Explore Philippine Fiestas at SM City Baliwag

Mall goers will get a rare opportunity to experience the country’s colorful festivals as SM City Baliwag and Filipino Heritage Festival Inc. exhibits Philippine Fiestas which will run on May 21 to 27.

The display will showcase how the Philippines is known to be the “Land of Fiestas” with photos depicting the vivid culture of celebrating feasts across the country. It will also illustrate how the festive spirit of Filipinos strengthen the country’s rich history and tradition.

On display at SM City Baliwag’s Event Center are 32 vibrant images of festivals such as the Panagbenga in Baguio, Giant Lantern in Pampanga, Sinulog in Cebu, and Ati-Atihan in Aklan, among others.

Aimed to create consciousness, respect and pride for the legacies of Filipino cultural history, and love of country, the month of May was declared as National Heritage Month in accordance to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s Proclamation No. 439 on 11 August 2003.

Academe leads environment summit in Bulacan

MALOLOS CITY—Environmental protection gained another boost as leading universities in the province spearhead the first in a series of summits for the care, protection and nurture of the Environment.

Dubbed as “Ora Mismo”, the summit will be held at the Barasoain Center for Innovate Education (BarCIE) at the La Consolacion University of the Philippines (LaCUP) campus here on May 15 to 17.

Spearhead by the Sentro ng Edukasyon Para sa Ekonomiya at Kalikasan (SEEK) of the Bulacan State University (BulSU) and complemented by the LaCUP’s Saint Augustine International Institute for Justice and Peace (SAIIJ), the summit is expected to draw more than 100 participants from the academe, local government units (LGU) environmental advocacy groups.

This came as regional offices of the Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) issued separate memorandums encouraging educators and LGU officials participation in the three day summit workshop.

Marwin Dela Cruz, the director of SEEK said the summit was aimed at opening a venue for dialogue for members of the academe in order to develop honest to goodness measures and programs for the protection of the environment.

“We also want to organize a strong and united academe that will initiate course of action on issues of environment and sustainability,” he said adding that members of the academe must harness and pool resources together.

He said,” it is about time for the academe to make its stand on the issue of the environment because we have been silent for a long time.

Dela Cruz said that knowledge gain in the series of summits they will hold can later be integrated to school’s curriculum.

“If we can integrate environmental protection and conservation to our courses and curriculum, we can mitigate disasters and easily adapt to the threats of climate change,” he said.

The summit will be keynoted by Dr. Particia Licuanan of CHED followed by others experts like Monsignor Pablo David, the auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese of San Fernando in Pampanga; Director Lormelyn Claudio of the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB).

Also invited as resource persons are Dr. Catalino Rivera of the Lyceum of Northwestern University, Dr. Reynaldo Cruz of LaCUP, Dr. Nilo Francisco of the Centro Escolar University, Rodney Galicha of Al Gore’s The Climate Reality Project, Bro, Martin Francisco of the Sagip Sierra Madre Environmental Society, and Dr. Reynaldo Naguit of BulSU.  (Dino Balabo)Academe

No water crisis in Malolos, water manager said

MALOLOS CITY—There is no water crisis in this city, the general manager of the Malolos City Water District said

However, he admitted that water pressure in their pipelines has been low, and local concessionaires continue to complain.

Both MCWD official and its concessionaire also expressed concerned over water rates in the proposed Bulacan Bulk Water Project which is seen to address increasing depletion of groundwater in the province.

“There is no water crisis in Malolos,” said Nicasio Reyes, the general manager of the MCWD said in vernacular.

In a telephone interview, he insisted that current water supply in the city is enough for it’s over 230,000 population.

However, he said that some concessionaires have to understand that they cannot enjoy the usual water pressure.

“There are areas that have low water pressure, especially those at the tail end of our pipeline,” he said.

But local concessionaires like Eduardo Camua of Barangay Pablo here said that even those living by the main road where the major pipelines are located are suffering for low water supply due to low water pressure.

The same was echoed by concessionaires from Barangays Sumapang Matanda and Bulihan here.

Reyes also admitted that low water pressure was due to increasing ground water depletion aggravated by summer heat and lack of rainfall in the weeks before.

To address the situation, he said that they are now installing pressure pipe in their water pumping stations in selected areas of the city to increase their water pumping capacity.

Meanwhile, Reyes andlocal concessionaires express hope that proposed Bulk Water project in the province will soon be implemented.

But they expressed concerned over possible water rates.

Reyes said that when the Bulaccan Bulk Water Project was introduced to them in 2007, they were informed that water districts in the province are likely to be charged with P16 per cubic meter of water.

“That’s too high because we were only charging P12.50 per cubic meter, and if the project was implemented then, our water rates could have climbed to P30 per cubic meter including production cost,” he said.

Earlier, Gov. Wilhelmino Alvarado said they are still negotiating with a number of proponents for the Bulacan Bulk water project.

He said that their main contention ion wagter rate saying they want water rate in the province to be lower compared to Metro Manila.

This is due to the fact that the province was granted water right from the Angat Dam in the early 90s for hosting that dam since the early 60s.

Nata de coco maker selling shabu in Bulacan

by Ramon Efren R. Lazaro

A nata de coco manufacturer based in Santa Maria town has found bigger profit by selling methamphetamine hydrochloride, or shabu.

PDEA Director General Undersecretary Jose S. Gutierrez, Jr. identified the suspect as Chua Kian Cheng, alias A-Pe Chua, 40 years old, owner of a food manufacturing business in Sta. Maria, Bulacan that is engaged in processing nata de coco.

In a statement, Guitierrez said the suspect claims that he is a native of Xiamen , China and  holds a tourist visa and renews it every three monthsfor the last two and a half years.

. “Coordination is being made with the Bureau of Immigration to verify the claims of the suspect as he could not present his passport,” Gutierrez added.

The suspect was apprehended when operatives of PDEA, supported by elements from the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission (PAOCC), conducted a buy-bust operation.

A poseur-buyer was able to transact business with Chua for the purchase of  100 grams of

shabu worth P400,000.00 on April 30 wherein the suspect agreed to rendezvous with the poseur-buyer along Balasing Street , Barangay Pulong Buhangin in Santa Maria town.

 Upon the pre-arranged signal, joint operatives of PDEA and PAOCC apprehended the suspect who has in his posession 100 grams of shabu.

“Chua has the capacity to deal up to 5 kilos of shabu per transaction. We could have entered into a bigger transaction to nail him deeper, but we were constrained by our limited resources,” Gutierrez said.

Guiterrez added that Chua is a member of the Li-Chua Drug Group and has been under the surveillance of PDEA. From 2009, a total of 15 members of the Li-Chua Drug Group have been arrested, including Chua.

The suspectis presently under the custody of PDEA and shall face charges for selling dangerous drugs in violation of Section 5, Article II, Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.

Gutierrez explained that the Li-Chua Group has operations in Metro Manila and adjacent provinces in Regions 3 and 4A and based on intelligence reports, the said group used to operate two shabu clandestine laboratories dismantled by PDEA in the past two years.

One was the mini-laboratory in Caloocan dismantled in February 2011, and the other one

was in Las Piñas dismantled in August 2010.

Records show that from 2002 to present, a total of 247 Chinese were arrested by PDEA and other law enforcement units for violating RA 9165. This comprises 53 percent of all the foreign nationals arrested for involvement in illegal drug activities in the country.

This year alone, 11 Chinese have already been apprehended: five were involved in operating the Ayala Alabang clandestine laboratory, the otherswere involved in bulk-selling and possession of shabu.

Bulacan holds jobs fair today

CITY OF MALOLOS— Fresh graduates and job hopefuls will have better employment opportunities through the conduct of Job Fair by the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in partnership with the Provincial Government of Bulacan headed by Gov. Wilhelmino M. Sy-Alvarado.

Alvarado said this will be held at SM Event’s Center in Baliwag and Marilao   in line with this year’s nationwide Labor Day Celebration today, May 1.

According to Provincial Youth, Sports, Employment, Arts, Culture, and Tourism Office, participating companies from various industries include cyber services, banking and finance, and service crew jobs from four to five companies for overseas employment and at least 20 for local.

Applicants are advised to bring credentials or all the necessary documents for job applications such as resume with pictures, certificate of trainings, etc.

“For the jobseekers, don’t miss this event wherein you could be matched with productive opportunities as well as possibility to be hired on the spot,” the governor advised. 

Earlier, in a news report, DOLE Regional Director Raymundo G. Agravante disclosed that more than 10,000 job vacancies are up for grabs for jobseekers in Central Luzon and a display of livelihood products of the DOLE’s various beneficiaries will likewise be showcased in the DOLE Regional Office 3’s simultaneous Job and Livelihood Fairs that will be held at familiar venues all over the region.

Vehicular accident exposes suspected illegally cut lumbers in Bulacan

By Ramon Efren R. Lazaro

CAMP ALEJO SANTOS, Bulacan --Speculations of unhampered illegal logging operations in Bulacan were raised after illegally cut lumbers were confiscated in Santa Maria town.

            Report reaching Senior Supt. Fernando Mendez Jr., provincial police director of Bulacan, said a Mitsubishi Fuso Aluminum closed van with license plate number UTU-491 loaded with 51 pieces of illegally sawn lumbers with an approximate volume of 1,204 board feet was accidentally discovered when it met an accident in Santa Maria town.

Investigation conducted by the personnel of Sta. Maria police station showed that the van accidentally bumped a concrete fence located along Macaiban Street in Barangay Tumana Friday early morning.

Supt. Lailene Amparo, Santa Maria police chief, identified the driver of the van as Robert Uy 66 years old and a resident of 610 Raja Bago Street , Tondo, Manila , and has no pertinent document for his lumber cargo.

Amparo immediately coordinated with Alex Esber and Roderick Vertudes from the Bulacan environmental and natural resources office for assistance in the investigation concerning the suspected illegal lumbers.

Environmentalists believed that the illegally sawn lumbers were poached from either the Ipo or Angat watershed areas.

The suspect is currently detained in Santa Maria police station and the van and its cargo is temporarily under the custody of the local police.

150,000 Bulakeños to receive free PhilHealth

MALOLOS CITY- Guaranteed health benefits await thousands of Bulakeños after Gov. Wilhelmino M. Sy-Alvarado announced that 150,000 sponsored PhilHealth Cards will be given to beneficiaries wherein 40,000 of them will be sponsored by the Provincial Government of Bulacan (PGB), another 40,000 will come from the local government units and 70,000 will be sponsored by the national government.

This was confirmed after the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement between the PGB headed by Gov. Alvarado and PhilHealth headed by President and CEO Dr. Eduardo Banzon in providing quality and attainable health services for Bulekeños.

“Isang katotohanan na ang kalusugan ay kayamanan kaya naman sa mga hindi inaasahang pagkakataon ng pagkakasakit, upang lapatan ng pangmatagalang tulong pangkalusugan, ito po ang inaalok natin sa ating mga kalalawigan lalo na sa mga walang kakayahan. We should make the health care system more affordable and more accessible,” said Alvarado.

According to PhilHealth Regional Vice President Rodolfo Balog, 2,133,990 or 75 percent

of the total population of Bulacan are registered PhilHealth members who currently enjoy its benefits. These include members from different categories such as employed, OFW, sponsored, individually paying and lifetime.

Some of the benefits that a member can avail from PhilHealth are discounted room rates, medicine, and surgery.

Dr. Banzon on the other hand encouraged those who are enrolled in the sponsored category but are now capable of paying their own contributions to give their slot of sponsorship to others.

“Importante sa ating bayan ang universal health care, ‘yung access sa quality care. Pero hindi natin kayang i-enroll ang lahat ng Pilipino mula sa nasyunal kaya naman mahalaga ang gampanin ng mga lokal na pamahalaan, para sa mga mahihirap nating kababayan at para naman sa mga kaya, tulungan n’yo po kaming hikayatin sila na maging miyembro din ng PhilHealth, ito naman po ay para sa atin,” explained Banzon.

PhilHealth also donated 2.7 million capitation fund for the improvement of rural health units and purchasing of medicines.

Also present in the said event were PhilHealth Branch Manager Dr. Roberto Reyes, Leo Liwanag of PhilHealth Malolos, Zenette dela Vergas of PhilHealth Sta. Maria, mayors and vice mayors, municipal health officers, department heads of the PGB, and volunteer workers in the province.