Philippine Daily Inquirer articles from March 2010

Philippine Daily Inquirer archives from March 2010

Poll adviser worried over loss of ballot security mark.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Kristine L. Alave ANOTHER HICCUP HAS LED TO one less election safeguard. A major security feature of the machines to be used in the automated elections on May 10 has reportedly been turned off after tests failed to sense the...

Palace to BIR, toll board: Settle VAT on tolls issue.
March 31, 2010... MALACANANG YESTERDAY advised the chiefs of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Toll Regulatory Board to resolve between themselves the issue of whether to implement the 12-percent value-added tax (VAT) on expressway toll fees tomorrow. The...

Clash of the Negros donas: Yellow vs green.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Carla P. Gomez, Inquirer Visayas BACOLOD CITYA YELLOW, postwar two-story wooden house owned by a big sugar planter stands on one side of Dr. Locsin Street in Silay City, 14 kilometers north of here. Across from it is a green sprawling...

The grace of poverty.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Roberto S. Salva AROUND THIS TIME TWO YEARS AGO, I reviewed the personal vision I wrote for myself seven years earlier. I updated it and realized that all through the many years that I lived in poverty, I did not want to become rich....

DENR: Ponder on agony we cause environment.
March 31, 2010... Byline: ]By Alcuin Papa DO PENANCE FOR THE ENVIronment on Holy Week, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said Tuesday. In a statement, Environment Secretary Horacio Ramos said the countrys estimated 81 million...

Did you know.
March 31, 2010... BRONZE panels at the Manila Cathedrals main portal feature carvings representing important episodes in the history of the church such as the 1579 blessing of the original church, the collapse of the first stone church due to the 1600 earthquake...

Mt. Diwalwal honor students get 14-k gold medals.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Frinston Lim, Inquirer Mindanao MONKAYO, COMPOSTELA VALleyA fidgety Era Jane Rivera was beaming as the names of the honor students were being called out. The 12-year-old was among the Top 10 students (all valedictorians from Grade...

Drug raid operatives get cash incentives.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Nina Calleja ALL OF THE POLICE OPERATIVES WHO took part in the raid on a drug laboratory in Taguig which resulted in the seizure of P10 billion worth of chemicals and equipment have received cash rewards from the city government. ...

Diminished.
March 31, 2010... PRESIDENTS FACING THE END OF THEIR TERMS are inclined to repay loyalty and support as the clock runs out on their administration. In the United States this usually extends to presidential pardons being handed out to friends and loyalists. The...

7-Eleven joins Thailand race.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Cedelf P. Tupas THE CRACK 7-ELEVEN ROADBIKE PHILIPpines squad continues its quest for international recognition when it competes in the six-stage Tour of Thailand starting tomorrow in the northern Thailand. Lloyd Lucien Reynante,...

EPD, Manila police step up patrols to prevent burglaries, other crimes.
March 31, 2010... Byline: DJ Yap and J.I. Andrade AS IN PAST OBSERVANCES OF the Holy Week, the Eastern Police District (EPD) is on heightened alert, patrolling residential areas, churches and schools and looking out for opportunistic burglars. During Lent,...

Faction of Honasan group endorses Gibo.
March 31, 2010... SARIAYA, QUEZONA GROUP claiming to represent at least a million retired men in uniform has declared support for administration standard-bearer Gilbert Teodoro, going against a faction that declared support for Manuel Villar. Nestor Gualberto,...

Noynoy fears failure of election scenario.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Gil C. Cabacungan Jr. WITH JUST 41 DAYS LEFT BEfore Election Day, Sen. Benigno Noynoy Aquino III voiced doubts that the Commission on Elections (Comelec) could prevent a failure of elections and urged the public to remain vigilant. ...

Good time for renewalCBCP.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Leila B. Salaverria HOLY WEEK IS THE PERFECT time for the faithful to repent for their sins and choose the path of good, according to the president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). Bishop Nereo...

Graft raps urged vs 6 health execs.
March 31, 2010... SIX TOP EXECUTIVES OF THE STATE-run Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) are facing graft charges in the Office of the Ombudsman for implementing the Simplified Reimbursement Scheme (SRS) which allows health care providers to receive...

High court rebuffs Palace.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Dona Pazzibugan CONTRARY TO THE DEPARTMENT OF JUStices interpretation, President Macapagal-Arroyo cannot appoint vacancies in the judiciary except those in the Supreme Court based on the tribunals controversial March 17 decision...

Inexperienced Ana will learn her lessons.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Beth Celis THE RESULT OF LAST SUNDAYS TITLE fight between Fil-Am Ana The Hurricane Julaton and Lisa Bad News Brown underscored one very important factor in boxing: Experience. The 29-year-old Ana bowed to seasoned veteran Brown who...

Ivlers doctor tells court hes ready to be discharged.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Julie M. Aurelio PROSECUTORS IN THE MURder case filed against road rage suspect Jason Ivler have asked a judge to inhibit himself from the casea move which he ignored because the defense was not properly notified of the motion filed...

Half a day in a cloister.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Ambeth R. Ocampo IRON GRILLS SEPARATE THE MONASTERY from the world. From the abbey church people can peer into an oasis of quiet in the navel of downtown Manila. There is a small square patch of landscaped greenery in the center of...

Mercedes Seven unveiled.
March 31, 2010... CHAMPIONS ELMER DE LEON, JOHN Lim and Emmanuel Sibal banner the Philippine delegation in the MercedesTrophy Asian Finals this August after the trio topped their respective classes in the national finals at the Sta. Elena Golf Club in Cabuyao,...

Quirino Avenue in Paranaque closed to traffic.
March 31, 2010... A PORTION of Quirino Avenue will be temporarily closed to traffic on April 11 to give way to activities sponsored by the Paranaque City government. Based on a traffic advisory issued by the city government yesterday, the stretch of Quirino...

Woman injured in accident.
March 31, 2010... A 29-YEAR-OLD woman was hurt after the Toyota Camry she was driving hit a row of trees and then flipped over on the northbound lane of C5 Road in Taguig City yesterday morning. The police identified the victim as Katherine Duque who said she was...

2 killed, 4 hurt as jeep hits 2 vehicles.
March 31, 2010... TWO PEOPLE died while four were injured after a jeepney hit a tricycle and taxi cab on Monday night on San Mateo Road in Quezon City. Roberto Vergara, who was driving the passenger jeepney, said his brakes failed to work. The vehicle hit a...

Cop nabbed.
March 31, 2010... MANILA policemen arrested a colleague for car theft after he was found in possession of a stolen motorcycle and for alleged extortion. Operatives of the Manila Police District General Assignment Section (MPD-GAS) arrested PO2 Ronnel Coquia, 37,...

Enforce no plate, no travel policy.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Nina Calleja NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION POLICE OFFICE (NCRPO) chief Director Roberto Rosales has ordered the heads of the different police districts in Metro Manila to strictly enforce the no plate, no travel policy to prevent criminals...

The deadly seven.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Michael L. Tan DID YOU MEAN SEVEN LAST WORDS? I had asked Dr. Marife Yap, associate dean of Ateneos medical school, if Jesuit Communications could interview me at her office in Ateneo and she was almost aghast when I mentioned the...

Mining and its costs.
March 31, 2010... THE Inquirer IS STARTING TODAY HOMETOWN ISSUES TO HELP voters in the provinces gauge local candidates. In this series, the Inquirer solicits the views of candidates for governor, mayor or representative of select provinces, towns, cities and...

Failure of elections and cancer-causing flour.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Neal H. Cruz FILIPINOS ARE DEATHLY AFRAID OF TWO things this holy week: a failure of elections, in which case President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo may be able to stay on as holdover President, a fate worse than death for most Filipinos,...

Jobless report hit.
March 31, 2010... A LABOR party-list group called a myth a National Statistics Office (NSO) report which stated that the number of unemployed Filipinos had gone down to 2.8 million in January from 2.9 million during the same month last year due to...

Danding kid in mishap.
March 31, 2010... THE VEHICLE used by the daughter of business tycoon Eduardo Danding Cojuangco was hit by a Ceres bus just outside Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental on Monday afternoon. Lisa Cojuangco Cruz was riding a white Toyota Land Cruiser when the bus...

Cop slain in Tanauan.
March 31, 2010... A POLICEMAN was killed after coming to the rescue of villagers who sent distressed calls that armed men on a drinking spree in Tanauan City were creating trouble Monday night, police said Tuesday. Senior Supt. Alberto Supapo, Batangas police...

1 dead in poll rally.
March 31, 2010... ONE person was killed while four others were wounded when two unidentified men fired at a political meeting of the incumbent mayor of Calatagan town, police said. Valentino Taguibao, 34, was attending the caucus of Mayor Sophia Palacio in...

Dont count Gibo out yet, says Palace.
March 31, 2010... Byline: TJ Burgonio THOUGH HE REMAINS A POOR FOURTH IN the surveys, administration standard-bearer Gilbert Gibo Teodoro should not be counted out of the presidential race, Malacanang said yesterday. Theres no reason for anyone to throw in...

Noy to Manny: Just prove poverty.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Gil Cabacungan WHY BLAME US? JUST PROVE that you were really poor. Liberal Party presidential candidate Sen. Benigno Noynoy Aquino III yesterday advised his rival, Nacionalista Party standard-bearer Sen. Manny Villar, to stop...

Operations of MRT, LRT suspended from April 1-4.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Paolo G. Montecillo METRO MANILAS OVERHEAD train systems will stop operating during the four-day Holy Week break to make way for annual maintenance checks. In advisories posted on their websites, operators of the Light Rail Transit...

Padilla breaks record, makes Asiad grade.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Cedelf P. Tupas ACE MARKSMAN NATHANIEL TAC PA-dilla hit two birds with one stone Sunday. The irrepressible Padilla, who bagged a gold medal in the Southeast Asian Games in Laos last year, surpassed his own national record and the...

Palace defends declaration of martial law in Maguindanao.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Christine O. Avendano MALACANANG YESTERDAY shrugged off suggestions that the dismissal of rebellion charges against the Ampatuan clan meant that the declaration of martial law in Maguindanao following the Nov. 23 massacre of 57 people...

Should Pangasinan host nuke plants?
March 31, 2010... PANGASINAN Capital: Lingayen Towns: 44 towns, 4 cities Population (2007): 2,645,395 Voting population: 1,628,288 Major industries: agriculture, aquaculture, tourism What is your position on the proposed establishment of two...

10 commandments according to PNP.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Marlon Ramos THE LATEST DIRECTIVE FROM Camp Crame sounds like the 10 commandments from Mount Sinai. Stressing the significance of the May 10 elections in preserving democracy, Philippine National Police Director General Jesus...

And still, mahirap.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Conrado de Quiros MANUEL VILLAR HAD A MOST INTERESTING answer to the pile of evidence that they were never poor and that his kid brother did not die because they were poor. His brother, he said, was in fact rushed to FEU because it...

Quo vadis? Try Latin Mass.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Ma. Ceres P. Doyo BRUSH UP ON YOUR KYRIE and Pater Noster. Ransack the old baul and bring out your lolas lace veil and Roman Catholic Daily Missal in Latin. And dont compare the lovely Gregorian hymns you heard the nuns chant long ago...

Remove troops from Pangasinan, solon says.
March 31, 2010... DAGUPAN CITYPANGASINAN Rep. Conrado Estrella III on Monday said he would ask the Commission on Elections to immediately pull out soldiers deployed to two eastern Pangasinan towns because their presence was unnecessary. I dont see any reason...

Truth-telling.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Rina Jimenez-David TRUTH-TELLING IS AN IMPERATIVE THESE days when we Christians are asked to reflect on our sins and ponder how we can properly atone for them. Truth-telling is likewise a necessary exercise in this election season,...

San Andres leads Javier motocross.
March 31, 2010... KENNETH SAN ANDRES, LAST years top local motocross rider, spearheads the Filipino challenge when town of Valderrama in Antique hosts the First Gov. Evelio Javier International Motocross Championship from April 24 to 25. San Andres will see...

Saturday a holiday; half-day in govt today.
March 31, 2010... PRESIDENT MACAPAGAL-ARroyo has declared Black Saturday a special non-working day across the country. Ms Arroyo said in Proclamation No. 2029 that the observance of Holy Week was one of the peoples most cherished traditions and that Black...

Smart Gilas nears deal with import.
March 31, 2010... Byline: June Navarro A CAUTIOUS SMART GILAS SQUAD IS close to sealing a deal that will fill the teams need for a naturalized player. The team has been in constant negotiations with Dwayne Jones and agent Dave Gasman in a bid to end what...

Somali pirates seize Pinoys.
March 31, 2010... THE DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS reported yesterday that a Panamanian-flagged cargo ship with 24 crew on board including Filipinos and five other nationalities was hijacked Monday near the Gulf of Aden. The Philippine embassy in Nairobi said...

16 stories with happy endings.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Michael L. Tan, Columnist (Last of three parts) THIS WAS ONE CONGRESS organized by the Ateneo Professional Schools (APS) that unfolded through 16 stories of projects with the involvement of Ateneo, all confronting the poverty...

Tigers eye third straight victory.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Cedelf P. Tupas COCA-COLAS EARLY SURGE IN THE PBA Fiesta Conference even has its coach Bo Perasol pleasantly surprised. After finishing eighth in the tournament last season, the Tigers seek their best start in four conferences when...

UAAP run lifts hopes of Ateneo.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Jasmine W. Payo A RECORD UAAP RUN JUST REVIVED THE Ateneo Lady Eagles semifinal hopes in the Shakeys V-League as the tournaments seventh season kicks off on April 11 at the FilOil Flying V Arena in San Juan. Buoyed by their recent...

AgriNurture buying 3 SMEs.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Riza T. Olchondra PUBLICLY LISTED AGRINURTURE INC. IS acquiring three small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to strengthen its product lines and boost exports. Well be acquiring one coconut company, one banana company, and a...

The incredible lightness of Zoom-Zooming.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Aida Sevilla-Mendoza IF YOU WANT TO SEE WHAT THE ALL-new, still-to-be-introduced 2010 Mazda3 will look like up front, go see the 2010 Mazda2 at the dealership nearest you. The Mazda2, known as the Demio in Japan and launched in Manila...

Group slams DOE, utilities for crisis.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Amy R. Remo THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ELECTRICITY CONsumers for Reforms Inc. has sought a stricter implementation of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (Epira) as it blamed the noncompliance of distribution utilities for the...

Election inflation.
March 31, 2010... Byline: the staff THERES SO MUCH CASH chasing too few ad airtime slots during this historic presidential election. Therefore, the cost of broadcasting the presidential candidates ads is rising at a much faster pace than the global oil prices....

CitisecOnline posts 154% jump in profit.
March 31, 2010... LEADING ONLINE STOCKBROkerage CitisecOnline posted a 154-percent growth in 2009 net profit on the back of the strong stock market performance and an expansion in customer base. The publicly listed brokerage firm chalked up P269 million in net...

ERC sets new plant ownership limits.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Amy R. Remo THE ENERGY REGULATORY COMmission has set new limits on the power-generating capacity that a single company or group can own to protect electricity consumers from monopoly and market power abuse. The ERC revised the...

Vespa: More than just two wheels.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Tina Arceo-Dumlao THE ICONIC VESPA EASIly stands outlike the queen among the masses from the crowd of cacophonic motorcycles that rule the congested streets of Metro Manila, and it makes no apologies for it. The Vespa of the...

First Pac buys 6.6% stake of Lopez group in Meralco.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Doris C. Dumlao FIRST PACIFIC CO. LTD. OF HONG Kong yesterday exercised its option to acquire an additional 6.6-percent stake in Manila Electric Co. from the Lopez family. The Philippine Stock Exchange approved the execution of a...

Govt eyes $500-M OFW bond issue.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Ronnel W. Domingo THE GOVERNMENT IS READYing an OFW bond issue of at least $500 million, of which $100 million will be in retail debt paper. Deputy National Treasurer Eduardo S. Mendiola said that while Malacanang authorized the...

Nido starts survey in SC 58 area in Palawan.
March 31, 2010... AUSTRALIAN FIRM NIDO PETROLEUM Ltd. has begun a two-phase survey of a portion of Service Contract 58 in northwest Palawan to identify prospective areas for drilling. In a regulatory filing, Nido said the deep-water seabed coring and multibeam...

Robinsons Land, BPI in housing loan tie-up.
March 31, 2010... BPI FAMILY SAVINGS BANK HAS TIED UP with the Gokongweis Robinsons Land Corp. to offer housing deals, both being upbeat on the local property market. In a briefing yesterday on a new Housing Madness program, top officials of BPI Family and RLC...

Stocks hit 2-year high.
March 31, 2010... LOCAL STOCKS BROKE INTO A new two-year high yesterday as the solid gains in the US markets inspired a fresh wave of foreign buying, awakening the market from the Holy Week lull. The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index advanced 24.61...

Treasury raises P8.2B from 7-year bond sale.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Ronnel W. Domingo THE BUREAU OF THE TREAsury yesterday raised P8.21 billion in seven-year bonds, lower than the planned borrowing of P8.5 billion. Deputy National Treasurer Eduardo S. Mendiola said that accepting more tender would...

Trade department seeks GSP extension for eight products.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Abigail L. Ho THE DEPARTMENT OF TRADE and Industry is seeking the retention of duty-free access to the United States for eight of the countrys export products, saying this will help exporters be more competitive with counterparts who...

Homework helper.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Pam Pastor STRESSED BECAUSE your otherwise brilliant son isnt doing well in school? Youre not alone. Ana Homayoun, an academic counselor, wrote That Crumpled Paper Was Due Last Week, a book that aims to help disorganized and...

Manage sale events better.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Linda B. Bolido GRADUATION IS ANOTHER OCCASION for stores to hold sales. The bigger establishments even have full page advertisements to announce their sales. But I wish they would manage their inventory better to allow more customers...

Over 40 memorable state dinners, receptions how we put them together.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Miguel A. Minana, Contributor I HAVE HAD THE PRIVILEGE of working on over 40 state dinners with Malacanangs Social Secretary Bettina Aboitiz for the past nine years. All have been memorable. But the one that took us out of the Palace...

Cardholders treated to gourmet food, excellent wines.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Maurice Arcache IT WAS A NIGHT OF HEAVENLY gourmet treats when HSBCs prestigious Premier MasterCard cardholders were invited for an exclusive affair at the renowned Enderun 101 in McKinley Hill, Fort Bonifacio, dahlings. Premier...

Cesar recalls playing pranks on Angelo.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Dolly Anne Carvajal I FINALLY GOT TO TALK TO MY BFF Cesar Montano and his lovely wife, Sunshine, the night before Buboys son Angelo was cremated in Arlington. Though still obviously grieving, Buboy tried to stay cheerful during the...

GF attends funeral of Buboys son.
March 31, 2010... Byline: Marinel R. Cruz ANGELO DIDNT WANT TO die. Before this happened, he still hoped to accomplish a lot of things, said actor Cesar Montano in a eulogy on Saturday for son Christian Angelo, who shot himself before dawn on March 26,...

[ Celebs caught buying fake passes for Timbaland concert.
March 31, 2010... Byline: the Entertainment staff SEVERAL CELEBRITIES were reportedly refused entry to the Changing Lives concert of Timbaland, Jojo and Justin Timberlake last Saturday at the Mall of Asia groundsbecause they presented fake production passes...

Aquino leads Villar by 9 pts in new poll.
March 30, 2010... WEAKENING SUPPORT by the poor for presidential candidate Manuel Villar Jr. and their steady backing of Benigno Aquino III have given Aquino a clear lead over Villar, according to results of a nationwide survey conducted by Social Weather...

Arraignment of 8 LBC officials postponed.
March 30, 2010... Byline: DJ Yap THE ARRAIGNMENT OF EIGHT top officials of the LBC group of companies charged with committing estafa (fraud) against a pre-need firm was moved to May after their lawyers asked for a postponement while they waited for the...

A ref jumps into the wild, wild poverty arena.
March 30, 2010... Byline: Recah Trinidad GOING BACK TO JOSHUA CLOTTEY, did the referee even once think of yanking him out of the ring for refusing to put up a fight? Clottey against Manny Pacquiao in Texas was, for most of the bout, a picture of complete...

Gwen passes leadership test.
March 30, 2010... Byline: Belinda Olivares-Cunanan I AGREE WITH THOSE WHO OPINED THAT PRE-sident Macapagal-Arroyo should not regard the 9-1 decision of the Supreme Court, which opened the door for her to appoint a new chief justice, as blanket authority to...

Click! Youre ready to visit 7 churches.
March 30, 2010... Byline: Leila B. Salaverria ALMOST EVERYTHING CAN BE DONE ON A computer these days, so how about the Catholic tradition of Visita Iglesia or visiting seven churches on Maundy Thursday to pray and reflect on the coming suffering of Jesus...

QC court junks rebellion raps against Ampatuans.
March 30, 2010... Byline: Julie M. Aurelio CITING LACK OF EVIDENCE, THE Quezon City Regional Trial Court yesterday dismissed rebellion charges against Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr. and six other members of his powerful clan in connection with the Nov. 23 massacre of...

Did you know.
March 30, 2010... STONE sculptures of saints adorn the main facade of the Manila Cathedral. The saints are Rose of Lima, Jacob the Great, Andrew the Apostle, Francis Xavier, Polycarp and Anthony Abbot. Cyril L. Bonabente, Inquirer Research

Duckworth, Kmacheva put away singles crowns.
March 30, 2010... Byline: Marc Anthony Reyes JAMES DUCKWORTH, THE AUStralian who broke Filipino fans heart by drubbing Jeson Patrombon in the first round, went all the way in the boys singles of the 21st Mitsubishi Lancer International Junior tennis...

Calvary.
March 30, 2010... CALVARY, AS EVERY CHRISTIAN KNOWS, IS THE place where Jesus Christ was crucified. Over two millennia, calvary has come to mean an extreme experience of physical, mental and emotional suffering. In the past nine years, the Filipino nation has...

Farmers shift to tobacco.
March 30, 2010... CANDON CITYHIGH TOBACco prices and the long dry spell are driving a record number of Ilocos Sur farmers to shift to tobacco growing this year, the National Tobacco Administration said. Renato Aquino, NTA supervising tobacco regulator in...

Folayang stops Korean in first round.
March 30, 2010... EDUARD FOLAYANG WASTED LITTLE TIME subduing Korean Chung Doo-je on Saturday to retain his welterweight crown in the Colt 45-Universal Reality Combat Championship XVI at the A. Venue Events Hall in Makati. A former national wushu team...

FVR to poll tailenders: Dont be discouraged, soldier on.
March 30, 2010... Byline: Jerome Aning FORMER PRESIDENT FIDEL Ramos yesterday said presidential candidates should not be discouraged by poor performance in the latest surveys. Speaking to reporters at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport upon his arrival...

GMA to use SC nod for new appointments.
March 30, 2010... Byline: Dona Z. Pazzibugan and Christine O. Avendano EXPECT PRESIDENT MACAPAGAL-ARroyo to issue more midnight appointmentsto both the judiciary and executive positions. With the recent Supreme Court ruling allowing her to appoint the next...