News Stories From Star

Bus siege victim recovers from Manila-
backed P2.28-M surgery

By Camille Diola (philstar.com) | Updated January 2, 2014 - 2:50pm
18 121 googleplus0 0

In this August 2010 file photo, the bullet-riddled tourist bus which was stormed by police and SWAT members
to rescue hostages at Rizal Park in Manila is seen being examined by a member of the Philippine National
Police. AP
MANILA, Philippines - A survivor of the Manila bus hostage crisis has recovered from a risky jaw operation in
Taiwan after the Philippines gave its first payout to a victim of the botched 2010 affair.
Yik Siu-ling, 34, said in a South China Morning Post report that the surgery was "rather difficult, but everything
was under control."
"The outcome of the operation is satisfying," said Yik, who was on a wheelchair when she faced Taiwanese
media on Thursday.
She said that she could already drink water just two days after the operation.
Last November, the Philippine government through Cabinet Secretary Jose Rene Almendras said it sponsored
an undisclosed amount as "additional token of solidarity" for Yik's urgent medical procedure.
Read: Philippines gives first compensation to Hong Kong bus hostage victim
Headlines ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1
The amount was donated by Filipino businessmen "as a manifestation of the Filipinos' humane consideration of
the plight of victims and their families," the government and the Hong Kong foreign affairs ministry said in a
joint statement.
Yik said in The Post's report that the surgery in Linkou, Taiwan's Chang Gung Hospital cost HK$400,000 or
about P2.28 million and involved micro-surgical reconstruction and tooth implants.
The hostage scene in Manila's Rizal Park leading to the deaths of eight Hong Kong tourists embittered the
relations of the two countries, with China's special administrative district demanding from Manila a national
apology and full-scale compensation to the victims' families.
The Aquino administration, however, insisted that the two camps have been dealing closely to solve the
diplomatic row.
28 hit by stray bullets - PNP
By Louis Bacani (philstar.com) | Updated January 2, 2014 - 11:26am
MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine National Police (PNP) has recorded more victims of stray bullets
including two children during the New Year celebrations in the country.
According to the PNP, 27 people were injured and one was killed by stray bullets from Dec. 16, 2013 to
Jan. 1, 2014.
Six new victims were accounted on New Year's Day including two two-year-old children from Digos City,
Davao del Sur and Pasig City, the state-run Philippine News Agency (PNA) reported.
The lone fatality was a three-month-old toddler from Ilocos Sur who was hit in the head while sleeping.
Read: 3-month-old baby killed, 21 more injured by stray bullets - PNP
Senior Supt. Wilben Mayor, PNP spokesman, had said that the number of stray bullet victims this year is
lower than the 40 cases recorded in the 2013 New Year revelries.
Among the victims was eight-year-old Stephanie Nicole Ella, who was killed by a stray bullet while
watching firecrackers in their neighborhood in Caloocan City.
In the PNA report, Mayor said 130 people were injured from firecrackers and 37 were arrested due to the
possession, use or sale of illegal firecrackers and unauthorized discharged of firearms.
He added that 13,692 illegal firecrackers worth P1.36 million were confiscated.
Senate electoral tribunal gets P87-M
budget this year
By Jess Diaz (The Philippine Star) | Updated January 2, 2014 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - A jobless Senate Electoral Tribunal (SET) is getting a budget of P87.1 million for
this year.
There is no case pending with the tribunal, since there was no election protest filed against any senator
elected in the combined congressional-local elections in May last year.
This means that it has no protest to resolve until 2016, when a new batch of 12 senators is elected.
The SET has no performance target reflected in the 2014 budget as proposed by President Aquino.
Setting performance goals is a new innovation introduced by the Department of Budget and Management
starting with this years outlay.
The P87.1-million SET budget is for the salaries and other benefits of the tribunals 116 officials and
employees, and for the allowances of its nine members led by senior Supreme Court Justice Antonio
Carpio.
Two other justices Teresita Leonardo de Castro and Arturo Brion and six senators sit in the Senate
electoral court.
Members of the Senate and House electoral tribunals are prohibited from receiving salaries, since they
get their pay from the Supreme Court (SC) and Congress. The Constitution bans double compensation.
Tribunal members, however, receive allowances, which amount to at least P100,000 a month per
member.
During the impeachment trial of former chief justice Renato Corona, the Senate impeachment court was
informed that he earned more than P1 million in several months that he sat in the House of
Representatives Electoral Tribunal (HRET).
The present HRET chairman is Justice Presbitero Velasco. Two other justices and six House members sit
in the tribunal.
Apparently due to criticism that the Senate tribunal has no case to resolve, Congress, largely upon the
initiative of the Senate, has reduced the SET budget for 2014 from P126.7 million, as proposed by
President Aquino and adopted by the House, to P87.1 million, or a decrease of P39.6 million.
The HRET, on the other hand, has funding for this year amounting to P148 million.
In contrast, the House tribunal has more than 30 electoral cases to resolve. It is not clear what the status
of the protests is, since the HRET is secretive about pending cases. Members are tightlipped on what is
going on in the tribunal.
The Senate and the House have increased their respective budgets for this year by P346 million and
P377 million, respectively.
YEARENDER: Yolanda puts public
health system to a test
By Sheila Crisostomo (The Philippine Star) | Updated January 2, 2014 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - Super Typhoon Yolanda almost wiped out parts of the Visayas last Nov. 8, putting
the countrys public health system to a test.
The world is watching how the Philippine government deals with the calamity, particularly in providing
health care to the victims.
According to Health Secretary Enrique Ona, the biggest challenge for the health sector is to rehabilitate
the medical facilities damaged by the typhoon, which left 6,109 people dead and 1,779 others still missing
as of last count.
The biggest problem now is really bringing back to normalcy the health facilities and health services in
the areas hit by the typhoon. Its not an easy task, he said.
An estimate of the Department of Heath (DOH) showed that 432 health facilities in Mimaropa, Western
Visayas, Central Visayas and Eastern Samar were either destroyed or damaged by Yolanda. The
damage on healthcare facilities was estimated at P1.17 billion.
Some P1.4 billion will be needed not only to repair these facilities, but to prevent the spread of diseases
and to provide affected residents with medicine for hypertension, heart ailments and diabetes.
But Ona expressed hope that with help from the private sector and international organizations, the
government will be able to restore health services in the affected communities.
It may take time but well eventually get there, he said.
Stem cell therapy
Aside from the super typhoon, the medical community was shaken by the inroads of stem cell
therapy.
Varying opinions on its ethical and financial aspects seemed to have created a rift among Filipino doctors.
Led by the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP), several medical groups have assailed the members of
Philippine Society for Stem Cell Medicine (PSSCM) for performing unproven procedures.
These groups fall under the same umbrella organization, the Philippine Medical Association.
The critics of PSSCM also questioned the exorbitant fees being charged by stem cell transplant surgeons
on procedures that are supposed to still be under clinical trial.
They maintained stem cell therapy had been proven effective only in limited medical conditions, such as
bone marrow diseases and hematological malignancies like leukemia and lymphoma.
But the PSSCM argued that they are following the guidelines of the DOH in performing the treatments.
The PSSCM noted that in compliance with the guidelines, they do not make use of stem cells taken from
allogeneic sources like animals and plant derivatives, human embryos and aborted human fetus.
The group added they only use stem cells from autologous sources, which are blood, bone marrow and
adipose fats of the patient.
Universal health coverage
PhilHealth president and chief executive officer Alexander Padilla said the law provides, among others,
the enrollment of all Filipinos in social health insurance.
As far as PhilHealth is concerned, our assessment is that 2013 is a very good year. We have a payout of
P1.2 billion a week but our reserve funds is at P124 billion, so more than the two-year reserves, he
added.
For the entire 2012, PhilHealth subsidy reached only P49 billion.
All of the 5.2 Filipino families belonging to the so-called Quintile 1, or poorest of the poor, have been
enrolled in PhilHealth this year as sponsored members.
This means that the DOH and PhilHealth were paying their annual premium.
Padilla also said several benefit packages, including prosthesis or artificial body parts, have been
introduced.
PhilHealth members and their dependents who have physical disability or might have lost a limb could
have prosthesis through PhilHealth.
The Z-MORPH program is expected to boost governments efforts to protect the interest and welfare of
people with disabilities.
Modernization of health facilities
Under the Aquino administration, the DOH had given priority to the modernization of healthcare facilities
through its Health Facility Enhancement Program (HFEP).
The DOH had been financing not only the upgrading of its own hospitals, but even those being run by
local government units.
Aside from HFEP, the agency is also applying the public-private partnership (PPP) scheme to modernize
the Philippine Orthopedic Center (POC) in Quezon City.
Last November, the National Economic and Development Authority board chaired by President Aquino
approved the POC modernization to the tune of P5.6 billion.
DOH Undersecretary Ted Herbosa said that construction might start in February 2014.
The projection is that two-and-a-half-year construction and hopefully in 2016, we will already be having
the benefit of a new 700-bed modern orthopedic hospital. Of the 700 beds, 490 will be for the poor,
PhilHealth-sponsored patients and only 210 are for private pay patients, he added.
The project, however, had been strongly opposed by various groups, led particularly by the Alliance of
Health Workers, which insisted that it was not PPP but privatization.
Herbosa denied this, claiming that the project will be under a 25-year build-operate-transfer scheme. He
gave assurance that the DOH would exercise control on the fees to be charged to patients during this
period.
Anti-pneumonia vaccination
With some 200 Filipino children dying from pneumonia daily before reaching their 5th birthday, the DOH
had included pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) in its Expanded Program on Immunization last July.
Initially, the program covers some 333,000 infants aged six to 11 months in the Caraga region and the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. The goal is to expand the program to all areas nationwide.
PCV is also administered for free among 300,000 children below five years old who belong to the poorest
families.
This year, the DOH became the first government agency under the executive branch to have been
awarded the prestigious ISO 9001:2008 certification by the Certification International Philippines (CIP)
Inc. for department-wide Quality Management System.
This means that the agency is now deemed efficient and was able to minimize wastage in time, effort and
resources and eliminate unorganized and unnecessary processes.
Having ISO (International Organization for Standardization) certification means that an agency or
company strictly ensures that their management systems operate effectively as a guide for achieving
organizational performance goals, such as commitment to quality and client satisfaction.
The DOH is described by the CIP as the single department-wide and biggest agency under the executive
branch to be certified even by other certifying bodies in the country, both in public and private institutions.
The certification covers all 17 different bureaus and offices in the central office and 16 regional health
offices, referred by the DOH as centers for health development, around the country.
Aside from the DOH offices, six tertiary care hospitals across the country and one attached agency were
also awarded the certification.
The hospitals are: Region 1 Medical Center (Dagupan City, Pangasinan), Ilocos Training and Regional
Medical Center (San Fernando City, La Union), Quirino Memorial Medical Center (Quezon City),
Philippine Childrens Medical Center (Quezon City), Mariano Marcos Memorial Hospital and Medical
Center (Batac City, Ilocos Norte), and Rizal Medical Center (Pasig City), while the lone attached agency
is the Food and Drug Administration.
YEARENDER: Customs chief quits amid
pork barrel scam
By Evelyn Macairan (The Philippine Star) | Updated January 2, 2014 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - It has been an eventful 2013 for the Bureau of Customs (BOC), highlighted by the
resignation of its head Rufino Biazon after he was linked to the pork barrel scam.
The road to Biazons resignation started on July 22 when President Aquino in his State of the Nation
Address (SONA) called BOCs attention to rampant smuggling of firearms, vehicles, and even illegal
drugs into the country. He also took the agency to task for failing to meet its collection targets.
Biazon said he waited for the President to step down from the podium before sending the Chief Executive
a text message offering to resign. But the President would turn down his offer. The Presidents scathing
remarks, however, appeared to have set the stage for changes in the BOC.
Apart from Biazon, two Customs deputy commissioners also offered to resign retired general Danilo
Lim, who headed the Intelligence Group (IG), and Juan Lorenzo Taada, of the Internal Administration
Group (IAG).
Lim would later reveal the activities of powerful forces interfering with the bureaus operations. He said
these powerful individuals would spread nasty rumors about him whenever their requests were turned
down.
Taada, for his part, said senators, congressmen and even people claiming to be relatives of top
government officials would call him up and lobby for the employment or promotion of favored individuals
in the BOC.
The two officials did not name any of the powerful individuals.
Biazons order for 17 district collectors and 37 sub-port collectors to relinquish their posts would go for
naught when the Department of Finance (DOF) instructed all Customs officials, including the district
collectors, and personnel to return to their mother units.
Biazon had no choice but to comply with the DOF order. The BOC is under the DOF.
On Sept. 28, Malacaang announced the appointment of new deputy commissioners: Jessie Dellosa for
the Intelligence Group, Ariel Nepomuceno for the Enforcement Group, Agaton Teodoro for the
Assessment and Operations Coordinating Group, Myrna Chua for the Internal Administration Group,
Trinidad Rodriguez for the Revenue Collection Monitoring Group, and Primo Aguas for the Management
Information Systems and Technology Group.
The BOC was again put on the spot when Biazon, under instructions from the DOF, ordered the transfer
of all 27 BOC collectors to the Customs Policy Research Office (CPRO), a newly created office.
Fifteen of the 27 collectors protested their transfer and filed a writ of preliminary injunction with a Manila
City court. At first, they were able to secure a temporary restraining order, but were eventually ordered to
follow the BOC directive and move to the CPRO.
By November, it was announced that more Customs officials, comprising 10 division heads and lawyers
from the Prosecution and Litigation Division and Investigation Division, would be moving to the CPRO.
New leadership
Biazon called it quits on Dec. 2 following his being named in a corruption complaint filed by National
Bureau of Investigation (NBI) with the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with the pork barrel scam.
The NBI alleged that when Biazon was still congressman of Muntinlupa City, he received a kickback of
P1.95 million for a project implemented by non-government organizations linked to businesswoman and
alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles.
The investigation covered allegations contained in a Commission on Audit report from 2007 to 2009.
Biazon served as BOC chief for two years and three months. He was replaced by John Phillip Sevilla,
who was finance undersecretary for corporate affairs group and privatization.
Sevilla, who assumed the post on Dec. 9, had initially thought he would only fill in for Biazon for two
months. But Malacaang decided to make him stay at the bureau permanently.
Sevilla described his first week at the bureau as overwhelming.
I did not realize how complex the mandate of the bureau, how complex was the organization, he said.
He admitted that during his first week in office, he received numerous anonymous text messages about
alleged illegal activities of some BOC officials and personnel.
I am sure that in a matter of time, I would become the subject of these text brigades, he said.
Sevilla also admitted that the agencys performance in 2013 was unsatisfactory.
Records showed the BOC had failed to meet its monthly targets. The BOC was tasked to collect P340
billion for 2013.
On the revenue target, without debate, it would be easy to say we have not met the targets. We have a
long way to go before we can say that we are fulfilling the publics expectations, he said. From a public
perception point of view, it is still widely believed that there is still rampant smuggling so we have to
address that.
Stray bullet kills sleeping infant in Ilocos
Sur
By Cecille Suerte Felipe (The Philippine Star) | Updated January 2, 2014 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - A three-month-old baby died while a two-year-old boy was critically wounded after
being hit by stray bullets during the New Years Eve revelry in the Ilocos region, police said yesterday.
Von Alexander Llangas was sleeping beside his father inside their home in Barangay Anonang, Caoayan
town, Ilocos Sur when he started crying, said Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesman Senior
Superintendent Wilben Mayor.
His parents found him bloodied and rushed him to the Gabriela Silang Hospital where he succumbed to a
gunshot wound in his head.
They heard the baby crying so the mother checked on him as she thought he was awakened by the loud
firecrackers. However, she was shocked to see blood oozing from his head, Mayor said.
Rhanz Angelo Corpuz, on the other hand, is still fighting for his life at the Laoag City General Hospital.
Investigators said the child was hit by a bullet on his forehead while sleeping inside their house in San
Nicolas, Ilocos Norte hours before the New Year.
Police have yet to identify the suspects in the shooting incidents.
Statistics
In Metro Manila, 12 people were hit by stray bullets at the height of celebrations to welcome the New
Year, with no deaths.
Police said the 26 incidents of stray bullet-related injuries during the 2014 New Year revelry nationwide
was lower than the 40 cases recorded in 2013, including the death of seven-year-old Stephanie Nicole
Ella, whose case remains unsolved.
Ella and her family were watching fireworks in Caloocan City when a bullet hit her in the head.
Mayor said a police unit would be formed to solve the killing of Llangas.
The PNP chief has ordered all police units nationwide to intensify the investigation of all stray bullet-
related injuries and come up with a dedicated unit which will work on these cases, he said.
Despite the initial number of casualties, National Capital Region Police Office chief Director Carmelo
Valmoria said their security operations for the Christmas and New Year holidays were successful.
Valmoria ordered his five district directors to investigate the cases of indiscriminate firing in the metropolis
and send the violators to jail.
He said his men responded to the firing of handguns in Taguig City but the incident was triggered by a
traffic row.
In Candelaria, Quezon, a hospital utility worker was hit by a stray bullet shortly after midnight yesterday.
Raul Alday, 43, was taken to the municipal hospital where he will undergo operation for a slug that is still
stuck in his jaw, said town police chief Superintendent Francisco Ebreo.
Police said Alday was eating with his family inside their house at 12:10 a.m. when a stray bullet hit him.
Indiscriminate firing
Three policemen were arrested for indiscriminately firing their firearms during the New Year revelry.
They were Chief Inspector Ricardo Argullo, officer-in-charge of the Tinambak police station in Camarines
Sur; PO3 Alexander de los Reyes of the Anti-Illegal Drugs Unit, and PO1 Ryan Gapayao of the Public
Safety Battalion in Region 13.
De los Reyes fired his service firearm in Southern Leyte, police said.
The three have been disarmed.
They are facing administrative cases that could lead to their dismissal from the service, the PNP
spokesman said.
PNP chief Director General Alan Purisima had earlier warned the 148,000 policemen nationwide not to
indiscriminately fire their guns during the Christmas and New Year celebrations. With Raymund
Catindig, Non Alquitran, Michelle Zoleta, Teddy Molina
More firecracker injuries but less severe
MANILA, Philippines - The number of firecracker injuries recorded this year was considerably higher than
last year but milder, the Department of Health (DOH) reported yesterday.
Health Undersecretary Ted Herbosa said the 599 cases of fireworks injuries were 43 percent higher than
the 419 cases registered during the previous years celebration.
The DOH said no death from firecrackers was reported, unlike in the previous year.
But the Calabarzon police reported that a 24-year-old man identified as Raymund Amante from Calauan,
Laguna died in a hospital while being treated for injuries from a firecracker.
While the number of cases is higher, Herbosa said the injuries were milder.
I think the most important is that injuries were relatively milder this year, with less amputation. And also
there were fewer injuries among children below 10 years old, he said.
Herbosa said many firecracker manufacturers could have followed the limits mandated by law for
gunpowder content of fireworks, resulting in milder injuries.
Based on the DOHs Aksyon: Paputok Injury Reduction registry, of the 599 cases, 589 were due to
fireworks injuries, one case of fireworks ingestion and nine cases of people getting hit by stray bullets.
Among them is a two-year-old girl from Pasig who was grazed by a bullet in the forehead while another
was a 19-year-old man from Cavite who was hit on the right knee while standing in front of a store near
his house.
Herbosa said there were only eight blast injuries that required amputations this year, compared to 13
cases last year.
Herbosa, however, underscored some of the firecrackers considered dangerous and prohibited were the
leading cause of injures.
He said the highest at 267 injuries from the use of piccolo, followed by Five Star at 27 cases and pla-pla
with 21.
Our problem is really piccolo which is still the leading cause of injuries. It is already banned so maybe we
have to improve the enforcement or maybe we can make the parents (responsible for) stopping their
children from playing piccolo. Anyway, there is no seller if there is no buyer, he said.
The youngest victim was a one-year-old boy who ingested a pop-up. The oldest victim was 74-year-old
man from Sta. Cruz, Manila who got injured from using piccolo.
A total of 143 or 24 percent of the 599 cases were children less than 10 years old.
There was proportionately less children under 10 years old who had injuries compared to 2012 when 31
percent got injured, Herbosa added.
Mostly children
Health Assistant Secretary Eric Tayag said the 74-year-old man injured from using piccolo was among
the 599 people recorded from Dec. 21 up to 6 a.m. yesterday from some 50 selected hospitals
nationwide.
Tayag said the old man was among the 337 people injured on New Years Eve.
In Central Luzon, officials reported 181 cases of firecracker injuries with a 23-year-old man from
Hagonoy, Bulacan getting hit by a stray bullet.
Region 4 officials also reported at least 87 injuries from firecrackers and three cases of people hit by stray
bullet in Cavite, Batangas and Quezon.
Health officials in Pangasinan reported 63 people injured by firecrackers.
Region I that included the province of Pangasinan reported a total of 158 people injured by firecrackers.
The Eastern Police District in Metro Manila recorded four cases of stray bullets in Marikina and Pasig City
and 55 injuries from firecrackers.
Health officials in Caloocan City also blamed piccolo for most of the 42 cases of firecracker injuries.
Placido Roman Cruz of the President Diosdado Macapagal Memorial Medical Center said most of the
victims were children using piccolo.
Most of the cases involving children were due to the fact that they were left unattended by their parents.
Like last year, piccolo remains to be the cause of most of the injuries, he said.
The Southern Police District also in Metro Manila recorded 66 people getting hurt by firecrackers, with two
cases of stray bullet injuries from Paraaque and Taguig.
There were no reports of firecracker injuries, however, from Taguig and Pateros.
Could be higher
Tayag added the DOH will continue to monitor cases until Jan. 5 and hopefully the number of cases will
not surpass the 931 cases recorded from Dec. 21 to Jan. 5, 2013.
The DOH and the police cannot relax yet, and parents should not be complacent. Dont let your children
pick up unexploded firecrackers. We ask the public not to use leftover firecrackers, he said.
Health Secretary Enrique Ona said the number of firecracker-related injuries could be higher.
Since the figures came from only 50 sentinel hospitals being monitored by the DOH every year for
fireworks injuries, Ona believe the data could be underestimated.
He said the actual figure could easily be 50 to 100 times higher than the registered cases.
The number that we are giving you, thats the number from our sentinel hospitals. Its not the total
(actual) number. (If we include the cases in other hospitals) easily that would reach to about 50 to 100
percent more, Ona said.
Total and selective ban
Health Undersecretary Janet Garin said the DOH now intends to spearhead moves to impose a total ban
on firecrackers and a selective ban on fireworks.
Cases continue to increase so this now requires a concerted, coordinated effort not only of the DOH but
also of other agencies involved. The call of Secretary Ona is to have a community-based fireworks
display and to ban the sale of firecrackers to individual buyers, she said.
Garin, however, noted Onas proposal would require an amendment of the law that regulates the
manufacture and sale of firecrackers and other types of pyrotechnics in the country. Ed Amoroso, Rey
Galupo, Eva Visperas, Cesar Ramirez, Non Alquitran, Mike Frialde, Ric Sapnu, Vic Alhambra, Dino
Balabo, Teddy Molina
Davao breaks torotot record
By Edith Regalado (The Philippine Star) | Updated January 2, 2014 - 12:00am
DAVAO CITY, Philippines - Davao City broke the world record of Japan for the most number of party
horns used in one setting during the celebration of the first ever Torotot Festival on New Years Eve.
Japan holds the world record in the Guinness Book with the use of 6,900 party blowers at one time.
Davao City surpassed it with 7,568 as of 10:47 p.m., an hour and 12 minutes before the New Year.
Mayor Rodrigo Duterte led Davao residents in blowing party horns in the citys Freedom Park.
Families and friends went to the park with their party horns to take part in the New Year countdown.
Participants in the Torotot Festival jumped in jubilation as the electronic tabulation board flashed the
7,568 mark declaring that the record of Japan had been broken.
Authorities blocked off Roxas Avenue, the venue for the festival.
The holding of the festival is in line with a 12-year-old city ordinance banning the sale and use of
pyrotechnics.
The ban has resulted in zero-injury during Christmas Eve and New Years Eve revelries.
Smart Communications, in partnership with the city government, gave away 10,000 party blowers.
Participants were given free party horns when they register and enter the area for the Torotot Festival.
Party horns were properly documented to ensure that they were actually used.
The registration for the party horns was also for record purposes for the Guinness Book of World Records
officials to go through.
Smart also held an inter-barangay contest for most creative torotot, giving away P25,000 cash for the
winner.
Another P50,000 was given to the barangay that sent the largest contingent to the New Year party held
from 1 p.m. of Dec. 31 to 1 a.m. yesterday.
New Year blast: 7 dead
By Roel Pareo (The Philippine Star) | Updated January 2, 2014 - 12:00am
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines - Seven people were killed while five others were injured when a bomb
exploded near a church in Sumisip, Basilan on Tuesday.
Police said the explosion occurred near the Vincent Ferrer parish church where most of the victims had
attended mass.
The casualties were identified as Rey Limbin, Elbert Gomoba, Kitarul Kaddik, Leniebel Cisneros, Lourdes
Ablong and Badjon Gomoba. The seventh victim, Therese Claire Alegarbes, died on the way to a
hospital.
The wounded were identified as Janice Alegarbes, mother of one of the fatalities; Trining and Jessa
Dingcong, and Ronel and Samson Limben. They were brought to the Zamboanga City Medical Center for
treatment.
Police said the victims had just emerged from the church to attend a New Years Eve celebration nearby
in front of the house of Manuel Cisneros, a militiaman of Sitio Fine Tree, Barangay Tumahubong when
the improvised explosive device exploded at 9:47 p.m.
Police said the bomb was placed inside a bag that was left under a chair.
The military, on the other hand, reported that a grenade was used in the attack.
Military bomb experts went to the scene and concluded that the explosion was caused by a grenade.
Five died instantly while two others expired later, said Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala, Armed Forces Public
Affairs Office (PAO) chief.
Zagala added the grenade blast was further aggravated by broken bottles where the explosion occurred.
Authorities suspect the Abu Sayyaf was behind the attack.
The victims were among the cooperative plantation workers in the village where Abu Sayyaf bandits have
been staging attacks for extortion.
There were also reports of squabbles between armed groups and officials of the cooperative overseeing
the operations of a 4,000-hectare rubber plantation in the area.
Barangay officials said there were indications that the victims knew the bomber.
Accordingly, the suspect, who arrived carrying the bag containing the improvised explosive, was even
served food by some of the victims. The bomb exploded after the suspect left, a barangay official told
The STAR.
Senseless killing
Malacaang condemned the senseless killing, saying security and law enforcement authorities had
been directed to pursue and arrest the perpetrators.
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Gov. Mujiv Hataman said they had given financial assistance
to the victims and shouldered funeral costs of those who died.
He said they also took care of the hospital bills of those wounded and provided their families with food
allowance . John Unson , Jaime Laude, Aurea CaIic
After holiday break, Noy gears up for
work
By Aurea Calica (The Philippine Star) | Updated January 2, 2014 - 12:00am
0 0 googleplus0 0
MANILA, Philippines - Malacaang said yesterday President Aquino is gearing up for all the work that has to be
done in 2014, especially following the disasters that hit the country in 2013.
In a statement, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said: The
President spent a quiet and private New Year, taking a much needed rest and preparing for the great effort in
2014.
Coloma cited the reconstruction of Zamboanga City and the areas that the earthquake and typhoons like
Yolanda had devastated.
Also in his must-do list is attaining the goal of inclusive economic growth that he considers to be the pivotal
factor in transforming Philippine society, he said.
On Christmas Eve, Aquino spent time with his family and watched the movie starring his nephew James Yap
Jr. on Christmas Day.
He went on a three-day break in Baguio City before Rizal Day on Dec. 30.
He was seen in Baguio by the media who covered him jogging and having his picture taken with some tourists.
Pinoy DHs still in demand abroad
By Mayen Jaymalin (The Philippine Star) | Updated January 2, 2014 - 12:00am
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MANILA, Philippines - Household service workers (HSWs) were the biggest number of newly hired overseas
Filipino workers (OFWs) in 2013.
Data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) showed that out of the 419,257 workers
newly hired abroad from January to November last year, 145,447 were HSWs.
Waiters, bartenders and related workers came in a far second with a total of 13,063, while nurses ranked third
with a total deployment of 12,656.
A recruitment official earlier reported a slowdown in hiring of nurses in Saudi Arabia due to the nationalization
policy.
The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) reported a slight drop in the hiring of OFWs last year.
Citing preliminary data from POEA, Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the country posted a total
deployment of 1,538,845 in the past 11 months.
The figure was 8.96 percent lower compared to the same period in 2012.
Of the total number of OFWs deployed, land-based workers accounted for 1,362,453, while 176,392 sea-based
workers were hired.
Baldoz said Saudi Arabia still accounted for the biggest number of hirings with 351,470 despite the policy
promoting hiring of local workers.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) posted the second biggest number of deployment with 236,797, while
Singapore followed in third with 123,358.
Meanwhile, Baldoz said over 1.3 million jobs were offered to jobseekers nationwide through the governments
online job and skills matching portal.
Based on preliminary data of the Bureau of Local Employment, the 1,384,728 job vacancies posted by
employers in the Phil-JobNet from Jan. 1 to Nov. 30 last year surpassed by 21.8 percent the 1,137,551
opportunities posted during the same period in 2012, she said.
The resulting surplus of decent job opportunities posted by a growing number of accredited employers this
year should encourage jobseekers to upgrade their skills and qualify for the available vacancies, especially in
the new year.
DOLE moves to boost employment
By Mayen Jaymalin (The Philippine Star) | Updated January 2, 2014 - 12:00am
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MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is embarking on new programs this
year to boost local employment and curb the high jobless rate nationwide.
Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said DOLE in the first quarter of this year will disseminate its 2020 Vision Report to
inform young students, parents and teachers on the current labor trends.
Baldoz said the report identifies 13 key employment generators or major industries with the greatest potential to
generate employment as well as the emerging industries and in-demand occupations.
The report also contains 110 hard-to-fill occupations that companies nationwide are having difficulty filling up
because job applicants are not qualified or there is no supply of job applicants.
We hope to provide the report to 1.6 million people, including students, parents, teachers, career guidance
counselors and career advocates and also 18,000 educations institutions and local government units, she
said.
Baldoz said DOLE hopes to deal with the prevailing job and skills mismatch in the country.
By the first quarter of 2014, the system will be fully operational in all regions and will be available to jobseekers
at no cost, she said.
This year, DOLE is also enhancing PhilJobNet, the government online job matching portal, she added.
Baldoz said the enhanced system will serve as the repository of live skills and job vacancy postings by locality
and will contain an online validation facility for licensed professionals.
DOLE will also intensify the career guidance advocacy plan launched last December, she added.
Baldoz said advocacy plan is expected to provide appropriate and timely information on the realities of the
labor market to help young students in their career decisions.
Starting 2014, DOLE will implement the career guidance advocacy plans various components such as
deployment of regional career information caravans and roving career ambassadors, she added.
Typhoon donors warned vs fund
solicitors
By Pia Lee-Brago (The Philippine Star) | Updated January 2, 2014 - 12:00am
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MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine embassy in Kuala Lumpur has warned the public against individuals and
organizations illegally soliciting funds for victims of Typhoon Yolanda.
We have received information from the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) that there are individuals and
groups who are illegally soliciting funds for the benefit of the typhoon victims. These individuals are presenting
themselves as alleged members of a reputable charitable institution to get money from unsuspecting donors,
embassy Charge dAffaires Medardo Macaraig said.
The warning was issued after two Filipino women, posing as volunteers of a charitable organization, were
caught by Thai police for falsely soliciting donations in a gasoline station in Udon Thani.
The two women were also found to have fake stickers, a list of donations and some cash when taken into
custody.
While we have not heard of any cases here in Malaysia, we would like to warn our Filipino community
members and our Malaysian friends to do some research on the charitable organization before making any
donation, Macaraig said.
It is also best that donations be coursed through reputable Filipino or Malaysian charitable organizations to
ensure that their money or in-kind donations reach their intended recipients.
The global community made contributions to the rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts of areas affected by
the typhoon.
NNC let assets rot COA report
By Michael Punongbayan (The Philippine Star) | Updated January 2, 2014 - 12:00am
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MANILA, Philippines - The National Nutrition Council (NNC) failed to dispose of the agencys unserviceable
assets and allowed the same to simply rot, according to a report of the Commisson on Audit (COA).
Three motor vehicles, good lumber and plywood that could have been sold for thousands of pesos ended up
losing their resale value, said the COA report released recently.
State auditors noted that when government property has become unserviceable, or is no longer needed, it
should be inspected and sold.
Records showed that the three motor vehicles have been parked at the NNC compound since 2009.
Considering the four years that have elapsed, and management has not taken action to dispose of these
vehicles, their salable value has diminished, the COA report said.
Government auditors said that piles of wood valued at P38,000 were likewise not disposed of in 2010.
The NNC explained that the delay in the disposal of its assets was largely due to lack of personnel to do the
job.
But the COA said officials of the agency should require its property officer to dispose of these assets to prevent
further deterioration, and to derive income from salvage values thereof.
Palace: Time to ban firecrackers
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MANILA, Philippines - Malacaang is backing the proposal of Health Secretary Enrique Ona to ban firecrackers
during holiday celebrations and promote safe alternatives such as fireworks displays in communities.
Scare tactics, appeals for vigilance, dance showcase, playing of loud music, blowing of horns, among others,
apparently did not work for many Filipinos, who still opted to greet the New Year with deadly pyrotechnics and
firecrackers.
Close to 600 revelers have suffered firecracker-related injuries on New Years Eve, based on the latest count.
We are one with this pronouncement from Secretary Ona of the DOH (Department of Health). Its time to have
safe alternatives to dangerous New Year celebrations, Presidential Communications Operations Office
Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said yesterday.
Think its time to ban firecrackers, allowing only community fireworks managed by responsible persons, LGUs
(local government units) or organizations in designated areas. Assistance should be extended to firecracker
manufacturers to shift to safe, beautiful fireworks production. Strong advocacy is needed, Coloma quoted Ona
as saying.
Ona had been advocating the ban on the individual use of fireworks/firecrackers. He is pushing for a
community display of fireworks in a bid to significantly bring down the number of casualties and injuries during
the holiday celebrations.
This means that LGUs would identify safe areas for community fireworks display and, with the imposition of the
ban, only certain accredited organizations would be allowed to purchase fireworks.
The scheme is expected to encourage more legitimate firework manufacturers while discouraging fly-by-night
ones.
Ona had long been pushing for a firecrackers ban. He had even urged Church leaders to discourage their
parishioners from welcoming the New Year with firecrackers.
Coloma said it was disappointing that many revelers had ignored their warnings against harmful firecrackers.
He said the police had also been warned against needlessly firing their weapons.
LGUs responsibility
Senior lawmakers, however, were cool to Onas call for a total firecracker ban, saying its the responsibility of
LGUs to regulate the distribution and use of firecrackers in their respective jurisdictions to minimize injuries or
damage to property.
It should be left to the LGUs to prohibit or regulate it, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said.
Marikina Rep. Romero Quimbo said what is needed is tighter regulation and not a total ban.
I strongly believe that we need a more regulated industry. A total prohibition is not the solution. Instead, we
must just allow a few items for individual use like sparklers but not any form of explosive, Quimbo said.
Rep. Sherwin Tugna of the Citizens Battle Against Corruption party-list said banning firecrackers totally would
be unconstitutional. Tugna hails from Bulacan where most of the countrys firecracker factories are located.
It will be unconstitutional and unfair to Filipinos whose livelihood for generations has been the fireworks and
small firecrackers industry. What we need is good regulation, not a total prohibition that includes small
firecrackers, Tugna said.
Meanwhile, Albay Gov. Joey Salceda said the surge in reports of firecracker-related injuries was a shameful
development.
It is only comparable to the headhunting practices during the pre-Judaeo-Christian thinking but definitely not a
carrier of any value when compared to the self-flagellation during Lent, Salceda said.
This is not a global normal. This carnage and blood-shedding during the birth of Jesus called Christmas and
during the New Year happens only in the Philippines, he said. Yes, casualties do not happen in China or
Chinatown which invented the firecrackers, he added.
Despite warning local leaders in three cities and 15 municipalities against using or allowing the use of harmful
firecrackers in their respective jurisdictions, at least 27 people were reported injured by firecracker blasts during
New Years Eve.
Salceda said he had set as an objective zero firecracker injury during Christmas and New Years Eve
celebrations.
In Camarines Sur, meanwhile, stray bullets hit two teenagers in separate incidents. Firecracker also injured a
two-month-old baby in Catanduanes, Bicol health officials reported. With Paolo Romero, Celso Amo
Govt monitoring price hikes
By Aurea Calica, Jess Diaz (The Philippine Star) | Updated January 2, 2014 - 12:00am
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MANILA, Philippines - Malacaang assured the public yesterday that the government is monitoring oil price
hikes as well as prices of basic commodities.
Prsidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said government departments
and agencies would check whether increases were in accordance with global market movements.
The government would ensure that these were not excessive and have placed consumers at a disadvantage,
he added.
The government will ensure that prices of basic commodities remain reasonable and that the inflation rate
would be maintained at low levels, Coloma said.
Petroleum products are now at a range of P50.30 to P55.45 per liter for gasoline and P42.10 to P46.50 per liter
for diesel.
Power rates going up in provinces
A lawmaker disclosed yesterday that power rates are going up in the provinces despite a Supreme Court (SC)
order stopping the Manila Electric Company (Meralco)s P4.15 per kilowatt-hour increase in Metro Manila.
Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares said rates are increasing by as much as P5.16 per kwh in Pangasinan,
P3.89 in Camarines Sur and 26 centavos in Baguio City.
In all these provinces, the reason given for the power rate hike is the same with that of Meralco, which is the
suspicious simultaneous shutdown of power plants, he said.
He was almost sure that the ERC has given the go-signal for rate increases in the provinces without public
hearings, he added.
Colmenares said the affected consumers could seek relief from the SC.
Together, let us put a stop to this practice of private companies of earning obscene profits at the expense of
the people, he said.
Colmenares said they should also work together in scuttling the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001.
Power rates have gone up by at least 112 percent since the law was enacted, he added.
LPG prices rolled back
By Iris Gonzales (The Philippine Star) | Updated January 2, 2014 - 12:00am
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MANILA, Philippines - A major oil company rolled back prices of liquefied petroleum gas and AutoLPG effective
yesterday.
Petron Corp. implemented a P7.65 per kilogram rollback in LPG prices to reflect the drop in the international
market for the month of January.
LPG prices in Cebu and Bohol will be slashed by P5.34 per kilogram, Petron said in its advisory. These
provinces have been under a price freeze since November.
The oil firm cut AutoLPG prices by P4.27 per liter and P2.98 in Bohol and Cebu.
With the latest adjustments, LPG prices are now at P834 to P957 for an 11-kg. tank, according to the price
monitoring report of the Department of Energy.
Petron and other oil companies on Tuesday announced another oil price hike of P1.15 per liter for gasoline and
P0.75 per liter for diesel.
Oil firms also raised kerosene prices by P0.60 per liter.

New Year baby born at Fabella
By Aie Balagtas See (The Philippine Star) | Updated January 2, 2014 - 12:00am
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MANILA, Philippines - Mark Ian Leones was born at 12:02 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2014, the first baby born at Dr. Jose
Fabella Hospital in Manila in the New Year.
His mother, 20-year-old Rossalyn Patawarin, smiled as she breastfed her baby, although she was still in pain.
Her partner Seviliano Leones had gone home to change clothes.
When she was pregnant, Patawarin ate plenty of round-shape fruits apples, grapes, pear, oranges, and
santol while selling plastic bags under the Light Railway Transit station in Baclaran, Paraaque.
Filipinos associate pregnancy and round fruits with luck. Having pregnant women around is said to be good
luck for business, while round shaped fruits are good luck for the New Year.
Patawarin did not think that she was just lucky when she gave birth on New Years Day.
Hes a blessing, a blessing to us, she said in Filipino.
All her life, Patawarin never knew what luck meant. She only knew hard work and a tough life.
Patawarin would like to define luck as yung nagawa ko yung gusto ko (I could do what I wanted).
A high school graduate, she wanted to take up education.
If I were able to do what I wanted to do, I would not be here, she said in Filipino.

DOST to set up weather modeling
system
By Rainier Allan Ronda (The Philippine Star) | Updated January 2, 2014 - 12:00am
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MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) will make the Philippines benefit
from the heavy rainfall brought by monsoon rains and typhoons that visit the country every year.
With the targeted setup of a multi-year weather modeling system using a supercomputer donated by IBM, the
DOST hopes to develop expertise in water resource management using weather information gathering systems
under its Project NOAH and the Disaster Risk and Exposure Assessment for Mitigation (DREAM) program,
said Science Secretary Mario Montejo.
The multi-year weather modeling system was originally scheduled for operation in the last quarter of 2013 but
the effort was delayed. Montejo said the system may finally be set up and activated in the first quarter of 2014.
The DOSTs thrust when it sets up the multi-year weather modeling system is to find out how to make the
heavy rainfall redound to the benefit of the country.
Using the rainfall forecast for a given region for a period of time such as from less than a year to a year
could aid the government in assessing where they can gather rainwater through a water reservoir which can
irrigate farmland, generate hydroelectric power or provide potable water.
The expertise in water resource management could be shared with other government agencies such as the
Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System and the Local Water Utilities Administration.
Water is life. Were lucky, we have enough for our needs, Montejo told The STAR.
Through science and technology, we can make it a blessing, he added. What is unlucky is the situation in
other countries where they have scarce water or inadequate rainfall.
The DREAM is also expected to come up with a comprehensive and integrated flood early warning system
covering the entire country by the end of the programs phase two in 2016.
The project was originally funded for two years starting from its launch in 2012.

PNP to launch amnesty for loose guns
By Cecille Suerte Felipe (The Philippine Star) | Updated January 2, 2014 - 12:00am
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MANILA, Philippines - An amnesty for loose firearms will be launched within the month as provided under
Republic Act 10591 or the Comprehensive Law on Firearms and Ammunition Control.
Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Alan Purisima said the amnesty will be for six months.
The implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of RA 10195 was signed last Nov. 24.
We want individuals with loose firearms to have their guns registered or they will face stiffer sanction when
caught in possession of loose firearms, Purisima said.
Chief Superintendent Louie Oppus, Firearms and Explosives Office (FEO) director, said as of November 2013,
records showed 1,700,398 licensed firearms, about 292,698 guns with expired licenses are being processed,
and 602,317 licenses have expired.
The FEO has intensified efforts to locate loose firearms and police will conduct house visitation to remind gun
owners to renew the registration of their firearms.
Under RA 10195, holders of unregistered firearms and expired licenses shall register and renew them through
the final general amnesty within six months from the promulgation of the IRR.
Purisima signed the IRR last Nov. 24 and during the interim period of six months, no person applying for a
license shall be charged for delinquent payment accruing to the firearm subject for registration.

Zero firecracker casualty in Zambo,
Davao
By Roel Pareo, Edith Regalado (The Philippine Star) | Updated January 2, 2014 - 12:00am
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MANILA, Philippines - As most Filipinos welcomed the New Year firecrackers in one of the worlds most
raucous and dangerous celebrations, residents of Zamboanga City and Davao came through unscathed.
It was the first time for Zamboanga City to register zero casualty from firecracker injuries.
The police added there were also no reports of people getting hit by stray bullets.
City Mayor Ma. Isabelle Climaco had issued an executive order banning the sale and possession of all forms of
firecrackers and pyrotechnic devices.
Climaco said this was the recommendation of the City Council, citing the traumatic experience of residents
during the Sept. 9 siege of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) rebels led by Nur Misuari.
Davao City, on the other hand, had been consistent in banning all forms of firecrackers, resulting in a zero-
casualty rate for 12 years in a row.
Although no one was hurt during the New Years Eve celebration, police said 14 people and 19 minors were
arrested for violating the ban against firecrackers.
Davao City residents blew horns and other means of making noise to greet the New Year.
Zamboangeos, for their part, were also aware of the Department of Healths Iwas paputok campaign that
made it more easily accepted by them because of the ban against firecrackers.
That (firecracker ban) makes not only the city health but also the Department of Health happy, and this should
be replicated all over the Philippines, said city health officer Rodelyn Agbulos.
Police Superintendent Diomarie Albarico, deputy city police director, said since Christmas and until the New
Years celebration, there has not been a single report of firecracker injury in Zamboanga.
The point here is the declaration of the firecracker and pyrotechnic ban, Albarico said.
With the positive result, Albarico said it would be good for the ban against firecrackers to continue.
He said the firecracker ban also had a positive effect on the implementation of the anti-illegal discharge of
firearms since firing a gun would be easily noticed.
Palace backs firecracker ban
By Dennis Carcamo (philstar.com) | Updated January 1, 2014 - 4:36pm
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MANILA, Philippines - Malacaang on Wednesday said it supports the proposal to ban the use of firecrackers
to usher in the New Year and avoid the yearly loss of life, limb, and properties.
In a statement, Presidential Communications and Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said the
Palace is backing the proposal of Department of Health chief Enrique Ona on the banning of firecrackers to
celebrate the New Year.
"Kaisa kami sa pahayag na ito ni Sec. Ona ng DOH. Panahon na upang magkaroon ng ligtas na alternatibo sa
mapanganib na pagdiriwang ng Bagong Taon," Coloma said.
Alarmed by the rising number of firecracker-related injuries to welcome the New Year, Ona earlier suggested
that firecracker use be banned.
He added that local government unit heads should designate areas and supervise the use of firecrackers in
their respective communities
"I think it's time to ban firecrackers [and] allow only community fireworks managed by responsible persons,
LGUs or organization in designated areas.
"Assistance should be extended to firecracker manufacturers to shift to safe, beautiful fireworks production.
Strong advocacy is needed," Ona said.
AFP expects more provinces with NPA to
normalize
By Alexis Romero (philstar.com) | Updated January 1, 2014 - 5:00pm
MANILA, Philippines - The military expects more areas grappling with communist insurgency to undergo
'normalization' this year and vowed to work closely with civilians to make it possible.
Armed Forces public affairs chief Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said once a province is declared normalized, the
lead role of maintaining peace and security would be transferred from the military to local governments.
He said an area has undergone normalization if local governments and other civilian stakeholders are
already active in addressing the causes of rebellion and if insurgency has weakened due to such efforts.
The root causes of insurgency should be solved not by the military alone but by everyone, he said.
The Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP), however, refuted this outlook and even claimed that the
militarys security plan Bayanihan has failed.
As 2013 ends, we can conclusively declare the defeat of the Aquino regimes Oplan Bayanihan which
failed in its declared aim of reducing the armed strength of the New Peoples Army (NPA) to
inconsequentiality by the middle of this year, CPP said in a statement.
The CPP said its fighters would continue to undertake more frequent tactical offensives.
This year, every NPA command must gun for a record increase in the number of weapons seized from
the reactionary military, paramilitary and police forces, the group said.
Bayanihan, which took effect in 2011, seeks to end insurgency by curbing its roots like poverty and lack of
access to basic services.
The first three years of the implementation of the security plan will focus on addressing internal armed
threat groups.
The final three years of Bayanihan, which starts this year, will be devoted to handing over the lead role in
ensuring internal peace and security to civilian government agencies. Such turnover will allow the military
to focus on its transition towards territorial defense.
Zagala believes the military would be able to accomplish the requirements in the security plan.
Were optimistic that we will be able to make it, Zagala said.
They (rebels) are against our way of life, our democracy, our freedoms and institutions. We should
cherish them by protecting them and we can do so by finding solutions in our own way, he added.
He said 29 of 81 provinces have undergone normalization due to the militarys anti-insurgency
campaigns.
These are Cavite, Marinduque, Romblon, Guimaras, Cebu, Siquijor, Biliran, Bohol, Leyte, Southern
Leyte, Aklan, Antique, Eastern Samar, Apayao, La Union, Pangasinan, Tarlac, Kalinga, Nueva Viscaya,
Quirino, Nueva Ecija, Aurora, Benguet, Batanes, Camiguin, Misamis Oriental, South Cotabato,
Saranggani and Davao Oriental.
The CPP, however, claimed that the mass struggle against the government would intensify this year due
to supposed worsening economic conditions and corruption.
3-month-old baby killed, 21 more injured
by stray bullets - PNP
By Louis Bacani (philstar.com) | Updated January 1, 2014 - 1:15pm
MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine National Police (PNP) has recorded 22 stray bullet victims during
the New Year revelries including a three-month-old infant killed in Ilocos Sur.
Speaking to radio dzMM, PNP Spokesman Wilben Mayor said the infant died while being treated at the
Gabriela Silang General Hospital.
A radio report earlier said the baby was sleeping inside their house but suddenly started crying. He was
then found bloodied by the parents.
Mayor said 21 more people were injured by stray bullets since Dec. 16.
In the previous New Year celebration, Mayor said the PNP recorded 40 stray bullet cases from Dec. 16,
2012 to January 2, 2013.
One of the victims was eight-year-old Stephanie Nicole Ella, who was also killed by a stray bullet while
watching firecrackers in their neighborhood in Caloocan City.
The Department of Health gave a lower figure of stray bullet cases on Wednesday.
Announcing its official toll on New Year revelry injuries, the agency said nine people have been injured by
stray bullets as of 6 a.m. of January 1.
The number of firecracker-related injuries so far is at 599.
PAGASA: Meteor shower seen starting
New Year's Day
By Louis Bacani (philstar.com) | Updated January 1, 2014 - 11:47am
MANILA, Philippines - The annual Quadrantid meteor shower will be active in the first seven days of 2014,
according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).
The agency said in its astronomical diary that the yearly Quadrantid meteor shower will be active from Jan. 1 to
7 and may peak from Jan. 3 to 4.
"The observation of its peak activity is on January 3-4 in which, meteors or 'falling stars' can be seen at the rate
of at least 40 meteors per hour," the agency said.
PAGASA said the meteor shower will appear to radiate from the constellation of Bootes.
It hits the Earths atmosphere at the rate of about 40 kilometers per second.
"The incinerated dust are said to be particles apparently derived from the debris ejected by the near-Earth
asteroid 2003 EH," PAGASA said.
CAAP OKs use of cell phones, other
gadgets on Phl flights
By Lawrence Agcaoili (The Philippine Star) | Updated January 1, 2014 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - Airline passengers can now use their cellular phones and play Candy Crush on
their gadgets while onboard an aircraft, as the Civil Aeronautics Board eased the guidelines on the use of
transmitting portable electronic devices (TPED).
Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) director general William Hotchkiss III issued
Memorandum Circular 52-13, which allows the conditional use of TPED, music player (MP3) and global
system for mobile communication onboard aircraft (GSMOBA) on all commercial aircraft.
Hotchkiss said when the aircraft doors are still open, passengers can use laptops, cellular phones,
Internet, short message service (SMS) or voice communications unless the pilot-in-command or the
senior cabin crew announces their prohibition on the public address system.
Laptops using broadband communications and cellular phones should not be operated when the aircraft
is re-fueling. In this instance, all transmitting portable electronic devices must be turned off, Hotchkiss
noted in the circular.
When the aircraft doors are closed, TPEDs on silent mode may be used but only for SMS or Internet.
Voice calls are not allowed. The use of GSMOBA should not interfere with the orderly conduct of flight.
Hotchkiss also said games on electronic devices can be played but on silent mode, while music on MP3s
should be heard through earphones and not with a separate speaker or amplifier.
The circular would take effect 15 days after compliance with the single publication in a newspaper of
general circulation.
Aviation regulators in other jurisdictions are shifting from the old belief that electromagnetic signals
emitted by portable gadgets could interfere with navigation systems.
The US Federal Aviation Administration released its guidelines for the expanded use of electronic devices
last Oct. 31 after its aviation rule-making committee concluded that most commercial airplanes can
tolerate radio interference signals from portable electronic devices. With Rudy Santos
CHED downplays irregularities in use of
funds
By Helen Flores (The Philippine Star) | Updated January 1, 2014 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Chairman Patricia Licuanan downplayed
yesterday a Commission on Audit (COA) report on alleged irregularities in the CHEDs disbursement of
Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) funds for scholars.
Licuanan told The STAR in a text message she will provide further clarifications on the COA report
tomorrow.
We have already discussed COA audit observations with them, she said. These are old findings which
we have already handled.
Licuanan is currently out of the country with her family.
In a 2012 report released last week, COA questioned the way CHED scholars were given financial
assistance in 2011 using the PDAF of lawmakers and Malacaangs Disbursement Acceleration Program
(DAP) fund.
The COA said the implementation of the Student Financial Assistance Programs did not adhere to CHED
guidelines, rules and regulations.
State auditors questioned CHEDs move to entrust to the office of lawmakers through a memorandum of
agreement the power to select, screen, award and determine the amount of the grant to each scholar.
The COA also discovered that claims amounting to P112.6 million were not supported with adequate
documents like income tax returns and students grades.
Records show CHED cashiers had released checks totaling P18.8 million to people other than the payees
or scholars.
Licuanan said they are now looking for other sources of funds to make sure the scholars are able to
enroll.
Possible sources of funds are the Higher Education Development Fund, a new allocation from the
General Appropriations Act, or the Presidents Social Fund, she added.
Congress budget this year padded by
P721 M
By Jess Diaz (The Philippine Star) | Updated January 1, 2014 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - With their pork barrel gone, the two chambers of Congress have increased their
respective budgets for this year by a combined P721 million.
The P2.265-trillion 2014 national budget signed by President Aquino shows that the 24 senators have
increased their outlay by P346 million to P3.344 billion, while funding for the more than 280 members of
the House of Representatives went up by P377 million to P6.624 billion.
The increases were made during the one-day Senate-House conference on the final version of the
budget in mid-December. Most of the changes in the final version were the initiatives of the Senate.
The adjustments were carried in the budget law that the President signed on Dec. 20.
Aquino proposed a total funding of P10.022 billion for Congress: P2.998 billion for the Senate and P6.248
billion for the House. The remainder was allotted to the Commission on Appointments and the Senate
and House electoral tribunals.
The House, in its version of the budget, adopted the funding levels proposed by the President. It was
apparently the Senate, with the agreement of the House, which initiated the increases in the budget
conference.
Asked what the P721-million adjustment was for, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said in a text
message: Please check with House/Senate officials. They effected the increase. They will know better.
Sought for comment, Sen. Francis Escudero, who chairs the Senate finance committee, said the
conference committee just restored the 2013 funding for Congress, which the President reduced in his
budget proposal.
He said the committee also added P50 million to the Commission on Appointments appropriations.
He said he could not remember what the additional P346 million for the Senate and P377 million for the
House were for.
Escudero headed the Senate contingent in the bicameral conference on the budget.
His House counterpart, Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab, appropriations committee chairman, said: Budget
increase was just a restoration of HOR (House of Representatives) budget to 2013 level and additional
funding for MOOE (maintenance and other operating expenses) of five new House members.
Actually, the adjustments made by the conference committee were more than restorations; they were net
increases.
The 2013 budget of the House was P6.357 billion as against P6.625 billion for 2014. The funding level
proposed by Aquino was P6.248 billion.
The House thus gained P268 million over its 2013 budget and P377 million over the Presidents proposal.
In the case of the Senate, its 2013 outlay was P3.294 billion as against P3.344 billion for this year.
Aquinos proposal was P2.998. Thus, the Senate gained P50 million over its funding level last year and
P346 million over the Presidents proposal.
As for the Commission on Appointments, which has a separate budget, its 2013 outlay was P492.9
million as against P538.5 million for this year, or an increase of P45.6 million. Aquinos recommended
funding for the commission was P501.1 million.
In the seven-page veto message he sent to the House and the Senate, Aquino reminded the two
chambers that the Constitution prohibits the grant of additional compensation to government personnel.
YEARENDER: House bows to SC ruling
on pork abolition, but...
By Jess Diaz and Paolo Romero (The Philippine Star) | Updated January 1, 2014 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - Bowing to public pressure and a Supreme Court (SC) ruling, the House of
Representatives abolished the congressional pork barrel, officially known as the Priority Development
Assistance Fund (PDAF), this year.
However, House leaders vowed to reassert their power over the purse through oversight, and even
impeachment of erring officials.
They lamented the SC decision declaring the PDAF unconstitutional, saying it would not only deprive
hundreds of thousands of beneficiaries of various educational, health and emergency assistance, but also
somehow weaken Congress while making the judiciary and the executive branch more powerful.
Analysts could not have been more wrong. It (PDAF abolition) now makes him the most powerful
President. He will now have absolute power to choose who to favor or not (with projects), a senior
administration lawmaker had said.
The House deleted the provision allocating over P25 billion P70 million per congressman and P200
million per senator as PDAF in the 2014 budget.
The amount was instead realigned to six implementing agencies, including the Department of Public
Works and Highways. However, House members were allowed to propose infrastructure projects for their
respective districts.
Some P12 billion in PDAF which were not released to congressmen would be used to augment the
calamity fund for the rehabilitation of areas damaged by calamities, including Super Typhoon Yolanda, as
provided in a House resolution.
Lawmakers also called for the abolition of various lump sums and discretionary funds, including the
Disbursement Acceleration Program of the President, in the 2014 national budget that critics estimate at
over P500 billion.
If the Presidents pork is not abolished, the effect of the (SC) decision would be to concentrate the
resources for political patronage on the President, ACT Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio said.
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. told reporters a diligent legislator can introduce some of his projects in
the budget process.
We will never lose sight of opportunities open to us to reform our system. We will face these problems
squarely and take concrete actions to correct the system and rebuild the integrity of our institutions,
promoting good governance through full transparency and accountability in public office, he said.
Scrutiny, oversight
But while lawmakers have lost their discretion over congressional lump sums, they will continue to have a
say on how taxpayers money is spent by various government agencies.
They revived the joint congressional oversight committee on government expenditures to monitor
disbursements from the 2014 national budget.
Its clear: the executive branch implements the law, the legislative branch legislates and conducts
oversight, Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab, chairman of the House appropriations committee, said.
The power of oversight is inherent in the powers of Congress. We will check the absorptive capacity of
the departments after we have given them funds. We will also closely monitor the implementation of the
projects listed in the GAA (General Appropriations Act), he said.
He said the P100-billion rehabilitation fund for calamity-hit areas is among the items they will closely
monitor.
He said the oversight panel would not violate the SC ruling, which barred lawmakers from any post-
enactment participation in the GAA.
Freedom of information bill
2013 saw the Freedom of Information (FOI) bill revived in the House with its proponents vowing its
enactment before the end of the 16th Congress.
Last November, the House committee on public information voted to come up with a consolidated version
of the 19 versions filed in the chamber by February.
Diwa party-list Rep. Emmeline Aglipay, one of the principal authors of the bill, said there should be no
more delays in its approval since a consolidated version was already approved on third and final reading
in the 14th Congress.
Dinagat Islands Rep. Arlene Bag-ao said the committee must act decisively and called on her colleagues
to do away with delays that will only force us to tread the path backwards.
Charter change
House leaders also revived calls for Charter change as they vowed to pass measures that would at least
relax the restrictive economic provisions within the first quarter of next year to boost the flow of
investments into the country.
Belmonte had filed Concurrent Resolution No. 1, which seeks to amend the restrictive economic
provisions of the 1987 Constitution via the normal legislative route to allow more foreign investor
participation in local industries, at the opening of the 16th Congress.
He described his resolution as simple, which is to amend certain economic provisions by inserting the
phrase unless otherwise provided by law.
He said his proposal doesnt lift prohibitions but enables Congress and the President to change the
figures and eliminate it through law, referring to restrictions on full foreign ownership on certain industries
and land.
The resolution covers Articles 2, 12 and 16 and the amendments would have to be approved separately
by the Senate and the House by two-thirds of their members, and subjected to a nationwide plebiscite.
Man breaches NAIA security
By Rudy Santos (The Philippine Star) | Updated January 1, 2014 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - A mentally ill man was able to penetrate the security fence of the Ninoy Aquino
International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 and get near a parked aircraft Monday night in the absence of
closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras.
Capt. Tim Cruz, Airport Police Operations Division chief, said 41-year-old Marcelo Maligalig of Taguig
tried to climb into a Kuwait Airlines plane through the front landing gear.
Security guards were able to collar Maligalig.
He was turned over to his sister, Police 0fficer 2 Christine Maligalig of the Southern Police, after she
presented certificates from the National Center for Mental Health that he is mentally ill, Cruz said.
At around 9:45 p.m. Monday, an airline security guard radioed that an unidentified man was able to
approach the Kuwait Airlines plane at Bay 4 without a proper identification card.
The man was found carrying other identification cards including a security guard license, barangay and
postal ID, Cruz said.
Terminal 1 has no CCTV camera around the security fence, airport sources said.
Senate to summon aviation security officials
Officials of the Aviation Security Group and other law enforcement agencies will be summoned to the
Senate over the general peace and order situation in the country.
Sen. Grace Poe, Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs chairperson, said she will hold
public hearings once Congress resumes session on Jan. 20.
We will conduct a public hearing on the general peace and order situation, on goals and assessment,
she said.
Poe said the committee will ask the law enforcement officials for updates on the peace and order
situation, as well as on major incidents in the country such as the drug cartel situation following a major
drug bust by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).
We will (also) ask for updates on the Cagayan de Oro blast... the apparent deputization of security
guards etc., she said.
They will also seek an explanation on the security concerns surrounding the fatal shooting of Labangan,
Zamboanga del Sur Mayor Ukol Talumpa, his wife and two others at the NAIA Terminal 3 last Dec. 20,
she added.
The Senate can invite the NAIA management to the hearing because the shooting incident falls under the
general peace and order situation, Poe said.
Senate Deputy Minority Leader Vicente Sotto III believes the executive department could best deal with
the security issues.
There are no other measures you can take because it happened near the street and actually beyond
airport security. You cannot frisk everyone outside the terminal, he said.
Sotto wants a review of the security measures being implemented in airports nationwide.
What they should review is why they have placed the retrieval area of firearms too far away from the
exit, he said.
This is not the first time this has happened. In a number of provinces, assassination attempts were
always made when the target or his bodyguards are yet unarmed. These killers are usually afraid to hit an
armed target.
How to improve the security at airports and review the roles of the Aviation Security Group and the
private guards are all executive in nature.
Sotto raised concern on why NAIA 3 had no working surveillance cameras to help police investigators in
the probe.
The drug angle is a matter for the PDEA and the Department of Justice (to investigate further), he said
Sotto. With Christina Mendez
Gas prices up P1.15/liter; diesel higher
by 75
By Iris Gonzales (The Philippine Star) | Updated January 1, 2014 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - As expected, oil firms yesterday greeted the New Year with an announcement of
another oil price hike of P1.15 per liter for gasoline and 75 centavos per liter for diesel.
Oil firms also raised kerosene prices by 60 centavos per liter, the companies said in their respective
advisories.
Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. said it raised prices effective 6 a.m. yesterday also by P1.15 per liter for
gasoline and 75 centavos for diesel.
Similarly, Petron Corp., the countrys biggest oil refiner, said in its advisory that it raised the prices of its
Blaze, XCS, Xtra and Super gasoline by P1.15 per liter and 75 centavos per liter for Diesel Max and
Turbo Diesel.
Petron Corp. also raised prices of kerosene by 60 centavos per liter effective 6 a.m. yesterday.
Chevron Philippines, which sells the Caltex brand, also raised prices by P1.15 per liter for gasoline, 75
centavos per liter for Diesel Max and 60 centavos per liter for kerosene.
Oil firms said the latest adjustments reflect prices in the global crude market.
Prior to their New Year announcement, oil firms also raised prices on Christmas Eve, raising diesel prices
by 10 centavos per liter although they rolled back the prices of kerosene at the time and kept gasoline
prices unchanged.
With the latest price hike, retail prices of petroleum products are now at a range of P50.30 per liter to
P55.45 per liter for gasoline and P42.10 per liter to P46.50 per liter for diesel, based on the energy
departments latest price monitoring report.
Boy, 8, loses hand
MANILA, Philippines - A boy lost his right hand after a firecracker prematurely exploded while three other
persons were hit by stray bullets, the Department of Health (DOH) reported yesterday.
In its Aksyon: Paputok Injury Reduction registry, the DOH said the boy from Cebu City got his right hand
mangled after igniting a triangular firecracker that prematurely exploded.
One of the three stray bullet victims, on the other hand, was a 40-year-old woman from Barangay Holy
Spirit in Quezon City who got hit on her left thigh while standing in front of her house.
DOH Assistant Secretary Eric Tayag had pointed out that Barangay Holy Spirit is among the most
dangerous places based on its records of firecracker-related injuries from 2010 to 2012.
The two others were a 37-year-old man from Rodriguez, Rizal who sustained a bullet wound on his right
shoulder while a 28-year-old man from Marikina City was hit on the right leg. Both of them were outside
their houses.
Tayag said these cases brought to 262 the total number of revelry-related injuries as of 6 a.m. yesterday.
Of this figure, 254 were firecracker-related while eight were from stray bullets and one from fireworks
ingestion.
The report showed the cases were 39 (17 percent) cases higher than the 5-year average (2008-2012)
and 55 (27 percent) cases higher than the same time period last year.
Piccolo still accounted for a majority of the cases at 164. Almost half or 127 of the cases came from Metro
Manila.
(The) age range is 1-65 years (median is 11yrs), (while) 79 (31 percent) were children below 10, the
report added.
Fifty-nine of the cases were passive users while 34 of the firecracker injuries required amputation, the
DOH said.
In Central Luzon, officials yesterday reported five cases of firecracker injuries and one hit by stray bullet.
The five victims are from Guagua, Pampanga; Palayan City, Nueva Ecija; and three cases from
Zambales.
A six-year-old girl was hit by a stray bullet in Quezon town in Nueva Ecija but survived after being taken
to a nearby hospital.
In Region I, officials reported 11 cases of firecracker injuries, the youngest at five years old from Cauayan
City, Isabela.
Cagayan, Nueva Vizcaya and Isabela accounted for most cases of firecracker injuries, while a 14-year-
old boy was hit by a stray bullet in Bantay, Ilocos Sur but survived.
Authorities, meanwhile, are sustaining the campaign against illegal and oversized firecrackers with the
arrest of six Chinese peddling illegal pyrotechnics in Zamboanga City.
Regional police director Chief Superintendent Juanito Vao said six Chinese, whose names were withheld
pending investigation, were among the 10 who were arrested.
DOH Assistant Secretary Roland Cortez, on the other hand, advised all revelers not to be complacent if
they sustain even minor cuts or minor burns with skin opening from firecracker blasts.
Cortez said fireworks are known to contain cow manure so they could easily cause tetanus.
They have been saying that dried cows manure is also being used to manufacture firecracker so we
could easily assume that they are very dirty and tetanus can easily develop. It was said that the manure
could make the explosion louder, he said.
Cortez also warned that firecrackers are made of toxic chemicals.
If you sustain wounds or burns from firecrackers, the best thing that you should do is to wash the wounds
or burns with running water and, if you can stand it, use soap. Wrap it with clean handkerchief or towel
and then see a doctor, he said. Ric Sapnu, Raymund Catindig, Roel Pareo, Teddy Molina
Bulacan bucks firecracker ban
By Dino Balabo (The Philippine Star) | Updated January 1, 2014 - 12:00am
MALOLOS CITY, Philippines - Local officials and pyrotechnics industry stakeholders yesterday scored
Health Secretary Enrique Ona for asking Congress to legislate a total ban on firecrackers.
They instead suggested tighter regulation of the fireworks industry.
We cannot outlaw tradition like the liquor ban in the 1920s. Use of fireworks and pyrotechnics products is
a traditional part of merry making, said Guiguinto Mayor Ambrosio Cruz in Bulacan.
As the main proponent of the forgotten pyrotechnics villages, Cruz said the government should instead
focus on the modernization of the industry into a safe and technically viable business.
The provincial government of Bulacan should take the lead by inviting all the stakeholders to come up
with long lasting solutions for the pyrotechnics industry, Cruz said.
Malolos City Mayor Christian Natividad also said the DOH should help improve the industry instead of
banning it.
Regulate and inform instead of total ban, which is radical and unfair, Natividad said.
Vimmie Erese, president of the Philippine Pyrotechnics Manufacturers and Dealers Association Inc.
(PPMDAI), said they have become the whipping boy of Ona as New Year draws near.
Why is it we always get the blame? There is the law (Republic Act 7183 regulating the firecracker
industry) that should be fully implemented, Erese said.
Celso Cruz, former president of the PPMDAI, said the industry should continue.
Cruz earlier said the industry survived since it started in the late 1800s in Sta. Maria, Bulacan.
He added the Bulacan pyrotechnics industry survived even during the martial law years from the early
70s to the mid-80s.
Local officials agreed that a total ban on firecrackers as proposed by Ona is a good move but it will not
totally stop the firecracker industry.
Provincial board members Michael Fermin and Ernesto Sulit, along with Norzagaray Vice Mayor Arthur
Legazpi, urged the full implementation of the law to regulate the industry. Paolo Romero

Safety nets in place for power rate hike
By Delon Porcalla (The Philippine Star) | Updated January 1, 2014 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - The government has assured the public that measures are in place to cushion the
impact of the impending power rate hike on the poor.
Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said a big chunk of the
P2.265-trillion budget for 2014 is intended for social protection and safety nets, especially those in the
lower economic classes.
Coloma told state-run radio dzRB that the safety nets will cover the effects of high prices, including
electricity costs.
He said the governments economic cluster continues to monitor the effects of price increases on basic
services, so that these do not create significant negative consequences on our people.
Consumers may still be charged for their December electricity consumption in the future, at the record
high generation charge increase of P3.44 per kilowatt-hour, as the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) is still
looking at ways to recover costs.
Although the Supreme Court (SC) has issued a 60-day temporary restraining order (TRO) on Meralcos
rate increase, the power distributor is looking at ways to recover the cost owed to power generators, the
company spokesman said.
Joe Zaldarriaga said the company is in talks with power generators on how to deal with the SC TRO on
Meralcos December rate increase.
This is basically generation cost and it will accrue to generators, he said.
Meralco will not be able to pay its power suppliers for now because the TRO prevents it from collecting
higher December power rate from its 5.3 million consumers.
Zaldarriaga said the firm is coordinating with the Department of Energy (DOE) regarding its options.
We are closely coordinating with the DOE and other stakeholders on cost recovery options and payment
options, he said.
However, he declined to provide more details as Meralco is still weighing its options on how to deal with
the TRO.
The SC set the oral arguments on the TRO on Jan. 21.
On Dec. 23, the SC issued a TRO stopping Meralcos record high increase in its generation charge of
P3.44 per kwh to P9.10 per kwh.
The generation charge is the cost of power purchased by Meralco for the previous months supply. It is
the biggest component of electricity cost, accounting for 65 percent.
In effect, the high court ordered Meralco to revert to its old generation charge of P5.67 per kwh.
Meralcos generation charge rose in December because of the one-month maintenance shutdown of the
Malampaya gas field, which supplies natural gas to three power plants in Luzon. The power plants had to
use more expensive liquid fuel.
Unplanned emergency outages of other power plants also led to tighter electricity supply at the Wholesale
Electricity Spot Market (WESM), the countrys trading floor for electricity, jacking up power cost.
Meralco is preparing to refund customers who have paid their December electricity bills.
The refund will be in the form of offsetting, which will apply in subsequent bills.
Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla has asked Meralco and power generators to absorb the cost of
spiraling electricity prices.
On the back of the 60-day TRO, Meralco faces roughly P10 billion in payables to energy suppliers, of
which P6 billion is due to the Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC), the operator of the WESM.
The increase in the generation charge of Meralco attributable to its WESM purchases is estimated to
amount to P6 billion, out of a total of approximately P10 billion, excluding value added tax, Meralco said
in a manifestation submitted to the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC).
Meralco, however, has been granted a reprieve with regard to its obligations to PEMC after a meeting last
week among Meralco officials, PEMC and power generators.
The company would have to pay only P3.8 billion of its PEMC obligations while the TRO is in effect. Iris
Gonzales
Pagasa to acquire first atomic clock
By Helen Flores (The Philippine Star) | Updated January 1, 2014 - 12:00am
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MANILA, Philippines - The state weather bureau will acquire next year its first Caesium atomic clock to provide
more accurate timekeeping data.
Mario Raymundo, chief of the Time Service Section of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and
Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), said the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has
approved the purchase of three state-of- the-art Caesium 5071A clocks worth more than P50 million.
Caesium standard or caesium atomic clocks are the most accurate time and frequency standards known.
These are used as primary standards for international time distribution services, he said.
Atomic clocks are more reliable timekeepers since their oscillations are not subject to change from
environmental factors such as humidity that would decrease the accuracy of normal clocks.
The caesium 5071A is the top of the line caesium clock, Raymundo said.
He said the clock would allow the country to determine and contribute to universal coordinated time (UTC).
All countries contribute in the determination of the UTC. The US has UTC-NIT, and Australia has UTC-AUS,
soon we will have UTC-Phl, he said.
Raymundo said the bidding for the caesium clocks will likely start in January or February 2014. He said the
Caesium 5071A can maintain time consistently to within one second over 30 million years, and has a maximum
lifespan of 15 years.
Raymundo also urged all Filipinos to synchronize all time devices to the Philippine Standard Time (PhST).
Republic Act 10535 or the Philippine Standard Time of 2013 declares the first week of every year as the
National Time Consciousness Week.
Raymundo said RA 10535, which was passed into law on May 15, aims to change the so-called Filipino time
the attitude of constantly being late to the habit of being punctual.
He also pushed for the use of PhST in all ports, airports, bus terminals and train stations in the country.
Raymundo said PAGASA has already installed seven digital clocks in Malacaang.
He said the DOST has also approved the release of less than P1.5 million for the purchase of eight new digital
clocks to be installed in key public areas in Metro Manila this year.
Over 60 countries give aid to Yolanda
victims
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MANILA, Philippines - From A to Z or A to W to be exact the world showed the Philippines it was not alone
in dealing with tragedies, as more than 60 countries and foreign organizations pledged and donated assistance
to the government in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Yolanda.
Based on the website Foreign Aid Transparency Hub (FAiTH), put up by the government to ensure
transparency in the use of foreign assistance, foreign aid pledged now amounted to P23,798,036,069.08
($538,978,033).
Cash pledges total P2,800,149,541.20 ($63,417,800) while non-cash amount to P20,997,886,527.88
($475,560,233).
Total cash received by government was P592,580,631.40 ($12,337,478).
The countries and organizations that donated were: Algeria, Arab Gulf Fund for UN Development (AGFUND),
Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Canada,
China, Czech Republic, Denmark, European Union/European Commission, Finland, France, Germany,
Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kuwait, Laos, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg,
Macau and Malaysia;
Marshall Islands, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia,
Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand,
Turkey, Ukraine, United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF), United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United
States of America, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), the Vatican, Vietnam
and World Food Program.
The full details of the various assistance given can be monitored on the FAiTH website.
When he was in Japan early December to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and attend the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Japan commemorative summit, President Aquino was also conferred
an honorary doctoral degree in law by the Sophia University.
In his speech he thanked the international community for their assistance.
Our countries also never fail to come to each others aid during times of disaster. Most recently, in the
aftermath of Super Typhoon Haiyan, a video made its rounds on the Internet of a young Japanese man
engaged in relief operations in Leyte named Shigehiro Matsuda, who was speaking our language with great
proficiency. Another video showed news of a Japanese preschooler donating all the money he had saved a
total of 5,000 yen to the survivors of the typhoon. Needless to say, those gestures touched the hearts of our
countrymen in a time of great grief, Aquino said.
He also recounted what a Japanese sociologist told a member of his Cabinet about the resiliency of Filipinos
after a powerful earthquake and tsunami hit Japan.
The sociologist said that those Filipinos (living in Japan) were living examples of the optimism and resilience
inherent in our people. Instead of focusing on their material losses, the Filipinos cheered up and cheered on
their fellow residents, and made them thankful for what had survived, which was the community, and the
capacity to hope, Aquino said,
P4.6B worth of shabu seized in 2013
By Dennis Carcamo (philstar.com) | Updated December 31, 2013 - 6:20pm
MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said it seized a total of 834
kilograms of shabu worth approximately P4.6 billion during anti-drug operations from January to
December 2013.
The PDEA, in coordination with other law enforcement agencies, said it is a substantial increase in the
confiscation of methamphetamine hydrochloride, locally known as shabu, for 2013.
PDEA Director General Arturo Cacdac, Jr. said the seizure rate this year is seven times more than the
shabu seizures in the previous year and the combined volume of confiscated shabu in the last four years.
"The 834 kilos of seized shabu in 2013 easily surpassed the 112 kilos seizure in 2012, a remarkable
increase of 643 percent. The figures also bested the combined output of 578 kilos of shabu seized from
2009 to 2012, Cacdac said.
The consolidated figures were the results of the high volume seizures made by the Philippine National
Police-Anti Illegal Drugs Special Operations Task Force during the interdiction operation in Subic,
Zambales where 432 kilos of shabu worth over P2 billion were confiscated on August 11; the National
Bureau of Investigation raid in Tondo, Manila where 62 kilos of shabu worth P314 million were
discovered; the 45 kilos seized by the PDEA Special Enforcement Service in Las Pias City on
September 13, 2013; and the PDEA and PNP raid in Lipa City, Batangas on December 25, 2013 which
resulted in the seizure of 84 kilos of shabu worth P420 million, among other accomplishments.
"The PDEAs foremost mission is to suppress the supply and neutralize the source of dangerous drugs,
Cacdac said, citing the dismantled clandestine shabu laboratory in Sta. Rita, Guiguinto, Bulacan on Dec.
20, 2013.
From January to December 2013, PDEA and other law enforcement agencies conducted 16,144 anti-
drug operations which resulted in the arrest of 8,674 drug personalities and the seizure of P5.3 billion
worth of dangerous drugs, and controlled precursors and essential chemicals.
Of the total arrested drug personalities, 73 are foreign nationals who are either involved in the selling,
possession, trafficking and manufacturing of illegal drugs.
The Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Inter-Agency Drug Interdiction Task Group, an inter-agency
collaboration led by PDEA to control the flow of illegal drugs through the NAIA complex, has arrested four
drug couriers who yielded a total of P103 million worth of shabu and cocaine.
The period also saw an increase in the conduct of marijuana eradication operations wherein 419
marijuana plantations sites were destroyed, resulting in the destruction of marijuana plants and seedlings
worth P471 million, compared to the 188 illegal hemp cultivation sites eradicated in 2012, the highest
since 2002, Cacdac said.
For the period, 10,000 drug cases were filed in court for violation of Republic Act 9165, or the
Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, demonstrating PDEAs commitment to file airtight cases to
ensure conviction of drug offenders.
Binay calls on Pinoys to unite
(The Philippine Star) | Updated January 1, 2014 - 12:00am
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MANILA, Philippines - Continue to work as one nation.
Vice President Jejomar Binay made this call in his New Years message, citing the unity that the Filipino people
had shown in the past year.
As we welcome the New Year let us continue to work as one. Together, we will enter 2014 with a renewed
sense of hope as we look ahead to a better Philippines, he said.
Binay said the Filipino people had proven their resilience in overcoming tragedies, citing Super Typhoon
Yolanda and a magnitude 7.2 quake that struck the Visayas.
We have shown the strength of our resolve whatever the situation we face, no matter how dire, the Filipino
spirit cannot be broken, he said.
Rise above trials
Meanwhile, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said 2014 is an opportunity for Filipinos to rise above their trials in
life, work harder for progress and reforms and unite to achieve great change for the nation.
With the trials of the past year, including the devastation brought by natural calamities that have befallen us, I
would like to think of 2014 as an opportunity for recovery and transformation for our country, he said in his
New Years message.
We are continuing to discover that the road to change and lasting reform is not easy and often met by trials
and stumbling blocks along the way, he added.
He said the road we now travel as one nation is significant, adding that issues and natural disasters should
also be viewed as opportunities to pick ourselves up, and work doubly hard toward the reforms that we seek.
He said the coming year should signal the start of renewal so that no test or trial is ever insurmountable for the
country.
Whatever political, religious or personal differences we may have, the love for country should be a shared
focus, enough for us to work hand-in-hand for its continued development and for upholding the dignity of the
Filipino, Belmonte said.
Economic growth
Senator Juan Edgardo Angara said he is confident that the Aquino administration could sustain the countrys
economic growth in 2014, and restore the lost faith of its people.
With the lessons learned from the past that brought about reforms in the system, may the leaders of the
country enter the New Year with a renewed sense of purpose of honest service to the Filipinos so as to realize
the boundless potential of the Philippines, he said in his New Years message.
He pushed for the quick rehabilitation of the disaster-stricken areas so our countrymen will go back to living
normal, if not better, lives in the coming 2014.
Senators Loren Legarda and Nancy Binay shared the peoples confidence that the government will ensure the
speedy recovery of residents in disaster-stricken areas.
Let us discard the negatives of the past, the darkness and the gloom of yesterday and let us positively
welcome the new day, the New Year, Binay said.
Remain optimistic
Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) president Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates
Villegas said Filipinos should remain optimistic.
Quoting Pope Francis, we are not just an optimistic people... We are a people of hope because our hope
comes from faith in God and it comes from the awareness that God is always at work in human history, he
said. Jose Rodel Clapano, Paolo Romero, Evelyn Macairan, Christina Mendez, Alexis Romero
Teachers to get P300 additional
honoraria for poll duty
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MANILA, Philippines - Public school teachers who served in the Oct. 28 barangay polls stand to receive
another P300 in honoraria after the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) approved the allocation,
the Commission on Elections (Comelec) said.
Comelec Commissioner Grace Padaca said the DBM granted the poll bodys request to use the more than
P150 million left over from the funds for the May 13 elections to compensate the teachers.
The use of the funds was initially limited only to the May polls.
Earlier, the Comelec had wanted to give teachers P2,000 in honoraria for election duties and P500 for
transportation but due to budget constraints, the poll body was able to give only P2,000.
Padaca said even after the elections, the Comelec continued to work to be able to add a little more to the
P2,000 honorarium of teachers.
This is by asking DBM to allow Comelec to use the amount left from the funds of the May 2013 national
elections to add some more to the pay of teachers for the October 2013 barangay elections, she said.
The amount may not be that big but we hope it can prove that we are doing our best to show our gratitude to
each of the 504,582 teachers who served as BETs (Board of Election Tellers), she added.
P1.26M worth of banned firecrackers
seized so far
MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine National Police on Tuesday said it has arrested 24 people who were
caught selling banned firecrackers and for indiscriminate firing.
Authorities, so far, have also confiscated a total of 7,431 illegal firecrackers worth P1.26 million.
In its latest update on its Iwas Paputok campaign which started last Dec. 16, the PNP however said that
the number of injured due to stray bullets remained at 12.
Of the total injured, four cases came from National Capital Region, two in Region 4A, one in Region 5,
two in Region 6, two in Region 12, and one in Cordillera.
And of the 85 reported incidents, 44 people were hurt due to firecracker blasts, the PNP said.
Noy enters last 2 minutes, sets sights on
prosperity
By Aurea Calica and Delon Porcalla (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 31, 2013 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - For President Aquino, 2013 started out well, with voters giving his Team P-Noy
Senate slate a resounding victory in the May elections, and the country achieving investment grade for
the first time.
Then the pork barrel scam erupted, dragging even the Presidents own discretionary funds into the muck,
and it was downhill from there.
The three-week siege of Zamboanga City razed vast areas of the city. The Visayas had not yet caught its
breath after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake when Super Typhoon Yolanda roared across Leyte and Samar.
President Aquino likened the year ahead to the last two minutes in his ballgame.
The pork barrel issue prompted the President to address the nation in October to emphasize that he did
not steal. He also explained that the much-maligned Disbursement Acceleration Program was an
economic stimulus program and not an incentive for lawmakers for the impeachment of then chief justice
Renato Corona as claimed by Sen. Jinggoy Estrada in a privilege speech.
Estrada is one of the high-profile individuals linked to and charged in the pork barrel scam.
Customs commissioner Ruffy Biazon, an ally of the President, had to resign after he too was implicated in
the pork barrel scam, along with Local Water Utilities Administration chief Rene Villa.
The former LWUA chairman said he had only served as lawyer for alleged pork barrel scam mastermind
Janet Lim-Napoles.
The outrage over pork barrel, or the Priority Development Assistance Fund prompted concerned citizens
to seek the judiciarys help, which later ruled unanimously in November that PDAF, and all its other forms,
is unconstitutional to the dismay of legislators who had been stripped of their discretionary funds.
Another headache for the administration was the siege of Zamboanga City by a faction of the Moro
National Liberation Front (MNLF) loyal to Nur Misuari.
The siege dragged on for three weeks in September, killing dozens and displacing more than 100,000
people.
The administration suffered another blow this year with the killing of a Taiwanese fisherman by coast
guard personnel. The incident strained relations with Taipei. In the end, Manila decided to apologize,
prompting Taipei to lift sanctions.
This year was also marked by tensions with China over the latters maritime encroachment in the West
Philippine Sea. The government has raised the issue before an international tribunal even as Beijing
continues to insist that the matter be resolved bilaterally.
Aiming for prosperity
But it was not all setbacks for the administration.
For the remaining two years or so of his administration, Aquino said achieving prosperity for the nation
and stamping out corruption would take center stage. He said his efforts have gained the support of the
international community.
In the past three years, Aquino said the Philippines jumped 29 notches in the Transparency International
Corruption Index from 134th place in 2010 to 105th this year.
Aquino said his administration was also close to obtaining justice for the people by prosecuting those who
had misused and pocketed pork barrel funds.
He said the government was continuously trying to lay down measures to ensure that public funds would
never go to waste.
He also said its good governance that had enabled the Philippines to post the highest gross domestic
product growth in Southeast Asia in 2013.
Another major administration achievement was its having successfully synchronized elections in the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) with the national polls. He said the feat had proven
that it was possible to hold safe and peaceful elections in an area that had long been enveloped in fear
and violence.
The President also reported the signing of the annex on power sharing in the Framework Agreement on
the Bangsamoro between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. He said they would like
to expedite the peace process so they could have ample time to prepare for elections for the Bangsamoro
region in 2016.
Pillars of corruption crumbling
Aquino said it was also clear that because of good governance, the last pillars of corruption had come
crumbling down, resulting in more jobs for Filipinos.
Another item of good news was that under the Training for Work Scholarship Program of the Technical
Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), 576,748 students were able to graduate in
November 2013 from a course that began July 2010, Aquino said.
Based on the Department of Budget and Management data, only 28.5 percent of TESDA graduates were
able to land jobs from 2006 to 2008 compared to 62.4 percent general average now, according to a
TESDA study in 2012.
When it comes to IT and the business process outsourcing industry, Aquino said 70.9 percent
employment among TESDA graduates was recorded and 85 percent among those who enrolled in the
Electronics and Semi-Conductor Program.
With the cooperation among the Department of Labor and Employment, TESDA, Department of
Education, Commission on Higher Education and the private sector, the jobs and skills mismatch had
been addressed and unemployment rate had gone down this year, the President said.
And just like in basketball, we face a lot of obstacles up to the last second. We are aware that the
residues of the old system will not fold up easily. The more we get close to victory, the more they will
become desperate in their attempts to derail our agenda, he said.
He also said that while calamities might further test the spirit of the nation, Filipinos would prevail.
The President said the people as his bosses continue to be his guide and beacon.
He urged the Filipinos to unite on the side of what is right for the people.
It is only us who can set our limitations. Our minds are open and we are ready to always listen to
meaningful suggestions for wider and long-term reforms, Aquino said.

Noy leads Rizal Day rites in Tarlac
By Ric Sapnu (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 31, 2013 - 12:00am
TARLAC CITY , Philippines President Aquino led the simple celebration of Rizal Day at the Ninoy
Aquino Plaza here yesterday morning.
Accompanied by Tarlac Gov. Victor Areno Yap and Tarlac City Mayor Ace Manalang, Aquino offered
flowers at the monument of national hero Jose Rizal in commemoration of his 117th death anniversary.
The Chief Executive, who took a three-day vacation in Baguio City, did not deliver any message and left
right after the ceremony.
Aquino was expected to lead Rizal Day activities in Baguio City but he reportedly went back to Tarlac on
Sunday.
Great sacrifice
Vice President Jejomar Binay yesterday urged Filipinos to remember Rizals great deeds and emulate his
example.
Binay, who led a flag-raising and wreath-laying ceremony in Rizal Park in Manila, said the national heros
death triggered a revolution.
Jose Rizal sacrificed his life for our freedom 117 years ago. His death encouraged and strengthened our
forefathers resolve to fight for our freedom against foreign oppressors, Binay said.
He called on the public to keep Rizals dreams alive.
Let us not forget that the freedom we now enjoy was a result of his sacrifice and all the other heroes that
we have, Binay said.
May Rizals death remind us that even we can be heroes who are ready to serve our country and the
Filipino nation when needed. With Jose Rodel Clapano, Artemio Dumlao
Phl no longer among deadliest
countries for journalists
By Artemio Dumlao (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 31, 2013 - 12:00am
BAGUIO CITY , Philippines The Philippines is no longer listed among countries tagged as the most
deadly places for journalists, the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said in its
yearend report.
Syria has remained as the most deadly place for journalists in 2013, while Iraq and Egypt each saw a
spike in fatal violence, the CPJ said.
At least 70 journalists were killed for their work this year, slightly lower than the 74 deaths in 2012. The
killings were mostly in the Middle East, which accounts for two-thirds of the cases.
The long-standing conflict in Syria has claimed the lives of at least 29 journalists in 2013, bringing the
number of journalists killed while covering the conflict to 63.
In Iraq, violence returned to levels not seen since 2011 with 10 journalists killed on the job.
Egypt also experienced an increase in deaths in 2013, with six journalists killed for their work.
The Middle East has become a killing field for journalists. While the number of journalists killed for their
work has declined in some places, the civil war in Syria and a renewal of sectarian attacks in Iraq have
taken an agonizing toll, said CPJ Deputy Director Robert Mahoney in the report.
The international community must prevail on all governments and armed groups to respect the civilian
status of reporters and to prosecute the killers of journalists, he added.
But the CPJ said that even with the continuing dangers to journalists in Pakistan and Somalia, the
number of confirmed work-related deaths in these countries declined in 2013 to five and four,
respectively.
Brazil and Russia, the host countries of next years World Cup and Olympics, saw three and two
journalists killed, respectively.
The CPJ also reported that about 60 journalists were abducted during the year and about 30 are missing.
Different findings
The CPJ report, however, is contradictory to the findings of Paris-based press freedom watchdog
Reporters sans frontires (Reporters Without Borders).
In its annual roundup released earlier, RSF said the Philippines is fifth among the worst five deadliest
countries for media in 2013.
Last November, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines said the country has also maintained
its tag as the third worst country for working journalists by the International Federation of Journalists.
However, RSF also tagged Syria, Somalia, Pakistan and India as deadly places for journalism.
RSF said India and the Philippines have replaced Mexico and Brazil on the list, although the number of
journalists killed in Brazil, which is five, is the same as last year.
In Mexico, two journalists were killed while three others disappeared.
The RSF Annual Index also said that the regions with the largest numbers of journalists killed in
connection with their work are Asia (24) and the Middle East and North Africa (23).
Of the 71 journalists killed in 2013, 37 percent worked for the print media, 30 percent for radio, 30 percent
for TV, and three percent for news websites.
A majority of the victims or 96 percent were men.
Although the number of journalists killed in connection with their work in 2013 fell by 20 percent compared
with last years figures, 2012 was an exceptionally deadly year with 88 journalists killed.
Temperatures drop in Baguio, MM
Pagasa
By Helen Flores (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 31, 2013 - 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services
Administration (PAGASA) recorded yesterday the coldest temperatures in Baguio City and Metro Manila
since the northeast monsoon set in last month.
The temperature in Baguio City dropped yesterday to 12.2 degrees Celsius while Metro Manila recorded
20.8 degrees, said PAGASA officer-in-charge Vicente Malano.
The lowest temperature in Metro Manila was recorded at the PAGASA Science Garden in Quezon City at
around 5 a.m.
PAGASA weather forecasters said the public should expect chillier mornings in the coming weeks.
PAGASAs climatological record showed that the lowest temperature in Metro Manila was recorded on
Feb. 4, 1987 and Dec. 30, 1988 at 15.1 degrees Celsius.
In Baguio City, the coldest temperature recorded was 6.1 degrees Celsius in January 1961.
PAGASA said the northeast monsoon cold winds from China and Siberia usually peaks in the months
of January and February.
Congress urged to consider total ban on
firecrackers
By Sheila Crisostomo (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 31, 2013 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - The number of people injured due to firecrackers and stray bullets rose to 244 a
day before New Years Eve, the Department of Health (DOH) said yesterday.
Dismayed over the continuing increase in firecracker injuries, Health Secretary Enrique Ona said it is up
to lawmakers and other stakeholders to consider a total ban on firecrackers.
We have to seriously consider and discuss in Congress a total ban because more and more people are
getting injured, Ona said in a telephone interview.
He said if Davao City was able to implement a total ban on fireworks, the entire country could do the
same.
The health chief stressed the need to amend Republic Act 7183 or the law regulating the sale,
manufacture, distribution and use of firecrackers and other pyrotechnic items.
The DOHs National Epidemiology Center (NEC) said the number of revelry-related injuries increased to
244 as of 6 a.m. yesterday from 192 cases on Sunday.
Of this figure, 238 people sustained wounds from fireworks, five were hit by stray bullets and only one
ingested a firecracker.
DOH Assistant Secretary Eric Tayag said that of the 238 firecracker injuries, 153 or 64 percent were due
to the banned piccolo.
Tayag said the figure surpasses the 188 reported injuries in the same period last year.
Based on NECs Aksyon: Paputok Injury Reduction registry, the 244 cases are 43 percent higher than the
five-year average from 2008 to 2012, and 56 cases more than the same period last year.
Metro Manila accounted for 120 cases. The ages of the victims range from one to 65 years and 207 are
males.
Tayag said they are bracing for an increase in fireworks-related injuries in this New Years revelry.
He said this years celebrations might be worse than last year where 931 people were injured from
firecrackers and stray bullets.
At this rate, it may be difficult to reverse the rising cases but we are not losing hope. With the help of the
media, we are doing last minute campaign to dissuade the public from using fireworks in welcoming the
New Year, he added.
The DOH earlier identified 34 areas in Metro Manila considered most dangerous for fireworks.
Indiscriminate firing
Police have stepped up the campaign against indiscriminate firing of guns and selling of banned
firecrackers in Metro Manila to reduce the number of casualties during the New Year revelry.
National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) chief Director Carmelo Valmoria ordered his 38 station
commanders yesterday to deploy two police teams in going after those who will use their guns in
welcoming the New Year.
Valmoria said this is to prevent another case of Stephanie Nicole Ella, who was killed by a stray bullet
while watching fireworks in Caloocan City last year.
Ellas case remains unsolved.
Valmoria said uniformed policemen would be patrolling the streets of Metro Manila to ensure the safety of
its 12 million residents.
As of yesterday, the NCRPO recorded five cases of stray bullet incidents. A man was arrested for
indiscriminately firing his gun.
The NCRPO chief also ordered his five district directors to coordinate with local government units for the
establishment of designated firecracker zones to prevent firecracker injuries.
Piccolo is most dangerous
Piccolo is still the most dangerous firecracker, based on a survey conducted by the police from different
hospitals in Cavite, police said yesterday.
Senior Superintendent Joselito Esquivel, Cavite police director, said at least 20 people suffered injuries
from the banned firecracker.
Police said three persons Percival Topacio, 38, Elmer Saliva, 43 and Conrado Saliva, 53 were
arrested for manufacturing illegal firecrackers in Barangay Malagasang, Imus City on Sunday.
Firecracker stores closed
A number of firecracker stores in Bocaue, Bulacan, considered as the countrys fireworks capital, remain
closed yesterday after the owners failed to secure permits.
Chief Superintendent Louie Oppus, director of the Philippine National Police-Firearms and Explosives
Office (FEO), said his office rejected some requests for permit to manufacture and sell firecrackers due to
safety reasons.
They are to required to secure permit from the local government units (LGUs) before we issue FEO
permit, Oppus told The STAR.
With Non Alquitran, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Rhodina Villanueva, Eva Visperas, Jack Castao
COA finds irregularities in CHEDs use of
pork
By Michael Punongbayan (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 31, 2013 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Audit (COA) has raised some questions on the way scholars
of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) were given financial assistance last year using the
controversial Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) of legislators and the Disbursement
Acceleration Program of the government.
State auditors said the implementation of the agencys Student Financial Assistance Programs did not
adhere to guidelines, rules and regulations.
The 2012 COA report released over the weekend particularly questioned how the selection, screening,
awarding and determination of the amount of the grant to each student beneficiary, which are normally
the functions of the CHED, were entrusted to the office of the legislator through a memorandum of
agreement (MOA).
Such practice of giving lawmakers discretionary power led to the granting of financial assistance ranging
from P16,000 to P110,000 per semester per grantee, more than the maximum allowable benefit of
P15,000 per semester given by CHED to full merit scholars.
The determination of the Office of the Legislator of the amount to be given to the recipient students as
per MOA will result in inequity in the grant of scholarship benefits charged to PDAF, COA noted in its
report.
The COA report also frowned at the absence of any undertaking between the CHED and the student
beneficiaries assuring the continuity of the educational assistance until they graduate.
State auditors further discovered that claims totaling P112.6 million were not supported with adequate
documentation such as income tax returns and students grades, thus failing to ensure that the grantees
were qualified beneficiaries of the scholarship program.
Records show that checks totaling P18.8 million were released by the cashiers of CHED to persons other
than the payees or student grantees, failing to ensure that the educational benefits were received by the
students on time.
The COA report stressed that delayed processing and release of claims ranging from one month to 17
months and unclaimed/cancelled/stale checks totaling P11.2 million in nine CHED regional offices
deprived student beneficiaries of timely receipt of their financial assistance.
State auditors also found that the processing and awarding of double and/or multiple scholarship slots to
63 students were not immediately detected and cancelled, depriving other qualified students of
scholarships.
The COA report recommended among others that the CHEDs Office of Student Services revisit the MOA
and the CHED guidelines for student financial assistance programs for amendment and/or clarification to
determine all the excessive grants given to student beneficiaries, and to effect their refund.
DOH stresses need for immediate burial
of Yolanda victims
By Sheila Crisostomo and Jaime Laude (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 31, 2013 - 12:00am
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MANILA, Philippines - Forensic experts from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) are cutting short their
vacation to attend to the thousands of corpses rotting in the open in Tacloban City, two months after the
devastation of Super Typhoon Yolanda.
This was according to Health Secretary Enrique Ona, who revealed they were making arrangements with the
Department of Justice for the immediate resumption of processing of the bodies. The NBI is under the DOJ.
This has been discussed with them. I hope as soon as possible they will go back there. We want the bodies to
be buried soon, Ona said in a telephone interview.
The corpses are being processed by NBI for possible identification by their relatives before they are buried in
mass graves. The NBI procedures generally involve the collection of DNA samples from the victims.
Ona said more forensic experts would be dispatched to the calamity zone to speed up the identification and
burial processes.
He reiterated that while dead bodies themselves do not pose a health hazard, they have to be buried as soon
as possible so that they dont contaminate water supply or get eaten by stray animals.
The onslaught of Yolanda left more than 6,000 people dead and close to 2,000 missing, based on official
estimates.

NBI takes 2 witnesses in NAIA shooting
By Edu Punay (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 31, 2013 - 12:00am
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MANILA, Philippines - The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has in its custody two eyewitnesses in the
killing of Mayor Ukol Talumpa of Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur and three others at the Ninoy Aquino
International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 last Dec. 20.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima revealed that the two witnesses have been placed under protective custody of
the Witness Protection Program of the Department of Justice (DOJ) after they submitted their
statements.
The two witnesses stood three feet away from Talumpa during the shooting incident at the loading bay at the
arrival area of the airport.
The NBI is also under the administrative supervision of the DOJ.
Talumpa, his wife Lea, nephew Saripuden and 18-month-old Philip Thomas Estuesta were killed during the
attack.

Consumers urged to patronize locally
grown round fruits
By Eva Visperas (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 31, 2013 - 12:00am
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DAGUPAN CITY , Philippines Since Filipinos tend to buy round fruits for good luck to usher in the new year,
the Department of Agriculture (DA) is calling on consumers to patronize locally grown fruits to help local
farmers.
By buying fruits that are planted, cultivated, harvested and sold locally, we help our own farmers earn more
from their hard work, and at the same time, encourage more production of these commodities, Agriculture
Secretary Proceso Alcala was quoted as saying in a report on the Philippine Information Agencys website.
After all, locally grown round fruits abound, and they are as good, if not better, than the imported ones in terms
of taste and nutritional value, he added.
Every New Years Eve, Filipino families place 12 fruits, representing the 12 months of the year, on their dining
table for decoration as well as to feast on during the media noche.
The 12 lucky fruits that the DA has suggested people buy are rambutan, guyabano (sour sop), atis (custard
apple), caimito (star apple), coconut, lanzones, bayabas (guava), mabolo (butterfruit or velvet apple), dalandan
(native orange), pineapple, melon and chico.
Consumers may also opt for Davao fruits such as pomelo and mangosteen. For those who love exotic fruits,
they may try indigenous fruits such as sapinit or local wild raspberry.
The DA has been advocating increased consumption of fruits and vegetables to improve the nutritional
condition of adults and children.
The latest available nutritional data indicated that Filipinos have been eating fewer vegetables and fruits from
1978 to 2008, with average per capita consumption of vegetables at 110 grams (down from 145 grams in 1978)
and fruits at 54 grams (from 104 grams in 1978.)
Released in December 2012 by the National Statistical Coordination Board, the survey also suggested that the
countrys consumption of vegetables and fruits was among the lowest in Asia.
The World Health Organization recommends a daily intake of 400 grams of vegetables and fruits per person
(150 kilograms per year) to help prevent vitamin and mineral deficiencies as well as heart disease, some
cancers, diabetes, obesity and other so-called lifestyle diseases.

PNP seals guns of security guards
By Cecille Suerte Felipe (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 31, 2013 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - With the number of victims of stray bullets increasing, even the muzzles of the
firearms of some security guards in Quezon City were sealed with masking tape to prevent them from
firing indiscriminately during the New Year revelry.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) recorded 12 victims of stray bullets in different parts of the country
last Monday.
Officials of the PNPs Supervisory Office for Security and Investigation Agencies (SOSIA) held a
ceremonial sealing of firearms in front of the Smart-Araneta Coliseum in Cubao, Quezon City yesterday
morning.
Senior Superintendent Dominador Tubon, chief of the SOSIA Management Division, said that the PNP
decided to seal not only the muzzle of the firearms of policemen but even security guards to boost their
campaign against illegal discharge of weapons.
Tubon said that the SOSIA directed all operators, managers and officers of private security, police
detective agency, company guard forces and government security units to seal the muzzles of their
firearms.
The sealing of all firearms of security officers started Monday and would be removed on Thursday or Jan.
2, after the New Year revelry.
Tubon said SOSIA director Chief Superintendent Tomas Rentoy III issued the memorandum to all
security agency operators in connection with the PNPs simultaneous implementation of sealing of the
muzzles of service firearms of policemen nationwide.
Rentoy said the directive was issued to private security and investigation and government security units
to prevent the indiscriminate firing of guns in greeting the New Year.
He said that private and government security agencies and private investigating agencies are required to
submit a compliance report and pictures to the SOSIA before Jan. 15.
Rentoy warned that a security agency or security personnel who fail to follow the directive will face
appropriate charges or may be dismissed from the service. The military
yesterday warned soldiers against indiscriminate firing during the New Year revelry, saying violators may
be jailed or dismissed from the service.
We remind our soldiers to exercise utmost responsibility in handling their firearms, Armed Forces public
affairs chief Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said.
He said there is no need to muzzle soldiers firearms, noting that they are already aware of the policy
against unauthorized use of weapons. The policy applies even to soldiers who are on vacation, he added.
Army spokesman Capt. Anthony Bacus said they would strictly implement the policy against
indiscriminate firing.
It is clear to every Army personnel that firing their weapons indiscriminately is punishable under the
Articles of War, Bacus said.
Bacus noted that illegal discharge of firearm might result in demotion or dismissal from the military
service.
Bacus said all field commanders have been reminded to consistently monitor their subordinates to ensure
that the policy is enforced.
Illegal discharge of firearm is also punishable under Article 254 of Republic Act 3815, or the Revised
Penal Code. Under the law, violators will be slapped with a jail term from six months and one day to six
years.
Senior Superintendent Wilben Mayor, spokesman for the PNP chief, said stray bullets have already
victimized 12 persons from Dec. 16 to 30. The latest victim was identified as Joseph Lopez, 30, of
Marikina City, who was hit in the upper portion of his right chest. With Alexis Romero
AFP reminds soldiers vs indiscriminate
firing
By Alexis Romero (philstar.com) | Updated December 30, 2013 - 5:54pm
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MANILA, Philippines - The military on Monday warned soldiers against indiscriminate firing during the New
Year revelries, saying violators may be jailed or dismissed from the service.
We remind our soldiers to exercise utmost responsibility in handling their firearms, Armed Forces public
affairs chief Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said in an interview.
Zagala said there is no need to muzzle soldiers firearms, adding that they are aware of the policy against
unauthorized use of weapons. The policy applies even to soldiers who are on vacation, he added.
Army spokesman Cpt. Anthony Bacus said they would strictly implement the policy against indiscriminate firing.
It is clear to every Army personnel that firing their weapons indiscriminately is punishable under the Articles of
War, Bacus said.
Bacus noted that illegal discharge of firearm may result in demotion or dismissal from the military service.
Those who would be found guilty of violating this will be dealt with accordingly, he said.
Bacus said all field commanders have been reminded to consistently monitor their respective subordinates to
ensure that the policy is enforced.
It is our duty to be role model citizens to others, Bacus said.
Illegal discharge of firearm is also punishable under Article 254 of Republic Act 3815, or the Revised Penal
Code. Under the law, violators will be slapped with a jail term that lasts from six months and one day to six
years.
Lone bettor from Negros Oriental wins
P30.5M Superlotto
By Mike Frialde (philstar.com) | Updated December 30, 2013 - 5:24pm
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MANILA, Philippines - A lone bettor from Negros Oriental won last Sunday's superlotto draw and became
P30.5-million richer.
Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) General Manager Jose Ferdinand Rojas said the winner placed
the winning combination of 45-39-34-21-05-19.
Rojas said the bet was placed at the PCSO outlet in Bacong, Negros Oriental.
Rojas said the lone bettor has yet to claim his prize.
Based on PCSO records, the biggest Lotto prize ever won was in the November 2010 draw, when a lone bettor
bagged P741.176 million for getting the winning combination of 11-16-42-47-31-37.
A lone bettor also won the jackpot prize of the Superlotto 6/49 draw last December 12 amounting to P126.35
million with a winning combination of 12-08-37-17-20-09.
For the month of November, four instant millionaires were added in the roster as they bagged the jackpot in the
PCSO's lotto draws.
On Nov. 27, the P32.8-million jackpot prize was won by a bettor in the Megalotto 6/45 draw with a winning
combination of 15-37-16-03-38-43.
A lone bettor also won the jackpot in the Lotto 6/42 draw with the combination of 28-30-02-03-08-42 on Nov. 9
pocketing the P56.23 million prize.
On Nov. 7, a lone bettor got the Megalotto 6/45 jackpot of P73.81 million with a winning combination of 01-12-
25-28-37-27.
On Nov. 4, a lone bettor got the PCSO Grand Lotto jackpot of P148.27 million by getting the combination of
26-47-50-48-28-55.
PNoy: No time to waste in my final years
By Louis Bacani (philstar.com) | Updated December 30, 2013 - 4:49pm
MANILA, Philippines - Much has been accomplished in 2013 but more needs to be done in his remaining
years in office, President Benigno Aquino III said Monday.
In his videotaped message for the New Years celebration, Aquino said several achievements were made
this year despite the overlapping problems that the country faced.
And as he looked back to the year that was, Aquino also assured the public that no time and effort will be
put into waste during the second half of his presidency.
"Papasok na naman po tayo sa panibagong taon sa pagtahak sa tuwid na daan. At kumbaga po sa
larong basketball, papasok na rin tayo sa last two minutes: Sa natitirang yugto ng ating termino, wala
tayong sasayanging sandali," Aquino said.
The President recounted the country's accomplishments this year, particularly in fighting corruption.
He noted that the Philippines' rankings in the Transparency International Corruption Index have climbed
under his leadership while justice is close at hand in the alleged pork barrel mess.
"Patuloy po tayong naglalatag ng mga mekanismo upang siguruhing ang pera ng taumbayan ay
mapupunta sa taumbayan lamang," Aquino said.
In terms of economic achievements, Aquino recounted that the country's gross domestic product was the
highest recorded in Southeast Asia while three major credit rating agencies gave for the first time the
Philippines an investment grade status this year.
Aquino also mentioned the developments in the Muslim south with the first synchronization of the ARMM
elections and national polls this year.
The government also made progress in peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front with the
signing of some of the annexes for the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro.
"Malinaw po: Dahil sa mas maayos na pamamalakad, natitibag na ang mga huling balwarte ng katiwalian,
at patuloy tayong nakakapaglatag ng pagkakataon para sa ating mga kababayan," the President said.
While the country moves into the final years of his administration, Aquino admits that those from the "old
system" are "desperate" to thwart his administration's goals.
"At gaya rin po sa basketball, hanggang sa huling yugto ay may hinaharap tayong mga barikada. Batid
nating hindi basta-basta titiklop ang mga latak ng lumang sistema; habang lumalapit tayo sa ating
tagumpay, lalo rin naman silang magiging desperado at magtatangkang idiskaril ang ating agenda,"
Aquino said.
But the President said Filipinos will remain resilient in facing the challenges ahead, similar to what they
have shown this year after deadly disasters devastated several parts of the country.
"Bilang bayan na may kolektibong layunin, nagpakita tayo ng pambihirang gilas ngayong taon sa kabila
ng patung-patong na pagsubok na ating pinagdaanan. Talagang marami po tayong napagtagumpayan
ngayong 2013," he said.
"Alam din po nating mayroon pang mga kalamidad na susubok sa ating katatagan bilang bayan. Pero,
lagi nating handang patunayan: manggulo man ang masasamang loob, yanigin man tayo ng lindol o
hagupitin ng bagyo, mangingibabaw pa rin ang lakas ng ating bayanihan."
Aquino also reminded Filipinos to stay along the straight path while the government will remain open to
suggestions in reforming the country.
Group accuses Deles of lying on peace
deal with NDF
MANILA, Philippines - Rights group Karapatan on Monday accused Presidential Adviser on the Peace
Process Teresita Deles of lying when she said the Aquino administration will not close the peace
negotiation with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines.
Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay said Deles should be reminded that it was government of
the Philippines peace panel head Alex Padilla and the Aquino administration which first unilaterally
declared the termination of the peace negotiations in April 2013.
"Deles is either suffering from amnesia or she has been simply lying all throughout when she said that the
GPH will not close the peace table to those who wanted to pursue the peace negotiations between the
GPH and the NDFP," Palabay said.
"Deles is passing the blame on the other party when from the very start the GPH has done everything to
scuttle the talks and play it according to its interest, but never has it shown any respect for the previous
peace agreements, nor has it been true to its commitments in the peace negotiations," she added.
Palabay cited that the government still continues to violate the Comprehensive Agreement on Respect for
Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law and the Joint Agreement on Safety and Immunity
Guarantees.
Palabay said the alleged infractions resulted in 152 extrajudicial killings of activists and civilians, 600
illegal arrests, arrests and detention of peace consultants, and the highly irregular conviction of one of the
consultants.
"The GPH is using the peace negotiations to pursue their counter-insurgency policy Oplan Bayanihan,
which does not respect the rights of civilians and combatants.
"Through Oplan Bayanihan, they wanted to quell the insurgency through military and psywar tactics,
including its posture during peace negotiations, but in fact they are blocking all roads towards respect for
political and civil rights, economic and social reforms," Palabay said.
9 of 10 Pinoys hopeful in New Year -
survey
By Louis Bacani (philstar.com) | Updated December 30, 2013 - 11:49am
MANILA, Philippines - After a year marked by deadly disasters, 94 percent of Filipinos will still welcome
2014 with hope rather than fear, according to a recent survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations
(SWS).
The survey results showed that like in the previous years, hopefulness of the coming New Year remains
widespread in Balance Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, and the National Capital Region.
"Compared to those who entered 2013 with hope, the percentages of those who will enter 2014 New Year
with hope increased in Mindanao but hardly changed in the other three areas," the SWS said.
Ninety-seven percent and 93 percent of the respondents in Balance Luzon and in Visayas, respectively,
will greet 2014 with hope rather than fear.
It was a record-high in Balance Luzon while the figure in Visayas was unchanged from last year, despite
the disasters that the area faced this year such as the magnitude 7.2 Bohol earthquake and Super
Typhoon "Yolanda."
In Mindanao, the 92 percent who will enter 2014 with hope is seven points higher than the 85 percent in
2012.
In Metro Manila, the 91 percent who will welcome the New Year with hope was about the same as the 93
percent recorded last year.
According to the SWS, the 94 percent hopeful of the coming 2014 is the second-highest recorded since
the all-time high 95 percent that was first achieved in 2002 and again in 2011.
Last year, the number of hopeful Pinoys was at 92 percent.
"Hope with the coming year has customarily been at high levels, starting at 87 percent when SWS first
polled about it in December 2000 and 88 percent in December 2001," the SWS said.
The polling firm said New Year hope is higher among those who expected a happy Christmas this year
than among those who expected a sad holiday.
Of the 62 percent who expected a happy 2013 Christmas, 96 percent also look forward to 2014 with
hope.
On the other hand, of the nine percent who expected a sad Christmas, 84 percent are hopeful and 16
percent are fearful of the coming New Year.
The SWS survey was conducted from December 11 to 16 using face-to-face interviews of 1,550 adults
nationwide.
Firework injuries climb to 244
By Louis Bacani (philstar.com) | Updated December 30, 2013 - 10:16am
MANILA, Philippines - The number of firework-related injuries has increased to 244, Health Assistant
Secretary Eric Tayag said Monday.
In his Twitter account, Tayag said 238 firework injuries, one case of firecracker ingestion, and five stray
bullet cases have been recorded as of 6 a.m. today.
Of the 238 injuries, 153 were caused by the prohibited firecracker "piccolo."
So far, the number of injuries related to the New Year revelries remains lower than that of 2012.
Tayag said for the same period last year, 185 firework-related injuries, one firecracker ingestion and two
stray bullet cases were recorded.
Still no justice for Stephanie Nicole
By Rey Galupo (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 30, 2013 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - Justice remains elusive for Stephanie Nicole Ella, the seven-year-old girl killed by a
stray bullet during the 2012 New Years Eve revelry in Caloocan City.
Stephanie Nicole was watching fireworks outside her home in Malaria district when a stray bullet hit her in
the head.
The victims family will mark her first death anniversary on Jan. 2, but the one who fired the gun that killed
her remains scot-free.
Her death sparked outrage and revived calls for a total gun ban.
The victims family had expressed disappointment over the failure of authorities to arrest the suspect in
the killing of Stephanie Nicole.
Her family moved to Las Pias City to forget the tragedy that befell them but the thought that the killer of
Stephanie Nicole is still on the loose keeps haunting them.
We still cry for justice for Nicole and hope that she will be the last victim of indiscriminate firing. We do
not want other families to suffer the pain of losing a loved one the way we did, the girls father, Aquilino
Ella Jr., said in a television interview.
Police have questioned several suspects in Stephanie Nicoles death but no one has been charged.
Meanwhile, the Caloocan police have launched Oplan Bandillo to crack down on loose firearms that could
be used in indiscriminate firing to welcome the New Year.
NBI probe clears congressmen in fake
SAROs
(The Philippine Star) | Updated December 30, 2013 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - Justice Secretary Leila de Lima yesterday cleared members of the House of
Representatives allegedly involved in the falsification of special allotment release orders (SAROs).
De Lima said the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has found no evidence showing possible
connivance of any lawmaker with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) gang led by a
certain supremo that produces fake SAROs by superimposing specimen signatures on photocopied
copies of the document.
So far there is no indication that the congressmen were aware of such scheme. Only those in the level of
congressional staffs are involved, she said.
She said the fake SAROs for two projects in Cagayan and Aklan provinces under Rep. Teodoro Haresco
were found to have been manufactured by the DBM gang allegedly in cahoots with a consultant of the
lawmaker.
Initial results of the NBI probe showed that the secretary, driver and janitor of DBM Undersecretary Mario
Relampagos were involved in the racket.
But De Lima stressed that the NBI has yet to conclude the investigation.
We are still trying to find out if higher officials were involved. That is what we are looking into, she said.
De Lima added that probers are in the process of identifying other DBM and congressional personnel who
participated in the scam.
She said the NBI would determine how long the group had been operating and whether they were able to
get government funds in previous operations.
Earlier, the justice chief confirmed that the NBI had unmasked supremo apparently a woman and her
cohorts.
But she did not reveal their identities pending further validation.
NBI agents found out that the group kept signatures of approving authorities, which they superimposed
on unsigned, photocopied SAROs.
The NBI discovered that the group would photocopy advanced copies of the unsigned SAROs and then
superimpose signatures on them before duplicating the documents again. After the SAROs were
photocopied several times, the fake signatures would seem to appear authentic.
Of the 12 SAROs being probed by the NBI, it was verified that two from Regions 1 and 6 involving
projects worth P161 million and P77 million, respectively, were indeed fake.
But the fake SAROs were not encashed as the projects were cancelled.
The other questionable SAROs involved projects in Calabarzon (Region 4A) and Soccsksargen (Region
12). SARO is a document issued by the DBM for actual release of funds for projects.
De Lima has given the NBI until end of next month to complete the probe.
Except for differences in font styles, the fake SAROs contained the same SARO numbers, codes, amount
of money, dates and name of signatories as the authentic ones.
The fake SAROs were discovered last November at the height of the pork barrel fund mess involving
businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles who allegedly used nonexistent foundations to divert Priority
Development Assistance Fund and Malampaya funds with the help of several lawmakers and
implementing government agencies.

Electricity prices seen to stabilize
By Iris Gonzales (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 30, 2013 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - Electricity prices are expected to stabilize in the long run as power regulators work
on a more permanent offer price cap to prevent future power rate increases.
The Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM) is the countrys trading floor for electricity, while the price
cap is the highest offer that power sellers can give.
Regulators lowered the price cap to P32 per kilowatt-hour from P62 per kwh previously but the new rate
is temporary and good only for 90 days.
In a joint resolution, the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), Department of Energy (DOE) and WESM
operator Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC) said: It is understood that this new offer price cap is
interim in nature while the WESM Design Study in ongoing. The new and revised Offer Price Cap will be
subjected to a public consultation and will be subject to the regular review and adjustments by the WESM
Tripartite Committee.
PEMC is awaiting results of a commissioned study on WESM on how to improve the efficiency of the
trading floor. The ERC, DOE and the PEMC make up the tripartite committee that monitors price
volatilities on the spot market.
PEMC is directed to submit a study on the appropriate Offer Price Cap within 30 days from the issuance
of this joint resolution, the ERC, DOE and PEMC said in the Dec. 27 joint resolution.
Power regulators decided to lower the offer price cap because of high market prices at the WESM, which
may translate to considerable increases in the distribution utilities generation charges.
Efforts to improve operations at the WESM to avoid spikes in prices arose from the record increase in
generation charge of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), the countrys biggest power distributor, of P3.44 per
kilowatt-hour in December.
This, in turn, arose from the one-month maintenance shutdown of the Malampaya gas field, which
supplies natural gas to three power plants in Luzon, and from high prices at the WESM, where Meralco
also sources part of its power requirements.
Meralco officials attributed the high prices at the trading floor to tight supply because of emergency
shutdowns of power plants.
The three plants sourcing power from Malampaya are the 1,200 MW Ilijan combined cycle natural gas
plant owned by Kepco Philippines Corp. and the 1,000 MW Sta. Rita and 500 MW San Lorenzo natural
gas facilities owned by First Gen Corp. of the Lopez group.
In a radio interview, Sen. Sergio Osmea III said yesterday the P32 per kilowatt-hour ceiling price at the
WESM will likely be made permanent.
It is good that they already acted on the price cap, he said, adding P62 is too high, I can see that P32
per kwh will be very acceptable... there will still be bidders.
Osmea said he has checked the sensibility analysis which showed that the new cap will still be a
competitive price for WESM trading.
We cannot be sure if the market will work perfectly... Even in the other countries they experience hiccups
and pneumonia... We can adjust this, he said.
Osmea said the WESM is like the stock market.
We are always waiting and watching, he said. We are ready to jump if the public requires it.
Osmea said he hopes that President Aquino would have Congress amend Presidential Decree 910
allowing the administration to tap about P10 billion of the Malampaya fund to subsidize the recent
increases of Meralco.
The Senate can pass the amendments to the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) and other
pertinent bills once Aquino certifies them as urgent, he added.
Lawmakers want Bonifacio recognized
as first Phl president
By Paolo Romero (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 30, 2013 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - Lawmakers from the so-called Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives pushed
for the passage of a resolution recognizing Andres Bonifacio as the first president of the Philippine republic.
The lawmakers filed House Resolution 651 seeking to recognize Bonifacio as the countrys first president and
urging President Aquino to institute, through the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Commission on
Higher Education (CHED), measures to disseminate what they said was a historical fact in history books in
elementary, high school, and tertiary education, and other related medium of information.
Reps. Luzviminda Ilagan and Emmerenciana de Jesus (Gabriela party-list), Neri Colmenares and Carlos
Zarate (Bayan Muna party-list), Antonio Tinio (Act Teachers party-list), Fernando Hicap (Anakpawis party-list),
and Terry Ridon (Kabataan party-list) authored the measure.
They said based on original and authentic documents of the Philippine Revolution against Spain, and as
attested by historians of note such as Milagros Guerrero, Emmanuel Encarnacion and Ramon Villegas,
Bonifacio founded the first national government of the Philippines and served as its president from Aug. 24,
1896 until his tragic death on May 10, 1897.
The authors said on Aug. 24, 1896, at the convention of the Kataastaasang Kapulungan or National Assembly
of the Katipunan at Melchora Aquinos barn in Barrio Banlat, now part of Caloocan, the assembly passed three
major resolutions: First, they declared a nationwide armed revolution against Spain; second, they established a
national government, and third, they elected officials who would lead the nation and the army.
Assembled at the convention were members of the Kataastaasang Kapulungan (Supreme Council), as well as
the pangulo (heads) of the sanggunian (supra-municipal) and barangay chapter-units, the lawmakers said.
Aside from Manila, the Katipunan then had sizeable chapters in Batangas, Laguna, Cavite, Rizal, Bulacan,
Pampanga, Tarlac and Nueva Ecija, and smaller chapters in Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, Pangasinan and the Bicol
region. Estimates of its membership vary between 30,000 and 400,000, they said.
Since the convention, the Katipunan, under Bonifacios leadership, ceased being a secret society and was
forced to come out in the open as a revolutionary government with its own laws, bureaucratic structure and
elective leadership, according to researches of John Taylor, Gregorio Zaide and Teodoro Agoncillo, the
lawmakers said.
Taylor, an American military historian and custodian of the Philippine Insurgent Records, interpreted the
documents that he saw: The Katipunan came out from the cover of secret designs, threw off the cloak of any
other purpose, and stood openly for the independence of the Philippines. Bonifacio turned his (Masonic)
lodges into battalions, his grandmasters into captains, and the supreme council of the Katipunan into the
insurgent government of the Philippines.
The lawmakers said the August 1896 transformation of the Katipunan into a revolutionary government and the
ensuing election of Bonifacio to the presidency were also confirmed by Pio Valenzuela in his testimony before
Spanish authorities upon his surrender on Sept. 2, 1896.
The lawmakers also cited at least three letters and an appointment paper, addressed to Emilio Jacinto and
written by Bonifacio on printed letterheads dated from March 8 to April 24, 1897, Bonifacios titles and
designations were varyingly described as follows: Pangulo ng Kataastaasang Kapulungan (President of the
Supreme Council), Ang Kataastaasang Pangulo (The Supreme President), Pangulo ng Haring Bayang
Katagalugan (President of the Sovereign Nation of Katagalugan), Ang Pangulo ng Haring Bayan (The
President of the Sovereign Nation), Maytayo ng K.K.Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (Founder of the
K.K.Katipunan), Unang Naggalaw ng Panghihimagsik (Initiator of the Revolution), and Kataastaasang
Panguluhan, Pamahalaang Panghihimagsik (Office of the Supreme President, Government of the Revolution).
During those times the term Tagalog encompassed the whole archipelago and not just Luzon.
They said based on the book Andres Bonifacio and the 1896 Revolution by Guerrero, Encarnacion and
Villegas published on June 16, 2003 the Kartilya (Primer) of the Katipunan defines Tagalog, derived from
taga-ilog (from/of the river), as all those born in this archipelago therefore, though Visayan, Ilocano,
Pampango, etc. they are all Tagalogs.
In defining Tagalog as the term for all Filipinos, and Katagalugan as the countrys name in lieu of Filipinas,
which had colonial origins, Bonifacio and the Katipunan sought to define a national identity.
Noy to lead Rizal Day rites in Tarlac
By Delon Porcalla (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 30, 2013 - 12:00am
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MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino will lead todays commemoration of the death of Dr. Jose Rizal in
simple rites at his hometown in Tarlac City, a first since he assumed office in 2010.
Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. of the Presidential Communications Operations Office said the ceremonies will
be held at the Rizal Park in Tarlac City, where Aquino will hoist the Philippine flag.
The flag-raising ceremonies will likewise be simultaneously held in all cities across the country, where civic
groups and other citizens will commemorate the death of Rizal in December 1896 in Bagumbayan, now called
the Luneta Park.
Coloma said Aquino would proceed to Tarlac City from his three-day vacation in Baguio City.
That has been the advisory that we received in joining the Rizal Day celebration, that he will lead the
ceremonies in Tarlac City, he said.
Malacaang earlier urged government and private institutions to lower the Philippine flag to half-mast in
observance and commemoration of Rizals death anniversary today.
The Army will participate in activities that will commemorate the 117th death anniversary of Rizal.
Army spokesman Capt. Anthony Bacus said Army chief Lt. Gen. Noel Coballes would join President Aquino in
the flag-raising and wreath-laying rites to be held today at the Rizal monument in Tarlac City.
Army Vice Commander Maj. Gen. Romulo Cabantac will serve as a military co-host of the wreath offering at the
Rizal monument in Manila to be attended by Vice President Jejomar Binay.
We take this opportunity to once again remind our government bodies of Republic Act 229, which requires all
institutions to lower the flag to half-mast in solemn commemoration of Dr. Rizals ultimate sacrifice,
Undersecretary Abigail Valte said.
RA 229 also strictly forbids cockfighting, horse racing, and jai alai games every Dec. 30, with criminal
punishment in the form of fines or imprisonment, or both, for any official, citizen, or public or private institution
that violates this law.
Valte also announced that the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office would
launch a special website page on Rizal.
It will feature a comprehensive essay, archival photo galleries, an architectural retrospective, and contextual
maps focusing on the Rizal Monument and on the Bagumbayan of history a tract of land that has been an
integral part of the narrative of Philippine independence, she said.
The special page will also feature, for the first time, a full translation of the famous essay: The Tagalog Hamlet
by the Spanish Basque writer Miguel de Unamuno, one of the earliest and most influential reflections on Rizal,
whom Unamuno described as The Tagalog Christ.
As in previous years, hundreds are again expected to gather today at the worlds biggest Rizal shrine in
Bayombong, Nueva Ecija, to commemorate the heros martyrdom.
Mahmoud Ashfour, a naturalized Filipino citizen from Jordan who financed the development of the 7.2- hectare
Rizal shrine, said that visitors as far as from Laoag City in Ilocos Norte and Tuguegarao City in Cagayan have
started arriving at the sprawling shrine yesterday to take part in todays commemoration of Rizals death.
Most of the visitors are members of the Knights of Rizal as well as the Freemasons, which count Rizal as a
brother mason. The management of the shrine, however, remains with Ashfour who is a wealthy businessman.
This is a manifestation of my extreme admiration, love and respect for the Filipinos, Asfour said.
Nestled along a hill at the outskirts of Casat village, the Rizal shrine is touted to be the worlds largest where
stands a 16-meter tall statue of the national hero.
Made of bronze weighing some 2.5 tons including its base, the statue lies imposingly atop Casat hill,
overlooking the expanse of fields here and in neighboring Solano town.
The shrine also features smaller bronze busts of other Filipino heroes, among them Andres Bonifacio, Gen.
Emilio Aguinaldo, Gen. Antonio Luna, Lapu-Lapu, Sultan Kudarat, Emilio Jacinto, Apolinario Mabini, Rajah
Soliman and Gabriela Silang.
Bayombong Bishop Ramon Villena and then Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile inaugurated the Rizal shrine
and statue in July 2009.
The National Historical Commission of the Philippines also has its historical marker there in recognition of the
shrines existence since June 2011. With Alexis Romero, Charlie Lagasca

Yolanda death toll reaches 6,155
By Alexis Romero (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 30, 2013 - 12:00am
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MANILA, Philippines - The death toll from Typhoon Yolanda has reached 6,155, the National Disaster Risk
Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said yesterday.
The number of fatalities can still rise as field units continue to retrieve bodies in typhoon-hit areas in the
Visayas, according to the NDRRMC. The number of missing persons went up to 1,785 from 1,779.
However, it was unclear whether the cadavers that remain unburied in Tacloban, estimated at around 1,400,
were included in the NDRRMC statistics. Concerns have been raised over the health risks posed by the rotting
bodies to the typhoon survivors.
Reports earlier said that the processing of bodies had been suspended as forensic experts went on holiday
break.
The NDRRMC said new fatalities were reported in Iloilo.
The typhoon has affected more than 16 million people or about 3.42 million families in nine regions.
Of the affected residents, 4,095,280 people or 890,895 families were displaced. A total of 101,527 people or
20,924 families are still staying in 381 evacuation centers.
Damage to infrastructure and agriculture has reached P36.69 billion. The figure does not include the 1,140,332
houses destroyed by the typhoon.
The National Economic and Development Authority earlier said that around P361 billion is needed to support
the recovery and reconstruction efforts in affected areas.
The total investment requirements for reconstruction will cover shelter and resettlement (P183.3 billion), public
infrastructure (P28.4 billion), education and health services (P37.4 billion), agriculture (P18.7 billion), industry
and services (P70.6 billion), local government (P4 billion), and social protection (P18.4 billion).

FDA warns public vs eating leftovers
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MANILA, Philippines - The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cautioned the public on the risks of eating
leftovers during the holidays.
Acting FDA director general Kenneth Hartigan-Go said certain measures must be observed to prevent leftovers
from becoming a source of food-borne diseases this holiday season.
Go said leftover food often accounts for more than half of whats inside the refrigerator during the holidays, thus
they must be managed and properly stored.
He said people must ensure their refrigerators are working and maintain temperatures that could prevent
bacterial growth.
Refrigerator must not be overstocked because it prevents air circulation and causes hot spots, he said.
While noting that the lowest part of the refrigerator is the coldest aside from the chiller, Go said leftovers must
also be stored in airtight containers, preferably three inches in height to allow food to cool quickly.
Clear plastic containers are also recommended since they serve as reminder that you cannot store food for a
long period of time.
Organize your refrigerator so that the leftovers are at eye level, he said.
Go said it is more efficient to freeze leftovers in small portions since this ensures thawing of what you only need
for one meal.
Frequent thawing of leftovers encourage bacterial growth and increases chances of bacterial contamination,
he said.
Food should be reheated only once and the uneaten portion should be thrown away because of toxins that
could have accumulated after repeated reheating.
The FDA further advised the public to plan their meals each time to minimize leftovers and prevent food
wastage.
Never rely on your eyes and nose or even your taste buds. When in doubt, throw the food away from human
and animal food scavengers, the FDA said.
For those who may be experiencing symptoms of food-borne diseases, Go advised immediate medical
consultation.
DOTC may release new plates for motor
vehicles next year
By Lawrence Agcaoili (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 30, 2013 - 12:00am
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MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) may release the new
and redesigned license plates for motor vehicles and motorcycles early next year once the P3.85-billion
standardization program is threshed out.
Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said the DOTC is resolving the issue with the Department of
Budget and Management (DBM) for the release of the new plates originally set last September.
We have been working hard with DBM to iron out small quality differences. Hopefully, we get a solution early
next year, Abaya stressed.
The agencies are resolving a financial management issue involving the release of funds for the project that
involves a five-year contract.
Last Aug. 13, DOTC spokesperson Michael Arthur Sagcal announced that brand new license plates patterned
after parts of Europe and Singapore would be released in September.
This after the joint committee of the DOTC and Land Transportation Office (LTO) awarded to the joint venture
of the Netherlands J. Knieriem B.V. Goes (JKG) and Power Plates Development Concepts Inc. the five-year
contract for the project.
The license plates would feature the new alphanumeric design such as three-letter and four-number
combination for motor vehicles and two-letter and five-number combination for motorcycles.
Currently, motor vehicle plates have three letters and three numbers while motorcycles have two letters and
four numbers. The current license plate design and font have been in use since 1981.
The license plates would come in a black-and-white design patterned after advanced countries.
Security features of the new plates include laser-etched bar codes containing selective data inputs, reflective
sheeting material with security images, and anodized bolt heads as well as screws and nuts.
JKG-Power Plates proposed to supply the motor vehicle plates for a total cost of P1.98 billion while Industrias
Samart-Datatrail offered a higher amount of P2.03 billion. Both bids are lower than the ceiling price of P2.356
billion.
On the other hand, the JKG-Power Plates pegged the cost for supply of motorcycle plates at P1.196 billion
while Industrias Samart-Datatrail offered a higher amount of P1.275 billion. Both bids were also lower than the
ceiling price of P1.495 billion.
The JKG-Power Plates tandem priced the plates for motor vehicles at P380 per pair and P120 per plate for
motorcycles while Industrias Samart-Datatrail priced motor vehicle plates at P388.05 per pair and P128 per
piece for motorcycles.

PAF welcomes supply deal boosting
helicopter fleet
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MANILA, Philippines - The Air Force welcomed yesterday the defense departments confirmation of a winner in
the long-delayed UH-1 helicopter acquisition project.
Air Force spokesman Col. Miguel Okol said the 21 helicopters to be acquired from two North American firms
would boost their disaster response and security capabilities.
That will definitely be a welcome addition to the fleet. We expect to increase our tactical helicopter lift
capabilities as well as increase our support for national development, he said.
The STAR earlier reported that a joint venture of two North American companies has bagged the deal to supply
21 UH-1 or Huey combat utility helicopters for the Air Force.
The joint venture of American company Rice Aircraft Services Inc. and Canadian firm Eagle Copters Ltd. won
the contract for the supply and delivery of the Huey helicopters.
The government has allotted P1.26 billion for the acquisition of the Hueys, considered as the workhorse of the
militarys operations.
Defense Assistant Secretary Patrick Velez previously said the helicopters would be bought for about P1.25
million less than the approved budget.
The Air Force will use the helicopters for search and rescue efforts.
The winning bidder is required to start the delivery of the helicopters within six months.

CHED seeks private sectors help in
repairing damaged schools
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MANILA, Philippines - The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) yesterday sought the private sectors
help in repairing public higher education institutions (HEIs) damaged by Typhoon Yolanda last month.
CHED Chairman Patricia Licuanan said 44 HEIs in the Visayas and parts of southern Luzon were destroyed by
Yolanda.
Of the 44 HEIs, 22 are state universities and colleges, 20 are private and two are local universities and
colleges.
Licuanan said the cost of damage to public and private HEIs was estimated at P4.8 billion.
With the limited resources allocated for public HEIs, Licuanan called on private companies to get involved in
the governments rehabilitation efforts.
We have presented to Secretary (Panfilo) Lacson the damage incurred by HEIs from Yolanda, she said.
President Aquino recently appointed Lacson as rehabilitation czar for the Visayas.
CHED has ordered tertiary schools in Yolanda-hit areas to resume classes on Jan. 15.
There are 25,000 college students 6,000 in public and 19,000 in private schools in the affected regions,
according to CHED.

Over P700 M in fines, penalties await ex-
AFP comptroller
By Michael Punongbayan (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 29, 2013 - 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines - Former military comptroller Carlos Garcia is not going to get away with allegedly stealing
P303 million in public funds by only returning P135.4 million worth of his alleged unexplained wealth under a
controversial plea bargaining agreement.
Sources revealed the Sandiganbayan is getting ready to order the retired military general to pay a hefty fine of
P700 million for the admitted crime of direct bribery alone.
The amount Garcia was going to be directed to pay would be on top of, or apart from, what he had already
surrendered under the plea bargaining agreement and his separate charge of facilitating money laundering for
which he will be fined another P2 million.
Sources revealed Garcia will actually be paying more than double what he allegedly stole from government
coffers while spending at least 13 more years behind bars seven years for direct bribery and six for facilitating
money laundering to be served successively and not simultaneously for crimes he pleaded guilty to in
December 2010.
Sandiganbayan officials, who knew of the fate awaiting Garcia, said this should put to rest all suspicions that
the anti-graft court and Office of the Ombudsman prosecutors were about to let the former armed forces
comptroller get away with a light sentence after returning less than half of what he is accused of pocketing
through kickbacks and commissions from government contractors.
They said the public would be surprised by the grave penalty to be imposed on Garcia.
Sources said even Garcia, who entered into a plea bargaining agreement with government prosecutors to
escape plunder by pleading guilty to the lesser offenses of direct bribery and facilitating money laundering four
years ago, was not aware of what was coming.
When the Sandiganbayan denied the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG)s motion for intervention and motion
for reconsideration with finality in April 2013 where the alleged propriety and regularity of the plea bargaining
agreement was being questioned, the anti-graft courts special second division was ready to promulgate its
explosive decision.
Everything was preempted, however, by a petition filed before the Supreme Court questioning the legality of
the deal between Garcia and the Office of the Ombudsman, arising from the lone opposition of Associate
Justice Oscar Herrera.
Herrera, who was the only one who voted against the plea bargaining agreement in a division of five
Sandiganbayan justices, allegedly continued to block everything, believing the OSG was correct in questioning
the entire process.
When Herrera learned of what the sentence was going to be, he reportedly said he would neither concur with
nor dissent to the decision imposing prison years and a very huge fine against Garcia.
Sources said such opposition to the sentence was the real reason behind the reported fistfight that almost
erupted between him and Associate Justice Samuel Martires when the latter brought the whole matter before a
session of the Sandiganbayan where all magistrates were present.
No information on the sentence or penalty about to be slapped on Garcia was leaked until now because the
anti-graft court, though under attack and perceived to have done wrong because of a misinformed public, kept
silent while the case was brought before the Supreme Court where the OSGs petition awaits resolution and
while a temporary restraining order (TRO) barring the anti-graft court from further action is in effect.
Herrera refused to talk about the matter for the time being, noting the Garcia case is pending with the Supreme
Court.
Martires, on the other hand, could not be reached as he is reportedly on wellness leave.
US, Canada firms bag PAF Huey deal
MANILA, Philippines - A joint venture of two companies based in North America has bagged the deal to
supply 21 UH-1 combat utility helicopters to the Philippine Air Force.
The joint venture of American firm Rice Aircraft Services Inc. and Canadian company Eagle Copters Ltd.
won the contract for the supply and delivery of Huey helicopters, the workhorse of the militarys
operations.
The STAR learned that the notice of award was issued to the joint venture last week.
Defense Assistant Secretary Patrick Velez said in an interview the Huey helicopters can be used for
rescue and internal security operations.
The helicopters will be used to meet immediate requirements. They will be used to address the dwindling
capability of the Air Force, Velez said.
The approved outlay for the project was P1.26 billion, but the helicopters would be purchased for about
P1.25 million less than the approved budget for the contract, he added.
The supplier is expected to start delivery within six months.
The first delivery based on the requirements is six months but they might deliver that in as close as two
weeks, Velez said.
Earlier, the Defense department held three public biddings for the Huey helicopters acquisition project but
all of these failed due to the bidders failure to meet some requirements. The Defense department then
resorted to an alternative form of procurement to acquire the helicopters.
Officials said the procurement mode was similar to public bidding but without the publication
requirements. Under a public bidding, the procuring agency should publish a bid notice in newspapers
and the Philippine Government Electronic Procurement System website.
Section 53 of the implementing rules of the procurement law allows agencies to resort to a negotiated
procurement when there has been a failure of public bidding for the second time.
Negotiated procurement was defined as a method of procurement of goods, infrastructure projects and
consulting services, whereby the procuring entity directly negotiates a contract with a technically, legally
and financially capable supplier, contractor or consultant.
The 21 UH-1 helicopters were originally intended to perform poll-related duties last May but the
acquisition had been delayed by failed biddings.
Fighter jets
Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said the delivery of lead-in fighter trainer jets to be
acquired from South Korea may start in June 2015.
The government plans to spend P18.9 billion to acquire 12 FA-50 jets from South Korea to boost the Air
Forces territorial defense capabilities.
New Year war zones identified; injuries
hit 170
MANILA, Philippines - With the number of fireworks-related injuries increasing to 170, the Department of
Health (DOH) yesterday identified some of the most dangerous places in the country in terms of
firecracker use.
The DOH also called on authorities to implement a massive crackdown on oversized firecrackers.
Based on the DOHs Aksyon: Paputok Injury Reduction Registry, there are now 170 injuries from
firecrackers.
This is 10 percent higher than the five-year (2008-2012) average and three (two percent) cases higher
compared to the same time period last year, the DOH said.
Of the 170 cases, 164 were due to firecrackers and 49 of them were children less than 10 years old. The
ages of the victims ranged from one to 65 years.
The DOH registry revealed 78 of the cases came from Metro Manila, followed by Region 9 with 17 cases.
The number of fireworks ingestion remains at one and five, respectively.
The Philippine National Police (PNP) added 10 cases of injuries from stray bullets three in Metro
Manila, two in Region 4A, one in Region 5, two in Region 6, one in the Cordillera region, and another
case in Region 12 since Dec. 16.
Citing DOH records from 2010 and 2012, Health Assistant Secretary Eric Tayag identified Quezon City,
Pasig, Mandaluyong, Valenzuela, Marikina, Manila and Las Pias as the most dangerous for fireworks
injuries.
The most dangerous barangays, on the other hand, are Pinagbuhatan, Bagong Ilog, Pineda, Bambang,
San Miguel, Kapasigan, San Joaquin and Kalawaan in Pasig; Malanday, Concepcion Uno, Parang. and
Sto. Nio in Marikina; Pulang Lupa Uno, BF International Village, Talon Dos, Pulang Lupa Dos and
Fajardo in Las Pias.
Also included in the list are Gen. T. de Leon, Marulas, Karuhatan, Canumay, Malinta and Parada in
Valenzuela; Addition Hills, Hulo, Barangka Drive, Poblacion, San Jose and Plainview in Mandaluyong;
District 3 Barangay 268-394, Binondo, Quiapo, San Nicolas, Sta. Cruz, District 2 Barangay 147-267 East
Tondo, and District 1, Barangays 1-146, West Tondo, also in Manila.
Records also showed the use of piccolo, considered illegal by the authorities, accounted for most of the
firecracker injuries among children, with 101 cases.
Tayag lamented piccolo and other illegal and oversized firecrackers are sold openly in some places in
Metro Manila.
He cited citizen reports of inadequate implementation of laws by the police and local officials on the sale
of illegal firecrackers.
DOH urges PNP to crack down on piccolo and other banned fireworks. Citizen report (showed) piccolo
openly sold along Libertad, Pasay Road near police station, Tayag said.
PNP chief Director General Alan Purisima ordered an intensified crackdown on illegal firecrackers. Mike
Frialde, Janvic Mateo

Miriam wants firecracker ban in
residential areas
By Marvin Sy (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 29, 2013 - 12:00am
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MANILA, Philippines - With New Years Eve just a couple of days away, concerns have once again been
raised over the injuries, death and loss of property that could very well occur with the usual practice of
Filipinos using firecrackers to welcome the new year.
In an attempt to address this annual problem in the country, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago reiterated
her call to prohibit the use of fireworks in residential areas in pushing a proposal that she has filed since
the 14th Congress.
Senate Bill No. 1876, also known as the proposed Firecracker Ban in Residential Areas Act, seeks the
total ban of firecrackers in residential areas as defined by the local zoning ordinance of the local
government unit involved.
It is the duty of the State to maintain peace and order, protect life, liberty and property, and promote the
general welfare of the people. By banning the use of fireworks in residential areas, we are accomplishing
all of these, especially during the holiday season when the use of fireworks is at its peak, Santiago said.
When I filed the bill in 2007, firecracker-related injuries were at around 807. Now, New Years Eve is still
several days away but the Department of Health (DOH) has already recorded firecracker-related injuries
at 140, she added.
Santiago expressed concern that most firecracker injuries involved children.
My bill provides a solution to reduce the number of firecracker-related injuries while minimizing the
burden on parents to watch over their children against the use of firecrackers, she said.
Under Santiagos bill, the local government is mandated to designate a common firecracker use area,
which should be located in a non-residential zone.
She said there should be only one common firecracker use area per barangay.
The bill provides for stiff penalties for violators of the provisions, including a fine of up to P50,000 and
imprisonment of up to one year.
Breaking from tradition
Despite a government scare campaign, most Filipinos welcome the New Year with firecrackers in one of
the worlds most raucous and dangerous celebrations.
For most Filipinos, fireworks has been a tradition, mainly to bring good luck and drive evil spirits away
with a loud bang.
But for Catholic bishops, prayers not firecrackers would drive away evil spirits.
While it is a popular belief that firecrackers is a tool to scare off evil spirits, some Catholic prelates do not
agree and advised the faithful to turn to prayer to remove the unwanted spiritual beings.
Evils are not driven away by firecrackers. One effective way to drive away evil is by prayer, then good
works, obeying the commandments of God, and of course confession. In serious cases, there is
exorcism, said Jaro Iloilo Archbishop Angel Lagdameo.
Retired Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iniguez added evil spirits are not afraid of firecrackers.
I do not agree with people who use firecrackers to drive away evil spirits. The best way is to pray and ask
the Lord to drive them away because God is all powerful and loving, added Cubao Bishop Honesto
Ongtioco.
Malolos Bishop Jose Oliveros, for his part, said the use of firecrackers to ward off evil spirits is not part of
the Christian tradition.
We Christians welcome the New Year with gratitude for the past year and hope for the coming year, he
said.
Loose implementation
Despite the personal inspection by Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Alan Purisima
of firecracker and pyrotechnics manufacturers in Bulacan, sales of illegal and oversized firecrackers
continue to boom.
It is all for show, and good for nothing, remarked Celso Cruz of the Philippine Pyrotechnics
Manufacturers and Dealers Association Inc. in Bocaue, Bulacan.
Cruz said that at this time of year, everything has been set in motion, including the sale of illegal
pyrotechnics products in preparation for the New Year revelry.
What is not set is the full implementation of the 21-year-old law that is supposed to be implemented by
the PNP, he said.
Cruz said the PNP chief should not have visited Bocaue yesterday. The town of Bocaue is dubbed the
firecracker capital of the country.
Cruz said Purisima should have ordered his men to just do their job well, beginning with the full
implementation of Republic Act 7183 or the Act Regulating Sale, Manufacture, Distribution, and Use of
Firecrackers and other Pyrotechnics Devices.
Cruz pointed out the implementation of the law should start with issuance of license to manufacturers of
firecrackers. He said this was hardly followed.
Cruz said that once a manufacturer is issued a license, they could purchase raw materials and chemicals
that are all controlled substances like nitrates, potassium and sulfur.
This is followed by the actual processing and manufacturing which, Cruz said, is hardly monitored by the
PNP.
He also lamented the PNPs Firearms and Explosive Unit (FEU) does not have a database on how much
chemicals a manufacturer has purchased and how much they manufactured.
It is a very sad fact, the PNP is the administrator of the law and the one enforcing it, but what they are
doing is less than to be desired on behalf of the industry, Cruz said.
The result of this loose implementation of RA 7183, Cruz said, has led to the decline of the firecracker
industry that the PNP is supposed to protect and regulate.
He explained that RA 7183 legalized the manufacture of pyrotechnic products to provide livelihood and to
regulate the industry to improve product quality.
However, 21 years after the law was approved, the industry is in decline, Cruz said.
The sad state of the industry lies in the fact that in Bocaue alone, 50 percent of pyrotechnics products
are imported masquerading as locally manufactured, 30 percent are illegally manufactured and only 20
percent are legal and locally made, he said.
Part of the problem is the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) product standard licensing that only
takes into consideration finished products but turns a blind eye on the manufacturers processing and
manufacturing facilities.
Thats the reason why it is suggested when we are revising the IRR (implementing rules and regulations)
that the PNP and DTI must require every manufacturer to present samples of their products before the
issuance of the license, he said.
With regards to the emergence of oversized products like Goodbye Napoles, Super Yolanda,
Pacquiao and others, Cruz said the problem lies with the fact that their sales are tolerated by the local
police.
Manufacture of pyrotechnics products takes a while, and if only police will conduct regular monitoring in
every barangay in Bulacan, we will never have oversized and destructive products like Napoles and
Yolanda, he said.
Before the Yuletide season began, Cruz said he suggested to police regional director Chief
Superintendent Raul Petrasanta to issue a strict policy order to all police chiefs in Central Luzon to seize
all oversized and illegal pyrotechnics products.
Cruz, however, said he doesnt know if Petrasanta heeded his advice.
He also said that while the PNP-FEU is serving as clearing house of all raw materials for the manufacture
of pyrotechnics devices, the police unit must be headed by a person familiar with the firecracker industry.
Dino Balabo, Evelyn Macairan

Leviste denies owning ranch
MANILA, Philippines - Former Batangas governor Antonio Leviste has denied owning the ranch in Lipa
City where a big-time drug syndicate was busted during a raid on Christmas Day.
Levistes lawyer Cristina Buendia said Levistes twin brother Conrad owns the LPL ranch, where three
suspects were arrested and P420 million worth of shabu (methamphetamine) was seized.
It is his brother Conrad who developed and either sold or leased out the individual lots in this 100-
hectare farm subdivision, Buendia said in a statement sent to The STAR.
The former governor, Jose Antonio Leviste, does not own any parcel, nor has any interest or anything
whatsoever to do with the LPL Ranch Estate, contrary to the declaration of an alleged senior official, she
said.
Buendia said the matter was already verified by Benny Orense, the administrator of the LPL Ranch
Estates.
She cited as proof a lease contract between a certain George Torres, now the subject of a police
manhunt, and a representative of Conrad Levistes company, Benny Orense, a copy of which was
presented during a television interview on Dec. 27.
She said her client was erroneously tagged as the owner of the property.
We appeal to authorities and the media to ensure that the facts reported are verified in order not to make
wrongful accusations that are extremely damaging to the innocent persons involved, the statement said.
We believe that a commendation for the police operatives and governmental agencies who took part in
the successful drug bust operation is in order. Indeed, illegal drugs should have no place in our country
and we must all be vigilant in ensuring the safety of our communities and society, it added.
Justice Secretary Leila de Lima earlier said the former governor would be summoned during the
preliminary investigation on drug charges against the arrested suspects believed to have links to the
notorious Mexican Sinoloa drug cartel.
If it will be proven that he was aware of this drug facility inside their property which is apparently being
rented out, then it could be a criminal offense and it could be a ground for withdrawal of the parole, she
said during a press conference.
De Lima said the investigating prosecutor would issue a subpoena requiring Leviste to produce and
submit the lease contract of the property where the shabu storage facility was found.
The DOJ chief noted that section 30 of Republic Act 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of
2002) penalizes the owner of a property or establishment who consents to or knowingly tolerates or
authorizes the use of a facility in illegal drug production or trade.

Smugglers will be unmasked
MANILA, Philippines - Smugglers will be identified and arrested, and the Bureau of Customs (BOC)
cleansed.
This was the commitment of Malacaang when asked if the BOC could still be reformed.
Yes, it can be done. (Customs) Commissioner (Phillip) Sevilla can do it, deputy presidential
spokesperson Abigail Valte yesterday said over radio dzRB.
Earlier, Sevilla was quoted in a report as saying he had never been in a place where theres so much
bad-mouthing and that he had received many reports about supposed irregularities involving BOC
personnel.
But Valte said that since Sevilla, along with other officials appointed to cleanse the BOC, is just newly
installed, they must be given time as many things need to be done.
They must be given the opportunity to form their team first and fulfill the mandate given to them by
President Aquino, she added.
In spite of reports of irregularities in the BOC, the agency did not only reach its P300-billion collection
milestone mark, it even surpassed this target as predicted by former Customs Commissioner Rufino
Biazon.
By Dec. 26 or five days before the year 2013 ends, the BOCs revenue collection has reached P303
billion.
Just before Biazon stepped down as BOC chief, he already foresaw that the bureau would reach P300
billion in revenue collection, which could be the first in history.
A source in the BOC said that these are all cash collections. The revenues from the tax expenditure fund
(TEF) are not yet included, and the collections would still increase once the revenues from the ports on
Friday (Dec. 27) come in.
The revenues in the form of cash are the actual collections from the ports, while TEF are paper revenues
from the importation of government agencies.
Petilla gets drubbing, clarifies appeal on
TRO
MANILA, Philippines - Appealing the Supreme Courts temporary restraining order (TRO) on the planned
electricity rate hike of more than P4 per kilowatt-hour is an option the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and
power generators can take if they cant absorb rising generation costs to ease consumers woes, Energy
Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla clarified yesterday even as lawmakers and militant groups castigated him
for giving the advice.
Petilla issued the clarification after The STAR quoted him as urging Meralco to appeal the 60-day TRO
issued last Dec. 23 by the High Tribunal.
Petilla said Meralco would really have to raise rates to recover costs and operate efficiently and that the
TRO was only delaying it.
I will respect the TRO. I am asking them (Meralco and the power generators) to absorb the cost but if
they cannot, they can appeal it if they want to, Petilla told The STAR.
He said he was not taking sides but was only looking for ways to cut costs for the benefit of consumers.
He stressed it is up to Meralco to appeal the TRO if it wants to.
I am balanced, he said.
He said Meralco and the power generators may consider splitting costs so that consumers would not
have to shoulder them.
Meralco earlier announced plans to raise electricity rates by P4.15 per kilowatt-hour, citing a surge in
generation cost from P3.44 per kwh to P9.10 per kwh.
Amid public uproar over the staggering rate increase, the SC issued a TRO before Christmas to stop
Meralco from implementing it for 60 days to allow oral arguments on the petitions against the rate hike.
For lawmakers, Petillas giving legal advice to Meralco is uncalled for.
Meralco is a multibillion-peso company. Its net profits are in the tens of billions. It can therefore protect
itself and does not need legal advice from Secretary Petilla, Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. of Dasmarias City,
Cavite said.
Secretary Petilla is not Meralcos legal adviser, and therefore his act of telling the company to file a
motion for reconsideration is not only amusing but perplexing, he said.
He said if theres anyone who needs government protection, its the 5.3 million customers of Meralco who
are mostly poor people.
Reversing position
Barzaga pointed out that by giving the advice, the DOE chief in effect was asking Meralco to reverse its
pronouncement made through spokesman Jose Zaldariagga that it would comply with the TRO.
He added that despite inquiries from senators and congressmen, the power distributor had not presented
documents to support is petition to recover P22 billion in increased cost of procuring electricity from its
suppliers.
Bayan Muna Reps. Neri Colmenares and Carlos Zarate said Petilla appears to be protecting the interest
of Meralco and power producers instead of that of consumers.
We are now wary that the DOE-ERC investigation on the alleged collusion of power generators may be
whitewashed. With Petillas statement, it is clear that he views the extremely high power rate hike as
above board and regular, and its approval by ERC as correct, he said.
He does not even question if the computation for the increase is right. Secretary Petilla is practically
preempting the Supreme Court and is siding with the power cartel, he said.
Zarate said he is disappointed with the DOE chiefs statement, which he said was tantamount to betrayal
of consumer interest.
The two Bayan Muna representatives also expressed confidence that they would win their SC case
against Meralco and ERC.
We think that the SC will declare EPIRA (Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001) unconstitutional
precisely because it violates the right of consumers to due process. It does not allow them to question
rate increases, they said.
For his part, Alliance of Concerned Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio said Petilla preempted his own
investigation into alleged collusion among power producers and exposed it as a sham with a
predetermined conclusion.
He is also preempting the Supreme Court, which is yet to rule on the petitions questioning the
constitutionality of the unprecedented rate increase, he said.
Fisherfolk alliance Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) also
lashed out at Petilla for giving legal advice to Meralco.
The chief of the energy department is acting like the chief legal adviser of Meralco. It is doing the legal
defense work for Meralco and the rest of the ruling syndicate in the power sector and this is highly
contrary to public interest, Pamalakaya said in a statement.
His appointment as secretary of DOE is really meant to protect the power monopolies at the expense of
electric consumers and the public perpetually battered and exploited by high cost of electricity across the
nation, the group said.
This protg of President Noynoy Aquino should be compelled to leave the energy post, said
Pamalakaya vice chairman Salvador France.
The resignation of Secretary Petilla is necessary because he betrayed public trust and he was extremely
obsessed to protect the narrow interest of electric cartel and syndicates in the country, France
argued.With Jess Diaz, Michelle Zoleta
HIV/AIDS cases nearing 5,000 mark
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MANILA, Philippines - The number of Filipinos with HIV/AIDS for this year is nearing the 5,000 mark as the
Department of Health (DOH) recorded 384 new cases in November alone.
Data from the Philippine HIV/AIDS Registry showed that 4,456 cases were posted from January to November
this year, with 153 deaths.
Sexual contact remains the primary mode of transmission with 379 cases, while needle sharing among
injecting drug users accounted for five cases.
The DOH noted that males having sex with other males (MSM) are the predominant type of sexual
transmission, accounting for 83 percent of the cases.
The registry said that 35 of the 384 cases recorded in November were full blown AIDS.
Majority of the cases came from Metro Manila with 43 percent, followed by Calabarzon with 17 percent; Central
Luzon and Davao with nine percent each and Western Visayas with five percent.
Of the 4,456 cases, 4,222 of them got infected through sexual contact, followed by needle sharing among
injecting drug users at 231 and mother-to-child transmission at three.
The DOH said that of the 16,158 cases since 1984, 307 have progressed into AIDS while 861 have died.

Get e-passport, DFA tells OFWs
By Pia Lee-Brago (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 29, 2013 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has advised Filipino passport holders to start
securing the new e-passport as non-machine readable passports will no longer be allowed after Oct. 31, 2015.
The Philippine embassy in Riyadh has informed Filipinos in Saudi Arabia that non-machine readable passports
will be completely phased out by Nov. 24, 2015 in line with the regulations of the DFA and the standards set by
the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
The DFA said that Filipinos holding machine readable-ready passports (green) and machine readable
passports (maroon) would no longer be allowed to extend validity of these passports after Oct. 31, 2014.
Those who still hold the old passports after October 2015 will likely encounter difficulties at immigration checks
when traveling through any port of entry around the world.
The embassy said strict rules are in place for an extension of the validity of expiring or expired passports.
Passports that are valid for less than six months or those that have already expired may be extended once only
in the following instances: Death in the family requiring the overseas Filipino worker (OFW) and members of his
or her dependent family to urgently travel to the Philippines; medical emergencies requiring the OFW and
members of his or her dependent family to urgently travel to the Philippines or another country for medical
treatment; OFWs returning to their employers abroad with valid employment contracts processed by the
Philippine Overseas Employment Administration and those going home on final exit visas.
In these instances, proof of urgency such as a copy of the death certificate, medical certificate, valid
employment contracts processed by the POEA or any of the Philippine Overseas Labor Offices in Saudi
Arabia, along with plane tickets with confirmed flight details shall be presented, the embassy said.

Poker player gives Fil-Am taxi driver
$10-K reward
By Joseph Lariosa (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 29, 2013 - 12:00am
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CHICAGO Filipino-American taxi driver Gerardo Gamboa on Friday received a $10,000 reward from the
owner of the $300,000 (P12.6 million) cash left in his cab last Monday.
Bill Shranko, an executive of the Yellow Checker Star Cab company in Las Vegas, confirmed that Gamboa, a
native of Mabalacat, Pampanga, was rewarded by the 28-year-old poker player for returning his money.
The taxi company named Gamboa, 54, its Driver of the Year and he was given $1,000 and a dinner for two at
a high-end restaurant for his honesty.
He said his passenger gave him a $5 tip after a trip from the Cosmopolitan resort to the Palms Place tower.
He then drove to the Bellagio resort, where a doorman helping a passenger into the car noticed a bag.
There is a bag in your taxi full of chocolate, the doorman told Gamboa.
When he opened the bag, it contained six bundles of $100 bills.
Gamboa took the cash to the companys main office, where Las Vegas police and casino officials linked it to
the poker player.
The poker player did not want to be identified.
CBCP head urges public to start anew
By Eva Visperas (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 29, 2013 - 12:00am
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DAGUPAN CITY, Philippines The president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP)
yesterday urged the people to start anew in the coming year.
In his New Year message posted on the archdioceses website, Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates
Villegas also asked the people to pray that the reign of terror and the power of guns be melted by the mercy of
God and the blood of His only Son.
We beg for the end of terrorism and the conversion of the corrupt, he said.
He also sought prayers for peace in Syria, healing for every troubled heart and a new and brighter beginning
for typhoon victims.
We look at the year behind us with gratitude for its blessings. We also look at the new year eagerly, hoping for
the best to come, he said.

Petilla donates 2013 salary to linemen
MANILA, Philippines - Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla has donated his salary for 2013 to the linemen
who helped in the power restoration efforts in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Yolanda.
In a text message, Petilla said one months salary, though, went to survivors and the families of fatalities of the
Semirara coal mine collapse in February. A portion of Semiraras coal mine in Panian, Antique collapsed and
killed at least five miners.
He did not disclose the amount donated.
Scandals, calamities tested peoples grit
in 2013 Belmonte
By Jess Diaz (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 29, 2013 - 12:00am
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MANILA, Philippines - Scandals and man-made and natural calamities have tested the peoples grit during the
year that is about to end, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said yesterday.
He said among the scandals that rocked the nation was the multibillion-peso pork barrel scam supposedly
masterminded by detained businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, while calamities that devastated communities
included Super Typhoon Yolanda and the occupation by followers of Muslim rebel leader Nur Misuari of several
coastal villages in Zamboanga City.
The year 2013 tested the Filipino peoples grit and resolve to weather challenges faced as a nation, foremost
being the extreme devastation caused by a chain of natural calamities which hit several parts of our country,
Belmonte said.
We have what it takes to positively alter our paradigms, view these as challenges before us and see them as a
chance to emerge renewed as one people. We must look up from these tragedies and use them as
opportunities to further societal reforms, he said.
He cited the Misuari followers Zamboanga City siege, which he said resulted in senseless deaths and damage
to property and infrastructure; the Bohol earthquake, and the series of typhoons which hit Luzon, Mindanao,
and the Visayas, the last of which was Yolanda, which left more than 6,000 dead and over a thousand more
missing.
Belmonte commended the international community and relief groups, private corporations, organizations, and
private individuals as well as media entities, which supported government efforts to help people cope with the
challenges and rebuild devastated communities.
We are grateful to the world community for their continued assistance and faith in the Filipino peoples
determination to pick themselves up and their ability to rebuild their broken lives, he said.
He said before Yolanda struck, the nation was grappling with the pork barrel scam controversy involving the
misuse by certain senators and congressmen of their Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF)
allocations.
He noted that the Supreme Court subsequently struck down the PDAF as unconstitutional.
We will never lose sight of opportunities open to us to reform our system. We will face these problems
squarely and take concrete actions to correct the system and rebuild the integrity of our institutions, promoting
good governance through full transparency and accountability in public office, he said.
Belmonte said even without the PDAF or congressional pork barrel, the House of Representatives and the
Senate passed the 2014 national budget on time, meaning before the two chambers started their Christmas
break.
With the pork barrel gone and the Supreme Court banning lawmakers from intervening in the implementation of
the national budget, he said lawmakers would now have to list their projects in detail in the spending bill while
Congress is considering it.
He added that before adjourning, lawmakers also extended the validity of 2013 appropriations for one year up
to Dec. 31, 2014 and approved P14.6 billion in additional calamity funds, which President Aquino could use in
rebuilding typhoon-devastated communities.
The Speaker reiterated the support of the House for reforms in all facets of national life.
We should fully support the common fight against corruption and promote good governance through
transparency and accountability in public office, he said.
We will surely pick up our pace and move forward in our legislative work, although the journey will not be easy.
Our moves must be both focused and united. We need to maximize the use of all available resources to rebuild
our devastated regions. We are called upon to work harder, and that we will do, he said.

Pinoys urged to lower Phl flag to half-
staff tomorrow
By Delon Porcalla (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 29, 2013 - 12:00am
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MANILA, Philippines - Malacaang yesterday called on the public to lower the Philippine flag to half-staff
tomorrow in commemoration of the death anniversary of national hero Jose Rizal.
We take this opportunity to once again remind our government bodies of Republic Act 229, which requires all
institutions to lower the flag to half-mast in solemn commemoration of Dr. Rizals ultimate sacrifice, deputy
presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said.
She also called on Filipinos to reflect on how Rizals legacy has reverberated throughout our peoples
collective narrative.
This years Rizal Day likewise marks the centennial of the Rizal Monument, built as the tomb and memorial to
Dr. Rizal and which has since then served as the de facto symbol of our nationhood, she said.
RA 229 also prohibits cockfighting, horse racing and jai alai games every Dec. 30, and imposes fines or
imprisonment or both on violators.
In a related development, Valte said the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning
Office will launch a website on the Rizal Monument tomorrow as part of its contribution to this years Rizal Day
commemoration.
It will feature a comprehensive essay, archival photo galleries, an architectural retrospective and contextual
maps focusing on the Rizal Monument and on the Bagumbayan of history a tract of land that has been an
integral part of the narrative of Philippine independence, she said.
She said the website will also feature a full translation of the essay, The Tagalog Hamlet, by Miguel de
Unamuno, one of the earliest and most influential reflections on Rizal. Unamuno immortalized Rizal as The
Tagalog Christ.
Valte said the website, which has multimedia features, was done in collaboration with the National Historical
Institute, National Library, National Parks Development Committee, architectural scholars and historians and
heritage enthusiasts.
She said the website will be part of the Official Gazette or the official government website.
DENR produces 1.37 M indigenous
seedlings this year
By Rhodina Villanueva (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 29, 2013 - 12:00am
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MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has produced in 2013
about 1.37 million indigenous tree seedlings for the governments National Greening Program (NGP).
Among the native species being propagated are endangered species such as kamagong, mayapis, molave,
Philippine teak, tindalo, toog and dipterocarp species.
Environment Secretary Ramon Paje said the seedlings are being produced in the DENRs clonal facilities
throughout the country.
Paje said the DENR has also signed a memorandum of agreement with five state universities and colleges
(SUCs) in Western Visayas for the establishment of additional clonal nurseries.
This brought to 25 the number of participating SUCs in the NGP. The SUCs were chosen based on their ability
to augment the yield capacity of 22 existing regional clonal nurseries of the DENR.

10 hit by stray bullets since Dec. 16
By Mike Frialde (philstar.com) | Updated December 28, 2013 - 6:26pm
MANILA, Philippines - As the days draw nearer toward New Year's Eve, the Philippine National Police
(PNP) has recorded 10 victims of stray bullets so far since Dec. 16.
The PNP said the victims were three from Metro Manila two in Region 4A, one in Region 5, two in Region
6, one in Cordillera, and another in Region 12 since Dec. 16.
The victims were identified as Francisco Salazar (hit in the left foot), Ginalyn Soncio 32 (hit in the left
arm), Donna Padol (hit in the nose), Roberto Mariano Jr. (hit in the right leg), Jay Abuniawan (hit in the
right arm), Deo Tam-og, (hit in the leg), Rommel Geroy (hit in the left leg), Myra Medrano (hit in the leg),
Jestoni Obrador (hit in the middle toe), and Ricardo Garbin (hit in the feet).
Abuniawan and Obrador are minors aged 17, and 13, respectively.
The PNP called on the public to immediately report cases of indiscriminate firing especially as the New
Year celebration draws closer.
Kung meron po kayong mga dudang mga kunwari mga nag iinuman dyan sa kalsada at may tendency
magbaril please pakiusap lang po bago mangyari na sila magpapaputok ireport na natin sa pulis para
macheck natin agad, PNP chief, Director General Alan Purisima said in a statement.
Purisima also urged the public to report cases of indiscriminate firing at the nearest police station in their
area, or may also text the information at 0917-847-5757.
Ex-national treasurer calls on public to
monitor budget
By Rhodina Villanueva (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 29, 2013 - 12:00am
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MANILA, Philippines - Former national treasurer Leonor Briones urged the public to remain vigilant in
monitoring lump sums and the approved general provisions in the bicameral appeal budget where
vulnerabilities are still present.
The Supreme Court excised the one lump by declaring the unconstitutionality of legislative pork (barrel) or the
Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF). But there are still many other lumps in the system, but these
are under the control of the Executive, said Briones, who is also the lead convenor of advocacy group Social
Watch Philippines.
Lump sums refer to appropriations in the budget whose details are not explicit or present, making them
vulnerable to abuse.
PDAF was a portion of a greater set of lump sums called Special Purpose Funds, which currently amount to
over P283 billion. These funds can only be released by the Department of Budget and Management with the
approval of the President.
Other lump sums include Off-Budget Items and the Presidents Social Fund, all under the control of the
Executive.
Since 2006, Social Watch Philippines has maintained its position against having lump sums in the budget.
They are vulnerable to abuse and have been abused by officials in the past. Our stand has always been to
realign these funds to agencies and local government units because they are audited every year, said Briones,
a professor at the University of the Philippines.
An audit of the Special Purpose Funds and other lump sums are only done when it is demanded by the public.
When that happens the money is already spent or stolen, she added.
The general provisions in the budget are another concern of Social Watch Philippines.
There is a provision that savings can be declared up to the third quarter of the year. This means that savings
can be declared as early as January. Does that make sense? Briones noted.
Earlier, the declaration and definition of savings became a major issue in the controversial Disbursement
Acceleration Program, the constitutionality of which is being deliberated by Supreme Court.
US senators slam China air zone
By Jose Katigbak STAR Washington bureau (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 28, 2013 -
12:00am
WASHINGTON Democratic and Republican senators are demanding that China rescind its
new air defense identification zone (ADIZ) over Japanese-held islands in the East China Sea
and the sharp tone risks antagonizing Beijing, The Hill newspaper reported.
The Hill, which describes itself as a comprehensive source of US congressional news, said
several Republicans have taken issue with the administrations recommendation that US air
carriers abide by Chinas request to be informed of all flights through the zone.
It quoted Sen. Marco Rubio, a prospective Republican presidential candidate in the 2016
election, as saying, I dont think our government should be telling them (US air carriers) to do
that because it sends confusing messages. US military aircraft routinely ignore the ADIZ.
If the Chinese are willing to shoot down a civilian aircraft on an illegitimate claim, then theyre a
criminal government, Rubio told The Hill in an interview.
The sharp tone risks antagonizing China, which blames the United States and its much-vaunted
pivot to Asia for rising tensions in the area, The Hill said.
Staff writer Julian Pecquet, who visited China in a report on the newspapers website on
Thursday, quoted Chinese military officials as saying the US decision to beef up US military
presence in Asia has emboldened its allies such as Japan and the Philippines to step up their
challenge to Chinas decades-old territorial claims in the East and South China Seas.
The rebalancing toward the Asia-Pacific played a role in encouraging some of the allies to take
a more provocative, more aggressive stance, said an official with Chinas Academy of Military
Science in Beijing.
These disputes may not be problems the US would like to see, but their actions to prioritize
military factors may make those already existing disputes become more and more heated, the
official added.
Although [the US] still states that it has no position on the territorial dispute, the Chinese
military official said, to me it just seems absurd that it would commit itself to defend a few small
islands which it has no position about.
China feels threatened by the US decision to move more ships and open up small outposts
throughout the region, sources in Beijing told The Hill.
It said the congressional hard line against China in the showdown over a handful of tiny Pacific
islands was complicating the Obama administrations efforts to manage the issue.
Rubio, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations panel on East Asia, joined three
other committee leaders of both parties in a letter telling Chinas ambassador to Washington to
back off earlier this month.
We urge your government not to implement this ADIZ as announced, and to refrain from taking
similar provocative actions elsewhere in the region, they wrote. There is nothing for China to
gain by undermining regional stability and threatening the peace and prosperity that is the
shared objective of all Asia-Pacific nations.
Several countries including the Philippines and Vietnam are involved in disputes with China over
maritime territory in the South China Sea and they fear Beijing might impose an ADIZ similar to
what it clamped over the East China Sea to bolster its claim to disputed islands known as
Senkakus to the Japanese and the Diaoyu to the Chinese.
Over 1,000 bodies rotting in Tacloban
By Jaime Laude (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 28, 2013 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - More than a thousand bodies recovered in Tacloban City in the wake of
Super Typhoon Yolanda have been left to rot in the open as authorities await the process of
identifying them before they are buried in a mass grave.
It could not be immediately ascertained if the bodies in Barangay Suhi have been included in
the official fatality list of National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC)
which, as of yesterday, totaled 6,111 from 6,109 last week.
The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is on a holiday break in Tacloban, leaving more than
a thousand unburied and decomposing bodies, TV-5 said in a report yesterday.
The government, through the NDRRMC, has tasked the NBI to process all recovered cadavers
in Tacloban for recording and identification purposes.
There were reports that the NBI will resume the processing after the holidays.
In the same report, TV-5 also said residents of Barangay Suhi and those living in nearby areas
are complaining of the unpleasant smell emanating from the decomposing bodies.
The report triggered criticisms among concerned citizens, who said the unattended bodies are
posing a health hazard to the storm survivors.
Its more than a month now. Whats the government doing with the huge local and foreign
financial assistance provided to the storm devastated areas? a resident said.
Why are they doing this. Dont they pity the victims? How about if they themselves are victims
too? a certain Marivic Cruz remarked in the TV-5 report.
The death toll left by Yolanda in Western Visayas has increased to 273, higher than the 250
fatality figure officially reported by the NDRRMC from the region.
The Office of Civil Defense (OCD)-Western Visayas also said 620,311 families or 2,842,361
people were affected by Yolanda.
Estimated cost of damage to infrastructure, agriculture and fisheries has amounted to P13.4
billion. The number of casualties consist of 273 dead, 3,924 injured and 28 missing, the OCD-6
report said.
300 Korean troops in Visayas for rehab
MANILA, Philippines - Over 300 South Korean troops arrived yesterday in Cebu to conduct
year-long rehabilitation and recovery operations in typhoon-hit areas.
It is the first time that South Korea has deployed a military contingent overseas on a purely post-
disaster reconstruction mission. South Korean forces are involved in peacekeeping operations
in other countries. The South Korean embassy in Manila said about 500 members of the South
Korean Armed Forces will be taking part in the recovery and rehabilitation mission, particularly
in Tanauan and other towns in the vicinity of Tacloban City.
Korean Ambassador Lee Hyuk made the announcement in a simple ceremony at the Mactan
Benito Ebuen Air Base.
Officials of the Philippine Air Force and Philippine Army welcomed some 300 Korean Army
troops.
Aside from the 300 Korean troops, a total of 229 Korean military doctors and engineers are on
the way to the Philippines on a Korean Navy ship, Lee said.
The Korean expedition unit known as Araw (sun), composed of medical and engineering
personnel, will carry out its mission for a year. Their priority activities will include reconstruction
of public facilities like schools, hospitals and government offices. They will take temporarily
shelter in Palo, Leyte.
The deployment of troops reflects the gratitude of the Korean people to the Filipinos who fought
with them during the Korean War, and their optimism about the future of Tacloban. We hope
that their work will bring the people of the two countries closer to each other, the embassy said
in a statement.
We came here not for war but to help the Filipino people badly affected by the typhoon, as they
acknowledged the Filipino soldiers support during the times they also needed assistance in
fighting for freedom against North Korean soldiers, Lee said.
Defense Undersecretary Eduardo Batac, representing Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, said the
national government and the Filipino people are thankful to the Korean government for their
support.
Batac said they are now in the reconstruction and rehabilitation phase in Leyte, Samar and
other parts of the Visayas affected by the typhoon.
He said the arrival of the Korean troops would be a big boost to the Philippine governments
rehabilitation efforts.
Batac said the role of the Korean Army troops here would be to closely coordinate with and
support the Philippine government in rehabilitation of identified devastated areas in Leyte.
Maj. Gen. John Bonafos, commander of the Central Command, said the Korean military
personnel would be a big help to the rehabilitation program of the government.
Bong Hwan Cho, president of the Cebu Korean Association, is closely coordinating with national
government agencies and authorities here on the arrival of the Korean Army.
He said Korean Army personnel would be dispatched and stationed for months to carry out
relief missions and to provide humanitarian support to residents of Tacloban City.
For his part, Col. Chui Won Lee, commander of the Republic of Korea Joint Support Group,
assured the people of Leyte that they will provide support for the success of the Philippine
governments reconstruction and rehabilitation program.
Shortly after the devastation of Tacloban brought by Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan),
international aid poured into the affected areas, with the Korean people and government
responding in a generous outpouring of support in cash and in kind as part of the overall
assistance package worth $25 million.
A Korean Disaster Relief Team conducted relief and recovery operations, with the medical team
extending their stay.
The embassy said Koreans have never forgotten the role that the Philippines played during the
Korean War and many of them now see an opportunity to repay the sacrifice, bravery and
heroism of the 7,420 Filipino soldiers who fought under the United Nations Command. Pia
Lee-Brago, Jose Sollano/The Freeman
Raps filed vs NAIA shooting suspects
By Mike Frialde (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 28, 2013 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - The alleged gunman and two other unidentified suspects in the killing of
Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur Mayor Ukol Talumpa and three others were charged yesterday
with multiple murder and multiple frustrated murder before the Pasay City Prosecutors Office.
Chief Superintendent Carmelo Valmoria, National Capital Region police director, said Marox
Amlong alias Maroks and the two other suspects remain at large.
Talumpa, his wife Lea, a nephew and an 18-month-old boy from Bacolod City died in the
shooting at the arrival area of Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 last Friday.
Chief Inspector Joey Gofort, Pasay City police investigation chief, said former Labangan mayor
Wison Nandang has not been removed from the list of suspects as Amlong was identified as
one of his security escorts.
A security escort of Talumpa told investigators of having heard the gunman say mayor, mayor,
para kay Kitty Nandang ito, he added.
Gofort said investigators will unmask the masterminds behind the shooting.
Police still have to gather more evidence to link Nandang to the shooting, he added.
Talumpas eldest daughter Rayam Talumpa believes politics and her fathers fight against illegal
drugs in Labangan were behind the shooting.
She called for an investigation into why the guns of her fathers escorts were delayed in being
released.
Valmoria said police will not stop the investigation into the killing of Talumpa despite the filing
of charges against the suspects.
In the meantime, we will be closely monitoring the whereabouts of the suspects, so that we can
arrest them immediately after a warrant of arrest is issued against them, he said.
Senior Superintendent Edgar Danao, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) chief
in Zamboanga peninsula, said the suspect, alias Marox, is also linked to the grenade attack
against Ukol in Pagadian City.
No arrest warrant has been issued against Marox for that attack, he added.
Police are also monitoring the presence of Marox in Mindanao, Danao said. With Non
Alquitran
Cebu teen loses hand to Super Yolanda
MANILA, Philippines - Even as many people in the Visayas have not yet recovered from the fury
of Super Typhoon Yolanda, another Yolanda is likely to cause more suffering among New
Year revelers.
The Department of Health (DOH) said yesterday that a 14-year-old boy from Cebu lost his right
hand after setting off a new firecracker called Super Yolanda.
The locally made firecracker is named after the typhoon, which was reported to be the strongest
storm ever to make landfall. The firecracker is shaped like a dynamite with a diameter of 12
inches.
The DOH reported that another boy, five years old, from Iloilo City also lost his right index finger
after he set off a Camara, a small dynamite-like firecracker.
Based on the DOHs Aksyon: Paputok Injury Reduction registry, the number of revelry-related
injuries had soared to 140 cases as of 6 a.m. yesterday. This is six cases lower compared to the
same period last year.
Sixty-two of the cases were in Metro Manila, followed by Northern Mindanao with 17 cases,
while Western Visayas and Central Visayas each had 11.
The registry showed only one case of fireworks ingestion. The registry
showed that of the 140 cases, 134 were due to firecracker blasts while the number of stray
bullet injuries rose to five after a 23-year-old man from Marikina City was hit on the left side of
his body while watching a fireworks display in their house.
The victim was admitted to the Amang Rodriguez Medical Center.
The Taguig City police recorded its first case of stray bullet injury on Thursday.
Taguig City Police chief Superintendent Annie Bodanio identified the victim as Myra Medrano of
Block 44, Lot 15, Enlisted Personnel Housing Village, Phase Two in Barangay Pinagsama.
Medrano was standing in front of her house at about 4 p.m. when she was hit by a stray bullet.
The victim was treated at the Taguig-Pateros District Hospital.
The DOH said that piccolo remains the leading cause of injuries, accounting for 82 cases. Nine
other cases were caused by unknown firecrackers, followed by kwitis with seven cases, five-star
with six cases, and pillbox with four.
The ages of the victims ranged from one year to 65 years old. Children below 10 accounted for
44 cases.
The registry showed that 42 of the victims were passive users or bystanders and passersby.
According to DOH Assistant Secretary Eric Tayag, they are hoping that the number of cases of
fireworks-related injuries this year would not exceed 1,000, the average number of cases over
the past five years.
The number of firework-related injuries has reached its plateau of 1,000 every year. The yearly
DOH campaign ensures that it will not go back to pre-campaign years when over a hundred will
also suffer from tetanus then die, he added.
The DOH had resorted to various strategies, particularly scare tactics where the instruments
used to amputate mangled limbs were displayed.
The Provincial Health Office in Pangasinan recorded seven cases of fireworks-related injuries
from Dec. 21 to 26.
Anna de Guzman, provincial health officer, told The STAR that this is higher than last years
record.
De Guzman said this years injuries include blast burn but no amputation mostly from piccolo
firecrackers.
Most of them were treated at the Pangasinan Provincial Hospital in San Carlos City, she
added.
Authorities reported that two boys were recently injured by firecracker explosions in Baguio City
and Sagada, Mountain Province.
DOH Emergency Management Service officer Elnoria Bugnosen said the two victims were the
initial reports of firecracker-related injuries in the Cordilleras.
She said an 11-year-old boy in Barangay San Luis, Baguio City sustained burns in his right
hand after exploding a piccolo, while a 16-year-old boy suffered injuries from a pla-pla blast in
Barangay Bangaan in Sagada, both before Christmas.
Three fingers in his right hand were amputated.
Police authorities have ordered the Bulacan police director to continue the crackdown on
banned firecrackers.
In an interview, Chief Superintendent Raul Petrasanta, Police Regional Office 3 director, said he
ordered Senior Superintendent Joel Ordona, to confiscate all illegal firecrackers or pyrotechnic
items in all firecracker stores in his area of responsibility.
Petrasanta told Ordona to monitor and inspect all firecracker stores in the towns of Bocaue, Sta.
Maria and Baliwag.
Policemen arrested 20 persons yesterday and seized P1 million worth of chemicals and
pyrotechnics after three illegal factories and two warehouses were raided in Bocaue.
Nenita Ofracio, a sub-contractor of Diamond Fireworks of Pulilan town and King J Fireworks,
reportedly owned the establishments in Barangay Bunducan.
Ordona said Ofracios factories have been operating for one year.
They have no license to manufacture now, but they used to have, said Ordona.
The Philippine Pyrotechnics Manufacturers and Dealers Association Inc. (PPMDAI) suggested
the immediate relief of the chief of police of the area where killer types of noisemakers are being
made and sold to ensure a no-nonsense crackdown on its sales and distribution.
Petrasanta had met recently Celso Cruz, chairman emeritus of PPMDAI, during a dialogue with
other owners of firecracker stores.
The banned firecrackers include Goodbye Philippines, Bin Laden, Ampatuan, Kabase,
Giant Pla-Pla and Yolanda, which will all be confiscated. With Mike Frialde, Eva Visperas,
Ric Sapnu, Dino Balabo, Artemio Dumlao
DOE wants Meralco to appeal hike TRO
MANILA, Philippines - Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla wants the Manila Electric Co.
(Meralco) to appeal the Supreme Courts 60-day temporary restraining order (TRO) on the
P4.15 per kilowatt-hour electricity rate increase, saying the power distributor would inevitably
have to collect higher rates to recover cost and ensure smooth operations.
How do we deal with the TRO? We respect it but I am asking Meralco to appeal it because I do
not want them to borrow to pay off fuel costs because that would carry interest charges, Petilla
said Thursday night after meeting with officials of Meralco and power generators.
He said Meralco would just have to collect higher rates in the future from its 5.3 million
customers if it is prevented from doing so now.
It may disrupt service if this is really prolonged. However, we are making sure at our level that
even without the collection, we will avert a situation wherein services are disrupted, Petilla told
reporters when asked if stopping the rate hike would result in power service interruption.
Only Meralco and the Energy Regulatory Commission can appeal the SCs TRO as they are the
respondents in petitions against the rate hike.
The SC issued the TRO last Dec. 23.
The generation charge is the cost of power purchased by Meralco for the previous months
supply. It is the biggest component of electricity cost, accounting for 65 percent.
Petilla said that if Meralco is unable to collect from its 5.3 million customers, it might have to tap
loans to pay off its suppliers, at least for the cost of fuel.
If Meralco cannot collect, it may have to borrow money and if it borrows, there will be interest,
which may add to electricity cost, so thats the reason why I want Meralco to appeal the TRO so
that there would be no interest cost, Petilla said.
Meralco has roughly P9 billion in payables to energy suppliers, of which P6 billion is due to the
Philippine Electricity Market Corp. (PEMC), operator of the
Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), the countrys trading floor for electricity.
PEMC gave Meralco a reprieve by agreeing to collect only P3.8 billion while the TRO is in
effect. The agreement was arrived at after a meeting Thursday between Meralco and PEMC as
well as representatives of power generators.
As this developed, Meralco is preparing to refund some of its customers through adjustments in
subsequent bills.
For bills coming out starting Dec. 23 to end-December, bills will already comply with the SC-
TRO, using generation charge of P5.67per kwh. For customers who already paid before the SC
TRO came out, adjustments will be made in subsequent bills in accordance with the final SC
decision, Meralco spokesperson Joe Zaldarriaga said.
On the other hand, those who have not received their bills would be informed individually of their
options, he said.
Meanwhile, another party-list group and its militant supporters have joined the bandwagon
petitioning the SC to stop Meralcos rate hike bid.
Anakpawis party-list and its affiliate groups filed the petition days after the SC issued a 60-day
TRO on the rate increase.
Unlike earlier petitions, the new one named the Office of the Executive Secretary as
respondent.
Anakpawis co-petitioners were Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), Kilusang Mayo Uno
(KMU), and Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (Kadamay) in the petition.
It is a must to state that this power rate hike is unreasonable and unaffordable for consumers,
especially at this time when the entire country is still reeling from the damaging effects of super
typhoon Yolanda and other calamities, the petitioners said.
More importantly, it was issued with grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of
jurisdiction. With Edu Punay
OFW deployment ban to Egypt lifted
By Mayen Jaymalin (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 28, 2013 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines - Filipino workers can again be deployed to Egypt.
Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration
(POEA) governing board approved Thursday a resolution allowing the resumption of
deployment of Filipino workers to that country.
The POEA governing abroad, as duly convened, resolved to resume the processing and
deployment of all Filipino workers, including both vacationing and new hires, she said.
The ban was lifted after the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) lowered the alert level in Egypt
from 2 to 1, Baldoz said.
A few weeks ago, the POEA allowed only the redeployment of returning Filipino workers with
existing employment contracts.
The DFA has reported that the political and security situation in Egypt has continued to improve.
Last July, the government imposed a total ban on the deployment of Filipino workers and
ordered a mandatory repatriation of workers from Egypt due to escalating civil unrest.
Based on DFA data, about 6,000 Filipinos are in Egypt.
However, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) databank listed only 1,353
overseas Filipino workers in that country.
537 Filipinos home from Jeddah
A total of 537 Filipinos staying at the Shumaisi Facility close to Jeddah have been repatriated to
the Philippines, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said yesterday.
The consulate general in Jeddah reported that Saudi Arabian authorities arranged the
repatriation and booked the Filipinos on two special flights on Dec. 16 and 17.
On the night of Dec. 16, 195 women with 59 children and three men, or a total of 257 persons,
were flown to Manila on board a special Saudi Airlines flight.
On Dec. 17, 186 women and 94 children, or a total of 280, followed on board another special
Saudi Airlines flight.
These are the biggest numbers of undocumented Filipinos repatriated over two successive days
this year. The Saudi Arabian government paid for the plane tickets.
During the two-day repatriation, Consul General Uriel Norman Garibay and the officers and staff
of the consulate in Jeddah were on hand to facilitate the documentation and offer other related
assistance to the Filipinos to ensure that all of them would be able to depart as scheduled.
The women and children formed part of the large group of Filipinos who voluntarily surrendered
to Saudi immigration authorities at the General Services Center (deportation center) at Al
Shumaisi on Nov. 10.
As of Dec. 20, 52 women and 39 children, or a total of 91 Filipinos, remained at the Shumaisi
facility.
They could have departed with the 537, but they need to resubmit to fingerprinting at the
Jawazat (Passports General Directorate) to be issued exit visas.
The consulate is making arrangements for this to be done soon.
The government has facilitated the repatriation of a total of 6,186 undocumented Filipinos.
With Pia Lee-Brago
Congress to push Cha-cha in 2014
By Ding Cervantes (The Philippine Star) | Updated December 28, 2013 - 12:00am
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CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga, Philippines Congress is likely to carry out Charter change in
2014, a lawmaker said yesterday.
In a forum held here by the Capampangans in Media Inc. (CAMI), Pampanga first district Rep.
Joseller Guiao said he thinks Congress will support Charter change although there is yet no talk on
the mode for it.
Guiao also noted that earlier, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. already declared he would go for
Charter change.
I am in favor of it, although it will seem to concentrate only on economic provisions such as (foreign)
ownership of lands, corporations and others, Guiao said.
But I think many will go for con-ass (constitutional assembly) because its the fastest and cheapest
way, although this will take away from legislative work in Congress, he added.
However, Guiao admitted that the lack of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), or
congressional pork barrel fund, has affected the constituents of congressmen.
Ninety-nine percent of people who go to district offices of congressmen are seeking personal help,
and congressmen normally get the funds needed to address these from their PDAF, he said.
Without PDAF, only the salaries of congressmen or the budget for their districts serve as a limited
alternative.
Only the rich who can afford to give away their wealth to their constituents can afford to respond to
the needs of their constituents who go to their district offices for their needs, he noted.
If we (congressmen) cant respond to cries for help of the people because we cant afford it, we
might as well close our district offices, he added.
Guiao also noted that it is difficult to explain to the people why there is no more PDAF.
Noy, Tacloban mayor not enemies
Palace
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MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino does not consider Tacloban City Mayor Alfred Romualdez
an enemy, and will in fact work with him to reconstruct the areas that Super Typhoon Yolanda had
devastated, Malacaang said yesterday.
Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. of the Presidential Communications Operations Office said Aquino
aims to serve the people and to have good coordination with everyone who could help him.
The President is the leader of all Filipinos and all the time he is open to deal with all Filipinos in a
good and effective way, he said. His mindset is to have understanding. He does not have the
mindset that he has enemies here and enemies there.
Christmas is a season of peace and goodwill and everyone should strive for peace and stability in
the whole country, Coloma said.
Romualdez has called for reconciliation after a verbal tussle with Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II
and the President on relief and rehabilitation efforts after Yolanda.
Aquino sided with Roxas and accused Romualdez of spending more time talking to the media than
mana-ging the tragedy in Tacloban.
Special economic zone
The independent bloc in the House of Representatives is pushing for the immediate passage of a bill
seeking to establish the Tacloban City Special Economic Zone (TCSEZ).
Members of the bloc, headed by Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, who is a cousin of the
mayor, authored House Bill No. 3640 creating the TCSEZ pursuant to Republic Act 7916, the law
providing the mechanisms and legal framework for the creation of special economic zones.
The lawmakers said Section 5, paragraph (n) of RA 7916, as amended, initially identifies Tacloban
City as a viable location for the establishment of an economic zone.
There are physical, geographic and natural attributes of the Tacloban City coastline area that can
make the creation of a freeport ideal, the lawmakers said.
Tacloban port was a haven for international ships and even carriers as evident during the relief
operations of some foreign countries in the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda last Nov. 8.
The lawmakers said the port can be easily accessible by big commercial ships plying the routes of
the Asia-Pacific region. It is also a few kilometers away from Tacloban City airport, which can be
upgraded into an international airport, they added.
The authors of the bill include Representatives Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo of Pampanga, Aleta Suarez
of Quezon, Philip Pichay of Surigao del Sur, Diosdado Arroyo of Camarines Sur, Jonathan de la
Cruz of Abakada-Guro, Jose Atienza of Buhay, Victor Ortega of La Union, Lani Mercado-Revilla of
Cavite, Toby Tiangco of Navotas City, and Romualdez. Aurea Calica, Paolo Romero
AFP renews call for NPA to lay down
arms
By Alexis Romero (philstar.com) | Updated December 27, 2013 - 5:23pm
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MANILA, Philippines - The military on Friday renewed its call for communist rebels to abandon the
armed struggle in the wake of attacks attributed to the New Peoples Army (NPA) during the
holidays.
Armed Forces public affairs chief Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said the insurgents should support the
peace process instead of pursuing the armed struggle.
Instead of waging violence to make themselves relevant, the CPP (Communist Party of the
Philippines)-NPA should just lay down their arms and commit themselves to the peace process
without preconditions, Zagala said in a statement.
After decades of fruitless insurgency, the CPP-NPA should stop being part of the problem and start
becoming part of the solution, he added.
Zagala made the statement in the wake of atrocities supposedly committed by communist guerillas
during the holiday season.
Last Tuesday, suspected NPA members burned three taxis owned by Holiday Taxi in Panabo,
Davao del Norte. Authorities believe the incident has something to do with the insurgents extortion
activities.
A day before the burning incident, suspected NPA members shot dead a soldier on Christmas break
in Allacapan, Cagayan.
On Thursday, one Army soldier was killed after insurgents harassed a military team in Impasugong,
Bukidnon. The attack happened on the third day of the holiday truce declared by the CPP.
The rebels approved a holiday ceasefire truce that took effect from December 24 to 26 and from
December 31 to January 2. The government declared a longer truce that took effect last December
21 and will last until January 15.
The CPP has said that it no longer expects a peace deal to be forged within the term of the Aquino
administration due to its supposed unwillingness to negotiate a just peace.
Zagala said they would continue to work with stakeholders to address the root causes of insurgency.
He said such cooperation has enabled them to free 29 areas from communist as of June.
Zagala said these areas are Cavite, Marinduque, Romblon, Guimaras, Cebu, Siquijor, Biliran, Bohol,
Leyte, Southern Leyte, Aklan, Antique, Eastern Samar, Apayao, La Union, Pangasinan, Tarlac,
Kalinga, Nueva Viscaya, Quirino, Nueva Ecija, Aurora, Benguet, Batanes, Camiguin, Misamis
Oriental, South Cotabato, Saranggani and Davao Oriental.
Pagasa resumes operations in typhoon-
hit areas
MANILA, Philippines - The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services
Administration (PAGASA) has replaced most of the weather equipment destroyed by Super
Typhoon Yolanda in the Visayas and parts of Southern Luzon, officials said yesterday.
PAGASA officer-in-charge Vicente Malano said they have resumed operations in all areas
affected by Yolanda, except in Guiuan, Eastern Samar.
Strong winds brought by Yolanda damaged the P450-million Doppler radar in Guiuan. It is one
of the three radars donated by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to PAGASA.
Officials of the weather bureau said JICA will shoulder the rehabilitation of the radar, which
serves as the countrys first line of defense against typhoons.
Malano said the agency has incurred P30 million in damage to weather equipment, excluding
the meteorological buoy in Cebu.
We have spare (equipment). We have already replaced our damaged equipment except for the
P36-million meteorological buoy installed in Bantayan Island in Cebu, Malano told The STAR.
Malano said their weather station in Tacloban, Leyte was temporarily transferred to the regional
office of the Department of Science and Technology in Palo. PAGASA is an attached agency of
the DOST.
Meanwhile, the official said representatives from the United Nations World Meteorological
Agency will arrive in the country next year to assess the extent of damage by Yolanda to
weather instruments.
Malano earlier said the UN agency will provide financial assistance to PAGASA for the repair of
its facilities.
DOJ probe on JPE to cover CEZA firms
MANILA, Philippines - The investigation on the accusations of Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago
against Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile would cover several private companies operating inside the
Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA), Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said yesterday.
De Lima issued a two-page order directing the special task force chaired by Undersecretary
Jose Justiniano to look into operations of First Cagayan License and Resort Corp., Meridien
Vista Gaming Corp. and San Jose Lumber (SJL).
First Cagayan and Meridien were allegedly involved in illegal gambling, according to De Lima.
First Cagayan has been operating under a master license issued by the Cagayan Special
Economic Zone and Freeport (CSEZFP) allowing foreign firms to operate online gambling in the
economic zone for seven years, it was alleged.
Meridien was also issued a license by the CSEZFP authorizing it to conduct gaming
operations, including jai-alai, in the Cagayan Freeport and to set up betting stations in
connection thereto, the justice department bared.
Meridien reportedly owned by Charlie Atong Ang came into play in 2011 after it was
accused of being a front for illegal gambling operations.
As for SJL, De Lima said the firm has allegedly been involved in illegal logging operations under
a license that expired in 2007.
The special task force is mandated to evaluate the evidence gathered and recommend
possible courses of action or legal processes including, but not limited to, the filing of the
appropriate criminal complaints as the evidence may warrant for purposes of the conduct of the
corresponding preliminary investigation, and request for investigation by the Anti-Money
Laundering Council, read the order.
De Lima also directed the task force to regularly report and submit their final report within three
months.
De Lima earlier created the probe team to look into the alleged involvement of Enrile in illegal
gambling, illegal logging and illegal importation in the CEZA.
CEZA is under the administration of Jose Mari Ponce, a distant relative of Enrile. The senators
son-in-law James Kocher also runs the automobile importing operation inside the free port.
Apart from these allegations, De Lima also ordered the task force to look into Enriles alleged
submission of assets, liabilities and net worth and other related acts constituting criminal
offenses under existing criminal statures.
De Lima said she saw the need to order an investigation due to the seriousness of the
allegations and also upon request of Sen. Santiago.
But she stressed the probe would not cover allegations on alleged human rights violations
committed by Enrile when he was defense minister of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos.
It might not be feasible to look into that because (the alleged crimes) happened a long time ago
and had already prescribed. And it would really be difficult to gather evidence on those
charges, she explained.
With regard to Santiagos claim that Enrile masterminded the pork barrel scam reportedly
perpetrated by businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, De Lima explained this case is already
undergoing preliminary investigation by the Office of the Ombudsman.
In a privilege speech, Santiago linked Enrile to various crimes including smuggling, illegal
logging, and gambling in CEZA, and plunder.
Enrile, who sat in front of the fuming Santiago, was seen playing a video game as Santiago was
giving her speech. He was also seen laughing at certain points.

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