august 11-17, 2013

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Naga backs Robredo’sFull Disclosure BillNCC: Daet PH’s

4th mostcompetitivemunicipality

( 473-8888

Naga cited one of PHmost competitive cities

Naga City was included in the list of top ten com-petitive cities of the National Competitiveness Council

(NCC), garnering the 9th place and beating more developed urban centers in the National

Capital Region like Manila and Quezon Cities.

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1st in BicolBy Rosalita B. MaNlaNgit

DAET, Camarines Norte -- Daet is the most competitive munici-pality in Bicol and fourth in the country according to the “2013 Cities/Municipalities Competi-tiveness Index”, the first ever released by the National Com-petitiveness Council (NCC).

The report, released on Tues-day, July 30, ranked the cities and municipalities based on 30 weight-ed indicators measuring economic

dynamism, government efficiency, and infrastructure.

In the competitiveness index of the first class municipalities, of the

163 entries, Daet was fouth wherein San Francisco, Agusan del Sur ranked first fol-

(Turn to page 6)Mayor saRioN

NAGA CITY --- In a bid to promote transparency and ac-countability in the whole country, this city, widely recognized as a bastion of local good governance, has passed a resolution endors-ing the passing into law of the Full Disclosure Bill of Camarines Sur 3rd District Representative Ma. Leonor G. Robredo.

In its 5th Regular Session last Tuesday, Aug. 6, the members of

the Sangguniang Panlungsod of Naga jointly and collectively ad-opted Resolution No. 2013-187, introduced by Councilor Gabriel H. Bordado Jr., expressing Naga City’s unconditional support for the immedi-ate passage of the Full Disclosure Bill.

Resolution No. 2013-187 also seeks

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bikol reporter2 august 11 - 17, 2013oPinion

joy at work and in pleasure.The padrino system is not bad per se.

(As the bible reflection yesterday says - money is not really evil – but rather the selfish use of money). Such system expands our individual social horizon (family level), making us more pliant in our quest for more effective and efficient life. There are instances when the assistance of close friends become the ingredient for success. So long as the system is not used for abuse of power – padrinos should be welcome!

EXEMPTION: Under our tax laws – we have non-profit corporations that are, by the nature of their activities, exempt from income taxation. Examples of these are educational, scientific and charitable institutions – mostly organized as foundations. There are also NGOs that are organized for similar purposes and as such become entitled to tax exemptions. Now – BIR says said exemptions are not automatically granted, the entities must apply for accreditation.

Tax exemption certificates used to be issued by the BIR National Office (Legal Division) and by the Legal Division of the Regional Offices. Under a recent Revenue Regulation, tax-exempt entities – either without certificates or expired ones – must apply for their tax exemption with the BIR RDOs where their corporations are based. There are requirements for submission including statement of operations and 3-years audited financial statements.

CASINOS: In our quest to lure tourists, our government is giving permits for big conglomerates to put up five-star, six-star hotels, complete with casino facilities. Phl is now contesting the role of Macau as the Las Vegas of Asia. In fact some Macau hotels are reportedly opting to close operations there to be able to transfer to Cebu and Manila. We wonder what will happen to our peace and order situation once the expanded casino operations go full-swing.

Opinions Unlimited believes that our tourism drive should be based on our natural attractions and not on gambling facilities. We have so much to offer in terms of historical event markers and fiesta occasions. The informal contests among our provinces for the holding of community celebrations and products, services and food festivals are interesting developments which merit the full support of our national government and LGUs.

PROVERBS: The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, and his lips will only say what are fitting.

(Atty. APA – chairs Acyatan & Co., CPAs-DFK International – is PICPA past president and Hall-of-Famer, past chair of ASEAN Federation of CPAs, and ACPAPP Lifetime Achievement Awardee).

KUMPADRE: They say we got the special custom from Spain or even Mexico – but records show that the Philippine “padrino” system is so well-entrenched in our society that it has led to many advantages for the “partners”. The real kumpadre relationship emanates from being one of the christening or wedding sponsors to the other’s child. But some consider their fellow sponsors in once such ceremony as their “kumpadre-kumadre” likewise.

Such expanded relationship – something akin to being fraternity brothers or sorority sisters – is availed of in times of troubles (cases) or even during periods of financial difficulties. Lately, there are findings that many government favors are received by some beneficiaries of government contracts and fund allocations. A feisty lady senator got so pissed off, she wants the “padrino” system totally abolished in granting government contracts. Wonderful idea, but how, oh - how?

FOREIGNERS: We have family friends from our ASEAN neighbors and they are amazed as to how close “kumpadres-kumadres” have become – with just one single ceremony. During the wedding of our youngest daughter (Atty. Barbie) more than ten years ago, two of our CPA friends from Malaysia and Singapore stood as sponsors. Right away they became part of our extended family – regularly sharing

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testimonials pour in attesting to the everyday benefits of this supplement. I, for one, have not had the flu or developed fever for the last seven years since I increased my vitamin C dosage from 500 mg to 3,000 mg. Please note however that the daily value recommended is only 60 mg. Whether it’s ascorbic acid or the more sophisticated kind, it doesn’t matter; you still get the same benefits. The only advantage of buffered C when taken in mega doses is that it may cause fewer bouts with diarrhea. In my case, I have not experienced any unpleasant side effects from mega-dosing. Only good ones.

A deficiency in vitamin C will show the early warning signs: weakness, lethargy, slow wound healing.

Q: I have been overweight and an asthmatic since I was 20. Now at 32, I wish to rid myself of it. How?

It is good you have decided to take a proactive role in overcoming this

challenge.There are few natural approaches you

and your doctor could consider: Chronic asthma, which is what you have, also presupposes that your lungs are in a state of inflammation.

The usual treatment for asthma is drugs which open airways and reduce inflammation. This, plus avoidance of your allergy triggers like certain foods, animal dander, dust are recommended.

To do:1. Have an allergy test again. Trigger

foods: peanuts, nuts, shellfish, milk, soy, bananas, wheat.

2. Go for that ideal body weight. The extra weight contributes to breathing problems.

This is aggravated by any oral steroids you could be taking which contribute to weight gain.

3. Beware of sulfites, which are deadly food preservatives to asthmatics. Unsuspected sulphites can be dried or canned fruits and vegetables, instant foods mixes, potatoes, shrimp and some wines.

4. Avoid salt and salty food. This aggravates fluid retention. Any food labels that indicate 400 mg of sodium per serving should be avoided.

5. Go fish. The anti-inflammatory omega-3 oils in fish are beneficial. Consider mackerel, swordfish and salmon. Give up one beef/pork dish a week for fish. You cannot go wrong on this. Consider taking capsules of omega-3-rich fish oils.

I am also a health buff. Matters of health interest me and I want to share what I know with others.

Many people are getting sick with respiratory diseases like asthma, flu, fever, etc. and there are certain things we “can do to help ourselves. Here’s the following column of wellness guru, Cory Quirino, in the Philippine Daily Inquirer dated June 25, 2013 that suggests what we should do and not do. It is entitled, “Questions on Antioxidants, asthma answered. “It also says,” Buffered vitamin C may result in fewer bouts with diarrhea

If only the solutions to your many problems provided quick and easy healing. Then again it’s all about transformation. And this takes time and perseverance.

Is there a single, antioxidant you would consider a super vitamin?

Medical experts and nutritionists alike consider vitamin C as an all-important vitamin. And I agree with them because the human body does not produce vitamin C. However, nature does provide us with a supply of vitamin C. Rich natural food sources: pineapple, guava, kiwi, broccoli, peppers, cantaloupe, pink grapefruit, oranges and strawberries.

At the Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine in California, Pauling’s vitamin C legacy continues to investigate the healing power of this antioxidant. Medical breakthroughs explore the potent role of vitamin C in the fight against HIV, cancer, cardiovascular disease, skin health.

There are skeptics, of course, who disclaim its health benefits. But countless

NENITA FuENTEBELLA-PEÑONES

lee g. dullesco iiHead, Advertising Associates

0920-533-7766

BPi 1st half 2013operating results

[email protected]

Bank of the Philippine islands (“BPI”) registered a net income of P12.0 billion in the first half of 2013, a 27% increase over the P9.4 billion made during the same pe-riod in 2012. The increase in earnings was a result of a 14% increase in total revenues coupled with a relatively modest 6% increase in operating expenses. The increase in total revenues was accounted for by a 6% increase in net interest income and a 23% increase in non-interest income. Gains were recorded in all major types of non-interest income, with fees and commissions, foreign ex-change, securities trading, insurance income and other operating income growing by 17%, 24%, 14%, 70%, and 34%, respectively, over the same period a year ago. The bank’s return on equity for the first half of 2013 was 23.7%.

Reflective of the robust expansion of the Philippine econ-omy, the bank’s total assets reached P1.02 trillion at the end of the first half of 2013, a 13% increase year-on-year. The bank’s loan portfolio grew by 17% year-on-year, well bal-anced between an 18% growth in corporate loans and a 15% growth in consumer loans. Asset quality remains strong, with a gross 30-day non-performing loan ratio of 2.2%. Loan loss reserves covered 117% of the gross amount of 30-day non-performing loans.

The bank’s growth in assets was supported by a 12% in-crease in deposits, which at the end of the first half of 2013 amounted to P823 billion. Current account and savings ac-count deposits (CASA) grew by an impressive 25% year-on-year, resulting in a CASA to time deposit ratio of 2:1, unprecedented for the bank.

The bank’s capital adequacy ratio as of June 30, 2013 stood at a strong 14.3%. With a market capitalization at mid-year of P341 billion, BPI is the most valuable bank in the country.

Commenting of the bank’s first half performance, Cezar Consing, President and Chief Executive Officer said, “BPI’s financial results for the first half of the year are strong. The growth in our loan book is well balanced and funded by a deposit base that is low cost and growing. We shortened the duration of our securities portfolio to reflect the changing market conditions, and our over-all business is well poised to take advantage of a rising interest rate environment.”

UNEP new student gov’t prexy bares plans for the UsgGaining majority of the

student’s votes as the new University Student Govern-ment (USG) President, Ace B. Buena, 5th year Engineer-ing student of the University of Northeastern Philippines’ (UNEP) College of Engineer-ing and Architecture pledged to uphold the student’s active participation vis a vis the university’s mission and vi-sion and priority programs.

Bent on improving the sys-

tem of education, specifically the teacher-student relation-ship, Buena said that on top of his list of priorities is the revival of the suggestion box which temporarily took a back seat over the years. He said that this endeavor will allow the students to write their sugges-tions and concerns without the apprehension that they might receive a cold shoulder or be reprimanded by the concerned faculty or university official.

“I know that one of my prime obligations is to see to it that the student’s concerns will be addressed properly by our organization and we can attain that if we are going to build a sturdy bridge between the uni-versity management and the student body,” Buena added.

Before assuming his post as the new president of UNEP-USG, Buena already served the council as senator during s/y 2010-2011 and was hailed

as its Vice President last year. Currently, he is also occupy-ing the post as NUSP Bicol Secretary General and PICE Student Chapter Vice Presi-dent in the region. He is also the current Vice Governor of the College of Engineering and Architecture.

Buena said that during his reign as USG head, he will also push for a resolution which will add a review subject to all the

for the aid and involvement of various leagues, such as the Leagues of Municipalities and the Leagues of Cities of the Philippines, to encourage all the other local government units to pass the same “in the name of transparency and ac-countability“.

According to Vice Mayor Nelson Legacion, the resolu-tion of the Sanggunian aims to strategically advance the ad-vocacy of Naga and its people in eliminating graft and cor-ruption and cutting down red tape in the government, not just in the city but also in national agencies and government-owned and controlled corpora-tions (GOCCs).

naga backs robredo’s full . . .“House Bill No. 21 of Con-

gresswoman Robredo seeks to institutionalize and, at the same time, widen the scope of the Department of the Interior and Local Government’s (DILG) Memorandum Circular No. 2010-83 issued by then Secre-tary Jesse Robredo. The circu-lar orders all LGUs and DILG regional offices to report their finances and bids and public offerings and forms part and parcel of the late secretary’s Seal of Good Housekeeping program,” Legacion stated.

“It is also one of his legacies that we would like to be institu-tionalized through the passing of the Full Disclosure Bill,” he

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bikol reporter 3august 11 - 17, 2013

President Benigno S. Aquino III attended Thurs-day evening the commemora-tion dinner for the late Inte-rior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo as he vowed to continue Robre-do’s advocacy for honest and effective governance.

“Alam nating ito ang pang-arap ni Jesse, at malinaw naman sa takbo ng bansa ngayon at sa mukha ng mga kasama nating kabalikat sa transpormasyon, hindi natin binigo, at hindi na-tin bibiguin si Jesse,” the Presi-dent said in his message at Club Filipino in San Juan.

“Kay Jesse: maraming sala-mat sa serbisyo, sa alaala at si-yempre, sa ispirasyong iniwan mo sa amin. Alam naming na-gawa mong harapin ang Diyos na walang bagahe o pagsisisi dahil natupad mo ang misyon mo dito sa lupa. At anumang iniwan mo, kami na ang bahala rito. Hindi ka bibiguin ng mga Pilipino.”

Robredo served as an in-spiration to the government to carry out its reform programs, the President said.

The President also prom-ised Robredo’s widow, lawyer Leni Robredo, that his admin-istration will be supportive of her initiatives in her district in Camarines Sur. Robredo was elected as representative of the 3rd district of Camarines Sur during the midterm election in May.

The President said his ad-ministration looks at increasing the budget intended to build more infrastructures in Bicol

BPI TOP BRASSFrom left: alfonso salcedo, BPi Corporate & Development Banking group Head, Natividad alejo, BPi Retail segment & Channels group Head, Cezar Consing, BPi President & CEo, antonio Paner, BPi global Markets group Head, teodoro limcaoco BPi Retail lending group Head.

BPI has been ranked 25th in The Financial Brand’s Overall Power 100 Social Me-dia Rankings for Banks. The Financial Brand is a leading online publication with the most comprehensive coverage of how financial institutions build and shape their brands. The Power 100 Rankings break down the social media stats of retail banks world-wide on the three major plat-forms — Facebook, Twitter and YouTube —according to community size, engagement, and activity.

BPI is the only bank in the Philippines that has made it in the rankings, which include some of the top banks from around the world. Topping the list is Chase (USA), followed by Capital One (USA) and ICICI Bank (India) in 2nd and 3rd respectively. Rounding up the Top 10 are the big US banks Bank of America (4th), Citi (7th), and Wells Fargo (10th). BPI also ranked in 15 other lists in the Power 100 Rankings including Power 100 Social Media Rankings for Retail Fi-nancial Institutions, Most Liked Retail Financial Institutions on Facebook, Top 100 Banks on Twitter, and Most Watched Bank YouTube Channels.

“While we are very deliber-ate in our social media strategy, the environment we operate in is fast evolving and you want to benchmark against the most successful brands,” said Mita Gozar, Vice President & Head of Brand at BPI.

The BPI Facebook fan page, which now has more than 273,000 fans, is enriched with

practical tips on personal savings, budgeting, investments, and oth-er financial topics. Last year, BPI also launched BPI Bankers On-line, a service that allows users to have private conversations with BPI Bankers who can provide ex-pert advice so that customers and non-customers alike will never miss on financial wellness. Now also available via mobile app, it features several bankers to whom users can pose questions to get tips on wise money management, growing their wealth, responsible borrowing, and other financial concerns. It even has bankers who cater to entrepreneurs and Overseas Filipinos.

“BPI is a strong advocate of financial wellness and we felt we needed to reach out to people and encourage them to seek financial advice,” Ms. Gozar said.

BPI has also made it easier for customers to reach them for customer service concerns and inquiries through BPI Bankers Online’s connection to BPI’s

Help Desk and its Twitter chan-nel, @TalktoBPI. Anyone can tweet BPI their questions and BPI’s customer service team will respond to provide them assistance.

TalktoBPI now has more than 10,500 followers.

The Financial Brand’s cita-tions are just the latest among several recognitions that BPI has garnered for its social me-dia initiatives. BPI has also been recognized by both PR and financial award-giving bod-ies. In the local scene, BPI was awarded at the Tambuli Awards and Anvil Awards for success-fully establishing public access to expert financial advice. In-ternationally, BPI was awarded at the Banking and Payments Asia (BPA) Trailblazer Awards in Singapore for Channel Ex-cellence in Social Media and at the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Gold Quill Awards in New York.

NAGA CITY --- A year after the ill-fated crash of the Piper Seneca plane that un-timely claimed the life of then DILG Secretary Jesse M. Ro-bredo, the local government of Naga City under the head-ship of Mayor John Bongat, has lined up and prepared activities in line with the cel-ebration of “Jesse M. Robre-do” Day come August 18.

This is also pursuant to Or-dinance No. 2012-046, unani-mously signed and endorsed by members of the Sangguni-ang Panglungsod, which states that August 18 of every year be remembered as JMR Day “in recognition of the exceptional performance and invaluable contributions of the late Honor-able Jesse Manalastas Robredo to the City of Naga which he served as City Mayor for 19

By aNa-liza s. MaCataNgay

SP IN SESSION Roy saN RaMoNMayor John Bongat attended the session of the sangguniang Panlungsod at the newly renovated session hall.

COMMEMORATION DINNER Robert Viñas/ Malacañang Photo Bureau

Pres. Benigno s. aquino iii delivers his message and attends the commemoration dinner in honor of the 1st death anniversary of the late interior and local government secretary Jesse Robredo at the Kalayaan 3, Club Filipino in greenhills, san Juan City on thursday night (aug. 8). the late Dilg secretary died in a plane crash off the shores of Masbate on Aug. 18, last year. He was a multi-awarded political leader who first served as Naga City Mayor. Camsur 3rd Dist. Rep. leni g. Robredo also attended the occasion with her three daughters.

years, and to the country as Sec-retary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).”

The activity will start from 5:30 in the morning with a “Tsinelas Walk” from Plaza Quezon and will converge at the Eternal Gardens where Robre-do’s remains were entombed. More than 3,000 Nagueños are expected to partake in the said activity. A wreath laying cer-emony will immediately follow at the memorial park.

TAU Gamma Phi will also spearhead a tree-planting activ-ity dubbed as “Alay Ki Jess” at 730am where more than 300 varieties` of fruit-bearing seedlings will be planted at the Mount Isarog Protected Area.

Students coming from vari-ous schools in the city were

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bikol reporter4 august 11 - 17, 2013etCeterA

inner chessBy J. HENRy DaNiCaN

An “Eye-for-an Eye” Cycle of Killings, Not Just Quantitative But Also Qualitative

Evelyn Pinated’s desire for revenge (she wants them crushed) is a natural emotional feeling for the kind of painful loss of a loved one she had just suffered. Same with Rosaleo Balag, father of the 30-year old “happy-go-lucky” bachelor PO2 Rodel Martires Balag, one of the above-said eight killed policemen of Catarman killed in a NPA landmine-initiated ambush. One of PO2 Balag’s leg was dismembered due to the landmine blast and his father Rosaleo tried to look for his missing leg at the ambush scene but could not find it. His head, like those of his comrades-in-arms was shot several times, at close range and apparently to finish them off (a scenario reprised in the Juban Incident but this time by the soldiers against the rebels?). So, it was not just their deaths that their loved ones had to come to terms with but also the brutal manner in which they were killed, not to mention that death came too soon for these young men still full of promise (much the same thing too for the other side). Rosaleo understandably could only wish ill for those

By soliMaN M. saNtos, JR.Editor’s note: The author has been a long-time Bikolano human rights and IHL lawyer; legislative consultant and legal scholar; peace advocate, researcher and writer, whose initial engagement with the peace process was in Bicol with the first GRP-NDFP nationwide ceasefire in 1986. He is presently presiding judge of the 9th Municipal Circuit Trial Court (MCTC) of Nabua-Bato, Camarines Sur and acting presiding judge of the Municipal Trial Court (MTC) of Balatan, Camarines Sur.

(Continued from last week)

responsible for the death of his son and his police colleagues.

On the other side of the armed conflict, and going back to the recent Juban Incident main starting point of this article, among the immediate responses of the CPP to it was a statement on 6 July 2013 stating that: “The CPP and all revolutionary forces vow to exact justice and punish the perpetrators of this massacre. It calls on all units of the NPA to carry out more tactical offensives to defend the people, particularly the peasant masses in Sorsogon and the Bikol region, who are being subjected to more severe violations of human rights as the AFP intensifies its Oplan Bayanihan war of suppression.” Coincidence or (likely) not, that same day, eight (note also eight) soldiers of the 31st Infantry Battalion (the same Army unit involved in the Juban Incident) were killed by the Celso Minguez Command (CMC) of the NPA-Sorsogon during its “active defense maneuvers” in Irosin town, according to statements of the CMC and CPP. Whether true or not (it was denied by an Army spokesperson), must this -- which amounts to an

“eye-for-an-eye” spiral or cycle of killings -- go on?

As it is, as of March 2012, according to Ploughshares Research and Action for Peace, as many as 40,000 combat-related deaths in the Philippine armed conflict on the Communist front have been reported since 1969, when the NPA was founded and launched its revolutionary armed struggle under CPP leadership. This is apart from the usually cited figure of 120,000 (civilians and combatants) deaths in the Philippine armed conflict on the Moro front – but where there is at least an honest-to-goodness peace process moving forward towards a new and improved comprehensive agreement with the MILF as the emergent representative of the Bangsamoro people’s struggle for self-determination. The dynamics of armed conflict often partakes of the nature of scoring body counts and propaganda points against each other. In the process, the number of combat-related deaths just piles up year after year of an armed conflict nearing 45 protracted years.

Those are the cold statistics. And we have given you here just a few of the names and human interest stories behind those morbid statistics. The analysis of these must really not just be quantitative but also qualitative. In the first place, as we already said, the number of persons killed should be multiplied by the number of

their relatives, friends and acquaintances (perhaps further multiplied by the multiplier effect of facebook, the internet and social as well as mainstream media), as an initial measure of the impact of these killings at the personal level.

And when one side sees the other as the “demonyo” and whose best wishes for them are only death wishes, when one side has “blood debts” to the other side, when one side’s heroes are the other side’s oppressors, when one side’s deaths are “weightier than Mayon Volcano” and the other side’s deaths are “lighter than a feather,” then part of the “State of the Nation” is a broken social fabric that does not bode well for the necessary national unity and even economic revival. Those who envision and speak of a “civil war” (like the American Civil War of the 1860s) in terms of the politico-military balance and status of belligerent forces in armed conflict may not realize it but there is already a veritable civil war of hearts and minds among the people, between brother and brother. Must this, as well as the blood-letting, go on in order to achieve well-meaning and valid socio-economic and political objectives and programs?Ends and Costs, Ends and Means

If good, talented people are our best resource – as human resources should be, for any endeavor, whether it is revolution or governance – then it is a pity that so many of “the best and the brightest” of them are nipped in the bud or prime of their young lives. The laudable ends,

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lMP-Camarines Norte ChapterOfficers for 2013-2016

President Mayor tito s. sarion (Daet) Mayor Ricarte Padilla (Jose Panganiban)

Executive Vice President for External Affairs Mayor alex Pajarillo (Mercedes)

Executive Vice President for Internal Affairs Mayor senandro Jalgalado (Capalonga)

Secretary Mayor agnes ang (Vinzons)

Treasurer Mayor Ronnie Magana (talisay)

Auditor Mayor Romeo Moreno (Paracale)

Business Manager Mayor Dina Borja (sta. Elena)

Public Relations Officer Mayor Joseph ascutia (labo)

Directors Mayor Francis ong (san Vicente) Mayor Jun Davocol (Basud) Mayor Edgar Ramores (san lorenzo Ruiz)

Election: august 9, 2013golden Bay Restaurant, Pasay City

By EVElyN g. NERVaRagay Central school, Ragay, Cam. sur

We often hear these lively words from pupils/ students who are under a teacher with a sense of humor: “Okey talaga si Teacher, nakakatuwa, marunong siyang magpatawa. Alive ang klase natin, hindi boring.”

Sense of humor, well, it’s true. It is probably the best way to catch students’ fondest attention. The good qualities of an effective, ideal teacher are not only to be benevolent, to be kind, always willing to offer a helping hand, neither to be a mentally gifted one, the kind who can afford to answer all sorts of questions asked by inquisitive students, nor to be a well-versed speaker, the one who eloquently and easily delivers flowery words, but, also knows how to tell jokes once in awhile. Mind you, a sense of humor is a necessity, an essential tool in teaching pupils. As prime molders of learning, we should not take this sort of excellence for granted. Want to know why? Just honestly answer this question, “Do you like a fastidious, strict and boring teacher - the so- called “dry” teacher who ignites students’ ability to daydream or to make them yawn widely. Oftentimes, most students show reluctance to listen when they are faced with a Mona Lisa type of teacher, the kind who smiles once in a blue moon and seems to find difficulty to turn the class condition to be more lively and less sleepy. These characteristics are pernicious or harmful to the students’ active participation, precluding them to enthusiastically share their thoughts and views about the subject being talked about.

A sense of humor is necessary to catch the attention of the students, to encourage participation, to build rapport, to cheer them, to make them relaxed while learning, and to feel the joy of making others happy.

If the teacher has the knowledge to motivate students in a funny but constructive way which is done by blending related jokes congruent to the subject being tackled, he can promote a lingering rapport with his/ her students which causes these pupils to be at ease and docile to acquire learning easily. In addition to that, he/she may also eliminate the miseries inflicted on the students’ being by the unfavorable environment burdening them with too much tensions and pressures which may hinder their concentration to grasp and to enhance learning effectivity. Molding the youth is not the only task a teacher should perform. The skill of cheering the plodder and making the pupils feel well-cared for is indispensable, a very essential talent that should be possessed and shared especially to those who mostly need it. Be guided always by the thought that our responsibility as teachers, does not end within the four corners of the classroom.

So, to all modern engineers of learning, develop your sense of humor, open the door of the largest available room in the world, the room for improvement. We don’t need be bald or “kalbo” to make jokes and it does not matter whether our type of joke is funny or corny, the cornier the better. The most important thing to consider is that we feel the joy of making others happy. On the other hand, for those teachers who are already gifted with this kind of potential, congratulations! You surely are an artistic teacher because telling a good joke is an art, the highest, I think.


LEGAZPI CITY -- Why invest in this city and not somewhere else?

This was the question readily answered by Anto-nio Tan, president of Lib-erty Commercial Center Inc. (LCCI), immediately after signing an agreement with the city government for a P2-billion investment for the establishment of a new mall complex on the 1.5-hectare land at the city’s central busi-ness district.

The land, which was site of the first-ever commercial center in the city that was razed by fire nearly 20 years ago, is owned by the city government.

LCCI is owned by Filipi-no-Chinese Tan family that originated from Tabaco City and pioneered the establish-ment of malls in the region.

It now runs a chain of malls with LCC-Legazpi lo-cated at the heart of the com-mercial district here as the biggest and the second old-est, next to LCC-Tabaco, and in almost all urban towns of

Albay, Camarines Sur and Sorsogon.

“Firstly, LCCI is an Al-bayano company and, sec-ondly, Legazpi City, our sec-ond home, is today’s most attractive investment site that investors like us see as an investment wonderland be-cause of the very friendly en-vironment created by the city government for businesses,” Tan said, as he emerged from the office of Mayor Noel Ro-sal after signing the contract over the week.

Under the contract, the

property is leased to LCCI for an annual base rent of P5.775 million.

The project cost is not mentioned in the document covering the contract (a copy of which obtained by PNA here over the week) but Tan said it is to the tune of P2 bil-lion to cover the development of the site into a world-class shopping and lifestyle center featuring a four-level modern mall building.

Tan said works on the project will commence im-mediately after all necessary

permits and approvals have been issued or granted as LCCI has a 20-month con-struction period provided un-der the contract.

He said the company will be racing against time in completing this project as it has to be put in operation before the opening of the Southern Luzon International Airport (SLIA) in the nearby Barangay Alobo, Daraga, Al-bay, that is expected before the end of 2014.

“Indeed, Legazpi is the best place in this part of the

globe for new investments, given its strategic location that makes it the regional center of government for Bi-col, center of transportation, education and health services and the heart of Albay’s tour-ism being named as the City of Fun and Adventure by the world’s travel industry,” he said.

The infrastructure proj-ects of President Benigno S. Aquino III is another boost to the locality’s leadership as new investment destination in Southern Luzon.

At present, a P2-billion flood control mega project funded by the national gov-ernment is ongoing imple-mentation by the Depart-ment of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to make Legazpi an all-weather city, a development that the local business community is also anticipating, Tan added.

Rosal said that apart from LCC, two other business giants—the SM Prime Hold-ings and the Robinson Retail Group -- are also putting up new investments in the city.

SAN AGUSTIN, PILI, CAMARINES SUR - Over 300 members of militant groups stormed into the com-pound of Department of Ag-riculture regional office here and uprooted and trampled and vandalized the Golden rice which were already in heir booting stage planted in an experimental lot here. The police and barangay tanod of about 25 who were securing the site were outnumbered and caught by surprise when the agitated rallyists forcibly

Militant groups of about 300 who claim to be farmers stormed the Da compound by forcibly opening the gates jumping over the fences and destroyed the fence around the golden rice field trial and proceeded to uproot, trample and destroy (above photo) the rice plants which were already in their booting stage.

Dir. Bruce tolentino (in polo) explains to the media that despite what happened , golden Rice research will continue as it the commitment of their institution and the other partner agencies, to fight malnutrition . With him were Dr. Tony Alfonso, project director of golden Rice and concurrently national coordinator of Biotechnology Program of the Da and Da Bicol regional executive Director Engr. abelardo R. Bragas

opened the gate and climbed over the fence. In just 15 min-utes the rallyists ravaged the ricefield.

DA Bicol regional execu-tive director Eng. Abelardo R. Bragas and the members of the research and technical team strongly condemned the violent and mischievous assault of the rallyists which resulted to dam-age of government properties, loss of valuable data and re-search investment. He said the agency may take legal action against the perpetrators .

Golden Rice is a new type of rice which contains beta carotene, a source of vitamin A. Leading nutrition and agricul-tural research organizations are working together to evaluate Golden Rice as a potential new way to reduce Vitamin A defi-ciency. Part of this evaluation is the conduct of multi-location field trails to ensure that Golden rice is effective and safe, and can be planted , grown and har-vested just like other popular rice varieties.

The field trials were duly

permitted by the Department of Agriculture Bureau of Plant Industry (DA-BPI), the national regulatory authority in the Phil-ippines for biotechnology re-search and development, after establishing that the trials will pose no significant risks to hu-man health and environment.

Series of meeting and dia-logues with local leaders and community representatives were conducted prior to the conduct of the trials. Implementation of the trials was being closely monitored by the Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC) composed of researchers and experts from the DA, CBSUA, barangay captain, municipal council and religious group.

At the time of the incident, DA RFO 5 officials and mem-bers of the research and tech-nical team of the Golden Rice Project were gathered at the DA main building awaiting the ar-rival of the rallyists, ready to have dialogue with them. The team had been alerted that a rally will be held that day and as in the previous rallies before, leaders of the protesting groups are invited for a dialogue.

The surprise attack was staged by the group led by Wil-fredo Marbella, deputy secre-tary of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) and Bert Autor, secretary general of KMP Bicol. Also identified were members of Anakpawis Partylist and MASIPAG.

Agriculture Secretary Pro-ceso J. Alcala in a television interview asked those opposing the trial to let the trials be com-pleted first.

Meanwhile, IRRI through its deputy director general for Communications and Partner-ships Bruce Tolentino person-ally came to Bicol to assess the situation. He said that trials will continue. He calls on Filipinos to rally against malnutrition. -Emily Bordado

Members of the militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Bikol (KMB) together with the Sararong Inisyatiba nin Kahinwanmaan na Wasa-kon ang Agrokemikals na Lasong-GMO (SIKWAL – GMO) uprooted Golden Rice in an experimental lot at the Department of Agriculture Regional Field Unit No. 5 at Pili, Camarines Sur in Bicol region, Philippines on Thurs-day morning.

The KMB, is a regional chapter of the Kilusang Mag-bubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) or Peasant Movement of the Phil-ippines in Bicol region while the SIKWAL-GMO is an alli-ance of farmers, church people, students, academecians and consumers based in Bicol who are against GMOs and Agro-chemical Transnational Corpo-rations’ control on agriculture.

More than 400 farmers coming from Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte and Sorso-gon staged a surprise attack on the field testing site in protest against field trials of genetically modified (GM) rice. About 30 policemen failed to stop the

farmers from uprooting the golden rice

Bert Autor, coordinator of SIKWALGMOs and secre-tary general of the KMB, said, “They [farmers] uprooted the Golden rice plants within 15 minutes.”

“They [farmers] were not able to control their emotional outburst,” Autor said in a state-ment, adding that the farmers were fired up by warnings from “concerned scientists and peas-ant leaders” about the dangers of the Golden rice or genetical-ly modified (GM) rice to health and its threat to biodiversity.

He said that the GM rice “was nothing but a ploy of agrochemical TNCs, like Syn-genta, to satisfy their monopoly on seeds and rake more profit.” “We thank the militant Bicolano farmers for their spontaneous reaction to express their anger against GM rice,” he said.

Wilfredo Marbella, KMP deputy secretary, who joined the protest, said that the up-rooting of the GM rice “is our strong political message against greedy agrochemical TNCs like Syngenta and the Aquino gov-

ernment, which allowed field trials of Golden Rice.”

Marbella recalled that members of KMP-Far Eastern Mindanao chapter uprooted Monsanto’s Bt (Bacillus thur-ingiensis) corn crops in an ex-perimental fields in Tampakan, South Cotabato, last August 29, 2001. This action is the first of its kind in the country’s history of protest against GM crops.

More than a decade after, we did [uprooting] in Bicol, Mar-bella said adding that the field testing of Golden Rice were pushed through despite opposi-tion from farmers, pro-people scientists, church leaders and environmentalists in the coun-try.

“Even if Syngenta and pro-ponents of golden rice are an-nouncing that they, they will make it royalty free and farm-ers can use the seeds for free due to humanitarian purposes. However, patents were still be owned by Syngenta, in which they can change the agreement regarding royalty any time,” said Marbella.

”The golden rice will pave (Turn to page 7)

Militant groups stormgolden rice test farm

bikol reporter6 august 11 - 17, 2013

NaME oF DECEasED DatE oF iNtERMENtSTEVEN S. LOKOMOWITZ June 7, 20131. RoBERto F. EUstE June 8, 20132. ElEUtERio N. soltEs June 9, 20133. saloME C. tolEDaNa June 9, 20134. PaBlo C. PoRCalla sR. June 14, 20135. ELENA C. ABOGADO June 16, 20136. gEoFFREy a. MEUlio June 15, 20137. EDUaRDo i. MoNtEs June 19, 20138. JEMiNa P. RiVERa June 18, 20139. WILFREDO B. LATUMBO June 19, 201310. KRistiNE MaE F. saNDUCo June 29, 201311. JoaNNaH F. DE gUzMaN June 29, 201312.

Message of Thanks

We, the family of the late

who peacefully rests in the loving grace of our lordon July 23, 2013 at the age of 91

wish to express our heartfelt gratitude and sincerest appreciation to all who

offered masses and prayers, sent flowers and messages of sympathy and who in countless ways, condoled with and

comforted us in our hour of bereavement.

Dios MaBalos saiNDo!

added.Robredo filed House Bill

No. 21 on July 1, her first day in the House of Repre-sentatives. Under the said measure, national and local governments and the GOCCs are mandated to disclose the following: annual budget, budget execution documents, accountability reports, pro-curement plan, invitation to bid, annual financial state-ments, consolidated bi-annual financial and narrative accom-plishment reports, agency is-suances and local ordinances, and other documents and information required to be made available to the public by law.

The aforementioned docu-ments should be disclosed with or without request from an individual or any entity

naga backs robredo’s full . . . (from page 2)

through posting in conspicu-ous places within public buildings, printed media of general circulation, and in official websites of the agen-cies, offices and instrumen-talities.

“This will allow our people to access the data at any time without the burden of tech-nicalities and bureaucracy. Government funds are hard-earned money of the people that should be spent judi-ciously and for the common good,” Robredo explained.

House Bill No. 21 also provides that, in case of vio-lation of said measure, the head of the departments, bureaus, agencies and/or lo-cal government units will be held accountable and will be penalized by a fine of five hundred thousand pesos

(Php500,000.00).“By imposing hefty fines,

the bill can compel all govern-ment entities to comply with the law. If we could have our way though, we recommend that heavier penalties be im-posed, such as making vio-lations of said law a ground for dismissal of the chief of office and/or providing that non-compliance with the law is a criminal offense leading to imprisonment of the head of office,” commented Vice Mayor Legacion.

“Nevertheless, the city government of Naga firmly believes that the proposed legislative measure should really be passed into law if we indeed want to realize the Tuwid na Daan vision of President Noynoy Aquino,” he added.

lowed by Guagua, Pampanga and Carmona, Cavite while General Trias was the fifth in the rank.

Daet was ranked 1st under infrastructure indicators of the competitiveness index report in the municipalities followed by Mexico and Virac while for cities were Naga, San Fernan-do in Pampanga and Cagayan de Oro. The said cities and mu-nicipalities were ranked based on road network, basic utilities and registered vehicles.

Mayor Tito Sarion said that this is a good news for Daet to be the most competitive in Bicol and ranked 4th in the country because the basis were programs and projects that cre-ated economic impact, busi-ness processing and licensing systems, infrastructures, result of the community based man-agement system, local gover-nance financial management, seal of good housekeeping and

ncc: daet ph’s 4th most . . .among others.

He said that this is also in consistent with the previous citation that Daet is the least in terms of poverty incidence among towns and cities in the region in 2012 by the National Census and Statistical Board (NSCB).

“This has a good impact in the local economy and my dream now is to inspire and work hard for more coopera-tion for programs and projects in Daet through public-private partnership,” Sarion said.

The rankings serve as a guide for investors in choos-ing where to put up businesses. These will also encourage lo-cal government units (LGUs) to pursue best practices to at-tract more investments accord-ing to the report.

On the other hand, Cagayan de Oro bested 122 cities in terms of competitiveness fol-lowed by Iloilo, San Fernando,

Pampanga, Bacolod and Ko-ronadal. Naga City in Cama-rines Sur was 9th in the rank.

The National Competitive-ness Council was formed last October 2006 as a Public-Pri-vate Task Force on Philippine Competitiveness by virtue of Presidential Executive Order No. 571, amended to E.O. No. 44 by the present administra-tion to address the improve-ment of the country’s competi-tiveness from the bottom third of competitiveness rankings to the top third by 2016.

The council is chaired by Trade and Industry Secretary Gregory L. Domingo for the public sector and co-chaired by Mr. Guillermo M. Luz for the private sector.

This year’s Cities and Mu-nicipalities Competitiveness Index would also be used to compare Philippines LGUs with their Asean counterparts, report said.

The first Cities and Munici-palities Competitiveness Index covered 122 cities and 163 mu-nicipalities across the country. The results were based on data compiled from local government units (LGUs) and measured the LGUs based on three factors: eco-nomic dynamism, government efficiency and infrastructure.

Naga bested the other LGUs in terms of infrastructure, which takes into account a city’s road network, households with con-nection to basic utilities, regis-tered vehicles, travel time from the center to major ports, per-centage of investments in infra-structure, stability of electricity and water utilities, number of cell sites and automated teller machines (ATMs), the ratio of existing hospital beds to the population, as well as the num-ber of hotel rooms and restaurant seats.

Other LGUs from the NCR scored low on the index because of the lack of data available to the NCC. Naga is regarded as one of the most transparent LGUs in the country, making public all gov-

naga cited one of ph . . .ernment data, including financial statements, thru its website www.naga.gov.ph.

Naga is also widely consid-ered as Bicol Region’s economic center, with international compa-nies like IBM beginning to estab-lish business processing units in the city. The city has also played host to national conventions and events, and boasts of more than 1,600 hotel rooms, dozens of food and beverage establish-ments, making it a premiere tour-ism service center.

Earlier this year, Metro Naga was recognized by the Depart-ment of Science and Technology as one of the Next Wave Cities of the country. It was also given the distinction of having the low-est dependency on the Internal Revenue Allottment (IRA) of all LGUs in Bicol.

Thirty indicators were used. Ten indicators for each area such as number of registration under the economic efficiency or dyna-mism, presence of an investment promotion unit under government efficiency, and travel time from center to ports for infrastructure.

Even the number of cellsites, ATMs, hotel rooms and ratio of hospital beds to population were taken into consideration to mea-sure infrastructure readiness.

Here are the results for select-ed indicators:

For the fastest processing time of business registrations, Bacolod rank the highest. For electricity rates which is a common plaint among businessmen, Penablanca in Cagayan Valley registered the lowest rate for electricity. For wa-ter services, Tarragona in Davao ranked number one. Water is free. For Fastest processing time to register a business, Bogo in Cen-tral Visayas registered the fastest at 0.01. For securing a construc-tion permit, Naga City regis-tered the fastest at 0.010. For the least number of steps to register a business, Mexico in Pampanga ranked number 1 with just two steps. For securing a construc-tion permit, Calbayog was fastest with only one step. The others had two or three. Quezon City had the most number of ATMs at 688 and the most number of cell sites at 1,078. Meycauayan had the highest ratio of hospital beds over the population at .9902.

including of ultimately ending the exploitation of persons by other persons, can no longer justify the human cost. That now includes the precious lives of Frankie, Christine and Ted, among many others. Most ways one looks at it, what a loss, if not waste, of youth and talent, although those three would be the first to object to the characterization of their deaths as a waste. But for us, while their lives certainly may not have been a waste, their deaths were. There was still much that they could do for the country.

Some revolutionaries would say that if Frankie and Christine had not taken the less travelled revolutionary road that they did, then they would be just an ordinary married couple struggling to make ends meet and to raise children as a middle-class family with the usual career and material aspirations. Perhaps, perhaps not, this would ultimately depend on their idealism, patriotism and sense of social responsibility. In whatever station or stage in life, one can make his or her contribution in the service of the people, for the betterment of the country, and even for needed radical changes.

For this, there has to be another, less costly way than armed struggle as the main

of fallen rebels . . .form of struggle. It behooves the revolutionary leadership to seriously consider this, if only because of the mounting human and other costs – but also because of questions of feasibility or effectiveness of the chosen strategy of protracted people’s war under current objective and subjective conditions, both national and international. And we are not speaking of surrender, capitulation or cooptation of the national-democratic cause or program. Of course, the state or ruling system must also do its part of the politico-military equation. An honest-to-goodness peace process is one forum to sort this out, including arrangements for the revolutionary Left’s viable politico-electoral participation. This entails sincere and serious engagement in peace negotiations as a strategy and not just a tactic – on the part of both the CPP-NPA-NDFP and the government.

Sometime back, in the aftermath of Typhoon “Sendong” in December 2011 in Northern Mindanao, Frankie as NDFP-Bikol spokesperson “Ka Greg Bañares” was quoted in the media as saying that “While the peace negotiation has no clear direction, it is better to go on with the armed struggle.” And so it did go

on, with Frankie and many others on both sides eventually laying down their lives in this struggle. It behooves the leaders of both sides to give peace negotiations clear direction in terms of its really going somewhere. Enough with the tactical posturing and maneuvering. The leaders of both sides owe it to their fallen rebels and fallen soldiers to be as sincere and as serious in peace negotiations as their fallen rebels and fallen soldiers were in the performance of their tasks and duties. Frankie, Christine and Ted, fallen rebels – as well as the fallen soldiers – may you rest in peace. And may there instead be more of happy homecomings for “the best and the brightest” sons and daughters of the people.

--------------------------------- SOLIMAN M. SANTOS,

JR. has been a long-time Bikolano human rights and IHL lawyer; legislative consultant and legal scholar; peace advocate, researcher and writer, whose initial engagement with the peace process was in Bikol with the first GRP-NDFP nationwide ceasefire in 1986. He is presently Presiding Judge of the 9th Municipal Circuit Trial Court (MCTC) of Nabua-Bato, Camarines Sur and Acting Presiding Judge of the Municipal Trial Court (MTC) of Balatan, Camarines Sur.

CORRECTIONIn the August 4-10, 2013 issue of this paper, LGU Caramoan

Municipal Zoning Ordinance No. 5, series of 2013 under Section 53: Violation and Penalty. Any person who violates any of the provision of this Ordinance shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not less than Two Thousand Pesos (P2,000.00) but not exceeding Two Thousand Five Hundred pesos (P2,500.00) NOT Three Thousand pesos (P3,000.00), as previously published.


all unredeemed items/articles pawned at asPE igUalDaD PAWNSHOP, Cor. Igualdad Ext. & J. Hernandez Ave., Igualdad, Naga City, pawned from MaRCH 01-31, 2013 whose terms have expired will be sold to public auction sale on sEPt. 01, 2013 from 9:00 a.M.-12:00 NooN.

Redemption/Renewals of all pledges covered by the above-mentioned date will be honored until aUgUst 28, 2013 only. tHE MaNagEMENtBiKol REPoRtERPublished: aUgUst 11 and 18, 2013

NOTICE TO THE PUBLICAUCTION SALE/SUBASTA

all unredeemed items/articles pawned at asPE EXPloRER PAWNSHOP, Ground Floor, Bichara Complex, Abella St., Igual-dad, Naga City, pawned from MaRCH 01-31, 2013 whose terms have expired will be sold to public auction sale on sEPt. 01, 2013 from 9:00 a.M.-12:00 NooN.



all unredeemed items/articles pawned at asPE sPEED PAWNSHOP, JR. Bichara Complex, San Antonio Poblacion, Calabanga, Camarines sur, pawned from MaRCH 01-31, 2013 whose terms have expired will be sold to public auction sale on sEPt. 01, 2013 from 9:00 a.M.-12:00 NooN.



All unredeemed items/articles pawned at ROWENA ASPE PAWNSHOP, P. Burgos St., corner J. Hernandez Avenue, Naga City, pawned from MaRCH 01-31, 2013 whose terms have expired will be sold to public auction sale on sEPt. 01, 2013 from 9:00 a.M.-12:00 NooN.



all unredeemed items/articles pawned at R. M. asPE PAWNSHOP, Cor. Panganiban & Elias Angeles Street, Naga City, pawned from MaRCH 01-31, 2013 whose terms have expired will be sold to public auction sale on sEPt. 01, 2013 from 9:00 a.M.-12:00 NooN.



all unredeemed items/articles pawned at E. Boy asPE PAWNSHOP, Prieto Street, Filabel Arcade, Dinaga, Naga City, pawned from MaRCH 01-31, 2013 whose terms have expired will be sold to public auction sale on sEPt. 01, 2013 from 9:00 a.M.-12:00 NooN.



All unredeemed items/articles pawned at ASPE CROWN-JEWEL PAWNSHOP & JEWELRY STORE, Bichara Mall corner J. Hernandez & gen. luna sts., Naga City, pawned from MaRCH 01-31, 2013 whose terms have expired will be sold to public auction sale on sEPt. 01, 2013 from 9:00 a.M.-12:00 NooN.



CAvINg IN RAPU-RAPU ISLAND Photo by PAWDCavers of the Protected Areas and Wildlife Division of the DENR are half submerged in a cave stream while traversing inside the Pototan Cave in Batan island, Rapu-rapu, albay during their assessment. Pototan Cave can be found at Barangay tinocawan and Manila in Batan island and is accessible from Legazpi City via a motorized banca for about forty-five minutes and from Brgy. Manila and by a ten minute hike from the beach to the main cave entrance. DENR Bicol classified the cave as Class II, which pertains to caves having “hazardous conditions and contain sensitive geological, archaeological, cultural, historical and biological values or high quality eco-systems”.

course offerings as preparation for those who want to take a board examination.

With Buena in pursuing these plans are the other elect-ed officers: John Kevin C. Gambal, Vice President; Mark Kevin B. Umbao-Secretary; Sarah L. Sison-Treasurer; and Louie Taburnal- Auditor.

Rhujan Felix Z. Alfelor, Romar V. Belen, Jennifer A. Dura, Froilan Celetaria, Carol L. Oblino, Katherine Princess I. Vista, Clinton A. Espallardo and , Kristofer A. Cabañes were elected as Senators while the following students were

unep new student gov’t . . .elected as representatives of their respective departments: Criminology- Sheena B. Es-panto, Education-Angelique I. Redondo, CBED –Karl Mark Shaine Bacsain,CEA/TD – Philip John V. Juanil-las, Maritime-Genesis Itur-rios, AB/SW- John Michael Grande, HRM- Leo D. Ollado and BSN/’ Midwifery – Niko Paulo G. Aguilar.

Atty. Remelisa Alfelor-Moraleda, UNEP President has only words of inspiration for the newly elected student leaders.

“Student organizations,

primarily their leaders, are the university’s partners in ensur-ing that our aspirations are carried out. We expect them to be our partner in improving the valuable experience of our students, and ensure that their co-students are provided with high representation and oppor-tunities for personal develop-ment,” Remelisa added.

With the enthusiasm of the students and the overwhelming support of the university man-agement to their endeavors, the entire USG council is hopeful that they are going to make a significant change in the cam-pus.

also invited to participate in the Disaster Preparedness lecture at the Naga City People’s hall, just inside the City hall com-pound. After which, there will be a distribution of “tsinelas” or slippers to more or less 200 students from public schools. This will be spearheaded by the Philippine Women’s Basketball team.

Those who want to view Ro-bredo’s memorabilia can visit Plaza Rizal where organizers have arranged a JMR Exhibit.

In the afternoon, the late Secretary’s sister. Dr. Jose-phine Robredo-Bundoc, also known as Penny will spearhead a Physician for Peace Activ-ity in celebration of Jesse’s life with the Persons with Dis-abilities (PWADs). There will be wheelchair distribution and measurement of mobility facili-ties to ensure that PWADs are given comfortable ease when

naga declares aug. 18 . . .transacting at the City Hall.

Penny is a Physiatrists who goes on monthly amputee mis-sions all over the islands to measure, fabricate and fit am-putees with artificial limbs.

Wrapping up the afternoon’s events are the 2nd Discovery Women’s Basketball invitation-al at the JMR Coliseum and a-Jess Mabalos Concert at Plaza Quezon at 6pm. Songs, dances and presentations are expected to relive the memory of the late Secretary.

Robredo figured in a plane crash in the seawaters off Mas-bate City last August 18 around 100 meters away from the shoreline of Ibiningay village of the said town. Captain Jes-sup Bahinting and student pilot Kshitz Chand also perished on the said accident. Robredo’s aide, Jun Abrazado who was with the Secretary fortunately survived the accident.

and Mindanao.As with the government’s

aggressive spending for infra-structure development in Min-danao, he said the Bicol region should also receive additional budget for its growth.

“Everybody who is in need should be addressed by gov-ernment as the capabilities in-creased,” he said.

On August 18, 2012, a twin-engine, four-seater Piper Sen-eca plane carrying Robredo en route to Naga City from Cebu City crashed off Masbate kill-ing him and the pilot, Capt. Jessup Bahinting and Nepalese

pilot trainee Kshitiz Chand. Don Abrazado, Robredo’s aide, survived the crash.

An advocate of good gov-ernance, Robredo served as Naga City mayor for less than 20 years. He spearheaded Naga City’s development, making it one of the country’s premier cities.

Robredo, along with for-mer Pampanga governor Ed Panlilio and Isabela governor Grace Padaca, also founded the Kaya Natin! movement aimed at training future leaders and championing good governance in the country.

p-noy leads commemoration . . .

the way for widespread control of TNCs in agriculture and food by patenting seeds and variet-ies. We call on the Department of Agriculture to immediately cancel Golden Rice and other GMO field testing in the coun-try. We don’t need GMO. What we need is genuine land reform to address hunger and poverty,” Marbella added.

Meanwhile, in support of the action, the Resistance and Solidarity against Agrochemi-cal TNCs (RESIST) said they will seek the help of the Anak-pawis partylist to re-file in the 16th Congress the GMO Free Food and Agriculture Act , a bill that will prohibit all field testing of GM crops and ban the entry of all GM crops and food products.

Dr. Chito Medina, Conve-nor of RESIST and MASIPAG national coordinator, said his group “is calling for an imme-diate stop to all field testing of

bicolano . . .

GM crops, including Bt Talong, because of the hazards they pose to human health, environ-ment and agriculture.”

MASIPAG (Farmer and Sci-entist for the Development of Agriculture) is the organization that was able to obtain a writ of kalikasan from the Court of Appeals last May against new applications for field tests of Bt eggplant, another GM plant which was tested last year at Central Bicol State University. Medina said we would like to take this opportunity to call all concerned government agen-cies to implement the decision of the Court of Appeals to stop field testing of BT eggplant in

the Philippines.In another statement, the

Asian Peasant Coalition (APC), an Asia-wide coalition of farm-ers in 9 countries, also express support to Bicolano farmers and the Filipino people in general, saying there are better ways of relieving vitamin A deficiency, such as encouraging farmers to grow and eat other vegetables which is cheaper. Golden Rice is not the answer to curb hunger and malnutrition. “We con-

demned the agrochemical TNCs control in agriculture. We call on our members’ across Asia to uproot all GM crops in their country and strongly oppose it’s commercialization.,” said Rahmat Ajiguna, APC deputy secretary general based In In-donesia.

For reference:Wilfredo Marbella, KMP

(Philippines)Mobile no. +639-

999614831

bikol reporter8 august 11 - 17, 2013

august 11-17, 2013

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