Tulabut: Tidbits 2

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

CITYHOOD AREA. Contrary to the wrong information that is being circulated on the territorial boundaries of the proposed city of Mabalacat, Barangay Calumpang is not included in the defined boundaries of the soon-to-be-city as contained in House Bill 4736.

While the said barangay has always been part of the administrative and political jurisdiction of Mabalacat, it is however part of the boundary dispute between the northernmost town of Pampanga and Bamban, Tarlac.

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The office of Senator Ferdinand Marcos, who chairs the Senate Committee on Local Governments which now conducts hearings for the proposed city, might have been given the wrong information about the boundaries of Mabalacat.

Mabalacat Mayor Marino Morales said the cityhood bill is without prejudice to the outcome of the boundary dispute. And that is one reason why Barangay Calumpang was not made part and parcel of the planned city.

There was an increase though in the town’s land area which might have been the source of misinformation.

The land area of Mabalacat increased from 8,318 hectares to 14,660 hectares as a result of Special Patent 3628 dated June 02, 2003, whereby some lands, which were previously demarcated as part of the built-up area of Clark Air Base, were reverted to Mabalacat.

Morales said there are land titles given by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority, which will show that these reverted lands are indeed within the territorial boundary of Mabalacat. Some other lands that were also added to it are part of the old Fort Stotsenberg.

There is therefore no basis for the fears of Tarlac, and thus there is every reason why Mabalacat should become a city.

COUNCILOR SANGIL. My former college classmate Councilor Jesus Lumanlan
Sangil has been hugging front pages of local newspapers with photos and news stories about his advocacies.

One of which is his rally against exorbitant fees being collected by universities from students undergoing OJT (on-the-job training) which goes as much as P7,000 each.

That’s one good call by a local leader. I have yet to see a councilor stand up and fight against big institutions like universities and colleges. It’s a tough job.

The hardworking councilor though has to be advised of practicum fees that have approval of Commission on Higher Education. He also has to double check what courses or colleges in universities impose those kinds of fees. A check with one of the local universities shows that there are only select colleges that collect such.

Good work still for Councilor Sangil.

FLY GUAM. There’s a new airline that will be mounting flights at the DMIA soon.

It’s going to be a US carrier, thus, some stringent rules are being put in place at the Clark airport to ensure compliance to regulations of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Fly Guam is operated by Freedom Air. It will be flying from Clark to Guam and vice versa in the coming weeks. Marie Salvador, Fly Guam sales manager, said the airline is also looking into options of widening its Clark route that may include Hong Kong, Saipan and Palau. The latter two islands are within the proximity of the US state where America’s day begins. The Hong Kong leg on the other hand should enable tourists and travelers to enjoy the former crown colony, bringing them at the same time to Clark Freeport.

This is a full-service airline. This means it will serve hot meals on board. Tickets are reasonably priced though. While relatively a young airline, it will also have flights from Guam to Guangzhou, Osaka and Seoul. Currently, it flies to Hong Kong, Taipei, Palau and Saipan.

Fly Guam will be of great benefit to some 34,000 Filipinos in Guam (they represent a third of the population there) who now have another alternative to fly back to the Philippines.

On the other hand, the airline could also offer attractive promos and tour packages to some 20 million residents of Northern and Central Luzon areas that are in the catchment or service area of DMIA.

Is a US visa needed to go to Guam? The answer is yes, but with a bad economy there, I believe that getting a visa wouldn’t be as hard as it was some years ago.

SMART EXECUTIVE. Our good friend Jose “Wo” Rosete, head of media relations department at Telco giant Smart Communications will be celebrating his 30th (I thought he is already 33? hehe) birthday on September 3.

I want to wish him blessings of peace, contentment, joy to him and his family and career. This is one great guy who just knows the exact meaning and nature of media relations. What made me say that? Well, his job transcends to true friendship, performing his tasks with such sincerity, humbleness and dedication.

Wo is the kind of nice guy who could be reached anytime (unlike other PR men who become scarce after their events had been staged), making it a point that all media queries and concerns are addressed. This observation is shared by a lot of my media colleagues here in Pampanga (and other provinces too where he makes his presence felt). He is an effective P guy and a real professional who should be considered an asset.

To that, I believe he deserves some promotion of sorts by his boss, Mon Isberto, head of Public Affairs at SMART.