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Angeles City News November 2014

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Official Seal of Angeles City
Interactive Google Satellite Map of Angeles City, Pampanga
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Angeles City Map Locator
Angeles City Hall Building, Mc Arthur Hwy, Brgy. Maragul, Angeles City, Pampanga.jpg
City Hall of Angeles City

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.

Angeles city catholic church.jpg
Angeles City Catholic Church
Angeles city crucifixion of the faithfuls.jpg
Sacrifice of the faithfuls by crucifying themselves.

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.

P1-M Cisco lab being built in Angeles college

(AC-CIO)

ANGELES CITY -- Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan announced that a P1-million CISCO laboratory is currently being built in the City College of Angeles (CCA) during the college’s Monday flag raising ceremony for the start of the second semester for this school year.

According to Pamintuan, he was recently in talks with local business tycoon Dennis Uy and CISCO Networking Academy Program Manager Julius Sangalang Macaspac in the establishment of the said laboratory. He said that Uy was willing to donate P1-million for the hardware, while Macaspac will work on providing the CISCO networking software.

“This marks another milestone for the City College, which is now in its third year, in bringing competitive quality education for the poor but deserving students of Angeles City,” said the mayor.

Jannet Redoban, Dean of the Institute of Computing Studies and Library Information Science, said that the laboratory will allow them to explore Cisco Networking Academy Program Delivery: Networking Academy which “delivers a comprehensive, 21st century learning experience to help students develop the foundational ICT skills needed to design, build, and manage networks, along with career skills such as problem solving, collaboration, and critical thinking.”

“Our students will complete hands-on learning activities and network simulations to develop practical skills that will help them fill a growing need for networking professionals around the world,” she added.

Excellence in Performing Arts

During the ceremony, the mayor also lauded the CCA’s performing arts groups for their active participation in the various events of the city.

“In just three years, we were able to develop skills and talents from the students of the City College as they are now consistently performing in various local events. I would especially like to extend my gratitude to them for their participation in the activities of the city’s 50th anniversary of the cityhood of Angeles,” Pamintuan expressed.

Last September, the CCA Dance Troupe also bagged the first place in the Mabacalat City College Tourism Skills Competition. A plaque of recognition was handed to the group by the mayor.

After the ceremonies, the mayor held a meeting with the college administration, headed by president Averell Laquindanum, where they discussed upcoming projects for the CCA, including peace and order measures, beautification and others.

CLARK FUN

By Franco G. Regala

Clark Freeport, Pampanga — The state-owned Clark Development Corporation (CDC) said the celebration of the Clark Grand Festival this year will be packed with food, music and entertainment to amuse the expected 3,000 spectators. The CDC Tourism Promotions Office said the three-day event on December 5-7 seeks to enjoin the Clark community to hold simultaneous events, sales and promotions. “Besides the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta, we also want to institutionalize an annual event that will bring in people from Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon,” said Noemi Garcia, TPO manager.

‘Sin City’ tag irks Pampanga folks

By Jess Malabanan

ANGELES CITY, Pampanga—International news tagging Angeles City as “Sin City” has hurt residents here and even communities abroad, says Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan amid a clamor to do something about an image problem.

An advocate who led in cleaning up the urban hub’s red-district image in the ‘90s, he blamed visiting foreigners for circulating photos of women in sexy outfits.

Raising a howl over a wire news report entitled “PH sin city was magnet for Briton charged in HK murders”, Pamintuan instead pointed to “abuses by foreigners themselves when they published in European magazines photos of our ladies in skimpy bikinis” that stigmatized the city.

“I guess we have to live with this kind of news till we finally decide to totally close all the clubs and bars in Balibago and Malabañas like what mayor [Alfredo] Lim did to Ermita in Manila more than two decades ago,” he said.

But Pamintuan admits that doing a Dirty Harry part 2 will do more harm than good in the local economy particularly the tourism sector.

In an informal forum, Marc Cain suggests transforming the place to an unobstrusive entertainment zone.

“As a compromise in consideration to surrounding two and three stars hotels and other dependent businesses, re-engineer this place along the side streets and not on the main road into an improved Asian version of Amsterdam’s ‘red-light district’ that will not make it cheap for the foreigners/tourists,” he said in his Facebook account.

Journalist Millete Caparas encouraged Pamintuan to revisit Fields Avenue even as she expressed disappointment on international press tagging Angeles City as “Sin City”, saying the story came “... at a time when we are becoming known for our restaurants’ culinary expertise” and more worthwhile attractions.

“If you can do that Mayor Ed, the people now and generations to come will forever be indebted to you,” she said.

Elmer Cato, senior executive of the Department of Foreign Affairs stationed in US, said “Angeles is nothing compared to Thailand and other destinations. What we need to do is to project the other side of the city” among other re-imaging strategies.

“There is more to Angeles than just Fields Avenue,” he said.

Brit charged in HK double slay frequented Angeles client

(Agence France-Presse and Associated Press)

ANGELES CITY, Philippines—A wealthy British banker charged with grisly twin murders in Hong Kong was a regular in a red-light district here where he liked to flash his cash and was treated like a king.

The women in skimpy outfits working the short stretch of go-go and hostess bars of Angeles City remember Rurik Jutting fondly.

At the cramped Del Rio bar, workers said Jutting would swig bottles of a local low-calorie beer while handing out cash, buying everyone rounds of drinks and keeping an eye on one of the dancers, who would become his girlfriend.

Women would rush to the door when they saw Jutting arrive and lead him to his favorite spot, a moldy fake-leather couch that they covered with a pink blanket so he would not get rashes on his legs, said 26-year-old hostess Joy Reyes.

“He’s a big spender. Everyone would welcome him whenever he’s here. It also doesn’t hurt that he is handsome,” she said.

Jutting would pull out a folded wad of cash from his right pocket and would peel off notes from the bundle to give away, according to bartender Linda Laida, 43.

“It shows that he’s a banker. He knows how to count his money fast and knew exactly how much he was giving out,” Laida said.

Breakup

The women at the Del Rio said Jutting would spend up to P20,000 a night at the bar—the equivalent of an annual income for many people in the Philippines.

Jutting had been a regular there since January and soon began dating one of the hostesses who would later appear in photos with him on his Facebook page, according to her colleagues.

But the two apparently broke up in August after he was seen with a different woman on his arm, they said. That was the last time they saw him there.

The ex-girlfriend, who now works at another Angeles bar, did not return messages from Agence France-Presse seeking comment. A coworker said on Wednesday that she had not reported for work for four days.

2 Indonesian women murdered

Jutting, 29, was charged with murder this week in Hong Kong, where he worked as a securities trader for Bank of America Merrill Lynch, after police found two dead Indonesian women—29-year-old Seneng Mujiasih and 25-year-old Sumarti Ningsih—in his luxury apartment.

Ningsih had stab wounds to the buttock and neck, and Mujiasih was stuffed into a suitcase left on the balcony, also with cuts to her neck.

Police were alerted by Jutting himself and was waiting for them in his apartment when officers arrived.

Escape from poverty

Angeles City emerged as a red-light district decades ago when the United States had a major air base nearby.

The bars and love hotels remained after the base closed in 1991, continuing to lure women from the poorest Filipino families.

One of the workers at Del Rio, Len Alumarde, said she lost her job as a computer saleswoman when Super Typhoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan) hit her hometown last year.

She moved to Angeles two months ago after being unable to find a job at home.

“I want to find a foreigner to help me support my family, or even just for friendship,” said the 24-year-old.

Alumarde said she earned up to P3,000 a night in tips from Koreans and Australians at the bar.

A drink for the women at the bar costs P250 and they receive P100 of that.

Managers of other bars said it was up to women to negotiate with their clients if they wanted to take them outside of the bar, with a night of sex costing around P1,000.

‘Paradise’

At nightfall, the Angeles bars light up and huge speakers blare out pop music while women try to entice customers into the bars.

In the lobby of a hotel where a hostess worker said Jutting once stayed, one clock displays Sydney time, another London time, while a third clock is set to Manila time and labeled “Paradise.”

“This is an entertainment place,” said 48-year-old Carol Bomedian, who has been running one bar for over a decade. “We have what they’re looking for.”

As Jutting waits in detention for his next Hong Kong court appearance on Monday, those who remember him in Angeles ponder what went wrong.

The women at Del Rio said Jutting was never a mean drunk and always entertaining when he took them out for dinner and a night of karaoke.

“He is not a sex maniac and he was always neatly dressed,” said 22-year-old dancer Jovelyn de los Santos.

“He wasn’t like other men who have only sex on their minds,” she added.

Different image

Jutting has a different reputation in Wan Chai, the red-light district in Hong Kong.

Allen Youngblood, an American jazz pianist who has lived in Hong Kong since 1992, called Jutting a bully who used his bulky body to push his way through crowds and drink from other’s glasses.

“He wanted to get two or three girls at the same time,” he said while sipping a vodka tonic. “He had a lot of money and used it on women. There are a lot of guys around here like that.”

On any given night, scores of foreign men and young, made-up Asian women fill the pubs on Lockhart Road, while outside on the sidewalk, hostesses in cocktail dresses swarm passing Western men, hoping to entice them into booming nightclubs.

That seedy scene long defined Hong Kong to outsiders, even as prostitution became more established in other neighborhoods, said John Carroll, a professor who specializes in the city’s history at University of Hong Kong.

Suzie Wong

“When they think of Wan Chai, for a lot of people, they think of Suzie Wong,” he said, referring to the fictional Hong Kong prostitute in a 1957 book about the city’s sex industry. “But there’s much more to Wan Chai.”

The neighborhood on Hong Kong island now includes middle-class apartment towers as well as blocks with some of the highest land prices in the world. Even the red-light district has been transforming, with luxury stores and shopping centers moving in and rents shooting up.

The rent for one storefront on Lockhart Road is about HK$80,000 a month, said Steve Sayell, a former British policeman who said he met Jutting several times.

Many of those moving in are highly paid professionals working in the city’s finance sector and eager to blow their paychecks in Wan Chai’s bars and nightclubs, Sayell said.

For them, spending hundreds of dollars on prostitutes and cocaine is just part of a normal night’s agenda, he said.

“They need a release,” Sayell said. “In the old days, you just drank a lot. Now a lot of people are resorting to recreational drugs.”

Extra income

For many of the Southeast Asian women working in Wan Chai, stints on the strip help bring in extra income on top of day jobs as maids and nannies, Sayell said.

One of the victims, Mujiasih, had overstayed a domestic worker visa, said Sam Aryadi, an official with the Indonesian Consulate in Hong Kong.

About half of the 319,325 migrant domestic workers in Hong Kong are Indonesian and nearly all are women, according to the human rights group Amnesty International.

Mira Septyawaniti, a 36-year-old Indonesian who first came to Hong Kong in 1999 as a domestic worker, said many of her friends were mourning the two victims.

She said she got to know Mujiasih in Wan Chai and like her had left her domestic worker job.

“A lot of people are talking about her now,” Septyawaniti said. “We all felt like she was one of us.”

‘So sad’

A Zambian prostitute, who only identified herself as Suzie, said she wouldn’t be put off by the murders even though she worked in some of the same bars Jutting drank in.

“It’s so sad,” she said. “Have you heard of something like that? But if they try to cut me, I’ll fight back. I’m a fighter.”

A Filipino bartender, who identified herself only as Lisa, insisted the murders wouldn’t stop the party in Wan Chai.

“Wan Chai will stay exactly the same,” she said. “People will come here looking for fun. They’ll meet all kinds of different people, and when they’re tired, they’ll go back safely to their homes.”

Clark airport exec seeks 3M passengers in 2015

By Philippine Daily Inquirer

CLARK FREEPORT, Philippines—The Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) has stepped up its marketing program to serve 3 million passengers and attract more airlines to the Clark International Airport (CRK) in 2015.

Emigdio Tanjuatco III, CIAC president and chief executive officer, and cousin of President Benigno Aquino III, said in a forum here on Wednesday that the state of infrastructure of CRK shows that it is ready to be a leading international airport.

In 2013, 1.3 million passengers flew via CRK through eight airlines based here. The number of passengers, however, dropped when AirAsia Berhad and Emirates Airlines shifted operations to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), some 100 km from Clark.

Marketing efforts have been strengthened after a study showed that 1.5 million passengers from northern and central Luzon traveled via Naia because they were not aware of flights at CRK.

The inclusion of P1.2 billion in the 2015 national budget as initial funding for a bigger terminal showed that CRK is an important facility, CIAC officials said. The new terminal aims to accommodate eight million passengers, they said.

Marketing strategies include regular roadshows in the regions and stronger coordination with local governments. Tonette Orejas, Inquirer Central Luzon

NBI seizes imitation Cobonpue furniture

By Ferth Vandensteen Manaysay

ANGELES CITY -- A furniture store in Angeles City was raided by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Tuesday following reports that it has been selling imitations of furniture designs created by famous Filipino designer Kenneth Cobonque.

NBI agents seized several pieces of furniture from the Jasmin Furniture Store and its manufacturing facility. The NBI identified the manufacturer and supplier of the Cobonpue imitations as a certain Juan Tanhueco Jr.

A case for violation of the Republic Act 8293 or the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines has been filed against the suspect before the local prosecutor's office.

Based on the reports of the NBI, the suspect defended himself by saying that he had to follow the orders of his clients, who requested to create furniture pieces based on the works of Cobonpue.

The seized fake items from the said furniture store in Angeles City were 70 percent cheaper than the original creations of the famous designer.

The agency did not stop the operations of the manufacturing facility, saying that its sole objective was just to ascertain that the manufacturers will refrain from creating patented furniture pieces.

Meanwhile, the group of Cobonpue said, "The seized items bear substantial similarities to the furniture designer's works" but noted that "the difference between the seized furniture and the original ones lie on the quality."

Ann Edillion, legal counsel of Cobonpue, said the world-renowned Filipino designer is more disturbed with the illegal use of his designs to create substandard furniture than the revenue he purportedly has lost from the fake items. She added that her client wants to maintain his reputation of producing high-quality furniture designs.

Cobonpue further urged other artists and designers to fight for their intellectual properties.

The works of Cobonpue are not only popular in the Philippines as he was also able to design furniture pieces for Hollywood actor Brad Pitt and some members of royal families in Europe.

PH soldiers from Liberia to be quarantined on island, not Tarlac

By Tonette Orejas

CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga—Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang said Monday the 112 Filipino United Nations peacekeepers scheduled to be pulled out from Ebola-stricken Liberia will get a “well-deserved vacation in an island paradise” when they arrive in the country on Nov. 10 and 14.

This 21-day holiday developed after Catapang canceled on Monday a plan to quarantine them at the base of the Philippine Peacekeeping Operations Center (PKOC) in Capas town in Tarlac province.

“There is nothing to worry about. We are not continuing the plan. While Ebola is not airborne, we do not want to unnecessarily burden the people of Tarlac,”Catapang said when sought for comment on separate resolutions passed by the Tarlac provincial board and the province’s mayors opposing the plan.

He said the Armed Forces of the Philippines was still looking for an island where the soldiers could be isolated from the rest of the population while they are quarantined.

In opposing the use of Capas as a quarantine area, the provincial board and the mayors cited the safety of their constituents, Gov. Victor Yap told the Inquirer in a telephone interview on Monday.

The board and the mayors issued the resolutions a week before the peacekeepers are arrive in the Philippines. President Aquino had ordered their pullout from the West African country due to the outbreak of Ebola.

Aside from the PKOC, the military camp in Capas also hosts the Mechanized Infantry Division and the Training and Doctrine Command.

Told of the AFP decision, Yap said: “I am grateful that the national leadership has reconsidered setting up a quarantine system for Ebola here in Tarlac. I am sure they now have a more viable and secure area.”

The AFP, Yap said, has not presented any plan in the event one of the returning soldiers is proven to be ill with the Ebola virus. The provincial government has yet to begin a full-scale education campaign on Ebola.

“We’d like to know if it is going to be an AFP policy to be using Capas as quarantine site in future cases,” Yap said.

Rene Romero, head of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Northern Luzon, said the business sector in the provinces of Tarlac and Pampanga is alarmed about choice of Capas as quarantine area.

“It can give a big negative impact on business and tourism. We would like to appeal to the AFP to bring the… peacekeepers to another area where it is isolated and safe. We have 7,100 islands, perhaps they quarantine them in one of our islands with no or low population,” Romero said.

It was not known if the returning troops are entering the Philippines via the Clark International Airport in Pampanga on a chartered flight.

Capas Mayor Antonio Rodriguez confirmed he received an advice from the President about the use of Capas as a quarantine area. Tarlac is Mr. Aquino’s home province.

The World Health Organization said new Ebola infections have been slowing in Liberia but warned that the crisis was far from over.

According to WHO, the majority of the 4,922 deaths were in Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.

Korean semiconductor giant gears up for expansion

By Kenneth M. del Rosario

MANILA, Philippines — For every smart gadget, computer, flat-screen monitor, and television set, there’s a semiconductor that is essential to run these sophisticated electronic devices.

Because semiconductors are found inside the body of today’s most advanced devices (read: not visible), it’s easy to forget how essential they are to their performance. Unbeknownst to many, semiconductors serve as a conduit at its most basic form, a very small switchboard that allows the flow of electricity.

Such highly sophisticated and specialized production of these chips requires expertise that is hard to come by. This is where Phoenix Semiconductor Philippines Corp. (PSPC) comes in. The South Korean semiconductor giant has been at the forefront of semiconductor production, assembly and test (OSAT) since it began operations back in 2011.

With a manufacturing plant in Clark, Freeport Zone in Pampanga, PSPC has been producing memory semiconductor chips that have made their way into consumer goods such as laptops, and storage devices.

“Memory chips are quite stable and do not undergo constant change. They have a generally longer life cycle compared to non-memory chips,” said DJ Kim, the company’s chief finance officer.

PSPC is on the verge of going public soon. Plans of expansions are slated to commence on the second half of 2015.

While the existing plant in Clark manufactures memory semiconductors, the new section of the expansion will focus more memory chips found on high-end mobile devices. This move should open a whole new segment of clients for the company.

“It is our hope that given the optimistic demand for electronics, we can begin to reach out to more and more clients. We welcome the opportunity to grow in this (high-end mobile device) segment as it would make us a competitive player in the market,” Kim said.

Expansion to other segments should help the company sustain its impressive growth over the last year. The company’s revenue was up 14 percent to $109.85 million as of June 30, 2014 due to increase in production and sale of higher density products.

Net income for the first six months of the year increased 116 percent as compared to the same period a year ago due to higher sales and decrease in other non-operating expenses.

As of June 30, 2014, the company had total assets of $187.90 million. Of the total assets, $70.96 million are current assets that include cash and cash equivalents, trade, and other receivables. The company’s property, plant and equipment as of June 30, 2014 amounted to $107.75 million. advt

Devotees’ love for Angeles City Apu Church pay off

By Joey Pavia

ANGELES CITY – “What belongs to the people must be returned to them.”

Thus said Most Rev. Pablo Virgilio “Ambo” David shortly after he and Most Rev. Florentino Lavarias, new Pampanga Archbishop, led a mass here during the 117th anniversary of the “Apung Mamacalulu” – or the Lord of the Mercy – on Friday afternoon.

David told businessman Reghis Romero II, an Apung Mamacalulu devotee, and Salapungan Barangay Captain Reynaldo Malig that the Roman Catholic church completed last August the P15 million payment for the property in Barangay Lourdes Sur where the Archiocesan Shrine of Christ our Lord of the Holy Sepulchre is located. He invited them for dinner at his residence at the Holy Rosary Parish here.

The church and its benefactors, including Romero, produced some P22 million for the purchase of the property reportedly mortgaged earlier to the Rural Bank of Mabalacat by its previous owners.

In 1985, former San Fernando Archbishop Oscar Cruz banned Masses at the Apung Mamacalulu because representatives of the Paras-Dayrit clan blocked efforts by the Roman Catholic Church to administer the chapel and hold sacraments.

“People say they will go to mass at Apu then. The truth is there was no mass but there were just there to pray. They really love their holy image of Christ,” said David.

In 2010, former Pampanga Archbishop Paciano Aniceto recognized the support of the Paras-Dayrit clan and lifted the ban, which lasted 25 years.

The devotees of Apung Mamacalulu built at the nearby old railway station a chapel where David and others priests held mass while the suspension was on. In 2010, the Philippine National Railways told David that they must remove the chapel because it will start the NorthRail project.

“People came to me and asked me to lead an effort to get the property where the church is. Then we found out that the lot was mortgaged,” said David. He added that the church initially gave P7 million to the bank.

David said it was not just Romero but many others helped the Church win the rights to own the some 5,000 square-meter property where the Apung Mamacalulu shrine-chapel sits.

Romero, who donated at least P4 million for the construction of the wall of the chapel, expressed elation over the “good news of Bishop David for the benefit of the Apung Mamacalulu devotees and the flock of the church.”

He and Malig joined the procession after the concelebrated mass.

Duty free malls in Clark

By clarkphilippines.com

Once upon a time, not so long ago, Clark was a shopping haven because of its duty-free status. The Philippines government promptly took away some of its duty-free status in the sin tax area – tobacco and liquor for example – weakening the competitiveness of the shopping malls a little.

Bureaucracy and red tape of the governing body CDC took steam out of the sails of duty-free malls and Clark lost a bit of its luster as a shopping haven in the north. Still Clark is frequently visited by tourists and residents in Subic, Angeles City and Manila for some shopping.

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