Cagayan Times (June 30 - July 6, 2013)

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Vol. 1 | No. 48 | Cagayan de Oro City | June 30-July 6, 2013

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CAGAYANTIMES d e O ro

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Moreno relives history with June 30 inaugural

By Antonio J. Montalvan II

the Cagayan citizenry.

Its location at the center of the city is not unintended.

As the heart of the 1901 Plaza Divisoria, it is also the city’s soul. Here lies the posterity of momentous events of the past that shaped the history and culture of the

Cagayan de Oro people.

Moreno’s inaugural this Sunday June 30 will take place near the same spot where the country’s first president Emilio Aguinaldo addressed the great throng that welcomed his visit to Cagayan de Misamis on

October 5, 1924.

On that day, Cagayan citizens came out in droves to listen to the man whose cause they fought for only a quarter of a century earlier during the Philippine-American War in Cagayan in 1899-1901.

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photo courtesy of TOM UDASCO

Oscar S. Moreno has personally chosen what is the most historically apt venue for the inaugural of a Cagayan de Oro city mayor.

The kiosko at Divisoria was known in the early days as the Tribuna, a forum for addressing big assemblies of

Filomeno A. Bautista Jr. , whose story was chosen as the top prize winner of the recently concluded Philippine Veterans Bank and Inquirer in Education 2013 world War II True Stories writing contest, written by his grand daughter Celine Marie Bautista Itchon of St. Mary's High School in Cagayan de Oro , shakes the hand of Mayor-elect Oscar “Oca” Moreno, as Philippine Veterans Bank VP MIguel Angelo C. Villa-Real looks on. Photo by Shaun Alejandrae Yap Uy

The first stand. Mayor-elect Oscar “Oca” Moreno and Philippine Veterans Bank VP MIguel Angelo C. Villa-Real take a closer look at the war photos on the panels at the Philippine Veterans Bank “War of our Fathers” travelling exhibit at the SM City Cagayan de Oro. The exhibit will run from June 29 July 9, 2013.

Photo by RONALD MASTAIL

Inauguration Day Sunday Brunch at Seda Centrio Seda Centrio is bringing up a Sunday Brunch to commemorate the inauguration of the incoming city administration this Sunday, June 30, 2013.

Brunch has traditionally been prepared by restaurants and hotels for special occasions, such as weddings, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, or Easter Sunday.

“We thought June 30 would be an auspicious day to restart this tradition at Seda Centrio since it’s the same date as the inauguration of the new city officials,” said Lorenzo Tang, general manager.

“After the inauguration mass and program at Kiosko Kagawasan, we have invited Mayor Oscar S. Moreno to similarly inaugurate our Sunday Brunch here at Seda Centrio.”

For its inaugural Sunday Brunch Menu, Seda Centrio has prepared the following: SOUP: Seafood Chowder; SALAD: Fresh Garden Salad; VEGETABLE: Green Vegetable; HOT: Fish Fillet in Black Pepper Sauce, Patatim, Herb Chicken, Steamed White Rice; BEVERAGE & DESSERT: Chilled Juices (Orange/ Guava/Dalandan/Mango), Fruit Kebab.

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The CAGAYAN de ORO TIMES

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June 30-July 6, 2013

The Cagayan de Oro TIMES

MetroSpect Kumbira 2013 Heritage Feature:

Kagay-anon Restaurant’s Teamwork for a Winning Pinakbet

by Mike Baños

Pinakbet was one of the featured Filipino dishes in the “Sooo Pinoy National Search for the Ultimate Pinoy Dish”, a joint project of Unilever Foodsolutions, Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) and Department of Tourism.

An Ilokano dish mainly consisting of ampalaya, eggplant and okra, and often tossed in sautéed garlic and shallots, ginger and ripe tomatoes, slices of pork liempo, and crackling pork, Pinakbet has traditionally been spiced with bagoong na isda (fish paste), providing the lucky diner with a wide variety of tastes including salty, sweet and sour.

Although it shares most of the features of this favorite Pinoy dish, it’s the extra oomph in the Pinakbet of Kagay-anon Restaurant in Limketkai Center which led to its selection as One of the 10 Best Pinakbet in the Philippines by Sooo Pinoy.

“A team from Unilever and PDI will go out and nominate food outlets that best serve a particular dish,” said Jhao Carandang, Unilever sales executive.

“For instance, Kagay-anon was nominated among others in Mindanao and by certain criteria they bested other nominees across the Philippines.”

Carandang said ‘mystery judges’ visited the nominated outlets to judge the particular dish and the Top 10 restos or hotels judged to be best in a particular dish would be featured based on these criteria ‘Taste’ (balance of flavor, texture and aroma); ‘Presentation’ (creativity, use of ingredients) and ‘Value for Money’ (serving size, quality of ingredients and overall dining experience).

“We didn’t expect to be selected so we were all happily surprised when the call informing us of our selection came through,” said Mrs. Francisca Limketkai, owner of Kagay-anon Restaurant.

And it wasn’t just the owners and workers of Kagay-anon either who were excited over the win.

“Until this time, we still have a steady stream of orders for our pinakbet as a result of that selection which was posted in The Philippine Daily Inquirer,” said Russel Awat, restaurant manager.

Although it's a dish that has migrated to practically all corners of the islands, one thing which makes Kagay-anon’s Pinakbet special is its presentation inside the half of a fresh squash gourd.

Even renowned chefs from Metro Manila like Myrna Segismundo of Restaurant 9501 who tasted their pinakbet noted the dish’s remarkable presentation.

That was the inspiration of Mrs. Limketkai, who inherited her lifelong zeal for cooking from her father Tan Sing Liat, who also loved to cook.

Her sister, Mrs. Nena Velasco, also inherited their father’s culinary chops, being the moving spirit behind Countryside Steakhouse, a fine dining establishment which shares the same building with Kagay-anon.

Even as an elementary student, Mrs. Limketkai was already learning to cook, and her favorite dish then was sotanghon guisado (rice vermicelli) that her aunt, who was her mentor, allowed her to cook on special occasions.

When she took over in 1997 for brother-in-law Lorenzo who started Kagay-anon at a nearby site in 1991, one of the first things she did was to expand the menu, one of which is their now famous Pinakbet.

Mrs. Limketkai said the reason behind the success of their unique recipe is the teamwork between herself, chief cook Edgar Illana and resto manager Ms. Awat. No new menu item enters the Kagayanon’s list unless these have been tasted by Mrs. Limketkai.

“She has this unique ability to know what ingredients have been used to cook the dish and she can tell also what needs to be enhanced or toned down,” Ms. Awat said. Together, they conduct random quality control tests on all items coming

from the kitchen supervised by their chief cook.

This exactly is what Austrian Chef Norbert Gandler said local chefs need to make it to the next level. Gandler will once again be back to head the distinguished panel of judges for the 17th Kumbira slated in August 14-16 at the Limketkai Center Atrium.

Gandler, who acted as chair of the board of judges many times in the past, notes how competing chefs, (especially in the professional category) tend to make short-cuts as time goes on; hence, the crying need for more executive chefs who are “experienced, responsible, and have the right attitude” to control quality and keep on testing new ways to make things better.

With the tested team of Kagay-anon Restaurant keeping close tabs on its menu, it’s poetic justice that the process of improving the city’s cuisine has already started in the restaurant which proudly bears its name.

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June 30-July 6, 2013

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GCASH pioneers payment for Pag-IBIG via mobile phone Sun Cellular cracks down on fraudsters The Cagayan de Oro TIMES

A breakthrough service that allows easy payment of contributions and housing loans via GCASH

Globe Telecom subsidiary G-Xchange, Inc. (GXI), the operator of mobile commerce service GCASH, was recently tapped by Home Development Mutual Fund (HDMF) or the PagIBIG Fund, to allow its over 12 Million members to transact with Pag-IBIG via GCASH, making it easy and more convenient for them to facilitate their Pag-IBIG transactions.

With the tie-up, Pag-IBIG members can now pay for their monthly mandatory savings and housing loans anytime, anywhere using their GCASH wallets linked to their Globe or TM phones, eliminating the need to go to a Pag-IBIG office or an accredited Pag-IBIG payment center.

“Our partnership with GCASH is truly a milestone for PagIBIG. Using GCASH as a safe and secure payment channel, we expect to grow our membership base further as well as the volume of our membership savings premium payments as it gives our members an alternative, especially the Kasambahays, an option to send in their monthly mandatory savings and loan payments minus the hassle of queuing,” said Atty.

Darlene Marie B. Berberabe, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Pag-IBIG Fund.

“We hope that this new service will provide our kababayans especially those in the low income bracket like househelpers or their employers a more convenient way of paying their Pag-IBIG contributions,” Berberabe added.

GXI President Paolo Baltao is likewise excited to venture into another relevant use of

mobile money and technology to deliver public service. “This validates and strengthens our thrust to make the lives of Filipinos easier by providing access to a hassle-free and secure payment technology via the mobile phone.

Using GCASH, subscribers can conveniently remit their Pag-IBIG monthly mandatory savings and pay their housing loans in seconds without having to leave their homes or travel distances just to pay Pag-IBIG. As long as they have enough funds in their GCASH wallets, payments will be swift and easy, something that’s very apt for the mobile and dynamic lifestyle of business owners, kasambahays or their employers.”

In order to get GCASH, a subscriber just needs to dial *143# and select ‘GCASH’ then choose ‘Register’ using their Globe or TM SIMs. Converting cash to GCASH wallets is equally easy. Funding may be done via online bank transfers (www.globe. com.ph/gcash), mobile banking with BPI (by dialing *119# after enrollment) and Unionbank, BancNet ATMs with minimal fees or through any of more than 7,000 GCASH outlets nationwide FREE of service charge.

To remit Pag-IBIG payments, members can pay either P100 (Monthly Mandatory Savings) or P500 (Modified Pag-IBIG II) by dialing *143# on their mobile phones, selecting ‘GCASH’ and choosing ‘Pay Bills’. For housing loan, just include the 20-digit payment reference number.

Members can also pay using their smartphones via the GCASH Mobile App available on iTunes,

Google Play, and Blackberry World. All Pag-IBIG payments are processed within 2-3 banking days.

Paying Pag-IBIG contributions and housing loans via GCASH is FREE of charge up to December 18, 2013. A minimal service fee of P5.00 will be charged per Pag-IBIG transaction via GCASH afterwards.

To know more about PagIBIG, visit their website at www. pagibigfund.gov.ph or call their 24/7 hotline at (02) 724-4244 (Pag-IBIG). To learn more about GCASH, enjoy free browsing access to www.globe.com.ph/ gcash using your mobile phone. be loaned for the short-term loans and the dividend amount to be credited at the end of each year a Filipino worker is an active PagIBIG member.

The Pag-IBIG Fund, with current membership level numbering to 12 million Filipino workers worldwide, recently updated its Vision and Mission to be more attuned to the changing needs of its members and partners. Guided by its Vision – “For every Filipino worker to save with Pag-IBIG Fund and to have decent shelter” – and Mission – “To generate more savings from more Filipino workers, to administer a sustainable Fund with integrity, sound financial principles, and with social responsibility, and to provide accessible funds for housing of every member” – the Pag-IBIG Fund exemplifies a government agency which has maintained its sustainability throughout its 33year history.

Sun Cellular has conducted entrapment proceedings in Sun Shop outlets following reports that some individuals have been submitting fraudulent applications for cell phone subscriptions.

Since the start of the year, Sun Cellular has filed several cases against suspects who tried to file dubious subscription applications in an attempt to get handsets and free network usage attached to these subscription plans.

“We are serious about bringing these fraudsters before the courts of law, not just because of the business losses that we incur with each fraudulent application, but also to make sure that the postpaid subscriptions they get from us will not be used for any other fraudulent activity,” said Reuben Pangan, Official Spokesperson of Sun Cellular.

Pangan explained the suspects usually use falsified documents to avail of new plans, and some even present stolen credit cards to avail of promotions. Some apply in multiple Sun Shops and present themselves as different individuals, with different sets of falsified proof of identification and proof of income.

Apart from fraudulent applications, Sun Cellular mentioned that unidentified parties have been circulating messages aimed at extorting load credits from their subscribers.

“We advise the public to be especially vigilant as scammers keep coming up with new schemes aimed at extorting load or money from unsuspecting mobile subscribers.” Pangan said.

While these types of scam has been going on for years, Pangan said that in recent cases the scammers introduce themselves as representatives of Sun Cellular, stating that the receiver has ‘won’ some sort of promo that make the potential victim eligible to avail of free items such as load, cash or service fee exemptions and discounts, among others. The message would then require a series of numbers to be sent to 2292, which causes the receiver to unintentionally send a specific amount of load to the scammer’s prepaid number.

The set of numbers “2292” is the short-code number for Sun Cellular’s “Give-A-Load”, which is a tool Sun Cellular subscribers use to send load credits to whomever they choose, usually relatives, friends or co-workers.

Another modus operandi of text scammers is to pretend to be relatives of a certain subscriber claiming to be in an emergency or accident, or badly needing load credits.

“Some may even pose as employees from our billing and collections department,” Pangan added.

“We advise that these instances be immediately reported to Sun Cellular or to the NTC,” Pangan says. “Sun Cellular and the NTC are both working together to curb, if not totally eliminate all these prevalent fraudulent practices,” Pangan concluded.

PEN Holds Teaching Literature Workshop in Cagayan de Oro

T

he Philippine Center of International PEN (Poets, Playwrights, Essayists, Novelists) will hold “For Love of the Word: Workshops on Teaching Philippine Literature in High School and College” on August 12 (Monday), from 8:30 to 4:30 pm, at the University Conference Hall, Capitol University, Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental.

Award-winning writers and professors

of literature Ricardo de Ungria and Timothy Montes will be the resource speakers/ facilitators.

As a component of PEN International’s Beacon Centre Programme, this project is part of the series of teacher-training workshops organized by the Philippine Center across the country.

It seeks to enhance the skills of literature teachers in both secondary and tertiary levels, especially

on the teaching of poetry, fiction, and drama by Filipino authors.

Previous workshops were held in Manila, Iloilo, Cebu, Baguio, Naga, and Bohol.

This workshop is co-hosted by Capitol University, and supported

by PEN International in London and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).

There is no registration fee for the workshop.

When you’re in Cagayan de Oro, read...

For inquiries and pre-registration, please contact Philippine PEN at Solidaridad Bookstore, 531 Padre Faura St., Ermita, Manila; email philippinepen@yahoo.com; mobile: +639175287491.

Or visit the PEN website http://www.philippinepen.ph for updates.

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CAGAYANTIMES d e O ro

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June 30-July 6, 2013

The Cagayan de Oro TIMES

Points of View

Shaken but never Broken

ALA MODE Owen Jaen

We just found out my sister’s got breast cancer.

Not that I am proud to express it to the whole world but I realized we have to discuss the matter openly and deal with it to lessen the worries and hopefully ease the pain.

This is also a wake-up call for our family since we never really had someone so close to us who were afflicted with such a harrowing disease. At first we were in a state of shock and even questioning why it had to happen to such a kindhearted woman who has lived all her life trying to serve and change lives of other people.

Then again, it dawned on us that these things happen to anyone.

The Big C does not discriminate and it can strike even to the most unsuspecting victim.

My sister’s case may just be one of the growing statistics of women with breast cancer worldwide but the distress of such news is still something that brings all of us down.

We do not want anyone to happen to any of our family members and we want to do everything we could to make her go through all of these as swiftly and without much trouble as possible.

The comforting fact however is that she is now based in the United Kingdom, one of the world’s most advanced in terms of medical research, science and health care.

Her operation and other medical treatments will be availed for free and her health risks are low due to the medical advancements in the UK. No one is really prepared to

WORDS & NOTES Debbie Cabague

The

CAGAYANTIMES d e O ro

CAGAYAN TIMES Publisher ROSE MARY D. SUDARIA, Ph.D. General Manager SHAUN ALEJANDRAE YAP UY Editor-in-Chief RONALD MASTAIL Art Director MIKE BAÑOS NELSON CONSTANTINO JOE DEL PUERTO FELICILDA RUEL PELONE ALLAN MEDIANTE CHENG ORDONEZ Editorial Consultants John del Bando Sales & Marketing Director PINKY DOMINGO CADAVEDO Marketing Executive ATTY. MARIO T. JUNI ATTY. ROBERTO A. CANTAGO, JR. Legal Counsels The CAGAYAN de ORO TIMES newspaper is published weekly at FICCO Bldg., Lapasan Hi-way, with the editorial office at Tanleh Bldg., Abellanosa St., Cagayan de Oro City. It is registered with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Region 10 with Certificate No. 01801884, and with Business Permit No. 17211 with TIN No. 311-982-549-000 Find us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CagayandeOroTIMES email us at Editorial: thecagayantimes@gmail.com Advertising: cagayantimes@yahoo.com.ph Member: Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation, Inc. (Oro Chamber)

take the blow that diseases such as cancer bring to the afflicted and the family.

However, it is with how we respond to the matter that is most important. Crying over it for a while is natural since we worry about the welfare of our loved ones but springing back to a sunnier disposition is a key to face this life-changing challenge head on.

Cancer is not a simple disease and the healing process is emotionally and physically draining.

In order to lift the spirits of everyone, a good family support, faith and prayers, better and deeper understanding of the condition and the right attitude are essential.

Stress and negative emotions harbor more harm than good.

Better not to worry of what might

happen and concentrate in focusing in the present moment instead.

My sister has always been an inspiration to many especially in her work for the underprivileged sectors in the Birmingham area in England and she had reaped accolades for her passion to serve.

Her condition now I believe will even inspire more women to not be afraid of cancer, fight against it and be more productive than ever.

Her upbeat spirit and positive outlook in life continues to become a ray of sunshine to many.

I pray that as she faces this bump in her life’s journey, she will be stronger than ever and continue to become a warrior that brings a beacon of hope like all women with breast cancer everywhere who may have been shaken but never broken.

Music to your heart’s content?

Riding in a jeepney with students on their way to school, workers with worried faces ... checked my watch it’s almost Eight o’clock in the morning.

That explains the look, but busting our ears was the line of a song “sex with my ex” ... as the jeepney’s radio screams at us.

In my mind, music to the driver’s content...

What an “encouraging” message for the morning... looking at the rest of the passengers, they don’t care, perhaps too preoccupied with their concerns for the day. I just shook my head and put on my headphones.

I’m not complaining about the driver playing that song, that’s his choice... it’s his jeepney at the moment but what I’m more concerned of is the music we have today.

The music of this generation... I’m not saying all is bad but sad to say many songs today contain the “trashy” content.

If we adults are not aware of that, then I think we should be. Why? It greatly affects us and our next generation.

It can affect us like it or not because we all have subconscious minds. The subconscious mind stores information that the conscious mind may not immediately process with full understanding, but it stores the information for later retrieval when ”recalled” by the conscious mind.

Meaning, even if we don’t intentionally listen to songs we don’t like but because we hear them often publicly then it can still be absorbed subconsciously.

How else could I have memorized the “Cagayan Park view hotel” jingle add many years ago? Even until today at times it still plays in my mind. If you’re not affected, then perhaps you cannot memorize the chorus part of “Pusong bato”, but in contrary I know you can and most of us can for the general public.

The adults’ minds are powerful, now how much more for the kids? Don’t you know that kids’ absorb like sponges.

They copy us like it or not, as one of my students said “you are my idol”. Oh my! This made me realize that I should be more careful

with everything I do.

Music greatly influences us from the melody of the songs we listen to and the words that it says to us. Don’t you know that “The song Amazing Grace” sung by a woman silenced a very large rude crowd.

If music cannot penetrate to the core of the hearts of those people, then she couldn’t have possibly silenced them.

In the midst of this social media thriving, Facebook, Youtube, Twitter... we cannot stop what’s out there but we can control ourselves from getting poisoned with “Trash music”, that is if we are aware and conscious enough to screen what we hear and see.

If we spend time doing Facebook might as well Google the meaning of the seemingly good songs we commonly hear in the radio.

You might be shocked of the meanings and how other countries laugh at us because their song became a hit in our country, which just shows the obvious that many do not understand the meaning of that particular song.

Not because a song has a good melody that we can dance to it, then it’s already good.

There is always a story behind the lyrics of a particular song and, often times it is the expression of how the composer feels.

This is my plea to everyone, if having all these Fun runs every now and then makes us consciously aware of the importance of being physically fit then might as well consider that Mental and Spiritual fitness are also important.

What good would it do if you’re physically fit, and yet inside your mind and heart is trash mounting up?

Remember what you feed your mind with; you release it through your words and actions “Trash in, Trash out”. Matthew 12:34 says out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

If you care for the next generation whether you are a parent or not, better start raising music awareness and consciousness from within.

The clock is ticking.

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Points of View SUPER BRANDING Harry Tambuatco

The culture of impunity We have real issues that need attending to should we maintain a sustaining freedom with this democracy.

The past election unfortunately provided extended mandates to many making matters worse with dynasties metastasizing on the national levels.

It is no longer confined to local government where fiefdoms have ruled for decades but now with senators and their families ruling the country.

Then there are the convicted, the felons and many with existing graft and corruption cases that were not only allowed to run for office but won.

Congress as it is is full of politicians with dynasties.

How are we to correct this impunity of corruption and the violations towards a constitution they are supposed to up hold with direct reference to Article II Section 26?

The answer is we do not especially with this lot.

The problem most say stems from the President whose dynasty has been made the supreme example.

The politicians have followed the example of the President coming from a dynasty himself.

We have regulators supposedly created to place a check on abuses by government officials; problem is today they too run scared of these powerful politicians who are now above the law.

Violations towards our laws are commonplace and the courts are running scared with their tails between their legs. Ergo, the culture of impunity!

The masses are indifferent to all this with their issues of having to feed themselves considering the rising prices for food, water, security from the police, increasing utilities and government taxes.

There is no sustaining program for mass housing with jobs disappearing for less money to boot.

Incompetence has made matters worse with no infrastructure and development other than the boast of Malacanang that the economy is improving due to the stock exchange which has tumbled and the perceptions of the outside world that the Philippines has turned the corner.

The problem is which street is this corner? Ask any decent Joe on the street and he will be quick to point out his misery.

There are no social nets and none in the offing. The people have spoken and their decisions we suffer the next three years.

And should all things remain the same after another three, we continue to suffer another three. The biggest losers of course are the poor.

Blessed are the rich in this scenario who can idly stand by and criticize and do nothing.

What they don’t realize is they have carved out a future unfit for their children and children’s children.

These selfish attitudes have increased the securities in their village enclaves to keep the poor sobs out especially in their country clubs.

But hang on isn’t this the same everywhere else in the world?

The rich take more and more and the poor, give them their religions.

This is what the culture of impunity will result to… in-equitability for sure.

June 30-July 6, 2013

The Cagayan de Oro TIMES

HEALTH IN FOCUS

Financial Doctor

Dr. Mary Jean Loreche

Dr. Adonis Agcopra

Transfusion Transmitted Diseases (Part 2)

In Transfusion Transmitted Diseases, Donors (as discussed last week) have a significant role to play.

They need to be honest during the interview and in filling up the forms including history of a past or present illness, drug or alcohol intake, tattoo, ear piercing (for the males), and even the last date of blood donation.

Vaccines, and relevant health issues like presence of hypertension, blood disorders, should be reported.

Previous histories of significant laboratory test results for infectious diseases are important as the Blood Bank Personnel is now guided as to one’s fitness to become a donor.

Once the Donor passes the first step which is history taking, physical examination is done and laboratory testing is then performed.

A set of examinations are requested and if negative on all the tests, with a normal haemoglobin, then, one can start donating a unit of blood.

The Laboratory performing the tests is as important as that of the Donor.

The choice of test kits particularly in screening blood samples for diseases that are transmissible through blood must be approved by the Department of Health.

The importance of the sensitivity and specificity of the test kits cannot be over emphasized. False positive or false negative results should be kept at a minimum.

Should there be positive results in the screening stage; a confirmatory test must be performed, to make sure that the test result is truly positive.

The expertise of the staff performing the tests is another factor to consider.

In cases of uncertainty of test results, performing it a second or third time (with no extra charge to the patient) is a MUST, and a confirmatory testing or referral to a higher category diagnostic centre is standard procedure.

The donor with a positive result for the screened infectious agents like malaria, hepatitis B,C, HIV and syphilis should be referred to a Specialist for proper treatment.

And, to be diagnosed through an incidental Laboratory testing is beneficial both to the donor and the prospective recipient.

Imagine the horror if one were to get a disease after having been given that much needed blood!

Transfusion transmitted diseases is a risk that may not be totally eliminated as yet.

But, with increasing awareness and educating donors on what is expected of them, and instilling responsible blood donation, one problem is solved.

This, coupled with better diagnostic tests in capable and competent staff in the performing laboratories, the probability of being afraid that the unit of blood that is supposed to save is UNSAFE, becomes nil to non-existent.

More than the fear of a transmission related infection is the positive side of donating and receiving: benefits far outweigh the possible risks or complications.

When you’re in Davao City, read...

MBA, RFC ®

Break Parkinson's Law! In 1955, British author and historian Cyril Northcote Parkinson first made the observation in The Economist that “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” This became known as Parkinson's Law. An important economic corollary to this law goes: “The demand upon a resource tends to expand to match the supply of that resource.”

Stated much simpler for the layperson, “expenses rise to meet income.” Such occurrence is so commonplace that not doing so may be tantamount to avoiding the bandwagon.

However, if somebody would say that indeed, some laws are meant to be broken, then this law should be at the topmost!

If financial security is summarized by learning the appropriate cycle of earning, saving, investing and protecting your wealth and assets (the E-S-I-P paradigm), then ascribing to Parkinson's law may be taken as one of the biggest culprits responsible for breaking this cycle.

Someone gets overjoyed getting a raise. And with that raise comes the hope of expecting a much bigger breathing space, with money not anymore limited just "to make ends meet." Life seems to get a little better but a few months later, it's all back to basic and budget gets tight as how it used to be. A very common story that befalls almost every Tom, Dick and Harry.

We might ask the big "why"? Why did it happen? Where did all the extra money go? But as science would say, "nature abhors a vacuum."

Psychology and human nature kicks in. When funds are lacking, needs are needs and wants are wants. But when some extra funds come in, new expenses are created and wants become sugar-coated "needs." With the extra money, many people would get the immediate urge to say: "Let's burn it!" So long as there's money in their pockets, there is always a thousand and one ways to spending it.

Discipline is an often used word. But when it comes to money, the temptation to enjoy short term gain easily erodes the value of discipline.

Attaining long term security and stability gets pushed aside when the icing on the cake seems more luscious than the cake itself.

But people often get a hazy vision of their future when long term gain is blurred by the sparkle of what's fun and easy now. Delayed gratification can be a conscious choice of looking forward to a life of long-term gain with less worries while initially sacrificing with shortterm pain. When rewards are genuine, they necessarily come later.

Be a lawbreaker for once. Doing so perhaps can even help you avoid spending a life of long-term agony and pain because of the shortterm gains you've opted to prioritize early on.

Break Parkinson's Law. Do it now!

Dr. Adonis Agcopra is a registered international financial strategic consultant with IARFC and is portfolio director of AFIC Meridian Consultants.

URL: www.aficfinancialconsultants.com Email: aficfinancialconsultants@outlook.com

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Around NorthMin MisOr lass graduates as Magna Anti-cable TV and cable Cum Laude thanks to SPES internet theft act signed June 30-July 6, 2013

The Cagayan de Oro TIMES

By Mildred E. Dablio, Contributor

Cable TV and cable internet has been a welcome advancement in technology to many Filipinos.

With this advancement, unfortunately, came new opportunities for criminals to take advantage of the gap in our penal laws covering cable TV and cable internet theft.

As such, Congressman Rufus B. Rodriguez filed House Bill 709, entitled Anti-cable Television and Cable Internet Pilferage Act of 2013 with the view of addressing this gap.

Recently, President Benigno S. Aquino signed into law Republic Act 10515 or the “Anti-Cable Television and Cable Internet Tapping Act of 2013”. The law penalizes a person with imprisonment of 2 years to 5 years and/or a fine ranging from P50,000.00 to P100,000.00 for: (a) intercepting or receiving or assisting INAUGURAL from page 1 The men of Cagayan who came to listen to Aguinaldo talk from a make-shift stage that faced Calle Mindanao (today Tiano Brothers Street) came dressed in what was de rigueur of the day – white suits and hats.

After Aguinaldo’s Divisoria rally, he retired to the house of Apolinar Velez where luncheon was served in his honor.

It was also from the Tribuna on National Heroes Day of November 30, 1955 that the three Tiano Brothers were officially recognized by the city and given honors for their individual valor, for a country that they did not die in vain for. Here their bereaved mother Emilia Bacarrisas Tiano received BRUNCH from page 1 Seda Centrio’s Inauguration Brunch Menu will be served buffet style from 10:30am-2:00PM at only PhP 400.00 per person.

Mr. Tang relates the Inauguration Sunday Brunch of Seda Centrio was inspired by the column of historian Ambeth Ocampo who talked about the menu for lunch and dinner on September 29, 1898 when the Kawit declaration of independence was ratified

by Aguinaldo’s government in Malolos.

“Wonderfully designed

by Arcadio Arellano, the menu is in the form of a

Cong. Rufus Rodriguez, 2nd District, CDO

in intercepting or receiving, any signal offered over a cable television system or a cable internet system; (b) recording, reproducing, distributing, importing or selling any intercepted or received CATV System/ Network signals for commercial purposes without the authority of the concerned CATV Service Provider or Cable Internet Service Provider; (c) using or receiving any direct

or indirect benefit, from any CATV System/Network or Cable Internet System/Network with knowledge that it is a result of any of acts enumerated in paragraphs (a) or (b) above; or (d) wantonly, maliciously and willfully damaging, destroying or removing CATV and/or Cable Internet facilities and accessories of authorized CATV and/or Cable Internet Service Providers.

the posthumous honor for her three fallen sons.

The Tribuna is sacred ground rendered from the heroism of the brothers Tiano.

From the great Tribuna ec hoed the orations of the city’s historical titans – Emmanuel Pelaez who became Vice President, Justiniano R. Borja who remains the city’s greatest mayor, Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel, Jr. who became Senate President, to join with the cause of the common folks whose aspirations and dreams for a beloved city they continue to cherish.

Moreno will re-live history this Sunday.

It was here only a few moons ago that the people of Cagayan de Oro exercised their constitutional right to recall the only dictator in the

city’s history, Vicente Emano who is not from Cagayan de Oro and had no love for Cagayan de Oro, under the very shadow of the maverick JR Borja cast in stone by the National Artist Napoleon Abueva who Emano thought he would follow in history by his becoming the “second JR Borja.” Dictators have crazy dreams.

The inauguration of Oscar S. Moreno this Sunday is not just the inauguration of a new mayor.

With this event, we restore back the glory of the old Divisoria and the Tribuna, so that the people of Cagayan de Oro will enjoy the benefits of this open space of history and culture as intended by those who designed it for that noble purpose.

Philippine flag with the words “Solemn ratification of Philippine independence.”

When opened to reveal the menu, you see: the date of the party, Sept.

29, 1898, and the words Libertad, Fraternidad, and Igualidad, the rallying cry of the French Revolution of 1789. It comes as a surprise to many today that the lunch menu was not in Filipino but in French as follows: “Hors d’Oeuvre: Huitres, Crevettes roses; beurre radis; olives; Saucisson de Lyon; Sardines aux tomates; Saumon Hollandaise.

[Entrees] Coquille de c ra b e s ; Vo l a u ve n t a la financiere; Abatis de poulet a la Tagale;

Cotelettes de mouton a la papillote, pommes de terre paille; Dinde truffee a la Manilloise; Filet a la Chateubriand, haricots verts; jambon froid-asperges en branche. Dessert: Fromages; Fruits; Confitures; gele de Fraises; Glaces. Vins: Bordeaux, Sauterne, Xeres; Champagne. Liquers: Chartreuse; Cognac. Café, The.” “Hidden underneath the fancy French names are familiar Filipino dishes: Coquille de crabes was possibly torta de cangrejo a.k.a rellenong alimasag.

Ta ga l o g - s t y l e c h i c ke n giblets listed as Poulet abatis a la Tagale was chicken adobo.”

The CAGAYAN de ORO TIMES

Ms. Apple Wabe S. Tabasa of Cal a - c al a , C o g o n , Balingasag, Misamis Oriental and a Special Program for the Employment of Students (SPES) baby of the Provincial Government of Misamis Oriental graduated Magna Cum Laude last March 2013 at St. Rita’s College with a degree on Bac helor of Secondary Education, major in English.

In gratitude to SPES of DOLE, Ms. Tabasa received a starting salary of PhP 4,000 during the years (CY 2007-2012). As SPES beneficiary it was her first time to open an ATM account.

Performing clerical tasks, her first employer was Misamis Oriental Provincial Governor and now Cagayan de Oro Mayor-Elect, Oscar S. Moreno.

Visiting DOLE-10’s Office of the Regional Director are (L-R) Misamis Oriental Provincial Jobs Assistance Center PESO Manager, Ms. Kathleen Kate D. Sorilla; Ms.Apple Wabe S. Tabasa, and her grandmother.

M s . Ta b a s a , wa s dependent on the meager income from the family’s small convenience store.

She was also a scholar of the Commission on Higher Education, wish benefactor Mr. and Mrs. Ed Rivett empowered her to finish the course.

Apple, as she is fondly called, is now hired as a high school teacher from the school she graduated. “I will promote the SPES program to everyone because it does not only give benefits but also experience and boost work values,” Ms. Tabasa endorsed.

CANVAS AND TARPAULIN COVER RECYCLING PROJECT: Members of the VK Multi Purpose Cooperative (VK) undergo a five-day training on canvas tents and tarpaulin covers production utilizing used industrial plastics sacks. The activity is part of the on-going livelihood diversification project sponsored by energy-firm STEAG State Power Inc (SPI). Aside from recycling activities, VK is also engaged in other economic enterprises such as food and catering, and ancillary services for the maintenance and ground upkeep of SPI’s 210 MW (net) Mindanao Coal-Fired Power Plant in Villanueva, Misamis Oriental. VK, which is one of the component of SPI’s Livelihood and Enterprise Development (LEED) Program, is currently providing about 33 long-term job opportunities for local residents Villanueva.

Four tiger cubs in the Mantianak park at Sugbongcogon, Misamis Oriental, are now for sale because the local government unit which operates the park can no longer financially support the animals. The park has four female tigers and another one is pregnant. There are two kinds of tigers in the park – the Siberian and Bengal. The tiger cubs are three months old and costs P150,000 each. Photo by GERRY LEE GORIT of Mindanao Daily News

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Around NorthMin

June 30-July 6, 2013

The Cagayan de Oro TIMES

7

WAR OF OUR FATHERS. The Veterans Bank travel exhibit dubbed as War of our Fathers "A Tribute to the Filipino Freedom Fighters".

This is an exhibit dedicated to the World War II Veterans. War of our Fathers was launched at the 2nd Floor of the SM City Cagayan de Oro, June 28. The ribbon cutting ceremony is led

by Misamis Oriental Governor and Cagayan de Oro City MayorElect Oscar "Oca" Moreno (center), Veterans Bank VP Miguel Angelo C. Villa-Real (right), SM City's Constantine Arce (left), together with Col. Jose Paler, VFP district Commander (2nd from right) and Mr. Lino Gacus, Branch Manager of Philippine Photo by Ronald Mastail Veterans Bank, CDO.

DODONG'S WAR. The Bautista family poses with Cagayan de Oro Mayor-elect Oscar "Oca" Moreno. In the recently concluded Philippine Veterans Bank and Inquirer in Education announced the winner of the 2013 world War II True Stories writing contest where Celine Marie Bautista Itchon of St. Mary's High School in Cagayan de Oro was announced as the top prize winner.

The story was aptly titled "Dodong's War" a story about how a family survived during the Japanese occupation by making soap, the story was narrated by the 86-year-old Filomeno A. Bautista Jr., Celine's grandfather. (from left) In the photo are Raul Fernando Bautista, Esther Uy-Bautista, Mayor-elect Oscar Moreno, Filomeno Bautista, Jr., Ma. Jessica Bautista-Itchon and Eduardo Itchon (Celine's parents), Bea Bautista Itchon (celine's sister) and (seated) carmen Lumbre-Bautista. Photo by Shaun Alejandrae Yap Uy

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Lino Gacus, Branch Manager of Philippine Veterans Bank, CDO (left) and Veterans Bank VP Miguel Angelo C. Villa-Real (right)presents the token of appreciation to Mayor-elect Oscar “Oca� Moreno which are framed Philippine Guerilla Notes. These notes were printed during World war II by guerilla forces and the provinces and municipalities they defended. They were made from whatever paper was available at the time and were printed under unfavorable conditions.

Photo by Ronald Mastail

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8

June 30-July 6, 2013

The Cagayan de Oro TIMES

Feature

A TABLE FOR NINE Zola Gonzalez-Macarambon

A Respectable Wedding

Last week, I made the respectable choice to catch the last run of The Xavier Stage adaptation of Bertolt Brecht’s, A Respectable Wedding, written by Bonifacio Ilagan and directed by Hobart Savior.

It was between that and scouring the ukay-ukay stalls of the Divisoria Night Market (where writerteacher salaries go to die). It was a moist Friday night; my Drama class and I had the best seats on the 7th row.

I was flanked on both sides by wide-eyed juniors ready to flex some analytical muscle, having just gone through a force-reading of Gustav Freytag’s Die Technik des Dramas. We were in a good place.

A Respectable Wedding is about the botched wedding reception of newlyweds Justin and Bea at the Le Chic Hotel.

The production team did their homework and established the irony well enough with a set of wall papering in faded floral print and wrought metal furniture which could have surely been en vogue when Le Chic was “The Hotel” to be in the 70s.

Eustaquio, a shadowy ex-politician whom the bride’s mother Concha keeps referring to as “Tacki” sponsors the post-wedding party. Complications arise when the hotel management announces a bounced check. After quick arrangements by the groom’s father with the hotel manager who happens to be an old acquaintance, the play ends with a hundred and fifty people to be fed, reconciliations, the family still intact but not without a few secrets exposed and certain dignities compromised.

Mary Ellen Obach’s performance as Concha was particularly stellar. Her middle-aged mother-of-thebride was endearing in the self-conscious and doting way some of her kind are actually like on or off weddings.

Obach glided through the play, delivering her lines in perfect beat and timing, it sounded as natural as breathing. She played Concha out to be more complex than all the other characters onstage.

She was the only one who has a hint of an interesting past – the Tacki she kept referring to was

an old lover and potential father of the bride. It’s interesting how Obach made this hung-up woman with an unreliable personal history seem charming as a new mother-in-law with flirtatious inclinations towards the groom’s father.

Equally delightful were Rosell Velez and Micka Angela Virtudazo who played the convincing twoperson staff of the decrepit Le Chic Hotel.

As waiting people running around at the inconsolable bride’s bidding, they managed to reach the far end of the little theater with their presence as a humble couple on the job at a crumbling hotel while trying to keep a personal relationship solid.

Was it not only a year or two in the past when I wrote about voices barely projecting to me in the front seat of another Xavier Stage play?

It’s amazing what the director Hobart Savior has done with acting potential in so short a time in his company of young actors.

However, there are a few open cans of worms strewn and left untouched throughout the plot like the social and political overtures of a recent election and bombings which happen simultaneously with the wedding reception.

It’s also cringe inducing how broken legs on chairs served only laughs when the characters fell on their behinds when it could have lent such significance as metaphor in a family play. One scene also seemed carelessly portrayed, a chandelier scene which was the main actors’ last chance to show the specialness of the newlyweds’ relationship so that a broken light fixture will cease to be a problem but a chance to kiss and play.

My Drama students filed out of the theater entertained and thoughtfully occupied. They had so many questions, I asked them to save it all for class. The few who took to walking with me out the University gate said they’ll take any of these play nights over another doing the bars and videoke route with their friends. They seemed sincere. Of course, that could have easily been a bluff for points.

Eitherways, it was a great play, a good night.

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Heritage Feature The Forgotten Fruit Trees of Cagayan de Misamis 10

June 30-July 6, 2013

The Cagayan de Oro TIMES

by Mike Baños

Along with the old houses, street names and landmarks which have become a part of the heritage of Cagayan de Oro, are some trees and their fruits which seem to have inexplicably disappeared over time.

Two trees which have figured prominently in the culture and heritage of Cagayan de Oro are the Lambago and Kayam.

"Our place was once known as Kalambagohan because of the abundance of lambago," Roy Gaane, president and founder of Kagayanon International, recalls. The Lambago tree (Hibiscus tiliaceus) is a member of the Malvaceae tree family that thrives in low altitude areas like seashores, riverbanks and other areas reached by tidal streams.

Long-time resident Titus Velez reminisces how the lambago produced a yellow flower with some red stripes. As the day came and went, the flowers deepened to orange and then to red before falling off. The branches of the tree would bend over time and the wood has been used for boats, firewood, wood carvings and many other uses. It has also been used by Hawaiian Polynesians to make rope.

"They serve as anti-erosion sa mga riverbanks, trapping silt during the seasonal floods of the Cagayan River,” Velez said. “We use to climb this tree from on tree to another. Kasi almost interlocking ang mga branches. The branches are also very flexible and strong even the small ones. We also use the branches as an improvised diving board. During summer we would enjoy its shade.”

Songsong Kabaw photo by Market Man

Cerales fruits “Under the tree we would cook banana with ginamos and a bottle of coke. We could sleep in the branches while bringing the old transistor radio (the ones with Nora Aunor's face on the dial), while listening to dramas from dyHP. We also fly out kites there, well actually on a small clearing besides the trees,” he added.

"Those were the days. The last lambago I saw was along Iponan river but it's not there anymore. I'm not sure if there are still lambago if we go upstream. I think it is a victim of rapid urbanization."

On the other hand, the Kayam was better known to elder Kagay-anons for its nut which was a popular delicacy during their childhood days in the city.

"I remember that my mother had a suki who would deliver cooked or boiled kayam to the house," wrote Wendy Ramos-Garcia in her reminisces entitled Memories of the Old Hometown. "I haven't seen kayam for a long, long time now."

"It tastes like castañas (chestnuts) except it is bigger,” Gaane said. “ You can look it up in Google under the name of Tahitian Chestnut or Polynesian Chestnut."

The tree was even linked in popular culture to one of the city's barangays.

"When I was still in grade school, there were kayam trees in Consolacion, then known as the red light district of Cagayan," Gaane said. "When men who patronized the district were asked where they had been, they would say, Nang kayam 'mi . It became notorious and that was probably why the trees were cut."

Gaane also recalls other fruits of his childhood in

Inocarpus_edulis or Tahitian Chestnut better known as the Kayam in the old Cagayan de Misamis

Cagayan de Oro but which are now hard-to-find.

"There was the alubijid tree once found by the side of the Provincial Capitol," he said. "Its fruit is evergreen and its seed is hairy like that of the siniguelas except that the alubijid is round and big as a tennis ball. It probably can still be found in the town of Alubijid. It's crunchy like an apple, green, with hairy kernel. Just like the pangi fruit which was once found in Barangay Tagpangi. It must still be there,” he added.

Gaane also recalls a fruit better known as the cherry which was brownish and about the size of lanzones. “There used to be a tree at the Kempski compound that later became Rizal Theatre. Being a family friend, I used to get my cherries there.”

When he was a grade schooler in Ateneo de Cagayan (now better known as Xavier University), Gaane said he was a patron of the cherries which used to be sold by the Neri’s who had a property right next to the old gymnasium.

“I remember that cherry tree which belonged to the family of Luisito Neri,” Ramos-Garcia said. “It was delicious but the tree was full of thorns.”

Jazmin Ramos-Sumalinog, eldest daughter of former Pilgrim Institute High School Principal Severino Ramos recalls they used to have a cherry tree in their front yard.

“Didto mi sa taas sa cherry pirmi magsaka to get the dark plum-colored ones. Daghan gusto mopalit when the fruits look so tempting to passersby,” she said. “Dante, Bobom, Totic and myself agreed to own part of the tree as our respective branches, so that we get fruits only from our assigned branch.

Tahitian Chestnut or Kayam Nakaka miss !”

“The cherry is known as cereales in Davao and serali in the Visayas,” said Sylvia Aguhob, a food tech faculty from Xavier University’s College of Agriculture. She said many of the trees still line the pathway in the car park of the now cloistered Southeast Asian Rural Social Leadership Institute (Searsolin) at the Manresa campus of XU. Another fruit which was once abundant in Carmen in what is now the Golden Village was the songsong kabaw . "When ripe it is red and hairy like the mabolo but you only eat its flesh like the mangosteen,” Gaane recalls. Like the cherry, he said he hasn’t seen one since his high school days.

Veteran journalist Ben Emata, who is now based in Los Angeles, USA, also has fond memories of the songsong kabaw. "This is a sweet fruit that looks like the nipple of a carabao,” he muses. “When I went hunting during my childhood days, Songsong Kabaw were abundant side by side with bayabas or guavas.

I have not seen this fruit for a very long time. It was not sold in the market since it was a wild fruit."

Philippine Heritage gives Songsong Kabaw’s scientific name as Annonaceae Uvaria rufe and its found from Northern Luzon to Palawan and Mindanao where it is known as the susong-kalabaw, susog kaba, and a host of other regional variants.

According to MarketMan of the wonderful blog Market Manila, Songsong Kabaw is a member ot the Annonaceae family, which counts among its cousins, guyabano (soursop), atis (custard apple) and ylangylang. ( see http://www.marketmanila.com/wpcontent/uploads/2007/09/akalabaw3.JPG)

BusinessDaily

(compiled with the help of Roy Gaane, Wendy Ramos-Garcia, Ben Emata, Titus Velez and Sylvia Aguhob.

Special thanks to Market Man and Market Manila for the pictures of Songsong Kabaw and Cherries).

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Gardening:

June 30-July 6, 2013

The Cagayan de Oro TIMES

11

A tool for living a fruitful life in jail

by Ruby Leonora R. Balistoy, Contributor

MALAYBALAY CITY, Bukidnon -- Fifty-two-yearold “EG” is going to abandon his garden in nine week’s time. He will be giving up his planted herbs, bell pepper, eggplant, tomatoes, potatoes, pechay, gourds, and the lot too. Not because he is sick of it, but because two months from now he will be due for release.

“EG” is an inmate at Malaybalay City Jail (MCJ) in Patpat village, a jail out in the backwoods. Since late 2006 he has been working seven days a week to help maintain the prisons’ famed farm and garden.

At the time, farming as a rehabilitation tool was largely unrecognized until Jail Warden J/SInsp Guy Jason J. Reyes suggested to his colleagues to promote and intensify gardening in MCJ. Botanical Garden This year, the inmates featured dozens of herb plant species with reputed healing qualities.

These include thyme, oregano, garlic, coriander, angel’s trumpet, lagundi, and wild berries.

“Many of the plants we grow in here look very attractive,” explains jail warden Reyes, who oversees the operation with farm inmates.

“But most people are not aware of their medicinal and healing qualities. These range from flatulence relief to plants which can boost immune system.”

Mallard duck raising Prisons are also making money out of raising mallard ducks, locally known as “Bebe” for egg-laying, which they sell to “balut-makers (mangbabalut),” Jail officer Rodel P. Abratiguin, Inmates Welfare Dev’t Officer, said.

With the ducks feeding on weeds and insects, labor and pesticides costs are minimized.

Consequently, the ducks provide another source of added income for the inmates.

As the powerful slogan says “May sud-an na, May kwarta pa (viand and money made easily available),” inmates always think of ways in sharing self-help guides and ideas that can provide a “healing environment” and make money while in prison.

Economic Gains Malaybalay city jail is hardly a typical porridge-style prison, J/SINSP Reyes said.

Vegetable growing and duck rearing enable inmates to obtain not only money, but also subsidiary products such as organic fertilizer, duck meat and eggs, from the same piece of land, at the same time.

“With the inmates’ stiff meal budget, we sometimes were able to serve them up some delicious meals harvested from the jail’s farm and garden especially during inmates’ birthday parties and merrymaking,” he said.

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Earn money with no money “EG,” known to prison inmates as the ‘farming and gardening whiz’, is credited with the revival of farming and gardening programs in jail.

“I spend no single centavo to earn money here. You’ve got to believe me. I was able to send my daughter to the university through my garden earnings while in prison. And my daughter will graduate from college soon,” EG said.

Within seven years of his sentence, he said his strength comes from God and family.

“I have forgiven those who have gotten me where I am today. I have long forgiven to keep hatred out of my heart. And I am proud to say that this experience made me stronger and thrown a great set of skills in me that I will continue to use throughout life,” he said.

“After I get my life back in order, I’m looking forward to putting this chapter of my life behind me and stick with the gardening and farming

program.

He said he even choose to stay if the government laws allow him to continue working in jail farms until December, though he will be freed this September.

“I’ve never enjoyed life as much as I do right now. And all the time I’m in here, I will be learning more and working toward my personal dream,” he said.

The nurturers and builders of hope Jail warden Reyes himself, a registered nurse and an enterprising agriculturist, said beyond the organizational success of Malaybalay City Jail system are the achievements of the 225 inmates, of who ‘EG’ is one.

With such positive results, through the help of MCJ’s hardworking model personnel, inmates discovered a fruitful way to fill their days.

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12

July 1, 2013

The Cagayan de Oro TIMES

Billboard

PNoy swears in new senators - Senators-elect Cynthia Villar, Alan Peter Cayetano and Antonio Trillanes IV of the Nacionalista Party, along with Paolo Benigno "Bam" Aquino of the Liberal Party, take oath on Thursday before Pres. Benigno Aquino III in a formal event at Malacanang Palace. Newly elected house members were also sworn in during the ceremony.

Villar Foundation extends help to sex-for-flight victims - The Villar Foundation, through its managing director, Senator-elect Cynthia Villar, personally handed the sari-sari store showcase to the three Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who were victims of sex-for-flight. Villar also gave cash assistance to cover the travelling expenses of the OFWs in going back to their respective families. With the ordeal suffered by the three, Villar stressed there is more reason for the coming 16th Congress to push for the creation of the Department of Overseas Filipino Workers (DOFW).

Villar pushes gradual yet sure clean-up of Laguna Lake CALAMBA City, Laguna -– Senatorelect Cynthia Villar disclosed that the government has conducted an extensive study to address the problem of flooding in the Laguna lakeshore towns and coastal areas brought about by rise in water level of the Laguna Lake.

In an interview with newsmen here after the main program celebrating national hero Dr. Jose Rizal’s 150th birth anniversary, the newly-elected senator expressed her support to whatever possible alternatives resulting from the studies to ease flooding in the lake’s coastal towns and cities.

Of Laguna’s 25 towns, four component cities and a science and nature city of Los Baños, 19 localities were flooded at the onslaught of the southwest monsoon Habagat last year.

Owing to the botched dredging project in the Laguna Lake, Villar said “in the meantime, we have to do whatever little ways to solve the problem on flooding.”

President Benigno Aquino III scrapped the dredging project following reports that the multi-billion consortium by the foreign firm has

put government spending to waste.

Reports have it that the excavated and dredged earth and silt that are dumped along the Laguna Lake coastlines are deposited back to the lake bed by run-off waters and erosion.

Pending the results of the flood control study on the Laguna Lake, Senator-elect Villar proposed for a cheaper alternative yet the gradual “extrication by backhoes” and excavation process to lessen the impact of flooding in the areas.

Although mulling for Senate’s legislative measures related to the Laguna Lake concerns, Villar opted to take a “slowly-but-surely approach” to the problem.

She shared her experience on the Las Piñas River rehabilitation project undertaking where they used the backhoe and other equipment to unclog and clean the waterway with the water lilies and revive the river.

Villar also told media here their optimism that the Supreme Court will grant their petition to save the Las Piñas bird sanctuary from damage in the wake of the proposed Manila Bay reclamation project. (PNA)

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