GMA condoles with family of
San Isidro accident victim

For the third time this month and without any fanfare. President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo went to Nueva Ecija, this time to condole with the family of the man who was killed after being hit by an Army truck participating in the presidential motorcade when the President visited the province last September 12.

Mrs. Arroyo visited with the widow and two children of the victim, Leopoldo Odulio, in San Isidro for nearly an hour.

Recounting the visit, Mayor Sonia Lorenzo quoted the president as telling the widow, Maximina, "Kung maibabalik ko lang ang buhay ng asawa niyo, gagawin ko."

During the President's motorcade from a bridge inauguration in Cabiao to the house of Rep. Rodolfo W. Antonino in Jaen, an Army truck driven by Staff Sgt. Josel Sumahit lost its brakes while passing through San Isidro, hitting a motorcycle on which Odulio and his fellow sales agent, Ronel Tecson, were riding. Tecson survived the accident.

Lorenzo said the President gave Odulio's widow money -- described by the mayor as "malaki"  -- as capital for a small business. ###
 
 

Arroyo encourages 2 foreign entities to build Balintingon Dam

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has asked a Japanese funding agency and a South Korean company to submit proposals for the P15 billion Balintingon Reservoir Multipurpose Project in General Tinio town.

This was learned from 4th District Rep. Rodolfo W. Antonino, who said that the foreign representatives met with the President during his birthday party last September 12.

Antonino said that Mrs. Arroyo wants the Balintingon project to be finally implemented after being first proposed 32 years ago. The project was a part of the Irrigation Development Plan for Central Luzon formulated in 1976.

The dam is expected to irrigate 14,900 hectares of farmlands in the eastern part of Central Luzon covering Bulacan and Nueva Ecija, using the Sumacbao River in General Tinio as source of water.

The project involves the construction of a 140 meter long rock filled dam, a 19 meter high diversion weir, 109 kilometers of main canals, 168 kilometers of lateral and sub lateral canals, 210 kilometers of drainage facilities and service and access roads and a 69 kilovolt power plant connected to the Cabanatuan City substation.

The project is meant to benefit 9,152 families in Cabanatuan City, Gapan City, and the towns of Santa Rosa, General Tinio and Peñaranda in Nueva Ecija; and San Miguel and San Ildefonso in Bulacan. ###
 
 

Diaz appointed CAB director

Former 2nd District Rep. Renato Diaz has a new position in the Arroyo government.

The President appointed Diaz as director of the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), an attached agency of the Department of Transportation and Communications that regulates the air transportation services in the country.

Prior to his new appointment, the former congressman served as presidential adviser for Northern Luzon.

The new appointment of Diaz was announced by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita.

Diaz and Ermita were colleagues in the 10th Congress. ###
 
 

Pantabangan residents file recall petition against vice mayor

Residents of Pantabangan have filed a recall petition against Vice Mayor Rossman Carrys Uera for alleged loss of confidence.

The vice mayor is a son of former Mayor Lucio Uera, a close ally of the Josons.  He defeated the former vice mayor, Jose Palad, Jr. in last year's elections, while the elder Uera lost to the incumbent mayor, Romeo Borja, Sr.

The seven page petition was filed by Dante Villajuan, Alexander dela Cruz, Danilo Mauyao and Allan Ferrer, all of Barangay Ganduz; Amador Rivas, Jr. and Jerry Custodio, both of Barangay Poblacion; Aldwin Barcelo, Nora Santos, and Henry Colannay of Barangay Gambitala; and Juanito Padilla of Barangay Malbang.

The petition was accompanied by 560 pages of signatures and thumb marks of 5,862 registered voters who support the recall move, complying with the required 25% of the total number of voters.

The petitioners said that eight of the ten municipal councilors and 12 of the town's barangay chairs also support the recall petition.

The petitioners claim that the vice mayor lost interest in performing his duties to preside and attend the Sangguniang Bayan sessions after his father lost in his re-election bid.

They said that Uera, after one year of "lackadaisical work", reported to office only to suspend Maximo Villajuan, the council secretary who was appointed by his rival, Palad.

Villajuan, in turn, filed a graft case against Uera at the Office of the Ombudsman. ###
 
 

Charges filed against suspects in Cabiao ex-vice mayor's killing

Four persons named by the police as suspects in the killing of former Cabiao Vice Mayor Bonifacio Clemente have been charged with murder at the Provincial Prosecutor's Office.

Sr. Supt. Ricardo Marquez, Nueva Ecija police director, said that the Cabiao police under Sr. Insp. Romeo Ramos, filed the information against Antonio Torres, Ponciano Canlas, both of Barangay Entablado, Cabiao, and two other unidentified suspects.

Clemente was shot and killed with a caliber .45 pistol last August 14.

Marquez said that the Cabiao police presented the affidavits of Clemente's widow, Teresita, and Lina Miranda who saw the killing to boost the case against the suspects.

Miranda said she saw two men on a black motorcycle get off in front of Jay Vulcanizing Shop in Barangay San Fernando Sur, Cabiao at about 1:20 PM and shoot Clemente who was then talking with somebody on his cell phone while waiting for his vehicle's tire to be fixed. 

With the filing of the charges, Marquez said they consider the Clemente case as solved.
###
 
 

Farmers want fertilizer subsidy anomaly investigated

A group of Novo Ecijano farmers have asked for a thorough investigation of the reported irregularity in the distribution of fertilizer subsidy coupons of the Department of Agriculture (DA).

Conrado Virtuoso, president of the Nueva Ecija Farmers' Association, Inc., claimed that many unqualified farmers received a maximum of two fertilizer discount coupons each, worth P250 per sack, for the May to October cropping season.

He said that unscrupulous fertilizer dealers gave them only P100 worth of discount per coupon.

Marcelino Castillo, an association member, said that what he got was liquid fertilizer which he said was overpriced.

The farmers complained to Redentor Gatuz, DA regional director, during an "Infolink Caravan" held at the Provincial Convention Center in Palayan City last September 18, attended by Presidential Adviser Lorelei Fajardo. ###
 
 

NEHS teacher honored

Four exemplary educators -- including one from Nueva Ecija -- were recognized for their contributions to the advancement of learning in the country.

Leonides Esteban Bulalayao of Nueva Ecija High School, Fr. Eward Hauch Dinter, Margarita Germo Gabriel and Jenelyn Marasigan were chosen from hundreds of nominees from all over the country for the "Many Faces of the Teacher" advocacy campaign, a search for the teacher that best represents the nobility of the teaching profession and who garners the inspiration not only of his/her students but also of each person and life that he/she encounters.

The highlight of the campaign was the "Tribute to Teachers" awarding ceremony last September 27 at the SMX Convention Center, participated in by 7,000 teachers.

For Bulalayao, a consistent honor student from elementary to college and recipient of numerous awards for her innovative teaching programs, poverty is not a problem but mathematics.

“I have always loved numbers,” says Bulalayao. “I dreamed of being an accountant. Never did I imagine myself teaching in a classroom, making lesson plans and going over student papers. But, looking back now, I feel that life has its own purpose and some things, good and bad, are truly beyond our control.”

Her father was a farmer and her mother, a dressmaker. 

“Our parents instilled in us the value of education as the only path to a better future. We learned to dream, for ourselves and for them,” she said.

When Bulalayao was 10 years old, her father died, and money became a problem.

When she graduated valedictorian from high school, she felt the irony of her situation.

“I exhorted my co-graduates to pursue and achieve their dreams. But I couldn't help feeling sorry for myself. I felt that life was unfair and I was frightened by the thought that my dream of a college (education) was going to remain just that -- a dream.”

Bulalayao worked in a garment factory for five years. She then took a scholarship examination which she passed. She went to college, majoring not in accounting, which was expensive, but in education

“But after meeting mathematics again in education, I have no regrets.”

Since 1987, Bulalayao has been teaching math and information technology at the Nueva Ecija High School in Cabanatuan City.

She said that she sometimes has to sing and dance so her students will understand the math lesson.

In 2004, she was chosen one of the Top 25 Innovative Teacher Leadership Award recipients by the Department of Education (DepEd). Her students have won regional math and computer contests. Her life story is included in a collection of Ateneo de Manila inspirational stories entitled “Magis: Writings on Learning, Striving, and Serving.”

Believing that technology is very important to enhance the learning process, Bulalayao and her colleagues pushed for a more technology inclined education in Nueva Ecija.

Her school has a special ICT class and four computer laboratories.  She also conducts activities and programs related to mathematics and ICT and stays after school hours to help students in their projects.

The panel of judges or the Advocacy Review Board for this year was composed of TMFT Honoree for 2004 Dr. Onofre Pagsanghan; Dr. Maria Lim Ayuyao, president of the Foundation for Worldwide People Power; Peter Perfecto of the Philippine Business for Education; former Undersecretary of Education Juan Miguel Luz; and Bato Balani Foundation Chair Saturnino G. Belen Jr.

Since 2004, The "Many Faces of the Teacher" campaign has been sponsored by Diwa Learning Systems and Bato Balani Foundation. ###
 
 

New Angeles City vet is an Ecijano

Dr Josefino Esmundo Villaroman, a Novo Ecijano, has been appointed by Angeles City Mayor Francis Nepomuceno as the new city veterinarian.

He was chosen by the city's Personnel Selection Board because of his credentials and length of practice in veterinary medicine and affiliation with various private animal entities and other local government units.

Villaroman graduated with the degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City.

He passed the board examination in 1980 and became a resident veterinarian of the UP College of Veterinary Medicine and consultant of various animal clinics and farms.

He was the city veterinarian in the City of San Fernando when the old slaughterhouse there was chosen as the best in Central Luzon in 2005.

He is married to the former Jocelyn Ode with whom he has three children -- Viktor Josef, Maria Katrina and Maria Kristina. ###
 
 

Ecijano OFW seeks help in returning home from Saudi

A Novo Ecijano overseas worker spent an entire futile year searching for his Saudi sponsor, and now wants to go home.

Crispulo Perez, 58, simply described by reports as "from Nueva Ecija", asked the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) to help him return to the Philippines saying he is fed up living the life of a TNT -- tago nang tago.

"Magsilbi sanang aral sa mga kababayan ko itong nangyari sa akin," Perez said.

"Sa aking mga kababayan na nagnanais na makapunta sa Saudi Arabia sa pamamagitan ng pagbili ng visa ay mag-isip-isip muna nang maraming beses para hindi nila sapitin ang aking nararanasan ngayon," he added.

Perez used to work in a construction company from 2000 to 2003 in Taif, a city near Jeddah in western Saudi Arabia.

In 2005, he bought a visa from an Arab sponsor for 7,000 riyals -- equivalent to $1,870 -- in a transaction facilitated by another Filipino. He said he was forced to buy a visa because he would have had a hard time applying with a Saudi company again because of his age.

Philippine labor officials said there is nothing wrong with buying a visa from a sponsor as this is allowed in the kingdom.

The problem arose when Perez's iqama or residence permit expired as his visa had also expired. Then his sponsor disappeared.

Welfare officer Romeo Pablo of the OWWA office in Jeddah said they tried to locate Perez's sponsor to no avail.

He said that the Philippine Overseas Labor Office and OWWA have promised to help Perez though it may take some time to repatriate him as Saudi Arabia has just implemented stricter rules.

Before Perez could leave, he would first be made to pay penalties for living in Saudi Arabia despite his expired residence permit.

"Gusto ko nang umuwi habang malakas pa ako para makapling ko ang pamilya ko," Perez said. ###
 
 

NE dengue death toll: 14

The provincial health officer, Dr. Benjamin Lopez, reported that dengue has killed 14 persons in Nueva Ecija and stricken 777 others.

Topping the list with the most number of dengue cases is Cabanatuan City with 217. Five victims there have died.

Other areas in the province with high dengue incidence were Bongabon, 36 cases; San Leonardo, 35; Talavera, Gapan and Muñoz, 34 each; Cabiao, 28; Guimba, 25; and Sta. Rosa, 24.

Two deaths each were reported in Talavera and San Antonio, and one death each in the Science City of Muñoz, Palayan City, Rizal, Carranglan and Guimba. ###
 
 

San Jose robbery group members nabbed

Five armed men who were later discovered to be members of a robbery gang were arrested by the San Jose City police at a checkpoint near the city public market.

Supt. Sidney Villaflor, city police chief, identified the suspects as Florante Castillo, 33, of Digos, Davao and the alleged leader of the group ; Edgar Balubal, 37; Cornelio Gonzales, 35; Roland Seguancia, 31; and Nelson Akain, 25, all of San Jose City.

Recovered from them were two loaded cal. 38 revolvers, live ammunitions for a cal. 45 pistol, and three bladed weapons.

The five turned out to be members of a larger group that had staged a number of robbery-hold ups in Nueva Ecija and nearby Pangasinan.

When arrested, the group was said to be casing the house of a local physician. ###