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www.metroexpressnews.yolasite.com Manila, PHILIPPINES July 29-Aug 5, 2011 Vol. 1. No.8

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President Noy nets a thunderous applause from the audience at this junture during his second State of theNation Address at the House of Representatives Monday, 25 July 2011. Also in photo are Senate PresidentJuan Ponce-Enrile (top left) and Speaker Sonny Belmonte (top right).

‘A mission accomplished’

Galing! Sarilingwika pa kaso ‘di na ata

tayo mga ‘Boss’ ni Noy-Pah...pa’no yan

Lolo Eug?

8

‘PERSONALANNA’ 2 “THIS is personal.”

So said President Aquino in his second State of theNation Address Monday, 25 July 2011 at Congress’sjoint session at the House of Representatives inQuezon City where he stressed that it is his person-al advocacy to bring corrupt former governmentofficials to justice and that the Filipino peopleshould join him in his mission.

“Personal talaga sa akin ang paggawa ng tama, at angpagpapanagot sa mga gumagawa ng mali—sino man sila.At hindi lamang dapat ako ang namemersonal sa usapingito. Personal dapat ito sa ating lahat, dahil bawat Pilipinoay biktima nito,” Aquino said during his 2nd SONA.

To help him in his fight against corruption, PresidentAquino appointed former Supreme Court AssociateJustice Conchita Carpio-Morales as Ombudsman.

“Pagpasok ng bagong Ombudsman na si dating Su-preme Court Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales, magkaka-roon tayo ng tanod-bayan na hindi magiging tanod-bayadng mga nagwawang-wang sa pamahalaan,” he added.

President Noy’s 2nd SONA:

...cont’d on page 3

By Fitzgerald Cecilio

...and of course, the “usualsuspects” also had a field day too...

Thousands march alongCommonwealth Avenue in QC,just a stone’s throw away fromwhere P-Noy delivered his ‘11SONA Monday (July 25) at theHouse of Representatives evenas his effigy burns. Bishopsalso got satirized (left) and‘Lolas’ made their pitch.

Antonino says P-Noy’s SONA covered key Minda imperatives

SBMA ADMINISTRATOR/CEO ARMAND ARREZA

METRO/LRT NEWSTHE PHILIPPINES’s 1st & ONLY FREE BROADSHEET NEWSPAPER

2 July 29-Aug 5, 2011

The Light Rail Transit (LRT) Authority has recentlycelebrated its 31st founding anniversary particularlylast on July 12 and 15, 2011 with the theme “Tren-ta-Uno Anyos ng Serbisyong Ayos!” at the Line 2Santolan Depot, Pasig City.

Highlighting the two-day celebration was theawarding ceremony for deserving and loyal employ-ees of LRTA held last Tuesday.

This was followed by the “One Big Fun Day”,which aimed to foster camaraderie and unity among itsofficials and employees last Friday.

With its “fiesta” theme, lots of games such aspalosebo, luksong-tinik, patentero and kadang-kadang were played by LRTA employees during theday.

The celebration capped with the motivational talkby Presidential Communications Group for OperationsSecretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma.

Whereas the one month long bloodletting activitiesin selected stations of Lines 1 & 2 are still ongoing.LRTA employees and passengers are invited todonate bloods in support to the campaign of thePhilippine National Red Cross.

31 years of service

LRTA Administrator Rafael S. Rodriguez stressedthat LRTA has been serving millions of commutersfrom different places for about 31 years.

“It was the country’s historic honor to havelaunched the first rail way system in the whole of

LRTA celebrates 31st anniversarySoutheast Asia, even ahead of Singapore andMalaysia, Rodriguez said.

Although it began from a loan from Belgium, therailway system has evolved into a modern, state-of-the-art railway facility that has been supported byother countries that integrated the technologies ofJapan, the United States, Korea, France, Singaporeand Germany.

As the country’s flagship railway system that hasdramatically reduced traffic volume in Metro Manila,the LRTA has remained committed to improving further its services vowing to provide fast, safe,reliable and responsive rail travel.

LRT- 1 which stretches from Baclaran to RooseveltStations transport almost half-million passengerseveryday while LRT-2 that runs from Recto toSantolan have an average riders of more than 200,000daily

LRTA is also committed to finish the North Exten-sion Project which will physically integrate the LRT-1to MRT-3. The recently opened Balintawak andRoosevelt stations are part of the extension project.

LRT- 1 which stretches from Baclaran to RooseveltStations transport almost half-million passengerseveryday while LRT-2 that runs from Recto toSantolan have an average riders of more than 200,000daily.

Rodriguez also cited the South Extension Projects,the route from Baclaran to Cavite and the EastExtension Projects which will extend the LRT-2 toMasinag in Antipolo City.

SENATOR Antonio Trillanes IVlauded on Friday President BenignoS. Aquino III for immediately signinginto law the bill which provides forthe expeditious and timely release ofthe benefits, pensions and gratuitiesof government workers retiring fromthe service.

The new law, Republic Act No.10154, provides for the release ofretirement benefits of state workerswithin 30 days from the actual dateof their retirement.

“I thank the President for his swiftaction on the bill. By immediatelysigning the bill into law, he effective-ly recognized the sacrifices of ourpublic officers and employees whohave rendered decades of faithful,loyal and dedicated service to thepublic, often toiling and laboringwith salaries and benefits barelyenough to meet their personal andfamily needs” Trillanes said.

Trillanes added: “The least we cando is to ensure that they will receivetheir retirement pay, pensions,gratuities and other retirementbenefits immediately or at leastwithin a fixed and reasonable timeafter their retirement. Retiringgovernment employees should notbe made to wait, much less groveland beg, for what is actually due tothem under the law.”

The new law also seeks to penalizeofficials who would cause unduedelay on the release of thesebenefits. These erring officials, afterhearings and due proceedings, shallbe subject to administrative disci-

Trillanes lauds P-Noy for signing law on timelyrelease of state workers’ retirement benefits

plinary action and shall be penalizedwith suspension from servicewithout pay from six months to oneyear, at the discretion of the disci-plining authority, except in cases offorce majeure and other insuperablecases.

Trillanes, the principal author ofthe law, said that he and othersenators received numerous andpersistent complaints from civilservants that they were made to waitfor unreasonable period of time,sometimes years, before they wereable to get their retirement benefits.

The bill is among the first few billssponsored by Trillanes before theSenate plenary after being releasedfrom detention late last year. Tril-lanes was formally granted amnestyby President Aquino in January 2011after seven and half years ofincarceration for his role in the 2003Oakwood mutiny and the 2007Manila Peninsula incident.

Press Release

SEN. TRILLANES

President Benigno S. Aquino III leads the opening prayer during the Cabinet Meeting at Malacanang’s State Dining Room on Monday (July 25). In photo are National DefenseSecretary Voltaire Gazmin, Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Trade and IndustrySecretary Gregory Domingo, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo and Transportation and Communication Secretary Manuel Roxas II.

THE Civil Service Commission(CSC) has urged national and localgovernment agencies to increase ca-pability-building opportunities for theiremployees, stressing that there is a di-rect link between human resource (HR)development and national progress.

CSC Chair Francisco T. Duque IIIsaid, “We can take a cue from tigernations such as Singapore. Much ofthat country’s success was anchoredon maximizing their human capital. It ishigh time that we shift our focus to-wards developing a competent andcredible government workforce as thekey to solving the country’s econom-ic and social woes.”

Duque said that the CSC, as the leadinstitution on personnel administrationand development in the public sector,has embarked on establishing a CivilService Institute (CSI) that is envi-sioned to be the premier learning insti-tution for civil servants in the country.

The CSI will conduct trainings, ad-minister scholarship programs, formu-late standards on training and staff de-velopment, and integrate and evalu-ate training programs.

“The CSI will give the best trainingunder four thrusts – governance andleadership, human resource and orga-nization development, public servicereforms, and values and culture build-ing – with the end goal of transform-ing every civil servant into a lingkod-bayani or servant hero,” said Duque.

Initial course offerings include CSC’sflagship trainings programs on valuesand governance, namely, Values Ori-entation Workshop, Public ServiceEthics and Accountability, Basic Cus-tomer Service Skills, Service ExcellenceDelivery Program, Gender SensitivitySeminar, and Administrative Justice.

New training programs will also beoffered such as Creating a LearningMindset, Financial Planning Work-shop for First Level, High Performancefor Public Supervisors, Project Man-agement, Powerful Media Relations,Ethical Decision Making for PublicManagers, and Future Leadership Pro-gram.

CSC bats forcapability-buildingamong state workers

DEFENSE Secretary Voltaire Gazmin has cited the doable action of the De-partment of National Defense (DND) for the last 12 months.

“Entrusted with the mandate to oversee the implementation of the defenseand security policies of our republic and ensure its sovereignty and the integ-rity of its national territory, we began our task based on the established ideals ofour new national leadership – good governance, transparency and account-ability,” Gazmin said.

The DND secretary said this in a statement he read during the fifth and last“Pilipinas Natin” (Our Philippines) Cabinet Cluster Forum on Security Justiceand Peace at the Kalayaan Hall of Malacanang Palace on Wednesday.

He said one of his first acts when he took over was to formulate a nationaldefense policy.

This is the fundamental guideline of the DND on how to implement a rationaland doable national defense strategy that would protect the Philippine sover-eignty and territorial integrity and ensure lasting peace and stability.

“With your DND, with its agencies – the Armed Forces of the Philippines(AFP), the Office of Civil Defense, the Government Arsenal, the Philippine Vet-erans Affairs Office, the National Defense College of the Philippines and theVeterans Memorial Medical Center – thereafter created a unified medium-term

DND chief Voltaire Gazmin cites doable actions for the last 12 mosdefense capability development plan from 2011 to 2016,” Gazmin said.

“Considering our meager resources, we devised and adopted the defensesystem of management for more prudent, efficient, effective and honest utiliza-tion of our resources based on the real needs of our agencies,” Gazmin said.

In the pursuit of attaining lasting internal peace, Gazmin said the DND imple-mented Internal Peace And Security Plan (IPSP) or the Bayanihan, which in-volves an all-sectors-of-society approach on winning the peace for nationalunity and solidarity.

On the whole, DND proposed the National Defense Act that, if eventually ap-proved, will enable the department to be more responsive to the current and evolv-ing developments in our domestic, regional and global security environments.

“Today we are very resolute in our goal of upgrading our armed forces secu-rity equipment and hardware. In land, on air and sea, our Armed Forces of thePhilippines should be able to perform its constitutional mandate of protectingour sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Gazmin said.

In the area of instituting reforms, DND made specific changes in the manage-ment of our financial and logistical resources.

Gazmin assured Filipinos that DND and AFP are now properly spendingevery peso of the taxpayers’ money.

THE NATIONTHE PHILIPPINES’s 1st & ONLY FREE BROADSHEET NEWSPAPER

3July 29-Aug 5, 2011

‘It’s personal...’”Inaasahan ko nga po na sa taon na ito, masasampahan na ng kaso ang

lahat ng nagkuntsabahan sa katiwalian, at naging sanhi ng situwasyongating inabutan. Tapos na rin po angpanahon kung kailan nagsasampaang gobyerno ng malalabnaw nakaso. Kapag tayo ang nagsampa,matibay ang ebidensya, malinawang testimonya, at lusot angsalarin,” Aquino said.

“Tutok tayo na ang pagkakamitng ganap na katarungan ay hindinatatapos sa pagsasakdal kundi sapagkukulong ng maysala. Buo angkumpiyansa ko na tinutupad ng DOJang malaki nilang bahagi upangmaipiit ang mga salarin, lalo na samga kaso ukol sa tax evasion, drugtrafficking, human trafficking,smuggling, graft and corruption, atextrajudicial killings,” he added.

During his speech, Aquino baredthat the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (Pagcor) during thetime of then President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has allegedly spent P1 bilion for coffee.

“Ang totoo nga po, marami pang kalokohan ang nahalungkat natin saPagcor,” the President said.

“Isang bilyong piso po ang ginastos ng dating pamunuan ng ahensyapara sa kape. Sa isang daang piso na lang po kada tasa, lalabas na nakakon-sumo sila ng 10 milyong tasa,” he said. “Baka po kahit ngayong iba na angpamunuan ng Pagcor ay dilat na dilat pa rin ang mga mata ng mga umiinomng kapeng it. Hanapin nga po natin sila at itatanong ko: “Nakakatulog pa poba kayo?” he added.

The state-gaming firm was then headed by chairman Efraim Genuino, whohas been slapped with variouscases by the incumbent manage-ment of Pagcor.

Pagcor is now headed by chair-man Cristino Naguiat.

3M CCT beneficiaries by 2012The President promised that

around three million Filipinos willhave benefited from the administra-tion’s conditional cash transfer(CCT) program by the end of 2012.

“Inaasam po natin na bagomatapos ang 2012, tatlong milyongpamilya na ang mabibigyan ngpuhunan para sa kanilang kina-bukasan (I hope that by the end of2012, three million families will havebeen given funding for theirfuture),” he said.

The CCT grants monthly stipendof up to P1,400 to 2.3 million of the4.6 million poorest families nation-wide. It is part of the DSWD’sPantawid Pamilyang PilipinoProgram (4Ps).

Of the two million familiesregistered under the 4Ps, 1.6 millionhave benefited from the program,Aquino said, making him confidentthat government can service 2.3million families by the end of 2011.

With the program’s 92-percentcompliance rate, millions of Filipinomothers will have undergone regularcheckups while millions of childrenwill have gone to school, accordingto the President.

“Simula pa lang po ito, at saganitong kalinaw na mga resulta, umaasa ako sa suporta ng bawat Pilipino,lalo na ng lehislatura, sa mungkahi nating salinan pa ng pondo ang PantawidPamilyang Pilipino Program. (With these results, I am hoping for the supportof every Filipino, especially the legislature, in our recommendation to givemore funds to the 4Ps,” he said.

ARMM issuePresident Aquino III has vowed good governance in the Autonomous

Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) after polls in the region were post-poned to 2013 through a legislation he backed.

“Gusto nating maranasan ng ARMM ng benepisyo ng tamang pamamaha.Kaya ang solusyon: synchronization,” Aquino said.

Aquino said Republic Act 10153, which he signed last July 30, will ensureclean and fair elections in the area two years from now.

...from page 1

President Noy stresses a point (left pho-to above) as his effigy (photo below),courtesy of militant activist groups, burnsalong Commonwealth Ave. QC.

GSIS extends emergency loans to members in calamity affected areasState-pension agency Government

Service Insurance System (GSIS) of-fers emergency loans to members whoare living in areas recently affected byflash floods.

GSIS President and general manag-er Robert Vergara said eligible mem-bers, who are living in areas recentlyaffected by flash floods, were givenuntil mid-August to file for emergency

loans.Vergara on Friday said members eli-

gible for the emergency loan are thoseliving or working in Davao City; Pikit,North Cotabato; Cotabato City; Magu-indanao; Pampanga; Pulilan, Malolos,Calumpit, Hagonoy, Meycauayan, andObando in Bulacan.

He said members in those areascould apply for the loan through the

GWAPS kiosk using their eCard ortheir Unified Multi-Purpose ID(UMID)-compliant eCard.

He said members who do not havean eCard but who are eligible to applyfor the loan could apply over-the-counter (OTC), proceeds of which willbe credited to a temporary eCardwhich the GSIS would issue not laterthan July 31, 2011.

Cleansing of voters’list in ARMM pushed

MALACANANG vowed to push forthe purging of voters’ lists in the Au-tonomous Region in Muslim Mindan-ao (ARMM) to ensure fraud-free elec-tions in 2013.

During the regular press briefing inMalacanang on Friday, PresidentialSpokesperson Edwin Lacierda saidthey supported the call of variousstakeholders and concerned groups topush for the cleansing of the voters’lists to ensure that the election of offi-cials is done with credibility and hon-esty.

“The ARMM election was post-poned so we can purge the voters’ listof the ARMM and make sure that thosewho are in the list are the actual resi-dents and voters,” Lacierda stressed.

Last June 30, President Benigno S.Aquino III signed into law a bill post-poning this year’s ARMM election tobe synchronized with the national andlocal elections in 2013.

Aquino earlier underscored the needfor the officer-in-charge of the Auton-omous Region in Muslim Mindanaoto share his vision of good governanceand reform to the people in the region.

The President also noted that hewants an OIC who has a doable road-

map so that projects are completed ina particular time frame.

The President reiterated his positionthat it is in the best interest of the peo-ple in ARMM to have an OIC who hasno intentions in running for office inthe 2013 election, so that he can con-centrate in reforming the region in thenext two years.

Republic Act No. 10153 mandatesthat the next ARMM elections for theregional governor, vice governor andmembers of the regional legislativeassembly shall be held simultaneous-ly with the midterm elections on thesecond Monday of May 2013.

Succeeding regular elections in theARMM will be held on the same dateevery three years.

The President reiterated hisposition that it is in the best

interest of the people inARMM to have an OIC whohas no intentions in running

for office in the 2013 election,so that he can concentrate inreforming the region in the

next two years.

DAVAO CITY—Mindanao Development Authority chair LuwalhatiAntonino today said President Aquino’s State of the Nation Addressyesterday highlighted policies that redound to Mindanao.

“The President’s SONA has covered a broad territory of reforms thatimpact highly on Mindanao,” Antonino said in reaction to statementsfrom certain sectors that Mindanao was left out in the SONA.

“The governance policies he laid down underpin crucial measures toaddress quite a lot of major Mindanao imperatives,” she stressed.

The MinDA chair added that, “in addressing the Filipino nation, thePresident took cognizance of the opportunity to rally the entirecitizenry under a genuine and meaningful agenda for change.”

“Being a crucial component of the nation’s march to progress,Mindanao stands to immensely gain from transformational measuresset forth in the President’s vigorous call for national awakening,” shepointed out.

Antonino says PNoy’s SONA coverkey Mindanao imperatives

In his nearly an hour long SONA, the President highlightedthe need to bring back confidence in the government and totake the road to development along the straight andrighteous path. ...cont’d on page 6

OPINIONTHE PHILIPPINES’s 1st & ONLY FREE BROADSHEET NEWSPAPER

4 July 29-Aug 5, 2011

The Metro Express is a free broadsheet publication distributed widely inMetro Manila expecially at LRT/MRT Stations, Congress, the Senate and othergovernment offices. For press, photo releases and advertising inquiries, text or callHotlines Globe 0915-5517486 and Smart 090949-1661022. Emails:2011metroexpress@gmail.com, esns03@yahoo.com.

Ismael ‘El’ AmigoEditor

Fitzgerald CecilioAsst . Ed i tor

Racquel MendozaAdvertising Manager

Eugene LabadanPR, Marketing & Circulation Manager

Benjie AlejandroEditor ia l Contr ibutor

EDITOR’S NOTE: All commentaries and or opinions submitted by col-umnists and herein published shall remain as personal opinion of anyof Metro Express’ column writers. As such, these cannot and never beconstrued nor considered as similar to that of this publication (MetroExpress)’s stand on issues discussed. Be that as it may, Metro Expressshall not be held liable on any legal issues related/pertaining to, or anycolumn/commentaries that may appear herein.

George M. BalagtasPublisher

Your comments/shoutouts on issues are welcome here.Please send them through esns03@yahoo.com

and we’ll have them published PRONTO!

We must learn to forgive each other. Because nobody isperfect—not me, not you. The word “forgive” means “torelease — to let go.” If you want to have a relationship thatlasts more than 6 months, you’ve got to learn how to letthings go. Otherwise, it’s loneliness and bitterness for meand you. You see, relationships are like cars. Sometimes theyneed repair. Wear and tear, constant mileage, accidents: carsneed attention to keep working. And just because you have totake it to the shop and spend some money doesn’t mean youshould abandon the car. It has years and years more to go; itjust needs a little work done from time to time.

Relationships are just like that. Sometimes it’s just takingthe car in for a regular service—like asking, “Have I doneanything to offend you? How can I be better? I love you.” Ormaybe it’s something more serious—like a major offense. Butif you want the relationship to last, you have to make thingsright. You have to forgive from your heart. Ephesians 4:32says, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving oneanother, as God in Christ forgave you.”

If you want God to forgive you, you have to forgive others.There’s no way around that. Jesus said, “If you forgive thosewho sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you.But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgiveyour sins” (Matthew 6:14,15). God is not going to forgive youfor your many sins if you are not willing to forgive someone

their relatively few sins against you. What if your childrefused to share his cookie with his brother but expected youto give him most of your dinner? You wouldn’t want to teachhim that kind of behavior.

God wants us to forgive each other, because He hasforgiven us. Who do you need to forgive? Maybe it’s a relativeyou don’t even see anymore; maybe it’s your best friend orspouse. No matter who it is, the same action is necessary. It’snot always easy, but it is rewarding. Forgiveness will free youfrom the burden of bitterness and help you have lastingrelationships. It will also allow you to receive God’sforgiveness. Take a moment today and ask God to help youforgive all those who have wronged you and thank Him forHis incredible forgiveness.

So, this week, let us pray andThank God for His forgiving all our sins in Jesus ChristAsk God to help us forgive others who may have sinned

against usAsk God to give Global Media Outreach wisdom on how to

reach even more people for Jesus ChristTHANK YOU so much for your prayers! May God bless you,

your friends at GodLife.com.

Your Friends at Global Media Outreach(From the eMail)

EDITORIAL

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile; Speaker FelicianoBelmonte; Bise Presidente Jejomar Binay; mga datingPangulong Fidel Valdez Ramos at Joseph Ejercito Estrada;Chief Justice Renato Corona at ang ating mga kagalang-galang na mahistrado ng Korte Suprema; mga kagalang-galang na kasapi ng diplomatic corps; mga butihing miyembrong Kamara de Representante at ng Senado; mga LocalGovernment officials; mga miyembro ng ating Gabinete; mgaunipormadong kasapi ng militar at kapulisan; mga kapwa konagseserbisyo sa taumbayan;

At sa mga minamahal kong kababayan, ang aking butihingmga boss:

Humarap po ako sa inyo noong aking inagurasyon atsinabing: Walang wang-wang sa ating administrasyon. Atngayon, patuloy nating itinitigil ito. Naging hudyat at sagisagpo ito ng pagbabago, hindi lamang sa kalsada, kundi pati na rinsa kaisipan sa lipunan.

Sa matagal na panahon, naging simbolo ng pang-aabuso angwang-wang. Dati, kung makapag-counterflow ang mga opisyalng pamahalaan, para bang oras lang nila ang mahalaga. Imbesna maglingkod-bayan, para bang sila ang naging hari ng bayan.Kung maka-asta ang kanilang mga padrino’t alipores, akalamo’y kung sinong maharlika kung humawi ng kalsada; walangpakialam sa mga napipilitang tumabi at napag-iiwanan. Angmga dapat naglilingkod ang siya pang nang-aapi. Ang panlala-mang matapos mangakong maglingkod—iyan po ang utakwang-wang.

Wala silang karapatang gawin ito. Ayon sa batas, tangingang Presidente, Bise Presidente, Senate President, HouseSpeaker, Chief Justice, at pulis, bumbero, at ambulansya langang awtorisadong gumamit ng wangwang para sa kanilang mgaopisyal na lakad. Kung sa trapiko nga ay di masunod angbatas, paano pa kaya sa mga bagay na mas malaki ang makuku-ha, tulad ng sa mga proyektong pinopondohan ng kaban ngbayan?

Kayo po ba gusto ninyong makulong ang lahat ng tiwali?Ako rin. Gusto ba ninyong matanggal ang wang-wang, hindilamang sa kalsada, kundi sa kaisipang nagdulot ng baluktot nasistema na pagkatagal-tagal na nating pinagtiisan? Ako rin.Gusto po ba ninyong mabigyan ng patas na pagkakataon anglahat na umasenso? Ako rin.

Narito po ang halimbawa ng resulta ng ating kampanyakontra wang-wang sa sistema. Nitong taong ito, taumbayan namismo ang nagsabi, nabawasan ang nagugutom sa kanila.Mula 20.5% na self-rated hunger noong Marso, bumaba na itosa 15.1% nitong Hunyo, katumbas ng isang milyong pamilyangPilipinong nagugutom dati, pero ngayon ay nakakakain nanang tama kada araw.

Sa larangan po ng negosyo, sino ba ang nag-akalang pitongulit nating malalampasan ang all-time-high ng stock market?Ang dating 4,000 index na inaakalang hindi maaabot, o kungmaabot man ay pansamantala lang, ngayon, pangkaraniwannang hinihigitan.

Kung dati napako na ang bansa sa mababang credit ratings,itinaas ng Moody’s, Standard and Poors, Fitch, at Japan CreditRatings Agency ang ating ranking, bilang pagkilala sa atingtamang paggugol ng pondo at sa malikhain nating pananalapi.Ang mataas na credit rating, magpapababa ng interes saperang inuutang natin. Kumpara sa unang apat na buwan ngnakaraang taon, mas malaki po ng 23 billion pesos ang natipidnating interest payments mula Enero hanggang Abril ng 2011.Maaari na po nitong sagutin ang dalawang milyon at tat-longdaan libong benepisyaryo ng CCT hanggang sa katapusanng 2011.

Paalala ko lang po, sa siyam at kalahating taon bago tayomaitalaga sa puwesto, iisang beses lang tayong nakatikim ngratings upgrade, at anim na beses pang na-downgrade ng iba’tibang ratings agency. Sa isang taon pa lang po natin, apat nabeses na tayong nabigyan ng upgrade. Alam naman po natinna hindi madaling ma-upgrade sa panahon ngayon. Itong mgaratings agency, nabatikos na mali raw ang payo bago magkakri-sis sa Amerika, kaya ngayon ay mas makunat na sila sapagbibigay ng magandang ratings, at nakikita nga natin ito sasunud-sunod na pag-downgrade sa ibang bansa. Pero tayo po,inupgrade pa nila. Sang-ayon silang lahat: gumanda at lalopang gaganda ang ekonomiya ng Pilipinas. Isang hakbang nalang po, aabot na tayo sa investment grade, at wala pong tigil

Editor’s note: Oureditorial this issueshall give way to amore pressing item:

Full text of President Noy’s Second SONA.Thus...

The State of Our Nation ang ating economic team upang tuluyan na tayong ma-kaarangkada.

At may mabubuting balita pa pong parating. Dahil wala nangwang-wang sa DOE, muling nabuhay ang kumpiyansa ng mganamumuhunan sa ating energy sector. Patunay dito angisandaan at apatnapung kumpanya na nakahandang tumaya saeksplorasyon at pagpapalakas ng ating oil at natural gasresources. Sa huling energy contracting round noong 2006,tatlumpu’t lima lang po ang nakilahok. Nitong Biyernes lamangpo, nilagdaan na ang panibagong kasunduan para sa isangbagong power plant sa Luzon grid upang pagdating ng 2014,may mas mura at mas maaasahang pagmumulan ng enerhiyaang bansa.

May kumpiyansa, may pag-asa, at tinutupad po natin angating mga pangako. Naaalala konga po ang babaeng nakausapko nang ako’y unang nagha-house-to house campaign. Angkaniyang hinaing: “Miski sinonaman ang manalo, pare-pareholang ang kahihinatnan. Mahirapako noong sila ay nangangam-panya; mahirap ako habangnakaupo sila, at mahirap pa rinako pag nagretiro na sila.” Samadaling salita, ang hinaing pong marami, “Walang pakialamang mga pinuno namin kahapon,wala silang pakialam ngayon. Bukas, wala pa rin silang paki-alam.”

Di po ba’t may katuwiran naman siya sa pagsasabi nito, dahilsa pagwawang-wang sa mga ahensya ng gobyerno? Wang-wang po ang pagbili ng helicopter sa presyong brand new,pero iyon pala ay gamit na gamit na. Wang-wang ang milyun-milyong pabuya na tinanggap ng mga opisyal ng GOCC, tuladng sa Philippine National Construction Corporation, gayonghindi naman sila nakapaghandog ng disenteng serbisyo, atibinaon pa sa utang ang kanilang mga ahensya. Bago silabumaba sa puwesto, dalawandaan, tatlumpu’t dalawangmilyong piso po ang inomento ng dating pamunuan ng PNCCsa kanilang sarili. 2007 pa lang po, wala na silang prangkisa;lahat ng kikitain, dapat diretso na sa pambansang gobyerno.Hindi na nga nag-abot ng kita, sinamantala pa ang puwesto.Ang bonus nila mula 2005 hanggang 2009, dinoble pa nila saunang anim na buwan ng 2010. Ibinaon na nga po nila sabilyun-bilyong pisong utang ang kanilang tanggapan, nasik-mura pa nilang magbigay ng midnight bonus sa sarili.

Para po pigilan ang pagwang-wang sa kaban ng bayan,sinuyod at sinuri natin ang mga programa. Dalawang magka-sunod na taon na po nating ipinatutupad ang zero-basedbudgeting, na nagsisilbing kalasag sa walang-saysay napaggastos.

Sa Laguna Lake po, magtatanggal nga ng 12 million cubicmeters sa dredging, pero pagkatapos ng tatlong taon, garanti-sado naman itong babalik. 18.7 billion pesos ang magigingutang natin para lang maglaro ng putik. Hindi pa bayad angutang, nag-expire na ang pakinabang. Pinigilan po natin iyan.Ang food-for-school program na bara-bara lang ang paghaha-nap ng benepisyaryo, at iba pang inisyatibang pinondohanngunit walang pinatunguhan—binura na natin sa budgetupang ang pera namang nalibre, ay mailaan sa mga proyektongtotoong may silbi.

Ang budget po ang pinakamalinaw na pagsasabuhay ngating tuwid na landas. Ang aking pahiwatig sa lahat ng gusto

pang ilihis tayo rito: Kungmang-aagrabyado ka lang ngmahirap, huwag ka nangmagtangka. Kung sarili mo langang papayamanin mo, huwag kanang magtangka. Kung hindiiyan para sa Pilipino, huwag kanang magtangka.

Sana masabi na natin na taposna ang utak wang-wang, peronakikita po natin ang latak ngganitong kaisipan na pilitbumubulahaw sa aliwalas ngating biyahe sa tuwid na landas.

Mukhang marami rin po kasiang nagwawang-wang sapribadong sektor. Ayon sa BIR,

mayroon tayong halos 1.7 million na self-employed at profes-sional tax payers gaya ng mga abogado, doktor, negosyante nanagbayad lamang, sa suma total, ng 9.8 billion pesos noong2010. 5,783 pesos lang ang ibinayad na income tax ng bawat isasa kanila—ang ibig sabihin, kung totoo po ito, ang kabuuangkita nila ay umaabot lang ng 8,500 pesos lamang kada buwan.Mababa pa sa minimum wage. Naman.

Nakikita naman po ninyong napupunta na sa tama ang buwisninyo, kaya wala na pong dahilan upang iwasan natin angpagbabayad. Nananawagan po ako sa inyo: Hindi lang pogobyerno, kundi kapwa natin Pilipino ang pinagkakaitan sahindi pagbabayad ng tamang buwis.

Pinananagot at pananagutin po natin ang wang-wangsaanmang sulok ng gobyerno. Ang masakit, hanggang sa mgaaraw pong ito, may sumusubok pa ring makalusot. Mayroonnga pong isang distrito sa Region 4B, may proyektong gagas-tusan ng 300 million pesos. Kaso hanggang 50 million pesoslang ang puwedeng aprubahan ng district engineer.

Kaya naisip nilang ichop-chop ang proyekto para di lumam-pas sa 50 million pesos ang halaga, at di na umabot sa regionalat central office ang mga papeles. Kani-kaniyang diskarte, kani-kaniyang kaharian ang nadatnan nating situwasyon sa DPWH.Sinubukan nilang ipagpatuloy ang nakasanayan na nila.

...cont’d next issue

Tingnan nga po ninyo angidinulot na perhuwisyo ng pag-wawang-wang sa sistema: Tu-loy ang pagdusa ng mamamay-ang dapat nakikinabang na sa

proyekto ng bayan.

BUSINESS un-usual, err, as usual for this woman pinning to earn a living amid the police barricade and loud streetprotests Monday (July 25, 2011) during President Aquino’s second SONA. No baby in walker, for sure.

LEGIS/EXEC NEWSTHE PHILIPPINES’s 1st & ONLY FREE BROADSHEET NEWSPAPER

5July 29-Aug 5, 2011

SENATOR RalphRecto has urged theadministration of Pres-ident Benigno S. Aqui-no III to take the leadin pursuing a joint eco-nomic exploration ofthe disputed SpratlyIslands among claim-ant countries as a wayof “moving forward”on the long pesteringissue.

“We just can’t saywe’re open to the ideaand sit idly. We should take the initiative to make this hap-pen. A joint exploration is the only sensible thing to do inharnessing the economic potentials of Spratlys without hav-ing to fire one single shot or sinking a gun boat,” Recto, asenior member of the Senate committees on foreign relationsand of national defense and security, said.

Recto noted that the joint exploration initiative could bepushed even while issues on ownership are still being re-solved under the auspices of ASEAN or United NationsConvention on the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS).

“We can’t wait another 30 years for this issue to be re-solved. If claimants would only agree now, whatever naturalresources underneath Spratlys could be shared equitablyfor the economic benefits of all nations. Who knows, after 30years when the oil or natural gas is fully depleted, not aclaimant would show interest anymore,” he said.

“The joint exploration would not mean surrendering onenation’s claim or sovereignty but embracing a common work-able solution to a long-standing problem,” Recto stressed.

The senator said the country did its own joint explorationwith the natural gas find in Malampaya off Palawan not withanother sovereign nation but with a private multinationalconsortium led by Shell and Chevron.

The Spratly group of islands is said to be sitting on largedeposits of natural gas and oil.

Recto said for starters, the country could spearhead theforging of another joint marine seismic undertaking (JMSU)among claimant countries, after the first one with China andVietnam lapsed in 2008.

The JMSU, which was signed in March 2005 by the Philip-pines and China, called for the two countries’ joint explora-tion of petroleum resource potential in the West PhilippineSea or South China Sea.

When Vietnam, a claimant of portions of the Spratlys, pro-tested, it was included in the agreement. The JMSU was notrenewed after it lapsed in July 2008.

“We probe together for oil then we harvest the proceedsequitably,” Recto, who also chairs the Senate committee onways and means, said.

Recto said the Philippines is in a unique location to medi-ate a joint exploitation among claimant nations because of itsproximity to the disputed islands.

“The Chinese nor the Vietnamese could not single-hand-edly lay down their own natural gas or oil pipelines all theway from Spratlys to their home soil. The more economicalway is to use our existing Malampaya gas pipeline thatstretches from Palawan waters to South Luzon where eachclaimant would converge to pick up and load their share,” hesaid.

WORKERS tie up steel bars high up on a gigantic girder unmindful of the hazards.

The senator said in return for the use of the gas pipeline, thecountry could just charge handling fee.

Recto said the joint exploration proposal could be part of thetalking agenda that the President could bring to the table when hevisits China in August or September this year.

“If we could sell this idea to the Chinese, it would not be diffi-cult to convince the others,” he said.

Recto further pointed out: “Let’s leave the sovereignty issue toDFA (Department of Foreign Affairs). Our focus is on how we canmake use of the economic potentials of Spratlys now while zeal-ous foreign ministers debate over the next decade their sovereignclaims.”

A meeting of senior foreign officials from ASEAN countries andChina to finalize the implementing guidelines on the 2002 Code ofConduct of Parties (DOC) in the West Philippine Sea or SouthChina Sea has produced mixed reviews with other participantsgriping over a watered down version of the draft guidelines.

In the same meeting, the ASEAN secretariat “noted with appre-ciation” the proposal of the Philippines to declare West PhilippineSea or South China Sea into a “Zone of Peace, Freedom, Friend-ship and Cooperation.” Aside from Vietnam and China, the othernations contesting the country’s claim over Spratlys are Malay-sia, Taiwan and Brunei.

Groups seek review of PWD law

GROUPS supporting persons with disabilities (PWDs) on Fri-day asked lawmakers to review the almost 30-year old magna cartafor Filipino PWDs by making it suitable for modern times.

“We are asking the government to maybe review it, so it canbetter serve PWDs,” said Noli Agcaoili, president of PhilippineFederation of the Deaf, during Presidential Communication Orga-nization Office’s (PCOO) bi-weekly Communication News Exchange(CNEX) held in Quezon City.

Agcaoili said that apart from improving PWD facilities such asaccessibility ramps, the government must infuse services withcurrent technology such as The Internet, for better information

Recto urges Aquino gov’t to takelead in joint Spratly exploration

dissemination.Latest figures show that there are 10 to 15 million PWDs in

the country, 15 percent of whom are children. Global statisticsfor PWDs, meanwhile, has reach one billion.

He also said that the numbers could have gone up as UnitedNations had modified the definition of PWDs.

“Now, if you have below 20/20 vision, you are already con-sidered a PWD,” he said.

He also cited the urgency of compliance with BP 344, a lawpassed in 1982, which stipulates that ramps and accessibilityconveyances for the disabled persons should be installed in thedifferent private and government buildings all over the country.

Dr. Sylvan Lorenzo, president of the Philippine Academy ofRehabilitation Medicine supported the call, adding that hospi-tals in the provinces must also have rehabilitation facilities.

The reality, however, is that most of the public or govern-ment-run hospitals are operating on a limited budget.

Lorenzo also suggested that state insurance PhilHealth mustinclude physical rehabilitation aspect in their health plans tobetter equip PWDs with access to basic health care from thegovernment.

Meanwhile, Leonard Chesire Disability Philippines Founda-tion national coordinator Richard D. Arceño lauded the partic-ipation of the private and public sector in complying with thesaid law, adding that the country had come a long way in giv-ing importance and security to PWDs.

“If you can see, most of the malls and office buildings haveramps for PWDs, and other special considerations for the dis-abled. This helps us give them a chance to live a normal life,”Arceno said.

PWDs also now have special lane, where they can avail 20discount in drugstores, restaurants and other commercial es-tablishments, he saud, They will also have a special lane inregistration to enable them to practice their right to suffrage.

Business permit issuance also mandates strong compliancein accessibility law and PWD policies.

About 600 local government units have been identified asPWD-friendly spots such as Taguig, Makati and Iloilo.

RECTO

Gov’t intensifies anti-human trafficking drive

VICE PRESIDENT Binay

THE Aquino administrationhas intensified its inter-agency effort to curb humantrafficking and furtherimprove the country’s rankingin the U.S. State Department’sGlobal Trafficking in Persons(TIP) Report.

Vice President Jejomar C.Binay, in a recent meetingwith diplomatic officials fromthe Americas, said thecampaign is part of the Inter-Agency Council AgainstTrafficking’s (IACAT) targetto be in Tier 1 status nextyear.

Binay is the ChairmanEmeritus of the IACAT andhead of the Presidential TaskForce Against Illegal Recruit-ment (PTFAIR).

The Philippines has beenupgraded to Tier 2 status inthe U.S. State Department’s2011 TIP Report from theprevious Tier 2 Watch Liststanding in the past twoyears.

The TIP report rankscountries in tiers based ontheir compliance to theminimum standards of theUnited States’ TraffickingVictims Protection Act(TVPA).

Countries in Tier 1 statusare those whose governmentsfully comply with the TVPA’sminimum standards, whilethose in Tier 2 are countriesthat do not fully comply with

the minimum standards butare making significant effortsto do so.

Binay said that the upgradeof the Philippines’ ranking inthe TIP report was “the resultof a concerted effort,” citingmajor accomplishments of themember agencies of theIACAT.

“This year, the PhilippineOverseas EmploymentAdministration cancelled thelicenses of ZDrive andAdman, two licensed recruit-ment agencies involved inhuman trafficking in the U.S.,”he added.

Binay said the agenciespromised jobs as hotelworkers in a country club inFlorida to several applicantswho shelled out P300,000 asplacement fee.

He further said that POEAhas also cancelled the licenseof PARS International

Placement Agency, afterteachers of five schooldistricts in Louisiana com-plained of excessive place-ment fees and that they were“forced by their recruiter intoborrowing from a singlelending agency underonerous interest rates.”

The Vice President alsoannounced that a nationwideand global hotline dedicatedfor reporting human traffick-ing is now in place.

“We put up not just anationwide but also a globalaction line: 1343 to fighthuman trafficking,” he said.

“By calling up 1343,Filipinos from all over theworld can provide informationabout the exploitation of ourworkers, and seek help aswell,” he added.

Binay said that Congresshas allocated P50 million tothe Department of Justice(DOJ) and Department ofSocial Welfare and Develop-ment (DSWD), the two mainmembers of the IACAT, forthe fight against humantrafficking.The Vice Presidentalso noted the accomplish-ments of Zamboanga CityAssistant Prosecutor DarlenePajarito, who won the GlobalTrafficking in Persons’ HeroAward for securing severalconvictions in traffickingcases.

Moreover, Binay credited

THE Department of Agriculture is confident thePhilippines will attain rice sufficiency by 2013 largelyunder the helm of President Benigno S. Aquino III,whose government, the agency said, has provided “theinfrastructure, human development, upgrading thequality of our seeds and most especially the assistance”to achieve this goal.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said the key tobeing rice sufficient is by having rice to harvest evenafter being battered by the extreme weather conditionsof the Philippines.

Alcala said through advances gained from studyingand producing rice varieties tolerable to extreme weatherconditions, the DA has come up with a palay varietythat can endure heat during summer and can besubmerged in water for two weeks but still be harvestedduring the rainy season.

“The good thing we are doing is that we already havea substitute plant every time flashfloods occur and theyare given to farmers for free,” Alcala said.

“Now the agency is putting up seed banks in everyregion so in case a typhoon strikes, we can still plantrice because the palay variety is site-specific,” headded.

the active involvement of civilsociety through the threemember groups of the IACAT–- the Visayan Forum Foun-dation, International JusticeMission and the Blas F. OplePolicy Center –- as “of greatimportance” and a majorcontributor in the anti-humantrafficking drive.

Binay urged the diplomaticofficials to work closely withthe other agencies of thegovernment and to strength-en partnerships and networkswith non-governmentalorganizations (NGOs) andU.S. and Canadian agencies.

“Because the richestcountries in the world belongto your region, it has alsobecome the preferred targetdestination of human traffick-ers. This makes the job – ourjob – more challenging,” hesaid.

“Because it takes time toresolve trafficking cases inhost countries, our diplomaticposts should be familiar withlegal and immigration pro-cesses to effectively assisttrafficking victims or litigantsin securing appropriate visasfor extended stay while theylitigate their cases, and, ifallowed, in finding temporaryemployment or livelihood,” headded.

The Vice President warnedof increased trafficking ofFilipinos in Haiti despite the

country’s current conditionfollowing the strong earth-quake and the choleraoutbreak it experienced.

“Haiti was ravaged by oneof the world’s most devastat-ing earthquakes. Thiscalamity was followed by acholera outbreak. Until now,Haiti continues to feel theeffects of these tragic and

unfortunate incidents. Yet, anapparent syndicate continuesto recruit and deploy workersfor non-existent jobs in Haiti,”Binay said.

“I know Haiti is not within thejurisdiction of any of our ambassa-dors gathered here today. But itunderlines the gravity and scopeof our work against humantrafficking,” he added.

DA says Phl to attainrice sufficiency by 2013

SHOWBIZTHE PHILIPPINES’s 1st & ONLY FREE BROADSHEET NEWSPAPER

6

July 29-Aug 5, 2011

Beauty WithinUmuwing umiiyak si Melai…Melai: Inay, sabi ng mga kalaro kong lalaki…ang pangit ko daw.

Ahu! Hu! Wahh!Inay: Anak, ang kagandahan ng ay nasa loob…Nagliwanag ang mga mata ni Melai..Inay: kaya huwag ka ng lumabas…

BabeJack: (nagpunta sa bahay ng kaibigan nya for the first time) Bro,

ayos pala dito sa inyo kahit malayo sa school.Samuel: Sabi ko sayo eh, ikaw lang, kaya gusto ng mga friends

natin….(natigilan si Samuel kasi napatingin sa malayo si Jack)Jack: (mangha) Babe…wow bro…sino yung babe na iyon? She

is sexy…kaya pala gusto nila dito sa inyo…Samuel: Huh!?Jack: Pakilala mo na naman ako please…Samuel: Sus! Teka….Kuyaaaa! tawag ka ng kaklase ko…

Driver her To hellWife: Punyales! Dammet. Pacifico..palayasin mo na angdriver

nating yan…estupido! Pang-limang beses na niya kong muntik masa-gasaan…

Pacifico: Honey, wag naman. Magaling mamaneho yan, lalo napag-mag-swerve ba…

Wife: Grrrr! Pacifico….nakaka-limang na yan sakin…Entiendez!!!Pacifico: BIGYAN PA NATIN NG ISA PANG PAGKAKATA-

ON!!!

Alam mo na yan…Sa hapag-kainan, matamlay si Kito…Mom: Kito, ayaw mo bang almusal itong omelet? I-partner mo sa

hotdog…Kito: (nakapangalumbaba at nakatitig sa lamesa) Ayaw ko…Mom: Like mo ba ng bacon?Kito: Mom, ayaw ko nyan…(asar at aburido) Tunghayan ang kasunod next year, este, next issue po pala ng

METRO TRAIN, este, EXPRESS pala heheh...

[in-joke-tions]Ni Joker James V.

Antonino said the President has cited a number ofpolicy measures in the areas of improving revenuegeneration, bringing forth inclusive growth in theeconomy, pursuing environmental integration throughcommunity-based initiatives, reforms in the ARMMand several other agenda items that precisely movealong the strategic direction for Mindanao.

She cited for instance that swift reforms made withinthe Department of Public Works and Highways(DPWH) has resulted to billions of pesos savings thatcould translate to better allocation especially forMindanao, where major infrastructure projects arebeing scaled up.

In the effort to push for environmental integration,

Antonino said that the President has cited the need forgovernment to invest in people, even as it invests in theenvironment.

“Moving along this direction we are currently doingthe initial work to integrate efforts on the rehabilitation,management and development of river basins andwatersheds in Mindanao, while ensuring coordinationand participation of all stakeholders,” she said.

Antonino went further by stressing that “much ofwhat needs to be done in Mindanao centered on theneed to achieve transparent, accountable and goodgovernance— which strikes at the core of thePresident’s message, beyond SONA and throughout hisadministration.”

Antonino says PNoy’s SONA cover ...(From page 3)

Miami, Jul 22 (EFE).- “Wepa”, the new single by singer Gloria Estefan,goes on sale for digital downloading next Sunday from the iTunes virtualmusic store, the artist said Friday on her Twitter account.

The song will be available both in English and Spanish, as well as in fourdifferent remixes, and will be a first taste of her 11th studio album and thefirst in English since 2004’s “Unwrapped.”

The seven-time Grammy winner is finishing off the details of the upcomingalbum with the aid of rapper and producer Pharrell, who has worked withmany other top stars including Madonna, Shakira and Jennifer Lopez.

“We’re working on something really good,” Estefan told blogger PerezHilton about the new album.

Gloria Estefan to release new single ‘Wepa’ soon

KRISTEN STEWART

GLORIA ESTEFAN

This is the first photo of Kristen Stewart as Snow White in anupcoming film Snow White and the Huntsman. As it is, its darkand unexpected. Snow White wears armor, carries a sword,and has unkempt hair, and it's awesome.

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) is the operating andimplementing arm of the Government of the Philippines for the develop-ment of the 262 square mile (670 square kilometer) area of Subic BayFreeport (SBF) or what was the former US Naval facility in Subic Bayinto a self-sustaining tourism, industrial, commercial, financial, andinvestment center to generate employment opportunities.

HistoryOn March 13, 1992, the Philippine Congress passed Republic Act

7227, known as the Bases Conversion and Development Act of 1992,creating the Subic Bay Freeport in anticipation of the pullout of the USnaval base facilities. Section 13 of RA 7227 created the Subic BayMetropolitan Authority (SBMA) and with free port incentives lobbied forby Richard Gordon, an amendment granting tax and duty-free privilegesand incentives was inserted during the bicameral committee hearings.Consequently, Gordon, then the mayor of the City of Olongapo, be-came the first SBMA chairman.

Mayor Gordon with 8,000 volunteers took over the facility to pre-serve and protect US$8 billion worth of property and facilities when thelast U.S. Navy helicopter carrier USS Belleau Wood sailed out of SubicBay on November 24, 1992 and started the conversion of the militarybase into a free port like Hong Kong and Singapore.

On its fourth anniversary on November 24, 1996, Subic Bay hostedthe leaders of 18 economies during the Fourth Asia- Pacific EconomicCooperation (APEC) Leaders’ Summit who were all impressed with theemerging investment haven that has succeeded in attracting compa-nies like Federal Express, Enron, Coastal Petroleum now El PasoCorporation, Taiwan computer giant Acer and France telecoms compa-ny Thomson SA.

Richard Gordon was SBMA chairman until June 1998, when newlyelected President Joseph Estrada issued Administrative Order No. 1,appointing former Bataan Representative and Harvard-trained FelicitoC. Payumo in Gordon’s stead.

In August 2004, then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued Exec-utive Order No. 340, reorganizing the SBMA’s Board of Directors, anddefining the powers, functions and duties of the chairman of the Board ofDirectors and the SBMA administrator. A month later, Payumo was re-placed when Arroyo appointed Ayala Land founding president FranciscoH. Licuanan as chairman, and former Development Bank of the Philip-pines (DPB) chairman Alfredo C. Antonio as administrator.

In 2005, President Arroyo appointed Kings Point’s US MerchantMarine Academy alumnus Commodore Feliciano G. Salonga as chair-man/head of agency, and Wharton graduate Armand C. Arreza as SBMAadministrator and chief executive officer.

A consistently growing free portExports had averaged a billion dollars since 1997, while jobs gener-

ated reached more than 60,000 or twice the highest number of jobsavailable when Subic Bay was still a US naval base. By 2009, the totalactive workforce in the Freeport had grown steadily from 63,485 in 2006to 87,226 workers, representing a substantial increase of nearly 45.95percent and an annual average of 6,865.50 active workers from 2006 to2009.

Cumulative investments from 1992 to 2005 in the Subic Bay Free-port totalled US$2.346 billion. From 2006 to end-2009, the figure reachedUS$5.958 billion, posting a hefty increase of 153.96 percent during thefour-year period.

From 2006 to 2009, the SBMA also managed to attract 314 foreigninvestment projects to the Freeport with a corresponding foreign directinvestment (FDI) value of US$2.465 billion.

The biggest and most significant among these FDIs was HHIC-Phil(Hanjin Shipping), which committed US$1 billion and US$0.68 billion in2006 and 2007, respectively, radically boosting FDIs in the Freeport bymore than 12,864 percent for the period 2006-2009. In June 2006,Hanjin Shipping opened a P40-million modern training center in theSubic Bay Freeport.

Hanjin’s investments also catapulted the SBMA to the top of the listof Philippine investment promotion agencies (IPAs) in the first andsecond quarters of 2006, and pulled up committed investments inSBFZ that year beyond the US$1-billion mark.

The total number of approved investment projects in the Freeportlikewise rose by more than 105.8 percent from 655 new projects in 2006to 1,348 in 2009. For the same four-year period, projected employmentwas pegged at 102,167 in 2009, up from 52,931 in 2005.

Setting the Agency’s directionIn 2007, the SBMA leadership set the following as its core purpose

and vision:Core Purpose: To generate economic opportunities and livelihood as

a competitive maritime, logistics and eco-tourism hub in East AsiaVision: By 2030, Greater Subic Bay area shall be a first-world eco-

urban center in Asia.In line with this core purpose and vision, the SBMA has identified

six (6) key imperatives or priorities: (1) to promote efficient, effectiveand transparent business processes; (2) to expand development tosurrounding communities; (3) to invest in physical and manpowerinfrastructure; (4) to push SBMA revenues to PhP3 billion by 2013; (5)to balance development and environmental protection in the Free-port; and (6) to focus on maritime, tourism and high-value addedservices.

SBMA facts & figures

Mom: Pork-Log…di ka nama kasinagri-rice eh…

Kito: Mee, sabi ko na ayaw ko eh…Mom: (nilapitan ang anak, hinalikan sa buhok at biniro) Tong teen-

ager ko talaga….ang sungit…gusto mo ba na ako ang magtanong samama ni Georgia kung magkaka-baby na kayo?

Kito: (Napatingin) Alam mo naman pala eh …dami mo pangtanong…

Ay…sh**…namanLara: Malaki at maganda nga ang katawan pero ang papangit

naman ng nangliligaw sayo.Kristine: Alam mo you’re so bad. Yaan mo ko, pinagtatiyagaan ko

na. at tsaka, kapag daw pangit plus maganda ay gwapo at magandaang magiging anak…

Lara: (di naniniwala)Kristine: Hello! Lahat ng gwapo ngayon at perfect guys…gwapo

din ang LIKE…Lara: Ay…sh**…naman. Gwapong model yung akin eh!

Bring me…Rich: Bakla. Yesterday pala ang anniversary nyo ng boylet mo.

Akalain mo, nairaos mo ng ganyan yung chinito mong bilmoko.Ray: Oo nga mare, napaka-expensive mag-alaga, grabe…kung

di lang yummy-licious yon. Naku, babu na beauty nya…Rich: So, anong ginawa nyo?Ray: Syempre, as usual. Dinala ko sya sa expensive place tutal

expensive sya eh…Rich: Wow, bongga ka talaga sa Papa mo. Pa-five star five star

hotel na lang.Ray: Di naman…sa GAS STATION lang…

ANGEL LOCSIN

JOHN LLOYD1st MOVIE TEAM-UP: Now it can be told, officially. AngelicAngel Locsic will make a movie with John Lloyd Cruz. JohnLloyd and Angel paired in the Twilight inspired TV series,“Imortal.” “Actually, this is the original plan… Na pagkata-pos ng successful team-up nila sa series na ‘Imortal,’ angnext project nila together is a movie naman,” a Star Cinemainsider said. Title of which, however, has yet tobe finalized.

TRUSTIN

GOD.

SPORTSTHE PHILIPPINES’s 1st & ONLY FREE

BROADSHEET NEWSPAPER

7July 29-Aug 5, 2011

EIGHT world boxing champion and Saranggani Congressman Manny Pacquiao (C) is surrounded by NBA players as he graced an exhibition gamebetween visiting National Basketball Association (NBA) star players and and their counterpart in the Philippine Basketball Association. The selectionof top players saw action in the Ultimate All-Star Weekend at the Araneta Coliseum last July 24, 2011. Proceeds of the exibition game will allegedlyhelp fund Philippine sports and develop world-class Filipino athletes. Cong. NBA stars like Kobe Bryant (middle) idolizes Cong Manny.

Armand dela Cruz Arreza (born Novem-ber 20, 1971) is the 4th and current Administra-tor & Chief Executive Officer of the Subic BayMetropolitan Au-thority (SBMA). Asof present, he isthe youngest offi-cial to hold the titleof Administrator.

Biography and careerArmand Arreza was born on November 20,

1971 in Quezon City, Philippines, the eldest ofthe three children of Andres C. Arreza of Canti-lan, Surigao del Sur and Priscilla C. Arreza ofManila. His siblings are Arnel C. Arreza andPamela C. Arreza.

EducationHe attended La Salle Green Hills (LSGH) for

both his Elementary and Secondary Education,and graduated in 1985 and 1989 respectively.He earned his Bachelor of Science in Manage-ment Engineering at the Ateneo de Manila Uni-versity in 1993. He received his Masters ofBusiness Administration Majoring in Finance andOperations at the Wharton School of the Uni-versity of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Penn-sylvania in 1998.

During his study in the Wharton School, hebecame a trustee of the Wharton-Penn ClubFoundation. He also later became the Chair-man for the Youth Committee of the RotaryClub of Makati, Dasmarinas.

Private sectorPrior to becoming the SBMA Administrator,

He was a senior consultant for the Hong Kongbranch of the Monitor Company, a multinationalstrategy consultancy firm.

From 2000–2002, he was the Chief Operat-ing Officer of Globalstride Customer Services.After this, he became the Operations Directorof the American International Group (AIG) Busi-ness Processing services, Inc. from January2005 - September 2005.

In 2006, he became a member of the Boardof Governors of the Philippine National RedCross.[2]

Political careerHis initiation into the ranks of the Subic Bay

Metropolitan Authority began way back in 1993.Fresh from college, he was among the firstemployees of SBMA, being a Financial Analystfor the corporation’s privatization of infrastruc-ture assets.

Department of TourismAfter his experience working with various

multinational companies he returned to the po-litical scene when he was selected in 2003 asthe Undersecretary of the Department of Tour-ism (DOT). With his assistance, the depart-ment headed WOW Philippines Intramuros, amulti-agency initiative for revitalizing Manila’shistoric district.

Subic Bay Metropolitan AuthorityOn September 2005, following the turnover

of SBMA’s management, he was appointed asthe Administrator and Chief Executive Officerof the Government-Owned & ControlledCorporation.(Source: Wikipedia)

ABOUT ‘AA’

The Philippine Basketball Associa-tion rolled out the best players it has inits war chest but they may have onlybeen awestricken instead of shamingtheir counterparts in the National Bas-ketball Association as they bowed outto the visiting forces before a jam-packed crowd at the newly-renamedSmart-Araneta Coliseum, 131-105.

With the likes of NBA stars KobeBryant, Derrick Rose, Chris Paul KevinDurant and Javale McGee in the house,the top PBA players of the land neverreally had their acts get going, althoughthey also displayed the brand of theirown wares.

The top scorer in Arwind Santos fromthe PBA side put in 25 glittering pointseven as he did too some athletic skillsby trying his luck in stopping Bryantat a juncture of the game to no avail.

Jason Castro, however, succeededin stripping Paul twice in the first halfto the delight of the crowd as did SolMercado who crossed over Derek Fish-er on several occasions.

In all, the PBA stars tried their bestto put on a respectable showing.

But as expected, the night belongedto the NBA stars, who eventually gavethe Filipino crowd a taste or caliber ofNBA basketball.

Bryant had a few dunks and evenworked with Rose that left the latter,the reigning NBA MVP for the Chica-go Bulls, scoring a jam and Durantdraining some of the farthest threes.

PBA Stars go down fightingvs favored NBA counterparts

McGee displayed why some believedhe should have won the NBA SlamDunk Contest with one doing a “post-er dunk” on B-MEG’s Marc Pingris.

Highlighting the performance of theWashington Wizards’ center was in thefinal period when he swatted Rabeh Al-Hussaini’s layup.

Afterwards, McGee made true of hispromise on his Twitter account by do-ing the plank, a crazed practice beingdone in public places.

A three-point shootout also tookplace where Paul teamed up with JamesHarden in beating the pair of LA Teno-rio and Larry Fonacier. Before the game,the PBA players even waited outsidethe locker room for a chance to get aglimpse of their idols.

During the introductions, some evenbrought posters and cameras in hopeof capturing or pose for photos.

Smart Araneta ColiseumBefore the game, Jorge Araneta, CEO

of the Araneta Group, announced thefirm’s partnership with Pangilinan’sSmart Communications.

The alliance resulted in a change inAraneta Coliseum’s name to SmartAraneta Coliseum,” said Araneta.

Scores:Smart All-Stars 131 - McGee 25, Durant 22,

Williams 19, Evans 17, Harden 16, Bryant 12,Paul 11, Rose 9, Fisher 0.

PBA All-Stars 105 - Santos 25, Cabagnot 9,Pingris 9, Al-Hussaini 8, Mercado 8, David 8, Nor-wood 7, Reyes 6, Thoss 4, Castro 4, Caguioa 4,Seigle 4, Intal 4, Fonacier 3, Tenorio 2, Yap 0.

COR to purchase electricity for the base, about purchase agreement withNAPOCOR six years ago. And ah.., just an indication of how much activityhappened. Six years ago the contract was 35 million, 35 megawatts ofelectricity. Yung pipirmahan namin by September (2011) when it expires, isah, almost 80 megawatts. So you can see, ‘di ba, pagtumataas ang kuryentetumataas yung kunsumo. So there’s a lot more business here, a lot more,activity, happenings. The fact na domobol yung kuryente di ba, that’s a lot ofindication there’s a lot of activity within the zone. We’re venturing to newprojects, may mga bagong projects that are going to be developed not justwithin the former base but outside and then there’s interest in renewableenergy right and establishing leisure estates….tourisms estates. So Ithink for the most part, what we set out to do chairman Salonga and I didwith a passing score. So hindi naman, you see what we set out to do but Ithink there’s always ah, room for improvement…

Metro Express: So…what would you think would be your legacy here atSBMA as the youngest administrator the SBMA ever had? You are theyoungest di ba to serve as SBMA administrator?

ARREZA: Tatatlo pa lang naman kami…err.., apat, apat pa lang namankaming naging administrator so…yahh.. well..looking back six years ago Iwas 33 when I was appointed. So talagang, really young. I don’t know if Iwas naïve then but I really wanted to ahhh, I think, yung accomplishementsko would be measured by the stability of the institution that you leavebehind. So my legacy would be seen after I leave. If ah…, the organizationcontinues to perform and deliver... and that would be my legacy. Umm…ah, Imean, It’s common knowledge na very politicized itong SBMA. Ah, but Ithink for the past few years, politization has disappeared. So which ah, Imean everybody now realizes that what we have a common goal. And itsmakes it, things easier, it make things easier to get done di ba kesa sa, ofcourse you still debate, so have disagreements but that’s an exchange ofideas. Pagalingan kayo ng ideas as opposed to different camps. I think theinstitution has matured beyond that or simply because you belong to theother camp automatically lahat ng gagawin mo masama. Now, I think it’smore towards ah, I have a different idea, a different viewpoint how can wesee how can we get the best from these ideas and so forth. Makikita mo dunsa debate yan e, sa mga discussions on the board. Duscussions are morealong the lines of policy, more along the line of ideas keysa sa “I belong toone camp, you belong to other camp.”

Metro Express: So, If given the chance sir ni ah, by the President to servelonger beyond your Sept. 11, 2011 maturity of service. Will you accept it ornot? Or you don’t want to answer the question?

(Here, Admin Arreza almost begged off from giving any comment saying“no, thank you…no thank you” but he nevertheless proceeded giving civilremarks…)

ARREZA: …but it’s gonna be an honor if a he’ll (President Noy) consid-er me but personally I want to pursue other things as well.

Metro Express: Let’s skip that Sir..Let’s have this one…life after SBMA.Arreza: Life after SBMA? (Chuckles), Well, actually, I want to engage

in..no, no politics. Other than poilitics wala na totoo. Actually, I want toengage in some form of social entrepreneurship. There, ah, am workingwith some friends, some former colleagues. One is in the area of educa-tion… developing applications that can be rolled out. Yung level of math andscience instruction here in the Philippines has gone down dramatically,Theres’ a lack of textbooks and so forth. So a lot of ah, a lot of schoolsmostly private schools a lot of people have gone towards that directionreplacing textbooks using ano, a tablets ahh… to replace textbooks. But Ithink the power of the text, the tablet can be unlocked to be developedspecific applications that improve the level of instructions, teaching andlearning for students. Pagdating sa Math kasi a lot of it is understanding.Math is building from one concept with the other. So pag hindi ka magalingin a particular concept when you move forward mas mahirap for you to pickit up. Ah…so it’s important you… there’s repetition and there’sunderstanding……..’pagka text books and ahh… limited ang number ngteachers mo mahirap… So am developing an application right now. Yungmga bata can do math exercises, learn different ah, master differentmathematical skills and then they can…It’s ah, self learning. Natuturuanka tapos you work through the exercises. When you make a mistake youhave to repeat it over and over again until you master the skill before youmove to the next skill. For teachers, since it’s all automated, its’ very easyto see the, it’s very easy to see how the students are doing. Kung isangteacher for a hundred students o 60 students magtse-check ng mga papersmanually, that’s very difficult di ba? And a lot of times, yung mga matatali-no nade-delay ng mga mababagal. And everybody moves at the same pace. Ifyou have such a, an application in place, di ba na it’s self-learning, theteachers are there to facilitate learning, mas bibilis yung good the ones areable to move up. The teacher can focus on: “alam ko na kung anong areasng estudyante ko…my students are doing well tututukan ko yan. So nale-

Missionaccomplished...

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leverage ang time ng teacher. Secondly, in science as well, in science youneed to do lab, experiments kasi it’s been proven na if you read aboutsomething you are able to retain maybe 30-40 percent of it. But if you see itdone or you do it yourself you are able to retain more. Kaya for science it’simportant to do more experiments but for public schools hindi nagagawayun e. Kasi you have what? Iisang set ng lab equipment for a hundredstudents….

Metro Express: Sa lahat po ba ng level applicable yan…?Arreza: Well, gusto ko i-pilot in a few schools kung saan idedevelop ko

yung program.Ah, it can run on any tablet platform and then yun na nga…the idea is

really to automate the learning process and make it more efficient so yungoras nung teacher is better leveraged. So, ahh…that’s why I said its socialentrepreneurship the intention is to make money but the intention is tomake it self-sustaining na para it continues to grow. So…yung…umm, am,looking at some schools already na ipa-pilot yung application. I’ve identifiedalready the team to develop it.

Metro Express: Can you name some (school) sir? Pwede na po bangbanggitin yun?

Arreza: Hindi pa, hindi pa masyado pang maaga. And then there stillsome other things I want to pursue as well but hindi siya strictly govern-ment. It’s a non-governmental work but ah, well, there are other ways toserve your country keysa sa gobyerno.

Metro Express: Sir, past and present, SBMA has its own share of contro-versies. What do you think were the worst to be forgotten and the best tobe remembered? Please explain…

Arreza: Madami tayo nun (controversies) ah… but I think over time a lotof people have seen a the allegations were untrue. For instance, Hanjin isthe biggest investor to come not just in Subic Bay but in Central Luzon,Bataan. A lot has been talked to, about their safety record but ah, you knowa lot of people don’t see that sometimes these accidents are caused byunsafe acts done by workers themselves. Yung ibang workers kasi tend tohave cavalier attitude towards safety kaya nagkakaron ng mga insidenteganun (accidents). But a lot was made to arrest the laxity or inability tomonitor it. But you’re talking about 24,000 workers you’re talking about400 hectares it’s almost like monitoring an entire munisipyo and makingsure nobody does anything wrong. I think there’s has been a significantimprovement on their safety record.

Yung mga environmental issues that have been raised, I think a lot of themhad been unfair. Obviously the, we feel that we’ve done formidable job inprotecting the environment. We haven’t cleared areas for development I thinkSubic bay forest continues to be healthy but ah, lot has been said about theSBMA to compromise for the sake of development but anybody who has comehere have seen that a lot of talk is just really negative in the media.

There’s a lot of talk about compensation, about how excessive we compen-sated I was but again, it was proven to be untrue. So I said, my, the positionof the administrator and the chairman here in the SBMA tends to be alightning rod for controversy. But I think we rather share controversy butah, over time people have seen that a lot of it was just really trumped up,exaggerated stories in the media.

Metro Express: SBMA has a new chairman now in Roberto Garcia whilethe appointment papers of your supposed replacement in Mr. Rafael Reyesseemingly got stuck somewhere. Can we say that it’s a good sign for anextension of your service or not? Please explain…

Arreza: Well si Mr. Reyes has his reasons for not yet taking the positionfor sure chairman Garcia has come in and taking the reign of the organi-zation so I’m slowly turning over to him as well. My term has a definite end.So wala siyang, wala naman siyang holdover provision. My appointmentpapers were signed September 19, 2005. So it ends Sept 19, 2011 itexpires. I certainly hope that a replacement would have been named by then.

Metro Express: So, what could be the reason of Mr. Reyes of not takingthe position yet?

Arreza: I just don’t know why he’s not keenly pursuing it…so I don’tknow if he still wants to…it’s up to the President if he still wants to talk toMr. Reyes or appoint somebody else.

Metro Express: Do you have future plans for SBMA or the Subic Freeportafter or when your replacement finally comes around?

Arreza: Well, ako…for SBMA? I intend to stay here naman because I loveliving here in SBMA. My family is from Surigao. But I grew up in Manila.Nag-volunteer lang ako dito (SBMA) with a lot of other people 18 years ago.Dito ko nakilalala yung Misis ko... kaya… I think we’ve settled here already.So…most likely dito kami titira…of course…ah…you know I need to pursueother things so that might take me to Manila but I think it’s good to be athome so… we’ll be…we’ll continue to be involved maybe in some communityactivities…but certainly I want also to help incoming administrations…ifever they… require my service maybe just also to give advice and so forth…but certainly not to meddle in the operations of the SBMA.

Manila, PHILIPPINES July 29-Aug 5, 2011

PHILIPPINE

AVIATION WEEK

accomplished’

UNANG ALYANSANGMAMAMAHAYAG-MANGGAGAWA

(MOBILE: 0915-5517486)

www.metroexpressnews.yolasite.com

ProfilesProfiles1st-APLUMA

THERE is no need to amend the country’s Constitution at this time toattract foreign investments, Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda said.

“We have a Constitution that we have to observe and the 60-40 [owner-ship provision], and we have to understand that it is always been there, theadvocacy to amend the Constitution. We believe that there is no priorityright now, there is no need to amend the Constitution and we stand by thatposition,” Lacierda said during the regular press briefing on Friday in Mal-acanang.

Lacierda was asked by Palace reporters about the complaints of foreigninvestors on the cancellation of contracts by the Philippine governmentthat have already been awarded. Also, the 60-40 ownership provision of theConstitution hampers investments to flow into the country.

But Lacierda defended the cancellation of several contracts, noting thatthose projects sealed during the past leadership were found questionableby the present administration.

Lacierda also said the Aquino administration promised to even the busi-ness playing field to all the players.

It can be recalled that the President canceled the P18.5-billion Laguna deBay dredging project awarded to a Belgian company following a thoroughreview by his economic managers. The President believes the project willnot rehabilitate the lake despite the huge project cost.

The contract, signed by the Arroyo leadership with the Belgian firm Bag-gerwerken Decloedt en Zoon (BDZ), is different from the Aquino adminis-tration’s public-private partnership (PPP) projects.

M’canang says constitutional amendmentnot needed to boost PH’s investments

By Ismael Adesas Amigo

President Aquino III presides over a Cabinet Meeting at Malacanang’s StateDining Room before delivering his Second SONA, Monday 25 July 2011.

The city government ofParañaque City is eyeing a totalban on sale and possession oflaser pointers after receivingcomplaints that the gadgets couldpose a danger to aircraft pilots.

City Councilor Benjo Bernabeplans to pass a resolution in thecity council to this effect.

Bernabe said they will alsocoordinate with the Barangayofficials to advise the residents ofthe danger to commercial pilots.

During the recent safetybriefing, Capt. Amado Soliman,officer-in-charge of the AircraftAccident Investigation Board ofthe Civil Aviation Authority of thePhilippines, warned that laserpointers can temporarily blind apilot while he is landing a plane.

Soliman said this could alsocause more life-threateningincidents if left unchecked.

Parañaque wantstotal ban on saleand possession oflaser lights

‘Sokol’ choppers to augment AFP arsenal

Meanwhile, city government hasexpressed its support for a proposalof Manila International AirportAuthority (MIAA) general managerJose Angel Honrado widening theban on the breeding of pigeons andother bird species within the 13-kilometer radius of the Ninoy Aquino

International Airport (NAIA).Joseph Agustin, officer-in-

charge of the NAIA airport groundoperations and safety division saidMayor Florencio Bernabe Jr., willfast track the proposed ordinancebanning the breeding of birdswithin the said area.

A PAL 747 taking off the runway at NAIA. No laser lights please and pet dovesaround the immediate vicinity of NAIA the Paranaque LGU says.

In line withPresident BenignoS. Aquino III’sprogram tomodernize thecountry’s lawenforcementagencies, theArmed Forces ofthe Philippines(AFP) is procuringeight brand newattack helicoptersto augment itsequipment cacheand improve itsability to protectthe citizenry.

AFP Spokesperson CommodoreMiguel Rodriguez said the Polish-made “Sokol” (Polish for “falcon”)attack utility helicopters (AUH),

manufactured by Agusta WestlandŒwidnik of Poland, will be used forthe combat, search and rescue, relief,and patrol operations of the military.

Rodriguez alsosaid the enlistedmen’s morale hasbeen boostedbecause of thePresident’smodernizationprogram to providethe soldiers withthe proper equip-ment to do theirjobs.

“It lessens therisk (to the lives ofour men) andmakes us workefficiently,”

Rodriguez said.The first batch of four Sokol

helicopters will be arriving thisNovember. The remaining four,next year.

A “Sokol” (Polish for “falcon”) attack utilityhelicopter (AUH) prototype.

A good friend of the men andwomen of this humble publication,Mr. Arreza’s six-year “Tour of Duty”is nearing maturity particularly come19th of September 2011 but thisnorthern fellow gamely answeredquestions thrown at him from hisappointment, to controversies, andof course, plans after SBMA.

But it should be worth mentioningthat while he was appointed by thenPresident and now PampangaRepresentative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo way back in 2005, Arrezaquite literally rose up from the ranks:He started out as SMBA volunteerworker himself 18 years ago alongwith wife Ma. Paz Arreza, notwith-standing high Wharton credentials.

Needless to say, although theAdministrator got embroiled in amyriad of controversies includingoverly fat checks which for him“over time” came to be proven

SUBIC — He has a very tight schedule wrapped aroundvarious power meetings mixed with other pressing matters toattend to and so with it the Metro Express feels lucky enoughto finally have this rare one-on-one interview with SBMA’sdynamic Administrator and CEO Mr. Armand Arreza lastWednesday, 20th of July (2011) going and here, on paper now.

untrue, he certainly knows the “insand outs” as far as the SBMA isconcerned like the back of his hand.

So to speak, his six-year “Tour ofDuty” as SBMA Administrator isalmost complete but he humblyrefuses to call it straight as “missionaccomplished.” For him, though, hecertainly got a “passing grade” aswhat he says.

But oh, make that double “A” fordouble “AA.” His initials aresynonymous to it.

Verbatim, here goes MetroExpress’s exclusive interview withthe youngest Administrator theSBMA ever had:

Metro Express: Sir, in your speechwith which the Subic Times eventu-ally posted in its website last April18, 2011, you welcomed the appoint-ment news from Malacanangreplacing key positions at SMBAparticularly the chairman and the

new administrator. Was it really yourtrue and sincere feelings or you stillhave feelings of some sort ofunfinished business for you to letgo of SBMA? Please explain...

Arreza: No, for me, sa aming kasie, I think it’s been an honor andprivilege na nakapaglingkod asadministrator ng SBMA. But ah, Ithink there is a good reason bakit sixyears, ano… midterm, want toprotect the administrator from ah, inthe office from all the political ah…alam mo naman its’ very, the positionitself, it’s a lightning rod throughthat. But I think six year is longenough to do, to implement veryspecific program so I think it’s timeto bring somebody in… with freshnew ideas with ah…also a desire todo something for the community. So

hindi naman masama necessarily tohave new people coming in every sixyears. So, the institution for me Ithink will continue on ‘di ba? Butmadaming, there are new directionsthat can be pursued. So, Of course Iwelcome the appointment on mypersonal standpoint, ah..I think Iwant also to pursue other things…

Metro Express: So, would yousay sir that it was “mission accom-plished” for your “tour of duty” atSBMA or do you feel that you coulddo better as SBMA Administratorunder the Aquino Administration?Please elaborate comparatively frompast SMBA administrations…

Arreza: Well you can never say,its mission accomplished becauseyou always want to do more things.But looking back I’m very happywith chairman Salonga and I haveaccomplished. Ah, looking back its,its easier to see kasi over six yearswhat has happened. Six years ago,ah…employment was at a low. Therewas minimal investments coming in.I think now we have ah, almost94,000 workers in the base. Right?You see more business activityagain. So, I think those are veryevident, ah…the other day I justchatting... six years ago I was with…to negotiate a contract with NAPO-

“Well you can never say, its mission accomplished because you always want to do more things. Butlooking back I’m very happy with chairman Salonga and I have accomplished. Ah, looking backits, its easier to see kasi over six years what has happened. Six years ago, ah…employment wasat a low. There was minimal investments coming in. I think now we have ah, almost 94,000

workers in the base. Right? Yousee more business activity again.So, I think those are very evi-dent...”

...cont’d on page7

SBMA ADMIN./CEO ARMAND ARREZA

‘A mission

ARREZA

POWERPOWERMMetroExpressExpress

THE Hanjin Shipyard (above) remains as SBMA’s top employer at around 24,000workers. “You’re talking about 400 hectares (and) it’s almost like monitoring anentire “munisipyo” and making sure nobody does anything wrong. I think therehas already been a significant improvement on their safety record,” Admin. Arre-za says. Photo below (left) shows two gigantic ro-ros (roll-on, roll-off) vessels andHanjin’s very first product, Argolikos (below, right). Photo courtesy: Jason Osorio