Legarda Lauds Winning Curator, Thanks Participants in Open Call for PHL Participation in Venice Biennale 2015

MANILA-Senator Loren Legarda today lauded Dr. Patrick Flores, whose curatorial proposal was selected by a six-member board of jurors, including three international jurors, for the Philippine pavilion at the 56^th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale 2015, after a 50-year hiatus from the international contemporary art scene.

“I am happy for Dr. Flores for having been chosen as the curator for our national pavilion at the Venice Art Biennale 2015. His proposal exhibited intellectual rigor and depth and immense creativity. It was actually a tough choice to make because there were many other good proposals. The selection process was a democratic, inclusive process with no less than highly respected and credible people in the international contemporary art world as part of the panel of jurors,” said Legarda, who initiated the country’s return to the prestigious event.

Flores’ proposal titled, Tie A String Around the World, revolves around Manuel Conde’s 1950 film Genghis Khan, co-written and designed by Carlos Francisco, screened at the Museum of Modern Art and at the Venice Film Festival in 1952. Conde and Francisco are both National Artists.

The newly restored film Genghis Khan will be exhibited at the Pavilion and will be positioned in conversation with the contemporary art projects of intermedia artist Jose Tence Ruiz and filmmaker Mariano Montelibano III. The Pavilion seeks to initiate discussion on the history of the sea and its relationship with the current world, claims to patrimony, and the struggle of nation-states over vast and intensely contested nature. It locates the Philippines in the world through its deep ties to ancient cultures, its precocious modern art, and the critical responses of contemporary art to present predicaments. Through the work of artists across generations, this history is told as a history of art and a history of the world.

As she congratulated Flores, Legarda also thanked the other Filipino curators and artists who submitted their proposals.

“We thank all our curators and artists who joined the open call. Though their works were not chosen, we are grateful to them because they joined us in this undertaking and they allowed us to better appreciate Philippine contemporary art. Even our international jurors were very much impressed with the quality of most of the 16 submissions,” she said.

The esteemed panel of jurors, noted names in the field of modern and contemporary art and culture, was composed of Mami Kataoka, Chief Curator, Mori Art Museum in Tokyo; Paul Pfeiffer, New York-based multi-media artist; Renaud Proch, Executive Director, Independent Curators International; Cid Reyes, respected critic, artist, and writer; Felipe M. de Leon, Jr., Chairman of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA); and Senator Legarda, principal advocate and visionary behind the Philippine participation at the Venice Biennale.

The panel deliberated on sixteen (16) proposals for two days from September 4 to 5, 2014, at the NCCA Boardroom in Intramuros, Manila.

“The open call and the deliberation of the panel were important processes not only with regard to our participation at the Venice Biennale 2015, but also for the Philippine contemporary art. I am happy because I can see that this will be a great start to enriching our craft and bringing our Filipino curators and artists to the global contemporary art scene,” Legarda concluded.

NOTORIOUS DRUG PUSHERS ARRESTED BY POLICE

CAMP OLIVAS, CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, PAMPANGA- On its aggressive campaign to eradicate the proliferation of illegal drugs and loose firearms in the region, Police Regional Office 3 scored anew as Guimba’s notorious drug pushers have been arrested by elements of Guimba Municipal Police Station through the implementation of search warrant in the dawn of September 7, 2014.

            Police operatives armed with Search Warrants issued by Hon. Ramon D Palumar, Executive Judge of Regional Trial Court Branch 32, Guimba, Nueva Ecija proceeded at Brgy Sta Veronica, Guimba, Nueva Ecija and arrested the following persons: Ramir CANDELARIA y Bravo; Ferdinand GUEVARRA y Eugenio; and, Jeffrey BERNAL y Nilo, all residents of said place.

           Confiscated from suspects’ possession were the following: twenty two (22) pcs of heat sealed plastic sachets containing suspected shabu including one (1) big plastic containing suspected shabu, all weighing fifteen grams with an estimated value of One hundred Five Thousand Pesos (Php 105,000.00); cash money amounting to Fifty Seven Thousand Four Hundred Eighty Pesos (Php 57, 480.00); one (1) cal. 45 with (two) 2 magazines and twenty five (25) live ammunition; one (1) air gun and different drug paraphernalia; and, one (1) CCTV camera.

            Arrested suspects were brought to Guimba Police Station while appropriate charges are being readied against them.  

             PCSUPT PETRASANTA said that PNP PRO3 is continuously conducting pro-active operations and invigorates its efforts to wipe out all forms of illegal drugs in order to achieve its quest for a drug free Central Luzon.

ANGARA BATS FOR STUDENTS DISCOUNT ON FOOD, MEDICINE, TUITION, OTHER SCHOOL FEES

MANILA-Senator Sonny Angara has filed a bill that seeks to grant discounts on food, medicine, educational expenses, such as tuition, miscellaneous and other school fees, including books and school supplies, to underprivileged students in all levels throughout the country.

 

"Even with the system of scholarship grants and student loan programs provided by the government, not all deserving and underprivileged get to finish their education because they lack the financial capacity to spend for their basic needs or other expenses related to their schooling," said Angara, who is a known advocate of educational reforms.

 

"Our bill aims to ease the financial burden of underprivileged students and help them cope with the high cost of education and daily school expenses," added the former chair of the House committee on higher education.

 

Among the benefits provided by Senate Bill 2385 include a five-percent discount on food establishments, medicines, textbooks and school supplies, and on entrance fees to museums and cultural events.

 

All qualified students will also be entitled to a five-percent discount on tuition fees, miscellaneous and other school fees granted by public and private schools where they are enrolled in. This discount would not preclude underprivileged students from availing other educational assistance provided by the school and the government.

 

"Considering that we now have a law giving discounts to senior citizens, it is high time that we consider the plight of our underprivileged students who are our nation’s future," said the lawmaker, who is also an author of the Expanded Senior Citizens Act.

 

Under the proposed measure, underprivileged students are eligible to get discounts if their parents have a gross annual income of not more than P150,000. Working students can also be qualified if their income combined with their parents' annual gross income would not exceed P150,000.

 

The Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, in coordination with the National Economic and Development Authority, are tasked to screen applicants and identify who are the eligible students.

 

They will also issue the discount cards which will be valid anywhere in the country as proof of eligibility.

 

SB 2385 further provides for tax incentives to establishments that would grant discounts to underprivileged students.

 

On the other hand, establishments that would refuse to grant discounts would be penalized with one to four-week suspension of their license to operate and would be fined with not less than P20,000 but not more than P50,000.

 

"When I studied in the UK, I saw the benefits of having student discounts on various services to defray the expenses of the students. Naniniwala akong mas higit na kailangan natin itong ipatupad sa ating bansa upang maibsan ang kahirapan ng ating mga estudyante at ng kanilang mga pamilya at para mas mapalawak pa ang kanilang oportunidad na makaahon sa buhay," Angara said.

Is traffic-choked NCR ready for APEC summit 14 months from now? Gov't asks for P4.6 B for APEC hosting needs

MANILA-Are we ready for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit?

With 14 months to go before 21 heads of government will converge in Metro Manila for the APEC Economic Leaders Meeting, Sen. Ralph Recto wants to know if government preparations ranging from fixing roads to putting more cops on the streets are on track.

“If Barrack Obama and Vladimir Putin will hug and pose for a selfie in November next year, will they be doing it in a metropolis that international reporters covering the APEC summit would hail as safe and clean?” the Senate President Pro Tempore asked. 

“Or will the traditional ‘class picture’ of APEC leaders have cargo trucks stuck in traffic as background?”

The U.S. president and the Russian premier are among those who are expected to attend the annual gathering of leaders of Pacific rim economies which have banded together in a forum which seeks to promote free trade.   

Reports said up to 10,000 delegates, journalists and support staff will descend into Manila for the 25th edition of the APEC leaders confab.

Some 21 meetings and ministerial conferences have also been slated on the run up to the summit. 

The site and date of the latter, as well as those of the pre-summit meetings, have not been officially announced. News reports however said the summit and most of the preparatory conferences will be held in Metro Manila.

Despite the sorry state of the capital region’s infrastructure, “as evidenced by the monstrous daily traffic jams,” Recto believes that the Philippines, “at the end of the day, will be remembered for hosting a memorable APEC summit.”

But to be able to pull it off, “we must however work double time in seeing to it that all bases are covered –  from accommodations for 10,000, to security, to fixing the airport, to repairing our roads,” Recto said.

The senator is proposing that the House and Senate hearings on the proposed 2015 national budget be used “to audit APEC requirements.”  

For hosting the APEC meeting, the government has put in a request for P4.6 billion, booked under the “International Commitments Fund” section of next year’s national budget.

Recto, however, surmised that this is for hosting requirements alone and does cover “outside-of-venue needs like sprucing up the airport.”

He said evidences of a “crash Metro Manila makeover” are found in the 2015 budget.

“There is a P1.9 billion allocation for the rehabilitation of EDSA, there is another P1.9 billion to repair flyovers. There is a P600 million for the repair of NAIA. In the budget of the DPWH, there is at least P30 billion worth of projects which will be implemented in NCR,” Recto said.

“At present, Roxas Boulevard and Luneta are being improved at a cost of P457 million,” the senator pointed out.

In the case of NAIA, Recto said that the Manila International Airport Authority’s annual net income of P3 billion should prompt the agency to plow back some of it for passenger comfort facilities.

“In addition, privately-funded road projects like P15.5 billion, 7-kilometer NAIA expressway and the Skyway Stage 3 project are proceeding smoothly,” he said.

Eleven other big ticket items ranging from overpasses to rail line extensions are on the drawing boards.

Not all of these are attributable to APEC, Recto quickly clarified. “But just the same, those which are scheduled to be finished before APEC must be done so. And for those which are not, then some kind of a traffic management program for each  must be developed because we don't want media coverage on the APEC to focus on how bad traffic is in Metro Manila.”

Recto said if “APEC is what led government to ask more funds for Metro Manila, then so be it because after the guests are gone, then the area is left with new or better infrastructure.”

“If it’s the fear of bungling the APEC hosting duties which drives the government to go on a building-spree, then it is alright for as long as it will leave dividends to be enjoyed. Whatever the motivation is for as long the end is good,” Recto said.

“After the likes of Obama and Putin have left,” Recto said government should sustain the projects of easing traffic in Metro Manila, building more rail lines and roads, buying more trains, and building in-city housing for the people “because with or without APEC, it is its obligation to do so.”

"The improvements we all want to see in Metro Manila are real, not cosmetic,"  he said.

NCCA Announces Representative to 56th Venice Biennale

MANILA-The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), in partnership with the Office of Senator Loren Legarda, are pleased to announce the selection of Patrick Flores’ curatorial proposal titled Tie A String Around the World as the official Philippine participation at the 56^th Venice Art Biennale 2015.

The esteemed panel of jurors, noted names in the field of modern and contemporary art and culture, was composed of Mami Kataoka, Chief Curator, Mori Art Museum in Tokyo; Paul Pfeiffer, New York-based multi-media artist; Renaud Proch, Executive Director, Independent Curators International; Cid Reyes, respected critic, artist, and writer; Felipe M. de Leon, Jr. NCCA Chairman; and Senator Loren Legarda, principal advocate and visionary behind the Philippine participation at the Venice Biennale. The panel deliberated on sixteen (16) proposals for two days from September 4 to 5, 2014, at the NCCA Boardroom in Intramuros, Manila.

Flores’ curatorial concept is a poetic and political reflection on the history of world making, the links between geography and politics, and the notions of nation, territory, and archipelago.  It foregrounds the extensities of the Philippines, a foil perhaps to the more aggressive instincts of expansion around us -- in the past and in “present passing.”

Tie A String Around the World revolves around Manuel Conde’s 1950 film Genghis Khan, co-written and designed by Carlos Francisco, screened at the Museum of Modern Art and at the Venice Film Festival in 1952, where it competed with the films of Chaplin, Clement, Fellini, Bergman, and Mizoguchi. The said film tells the story of the young Genghis Khan, his passage into the life of a warrior. It ends with the conqueror, perched on a mountain, casting his magisterial gaze over his dominion and promising his woman to “tie a string around the world” and lay it at her feet. This is a tale of the “king of kings” and the formation of empires that have strung the islands of the world. Genghis Khan’s empire stretched from the Pacific to Europe, the largest contiguous realm ever.

The newly restored film Genghis Khan will be exhibited at the Pavilion and will be positioned in conversation with the contemporary art projects of intermedia artist Jose Tence Ruiz and filmmaker Mariano Montelibano III. The Pavilion seeks to initiate discussion on the history of the sea and its relationship with the current world, claims to patrimony, and the struggle of nation-states over vast and intensely contested nature. It locates the Philippines in the world through its deep ties to ancient cultures, its precocious modern art, and the critical responses of contemporary art to present predicaments. Through the work of artists across generations, this history is told as a history of art and a history of the world.

The panel of jurors was impressed with the quality of most of the 16 submissions. They thought that most of the proposals were intellectually remarkable.

After a 2-day deliberation, the discussions came down to three strong proposals. Ultimately, the jury deemed Flores’ proposal the most fitting for the country’s return to contemporary art world’s first and oldest biennale after a 50-year hiatus.

Flores is Professor at the University of the Philippines Department of Art Studies and Curator of the Vargas Museum. He is Adjunct Curator of the National Art Gallery, Singapore, a member of the Guggenheim Museum’s Asian Art Council, and a guest scholar of the Getty Research Institute in 2014.

The Venice Art Biennale will open on May 9 and will run until November 22, 2015.

Drilon calls on fellow legislators: Forget politics for peace in Mindanao

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NPA Remnants murder a civilian and a soldier carrying dead NPA in Abra,NPA suffers 2

Camp Aquino, Tarlac City - After being beaten in a major armed encounter a few days ago, NPA remnants ambushed soldiers and civilians carrying a cadaver of an NPA from the previous battle site 9:30PM Friday in Brgy Guiguinabang, Lacub, Abra.

Soldiers from the 41^st Infantry Battalion and a group of local populace were transporting the cadaver of an NPA identified as Umin Bernal a.k.a Tubong to be turned over to the LGU and local police and further to a funeral home when they were fired upon by a group of NPA remnants which resulted to the death of one civilian and a soldier and wounding of three more troops while the NPA suffered two killed and one was apprehended when soldiers returned fire in defense of the civilians.

The identities of the civilian fatality and the soldiers are temporarily withheld pending notification of their next of kin while the two dead NPAs are still unidentified as of latest report.

It may be recalled that NPA suffered six dead in a fierce firefight last Thursday. The dead NPAs were gradually identified with the help of civilians in the vicinity who went to the casualty and medical evacuation area to look for relatives. Civilians found out that Umin Bernal a.k.a Tubong, their townmate in Lacub was one of the dead NPA and volunteered to carry their townmate’s cadaver to Lacub proper.

Lt.Gen Felicito Virgilio Trinidad, the NOLCOM Commander condemned the act as “a brazen display of brutality, total disregard to the safety of civilians and wanton violation of human rights.”

“Our troops and the civilians were merely doing their moral obligation as soldiers of the people and as townmates respectively to bring the cadaver to a place where his body can be claimed by relatives and be given proper burial but the NPA remnants still fired at them. This shows the kind of ideology they are fighting for if any” Lt. Gen. Trinidad said.

“We offer our deepest and heartfelt sympathy to the relatives of the civilian killed by the NPA and we assure them that our soldiers will do everything under the law to make the perpetrators accountable to their crime against the people” Lt. Gen. Trinidad also said.

“We are also calling on the conscience of our lost brothers in the NPA to look closely on the things they are doing and perhaps they may realize that we all suffer in their bloody way of furthering their belief. We are constantly hopeful that they will heed the voice of the people to stop violence and join the mainstream society so that we can collectively pursue lasting peace and development specially in the countryside” Lt. Gen. Trinidad concluded.

Legarda: Art, Important Facet of Nation Building

MANILA-Senator Loren Legarda, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Cultural Communities, acknowledged the significance of art in nation building, including in rebuilding communities affected by disasters.

In the press conference to introduce the jurors who reviewed the curatorial proposals submitted for the Philippines’ participation in the Art Venice Biennale 2015, Legarda said, “art is a very important facet of rebuilding our nation especially after Yolanda, after Glenda.”

“People might ask, and this has been asked of me, why join in the Venice Biennale now after Yolanda? I think, all the more now, after Yolanda. Art will become an even more important platform to highlight Filipino creativity. I believe that art should be an enabler of development and that is the reason why all the more, the Philippines should be in the Biennale next year,” said Legarda, who initiated the country’s return to the prestigious contemporary art exhibition after 50 years of absence.

Felipe De Leon, Jr., Chairperson of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), seconded the Senator’s statement, stressing that promoting the arts is a way of priming all the other kinds of development.

“Once you encourage people to express themselves, you strengthen what is called cultural energy. Cultural energy is the motivation to work, to engage meaningfully in social interaction, engagement and so on. The moment you develop the arts, everything else follows and this is the reason why after Yolanda, if we would like to develop economically and socially, it begins with the arts,” De Leon said.

Legarda stressed that the Art Venice Biennale is a platform where the Philippines’ voice will be heard in the global contemporary art scene.

“We need to engage the international community on the cultural level. I hope that through our participation in the Venice Biennale, more Filipino artists will be encouraged not only in exhibiting their craft but also in promoting the relevance of arts in nation building,” said Legarda.

The Philippines will participate in the 56th International Art Exhibition of the Venice Biennale 2015, which will be held from May 9 to November 22, 2015 in Venice, Italy.

The NCCA and the Department of Foreign Affairs, in partnership with the Office of Senator Loren Legarda, will soon announce the representative to the Venice Biennale 2015 following the two-day deliberation by local and international jurors on the 16 curatorial proposals submitted to the Coordinating Committee.

The panel was composed of Chairperson De Leon, Philippine Art Venice Biennale Commissioner; Senator Legarda, principal advocate and supporter of Philippine arts and culture; Cid Reyes, one of the country’s top art critics; Mami Kataoka, chief curator of the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, Japan; Paul Pfeiffer, a New York based sculptor, photographer and video artist who already participated in the 49th Venice Biennale in 2001; and Renaud Proch, Executive Director of Independent Curators International, a non-profit organization in New York that has produced exhibitions, events and publications.

Drilon: Congress eyes passage of twin bills to increase workers’ take-home pay

MANILA-The Congress is eyeing the passage of two major bills aimed at alleviating tax impositions on Filipino workers and increasing their take-home pay within the 16^th Congress, according to Senate President Franklin M. Drilon.

“The Congress is aware of the necessity to revisit our existing tax structure which has remained unchanged since 1997. The Congress is committed to pass legislation which will lower individual income taxes in order to help our workers in dealing with the effect of inflation,” said Drilon.

“If the salary hike that our workers have been asking the government to provide is not yet possible due to fiscal constraints, a legislation that will increase the workers’ net take-home pay is the best alternative we can work on,” he added. 

The first bill which will receive urgent legislative attention, according to Drilon, is the one that will lower the rates of individual income tax and adjust individual income tax brackets. The proposed measure is being heard in the Committee on Ways and Means of both houses of Congress.

The Senate leader also warned that in 2018, if Congress fails to plug loopholes in the nation's existing tax system, the lowest ranking government employees will find themselves paying under the same tax bracket as the next Philippine President himself.

The same will be the case for entry level employees of an average corporation who will share the 32% tax rate with the executives and top officers of their company, who obviously earn way much more.

Both scenarios will be inconsistent with the requirement of the Constitution for a progressive system of taxation, said Drilon.

Drilon further stressed: “If we do not seriously study our tax system and make the necessary adjustment, by 2018 everyone will pay the same tax rate which is not progressive as what the Constitution mandated. This is the sort of unjust ways of taxation that we will need to prevent.” 

Under Article VI, Section 28 of the 1987 Constitution, it states that (1) “the rule of taxation shall be uniform and equitable. The Congress shall evolve a progressive system of taxation.”

"We at Congress are ready to work on any proposed measure that can help the average Filipino in their daily expenses. The lowering of tax rates may affect the nation's overall revenue collection, but it will increase the purchasing power of our countrymen and it will be of great convenience for them,” said Drilon.

“When we increase their purchasing power, we could also expect an increase in the household spending that will contribute in the country’s overall economic growth,” he added.

The Congress will also pass a bill which will raise the tax exemption limit on the 13^th month pay and other work benefits of all workers in the public and private sector.

“We have an agreement with the House of Representatives that we will pass this bill within the year, so that Christmas could be merrier for our workers,” said Drilon.

The proposed measure intends to raise the exclusion limit on an individual’s 13^th month pay, Christmas bonus, and other work benefits from income taxation from the current imposed limit of P30, 000 to P75,000.

“There is really a need to revisit the antiquated provisions of the Republic Act No. 7833 which imposed the P30,000 cap on bonuses back in 1994,” said Drilon. 

NPA Remnants killed in Abra rise to 6, firearms recovered now 13, Military leadership calls for NPA to bring down arms to save wounded rebels

The number of NPA remnants killed in a fierce firefight in Abra yesterday rose to six and authorities believe there could be more dead and wounded who might die if not given proper medical attention while firearms recovered by troops is now 13.

The gunbattle which started at 5:00AM until noon Sept 4 in Brgy Guiguinabang, Lacub, Abra is considered a major tactical victory for the AFP.

Elements of the 41^st Infantry Battalion who engaged the NPA remnants were on pursuit operation and scouring the area when they found the still unidentified additional body and the five additional firearms believed to be left by wounded NPA or belonging to the dead ones who were possibly dragged by their comrades.

Four of the NPA killed were identified as Arnold Jaramillo a.k.a Mando, a high ranking NPA leader being the Secretary of the Abra Provincial Party Committee; Joel Banganan a.ka Ka Payas, another high ranking NPA leader being the CO of the Komite Larangang Gerilya North; next is Ronald Lang-ey Cocha and a certain Dumageng a.k.a Jess.  

The two other dead bodies, a male and a female are still unidentified as of latest report.

Recovered firearms include 8 - M16 armalite rifles, 2 - M653 baby armalite, 1-AK47, 1 Garand Rifle and 1- 45 cal pistol. Other items recovered are a laptop, a generator set, 2- handheld radios, a cellphone and many electronics and IT equipment; and subversive documents.

The bodies were transported to two Tamo Funeral Homes in Lagangilang and Tayum both in Abra so that they may be claimed by their relatives and be given decent burial.

Lt.Gen. Felicito Virgilio Trinidad, Commander of Northern Luzon Command appealed for the NPA leadership to “let the wounded bring down their arms so that our soldiers can give them emergency medical help and evacuate them to the hospital so that we can save their lives. We appeal to them to bring down their wounded comrades for medical treatment or if they cannot do it, they can contact the nearest AFP units so that our soldiers can bring the wounded to the hospital”.

“My prompt directive to the troops is to prioritize medical evacuation of any wounded NPA if found. We would like the NPA to realize that our soldiers treat them as fellow Filipinos and that the encounter was a result of their armed and bloody way of furthering their belief. We encourage them to shed that violent way and use peaceful means.”Lt.Gen Trinidad said.

“With this major tactical engagement, maybe  it’s time for the remaining NPA to rethink about their armed struggle, come out and join the mainstream society and collectively work for lasting peace, development and progress in our country.” Lt. Gen. Trinidad concluded.

AFP acquires P1.9-B worth of US-made rifles

FORT MAGSAYSAY, Nueva Ecija – The Armed Forces of the Philippines has acquired P1.9-billion worth of brand-new assault rifles from a United States-based company to beef up its forces as part of its modernization program and in spite of the “missing rifles” scandal.    

          An initial 100 of these units were given out in this military camp Thursday afternoon, with 27,200 more to be distributed within this month and another 12,000 in December, according to AFP Chief of Staff, Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang.   

          Catapang said the new rifles, involving 5.56mm M4 rifles, form part of the joint Philippine Army-Philippine Marine Corps Assault Rifles Acquisition Project (PAPMPCARAP) of the government.

          Catapang was assisted by 7^th Infantry Division commanding general, Brig. Gen. Glorioso Miranda, during the turn-over of the initial 100 units at the firing range here to troops from the Light Reaction Regiment (LRR) of the Special Operation Command (Socom) and 79^th Infantry Battalion under 3^rd Infantry Division (3ID) who have undergone the Battalion of Excellence (BOC) training.

          Catapang said the Army is set to receive a total of 44,186 units while another branch, the Philippine Navy, will get 6,443 units.

          The funds for the weapons were sourced from the AFP Capability Upgrade Program of 2012. The US-based Remington Outdoor Company won the public bidding in October last year.

          “This weapons program will contribute significantly to the transformation of the AFP into a multi-mission oriented force capable of confronting both internal and external threats,” Catapang said.

          The heavy-barreled, full automatic, wear-resistant rifles will replace the old, worn-out M16A2 assault rifles.

          Comparatively, the M4 Carbine rifle is lighter, shorter, more cost-efficient and can reach a target up to 600 meters. In contrast, the M16-A1 rifle’s maximum ceffective range is only up to 460 meters.          

Catapang said they chose to give these new rifles to field soldiers because they are the front liners and “so we must assure that they are fully equipped in every encounter.”

He stressed that soldiers should live with the paradigm “kawal disiplinado, bawal abusado dapat asintado (disciplined soldier, no to abusiveness and must be a sharpshooter).” Manny Galvez)

Ecija barangay chairman murdered by riding-in-tandem gunmen

CABANATUAN CITY, Nueva Ecija–An incumbent barangay chairman and nephew of Board Member Pol Interior was gunned down by two motorcycle-riding gunmen in San Leonardo, Nueva Ecija Thursday afternoon, police said.

          Senior Superintendent Crizaldo Nieves, provincial police director, identified the slain barangay official as Rodante Interior-Garcia, barangay chairman of San Bartolome.

Garcia died on-the-spot from three gunshot wounds of a caliber 40 revolver.

Chief Inspector Alexander Aurelio, San Leonardo police chief, said the attack was staged at around 5:30 pm Thursday in the same barangay.

Aurelio said Garcia was walking along the provincial road in the same barangay when the gunmen aboard a red unlicensed Honda motorcycle appeared from behind and shot him point-blank, hitting him in the neck.

As he was sprawled on the pavement, the gunmen fire two more shots then fled in the direction of nearby Peñaranda town.

One of the bullets hit a bystander Rowena Nogue, 49. She was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.

PO2 Giovani Penamante, case investigator, said they have several witnesses who already executed affidavits. “The problem is they have not known the suspects personally,” he said.

He ruled out politics as the motive behind the attack, saying they are looking at possible business rivalry. (Manny Galvez)