In a statement released to the media,the city government said thatregistration of new businessesincreased 26% in 2011 compared to theprevious year which stood at 1,246.

Neal Perez, head of the businesspermit and licensing office, was quotedsaying that the entry of the SM Groupbrought in 45 SM City establishmentsand have already registered as ofDecember last year.

The statement also quoted Perezsaying that the city government’s effortsat providing the direction for the city’seconomic growth has also earned therecognition of the private sector and thecountry’s economic managers.

One of the major

The annual reports of the Commissionon Audit (CoA) showed that the Freeportagency last posted a net income in 2003,under the term of former chair FelicitoPayumo, and recorded subsequent lossesfrom 2004 to 2010.

identified them as the culprit behind thekilling of three Korean nationals, includinga 10-year-old girl.

"Three years is a long time to wait forwitnessess who never appeared in court.We thank the court for recognizing thisfact," Noel Atienza, counsel for Basalla,said in an interview.

Both Basalla and Baclay walked free,while Cada remained in dentention foranother case pending before anothercourt.

Gruesome deathsIn July 2008, the massacre grabbed the

attention of the city after three South Ko-rean women were found

Vol. XXXVIII No. 10 January 9-15, 2012 Olongapo City and Zambales P4.00

WHAT’S INSIDEJeep, motorcyclehead on kills one

PAGE 6Brgy. Mabayuan

chief suspendedPAGE 6

Yemeni, Filipinopilots survives crash

PAGE 5

T

turn to page 5

SBMA loses P5.5 billion in 7 years(SBMA) lost P5.5 billion in the last 7years even after leasing out most of itsremaining lands in the Freeport'sCentral Business District (CDB) andopening up the Redondo Peninsula toinvestors.

No paperwork?—A bailley-type bridge is being built to connecting the Elicaño St. with the Gordon College compound. City hallsources claim that project has not yet been bidded out and is not a city council approved project. This was confirmed by Vicemayor Rolen Paulino in an interivew. (Calling the attention of the City Engineer Roberto Alvarez and the City Auditor - Ed)

Harbor Pointattracts 400companiesThe Freeport's jewel, Harbor Point,lived up to its reputation, attractingsome 400 companies into its P2.5billion mall complex.

Harbor Point marketing managerArgee Gomez said that an unprecedentedvolume of non-Subic Bay Freeport (SBF)enterprises already signified intentions tosub-lease commercial spaces with them.

"With the full support and cooperationof the SBMA, like in the fast-tracking ofaccreditation of sub-lessees, Ayala will beable to complete the construction of themall, and meet its target operation date,"Gomez explained.

Some 2,000 jobs will be created by themall project, he added.

School alumni groupsform basketball league

In an interview, Cesar Lobos,OZSABA secretary general, saidthat the league is open to anyschool within the area.

“This league is for all schools,big or small. It is another way ofextending the traditions of ouralma mater,” Lobos said.

Among the school who signi-f ied their partcipation areColumban College, St. Joseph

'Gapo has 1,576new firms in 2011

Councilor Perezfaces graft rapsThe fallout from the controversialChristmas Night Bazaar continues af-ter a trader filed administrative andcriminal charges recently againstcouncilor Gina Gulanes-Perez beforethe office of the Ombudsman.

Some 1,576 new businesses registeredlast year, pushing the total number ofbusinesses operating in the city to7,145, compared to 6,340 in 2010.

(turn to page 6)

Iram massacre suspects freedTwo suspects accused of the gruesomekilling of three South Koreans in Iram,New Cabalan last 2008 walked free af-ter the case against them was dismissedfor failure of the prosecution to presentits witnesses..

Estafa by Noel AtienzaPAGE 2

turn to page 5

turn to page 6(turn to page 5)

he Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority

The Olongapo News obtained a copyof the dismissal order issued by RegionalTrial Court (RTC) judge Norman Pamin-tuan, releasing "the three accused fromdetention unless they are detained for someother lawful cause."

A charge of robbery with homicide wasfiled against Dario Basalla, Ronilo Cadaand Tony Baclay after several witnesses

Proving once again that basketbal rules, alumni asso-ciations of schools in the city and Zambales bandedtogether to form the Olongapo Zambales SchoolsAlumni Basketball Association (OZSABA) recently.

Businessman Conrad Tiu charged thatPerez violated the Anti-graft and CorruptPractices Act (R.A. 3019) when she (gave)unwarranted benefits (to Haniah and AliyahCompany) "as the Chairman of the Com-mittee on Market through manifest partial-ity, evident bad faith and gross inexcus-able negligence."

City engineers demolishesillegal structures along Basa St.The city government demo-lished illegal structures built overa drainage canal along BasaSt., New Banicain recently.

The structures built by the delRosario, Pascual, Florentino andAncaya families were identifiedby the barangay officials tohinder the de-clogging of water-ways at the vicinity.

New Banicain Brgy.CaptainZar Batapa requested the re-moval of some parts of a pan-try, balcony, bathroom, fence and

a roof extension illegally con-structed on top of a drainagecanal.

In a statement, City EngineerRoberto Alvarez said they willremove illegal structures viola-ting of section 301 of PD1096or National Building Code.

Engineer Noel Debatian wasalso quoted saying that noticesdated September 2009 weregiven to the families to showproof and permits to prove theirclaims on the areas they builton.(30)

College, Olongapo CityNational High School,Olongapo WesleySchool, St. WilliamSchool (Casti l lejos),Christ The King School,among others.

Alumni who are basedabroad may also join thejuniors, seniors and FIBAbracket of the league.

2Olongapo News January 9-15, 2012

EDITORIAL

#34 National Highway, Upper KalaklanOlongapo City

Member, Publishers Association of the Philippines, Inc.

news

olongaponews74@gmail.com#34 NATIONAL HI-WAY, UPPER KALAKLAN,

OLONGAPO CITY, PHILS, 2200

ENTERED AS SECOND CLASS MAIL MATTER ONSeptemver 23, 1986 AT THE OLONGAPO CITY POST

OFFICE UNDER REGIONAL PERMIT NO. 38

OLONGAPO

PresidentPublisher

EditorAccounts ManagerAccounts Assistant

CommercialAdvertising ManagerCirculation Manager

Secretary Legal Consultant

JUDELINE C. BASCOCRISPIN CURIANOJOHN B. BAYARONGJOEL CURIANOANA MARIE ARCEOJACQUILINE B. CURIANO

CARLITO C. CURIANONOEL E. OLIVAJUDGE MIGUEL FAMULARCANO, JRATTY. NOEL ATIENZA

It’s right. Estafa‘Two elements are indispensable: fraud and damage.’

Family reunions andparenting insights

I have this firm belief that our people shouldbe appraised of their rights and obligationsunder existing legal norms for Ignorance ofthe laws excuses no one.”

Thus, a person cannot exempt himself fromthe sanctions prescribed by laws and sta-tutes under the guise of ignorance of the laws.

I hope the foregoing discussion shall serveas an enlightenment of the existing legal or-ders.

Estafa is committed by any person whodefrauds another by using a fictitious name,or falsely pretends to possess power,influence, qualifications, property, credit,agency, business or imaginary transactions,or by means of similar deceits executed priorto or simultaneously with the commission ofthe fraud.

The offended party must have reliedon the false pretense, fraudulent act orfraudulent means of the accused-appellant, and as a result thereof, theoffended party suffered damages. Twoelements are indispensable: fraud anddamage. In other words, the essentialelements of estafa are: (1) The deceitemployed to defraud another; and (2)the injury or damage caused thereby.

A typical illustration of the crime ofestafa is when a person professed toanother that he possessed power andconnection to secure governmentprojects because of such representationthe latter was led to believe thereof andreleased the amount needed for theproject when in fact and in truth, he hasno power nor connection to secure

approval of government projects, he maybe held criminally liable for the crime ofestafa as penalized under Article 315 ofthe Revised Penal Code.

The elements as earlier stated arepresent in the foregoing explanation: theact of deceit consist in the fraudulentmisrepresentation as to the existence ofpower and influence and damage sustainedas when the amount needed for the allegedgovernment projects to the perpetrator.

“Let there be justice though theheaven falls.”

(Noel Atienza is a city councilor of Olongapoand is a legal consultant of this paper. A bas-ketball fanatic and a deveotee of the Sto. Niño,he completed his law degree at the ArellanoUniversity.)

I recently attended a family reunion onmy husband’s side. I married into a big,happy family. This makes the reunionsmore crazy fun!

Reunions are typified by good food,family games, nostalgic conversations,and utter surprise at how fast kids havegrown.

I realize that along with these,reunions are good opportunities to allowour parenting insights to flourish.

During reunions, I experience up,close and personal the values sharedby the family.

These values are strengthened andemulated with the guidance of the familymatriarch/patriarch.

Children who notice how these valuesare practiced from onefamily to another reinforcetheir learning.

The adults treat thechildren with respect aswell, acknowledging them,getting out of their way toknow them or patientlylistening to the kids’ songsand applauding them.

Family traditions are understoodduring family get-togethers. There areendless tales of childhood nostalgia andparenting accounts.

For instance, I now understand whylengua is a staple food during ourcelebrations. It is because the lenguarecipe is one that was passed on fromthe great, great grandmother of the theclan.

And it’s amusing that all familymembers love this lengua recipe!

In our quest for success, rest andrecreation is as important as toil andhard work.

Reunions are perfect venues to beyour basic self. It is easy to be laid backin the arms of family. Wealth and staturewould take a back seat.

Children playing, young adultssocially interacting and wise elderlyreminiscing are such an easy sight,especially when they’re your family.

Family reunions are a basic reminderthat at the end of it all, it all boils downto family.

I look around at the faces I see.Family…their happiness is my joy. Mysadness is their sorrow. Their loss is mydefeat. My delight is their bliss.

There is an unusual tide rising on the cityrecently. And it is not flood waters, becausethen it would not be unusual.

There is this slowly growing trend ofpeople challenging government officials toaccount for their actions.

Here are several examples. Residentsforced the city councilors to drop itsapproval of the importation of garbage fromPampanga into the city’s dumpsite. Officialsof the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority(SBMA) were questioned on its approvalof a coal-fired power plant. Mayor Gordon,and recently, councilor Perez were chargedbefore the Ombusdman on the ChristmasNight Bazaar affair.

These events show that people aretaking action against what they perceiveare wrongdoings in government.

In the last 10 years, such actions werefew and far in between.

One councilor noted that courage in shortsupply in the past. But the situation “haschanged.”

We do not know what changed thissituation, or if indeed, the situation haschanged.

The fact is, actions are being taken,charges are being filed, and letters are beingsent by the governed. It is uncertain,however, if the public servants are listening.

But we dare say that public officialsshould listen, and must moderate theiractions with this fact in mind.

And don’t tell us, “hindi ako kumita dyan”or “napag-utusan lang.” That is the excuseof the uneducated, uncultured and the inept.

Experience teaches us that once thepublic officials are out of power, the casesagainst them are emotionally taxing, nerve-wracking and expensive.

As good governance campaignersremind the corrupt, “isusuka din ninyo iyanAla-GMA (Gloria Macapagal Arroyo) and(Ferdinand) Marcos.” We agree.

But more than the public officialsweighing the cost vs benefit of their action,we urge them to do the right thing.

We also encourage the public to keepengaging, debating, and if needed, filingcharges because it is the right thing to do.

Balanga gets P5.95-B investment in 2011Mayor Jose Garcia III announced recently that thecity received some P5.95 billion investments in 2011,24% higher than last year's record of P4.78 billion.

In a statement, Garciasaid that the bulk of the in-vestments were registeredunder the government's pub-lic-private partnership (PPP)scheme.

Topping the list is P250million Galeria Victoria builtby Jerry Acuzar's New SanJose Builders, followed byP50 million Plaza de SanJose owned by EusebioAquino.

Garcia said that the newbusinesses has createdmore than 700 employmentopportunities.

"The employment num-ber is expected to more thandouble once these becomefully operational," Garcianoted.

The city also renovated itspublic market and is ex-pected to earn rental in-comes P18.2 mil l ion in

2011, compared to P5 mil-lion annual losses in theprevious years.

To help the vendors, thecity government gave outzero interest business loansand supply linkage with

wholesalers in Metro Ma-nila.

The SangguniangPanglungsod, meanwhile,approved the city’s annualbudget of P521 million for2012.(30)

ATTY-IN-ACTION

NoelAtienza

PARENTHOOD

Kay ReyesSHOTS

This is the support system we turn toin our most trying moments, the affec-tionate circle we share our joys with.

I am grateful to our parents andgrandparents for working hard in pre-serving family traditions and fortifyingfamily values across generations.

Reunions remind us parents of ourcommitment to rear children accordingto the family values we share with ourdescent.

And looking around at families duringreunions, I would want the children toenjoy such celebrations when their timecomes.

Now, it is our duty as parents of thenew generation to allow family traditionsto thrive, to ensure that family valueslive on.

After all, this is the support systemof our dear children, the anchor thatthey can rely on in their growing upyears and beyond.

.(Kay Reyes is the Directress of JuventusSchool for the Gifted, a multiple intelligencesschool, located inside the Subic BayFreeport. She completed her Masters inPublic Management from the University ofthe Philippines.)

‘...to ensure that family values live on. ’

Olongapo News5

January 9-15, 2012

brutally killed inside their home.Police theorized that robbers broke into

the house of Byung Kwon Choi, a workerinside the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, kill-ing his wife, Suna Yoo, 35, his 10-year-olddaughter Nanuel Beak and Choi's mother-in-law, Seok Hei Yoo, 54.

All were found stabbed to death in thesame room.

The robbers, according to Choi, cartedaway around P420,000 in cash in jewelrieswhile police said that the victims, Suna Yooand Nanuel Beak, were apparently raped.

Byung Kwon Choi, together with hisson, left for Korea in 2008.

Prior to the trial, a witness recantedher testimony while the police showeddisinterest in the case.

The victims' house is located at the SitioIram, an area set aside for the victims ofthe Mt. Pinatubo eruption in the early 90's.

Harbor Point attracts 400 companies

In a statement, Subic BayMetropolitan Authority(SBMA) chairman RobertoGarcia said that his agencyfast-tracked its accredi-tation process to meetAyala's needs.

“This is a first time inSBMA that we have puttogether all permit-issuingSBMA departments in a

from page 1

Park-like mall—Ayala Land’s P3 billion project on a 7.5 hectare property is set to openon April, 2012.

Two ‘Gapo teachers best inCentral LuzonTwo teachers here recently bagged the Department of Education (DepEd) re-gional search for Most Outstanding Classroom Teacher for 2011-2012.

Eliza Malazarte ateacher from the SpecialEducation-Gifted (SPED-G)program of Kalalake Ele-mentary School was namedas Most OutstandingTeacher in the pre-elemen-tary category while RicardoQuejado, Master Teacher 1of Kalake ElementarySchool, bagged 2nd place.

Malazarte received acash prize of P20,000 while

SBMA lost P5.5 billion since 2004from page 1

According to the yearlyreports, the agency's netloss were recorded atP1.23-B (2010), P417-M(2009), P253-M (2008),P138-M 2007, P233-M(2006), P102-M (2005) andP927-M (2004) for a totalof around P5.5 billion.

For the year 2011, it isexpected to again losemore than P1 billion.

The period covers theterms of SBMA adminis-trators Alfredo Antonio(2004-2005) and ArmandArreza (2006-2010).

Revenue less growthDuring the State of the

Freeport Address (SOFA)

in 2011, former SBMAadministrator ArmandArreza said that the totalnumber of approvedprojects had grown from502 in 2003 to 1,463 in 2011.

He added that while thetotal approved investmentswere $2.2 billion in 2003,the figure has grown to$7.16 billion in 2011.

"Dapat may explanationwhether from the old or thenew administration howincome can dip despitesupposedly doubling therevenue sources," anSBMA employee, whoasked not to be identifiedfor fear of reprisal, said.

He added that theagency officials only points

to "balooning expenses" butnever tells the rank and filehow much the agencyearned.

"Sila-silang opisyaleslang ang nakakaalam nalugi na pala kami. Akala koOK and kalagayan ngagency kasi ang damingbagong investors," thesurprised worker said.

The COA report showedthat while SBMA earnedP1.98 billion in 2003, itsurpassed the 2003 incomeonly in 2005 and 2007, andfell sharply to P1.4 billion in2010.

Port of no returnsIn an report published by

the www.subictimes.com,SBMA chair Bobby Garcia

Graduating students living in communities adjacentthe North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) and Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX), who are eyeingengineering courses, may now apply for study grantsfrom the Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation (MPTC).

MPTC president RamoncitoFernandez said the scholarshipgrant is “in line with Metro Pa-cific Group’s mission to helpimprove the lives of families inthese communities by providingfinancial assistance for their de-pendents’ college education.”

“The focus shall be on highschool graduates who are inte-rested to pursue a technical orengineering course,” Fernandezsaid.

MPTC earlier formalized tie-ups with three reputable univer-sities where the scholars mayenroll in engineering or techni-cal courses.

Among the partici-pating schools are theUnivesity of the Philip-pines-Di l iman, theBulacan State Univer-sity, and the Holy AngelUniversity.

The scholarship program wasmeant to increase the number ofengineers in the country who canhelp improve infrastructure deve-lopment and accelerate nationaleconomic and social growth.

The number of scholars is li-mited to 10 and are classified ascommunity-based scholars (fourslots), UP Diliman Engineeringscholars (three slots), and em-

blamed the port develop-ment projects for its currentfinancial woes.

"Iyan ang pumapatay saSubic, P10 billion ang loanniyan (and) it requires ayearly amortization of P500million. But it's not beingused," Garcia was quoted.

The SBMA recordsshowed that the Freeportagency began its first

payment for the P10 billionloan from the Japan Bankof International Coopera-tion (JBIC) only in 2010.

Booming economyWhile economic activity

inside the Freeport hasdoubled since 2004, it hasnot trickled to the coffersof the agency.

Goverment revenuesdeclared by the Bureau of

Internal Revenue (BIR)and the Bureau of Customs(BoC) grew from P3.0billion in 2004 to aroundP6.6 billion in 2010.

These are the samefigures reported by SBMA.

In 2006, Hanjin HeavyIndustries Corporation(HHIC) led the SouthKorean investors influx,topping investment pledgesfor several years.

Hanjin leased a 40-hectare property in theRedondo Peninsula for itsshipbuilding facilities.

It is reputed to be the 4thlargest shipbuiding facility inthe world.The Olongapo News

has sought an interview withchairman Garcia sinceNovember, but SBMA hasyet to act on the matter.(30)

Iram massacresuspects freedfrom page 1

business processing eventto simplify the process,”SBMA chairman RobertoGarcia said.

The development pro-ject,which is locatedbetween two entry pointsto the Subic Bay Freeport,Gomez said, "is designedwith open-air spaces,garden, and an active zone,

aside from facilities wherethe public can shop, dineand relax."

Harbor Point will alsohave international and localhigh-end stores, 4 digitalcinemas, as well as, atransport terminal withlounges and comfort rooms,and ample parking spacesfor vehicles. (30).

Quejada received P15,000from DepEd.

“This event is relative toDepEd’s goals and missionof discovering efficient,effective, competent andtalented teachers for qual-ity education in elementaryand secondary levels,” saidTeofila Villanueva, DepEdregional director.

“We are very proud of therecognition we just received.

Out of approximately 60,000pre-elem and elementaryteachers in Region 3, Olon-gapo teachers emergedamong the best, living up tothe city’s motto of excel-lence,” Quejado said.

Last year, Marie LouOliveros, SPED-G,Kalalake ElementarySchool, also won 3rd placein the National Search forMost Outstanding Teacher.

By Anthony Bayarong

Yemeni, Filipino pilots survive crashIBA, Zambales, Philippines — A plane crash landedalong the seashore here injuring two pilots, policesaid.

Senior Supt. FranciscoSantiago Jr., Zamables pro-vincial director, identified thepilots as Kalid Fageehi, 30,

a citizen of Yemen; andCapt. Reynaldo LimpatObeña, 38, of Better LivingSubdivision in Parañaque.

Obeña said the aircraft (RP-C2843 Cessna-152-II) washeading to the Fly FastSchool in Lingayen fromSubic Bay, when it encoun-tered engine trouble earlyinto the flight. (Franco G.Regala)

10 MPTC study grants available

ployee dependents (three slots).Applicants for community-

based slots must present perti-nent documents showing that theannual family income is belowP150,000; for employee depen-dent slots, not more thanP700,000.

Apart from the tuitions whichare paid directly to the school, thescholars will also receive a monthly

allowance of P2,000.Failure to meet the setstandards could resultin termination of thescholarship grant.

For inquiries emaildlgianan@tollways.net.phor send them a mail atKm. 12, NLEX, Balinta-wak Toll Plaza, CaloocanCity.

Living on the edge—A graph of SBMA’s revenue and expensesseen publicly for the first time.

Olongapo News6

City dads suspendsMabayuan chiefBarangay Captain Robert Ferrer was slapped with a 30-day sus-pension recently for grave abuse of authority when he illegally with-held the the benefits of one of his councilors.

Jeep, motorcycle head on kills oneSubic, Zambales—Police saida man died after his motor-cycle slammed into jeepneyrecently.

In a report, police chief ArnelDial identified the fatality as JulitoCustodio, 53 and a resident ofBalot Beach, Barretto, Olongapo

Last November, Vice MayorRolen Paulino together with coun-cilors Noel Atienza and LugieLipumano, also filed graft chargesagainst Mayor Bong Gordon forallegedly leasing out to the Christ-mas Night Bazaar operator pub-lic spaces in violation of the NewCivil Code of the Philippines.

Perez sponsored the resolutionauthorizing Mayor James GordonJr., to enter into a contract withHaniah and Aliyah Company.

The Olongapo News gavePerez a copy of the complaint butshe declined to give an answer.

In his affidavit dated January3, Tiu said that the operator pro-mised to give P250,000 for thecontract to operate the Bazaarand he later found out that eachstall was "offered at an averagerate of P120,000 each."

"...as of 20 December, 2011,there were 99 stalls already inplace. With these stalls alone, the(operator) will already earn P11.8million," he alleged.

This according to him is"grossly disadvantageous to thegovernment."

Tui, in a public hearing calledby Perez, offered to donateP250,000 to the city government

rather than put up a Bazaar usingpublic roads and sidewalks. Thetrader said that he "was ignoredby Perez."

Perez also faces charges ofgrave misconduct for failing torespond “within 15 days” to Tiu’sthe numerous letters and inqui-ries.

“If there was a response, theaction taken is not stated" Tiustressed.

The Code of Ethical Standardsof Public Officials (RA 6713)requries public officials to respondto letters sent by the public con-taining the action taken on therequest.

Aliah’s contract expired inJanuary 10 but continued to ope-rate as of presstime.

It was not clear if the Bazaaroperator paid the Subic Bay Met-ropolitan Authority (SBMA) forthe use of the Magsaysay bridge.

Councilor Perez faces graft rapsfrom page 1

A beacon of care—Employeess of the Lighthouse Marina Resort live up to their firm’s corporate valuesby sharing part of their earnings to the ABS-CBN foundation.

Brazilian mega ship heading to SubicAnother polluter to Subic Bay? One of the world's largest mining ship, Vale Brasil, is expectedto dock at Subic Bay on February 11, moving Subic Bay closer to becoming an iron ore floatingtransshipment center of Asia.

The 400,000-deadweight-ton(dwt) Valemax ship is a very largeore carriers (VLOC) commis-sioned by Vale S.A. to carry ironore from Brazil to European andAsian ports.

Vale plans to make Subic Bayan offshore transshipment hub,transferring its cargo from theValemax to smaller ship for deli-very to the China and other Asianmarkets.

From the floating hub, Vale willunload iron ore via feeder vesselsto China, as well as South Korea,Japan and Taiwan.

There are concerns over the en-vironmental impact of transferringiron ore from one vessel (mothership) to a smaller ship (feeder ship)but no major studies have beenconducted to find out its marineenvironment impact.

Vale's other hub is the $1.3 bil-lion land-based iron ore distribu-tion center in Malaysia's Perakstate that will be fully operationalin 2014.

Size matters—Vale Brazil (photo) carries 400,000 tons of iron ore in its belly. (Rogerio Cordeiro,oil-electric.com)

'Gapo has 1,576new firms ...from page 1

Last year, Vale S.A. and theSubic Bay Metropolitan Authoritysigned a memorandum of agree-ment to build a transhipment hubby deploying a floating terminal.

An SBMA source said theyhad not yet been advised of theVale Brasil’s arrival.

“But we are ready anytime toaccept the ships,” he added.

awards received last year byOlongapo City was the Most Busi-ness-Friendly LGU award con-ferred by the Philippine Chamberof Commerce and Industry.

“Winning the award means thatwe have met or even surpassedPCCI’s criteria which were cen-tered on quality customer service,public-private sector partnership,investment promotions, small andmedium scale enterprise(SMSE)development, and on quality man-agement and innovations,” Perezsaid.

BPLO earned its ISO seal ofconformance to quality manage-ment standards in 2010.(30)

City, while the driver of thepassenger jeep, Rondell Reyes,30, residing in West Bajac-Bajac,Olongapo City, was unhurt.

Initial investigation showed thatCustodio was heading north whenhe tried to overtake a ten-wheelertruck at a curve road along Brgy.

Calapandayan and slammed headon into the passenger jeepneyheading to Olongapo.

The victim sustained mutipleinjuries was rushed to the SanMarcelino Hospital where Dr.Joselito Vicente declared himdead on arrival. (Ana Arceo)

Mayor’s Cup attracts out-of-town teamsThe Olongapo City Zambales Football Association (OCZFA) willhold a 7-a-side football tournament dubbed “Mayor’s Cup” onFebruary 4-5 at the East Tapinac Oval Track.

“Boys and men of the sameage group starting from 8 yearsold above may join and formtheir team of 12 players and reg-ister with us,” said Hubert LewMagrata, OCFZA SecretaryGeneral.

The age categories for thetournament will be for 8, 10, 12,14 and 16 years old.

However, those who are 17and older can also form a teamand participate in the men’s opendivision.

Winning teams for the footballfestival will receive the “Ulo ngApo” trophies plus gold and silvermedals.

Individual awards will also begiven to recognize outstandingindividual performance such asthe Best Goalkeeper and MostValuable Player.

Contact 222-4988 for details.

Mabayuan councilor DionisioVinoya alleged before the citycouncil that Ferrer, together withtreasurer Jorge de Guzma, re-fused to release his benefits as apunihsment for voting against thebarangay’s 2011 budget.

In a response, the accuseddenied the charge saying “insteadof humbly approaching...deGuzman, Vinoya resorted to send-ing demand letters to (Ferrer) ar-rogantly threatening us, andstarted forum shopping”.

Voting unanimously, the coun-cil suspended Ferrer for 30 dayswithout salary or benefits lastDecember 16th, to take effectafter 15 days, if not appealed.

The case against de Guzmanwas dismissed for lack of juris-diction.

This is the first suspension is-sued by the council against anelected official since 2010.

Under the law, the city councilhas jurisdiction over administra-tive cases of brgy. officials.