City Hall still owes owner of lot used as sanitary landfill P3.8M

Thursday, 23rd May 2013

Bacolod City surges in IT-BPM industry

By: Francis Allan L. Angelo

BACOLOD CITY is now at par with more established investment sites for the Information Technology and Business process management (IT-BPM) industry.

The City of Smiles was elevated Monday to the status of Center of Excellence for IT-BPM operations, joining the ranks of Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, and Metro Clark as a premier IT-BPM host and a high-density location.

The Department of Science and Technology-Information and Communications Technology Office (DOST-ICTO) and Information Technology and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP) gave the citation to Bacolod and Negros Occidental officials in Metro Manila.

The occasion timed with the announcement of Top 10 Next Wave Cities™ (NWC) for 2012. Next wave cities refer to areas in the country seen potential investment/expansion sites for IT-BPM firms.

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DOT not worried with Taiwan snub

By: Tara Yap

AMIDST THE squabble between the Philippines and Taiwan, the Department of Tourism (DOT-6) still has hopes that the famed beach destination of Boracay Island will remain attractive to other nationalities.

“We should act proactively by attracting other markets,” said Atty. Helen Catalbas, DOT-6 regional director.

Taiwanese tourists have been cancelling their scheduled vacations in Boracay Island as a sign of protest after a Taiwanese fisherman was shot dead by Philippine Coast Guard personnel off the coast of Batanes last May 9.

Based on the 2012 arrival data, a total of 75,107 Taiwanese visited Boracay.

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Alleged pusher yields P250K worth of shabu

By: Jennifer Ponsaran-Rendon

A suspected drug pusher from Pasay City was arrested following a buy bust operation Tuesday afternoon in Boracay Island, Malay, Aklan.

Sergio Santiago, 34, of M. Dela Cruz St., Pasay City was arrested in a joint operation of the Aklan Police Provincial Office intelligence operatives and Boracay Tourist Assistance Center (BTAC).

The suspect, who rented a place at Sitio Lutugan, Brgy. Manoc-Manoc, was collared after handing over a shabu worth P1,000 to a police poseur buyer.

When frisked, the suspect yielded additional 19 plastic sachets of suspected shabu with estimated street value of aroundP250,000, drug paraphernalia, two mobile phones recording his illegal drug transactions, and P2,350 cash.

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"We have diligently complied with that condition but the City Government of Bacolod represented by Mayor Evelio R. Leonardia has not complied with the agreement," Lopez said.
He claimed they have sent numerous demand letters to the city but they only got promises.

The Deed of Conditional Sale states that the Hacienda Felisa property remains with private owners until full payment.
"I just wonder how Mayor Bing can use the people's money or the taxpayers money amounting to P32 million on a sanitary landfill project on a property that is not even theirs," Lopez said.

The lot title is still under the name of Dynasty Agricultural Corporation as they have not yet executed as Deed of Absolute Sale with the non-payment of the P3.8 million. They threaten to rescind the contract.

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Tipping point

May 23,2013 12:58 AM

By: Modesto Sa-onoy

THE stand-off between the Philippines and Taiwan on the death of the latter’s fisherman who was shot by the Philippine Coast Guard, is starting to escalate. From verbal demands of the Taiwanese government, the controversy has resulted in direct hostility of the Taiwanese against Filipinos who are working there. Read more...

Pavlovian Response

May 23,2013 12:56 AM

By: Alex P. Vidal

"BETWEEN stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom." Viktor E. Frankl

The name Pavlov may make us want to cry "Dogs!" We would call this a Pavlovian response, but that would be oversimplifying the point made by the phrase's namesake, the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936), stressed Dr. Michael Macrone, author of Eureka! Read more...

SELF –RELIANCE

May 23,2013 12:54 AM

By: Bonnie B. Barrientos

(The author is a Teacher III of Rizal Elementary School in Pontevedra, Capiz)

TRAIN EVERY child to be self-reliant. As much as possible, every child should be trained to self-reliance. By calling into exercise the various faculties, he will learn where he is strongest, and in what way he is deficient.

A wise teacher will give special attention to the development of a well-balanced, harmonious attitude. Read more...

THE HUNGER GAMES

May 23,2013 12:52 AM

By: Henrylito D. Tacio

“THERE is a lot that happens around the world we cannot control,” American Congressman Jan Schakowsky once said. “We cannot stop earthquakes, we cannot prevent droughts, and we cannot prevent all conflict, but when we know where the hungry, the homeless and the sick exist, then we can help.”

This statement came to mind while reading the report that there more Filipinos who are hungry than ever. Read more...

Safe drinking water - an unfinished agenda

May 23,2013 12:50 AM

By: Dr. Noeleen Heyzer

WITHOUT WATER there is no life. Clean drinking water and sanitation are basic human rights – essential to life and to all other rights. Lack of access to clean water and sanitation is a silent crisis that destroys livelihoods and claims more lives through illness than any war claims through guns. Read more...

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