Wednesday - Tuesday, October 7 - 13, 2015

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MANILA, Oct 2 (Mabuhay) – Malacañang on Friday welcomed the results of the latest World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) survey, which were attributed to the Aquino administration’s Daang Matuwid advocacy.

“Along with the World Eco-nomic Forum (WEF) Global Com-petitiveness Report 2015-2016, the latest World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) sur-vey again affirms the extent of our country’s transformation under Daang Matuwid,” Deputy Presi-dential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said in a statement.

The Palace official noted that the Philippines has shown im-provements in all six indicators

since 2010 and this year, the country scored higher in five in-dicators as compared to last year.

“Scores for our country show improvements in all six indica-tors since 2010. Compared to the previous year’s results, the Phil-ippines scored higher in five out of six indicators: voice and account-ability; political stability and ab-sence of violence; government ef-fectiveness; regulatory quality; and rule of law,” said Valte.

She said positive developments such as this “make clear that good governance and reform lead to in-creased peace, harmony, and citi-zen participation in government”.

“Such an environment encour-ages not only a more vibrant de- President Benigno S. Aquino III shovels dirt during the groundbreaking ceremony of the new Supreme Court Complex at the Phil-

ippine Army Security and Escort Batallion Area in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City on Friday (October 02). Also in photo are SC Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and Bases Conversion and Development Authority president Arnel Casanova. (MNS photo)

World Bank cites Aquino’s ‘Daang Matuwid’Palace welcomes results of latest World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators report

MANILA, Oct 5 (Mabuhay) – After weeks of arduous deci-sion-making, Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo on Monday said she was “wholly offering” herself to the public as the running mate of administration standard bearer Manuel “Mar” Roxas II.

Speaking before more than a thousand LP members and rep-resentatives from civil society groups at Club Filipino, Robre-do formally accepted the Liberal Party’s offer for her to be Roxas’ running mate in the May 2016 elections.

Robredo said she decided to accept the LP’s offer because she was certain her late husband would have agreed to sacrifice an-ything for the country.

“Hindi ako si Jesse ngunit noong namatay siya, maliwan-ag sa aming mag-iina na siya ay umaasa na sa abot ng am-ing makakaya ay susubukan naming magsakripisyo gaya ng kanyang pagsasakrpisyo para makapag-ambag sa ating bayan,” she said, referring to her late hus-band, former Naga City Mayor and Interior Secretary Jesse Ro-bredo.

Robredo added, “Buong puso, buong pananampalataya, at buong tapat ko pong tinatanggap ang hamon na tumakbo bilang pangalawang pangulo ni Sec. Mar Roxas.”

In her speech, Robredo said she believes Roxas will continue the Daang Matuwid started by Pres-

ident Benigno Aquino III.“Malinaw po sa akin na si Sec.

Mar ang magpapatuloy sa ‘Daang Matuwid’ na sinimulan po ng ad-ministrasyon ng ating mahal na Pangulo,” she said.

Earlier, Roxas announced that Robredo will be his running mate in the coming 2016 polls, assur-ing her that everybody, including President Benigno Aquino III, would be behind her.

He acknowledged that it would not be easy for them but they will be backed by the “bosses.”

“Kaming lahat ay nasa likod mo, nasa likod natin si PNoy, at higit sa lahat nasa likod natin ang ating mga boss. Sa gabay ng Maykapal, magtatagumpay tayo,” Roxas said.

Contestants participate in the press presentation of the Miss World Philippines 2015 pageant at the Solaire Resort and Casino in Paranaque City on Tuesday. The Philip-pine edition of the beauty pageant will have its coronation night at the same venue on October 18. (MNS photo)

MANILA, Oct 3 (Mabuhay) – Malacañang on Saturday dis-tanced President Benigno Aquino III from the “twerking” contro-versy following an appearance of sexy dancers after the swear-ing in of new Liberal Party (LP) members in Sta. Cruz, Laguna on Thursday.

“In this particular case alam naman po nating walang kinala-man ang Pangulo diyan. Wala ho siya doon sa vicinity,” Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abi-gail Valte told state-run radio dzRB in an interview.

She added: “The President had no idea that it was happening.”

Valte said that the President does not condone such acts.

“I think we were pretty cat-egorical that the President will not and has never condoned any action that in any way would de-mean women, that would debase women...” she said.

Valte, meanwhile, declined to comment on the President’s take on the LP’s investigation on the incident.

An online petition has been put up asking President Aquino, as chairman of the LP, to apologize for the incident.

“While the President is chair-man of the Liberal Party, I think hayaan na po natin ‘yung parti-dong umaksyon, at sinasabi na-man po nila nga na magpapa-

MANILA, Oct 2 (Mabuhay) – Laguna Rep. Benjamin Agarao Jr. found nothing wrong with the performance of sexy dancers dur-ing his birthday party, which inci-dentally happened after the oath-taking rites of new Liberal Party members at his home.

Agarao, nonetheless, apolo-gized if the dance offended certain sectors.

“Sa akin pangkaraniwan ‘yun. Ngayon kung naka-offend ‘yun, pasensya na, kasi yung mga taong walang kasalanan nakakalad-

DRILON AT DOTC BUDGET HEARING: Senate President Franklin Drilon grills Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines Director General William Hotchkiss III and other airport officials on the issue of commercial advertisements located at airport termi-nals during today’s hearing on the proposed 2016 Budget of the Department of Trans-portation and Communication, October 1, 2015. “Our billboard-filled airport terminals are no different from EDSA. We need to have a policy review if we really need these commercial advertisements, or if it is better that our terminals are without them,” Dril-on said.(MNS photo)

MANILA, Oct 3 (Mabuhay) – Amid delayed flights plaguing budget airline Cebu Pacific Air (CEB), a militant lawmaker on Saturday said stricter laws pro-tecting the rights of passengers should be passed in order to curb “airline abuse.”

Bayan Muna Representative and senatorial aspirant Neri Col-menares urged his colleagues at the House of Representatives to pass House Bill 5361 or the Mag-na Carta for Airline Passengers Rights before the holiday season.

“This only shows the failure of existing rules to provide remedy

to the passengers… I reiterate my call on Congress to pass the Air Passengers Bill of Rights before November 1, when the bulk of air-line passengers would start [trav-eling] for the holiday seasons,” Colmenares said in a statement.

With provisions on airfare dis-count and reimbursement, Col-menares, main author of the bill, said his proposed measure would seek to aid passengers who suffer flight delays and cancelation.

“The bill provides for 20% dis-count on airfares to senior citi-zens, PWDs (persons with disabil-ities) and students.

MANILA, Oct 3 (Mabuhay) – Malacañang and the Department of Foreign Affairs are verifying if there were Filipinos among the crew members of a cargo ship that went missing off the Bahamas as Hurricane Joaquin barreled through the island chain on Fri-day (US time).

In an interview on state-run dzRB radio on Saturday, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said: “We have asked the Department of Foreign Affairs to look into that particular report, and we expect that they will be

MANILA, Oct 3 (Mabuhay) – Severe Tropical Storm Kabayan intensified further as it exited the Philippine Area of Responsibil-ity early Saturday, according to weather bureau PAGASA.

PAGASA said in its latest weather bulletin that as of 2 a.m., Kabayan’s center was estimated at 425 kilometers west of Vigan City, Ilocos Sur, moving west-northwest at 20 kilometers per hour.

Kabayan was packing maximum winds of 95 kph near the cen-ter, and gusts of up to 120 kph. Estimated rainfall amount within the storm’s 300 km diameter was from moderate to heavy.

With Kabayan’s exit, the whole country will experience partly cloudy to cloudy conditions, with isolated rain showers or thunder-storms.

Winds will be moderate to strong from the southwest to south-east over the western section of Luzon, and from the northeast to southeast over the rest of Luzon.

Coastal waters along those areas will be moderate to rough, with sea travel risky along the western seaboard of northern and Central Luzon.

Elsewhere, winds will be light to moderate from northeast to northwest, with slight to moderate seas.

Malacañang distances Aquino from ‘Playgirls’ incident

Laguna lawmaker sees nothing wrong but apologizes for sexy dancers

Palace, DFA checking if missing Bahamas cargo ship has Pinoy crew members

Solon calls for stricter laws, probe on Cebu Pacific delayed flights

Leni: I’m ready to sacrifice like what Jesse did

Kabayan exits PAR; 7 fishermen missingSee LAWMAKER, page 2

See CARGO SHIP, page 2 See PLAYGIRLS, page 2

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DAANG MATUWIDFrom page 1

CARGO SHIPFrom page 1

PLAYGIRLSFrom page 1

LAWMAKERFrom page 1

mocracy but also a more ac-tive business sector, which in turn promotes productiv-ity and economic activity. This virtuous cycle holds many benefits for our coun-trymen: increased job op-portunities, a higher stan-dard of living, and a greater capacity for investment in,

for example, skills develop-ment and education,” she added. “By continuing to empower the Filipino peo-ple, the Aquino administra-tion seeks to ensure that such gains will be enjoyed by both present and future generations,” Valte further said. (MNS)

facture ng all sorts of thing at this time. At this stage, I’m not willing to concede to the genuineness of that (video),” Belmonte said.

‘Exploitation of women’For her part, Gabriela

party-list Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan slammed Tolen-tino for allegedly exploit-ing women because of his reported participation in their performance.

“Ano ba yan? Inaapi na nga ang mga commuters dadagdgan na naman niya ng exploitation of women!” she said.

Buhay party-list Rep. Lito Atienza said Tolentino might have resorted to such a gimmick because he was “desperate” to win a Senate seat.

“He has to resort all of these, considering his des-perate situation,” the law-maker said. (MNS)

kad,” Agarao told reporters in the House of Representa-tives.

Agarao clarified that the performance, which took place at his home, happened after the swearing in of new LP members in Laguna.

“Tapos na ‘yung pro-grama. Di naman kasama ‘yun sa program. Parang entertainment lang ‘yun na bigay ng kabarkada ko,” Agarao said.

Agarao also cleared LP senatorial bet Metro Ma-nila Development Authori-ty (MMDA) chairman Fran-cis Tolentino of bringing the dancers to his party.

“Wala pong kinalaman si Chairman Tolentino dito at regalo ng mga kaibigan ko ang dance group para sa aking kaarawan. Aalamin ko pa nga [kung sino ang nagdala sa performers],” Agarao said.

Asked why Tolentino was announced as the person who brought the dancers to his home, Agarao said: “Yung nag-announce, baka may nabanggit lang para mabanggit si Tolentino.”

A video uploaded on so-cial media earlier in the day showed the scantily-clad women called the Playgirls dancing suggestively at Ag-arao’s celebration.

Reports said the event’s emcee was heard several

giving us an update soon.”Foreign Affairs Spokes-

person Charles Jose said in a text message to GMA News Online that they had to check with the con-cerned office to verify if the cargo ship had Filipino crew members. Earlier, an Agence France-Presse re-port said rescue workers searched for a missing car-go ship with 33 aboard off the Bahamas. Contact with the El Faro was lost early Thursday, and that efforts to locate the vessel by air and sea have so far been un-successful, the AFP quoted

the US Coast Guard as say-ing. “The crew reported the ship had previously taken on water, but that all flood-ing had been contained,” it said in a statement.

En route from Florida to Puerto Rico, the container ship was reported to be caught in the storm near Crooked Island, which is part of the Bahamas.

It was from there that it sent a satellite notification stating the ship had lost propulsion and had a 15-de-gree list, the AFP report said.

Tim Nolan, president of

the company that owns the El Faro, said the ship’s “offi-cers and crew were monitor-ing what was then Tropical Storm Joaquin” when they sailed from Florida.

Meanwhile, data from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administra-tion indicate there were 367,166 seabased Filipino workers deployed in 2013, while 467,915 seabased workers were processed in the same year. Of these, 51,537 were able seamen, 29,730 were oilers, and 26,046 were ordinary sea-men. (MNS)

MANILA, Oct 2 (Mabu-hay) –A Filipino female nurse in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, tested positive for Middle East Respira-tory Syndrome (MERS) two weeks ago.

Amelito Adel, welfare of-ficer of the Overseas Work-ers Welfare Administration (Owwa), said the nurse contracted MERS from pa-tients in the hospital where

she was working.The Department of For-

eign Affairs (DFA) also con-firmed the news through the Consulate General in Jeddah, but noted that the nurse’s condition was get-ting better in the past days.

“After several days of treatment in the inten-sive care unit, the patient showed good improvement. Laboratory tests for MERS

CoV turned positive,” DFA said.

“She was unhooked from the mechanical ventilator a few days ago and is already breathing on her own. She will probably be taken out of the ICU and transferred to an isolation room in a few days,” it added.

MERS was first iden-tified in Saudi Arabia in April 2012. (MNS)

MANILA, Oct 3 (Mabu-hay) – The Department of Health (DOH) on Saturday announced that a Saudi na-tional who arrived in the country last September 17 and showed symptoms of the Middle East Respira-tory Syndrome-coronavirus (MERS-CoV) has died.

Health Secretary Janette Garin said in a press con-ference that the 63-year-old Saudi national died last September 29.

Garin said that the Sau-di national started showing MERS-CoV symptoms on September 26.

The patient asked to be brought to the hospital on September 28 and died the next day.

DOH spokesperson Lyn-don Lee Suy clarified dur-ing the briefing that they

were not able to test the Saudi national and confirm if his death was caused by MERS-CoV.

Lee-Suy said that the pa-tient had to be flown back to Saudi Arabia, where he was buried according to Islamic religious laws.

The DOH said that 55 hospital staff, 16 hotel workers and three workers at a funeral parlor had con-tact with the patient.

It said that 81 of these people have been inter-viewed and tested negative from MERS-CoV.

The DOH said that 12 of 55 healthcare workers, who showed symptoms, have been quarantined.

It said that the health-care workers have tested negative in initial tests. They will remain under

observation for the next 14 days, the DOH added.

In an earlier report, the DOH said that a male pa-tient from the Middle East was referred to the RITM last July 4.

The 36-year-old patient had been cleared.by the DOH.

The DOH declined to re-veal when the patient ar-rived and where he stayed in the country before test-ing positive with the virus.

On Friday, Welfare Of-ficer Amelito Adel of the Overseas Worker Welfare Administration in Jeddah said that a Filipina nurse in Jeddah had also tested positive with the virus.

Adel said the Filipina worked at a hospital in Jed-dah taking care of CERS-CoV patients.

MANILA, Sept 30 (Mabuhay) -- The Harbour Centre Port Terminal Inc. is a transshipment point for imported rice and not a place where the commodity is being kept illegally, the National Food Authority (NFA) said on Wednesday.

The NFA conducted an investigation into allega-tions by the National Co-alition of Filipino Consum-ers that NFA rice is being kept at Harbour Centre, the agency said.

From the vessels to the trucks, the rice imported by the NFA is transshipped through Harbour Centre before the shipments are

delivered to NFA ware-house, the state-run grains agency noted.

The consumer group has urged the NFA to investi-gate what may possibly be rice hoarding at the port. “We have to ensure that Filipinos have enough food to eat. We want to arrest the syndicate manipulat-ing prices in the market,” the NCFC said in a sepa-rate email.

According to NFA, Har-bour Centre was contacted by Golden Orient Ship Management and Agencies Incorporated, the cargo handler hired locally by supplier Vina Foods Inc.

for the rice imported from Vietnam.

NFA Administrator Re-nan B. Dalisay the ship-ment consisted of rice bought under a govern-ment-to-government trans-action.

“The price per metric ton included the cost of in-surance freight, delivered at place and free on ware-house,” Dalisay noted, say-ing that under the terms of reference, the winning supplier has to deliver the goods free of obligations and expenses on the part of the government up to NFA’s designated ware-house.

Filipino nurse in Jeddah tests positive for MERS: Owwa, DFA

DOH: Saudi national with MERS-CoV symptoms dies

No rice hoarding at Harbour Centre -- NFA

Mag

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times as saying that Tolen-tino brought in the dancers.

The MMDA chair, how-ever, has denied he was be-hind the women’s sexy per-formance.

The video has drawn flak from netizens, with critics slamming Tolentino for his alleged involvement. Some slammed the LP for sanc-tioning such a performance.

In bad taste, Speaker says

Sought for comment, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said the per-formance, if true, was left a “bad taste.”

“If it is true, it is a very bad taste. [It’s] a bad move kung totoo ha,” Belmonte said. Belmonte said Tolen-tino should explain his al-leged involvement in the performance himself since it was now easy to implicate anyone in any controversy.

“Madaling mag-manu-

Port workers open a sack of sugar from a cargo container at the Manila International Container Terminal (MICT), Manila North Harbor Port on Thursday. The misdeclared shipment contained smuggled 50-kilogram sacks of sugar from Thailand that were packed tightly inside 12 container vans. (MNS photo)

MANILA, Oct 1 (Mabu-hay) – The Bureau of Cus-toms has seized P20 million worth of smuggled sugar from Thailand, the bureau told reporters on Thursday.

Sacks of refined white sugar were found hidden behind boxes of kitchen-

ware inside a dozen con-tainer vans. The shipment, declared as kitchenware, arrived at the Manila In-ternational Container Ter-minal in May. It was con-signed to Strong Winds Enterprises and Real Top Enterprises. The BOC re-

voked the accreditation of Real Top Enterprises and banned the company from future shipments into the country. Authorities, headed by Customs Com-missioner Alberto Lina, are currently investigating the consignees.(MNS)

BOC seizes P20M of sugar from Thailand

MANILA, Oct 3 (Mabuhay) – Cagayan de Oro City 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez on Saturday de-clared that he will run for mayor in next year’s elec-tions.

Rodriguez announced his candidacy before mem-bers and supporters of the Centrist Democratic Party (CDC) at the covered court of Barangay Nazareth in Cagayan de Oro City.

Rodriguez laid down a platform of government that focuses on education, health, housing, peace and or-der, and proper drainage system.

He will face off with incumbent Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Oscar Moreno and former Mayor Vicente Emano. Rodriguez, who is the chairman of the ad hoc committee on the Bangsamoro Basic Law, is on his last term in Congress.

According to Rodriguez, their party will still dis-cuss who to support among the presidential aspirants.

So far, only administration standard bearer Mar Roxas, opposition candidate Vice President Jejomar Binay and independent candidate Senator Grace Poe have declared their plans to seek the country’s top post in 2016. (MNS)

Cagayan de Oro rep Rodriguez to run for mayor tawag po sila ng kanilang

sariling imbestigasyon,” she added.

LP standard-bearer Mar Roxas on Friday said that the LP has already launched an investigation on the incident.

Roxas attended the event, but he clarified that he was already in a dif-ferent location when sexy dancers called “Playgirls” performed.

An earlier report said the event’s emcee declared that the sexy girls’ per-formance was a present from Metropolitan Manila Development Authority chairman and senatorial aspirant Francis Tolentino for Laguna Rep. Benjie Ag-arao, who was celebrating his 58th birthday.

One dancer from the group Playgirls extended her thanks to Tolentino. “Thank you kay Chairman Tolentino at happy birth-day kay Congressman Ag-arao,” she said.

Tolentino has denied that the “gift” came from him.

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MANILA, Oct 6 (Mabu-hay) -- Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s de-cision to join the 2016 vice presidential race will ben-efit the Filipino electorate, a Malacañang official said Tuesday.

In an e-mailed state-ment, Communications Secretary Herminio Co-loma Jr. said the now five-way race among Senators Marcos, Francis “Chiz” Es-cudero, Antonio Trillanes IV, Alan Peter Cayetano and Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo offers voters a wide range of candidates.

“Senator Marcos joins a robust field of vice presiden-

tial hopefuls...Our people are provided with a wide latitude of choice and an op-portunity to compare plat-forms for governance and track records,” said Coloma.

“We trust that the sover-eign electorate will choose the most qualified and most competent among the aspi-rants,” he added.

The ruling Liberal Party (LP) is pushing for the vice presidential candidacy of Robredo. She is running alongside standard bearer Manuel “Mar” Roxas II. Robredo declared her vice presidential bid on Monday.

Later that day, Marcos also declared his bid for the

same post, claiming that Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte has promised to support his bid.

“I flew to Davao City on Wednesday and con-sulted with Mayor Rodrigo Duterte. He was gracious enough to promise me his support should I decide to run for Vice President. I too will support Mayor Duterte if and when he runs for President,” Marcos said.

Marcos is the son and namesake of the late strong-man, Ferdinand Marcos.

One of the popular op-position leaders during the Marcos-led Martial Law era was President Benigno

Aquino III’s father, the late Senator Ninoy Aquino.

Aside from Robredo and Marcos, other vice presiden-tial hopefuls are: Escudero, who is the running mate of Sen. Grace Poe; Cayetano and Trillanes.

Cayetano, Marcos and Trillanes, all members of the Nacionalista Party, have declared their inten-tion to seek the vice presi-dency even without a presi-dential standard bearer.

Another senator, Grego-rio “Gringo” Honasan, said he is open to be the running mate of Vice President Jejo-mar Binay, but no final de-cision has been arrived.

MANILA, Oct 2 (Mabuhay) – What happens at the birthday party of a House member is not the business of the House of Representatives, Majority Leader Nep-tali Gonzales II said on Friday.

But this did not stop the House leader and Liberal Party stalwart to crack a joke about holding an inquiry into the allegedly lewd dance performance at the birth-day party on Wednesday of Laguna Representative Benjamin Agarao Jr.

“Hindi ko napanood eh. Parang baka there might be a need to have it in investigated so that there would be a reenactment in the House,” Majority Leader Neptali “Boyet” Gonzales II told reporters in jest.

On a more serious note, Gonzales said he was not keen on having Agarao investigated in the House com-mittee on ethics because they cannot interfere with the program of a private occasion such as a birthday party.

“Hindi ko pwedeng pakialaman ang sino man nagbi-birthday kung paano niya patatakbuhin ang private program niya...In the same manner na hindi ko mapip-igilan si Speaker magbi-birthday kung magtw-twerk siya,” Gonzales said referring to 79-year-old House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr.

“Ang sinasabi nung iba, pagdating daw sa probinsya ganyan daw talaga ang kampanya. Ang hindi ko alam what maybe acceptable sa kanila may not be necessar-ily acceptable in Metro Manila,” he added.

A group of sexy dancers called the Playgirls took the stage following the oath taking of new members of the LP in Sta. Cruz, Laguna on Thursday.

The emcee at the event said that the presence of the dancers was a gift from Metro Manila Development Authority chairman and senatorial aspirant Francis Tolentino.

Tolentino drew flak over the incident but denied that the “gift” came from him. He said he was just a guest at Agarao’s birthday party, which was also celebrated at the same venue.

MANILA, Oct 2 (Mabu-hay) – The Sandiganbayan anti-graft court has ordered the suspension of an incum-bent lawmaker in Mindanao and three other local gov-ernment officials over vari-ous cases of graft, including alleged overpricing in the purchase of supplies.

Ordered suspended over different cases were Zambo-anga Del Sur Rep. Aurora Enerio-Cerilles; Mayor Mo-nico Puentevella of Bacolod City; Mayor Pepito Reyes of Perez, Quezon; and Vice Mayor Dante Garcia of Tubao, La Union. The four were charged for various al-

leged violations if the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act or Republic Act 3019, the Office of the Ombuds-man said in a statement.

Cerilles is facing charges before the Sandiganbayan for the purchase of alleg-edly overpriced medical sup-plies in 2001 amounting to nearly P7 million, while the charges against Puentevella involve the allegedly anom-alous utilization of his Prior-ity Development Assistance Fund amounting to P26 mil-lion to purchase overpriced computer packages for pub-lic schools in Bacolod City. According to the Ombuds-

man, the computer package was reportedly bought at P400,000.00 each.

Meanwhile, Reyes is undergoing trial for allow-ing his brother to operate a cockpit, while Garcia is fac-ing charges for the purchase of allegedly overpriced fog-ging chemicals and chlorine without the required public bidding.N In four separate resolutions, the Sandigan-bayan ordered Puentevella, Reyes, and Garcia to cease and desist from performing their present government functions for a period of 90 days, while Cerilles was pre-ventively suspended for 60

days. Under Section 13 of R.A. 3019, any public officer shall be suspended from of-fice should they face a crimi-nal prosecution with “valid information” in court.

Officials lose “all retire-ment or gratuity benefits under any law” if convicted.

The Sandiganbayan ruled that the suspension of any public officer due to the Anti-Graft act was “but a fortification of the principle that public office is a public trust” and maintained that they “must at all times, be accountable to the people in the fulfillment of their du-ties.” (MNS)

MANILA, Oct 2 (Mabu-hay) – Senator Francis Chiz Escudero is proposing the creation of an interagency body to study and address the impacts of El Niño on farmlands and households which are now experiencing water shortages.

Escudero said the inter-agency body should be com-posed of representatives from the National Irriga-tion Administration (NIA), National Water Resources Board (NWRB), Depart-ment of Agriculture (DA), Department of Energy (DOE), Department of En-vironment and Natural Re-sources (DENR), Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical

and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), Climate Change Commis-sion, private water conces-sionaires, and other experts that might be able to help the government craft an easily implementable plan on El Niño.

We must convene an in-ter-agency body to map out the situation in El Niño-af-fected areas and propose vi-able solutions to the expect-ed short-term, mid-term, and long-term effects of El Niño, he said in a state-ment on Friday.

“Water interruptions and shortages are already disrupting the day-to-day activities of Filipinos.

Bongbong Marcos in VP race

Sandiganbayan suspends lawmaker, 3 other local officials

House leader jokes about Playgirls’ dance reenactment in inquiry

Escudero wants interagency body formed to address El Niño effects

CAMARINES SUR, Oct 6 (Mabuhay) -- A day after Camarines Sur 3rd District Rep. Leni Robredo declared her candidacy as the vice presidential bet of Liberal Party (LP) standard bearer Mar Roxas, independent presidential candidate Sen-ator Grace Poe attended the World Teacher’s day event at the Jesse Robredo Coli-seum in Naga City minus her running mate, Senator Francis Escudero.

Poe was escorted by Ca-marines Sur Governor Luis Miguel “Migz” Villafuerte

and his father, former Gov-ernor Luis Raymund “L-Ray” Villafuerte, who de-clared their support for the senator.

The younger Villafuerte, however, said in an inter-view that they will support a Poe-Robredo tandem.

In a separate interview, Poe answered “bakit na-man hindi?” when asked of the possibility of two wom-en eventually leading the country.

In a statement released by Escudero, he said vari-ous Bicolanos aiming for

government positions is a source of pride for the peo-ple of Bicol.

In her speech before around 15,000 teachers from the Camarines Sur Division of the Department of Education, Poe said she knows their plight, noting that she formerly worked as a pre-school teacher.

She told them that sala-ries of teachers should be continuously increased. “Napapanahon na na big-yan kayo ng tulong,” said Poe. Poe was greeted at the airport upon her ar-

rival by her relatives led by her grandaunt Aida Kelley Yuboco, the sister of Fer-nando Poe Jr.’s mother.

The senator then hopped from one broadcast station to another where she was interviewed about her plat-form as a presidential can-didate. She also dropped by the Archbishop’s Palace and met with Archbishop Rolando Tirona.

She also graced the gath-ering of provincial members of the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC) organized by its party provincial chair.

Grace campaigns in CamSur without Chiz

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OPINION

Vice President for OperationsAlan Michael

PHL embassy ready for worst-case scenario in Korea: Jejomar Binay Global economy shows ‘fragile’ improvement: IMF

MANILA, Mar 26 (Mabuhay) – Th e Philippine Embassy in South Korea has prepared a contingency plan, in case tensions between South and North Korea escalate into a full-blown confl ict.

“Nakahanda po ang ating embahada para sa worst-case scenario,” Vice President Jejomar Binay told leaders of the Filipino community at the Philippine Embassy in Seoul.

There are currently around 50,000 Filipinos living and working in South Korea.

Binay, who is currently in Seoul to attend the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit, said it is unfortunate that North Korea is planning to launch a satellite next month.

North Korea said it intends to launch a long-range rocket next month to put a satellite into orbit, but the United States and other nations consider it a thinly veiled missile test that would breach a United Nations ban.

Th e Japanese government said part of the North Korean long-range rocket will fall east of the Philippines if the launch is made next month.

Binay said local authorities, who may be aff ected, will be directed to prepare.

“Th is is an unfortunate situation because there is an existing UN (United Nations) resolution and North Korea had said they will comply with the resolution... We do not want to speculate on the eff ects of the launch. We hope it does not happen and North Korea complies with the UN resolution. However, we will be directing the local government who could be aff ected to be prepared for any eventuality,” he added.

Th e Department of Foreign Aff airs (DFA) earlier issued a statement calling North Korea’s planned satellite launch “unacceptable.”

Th e DFA appealed to North Korea to abide by UN Security Council Resolutions 1874 and 1718, which call for the “abandonment of its ballistic missile program in a complete, verifi able and irreversible manner.”

Th e Philippine and US militaries are reportedly coordinating to track the path of a planned North Korean rocket launch, parts of which are expected to land off the archipelago, an offi cial said Saturday.

“The Philippine military is coordinating with its US counterpart in the monitoring of the planned launch,” Foreign Department spokesman Raul Hernandez told AFP.

His announcement came a day after the USS Blue Ridge, the fl agship of the US 7th Fleet in the Pacifi c, arrived in Manila for a four-day visit.

Hernandez did not divulge details of the joint monitoring, but the allies were expected to hold large-scale joint military exercises in the middle of April to enhance cooperation in case of external threats.

“We continue to strongly urge the DPRK (North Korea) not to proceed with its planned launch,” Hernandez said.

“Th ey should abide by the UN Security Council resolutions which explicitly demand that they do not conduct any launch using ballistic missile technology.”

Manila’s defense chief, Voltaire Gazmin, said Friday the government needed US help in tracking the rocket’s path, with the poorly equipped Philippine military not having the capability to do so by itself.

Pyongyang announced last week it would launch the rocket to place a satellite in orbit between April 12 and 16, and insisted it was purely for space research.

But the United States and other nations see the launch as a disguised ballistic missile test, and say that it would breach a UN ban on North Korean missile launches.

A previous North Korean long-range rocket in 2009 fl ew over Japanese territory and the boosters landed safely in waters off Japan.

Kurt Campbell, the US assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacifi c Aff airs, said the rocket launch would impact “in an area roughly between Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines,” in a message to Australia’s Foreign Minister Bob Carr, according to a report by the Sydney Morning Herald.

By Mike Patterson Bangkok, March 27, 2012 (AFP)

– Recent improvements in the global economy are “very fragile” and an escalation of the eurozone crisis remains the most immediate concern, IMF deputy managing director Naoyuki Shinohara said Tuesday.

While indicators had last year pointed to a big setback for the world there have in recent weeks been modest signs of improvement and stability in the key US and European economies, he said in a lecture at a university in Bangkok.

“Important policy actions carried out by European policy makers have helped and most recently the agreement on a new (debt) programme for Greece ... has also brought some relief,” he said.

But, he said: “Th ere is no room for complacency. A lot more needs to be done to give a fresh boost to growth.”

Shinohara said in many countries public debt remained at all-time highs, limiting the scope for fi scal stimulus, and unemployment also remained very high.

“We are navigating a very narrow path before recovery of the economy and the risk of slippage is very high,” he warned.

He said advanced economies “should press ahead with national and structural reforms to repair

also need to increase the strength of their firewall to provide an adequate backstop for governments undertaking these reforms,” he said.

The IMF, and the United States and other top economies worldwide have sought to raise pressure on Germany to drop its previous opposition to boosting the eurozone’s firewalls against debt crisis contagion.

Looking to the prospects for Asia, Shinohara said domestic demand remained generally strong, supported by low unemployment and high capacity utilization.

“Growth in Asia is expected to gain momentum this year,” he said.

Leading economic indicators had strengthened in the United States and Europe, he said.

“Th ese numbers have improved substantially since the beginning of this year and this suggests a similar improvement in Asia in the coming months,” he said.

The IMF sees global growth slightly above 3.0 percent in 2012 but will release its revised world economic outlook in two weeks.

“We are not expecting a major change in our outlook for this year and next year. Probably a slight improvement in our position on some of the areas but for the global picture I’m not expecting a major change,” he said.

Population adds to planet’s pressure cooker, but few options

the damage done by the crisis” while emerging economies needed to remain vigilant for possible spillovers.

However the IMF expected “spillovers from the euro area to other regions will remain limited as long as the euro area is contained.”

“Since the beginning of the year fi nancial tensions in the euro area have eased, in large part thanks to the so-called long-term refi nancing operation of the European Central Bank,” he said.

In recent weeks the data has showed manufacturing activity for both advanced and emerging economies has improved, with readings above 50, which indicates growth, but Shinohara said a lot needed to be done to safeguard gains.

“Recent improvements are still very fragile. Important policy challenges remain to be addressed. Downside risks are still very large. Th e most immediate concern is still further escalation of the euro area crisis,” he said.

S h inohara sa id European policymakers need to pursue fi scal adjustment at the right pace.

“European policy makers also need to pursue financial reforms to stabilize the banking sector and structural reforms to restore economic competitiveness,” he said.

“And European policy makers

By Richard Ingham LONDON, March 27, 2012

(AFP) – The world ’s surging population is a big driver of environmental woes but the issue is complex and solutions are few, experts at a major conference here say.

Answers lie with educating women in poorer countries and widening access to contraception but also with reforming consumption patterns in rich economies, they say.

Th e four-day meeting on Earth’s health, Planet Under Pressure, is unfolding ahead of the Rio+20 Summit in June.

Scientists taking part have pinpointed population growth as a major if indirect contributor to global warming, depletion of resources, pollution and species loss.

But they also mark it as an issue that has disappeared almost completely off political radar screens.

Th is is partly because of religious sensitivities but also because of traumatic memories of coercive fertility controls in poorer countries in the 1970s that no-one wants to repeat.

Diana Liverman, a professor at the University of Arizona, said the link between population growth and environmental damage arose in the mid-20th century.

“The 50 years from 1950 to 2000 were a period of dramatic and unprecedented change in human history,” she said.

During that time, the planet’s human tally doubled from three billion to six billion. It now stands at seven billion, and by some estimates could reach around nine billion by

2050.Th e good news is that the fertility

rate – the number of children a women is likely to have – has halved from fi ve to 2.5 since 1950 and will fall below the replacement rate of 2.1 around 2025, Liverman said.

“It means that there is a strong probability that population growth will level off around nine billion and may in fact fall thereafter,” said Liverman.

Others caution that raw statistics mask many complexities.

“The world’s carrying capacity isn’t a single headline figure but depends on lifestyle, technology, and so forth,” said Lord Martin Rees of the Royal Society, whose report on demography and the environment will be issued next month.

Th e population is stabilizing or falling in rich countries.

But these economies remain – in per capita terms – by far the biggest sources of environmental damage, with for instance greenhouse gas emissions per head that are double or quadruple those in a developing country.

Th e big population growth will happen in developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.

These countr ies bear least responsibility for climate change but will be hit worst by it, because they lack money and skills to adapt. Th us the higher their population, the more of their people who will be hit by drought, storms, rising seas and fl oods.

S t r a t e g i e s f o r w o r k i n g on the demographic drivers of environmental damage are essentially two-pronged, said specialists.

One is to change consumption patterns, so that the rich countries – and the emerging giants rushing to catch up with them—use energy and resources more sustainably.

Th e other is to protect women’s rights, education for women and their access to jobs and contraception.

“ I f y o u h a v e e c o n o m i c development and you educate women, and women get labour market opportunities, they tend not only to reduce the number of children but crucially to delay when they start having children,” said Sarah Harper, director of the Institute of Population Ageing at the University of Oxford.

“And if you delay the start of having children, you tend to have smaller families.”

Such changes can have a “surprisingly fast” eff ect on reducing birthrates, said Stephen Tyler, who works with group called the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN). He gave the fast-shrinking families in India as an example.

On Sunday, a group of scientists and policymakers that have won the Blue P lanet Prize, a top environmental award, made a pre-conference appeal to intensify green action.

Looking at demography, they said more than 200 million women in developing countries still have unmet needs for family planning.

But funding for access to contraception fell by 30 percent between 1995 and 2008, “not least as a result of legislative pressure from the religious right in the USA and elsewhere,” they said.

MANILA, Mar 27 (Mabuhay) – Majority of Filipinos are hopeful the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front can reach a peace agreement, but there appeared to be a decline in their ranks, a new poll by Social Weather Stations showed.

The SWS said the survey last Dec. 3 to 7 showed 62 percent of respondents remain optimistic the two parties will come to an agreement, but this was down from 71 percent in September and 83 percent recorded in June 2011.

Also, the SWS survey showed fewer Filipinos believe the peace agreement may be reached before the term of President Benigno Aquino III ends in 2016 – 38 percent, compared to 52 percent in September.

Filipinos hopeful of peace between gov’t and MILF, but numbers decliningTh e government and MILF had

not reached any consensus during their talks last March 19 to 21 in Malaysia.

SWS figures showed the 62 percent who were optimistic the two parties will hammer a peace deal comprised the following: 29 percent who were “very hopeful” (slightly higher than 26 percent in September); and 33 percent who were “somewhat hopeful” (lower than September’s 45 percent).

Respondents who were “somewhat not hopeful” remained at 15 percent while those “not hopeful at all” accounted for 24 percent, up from 14 percent in the previous survey.

Analyzing the data by region, the number of those “very hopeful” went

up in most areas except in Mindanao.Th ose “not hopeful at all”, however,

increased in all areas.When asked when they expect

a peace deal with the MILF to be signed, 12 percent said 2011 to 2013, down by one percentage point from 13 percent in September.

A greater number, 26 percent, said the peace deal will be ironed out by 2014-2016, down from 39 percent in the previous survey.

Nineteen percent, on the other hand, believed the peace deal will be achieved in 2016-2022, down from 20 percent previously.

On the other hand, the number of those who believe a peace deal will “not ever” be reached went up to 40 percent from 24 percent in the last survey.

DAVAO, Sept 30 (Mabuhay) -- Senator Alan Peter Cayetano on Wednesday said he is backing calls for Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte to run for president in 2016, saying the country needs a real leader.

The Nacionalista Party senator said he and his sister, Senator Pia Cayetano, dined with Duterte for three hours on Tuesday night to discuss various issues including peace and order and developing the south.

He said that based on their talks, he feels that Duterte is feeling the burden that the next generation needs a real leader.

“Lahat po ng problema na natanong namin sa kanya, ang ganda po ng solusyon at kung hindi kayang ayusin, inaamin niya. So, tin-gin ko po, papunta doon sa pagtakbo,” Cayetano said.

“As I said, ayaw ko siyang pangunahan pero kung ako po ang tatanungin, I think nafi-feel niya yung burden ng next generation na naghahanap talaga ng tunay na leader.”

Cayetano announced Tuesday his plan to run for vice-president in the 2016 election.

He said he and his entire family are adding their voices to the clamor for Duterte to run for president in 2016.

He noted that he and Duterte share the same core values, being both a supporter of federalism and ‘’real change.”

Duterte, who ranked fourth in the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) and Pulse Asia surveys, behind Senator Grace Poe, former Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, and Vice President Jejomar Binay, remains undecided whether he will run or not for president.

After ‘’categorically’’ ruling out a bid for president, Duterte said over the weekend that he needs more time to do some ‘’soul-search-ing.” He later clarified that his statement was taken out of context.

In the interview, Cayetano confirmed he will not be the running mate of Liberal Party standard bearer Mar Roxas due to differences of opinion on some issues.

Cayetano said he had talks earlier with President Aquino and other LP members on the possibility of running as the party’s vice-presidential candidate.

“Nagkausap kami. Nagkausap din kami ni Pangulo, may sarili silang proseso. Kami naman po ng aking supporters sa grassroots, sa Christian community, lalo na sa pamilya ko, hindi na rin po naging komportable. Marami pong issues na magkasama kami pero marami rin pong issues na hindi. Alam niyo naman ako, kapag naniniwala po ako na mali ay lalabanan ko talaga. Asset and liability ko na out-spoken ako sa ilang mga issues,” he said.

Cayetano admitted he has been an outspoken critic of how the Aquino administration has handled several issues such as the traffic mess and the random inspection of balikbayan boxes. He, however, gave credit to the Aquino administration for doing a lot to curb graft and corruption in the past five years.

“I cannot please everyone pati sa Liberal Party...Hindi naman ako pwedeng tumahimik so that makasama ko sila sa eleksyon na ito,” he said.

“To be fair sa ating Pangulo, wala naman siyang dinikta. Wala naman siyang sinabi na dapat ang prinsipyo ay kailangan natin la-munin. It just didn’t really work out,” he added.

Cayetano earlier admitted that his own family and supporters felt more comfortable that he run as an independent “or with someone they are passionate about.”

‘’As I said, masyado naming naramdaman ang hirap at kakulan-gan ng malasakit sa ating kababayan.”

He also noted that he and Aquino have cleared the air, amid re-ports that the President does not want him to become Roxas’ run-ning mate following their supposed tiff in 2010 where the senator supposedly called Aquino’s mental stability into question.

‘’Na-clear up na namin ng pangulo. I never called him names directly,’’ Cayetano said, adding that the president was able to prove his detractors wrong with his work in the last five years.

Meanwhile, Cayetano said the race for the VP post will become more challenging after other Nacionalista Party members also an-nounced their plans for 2016.

“Baka ang mangyayari d’yan is, ‘may the best man win.’ Hindi naman po talaga iyung partido ang tinitingnan, talagang ang support po is nasa grass root,” the senator told radio dzMM.

Cayetano is bound to run against fellow NP member Senator An-tonio Trillanes IV. Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., also an NP leader, is himself considering a possible run for either the presidency or vice presidency.

Trillanes will run as an independent. Marcos has been eyed by the camp of Vice President Jejomar Binay of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) as a running mate though the senator remains non-committal.

Senator Francis Escudero will also run for vice president in a team-up with Senator Grace Poe while Liberal Party (LP) standard bearer Mar Roxas continues to woo Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Ro-bredo to be his running mate. (MNS)

MANILA, Oct 2 (Mabuhay) – Female members of the Liberal Party have taken offense at the performance of the dance group Playgirls at the birthday party of Laguna Rep-resentative Benjamin Agarao Jr. on Thursday.

The dance, that many described as lewd, happened af-ter the oath-taking of the party’s new members at Agarao’s residence.

“The performance that took place at a gathering in La-guna yesterday is a gross insult to all: the women involved, the Liberal Party, and indeed, all Filipinos and Filipinas who espouse equality,” said the women in a statement the LP posted on Facebook.

The statement was supposedly made by Deputy Speaker Henedina Abad, Mindoro Oriental Representative Jose-phine Sato and LP ally Akbayan Representative Kaka Bag-ao.

“We condemn, in the strongest terms, any and all forms of the exploitation of women,” the women said.

The women said the exploitation of women would “nev-

er be consistent with the values of the Liberal Party, which, throughout the years, has made social equity one of the pil-lars of its endeavors.”

“Throughout our work, we have received nothing less than the utmost respect from our colleagues and peers in the Liberal Party,” the women said.

“We know that such gimmickry will not be tolerated by our members and our leadership, and we fully support the investigation to unearth the truth behind the incident,” he added.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, a presumptive senato-rial candidate of the LP in 2016, described the performance “demeaning.”

“It’s really demeaning. It’s appalling… if it’s true na ga-noon,” said De Lima, who admitted not having seen the video footage of the dancers yet.

“But based on the reports, if it’s true, it’s demeaning lalo na kung may children and women. Hindi dap at ganoon,” she added. (MNS)

MANILA, Oct 2 (Mabuhay) – President Benigno Aquino III will not condone the lewd dance performed by an all-female group shortly after new Liberal Party (LP) members took their oaths in Sta. Cruz, Laguna, a Malaca-ñang spokesperson said Friday.

“Women are not objects to be given away as gifts dur-ing celebrations. The President has always stood firm against the exploitation of women and will not condone such displays of disrespect,” said deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte.

A group of sexy dancers called Playgirls took the stage after LP standard bearer Mar Roxas swore in new party members on Thursday. The emcee at the event declared that it was a gift from MMDA chairman and senatorial aspirant Francis Tolentino.

Tolentino drew flak over the incident but denied that the “gift” came from him. He said he was just a guest at the birthday party of Laguna Rep. Benjie Agarao, which was also celebrated in the same venue.

Agarao has since cleared Tolentino on the incident, saying it was his friends who were behind the sexy girls’

performance. Earlier in the day, Roxas said the LP is conducting an

investigation on the incident, reminding party members never to resort to similar gimmicks in future activities.

“Pilit pong ikinakabit ng ilang grupo ang ating panga-lan sa performance na ito, kahit pa ba nasa ibang bahagi ako ng compound, hindi kasama sa audience, at walang sight lines sa nangyayari. Hindi ko nasaksihan ang perfor-mance,” he said.

“Lilinawin ko po: Mariin kong ipinagbabawal sa an-umang aspekto ng ating kampanya ang ganitong uri ng pagsasamantala sa kababaihan,” Roxas added.

In a separate text message, Senator Vicente Sotto III said those behind the act should be ashamed of them-selves.

“Those kind of shows are never appropriate anytime. [It is] demeaning for women. The persons who are be-hind those kinds of shows whoever they are should be ashamed of themselves,” Sotto said.

“Wala ba silang mga ina? I’m sure na nahihiya ang mga ina nila!” he added. (MNS)

MANILA, Oct 3 (Mabuhay) – Senator Antonio Trillanes IV is confident that Vice President Jejomar Binay will fail in his bid to win the presidency in 2016.

Trillanes, who intends to run as vice president, reasoned that the public’s vigilance will prevent them from succumb-ing to empty rhetoric and electing Binay.

“I believe in the Filipino people. Iba na po ngayon, na-kikita na po nila—hindi na puwedeng bolahin ang mga ka-babayan natin kaya hindi po mangyayari ‘yan. He won’t be President of this country,” Trillanes said.

But the senator stressed that he will respect the will of the people should he be elected as Binay’s second-in-command. He added that he will maintain watch over any possible act of wrongdoing on Binay’s part.

“Rerespetuhin ko po ‘yung desisyon ng mga Pilipino na siya ang gusto nilang Presidente. Pero, sa akin siyempre, hindi ko bibitawan ‘yung aking role na pagbabantay,” he said.

“Kung magkakamali po siya at gagamitin lang niyang personal na bangko itong kaban ng bayan ay talagang ilala-bas po natin ‘yan at ibubunyag sa taumbayan.”

Trillanes, along with Senators Aquilino Pimentel III and Alan Peter Cayetano, has been leading a year-long probe into various corruption allegations against Binay and his family.

Binay, in turn, filed a P200-million damage suit against Trillanes and other personalities allegedly acting in conspir-acy to destroy his reputation.

The vice president remains among the top presidential contenders, as shown by the latest surveys conducted by So-cial Weather Stations (SWS) and Pulse Asia.

‘VP DERBY TO BE A BIG FIGHT’

Trillanes, meanwhile, will officially declare his vice pres-idential bid at the Amoranto Stadium in Quezon City Satur-day afternoon.

Trillanes, a member of the Nacionalista Party (NP), will run as an independent candidate after some NP members are reportedly eyeing the same electoral post.

The senator will support the presidential bid of Senator Grace Poe, pursuant to the decision of his other group, the Magdalo bloc.

Trillanes said the 500,000 members of the Magdalo bloc opted to support his own candidacy over that of Poe’s run-ning mate, Senator Francis Esucdero, to ensure the progress of the party’s advocacy.

“Mayroon kaming sariling kandidato who would raise our own issues. Si Senator Escudero, he won’t embody the ideals and aspirations of the party,” Trillanes said.

Trillanes is also confident of his chances of winning the vice presidential race with the help of Magdalo’s resources, citing the party’s grassroot support system that propelled him in the 2007 senatorial race.

“Itong aming organisasyon kasi, nakaugat ito sa ground. Noong 2007, ‘yan din ang itinatanong sa amin noon. The media has, parang, written us off nang, ‘Hindi, walang pag-asa ‘yan, wala namang partido ‘yan, nakakulong ‘yan, walang pera ‘yan.’ Pero nanalo. Bakit kaya? Dahil mayroon kaming ganitong organisasyon,” the senator said.

Trillanes is also not worried about going against candi-dates backed by popularity and financial resources.

“Mabigat po itong laban na ito talaga. Mga kilala ‘yan ta-pos may pera ‘yan sila. Pero hindi naman po ako nawawalan ng pag-asa,” he said. (MNS)

MANILA, Sept 30 (Mabuhay) -- While Malacanang re-fuses to yield to calls for lower tax rates, the Tax Manage-ment Association of the Philippines (TMAP) still hopes to get President Aquino’s nod with the growing public clamor over tax system reform in the country.

Atty. Terence Conrad Bello, president of TMAP, said Aquino has yet to hear a lot of justifications for the proposed tax measures, citing the group’s “unity statement” with 17 other business organizations on income tax reform.

“We are still hoping that somehow, the President would still change his mind and support the various income tax measures that are pending in Congress,” Bello said.

“We believe that the inherent unfairness in the system has to be corrected now,” he added.

Bello insisted that adjusting the income tax brackets will not necessarily increase budgetary deficit, contrary to the Fi-nance Department’s claim. He added that reduced tax rates will actually encourage active participation among taxpay-ers in generating government revenue.

“It’s good for the economy. Economists and studies have shown that you increase compliance by decreasing the rates. Of course you have to also consider other revenue raising measures. But that can be done simultaneously with income tax reform,”

He also pointed out that the government can even broad-en the tax base by simplifying the tedious process of busi-ness registration, especially for self-employed individuals, and not relying heavily on fixed compensation earners.

“If we make it easy for them to comply with the admin-istrative requirements, there’s a greater chance that they will comply with their tax obligation,”

Bello also echoed the stand of Senator Sonny Angara, a staunch campaigner of tax reform, that increasing the pur-chasing power of low and middle income earning individu-als will be more beneficial for the government and the public as it will induce economic activities.

“It’s very clear that the additional disposable income will increase. So in a sense I think it’s better to decrease tax rates and income taxes than increasing salaries,” he said.

Bello added that lowering tax rates is no longer an eco-nomic issue alone but also an outcry against injustice by overburdened taxpayers, insisting that now is the right time for the government to push for such kind of reform.

“I think it’s about time, it is long overdue that we do something about the inherent injustice. While it’s fine that the government can consider revenue raising measures, you can do that simultaneously and not make it as a condition on correcting the system now,” the lawyer said.

Cayetano woos Duterte: We need a real leader

LP women call sexy dance in Laguna solon’s party ‘a gross insult to all’

Valte: Aquino won’t condone display of disrespect in LP event

Iba na ngayon: Pinoys won’t choose Binay, Trillanes says

Palace told: ‘We are not giving up calls for lower tax’

MANILA, Sept 30 (Mabuhay) – Camarines Sur Rep. Leni Robredo has already given her informal consent to be the running mate of administration presidential bet Mar Roxas in the 2016 elections, House Speaker Feliciano Bel-monte Jr. said Wednesday.

“I think she has more or less given her consent informally and I don’t think na binibitin niya or anything like that,” Belmonte said in a press conference after the national con-vention of Liberal Party in Quezon City.

He said it is just a matter of making Robredo’s family comfortable with her decision. Robredo is the widow of the late Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo.

“We want all of her family to feel very at ease with the decision and to be fully supportive of the decision and they are grown-ups na naman,” he said.

Asked why Robredo was not present during the LP con-vention, Belmonte just said, “Basta I’m very confident that

she will be in.”Asked on her absence, Caloocan City Rep. Edgar Erice,

LP vice chairman for political affairs, said he thinks Robredo is still discerning.

“Baka Monday na siguro, baka hinihintay. Baka nasa dis-cernment process pa siguro,” he told reporters.

Former Quezon Rep. Erin Tañada said they are giving Robredo some space to think.

Earlier in the day, the LP formally selected Roxas as the ruling party’s standard bearer in next year’s presidential polls. (MNS)

Belmonte: Leni already gave ‘informal’ consent to be Mar’s VP

Mag Tayo!

THE US ASIAN POST Wednesday - Tuesday, October 7 - 13, 2015 Visit www.usasianpost.com 5

K I T C H E N O M I C S

U T R E A C HWASHINGTON, D.C.

— The exciting reform story of the Philippine economy headlined the Doing Business with the Philippines Forum held at the World Trade Center Kansas City on 28 September 2015. Philippine Ambassador Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. led an eco-nomic diplomacy delegation that briefed corporate execu-tives and entrepreneurs from the Greater Kansas City Area, which encompasses a number of counties and cities spanning the border between the states

of Missouri and Kansas. Aside from the Ambassador, the delegation included Consul General Generoso Calonge, Philippine Consulate General in Chicago (with jurisdiction over Missouri); Minister Jose Victor Chan Gonzaga, Philip-pine Embassy in Washington DC; and Trade Representative John Paul Iñigo, Philippine Trade and Investment Center, New York.

In his keynote address, Am-bassador Cuisia emphasized that the country’s economic

performance can be cred-ited to the good governance model of President Benigno S. Aquino under his “Daang Matuwid” (“Straight Path”) program, as well as the sound macroeconomic fundamentals that have been achieved under the leadership of the economic managers. “The positive de-velopments in the Philippine economy during the past five years can be best summarized as an exciting reform story,” Ambassador Cuisia told the Forum.

Philippine delegation tells PHL reform story in the American heartlandEven while noting a slow-

down in the Philippines’ eco-nomic growth during the first two quarters of 2015 com-pared to the first two quarters of the previous year, and that some volatility was experi-enced by the Philippine Stock Exchange, Ambassador Cui-sia reassured the Forum that stock investors were reacting to external factors rather than to problems with Philippine macroeconomic fundamen-tals. He also added that “re-cent declines and volatility in the Philippines’ stock market should be seen as an opportu-nity for investors as the Phil-

ippine economy is positioned better than other Southeast Asian economies to withstand negative financial trends oc-curring regionally and glob-ally.” Before the Ambassa-dor’s keynote address, there were presentations made by Trade Representative Iñigo, and Director Nyamusi Igambi of the US Commercial Service office in Kansas City.

Mr. Iñigo spoke about the various trade and investment opportunities in the Philip-pines, focusing on key sectors such as manufacturing, ser-vices, and infrastructure. He began his presentation with a

detailed summary of the trade and economic performance of the Philippines in the last five years. He highlighted the gate-way role that the Philippines may offer to American busi-nesses that intend to penetrate not only the Philippine mar-ket but also the ASEAN and European markets, through the opportunities arising from ASEAN economic integration and Philippines’ EU GSP-plus status, respectively. He also showed video presentations relating to furniture design and Manila FAME, as well as on the Philippine economy and tourism.

Washington, DC – As Fili-pino American History Month is commemorated nationwide in October, the movement to recognize Filipino and Fil-ipino-American World War II veterans for their wartime service to the U.S. gains mo-mentum.

October is recognized as Filipino American History Month, when the contribu-tions of the Filipino Ameri-can community are celebrated across the United States. In recent years, the Senate and the House of Representatives have passed resolutions of-ficially recognizing October as Filipino American History Month on an individual basis for a given year. Various states, counties, and cities have also established proclamations and resolutions declaring obser-vance of Filipino American History Month.

The movement to obtain national recognition for Fili-pino and Filipino-American World War II soldiers across the United States and Philip-pines for their wartime service to the U.S. continues to gain momentum during Filipino American History Month. To-day, members of the Congres-sional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), including

Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Representatives Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) and Mark Takai (D-HI), are holding a press conference to announce support for legislation award-ing the Congressional Gold Medal to Filipino veterans. HR 2737 and SB 1555 are companion bills that acknowl-edge over 260,000 Filipino and Filipino-American sol-diers who responded to Presi-dent Roosevelt’s call-to-duty and fought under the Ameri-can flag against the Imperial Forces of Japan during World War II.

“Filipino World War II vet-erans served this country with unquestioned loyalty and ad-mirable courage,” said Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba (Ret), chairman of the Filipino Vet-erans Recognition and Edu-cation Project (FilVetREP). “They risked their lives to se-cure democracy and freedom and ensure a better life for generations of Americans. It’s now America’s turn to thank our brave heroes and recog-nize their sacrifice and ser-vice to this country. Their’s is a national story that must be preserved and passed on with utmost pride.”

Adds Luisa Antonio, Exec. Director of the Veter-

ans Equity Center and Fil-VetREP Board member: ”Many Americans today enjoy peace and prosperity due in large measure to our veterans’ uncommon valor and unher-alded contributions to the war effort. As we honor them, we must commit ourselves to cel-ebrate their achievements not only during Filipino American History Month but every day and every where, through our own acts of selfless service to our community and coun-try. We keep their story alive by continuing to fight for the same cause for which they gave their lives.”

The initiative behind the recognition of Filipino and Filipino-American World War II veterans is the Filipino Vet-erans Recognition and Edu-cation Project (FilVetREP), a nonpartisan, community-based, all-volunteer national initiative whose mission is to raise awareness through aca-demic research and public in-formation and obtain national recognition of Filipino and Filipino-American WWII Sol-diers across the United States and Philippines for their war-time service to the U.S. and the Philippines from July 1941 to December 1946.

September 30, 2015 – Showcase of amazing talents and performing artists in mu-sic, creative arts, and varied forms of entertainment from the Filipino-American com-munity will start on Saturday, October 3 at the Congress-woman Juanita Millender-McDonald Community Center East Parking Lot at 9 a.m. lo-cated at 801 E. Carson Street in Carson.

The program line-up in-cludes performances from Manny Evaldez, Malaya Dance Group, and Christine Love.

Co-author of the book, Fili-pinos in Carson and the South Bay, Roselyn Estepa Ibaňez, will also be there to highlight the significance of Filipino-American History.

On October 24, the City of Carson and various organiza-tions will join the entire com-munity in honoring the life’s work and legacy of Larry Itliong – a Filipino-American labor leader and organizer.

A tribute march will start at 10 a.m. on October 24 around the vicinity of Congresswom-an Juanita Millender-McDon-ald Community Center.

A program featuring awards for labor and community lead-ership, youth achievement, and medals of honor for ad-vocacy work on behalf of Fili-pino American World War II veterans will also take place on October 24. The awardees are Gerry Villero (labor), Da-vid Campbell (labor), Franco Arcebal (leadership), Kobe Paras (youth achievement), Michael Christian Martinez (youth achievement), re-nowned publicist Fritz Fried-man (medal of honor) and screenwriter/producer/televi-sion director and former actor Dean Devlin (medal of honor).

Both events on October 3 and October 24 are open to the

public and admission is free.Larry Itliong was respon-

sible for organizing immigrant farm workers and cannery workers for over 30 years. He helped establish the Alaska Cannery Workers Union in the 1930s and helped get a contract that called for eight-hour days with overtime pay. In 1965, Larry Itliong led the successful “Great Delano Grape Strike” to protest the low wages and miserable working conditions. In 1966, he led the Agricultural Work-ers Organizing Committee and merged with the National Farm Workers Association led by Cesar Chavez to form the United Farm Workers union.

In 1970, Larry Itliong founded and became the presi-dent of the Filipino American Political Association (FAPA), the first national political Fili-pino American organization and a crucial alliance between Filipino professionals with 30 active chapters throughout the United States.

On October 2010, Carson City Council passed a resolu-tion establishing October 25 as Larry Itliong Day in Carson. City officials are encouraging the community to take part in observing this special day by attending the October 24 event honoring the life’s work and legacy of Larry Itliong who promoted and fought for the well-being of all of Califor-nia’s Farm Workers. On June 30, 2015, Assembly Bill 7 (AB 7) was signed into law by Gov. Brown establishing October 25 as Larry Itliong Day in all of California.

“The City of Carson is the first city to recognize the con-tributions of labor union leader Larry Itliong. We are proud to have this annual event and proud to have been instru-mental in the movement to get AB 7 passed in Sacramento to

have October 25 recognized as Larry Itliong Day through-out California,” said City of Carson Mayor Albert Robles. “On behalf of a grateful City, we give special thanks to May-or Pro Tem Elito M. Santarina for his leadership in getting Carson to be the first City in the Country to recognize Larry Itliong Day,” added Robles.

The program presents a tal-ented line-up of performers, including CecileandMighty Show, Sampaguita Youth Dance Troupe, Lorian Fausto, Ciamara Morales, Jamie Ba-cani, Gee G Starr, Jane Provi-do, Michelle Delos Reyes, Michael Walker, Zack Pogz Villegas Aquino, Michael Pronda, Maaikee Kiyoe Pron-da, Sid Bautista Castañeda, Anna Alano, and Binibining Pilipinas USA Pageant Best in Talent winners Caitlin San Di-ego and Sheri-Lynne Ducusin. Additionally, Binibining Pili-pinas USA Christelle Abello, BPUSA Miss Tourism Czarina Hermoso, and their BPUSA Royal Court will also be ap-pearing for meet and greet and photo ops.

The program presents a tal-ented line-up of performers, including CecileandMighty Show, Sampaguita Youth Dance Troupe, Lorian Fausto, Ciamara Morales, Jamie Ba-cani, Gee G Starr, Jane Provi-do, Michelle Delos Reyes, Michael Walker, Zack Pogz Villegas Aquino, Michael Pronda, Maaikee Kiyoe Pron-da, Sid Bautista Castañeda, Anna Alano, and Binibining Pilipinas USA Pageant Best in Talent winners Caitlin San Di-ego and Sheri-Lynne Ducusin. Additionally, Binibining Pili-pinas USA Christelle Abello, BPUSA Miss Tourism Czarina Hermoso, and their BPUSA Royal Court will also be ap-pearing for meet and greet and photo ops.

Movement to award Congressional Gold Medal to Filipino veterans gains ground during Filipino American History Month

City of Carson kicks off Filipino-American History Month Celebration October 3 Special tribute to union Leader Larry Itliong slated for October 24

Visit www.usasianpost.com Wednesday - Tuesday, October 7 - 13, 2015 THE US ASIAN POST6

THE US ASIAN POST Wednesday - Tuesday, October 7 - 13, 2015 Visit www.usasianpost.com 7

“Gusto ko ako ang pinakamahal niya.”These were the words of “Your Face Sounds Familiar”

judge Sharon Cuneta when asked about the status of her rela-tionship with daughter, actress-model KC Concepcion.

Cuneta also opened up about the sacrifices she made for her daughter.

“I realized na there are certain roles meant for the father and those meant for the mother. And at that time, unfortunately, I had to perform both. And I couldn’t always be there for her,” she admitted.

“I feel bad because I feel that I have shortchanged my daughter in certain areas, but also I think I have taught her the importance of independence,” Cuneta added.

The two recently made headlines after Cuneta criticized Concepcion’s “unnecessary too-sexy poses” in some of her pictorials. It led to an alleged rift, which ended when Concep-cion visited her mother at the hospital.

“We are like night and day when it comes to differences. But my daughter is a good girl. I think it is normal na nagka-katampuhan ang mag-ina,” Cuneta said.

The Megastar then revealed that she only wants one thing from Concepcion, and it is to feel loved.

“Sana ako ‘yung pinakamahal mo kasi ako ang nagpakahi-rap eh. Wala akong degree kasi gusto ko magka-degree ka,” she said.

“I sacrificed so much. And I just want her to feel that ‘my mom is my world,” she added. (MNS)

Despite her sexy figure, ac-tress Julia Montes is not inter-ested in doing bikini pictorials for men’s magazines.

Montes, who is receiv-ing good feedback for losing weight, said that she’s willing to pose for a fashion magazine but not for a men’s magazine.

“Hindi po ako kumportable, honestly. Sabi ko nga, ‘yung mga scenes before na nagawa ko na eh nahirapan talaga ako, hindi madali po sa akin.

Siguro po kung sa aspeto kung kaya mo ba bilang artista siguro baka po, pero kung kaya mo ba bilang babae, hindi po bilang babae, “ Montes ex-plained.

“Siguro ang pananaw ko po kasi ay kaya ng isang babae na maging sexy without posing

(sa sexy magazine) o mag-me-nos ng damit,” she added.

Montes admitted that she lost weight in preparation for her upcoming series “Doble Kara,” which debut last Au-gust 24 after “Flor de Liza.”

“Hindi ko alam (kung ilang pounds ang nawala) pero nag-kasya na po ako ulit sa pants ko,” said Montes, who ad-mitted that she does a cardio workout once a week.

“Siguro na-enjoy ko po ‘yung pagluluto sa ibang tao more than ako ang kumakain. Madalas kasi dati ako ang ku-makain.

Siguro dahil doon ay nag-lose weight po. And excited po ako para din po bago at kum-portable ako na gumalaw para sa soap ko,” she said. (MNS)

Celebrity couple Doug and Cheska Kramer, the “cap-tains” of the highly popular celebrity family “Team Kram-er,” revealed their secret to a lasting marriage.

The two explained how they managed to maintain a happy and healthy relation-ship for more than 13 years.

“It goes hand-in-hand. I have a husband who loves me, treats me well. So in return, I also give back to him and make sure that I look nice for him,” said Cheska.

“Everything in life is a choice. When we fight and we reconcile, it’s a choice. Some-times it’s not always the feel-

ing, it’s the choice of making it work because we want to.”

For his part, Doug added: “A lot of people who are in re-lationships, sometimes they’re on that ‘kilig moment.’

But that would only last

for only so long. Sometimes your love for that partner will become a choice, you have sustain it and say, ‘I chose to fall in love with you over and over again.” “Team Kramer” includes the couple’s three

children Kendra, Scarlett, and Gavin. They have more than six million followers on Facebook, which they regu-larly update with pictures and videos.

Asked if they have ever fought in contrast to the “hap-py image” they maintain on-line, Doug said: “It says on the Bible, don’t let the sun go down on your anger.”

“And we’ve practiced that our whole relationship. Pag-dating ng gabi, we make sure everything is fixed.

In other words, these 13 years of being together, we’ve never fought for more than a day.” (MNS)

What Sharon wants from daughter KC

Sharon Cuneta

Will Julia Montes agree to pose for men’s magazines?

Julia Montes

‘Team Kramer’ shares secret to lasting marriage

Doug and Cheska Kramer

S C E N E

E N T E R T I N M E N T

LOS ANGELES

Visit www.usasianpost.com Wednesday - Tuesday, October 7 - 13, 2015 THE US ASIAN POST8

Valerie “Bangs” Garcia is more than just a pretty face.

Although she’s best known as an actress, the sexy stun-ner is also an amazing visual artist, with her works mostly following these art styles: real-ism, impressionism, and sur-realism. Garcia only started painting in 2011. She found the activity therapeutic and did not even consider it as an alternative career. Now, she has been in numerous exhibits and her artworks. She has done landscape, animals, and still life and many have been sold in galleries.

“I never thought it will be a good alternative for a career. I am actually selling paintings. It’s surprising, I am flattered,” said Garcia.

Garcia also believes in luck and she translates this belief to artworks. Garcia sometimes

incorporates Chinese beliefs in her paintings, so might as well find the hidden lucky number 8 if you get the chance to see

any of her artworks. She also recently finished “Lucky Panda.”

“I believe in law of attraction. Paint something lucky to encourage them,” said Garcia, adding that most of her cli-ents are art collec-tors.

She also puts her talent to good use. Recently, she went to Davao to teach cancer patients how to paint using materials such as crumpled paper and plastic.

Someday, Garcia wishes to combine

her love for painting and her passion for cooking by estab-lishing an art cafe. (MNS)

Coco Martin said he does not need to run for public of-fice to help others and would rather stick to his thriving act-ing career.

In the past elections, several politicians were courting Mar-tin for his endorsement.

“Sa ngayon, wala akong naiisip na ganun kasi para sa akin, masaya po ako sa kung nasaan ako ngayon at kung anuman ang ginagalawan kong mundo, sa aking trabaho,” Martin said answering ques-tions from reporters asking if he is interested in running for public office.

“Sa pag-arte ko, kahit pa-paano, nagagawa ko ang part ko dahil napapasaya ko ang mga manonood. Nakakapag-bigay ako ng encouragement.”

He said he is not ready to be a politician.

“Iba-iba siguro ang destiny ng mga tao. Siguro, may mga tao talagang nilaan para sa ganung aspeto ng buhay. Ako siguro, kung ano ako ngayon, ito ang binigay sa akin ng Di-yos. At sa ganitong paraan ko bilang artista, ginagamit ko rin ito para makatulong ako sa kapwa,” he said.

“Sa bawat role na ginagam-

panan ko, alam n’yo ‘yong naka-kapagbigay ako ng magandang ehemplo para gayahin nila ako sa bawat karak-ter na ginagawa ko. Kaya nga po sinasabi ko palagi na ang bawat artista, may responsibi-lidad sila sa mga manonood,” he added.

Meanwhile, Martin said he believes that what he does in-fluence others.

He said he is careful when using of social media as it is one of the most effective tools to communicate to his supporters.

“Ang kabataan kasi ngayon halos wala na silang time sa pamilya nila or sa mga magu-lang nila. Kadalasan sino ang tinutularan nila, ginagaya nila, kaming mga artista. Kung ano yung pino-post namin kadala-

san tingin nila iyon ang tama at uso.” “Kung magpapakita ako na wala lang, yun ang maiisip nilang tama. Sa parte ko, alam ko kung ano yung re-sponsibilidad ko sa aking mga manonood at sa lipunan,” he ended. (MNS)

Bangs Garcia: Sexy stunner is also amazing painter

Valerie “Bangs” Garcia

Coco Martin says no to politics

Coco Martin

The LBC Foundation, in cooperation with Project Pearls, aims to move love this Christmas through its proj-ect BOX A SMILE. The LBC Foundation is the Corporate Social Responsibility arm of LBC Express.

Together with Project PEARLS, a non-profit organi-zation, whose vision of seek-ing to protect and provide the basic human rights of the poor-est of the poor children in the Philippines, BOX A SMILE will be launched on October 1, 2015.

Box A Smile is a project that aims to deliver a Happy Christmas to children in pov-erty in the Philippines. LBC Customers from North Ameri-ca who sends a box via sea or air from October 1 to Novem-ber 30, 2015 may elect to par-ticipate in the program, where a portion of their transaction fees will be donated to Box A Smile.

The funds raised will be used to give Christmas gifts to beneficiary children at a gift-ing event (Christmas party) organized by Project Pearls.

LBC Foundation is targeting to collate 3,000 Christmas Gift Boxes.

Come December 2015, the distribution of Christmas Gift Boxes to children aged 4-14yo in underprivileged areas of Helping Land, Tondo, Manila, Brgy. Batia, Bocaue, Bulacan, Zambales will be With this, we encourage your participation in bringing smiles to children in need.

Visit your nearest LBC branch or call 1800-338-5424 for more information on how you can help.

Box A Smile is a project that aims to deliver a Happy Christmas to children in poverty in the Philippines. LBC Customers from North America who sends a box via sea or air from October 1 to November 30, 2015 may elect to participate in the program.

Help us BOX A SMILE for 3,000 kids this Christmas

LOS ANGELES, Septem-ber 24, 2015 – NYX Profes-sional Makeup, the cult favor-ite makeup brand with unique products that cater to the new generation of makeup lovers, is set to launch its first-ever flagship retail stores designed with unique digital features that will bring the passion of the online beauty world into a retail environment. The first

store grand opening is set for Oct. 2 at the Westfield Santa Anita Mall in the greater Los Angeles region, with addition-al nationwide and global stores rolling out in select urban cen-ters throughout 2016.

As a digital-native brand with a global online communi-ty made up of millions of beau-ty fans, the NYX Professional Makeup store was created for today’s makeup consumers who are adapting the skills and the tools of professional make-up artists to their own personal style. Recognizing that these new artists are often self-taught and love to share their makeup style with the world, the NYX Professional Makeup store will celebrate everyday makeup artistry by offering a complete line of affordable professional makeup, new dig-ital technology features and an interactive approach that puts techniques and tools directly into the hands of shoppers.

“We’re very excited about this new chapter for the brand and are proud to be able to create a space where fans can come play, learn and share their love for NYX Profession-al Makeup,” said Scott

Friedman, NYX Cosmetics CEO.

NYX Professional Makeup will continue its strong part-nerships with key retailers that currently distribute NYX. Its flagship stores will serve as an extension of its current retail distribution, combining digital technology with a hands-on self-learning environment that will provide consumers with a completely new NYX ex-perience. The new retail store features include an interactive NYX Beauty Bar, a digital community wall, and innova-tive use of digital imagery and social media content through-out the store. By developing these first-to-market techno-logical innovations, the NYX stores will bring the excite-ment and energy of the online beauty world into the retail space.

“Our stores will celebrate the new generation of beauty influencers, and their dedi-cated followers, by highlight-ing the creativity and artistry

of these real-world makeup lovers,” said Nathalie Kristo, NYX

Cosmetics SVP of Global Marketing and Business De-velopment, NYX. “With our complete line of professional makeup and new digital ser-vices our customers will be empowered to create and share their own makeup looks.”

The new NYX Professional Makeup stores will be a play-ground for beauty junkies who love to have fun with makeup. “I am a longtime NYX Pro-fessional Makeup fan, so it was very cool to partner with them to help develop their retail stores,” said Charis of YouTube channel, Charisma Star. “As a passionate beauty consumer, NYX Professional Makeup is offering a place where makeup lovers like me can find all of their favorite products, and truly become a part of the NYX Professional Makeup community. I can’t wait for the first store to open and meet my fellow NYX fans there.”

Honoring its deep relation-ships with some of the most popular Instagram and You-Tube beauty influencers, NYX has teamed up with these beau-ty gurus as campaign models. Additionally, every month se-lect NYX Professional Make-up stores will host meet-ups and in-store content takeovers with these influencers.

In their continued support of artistry and self-expression, the first NYX Professional Makeup stores will also in-clude custom pieces of street-art in store, created by HUE-MAN, a renowned female street artist.

The first NYX Professional Makeup store will open in Ar-cadia, California on October 2. Additional locations opening include:

Del Amo Fashion Center Torrance, CA

Victoria Gardens, Ran-cho Cucamonga, CA

Westfield Valley Fair, Santa Clara, CA

Broadway Plaza, Walnut Creek, CA

For more information about store locations please visit nyxcosmetics.com/stores.

NYX Cosmetics set to open first digitally-enabled retail stores aimed at a new generation of make-up loversThe L.A. based professional makeup brand will open its first flagship stores in California in fall 2015,

NYX Cosmetics’ CEO Scott Friedman and SVP of Global Marketing and Business Development Nathalie Kristo proudly stand in front of their first ever retail store at Westfield Santa Anita in Arcadia, CA.

THE US ASIAN POST Wednesday - Tuesday, October 7 - 13, 2015 Visit www.usasianpost.com 9

Thursday October 1 2015 (Relaxnews) – A new 355bhp version of BMW’s smallest crossover coupe is about to hit the road and it’s gunning for the Porsche Macan. The new model, the X4 M40i, will move right to the top of the X4 range when it goes on sale, promis-ing a heady mix of practicality and power.

Four doors, space for four

adult passengers, plenty of luggage space and a com-manding driving position com-bined with a 0-100km/h time of just 4.9 seconds and limited top speed of 250km/h.

Its 3-liter twin-turbo-charged straight six engine is a brand new powerplant and as well as offering up 355bhp it is also capable of delivering 8.6l/100km in terms of fuel

consumption and combined CO2 emissions of 199g/km.

And even though it isn’t an official out-and-out M car -- like the larger X5M and X6M crossovers (or Sports Activity Vehicles, as BMW likes to call them) -- it still beats its clos-est rival, the Porsche Macan Turbo in terms of emissions, economy and, crucially accel-eration.

The new BMW X4 M40i. ©BMW Group

BMW unleashes M Performance X4

Friday October 2 2015 (Re-laxnews) – A Peugeot Citroen prototype has become the first self-driving car to travel on French public roads, navigat-ing from Paris to Bordeaux fully autonomously

As the first carmaker to ob-tain permission for self driv-ing technology testing on the nation’s roads, the company had a head start on its rivals. Nevertheless, the 580km trip, completed on Friday is a first for PSA Peugeot Citroen and for France as a whole. As it is the first time an autonomous car has driven on a public road within the country’s borders.

Carlos Tavares, Chairman of the Managing Board of PSA Peugeot Citroën said: “The journey made by our prototype today proves that autonomous vehicles are no longer of mat-

As the first carmaker to obtain permission for self driving technology testing on the nation’s roads, the Peugeot Citroen had a head start on its rivals. The 580km trip, completed on Friday is a first for France as a whole. As it is the first time an autonomous car has driven on a pub-lic road within the country’s borders. PSA Prototype Car. ©PSA Peugeot Citroenter of science fiction. This ush-ers in a new era for mobility, which I find truly exciting.”

In neighbouring Germany, Mercedes-Benz also achieved an autonomous world first on

Friday. Its self driving truck be-

came the first production com-mercial vehicle anywhere in the world to drive itself on a public highway.

Friday October 2 2015 (Re-laxnews) – On Friday the Mer-cedes-Benz Actros became the world’s first production truck to drive autonomously on a public road.

“Today’s premiere is a fur-ther important step towards the market maturity of autono-mously driving trucks—and towards the safe, sustainable road freight transport of the future,” said Daimler board member Dr. Wolfgang Ber-nhard of his journey on the A8 between Denkendorf and Stuttgart airport.

Thanks to a sensor array plus active safety systems, the truck is capable of taking

Mercedes-Benz Actros with Highway Pilot. The truck has become the first to autonomously drive on a public road. ©Daimler AGover driving responsibilities in pre-defined situations such as on highways, where traffic flows and potential hazards are more predictable. The High-way Pilot Mode, which can be engaged and disengaged by the driver, can autonomously ensure a safe distance from the vehicle ahead while maintain-ing lane discipline. If the car in front slows, the truck also ap-plies the brakes automatically.

Friday’s demonstration was made possible by the German

state of Baden-Württemberg’s Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann.

Sven Ennerst, Head of De-velopment Daimler Trucks, commented: “We are delighted that Baden-Württemberg has approved these tests for us. In so doing the state is demon-strating true pioneering spirit. And we are of course also de-lighted that the German Tech-nical Inspection Authority has so clearly confirmed the safety of our system.”

Thursday October 1 2015 (London, United Kingdom-AFP) – A new British law ban-ning smoking in cars while children are present came into effect Thursday but police representatives said it will be “extremely challenging” to en-force.

Under the changes, which apply only in England and Wales, anyone found to be smoking with a passenger under 18 in the vehicle could be fined £50 (68 euros, $76), even if the windows are open. A driver who fails to stop a

passenger smoking in the same circumstances is also liable to be fined, in legislation aimed at protecting children from the effects of passive smoking. The Scottish parliament is considering bringing in a similar law next year. Sally Davies, the Chief Medi-cal Officer for England, hailed the “landmark” legislation. “Smoking just a single ciga-rette in a vehicle exposes children to high levels of air pollutants and cancer-causing chemicals like arsenic, form-aldehyde and tar,” she said.

But Steve White, chair-man of the Police Federa-tion which represents rank and file officers, told AFP the ban would be “extreme-ly challenging” to enforce. “Our officers are telling us they cannot get to some quite seri-ous incidents like burglaries... how are we going to resource this?” he asked, saying that the policing budget had been cut by 25 percent in four years. “This is largely a public health issue... we should be getting on with the job of be-ing police officers,” he said.

UK bans smoking in cars with children

French car makers achieve autonomous driving first

Mercedes’ autonomous truck takes its first open road test

MOTORING

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PRAYER TO THE HOLY SPIRITHoly Spirit Thou who make me see everything and show me the way to reach my ideal, You who give me the divine gift to forgive and forget the wrong that is done to me and who are in all instances of my life with me. I, in this short dialogue, want to thank You for everything and confirm once more that I never want to be separated from You no matter how great the material desires may be. I want to be with You and my loved ones in Your perpetual glory. Amen. A person must pray this for three consecutive days without stating his wish. After the 3rd day the wish will be granted, no matter how difficult it may be. Promise to publish this as soon as your favor has been granted. Lita B.

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CAREGIVERS

LIVE-IN CAREGIVERFor elderly facility in Orange County. 5 Days a week. Private room and good condition. Pls. call 714-639-5885.

MALE CAREGIVERElderly Board and Care in Va-lencia is looking for a part- time male caregiver. Saturday and Sunday, and experience is a plus. Please call 818-391-3907 for details.

CAREGIVERSRare opportunity for an English speaking couple. To team up w/ caring assisted living company for Dementia or DD individuals. Must be a team player & pos-sess positive attitude. W/ valid CA drivers lic. 909-636-7848.

ROOM FOR RENTWith parking & TFC, near Mc-Donalds & Pollo Loco. Near Alvarado & Temple. For single female. $450/mo. Call 213-595-8212.

C L A S S I F I E D S

PRAYER to the BLESSED VIRGIN(Never known to fail)

Oh most beautiful flower of Mt. Carmel, fruit wine splendor of Heaven.Blessed

Mother of the Son of God, Immaculate Virgin, assist me in my necessity. Oh

Star of the Sea. Help me and show me here you are my Mother. Oh Holy Mary,

Mother of God, Queen of Heaven and Earth, I humbly beseech you from the

bottom of my heart to succour me in my necessity. (make request). There are

none that can withstand your power. Oh Mary conceived without sin, pray for

us who have recourse to Thee (3 times). Holy Mary, I place this prayer in your

hands (3 times). Say this prayer for three consecutive days and then you must

publish and it will be granted to you.Grateful Thanks.-JuneBug

PRAYERS

THE US ASIAN POST Wednesday - Tuesday, October 7 - 13, 2015 Visit www.usasianpost.com 11

When Nissan rolled out a series of futuristic auto show concept vehicles a few years ago, few people believed that the boldly styled designs would ever see the light of a Nissan showroom. Yet against the odds they started coming.

First, there was the Nis-san Resonance Concept, a wild mid-size crossover con-cept that evolved into the 2015 Murano. Then Nissan Sport Sedan Concept strong-ly influenced the radical new 2016 Nissan Maxima. And, the new Nissan design lan-guage is making its way into more and more vehicles – in-cluding Nissan’s best-selling vehicle in the United States, the Nissan Altima.

For the new 2016 Altima the design team adopted key aspects of both the exterior and interior styling themes to give the popular mid-size se-dan a fresh new appearance, including the “Energetic Flow” exterior styling theme and “Gliding Wing” interior layout.

The front end of the 2016 Altima offers the most dra-matic change, since all panels and pieces forward of the A-pillars are new – fascia, bum-per, fenders, hood and lights. Two key elements are the re-designed V-Motion grille and boomerang-shape headlights, similar to those found on the Murano and Maxima. The look is dramatically different from the 2015 Altima design, with a wide, deeply sculpted lower bumper, integrated fog lights (SR, SV and SL mod-els) and prominent chrome-trimmed grille.

The reshaped headlight units incorporate halogen high beam and projector low beam lights. LED projector low beam lights and LED signature Daytime Running Lights that sweep into the wide raised hood are stan-dard on Altima 3.5 SR and 3.5 SL grades (late availabil-ity) and available on 2.5 SR and 2.5 SL. Altima SR adds smoked headlight bezels.

The rear of the new Altima is marked by a new sculpted bumper with a dark lower ac-cent, a new trunk lid – with integrated rear spoiler on Al-tima SR models – and lower, wider boomerang-shaped combination lights that help provide a more expressive, higher quality appearance when approaching the vehicle from behind. The four-piece combination lights incorpo-rate the tail- and stop lights, turn lamps and backup lights.

Along with the revised ap-pearance, the new Altima also offers a 10 percent improve-ment in coefficient of drag – to 0.26 Cd from the previous 0.29 Cd*. The changes come from the addition of an active grille shutter (three percent gain), underfloor aero cover additions (three percent) and the new front and rear fascia and windshield designs (four percent).

Wednesday September 30 2015 (Relaxnews) – A sharper design and a longer list of stan-dard equipment should help the car really stand out among other compact sedans current-ly on sale in the US

“[It] not only looks good with its updated styling, but it drives and performs at a level well beyond its value-oriented price point,” said Mitsubishi North America executive vice president, Don Swearingen. “The new 2016 Lancer builds upon the legacy of challeng-ing what a compact car can be in terms of design, technology and performance, all at an af-fordable price.”

Even in entry-level ES trim, the Lancer offers hands-free smartphone connectivity, au-tomatic climate control and alloy wheels as standard while all-wheel control and a CVT8 transmission are now available as options.

Prices for the 2016 Lancer will start at $17595.

“The 2016 Lancer not only looks good with its updated styling, but it drives and per-forms at a level well beyond its value-oriented price point,”

said MMNA executive vice president, Don Swearingen. “The new 2016 Lancer builds upon the legacy of challeng-ing what a compact car can be in terms of design, technology and performance, all at an af-fordable price.”

Beyond its new design, the 2016 Lancer boasts an updated list of standard features at the ES trim level such as FUSE Hands-free Link System®, automatic air condition cli-mate control, fog lights, alloy wheels and new LED daytime running lights, further enhanc-ing the compact sedan’s value story. The SE trim level fea-tures all-wheel control, heated front seats, rearview camera and display audio with HD radio, while the new SEL trim level adds leather seats, rain sensing wipers with auto on/off headlights, auto-dimming mirror and more. The GT trim level is even more fun-to-drive with sport-tuned suspension, larger disc brakes, 18 inch two-tone alloy wheels, sunroof and rear spoiler, and is available as a 5-speed manual or with the new generation CVT8. Spor-tronic Steering wheel paddle

The 2016 Mitsubishi Lancer in GT trim. ©Mitsubishi

shifters are available for the GT trim.

Other additions for the 2016 Lancer include new seat fabrics, a newly designed cen-ter console with built-in USB port, and two new colors – Di-amond White Pearl and Alloy Silver. Mitsubishi’s All-Wheel Control system is now more readily available at the lower

ES trim level, and a new gen-eration CVT8 transmission improves performance and fuel economy. Known for its commitment to safety, the Mit-subishi Lancer has been named an IIHS “Top Safety Pick” for seven years running in 2015, and continues its record of ex-cellence with a comprehensive list of safety features/technolo-

gies in each Lancer model, such as Mitsubishi Motors advanced Reinforced Impact Safety Evolution (RISE) safety body construction system. Ad-ditional piece of mind is offered by the brand’s industry-leading warranty that includes a fully transferable 5-year/60,000 mile new vehicle limited war-ranty; 10-year/100,000 mile

powertrain limited warranty; 7-year/100,000 mile anti-cor-rosion perforation limited war-ranty and a 5-year/unlimited mile roadside assistance.

For more information on the redesigned 2016 Lancer please visit media.mitsubishi-cars.com and be sure to visit us on Facebook, Twit-ter, Google+ and YouTube.

Mitsubishi launches new-look Lancer

New 2016 Nissan Altima adopts thelatest design

Visit www.usasianpost.com Wednesday - Tuesday, October 7 - 13, 2015 THE US ASIAN POST12

By Abner GalinoSaying we will fight fire

with fire would make for a good acoustic but really im-plementing it against a formi-dable foe as China is simply a fool’s errand.

This, in a nutshell, is the opinion of Kalayaan mayor Eugenio Bito-onon who is in the US to promote the pros-pect of building an Eco-Tour-ism Zone in his municipality of six islets, two cays, two reefs and 288 residents.

The municipal government has its seat at the 32-hectare island of Pag-asa, the largest of all the islands in its jurisdic-tion. It has a municipal hall, a health clinic, an elementary school and a dilapidated air-strip. It is part of the province of Palawan.

Pag-asa, which means hope, may well be the coun-try’s strongest fortress in the West Philippine Sea where islands, reefs and shoals are being disputed by Brunei, Tai-wan, Malaysia, Vietnam and China.

In a presentation organized by the US Pinoys for Good Governance in a restaurant in down-town Los Angeles, Mayor Bito-onon disclosed that Pag-asa has been more besieged today than during the last three years. Pag-asa is just 13 miles away from a man-made island developed by China and it is in the process of developing another island in the area.

The mayor said Chinese warships have been frequently appearing very near the island.

Aside from that, Bito-onon also lamented the destruction of coral reefs in the West Philip-pine Sea as a result of the construction activities of the Chinese military and economic activities of Chinese civilian vessels. The wild life that includes birds, turtles and other marine animals have been adversely affected by the intrusions.

The magnitude of the destruction, Bito-onon claimed, has been so great that its consequences have become irreversible.

“That is why we are here tonight, to appeal to the Filipino-Americans who have the heart and deep sense of patriotism to help us,” Bito-onon said. Inhabiting the islands, the mayor said is the best way to establish sovereignty over islands. “Each home, each citizen, each birth or marriage on Pag-asa island helps my country stake its claim on the land,” Bito-onon told CBS News correspondent Seth Doane dur-ing an interview in July.

Bito-onon said transforming Kalayaan mu-nicipality into an economic-tourism zone could discourage China from encroaching into the

area. The mayor stressed that the plan is fea-sible with enough support from the Philippine government and the private sector, particularly from the Filipino diaspora.

He cited the relative success of the develop-ment instituted by the MalAysian government on Layang Layang island, which is also part of the Spratly’s group of islands.

Layang layang, which is smaller than Pag-asa, has been transformed into a diving resort through the collaboration of the Malaysian gov-ernment and private investors.

According to Wikepedia, Layang Layang has two air-conditioned accommodation blocks, an aircraft landing strip, two hangars, a radar sta-tion, an air control tower, watchtowers and a jetty. It also has a security contingent from the Malaysian armed forces.

“I am not against credible defense,” Bito-onon said, reiterating that we should follow the lead of other countries staking claims on islands and reefs in the region that have strengthened their military defenses on the islands that are in their respective possessions.

The Philippines has filed a case against Chi-na in The Hague, Netherlands, before Arbitral Tribunal in the Permanent Court of Arbitration.

The country is asking the tribunal to de-clare China’s nine-dashed line as void. The nine-dashed line is supposedly China’s histori-cal boundary that comprised about 85% of the South China Sea. Under this claim, 80% of the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone in the West Philippine Sea would have been part of China’s territorial jurisdiction.

Mayor promotes eco-tourism to battle Chinese incursions in besieged West Philippine Sea

Mayor Eugenio Bito-onon of Pag-asa Municipality, Kalayaan Island Group, Palawan speaks before the members of the Fil-Am media and the community at the LA Rose Cafe against China’s bullying and island grabbing in the Spratleys. The forum in Los Angeles Wednesday was sponsored by LA US Pinoys for Good Governance led by Ms. Rocio Nuyda.