7-year-old girl drowns at Holiday Inn-Clark

7-year-old girl drowns at Holiday Inn-Clark

ANGELES CITY, Philippines – A seven-year-old girl died of drowning in the swimming pool of Holiday Inn Resort Hotel in Clark on Sunday afternoon, unnoticed by relatives and other swimmers and lifeguards.

Shift-in-charge Bong Villanueva of Holiday Inn identified the victim as Jabzcel Erin Gonzales of Barangay Mabiga in Mabalacat, Pampanga.

At least 35 people were in the pool when the incident happened, he said.

In a report to the Clark Development Corp. Public Relations Department, the hotel’s security department said that pool attendant Larry Bucatcat heard someone shouting and asking for help. The victim was seen floating on the pool.

Bucatcat took the victim off the pool and immediately applied first aid. She was taken by paramedics 10 minutes later to the Air Force City Hospital in Clark but efforts to revive her were futile, said the report.

From the Air Force Hospital, the victim was taken to the AUF hospital for further medical attention, but doctors declared her dead at about 7:30 p.m., said the report.

The report said the girl was in the company of five adults and two other children, who arrived at the swimming pool at 4 p,m. Sunday. She drowned at the 4-ft deep pool at 5:40 p.m. - Joey Aguilar, GMANews.TV

Samut-sari, tanong at blind items

HARD TO GET
By Joey Aguilar

Samut-sari, tanong at blind items

Sino itong konsehal sa isang lungsod sa Pampanga na diumano’y nalululong sa pagca-Casino at ngayo’y hindi nakakabayad ng utang?

Ayon sa aking kaibigang sepulturero, ang utang niyang P2,000 ay hindi pa niya mabayad-bayad sa isang dating kapitan ng barangay.

Tsk tsk tsk, MISTER, malinaw na malinaw na ito’y PUBLIC DISSERVICE.

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Sumbong naman sa akin ng isang Communication Arts Student, ang kanilang guro na isang journalist kuno ay ipinapakita umano sa kanilang magkakaklase ang mga envelopes na may lamang salapi.

Ibinigay daw ito umano ng mga pulitikong kinokober (media coverage) at ginagawan niya ng “magagandang balita” (na ikaiimpiyerno nilang pare-pareho?).

Dagdag pa ng mag-aaral, nang binasa daw niya sa pahayagan ang mga balitang isinulat ng journalist kuno ay mali-mali pa ang syntax at grammar.

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Madaming Angelenong nagtatanong, bakit naging Most Outstanding Councilor itong si Konsehal Ares Yabut? Na diumano ay inirereklamo naman ng mga nagtitinda sa Pampang Public Market?

May nagawa daw ba siya para sa mga Angeleno upang tumanggap ng ganoong klaseng parangal? Konsehal, meron nga ba?

Hihintayin nila ang iyong kasagutan.

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TANONG NG MARAMI NA HINDI PA MALINAW ANG KASAGUTAN:

Bakit “napaka-mahal” parin ng tuition sa Angeles University Foundation samantalang foundation naman ito?

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Sana ay papurihan ni Angeles City Mayor Blueboy Nepo ang mga namamahala at miyembro ng Marisol-Pampang Jeepney-Drivers Association na ang mga sasakyan ay kulay berde.

Ito ay dahil sa hindi nila ginagawang parang sardinas ang mga pasahero. Kapag 10 – 12 katao na ang nakasakay ay kaagad nang umaalis ang pampasaherong sasakyan. Huwag sana nilang gayahin ang mga drayber na nakapila sa SM City Clark Terminal.

Paalala: Laging pipiliin ang mga sasakyang jeep at kilalanin ang plate number ng sasakyan at ang mga drayber na matatatakaw sa pasahero upang sa susunod ay makaiwas sa kanila.

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Angeles City – City of Friendship! Kala ko City of Tarpaulins.

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Eto naman ang mensahe ng Banal na Kasulatan para sa mga employer, gubyerno man o pampribado (Sana ay maisapuso po ninyo ito dahil ito ay makakaganda sa inyong negosyo):

Deuteronomy 24:14-15 "You shall not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your countrymen or one of your aliens who is in your land in your towns.
"You shall give him his wages on his day before the sun sets, for he is poor and sets his heart on it; so that he will not cry against you to the LORD and it becomes sin in you.

Iwasan po natin ang magkasala ng ganito mga kapatid na mayayaman. Nagiging matagumpay kayo dahil sa mga manggagawa.

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WORKERS of the world unite, you have nothing to lose but your chains.


For comments, write me at joeyaguilar@punto.com.ph

Choose your own god (part II)

HARD TO GET
By Joey Aguilar

Choose your own god (part II)

Most politicians and government officials dislike Him. For one thing, not because He is a God, but because He is so strict that they would prefer to choose or even hire a god who has lenient rules to follow.

They dislike Him because graft and corruption are strictly prohibited under his rules. He disallows the general services officer to conspire with businessmen or distributors in overpricing equipment, gadgets, cellular phones and vehicles bought for government operations.

They dislike Him because under his rules, all transactions in the government should be transparent. Politicians must tell the people that the price of a Toyota Hilux pick-up is only around P900,000 and not P1.2 million. They should tell in details where the P5 million funds for the prevention of HIV/AIDS in Angeles City are being used.

They dislike Him because under his rules, adultery is a mortal sin. But for their chosen god, all sins are venial. Just kneel, say a little prayer and you are forgiven.

They dislike Him because under His rules, people’s money that includes Intelligence Funds should be used for its intended purpose and not for buying votes.

They dislike Him because for sure, He will not allow city sports heads, councilors, executive assistants and city administrators to have ghost workers under their payroll.

They dislike Him because for sure, He will not allow the city treasurer’s office (CTO) to delay the release of salaries of government workers for a month or two. Also, He will not allow officials of the CTO to release the salaries of job order employees to one person.

They dislike Him because he will not allow them to kill journalists.

They dislike him because the Good Book reveals that only those people who have clean conscience, honest, responsible, humble, those who have selfless interests and have the values of a true Christian will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.

But for them, that is something absurd and subjective. His rules won’t suit their desires since heaven for them is not a place to live in after death, after judgment day. Heaven for them is having sex with pretty college students who want to finish their studies. Heaven is when they use people’s money on junket trips and buy the most expensive gadgets, clothing and accessories. It is when they go to casinos to gamble the loot with their comrades. It is when they live in the comfort of their mansions which were built because of quarry money.

On the other hand, HELL will just be a place to see after death.

Now, it’s up to you if you want to choose your own god.
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In my previous column, the word Pasteur on the third paragraph should have been spelled pasture.

Choose your own god (part I)

Punto Central Luzon

HARD TO GET
By Joey Aguilar

Choose your own god (part I)

One of the extravagances I would willfully commit without feeling guilty is taking a cup of hot cappuccino at Starbucks. Not only for its “expensive” ambiance as what Erap complained before (eraption joke), but because news sources and friends often visit the place.

As expected, I was fortunate to see my co-athletes at Angeles University Foundation whom I haven’t seen for almost 7 years. They left the country a few years after graduating in college to seek for “greener Pasteur” abroad.

Over a cup of coffee, we talked about corruption, cheating, infidelity, politics, population and god, the same topics that we were discussing in 1995.

“Why do you think we have corrupt officials in government?” they asked. They expect me to answer them specific questions from a journalist’s point of view.

“I’m not a preacher or a prophet sent by God, but believe me, it happens to be like that because people have different gods, they chose to believe a god of their own,” I told them.

Well, they wouldn’t want to believe it since each of them believes there is only one God. “So why and how?” the curious Fernan asks.

I’m not an atheist trying to persuade them to believe that there is no god at all and probably, as a journalist, I was just skeptical [without being a confirmed cynic].

The most worrisome situation is not that we are perceived to be the most corrupt country in East Asia, I continued, but because Filipinos prefer to have gods who tolerate corruption and infidelity.

In fact, screwing someone’s wife is forgivable as long as you go to mass on a Sunday or Saturday, or a preferred day of “worship” and make a simple whisper of “sorry patawarin niyo po ako” to a kunsintidor god. After going out of the church, believe it or not, that man had been forgiven by his god.

I don’t know how corrupt politicians pray, but they also have their own gods who allow them to use people’s money for their own personal interests.

Those people who asked for forgiveness will do it again, and will pray the same prayer and kneel in front of their gods. And again believe me, without any doubt, his god will forgive him. They chose for themselves a very very merciful and forgiving god to suit their caprices and vices.

Thus, for the two, to be corrupt and to be a womanizer is anyway forgivable. Hell is only an imagination, an illusion thought only for children.

On the other hand, there are people who chose to have no gods at all. They preferred to live without a supreme being for them to have excuses for doing the same things that pleases them.
Now, there’s a God that most people do not like to have. He is strict and jealous. (to be continued)

Sports under Ed

Punto Central Luzon

HARD TO GET
By Joey Aguilar

Sports under Ed

I may not know everything about his personality, but I will always remember him as a good mayor who has a heart for athletes like me.

Under his administration 12 years ago, every athlete was treated like a Manny Pacquiao, not because we were given millions of pesos for every gold medal, but because we have enough of everything before and after every competition.

It was not only because we have more allowances, branded sports equipment, vitamins, energy drinks, food (from breakfast to midnight snacks) and incentives, but because he was the only mayor who, for seven straight days, slept and ate with us watching and cheering for every team who are competing in the field.

He stayed with us during those trying times when almost everyone suffered from diarrhea (after drinking contaminated water in Zambales). He immediately ordered city officials to immediately get and supply clean and potable water in every room of the quarters.

During the competition proper, he gave athletes incentives for every point, for every win, for every homerun, and for every medal they won. Even coaches have their own share for "bringing home the bacon."


For that, the Angeles City bagged the overall championship in the Central Luzon Regional Athletic Association (CLRAA) meet in Iba, Zambales in 1993 despite 80 percent of the athletes were suffering from diarrhea.

The following year, we won again under his leadership.

Well, I thought that everything, all those happy moments in the CLRAA would end after the event. But he proved me wrong. Moral and financial support from the city continued in Cebu City during the 1994 Palarong Pambansa. Aside from other allowances, every Angeleno athlete who wins a game received P200 from the city government and another P200 from education officials in region 3. Winning two games in a day means earning P800, and for us, it was more than enough to buy "pasalubong" for our parents, relatives and friends. Well, much more if we won the gold since P3,000 was at stake then for individual events while team champions received P5,000.

Going back home from every regional and national competition, he sets a day to meet and congratulate us "for a job well done." For him, winners are winners and losers are winners. He considers them heroes for bringing glory for the city and for fostering camaraderie among athletes and coaches from other provinces and regions.

Aside from those competitions, he would organize other games and events solely for Angelenos – all in the month-long Fiestang Kuliat. Name it – chess, volleyball, funrun, basketball, shootfest, other ball games and the traditional carabao race – were all included in the program. All these have inspired the Angeleno athlete to strive for excellence.


A week ago, I met some of my co-athletes in SM Clark whom I haven't seen for years. "Working abroad is really very challenging but of course financially rewarding," said one of them. "But I won't forget CLRAA and the Palarong Pambansa in 1994. It was the best of times," he adds.

I asked him, "kilala mo pa ba kung sino mayor noon?"

"Oo naman, edi si Ed Pamintuan."

AIDS in the city

Punto Central Luzon

HARD TO GET
By Joey Aguilar

AIDS in the city

I simply don’t know if it is afflicted with HIV or if it is already on its terminal stage but it seems to be malfunctioning in the past seven years.

Three years ago, I thought the Angeles City AIDS Council (ACAC) was on its “worst” under the leadership of Dr. Tess Esguerra, the former chief of the Reproductive Health and Wellness Center (RHWC),formerly Social Hygiene Clinic.

But I was wrong.

Two weeks ago, I visited the RHWC in Barangay Balibago where more than 4,000 bar workers and entertainers undergo weekly smear (gram staining) tests.

The same problems seven years ago still persist. Out of the 9,600 plus registered entertainers (bar girls, guest relation officers, dancers), the RHWC could only accommodate around 4,400. Thus, around 5,000 of them do not undergo smear tests every week. This means that 5,000 could all be possible carriers of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) or HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
From 1985 to 1993, 23 HIV positive cases in Angeles City were recorded. Then from 1994 to 2007 another 53 more cases were recorded based on the HIV Serologic Surveillance System conducted every year.
This year, at least two more cases were recorded from January to March. Thus, from 1985 to the first quarter of 2008, a total of 78 cases were recorded.
Before the ordinance was enacted, efforts to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and other STIs in Angeles City were simpler, focused, concrete and even better.

In fact, even though the city has no funds for it, stakeholders rely on the programs of non-government organizations like Angeles University Foundation, Pearl S. Buck International, and Reach-Out Foundation, all funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Under the leadership of Mr. Dexter Garcia, we as policy advocacy coordinators established linkages and networks, persuaded every sector in the community to support HIV/AIDS prevention programs. We sponsored and organized symposia, seminars and forums for bar owners, media practitioners, government officials, businessmen and floor managers. The late Ody Fabian, a veteran journalist, helped us in educating the public about basic facts on HIV/AIDS/STI and how to prevent it.

On August 30, 2000, the ordinance was unanimously approved at the city council. Thanks to former Sangguniang Kabataan Federation president Rosever Pascua, Councilor Willy Rivera, former councilors Irineo “Bong” Alvaro, Romeo Taruc, Atty. Efren Galang, Susan Pineda (who reportedly refuses to use her husband’s surname), and Councilors Rudy Simeon and Dan Lacson.

Only one councilor abstained – Alex Cauguiran, who is now the executive vice president of the Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC). But the points that he raised during that city council session have helped us improve the whole program. The HIV/AIDS ordinance, the first to be passed in the Philippines, was adapted by other cities like General Santos City, Cebu City, and the City of San Fernando, Pampanga.

Based on the ordinance, at least 10 percent of the Gender and Development (GAD) fund should be allotted for the council’s operation while 5 percent of the city’s general fund should be allotted to the GAD office.

Thus, if the city council has approved at least P1 billion budget this year, GAD should have its share of P50 million while ACAC is assured of P5 million for all its programs and personnel. Seven years ago, the council has only P1.6 million budget. Recent reports from the Inquirer revealed that only P3.9 million was approved for ACAC.
At any rate, there is no problem with the present ACAC budget. However, the problem lies in the implementation of the council’s programs since what we see are only short-term and minor solutions for a major problem. A message to “stop AIDS” printed on tarpaulins and posters, hanged in front of different bars in Fields Avenue, will not suffice. If this is a city of friendship as projected by Mayor Blueboy, then, programs for the prevention of the dreaded disease should also be “friendly.”

I am not advocating (since I am not an NGO worker anymore) for a perfect implementation of the ordinance because no amount of “Draconian measures” could completely stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. But prevention of the pandemic is not all about tarpaulins and posters. It is not all about telling and reminding sexually active persons to always use condom. It is not all about allotting millions of funds to treat people living with HIV. More importantly, it is all about care and attention for people, for those who are afflicted with the disease, and the concern for those who might be afflicted. It is all about taking responsibility, taking every step to protect the whole family against an infection that has ruined peoples’ dreams and goals.

‘Bluer’ than Blue

Punto Central Luzon

Hard to get
By Joey Aguilar

‘Bluer’ than Blue

ANGELES CITY – Promises of reforms, significant developments and changes seem to hound the Nepomuceno administration.

For weeks now, I didn’t have the chance to visit the city hall to gather some news. But recently, I attended a birthday party to see my friends who have worked for the city government for almost 18 years (casual and permanent employees), which for me a proof that they have been apolitical in performing their duties. Otherwise, they probably have lost their jobs now.

Atin napu bang pamagbayu king kasalukuyang administrasyon (are there any changes on the present administration)? It was a question that I prefer instead of “nanung balita (what’s the news)?” which I consider a stupid question for a journalist to ask since we, as newsmen, are expected to know the news of the day.

“Alang malalyari keni brod (nothing is happening here brother)” was the first reaction I got from the group. At first, I refuse to believe them since their arguments may have been a result of “unreturned favors” from Mayor Blueboy or his allies, or probably it was just a their own personal experience inside the city hall without looking at the macro level, and without any solid basis.

However, validations on their claims could be done on simple observations and common sense. An ordinary resident here could tell what’s been going on in the last eight months after the local elections.

Well, to cite a few, first, the parents of Kimiko Dizon, including officials of Chevalier School, have valid reasons to blame the city government for their daughter’s untimely demise. The open canal, where the little child sucked into caused by rampaging waters, has no structures (or barriers) which could have prevented the tragedy;

Second, the Angeles City AIDS Council has “achieved nothing” to implement salient provisions of the AIDS prevention ordinance despite having a yearly budget not less than P2 million. It is saddening to note that the present administration do not realize that international funding agencies like the United States Agency for International Development (USAid) spent millions of pesos for various studies, focus group discussions, research and seminars before city councilors signed it into law. Its HIV/AIDS prevention policies were focused on educating the public, especially the high-risk groups, on how to effectively avoid acquiring the disease and other sexually transmitted infections.

Third, open dumpsites could be seen, and have been operating again, in other barangays here and local officials have yet to act on it.

Fourth, the city tourism office, which has at least 25 workers, seems to be one of the most dysfunctional offices in the city hall aside from the Human Resources Management Office. For them, tourism only means three things: battle of the bands, poster-making contests, and Bikathon.

Fifth, the lack of pool of trainers and young players to compete in regional and national competitions like the Palarong Pambansa and the Philippine Olympic Festival (POF). As a result, the city landed only on the 7th place in the recent Central Luzon Regional Athletic Association better known as CLRAA sports meet held in Palayan City in Nueva Ecija recently.

Sixth, the city council has reportedly approved the purchase of expensive service vehicles like Toyota Hilux and Innova in 2007 for city councilors, division chiefs, and departments heads despite claims of lack of budget.

And seventh (not the last f course), illegal drugs, bukas kotse, and various illegal gambling operations like sakla in various barangays are reportedly rampant.

At any rate, with these observations, Angelenos have reasons to get disappointed with the Mr. Blue since life in the City of Angels has never been “angelic” in the past ten years until now.

For me, Mayor Blue maybe the right and legitimate person to lead the city, but sadly, he doesn’t have the right people to help him. What he now has is an armada of “pitbulls,” “great danes,” “German shepherds,” and the “asong kalyes” working in the city hall who are suffering from gluttony.

Now, is there something else to expect from the city government than a life bluer – than Blue?