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==Garduce conquers "Seven Summits"==
==Balanga being transformed into high tech-city==
*Source: http://www.philstar.com/SportsArticle.aspx?articleId=765427&publicationSubCategoryId=200
*Source: http://pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?menu=2&webregion=R03&article=1951336534568
*By: Joey Villar
*By: PIA
*''January 06, 2012''
*''Thursday, May 10, 2012''


Romi Garduce just became the first Filipino to climb the "Seven Summits," or the world's highest mountains spread through all seven continents.
CITY OF BALANGA, Bataan- This relatively undeveloped city is being transformed into the vision of being a world-class university town by 2020. In this light, the city government of Balanga has lined up various technological projects in remodeling the Bataan capital into a “high tech-city.”


A source from GMA 7, Garduce's main backer, yesterday confirmed the 41-year-old Balanga, Bataan University of the Philippines mountain climber reached the peak of the 16,067-foot Vinson Massif located in the cold, ice barren of Antartica.
Balanga City Mayor Jose Enrique Garcia III announced the construction of a city library and a city information technology lab parallel to improving the education sector with the university town project.


"He (Garduce) just reached the summit now," the same source told The STAR at mid-afternoon yesterday.
The said project allots 18.51 hectares or 23 percent of the central district’s 80.42 hectares for the establishment of schools, churches, city hall, and other public buildings.


Accompained by fellow UP mountaineer Levi Nayahangan, Garduce's conquest of Vinson Massif, the sixth highest but not necessarily one of the easiest among the seven and definitely the coldest since the temperature there could dip to as low as -40 at any given time, thus completed his ascent of the Seven Summits.
Garcia said that studies were made designing Balanga after internationally renowned technological institutions like the Silicon Valley in California that has gained prominence worldwide with its investments on computer innovations.


Garduce had conquered Mt. Kilimanjaro (South Africa in 2002), Mt. Aconcagua (South America in 2005), Mt. Everest (Asia in 2006), Mt. Elbrus (Europe on 2007), Denali Peak (North America in 2008), Mt. Kosciousko (Australia in 2008) and the Carstenz Pyramid (Oceana last July).
“Silicon Valley (adopted) the fine mixture of ingenuity, innovation, and resourcefulness, (thus) people there were able to transform this once barren, secluded area into a high-tech investment and economic hub,” he said.


And now Vinson Massif.
In Balanga, free wireless frequency internet connections are available in barangay halls, public elementary schools, and business establishments.


An information technology expert on the side, Garduce's main backers are GMA-7 and Primer, his official outfitter, and R.O.X. in Bonifacio High Street.  
The city government is also establishing information technology corners and e-Centers in Balanga’s 25 barangays under the Barangay Online program, which will serve as venue for technical assistance and online library.


==Balanga gains==
According to Roneth Santos of the city government, about 42 units of closed-circuit television cameras were installed around the city monitored by the Philippine National Police and the Public Safety Office for public security.
*Source: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/346996/balanga-gains
*By: Mar T. Supnad
*''January 04, 2012''


BALANGA CITY, Bataan, Philippines - This new economic emerging component city in Central Luzon hit a record-breaking investment of P5.95 billion in 2011.
Santos said that a subsidized computer loan program for city public school teachers was also launched which gave a P5,000 subsidy to teachers who want to own a laptop computer and the remaining balance was loaned to them with zero interest.


In his State of the City Address (SOCA) before New Year, Mayor Joet S. Garcia reported the successful implementation of the national government’s program of Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) where the city government was able to attract private investors such as the New San Jose Builders owned by Jerry Acuzar, a native of San Jose, Balanga City.
Garcia also pioneered the use of a 3 x 4-meter giant LED TV monitor in center of the Plaza Mayor De Balanga used in celebrations.


Through the initiative of Mayor Garcia, Acuzar entered into a business agreement with the City of Balanga to put up the Galeria Victoria, the biggest commercial establishment in the city that was opened only last Dec. 15.
“We therefore urge each and every Balangueño to continue believing and commit themselves as our partners in pursuit of vision to make Balanga one of the finest cities in the world,” added Garcia.


==Barangays help LGU in Balanga==
==Free CCP workshop to dig ‘gold minds’==
*Source: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/346886/barangays-help-lgu-balanga
*Source: http://pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?menu=2&webregion=R03&article=1951336464310
*By: Mar T. Supnad
*By: Jose Mari Garcia
*''January 03, 2012''
*''Wednesday, May 09, 2012''


BALANGA CITY, Bataan, Philippines — As the “Barangay Week” program in this city reaches its 5th year, Mayor Joet S. Garcia and the City Council are looking for ways to boost the participation of village leaders as partners of the city government in delivering better service to the public.
CITY OF BALANGA, Bataan- About 200 kids from various public and private schools in this city gathered for a four-day arts workshop facilitated by trainers from the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) to discover “gold minds” among gifted students.


A flagship project of Garcia, Barangay Week showcases the efforts of village leaders in implementing the vision, mission and goals of the city government.
The fourth string of the free, annual workshop dubbed “Batang Sining” was held in Balanga Elementary School from April 30 to May 3 and hailed esteemed art aficionados like Palanca hall of famer Dr. Luis Gatmaitan; Herminio Beltran, chief of the inter-textual division of CCP; Rey Escasenas, storyteller from Alitaptap group; and Jasmine Tresvalles, CCP culture and arts officer.


Garcia lauded barangay captains here for their full support in launching the program which the mayor initiated to bring the government closer to the people through the barangay.
Balanga City mayor Jose Enrique Garcia III said that the use of arts as a catalyst for social change and a force for values transformation among students will mobilize cultural awakening and discover gold minds in line with the city’s vision of a world-class university town status by 2020.


It is a comprehensive scheme to create productive ideas on how to implement their visions, missions, and goals to certainly attain it on time, Garcia stressed.
“The Batang Sining Creative Expression Workshop for elementary students is part of the city government’s quest to help bring the arts to the masses, particularly to students, and to bring out their imagination, innovative spirit and artistic abilities,” said Garcia.


==Limay gets 1st DILG award==
The participants from grades three to five took part in the activities for day one of the workshop that included group plays like the boat is sinking, connect the body parts and group cheer; creative introductions; storytelling; and writing about what is their idea of a perfect world.
*Source: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/346797/nfa-ships-rice-batanes
*By: Mar T. Supnad
*''January 02, 2012''


LIMAY, Bataan — For the first time, this industrial town won the Seal of Good Housekeeping award for being an outstanding local government unit in terms of transparency and good governance. Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jesse M. Robredo congratulated neophyte Mayor Ver Roque for bagging the national award, given to local government units (LGUs) with outstanding performance in terms of good governance in house-keeping, transparency and high level of competence in leadership. It is recognition for an LGU’s performance measuring up to President Aquino’s reform agenda that primarily tasked to address poverty, economic development, among others.
Day two presented sharing of folk stories, art of mime, storytelling hour, appreciating poetry, drawing images in poems and choral reading. Puppet-making and puppetry were staged on day three of the workshop, while dramatization, group presentations and graduation were held on day four.


==AFAB raises aid for Mindanao==
“In our time today, the children have their different arts. Their music, for the old-school people, is deafening. This program aims to produce caliber artists like Lea Salonga and Jessica Sanchez,” said City Schools Division of Balanga Supt. Dr. Ronaldo Pozon.
*Source: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/346630/afab-raises-aid-mindanao
*By: Mar T. Supnad
*''December 31, 2011''


MARIVELES, Bataan, Philippines — Cognizant of the hardships of the people of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan Cities in the aftermath of storm “Sendong,” the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB) launched a donation drive to help relief efforts of the Philippine Red Cross. “Our sympathies go out to the victims of typhoon Sendong and their families. It is everyone’s duty to heed the calls for help from our affected countrymen. The AFAB initiated this donation drive in the Freeport Area of Bataan to fulfill that duty, to help those who survived and provide their immediate needs”, said AFAB Chairman Deogracias G. P. Custodio. Helping the AFAB’s drive were locators, employees and other stakeholders.
He added that the Batang Sining workshop was in line with the new Child Protection Program of the Department of Education that eyes to steer the students away from abuses like vices at home and in school.  


==Some kind of Christmas gift==
==Ordering back the tides==
*Source: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/346410/water-filter-device-cdo
*Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/189605/ordering-back-the-tides
*By: Mar T. Supnad
*By: Juan Mercado
*''December 29, 2011''
*''Tuesday, May 08, 2012''


HERMOSA, Bataan — Policemen hunting for illegal firecrackers being transported on Wednesday night stumbled over a Christmas present which later turned out to be a kilo of dried marijuana leaves in Barangay Tipo, here.
Trees fail to flower,” Aetas huddled at the Bataan mountaintop meeting told Fr. Shay Cullen. “Bees are disappearing. Storms  blow away our nipa huts as never before.”


Senior Superintendent Arnold D. Gunnacao, Bataan Police Provincial Office (PPO) director, said it was found in the possession of one Mikael dela Cruz, 24, of Fabie Street, Sta. Mesa, Manila. She was caught by the team of Sr. Inspector Ronnie Fabia in possession of the marijuana leaves wrapped as a Christmas gift.
With Preda Foundation coworkers, the priest toiled up the two-hour steep trail on horseback. Preda buys Aeta wild mangoes at double what lowland hawkers offer and markets them abroad.


She will be charged with violating the Dangerous Drugs Law.
Half a world away, Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research scientists documented what Aetas learned from seat-of-their-pants.


==SMC sells Bataan power plant==
University of Bern experiments span two decades, four continents and 1,634 plant species. “Spring flowering and leafing advances 5 to 6 days per year for every degree Celsius of warming,” they report in the journal Nature.
*Source: http://business.inquirer.net/37403/smc-sells-bataan-power-plant
*By: Amy R. Remo
*''December 28, 2011''


SMC Global Power Holdings Corp., the power generation unit of conglomerate San Miguel Corp., has sold its 620-megawatt combined cycle power plant in Limay, Bataan, to the privately owned Millenium Holdings Inc.
Bern tests “underestimated how much plants change,” reports British Broadcasting Corp. science reporter Matt McGrath. He adds that research leader Elizabeth Wolkovich and This Rutishauser fret over additional water needed by a plant community that  sprouts a week  earlier.


A company document showed that SMC Global had approved the sale of its 100-percent stake in Panasia Energy Holdings Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of San Miguel, to Millenium Holdings, after which a share purchase agreement was later signed between the parties.
Contrary to myth, Filipinos have modest freshwater endowment: 6,332 cubic meters yearly. In contrast, Malaysians tap into 26,105 cm. Saudi Arabians have only  118 cm. They bartered more oil for water last year when Riyadh ’s last aquifers ran dry.


An industry source told reporters that Millenium Holdings has yet to take over the operations of the Limay diesel facility as both parties had yet to complete the necessary requirements concerning the sale. PanAsia Energy will still continue to operate the power plant pending the completion of the paperwork.
Here, “we  have a water aristocracy set on its head.” A squatter’s shack in Cebu City pays 13 times for water than a gated Maria Luisa enclave home, notes the United Nations World Water Development Report.


At present, the output of the Limay powert plant is traded at the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market under PanAsia.
In the Philippines, 54 out of every 100 lived in cities by 2007. By 2020, the number of urban Filipinos will be double rural counterparts. Many cities are saddled with below-par water facilities even as births and migration interlock.


In an earlier report to the Philippine Stock Exchange, San Miguel  said that the “completion of the sale is subject to certain conditions, including obtaining the relevant corporate and government approvals, such as the Board of Investments.”
A “youth bulge” characterizes this migrant torrent, San Carlos University’s Soccoro Gultiano and Peter Xenos of East-West Center point out. Hormones of these young migrants are on overdrive. They will tarry in the reproductive age bracket longer.


San Miguel president Ramon S. Ang already confirmed in September the plan to divest itself of the Limay facility after only two years of operating the facility, primarily because the cost of diesel fuel for the power plant was too high.
A sharper slowdown in birthrates won’t materialize anytime soon, not even if the Reproductive Health bill gets into law books. But demand for just about everything else will spiral. And there is no substitute for water.


The company acquired the Bataan plant in 2009, after it offered $13.5 million via a negotiated sale.
Politically charged issues, like a chief justice’s blacked out dollar accounts, smudge concerns including shifting rain bands. A bachelor President’s date will send commentators into  a tizzy. But glossing over emerging threats can be lethal.


Sources noted that another reason for the divestment was that San Miguel, currently the biggest power generation company in the Philippines, is preparing for its other proposed power plant projects over the next several years.
“We’re seeing changes happening… in ways  we didn’t expect to see for hundreds of years,” 27 scientists led by Oxford University’s  Alex Rodgers caution in their recent  “State of the Oceans” report to UN.


With 3,148.48 megawatts in its power portfolio as of September 2011, San Miguel is barely 4 percent away from breaching the 25-percent national grid market cap. As such, San Miguel would need to divest either some of its assets or part of ownership in the facilities, if it wanted to pursue plans of building a 3,000-MW greenfield power portfolio over the next six years.
As polluted seas warm, we enter  “a phase of extinction of marine species unprecedented in human history,” they wrote. Over-fishing, pollution and climate change interlock “in ways not previously recognized.”


In February this year, Ang said that San Miguel was prepared to invest around $1 billion to expand and convert  the Limay power plant  into a liquefied natural gas-fired facility. Studies however indicated that it was best for the company to dispose of the  plant and  build a new facility.
“Accelerated” changes include melting of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. Sea levels are rising and methane trapped in the sea bed, is seeping out.


Last year, at the height of the prolonged drought, the Limay power plant provided relief to Luzon customers as it had then operated as a must-run unit (MRU). An MRU is a power generation facility that is deemed necessary under certain operating conditions as this helps secure the country’s supply. The company, in turn, would receive additional compensation for being designated as an MRU.
Here “expect  sea waters to rise by at least 20 cm in the next 40 years,” writes Dr. Wendy Clavano in  a current  series for Environmental Science for Social Change, a Jesuit research organization.


Commissioned in 1993, the Limay power plant comprises two 310-MW modules, Blocks A and B, which consist of three 70-MW gas turbines and a 100-MW steam turbine, respectively. Located in Limay, Bataan in Central Luzon, or approximately 145 kilometers west of Manila, the plant is designed to meet the base-load demand of the Luzon grid.
The severest threat stretches “along the Paci?c seaboard: from Samar all the way down to eastern Mindanao.” Include the Zamboangas and island provinces of Romblon and Marinduque in the Sibuyan, says Clavano, a PhD  from Cornell University .


==Red tide alert remains up in Bataan - BFAR==
She suggests the creation of a “vulnerability index.” This could undergird mitigation programs for what initial data pinpoint as “high risk areas. That sweeps in the Lingayen Gulf (La Union and Pangasinan), Lamon Bay (Quezon and Camarines Norte), Camotes Sea (western Leyte, northern Bohol, and northeastern Cebu).
*Source: http://pia.gov.ph/?m=7&r=r03&id=69752
*By: Carlo Lorenzo J. Datu
*''December 27, 2011''


BALANGA CITY, Bataan- The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) is still appealing to the public to refrain from gathering and eating shellfish from seven towns and one city along the coastal waters of Bataan as red tide toxin which causes paralytic shellfish poisoning remains present in the area.
Add to that list Guimaras Strait (along northwestern Negros Occidental and Guimaras), central Sulu Sea (Cuyo Archipelago), Iligan Bay (in particular Misamis Occidental), Zamboanga del Norte and Bislig Bay (Surigao del Sur).


Affected by the ban are the municipalities of Mariveles, Limay, Orion, Pilar, Abucay, Samal, and Orani and the city of Balanga.
`Only 4 percent of coral reefs here in remain in pristine condition. Other countries with equally threatened reefs are Haiti, Grenada, Comoros, Vanuatu, Tanzania, Kiribati, Fiji and Indonesia.


BFAR Central Luzon information officer Lanie Lamyong said, “ based on the latest shellfish bulletin issued last December 19, the current red tide toxin level in shellfish samples collected from the coastal waters of Bataan is still significantly higher to the 60g STXg/100g tolerable limit.”
Edges of the “Tropical Belt —outer boundaries of the subtropical dry zones—have drifted towards the poles, notes Nature Geoscience. Temperature and rainfall changes alter yields, including politically-volatile crops like corn and rice.


Lamyong reiterated that fishes harvested from the Bataan coastal waters are safe to eat as long as they are fresh and washed thoroughly and their internal organs such as gills and intestines are removed before cooking.
“In the Philippines, rice yields drop by 10 percent for every one degree centigrade increase in night-time temperature,” BBC’s environment correspondent Richard Black writes. As droughts dry reservoirs, yields have fallen by 10 percent to 20 percent over the last 25 years. More declines are ahead.


==Maker of computer and camera bags to locate to Bataan Freeport==
Three billion people live in the tropics and subtropics. They’ll nearly double by the end of the century. The National Statistical Board asserts there are 93 million plus of us today. No sir, it’s 99.9 million, counter some United States and international bodies.
*Source: http://businessmirror.com.ph/home/regions/21155-maker-of-computer-and-camera-bags-to-locate-to-bataan-freeport
*By: Joey Pavia
*''December 26, 2011''


MARIVELES, Bataan­—An investor involved in making bags for computers and cameras has invested P86 million at the Freeport Area of Bataan (FAB) here.
The “most extreme summers of the last century could become routine towards the end of this century,” predicts the University of Seattle. What would be summer 2100 in the Philippines be like?


The Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (Afab) recently announced that DeskTop Bags Philippines Inc.—a partner of the Luenthai International Group Ltd. (Luen Thai)—signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA), registration agreement and contract of lease with Afab to manufacture computer bags, trolleys, CD bags, camera bags and other accessories.
Filipino policy makers must move beyond politics-as-usual. Overdrawing on aquifers in Metro Cebu and Manila is causing severe  land subsidence. Clavano urges that priority be given to adaptation and mitigation approaches for sea rising levels. Like King Canute, politicians cannot order back the tides.


Afab Chairman and Administrator Deogracias G.P. Custodio said that DeskTop will generate around 600 job opportunities.
“Nor can we move crops north or south since many are photosensitive,” notes Dr. Geoff Hawtin at International Centre for Tropical Agriculture. “Tipping points could come quickly.”


“At full capacity, DeskTop will employ around 2,000 workers,” he added.
==Red tide notice remains in effect in Bataan==
*Source: http://www.pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?menu=2&webregion=R03&article=561336288823
*By: PIA
*''Monday, May 07, 2012''
Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) reiterates its caution to the public to avoid gathering and eating shellfish from the Bataan coastal waters as red tide toxin that causes paralytic shellfish poisoning remains present in these areas.
 
Affected by the ban are the municipalities of Mariveles, Limay, Orion, Pilar, Abucay, Samal and Orani and the city of Balanga.
 
BFAR Central Luzon information officer Lanie Lamyong said “based on the latest shellfish bulletin issued last May 3, the current red tide toxin level in shellfish samples collected from the coastal waters of Bataan and Masinloc Bay are still significantly higher to the 60g STXg/100g tolerable limit.”
 
Lamyong reiterated that fishes, squids, shrimps and crabs harvested from these areas are safe to eat as long as they are fresh and washed thoroughly and their internal organs such as gills and intestines are removed before cooking.
 
==Palace wishes Jessica Sanchez good luck in final AI stages==
*Source: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/257316/news/nation/palace-wishes-jessica-sanchez-good-luck-in-final-ai-stages
*By: LBG, GMA News
*''Sunday, May 06, 2012''
As it congratulated her for advancing the top four of “American Idol,” Malacañang on Sunday wished Filipino-Mexican singer Jessica Sanchez good luck in the next stages of the competition.
 
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said Filipinos will continue to support Sanchez in her quest to top the reality television search for the next singing superstar.
 
“Congratulations, and we continue to wish her good luck for the final stages of the competition,” Valte said in a text message read on government-run dzRB radio.
 
Last week, Sanchez survived another elimination round on American Idol, while 18-year-old country singer Skylar Laine was booted out.
 
In the Philippines, Filipinos continued to show support, especially those from her mom's hometown in Bataan province.


DeskTop is the first business set to locate in the FAB under the existing partnership between the Afab and Luen Thai. Under the MOA with Luen Thai signed in August 2011, Luen Thai also plans to locate some of its production and manufacturing businesses, including a textile mill operation, at the FAB.
Sanchez's Filipina mother Editha is a daughter of Eddie Bugay, a retired US Navy man who hails from Samal but is based in Orani town in Bataan.


Custodio said there are clamors for Luen Thai to branch into other business ventures at the FAB, such as the establishment of a hotel and restaurant facility but it has maintained its focus on expanding its core businesses related to the production of high-quality items.
==Balanga City uses passbook to save enviroment==
*Source: http://www.pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?menu=2&webregion=R03&article=1951336115976
*By: Jose Mari Garcia
*''Saturday, May 05, 2012''


Second District Rep. Abet Garcia said he had worked for the creation of the law creating Afab in 2009 to push for progress not just in the FAB but in the entire province.
CITY OF BALANGA, Bataan- In this city, passbooks are not only used to save money, but also to help save the environment.


==Balanga upbeat on trade boost==
Under the Junk Shop ng Bayan Project of the city government, public schools in Balanga use customized passbooks to keep track of plastic garbage they each one has collected.
*Source: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/345850/perpetual-help-shrine-bi
*By: MAR T. SUPNAD
*''December 23, 2011''


BALANGA CITY, Bataan — With the recent successful entry of a big-time businessman who put up the Galeria Victoria Mall, the biggest business establishment yet in this city through a public-private partnership (PPP), Mayor Joet S. Garcia expressed optimism that more big-time investors will come in.
The accumulated trash of schools will be picked by a truck and the points saved in their passbook may be used to claim rice rewards, said Annie Tuazon, consultant on solid waste management of the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO).


Garcia told a crowd of more than 1,000 employees of the Capitol that the government-initiated PPP will attract more traders to invest in this city, especially now that it is very accessible to Clark, Subic and Metro Manila through the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway.
“If you have collected three kilos of dry and clean plastic, you will be rewarded with a kilo of rice. You could then accumulate the points to get more rice,” Tuazon said.


==Covered courts==
According to CENRO, Balanga City, the capital and economic center of Bataan, is producing 20 to 25 tons of varied garbage everyday, which is equivalent to 9,100 tons yearly.
*Source: http://mb.com.ph/articles/343865/2-youngsters-run-capitol
*By: MAR T. SUPNAD
*''December 06, 2011''


ABUCAY, Bataan — Board Member Dexter Dominguez, popularly known as “Teri Onor” in the showbiz industry, continues to veer the youth away from drugs and other delinquent activities through initiatives to build more covered courts and school buildings in the province.
With the city’s population of about 90,000 which is projected to balloon in years, proper and sustainable solid waste management is critical as to not fill up the dumpsite in Brgy. Munting Batangas, said CENRO head Nelia Castor.


Among the covered courts that have been constructed through his efforts are the ones in Barangays Gabon and Capitangan in Abucay, and the soon-to-rise covered court at the Abucay North Elementary School in Barangay Mabatang.
Therefore, CENRO has been piloting environmental projects including the Junk Shop ng Bayan, Gamit Pang-eskwela Mula sa Basura, Operation Linis Ilog and Linis Barangay, and the production of doy bags from tetra packs.


==Doomed Pinoy lives in Bataan==
Castor said the garbage truck circulates the city every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The schools also may call their office whenever they have amassed plastics.
*Source: http://www.tempo.com.ph/2011/doomed-pinoy-lives-in-bataan/#.TtygUFZ8-Fo
*By: MAR T. SUPNAD
*''December 05, 2011''


ORION, Bataan – The Filipino sentenced to die in China on December 8 for drug trafficking is a native of this coastal and agricultural town.
Meanwhile, small plastics like those from snack food will be brought to the Material Recovery Facility in Brgy. Munting Batangas where they will be macerated.


And his bedridden mother still does not know his fate, the mayor here said.
Tuazon said that since small plastics are strenuous to be sewn as doy bags, they will be put through a pulverizer funded by the Department of Science and Technology to be grinded and mixed into the production of paper tiles.  


“When the news broke out sometime in 2008, his mother suffered from a heart attack and has been bedridden since. She might die if we inform her that her son will be executed. So we are asking that the privacy of his family would be respected,” said Mayor Jose “Pepe” Santos.
==Balanga City bats for zero illiteracy rate==
*Source: http://pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?menu=2&webregion=R03&article=1951335927897
*By: Jose Mari Garcia
*''Friday, May 04, 2012''


Despite his constituent’s misery, Santos said he has to face the consequences of his action.
CITY OF BALANGA, Bataan- The education sector here is eyeing the gradual reduction of illiteracy rate among children and youth by allotting more land space and projects in Balanga for students.


“The people of Orion are religious individuals and I do not want our town to be known as hometown of drug mules. We are silent and Godfearing. We do not want our town to be known worldwide due to drug trafficking,” he said.
Under the University Town project, Balanga City Mayor Jose Enrique Garcia III has allocated 18.51 hectares (ha) or 23 percent of the central district’s 80.42 ha for the establishment of schools, churches, city hall, and other public buildings.


The identity of the Filipino remains unknown to many because of the refusal of the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
“The planning started in 2007 and based on a study we did, there are three components of a university town: provide access to quality education, complete facilities for the students, and provide conducive learning environment,” Garcia said.


But his identity has been the talk of the town and among employees of the municipal government who were once his colleagues.
In a statement made by the city government, education projects that include programs starting from day care centers to tertiary schooling are prioritized in light of achieving the vision of a “world-class university town by 2020.”


One of his cousins said that his family is silent and lonely. “Siyempre, malungkot kami lahat na kamag-anak niya, pero hindi pa alam ng nanay ni kuya,” she said.
“Among Mayor Joet Garcia’s plans for the city is to lower the number of non-readers to the point of eliminating them totally,” said the city government.


“Nakakahiya nga e, pero nandiyan na, di natin alam ang tunay na nangyari,” she added.
“The city government prioritizes education in the project, thus, several programs relative to literacy were implemented. More studies and trainings were held to ensure that proper education will produce well-rounded citizens," it added.


Meanwhile, Malacañang vowed yesterday to exhaust other diplomatic means to save the life of the Filipino after Beijing refused a planned mercy mission by Vice President Jejomar C. Binay.
Among the projects are Responsible Parents Training through Education for the Upbringing of Children (Educhild), Reactivation of the Council for the Protection of Children, Iskolar Balangueño Scholarship Program, TEACHNOLOGY Computerization Program, Provision of Assistance to Public Schools, and Centers for Excellence.


Deputy presidential spokeswoman Abigail Valte said the government respects the decision of China to reject the visit of Binay but will still look for other ways to seek mercy for the Filipino.
These undertakings of the Garcia administration had led to the award from the National Literacy Coordinating Council as 2nd Most Outstanding Local Government Unit last September 2011.


“While we were informed that the Chinese side is unable to arrange the visit of Vice President Binay, we respect that decision,” Valte said over government radio.
Balanga has one state university, 10 colleges, seven secondary schools, 30 elementary schools, 27 day care centers, and 10 pre-schools.  


“We are still exhausting some other means to have access for the Vice President to make his appeal in our behalf in the death sentence of the Filipino national,” she added.
==Freeport Area of Bataan’s new brand gets nod of investors==
*Source: http://pia.gov.ph/news/index.php?menu=2&webregion=R03&article=1951335770588
*By: PIA
*''Tuesday, May 01, 2012''


==‘Jeepers’ to reenact Battle of Bataan==
CITY OF BALANGA, Bataan- The Freeport Area of Bataan (FAB), the province’s top dollar economic hub, launched recently its new official brand which gained the approval of international investors.
*Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/pampanga/local-news/2011/12/02/jeepers-reenact-battle-bataan-193708
*By: Reynaldo G. Navales
*''December 02, 2011''


Vintage military jeep owners are set to reenact Saturday the Battle of Bataan at the historic Fort Stotsenberg parade grounds here.
FAB administrator Deogracias Custodio said the new symbol of the multimillion economic zone in booming Mariveles town signifies different values essential to establishing businesses.


The reenactment is the highlight of events during the first ever “Season’s Jeeping” sponsored by the MD Juan Enterprises, the Military Vehicle Collectors Club of the Philippines (MVCCP) and Mabalacat Tourism Office.
“The new FAB brand is almost full circle to connote unity, expansion and growth,” said Custodio.


The whole-day event is expected to bring together some 150 jeep lovers from all over the country with some 50 of their vintage military vehicles that they have painstakingly restored through the years.
He explained the color red in the logo denotes passion and determination needed to cultivate a business while the blue stands for stability of growth.


MVCCP is composed of jeep and military vehicle collectors, restorers, enthusiasts, retired military men, assemblers, traders and just plain hobbyists. It has chapters in Ilocos, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Batangas and Metro Manila.
Executives of foreign companies expressed satisfaction over the new brand which, according to Custodio, represents the Filipinos as globally competitive with world-class service.


A grand motorcade will start the event at 8 a.m., starting from the Bayanihan Park going to Clark Freeport with the vintage military vehicles driven and manned by MVCCP members in full, authentic military uniforms.
“It is sort of fresh and the design looks good to us,” said Dong-In Group general manager Park Ki Jung.


The vehicles will then be exhibited at the venue for the public to enjoy, said Lieutenant Guy Hilbero, executive officer of the 26th US Cavalry Philippine Scouts Memorial Regiment, Fort Stotsenburg.
The corporate chiefs also pointed out that building business in the country has its share of advantages compared to other Asian countries.
Awards will be given to individuals and groups with the most authentic military uniforms and the best jeep or military vehicle entered in the exhibit competition.


There will also be a traditional swap meet where MVCCP members from different chapters can swap military vehicle and jeep parts and accessories.
According to John Cartwright, general manager of C&L Philippines Footwear Manufacturing Corporation, FAB is very promising and full of potentials as it is very accessible from Manila and other neighboring cities via the new Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway.
The role players in the reenactment will use authentic military uniforms, firearms, military hardware and vehicles. This will be jointly staged by the Buhay na Kasaysayan and the Philippine Scouts Heritage Society Living History Company, Fort Stotsenburg & Fort Mc-Kinley Chapters.
A brief action at the Battle of the Pockets will be re-enacted, showing Japanese infiltration into the Allied lines and a “Banzai” charge into the USAFFE positions.


Actual World War 2 jeeps will be used to ferry the wounded soldiers off the battlefield and to carry fresh Allied troops into the assault positions, Hilbero added.
“One thing more, the wages are up in China,” said Cartwright.
Simulated explosions and pyrotechnics will add to the atmosphere of the re-enactment. A voiceover will describe both the Battle of Bataan and its historical significance, as well as the action unfolding on the field before the audience.
The Allied forces composed of both the Philippine Scouts and the Philippine Army will be dressed in period-authentic World War 2 khaki uniforms with actual M 1928 and M 1936 field gear, as well as vintage M 1917 and replica “guinit” helmets.


Replica weapons such as M1 Garands and Springfield rifles will also be used. On the other hand, the Japanese forces will be similarly outfitted with authentic reproduction uniforms, field equipment and gear.
Park added that the availability of qualified manpower and English-speaking workers are plus points for FAB.
With this reenactment, Hilbero said the public can appreciate and understand the sacrifices made by the defenders of Bataan and their role in bringing about the eventual victory of the Allied forces in the Pacific.

Latest revision as of 15:43, 10 May 2012

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Province of Bataan - Archived News

Wars of ancient history were about possessions, territory, power, control, family, betrayal, lover's quarrel, politics and sometimes religion.

But we are in the Modern era and supposedly more educated and enlightened .

Think about this. Don't just brush off these questions.

  • Why is RELIGION still involved in WARS? Isn't religion supposed to be about PEACE?
  • Ask yourself; What religion always campaign to have its religious laws be accepted as government laws, always involved in wars and consistently causing WARS, yet insists that it's a religion of peace?

WHY??

There are only two kinds of people who teach tolerance:
  1. The Bullies. They want you to tolerate them so they can continue to maliciously deprive you. Do not believe these bullies teaching tolerance, saying that it’s the path to prevent hatred and prejudice.
  2. The victims who are waiting for the right moment to retaliate. They can’t win yet, so they tolerate.
Bataan st joseph.jpg
St. Joseph Church

Dietary supplement is a product that contains vitamins, minerals, herbs or other botanicals, amino acids, enzymes, and/or other ingredients intended to supplement the diet. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has special labeling requirements for dietary supplements and treats them as foods, not drugs.

Manufacturers and distributors of dietary supplements and dietary ingredients are prohibited from marketing products that are adulterated or misbranded. That means that these firms are responsible for evaluating the safety and labeling of their products before marketing to ensure that they meet all the requirements of DSHEA and FDA regulations.

Balanga being transformed into high tech-city

CITY OF BALANGA, Bataan- This relatively undeveloped city is being transformed into the vision of being a world-class university town by 2020. In this light, the city government of Balanga has lined up various technological projects in remodeling the Bataan capital into a “high tech-city.”

Balanga City Mayor Jose Enrique Garcia III announced the construction of a city library and a city information technology lab parallel to improving the education sector with the university town project.

The said project allots 18.51 hectares or 23 percent of the central district’s 80.42 hectares for the establishment of schools, churches, city hall, and other public buildings.

Garcia said that studies were made designing Balanga after internationally renowned technological institutions like the Silicon Valley in California that has gained prominence worldwide with its investments on computer innovations.

“Silicon Valley (adopted) the fine mixture of ingenuity, innovation, and resourcefulness, (thus) people there were able to transform this once barren, secluded area into a high-tech investment and economic hub,” he said.

In Balanga, free wireless frequency internet connections are available in barangay halls, public elementary schools, and business establishments.

The city government is also establishing information technology corners and e-Centers in Balanga’s 25 barangays under the Barangay Online program, which will serve as venue for technical assistance and online library.

According to Roneth Santos of the city government, about 42 units of closed-circuit television cameras were installed around the city monitored by the Philippine National Police and the Public Safety Office for public security.

Santos said that a subsidized computer loan program for city public school teachers was also launched which gave a P5,000 subsidy to teachers who want to own a laptop computer and the remaining balance was loaned to them with zero interest.

Garcia also pioneered the use of a 3 x 4-meter giant LED TV monitor in center of the Plaza Mayor De Balanga used in celebrations.

“We therefore urge each and every Balangueño to continue believing and commit themselves as our partners in pursuit of vision to make Balanga one of the finest cities in the world,” added Garcia.

Free CCP workshop to dig ‘gold minds’

CITY OF BALANGA, Bataan- About 200 kids from various public and private schools in this city gathered for a four-day arts workshop facilitated by trainers from the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) to discover “gold minds” among gifted students.

The fourth string of the free, annual workshop dubbed “Batang Sining” was held in Balanga Elementary School from April 30 to May 3 and hailed esteemed art aficionados like Palanca hall of famer Dr. Luis Gatmaitan; Herminio Beltran, chief of the inter-textual division of CCP; Rey Escasenas, storyteller from Alitaptap group; and Jasmine Tresvalles, CCP culture and arts officer.

Balanga City mayor Jose Enrique Garcia III said that the use of arts as a catalyst for social change and a force for values transformation among students will mobilize cultural awakening and discover gold minds in line with the city’s vision of a world-class university town status by 2020.

“The Batang Sining Creative Expression Workshop for elementary students is part of the city government’s quest to help bring the arts to the masses, particularly to students, and to bring out their imagination, innovative spirit and artistic abilities,” said Garcia.

The participants from grades three to five took part in the activities for day one of the workshop that included group plays like the boat is sinking, connect the body parts and group cheer; creative introductions; storytelling; and writing about what is their idea of a perfect world.

Day two presented sharing of folk stories, art of mime, storytelling hour, appreciating poetry, drawing images in poems and choral reading. Puppet-making and puppetry were staged on day three of the workshop, while dramatization, group presentations and graduation were held on day four.

“In our time today, the children have their different arts. Their music, for the old-school people, is deafening. This program aims to produce caliber artists like Lea Salonga and Jessica Sanchez,” said City Schools Division of Balanga Supt. Dr. Ronaldo Pozon.

He added that the Batang Sining workshop was in line with the new Child Protection Program of the Department of Education that eyes to steer the students away from abuses like vices at home and in school.

Ordering back the tides

Trees fail to flower,” Aetas huddled at the Bataan mountaintop meeting told Fr. Shay Cullen. “Bees are disappearing. Storms blow away our nipa huts as never before.”

With Preda Foundation coworkers, the priest toiled up the two-hour steep trail on horseback. Preda buys Aeta wild mangoes at double what lowland hawkers offer and markets them abroad.

Half a world away, Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research scientists documented what Aetas learned from seat-of-their-pants.

University of Bern experiments span two decades, four continents and 1,634 plant species. “Spring flowering and leafing advances 5 to 6 days per year for every degree Celsius of warming,” they report in the journal Nature.

Bern tests “underestimated how much plants change,” reports British Broadcasting Corp. science reporter Matt McGrath. He adds that research leader Elizabeth Wolkovich and This Rutishauser fret over additional water needed by a plant community that sprouts a week earlier.

Contrary to myth, Filipinos have modest freshwater endowment: 6,332 cubic meters yearly. In contrast, Malaysians tap into 26,105 cm. Saudi Arabians have only 118 cm. They bartered more oil for water last year when Riyadh ’s last aquifers ran dry.

Here, “we have a water aristocracy set on its head.” A squatter’s shack in Cebu City pays 13 times for water than a gated Maria Luisa enclave home, notes the United Nations World Water Development Report.

In the Philippines, 54 out of every 100 lived in cities by 2007. By 2020, the number of urban Filipinos will be double rural counterparts. Many cities are saddled with below-par water facilities even as births and migration interlock.

A “youth bulge” characterizes this migrant torrent, San Carlos University’s Soccoro Gultiano and Peter Xenos of East-West Center point out. Hormones of these young migrants are on overdrive. They will tarry in the reproductive age bracket longer.

A sharper slowdown in birthrates won’t materialize anytime soon, not even if the Reproductive Health bill gets into law books. But demand for just about everything else will spiral. And there is no substitute for water.

Politically charged issues, like a chief justice’s blacked out dollar accounts, smudge concerns including shifting rain bands. A bachelor President’s date will send commentators into a tizzy. But glossing over emerging threats can be lethal.

“We’re seeing changes happening… in ways we didn’t expect to see for hundreds of years,” 27 scientists led by Oxford University’s Alex Rodgers caution in their recent “State of the Oceans” report to UN.

As polluted seas warm, we enter “a phase of extinction of marine species unprecedented in human history,” they wrote. Over-fishing, pollution and climate change interlock “in ways not previously recognized.”

“Accelerated” changes include melting of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. Sea levels are rising and methane trapped in the sea bed, is seeping out.

Here “expect sea waters to rise by at least 20 cm in the next 40 years,” writes Dr. Wendy Clavano in a current series for Environmental Science for Social Change, a Jesuit research organization.

The severest threat stretches “along the Paci?c seaboard: from Samar all the way down to eastern Mindanao.” Include the Zamboangas and island provinces of Romblon and Marinduque in the Sibuyan, says Clavano, a PhD from Cornell University .

She suggests the creation of a “vulnerability index.” This could undergird mitigation programs for what initial data pinpoint as “high risk areas. That sweeps in the Lingayen Gulf (La Union and Pangasinan), Lamon Bay (Quezon and Camarines Norte), Camotes Sea (western Leyte, northern Bohol, and northeastern Cebu).

Add to that list Guimaras Strait (along northwestern Negros Occidental and Guimaras), central Sulu Sea (Cuyo Archipelago), Iligan Bay (in particular Misamis Occidental), Zamboanga del Norte and Bislig Bay (Surigao del Sur).

`Only 4 percent of coral reefs here in remain in pristine condition. Other countries with equally threatened reefs are Haiti, Grenada, Comoros, Vanuatu, Tanzania, Kiribati, Fiji and Indonesia.

Edges of the “Tropical Belt —outer boundaries of the subtropical dry zones—have drifted towards the poles, notes Nature Geoscience. Temperature and rainfall changes alter yields, including politically-volatile crops like corn and rice.

“In the Philippines, rice yields drop by 10 percent for every one degree centigrade increase in night-time temperature,” BBC’s environment correspondent Richard Black writes. As droughts dry reservoirs, yields have fallen by 10 percent to 20 percent over the last 25 years. More declines are ahead.

Three billion people live in the tropics and subtropics. They’ll nearly double by the end of the century. The National Statistical Board asserts there are 93 million plus of us today. No sir, it’s 99.9 million, counter some United States and international bodies.

The “most extreme summers of the last century could become routine towards the end of this century,” predicts the University of Seattle. What would be summer 2100 in the Philippines be like?

Filipino policy makers must move beyond politics-as-usual. Overdrawing on aquifers in Metro Cebu and Manila is causing severe land subsidence. Clavano urges that priority be given to adaptation and mitigation approaches for sea rising levels. Like King Canute, politicians cannot order back the tides.

“Nor can we move crops north or south since many are photosensitive,” notes Dr. Geoff Hawtin at International Centre for Tropical Agriculture. “Tipping points could come quickly.”

Red tide notice remains in effect in Bataan

Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) reiterates its caution to the public to avoid gathering and eating shellfish from the Bataan coastal waters as red tide toxin that causes paralytic shellfish poisoning remains present in these areas.

Affected by the ban are the municipalities of Mariveles, Limay, Orion, Pilar, Abucay, Samal and Orani and the city of Balanga.

BFAR Central Luzon information officer Lanie Lamyong said “based on the latest shellfish bulletin issued last May 3, the current red tide toxin level in shellfish samples collected from the coastal waters of Bataan and Masinloc Bay are still significantly higher to the 60g STXg/100g tolerable limit.”

Lamyong reiterated that fishes, squids, shrimps and crabs harvested from these areas are safe to eat as long as they are fresh and washed thoroughly and their internal organs such as gills and intestines are removed before cooking.

Palace wishes Jessica Sanchez good luck in final AI stages

As it congratulated her for advancing the top four of “American Idol,” Malacañang on Sunday wished Filipino-Mexican singer Jessica Sanchez good luck in the next stages of the competition.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said Filipinos will continue to support Sanchez in her quest to top the reality television search for the next singing superstar.

“Congratulations, and we continue to wish her good luck for the final stages of the competition,” Valte said in a text message read on government-run dzRB radio.

Last week, Sanchez survived another elimination round on American Idol, while 18-year-old country singer Skylar Laine was booted out.

In the Philippines, Filipinos continued to show support, especially those from her mom's hometown in Bataan province.

Sanchez's Filipina mother Editha is a daughter of Eddie Bugay, a retired US Navy man who hails from Samal but is based in Orani town in Bataan.

Balanga City uses passbook to save enviroment

CITY OF BALANGA, Bataan- In this city, passbooks are not only used to save money, but also to help save the environment.

Under the Junk Shop ng Bayan Project of the city government, public schools in Balanga use customized passbooks to keep track of plastic garbage they each one has collected.

The accumulated trash of schools will be picked by a truck and the points saved in their passbook may be used to claim rice rewards, said Annie Tuazon, consultant on solid waste management of the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO).

“If you have collected three kilos of dry and clean plastic, you will be rewarded with a kilo of rice. You could then accumulate the points to get more rice,” Tuazon said.

According to CENRO, Balanga City, the capital and economic center of Bataan, is producing 20 to 25 tons of varied garbage everyday, which is equivalent to 9,100 tons yearly.

With the city’s population of about 90,000 which is projected to balloon in years, proper and sustainable solid waste management is critical as to not fill up the dumpsite in Brgy. Munting Batangas, said CENRO head Nelia Castor.

Therefore, CENRO has been piloting environmental projects including the Junk Shop ng Bayan, Gamit Pang-eskwela Mula sa Basura, Operation Linis Ilog and Linis Barangay, and the production of doy bags from tetra packs.

Castor said the garbage truck circulates the city every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The schools also may call their office whenever they have amassed plastics.

Meanwhile, small plastics like those from snack food will be brought to the Material Recovery Facility in Brgy. Munting Batangas where they will be macerated.

Tuazon said that since small plastics are strenuous to be sewn as doy bags, they will be put through a pulverizer funded by the Department of Science and Technology to be grinded and mixed into the production of paper tiles.

Balanga City bats for zero illiteracy rate

CITY OF BALANGA, Bataan- The education sector here is eyeing the gradual reduction of illiteracy rate among children and youth by allotting more land space and projects in Balanga for students.

Under the University Town project, Balanga City Mayor Jose Enrique Garcia III has allocated 18.51 hectares (ha) or 23 percent of the central district’s 80.42 ha for the establishment of schools, churches, city hall, and other public buildings.

“The planning started in 2007 and based on a study we did, there are three components of a university town: provide access to quality education, complete facilities for the students, and provide conducive learning environment,” Garcia said.

In a statement made by the city government, education projects that include programs starting from day care centers to tertiary schooling are prioritized in light of achieving the vision of a “world-class university town by 2020.”

“Among Mayor Joet Garcia’s plans for the city is to lower the number of non-readers to the point of eliminating them totally,” said the city government.

“The city government prioritizes education in the project, thus, several programs relative to literacy were implemented. More studies and trainings were held to ensure that proper education will produce well-rounded citizens," it added.

Among the projects are Responsible Parents Training through Education for the Upbringing of Children (Educhild), Reactivation of the Council for the Protection of Children, Iskolar Balangueño Scholarship Program, TEACHNOLOGY Computerization Program, Provision of Assistance to Public Schools, and Centers for Excellence.

These undertakings of the Garcia administration had led to the award from the National Literacy Coordinating Council as 2nd Most Outstanding Local Government Unit last September 2011.

Balanga has one state university, 10 colleges, seven secondary schools, 30 elementary schools, 27 day care centers, and 10 pre-schools.

Freeport Area of Bataan’s new brand gets nod of investors

CITY OF BALANGA, Bataan- The Freeport Area of Bataan (FAB), the province’s top dollar economic hub, launched recently its new official brand which gained the approval of international investors.

FAB administrator Deogracias Custodio said the new symbol of the multimillion economic zone in booming Mariveles town signifies different values essential to establishing businesses.

“The new FAB brand is almost full circle to connote unity, expansion and growth,” said Custodio.

He explained the color red in the logo denotes passion and determination needed to cultivate a business while the blue stands for stability of growth.

Executives of foreign companies expressed satisfaction over the new brand which, according to Custodio, represents the Filipinos as globally competitive with world-class service.

“It is sort of fresh and the design looks good to us,” said Dong-In Group general manager Park Ki Jung.

The corporate chiefs also pointed out that building business in the country has its share of advantages compared to other Asian countries.

According to John Cartwright, general manager of C&L Philippines Footwear Manufacturing Corporation, FAB is very promising and full of potentials as it is very accessible from Manila and other neighboring cities via the new Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway.

“One thing more, the wages are up in China,” said Cartwright.

Park added that the availability of qualified manpower and English-speaking workers are plus points for FAB.

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