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Quezon City News January 2015
Quezon City - Archived News
The Founder Manuel Quezon
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1 Road repairs continue this weekend in some parts of QC, Mandaluyong
2 St. Luke's Medical Center launches first Mobile App
3 Climate Change Concert Summit kicks off in QC
4 Maynilad earmarks P17.3 billion for water, infra projects this year
5 AFP receives new ambulances
6 PNP honors cops deployed on Pope visit
7 QC Council recommends more handwriting in schools
8 QC simplifies processing of excavation permits
9 Some areas in QC up for road repairs this weekend
10 PDEA creates own Detention Facility Manual with BJMP cooperation
11 PNP entrance, promotional exams set on April 26
12 Student filmmakers come together for UP Cinema's Piling Obrang Vidyo
13 QC introduces new tax measures
14 DA to expand rice R&D efforts to boost output
15 LTFRB to set rules for online taxi services
16 QC offers new incentive for taxpayers
17 2015 HortiKultura Extravaganza to feature many firsts
18 NAPC holds 2015 National Sectoral Assembly
19 Youth camp and series of activities all set to welcome Pope Francis
20 QC to institute more economic reforms
21 LTO starts license plate standardization program
22 SSS eases remittance services for members
23 DOST lauds QC for adopting trash rake technology
24 LOOK: Jeepney-inspired popemobile for Pope Francis
25 E-jeepney operator files application for QC route
26 AAK Davao to join 3rd Adidas International Cup (Sports)
27 DND vows to boost HADR capabilities in 2015
28 Quezon City grants Diamond Jubilee tax relief
29 (Feature) QC marks 203rd birth anniversary of the Grand old Lady of the Katipunan on Tuesday
30 Film on casket maker wins big
31 Modern living in Quezon City
32 DSWD continues to aid 'Seniang' survivors
Road repairs continue this weekend in some parts of QC, Mandaluyong
Source: http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/241422603073/road-repairs-continue-this-weekend-in-some-parts-of-qc-mandaluyong-
(DPWH/MMDA/RJB/JEG/PIA-NCR)
QUEZON CITY, 31 January (PIA) – Some roads in Quezon City and Mandaluyong are up for repairs which started Friday night, January 30 until 5AM of Monday, February 2.
According to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), affected areas in Quezon City include: along Mindanao Avenue from Road 20 to Congressional Ave. (3rd lane, southbound); C.P. Garcia Avenue from E. Jacinto St. to Pook Aguinaldo (3rd lane, southbound); Quirino Highway from Service Road to Balon Bato (4th inner lane, northbound); Batasan Road from DSWD to Payatas Rd. (1st inner lane, eastbound); Congressional Avenue from EDSA to Hereford St. (2nd lane, eastbound); Fairview Avenue from Regalado North Ave. to before Yakal St. (3rd lane, eastbound); and along Congressional Avenue Ext. from Our Lady Court Subd. to Mira Nila Subd. (3rd lane, eastbound/westbound).
In Mandaluyong City, affected areas are along EDSA from after Footbridge at corner Ortigas Ave. (southbound), and before and after Rochester St. (southbound).
The motorists and public are advised to take note of affected areas to avoid inconvenience.
St. Luke's Medical Center launches first Mobile App
Source: http://blog.tempo.com.ph/2015/01/30/st-lukes-medical-center-launches-first-mobile-app/
By Jerome Carlo R. Paunan
St. Luke's Medical Center recently launched its first mobile application called St. Luke's MedConnect that will give the public easy access to the world-class hospital's wide array of healthcare services.
A free, easy-to-use mobile application, St. Luke's MedConnect includes features designed to make transacting with St. Luke's more convenient. These include requesting an appointment with a St. Luke's doctor, accessing one's laboratory results, reserving a room, paying online, scheduling executive check-ups, and reading about health tips.
St. Luke's MedConnect is St. Luke's first and fully functional application available in the local healthcare industry that is expected to bring the hospital's world-class services closer to the public anytime, anywhere! The St. Luke's MedConnect app is now available for download at the Apple App Store and Google Play. St. Luke's Medical Center Redefines Philippine Healthcare
St. Luke's Medical Center (SLMC) has grown to be the leading and most respected and recognized healthcare institution in the Philippines. Its two facilities in Quezon City and Global City, Taguig are at par with the most advanced hospitals around the world. A testament to SLMC's world class quality medical services are accreditations and key affiliations with prestigious international organizations.
St. Luke's-Quezon City has the sole distinction of being accredited four times by the JCI or Joint Commission International, the international arm of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), the oldest and most prestigious healthcare accreditation organization in the world.
St. Luke's-Global City earned its first JCI accreditation after only two years of operation. Both Global City and Quezon City are also the only Philippine hospitals certified by German-based accrediting body Temos (Trust. effective medicine. optimized services.) for Excellence in Medical Tourism and Quality in International Patient Care.
The passion to continuously improve, redefine and evolve excellence in medical and patient services have been the cornerstones of SLMC's mission to deliver state-of-the-art healthcare. This is also guided by key drivers: good clinical outcomes, patient safety, education, training and research, great patient experience and financial viability.
With 12 institutes and various departments and centers serving its patients, the hospital is taking a multidisciplinary and comprehensive approach to the diagnosis and treatment of specific medical conditions. It also has invested in the most advanced medical technologies and equipment which provide the most accurate diagnostics possible. With the most skilled and committed doctors having access to modern and precise tools, there is little doubt that SLMC is the foremost hospital in the Philippines.
Climate Change Concert Summit kicks off in QC
Source: http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/261422413971/climate-change-concert-summit-kicks-off-in-qc
QUEZON CITY, 29 Jan. (PIA)--In appreciation for the invaluable contribution of its partners who helped in the Climate Change advocacy campaign, the Philippine Information Agency-National Capital Region (PIA-NCR) will hold 'Nagbago na Ako Concert Summit 2015' on Saturday, Jan. 31 at the DAR Gymnasium, Elliptical Road, Diliman, Quezon City.
PIA-NCR regional director Riza J. Baldoria said the concert also aims to foster new commitments, new ideas, and new support for significant actions to address the challenges of climate change in Metro Manila.
The event, according to Baldoria, is in partnership with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-National Capital Region, San Miguel Brewery Inc., Manila Water Company, Inc., and Pilipinas Natin, a volunteer movement for nation building.
Admission for the concert summit is free and it is open to the general public, however, PIA-NCR has also invited to the event, some 2,000 students from various colleges and universities across the metro, she added.
"We're very excited to bring together an incredible line-up of amazing local talents to perform and entertain with a huge bang. Our goal here is not only to entertain, but to raise public awareness and commitment in support of the Aquino administration's climate change efforts," Baldoria said.
Bands and other entertainers include Itchyworms, Mark It Red, September Issue, Flying Ipis, Single Step Staircase, Apolaki, and Krewzada.
For more details on the Nagbago na Ako Concert Summit 2015, please visit PIA-NCR's Facebook page: facebook.com/PIANationalCapitalRegion. On Twitter, follow @PIA-NCR: twitter.com/pia_ncr, or telephone number (02) 929-4521. #
Maynilad earmarks P17.3 billion for water, infra projects this year
Source: http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/241422407938/maynilad-earmarks-p17-3-billion-for-water-infra-projects-this-year
(AFP/RJB/JEG/PIA-NCR)
QUEZON CITY, 28 January (PIA) – Starting the 2015 right, the Maynilad Water Services, Inc. is investing some P17.3 billion for water and wastewater infrastructure projects.
According to Maynilad, over P6.5 billion has been allotted for wastewater management projects. This includes the construction of wastewater treatment plants and conveyance systems in Cavite and Central Manila.
Maynilad also allotted around P3.2 billion for Non-Revenue Water (NRW) reduction program. This covers active leakage control, primary line assessment, selective pipe replacement, and District Metered Area management to further reduce water loss in the distribution network.
Another P2 billion has been budgeted for the development of water sources, including the 2nd Phase of the Angat-Umiray Transbasin Tunnel and the rehabilitation and upgrades of existing facilities in the Angat and Ipo Dams.
To help ensure sufficient water supply and pressure in the West Zone, P1.5 billion has been earmarked for constructing, rehabilitating and upgrading boosters, pumping stations and reservoirs.
Likewise, some P1.4 billion has also been allotted for service expansion projects in portions of Caloocan, Cavite, Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Parañaque and Valenzuela. Meanwhile, more than P1.3 billion has been set aside to lay primary lines in Caloocan, Cavite and Pasay that will connect more areas to Maynilad's network.
Another P480 million will be spent for upgrades in Maynilad's water treatment plants, while P290 million has been allocated for the modernization of the company's data management and information systems. Almost P650 million will be spent for other operation support programs such as lot acquisitions for new facilities.
In the alternative business plan that Maynilad submitted to the Appeals Panel, the company recast its capital allocation to P67 billion from its original P78 billion budget for the 2013–2017 period.
"Despite having recast our five-year investment program, our planned capital expenditures for the West Zone will still enable us to meet our service obligations to our customers and the government," said Maynilad President and CEO Ricky P. Vargas.
AFP receives new ambulances
Source: http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/241422261776/afp-receives-new-ambulances
QUEZON CITY, 27 Jan. (PIA) – The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) received 23 new High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWV) or "Humvee" ambulances yesterday.
AFP chief General Gregorio Pio P. Catapang, Jr. formally received the Humvee ambulances that were acquired by the AFP through Foreign Military Sales (FMS) transaction.
According to AFP, the 23 Humvees will be issued to the Philippine Army as part of its Forward Health Service Support System Requirement under the Philippine Defense Reform Program. The units were delivered in 2014, in three batches - ten units on October 17; eight on November 24; and five on December 18. Seven more units are expected to be delivered in February this year.
The AFP approved and accepted the amended Letter of Offer and Acceptance on July 22, 2014 for the procurement of 30 more units of M1152 HMMWV ambulances that will add up to the previous acquisition in 2011.
The Humvee ambulance is designed to conduct medical assistance to troops conducting security operations in the field, particularly in the province and far-flung areas. It is capable of traversing all types of road as well as cross-country terrain typical in conflict-affected areas.
Each ambulance is equipped with an ambulance shelter and medical equipment set that includes one oxygen tank, a first aid kit and two stretchers. This allows for immediate medical response to wounded soldiers before being transported to the nearest hospital or other medical facilities.
PNP honors cops deployed on Pope visit
Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/breaking-news/2015/01/26/pnp-honors-cops-deployed-pope-visit-388630
By Third Anne Peralta (Sunnex)
THE Philippine National Police (PNP) awarded on Monday the "Medalya ng Paglilingkod sa Santo Papa" to officials and personnel involved in providing security during the five-day visit of Pope Francis.
PNP officer-in-charge Leonardo Espina and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Manuel Roxas II led the simple awarding ceremony at the PNP headquarters in Camp Crame, Quezon City.
The commander of each security unit went up on the stage to receive the "special ribbon." They will be the ones to distribute the medals to their men.
The PNP deployed over 25,000 cops to ensure the peace and order and the security during the papal visit. The policemen endured changing weather lined the streets for long hours along the routes of the pontiff's convoy for crowd control.
They were away from their families as they were billeted in several areas while Pope Francis was in the country.
No untoward incidents were reported throughout the Pope's visit (January 15 to 19), except for minor accidents in Manila and a fatal one in Tacloban City, where a 27-year-old volunteer died after scaffolding fell on her.
The awarding coincided with the celebration of the 24th founding anniversary of the PNP.
Roxas admitted it was a bittersweet moment for the national police agency as some of their members were killed in a bloody encounter with rebels in Maguindanao on Sunday.
"We had a flag raising and now the flag stands at half-mast. It is at half-mast in all PNP camps all over the country. Signifies our respect, our admiration, our acknowledgement of the ultimate sacrifice of our reverend, they in the line of duty for each other, for their unit, for their unity for our people and for the country," he said.
Roxas lauded the troops who were killed in the line of duty.
"Together with the flag raising we all sang 'Lupang Hinirang', and at the end many times we just sing the National Anthem by rote, by memory, but today holds special meaning particularly the last words 'ang mamatay ng dahil sa'yo'," the secretary said.
Roxas and Espina immediately went to Maguindanao after the ceremony.
QC Council recommends more handwriting in schools
Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=1&rid=728888
By Sweetie dela Torre [(PNA), CTB/SDT/PJN]
MANILA, Jan. 25 (PNA) -- The Quezon City Council, through a resolution proposed by 5th District Councilor and chairperson of education, science and technology committee Jullienne Alyson Rae V. Medalla, has urged the Department of Education (DepEd) to continue to promote the use of handwriting in all public and private schools .
Councilor Medalla said that advances of technology in the past decades have made computers and state-of-the-art devices play a major role in our daily life that people, especially students, are getting dependent on these things – making handwriting activity a lower priority among young learners who are exposed to a type-to-compose procedure of learning using computers.
She added that school children are introduced to computers at an early age where they are taught how to use internet and write letters by simply pressing the keys on the keyboard thus, depleting the use of a pencil or a pen which is most useful to improve the child's critical thinking because of its recall on ideas as they transfer transcript and take notes to a paper by hand.
The lady legislator pointed out that the practice of a copy-paste research using computers among school children hinders the relevance of the read-and-write concept of learning that taught students to expressed more ideas.
According to a study, the continuous instruction on the use of handwriting has numerous benefits for the students that range from increased literacy skills, such as reading, writing and oral language, to improve critical thinking and thought organization, Medalla said.
She added that the study also shows that students in Grades 2, 4 and 6 with class activities that involved handwriting wrote more words faster, can easily express more ideas and composed essays longer than those whose handwriting activity in class was replaced by computers.
The same study recommends that in school activities such as note-taking, answering short essay, composing stories and classes that instruct and practice penmanship should be the avenues for the promotion of handwriting until at least the 6th grade.
QC simplifies processing of excavation permits
(PNA), RMA/LAM/SDT-PR/PJN
MANILA, Jan. 24 (PNA) -- The Quezon City government has set up a one-stop-shop for the processing of excavation permits for public utilities in the city as part of a continuing effort to increase its competitiveness ranking in terms of ease of doing business.
Mayor Herbert Bautista said that with the creation of the one-stop-shop, processing time to facilitate the processing of the required excavation permits will take not more than nine days.
"What the city doing is to eliminate red tape and standardize the time and procedure in the issuance of excavations permits," Bautista said.
The simplification process, as provided under Executive Order 1 issued by the Mayor on January 20, shall cover and include all public utilities to be installed within the city, such as, but not limited to, pole locations, water lines, sewer lines and other utilities.
Reception, evaluation, processing and releasing of excavation permits for public utilities are being handled by the department of building official in coordination with the engineering department.
As provided under the Mayor's newly-issued executive order, the department of building official, headed by Engr. Isagani Verzosa Jr., has been tasked to lead and implement the provisions of the new order.
The city government has already furnished the Office of the President and the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) with a copy of the executive order for information and guidance.
Aside from simplifying the process of issuing excavation permits and clearances, the city government also simplified the process of issuing building permits and the process of doing business in the city by connecting and mobilizing the Philippine Business Registry to provide a faster process for business registration in the city.
Some areas in QC up for road repairs this weekend
Source: http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/241421995508/some-areas-in-qc-up-for-road-repairs-this-weekend
QUEZON CITY, 23 January (PIA) – Some areas in Quezon City are up for road reblocking and repair starting at 10 PM, Friday, January 23 until 5 AM on Monday, January 26, 2015.
In an advisory issued by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), affected in the southbound area include: along Mindanao Avenue from Road 20 to Congressional Avenue (3rd lane) and C.P. Garcia Avenue from Pook Aguinaldo to Katipunan Avenue (3rd lane).
Other affected roads include: Southbound - Quirino Highway from Service Road to Balong Bato (4th inner lane); Eastbound - along Batasan Road from DSWD to Payatas Road (1st inner lane) and Congressional Avenue from Sinagtala St. to Mindanao Avenue (1st lane); and Westbound - along Congressional Avenue Extension from Luzon Avenue to Tandang Sora Avenue (3rd lane).
Motorists and public are advised to take note of affected areas to avoid inconvenience.
PDEA creates own Detention Facility Manual with BJMP cooperation
(PNA), SCS/CLTC/EBP
MANILA, Jan. 22 (PNA) -- The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), with the assistance of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), has created its own handbook of the implementing guidelines on custodial handling and management of inmates, or simply referred to as the Detention Facility Manual.
"The PDEA Detention Facility Manual encompasses the basic rules and procedures every PDEA custodial officer must know and understand with regard to humane safekeeping, security and control of individuals who are arrested and temporarily held at our detention facilities for drug-related offenses," said PDEA Director General Undersecretary Arturo G. Cacdac Jr.
The ceremonial signing of the manual, together with the PDEA-BJMP Manual of Operations in the Conduct of Search and Seizure of Dangerous Drugs, Controlled Precursors and Essential Chemicals and Drug Paraphernalia in the Jail Facilities, was held on Jan. 20 at the PDEA National Headquarters in Quezon City with Cacdac and BJMP Chief Jail Director Diony Mamaril as main signatories.
"The PDEA-BJMP Manual of Operations was collaboratively done for the purpose of standardizing the conduct of Operation: 'Greyhound' nationwide, to search and preempt the influx of prohibited items, most especially illegal drugs, inside prison cells," Cacdac explained, adding that the framework of the PDEA-BJMP manual conforms to the standard and requirements of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR).
The PDEA chief commended the members of the technical working group headed by the PDEA Intelligence and Investigation Service (IIS) under Director Randy Pedroso, for the creation and development of the PDEA Detention Facility Manual and the PDEA-BJMP Manual of Operations.
Cacdac also thanked the BJMP for lending a hand during the whole process.
"Finally, we have a detention facility manual that we can call our own. I encourage every personnel, particularly PDEA Prison Guards, who have recently undergone a two-week custodial officers' training, to embrace this manual by heart and understand the policies surrounding it," Cacdac said.
PNP entrance, promotional exams set on April 26
Source: http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/241421819200/pnp-entrance-promotional-exams-set-on-april-26
(NAPOLCOM/PNP/RJB/JEG/PIA-NCR)
QUEZON CITY, 21 January (PIA) - The Philippine National Police (PNP) has set the entrance and promotional exams on April 26, 2015.
The PNP entrance examination is open to all Filipino citizens of good moral character, a Bachelor's Degree holder, must be physical and mentally fit, at least 21 years old but not more than 30 years old, and with a minimum height requirement of 1.62 meters (5"3) for males and 1.57 meters (5"1) for females.
According to PNP, the online application scheduling of entrance exam is on February 16-20, 2015 while online application scheduling of promotional exam is on February 23-27, 2015.
The period of filing will be on March 2-27, 2015.
For more details, visit the National Police Commission website at www.napolcom.gov.ph.
Student filmmakers come together for UP Cinema's Piling Obrang Vidyo
Source: http://www.rappler.com/bulletin-board/81417-student-filmmakers-pov
Tuesday, January 20, 2015 4:33 pm
(Rappler.com)
Press release: Calling all student filmmakers, here's your chance to showcase your works
MANILA, Philippines – Student filmmakers from all over the country gather once again for UP Cinema's Piling Obrang Vidyo (POV), an interschool short film competition.
Now on its 11th year, Piling Obrang Vidyo continues to be a venue where young filmmakers from various colleges and universities could showcase their talents and skills on the big screen. These future movers of Philippine Cinema continue to unite, all for the sake of creating a new history for the fresh eyes of the youth and even the stakeholders of the industry.
This year's pool of participants hail from 11 universities such as the University of the Philippines, University of San Carlos, Meridian International College, Far Eastern University, and Colegio de San Juan de Letran Calamba, among others. They will compete in the three categories namely Documentary, Experimental, and Narrative category. Finalists in the competition will compete for several awards including a best film for each category, Viewer's Choice Award, The Cinemaster's Choice Award, and eight citations for the Narrative. Piling Obrang Vidyo 11's jury is composed of highly-regarded film industry players including Erik Matti, Nora Aunor, Ricky Lee, Rox Lee, Keith Sicat, Raya Martin and a lot more.
Piling Obrang Vidyo 11 is on January 24, 2015, Saturday at UP Cine Adarna Theatre, University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City. Finalists will be screened at 1 P.M., with the awards ceremony following thereafter. UP Cinema will also be hosting an after party.
POV 11 Interschool Video Competition is presented by U.P. Cinema in partnership with UP Film Institue, Smart, HID Burgers Congressional Branch, Dynamic Sports Corportaion, Bacardi, Air Asia, Wacoal, Big Bang!, Fun-O and All Good Cerials. Special thanks to Media East Productions, Reyes Barbecue and brought to you by Birkenstock and EDGE Manila Creatives Corporation
Official media partners include: ClickTheCity.com, WhenInManila.com, Tripda, Rappler, Magic 89.9, and Wazzup Pilipinas, and Wearable Identity Enterprises.
QC introduces new tax measures
Source: http://www.mb.com.ph/qc-introduces-new-tax-measures/
By Chito A. Chavez
The Quezon City government will now impose tax measures that will help ease the burden of taxpayers and ensure that taxes and other revenue collections are accurately received from the public.
Authored by Councilor Victor Ferrer Jr. committee chairman of the ways and means of the city council, a measure that calls for real property owners to declare their newly acquired assets and its true value within 60 days to the city assessor's office or face a fine of P2,000 will now be imposed.
The sworn statement filed by the owner should include the date of the final deed of sale; date of completion on occupancy of the newly constructed building, house or improvement; date of completion on occupancy of any expansion, renovation or additional structures or improvement and date of installation of machinery.
Ferrer said the penalty is targeted for RPT owners who defy or simply ignore their task of declaring and filing their sworn statements necessary for their tax declarations citing that the stubbornness result to erroneous tax assessments.
Another tax measure now mandates the city government to allow delinquent taxpayers with real property tax liabilities from 2010 to 2014 to settle their obligations without paying their tax debts incurred prior to 2010.
The tax reprieve covers RPT deficiencies which include land improvements and machineries whose owners were unable to settle their tax obligations for more than five years.
"Delinquent real property taxpayers shall be allowed to fully settle their real property tax delinquency by paying to the city government the amount equivalent to the last five years of delinquency including their corresponding surcharges, penalties, and interests," the tax ordinance said.
Mayor Herbert Bautista, however, explained that the relief is not applicable to delinquent real properties that have already been auctioned or are currently being settled or paid under a compromise or similar agreements.
He noted that qualified taxpayers can avail of the tax relief starting from January 5 up to June 30, 2015 as full payment will allow them to make payment for the 2015 real property tax.
Another tax innovation that is expected to benefit both the government and the taxpayers grants business firm owners and operators whether sole, partnership or corporation with the exemption of having their books, business records, audited financial statements and other similar documents from being inspected and examined for the year 2014 as long as they pay their business tax for this year 30 percent higher than the previous year.
However, this exemption does no includet to any business owner who has a pending case in the courts of law or administrative office/agency in relation to their business records, books, audited financial statements and other similar documents.
DA to expand rice R&D efforts to boost output
Source: http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/1781421247281/da-to-expand-rice-r-d-efforts-to-boost-output-
(DA-OSEC)
QUEZON CITY, Jan. 18 -- The Department of Agriculture said that it plans to expand its research and development efforts on rice to help further improve the production of the crop.
Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala in a statement said the DA also intends to intensify the commercialization of diversified and integrated rice-based farming systems such as Palayamanan to enable farmers increase their productivity and incomes.
In Palayamanan, for instance, farmers are taught to combine rice growing with the cultivation of vegetables and other high value crops, as well as fish and livestock raising. DA promotes the technology through the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) and National Rice Program.
Rice production in the Philippines has been on the uptrend for the past three years. Between 2010 and 2013, milled rice production grew by an average of 4.04 percent according to PhilRice. In 2014, palay harvest is projected to reach 18.88 million MT, 2.4% bigger than the 2013 record output of 18.44 million MT.
Alcala said the entire country owes this to the farmers who tirelessly worked to lead the country towards greater rice sufficiency and increased food security.
"We could not have reached these milestones without the farmers and without prompt and proper intervention from the government. Never before has the Philippines had this increment in rice," Alcala said.
DA is also banking on its current partnership with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), in support of the government's food security blueprint called the Food Staples Sufficiency Program.
Under the agreement, DA and IRRI work together to produce and distribute high-quality and improved rice seeds that are adaptable to climate change. In addition, best agricultural practices and other support tools will be disseminated, including skills-training for extension and field workers.
"The Department also intends to engage in profiling, finger printing and purification of traditional varieties with export potentials," Alcala said.
He added, regional or provincial location specific technology development and adaptive studies for irrigated, rain-fed and upland ecosystem, is also included in the DA's agenda.
Participatory varietal selection for favorable and adverse environment is included in the DA's expanded R&D agenda for rice.
The DA will also enhance rice research capability and capacity, which includes improving and increasing facilities, equipment and manpower.
LTFRB to set rules for online taxi services
Source: http://www.philstar.com/metro/2015/01/17/1413768/ltfrb-set-rules-online-taxi-services
Saturday, January 17, 2015 12:00 am
By Cherry Salazar (The Philippine Star)
MANILA, Philippines - Policies involving transportation network companies (TNCs) and vehicles are about to be set, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said in an advisory published yesterday.
The LTFRB said it would conduct a workshop "for the purpose of finalizing our rules and regulations" concerning TNCs, such as Uber, Grab Taxi, and Easy Taxi, where draft policy papers would be discussed.
TNCs provide prearranged transportation services to passengers using an online-based mobile application that would connect them to drivers.
The LTFRB and some lawmakers last year proposed to create a bill to regulate online transportation services as they were regarded as "colorum."
The agency also earlier said that without an enabling policy, commuters who avail themselves of TNC services could not be covered by insurance in case of accidents.
A discussion on a draft department order recognizing TNCs as a new mode of public land transportation is among the issues to be discussed in the workshop.
Draft memorandum circulars regarding the terms and conditions governing the accreditation of TNCs would also be part of the agenda.
The workshop will be held at the LTFRB multi-purpose hall in Quezon City on Jan. 21, the advisory said.
QC offers new incentive for taxpayers
(VC, GMA News)
MANILA, Jan. 16 (PNA) -- Quezon City taxpayers who will be paying their business taxes this year in the amount which is 30 percent higher than their payment in the previous year shall be provided exemption from auditing and examination of business records.
This grant of exemption will prove vital in improving the city's collection efficiency, and thus augment the drive to fund QC's more pressing financial needs.
The exemption is being granted by the QC government as an offshoot of an ordinance approved recently by Mayor Herbert Bautista, who earlier announced that his administration will continue to remain aggressive in its tax collection effort to be able to finance the various requirements for governance and growth of the city.
The ordinance, principally authored by Councilor Victor Ferrer Jr., however, does not apply to business owners and operators who have pending cases in court or any administrative agency related to records, audited financial statements and other similar documents.
Quezon City has over 60,000 registered business establishments.
To avail of the automatic exemption, the city government requires all business owners and operators in the city to present a duly certified proof of their increased business tax payment for 2015 relative to their 2014 tax payments for the business concerned.
"Providing exemption from the submission of business records, books, audited financial statements and other similar documents, as well as exemption from the inspection and examination of their business records are forms and modes of encouragement and incentive to said taxpayers to persuade, push and drive them to declare more taxable income," said Ferrer.
Ferrer is also the principal author of two other tax measures approved recently by the QC Council designed to improve the city's tax collection efficiency. Chief among this is the ordinance granting relief to real property taxpayers who have incurred more than five years of delinquent real property taxes.
2015 HortiKultura Extravaganza to feature many firsts
Source: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/405384/lifestyle/artandculture/2015-hortikultura-extravaganza-to-feature-many-firsts
Thursday, January 15, 2015 4:15 pm
Horticulturalists and gardening hobbyists looking for a garden show to satiate their love of all things green may look forward to the Philippine Horticultural Society Inc.'s first garden show of the year, HortiKultura Extravaganza, themed "Yaman sa Paghahalaman."
To be held in celebration of Quezon City's 75th Founding Anniversary, the year's first garden show will be held from Jan. 24 to Feb. 2 at the Quezon Memorial Circle. Entrance is free for all attendees.
According to the press release, there will be many first-time events leading up to the show, including:
Jan. 20: A motorcade around QMC announcing the garden show
Jan. 21 to 22: The first National Horticulture Congress will be held at the Bureau of Solis
Jan. 23: A float parade and street dancing competition at 1 p.m.
From Jan. 24 to Feb. 2, events will include a Garden Landscape and Plants Competition, Pet and Animal Shows in the weekends, and the HortiKultura Extravaganza Tour, which will "cover visits to successful growers and retailers of plants to showcase gardeners who are doing very well in their horticultural activities," according to the press release.
There will also be an international trade show and commercial exhibits.
Free daily lectures and workshops will also be held.
NAPC holds 2015 National Sectoral Assembly
Source: http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/231421138281/napc-holds-2015-national-sectoral-assembly
(NAPC/RJB/SDL/PIA-NCR)
QUEZON CITY, 14 Jan. (PIA)—The National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC) has convened about 1,000 leaders from different national and local organizations for the National Sectoral Assembly (NSA).
The NSA, being held on January 13-15, 2015 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Ortigas is an event conducted every three to plan sectoral agenda and elect a new set of leaders for the next three years.
"The NSA is a mechanism in place in the National Anti-Poverty Commission," says anti-poverty chief Sec. Joel Rocamora, "that sets the venue for our real boss – the organized poor – to plan and implement their agenda to break out of poverty."
Rocamora said the event ensured the active engagement of the basic sectors with government. The sectors use government mechanisms to push policies and programs that address their issues and concerns.
The NSA that is being attended by representatives from the 14 basic sectors: Farmers and Landless Rural Workers, Artisanal Fisherfolk, Indigenous People, Urban Poor, Women, Formal Labor and Migrant Workers, Workers in the Informal Sector, Persons with Disabilities, Children, Youth and Students, Victims of Disasters and Calamities, Cooperatives, Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), and Senior Citizens.
During the NSA, the delegates from the basic sector meet to conduct the sectoral assembly where they review and adopt the sectoral ground rules; determine the composition, powers and functions of the Sectoral Councils; set the qualifications required of each member of the Sectoral Councils; and establish the process of electing the members of the Sectoral Councils who will serve the term of three years.
The delegates of the NSA also elect the new set of 25 Council Members for each of the 14 basic sectors; selecy three nominees from the selected council members in every sector for the position of Sectoral Representative (SR); observe the minimum 30% gender quota on the composition of the sectoral council including having at least one (1) nominee as sectoral representative.
The new set of sectoral councils will then wait for the President of the Philippines to appoint the sectoral representatives from the list submitted by the Sectoral Councils.
The 14 SRs will then be constituted as the new members of the Sectoral Representative Council (SRC), who will elect the new Vice-chair for the basic sectors who will be appointed by the President.
The council members will also consult with appropriate government agencies to define and incorporate the poverty reduction framework or agenda into the agencies' programs.
They will convene at least once every quarter to discuss issues and concerns of the sectors led by their respective appointed sectoral representative.
The delegates, will also discuss and formulate new sets of Sectoral Agenda during the NSA.
Youth camp and series of activities all set to welcome Pope Francis
By Sweetie dela Torre [(PNA), LAM/SDT/SSC]
MANILA, Jan. 13 (PNA) -- Various youth organizations on Tuesday announced details of the planned "Youth Camp" and other series of activities in anticipation of the five-day visit of Pope Francis on January 15-19.
"The Filipino youth will welcome his Holiness Pope Francis to the Philippines with a series of activities meant to send to the Pope not only messages of support but also messages that show the genuine situation of the youth and the people in the country," said Student Christian Movement of the Philippines (SCMP) Spokesperson Einstein Recedes in a press conference held at Vinzons Hall of the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City.
The SCMP, an eumenical organization of Filipino youth and students, is part of the World Student Christian Federation (WSCF), a federation of ecumenical student movements which include members from Orthodox, Protestant, Catholic and Anglican denominations.
Details of the Youth Camp are as follows:
January 14, on the eve of the Pope's arrival, youth groups will begin the Youth Camp with a Color Splash Activity in front of the gates of the University of Sto. Tomas (UST) in Espana. By 4 p.m., youth and students will throw color powder, using the official colors of the Vatican, to celebrate the Pope's arrival the next day.
Einstein said the activity will be capped with a series of songs and dances depicting the youth's situation in the country.
January 15, People's welcome, by 10 a.m. delegates of the Youth Camp will march to Liwasang Bonifacio to join the " Misang Bayan sa Liwasang Bonifacio" led by the People's Committee to Welcome the Pope. By 4 p.m. youths will return to Espana to unveil a 30-foot tapestry depicting the Pope and his role in the struggle of the Filipino youth and people at the Espana footbridge.
As church bells peal for the Pope's arrival at 5 p.m. , the Youth Camp will also clang pots and pans, a move aimed at depicting the ordinary Filipino's way of heralding the arrival of the Pope.
January 16, as the Pope meets with government officials in Malacanang, youth groups will join mobilization in Mendiola to highlight the plight of various sectors of society.
Youth vigil will hold a vigil on January 17 at the Dapitan Gate of the UST. A candle lighting ceremony, an ecumenical service, and a youth concert will be held during the vigil, which will be held from 3 p.m. till dawn.
January 18, youth groups will converge wit the faithful to participate in the official activities in UST and Luneta.
Recedes said that they will give a miniature version of the tapestry to Pope Francis alongside a letter of the youth which will be handed by a representative of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines (NCCP) during Pope's visit at UST, who will be meeting Pope Francis alongside other religious leaders.
"The youth is excited to meet Pope Francis. Beyond the official itinerary, we hope that this visit will be made more meaningful by the Pope's words and actions that will surely inspire the youth to serve the people."Recedes said.
QC to institute more economic reforms
(PNA), RMA/SDT-PR/EDS
MANILA, Jan. 12 (PNA) -- Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista vowed to institute more reforms and continue improving programs that will move the city forward and facilitate its integration in the international market this year.
Bautista said his administration would give preference to the development of small-medium enterprises in the city to spur growth and progress.
He was confident that his administration would be able to support the development of SMEs in the city with the creation of the QC Development Authority (QCDA) and approval of the local Public-Private-Partnership Code,
Bautista also announced the approval of the city's Incentive Code, Zoning Ordinance and Land Use Plan as vital in the city government's effort to promote economic development.
"What the city will be doing is take a grasp of the international market," he said.
Bautista said his administration would continue to remain aggressive in its tax collection effort to be able to finance the various requirements for governance and growth of the city.
He has approved three major tax measures designed to improve the city's tax collection efficiency. Chief among which is the ordinance granting relief to real property taxpayers who have incurred more than five years of delinquent real property taxes.
With the approval of the ordinance, the Quezon City stands to collect more than one billion peso in back taxes from those who will avail of the city's tax relief program.
In 2014, QC collected Php 15.53 billion in gross revenues, indicating that the city continued to be one of the best managed local government units in the country.
Given the more than Php 1 billion collectibles and the city's regular collection, the Mayor was optimistic that the city government would be able to collect more than Php 16 billion by the end of 2015.
Based on the Dec. 31, 2014 collection report submitted by the treasury, QC posted a budget surplus of Php 96 million in 2014.
LTO starts license plate standardization program
Source: http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/231420796172/lto-starts-license-plate-standardization-program
(SSS/RJB/LFB/PIA-NCR)
QUEZON CITY, 11 Jan. (PIA)--The Land Transportation Office (LTO) has started replacing old motor vehicle's license plates on 05 January 2015, in line with the government's license plate standardization program that will last until 2017.
The new license plates with multiple security features can be ordered upon renewal of motor vehicles registration and will be available after 45 days after order, according the LTO.
May of last year, the LTO has been issuing new license plates to brand new vehicles that were being registered for the first time.
The new license plates for private motor vehicles sport a black-and-white design, similar to those in most countries around the world. They have tamper-resistant locks and screws which permanently attach the plates to the vehicle, preventing their removal and transfer. They also feature reflectorized sheeting to make them visible from afar and from any angle.
The permanent "third plate" windshield sticker replaces the current yearly sticker, and will indicate the vehicle's license plate number and other relevant registration information. It cannot be peeled off without leaving these pieces of information on the windshield.
LTO's chief, Assistant Secretary Alfonso Tan Jr. the new plates will help improve road safety by curbing illegal practices such as tanggal-plaka or plate removal and switching, which is prevalent in carnapping and colorum operations. They will also help enforcers catch criminals, and enhance safety for the public.
Tan explained that the new plates for those who have old license plates, will not change the alphanumeric combination, the existing plate numbers will be retained.
"Only vehicles registered for the first-time will be issued the new 3-letter 4-number combination," Tan said
Tan said the new plates will cost the same as existing plates, which is P450.00 for 4-wheeled motor vehicles. Once replaced, the old license plates will no longer be valid for any purpose, but may be kept by their owners.
SSS eases remittance services for members
Source: http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/221420788982/sss-eases-remittance-services-for-members
QUEZON CITY, 10 Jan. (PIA) - - Social Security System (SSS) members may soon pay their contributions and loan amortizations through their mobile phones.
This came after SSS signed a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with G-XChange Inc. to facilitate its remittance services to members.
Under the agreement SSS members are allowed to settle their SSS contibutions and loan amortizations through the use of G-XChange's mobile remittance facility called "G-Cash," offered exclusively to Globe and TM Network subscribers.
G-Cash is a free mobile application, which serves as a virtual wallet offering users a secure, fast, and convenient money transfers using mobile phones.
SSS Vice-President for Member Services Division Mario R. Sibucao said the facility will be opened to household employers, voluntary members, and self-employed individuals including farmers, fishermen and non-working spouses.
"We are encouraging our members to register in this new payment facility once rolled out. It promises prompt remittance of their contributions and loan amortizations at their convenience."
Sibucao stressed that a one-time registration is required and payments are free of charge.
To make payments using G-Cash, SSS members will need to load their G-Cash accounts to cover their payments for contributions and loans. The member will receive a confirmation text message for every successful transaction.
The MOA signing was held on November 21, 2014 at the SSS Headquarters in Quezon City by SSS Vice President for Member Services Division Mario R. Sibucao, SSS President and Chief Executive Officer Emilio S. de Quiros Jr. and G-Xchange Inc. President Paolo Eugenio J. Baltao.
DOST lauds QC for adopting trash rake technology
Source: http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/231420698211/dost-lauds-qc-for-adopting-trash-rake-technology-
(PAISO QC/RJB/SDL/PIA-NCR)
QUEZON CITY, 09 Jan. (PIA)--The Department of Science & Technology (DOST) lauded the Quezon City government for adopting the trash rake technology and having a prototype used in the city.
Recently, the DOST has officially turned over the management and operations of the automatic trash rake facility to the care of the Quezon City government during a brief ceremony held at the 2nd Floor of the Civic Center Building C in the City Hall compound.
The automated trash rake is an inclined conveyor-type garbage collection mechanism intended to improve garbage collection, which is better compared with the manual method used in the past.
The use of this technology will enable the collection of waste in waterways faster and easier, especially during the critical times of the rainy season.
The automatic trash rake facility was set up on Balingasa Creek along Gregorio Araneta Avenue, corner Mauban Street in Barangay Manresa.
It was installed to collect the garbage before the water goes to adjoining major creeks leading to the San Juan River.
The site was chosen because the Balingasa creek is a main tributary to the San Juan River and 86 percent of the wastes from upstream pass through it.
The setting up of the facility will remarkably abate clogging of the San Juan River and reduce the amount of debris that will be washed out in Manila Bay during typhoons.
DOST's Metals Industry Research and Development Center (MIRDC) officer in charge Robert Dizon said the trash rake facility was developed as a response to the call of the national government to provide alternative solution to flooding.
Dizon added that the facility is capable of collecting 3.8 cubic meter of trash in an 8-hour shift. It has its own backup generator and has three trained operators.
Dizon however, said the facility is different from the MMDA facility in Binondo which is more on flood control saying that the QC trash rake facility was designed for garbage collection.
He said that the facility was specially created for local conditions but it can be replicated in other areas since the MIDC has the patent and the technology. He also urged other local government units to do the same and set up the facility in their localities, which he said could help reduce flooding in the metropolis.
The event was attended by Mayor Herbert M. Bautista, DOST Secretary Mario Montejo, MIRDC officer in charge Robert Dizon, Deputy Executive Director for Research and Development Jonathan Puerto, DOST-NCR head Tess Fortuna, PCIERD executive director Rowena Guevara, representatives from the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), EPWMD head Frederika Rentoy, and other city officials and guests.
LOOK: Jeepney-inspired popemobile for Pope Francis
Source: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/01/08/15/look-jeepney-inspired-popemobile-pope-francis
Thursday, January 8, 2015 8:19 pm
By Ginger Conejero (With Agence France-Presse , ABS-CBN News)
MANILA - A custom-built, jeepney-inspired "popemobile" for Pope Francis' to travel in during his visit to the country next week was spotted on Thursday.
A first glimpse of one of two popemobiles was seen today in Quezon City.
Escorted by the Presidential Security Group (PSG), the popemobile quickly made its way through the streets and remained elusive to passersby as half of it was covered.
Clearly seen from a frontal view was its all-white jeepney design, highlighted by two green glass crosses on either side of the driver and passenger's sides.
Next to the green cross is the Papal Insignia. A larger Papal Insignia was seen also on the hood.
Sources said the design of the popemobile remains simple and accessible, in line with the requests of Pope Francis.
The Pope Mobile was delivered to the PSG compound.
Filipino church officials earlier said the vehicle will be open and "not bulletproof" to accommodate the demands of the visiting church leader.
Pope Francis, who has shunned the pomp of his predecessors, earlier said he prefers to use open-top cars rather than the Vatican's bulletproof "popemobile" used by previous pontiffs.
"It is true something could happen to me but let's be realistic, at my age I do not have much to lose," he said in June last year, adding that the popemobile made it hard to connect with the faithful.
The last pope to visit the Philippines, John Paul II, rode a white popemobile in 1995, where he waved to crowds from a glass, bulletproof cage at the back of the vehicle.
Authorities later uncovered an alleged plot by Al-Qaeda to assassinate John Paul while he was in Manila.
The bulletproof "popemobile" was first introduced after the attempted assassination of John Paul in 1981.
Two flower-bearing orphans will welcome Francis when he arrives at Manila airport from Colombo at dusk on January 15, organizers said.
Pope Francis will then spend the entire day on January 17 hearing Mass and comforting victims of Haiyan in Tacloban and Palo town.
Haiyan, the strongest storm to hit land, left over 7,300 people dead or missing in November last year after it triggered tsunami-like storm surges that wiped out entire towns.
One year after the disaster, survivors are mired in deeper poverty as they struggle to rebuild their lives.
E-jeepney operator files application for QC route
Source: http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?title=e-jeepney-operator-files-application-for-qc-route&id=100468
Wednesday, January 7, 2015 11:17:00 pm
By Chrisee Jalyssa V. Dela Paz
A FLEET OF electric jeepneys (e-jeepneys) will soon ply the major avenues of Quezon City, after manufacturer and operator Global Electric Transportation Ltd. (GET) on Tuesday submitted its application for franchise, the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said on Wednesday.
"It was submitted and evaluated yesterday. The petition was filed with our National Capital Region (NCR) office. The NCR regional director will first decide the motion for issuance of provisional authority," LTRFB Chairman Winston M. Ginez said during the inspection of the first e-jeepney route in Quezon City.
The route will run from SM North EDSA in Quezon City to Mindanao Avenue, Congressional Avenue, Luzon Avenue, Katipunan Avenue, and Aurora Boulevard, and vice versa, Mr. Ginez said.
According to a fact sheet given to reporters, the City Optimized Managed Electric Transport (COMET) e-jeepneys seat 20 passengers and are powered by lithium ion batteries, instead of the lead acid batteries that some electric vehicles are still using. The batteries take about five hours to become fully charged. A single full charge is estimated to take the COMET up to 80 kilometers. Its speed is capped at 60 kilometers per hour.
The end-to-end ride would cost P20 based on the P7.50 minimum fare rate, similar to diesel-fed jeepneys. The route will have fixed stops and pickup points.
"We're targeting to roll out around 30 units in the next few months for this route," GET President Sigfrido R. Tinga told reporters.
Aside from Mr. Ginez, the inspection was also attended by the Department of Transportation and Communications Secretary Joseph Emilio A. Abaya and the department's spokesperson Michael Arthur C. Sagcal.
"Our inspection of the very first proposed route for e-jeepney services ushers in a new paradigm for public land transport services. We hope this is the start of replacing smoke-belching and poorly-maintained jeeps with high-tech, efficient, and environmentally-friendly e-jeepneys," Mr. Abaya said after the inspection.
COMET jeepneys are expected to deploy cashless payment system using reloadable cards and will also carry GPS and Wi-Fi connectivity.
The company, which is targeting to have 15,000 COMETs on Metro Manila streets in the next three to five years, has tapped Vancouver-based Pangea Motors as the exclusive provider and distributor. GET's local unit will be in charge of the fleet management, the cashless fare system, passenger analytics and final vehicle assembly, Mr. Tinga said.
AAK Davao to join 3rd Adidas International Cup (Sports)
By Lolito T. delos Reyes [(PNA), CTB/LCM/LTDR/LDP]
DAVAO CITY, Jan. 7 (PNA) -- The Association for the Advancement of Karatedo (AAK) Davao will be sending 13 players to the prestigious 3rd Adidas International Cup karatedo tournament on January 16-18 at the SM Mall of Asia in Manila.
The team is composed of veterans and newcomers including 4-year old Atsuko Kaiyel Tan, daughter of AAK Davao head instructor Rommel Tan.
"Kaiyel will play in the Kata competition for girls 6 years old and below," said Tan in this year's inaugural edition of the weekly SCOOP Session of The Royal Mandaya Hotel.
Kaiyel, a Nursery 1 pupil of the Davao Christian High School is the youngest member and will only be joining her first competition.
"We want her to start early in karate," said Tan, a former member of the PH national team and varsity of the Ateneo de Davao University.
AAK Davao sent only six players last year but still won three golds, four silvers and two bronze medals.
"I hope we can bring more medals with these 13 players," said Tan.
Team captain Gabriel Quiñones, 16, of Brokenshire Science High School who won 1 gold and 1 bronze last year is again seeing action together with former medal winners Kyzzhia Navarro (1 gold), Sofia Agullo (1 gold), Jam Ramirez (1 silver) and Seth Michael Navarro (1 bronze).
The Navarro siblings and Agullo are also all UIC students while Ramirez, 14 is from the Precious International School.
Also included are John Paul Ponce, 10 of Precious; Darlene Maramara, 14 of Davao City National High School; Airina Kawano, 10 of SPED Rizal, Mitsuki Kawano, 12 of Holy Child College of Davao, and Emmanuel Bayugo, 15, of UIC; Craig James Infiesto, 12 of APO Learning Village and Marcus Arellano, 6.
Some of the parents of the players are also leaving on Feb. 15 to give support to the team in Manila.
"Five foreign countries have already been confirmed," said Tan.
They are Uzbekistan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Japan. Japan will be headed by former PH and Japan national coach Shin Tsukii, who will also be giving free training to all the participants before the tournament proper.
DND vows to boost HADR capabilities in 2015
(PNA), LGI/PFN
MANILA, Jan. 6 (PNA) -- Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Voltaire Gazmin on Tuesday vowed to boost their humanitarian assistance and disaster relief capabilities (HADR) this year.
This is to ensure that the country will have the capability to safeguard its citizens during the onslaught of natural and man-made calamities.
"We must likewise continuously re-assess and strengthen our protective and survival techniques and strategies, to ensure that our citizens are kept from harm during the onslaught of natural disasters and calamities," Gazmin stressed during New Year's Call in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City Tuesday morning.
The order is very timely considering that the DND and its attached agencies, like the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), are the primary responders in any calamities.
And in anticipation of the forthcoming national elections in May 2016, Gazmin reminded all military personnel to strictly abide with their constitutional mandate that they should not be involved in partisan politics.
"Rest assured that, as you do your job, the national leadership will ensure the welfare of our soldiers through congressional initiatives that would grant them additional benefits. Recently, our soldiers were granted increase in their subsistence allowance from Php90 to Php150," he said.
Quezon City grants Diamond Jubilee tax relief
Source: http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/231420428697/quezon-city-grants-diamond-jubilee-tax-relief
(PAISO/RJB/SDL/PIA-NCR)
QUEZON CITY, 5 JAN. (PIA)--The Quezon City government offers tax relief to delinquent property owners in the City as part of its Diamond Jubilee celebration.
Under the program, delinquent real property taxpayers shall be allowed to fully settle their real property tax delinquency by paying to the City government the amount equivalent to the last five (5) years of delinquency including their corresponding surcharges, penalties and interests.
It added the relief shall not apply to delinquent real properties that have already been auctioned or are currently being settled or paid under a compromise or similar agreements.
Qualified taxpayers can avail of the tax relief from January 5 to June 30, 2015.
"During this period, taxpayers may pay the total tax delinquencies from the year 2010 to 2014, and are relieved from their obligation to pay delinquencies incurred prior to 2010," it said.
Upon full payment, the taxpayers shall be allowed to make payment for the 2015 real property tax.
The city government also granted an audit exemption to businessmen with a 30-percent increase in paid taxes.
This covers "business owners and operators in the city, whether sole or individual, partnership or corporation, from the need to submit business records, books of accounts, audited financial statements, and other similar documents."
"The new approved measure enables all business taxpayers in Quezon City who will avail of the incentive to be automatically exempted from inspection and examination of their books if they pay 30 percent or more of their previous year's business taxes," it said.
However, this exemption will not apply to any business owner who has a pending case in the courts of law or administrative office/agency in relation to their business records, books, audited financial statements and other similar documents.
The city government also urged property owners to declare property acquisitions, and improvements within 60 days.
It said the filing of the statement declaring the true value of the must be done within 60 days after:
- Date of final deed of sale, contract or other deed of conveyance
- Date of completion or occupancy of the newly constructed building, house, or improvements
- Date of completion or occupancy of any expansion, renovation, or additional structures or improvements
- Date of installation of machinery
"Any property owner who fails to comply with the new ordinance will be penalized with a fine of P2,000," it said.
(Feature) QC marks 203rd birth anniversary of the Grand old Lady of the Katipunan on Tuesday
By Leilani S. Junio [(PNA), SCS/LSJ]
MANILA, Jan. 4 (PNA) -- The 203rd birth anniversary of Melchora Aquino, the revolutionary heroine better known as "Tandang Sora," will be marked by residents of Quezon City on Tuesday, Jan. 6.
The center of the celebration will be at the shrine of the heroine in Sitio Banlat, Barangay Tandang Sora, Novaliches, where she was born on Jan. 6, 1812.
The caretaker of the shrine, Jun Francisco, a great grandson of the Katipunan heroine, said that QC Mayor Herbert M. Bautista, Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte and other city officials will be guests of honor during the commemorative program which will start at 9 a.m.
History books and accounts show that Tandang Sora gave full support to Andres Bonifacio, founder of the Kataas-taasang, Kagalang-galangang Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (KKK), when the latter decided to launch the revolution for Philippine independence from Spain on Aug. 23, 1896.
It was recorded that the tearing of the "cedula" or residence certificate took place at her yard on the night of that historical date.
Because of her generous and unselfish support for the revolutionary movement by giving sacks of rice and even carabaos to feed the Katipuneros, while nursing also some of them who were wounded in the battle with the Spanish forces, the then already 84-year-old woman was arrested by the Spaniards.
She was arrested in Barangay Pasong Putik (now Lagro) in Novaliches and incarcerated at the Bilibid Prison in Manila.
She was later exiled to Marianas Island in Guam together with other Katipuneros, including the sublime paralytic Apolinario Mabini.
After the Filipino-American War, she was allowed to return to the Philippines in 1903.
She lived peacefully in her Banlat birthplace until her death in 1919 at the age of 107 years old.
Tandang Sora was originally buried at the Veterans' Mausoleum at the Manila North Cemetery.
In 1970, on the occasion of her 158th birthday, her remains were exhumed and transferred to the then newly-opened Himlayang Pilipino Memorial Park in nearby Barangay Pasong Tamo.
On her second centenary or 200th birthday on Jan. 6, 2012, her remains were again exhumed from the Himlayang Pilipino Memorial Park and transferred to her final resting place at her birthplace in Banlat, Barangay Tandang Sora, Novaliches.
Aside from the Tandang Sora Shrine and a barangay named after her, an 11-kilometer long road from Quirino Highway in Barangay Sangandaan, Novaliches to Barangay Balara near the University of the Philippines (UP) campus in Diliman has been renamed Tandang Sora Ave. in her honor.
A secondary school named Tandang Sora National High School was also established by the Philippines Congress in her memory in the same barangay.
In neighboring Barangay Talipapa, an elementary school along Quirino Highway used to carry her name until the early 1990s. However, the said school has been renamed Placido del Mundo Elementary School.
Film on casket maker wins big
Source: http://entertainment.inquirer.net/159983/film-on-casket-maker-wins-big
Saturday, January 3, 2015 5:15 am
By DJ Yap (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines–A film writer and director whose movie about a casket maker has won international awards will be recognized by the House of Representatives for bringing honor to local cinema.
Jason Paul Laxamana will be granted the commendation by the legislators after his film, "Magkakabaung," or "The Coffin Maker," won the Best Asian Film Award at the 3rd Hanoi International Film Festival in Vietnam on Nov. 27.
It won in the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema category, beating 130 films from 32 countries.
"Laxamana deserves all the praise and recognition for bringing pride, glory and honor to the country," Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo, author of House Resolution No. 1744, said in commending the filmmaker.
"The Coffin Maker," produced in the Kapampangan language, tells the story of a casket factory worker, played by actor Allen Dizon, who brought up his 8-year-old daughter alone after his wife left him, and then accidentally caused the death of the girl by administering the wrong medicine.
The story chronicles the coffin maker's attempts to ease his remorse over his daughter's death as he faces challenges in taking her body from the hospital and having her buried.
His role won for Dizon his first international Best Actor Award at the 9th Harlem International Film Festival in New York on Sept. 14.
The Hanoi award was also the first international film award for Laxamana, a graduate of the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication.
According to the Cinemalaya website, Laxamana, as an undergraduate student, served as production assistant to directors Jeffrey Jeturian and Maryo J. De Los Reyes. He was also a script supervisor at Star Cinema.
Modern living in Quezon City
Source: http://manilastandardtoday.com/2015/01/02/modern-living-in-quezon-city/
Friday, January 2, 2015 6:00 pm
(MST News)
A YOUNG company is quietly making a reputation building modern townhouses targeted towards families who want to upgrade their homes. "We cater to modern families looking for well-designed, quality homes that are conveniently located in nice, secure neighbourhoods," said architect Caesar Santana, president of Modern Dwellings, Inc.
The company recently had an open house at 51 Mahinhin St. In Quezon City. The modern four-unit community had innovations such as automated gates, CCTV system, keyless entry, LED lights and a solar water heater. Each unit was equipped with four bedrooms, a five toilet-and-bath facility and a three-car garage.
DSWD continues to aid 'Seniang' survivors
Source: http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/1781420100274/dswd-continues-to-aid-seniang-survivors
(DSWD)
QUEZON CITY, Jan. 1 -- The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) continues to provide the needed relief assistance to survivors of Typhoon Seniang through the local government units (LGU).
In CARAGA region, the DSWD-FIeld Office there has already provided 18,475 family food packs worth P7.7 million as augmentation assistance to Agusan del Norte (9,200 food packs), Agusan del Sur (3,375), Surigao del Sur (5,400), and Surigao del Norte with (500).
In Central Visayas, DSWD-Field Office VII has distributed close to 3,000 family food packs to the towns of Barili (1,917) and Dumanjug (1,000) as of December 30.
DSWD Central Office also sent 1,000 family food packs, some 1,000 pieces of mosquito nets, and 2,000 pieces of malong/blanket to Bohol via C-130 of the Philippine Air Force yesterday.
As of yesterday, some 268 evacuation centers in the affected regions remain open down from 648 at the height of the typhoon. Some 24,477 families or 97,883 persons are still housed in these temporary shelters.
DSWD Secretary Corazon Juliano- Soliman said that a large number of evacuees have started to go home as the weather improved.
The Secretary thanked social workers and volunteers who managed the evacuation centers even during the new year celebration.
Retrieved from "https://www.zamboanga.com/z/index.php?title=Quezon_City_News_January_2015&oldid=802803"


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Everlasting Moments (Sweden/Den/Nor/Fin/Ger 2008)
A screengrab of the camera at the centre of the narrative (from DVD Beaver)
Jan Troell's film was the Swedish nomination for best foreign language film at the 2009 Academy Awards. Troell (born 1931) is one of the masters of Swedish Cinema, probably best known for his two epic films about Swedish emigration to the US (The Emigrants (1971) and New Land (1972)). I don't remember those films very well, but one sequence has always stuck in my memory when, trying to bring home an ox in a snow blizzard, one of the immigrants decides that the only way to survive is to kill the animal and crawl inside its still warm carcase. I've probably got the details wrong, but as a survival tip, I'm unlikely to forget the basic principle.
Everlasting Moments was a very 'personal' project for Troell. The story comes from a woman who was related to Troell's wife, Agneta Ulfsäter with whom he created the scenario (thus the film's Swedish title, Maria Larssons eviga ögonblick). The actual screenplay is by Niklas Rådström. Maria ('Maja') was one of seven children of a Finnish immigrant who married a Swedish man and raised her family in Malmö and its environs – Troell's home region. Maja 'narrates' the story. Maria (the mother) won a camera, a 'Contessa', in a lottery. As a working-class woman with a growing family to support in 1909, she took the camera into a photographer's studio hoping to sell it. But the photographer, clearly affected by something in Maria's manner, persuaded her to try taking a few pictures first. When her first attempts are developed the photographer sees immediately that she has a special eye for a strong image. She decides to keep the camera, but her chances to use it will be limited – not least because of her violent husband's dangerous drunken tantrums.
The film's narrative details the family's history over the next fifteen or so years, during which time more children are born, Sigi the father has a succession of jobs – including a stint as a conscript in the Swedish Army – and Maria takes a number of significant photographs. The marital relationship will also get further strained.
For some reason, the UK release print of the film was cut by 20 minutes. There is no indication of why this occurred and I don't know if it was the director's or the distributor's decision. The Independent's reviewer thinks that "something might be missing" whereas the Sight and Sound reviewer says the film could lose 15 minutes – perhaps she saw an American cut and the distributor followed her advice? I mention this only because the slow pace of the film and its lack of a Hollywood narrative structure are inevitably mentioned in the various critical responses. At the same time, the film is described as 'conventional'. What this means, I think, is that the narrative follows the major incidents in the history of the family in chronological order. The story has a 'natural' end which I won't spoil and none of the contrivance of Hollywood. The striking feature about the look of the film is that Troell (himself a cinematographer and photographer) chose to shoot in Super 16mm to preserve a sense of grain and age and to use filters to create a golden/sepia tone – which does not necessarily 'prettify' what are often dark scenes.
This is a beautifully written film – and features acting, cinematography, set design and direction of the highest standards. Many of the important 'moments', in themselves often small events, are representative of the changes in Swedish society in the early 20th century – and they are captured in wonderful still photos. (The DVD includes a gallery of the 'real' photographs which informed the script.) Those changes include the struggles over Sweden's emergence as a modern industrial nation with strikes and communist/socialist/anarchist actions followed by the decision to follow a policy of 'armed neutrality' in 1914. The central role of photography also inevitably means that we see the family enjoying the arrival of the 'cinematograph' (rather later for them than for many in the UK or US). But the main theme is the struggle for female independence and how the lure of photography both provides a focus for Maria's sense of identity and purpose (beyond her central concern for her children) and the means to record aspects of women's lives. One of several beautiful images is created for a neighbour who asks Maria to take a picture of her daughter in her coffin after a drowning accident.
I should also point out (whilst trying to avoid spoiling the narrative) that the actions of the violent husband and Maria's responses have invoked strong reactions from some audiences.
I think that despite the subject matter and the expressionist way in which the scenes are rendered, Everlasting Moments is not a melodrama. I might change my mind if I see the film on a cinema screen, but I did not sense the emotional pull of 'excessive' music or acting style. However, there is a great deal of emotion residing in the images and what they connote and this is the triumph of Jan Troell and his collaborators.
Here is the film's US trailer:
Posted in Nordic Cinema, Swedish Cinema

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Geghi () is a village in the Kajaran Municipality of the Syunik Province in Armenia.

History
The village had 570 inhabitants in 1959, 932 in 1970 and 1,115 inhabitants in 1979.

Population
The Statistical Committee of Armenia reported the community's population as 172 at the 2011 Armenian census, up from 138 in 2010, but down from 227 at the 2001 census.

Municipal administration
Geghi was previously a community which included the villages of Geghi, Geghavank, Kard, Kitsk, Verin Geghavank and Karut, until the June 2017 administrative and territorial reforms, when the village became a part of the Kajaran Municipality.

References

Populated places in Syunik Province

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Books to Look Forward to from Faber and Faber
Cold Desert Sky is by Rod Reynolds. No one wanted to say it to me, that the girls were dead. But I knew. Late 1946 and Charlie Yates and his wife Lizzie have returned to Los Angeles, trying to stay anonymous in the city of angels. But when Yates, back in his old job at the Pacific Journal, becomes obsessed by the disappearance of two aspiring Hollywood starlets, Nancy Hill and Julie Desjardins, he finds it leads him right back to his worst fear: legendary Mob boss Benjamin 'Bugsy' Siegel, a man he once crossed, and whose shadow he can't shake. As events move from LA to the burgeoning Palace of Sin in the desert, Las Vegas - where Siegel is preparing to open his new Hotel Casino, The Flamingo - Rod Reynolds once again shows his skill at evoking time and place. With Charlie caught between the FBI and the mob, can he possibly see who is playing who, and find out what really happened to the two girls?
Driven off the desert road and left for dead, Claire DeWitt knows that it is someone from her past trying to kill her, she just doesn't know who. Making a break for it from the cops who arrive on the scene, she sets off in search of the truth, or whatever version of it she can find. But perhaps the biggest mystery of all lies deeper than that, somewhere out there on the ever rolling highway of life. Set between modern day Las Vegas and LA, The Infinite Blacktop sees Claire at her lowest point yet, wounded and disorientated, but just about hanging on. Too smart for her own good, too damaged to play by the rules, too crazy for most - have you got what it takes to follow the self-appointed 'best detective in the world'? The Infinite Blacktop is by Sara Gran
The Shrouded Path is by Sarah Ward. The past won't stay buried forever. November, 1957: Six teenage girls walk in the churning Derbyshire mists, the first chills of winter in the air. Their voices carrying across the fields, they follow the old train tracks into the dark tunnel of the Cutting. Only five appear on the other side. October, 2014: a dying mother, feverishly fixated on a friend from her childhood, makes a plea: 'Find Valerie.' Mina's elderly mother had never discussed her childhood with her daughter before. So who was Valerie? Where does her obsession spring from? DC Connie Childs, off balance after her last big case, is partnered up with new arrival to Bampton, Peter Dahl. Following up on what seems like a simple natural death, DC Childs' old instincts kick in, pointing her right back to one cold evening in 1957. As Connie starts to broaden her enquiries, the investigation begins to spiral increasingly close to home.
Under the Night is by Alan Glynn. 1950s Manhattan - Ad man Ned Sweeney finds himself an unwitting participant in MK Ultra trials, the CIA's covert study of psychoactive drugs. The experiment introduces him to MDT-48, a mind-expanding smart drug, which takes him away from his wife and young son and straight to the corridors of the richest and most powerful people of his day. But before long, Ned is dead. Over 60 years later, Ned's grandson, Ray, meets Clay Proctor - a retired government official who may be able to illuminate not only Ned's life and death, and also the truth behind the mysterious MDT-48. Both a sequel and prequel to Alan Glynn's classic debut.
Posted by Ayo Onatade at 09:00 No comments:
Labels: Alan Glyn, Crime books, Crime Fiction, Faber & Faber, Rod Reynolds, Sara Gran, Sarah Ward
St Hilda's Crime Fiction Weekend - Sharks Circling: Politics & Crime 17-19 August 2018
'There are no true friends in politics. We are all sharks circling, and waiting, for traces of blood to appear in the water.' Alan Clark Diaries.
Speakers at this year's conference include: Adam Brookes, Chris Brookmyre, Natasha Cooper, Lindsey Davis, Mick Herron, Judith Flanders, Brian McGilloway, Adrian McKinty, SG MacLean, SJ Parris, Manda Scott, Louise Welsh, and Andrew Taylor (Chair). We are delighted to announce that this year's conference Guest of Honour is Sara Paretsky.
Launched in 1994, this conference offers the audience the unique experience of hearing their favourite authors exploring a theme. It has become a significant entry in the calendar of crime fiction conferences and is a wonderful way to spend a weekend with like-minded devotees of crime fiction. Speakers will examine the many areas crime fiction covers: the police detective, historical, 'hard- boiled', clerical, classical fairy tales, domestic, the golden age gems, and the light-hearted. We offer challenging talks, excellent meals, on-site accommodation, Oxford itself, and amazing camaraderie.
Beginning on Friday evening with a dinner and drinks reception, the conference will feature a weekend of talks, discussions and author signings, finishing up with a traditional farewell lunch on Sunday.
Get the latest @hildascrime
Conference Cost:
Conference fee: £200
The PD James Conference Dinner is held on Saturday night– proceeds go to the PD James Fund which supports the work of the English School and students at St Hilda's College, kindly endowed by Honorary Fellow P. D. James
Booking deadline: 03/08/18
Book for the conference.
When booking, the opportunity is available to make an additional voluntary donation to the P.D. James Memorial Fund.
Please note we are unable to issue refunds after the booking deadline has passed. To register for the mailing list and receive more information, please email Triona Adams.
For information on requesting accommodation in College, please visit our Requesting Accommodation page. Rooms are limited, so early booking is recommended.
We regret that parking in College is currently limited to Blue Badge holders only.
Labels: Andrew Taylor, Brian McGilloway, Crime books, Crime Fiction, Lindsey Davis, Manda Scott, Mick Herron, mystery, Natasha Cooper, Sara Paretsky, SG MacLean, St Hilda's Mystery and Crime Conference, Val McDermid
Debuts Dominate The Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Long-list
Goldsboro Books on Thursday 21st June announced the thirteen titles long-listed for the 2018 Glass Bell Award, a prize introduced last year to celebrate the best storytelling across all genres of contemporary fiction.
Seven debut novelists, including Gail Honeyman for her remarkable breakout bestseller Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and Omar El Akkad, author of the disturbingly prophetic American War, compete against literary heavyweights John Boyne, Anthony Horowitz and Jon McGregor. The winner of the prize, which rewards 'compelling storytelling with brilliant characterisation and a distinct voice that is confidently written and assuredly realised', will receive both £2,000, and a beautiful, handmade, engraved glass bell, to be awarded at a party at the bookshop on 27th September 2018.
The full longlist is:
The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne (Transworld)
American War by Omar El Akkad (Picador)
The Nix by Nathan Hill (Picador)
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (HarperFiction)
The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz (Century)
Good Me Bad Me by Ali Land (Michael Joseph)
The Innocent Wife by Amy Lloyd (Century)
You Don't Know Me by Imran Mahmood (Michael Joseph)
Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor (4th Estate)
The Ice by Laline Paull (4th Estate)
Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough (HarperCollins)
The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell (Bloomsbury Raven)
My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent (4th Estate)
The prize is judged by Goldsboro Books founder and MD David Headley and his team at the bookshop, and the six finalists will be announced on 30th August.
David says: 'This hugely impressive longlist celebrates the depth and breadth of contemporary fiction today. Featuring both established and debut authors, it reflects an extraordinary range of themes, styles and concerns, from religious intolerance, climate change and the flaws in our justice system, to the challenges of rural life and…ghosts! Whittling down these wonderful, pacey and varied novels to just six will be a tremendously daunting process.'
The winner of the 2017 Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award was Chris Cleave, for his extraordinary Everyone Brave is Forgiven (Sceptre), the moving and unflinching novel about the profound effects that the Second World War had on ordinary citizens back at home in Britain.
Celebrated novelist John Boyne, author of The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, is long-listed for his sweeping odyssey The Heart's Invisible Furies which spans 70 years of modern Irish history.
Leading the debuts on the long-list is Nathan Hill's intricate and multi-stranded mystery The Nix, in which an English professor searches for the truth about his estranged mother, who has been accused of domestic terrorism.
A remarkable debut novel about a young woman set apart from society, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman has been met with extraordinary success, hitting The Sunday Times #1 bestseller spot, won the British Book Awards Debut of the Year, and Book of the Year, as well as being long-listed for the Women's Prize.
From the author of the international bestselling teenage spy Alex Rider series, and whose oeuvre also includes pastiches of both Sherlock Holmes and James Bond, The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz is a unique and modern mystery, which sees Anthony himself help solve a crime.
Crime debuts have been very well represented. Ali Land's chilling psychological suspense Good Me Bad Me, about the daughter of a child-killer, has also been a Richard & Judy pick.
Amy Lloyd won the Daily Mail/Penguin Random House First Novel Competition with her gripping psychological thriller The Innocent Wife, about a woman who falls in love with a convicted murderer.
Criminal barrister Imran Mahmood drew on his own experiences from the courtroom to write You Don't Know Me, told as a monologue in which a young man accused of murder addresses the jury directly.
Jon McGregor's Reservoir 13, a meditation on rural life in the wake of the disappearance of a teenager, previously won the 2017 Costa Novel Award and the 2018 British Book Award Fiction Book of the Year, as well as being shortlisted for the Rathbones Folio Prize and the Goldsmith Prize, and long-listed for the Man Booker Prize.
The Ice is Laline Paull's second novel, an environmentally conscious mystery set in the rapidly warming Arctic.
Previously known for critically acclaimed young adult and supernatural writing, Sarah Pinborough's psychological thriller Behind Her Eyes had the entire internet demanding #wtfthatending
The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell, was a departure for the historical novelist – a spine-tingling ghost story, in which a young pregnant widow moves into her late husband's crumbling estate, where she is haunted by disturbingly lifelike wooden figures known as companions...
One of the most talked about debuts of 2017, My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent is a harrowing story about love, abuse and wilderness.
Labels: Ali Land, Amy Lloyd, Anthony Horowitz, Crime books, Crime Fiction, Gabriel Tallent, Gail Honeyman, Glass Bell Award, Goldsboro Books, Imran Mahmood, John Boyne, Jon McGregor, Omar El Akkad, Sarah Pinborough
So Where do I get my inspiration from?
I'm often asked where I get my inspiration from, and although I do sometimes have a neat little anecdote, more often the truth is a messy, complicated mix of experiences I've had, places I've visited, books I've loved, and a large proportion of stuff that's just plain old mysterious to me. Often, for the purposes of interview, I whittle it down to one single element of that. The Woman in Cabin 10, for example, when I'm asked about its genesis, I often tell a story about the first scene that came to me. I was home alone one night, in that state halfway between waking and sleeping, and I heard a noise, loud enough to make me wake up fully with my heart thumping, wondering if I was being burgled.
I wasn't, but later a scene closely based on that moment came to me - another woman, waking in the middle of the night on a ship, her heart thumping with adrenaline, certain that she's heard a sound. Only in her case it wasn't the thump of her drunk neighbour slamming his front door, but a splash. A loud splash. The kind of splash made by a body.
In my imagination the woman runs to the veranda of her cabin and peers over the balcony ledge to see what looks like a woman's body disappearing beneath the waves. Is she correct? Why did she jump to the worst case scenario when she heard that sound? What will happen if she's right and is trapped on the boat with a killer?
The questions forming in my head told me that this was a book I wanted to write - and in the process of answering them, I formed some of the bones of the plot. But the book also contains many other elements - news stories I had encountered, my frustration with the he said / she said cases that seemed to dominate the media in the year I was writing the book, my discovery of an odd quirk of law surrounding deaths at sea, and of course my fascination with Agatha Christie and her quirky, luxurious settings.
The Death of Mrs Westaway is similar - except that I don't have an anecdote about when the
idea came to me, because I truthfully can't remember when I began to imagine a dilapidated house on a Cornish peninsular, and a bitter old woman drafting a vengeful will. But what I can tell you is something about where the character of my protagonist, Hal, came from. The seed of the character who became Hal was sown when I began to plan book four, and realised that all three of my previous crime books centred on basically innocent women who had been swept up in events beyond their control. Sometimes they make questionable decisions, but at their core they are normal people who simply fall, though no fault of their own, into extraordinary situations.
For my fourth book I decided I wanted to do something different. I wanted to create a character who sets out to commit a crime, and in doing so, brings the extraordinary events of the plot down upon herself.
I began to think about the anti heroes and heroines in fiction that I loved. Tom Ripley, who lies and cheats and steals his way into a fortune. Richard Papin who spends a novel defending his decision to cover up a murder. Brat Farrar who sets out to claim an inheritance that isn't his.
And I decided to create a character in that mould. Someone who lies and cheats and deceives their way through the book. And so I created Hal. Someone who sets out to commit a crime - claiming an inheritance she knows full well is not intended for her - and in doing so sets in motion all the events of the plot.
I wanted her to be someone comfortable about reading others, and about using her knowledge of them to decipher what they want to hear. So I decided to make her a tarot reader - but a cynical one, one who relies on not on the messages in the cards, but in her powers of observation and guesswork to claim a psychic insight she does not have.
But I found myself liking Hal rather too much. I began to make excuses for her. I made her very young - just 21 at the beginning of the book. I took away her friends and family in order to leave her as destitute as possible and I put her in physical danger from a loan shark. By the time I sat down to write, I knew that Hal was not going to be the heartless manipulator I had intended when I began to think about the book. But when I came to write the first chapter, I did something I was not intending on doing. I gave her a code of ethics - and in doing so I made the entire enterprise, Hal's whole, complicated con scheme, immensely more complicated. For now Hal was not just in conflict with the dark, dysfunctional family she sets out to defraud, but with herself too.
Conflict, we are often told, is the root of a compelling scene. On that basis Mrs Westaway should be a very compelling book indeed, since Hal is at war with most of the characters in it, including herself. I won't presume to judge on that score, but it was certainly great fun to write.
Labels: Agatha Christie, Crime books, Crime Fiction, Dead Good Books, Orion Publishing, psychological thriller, Ruth Ware
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Danish Air Force detachment to conduct Nato air policing mission
lroy 10 January 2018
Danish Air Force Detachment takes over the Nato air policing mission from the US. Credit: A Gedrimas.
The Royal Danish Air Force Detachment has taken over the Nato air policing mission in the Baltic states.
The Danish air contingent has replaced the US Air Force (USAF) contingent for the fifth rotation in the air policing mission.
The current rotation formed by personnel and equipment of the Danish Air Force's Fighter Wing Skrydstrup landed in Lithuania on 5 January.
National Defence vice-minister Vytautas Umbrasas said: "The Nato air policing mission in the Baltic states, along with the Nato-enhanced Forward Presence Battalion Battle Groups, is a vital factor of deterrence and defence measures in the entire region."
As part of the mission, four US fighter jets are deployed in each Lithuanian and Estonian mission bases.
"The participation of the US in the Nato Mission in the Baltic states demonstrates Nato's commitment to maintaining the security and stability of the region."
In September last year, seven US fighter aircraft were deployed to Šiauliai ahead of the Russian-Belarusian Exercise Zapad.
The participation of the US in the Nato Mission in the Baltic states demonstrates Nato's commitment to maintaining the security and stability of the region along with ensuring the integrity of the Nato borders.
The outgoing USAF Detachment for the fifth rotation was deployed with four F-15 Eagle fighter jets to carry out the US mission.
The previous rotations were carried out in 2005, 2008, 2010, and 2014.
To date, 17 Nato allies have contributed since the international organisation started sending air policing mission rotations to protect the Baltic airspace after Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia joined it in March 2004.
Since 2004, the US detachment carried out the 45th rotation of the mission.
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While studying biology and integrated sciences at the University of Detroit Mercy, Alex Harris spent two summers in Estes Park working in the coffee shop at the YMCA of the Rockies. Working above 7,000 feet in elevation, the young endurance athlete was exactly where he wanted to be.
"I came out here because I was in search of a high-elevation town that I would feasibly be able to find work in," he said. "I was running cross-country in college at the time and wanted to get some elevation training and trail running."
Inspired by the countless trails and the vast mountainous terrain for which he could train, Harris returned to Estes Park after he graduated from college and spent some more time working at the YMCA.
Equipped with a bachelor's degree and a teaching certificate, Harris joined the Estes Park School District in 2013 as a technology teacher and hasn't looked back. Today, he teaches biology and AP environmental science at the high school and is also the head coach of the cross-country team.
Like some of the runners he has coached during his career, Harris didn't get into running until he was in high school. He said that even though his parents were both "big-time" runners, competing in marathons his whole life, he was more focused on other sports like soccer. It wasn't until high school that he joined the cross-country and track team and began running on the side of playing soccer.
He ended up liking running so much that he decided to pursue it competitively in college. He said his father also ran cross-country and track at the University of Detroit Mercy. As it turned out, Harris' head coach at the university and his dad ran together during their time together in college.
"It was cool to be able to come back and run for the same university that he did," Harris said. "I have a couple of close ties to that school."
Today, Harris approaches running through a coach's and teacher's lens. He said the best part of getting to coach cross-country at the high school is being able to be surrounded by top-tier athletes that excel both in the classroom and on the track.
"There's a lot of great things about coaching here like access to trails, the location and the support from the athletic department," he said. "But I'd say the biggest thing compared to other programs is that we just have a good group of kids who hardly ever have academic problems."
A successful athlete in his younger days, Harris figured when he came into the coaching role at the high school that he would be able to take the program and run with it. What he found out, though, is that that's not as simple as it looks on paper.
He said that his background in running certainly helped with his transition from competing as a runner to coaching, but it has been a steeper learning curve than he anticipated.
"You have to realize that there are so many little other things that you're managing and that you're coaching besides just the running aspects of it," he said.
During the cross-country season, Harris has a full load on his plate. Between teaching high school classes, grading homework, building a curriculum and then attending practice and meets with the cross-country team, he barely has any time for a social life. He said that in order to not get burnt out from all of it, he prioritizes balance in his life. He understands that he's not going to have as much time during the first semester of the school year to pursue his personal passions, but makes it an emphasis to take a step back when he can.
"As soon as the cross-country season is over, I have to be deliberate about getting back into doing some of my other passions and pursuits," he said. "It's about compartmentalizing.
An avid back-country skier, hiker, trail runner and biker, Harris said that he's grateful to live in a place that offers him endless amounts of recreation opportunities throughout the year.