatay si Tess Lansangan Camiling at ang huli ang lugar kung saan napatay si Corazon Edejer.

Maging ang kulay itim na pick up na ginamit bilang getaway vehicle ng mga suspek ay sinuri din sa pag-asang makakuha ng mga ebidensya.

Sa ngayon ay hindi pa daw magbibigay ng offi cial na pahayag ang NBI kaug-nay ng kanilang isinasaga-wang imbestigasyon.

Paglipas daw ng mga il-ang araw ay kanila namang ilalabas sa media ang re-sulta ng kanilang imbesti-gasyon.

Kaugna nito, blangko pa rin ang mga kaanak ng mga biktima sa motibo ng krimen at pagkakakilanlan ng mga suspek.

Samantala, sinabi ni VACC chief coordinator Rosita Roque, nais nilang matulungan ang pamilya Edejer kayat nakipag-ug-nayan sila sa NBI.

Nakahanda din daw ang mga kaanak ng Ede-jer na magbigay ng P2M na pabuya para sa sinumang makakapagbigay ng impor-masyon para sa ikalulutas ng krimen.

Sa ngayon ay aalalay daw ang VACC sa pamilya hang-gang sa malutas ang nasa-bing kaso lalo na sa dala-wang naulila ng mga Edejer.

Dumating naman sa bahay ng Edejer ang mga kapatid ni Morena Osias, habang nagsasagawa ng imbestigasyon ang NBI ka-makalawa.

Hindi nila maiwasan na maluha ng makita nila ang crime scene na nagkalat pa ang mga dugo.

Hindi pa daw nila matanggap hanggang sa ngayon ang pangyayari.

Natutuwa daw sila sa gi-nawang imbestigasyon ng NBI upang agad na malutas ang krimen.

Naluluha lamang na mensahe nila sa mga sal-arin na makunsensya sa ginawang pagpatay ng walang kalaban laban sa kanilang kapatid.

‘Forensic’ isinagawa

ng NBI Albayalde cited for professionalismBY ASHLEY MANABAT

CLARK FREEPORT – De-spite the police clampdown on any development in the Edejer massacre case, a rel-ative of the victim who is also a high-ranking government of-fi cial expressed satisfaction with the conduct of the on-go-

ing police investigation.“I am satisfi ed with the in-

vestigation,” said Zambales Gov. Hermogenes E. Eb-dane, second cousin of mas-sacre victim Nick Edejer. Eb-dane was interviewed on the sidelines of the Department of Health-LGU stakeholders fo-rum at Holiday Inn here.

Ebdane also praised Se-nior Supt. Oscar Albayalde, Pampanga Provincial Police director, for being “highly pro-fessional.”

“Actually sa police investi-gations, hindi naman kailan-gan sinasabi ang nangyayare (Actually in police investiga-tions, we don’t need to divulge

COURTESY CALL. Newly-installed Police Regional Offi ce 3 director Chief Supt. Raul Petrasanta pays a call on Tarlac Gov. Victor A. Yap and Vice Gov. Enrique “Kit” Cojuangco. Joining them are Tarlac PPO director Senior Supt. Alfred Corpus, 3rd district Rep. Noel Villanueva, Board Members Henry Cruz, Carlito David, Bogs Aganon and Henry De Leon. PHOTO BY GEORGE HUBIERNA

BY ERNIE B. ESCONDE

BALANGA CITY - The Bu-reau of Jail Management and Penology in coordination with the Bataan police confi scat-ed various items considered as potential threat and ciga-rettes from inmates during a random inspection conducted Wednesday at the Bataan Dis-trict Jail (BDJ) here.

Items of potential threat taken from inmatesJail Supt. Ambrocio Am-

bulan, BDJ warden, said the confi scation was the result of searches made by BJMP personnel from Bataan and Region 3 and the police In-telligence and Investigation branch led by Chief Insp. El-mer Santiago.

Seized from inside the de-tention cells were ballpens, spoons, forks, buckles, piec-

es of lumber, galvanized iron cloth hangers, among some others.

“Considered na kontraban-do ang mga ito dahil potential threat na maaaring makap-anakit sa kapwa inmates at maging sa BJMP personnel,” Ambulan said.

Also confi scated from both inmates and some visitors were many sticks of cigarettes.

These were all destroyed in a container fi lled with water.

Ambulan said they have taken out of the prison cells even some pocket books that are not banned per se. “Kaya lang ginagamit na pambalot ito ng sigarilyo para hindi pun-ado,”the warden said.

There are 1,291 inmates, 114 of them women, at the for-mer Bataan Provincial Jail.

BY ASHLEY MANABAT

ANGELES CITY-- A tricycle driver allegedly fi red an unli-censed gun and threatened his sister-in-law in front her house in Arayat Blvd., Barangay Pam-pang here last Monday.

SPO3 Restituto Santos said suspect Loreto Bagun-bayan, 21, a tricycle driver, was positively identifi ed by his alleged victim, Rosemary Gar-cia, 27, housewife.

But the suspect denied the

Man lands in jail for fi ring gunaccusations and on the con-trary told responding police-men that Garcia was just mak-ing up a story and there was no fi rearm involved.

However, Garcia insist-ed that the suspect verbally threatened her before leaving to get his gun. The suspect allegedly came back holding in his left hand an unknown type of short fi rearm and a single shot rang out, Garcia said, pointing downward near where she was standing.

Santos said a partially de-formed slug was recovered from the immediate vicinity where the suspect reportedly fi red his gun.

“We found and recovered a partially deformed slug of unknown caliber beneath the sandy ground where the al-leged shot was fi red,” Santos said.

The policeman said Bagun-bayan was placed under ar-rest and immediately brought to the Angeles City Crime Lab

Offi ce for paraffi n test.Based on the chemistry

test report issued by Chief Insp. Angel Timario, forensic chemist, the presence of gun powder nitrates was positively found on the left hand of the suspect.

Further investigation showed that a misunderstand-ing between the immediate family of the victim and Ba-gunbayan’s wife preceded the incident. - Angelica Ermitaño and Jaegun Jeong, AUF-OJT

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LLL Trimedia Coordinators, Inc.Publisher

General ManagerEditor

Marketing ManagerAdvertising Offi cer

LayoutCirculation

Atty. Gener C. EndonaCaesar “Bong” LacsonJoanna Niña V. CorderoKarl Jason S. ManalotoDondie B. VenturaJojo Manalo/Lacson Macapagal

EDGAR V. MOVIDOFounder

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

Punto! Central Luzon is a proud member ofThe Philippine Press Institute

E d i t o r i a lacaesar.blogspot.com

Zona Libre by Bong Z. Lacson

OOpinion

WEDNESDAY, October 9, the Katipunan da ring Tagasaliksik at Talaturung Kapampangan held a tribute to Atty. Renato “Katoks” Tayag on the occasion of his 98th birth anniversary.

Peter Alagos, president of the Pampanga Press Club, spoke at the event, in recognition of Tatang Katoks as among the early members of the PPC and his contributions to the community as a journalist and writer.

Peter told me that he quoted extensively from

my writings on Tatang Katoks that comprised a chapter – “Knocking on Katoks’ Door” – in my book Of the Press (1999).

It is now my turn to pay my respects too to the man. Lifted now straight from that same book:

Back to Katok’s SinnersThis appeared in my column in The Angeles

Sun issue of November 12-18, 1988.Reading Katok’s Tayag’s twin volume The

Angeles Story and The Sinners of Angeles roused multiple emotions in me, ranging from utter disappointment and disbelief to delirium and déjà vu.

Normally, I grapple intellectually with the author of any book I read. With Tatang Katoks however, I readily submitted to his every word. Having had the chance of personal think-feel interaction for at least three times with the man when he was still around. Now I feel empty and sorry for not having had the greater opportunity of more conversations with him.

Some 30 years ago after they were published, the concise tomes are as timely as now. One gets the feeling that one reads contemporary news in The Angeles Sun when one reads the books.

The demands for a cleaner market; proper garbage disposal; strict enforcement of sanitary, criminal and traffi c laws; elimination of gambling, prostitution and other vices; honesty in government; and public works improvements are all as real today as when the same were asked by the 1953 Angeles Jaycees of the Honorable Abad Santos’ father, Apung Maneng, referred to now as the better of the Abad Santos mayors.

The spunk of these young men of 1953 unfortunately did not pass on to the genes of the current crop of Jaycees who seemingly think their Creed fi nds concretization only in traffi c island beautifi cation, once-a-year gift-giving and stirring orations for fallen fellows. What sez you, Fred de Leon?

Past and present parallelisms of politics in Angeles cover also newspapers and mediamen. Tatang Katoks’ exposés found print in Don Tomas San Pedro’s Luzon Courier. Current exposés of irregularities germinate from the pages of this paper (The Angeles Sun). Proof positive once more that mediapersons make a community’s conscience.

The above discussion is but a sampling of the back-to-the-future or past-present mix scenarios in the two books. There are a host of others.

The “abduction” of the image of Apung Mamacalulu during the Good Friday procession of 1928 has a direct bearing to the simmering Apo land ownership controversy. (During a talk with Apung Feleng Lazatin, The Sinners of Angeles cropped up when the intercession of the Grand Old Man on the Apu case was sought.)

At the start of this piece, I said I felt disappointed upon reading the books. The feeling came when The Sinners of Angeles blasted to smithereens a myth of sainthood for one man I put on a pedestal during my formative years at the Mater Boni Consilii Seminary in San Fernando.

Morning, noon and night, from Infi ma, Media, Suprema to Poetry class, I, with the rest of the community of priests and seminarians thanked the Good Lord fro the benevolence showered on God’s little people by one man whose very name was – to us – the synonym of

the Christian virtues of Faith, Hope, and above all, Charity.

Was I shocked upon reading Tatang Katoks’ account of the man’s “philosophy of self”! There goes another lie long embellished in half-truths.

It is said that the past teaches us lessons to practice in the present so that we will not fail in the future. One pundit even went on to say that “there is no present and no future, only the past happening over and over.” If only for this, Tatang Katoks; books should be made required reading for every Angeleno or anyone straying into the city. For his greater knowledge of Angeles’ past and deper understanding of the Angeleno’s present.

Postscript: My thanks to Abong Tayag for the books. They indeed make up not only a collector’s item but an enriching nourishment to the Kapampangan soul.

Though non-fi ctionist, Tatng Katoks approximates the works of the great historical novelists like Gore Vidal in Burr and Empire and E.L. Doctorow in Ragtime. He so imbued the reader with the atmosphere of even long gone times that he – the reader – felt and breathed the same air, saw the same sights and heard the same sounds as the book characters did.

His chronicles about his beloved Base Town, Asia and his retrospective on Bataan are comparable to Gay Talese’s back-to-my-roots account in hi Unto the Sons.

Like Talese, another journalist who made his mark in literature, Tatang Katoks had that critical eye for detail and keen sense for drama that brought the broadest spectrum of color and the full range of emotions to his works.

This is most evident in his accounts of his China visits (At Home & Abroad). In 1964 at the dawn of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, capturing the rising revolutionary zeal of the young cadres that subsequently served as the vanguard of that upheaval; and in 1982 at the start of Deng Xiapo-ping’s revolutionary experimentation of a hitherto damned market economy that ultimately led to China as a key roler in the world economic stage.

Tatang Katoks’ summed up the great chasm of a difference in those visits with: “In 1964 we met ideologues and politicians; in 1982 our hosts were bankers and men of fi nance.”

Prophetic too was Tatang Katoks’ vision of a Pax Americana in Southeast Asia. Notwithstanding the expulsion of the US bases from Subic and Clark in 1992.

In 1990, during my incumbency as PPC president, the club established the Renato “Katoks” Tayag Award of Excellence in High School Journalism and the Jose Luna Castro Award of Excellence in College Journalism to propagate the Kapampangan journalistic heritage among the young generation of writers.

At the awarding ceremonies, the honorees’ widows – Adoracion Suarez-Tayag and Rosalinda Icban-Castro were the guests of honor and speakers.

Winner of the fi rst Katoks Tayag Award was The Pampangan, offi cial publication of the Pampanga High School, Tatang Katoks’ alma mater from where he graduated valedictorian in 1933.

IN SOLIDARITY with the greater, if not

the greatest, number of the Filipino

people, we stand for and lend our voice

to calls for the Congressional Reform Act of 2013, to wit:

1. NO PORK BARREL, in whatever

dubious or insidious form:

countryside development fund,

priority development assistance

fund, disbursement acceleration

program or some such likes

government is ever ready to craft.

2. Serving in Congress is an honor,

not a career. Envisioned citizen

legislators should serve their

term(s) with integrity, then go

home and back to work.

3. Six-year term limit. NO RE-

ELECTION.

4. NO DYNASTY. Wives, husbands,

children, siblings and other

immediate family members cannot

hold public offi ce consecutively

and/or simultaneously.

Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

Better to get up late and be wide awake than to get up early and be asleep all day. –Anonymous

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Napag-uusapanLangby Felix Garcia

Halo-haloDing Cervantes

OOpinion

Medjugorje can’tjust be ignored

IT’S HARD to understand how we can ignore the apparitions in Medjugorje (at times in other places visited by the visionaries, including the gym of the Holy Angel University in Angeles City some years ago).

The apparitions have been long running (since 1981), been examined scientifi cally by theists and atheists who found the events either supernatural or just astonishingly unexplainable; produced miracles (e.g. rosary links turned gold, sun dancing, clouds shaping into words (such as MIR or peace) or images (such as that of the Holy Family); led to miraculous cures and overwhelming conversions.

Blessed Pope John Paul II, during his papacy, once said he would have been among the pilgrims in Medjugoje were he not the pope. Indeed, he had given his blessings to the visionaries of Medjugorje.

Medjugorje and all its manifestations reveal an urgently important revelation, and this the Blessed Virgin herself said emphatically in one of her apparitions there: God exists.

That’s a major point in Medjugorje, so Catholic as to let fl ow inspirations we need solidly. There we fi nd the end in the search for meaning in our lives, there we fi nd strength to overcome the burdens of daily living, there we conclude there is Heaven and Hell, and in between, Purgatory.

And so we go on with the messages the Blessed Virgin Mother conveys to us from Medjugorje.

The following was given October 02, 2013 to visionary Mirjana:

“Dear children, I love you with a motherly

love and with a motherly patience I wait for your love and unity. I pray that you may be a community of God’s children, of my children. I pray that as a community you may joyfully come back to life in the faith and in the love of my Son.

“My children, I am gathering you as my apostles and am teaching you how to bring others to come to know the love of my Son; how to bring to them the Good News, which is my Son. Give me your open, purifi ed hearts and I will fi ll them with the love for my Son. His love will give meaning to your life and I will walk with you. I will be with you until the meeting with the Heavenly Father. My children, it is those who walk towards the Heavenly Father with love and faith who will be saved. Do not be afraid. I am with you. Put your trust in your shepherds as my Son trusted when He chose them, and pray that they may have the strength and the love to lead you. Thank you.”

And then to Marija on September 25, 2013:“Dear children! Also today I call you to

prayer. May your relationship with prayer be a daily one. Prayer works miracles in you and through you, therefore, little children, may prayer be a joy for you. Then your relationship with life will be deeper and more open and you will comprehend that life is a gift for each of you. Thank you for having responded to my call.”

Ave Maria!

‘Good luck’ mu kabud ing paniaup

nang Gob?BILANG GOBERNADOR a peka-Indu raDing balang memalen keti king Pampanga,Aku, ika, ila ampon aliwa pa,Pante-pante tamu mekad king lawe na.

At ala yang buring ipaygit ninu manBan alang masugat a kapanamdaman,Partikular karing kandidatu kanianA magsaria keya ban maniad kasaupan Kapamilatan na ning saup pinansyalO iendorsu na la karing kabarangay,Inia imbes y Gob atin yang dirinan,“Good luck” mu ing karen parati nang yampang.

At ngana kareti: “Mikabalu bayu,Mikakamag-anak ampon mibabaryuObat ing gumastus ya pang isipan yu,Lalu’t parehu kayung pakakalulu?”

Katutuan pin naman ing kang ‘Nanay Baby’Para nanu’t pigastusan da pin iti?Samantalang ilang yaluk da’ing sariliBanting makasuyu at tapat magsilbi?

At serbisyu dapat ing yapag karelaNganing amanu na ning Gobernadora,At e pera banting akua ing botu raNune pin nung ninu ring sukat yalal da

At karapat-dapat ilukluk king puestu,Mapagmalasakit, tune magserbisyu.Malugud at alang nanu pa mang bisyuBan ing tune lingap aibie rang ustu;

(At e kalupa ring aliwang KapitanKagawad ampon pang aliwang opisyal,A e mu abaklas keng arap ning sugalAgiang keng lugal da ating mipatayan!

Samantalang iniang tatagal la pamuAsna karakal ing karelang pangaku,Kesyo gawan da ngan ing karelang agyuBan king barangay da lubus makasuyu)

Inya keng puntung yan posibleng y ‘Nanay’Makanian yang alang iendorsu ninu man;Bukud king ala yang buring manandaman,Magkang mitud king e sukat manungkulan.

At nung gagamitan de man ing litratuNing gobernador keng karelang pulyetu,E no’ babawalan nung keta mung ustuAt e labag agpang karing batas tamu.

At mipamintuan ing ausan ‘non-partisanBarangay election,’ at ala metung man Karing kandidatu ing saupan nang ‘Nanay’Ban ipabotu ne o iendorsu mu man.

Nune ing bukud nang pakisabi karen,Ing sana ala lang bage pipapatan;Ing pamanataki e ra gagawan den,Ban ing magdatila tune ‘peace and order’

At ngana pa niti nanu mang malyari,Mibaryu-baryu ta’ pa murin – at itiIng king balen tamu sukat mapalyariAt king kaisipan sukat manatili.

Inya naman oyan, antining ala yangInindorsu karing tatagal ninu man,Mekad mengimi nong’ lapitan de’y NanayDing maniad suporta king ba’ta lang yalal;

Pablasang para kang Gob Lilia Pineda,Paraparehu mu karen ing lawe na;At kaya ala nang peka-maulagaNune ing sana pin deti matapat la!

ON OCTOBER 11, 1898, The Manila Times, the fi rst daily newspaper in the Philippines, was founded by Thomas Gowan.

The Manila Times was published to meet the demand of an American paper in Manila, demand mainly from men of the United States Army who had occupied Manila.

The newspaper was founded shortly af-ter the news that the Treaty of Paris would be signed, ending the Spanish American War and transferring the Philippines from Spanish to American sovereignty.

The treaty of Paris was signed on Decem-

ber 10, 1898.Gowan hired a small printing press, Chofre

y Compania, to put up the paper. The printing press was located on Calle Alix, now Legarda Street, in Sampaloc, Manila. The paper, howev-er, had a downtown offi ce on the Escolta.

Before The Manila Times was born, several native newspaper were already in existence in the Philippines written in Spanish, and most of them were nationalistic and revolutionary.

At present, The Manila Times serves as the fourth largest newspaper in the Philippines in terms of circulation.

TODAY IN PHILIPPINE HISTORYTODAY IN PHILIPPINE HISTORYSource: www.kahimyang.infoSource: www.kahimyang.info

The Manila Times is founded

JOIN OUR DYNAMIC TEAM!

, the leading local newspaper in Central Luzon, is seeking applicants for the following job vacancies.

ADVERTISING SALES EXECUTIVEWith a strong ability to successfully sell or solicit advertising space in publication and on-line

· 1-2 years quota-driven sales experience· Excellent professional business skills· Excellent written and verbal communication skills· Computer literate · Strong administrative ability & knowledge in basic accounting· Ability to work successfully and effectively both autonomously and as part of a team environment· Well presented, driven and can think on your feet!

COMPENSATION INCLUDES COMPETITIVE SALARY AND INCENTIVE PACKAGE

INVESTIGATIVE REPORTERWith a strong ability to digging and uncovering signifi cant stories that will create impact and public

interest; produce well written, timely reports of investigation fi ndings

· Graduate of any related course like Mass Communication is required· Ability to breakdown complicated information and details into easily understood stories· Meet the highest professional standards laid by the Code of Ethics of Professional Journalism· Team player

(APPLICANT FOR INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER SHOULD SUBMIT TWO WRITING SAMPLES)

Please submit resume to Unit B Essel Commercial Complex, McArthur Highway, Telabastagan, City of San Fernando, or email marketing@punto.com.ph, puntogitnangluzon@yahoo.com

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LINGAYEN, PANGASINAN - In a short but ceremonial turn-over today, Pilmico Animal Nutrition Corp. turned-over a cash donation to the Provincial Government of Pangasinan.

As part of its commitment during the Pilmico Poultry and Livestock Expo in May held in this province, the company handed over Php 47,470 to its benefi ciary, the Childcare De-velopment Center of Pangasinan. Receiving the donation was Mr. Rafael Howard Baraan, Provincial Administrator and Mr. Emil Samson, Head of the center. The company was rep-resented by Mr. Hendel P. Cabral, Vice-President for Sales.

Mr. Polo Ablazo, Pilmico Product and Sales Support Man-ager said, that this cash donation came from the proceeds of the 10 pigs sold during the expo. These 10 pigs form part of the 60 30 kilo pigs discharged to 30 backyard raisers in April for rearing to marketable size. Pilmico committed that pro-ceeds shall be donated to a provincial cause.

The turn-over was welcomed by Mr. Baraan, citing to Mr. Cabral that the entire province of Pangasinan was happy with the way the Expo was dispensed. The latter said that the government is looking forward to work with Pilmico on various swine-related projects.

The Childcare Development Center is an arm of the prov-ince’s Department of Social Welfare and Development, tak-ing care of the capitol employees’ children who are enrolled in Nursery and Kindergarten.

CITY OF SAN FERNAN-DO – Gov. Lilia Pineda is holding talks with the Gov-ernment Insurance Service System (GSIS) for the possi-ble acquisitions of more than 700 foreclosed properties in Pampanga.

GSIS-Pampanga Staff Offi cer Janette Dimali-wat-Roxas and Staff Offi -cer II Enrico Jiao, who rep-resented Branch Manager Araceli Santos, recently pre-sented to Pineda the report on the properties, most of which are houses and lots at Pampanga’s capital City of San Fernando.

Dimaliwat-Roxas also cit-ed commercial properties in Guagua town, “describing

Capitol eyes foreclosed propertiesthem as wise buy.” The oth-er properties are in Magalang town, one of the fl ood-free ar-eas in the province.

First District Board Mem-ber Crisostomo Garbo said Pi-neda is looking into the acqui-sition of the properties for the more than 1,000 Capitol work-ers.

“The welfare and future of the provincial government workers are among the priori-ties of the governor. They may also be for poor but responsi-ble people,” said Garbo, who initiated the meeting of Pineda with the GSIS.

Third District Board Mem-bers Rosve Henson and Fer-dinand Labung, who attended the meeting, said they and the

GSIS offi cials are set to in-spect the properties.

Pineda said she is plan-ning to buy the GSIS proper-ties “to help the government retrieve their assets and save the lands and houses before they rot due to neglect.”

“Let us help each other and not let the properties be put to waste. So many peo-ple have no houses,” said Pi-neda in the dialect.

Pineda urged the GSIS to let them buy the properties “in friendly prices and good terms.”

Garbo said the provincial board will grant an authori-ty to Pineda once the “terms are met and the properties are seen to be worth buying.”

PINEDA IN TALKS WITH GSIS

Gov. Pineda points to Provincial Administrator Atty. Andres Pangilinan the map showing the foreclosed properties of the GSIS during a recent meeting at the Pampanga Capitol. Joining them are GSIS’s Dimaliwat-Roxas and Jiao, Board Members Garbo, Labung and Henson, Fritzie David-Dizon and Edna Vitug of the governor’s offi ce. PHOTO COURTESY OF JUN JASO

NINA DINO BALABOAT ROMMEL RAMOS

MALOLOS CITY—Nagba-lik na sa normal ang supply ng palay sa pinakalamalaking rice trading center sa bansa na matatagpuan sa Bocaue, Bulacan tatlong buwan mata-pos maramdaman ang kaku-langan at pagtaas ng presyo ng bigas.

Dahil dito, nagbalik na rin ang magdamagang opera-syon ng may 200 rice mill sa InterCity Industrial Estate sa Bocaue at nagsimula nang bumaba ang presyo ng bigas.

Ayon kay Nong Santia-go ng G4-Rice Mill, ang mga palay na dumarating ngayon sa Intercity ay nagmumula sa mga lalawigan sa Norte tulad ng Isabela, Cagayan,Nueva, Ecija at Tarlac.

Nagsimula ito matapos lumabas sa dyaryo yung sabi ng NFA na maglalabas sila ng maraming bigas sa mar-ket para bumaba ang presyo,” sabi Santiago patungkol sa pagbabalik sa normal ng sup-ply ng palay.

Tinatayang umaabot sa ha-los 100 tonelada ang nagigil-ing o nakikiskis na palay ng In-terCity bawat araw.

Ang InterCity Industri-al Estate ay matatagpuan sa Barangay Wakas,Bocaue, Bulacan. Ito ay itinuturing na pinakamalaking rice trading center sa bansa dahil sa halos 200 rice mill ang matatagpuan doon.

Ayon kay Santiago, ang pagbabalik sa normal ng sup-ply ng palay ay nagbunga ring pagbaba ng presyo.

Sa panahon na kapos ang supply ng palay,ang kanilang

Supply ng palay balik sa normalPresyo ng bigas bumaba

bili bawat kilo ay P23 hang-gang P24.

Ngayon, ang presyo ng palay ay bumaba na sa P17 hanggang P18, na halos kas-ing taas ng bili ng NFA sa pa-lay ng magsasaka.

Ang pagbaba ng presyo ng palay ay nagbunga rin ng pag-baba sa presyo ng bigas.

Ang dating presyong P1,950 para sa sakong bigas na may 50-kilo ay bumaba na sa P1,400 may dalawang ling-go na ang nakakaraan.

Una rito, hinamon ng mga mga magsasaka sa Bulacan ang NFA upang tugisin ang mga negosyanteng hinihi-nalang nagho-hoard ng bigas.

Ayon kay Melencio Do-mingo, tagapangulo ng Malo-los City Agriculture and Fish-eries Council (MCAFC), im-posibleng kapusin ng bigas sa merkado dahil bago bumagyo ay maganda ang ani ng mga magsasaka.

Ngunit sa pagsisimula ng tag-ulan,nagsimula na ring maramdaman ang kakulangan sa bigas na naging sanhi ng pagtaas ng presyo nito.

“Isa lang ang dahilan nai-yan,may nagtatago ng palay at bigas,” ani Domingo pa-tungkol sa mga hinihinalang rice hoarders.

Para naman sa NFA, pau-lit-ulit nilang pinabulaanan na na kinakapos ng bigas ang bansa.

Sa halip ipinagmalaki ng NFA namay sapat na bigas ang bansa,magig sapanahon ng kalamidad.

Ngunit ang hindi naman maipaliwanag ng NFA ay kung bakit tumaas ang presyong bi-gas na ikinabahala ng maram-ing pamilya.

Pangasinan receives

Pilmico grant

Safeguard 5i50 Triathlon in Subic a success

Local bet John Leerams Chicano emerged as the top Filipino Local bet John Leerams Chicano emerged as the top Filipino fi nisher in the inaugural Safeguard Active 5150 Triathlon held fi nisher in the inaugural Safeguard Active 5150 Triathlon held in the Subic Bay Freeport last Sunday. Chicano, a precious in the Subic Bay Freeport last Sunday. Chicano, a precious Zambales fi nd in triathlon, fi nished sixth overall with a time of Zambales fi nd in triathlon, fi nished sixth overall with a time of 2:14:35. 2:14:35. PHOTO BY MALOU DUNGOGPHOTO BY MALOU DUNGOG

BY MALOU DUNGOG

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT – Subic again asserted its place as a sporting capital in Luzon after successfully hosting the Safeguard 5i50 Active Triathlon last Sunday, attracting tri-athletes from around the world.

The race was the second 5i50 triathlon event that was held in this free port this year after its being the venue once again of the

Century Tuna 5i50 triathlon last June with over 900 par-ticipants.

The Subic Freeport has lately been the preferred ven-ue for international races due to its challenging course set against a natural scenic background.

In the October 6 event, Australian Mitchell Robins topped the men’s pro division after completing the course in two hours, fi ve minutes and 22 seconds.

Robins was closely followed by Csaba Kuttor from Hun-gary who clocked in at 02:06:17 while third placer Peter Bajai, also from Hungary, fi nished with 02:08:18.

Another Hungarian, Ezter Dudas topped the women’s pro division after fi nishing the race in 02:21:32.

Filipino triathlon champion John Leerams Chicano proved once more his dominance in the local triathlon scene after topping the men’s Filipino elite division with 02:14:35. Chicano also fi nished sixth overall.

Employees from the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) tourism department also did well in the men’s relay after the SBMA Team placed 11th with 03:12:29.

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WHO WOULD have thought that the boy who was into cus-tomizing his cars and toured the auto show circuit would someday become the head of an automotive company? That in a nutshell best describes the fate of Mark Tieng, Managing Director of BYD Star Corpora-tion, exclusive distributors of the Build Your Dreams (BYD) automobile of China.

Recently, BYD offi cially presented its initial model line-up to guests and the motoring media in a grand launching ceremony held at the One Es-planade in Pasay City.

With Mark Tieng leading the night’s festivities, the most recent addition to the Chinese invasion unveiled the BYD L3, BYD F5 Surui and the compa-ny’s fl agship vehicle, the BYD S6 SUV.

Considered as a minori-ty in a market dominated by Japanese players, BYD is set to carve a profi table slice of the consumer pie in their own unique way.”All of our variants are made with high quality and have high tech features that make them comparable with other brands. All of our models have standard remote keyless entry and exit system with a proximity sensor for start/stop functions. BYD is also com-mitted to becoming a major player in the domestic market by assuring top quality cars and the availability of com-plete parts and after sales ser-vice,” elaborates Tieng, during an exclusive interview with the young executive at its show-room along Shaw Boulevard in Mandaluyong City.

In China, BYD evolved from being a car battery man-ufacturing fi rm, into a lead-ing-edge provider of green en-ergy technologies that special-ize in the IT, automotive and new energy industries. Its au-

tomobiles are gaining recogni-tion all over the globe for their build quality and world-class technologies. BYD’s automo-tive business made headlines around the World when Amer-ican Billionaire- entrepreneur Warren Buffet invested in the company. “As one of the top brands in China, we are proud

BYD sets eye on domestic marketTEXT AND PHOTOS BY DINO RAY V. DIRECTO III

to say that BYD vehicles are used as taxis in key cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Shen Zhen. Due to BYD’s durabil-ity, it is now a primary mover in the public utility segment. The company assures its own quality by maintaining a strin-gent IQS10 Quality Standard. This process involves monitor-

ing a batch of samples within a 90-day test period. Defects should not be found in more than 10 units for every batch of 100 cars,” explains Tieng.

World Class vehiclesThe BYD L3 is a “C” seg-

ment sedan that is available in two variants: The L3 1.5 Liter

GS–i, which is equipped with L4 16 Valve, SOHC, fuel in-jected, gasoline engine (BYD-483QA) with DCT (Dual Clutch Transmission); and the BYD L3 1.5 Liter GL –i with L4 16 valve, SOHC, fuel injected, gasoline engine (473QE) mat-ed to a fi ve-speed M/T.

The BYD F5 Surui, mean-while, is a “C” segment pas-senger car, which boasts of the company’s world-leading Remote Driving Control tech-nology. The Remote Driving Control Technology allows the car owner to make the car switch on the air-conditioner, start, move forward and back, turn left and right, and travel at a restricted speed all by itself, without the driver even being in the vehicle—all at the press of a button on a remote con-trol device. The Remote Driv-ing Control technology was awarded the Best Leading Science and Technology in the 2012 Beijing Auto Show, where BYD’s current automo-tive products were launched on the world stage.

The S6is BYD’s fi rst in-dependently designed SUV, which attained monthly sales of over15,000 units and ac-cumulated 60,198 units from April to December, 2011, earn-ing it the award of China’s “SUV of the Year”— the high-est honor in the China auto-motive industry—in 2012.

Tieng is optimistic that BYD will fare quite well in the local industry. “As a leading player in the IT industry, expect more cutting edge technology sys-tems from us. I hope the gov-ernment recognizes the need for alternative fuels and clean technologies so BYD can bring in the E6, BYD’s fl agship for its Electric Vehicle Technol-ogy. BYD is ready to carve in its own niche in the domestic market,” boasts Tieng.

Mark Tieng of BYD stands beside its bet for the SUV market, the S6Mark Tieng of BYD stands beside its bet for the SUV market, the S6

BY DING CERVANTES

ANGELES CITY- Some 100 food industry businesses will join the fi rst Northern Lu-zon food festival dubbed as Big Bite to be held on Oct. 18 to 20 at the MarQuee Mall Park here, in an event organizers claimed as “the biggest culinary celebration of Luzon this year.”

The festival will be par-ticipated in by the country’s

Big Bite to gather top culinary celebrities in ACtop “culinary icons”, including celebrity chefs Rolando Laudi-co, Lillian Borromeo, Sabrina Artadi, and Sau del Rosario.

A preview of the event proved sumptuous Thursday to invited media folk and blog-gers who were treated to lunch featuring food items to be highlighted during the three-day food festival.

“Big Bite’s outdoor food market will have over 100 ven-dors representing Pampanga,

Pampanga culinary icon Atching Lilian whips up a mean roaring ‘20s adobo. PHOTO BY BONG LACSON

Metro Manila, Baguio, Bata-an, Bulacan, Cagayan, Ilocos, La Union, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac, Pangasinan, and Zambales,” organizers noted.

Organizers said “people will enjoy all the great offerings from all these provinces in just one destination. Big Bite will be host to a number of excit-ing events like cooking demos, a cooking competition among culinary schools, the best heir-loom recipe contest food eat-ing contests, food sampling and so much more.”

The Asian Food Channel, the Department of Tourism, the Department of Trade and Industry, the Manila North Tollways Corp., Cignal Digi-tal TV and Mercato Centrale Group are co-sponsoring the festival with Marquee Mall.

The organizers said festi-val visitors “will fi nd every de-licious and tasty product that the participating regions have to offer,” as they cited “native and traditional delicacies, an area for fresh produce, anoth-er for cooked and baked food.”

“From Pampanga alone, we are sure to have foods such as sisig, chicharon, ha-lo-halo, ensaymada, and ka-kanin,” they added.

They also said that schools offering culinary courses will participate in the cooking contests. Some of the schools include the Phil-ippine Women’s University, Systems Plus College, An-geles University Foundation, NorthPoint Culinary Acade-my, and Bulacan State Uni-versity.

Big Bite press launch attended by DOT Director Ronnie Tiotuico, MNTC Marketing Grace Ayento, Atching Lilian Borromeo and Marquee Ayala Malls team. PHOTO BY NING CORDERO

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NOTICE OF EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENTWITH DEED OF DONATION

Notice is hereby given that the heirs of JESUS S. ELPEDES who died intestate on November 8, 2012 in Angeles City executed an Extrajudicial Settlement with Deed of Donation of his estate more particularly described as a parcel of land with improvements existing thereon located at Lot 3, Block 5, Balibago, Angeles City and covered by TCT No. 57227 of the Registry of Deeds of Angeles City.

Punto! Central Luzon: October 11, 18 & 25, 2013

FROM PAGE 1

NOTICE OF EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENTWITH ABSOLUTE SALE

Notice is hereby given that the heirs of TEOFILO C. SERADOY who died intestate on June 14, 2008 in Dau, Mabalacat, Pampanga executed an Extrajudicial Settlement with Absolute Sale of his estate more particularly described as a parcel of land (Lot 17, Blk. 11 of the subd. plan (LRC) Psd-176795, being a portion of Lot 1, (LRC) Pcs-15135, LRC Cad. Rec. No. 132) situated in the Barrio of Dau, Municipality of Mabalacat, Province of Pampanga and covered by TCT No. 89219 of the Registry of Deeds of Angeles City.

Punto! Central Luzon: September 27, October 4 & 11, 2013

NOTICE OF EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENTWITH DEED OF DONATION

Notice is hereby given that the heirs of ROGELIO F. DEANG who died intestate on September 29, 2012 in Mabalacat, Pampanga executed an Extrajudicial Settlement with Deed of Donation of his estate more particularly described as a parcel of land with improvements existing thereon located at Lot 8, Block 6, situated in the Barrio of Dau, Mun. of Mabalacat.

Punto! Central Luzon: October 11, 18 & 25, 2013

Campaigners of the Philippine WWF were at the Clark Freeport last month to help map out a “climate- defi ned” future for local business amid climate change that has made unusual weath-er worldwide the new norm.

But even as this de-veloped, the fl ourishing of the water parks and golf courses here has re-mained unabated result-ing to water rationing in nearby communities es-pecially in Barangay Sa-pang Bato, Angeles City which is located just out-side the southwest pe-rimeter fence of this free-port.

This freeport hosts three golf courses – Mi-mosa Golf, FA Korean CC which is a joint ven-ture between Fontana Leisure and Develop-ment Corp. and the Jimei Group with Korean de-

BBI gets fl ak for ambitious water theme park projectvelopers, Apollo Devel-opment Corp., and the Philippine Air Force golf course. This freeport is also host to the Fontana water park among oth-ers.

The proliferation of these so-called “wa-ter-guzzlers” in a water-shed area has been de-nounced by environmen-talists. Yet, another po-tential “water-logger” has been approved to locate.

Last October 5, Clark executives and gov-ernment offi cials broke ground for the construc-tion of the Clark Valley View Leisure and Re-sort under the BB Inter-national Leisure and Re-sort Development Corp. (BBI).

Irineo “Bong” Alva-ro, president of BBI, said the water theme park is part of BB Internation-al’s P2.5-billion invest-ment in Clark and will cover 10 hectares of a 120-hectare property

it had leased from the state fi rm Clark Develop-ment Corp. (CDC) which manages this freeport.

The project is located along the rolling hills of Clark’s Gate 14 or par-ticularly at its northwest section in Sitio Haduan which encroaches on the ancestral domain of the indigenous Aeta commu-nities in the area. It is ex-pected to be completed in the next three years.

Water rationingLast May, the estab-

lishment of the Deca Clark Wakeboard Park (DCWP) in Barangay Margot, which is adja-cent to Barangay Sapa-ng Bato, earned the ire of Angeles City Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan who feared that the project have impacted negative-ly on the nearby commu-nities.

Nearby Barangay Sa-pang Bato has begun ra-tioning its potable water

to only two hours daily in the wake of an acute shortage of water supply from the aquifers.

DCWP has put up a man-made lake in a landlocked barangay lo-cated on a mountainous terrain which could have affected the areas water supply, said the mayor.

Pamintuan had said that he got a call from a barangay offi cial of Sa-pang Bato and was told of the acute water short-age in his village. He said he immediately called up Angeles City Water Dis-trict (ACWD) General Manager Reynaldo Li-wanag who confi rmed the water shortage.

The wakeboard park and its man-made lake now threaten the aqui-fers, Pamintuan has said. He added that he was taken aback when he was told by the park operators that they got the water for the man-made lake from the rain.

“It’s rainwater according to them!” said a fl abber-gasted Pamintuan.

Mabalacat City Wa-ter District director Dios-dado “Deng” Pangilinan also said he will move for an investigation of the DCWP.

“We all know that Ba-rangays Margot and Sa-pang Bato fall within the watershed areas of Clark which is the source of po-table water of all the con-tingent communities,” said Pangilinan. “Hence, we all have a stake in its conservation,” he added.

Pangilinan, vigilant at any perceived threat to water supply and con-servation, has not made any statement though on the BBI water theme project.

Meanwhile, the WWF said the call to mitigate the effects of climate change has never been more pronounced than now.

Jose Ma. Lorenzo

Tan, chief executive of-fi cer of the WWF Phil-ippines, has urge com-munities to consider developing multi-water sources, such as surface waters or rainwater im-pounding projects, and veer away from pump-ing from aquifers or un-derground water which, he stressed, has been blamed for subsidence or lowering of ground level and thus makes ar-eas more prone to fl ood-ing.

The forum was WWF’s third and last phase of “business risk assessment and the management of climate change impacts project” that would cover 14 cit-ies in the country.

He noted that the WWF study now being conducted in Angeles City would draw up op-portunities for the city to cope with the adverse ef-fects of climate change in the next 20 to 30 years.

NOTICE OF SELF-ADJUDICATIONNotice is hereby given that MARIE GRACE S. PACUDAN, of legal age, Filipino citizen, residing at 178 Bucanan, Magalang, Pampanga and sole heir of FERDINAND D. PACUDAN who died intestate on September 1, 2013 in the Kingdom of Bahrain executed an Affi davit of Self-Adjudication of his estate more particularly described as BDO US Dollar Account No. 1027 812 64888 in the amount of $2,608.59.

Punto! Central Luzon: October 11, 18 & 25, 2013

cerns that that CIAC President-CEO Victor Jose “Chichos” Luciano may just be “serving as a pawn for some vested political interests” direct-ed at 2016.

“The announced P7.2-billion for a low-

PGKM puts down CIA fenceFROM PAGE 1 cost carrier terminal at

Clark by (Department of Transportation and Com-munications Secretary Joseph Emilio Aguinal-do) Abaya fi rst, and now this P400-million may – in the reality of the PDAF funds scuttled and the DAP funds rationalized – can be alternative sourc-

es of campaign funds,” Cruz said.

Instead of coming out with “grand schemes” Cruz said Abaya and Luciano should focus on how to retain airlines that are already in Clark by improving airport con-ditions which have a di-rect impact on airline

operations. He said ef-forts should have been exhausted in convinc-ing Philippines’ Air Asia, AirPhil Express and the other airlines, to stay in Clark.

But he noted that only a good manager can do that “which Luciano is not.” –Ashley Manabat

encs room ng hospital ay nilagyan na ng folding bed para dun mamalagi ang mga pasyente.

Tuloy-tuloy naman ang pagdagsa ng pasy-ente mula sa Subic, Zambales at Olongapo.

Ito ang kinumpirma ni Hospital Administrator Dr. Jesse Lewel Manuel.

Isa sa pinakamatind-ing tinamaan ng pagba-ha na lagpas hanggang tao ay ang Barangay Sta Rita na karamihan ay

pawang kalalakihan na nasa edad 30 hanggang 50-anyos ang tinamaan ng leptospirosis.

Biktima rin ng sakit ang ang pamilya ni Ron-ald Rondez ng Barangay Ilwas, Subic, Zambales.

“Una ang suspek nila sa aking nanay at kapatid ay dengue, pero nung di-nala namin dito sa emer-gency, ginawa yung mga lab test, leptospirosis na pala. Galing pa kami ng Subic, pero nung dumat-ing kami dito, dagsaan na ang mga pasyente,”

sabi ni Rondez.Nagsagawa naman

ng pag-iikot sa mga pasyente si Dr. Manu-el para alamin ang mga iba pang pangangailan-gan ng mga pasyente at kanya nang pinaalerto ang pharmacy, laborato-ry at dialysis machine na maaring gamitin ng mga pasyente.

Inalerto na rin ni dat-ing Sen. Richard Gordon ang Philippine National Red Cross para tumu-long sa mga biktima ng leptospirosis at nagbigay

na ito ng karagdagang mga folding bed at bed sheet at iba pang pan-gangailangan na siyang gagamitin ng mga pasy-ente.

Panawagan ni Dr. Manuel sa mga tao na kapag may naramdaman nang pananakit sa ka-tawan o di kaya’y nilala-gnat ay matungo kaagad sa pinakamalapit na health center o di kaya ay sa James Gordon Memorial Hospital para mabigyan kaagad ng kaukulang lunas.

Leptospirosis outbreakFROM PAGE 1

Thus, it is to the thrill of a new discovery that students of the Pam-panga High School took

Letter-writing the old way at SM...FROM PAGE 1 to the First National Let-

ter-Writing Day held Wednesday at SM City Pampanga.

Fears of the Philip-pine postal system going

the way of the telegraph system – to extinction, with the last telegram sent on September 30 – were allayed by Assis-tant Postal Manager Lou-

is Carlos, in his inspira-tional speech before the students went through the routine of letter-writ-ing, buying and affi xing stamps to their letters,

and dropping them at the mailbox .

Carlos said the post-al system is guaranteed by a United Nations con-vention where the Philip-pines is a signatory.

To stay with the times, Carlos said they are in the process of “rebrand-ing and developing ser-vices in the postal sys-tem to make it lean and mean.”

Streamlining oper-ations at the Philpost has resulted to some 7,000 employees spread throughout the country, “willing and able to cope with the postal communi-cation needs of the na-tion.”

Carlos admitted though the stiff competi-tion Philpost faces from delivery services and

postal providers, adding that the Philpost is also embarking on promot-ing conventional letter writing, improving ser-vices and opening the institution to technology and services on e-com-merce.

Carlos said Philpost remains a “sunshine in-dustry” despite the cur-rent alternatives provid-ed by technology.

Last Wednesday, a sunshine of smiles radiated through the Event Center of SM City Pampanga as students learned the ways of their old folks to communi-cate love and friend-ship, thanksgiving and respect, in the most ex-pressive and emotive ways.

– Bong Z. Lacson

NI JOHNNY R. REBLANDO

CASTILLEJOS, Zambales ---Di-nakip ng mga tauhan ng Zam-bales PNP ang tatlong holdaper makaraang holdapin ang isang Indian national sa Barangay Mag-saysay sa bayang ito kamakala-wa ng umaga.

Kinilala ni Senior Inspector Jose Arca, hepe ng Castillejos police station, ang mga suspek na sina Peter Cabalar, 38, residen-te ng Sitio Macarang, Barangay Aglao, San Marcelino, Zambales;

Bernie Cubacub, 29, residente ng Barangay Old Cabalan, Olonga-po City at Reagan Cabalar, 28, ng Palayan, Barangay Cawag, Subic, Zambales.

Sa imbestigasyon ng pulisya, sakay ng single motorcycle na may plakang RK 8770 ang biktimang si Rakesh Mohan, 41, ng Purok 1, Barangay San Pablo para maningil ng pautang nang harangin at tutu-kan ng baril ng mga suspek at saka nagdeklara ng holdap.

Tinangay ng mga suspek ang pera na nagkakahalaga ng

P15,000 cash at motorsiklo ng biktima.

Sa isinagawang follow-up op-eration ng pulisya, natunton ang hideout ng mga suspek sa Sitio Bagong Silang, Barangay San Pablo, Castillejos, Zambales kung saan nakuha sa pagiingat ng mga suspek ang dalawang 12-gauge homemade shotgun na may li-mang buhay na bala; apat na cell-phones; wallet; relo; dalawang plaka ng motorsiklo; mga susi; mga ibat-ibang dokumento ng motorsiklo at tatlong motorcycles.

3 holdaper arestado sa Zambales

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The Gossipmillerby Cesar Pambid

Escape Plan (R13)1150FS • 1200MF • 215 • 430 • 645843LFS • 900LMF • 1058END

Gravity (PG13)1230FS • 1240MF • 245 • 450 • 655825LFS • 900LMF • 1030END

Gravity (3D) (PG13)1025FS • 1035MF • 1240LMF • 220ENDCloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2245MF • 450 • 655 • 832LMF • 1037END

Alagwa (PG13)1230FS • 1240MF • 245 • 450 • 655825LFS • 900LMF • 1030END

Kung Fu Divas (PG13)1150FS • 1200MF • 215 • 430 • 645845LFS • 900LMF • 1055END

Insidious 2 (PG13)1150FS • 1200MF • 215 • 430 • 645828LFS • 900LMF • 1053END

Gravity (3D) (PG13)1220FS • 1230MF • 230 • 430 • 730901LFS • 930LMF • 1101END

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (GP)1200FS • 1220MF • 230 • 440 • 650830LFS • 900LMF • 1040END

Kung Fu Divas (PG13)1040FS • 1100MF • 130 • 400 • 630830LFS • 900LMF • 1100END

Gravity (PG13)1050FS • 1100MF • 100 • 300 • 500700 • 830LFS • 900LMF • 1030END

Insidious Chapter 2 (PG)1130FS • 1140MF • 200 • 420 • 640835LFS • 900LMF • 1055END

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 (G)1200FS • 1220MF • 230 • 440 • 650830LFS • 900LMF • 1040END

Gravity (PG)1050FS • 1100MF • 100 • 300 • 500700 • 830LFS • 900LMF • 1030END

Escape Plan (R13)1100FS • 1120MF • 145 • 410 • 635830LFS • 900LMF • 1055END

Alagwa (PG)1200FS • 1240MF • 245 • 450 • 655825LFS • 900LMF • 1030END

Kung Fu Divas (PG)1050FS • 1100MF • 130 • 400 • 630825LFS • 900LMF • 1055END

Cesar Montano di raw ipakukulong ni Sunshine Cruz

NAKA-MOVE ON na nga yata si Sunshine Cruz sa paghihiwalay nila ni Cesar Montano dahil sa launching niya as the newest Ever Bilena endorser, hindi na lang ang bad things na nangyari sa pagsasama nila ng asawa, kundi pati ang magagandang nangyari sa kanya sa piling ng aktor.

Generous daw si Cesar at hindi rin siya Bilmoko at nakaipon sa allowance na ibinibigay sa kanya. Patunay sa pagiging generous ni Cesar ay nakabili siya ng black Birkin bag.

Binigyan daw siya ng malaking pera ng aktor at sinabihang bilhin ang gusto niya at Birkin bag ang binili. Kung alam lang daw niyang maghihiwalay sila, itinago na lang niya ang pera at hindi na bumili ng mamahaling bag.

Nabigyan din siya ng aktor ng Rolex watch at Philippe Patek watches na dala niya pag-alis sa bahay nila ni Cesar.

Sabi ni Sunshine sana si Cesar na lang ang mag-fi le ng annulment dahil mahal. Ang psychological test nga lang ay P60,000 na.

May hearing ang mag-asawa para sa custody sa kanilang tatlong mga anak na siya niyang habol. “Ayoko naman siyang makulong, ayaw kong makulong ang tatay ng mga anak ko,” sabi ni Sunshine.

Bea Alonzo pinaliligaya ni Zanjoe Marudo

BLOCKBUSTER yung last tea up nina Bea Alonzo at John Lloyd Cruz na The Mistress. Ganun din kaya ang kalabasan ng team up nila ni Dingdong Dantes sa She’s The One?

Off camera, we all know they’ve both already found the one in their respective lives: Dingdong has Marian Rivera while Bea has Zanjoe MarudoSi Zanjoe na nga ba si Mr. Right?

“Mabait siya, very loving, I consider his presence in my life now a real blessing,” sabi niya. “Mabait sa akin maging ang kanyang buong pamilya. My family also likes him as well. Kaya, sana, when the right time comes when we both feel we are ready for marriage, we’ll really be the ones to end up together. As of now, though, pareho kaming priority pa rin ang aming respective careers. Marami pa kaming gustong gawin dito and we’re still enjoying it. So mag-iipon muna kami para we’ll be prepared if and when we think

of settling down. We just hope no one will take it against us if we choose our respective careers muna over marriage.”

So how is it working with Dingdong? “He’s a good leading man. A true gentleman. Very professional.

Wala kaming naging problema at all sa shooting and we got along very well.

Actually, I already heard a lot of positive stories about him from Zanjoe, kasi mas una silang nagkatrabaho in ‘One More Try’, and I’ve proven for myself na totoo ‘yung mga kuwento niya about Dingdong.”

5th Star Awards for MusicHANDANG-HANDA na ang Philippine Movie

Press Club (PMPC) sa pagkakaloob ng karangalan para sa mga natatanging alagad

ng musika sa 5th Star Awards for Music na gaganapin sa ika-13 ng Oktubre, 2013,

sa Ballroom ng Solaire Resort and Casino, sa lungsod ng Pasay, ganap

na ika-6 ng gabi. Magsisilbing hosts sina KC Concepcion, Xian Lim, Erich Gonzales at Billy Crawford.

Sa Opening Number,

magpapakitang gilas sina Gloc

9, Richard Poon, Young

JV, Kean Cipriano,

Jed Madela at Rico Blanco.

Ngayong taong ito,

ipagkakaloob ang Lifetime Achievement

Award kay Freddie Aguilar, at bilang pagpaparangal,

maghahandog ng awitin ang Final Four of the Voice of the Philippines na

sina Myk, Janice, Klarisse and Mitoy with the special participation of

awardee Freddie Aguilar. Pararangalan din bilang

Icons of Original Pilipino Music sina Imelda Papin, Rey Valera,

Rico J. Puno, Dulce at Sampaguita, at magpupugay sa kanila ang

mga awitin nina Eric Santos, Sam Concepcion, Rahda, Angeline

Quinto,and Vina Morales. Isang espesyal na musical

number naman ang ihahandog ng Pop Princess na si Sarah Geronimo at

Arnel Pineda. Mapapanood ang kabuuan ng

PMPC 5th Star Awards for Music sa ABS-CBN’s Sunday’s Best sa ika-20 ng

Oktubre, sa ganap na 11:00 ng gabi.Bea AlonzoBea Alonzo

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