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Volume 9 Number 91Thu - SatApril 28 - 30, 2016

Page 7 please

By Ding Cervantes

CLARK FREEPORT- Liberal Party presidential bet Mar Roxas and running mate Leni Robredo wooed here Monday the votes of some 3,000 barangay officials from all over Central Luzon by assuring

them of their support for a bill that would give them a term of five years and a budget of P1 million yearly.

RoRo to CL barangay leaders

Longer terms, P1-M budget, Clark airport

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Gov. Lilia ‘Nanay’ Pineda togeth-er with Bureau of Internal Rev-enue (BIR) Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares led the ground-breaking and time capsule laying ceremony for the construction of the new BIR Revenue Region 4

Gov, Kim break ground for P630-M BIR building

Gov. Lilia Pineda joins BIR Commissioner Kim Henares during the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of BIR RR-4 building complex. Photo courtesy of Jun Jaso, Pamp PIO

(RR4) building.The building with an approved

budget worth P630 million will be constructed in a one-hectare property in PEO compound, Ba-rangay Sindalan donated by the provincial government. The lot is approximately worth P200 million.

Gov. Pineda said the building complex will be beneficial to the province as the influx of inves-tors is expected in the near fu-ture.

“Maganda ito sa future devel-opment ng Pampanga. Ang im-

Page 7 please

By Ashley Manabat

ANGELES CITY – The Pinoy Gumising Ka Movement (PGKM) is putting to task May-or Edgardo Pamintuan for “failing to fight for his city” in the expan-sion of the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx) by the Manila North Toll-ways Corp.

PGKM chair Ruper-to Cruz said Pamintuan should have pressed

No NLEx expansion in AC, Pamintuan

rapped for ‘apathy’

PamintuanPage 7 please

CLARK FREEPORT -- Farmers nationwide are poised to “boycott” payments of irrigation fees amid the drought wrought by El Nino.

“The demand for free irrigation services and irrigation development has become more ur-

AMiD EL NiñO

Farmers to boycott irrigation fees

gent, just, and legitimate in the face of the linger-ing drought caused by El Nino,” said Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) chair Rafael Mari-ano in a statement yes-terday.

The other day, some

Yeng fOr Peace. Pampanga 1st District Rep. Joseller “Yeng” Guiao signs peace covenant wall at the candidates’ forum organized by the Knights of Columbus Holy Sepulchre Council-Angeles, local business chamber and JCI at the Holy Angel University.

Page 7 please

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By Ding Cervantes

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- Over 31,000 local and over-seas jobs are awaiting appli-cants in job fairs to be held all over Central Luzon on May 1, Labor Day.

“Around 24,870 local job vacancies in 265 participat-ing companies are up to be filled up, while 28 recruitment agencies are offering over-seas employment for 6,104 applicants,” Department of La-

Labor Day job fairs to fill up 31-K local, foreign vacanciesbor and Employment (DOLE) regional director Ana Dione said.

Local job vacancies are for customer care representa-tives, call center agents, pro-duction operators, production workers, servers, salesclerks, welders, masons and sales associates, she noted.

Dione said that job vacan-cies abroad are for electrical and mechanical engineers, production operators, factory workers, nurses, staff nurses,

housekeepers, helpers, and service crews.

She said that in Central Lu-zon, the May 1 job fairs are to be held in SM malls in Bali-uag in Bulacan, San Fernando downtown and Clark in Pam-panga, Cabanatuan and Tar-lac cities.

More job fairs are to be held also on the same day at the KB gymnasium in Malolos City, Bulacan and at the mu-nicipal gym of Masinloc, Zam-bales.

Two days later on May 3, more job fairs are to be held at the new municipal building in Marilao, Bulacan and at the Freedom Park in Cabanatuan City.

On May 6, job fairs are also slated at the People’s Center in Balanga City in Bataan and at the Rizal Triangle in Olon-gapo City.

“Please come on time and be fully prepared for our job fairs. Do wear the proper attire and bring multiple copies of

your resumes, certificates of employment, transcript of re-cords, clearance, photos, and other pertinent pre-employ-ment documents needed by employers,” Dione said.

They may also pre-register at the Phil-Jobnet website or at the Public Employment Ser-vice Office in their area, she added.

The 114th Philippine Labor Day Celebration carries the theme “Kinabukasan Sigura-do sa Disenteng Trabaho.”

ly staying at Villa 7-16 Florida, Fontana Resort and Casino.

Diaz said Zhang was on board silver Mit-subishi Grandis Sta-tion Wagon (ZHG-475) with the contraband onboard when flagged down by NBI agents. Her car yielded two medium-size box car-rying pangolins and co-bras suspiciously con-cealed at the back pas-sengers’ seat.

The suspect, Diaz said was heading to-wards the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) going to Tarlac when flagged down by NBI agents and Clark Development Corp. po-lice.

Diaz said pangolins are being sold to Chi-nese restaurants and are believed to be aph-rodisiac. The meat is said to be sold by as much as $300 per kilo while the mammal’s scales are believed to have medicinal value and can cure cancer and other illnesses.

Pangolins are also known to be the most hunted mammals in the world. In the Philip-pines, it is endemic in Palawan.

“Pangolins is prime delicacy for Chinese,” said Diaz.

The Department of Environment and Natu-ral Resources – Wildlife Bureau Michael Lopez said illegal trade and trafficking of wildlife is punishable under the law. He said transport of any kinds of wildlife must have the permis-sion of the DENR.

“Fine of P100,000 to P1 million and imprison-ment of six years await violators,” Lopez said.

The intercepted wildlife will undergo health examinations and documentation be-fore their turnover to DENR accredited cen-ters.

Diaz said the sus-pect remains in the cus-tody of NBI pending the filing of appropriate charges specifically for violation of the Repub-lic Act 9147 also known as The Wildlife Act.

NBI Director Atty. Ric Diaz looks at the endangered pangolins. contributed photo

Exotic animals seized from Chinese lady trader at ClarkCLARK FREEPORT – National Bureau of In-vestigation agents ar-rested a Chinese lady trader here in the act

of sneaking out four pan-golins and four snakes near the South Clark exit shortly after midnight Wednesday.

NBI-Central Luzon Regional Office director Atty. Ric Diaz, identified the suspect as Zhang Peimin, 45, temporari-

By Carmela Reyes-Estrope

BUSTOS, Bulacan----Farmers pinned their hope for water for irrigation needs and other woes and press-ing concerns in the farming industry will finally be helped addressed through the P1-billion Bustos Dam rehabilitation project.

Ruperto Hernandez, president of Plaridel munic-ipal agriculture and fishery council (MAFC) and one of the more than 23,000 farmer beneficiaries on the Angat Maasim River Irrigation System (AMRIS) said the yearly problem in water for irrigation supply led many of them to give up their lands and sold them for real estate and commercial purposes.

Hernandez said through the rehabilitation, they see the old deteriorating dam to finally further hold more water during rains and typhoons and be able control it longer and only make releases for their irri-gation needs during dry season.

The farmers lament that while they have the re-sources in Bulacan, they are not the priority bene-ficiary and recipient of the water but the supply for Metro Manila.

“Nasa amin ang resources pero inihuhuli kami, Metro Manila ang priority kaya sa hirap ng tubig. Ang dami na nagbebenta ng lupang sakahan dahil baon sa utang ang magsasaka dahil sa isa sa pinaka mal-aking problema ay ang kawalan ng tubig,” he said.

He said this time, the extended, up to May 15, supply of water to their farms by National Irrigation Administration (NIA) officials which man and man-age the Bustos Dam is a big help and boost to their farms. “Kung may masira man o umatras ay minimal lang kumpara sa nakakaraan na dahil sa paghinto ng supply ay apektado talaga ang aming mga pananim,” he said.

NIA had earlier advised the farmers of an April 15 cut off in the water supply, but due to pleas by Bula-can authorities, NIA officials only reduced the water allocation for the farmers and extended the release until May 15.

Today, according to Hernandez, the low price of palay also dampens their spirit to continue tilling their lands. He said farm gate price of palay now s as low as P14 to P17 because of the abundance of NFA rice in the market. “Isa pa ulit ito sa mga problema at kalaban ng magsasaka.”

Bustos Dam, other than directly catching rain wa-ter and from other water tributary sources catches both the releases of upper Angat and Ipo Dams in Norzagaray towns.

But due to its age and dilapidated condition for the past several years, it failed to hold more water during rains and typhoons when the two dams re-leased more volume contributing further to flooding downstream of Bulacan and failing to reserve water for the dry season and the farmer’s irrigation needs.

Florencio Padernal, administrator of NIA, said the rehabilitation will improve their irrigation service to the more than 26,000 hectares of land of the more than 23,000 farmers in the 115 irrigator’s group ben-eficiaries from Bulacan and Pampanga.

The improved irrigation of the 261-meter long Bustos Dam, he said, will also improve rice produc-tion and income of the farmers.

Last April 15, President Aquino led Padernal and Gov. Wilhelmino Sy-Alvarado and other officials in the launching of the rehabilitation.

Works for the rehab will officially start next month and to be completed by August 2017, the President said.

The President said this is the first time that the dilapidating Bustos Dam will have its major repairs within the past several years as the previous repairs done was not in full blown. He said the dam which are made of rubber gates and other lining and oth-er structural designs have long been slowly deterio-rating due to varying weather condition of rains and flooding and the hot weather.

Farmers pin hopes on P1-B Bustos Dam rehab

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THE PHILIPPINES’ leading carrier, Cebu Pacific (PSE: CEB), flew 4.8 million passen-gers for the first quarter of 2016, a system-wide growth of 13% compared to the same period last year. On average, CEB’s flights between January to March were 87% full.

In the month of March alone, CEB’s passenger volume soared to 1.6 million passengers, up by 7% from the 1.5 mil-lion passengers carried in March 2015.

Periodic seat sales, lowest year-round fares, and robust travel de-mand contributed to the surge in passengers. Some of CEB’s popular destinations for the first quarter include Tagbi-laran, Dumaguete and Cagayan de Oro for do-mestic, and Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai for

CebPac flies 4.8M passengers in 1st quarter of 2016Posts 13% system-wide growth

vs. same period last yearinternational.

The airline also took delivery of two brand-new Airbus A320 aircraft in January, and another one this April, as part of its conservative fleet ex-pansion plan.

“CEB remains com-mitted to stimulating travel and driving trade and tourism opportuni-ties in communities we fly to. We are optimistic that the airline will con-tinue to rise as a signifi-cant travel enabler in and out of its home country,” said Atty. JR Mantaring, CEB Vice President for Corporate Affairs.

To cater to the up-ward travel trend this summer, CEB mounted over 60 additional week-ly flights from Manila, Cebu, Iloilo, and Davao to several domestic and international destina-tions. The airline offers

flights to a network of more than 90 routes on 64 destinations, span-ning Asia, Australia, the Middle East, and USA.

Guests may avail of CEB’s trademark lowest fares by visiting www.ce-bupacificair.com, or by calling the reservation hotlines (+632)7020-888 or (+6332)230-8888. They may also down-load the Cebu Pacific of-ficial mobile app on the App Store and Google Play.

The latest seat sales can also be found on CEB’s official Twitter (@CebuPacificAir) and Facebook pages.

Cebu Pacific’s 57-strong fleet is com-prised of 7 Airbus A319, 36 Airbus A320, 6 Airbus A330, and 8 ATR 72-500 aircraft. It is one of the most modern aircraft fleets in the world.

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acaesar.blogspot.com

Zona Libre Bong Z. Lacson

E d i t o r i a l Opinion

TOdaY In PhILIPPIne hIsTOrYSource: www.kahimyang.info

LLL Trimedia coordinators, Inc.Publisher

General ManagerEditor

Marketing ManagerLayout

Circulation

atty. gener c. endonacaesar “Bong” LacsonJoanna niña V. corderodondie B. VenturaLacson Macapagal

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

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

http://www.punto.com.ph

Mayo Uno“Bisig na nagsaka’y

siyang walang palay;Nagtayo ng templo’y siyang walang bahay;Dumungkal ng mina

ng bakal at gintoay baon sa utang;

Lingkod sa pabrika ng damit ay hubad ang

mahal sa buhay.”Idagdag na dito

ating OFW.Mabuhay ang

manggagawang Pilipino!

Mabuhay?Paano? Paano?Sa pagbubuwis ng dugo’t pawis,

sa puhunang luha’t pighati,

kusing na ang bayad, may paniniil pang sukli.

Mabuhay ang manggagawang

Pilipino?

SEETHING IN righteous anger over his maculated persona, comeback-wishing Cong. Dong Gonzales, nuked nemesis re-electing Cong. Oca Rodriguez with the most serious, if not insulting, accusation ever impacted on one publicly esteemed as the very avatar of good governance – thievery.

Cong Dong’s J’accuse moment replete with all the elements of a courtroom drama – television cameras and mics, phone recorders, voluminous legal documents, newspaper clippings, and hundreds of photocopied checks spread over a table. Aye, a table hardened by evidence?

It was too great an opportunity to miss. Thus

the front page photo accompanying our banner story last issue: Oca is a thief!

There was just something that looked eerily familiar in the photograph. Yea, the photocopied checks. Which spurred some search in the internet, finding the answer in acaesar.blogspot.com where I stored past columns dating back to 2006. Here, dated Saturday, June 15, 2013:

It has to come to thisTHE GODSON seethes.

Pampanga 3rd District Rep. Aurelio “Dong” Gonzales has taken his losing cause to the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET) charging his nemesis – and wedding godfather – City of San Fernando Mayor Oscar S. Rodriguez as having purchased, wholesale and retail, his victory in the recent polls.

In his 10-page protest, Cong Dong alleged that Cong Oca caused his hand to sign and issue “numerous” checks in favor of as numerous payees just a few days before the elections, charged to the account of the City of San Fernando, Pampanga and the Municipality of San Fernando, Pampanga with the Land Bank of the Philippines, San Fernando Branch.

Cong Dong said that on May 10, 2013 at the city’s Heroes Hall, Cong Oca handed out “financial assistance” each in the amount of P5,000 to his so-called scholars at the Don Honorio Ventura Technological State University.

Numbering some 1,000, the supposed scholars, Cong Dong alleged, are residents not only of the City of San Fernando but also of other parts of the third district of Pampanga.

“The indiscriminate issuance of the above checks and the distribution of ‘financial assistance’ to numerous recipients, beneficiaries and/or scholars just a few days before the elections obviously constitute massive vote buying,” Gonzales charged, citing Cong Oca as having violated Section 261 of the Omnibus Election Code, which prohibits any public official or employee, including barangay officials, from releasing, disbursing or using public funds during 45 days before a regular election.

Also flouted, he added, was Comelec Resolution 9585, which implements Section 261 of the Omnibus Election Code that prohibits the release, disbursement and expenditure of public funds effective March 29, 2013 until May 13, 2013.

Were it not for Cong Oca’s “acts of massive

and widespread vote-buying,” Cong Dong could have easily won last May 13. So believed his lawyers, citing his two previous landslide victories as proofs positive of his sure triumph over the comebacking Cong Oca.

“Having been elected twice already for the same position in the 2007 and 2010 elections, the sudden loss of some 87,376 votes is simply unexplainable and statistically improbable.” So the lawyers said.

The godfather speaks.“It is all too ironic that he is protesting what

he himself precisely did during the campaign and days before the election. I think he is very guilty of that, driving him to desperation. We never bought votes and we stand by our previous statement that we were never beaten by his money.” So was Cong Oca quoted in the local papers, in effect accusing his godson of projecting his image unto his godfather, of outsourcing the blame for his defeat on him.

Cong Oca turned the tables on Cong Dong on the very issue of scholarship assistance, blasting his godson as “an official who corrupted education.”

Firing away thus: “It is very sad to note that he corrupted education. Saan ka makakakita na pati kindergarten binigyan ng P800 tapos scholar na. Iyung iba naman, P10,000 per family. We have proof and evidence too of such activities during the pre-election days but we kept it to ourselves para walang gulo. Besides, it is not my character na manira ng kapwa at mag-akusa. Indeed, his protest is very, very ironic. Pero kapag hindi niya itinigil ang kalokohan na iyan, kami naman ang magsasampa ng mga kaso laban sa kanya.”

How did it ever come to this? Godfather versus godson? Politics sundering all spiritual bonds.

Politics has no relations to morals. Yeah, Machiavelli, as right today as then.

YEAH, BACK to one ending. To start a new beginning toward a different ending?

ON APRIL 28, 1949, Mrs. Au-rora Quezon, her daughter Maria Aurora, her son-in-law, Philip Buencamino III, togeth-er with nine others including Mayor Ponciano Bernardo of Quezon City, were shocking-ly murdered in a machine-gun ambuscade by a band of Huk-balahaps while on their way to Baler, the birthplace of former President Quezon. Mrs. Que-zon was the widow of the for-mer President.

President Quirino, speak-ing in Baguio the next day, is-sued an appeal for the cooper-

ation of all law-abiding citizens in eliminating “the last vestige of lawlessness and savegery in our land”, following the shocking incident. The Pres-ident issued a proclamation providing for the half-masting of the national flag for 9 days and summoned the constab-ulary chiefs to a meeting at which he issued fresh orders for the “summary elimination of dissident depredations”.

It was announced (by the President) on April 30, 1949, that the place where Mrs. Quezon and party met

their deaths, near the border of Nueva Ecija and Tayabas provinces, will be converted into a national forest preserve to be known as Aurora Memo-rial Park.

On April 28, 2013, The Na-tional Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) to-gether with the descendants of Mrs. Quezon unveiled and re-dedicated a historical marker in Bongabon, Nueva Ecija at the site of the ambush where Mrs. Quezon was killed. The marker is a replacement of the missing old marker.t

Mrs. Aurora Quezon is murdered by the

Hukbalahaps

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Napag-uusapanLangfelix M. garcia

Duterte na marahilKUNG ganyang gaano man yata katindiang ibato laban kay Mayor Duterteng opponents n’yan sa pagka-Presidente,ay siya pa ring sa survey, No. 1 bale.

At kung saan imbes bumaba ang ‘rating’ni Digong sanhi ng mga samut-saringpaninira, pero siya’y nananatilingmatatag at saka nangunguna pa rin.

Iyan ay senyales na ang butihing Mayorng Davao city ang siyang napipintongmananalo sa darating na eleksyon;At makakapalit ni Pangulong PNoy.

Posible rin namang si Grace Poe ang siyangmangibabaw kapag hindi tinantananni Mayor Duterte ang mga salitangkasabiha’y biru-biro lang kung sanlan

Pero maaaring ang dating ay ibasa di lang kakaunting tagatangkilik niya;at kung saan sanhi n’yan baka di na siyadadalhin o kaya ipangangampanya.

Si Binay, nang dahil sa di niya pagdalosa ‘hearing’ na dapat ay harapin nitodiyan sa ‘Senate’ ay malayong manalo pagkat ang dami niyang nakabimbing kaso.

Si Roxas, nang dahil sa ‘Tuwid na Daan’ni PNoy na lubos niyang inasahangmagdadala sa kanya sa Malakanyang,baka ni ang ‘3rd place’ ay di makuha niyan.

Dala na rin nitong ang sinakyang bangkani Mr. Palengke, na inaakalaniyang sakdal tatag ay magiwang na ngasanhi ng ang dating Bankero’y pabaya.

Hinayaan niya na palutang-lutangang bangka sa gitna ng dagat-dagatangnundo ng nakawan at katiwalian,bunsod ng sarili niyang kahinaan.

Sa puntong yan kung di na magbabago paang ‘ratings’ at/o ang pinal na resultang mga ‘surveys’ na lumalabas tuwinaay posibleng si Duterte na talaga

Ang susunod nating magiging pangulona lubhang kakaiba ang kanyang estilo,kaysa ibang tradisyonal na pulitikona tuwing halalan lang ‘visible’ sa tao. At kapag pinalad mahalal ay di namakapa saan man para lapitan siya,Dala nitong sila’y ilag magpakitasa nanghihingi ng tulong sa kanila.

Na sila rin naman ang bale kapuralng ganyang estilong sila kadalasanitong sa ‘botante’ kusang namimigayng pera para lang sila maihalal.

Pero sa eleksyong yan sa Mayo nuebena ang maglalaban ay sina Duterte,Grace Poe, Binay, Miriam at Mr. Palengke,malamang ngayon pa lamang mangyayari

Sa kasaysayan ng bansang Pilipinas,na ang uupo sa pinakamataasna puwesto ang tanging pinakamahirap,kapag si Duterte ang naging mapalad!

HARP Officers 2016 with Dir. Ronnie Tiotuico of DOT Region 3. contributed photo

By Ashley Manabat

CLARK FREEPORT – Royce Hotel and Casino emerged as the champion in the HARP Cook-Off Challenge 3 at the SM City Clark here.

The 1st Runner-Up was awarded to the Historic Cama-lig Restaurant while the 2nd Runner-Up was given to RBI SteakHouse. The champion in the schools’ category was IL-EAD.

With the theme: “East meets West” but with a Kapam-pangan touch, the Hotels and Restaurants Association in Pampanga (HARP) presented the HARP Cook-Off Challenge 3 at the SM City Clark here Wednesday last week.

Mitch Otsuru-Park of HARP said the contest aims to promote healthy competition among the different hotels and restaurants within Pampanga; further promote Pampanga as a culinary destination in Cen-tral Luzon; give participants

Royce Hotel and Casino tops HARP Cook-Off Challenge 3 at SM City Clark

a deeper understanding of the cultural exchange among countries in Asia, Europe and the Americas through the theme “East Meets West”; showcase the country’s rich cultural heritage through food; and to further establish the Philippines as center of culi-nary excellence in Asia.

Park said the event’s ben-eficiary is the Kitchen Project for Special Education Cen-ter at the Angeles Elementary School.

Park said each compet-ing team is composed of two cooks or chefs; each team was given a total of one hour for food preparation, cooking and cleaning; and each team must prepare a three course meal in four sets - one hot or cold ap-petizer, one main course, and one dessert.

Park said each team shall prepare four portions of appe-tizer, main course and dessert that will be presented to the judges and to the media.

The participants were RBI Steakhouse, Nashly D’Elia and Lalaine Laggui; Widus Hotel and Casino, John Nino Cordero and Jaimes Van Ha-gut; Café Noelle, Rrejy Lou-ise and Tapnio Joseph Oliver Enriquez; Historic Camalig Restaurant, Nino Emerito Pa-mintuan and Harrison San-tos; Azurro Hotel, Berjohn Maglalang and Noe Lulu; and Royce Hotel & Casino, Jerry Ruth Ramos and Jay Carreon.

The school participants were Ilead, Louie Anthony Jimenez and Brian Michael Fina; Northpoint Academy, Nepthali Laxamana and Enri-co Paras.

The judges for the profes-sional category were James Yulo, Chef Don Edward Quito, and Chef Michelle Adrillana.

The judges for the school category were Clark Interna-tional Airport Corp. President Dino Tanjuatco, Chef Michael Caffrey, and Chef Vince Gar-cia.

ANGELES CITY - “The 184 graduates at CCA have prior-ity in the available jobs at Con-verge Group. That is my gift to you on this very special day.”

Thus said Converge CEO and Angeleño businessman Dennis Uy during his com-mencement speech in the re-cent graduation rites at the City College of Angeles.

As they graduate this year, the students from CCA will be offered with several job oppor-tunities in the immediate com-munity: one of these being a choice applicant in Uy’s com-panies.

“I will assure all of you that I will prioritize the graduating students of CCA who are inter-ested in applying in any of my companies. This is my part in building a better society here in Angeles,” the businessman said.

“One of my goals in busi-ness is to provide job oppor-tunities to many. However, if,

Bizman Uy to prioritize hiring CCA gradsin any chance, they find an-other company which can give a higher salary then, I will let them go. I never stop people from having better lives. This is why I’m here for, to push people to be better, to have better lives,” he added.

The companies of Uy are hiring more employees, es-pecially graduate students, in order to train individuals and prepare them for better oppor-tunities.

Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan lauded Uy for his support and commitment to uplift the lives of the less fortunate, not only by extending them employ-ment, but also by giving out scholarships.

Pamintuan also said that providing them employment opportunities right after they graduate is another dream ful-filled for both the local govern-ment and the administrators of the CCA.

“When we built the City

College in 2012, we made the promise of creating courses which are market sensitive. These courses would then generate jobs that would im-mediately benefit the commu-nity, not to mention the grad-uates themselves, because they could get jobs as soon, or even before, they get their hands on a diploma.” said Pa-mintuan.

“Uy is just one of the good guys whom we partnered with in this endeavor. We also have several locators in Clark and a handful of companies in the city waiting for our graduates.” the mayor added.

Pamintuan also assured the CCA students that he, along with his partners and friends in the private and pub-lic sector, will support more scholars in the coming years.

The CCA is the only edu-cational institution in the Phil-ippines to have CISCO certifi-cation. –Angeles CIO

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SEN. Serge Osmena believes that the race for the vice presidency will be a two-way fight be-tween Liberal Party (LP) vice presidential candi-date Leni Robredo and Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

While the competi-tion may be tight, Osme-na said in an interview, “I think the race might just be between those two”.

However, Osme-na cautioned that Sens. Chiz Escudero and Alan Peter Cayetano may gain some ground in the coming days.

In the recent Social Weather Stations (SWS)

Serge: VP now a 2-way fight between Leni, Bongbongsurvey, Robredo has overtaken Marcos for the lead, garnering 26 per-cent, one point ahead of her closest rival.

Escudero placed third with 18 percent, while Sens. Cayetano, Antonio Trillanes and Gregorio Honasan had 18, 5 and 2 percent, respectively. The survey was conduct-ed from April 18 to 20 with 1,800 respondents.

Robredo’s latest rat-ing was seven points higher than her previous score in the SWS March 30-April 2 survey.

“Kailangan nating i-maintain iyong lead

kaya ipinagdadasal natin na iyong 14 days enough para ma-maintain natin iyon,” Robredo said in a radio interview.

“Malapit na malapit na pero tingin ko naman, mabuti naman iyong nag-ing resulta ng ilang buwan na pag-iikot,” she added

Robredo’s rise in the surveys was credited to her outstanding perfor-mance in the two previ-ous vice presidential de-bates.

According to Bilang Pilipino-Social Weather Stations (SWS) mobile survey, Robredo was picked as clear winner

of the second VP debate last April 17.

Around 33 percent of 632 respondents picked Robredo as the winner over other bets for the position while Escudero, Cayetano and Trillanes garnered 28 percent, 27 percent and 5 percent, respectively,

A lawyer for the poor, Robredo provided free legal aid to the margin-alized sectors of society, including farmers, fisher-men and abused women for a long time before be-coming the representa-tive of the 3rd District of Camarines Sur.robredo Marcos

By Ding Cervantes

CLARK FREEPORT - The Commission on Elections (Comelec) will have 4,888 vote count-ing machines (VCMs) on stand-by should any of the 92,509 VCMs in voting precincts nation-wide fail on election day on May 9.

Comelec public rela-tions manager Cristalyn Magsino said that unlike in the 2013 elections, all clustered precincts na-tionwide will have VCMs for the May 9 polls.

Miguel Eugenio Avila, pre-sales coor-dinator of Smartmat-ic, said none of the some 72,000 precinct count optical scanners (PCOS) used in the 2010 and 2013 polls would be used.

The PCOS ma-chines, which Comelec initially leased and later bought for the last two polls reportedly at the cost of P15 billion, have reportedly remained in a Comelec-designated warehouse.

Magsino, in a brief-ing members of the Ca-pampangans in Media, Inc. here, noted a total of 97,517 VCMs were leased for the coming polls.

Apart from 4,888 standby VCMs, a total of 92,517 units are to be used for local voting and another 120 units for overseas voting.

“We expect voters’ turnout to be heavier in this elections because of better accessibility for seniors and persons with disability,” Magsino said, amid plans to use malls as voting centers.

She noted figures indicating there are now 6,936,642 senior citizen voters who are regis-tered with the Comelec.

4,888 voting machines on stand-by on election day

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From page 1

NOTiCE OF ExTRAjuDiCiAL SETTLEMENTNotice is hereby given that the heirs of jOSE NiñO FRANCiSCO H.

FAuSTO who died intestate on July 4, 2015 in the City of San Fernando, Pampanga executed an Affidavit of Extrajudicial Settlement with Waiver of Rights of his estate, more particularly described as a parcels of land, to wit:

1. Transfer Certificate of Title No. 415889-R of the Registry of Deeds for the Province of Pampanga which is located in Brgy. Telabastagan, City of San Fernando and consisting an area of 281 square meters;

2. Transfer Certificate of Title No. 597774-R of the Registry of Deeds for the Province of Pampanga which is located in Brgy. Telabastagan, City of San Fernando and consisting an area of 329 square meters;

3. Transfer Certificate of Title No. 601547-R of the Registry of Deeds for the Province of Pampanga which is located in Brgy. Calibutbut, Bacolor and consisting an area of 89.30 square meters;

before Notary Public Orlando R. Pangilinan as per Doc No. 598, Page No. 92, Book No. LII, Series of 2015.Punto! Central Luzon: April 21, 28 & May 5, 2016

Roxas also vowed to declare the Clark Inter-national Airport as the country’s official inter-national airport. “Clark is vast and can accom-modate even five NA-IA’s (Ninoy Aquino Inter-national Airport),” he told the barangay officials.

Pres. Aquino arrived with Roxas and Robredo at the convention cen-ter of the Fontana resort here yesterday morn-ing for the gathering of barangay officials who

Longer terms, P1-M budget, Clark airportwere given color-coded sticker tags to indicate the places from where they hailed.

Of Central Luzon’s six governors, re-election-ists Lilia Pineda of Pam-panga, Willie Sy-Alvara-do of Bulacan, Ayong Umali of Nueva Ecija, and Hermogenes Eb-dane of Zambales joined the President and some LP senatorial candidates on stage.

During his speech, Roxas asked Tarlac Gov. Vic Yap, who is seeking a congressional post in

the second district of his province, to also join them on stage.

Roxas said that if elected president, he would push for the pas-sage of a law that would extend the term of baran-gay officials from three to five years. He also vowed to implement the move, already laid out by the Aquino adminis-tration, to allot P1 million to each of the country’s over 42,000 barangays under the bottoms-up budgeting or BuB.

“That BuB funding

would require only about P42 billion and I will im-mediately push for the funding when I become president,” he said.

“There can be no tri-umph for the nation-al government unless it reaches the barangays,” he said.

Vowing to “transfer the international airport to Clark,” Roxas said to accompany such plan will be the construction of high speed railway alongside elevated high-way to link Clark to Metro Manila.

He also said that as president, he would pri-oritize the drawing of a masterplan that would integrate all anti-flood-ing projects in Central Luzon, as he noted that while the region has sev-en provinces, its flooding problem is interconnect-ed.

For her part, Robredo said that she would push for Congress to pursue the Barangay Reform Bill that made it to second hearing in the House. She noted that under the bill, the terms of baran-

gays officials would be extended up to five years.

She said she would push for such proposal to cover incumbents whose term would then end in 2018, after deferment of the barangay polls.

At the same time, Ro-bredo also hailed Roxas’ performance in the last presidential debate held in Dagupan City, describ-ing her running mate as “presidential.”

For his part, Rox-as said Robredo was a “standout” among vice presidential candidates.

the MNTC to extend their road widening proj-ect up to this city.

Apparently, Cruz said, the MNTC has skipped Angeles in their road widening project and Pamintuan does not seem to care.

The MNTC has re-cently started work on the NLEx road widen-ing project that will add another two lanes to the four-lane express-way between Sta. Rita in

No NLEx expansion in AC, Pamintuan rapped for ‘apathy’From page 1 Guiguinto, Bulacan and

the City of San Fernan-do.

Two more lanes will also be added to the northbound lane of the expressway from Dau to Sta. Ines in Mabalacat City, MNTC president Rodrigo Franco said last week.

He added that the MNTC allocated P5 bil-lion for the expansion projects, which are seen to address the influx of motorists, especially during holidays.

Franco said traf-fic volume on NLEx in-creased by over 50 per-cent since 2005 and by another 25 percent during holidays.

“But why skip Ange-les?” Cruz asked. “Is the mayor aware that the ex-pansion is only until CSF and then on to Mabala-cat?”

Cruz said Pamintuan should push for the road expansion until Angeles because if it won’t hap-pen, this could be anoth-er form of sabotage of

the Clark airport. Cruz said Pamintu-

an should also explain to the people why he did not fight for the in-stallation of lights along the expressway all the way to this city. The road lights are only up to Bu-lacan, he lamented.

“Why is this so when Kapampangans are also using NLEx,” he rea-soned.

“They know that the Clark airport is be-ing pushed by not only Kapampangans but peo-

ple in the northern re-gions but yet they are not doing anything to push for the NLEx ex-pansion up to Angeles,” he said.

Unlike Mayor Marino “Boking” Morales who fought for the entry and exit toll booths of NLEx in Mabalacat, Cruz not-ed.

“As it is now, traffic in Angele City is already atrocious. But the things that could ease traffic… they failed to do,” Cruz lamented.

“There is already horrendous traffic even without the full devel-opment of the Clark air-port, what more devel-opment can you expect if this is not addressed?” he asked. “Who would come here?”

“Mayor Pamintuan should find ways to mit-igate the traffic. He just cannot allow unplanned development which is dangerous,” Cruz said. “As it is, Pamintuan’s apathy is burdening the public.”

portante isang lugar na lang ang BIR para hindi kalat-kalat ‘yong opisina nila,” the governor said.

Henares thanked the provincial government for the donation, which is a prime provincial lot.

“Nagpapasalamat ako sa local govern-ment ng Pampanga.

Gov, Kim break ground for P630-M BiR buildingFrom page 1 Lahat naman kami isa

lang ang objective para mapalago ang ekonomi-ya ng Pilipinas at makat-ulong sa nakararaming tao,” Henares said.

According to BIR RR4 Director Jethro Sabariaga the building complex will be the first eco-friendly government building in the province.

“Meron siyang 350

kilowatt solar panel at meron din siyang wa-ter recovery facility at ‘yong pagkaka design ng building is ergonom-ic para magflow ‘yong hangin reducing ‘yong heat ng area,”

The sprawling build-ing will house the region-al office, the document processing office of BIR, and the two district of-

fices under Pampanga – Angeles and San Fer-nando.

Sabariaga said “the approved budget for the building is P630 million but we were able to bid it for only P517 million”.

The director dis-closed that the construc-tion of the said build-ing will start once the Comelec ban ends.

“Gusto na nating sim-ulan ‘yong construction kaya nga lang nagka-roon tayo ng Comelec ban na tinatawag. The construction supposed to run for 540 days, 18 months. We hope it gets finished kasi ang con-struction nito was de-signed na yung 3 com-plex ng building sa-bay-sabay gagawin,”

Sabariaga saidThe director believes

that “the better building will translate to better services to the taxpay-ers”.

Board members Rosve Henson and Fer-dinand Labung and other BIR officials witnessed the said event.

–Liezel Cayanan/Pampanga PIO

Farmers to boycott irrigation feesFrom page 1

200 peasant leaders from different provinces of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao held a rally in front of the Department of Agriculture (DA) build-ing in Quezon City in a protest move dubbed “Street Conference for Free Irrigation” calling on farmers to “boycott pay-

ments of irrigation ser-vice fees.”

“The peasantry is the hardest hit by the linger-ing dry spell,” Mariano noted.

He said “the pro-longed drought fur-ther worsened the hun-ger suffered by farmers brought by unjust exac-tions like irrigation ser-vice fees, high land rent,

usury and the high cost of production shouldered alone by farmers.”

Mariano also report-ed that “more than 1.3 million hectares of lands that do not have irriga-tion has been drying up.”

“Irrigation services should be part of the to-tal subsidy to production from the national gov-ernment,” he stressed.

He lamented that “the government’s wrong pol-icy of collecting irriga-tion service fees, aggra-vated by so-called ‘back accounts’ and penalties has pushed farmers to further bankruptcy.”

The KMP called on farmers across the coun-try to “boycott irrigation service fees collected by the corrupt Aquino re-

gime.”“In spite of the Aqui-

no government’s unpar-alleled incompetence in the delivery of irrigation water and criminal neg-ligence in the face of drought, the National Ir-rigation Administration enjoys a hefty budget-ary allocation amounting to a whopping P32 bil-lion for 2016. It is all the

more just and legitimate for farmers to boycott payments of irrigation service fees,” the KMP said.

This, even as the group also noted that “while all presidential candidates have prom-ised free irrigation, none of them have outlined how to do it.”

–Ding Cervantes

panga State Agricultural University, Body Shocks Dancers, City College of Angeles, System Plus College Foundation, Francisco G. Nepomu-ceno Memorial High School, Angeles City Na-tional Trade School, Si-nukwan Kapampangan Training Center for the Arts, Holy Angel Uni-versity Dance Theatre, Sto. Rosario Elementa-ry School, Angeles City Dance Athletes, Claro M. Recto Information and Communication Tech-nology High School, and the Angeles University Foundation-College of

AC to host Yugyugan Dance Rally anewFrom page 8 Education.

Aside from Angeles City, the dance rally will simultaneously occur in Roxas City in Capiz, as well as in Cebu City.

The annual celebra-tion of the International Dance Day (IDD) was created under the aus-pices of UNESCO in Paris and held all over the world by the Inter-national Theater Insti-tute (ITI) on April 29. Its objective is to celebrate dance, to revel in the uni-versality of this art form, to cross all political, cul-tural and ethnic barriers and bring people togeth-er with a common lan-guage, which is dance.

While in the Phil-ippines, the Presiden-tial Proclamation No. 154, which declares the fourth week of April ev-ery year as the National Dance Week, aims “to bring together dancers to demonstrate and real-ize the function of dance in the society and in the rest of the world.

Other danceactivities

While April is dubbed as the month for food with the Department of Tourism’s Flavors of the Philippines, Angeles is and was host to sever-al dance activities other than the Yugyugan.

The first of these was held in April 7, which was a workshop on dance technique and lyrical & modern jazz. Said work-shop was facilitated by Marrion Jeremy M. Quiambao of the Com-monwealth Society of Teachers of Dancing in Singapore. Quiambao was also a recipient of the 2016 Pupul ning Ba-nua Awards.

Einojo also per-formed a Japanese tra-ditional dance, accom-panied by a shamisen in-strument in a Japanese cultural exchange held Wednesday (April 26) at the Plaza Angel also in the Heritage District.

For more informa-tion about the events, contact 0977-377-1585 or visit the Angeles City Tourism Office’s Face-

book page at fb.com/An-gelesCityTourismOffice. –AC-CIO with reports from Jazmine Henson and Kristine Joy Bucad

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earTh daY. The Trash-to-Cash Recycling Market is a sustainability program that invites and encourages local government and the community, haulers, recycling groups, social/environmental recycling project groups and private companies to bring their trash in the mall and exchange them for cash. This activity is in line with Earth Day celebration. Pr-sMOL

By Ding Cervantes

CLARK FREEPORT - Filinvest Mimosa, Inc., the new compa-ny formed by the consortium of Filinvest Development Corp. (FDC) and Filinvest Land, Inc. (FLI) which won the bid for the former Mimosa Leisure Estate here, has signed a 50-year contract with Clark Development Corp. (CDC) for its takeover of the estate.

Over this period, Filinvest Mimosa will develop, manage and operate the estate under a contract renewable for another 25 years, the CDC said.

The contract includes operation and management of a ho-tel with 303 rooms, more than 100 villas, and two golf courses. The estate has around 50 more hectares that could be devel-oped for related ventures, the CDC noted.

“We are looking forward to managing and operating this leisure estate because we anticipate that tourism will grow sig-nificantly in the area, with the Clark airport playing a significant role as an international hub,” said Filinvest Mimosa and FDC president Josephine Gotianun Yap.

She said that “for Mimosa, we envision an integrated lei-sure destination that incorporates residential, retail, as well as office developments within the estate. We are also looking at new hotel developments that will complement the existing ones.”

The Mimosa estate was initially developed and managed by Mondragon, a firm owned by former Tourism Sec. Jose An-tonio Gonzalez. During his short-lived term, Pres. Estrada or-dered the government to take over the estate amid controver-sy of lease payments due to the CDC. Since then, the estate has been under the management and operation of the CDC.

FINALLY

Filinvest consortium taking over Mimosa leisure estate

ANGELES CITY - The city’s heritage district will once again come to life this Friday with dance and song.

Artists and dancers from all over Pampanga will troop to this city tomorrow (April 29) at 5:00 pm for the Yugyugan Para sa Kultura ng Bayan 2.

Choreographers, school dance troupes and other art-ists’ organizations region wide will express their passion for the art of dancing together as one.

Officially dubbed as “Yu-gyugan Para sa Kultura ng Bayan, Pagkakaisa para sa Kapayapaan” the purpose of this nationwide festivity is for cultural & heritage preserva-tion, peace, and unity.

The event is spearheaded by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts- Na-tional Committee on Dance (NCCA-NCD) in line with the celebration of National Dance Week and International Day of Dance (IDD).

According to Mayor Edgar-do Pamintuan, it is a privilege for the city to once again be-come a part of the National Dance Week through Yugyu-gan, further stating that Ange-les is not shy to bare its cultur-al and traditional heritage.

“We consider hosting the Yugyugan in its second year as a privilege and a concrete manifestation of how we cher-ish and protect our cultur-al heritage and identity.” the mayor said.

Participating schools and organizations include Angeles City League of Dancers, Re-public Central Colleges, Pam-

AC to host Yugyugan

Dance Rally anew

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