Punto!PANANAW NG MALAYANG PILIPINO!

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CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – The acquittal of former president now House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from electoral fraud charges will allegedly “serve as inspiration to fraudster candidates

this coming 2019 national elections, especially now that Mindanao is under martial law under control of the administration.”

GMA acquittal to embolden fraudsters B; D<)/

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TARZAN LIVES. A giant tarpaulin of the recently demised three-time mayor and fi ve-time congressman Carmelo “Tarzan” Lazatin soars by the Abacan Bridge in Angeles City alongside that of his son, re-electionist Rep. Jonjon Lazatin and long-time ally Vicky Vega-Cabigting who is making a comeback to the vice-mayorship. P!"#" $% B"&' L()*"&

CLARK FREEPORT -- Amid allegations of bid-ding anomalies, the Bas-es Conversion Develop-ment Authority (BCDA) insisted yesterday that the awarding of the con-tract for the operation and management of the Clark International Air-port here was made un-der “stringent and very transparent process.”

In an advertisement published in a national daily, a group called Al-liance of Consumer and

BCDA: No rigged bidding on Clark int’l airport O&M

Protection of Environ-ment (ACPE) claimed the bidding of the con-tract was “rigged” as it “was manipulated to benefi t a favored bidder.”

In a statement, BCDA said that “in partner-ship with the Depart-ment of Transportation,” it awarded “in recorded time” the (airport) oper-ation and management contract (O&M) to the four-member North Lu-zon Airport Consortium (NLAC), which includes

Changi Airport Group, the operator of the num-ber one airport in the world, Singapore Changi Airport.

“The BCDA Special Bids and Awards Com-mittee for the O&M con-tract conducted a strin-gent and very transpar-ent bidding process, which was guided by the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank (IFC-WB) as its transaction adviser, and

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CLARK FREEPORT -- The implementation of the second tranche of excise tax on fuel in 2019 will boost brain drain in the country, the labor group Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) warned yester-day.

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CLARK FREEPORT –Plans are afoot that SM Supermalls owned by SM Prime Holdings, Inc. and Clark Global City (CGC) owned the Uden-na Group of Davao busi-nessman Dennis Uy are planning to hold the hot

SM, CGC mulling hot air balloon fi esta in Clark

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air balloon fi esta here in March.

This developed af-ter the Philippine Inter-national Hot Air Balloon Fiesta (PIHABF) led by Capt. Joy Roa recent-ly cancelled the annual event for what it said was “lack of government sup-

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Tranche 2 of TRAIN Law fuel excise

tax to boost ‘brain drain’ says group

BMP president Leody de Guzman said the fuel tax hike under the TRAIN Law would lead to the “imminent and increasing exodus of young, talent-ed and skilled Filipinos in search of greener pas-tures abroad” next year.

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CLARK FREEPORT - The Department of Finance (DOF) reported yesterday that of smuggled goods intercepted by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) in 2018, the bulk was comprised of illegal drugs worth about P3.074 billion.

In a yearend report, the DOF said that this year up to Dec. 19, the BOC had seized P 9.271 bil-lion worth of smuggled goods from various ports

DOF REPORT FOR 2018

P3.074-B illegal drugs bulk of seized

smuggled goods

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REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINESREGIONAL TRIAL COURTTHIRD JUDICIAL REGION

Branch 41City of San Fernando, Pampanga

IN RE: IN THE MATTER OF RECOGNITION OF A FOREIGN JUDGMENT DISSOLVING THE MARRIAGE BETWEEN VIRGILIO DUYA PAMINTUAN, JR. AND LYLA CLAIRE CANAYA HERNANDEZ AND TO DECLARE PETITIONER CAPACITATED TO REMARRY UNDER ARTICLE 26 PAR. 2 OF THE FAMILY CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES

AND

CANCELLATION OF ENTRY IN THE CIVIL REGISTRY OF BACOLOR, PAMPANGA,

VIRGILIO DUYA PAMINTUAN, JR. Petitioner,

-versus- CIVIL CASE NO. 14682

LYLA CLAIRE CANAYA HERNANDEZ, THE LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRAR (LCR) OF BACOLOR, PAMPANGA AND THE PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY (PSA), Respondents.

x-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------xORDER

On December 3, 2018, this Court received a “Motion” fi led by petitioner’s counsel – Atty. Leslie Raguindin praying for the withdrawal of the earlier motion to withdraw the case and to set the date of hearing for the marking of jurisdictional requirements and presentation of evidence between the dates of March 17 to March 28, 2019.

Petitioner’s counsel alleged that the Petition was set for initial hearing last November 27, 2018. On the said hearing, the marking of jurisdictional requirements was held in abeyance considering that the petitioner was not able to attend the said hearing. Hence, petitioner’s counsel moved for the withdrawal of the petition. Petitioner’s counsel stated that after the hearing, he had a conference with the petitioner who expressed his willingness to appear before the Court. Petitioner intends to travel back to the Philippines and will be available on March 17 until March 28, 2019.

To refl ect the truth in the proceeding that transpired during the last scheduled hearing on November 27, 2018, the Court did not hold in abeyance the marking of jurisdictional requirements, it was petitioner’s counsel who withdrew his petition since his motion to have the testimony of petitioner taken through electronic means was denied and that petitioner had no intention of coming to the Philippines in the near future.

Nonetheless, in the interest of substantial justice, the present motion is granted.

Record disclosed that Virgilio Duya Pamintuan, Jr. fi led a petition for recognition of foreign decree of divorce praying that, after due publication, notice and hearing, an Order/Judgment be rendered:

1. Confi rming and recognizing the Foreign Judgment and Certifi cate of Divorce secured by respondent Lyla Claire Canaya Hernandez against petitioner Virgilio Pamintuan, Jr. issued on January 16, 2018 at the Superior Court of Justice, 7755 Hurontario St., Brampton, Ontario, Canada dissolving their marriage solemnized on April 4, 2014 before the Municipal Trial Court of Bacolor, Pampanga;

2. Declaring petitioner Virgilio Pamintuan Jr. capacitated to remarry under Article 26, paragraph 2 of the Family Code of the Philippines;

3. Ordering and directing the Local Civil Registrar (LCR) of Bacolor, Pampanga and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) to enter in their civil registries the judgment issued by the Superior Court of Justice, 7755 Hurontario St., Brampton, Ontario, Canada and cause the annotation of recognition and confi rmation upon fi nality of the decision.

4. Cancelling the Certifi cate of Marriage of petitioner to respondent Hernandez.

The Court fi nds the petition to be suffi cient in form and substance, and schedules it for hearing on March 19, 2019 at 1:30 in the afternoon at the Session Hall of this Court, at which date, place and time, all and any interested person may appear to show cause why the petition should not be granted.

Publish this Order for three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the Province of Pampanga at the petitioner’s expense.

SO ORDERED.City of San Fernando, Pampanga, December 10, 2018.

DIVINA LUZ P. AQUINO-SIMBULAN Judge

Copy furnished:

The Solicitor General Atty. Isagani Calderon134 Amorsolo St. Legaspi Village, Atty. Leslie RaguindinMakati City Calderon Law Offi ce Room 205 Gamboa BuildingPros. Jocelyn San Pedro-Maat 118 Upper Session Road, Baguio CityCity of San Fernando, Pampanga The Local Civil Registrar Civil Registrar General Bacolor Municipal HallPhilippine Statistics Authority Bacolor, PampangaEast Ave., Quezon City and The Offi ce of the Clerk of CourtMaimpis, City of San Fernando (P) RTC-OCC City of San Fernando, PampangaVirgilio Duya Pamintuan, Jr.No. 107 Purok 2, Batangay Dontogan,Baguio City

Punto! Central Luzon: December 17, 24 & 31, 2018

THE CITY Govern-ment of San Fernando, through Mayor Edwin “EdSa” Santiago, com-memorated the 50th Death Anniversary of the late Fernandino leader, Levi Panlilio, on Decem-ber 28, 2018.

Late Fernandino leader recognized by CSFThe observance,

which was also attend-ed by the late leader’s relatives, highlighted the unveiling of his bust monument built in Calu-lut village, including the signage of the certifi cate of transfer to the marker

between Santiago and Theresa Panlilio-Rivera, descendant of the late leader.

Despite the ill-fated scenario during his term as CSF’s local chief ex-ecutive in 1968 where he was brutally slain by un-

identifi ed men in the said village, Panlilio is still de-scribed as a great leader.

Cited on the marker, “Panlilio served with ex-cellence and integrity the people of San Fernan-do, upholding always the welfare of the masses,”

this leader is still remem-bered up to these times.

Santiago, for his part, said that every time the city memorializes the passing of the late lead-er, new breed of Fernan-dinos are given insights about his heroism.

“Itong komemora-syon sa pagkamatay ng ating dating alkalde, hindi lamang ginagawa upang kilalanin ang pag-ka-lider niya. Isa rin itong paraan upang maibahagi sa mga bagong Fernan-dinos ang kaniyang ka-

bayanihan at kontribusy-on,” expressed Santiago.

“Maaaring ang pag-kalipas ng isang bayani ay siya namang pag-kasilang ng mga bagong bayani. This will be an inspiration to young Fer-nandinos who also as-pire to become leaders like Panlilio,” he added.

Meanwhile, the de-scendants of Panlilio ex-tended their gratitude to the city, through the City Tourism Offi ce, which spearheaded the obser-vance. –CSFP-CIO

HONORING PANLILIO. Mayor Edwin “EdSa” Santiago leads the City Government of San Fernando in honoring the late Fernandino leader Levi Panlilio on his 50th death anniversary. Highlighting the event was the unveiling of his bust erected in Barangay Calulut.

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FOR THE past years, SM’s ChriSMiles has brought a genu-inely sweet smiles to underprivi-leged kids, it’s an annual “Share Your Blessings” activity of SM employees that helps extend the joy of Christmas and touch the lives of those in need.

“I know waking up very early in the morning is not in your sys-tem, but for the sake of giving joy to these kids, you came,” mall manager Mark Herrera said in his speech. “ ChriSMiles is just one of the programs of SM Cares, a simple way of giving back to the

SM Olongapo gives ChriSMiles treat to kids

Fun-fi lled activities for the kids of Barangay Gordon Heights, Olongapo City initiated by SM Olongapo volunteer employees under the SM Cares ChriSMiles program, an annual nationwide activity of SM Supermalls that aims to bring smiles to chosen benefi ciaries.

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community,” he added. This year, the mall has cho-

sen Brgy. Gordon Heights as benefi ciary. Kids were welcomed in the mall where they received gift packs and enjoyed the parlor games and dance number pre-pared for them by volunteer em-ployees. These kids also showed their talents in dancing and sing-ing in return.

“Sa ngalan po ng Brgy. Gor-don Heights kami po’y nagpa-pasalamat sa SM dahil ang mga bata ng barangay ang inyong napili para sa activity na ito,” ex-

pressed Nancy Bolo, purok lead-er.

“ChriSMiles”, is a nationwide employees volunteerism activi-ty of SM Supermalls that aims to bring smiles to chosen benefi cia-ries. The program also encourag-es all SM employees to be more appreciative of their blessings by sharing these with the un-derprivileged sectors of society. More than 3,000 employees of SM Supermalls brought cheers through various charitable activ-ities throughout the Christmas season. –SMOL

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SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — In compliance with national government di-rective, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) will outsource the services rendered by a signifi cant chunk of its Contract of Service (COS) personnel starting February 2019.

According to law-yer Ramon Agregado, SBMA senior deputy ad-ministrator for support services, a total of 307 personnel maintained by the agency under COS scheme will be absorbed by outsourcing compa-nies that will provide jan-itorial, ground mainte-nance, building securi-ty and housing security services to the SBMA.

Agregado announced this on Dec. 28 during a general assembly at the SBMA Gym where-in agency offi cials dis-cussed outsourcing and position reclassifi cation procedures with con-cerned personnel. This was after the aff ected personnel were fi rst no-tifi ed in writing in April 2018.

The aff ected work-ers, he said, are securi-ty, janitorial, and ground maintenance personnel whose positions have been recommended for outsourcing by the De-partment of Budget and Management (DBM) as early as September 2013.

“This is a requirement of the government—of the DBM. We are sim-

SBMA to outsource Contract of Service personnelply complying with the requirement,” Agregado explained. “Please bear in mind that we are doing our best in order for you to keep your jobs.”

At the same time, Agregado said the SBMA would retain a to-tal of 655 COS workers until June 2019, but pos-sibly until December 31, 2020, the new deadline set under a joint circular from DBM, Civil Service Commission (CSC) and Commission on Audit (COA).

He said the SBMA hopes to hire the remain-ing qualifi ed personnel for plantilla positions once the agency’s pro-posed restructuring plan gets approved by the DBM.

In the meantime, the SBMA has begun reclas-sifying COS positions and salary grades so that these workers may eventually fi t into the new organizational structure, assuming they obtain the requisite eligibility, Agre-gado added.

The outsourcing and position reclassifi cation procedures, SBMA offi -cials said, actually serve as safety nets to avert fi -nancial ruin for workers aff ected by the order to end contractualization in government service.

SBMA deputy admin-istrator for administration Ruel John Kabigting not-ed that the SBMA had previously been called out at the House of Rep-resentatives for employ-ing some of the most number of COS work-

ers among government agencies.

He added that other free ports like Clark and Bataan had since out-sourced their personnel accordingly.

Kabigting recalled that under Joint Circular No. 1 issued on June 15, 2017 by the CSC, COA and DBM, government agencies were allowed to renew contracts of service or job orders only until Dec. 31, 2018.

He said that while an-other joint circular dated Nov. 9, 2018 extended

the deadline for compli-ance to Dec. 31, 2020, the DBM had directed the SBMA in a Septem-ber 2013 memorandum to refrain from hiring per-sonnel under contract of service and instead fi ll up its regular plantilla posi-tions “to have semblance of continuity in service.”

He added that in 2015, the Offi ce of the President likewise re-quired the SBMA to re-duce its manpower com-plement from contract of service to 3% per an-num.

Finally, in October 2016, the DBM directed the SBMA that “as a mat-ter of policy, the janitori-al and security services shall be outsourced, subject to existing bud-geting, accounting, au-diting and other applica-ble laws, rules and reg-ulations,” Kabigting said.

From there, the out-sourcing scheme was approved by the SBMA Board of Directors on April 12, 2018 and un-derwent the processes of notifi cation, bidding and endorsement until the

contract was awarded to winning service provid-ers early this month.

According to the SBMA human resourc-es management depart-ment (HRMD), the out-sourcing scheme will provide job security in the private sector to the aff ected workers, as well as holiday pay, 13th month pay, overtime pay, and benefi ts from Social Security System, Pag-IBIG, and PhilHealth that they don’t otherwise en-joy as COS workers of the government.

PAL’S 6th A321NEO. Philippine Airlines’ sixth brand-new Airbus A321neo took off from the Airbus complex in Finkenwerder, Germany, December 31, 2018, arriving Manila on New Year’s Day. C"&#0+$1#-2 /!"#"

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CABANATUAN CITY – Two persons were killed and two others were arrested in anti-illegal drugs operations in dif-ferent places of Nue-

2 killed, 2 nabbed in anti-drug stingva Ecija on Saturday, a few days before the New Year, a belated police re-ports showed.

Oliver Tapang, a res-ident of Barangay Buli-ran, and Mark Anthony Ang of Barangay Aduas

Centro, both of this city died after allegedly fi ring at policemen in separate buy-bust operations.

Supt. Ponciano Zaf-ra, city police chief, said Tapang fi red “a shot fi re-arm” at station drug en-

forcement unit opera-tives when he apparent-ly sensed he was deal-ing with lawmen at about 4:50 a.m. at Purok 2, Ba-rangay Sta. Arcadi here. Retaliating policemen hit the suspect in diff erent

parts of his body which caused his instant death, police said.

Ang, on the other hand, was killed by oper-atives from the Palayan City police station in a buy-bust operation at Si-tio Pinaltakan, Barangay Caballero, Palayan City at about 8:10 p.m.

“In the course of their transaction,” the suspect turned “hostile when he noticed that the persons he was dealing with were police offi cers,” police said. The suspect report-edly traded guns shots with the lawmen.

Investigators report-edly recovered sever-al sachets of suspect-ed shabu, .38 revolv-ers, and marked money among other pieces of evidences in both inci-dents.

The arrested sus-pects were identifi ed as

Jayff y Binuya,34, mar-ried, of Barangay Lar-con, Bongabon, Nueva Ecija and Julius Bnag-it, 38, married, driver, of San Vicente, Llanera town.

Binuya yielded one sachet of shabu and P500 marked money in a buy- bust operation conducted by Bongabon police operatives in Ba-rangay Curva that mu-nicipality at around 12:05 a.m.

Bangit was arrested at about 1:35 p.m. in the vicinity of Aliaga, Nueva Ecija as lawmen seized from his possession two sachets of alleged sha-bu, one P500 bill that was used as marked money, and a single mo-torcycle.

The suspects were facing charges of vio-lations of Republic Act 9165.

THINKGREEN

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E d i t o r i a l

LLL Trimedia Coordinators, Inc.Publisher

General ManagerEditor

Marketing ManagerLayout

Circulation

Atty. Gener C. EndonaCaesar “Bong” LacsonJoanna Niña V. CorderoDondie B. VenturaLacson Macapagal

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

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

http://www.punto.com.ph

acaesar.blogspot.com

Zona Libre Bong Z. Lacson

Opinion

Good politicsis at the service

of peaceIN THESE days, we celebrate the 70TH anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in the wake of the Second World War. In this context, let us also remember the observation of Pope John XXIII: “Man’s awareness of his rights must inevitably lead him to the recognition of his duties. The possession of rights involves the duty of implementing those rights, for they are the expression of a man’s personal dignity. And the possession of rights also involves their recognition and respect by others.”

Peace, in eff ect, is the fruit of a great political project grounded in the mutual responsibility and interdependence of human beings. But it is also a challenge that demands to be taken up ever anew. It entails a conversion of heart and soul; it is both interior and communal; and it has three inseparable aspects:

– peace with oneself, rejecting infl exibility, anger and impatience; in the words of Saint Francis de Sales, showing “a bit of sweetness towards oneself” in order to off er “a bit of sweetness to others”;

– peace with others: family members, friends, strangers, the poor and the suff ering, being unafraid to encounter them and listen to what they have to say;

– peace with all creation, rediscovering the grandeur of God’s gift and our individual and shared responsibility as inhabitants of this world, citizens and builders of the future.

The politics of peace, conscious of and deeply concerned for every situation of human vulnerability, can always draw inspiration from the Magnifi cat, the hymn that Mary, the Mother of Christ the Saviour and Queen of Peace, sang in the name of all mankind: “He has mercy on those who fear him in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm; he has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly; …for he has remembered his promise of mercy, the promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children for ever” (Luke 1:50-55).

(From the message of His Holiness Pope Francis for the celebration of the 52nd World Day of Peace, Jan. 1, 2019)

In his image, what god!WHO IS this stupid God? You created something perfect and then you think of an event that would tempt and destroy the quality of your work…

…I didn’t say that my God is stupid. I said your God is not my God because your God is stupid. Mine has a lot of common sense. Then now, why do you have to talk about religion? If I choose not to believe in any God, what’s the [expletive] thing about it? It’s a freedom to choose.

So, he crafted his god, in his likeness. In his own image, Duterte framed him. Thereby spewing from his own mouth his Iglesia ni Duterte, eschewing all iconography but of his very own:

Dito na lang kayo. I’ll give you one pat… ah isang patron na ano para hindi na kayo mag-pasyal. (Switch to this one. I’ll give you one patron so you won’t go out anymore).

Get hold of a picture of mine. ‘Yan ang ilagay niyo sa altar — Santo Rodrigo. (This is the one you should put in your altars — Saint Rodrigo).

Sheer contempt of the saints who, as he himself spat, were but idiots and drunkards. That is, if they even really existed:

Hindi nga natin alam kung sino ‘yang mga santo na ‘yon. Sino ‘yung mga gago na ‘yon? Mga lasenggo. (We do not even know who these saints are. Who are those idiots? Drunkards)…

…Even itong (this) Last Supper, who are the idiots there? Basta ginawa na lang santo ang mga itong nasa painting (They just made the people in the painting saints), San Isidro, San Pablo, Saint Jude, Santo Rodrigo, kung sino na lang (whoever)…

…Who is this guy San Isidro that every town fi esta we kill our cows, carabaos? Just to spend because it is the fi esta of San Isidro. San Pablo who were they?...

…’Yong iba, ‘yong mga Santa Catalina, Santa Ana, Santo Tomas, San Sebastian, Santo Rodrigo, wala iyan… ‘Di ko nga kilala ‘yan. Look, those documents were written – if at all – 3,000 years ago. Anong pakialam nila sa buhay natin?

Who is Saint Thomas? We do not know who he is. Perhaps it was just a name of a camel then.

Alas, his profanities against the saints, he himself negated with his All Saints’ Day message thus:

We Filipinos welcome the month of November with open hearts as we remember our saints and our dearly departed loved ones, whose lives have deeply inspired us to grow in faith, hope, and love.

Together, let us emulate our saints, pray for the eternal repose of the souls and deepen our engagement with our communities as we work for real and lasting change.

PseudoDeconstruction of his self-proclaimed

doctrines inheres, most apparently, in Duterte’s pseudo-theology.

No hell: My religion does not limit anything. All you can do is...Do not believe in hell. When you die you are just a piece of carcass and that’s it. There’s no more hell. Burning in hell? You cannot burn a soul.

When you use God to say that I’d go to hell, you know my God never created hell because if he created hell, he must be stupid God. My God is not stupid to create man just to burn him in hell. Hindi ako naniniwala ng ganon (I don’t believe that).

No heaven too: I do not believe in heaven because if I do, only a fraction of you in this

crowd will ever enter in heaven. All of us makita ko, lalo na ‘yung mga may dalawang asawa dito, tig-tatlo dito, ‘yung mga playboy, lahat tayo sa impyerno magkita. But that is fi ction.But then: Pero kung mapunta ako ng impyerno, hindi ako magpa-lugi. Hindi naman talaga ako ’yung – napasubo lang. Eh papuntahin mo ako impyerno. Unang sipain ko si Satanas, umalis ka diyan. May bagong tigas dito (If I go to hell, I will not let myself get pushed around; I just got into this. If I go to hell, I’ll kick Satan out and tell him, ‘go away I’m the new toughie here)’.

Evoked there the choice of Lucifer: “To reign in Hell, than to serve in Heaven.” Primping himself as out-devilling Satan himself, Duterte can only descend to graver blasphemies, to outright heterodoxy, aye, to heresy. That, deemed by not so few, as sheer lunacy.

FallacyThere’s only one God, period. You cannot

divide God into three, that’s silly.His rejection of the Holy Trinity not

only lapsing into the Arian heresy of the homoiousious Son – similar but neither identical nor consubstantial with the Father – but moreso hewing closely to the fallacy of his long-time Davao buddy, the self-proclaimed “Appointed Son of God” and “Owner of the Earth.”

So, is it to Duterte then, that there can be no Son of God other than his cohort Quiboloy? Hence, his disbelieving disparagement of the divinity of Jesus Christ:

‘Yung Diyos mo, pinako sa krus. ‘Tangina. Nakakawala ng bilib. Ako ang Diyos, tapos ipako mo ako? Putangina. Sabihin ko, ‘Lightning, ubusin mo ito. Sunugin mo lahat ng mga erehes. (Your God was nailed on the cross. Son of a bitch. How unimpressive. I’m God and you will crucify me? Son of a bitch. I’d tell them, ‘Lightning, fi nish all of them. Burn all the non-believers.’)

God, in the image and likeness of Duterte, in all his haughtiness. But one more antithesis to – way too puny to be the anti – Christ. He of all humility, of total submission to the will of the Father.

Ako ang Diyos, tapos ipako mo ako? Putangina. Redemption ridiculed. Salvation scorned.

How Catholics, indeed, all Christians take these blasphemies not so much with the proverbial grain of salt as with a grin-and-bear-it toleration, if not amusement, is beyond the pale of reason.

Intimidation? I look at it more as an act of faith, Rightly, and righteously, the Christian response prescribed in Luke 6:27-28: “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”

And leave it to God. Ours. Not his, fabricated as it is in his own image and likeness.

So, what he denigrates as 3,000-year-old fi ction, we believe as Gospel Truth.

Taking consolation – and hope – in Luke 1:52: Deposuit potentes de sede, exaltavit humiles (He hath put down the mighty from their seat, he hath exalted the humble).

Keeping confi dence with the injunction in Proverbs 16:18: Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

Strengthened in our faith that they shall pass. As God – ours – promised.

You fi nd yourself refreshed by the presence of cheerful people. Why not make an honest eff ort to confer that pleasure on others? Half the battle is gained if you never allow yourself to say anything gloomy. –Lydia M. Child

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Napag-uusapanLangFelix M. Garcia

Simpleng dapat gawin, di

makayang tupdinLIKAS NA na marahil sa ibang tao r’yan

ang tigas ng ulo’t kawalang-pitagan

sa saligang batas na pina-iiral

ng ating gobyerno sa pangkalahatan?

Katulad na lang ng bawal na paputok,

at iba pang walang buting maidulot

sa tao kundi ng hapdi lang at kirot

kapag sinindihan ay biglang sumabog!

Pero bale-wala lamang sa marami

kahit ang pinsala madalas ay grabe,

pagpapatunay na ang Pinoy matindi

ang katigasan ng kanilang kukote.

Di lingid sa ating mga kababayan

kung ilang may edad na at kabataan

itong sa pagpalit ng taong nagdaan

at ng bagong taon ang mga nasaktan.

Sanhi nga lang nitong taon-taon halos

ay di na kaunti ang kamay n’yan nadurog

sa malalakas na uri ng paputok,

pero may natuto’ng sumunod sa utos?

Wala, partikular na nga riyan itong

ilang pasaway na nagma- ‘manufacture’

ng matataas na uring rebentador,

bawal na, bago pa umupo si Digong.

Subalit ito ay hindi tinantanan

nitong kumikita sa negosyong ganyan,

na patago nilang sa mata ng bayan

ibinebenta nang palihim sa tanan.

Kaya naman hayan, itong nahumaling

na sa ganyang bisyong di ikakagaling

kundi ng disgrasya binili pa rin,

gayong pagkaraan ay sising-alipin

Itong minalas na sila’y naputukan

ng naturang bagay, na batid na nilang

ang ganito’y walang buting ibibigay,

pero binibili pa’t sinisindihan!

Ano kayang klaseng gayuma mayroon

ang tinamaan ng lintik na damuhong

paputok na ito, kung bakit patuloy

na binibili ‘yan ng maraming Pinoy?

Sa kabila nitong ang ating gobyerno

ay todo higpit sa pagbabawal nito

sa lahat na, pati ang paninigarilyo,

na walang buti ring idulot sa tao.

Ngunit sa kabila nga r’yan ng mahigpit

na direktiba nitong ‘Commander-in-Chief,

in relation with these, (including cigarettes,’)

ito’y patuloy pa ring tinatangkilik.

Aywan naman natin sa nakararami

na ‘addict’ na rin sa rebentador pati,

ito’y patuloy pa nilang binibili,

gayong mas ‘intensive’ itong kay Duterte.

Na tangkang pagbuwag sa lahat ng klase

riyan ng negosyong ang dulot parati

sa taongbayan ay di ikabubuti,

kundi pagka-pahamak lang bandang huli.

Sa ganang akin ay di man ipagbawal

ang sigarilyo’t paputok na naturan,

kung batid kong tiyak na kapahamakan lang

ang maaring kamtin, ano’t di tigilan?!

In a statement, De Guzman cited a Gallup study indicating that “the Philippines’ potential net migration index (PNMI) stands at a high 9 percent.”

He said this is borne by “a frustration that has been build-ing up alongside a restive la-bor front specially among the young adults.”

De Guzman noted that “PNMI measures the total po-tential net change to the adult population by subtracting those who would like to move out of a country from those who would like to move into a country.”

The TRAIN 1 Law imposed additional P6 per liter excise tax on fuel in three tranch-es over three years. The fi rst tranche of P2 took eff ect in 2018 and the second tranche, imposing P2 more, is sup-posed to take eff ect in 2019.

“The best and the brightest of Filipinos have been leaving the country with the continued implementation of the neolib-eral policies of deregulation, liberalization, privatization, contractualization even since the Cory Aquino administra-tion. But runaway infl ation in-duced by the oil excise taxes of the Duterte administration since last year maybe the fi -nal straw to break the camel’s back,” De Guzman said.

Tranche 2 of TRAIN Law fuel excise...F��� ���! 1 He warned that “the rising

infl ation rate in 2018 which is expected to continue in 2019 with the second wave of oil excise taxes, will only give more reason for our young workers and college gradu-ates to migrate to other coun-tries.

De Guzman also noted that Gallup study indicated “that 16 percent highly educated Filipi-nos will likely leave the country to work or live abroad.”

“Also, about 13 percent of the Philippines’ young popu-lation — aged 15 to 29 seeks to move out and migrate to a foreign country if they had the chance,” he said.

De Guzman lamented that “unfortunately, with the taxa-tion shift from income to con-sumption, the tax burden is more felt by the poor although they did not benefi t from the increased exemptions to in-come taxes. Worse, they are overtaxed and yet they hard-ly feel the social services and safety nets that were promised to be part of the tax reform measures.”

He said “we could not blame the youth for opting to migrate abroad; bled dry by taxes, unserviced and aban-doned by the state, and now further agitated by the recent acquittal of politicians charged with plunder.”

De Guzman said that gov-

ernment offi cials are often “not alarmed over our brain drain as they all adhere to the tac-it policy of labor exportation, as OFW remittances keep the consumption-based economy afl oat”.

“The ruling elite do not have a vision of sound na-tional development based on industry and agriculture, that generates more jobs for the majority of our countrymen. They are mere rent-seekers who live on taxes generated by migrant Filipino workers,” he also lamented.

To prove this assertion, the BMP leader cited the utter fail-ure of the government to pro-duce one million jobs annually as mandated by its Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022 as the practice of contractual employment remains preva-lent.

De Guzman said brain drain would be contained by scrapping the government’s “export-oriented, import-de-pendent economic path.”

“We should pursue the modernization of agriculture and economic industrializa-tion while ensuring living wag-es and regular jobs, in order to provide not only for the needs of the Filipino consuming pub-lic but also to the working class that create all social wealth,” De Guzman said.

–Ding Cervantes

port.”According to Serafi n To-

lentino, one of the organiz-ers of the Lubao International Balloon Festival (LIBF) who is privy to the negotiations, the two private corporations in partnership with the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and its sub-sidiary the Clark Development Corp. (CDC) are in the thick of plans on how to conduct the hot air balloon fi esta here with limited fl ight capabilities.

This means that only teth-ered hot air balloons will fl y. The event is planned in the fi rst week of March at the back of SM City Clark at the sprawling area of the 177-hectare CGC which is now being advertised as the next center of economic growth in the country.

Tolentino said the activities at the Clark airport cannot be compromised with a Notice To Airmen (Notam) to allow the hot air balloons to fl y with the wind, thus the tethered fl ights.

However, Tolentino said the Lubao International Hot Air Balloon Festival is set on April 5,6 and 7 at the Pradera Verde in Barangay Prado Siongco in Lubao where balloonists from all over the world are set to participate.

Meanwhile, the PIHABF,

SM, CGC mulling hot air balloon...F��� ���! 1 held annually every February

in this freeport for more than two decades, has been can-celled for this year, according to its announcement.

The organizers of the event said the holding of the annual spectacle did not push through for this year due to lack of gov-ernment support.

“We regret to inform you that because PIHABF has not received the commitment from our government partners on time, we will not be able to or-ganize the annual The Philip-pine International Hot Air Bal-loon Fiesta (and The Week-end of Everything that Flies!) in Clark this coming February 2019,” a statement from PI-HABF said.

“Thanks to everyone’s abiding enthusiasm, the Phil-ippine International Hot Air Balloon Fiesta (PIHABF) host-ed 22 years of ‘A Weekend of Everything that Flies’ in Clark, Pampanga,” it added.

However, the PIHABF also said it may organize air shows outside this freeport for this year. “We will announce plans and developments on our website, www.philballoonfest.net, and social media chan-nels and we welcome your continued enthusiastic partici-pation,” the PIHABF said.

The PIHABF said the event is the longest-running sports

aviation event in Asia, gath-ering aviators and spectators from around the world for four days of non-stop fl ying action.

“From hot air balloons to aerobatic exhibitions, forma-tion fl ying to radio-controlled aircraft, paragliding, skydiv-ing, and dozens of on-ground activities, visitors are always guaranteed to have an un-forgettable weekend,” the PI-HABF said.

It can be recalled that hot air ballooning started in Clark in 1994 to drum up attention and support to this former US air base which was devastated by the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo three years earlier.

The Department of Tourism formed a committee through its Secretary Mina Gabor with re-gional director Ronnie Tiotuico as executive director who then organized the fi rst hot air bal-loon fi esta with original mem-bers Noel Castro, Bernie Bitu-in, Joel Santos, Lerma Quiam-bao, Sol Medina, Raidis Plat-eros and Tolentino.

Joining the organizing com-mittee were Korean business-man and hot air balloon pilots Sung Kee Paik, British Air-ways general manager John Emery and German aviation enthusiasts Max Motschmann. In 1996, the event was trans-ferred by the DOT to Air Ads, Inc. led by Roa.

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F��� ���! 1

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINESREGIONAL TRIAL COURTTHIRD JUDICIAL REGION

BRANCH 54MACABEBE, PAMPANGA

IN RE: PETITION FOR THE JUDICIAL RECOGNITION OF FOREIGN DIVORCE,

LANILYN B. NOCOM-KAJITANI,Petitioner,

-versus- SPEC. PROC. NO. 18-0925(M)

HARUO KAJITANI, THE LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRAR OF APALIT, PAMPANGA, AND THE CIVIL REGISTRAR GENERAL, Respondents.

x-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------xORDER

This is a verifi ed Petition dated 26 October 2018 fi led by Petitioner, through Attys. Aramis C. Benoza and Jerome Michael Y. Mercado praying that after due notice, publication and hearing, judgment be rendered (a) recognizing the divorce between petitioner and respondent Haruo Kajitani dissolving their marriage contracted on March 29, 2012 at the Offi ce of the Municipal Mayor, Apalit, Pampanga and covered by Certifi cate of Marriage with Registry No. 2012-229; and (b) ordering the respondents Civil Registrar of Apalit, Pampanga and the Civil Registrar General to forthwith annotate on the Certifi cate of Marriage with Registry No. 2012-229 the judicial recognition of foreign divorce.

Pursuant to Section 4, Rule 108 of the Rules of Court, let the petition be set for hearing on 01 March 2019 at 1:30 in the afternoon before this court located at the Hall of Justice, Macabebe, Pampanga.

All persons interested in the petition may appear at the aforesaid date of hearing and show cause, if any, why the petition should not be granted. Let this Order be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the province of Pampanga for three (3) consecutive weeks at the expense of the petitioner.

Let a copy of this Order and the petition be served upon the Offi ce of the Solicitor General (OSG), public respondents Civil Registrar General of the Philippines now Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and the Local Civil Registrar (LCR) of Apalit, Pampanga.

SO ORDERED.Macabebe, Pampanga, 16 November 2018.

MAXIMO B.ANCHETA, JR. Acting Presiding Judge

Punto! Central Luzon: December 17, 24 & 31, 2018

Republic of the PhilippinesPROVINCE OF BATAAN

Municipality of MarivelesOffi ce of the Local Civil Registrar

Publication NoticeR.A. 10172-9048

NOTICE TO THE PUBLICIn compliance with the publication requirements and pursuant to OCRG

Memorandum Circular No.___ Guidelines in the implementation of the Administrative Order No. 1 series of 2012 (IRR on R.A. 10172) Notice is hereby served to the public that FRANZ AUBREY G. BELTRAN has fi led with this offi ce, for correction of clerical error in gender in her certifi cate of live birth from MALE to FEMALE at Mariveles, Bataan and whose parents are Antonio M. Beltran and Agnes M. Garcia.

Any person adversely aff ected by said petition may fi le his written opposition with this offi ce not later than ten days.

ROSELLER R. ROMERO Municipal Civil Registrar

Punto! Central Luzon: December 24 & 31, 2018

NOTICE OF EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENTNotice is hereby given that the heirs of Spouses MARCELINO TORRES

and BELEN S. TORRES who died intestate on September 7, 1995 and September 23, 2006 in Angeles City executed an Affi davit of Extrajudicial Settlement with Special Power of Attorney on their estate, more particularly described as a parcel of land (Lot 7, Block 3 of the subdivision plan (LRC) Psd-59254 (Sheet 1), being a portion of Block 34-B described on plan (LRC) Psd-54307, LRC (GLRO) Cad Record No. 124) with existing improvements, situated in the District of Cutcut, City of Angeles, Island of Luzon and covered by Transfer Certifi cate of Title No. 95810, before Notary Public Rogelio T. Reyes as per Doc No. 269, Page No. 54, Book No. 240, Series of 2015.

Punto! Central Luzon: December 31, 2018, January 7 & 14, 2019

This was the fear ex-pressed by Anakpawis Partylist Rep. Ariel Cas-ilao who, in a statement yesterday, said Arroyo’s acquittal was “not sur-prising” and that “while the court may acquit her, the people certain-ly know the truth that she is a national sym-bol of election fraud, as addition to her roster of

GMA acquittal to embolden fraudstersinvolvement to plunder cases.”

Casilao recalled that Arroyo’s electoral case “involved the po-litical family of Ampatu-an in Maguindanao and its then provincial elec-tion supervisor Lintang Bedol who committed a 12-0 victory for then Ar-royo’s senatorial ticket under Team Unity.”

“Amid the ‘Hello Garci’ scandal in 2005,

when Bedol was also mentioned by then Comelec commission-er Virgilo Garcillano as “our man (“tao natin”) and who would “pre-pare ways (“‘gagawa ng paraan”) for such victo-ry,” Casilao said.

“The ‘Hello Garci’ scandal and ‘12-0’ plot in Maguindanao would surely serve as inspira-tion to fraudster candi-dates this coming 2019

national elections, espe-cially now Mindanao is under martial law, all un-der control of the admin-istration,” Casilao said.

Casilao said “Ar-royo is becoming the most acquitted former president in the coun-try, this latest following her acquittal by the Su-preme Court in 2016 of the plunder case that involved the P366-mil-lion intelligence fund of

the Philippine Charity and Sweepstake Offi ce (PCSO).”

“She also has be-come blessed, rising from neck brace-wear-ing patient then suff er-ing from serious ailment of hypoparathyroid and bone diseases during lit-igation, to an energetic house speaker who top-pled her predecessor,” he added.

Casilao said “the

people are already not surprised, and it is be-coming normal for plunderers or fraud-ster to be acquitted un-der this administration, thus, we urge the elec-torate to be very vigilant in the coming nation-al elections. The task of keeping it free and clean, from the interests of morally-bankrupt tra-ditional politicians, is in our hands.”

the Public-Private Part-nership Center (PPPC),” BCDA said.

BCDA noted that “in a year-end press con-ference held by the PPP Center last December 20, Executive Director Ferdinand Pecson said that the bidding process for the Clark airport O&M contract was above-board and no group was

BCDA: No rigged bidding on Clark int’l airport O&M

nationwide and fi led 68 cases before the Depart-ment of Justice (DOJ) against suspected smug-glers.

The report also said the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), from last January to Novem-ber, had seized 5,227 mastercases of coun-terfeit cigarettes bearing various brands and af-fi xed with counterfeit tax stamps.

“Under the watch of Finance Sec. Car-los Dominguez III, the BIR spearheaded sever-al raids on warehouses storing counterfeit ciga-rette brands, while the BOC intercepted undoc-umented shipments of rice, steel products, lux-ury cars and other as-sorted goods,” the report said.

It noted that “the gov-ernment continued to intensify its campaign against smuggling and tax evasion through the combined eff orts of the Bureaus of Customs and of Internal Revenue in 2018.”

Apart from the P 3.074 billion worth of il-legal drugs intercept-ed by the BOC, another P7.319 billion worth of assorted smuggled items were seized, including P56.278 million worth of cars and other types of vehicles; P490.26 mil-lion worth of agricultural products; P1.343 billion worth of general mer-chandise; P4.344 mil-lion worth of used cloth-

P3.074-B illegal drugs bulk of seized...F��� ���! 1 ing; P49.7 million worth

of steel products, and P4.356 million worth of counterfeit goods.

“The BOC has also either revoked, suspend-ed or cancelled the cus-toms accreditation of 126 importers and 15 customs brokers as part of the bureau’s intensi-fi ed campaign against smuggling in 2018,” the report said.

The BOC was also able to foil several at-tempts to smuggle rice, sugar and other goods into the country and do-nated a total of 374 bags of rice to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DWSD) to augment the govern-ment’s disaster relief ef-forts for typhoon victims.

The BIR, for its part, incinerated over 230,000 mastercases or over 115 million cigarette packs bearing brands manu-factured by the defunct Mighty Corp. in 2018. It earlier destroyed over 9,000 mastercases bear-ing the Mighty brands in the latter part of 2017, the DOF report said.

“The aggregate ex-cise tax of the incinerat-ed cigarettes totaled to some P9 billion, which was part of the P30 bil-lion tax defi ciency of Mighty Corp. These de-stroyed cigarettes were seized in separate op-erations in San Simon, Pampanga, San Ildefon-so, Bulacan, Tacloban City, and General San-tos City in warehouses leased by Mighty,” it said.

The report also noted

that “the DOF made his-tory in 2017 by collect-ing from cigarette manu-facturer Mighty Corp. a total of P30 billion in un-paid taxes, the biggest sum on record raised by the government from a tax settlement, and which was the result of the heightened joint campaign by the BIR and BOC against tax cheats.”

“After the BIR fi led three separate crimi-nal complaints before the Department of Jus-tice against Mighty for its widespread use of coun-terfeit tax stamps, the fi rm off ered in July last year to shut down its op-erations and settle its tax liabilities,” the DOF add-ed.

It said that “to imple-ment this, Mighty’s man-ufacturing and distribu-tion assets were sold to Japan Tobacco Inc. (JTI) for around $1 billion. As a conditionality, Mighty paid around P30.4 bil-lion (roughly equivalent to $ 600 million) in taxes, comprising previous tax liabilities and transaction taxes, to settle its obliga-tions to the government.”

“To step up the cam-paign against illicit to-bacco products, Finance Sec. Carlos Dominguez has instructed the BOC and BIR to track down manufacturers of coun-terfeit tobacco products and their possible co-horts in government who had a role in allowing the entry of unlicensed cig-arette-making machines into the country,” the re-port noted.

Dominguez also di-rected them to coor-dinate with offi cials of the country or countries of origin of these unli-censed cigarette mak-ing units to seek their co-operation in fi nding the people behind the illegal entry of the machines via Philippine ports.

He also ordered the BOC and BIR to dis-able the confi scated ma-chines so that they could no longer be used for il-licit operations.

“To increase patrols in the country’s porous borders, Dominguez also spearheaded eff orts to ensure that at least four fast patrol vessels acquired by the govern-ment with the assistance of France would be joint-ly by the BOC and Philip-pine Coast Guard (PCG) in the enforcement of laws pertaining to bor-der control, prevention of the entry of smug-gled goods, and pre-vention and suppression of smuggling and other customs fraud,” the DOF report said.

The report quoted Doinguez as pointing out that “eradicating smug-gling is so crucial be-cause, for one, the bil-lions of pesos in annual revenue losses from this illicit activity could have been enough for the government to kick-start its overdue infrastructure modernization program long before the Dute-rte administration had implemented its ‘Build, Build, Build’ initiative.”

–Ding Cervantes

F��� ���! 1 favorably chosen over another.”

BCDA quoted Fi-nance Sec. Carlos Dominguez as saying earlier that the Depart-ment of Finance “had meticulously scrutinized the concession agree-ments for the Clark air-port to ensure the gov-ernment would not incur unwarranted contingent liabilities, like what hap-pened to the Mactan-Ce-

bu airport contract.”ACPE said, however,

that “the deadlines for the submission of bids were repeatedly moved” and that “throughout these extensions, the BCDA emended the In-structions to Bidders (ITB) in a manner that seemed capricious.”

The group noted that “the BCDA kept chang-ing the net worth re-quirements for bidders

if this is simply an O&M bid with no infrastructure cost for the winning bid-der. The legality of this may be questioned as the constant deadline extensions and ITB re-visions are in violation of notice requirements and of procurement laws and regulations.”

“When only two bid-ders were left, the BCDA disqualifi ed one consor-tium on questionable

grounds: a matter of ‘wrong formatting’ even though no format had been prescribed. How-ever, the BCDA over-looked that the last bid-der standing also does not fulfi ll all ITB require-ments,” ACPE also said.

The group also said that NLAC also failed the requirement of hav-ing experience in airport operations within the

SkayTrac Top 50 Best Airports.

ACPE said NLAC failed in this, as “Changi Philippines is a separate entity from Changi Air-port Singapore.

”These irregularities lead us to believe that the pubic bidding for te O&M of the Clark In-ternational Airport was rigged,” the group said.

–Ding Cervantes

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SpotlightArci Pineda

NOTICE OF EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENTNotice is hereby given that the heirs of TEODORO M. ALOJADO who

died intestate on February 25, 1999 in Angeles City, ANDREA SANCHEZ ALOJADO who died intestate on February 2, 2012 in Angeles City and EDGAR SANCHEZ ALOJADO who died intestate on August 23, 2010 in Muntinlupa City executed an Affi davit of Extrajudicial Settlement with Waiver of rights on their estate, more particularly described as a parcel of land (Lot 1, Block 9, of the subdivision plan Psd-46477, being a portion of Lot 779-C described on plan Psd-32788, L.R.C. Cad Record No. 124) with existing improvements, situated in the City of Angeles, Is. of Luzon and covered by Transfer Certifi cate of Title No. 19024, before Notary Public Leila Mae M. Estabillo as per Doc No. 342, Page No. 70, Book No. 2, Series of 2018.

Punto! Central Luzon: December 24, 31, 2018 & January 7, 2019

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINESREGIONAL TRIAL COURTTHIRD JUDICIAL REGION

BRANCH 57ANGELES CITY

IN THE MATTER OF THE CORRECTION OF CERTIFICATE OF MARRIAGE WITH REGISTRY NO. 2010-491 & CANCELLATION OF CERTIFICATE OF MARRIAGE WITH REGISTRY NO. 2011-1544, SPOUSES ALEXER DE GUZMAN BUTIC & ABIGAIL MUSNGI REPRESENTED BY THEIR ATTORNEY-IN-FACT,

TERESITA DE GUZMAN BUTIC, R-ANG-18-03172-SP Petitioner, -versus-

THE LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRAR OF ANGELES CITY AND THE PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY, Respondents.

x---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------xORDER

A verifi ed Petition has been fi led by the petitioner praying that after due notice, publication and hearing, this Court renders judgment ordering the respondent, Local Civil Registrar of Angeles City and the Civil Registrar General, Philippine Statistics Authority to:

1.) Cancel Certifi cate of Marriage with Registry No. 2011-1544; and2.) Correct Certifi cate of Marriage with Registry No. 2010-491 as fol-

lows:(a) On the entry of “Name of Contracting Parties” under the col-

umn of the “wife”, the same be corrected from “ABIGAIL M. LACSON” to “ABIGAIL MUSNGI”

(b) On the entry of “Place of Birth” under the column of the “Wife”, the same be corrected from “San Fernando, Pampanga” to “Angeles City”

(c) In the entry of “Name of Father” under the column of the “Wife”, the same be corrected from “ERWIN LACSON” to “Unknown”.

(d) In the entry of “Citizenship” right below the entry “Name of Fa-ther” under the column of the “Wife”, the same be corrected from “Filipino” to “Unknown.”

(e) In the entry of “Persons who gave consent or advice” under the column of the “Wife”, the same be corrected from “Erwin Lacson” to “Ma. Christina Musngi”

(f) In the entry of “Relationship” right below the entry “Persons who gave consent or advice” under the column of the “Wife”, the same be corrected from “father” to “mother”.

Finding the petition to be suffi cient in due form and substance, the Court hereby sets the hearing thereof on January 29, 2019 at 8:30 in the morning to be held at the Session Hall of this Court, 2/F Hall of Justice, Pulung Maragul, Angeles City after this Order shall have been published in a newspaper of general circulation in Angeles City and Pampanga for three (3) consecutive weeks at the expense of the petitioner.

All persons interested in the said petition may appear before this Court on or before the scheduled date and show cause, if they have any, why the prayer thereof should not be granted.

The petitioner is hereby directed to furnish copies of the Petition and its annexes to the Offi ce of the City Prosecutor, Angeles City, Offi ce of the Solicitor General, Makati City, the Civil Registrar General, the Local Civil Registrar of Angeles City, within ten (10) days upon receipt hereof and to submit to the court proof of compliance.

Furnish copies hereof to the Offi ce of the Clerk of Court, RTC, Angeles City, the petitioner and her counsel.

SO ORDERED.Angeles City, November 29, 2018.

OMAR T. VIOLA Judge

Punto! Central Luzon: December 20, 27, 2018 & January 3, 2019

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINESREGIONAL TRIAL COURTTHIRD JUDICIAL REGION

BRANCH 56ANGELES CITY

IN THE MATTER OF CHANGE OF NAME IN THE BIRTH RECORD OF HASH MEHNREY REYES MENESES TO HASH MEHNREY C. REYES and ALEXIS CASSANDRA REYES FABROS TO ALEXIS CASSANDRA C. REYES REMOVING THE SURNAME MENESES and FABROS

CONNIE C. REYES, R-ANG-18-02868-SP Petitioner, -versus-

THE LOCAL CIVIL REGISTRAR OF ANGELES CITY and the PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY Through the Administrator, Respondent,

x-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------xORDER

A verifi ed Petition having been fi led by Connie C. Reyes praying that, after the due notice publication, and hearing, this Honorable Court adjudge and order herein Respondent to eff ect the change of the Birth Record pertaining to the entry in the surnames of the children HASH MEHNREY REYES MENESES to HASH MEHNREY C. REYES and ALEXIS CASSANDRA REYES FABROS to ALEXIS CASSANDRA C. REYES.

Which appears to be suffi cient in form and substance, set the hearing of said petition on January 14, 2019 at 8:30 o’clock in the morning on which date and time, all persons interested may appear and show cause, should they have any, why the petition should not be granted.

Let copies of this Order be published once a week for three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the province of Pampanga and Angeles City at the expense of the petitioner.

Likewise, let copies of this Order and Petition be furnished to the Local Civil Registrar of Angeles City, Philippine Statistics Offi ce and the Offi ce of the Solicitor General.

SO ORDERED.Angeles City, December 07, 2018.

IRIN ZENAIDA S. BUAN Judge

Punto! Central Luzon: December 20, 27, 2018 & January 3, 2019

Mak Tumang... worldclass designer!AFTER 2018 crowned Miss Universe Catriona Gray bested out 93 beautiful women from all over the universe, Mak Tumang became a household name.

Mak with the collaboration of Catriona created the gowns which the latter wore during the 2018 Miss Universe pageant held in Bangkok, Thailand.

Mak designed Catriona’s gown in the 2018 Bb. Pilipinas quest and named it “Sinag”.Also, he designed Catriona’s gowns during the 2018 Miss Universe and named them “Adarna” and

“Mayon”.These gowns were on display at SM City Pampanga last December 28-30.The now iconic “Mayon” gown has been fl own to New York upon Catriona’s request.The gown will then

return to the Philippines in time for Catriona’s offi cial homecoming.How much would the “Mayon” gown cost when Mak was asked.“Mga 1 siguro. Pero sa materials n’ong na-compute namin na P1 million na kami for the materials pa lang.

Wala pang labor and ibang ginastos pa d’on,” According to Mak, they have been conceptualizing her gown for the Miss Universe pageant as early as

March.“Right after niyang manalo ng Binibini gusto niya talagang magsuot ng red na gown,”Mak thought Mayon Volcano best represented Catriona, since it’s one of her hometown’s iconic spots. It

is also associated with the fi re element which is the closest to red.‘Yon ‘yong naisip ko, she’s from Bicol and the home of the iconic Mayon volcano and parang pinaka-

malapit na element d’on sa red is fi re ‘di ba?”Meanwhile for her the Adarna gown, which Catriona wore to the preliminary competition, Mak revealed

that it was originally supposed to be red but, they decided to go with orange to achieve a better “phoenix” look.“Kaya Ibong Adarna parang kasing in-associate ko rin sa fi re...original color dapat ng Adarna gown is red

talaga, pero inisip namin na gawin na lang orange to achieve the phoenix look,”Mak said Catriona is proud of her roots and she is both passionate and eager to showcase the Filipino

culture to the whole universe.“Si Catriona kasi is very proud sa roots niya and she is very passionate gusto niya talagang i-showcase

kung ano meron sa kultura natin sa buong mundo,” he said.Mak continued and said that Catriona wanted a designer with whom she is comfortable “para masabi niya

‘yong vision niya, ‘yong gusto niya. Gusto niya ‘yong designer, maintindihan nang buong buo kung ano ‘yong gusto niyang mangyari.”

Mak and Catriona had already worked together in 2016, during Catriona’s Miss World stint. Then, Mak also designed a few of the beauty queen’s gowns.

The designer said that from the very beginning, their goal was to be unique which led them to look at Philippine art and literature for inspiration.

“Dapat maging unique. ‘Yon ‘yong pinaka-goal namin. Kaya ganon namin naisip na Philippine art and literature as inspiration sa lahat ng mga isusuot niya,” he said.

Mak’s iconic designs continue to break barriers and gain recognition around the world.Mak started as sheer raw talent. A proponent of modern techniques, haute couture and his continuous

pursuit of luxurious elegance, he has become a well distinguished name and esteemed personality in both national and international fashion scene. Known for his intricate embroidery, detailed lacework and elaborate designs, he has taken the industry by storm. He has dressed famous celebrities and beauty queens.

Truly worldclass!Truly for the universe!q q q

AS PART of their promo, the cast of Mary, Marry Me had a very successful cinema tour at SM City Clark. The Gonzaga sisters Toni and Alex had a “Meet and Greet” with their fans at the facade of Cinema 6 of

SM City Clark.Mary, Marry Me is a 2018 Philippine romantic comedy fi lm directed by RC Delos Reyes and starring Toni

and Alex Gonzaga and Sam Milby. It marks the fi rst fi lm to star the Gonzaga sisters, and the reunion project between Toni Gonzaga and Sam Milby, who starred in 2009’s Ang Tanging Pamilya: A Marry Go Round.Mary, Marry Me was released on December 25, 2018 as an offi cial entry to the 2018 Metro Manila Film Festival.

Mak Tumang’s Adarna and Mayon gowns.

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CLARK FREEPORT— Aqua Planet has announced its re-opening on January 15 after being closed for maintenance and other safety concerns for three months.

The reopening was an-nounced with new ticket pric-es at P1,180 for adults and P980 for kids below four feet every weekend (Saturdays- Sundays) or weekday rates at P950 for adults and P750 for kids.

Senior citizens can avail of their 20 percent discounts as

Aqua Planet in Clark reopens

THE PHILIPPINE Indepen-dence Day Council, Inc. (PID-CI) named Dr. Irineo G. Alva-ro Jr. as the Honorary Grand Marshall of the 2019 Philip-pine Independence Day Pa-rade in New York on June 2.

Alvaro is in New York with his family when he formally ac-cepted the designation during a Grand Marshall Gala at the Philippine Consulate Center held on December 28, 2018. Offi cers from the Department of Tourism (DOT), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI),

Alvaro named 2019 Honorary Grand Marshall of PH Independence Day Parade in New York

General Consulate and invit-ed New York-based journalists as well as Fil-Am Press Club graced the event.

PIDCI is the umbrella orga-nization that stages the annual Independence Day parade on Madison Avenue, said to be the largest outside of the Phil-ippines.

“We unanimously decided to designate Dr. Irineo G. Al-varo Jr. as our 2019 Honorary Grand Marshall for his immea-surable contribution in various disciplines. Notably, his exper-

tise and exemplary service in both private and public. He is a business leader, a public servant, an academician/edu-cator, author/writer, philanthro-pist, family man and a servant of God”, PIDCI confi rmation letter read.

“Dr. Alvaro embodies and best personifi es our forefa-thers’ vision of a free people: free from poverty and realize their true potential. He is wor-thy of emulation by others, for his sterling record is second to none”, the letter continued.

In his acceptance speech, Alvaro said “This representa-tion is deeply humbled by this title. Let us not forget what our heroes fought for. As we give back to honor them, the cel-ebration observes two prima-ry reasons: a tribute to those who came before us and a surety to those who will come after us. For this, with pride and humility, I am honored to accept the role of an Honor-ary Grand Marshall in a mo-mentous and historic occa-sion and to the PIDCI offi cers

and members, my profound gratitude”.

Parade participants will in-clude Philippine WWII veter-ans, the Bacolod Maskara, Tangub dancers, Dinagyang contingent, around fi fty cultur-ally designed fl oats and the-matically colorful others.

Filipinos from New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Washington DC, and Pennsyl-vania will converge to greatly enjoy and celebrate the 121st Independence Day as the fi rst republic in Asia. –PR

well as persons with disabili-ties (PWDs) while infants are free of charge.

However, online booking is yet to be announced.

Aqua Planet, which is now headed by acting gener-al manager Simon Jiang, has passed the third-party certifi -cation which means it is now at par with international stan-dards in terms of safety.

BB International is the de-veloper of the 10-hectare wa-ter theme park located at the northwest section of this free-port. Aqua Planet is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.