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Bataan News

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Province of Bataan - Archived News

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Covered courts

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.

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.

Doomed Pinoy lives in Bataan

ORION, Bataan – The Filipino sentenced to die in China on December 8 for drug trafficking is a native of this coastal and agricultural town.

And his bedridden mother still does not know his fate, the mayor here said.

“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.

Despite his constituent’s misery, Santos said he has to face the consequences of his action.

“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.

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).

But his identity has been the talk of the town and among employees of the municipal government who were once his colleagues.

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.

“Nakakahiya nga e, pero nandiyan na, di natin alam ang tunay na nangyari,” she 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.

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.

“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.

“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.

‘Jeepers’ to reenact Battle of Bataan

Vintage military jeep owners are set to reenact Saturday the Battle of Bataan at the historic Fort Stotsenberg parade grounds here.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Limay steps up coastal rehab

LIMAY, Bataan- To boost the town’s clean and green program, Mayor Ver Roque Wednesday launched the Youth Environmental Congress, to solicit the support of the youth for Limay’s environmental program.

Noted for his pro-environment program, Roque said the main objective of the congress is to rehabilitate the coastal areas, declog rivers and drainage system.

Roque pointed out that this will also help improve the municipal waste-management program and educate the residents to be more involved in caring for the environment especially in the proper segregation and disposal of garbage and wastes.

He said this will also counter vandalism especially in the use of public utilities like comfort rooms, buses, school chairs and tables, walls, and fences.

The mayor also called the strict implementation of laws and municipal ordinances in line with environmental protection and preservation.

Limay is an industrialized town, hosting Petron Refinery, DND Arsenal, Petrochemical Plant, Carbon factory, among others.

In compliance with the directive of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Roque initiated the massive clean up along the coastal areas which is part of the sprawling Manila Bay area.

But even without the DILG order directing local government units to launch such action, Roque and the personnel of the municipal hall have been regularly conducting clean up drive along the coastal areas here to maintain the clean environment of this town being the site of various multinational companies.

Thelma Ratonel, officer in charge of Municipal Planning and Development Office (MPDO) and head of the Civil Registrar, said that since the assumption of Roque they have been conducting massive clean up not only along the Manila Bay areas but also along the major rivers, river banks, industrial sites, factories, commercial establishments and private homes to ensure a clean and safe environment, free from sea and air pollution.

Gov’t needs to revise its economic philosophy

In turning down the offer of Petron to sell back to the government its oil refinery in Bataan, President Aquino articulated what could be his core economic philosophy. “Government isn’t efficient in running something that has purely business applications.” (Inquirer, 10/19/11). Indeed, “less government is the best government” is conventional thinking.

However, the raging global economic crisis is increasingly challenging this neoconservative view. In his speech last September before a joint session of the US Congress, President Barack Obama argued for more government action in the economy as he asked for an additional $450-billion economic stimulus.

“Ask yourselves – where would we be right now if the people who sat here before us decided not to build our highways, not to build our bridges, our dams, our airports? What would this country be like if we had chosen not to spend money on public high schools, or research universities, or community colleges?” Obama said.

“How many jobs would it have cost us if past Congresses decided not to support the basic research that led to the Internet and the computer chip? What kind of country would this be if this chamber had voted down Social Security or Medicare just because it violated some rigid idea about what government could or could not do?”

Joseph E. Stiglitz, winner of the 2001 Nobel Prize for Economics, supports Obama. In his book, “Making Globalization Work,” he says: “The conventional wisdom that (the US) development was the result of unfettered capitalism is wrong…. Historically, the US government played an even larger role in the economy…including the development of technology and infrastructure…Huge land grants spurred the development of western railroads….the US government funded the first telegraph line…it funded the research that led to the Internet.”

He adds, “the most successful countries have been those in Asia [where] government played a very active role.”

In a recent article for Project Syndicate, Dani Rodrik, professor of International Political Economy at Harvard, cited “the evident reality that all successful economies are, in fact, mixed.” He pointed out that China has “an economy that is a peculiar mix of private entrepreneurship and state direction.” Probably because of his economic mindset, Aquino scrimped on government spending in his first year at the helm. The result has been a lowering of our economic growth to 3.4 percent of GDP in the first quarter of this year after hitting 7 percent last year. This meant more unemployment and poverty.

Aquino’s private-public partnership program has not taken off because the private sector is waiting for the government to take the lead in spending. With hunger and poverty deepening in our country under the rubric of a free market, globalization, deregulation and privatization (which entail less government intervention in the economy), it becomes imperative to reexamine the dominant economic thinking to provide both relief and hope to our people.

Red tide alert up in seven towns, one city in Bataan

BALANGA CITY, Bataan- The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) on Wednesday warned the public to refrain from gathering and eating shellfish from seven towns and one city along the coastal waters of Bataan due to the presence of red tide toxin, which causes paralytic shellfish poisoning.

BFAR Central Luzon information officer Lanie Lamyong said the areas affected by the ban are the municipalities of Mariveles, Limay, Orion, Pilar, Abucay, Samal and Orani and the city of Balanga.

Lamyong added that based on the latest monitoring of BFAR, the current red tide toxin level in shellfish samples collected from the coastal waters of Bataan is from 70 to 5,617 grams Saxi-Toxin (STX) g/100g of shellfish meat which is significantly higher to the 60g STXg/100g tolerable limit.

Meanwhile, Lamyong reiterated that fishes harvested from the Bataan coastal waters are safe to eat as long as they washed thoroughly and their internal organs such as gills and intestines are removed before cooking.

BFAR bans shellfish in 8 Bataan areas

The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has implemented a shellfish ban in 8 areas in Bataan due to red tide.

Residents of Balanga City, Mariveles, Limay, Orion, Pilar, Orani, Abucay and Samal are not allowed to catch, sell and eat shellfish after a BFAR study showed high red tide toxin levels in shellfish in the area.

The agency also advised the public against eating shrimp paste or "alamang."

Other seafood, including fish, squid and crab, are safe to eat as long as they are fresh and rinsed thoroughly before cooking, according to BFAR Director Atty. Asis Perez.

Meanwhile, shellfish remains banned in Dumanquilas Bay in Zamboanga del Sur, Murcielagos Bay in Zamboanga del Norte, Masinloc Bay in Zambales, and Matarinao Bay in Eastern Samar.

Albuquerque group prays for congressional super committee

An Albuquerque group prayed for a fair and compassionate federal budget at Bataan Memorial Park on Sunday.

The group hopes to touch the hearts of the congressional super committee in charge of reducing the national deficit.

"Our God hears the cry of the children, blessed be our God,” the group prayed.

The people that came to Bataan Park have different religions but they all have faith in the power of prayer and they are focusing it on the most disadvantaged people in our country.

They are praying for the super committee to have compassion on the needy.

The committee is supposed to shave off nearly $1.2 trillion dollars from the federal budget.

“Every tradition understands that prayer is the way to address and also to speak to injustices,” one woman said.

The prayer focused on help for the needy that use programs like WIC, job training for unemployed adults and public education.

“There is a large population of our country who are really desperate and in that point of desperation they have no voice,” David Cameron said. “So those of us who are not there yet, I think have responsibility to be their voice."

The group's vigil lasted for about half an hour but many of those who participated said their daily prayers ask lawmakers for compassion.

Fun run for the environmental all set in Balanga City

CITY OF BALANGA, Bataan- All roads in Bataan will lead to the birthday fun run for a cause on November 19 starting at the Plaza Mayor de Balanga in line with the birthdays of the city’s top officials.The fun run is themed,

“Celebrate Life! Run. Live Have Fun.”

“This day will not only mark the birth of the City of Balanga’s servant and visionary leaders but the reawakening of Balangueños deep consciousness and concern for nature,” said the city government in a statement.

This fun run is coordinated with the city’s Clean and Green program that fosters discipline through the removal of uncollected garbage and liter; absence of eyesores like unsightly posters/ads, graffiti, dilapidated structures, abandoned junks as well as untended idle lands and open spaces; well-maintained drainage and sewerage system; presence of well-kept public toilet; clean public market and slaughter house; installation of trash receptacles in public places; and existence of proper garbage collection and disposal system.

For P300, runners were able to choose between the three or five kilometer run which would start at 5:30 a.m. in Plaza Mayor de Balanga to the Wetland and Nature Park.

They will be given race packets including the “Celebrate Life! Run. Live Have Fun” singlet, race bib, and a bottled water. Those who registered after November 16 can claim their race packets on the day of the run before the gun start.

Assembly time is 4:30 a.m. at the plaza as gun start is at 5:30 a.m. for five km. runners, followed by three km. runners after five minutes. Special prizes for different categories await participants.

“Join us in our commitment to safeguard and nurture our physical environment as we set our feet in this momentous benefit run to help sustain the development of the Wetland and Nature Park,” said the city government.

The race will be the celebratory program for the birthdays of Mayor Jose Enrique Garcia III and Vice Mayor Noel Joseph Valdecañas.

Cassava buying station in Limay

LIMAY, Bataan, Philippines — To give the cassava planters a ready market for their products, local officials here led by Mayor Ver Roque will soon put up a cassava buying station in Barangay Duale, it was learned Friday. Roque’s action came in the wake of a reported growing number of his constituents engaged in planting cassava.

The mayor also wants idle land in this town to be planted with cassava for additional income and livelihood of farmers. “Mayor Roque wanted that the Limay mango cooperative members will manage it,” said Thelma Ratonel of the mayor’s office.

Coal-fired power plant's safety cited

MARIVELES, Bataan— A local official Monday allayed fears that the 600 mw coal-fired power plant would pose environmental problem once it operates next year.

Mayor Jesse I. Concepcion said the coal plant being constructed here is safe, stressing that it is patterned after Beijing safety measures.

“A number of such kind of coal-fired power plants were established right inside Central Beijing and there has been no pollution and other environmental problems,” said Concepcion.

Concepcion’s action came amid reports that there are militant groups planning to capitalize on the issue of environmental degradation around Barangay Alas-asin and in this industrial town once the power plant would operate next year.

“Mismong gitna ng Beijing ay nagsulputan ang mga ganitong uri ng coal fired power plant pero wala naman tayong nababalitaan na nagkaroon ng problem,” said Concepcion.

Rep. Abet S. Garcia of 2nd district-Bataan and Freeport Area of Bataan Chairman and Administrator Deogracias G. P. Custodio assured investors that there will be more supply of electricity once the plant starts operation next year.

Governor Enrique “Tet” Garcia said he asked the coal-fired power plant management to offer at least 30 to 40 percent cheaper electricity, adding that this will be a big help to the host province, particularly in this industrial town.

“Gov. Garcia had personally went a number of times to China to convince the GN power plant management to put up the coal fired power plant here and one of his request was to have a cheaper power supply of electricity here,” said Garcia.

In its website, the equity for Mariveles Station (GN Power project) will be funded by Sithe Global and Denham Capital Management (Denham). The Engineering, Procurement and Construction counterparty is CNEEC (China).

GN Power said that its regulatory framework is investor-friendly and transparent, and low current per capita electricity consumption combined with robust economic growth should ensure moderate to high demand growth. The Mariveles Project is expected to have the lowest marginal operating cost of any coal project on the grid when completed by year 2012. It is seen to provide benefits to the local community by reducing electricity costs, as well as providing jobs and economic stimulus.

GN Power said the Mariveles Project will consist of two identical 300 MW power blocks using proven Pulverized Coal Combustion technology. It will be designed to meet the restrictive Philippine and World Bank standards. The Mariveles Project will make available generating capacity and sell power to offtakers under long-term power purchase.

PLDT in talks with BCDA for Bataan Techno Park project

The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) group is in talks with state run Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) for the rehabilitation of Bataan Technology Park’s communications services.

Likewise, BCDA is in talks with the Subic EnerZone (SEZ) for the improvement of energy facilities in BTP.

Top executives of BCDA led by chairman Felicito Payumo met recently with PLDT Alpha Enterprise’s Corporate Relationship Business Group chief for North Luzon Dennis Magbatoc, along with representatives of the various BTP locators, to pave the way for the BTP systems upgrading project.

The meeting was held to discuss the timeline and method for improving the telecommunication system within BTP. These upgrades are being done to bolster services provided by the current SMART cell site in Morong, Bataan.

“With nine locators already doing business (at BTP), and more coming in, it is essential that reliable networking and Internet options can be used as soon as possible,” Payumo stressed.

“Until a proper connection is put in place next year, we will beef up the bandwidth capability of this cell site to compensate for the lack of connectivity in BTP,” said Magbatoc.

Meanwhile, PLDT would collaborate with SEZ in putting up telephone lines within the area.

The BCDA tapped SEZ, an Aboitiz-owned electric distribution utility servicing the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, to provide the power requirements of BTP.

Aside from establishing the network connection by early next year, Magbatoc said that they would also construct a node to reinforce the BTP’s communications capability through the PLDT-SMART facilities.

Magbatoc said the PLDT-SMART network would operate at full capacity, comparable to that in Subic and Clark, within one to two years. Standard rates would be applied for all networking services, minus VAT, since BTP is located within the Morong Special Economic Zone, which is a VAT-exempt growth area.

Second chances

It’s not official until you see your name in the list of runners invited to run the country’s longest road ultramarathon.

The Bataan Death March 160 organized by retired Army general Jovenal “Jovie” Narcise a.k.a. “Baldrunner” is by invitation only – almost elitist. It’s one of the many reasons why a BDM slot (with its promise of trophy, medal and the coveted finisher’s silver buckle) while not necessarily the best ultramarathon in the country, is on the Pinoy ultrarunner’s bucket list.

To qualify for the BDM 160, it’s not enough that you’re able to pay the steep registration fee of P5,000. You must first and foremost have street cred and street cred means you’ve run at least one 100k ultramarathon in under 18 hours. There’s another qualification, although unwritten — you must not have had the misfortune of crossing the race director or been caught violating the race rules in any of Baldrunner’s events.

While the first qualification is based solely on merit as a runner, the second unwritten qualification is more subjective. Still, veteran runners of Baldrunner events learn to keep their heads down and follow Balrdrunner’s race rules to the letter. The BDM 160 is after all, not just any run-of-the-mill ultramarathon. It is the longest individual road race crossing three provinces (Bataan, Pampanga and Tarlac) and the only one with historical significance as it traces the path of the infamous Death March after the fall of Bataan in World War II.

In early October, I heaved a sigh of relief after seeing my name once again on Baldrunner’s list of invited runners for the 2012 edition of BDM 160. This after my heartbreaking finish of 31:08:45 in the inaugural BDM 160. The third spot in the women’s podium was mine for the taking after the fourth woman dropped out somewhere between KM 105 to 110. I missed my shot for greatness by one hour eight minutes and 45 seconds, and I have yet to forgive myself for letting that chance slip through my hands.

Despite my initial failure, I find myself doing back-to-back long runs and racking up weekly mileage reaching 80 to 100 kilometers per week and 145 kilometers by the time I peak in the last three weeks of December.

The 2012 edition of BDM 160 will happen on Jan. 28 and 29. The cut-off time is still 30 hours. While I’ve no great expectations of a podium finish, I will try my best to shave at least two hours from my record. But more than besting my personal record, this 100-miler would be my last ultra before finally starting a family and giving baby-making a serious shot.

This BDM 160 is a swan song of sorts before I retire from running impossible distances. The more I run ultra distances, the more I realize that it’s not the race distance that intimidates you, it’s the amount of time, hard work, sacrifice and dedication that scare you. The ultra distance is more than just a jealous mistress. It requires total submission. It takes over your life. This is how I know that despite the myth of empowered women having it all — career, family and a passion for running, raising babies and training for an ultramarathon do not mix.

This is why in my second shot at BDM 160, I am going for broke, literally and figuratively. I’ve taken three months off from the news anchor’s chair at TV Patrol Central Visayas to have more time for running, cross-training and active rest and recovery in three-week cycles.

I want to make it in the official list of runners who finished under 30 hours so that someday when my kids Google BDM 160, after hearing my stories from the road, they would see my name in the roster of road warriors, without need of footnote or explanation in the race director’s report.

Livelihood for Sumalo folk set

HERMOSA, Bataan — To enable them earn an additional source of income, the residents of Sumalo here composed mostly of farmers were given and will be provided with livelihood training.

Retired Colonel Rene Rapisura, administrator of the Riverforest Development Corp., the company of the Litton family that owns a 213-hectare property in Barangay Sumalo here, said that the livelihood training program will be sponsored by the developer of the area.

Roy Diaz celebrates his 95th birthday

Salinas’ best-known World War II veteran gazed out across the aged oak trees and brown hills near his home.

Roy Diaz was feeling a bit like an aged oak himself.

“Four years ago I had a knee operation. It was fine,” he said. “Then it backfired. They say I’m too old to get another operation.”

Sore knee or not, Diaz turned 95 Oct. 23, and, sore knee or not, friends and family threw him a party at the Salinas Elks Lodge on Airport Boulevard.

Because of his war experiences, Diaz, like all those who have served and sacrificed, has a certain public presence.

History has given Diaz special distinction, however. He’s a survivor of the Bataan Death March — one of the most notorious atrocities of World War II — who was a POW for 3 1/2 years in Japanese slave labor camps.

In February 1941, he was one of 105 members of Company C, 194th Tank Battalion of the U.S. Army, largely made up of young men from the Salinas area who had signed up for a National Guard unit that got converted. When the United States was plunged into the war Dec. 7, 1941, after the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, Company C was stationed in the Philippines and became among the first armored units to engage in combat against Japanese soldiers.

Some 10,000 Allied troops who weren’t killed in action in the initial battles on the Bataan Peninsula, including most of Company C, were captured and force -marched to a prison camp about 60 miles distant. The captives were allowed little food or water. Stragglers were executed along the way. Once at the prison camp, they were routinely tortured. Later, many of them were shipped to Japanese slave-labor camps, where they subsisted on starvation rations.

In 1945, Diaz was one of only 47 men from Company C who made it home from war. Now he’s the company’s last Salinas survivor. (There are three others: Larry Rotharmel, Sacramento; Norman Rose, San Jose; and Manuel Nevarez from Sparks, Nev.)

“Roy’s positive attitude and lack of bitterness is remarkable considering the conditions he survived in Bataan and Japan,” Elks Lodge member Barry Wilson said.\

The basic struggle

Diaz’s parents, Ida and Benjamin “Blanco” Diaz, got word of their son’s capture via a blue-and-white U.S. government telegram.

“Your son, Private First Class Roy Diaz has been reported a prisoner of war of the Japanese government ...” the telegram reads in bold block letters. Diaz still has it in a scrapbook.

During his years as a POW, Diaz and his fellow soldiers endured forced labor and the threat of tropical disease. Rations were so meager that his weight fell from 150 pounds to a skeletal 85 pounds, which stretched the skin over his ribs.

Men were shot, bayoneted, and beaten. Friends died.

Memories of such things never take the day off. Even on a birthday decades later, they’re there, Diaz said.

“I still think ... often of those events,” he said of his unit’s tragic journey through the war.

“I think about it every day.”

Readying for war

Roy Diaz was born Oct. 23, 1916, in Monterey.

His father worked for fish companies along the wharf. His mother made enchiladas and tamales and sold them.

“I’m Portuguese on my mother’s side and Spanish on my father’s side,” Diaz said. His grandfather on his mother’s side was a harpooner on a whaling ship, in the days when Monterey was a whaling station.

Later, just before his Army service, Diaz was a dry land farmer, growing tomatoes with his father and doing well.

In 1936, he joined Company C. Diaz was assigned duties as a mechanic.

Heavy combat

By the spring of 1942, U.S. and Filipino troops, including Company C, were fighting the Japanese troops on the Bataan Peninsula.

The Americans were running out of ammunition.

“We didn’t have spare parts or nothing,” Diaz recalled.

Food was low, too. Troops ate monkeys and rats and snakes to stay alive.

For three months they held out. Then came their surrender and the Bataan Death March. During that infamous event, the Imperial Japanese Army forced thousands of American and Filipino prisoners on a trek of horrors.

Those who dropped out, those who tried to take a sip of water, those who held out a hand to a wounded comrade, were beaten or stabbed or executed.

“I remember dead people and the stench,” Diaz said.

“A body over here. A body there. We wanted to bury the bodies, but the Japs said, ‘No.’”

Diaz was eventually shipped to a slave labor camp in Japan.

He survived life as a POW, in part, by volunteering for work details — such as bridge repair — outside prison camp gates. That gave him better access to food and water.

As the war neared its end, U.S. planes began dropping food to U.S. POWs, a process that went undisturbed by the Japanese.

“One day a Japanese interpreter told us to get on a train because we were going north,” Diaz said. “Pretty soon we could see the ocean. A U.S. hospital ship was out there.

“We were given a physical. Then they told us to go to the mess hall and have ham and eggs or whatever we wanted to eat.”

Life after war

After his return home, Diaz married Lorraine Sayers, now 85, who grew up near the Diaz farm. They wed in 1956 after meeting in 1955 at the Colmo del Rodeo parade. The couple still lives on a parcel of that original Diaz property. The land is the very same that John Steinbeck christened “The Pastures of Heaven.” That would be near the end of San Benancio and the start of Corral del Cielo roads.

Wild ducks, flapping their wings in reverse, skid to a stop on the farm pond. Deer graze in the sunny silence.

With a little help from his walker, Diaz strolls around his garden. What he can’t do, thanks to that uncooperative knee, is kneel to work the soil.

“No more basketball, either, but I did wash the dishes this morning,” Diaz said.

A sunshine moment

More than 100 guests were expected at the birthday party. Among them, Joe Amato, also a former World War II POW. Plus several widows and survivors of other POWs. There were times during the war when Diaz doubted he’d make it to the next day, let alone his 95th birthday.

Now, here he is, on a glide path toward the century mark.

“I take it easy. That’s all,” Diaz said. “No other choice, really. I take a deep breath. I look up and into the sky.

“I keep going.”


Bataan Freeport attracting more investors

The Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB) has emerged as a leading economic center with the arrivals of investors who are pouring in their investments here.

As this developed, AFAB slated a month-long celebration this October for the second year anniversary of the passage of RA 9728, the law creating the Freeport Area of Bataan (FAB) and the AFAB.

“This year’s anniversary theme – ‘Respecting the Past, Building the Future’ - reminds us that as we move forward to a better future as productive members of the FAB Community, we should not fail to look back and treasure the past and the lessons that it holds,” said AFAB Chairman and Administrator Deogracias G. P. Custodio.

Custodio said the celebration also aims to further strengthen the linkages between the AFAB and its stakeholders. "The celebration is an expression of the AFAB’s gratitude to its stakeholders and the public in accepting and fully supporting its endeavors," he said.

To realize this goal, Custodio said, the AFAB has kicked off the month-long celebration with the FAB roving orientation-seminar for high school and university students in Bataan. Included in the calendar of activities are: Oct. 13, PhilHealth Seminar on the updates on programs and benefits; Oct. 14, FAB Oktoberfest; Oct. 19, Write Your Best Seminar; Oct. 20, SGV Seminar for FAB locators and managers; Oct. 26, FAB Exhibit; and Oct. 11-26, the FAB Sports Fest 2011.

“Today, the FAB is an emerging economic center that is set to define the new model for global free port Asia. The AFAB administration has attracted new investors in less than a year, marking an almost 40 percent increase in the number of locators in the FAB. This proves the viability of doing business at the FAB and the trustworthiness of the AFAB as an authority that will stand by its promise to ensure locator satisfaction,” the FAB chairman pointed out.

Located at the tip of Central Luzon, the FAB has superior competitive advantages which include its location as it is the nearest Freeport to Manila, making it an ideal transhipment point for domestic, regional and global shipping. It has a total land area of 1,742 hectares, and bounded with harbors with a depth of 11 to 13 meters which are ideal for port operations.

Engr. Jose Utrillo, President of the Concord Pacific Investment Holdings, Inc., a consortium of foreign and local investors, has proposed with FAB chairman and administrator Deo Custodio to build an international seaport inside FAB. Utrillo’s group has been studying the FAB’s master plan.

Rep. Abet S. Garcia, 2nd district-Bataan, who authored the FAB law, said investors will also get to enjoy the superior incentives the FAB offers such as Income Tax Holiday (ITH) from four years to eight years; 5 percent tax in lieu of local and national taxes after ITH period; duty free importation of capital equipment, raw materials, consumer goods and personal items; exemption from wharfage dues, export taxes, imposts and fees; domestic sales allowance of up to 30 percent of total sales; and special visas for investors.

MOA defended

BALANGA CITY, Bataan — Officials of the Department of Health (DoH) and Bataan Governor Enrique "Tet" Garcia defended the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) for the management and operations of the government hospital here.

As this developed, the House of Representative’s Health Committee headed by Rep. Alfredo Maranon, 2nd district, Negros Occidental, will review the MOA entered into between the DoH and the Bataan provincial government for the upgrading of the Bataan General Hospital and its conversion into a training hospital.

Army helps protect the environment

The Army’s 7th CMO Battalion here headed by its Commanding Officer Lt. Col. Benito V. Doniego Jr. has launched a new full-blown battle: To help preserve and protect the environment.

Col. Doniego said that they have a standing order from their Commanding General Ireneo Espino of the 7th Infantry Division, to now shift their battle in protecting and preserving the environment since the threat of insurgency in Bataan has been a thing of the past.

“Our soldiers are always going out in full battle gear from the Camp not to wage war against the rebels but to plant trees, clean the streets and going after illegal loggers and other forms of environmental concerns,” pointed out Col. Doniego inside his headquarters here.

Known as adopted son of Bataan for having established good rapport to the community, media and the local officials in the province since he was a young Lieutenant, Col. Doniego said that their main concern now is work for the protection of environment such as going after the suspected illegal loggers and even fishers who, he claimed, were sabotaging the country’s beautiful environment.

Doniego and his men were seen by newsmen leading in the clearing of the Roman highway of fallen trees that blocked the main road at the height of typhoon "Pedring" and "Quiel," including the one giant tree that fatally fell on the vehicle of Gov. Tet Garcia. Gov. Garcia’s driver Efren Pascual died of severe head injuries while the governor miraculously survived. The governor’s vehicle, a Ford Van colored white, was in total wreck.

In declaring Bataan and other neighboring provinces as insurgency-free, Col. Gregorio Catapang, Brigade Commander of the Army’s 703rd Infantry Brigade, had said that the Army in Central Luzon is now concentrating in environmental programs such as planting trees, clearing the clogged rivers and waters ways, running after illegal loggers, among others.

Soon to become Army general, Catapang said that the army are now focusing much of their attentions in protecting the environment due to alarming climate change that is now hitting the globe.

So with the leadership of the Sangguniang Kabataan headed by its national president Assistant Secretary Lousie Gabriel “Gabz” del Rosario who have been working hand in hand with local leaders in the country to promote environmental awareness.

Eldest son of Mayor Ramil Del Rosario of Bagac town in Bataan, Asec del Rosario has been scouting seedlings for fruit-bearing trees for their regular tree-planting programs which he said a must to ensure the greener future of the next generations.

DTI 3 implements price freeze in Bataan

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)-3 on Monday said a freeze in the prices of basic goods is now in effect in the entire province of Bataan plus six other areas which have been declared under a state of calamity due to typhoons Pedring and Quiel.

Areas earlier placed under price freeze are: Olongapo city, Aurora, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, and Tarlac.

DTI Central Luzon information officer Wilfred Carbonell explained that, “under a state of calamity, an automatic price control is implemented as contained in Section 6 of RA 7581 otherwise known as the Price Act as a preventive measure to avoid chaos that may result from overpricing of basic goods such as processed milk, canned goods, coffee, laundry soap, detergent, candles, bread and salt during times of calamities.”

Hence, the prices of basic goods in the mentioned areas excluding agricultural products should remain in their pre-Pedring levels.

Carbonell added that, “upon declaration of state calamity by the local government, a price control can be implemented for the duration of 60 days unless lifted sooner by either the local sanggunian or by the President of the Republic of the Philippines.”

Also, local governments and provincial DTI offices can adjust prices to reflect additional operational costs or the costs of bringing the products in the market.

However, this still needs the approval of either the National Price Coordinating Council or the President. The adjusted prices must be published in newspapers of national circulation.

Carbonell warned businessmen of the penalty for profiteering in prize freeze areas – up to P1 million in fines and/or imprisonment of one to five years.

If the case is hoarding, violators can face up to P2 million in fines and/or imprisonment of five to 15 years.

Longtime legislator Foy dies at 96

SILVER CITY - The Grant County area lost a piece of history Saturday.

Thomas P. Foy, a survivor of the Bataan Death March in World War II, and former state legislator, died at age 96.

Family members said he died of natural causes at his home in Bayard.

Foy was born is Silver City, and lived in Bayard, Santa Clara, Hurley and the Mining District area for his entire life. He received a Bachelor of Science in Commerce and a Juris Doctorate from Notre Dame University in South Bend, Ind. in 1938 and 1939 respectively.

Foy lived by the words and philosophy, "Get a good education, work hard, have a good moral compass to guide you, and serve your fellow man. Accept responsibility for the good that you do as well as the mistakes that you make. Enjoy life," his family said.

In 1940, Foy joined the 200th Coast Artillery Battery of the New Mexico National Guard and was assigned to the Philippines in 1941. The men of the 200th and 515th Coastal Artillery units held out against Japanese forces from December 1941 until April 1942 when Major Gen. Edward P. King Jr. surrendered his troops on the small island of Bataan in the Philippine Islands.

"He saw the writing on the wall," Foy said of King in a 2008 interview with the Sun-News. "He was ordered not to surrender. It was hopeless to try and defend Bataan."

Foy, a first lieutenant at the time of the surrender, said the mixed United States and Filipino forces were out of food, out of ammo and "were just about played out" when King made the decision to surrender on April 9, 1942.

Survival was a long shot.

Beginning the day of surrender, some 70,000 Filipino and United States soldiers began forced marches across country nearly 60 miles to prison camp O'Donnell.

The march lasted nearly a week, during which time Foy said soldiers were denied food, water and were forced to sit in the middle of rice paddies for hours in the scorching heat.

Troops who couldn't walk were bayoneted to death and beaten and run over by tanks or other transport equipment.

"There were Japs in front of us, Japs behind us, Japs beside us and bayonets all around. If you couldn't walk you were bayoneted to death," Foy said in a 2006 interview with the Sun-News.

When the captives were finally marched into camp O'Donnell there was insufficient food or water for the captives.

On June 6, 1942, the Filipino soldiers were granted amnesty and released, while the American prisoners were moved to camp Cabanatuan. In January 1945, 512 prisoners at Cabanatuan were rescued in a military effort known as the Great Raid.

Many prisoners from Cabanatuan were sent to prison camps in Japan, Korea and Manchuria.

Foy was part of a group of some 3,000 U.S. troops, along with 24 other officers, sent to Japan. Of the 25 officers in Foy's group, only 13 survived to be rescued in September 1945 shortly after the war ended.

Foy was honorably discharged from the Army on Oct. 14, 1946. He received the decorated Bronze Star, Purple Heart, the Asian Pacific Ribbon and the New Mexico Distinguished Service Medal. Foy also received an outstanding service award from the Disabled American Veterans. He was a life member of Veterans of Foreign War Post #3347. A member of the American Ex-POW's and an avid supporter of all military and veterans causes.

After returning from the Philippines, Foy opened his own law practice in Bayard in 1946. In 1948, he married the love of his life, Joan Carney. They had five children and raised and educated them in Bayard in the Cobre Consolidated School District.

In 1948, he decided to run for District Attorney of the Sixth Judicial District, and beat the incumbent and spent eight years - 1949 to 1956 - in that office.

After serving as district attorney, he returned to the private practice of law in 1957 and served as a board member and then vice-president of the New Mexico Board of Bar Commissioners.

In 1970 he decided to run for the state legislature, and represented District 39 from 1970 to 1998.

"He was a true blue democrat," said former legislator Murray Ryan who served with Foy in the House of Representatives and has known him all his life.

"His first loyalty was to the Catholic church, then to the Democratic Party," Ryan said.

While the two didn't always see eye to eye, Ryan said they always remained friends.

"We got along beautifully and cooperated very well," he said.

Foy was responsible for the designation of millions of dollars in southern New Mexico counties for local public infrastructure. Some projects include monies for a veteran's nursing center in Truth or Consequenses, a veteran's housing unit at Fort Bayard Medical Center, the construction of Bataan Veterans Park in Santa Clara, the Santa Clara Municipal Building, the Bayard municipal and police and fire buildings, as well as many other helpful construction projects for the betterment of the Grant County Mining District and all of Hidalgo County.

Raymond G. Sanchez, former New Mexico speaker of the House, also served with Foy and said there was no one more respected than "Tommy."

"He was a beloved and respected member in the New Mexico House of Representatives," Sanchez said. "When he gave his word, it was always good. When someone needed something, Tommy was there."

"He was also big help in getting additional funding for the university," Ryan said. "And he was widely respected by the Democrats statewide."

Foy was a member of the New Mexico Bar Association for 70 years, received numerous awards related to the practice of law. From 1997 to present Foy was appointed as a National Commissioner from New Mexico on the Uniform State Laws Commission. As a result of his lifetime of service and the achievements he made, Foy received a Doctor of Humane Letters also known as an Honorary Doctorate from Western New Mexico University in 2004.

"After his unbelievable service to this country and the sacrifices he made, and the terrible, terrible persecution and torture that he endured, for him to rise up and be able to accomplish all that he accomplished, I'm pretty sure that was divine ordination," Ryan said.

Foy was dedicated to God, family, country, community, the law, and Notre Dame football.

He was a communicant of the Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church in Bayard, and a member of the Knights of Columbus and the Knights of the Holy Sepulercure.

He founded of the Grant County State Bank to give ordinary folks access to loans and capital to purchase homes, cars and businesses. He served on the bank's board of directors for decades and as its chairman for 14 years. The bank later became Sunwest Bank and is now a branch of Bank of America.

He helped to subdivide parts of Bayard, and was integral in the development of Bayard and the Cobre Consolidated School District.

In 1965, the Silver City-Grant County Chamber of Commerce named Foy "Citizen of the Year."

Foy was also very involved in the Bayard Lions Club and was selected as a Melvin Jones Fellow having been a member for more than 70 years. He served as a past district governor for Lions in southern New Mexico, and was previously the state commander for the VFW, Ryan said.

He was a current member of Silver City Moose Lodge #1718 and a life member of the Silver City Elks Lodge.

Last summer, Foy was interviewed by students in Sarah Pineda's art class at Cobre High School for a mural at Bataan Park memorializing veterans like Foy for their sacrifice and service.

Sanchez felt that Foy lived a good life.

"I'm glad he went peacefully, but I just thought he was going to live forever," he said. "We were so fortunate to have him for so long."

Foy was preceded in death by his wife Joan, his son Tom Foy Jr., and his sister Rosemary Stewart. He is survived by two daughters Celia Foy Castillo (and her husband Alvino) and Muffet Foy Cuddy, both of Santa Fe, his sons Carney (and his wife Creta) and Jim (and his wife Valvina) both of Silver City, daughter in-law Suzanne Jollensten of Albuquerque, and nine grandchildren: Celita Castillo of Santa Fe; Felisa Boatwright (and her husband Clark) of Los Lunas; Loren Suzanne Jollensten Foy of Santa Fe; Erin Cuddy of Albuquerque; Reese Cuddy of Albuquerque; Carston Foy of Amarillo, Texas; Caytlyn Foy of Dallas; and Valerie Horton and John Horton (and his companion Marisa) of Albuquerque. Foy also has two great-grandchildren Eleanor Boatwright and Jonathan Horton, and is survived by one sister, Winfred Momsen of Bayard, and one brother J. Franey Foy of Boulder City, Nev.

Foy was a man of honor and integrity who lived his life to the fullest and always had a smile on his face, his family said.

Funeral services are pending at Baca's Funeral Chapels of Silver City. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Thomas P. Foy Scholarship Fund, P.O. Box 266 Bayard, NM 88023.

The fund is just starting, Jim Foy said, and will be used to provide college scholarships to one or two recipients, depending on funding.

The family has historically set up scholarship funds in lieu of flowers in times of death, Jim Foy said. A scholarship fund was set up by the family when Joan Foy passed away and the fund has awarded a $500 scholarship annually for the last 15 years.

When Tom Foy Jr. passed away, the family started the Tom Foy Jr., memorial scholarship fund and that has awarded a roughly $1,000 scholarship per year for the past 25 years.

"Historically my father has helped fund both the above mentioned scholarships, we just thought it was time he had his own," Jim said.

Bataan gov asks SolGen, DENR to probe 300 families' eviction

The Solicitor General and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) have been asked to look into the case of at least 300 families facing eviction from a property they have been occupying for the last 60 years in Hermosa, Bataan.

The appeal to the SolGen and the DENR was contained in a letter from Bataan Governor Enrique Garcia who took on the cause of the families facing eviction in Barangay Sumalo, Hermosa.

It comes in the wake of a writ of injunction issued by Judge Jose Ener Fernando of the Regional Trial Court Branch 5 which favors the owner the landowner to go ahead with fencing of more than 200-hectares property.

In his letter, Garcia specifically asked DENR Secretary Ramon Paje and Solicitor General Jose Anselmo Cadiz to investigate the angle of possible social injustice committed against his constituents given that the families under threat of eviction had established settlement in the area before the place was even constituted into a barangay in 1957.

“We are endorsing to you for appropriate action the distressed calls for government assistance and intervention of a great majority of the residents of Barangay Sumalo in Hermosa, Bataan who are facing summary eviction from the land which they have been occupying and tilling even before the place was constituted as a barangay in 1957,” wrote Garcia.

DTI 3 freezes prices in typhoon-hit areas in Central Luzon

Hoarders and vendors who take advantage of the situation beware! Or suffer the consequesnces of heavy fine or imprisonment. DTI Central Luzon information officer Wilfred Carbonell warned businessmen of the penalty for profiteering in prize freeze areas – up to P1 million in fines and/or imprisonment of one to five years.

If the case is hoarding, violators can face up to P2 million in fines and/or imprisonment of five to 15 years.

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) regional office 3 on Thursday said a freeze in the prices of basic goods is now in effect in seven areas in Central Luzon which have been declared under a state of calamity due to typhoons Pedring and Quiel.

The seven areas are: Dinalupihan, Bataan; Olongapo city; Aurora; Bulacan; Nueva Ecija; Pampanga; and Tarlac.

Carbonell explained that “under a state of calamity, an automatic price control is implemented as contained in Section 6 of RA 7581 otherwise known as the Price Act as a preventive measure to avoid chaos that may result from overpricing of basic goods such as processed milk, canned goods, coffee, laundry soap, detergent, candles, bread, and salt during times of calamities.”

Hence, the prices of basic goods in the mentioned areas excluding agricultural products should remain in their pre-Pedring levels.

Carbonell added that “upon declaration of state calamity by the local government, a price control can be implemented for the duration of 60 days unless lifted sooner by either the local sanggunian or by the President of the Republic of the Philippines.”

Also, local governments and provincial DTI offices can adjust prices to reflect additional operational costs or the costs of bringing the products in the market.

However, this still needs the approval of either the National Price Coordinating Council or the President. The adjusted prices must be published in newspapers of national circulation.

Bataan offered as site for coal plant in Subic

DINALUPIHAN, Bataan— Should stiff opposition in the nearby Subic Bay Freeport in Zambales stop the construction of a 600-megawatt coal plant there, the project would be welcome in Bataan, said Governor Enrique Garcia Jr.

He said a 600-MW coal plant by GN Power Co. Ltd. in Mariveles is under construction and will be online by 2012. He said he was aware of the strong opposition to the Subic coal plant proposed by a consortium of energy firms led by Aboitiz Power, Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) and Taiwan Cogen Corp.

But unlike in Subic, “we’re open to discussion [with the proponents as an alternative site for the coal plant],” he said.

“Of course, we’re still going to conduct a study on the project because we put a premium on the environment in Bataan. But we’re open and the project is viable here,” he added.

Environment advocates, Zambales and Olongapo City officials and locators at the Subic Bay Freeport, especially those involved in tourism-related businesses, have opposed the project, citing the water and air pollution that they said would be generated by its operation.

They also assailed project proponents for the lack of proper consultations on the project.

Olongapo Mayor James Gordon Jr. earlier said the proponents should relocate the project because it was not welcome in the city.

Garcia, however, said concerns on environmental impact in Bataan due to the coal plant project in Mariveles have been addressed “because the technology that [GN Power] is going to use will minimize the pollution here.”

He said a housing project will also rise in the vicinity of the plant, “proving that it won’t cause significant pollution.”

He said the Mariveles coal plant will benefit Bataan because of “low electricity cost.”

New Bataan boosts investment promo

THE local government of New Bataan in Compostela Valley province has taken the lead in promoting the municipality for local and foreign investments.

The conduct of its first-ever Investors’ Forum last month, as part of celebrating the town’s 6th Sal’upongan Festival, signified the commitment of local leaders in positioning New Bataan as an investment destination.

New Bataan Mayor Lorenzo L. Balbin Jr. said that inviting investors is one of their poverty alleviation strategies, as investments generate employment and income to the municipality.

The Local Government Unit (LGU) of New Bataan took the initiative of institutionalizing investment promotion activities by designating an Investment Promotion Officer as well as reviewing and amending their Local Investment Incentives Ordinance.

In coordination with the Department of Trade and Industry - Compostela Valley (DTI-ComVal), the conduct of the Investors’ Forum was made to draw interests from both local and international businesses to locate their investments in the municipality.

Board of Investments-Davao (BOI-Davao) chief Engr. Gil M. Dureza and DTI-ComVal Project Team Manager Nelly L. Esperanza, together with investors and manpower agencies graced the event. The forum also showcased the investment potentials of New Bataan especially in the mining industry, agriculture and tourism.

To date, New Bataan has attracted business locators in the municipality in the field of agriculture, bio-fuel, hydropower, mining and mineral processing.

OZ Wisphil Trading Corporation is partnering with Eagle Fly Corporation in putting up a P25-million coco coir decorticating plant, while Secura International Corp., a company engaged in bio-fuel production, is set to lease at least 2,000 hectares for its Napier grass production and processing plant. Hedcor Philippines is also eyeing a hydropower project while at least 20 firms are already engaged in gold processing plants.

Esperanza said that DTI-ComVal teamed up with BOI-Davao in facilitating more investments to be poured into the area particularly in rubber production and cavendish banana export as well as on the hydropower project.

Esperanza is optimistic that with the full support coming from the LGU, DTI and BOI more investments will be generated in the coming months.

Bataan sees more Japan investments

More foreign investors are expected to invest inside this Freeport area following the recent visit of country representative Mr. Norio Matsuda of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) inside the Freeport Area of Bataan (FAB), which is another positive move that will further promote and expose FAB to the foreign and local investors.

“This is a fulfillment of our responsibilities of developing and strengthening partnerships with international organizations through cooperation. JICA works with global communities, which the AFAB links with to promote the Freeport as a world-class business center,” said Chairman and Administrator Deogracias G. P. Custodio of the Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB).

Mr. Matsuda and Ms. Flery Chan, Chief of JICA Poverty Reduction Section, met with the Chairman and Administrator where the FAB head discussed about FAB’s potential as a growing business hub in the region.

The FAB has been the investment destination of choice of 40 companies from Korea, Japan, Taiwan, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Bahrain and France, as well as local firms. These companies created job opportunities for Bataeños while enjoying the superior incentives that the FAB offers to its locators.

1,500 trees planted in Bagac

BAGAC, Bataan- A total of 1,500 trees were planted by more than 250 employees of different government agencies in the region as well as those from non-government organizations (NGOs).

Spearheaded by the Central Luzon Association of Regional Officers (CLARO), the planting of trees was conducted at mountainous portions of Sitio Kinainisan in Bagac; planted trees included narra and mahogany variety.

According to National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) regional director Remigio Mercado, who is also CLARO president, “this tree planting activity is CLARO’s contribution to the National Greening Program of the government to address the global warming. Through this effort, we could help bring back the regular climate we used to have.”The worldwide change in climate is catastrophic in many countries; the country is trying to mitigate the effects here by planting millions of trees.

A 248-hectare of land, the planted area, is regularly maintained by CLARO as a result of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) for the preservation of the area, Mercado added.

Philippine Information Agency (PIA) staff Raymond Frias, a participant during the tree planting, said that “a project like this will help not only the preservation of the environment but as well promotes camaraderie among different government agencies who participated in the tree planting.”

Participating agencies came from the Civil Service Commission (CSC), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Bureau of Fire Protect (BFP), Bureau of Jail and Management Penology (BJMP), Philippine National Police (PNP) of Balanga and Pampanga, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR), Association of Mountain Farmers of Sitio Kinainisan (AMSKI), Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) of Morong, Dinalupihan, Bagac, Bataan and Regional Office 3, Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Commission on Audit (COA), Commission on Population (POPCOM), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) of Region 3 and Bataan, Department of Health (DOH), DENR, and PIA.

The program coincides with the celebration of the Philippine Civil Service’s 111th anniversary this month with the theme “Championing RACE: Public Service Excellence at Full Speed,” and in pursuance to Executive Order No. 26 or the National Greening Program.

15 missing, 3 rescued as boat sank off Maraviles

At least 15 fishermen went missing while three others were rescued after the boat they were riding sank the coast off Bataan province today.

The incident happened after huge waves hit the still unidentified vessel while it was traversing the waters off Mariveles area.

In a report, the Philippine Coast Guard said SL Mahogany tanker passed by, spotting the three distressed fishermen in the area.

The rescued fishermen revealed that there were 15 others who were with them in the boat, prompting the PCG to conduct a search and rescue operation for the missing individuals.

Preservation of Mariveles watershed up

AFAB, Bataan, Philippines – The recent successful launching of an environmental protection campaign aimed at protecting and preserving the unique beauty of Tarak Peak, the highest mountain range which serves also as watershed in this industrial town has created an environmental awareness with the support showed by government officials and private individuals.

The environmental awareness campaign was actually initiated by typhoon victim resident of Metro Manila Dennis B. Cuarto who launched the Tarak Travel and Events Koordinator (TREK) in his bid to drum up support for environmental protection. An economics graduate of Ateneo de Manila, Cuarto specifically lauded Congressman Abet S. Garcia, 2nd district, and top officials of the Authority of Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB) headed by its chairman and administrator Lawyer Deo Custodio for their unequalled support in the campaign on environmental awareness for the preservation and protection of the Tarak Peak mountain range.

Cuarto sold his little computer shop in barangay Alas-asin, Mariveles town just to start his crusade in environmental protection after he himself had become a victim of typhoon "Ondoy" that swept through Metro Manila few years ago. Cuarto’s motorcycle business in Metro Manila was also severely affected after all his brand-new motorcycles were eaten by rust and moss after days of massive floods.

“I would like to give special praise to Congressman Garcia, AFAB chairman Custodio, Mayor Jesse Concepcion of Mariveles town and other concerned citizens for their indescribable support in launching of 1st TREK,” said Cuarto who gained praise from the people of Bataan.

Atty. Custodio and his group from AFAB have been ascending twice into the 1,022 meter high above sea level Tarak Peak upon the invitation of Cuarto, and he (Custodio) himself noted the unique beauty around Tarak Peak.

Actively joining with Cuarto in TREK group are Ronadi “Nadz” Montecillo, head of Administration; Reslyn “Res” Clasara, Head for Operations and Romina “Mina” Cervantes, head for Finance and Allit Fallore.

Mayor Concepcion and Rep. Garcia, had also cited Cuarto’s move, despite his not being a resident of Bataan.

2 suspects shoot away at reporter’s Bataan home

BALANGA City, Bataan: Two local media organizations on Monday strongly condemned the strafing with M-16 rifle on the house of a reporter Sunday night and asked police authorities for speedy investigation to pinpoint the culprits.

Police recovered 26 5.56 shells at the facade of the house of Nerlie Ledesma, reporter for daily tabloid Abante, in Tagnai Village in barangay Tuyo here. The galvanized iron roofing of her house took multiple bullet holes.

“Mariing kinokondena ng Bataan Press Club ang pagbaril sa tahanan ni Nerlie na isang pagsikil sa karapatan ng mga mamamahayag sa lalawigan. Hinihiling namin sa pulisya na magsagawa ng masusing imbestigasyon para madakip ang gumawa ng kahindik-hindik na insidente na isang pananakot sa media,” said Raffy Viray, Bataan Press Club president.

Mhike Cigaral, vice-chairman of the National Union of Journalists- Bataan chapter, declared - “Ang NUJP-Bataan ay mariing kinokondena ang pamamaril sa tahanan ni Abante reporter Nerlie Ledesma lalo pa’t naroon ang 14-taong gulang nilang anak na babae. Hinihiling namin sa pulisya ang mabilis na aksiyon upang mahuli ang may kagagawan nito.”

Supt. Melecio Buslig, Balanga City police chief, said they immediately responded when informed of the incident. He said that they conducted operations along the rice paddy areas where the culprits reportedly fled.

PO2 Leonel Gatchalian, Balanga police investigator said two still unidentified men in camouflage uniform and with face-masks riddled with bullets the house of Ledesma at about 9:20 in the evening.

He said that investigations are ongoing.

Bataan villages backed on prolife ordinances

Former Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and Mayor Jose Enrique Garcia of Balanga City in Bataan have defended seven barangay (village) councils threatened with legal suits following their approval of ordinances protecting the life of the unborn child.

In a statement, Pimentel and Garcia said EnGendeRights and its lawyers had “no reasonable ground” to assume that the ordinances of Barangays Puerto Rivas Lote, Puerto Rivas Ibaba, Puerto Rivas Itaas, Cupang Proper, Cupang West, Tortugas and Tanato were already being implemented.

The statement came after Dean Pacifico Agabin, Prof. Alfredo Tadiar and their client, EnGendeRights, as well as the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers, filed position papers questioning the constitutionality of the ordinances.

“The provisions of the… barangay ordinances can be struck down for being prejudicial to public welfare, unconstitutional, inconsistent with existing laws such as the Local Government Code of 1991, Magna Carta of Women, Philippine AIDS Prevention and Control Act of 1998, and for violating international laws,” lawyer Clara Rita Padilla, executive director of EnGendeRights, said in a statement.

The group said it “actively promotes a human rights-based approach to sexual and reproductive health in Philippine laws and policies and in East and Southeast Asia.” It said it “believes that making abortion safe and legal saves women’s lives.”

No Balanga approval yet

But the Balanga City council, according to the mayor, has not yet approved the seven ordinances because the Food and Drug Administration has yet to respond to a request for a dialogue to shed light on abortifacient pills.

The barangay councils, on the other hand, have asked for time to study further the ordinances.

Citing results of interviews with health workers and village officials on September 7, Padilla said that despite the suspension of the ordinances, women were not allowed to avail themselves of free supplies of pills and injectibles.

“These are examples of mounting repression by local government units in restricting access to modern contraceptives and infringing on the rights to sexual and reproductive health,” Padilla said.

According to Garcia, there is no law that requires the local government to distribute contraceptives for free.

Pimentel and Garcia said the barangay ordinances were clearly not meant to “repress the rights of anyone but in fact to protect the life of the mother and unborn from conception,” as enacted in the 1987 Constitution.

Pimentel, author of the Local Government Code of 1991 (Republic Act No. 7160), said the barangay ordinances are constitutional, based on the general welfare provision of the code and principle of local autonomy.

Harmful contraceptives

Pimentel said that barangay ordinances banning contraceptives that may cause harm or injury to the unborn and the mother are “not arbitrary but are based on updated and valuable medical and scientific studies.”

Garcia said Balanga has “one of the most intensive and genuine responsible parenthood programs in the country.” Its program focuses on “protecting virtues and values which help and lead parents to become truly responsible.”

Pimentel and Garcia told EnGendeRights to be careful with “labeling the proposed ordinances as repressive and using false assumptions to gain media mileage in the campaign for the [reproductive health] bill.”

EnGendeRights is filing cases against city and village officials with the Commission on Human Rights and the Department of the Interior and Local Government so that “these reproductive rights violations will not be committed,” Padilla said.

Orion can decongest Metropolitan Manila

ORION, Bataan, Philippines – Mayor Jose Santos Saturday asked President Benigno S. Aquino III to make this town be an alternative port to decongest Metro Manila’s ports.

The President recently said there is a need to decongest Metro Manila which has been straining under the weight of a ballooning population and the heavy volume of vehicles such as jeepneys and big trucks plying near the ports.

“President Aquino should consider our coastal town as an alternative to Metro Manila’s ports and we can be a part of the solution to decongest Metro Manila, since our town is located along Manila Bay which is very close to Metro Manila,” pointed out Santos, a political ally of Aquino.

Santos said that aside from being strategically located, the town’s harbor is deep enough to take in international and cargo vessels. “Orion town is accessible to Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway, North Luzon Expressway, SBMA and Clark and it is only 22 nautical miles from Manila or 45 minutes away travel via Manila Bay,” said Santos.

Orion has a port built through the initiatives of Rep. Abet S. Garcia and the Philippine Port Authority that can accommodate ferry boats. Garcia is also inviting ferry owners to open a Manila-Orion route.

Santos pointed out that the national government should consider his town’s harbor if it wanted to decongest Metro Manila. “Of course, the big cargo trucks, the thousands of jeepneys plying Metro Manila’s ports can then be lessened once there is an international and alternative port in Orion,” said Santos.

Only recently, a US-based investment firm signed contract with the mayor to put up a $500-million garbage-fuelled power plant in Orion that can be the answer to the garbage problem in Bataan.

Jose U. Utrillo, president and chief executive officer of the Concord Pacific Investment, said the government of Orion will not spend a single centavo for the proposed plant.

Cheaper electricity in Bataan seen

MARIVELES, Bataan — Bataeños and investors in the province are looking forward to cheaper electricity rates once the construction of the 600-megaWatt (mW) GN power plant which is expected to be completed and made operational next year.

Governor Enrique “Tet” Garcia, one of the proponents of the GN power plant, said electricity will soon be offered at a price cheaper by 30 to 40 percent than present power rates being charged.

Bataan 2nd District Rep. Abet S. Garcia and Freeport Area of Bataan (FAB) Chairman and Administrator Deogracias G. P. Custodio relayed this information to Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP) officers Thursday.

The two officials met with BPAP Executive Director for External Affairs Martin Crisostomo and BPAP Executive Director Gigi Virata.

“Gov. Garcia had personally went a number of times to China to convince the GN power plant management to put up the coal-fired power plant here and one of his request was to have a cheaper power supply of electricity here,” said Rep. Garcia.

In its website, the equity for Mariveles Station (GN power Project) will be funded by Sithe Global and Denham Capital Management ("Denham"). The Engineering, Procurement and Construction counterparty is CNEEC (China).

GN power said that its regulatory framework is investor-friendly and transparent, and low current per capita electricity consumption combined with robust economic growth should ensure moderate to high- demand growth.

The Mariveles Project is expected to have the lowest marginal operating cost of any coal project on the grid when completed by year 2012.

It will provide significant benefits to the local community by reducing electricity costs, as well as providing jobs and substantial economic stimulus.

With this bit of good news for investors in Bataan, economic development in Camaya Coast is entering a new and promising phase, he said.

Dubbed the “Boracay of Bataan,” Camaya Coast President Goody Ilagan said the beautification of the beaches, hotel and resort in the area is being rushed.

Garcia and Mayor Jesse Concepcion have been promoting the beauty and unique environment of Camaya Coast being located in this industrial town.

Only recently, Engr. Jose Utrillo, president of the Concord Pacific and Investment Holdings, a US-based multi-national company engaged in garbage-fueled power plants and International seaports, sought audience with Custodio to express interest in putting up an International Seaport in this town.

Agri project to benefit over 13,000 farmers in Bataan

SOME 13,772 farmers from Bataan province will benefit from a project jointly initiated by the Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Agrarian reform (DAR) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

A 3,970-hectare agricultural and forestry area in Orion town was chosen to pioneer a local agro-enterprise in the province.

DENR will distribute seedlings of Atis, Guyabano, Mango, Cacao, Rambutan, Coffee Arabica and Macadamia while DA will conduct capability building training on organic farming and give out vegetable seeds.

DAR, for its part, will hold lectures ranging from land tenure improvement to agrarian justice delivery.

Eden Ponio, DAR Regional Support Services Division chief agrarian reform officer, explained that the local convergence agro-enterprise cluster site project seeks to stimulate economic activity in the countryside and support the Aquino administration’s National Greening Program.

It was conceived through the enhanced National Convergence Initiative (NCI) issued by secretaries Proceso Alcala of DA, Virgilio Delos Reyes of DAR and Ramon Paje of DENR last year.

Ponio explained that the three agencies will soon identify more convergence areas in the province in the coming months.

Orion chosen as pioneer DA-DAR-DENR convergence site in Bataan

ORION, Bataan- The Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR), and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has chosen a 3,970.86 hectare agricultural forestry area in the municipality of Orion as their pioneer local convergence agro-enterprise cluster site in Bataan.

DAR Regional Support Services Division chief agrarian reform officer Eden Ponio disclosed that the convergence site covers four agrarian reform community barangays and 19 non-agrarian reform community barangays with a total of 13,772 farmer beneficiaries.

DENR will distribute seedlings of atis, guyabano, mango, cacao, rambutan, coffee arabica, and macadamia to the convergence grantees while DA will conduct capability building trainings on organic farming and give out vegetable seeds.

DAR, on the other hand, shall hold lectures on a number of topics ranging from land tenure improvement to agrarian justice delivery.

Ponio explained that the local convergence agro-enterprise cluster site project seeks to stimulate economic activity in the countryside and support the Aquino administration’s National Greening Program.

It was conceived through the enhanced National Convergence Initiative (NCI) issued by secretaries Proceso Alcala of DA, Virgilio Delos Reyes of DAR, and Ramon Paje of DENR last year.

Ponio said the enhanced NCI promotes a framework of sustainable agriculture and rural development that integrates the people, their economy and their environment; optimizes resources and creates substantial effect in the short-term; makes possible model-building across ecosystems, production systems and rural poverty sectors/small producers in the long-term; defines clear mechanisms for harmonization and complementarity among the three rural development agencies to avoid conflicting and overlapping policies that slows the implementation of programs and projects on the ground; and give local government units a more pro-active role in identifying and implementing convergence initiatives at the local level.

The three agencies will soon identify more convergence areas in the province in the coming months.

Bataan locator ups capital stock

FREEPORT AREA OF BATAAN, Philippines — A prominent locator in the Freeport Area of Bataan (FAB) recently increased its capital stock, signifying an upward trend in doing business at the FAB barely a year after it became operational. D. I. Dawn Patrol Manufacturing Corp. (DIDPMC) increased its capital stock from P10 million to almost P100 million, spelling additional investments in the FAB.

The rise in the company’s stock indicates the company’s run on additional proceeds to invest in projects or machinery that will increase corporate profits and efficiency.

Housewives grow organic vegetables

BALANGA CITY, Philippines — More than two weeks after the military declared Bataan as insurgency-free, two suspected members of the Rebolusyonaryong Hukbong Bayan (RHB) were arrested by the military and police in an operation in Samal town.

Senior Superintendent Arnold D. Gunnacao, Bataan police director, said the joint police and army operation led to the arrest of Rufino Pascual, alias “Pidiong,” of Barangay Imelda, Samal, and Salvador Dadural, alias “Ka Bill,” “Jomell,” and “Buddy,” of Barangay San Juan, also in Samal.

Supt. Allan Macapagal, who led the police team, said they had to disarm Dadural who had in his possession a .38-caliber pistol loaded with five bullets.

Gunnacao said that upon further verification of records, it was found that Pascual is also wanted for murder in the shooting-death of a certain Jeperson Manalili.

Housewives grow organic vegetables

BALANGA CITY, Bataan- Three years ago, some 25 housewives from barangay Cataning organized themselves into the KAANIB (Kasama Ani sa Barangay).

Since idle homelots in subdivisions in the barangay become garbage dumping areas, the group decided to borrow these lots for them to work on.

But first they have to be equipped with the necessary skill to plant organic vegetables. Vegetable experts from the Department of Agriculture Regional Office’s High Value Commercial Crops Program (HVCC) gave them a hands-on training on veggie planting.

A 600 sq meter lot served as their experimental plot. The Balanga City Agricultural Office gave them plastic mulch and organic fertilizer in this initial trial. They planted eggplants, tomatoes, siling labuyo, siling berde, pipino, okra, and ampalaya. Along the perimeter fence, they planted papaya and ube.

From the training, they learned to produce their own organic insecticide. They fermented for a week the mixture of gin, ginger, kakawati, sili, garlic, neem tree leaves, onions, and sugar. Another concoction is the foliar spray made from the mixture of sugar, gin and gills, entrails, and guts of fishes.

KAANIB president Zenaida Tomas enthused that the housewives have earned as much as P3,000 from the sales of their harvest. Three housewives cultivate one vegetable bed. This way, all of them have some produce to sell.

The group has already borrowed 2,000 sq m of idle subdivision lots which they transformed into beds of organic vegetables.

Backyard planting of organic vegetables not only made the housewives make use of their time productively but also provided them with additional income DA Information officer Jun Espiritu added.

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