Pacquiao itching to fight Mayweather

"Losing is in Pacquiao’s mind because he lost just last week. He lost to Marquez three times. May 5 is the date, sign the contract, I’m waiting. I can’t be sitting waiting all day, you want to fight, let’s make it happen. I’m here, I’m waiting, what’s going on? I can sign today. If I sign today you better sign tomorrow,” said Mayweayther, who earlier scored a lopsided shutout win over Marquez."

by Ronnie Nathanielsz

Ring Magazine’s pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao said a fight against undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr., possibly on May 5 next year, will be a good one – if it pushes through.
Pacquiao, who represents the lone congressional district of Sarangani, spoke to members of Congress and friends, who gathered at the Resorts World Hotel and Casino, which hosted a dinner party in honor of the Filipino ring icon.
“Hopefully, the next fight, Mayweather na,” said Pacquiao, who however, quickly added “hindi ko pa sinasabing tuloy na. I am not saying it will push through.”
Pacquiao, though, expressed confidence it would be a good fight and even invited his fellow congressmen to watch.
At the same time, he predicted that he will win that fight decisively, even though he was coming off a close majority decision win against Mexican legend Juan Manuel Marquez.
The eight-division champion and Fighter of the Decade admitted that fight fans were disappointed that the Marquez fight was close since they expected him to win handily.

Pacquiao’s adviser Michael Koncz, who met with Mayweather at his Las Vegas Gym, was visibly angry that stories on his visit came out. He appeared particularly upset with Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, who confirmed the meeting in an overseas telephone conversation with Manila Standard.

Mayweather’s adviser Leonard Ellerbe was quoted as saying the undefeated fighter and Koncz didn’t talk about the fight during the latter’s Las Vegas visit. Mayweather himself asked Team Pacquiao to begin negotiations and sign a contract for a May 5 megabuck fight, expected to be the biggest fight ever..

“I’ve been told May 5 is open. Losing is in Pacquiao’s mind because he lost just last week. He lost to Marquez three times. May 5 is the date, sign the contract, I’m waiting. I can’t be sitting waiting all day, you want to fight, let’s make it happen. I’m here, I’m waiting, what’s going on? I can sign today. If I sign today you better sign tomorrow,” said Mayweayther, who earlier scored a lopsided shutout win over Marquez.

Pushing his demand for blood testing, Mayweather went on: “You said you’re a clean athlete and you said you’d take the test, so let’s do it. I can’t be sitting waiting all day. You want to fight, let’s make it happen. If I sign today you better sign tomorrow.”

Following Pacquiao’s points victory over Marquez, trainer Freddie Roach was quoted by CNN as saying he hoped a clash with Mayweather would happen.

“I think it would be the best fight in the world and I would love to see it,” said Roach.

PSC Chairman Richie Garcia - KAPAL MUKS

Like many aspects of national life, it’s not the people who are to blame, it’s our so-called leaders, who have pulled us down into the depths of mediocrity... PSC Chairman Richie Garcia in explaining the SEA Games debacle, claimed that our preparations were not good, since we found it difficult to gather our best athletes in some regions, because of the limited communication facilities… We wonder what Mr. Manny Pangilinan of PLDT-Smart thinks about Garcia’s statement.

PSC Chairman Richie Garcia - KAPAL MUKS

By: Ronnie Nathanielsz

IF our sports leaders, not just the heads of the non-performing National Sports Associations, but the top dogs at the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee, have any sense of propriety left in them, they should all resign following the country’s disastrous performance in the 26th Southeast Asian Games.

PSC Chairman Richie Garcia, whose infamous quip that if our world Dragon Boat champions didn’t wish to be under the Canoe-Kayak Federation, they could go back to eating “tahong” harvested from Manila Bay, once again demonstrated his unworthiness to head the PSC with a ridiculous statement in Indonesia.

Garcia in explaining the SEA Games debacle, claimed that our preparations were not good, since we found it difficult to gather our best athletes in some regions, because of the limited communication facilities such as Internet and telephone.

We wonder what Mr. Manny Pangilinan of PLDT-Smart thinks about Garcia’s statement. Blaming a giant corporation that has moved our communications facilities into the modern age for the dismal failure of the PSC and the POC among others, is the height of both folly and ingratitude. Mr. Manny Pangilinan has been the most committed and passionate supporter of Philippine sports, allotting millions of pesos into helping our athletes in various disciplines.

All Garcia has to do is to look at the 4 gold, 1 silver and 1 bronze medal produced in boxing to realize that our respected friends Ricky Vargas, president of the Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines, executive director Ed Picson and secretary general Pato Gregorio had no communications problems, neither did the coaches have trouble communicating with our boxers.
What clearly is a curse in Philippine sports that has seen us retrogress through the recent years is the mindless internal strife and the politically motivated actions of our sports leaders.

How will Garcia and POC president Jose “Peping” Cojuangco defend the miserable performance of our swimmers under Mark Joseph, who received some P30 million directly from Pagcor’s former head Ephraim Genuino in flagrant violation of rules and regulations but flopped big time? Shouldn’t Joseph, who has acted like a small-time dictator at the Philippine Aquatic Sports Association, resign?

In stark and welcome contrast, the ABAP quietly and efficiently pursued a training program using much of the resources of Mr. Pangilinan and PLDT-Smart and came home with 4 gold medals, 1 silver and 1 bronze with clear indications that we were at the receiving end of unfair decisions in the fights of Nesthy Petecio and Mark Anthony Barriga. Yet, ABAP won six medals from 10 boxers. Now that’s a performance worth commending.

Even in athletics, while we won only 2 gold medals and a fistful of silvers and bronzes and didn’t win as many golds as expected, part of the blame must surely be shared by the POC officials, including Cojuangco, Steve Hontiveros, Joseph and their clique, who violated every tenet of due process and the rule of law in their relentless campaign to oust Go Teng Kok, who has headed athletics for 21 years and gave us the biggest medal haul in the 2009 SEA Games in Laos.

While Go and his lawyer, chess player Sammy Estimo, were battling in court to get an injunction to stop the POC, which they succeeded in doing, our athletes were in limbo, bothered by the absence of their president, who has looked after them well through the years. Their training disrupted and their minds bothered, but our athletes performed quite well, given the circumstances.

The Philippines has a population of an estimated 94 million, while Singapore has only 3.8 million yet we were humiliated by this small island state and shoved into sixth place, our worst finish imaginable with Malaysia finishing fourth, banking on a population of just over 28 million.

Like many aspects of national life, it’s not the people who are to blame, it’s our so-called leaders, who have pulled us down into the depths of mediocrity. Once way ahead of our neighbors, including Taiwan and South Korea, the Philippines now struggles to regain some measure of success. Given the disastrous showing in Indonesia, common decency demands that our sports leaders resign

MEDIA, not JOURNALISM

“…Television and related media have been the greatest purveyors and conveyors of corporate and political propaganda in society… Anybody—and any idea—can be sold with a bright ribbon and a catchy jingle.”

MEDIA, not JOURNALISM

Written by : BENJAMIN G. DEFENSOR

“Particularly on radio and television, every item—from, a major disaster to a minor pronouncement by a politician—receives roughly the same attention and emphasis. It would not be surprising some day to hear an announcer begin the hourly news this way: ‘The world ends tomorrow, details after this message.

This is an observation made 40 years ago by Robert Stein, then editor of McCall’s magazine in his book, Media Power: Who is Shaping Your Picture of the World?

Stein reports that, a decade before, in 1959, in a symposium on “Mass Culture and Mass Media” sponsored by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Ernest van den Haag warned: ‘Of course we have more communication and mobility than ever before. But isn’t it possible that less is communicated? We have all the opportunities in the world to see, hear and read more than ever before. Is there any independent indication to show that we experience and understand more? Does not the constant slick assault on our senses and minds produce monotony and indifference and prevent experience? Does not the discontinuity of most people’s live unsettle and some undo them?’

“Discontinuity is enhanced, if not caused, by the arbitrary amount of news we receive. What we get, which is determined not by what we need to know, but by the size of newspapers and magazines and the length of television and radio news programs, damages our sense of proportion…”

This was a complaint before the advent of the Internet, Twitter, Facebook, what we now know as social media. To protect their hold on shaping the picture of the world, mainstream media, particularly electronic media, now also carry the content of social media.

So today, Jeffrey D. Sachs, an economist and director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University, warns against the electronic media overkill. In a recent column in BusinessWorld, Sachs said, “the past half century has been the age of electronic mass media. Television has reshaped society in every corner of the world. Now an explosion of new media devices is joining the TV set: DVDs, computers, game boxes, smart phones, and more. A growing body of evidence suggests that this media proliferation has countless ill effects.

“…Television and related media have been the greatest purveyors and conveyors of corporate and political propaganda in society.

“America’s TV ownership is almost entirely in private hands, and owners make much of their money through relentless advertising. Effective advertising campaigns, appealing to unconscious urges—typically related to food, sex and status—create cravings for products and purchases that have little real value for consumers or society.

“The same, of course, has happened to politics. American politicians are now brand names, packaged like breakfast cereal. Anybody—and any idea—can be sold with a bright ribbon and a catchy jingle.”

Sachs may well be making his observations also on Philippine mass media.

Last week, at the 22nd Philippine Ad Congress, the biennial gathering of advertisers, the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of the country’s three rival television networks—Filipe L. Gozon of GMA-7, Eugenio Lopez III of ABS-CBN, and Manuel V. Pangilinan of TV5 (in alphabetical order) agreed that there is room for all three of them in the Philippine media scene. For the first time, print media reported the three top honchos stood side-by-side to share their thoughts on the future of television and media. Like all businesses the burden of their song was revenue.

The Inquirer, one of the leading, if not the leading, print media of the nation reported the light exchange among the three.

Lopez said that a third TV network would not shrink the advertising pie as his company’s revenues has not fallen despite the entry of TV5.

Pangilinan said ABS-CBN and GMA 7 “should worry about us because we are the certified No. 3. He said he did not know who between ABS-CBN and GMA-7 is No. 2.

Gozon said TV is still the cheapest form of entertainment to some 94 percent of TV-owning Filipino households. It will remain the “medium to beat for many years to come if it continues to provide superior entertainment and remains the medium of the vast majority of Filipinos.”

It is true that entertainment was the first rationale for the expansion of radio, the first of the electronic media. Radio sets were sold to provide music and radio broadcasting stations were set up to broadcast music so radio sets could be sold. This was the major business plan of Roy
Thompson of Fleet Street when he started out in Canada. News and advertising came later and took over the medium.

The mass media audience first brought together by news was “sold” to advertisers. Then entertainment took over from news as the main electronic media enticement. What the mass media audience get is what the media owners think will attract them so they can be sold to the advertisers.

In the US, “all roads to power … lead through TV, and all access to TV depends on big money. This simple logic has put American politics in the hands of the rich as never before,” says Sachs.

Sachs suggests a solution: “…Successful approaches around the world include limits on TV
advertising, especially to young children; non-commercial publicly owned TV networks like the BBC; and free (but limited) TV time for political campaigns.”

This could be horrifying for TV and other giant media outfits who would be expected to cry for freedom of media.

Media, not journalism.

Does a Gene Make People Seem Kinder?

New research suggests that a variation in a single human gene affects how other people see you at first glance in terms of your compassion, kindness and trustworthiness.

The variation might directly influence your personality, especially in terms of empathy. Or it's possible that it's connected to something else that affects the way you act. On the other hand, the research is based on only a few subjects, so much more study is needed, experts say.

Still, the findings may "speak to the power of little genetic differences to predict tangible differences in the way we behave," said study author Aleksandr Kogan, a postdoctoral fellow in psychology at the University of Toronto.

Over the past five to seven years, researchers have been exploring how genetics affect emotions, Kogan said. "What we're learning is that, to a certain extent, we have a genetic basis that supports a lot of the processes that make us nice."

In particular, researchers have focused on a hormone called oxytocin, which has been linked to emotions like love and trust and is found in a variety of animals. Higher levels of oxytocin have been linked to higher levels of trustworthiness, empathy and willingness to sacrifice, Kogan said.

In the new study, Kogan and colleagues focused on a gene linked to the brain's oxytocin receptor, which is a kind of catcher's glove that receives the hormone. They wanted to see if they could link variations in the gene to the way that people are perceived by others.

The researchers compiled 20-second, silent videos of people listening as their romantic partners told a story about a moment of suffering in the partner's life. Then they showed the videos to 116 subjects and asked them to gauge the compassion, kindness and trustworthiness of the people in the videos, Kogan said.

The researchers then tried to see if patterns in the genetic makeup of the people in the videos predicted how the subjects viewed them.

Those who were considered to be most trustworthy were similar genetically in terms of the single gene. The same was true for those who were deemed least trustworthy -- they were similar to one another, but in a different way.

People with the "kindness" gene showed more empathetic behaviors, like nodding their heads, smiling and making eye contact than people with the other type of gene.

The question now is: If these links aren't a coincidence, how are genes affecting how empathetic people appear to be to others? Could it affect their behavior? The way their faces look? Something else?

In the big picture, the research could lead to better understanding of why some people are kind and others aren't, Kogan said. It could even lead to insight into why some people are psychopaths.

Paul Zak, a brain researcher and founding director of the Center for Neuroeconomics Studies at Claremont Graduate University, in California, said the research is interesting but not yet world-changing.

"Some people would say there is now a gene for being nice to other people. That's not true at all," he said. Many other genes matter, too, he said, as do more important factors like your current physical state and your personal history.

In other words, if you're a jerk or a saint, your genes shouldn't get all the credit -- or blame.

The study appears online in this week's issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

By Randy Dotinga

On the Brink: Banaue Rice Terraces are in Danger

Saving the Banaue Rice Terraces from the damages brought about by the successive typhoons and abandonment of locals has become an uphill climb for the locals, maybe even tougher than the trail charted by tourists who go on trekking here to see its beauty.

Recent typhoons Pedring and Quiel have aggravated the damages in the Terraces, hiking the cost of repair and rehabilitation or rice fields in 13 barangays to P66 million. The amount, however, would reach to P122 million if it would include the cost for repairing the irrigation systems—an amount greater than the P102 million proposed budget for the National Anti-Poverty Commission for 2012.

Rep. Teddy Brawner Baguilat of Ifugao noted that the farmers are used to repairing the damages in the Terraces on their own in the past thru bayanihan, but the destruction has recently took its toll on the people.

“We can’t do bayanihan to repair it anymore because the damage is so huge. This should not last long because it would deprive the community of food,” Baguilat told reporters.

The Terraces in brgy. Batad, Banaue—a top tourist destination among other Terraces areas because of its steepness which mimics steps to heaven—badly needs funding for the repair of the damaged 32 Terraces and the two irrigation systems as well as the construction of a retaining wall which would hold the soil until the repairs on the 32 Terraces are done.

A farmer can raise one bundle of rice per 1.5 square meters of the Terraces in Batad.

For brgy. Hapao in Hungduan, the destroyed Common Irrigation System (CIS) is the main dilemma since the damaged CIS irrigates 50 percent of the Hapao Rice Terraces which wider and is more gradual than Batad’s.

Unlike The Terraces in Banaue wherein only those in Batad and Bangaan are declared World Heritage Sites, all the Terraces areas in Hungduan are inscribed in the World Heritage Site record. At least 320 farmers in Brgy. Bulunan are affected by the damaged CIS in Hungduan.

“This CIS should be fixed soon because we need to plant rice. Otherwise, we’ll go hungry,” Captain Rodolfo Dong-E of Brgy. Bulunan, Hungduan said.

“We need immediate solutions because we need to prepare these rice fields before we plant on them. Maybe a few plastic pipes would do for the meantime to facilitate water supply in rice fields,” Hungduan Mayor Hilario Bumangabang added.

The lack of manpower is also threatening the Philippine entry to the World Heritage Site with more and more people migrating to nearby provinces such as Mountain Province, Quirino and Nueva Vizcaya because taking care of the Terraces does not earn them enough money to make ends meet.

Marlon Martin of non-government organization Save the Ifugao Rice Terraces Movement (SITMO) disclosed that threats of poverty have prompted the younger population to opt to finish college so that they can work in the city rather than farm the Rice Terraces.

The farmers of the families, on the other hand, go to nearby provinces wherein they can still farm the land and do other jobs for extra income such as woodcarving and doing handicrafts.

“We need people to take care of the terraces because more than a World Heritage, this is our culture. The Terraces is highly dependent on human knowledge, but we don’t have enough employment opportunities here. We also need economic development,” Martin lamented.

Councilor Froebel Gumbatan of brgy. Nagadacan in Kiangan backed up Martin by disclosing that 25 percent of the Rice Terraces in their area are already abandoned. The recent storms have affected at least 160 Nagadacan farmers.

BY LLANESCA T. PANTI

“Kapal Muks” Government Officials

As a retired military man—albeit one who got into trouble for acting rebelliously against his superiors—Sen. Trillanes should be a strict champion of correctness and discipline and an enemy of ungentlemanly behavior, like credit-grabbing... Because of this fear, Mr. Trillanes would rather console himself—and us, the public—with the hope that one day the practice of shameless credit-grabbing would go away without anybody being punished for it.

“Kapal Muks” Government Officials

IT’s not only the Senate’s Honorable Miriam Defensor Santiago but also three congressmen who should be hailed and supported for being champions of the cause to rid our country of the Garapal Monsters. These “kapal muks” government officials shamelessly put up signs and posters to make us, the public, think we owe streets, highways, bridges, schoolhouses and other government projects to them. They are credit-grabbers who are most likely also crooks who have driven up the cost of these projects by demanding huge commissions from contractors.

Senator Santiago is actually fighting a more successful battle than her House counterparts to get her colleagues to pass her Senate Bill No. 1967, “An Act Prohibiting Public Officers from Claiming Credit through Signage Announcing a Public Works Project.” Last Tuesday, the senators began formally discussing her “anti-epal” bill. Commendably, the senators reached an agreement to expand the coverage of the proposed law beyond public works projects and include public officials who have their names and faces painted on police cars, ambulances and fire trucks donated by private foundations and government institutions like the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office and the PAGCOR.

Sen. Trillanes wants penal provisions out

Unfortunately, an objection to the penal provisions of Sen. Santiago’s bill came from an unexpected source, Sen. Antonio Trillanes, chairman of the civil service committee. As a retired military man—albeit one who got into trouble for acting rebelliously against his superiors—Sen. Trillanes should be a strict champion of correctness and discipline and an enemy of ungentlemanly behavior, like credit-grabbing. Instead, Sen. Trillanes came across in last Tuesday’s deliberations as someone too lenient on the Garapal Monsters. He proposed to remove the penal provisions of Madam Santiago’s bill.

If the bill becomes a law, which we pray it does, a jail term of between six months and one year would be meted out to a public official found guilty of having had his or her name or image printed on an item of “signage announcing a proposed or ongoing public works project.”

Mr. Trillanes was concerned that a political opponent of an incumbent official could have a piece of incriminating signage made, mounted and used to have the official charged, found guilty and punished. That fear may look rather pusillanimous and simplistic. For the incumbent official would ordinarily have men and followers who would easily thwart such a bold attempt by an opponent to put him in trouble. But our country is a place where strange things happen every day.

Because of this fear, Mr. Trillanes would rather console himself—and us, the public—with the hope that one day the practice of shameless credit-grabbing would go away without anybody being punished for it.

Another former military-man, Senator Panfilo Lacson opposed Mr. Trillanes position. He discounted fears that it would be difficult to implement the law and ascertain who really put up a credit-grabbing sign. Mr. Lacson ought to know. As a former police officer, he knows how quickly the police, if they really want to, could find out the true facts about anything.

Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. raised another issue about implementation. He was in favor of passing the Santiago bill but wanted a provision added that would give protection to local law enforcement officers tasked with carrying out their duty to tear down signs and posters put up by their own superiors — the mayor or governor or congressman.

Protection for underlings of violators

That issue must be addressed. Some protective mechanism must be devised to embolden the underlings of local officials who feel and behave like feudal lords, datu, whom local policemen and other law enforcers fear because they still have the ancient mentality of the alipin.

This inability to do what is right is a universal problem involving duly-assigned law-enforcers and auditors who fear to do what is morally and legally right against powerful officials who have broken the law.

Frustrations of Reps. Romulo, Casino and Colmenares

In the House of Representatives, Deputy Majority Leader Roman Romulo filed his bill in January against credit-grabbing officials and politicians long before Sen. Santiago filed her bill in the Senate.

Congressman Romulo’s House Bill 3943 if enacted would make it “unlawful to place on any government property or project, any name, logo, picture, any identified alias, initial, character, symbol, or letter pertaining to a public official who is still in active service, has retired, or is already deceased.”

But the Romulo bill exempts signboards on government property that are “culturally and historically significant.” Following guidelines of the National Historical Commission, signage may be installed in these historical landmarks to honor deceased officials renowned for their heroism or special service to the nation.

Rep. Romulo’s proposed bill — “Public Works Title, Signboard and Marker Standardization Act” — has yet to be acted on by the House public works committee,

Besides Deputy Majority Leader Romulo, two opposition members of the House also feel bad that their anti-epal bill has been ignored by the chamber’s leadership.

The Left’s Bayan Muna Rep. Teodoro Casiño and Rep. Neri Colmenares co-authored a bill that they actually filed in 2010. Their House Bill 2309 has the title “Prohibiting the naming of public properties and government services after incumbent elected public officials, their kin, spouses and relatives of up to fourth civil degree of consanguinity and providing penalties thereof and for other purposes.”

Both are aggrieved that the leaders of the House Committee on the Revision of Laws have not given their bill the time of day.

The bills filed by Sen. Defensor Santiago, Congressmen Romulo, Casiño and Colmenares must be consolidated and enacted. For, as Sen. Santiago has said, the penchant for credit-grabbing billboards and posters “promotes a culture of political patronage and corruption.”

It perpetuates our ancient feudal culture where datu rule to please themselves and the alipin timorously grin and bear it.

(taken from MANILA TIMES)

Muslim New Year Observed Today

President Benigno S. Aquino III exhorted the local Islamic community to remain resilient towards the goal of “lasting harmony and genuine, positive change” on the occasion of the Islamic New Year, Amun Jadid.

Muharram 1, 1433, of the Hijrah lunar calendar coincides with Nov. 26, 2011, according to the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF).

Muharram is the first of Hijrah's 12 months, reckoning from the migration of the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Allaihi Wassalam to Madinah, then Yathrib, in what is now the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

From there Islam took root and is now a religion of an estimated 1.6 billion people across the world.

“My warmest greetings to the Muslim community as you welcome the Amun Jadid 1433 Hijrah,” said the President in traditional message made through the NCMF.

By EDD K. USMAN

Gene Shortage Might Lead to Shorter Height, says Study

Tall or short, it's long been known that genes account for much of a person's height. Now, scientists have found that short people actually might be missing copies of certain genes, which can leave them significantly smaller than average.

Studying DNA from more than 11,000 children and adults, an international team of researchers learned that those of short stature -- defined roughly as falling into the shortest 2.5 percent of their peer group -- had an excess number of rare deletions, or missing copies, of specific genes. Thus far, most research into genes and height has centered on identifying variations in common genes instead of an absence of others, study author Dr. Joel Hirschhorn said.

"We were a little bit surprised, since we didn't really know what we would find going in [to the study] and whether we would see enough of an effect," said Hirschhorn, a professor of genetics at Children's Hospital Boston. "We were trying to figure out what's the underlying genetics of height and things like it, and this is a class of variation less well studied."

The study is published in the December issue of the American Journal of Human Genetics.

Common gene variants linked to height explain only about 10 percent of the variation in adult height, Hirschhorn said, but perhaps half of such variation might eventually be explained by some of the differences his team studied.

First analyzing the DNA of more than 4,400 children whose genetic material was collected for other purposes, the researchers observed that many more CNVs or "copy-number variants" -- in this case, fewer copies of a gene -- were present in those of short stature.

Extending the findings to a larger, population-based group of nearly 6,900 African Americans, the scientists again found that shorter participants had an excess of such missing gene copies. These deletions would typically be inherited from one's parents, but not always, Hirschhorn said.

"Usually [researchers] look at variants one at a time, but this is a cumulative-effect type of variation," said Hirschhorn, also a senior associate at the Broad Institute, a biomedical research organization in Cambridge, Mass.

Several limitations might affect the validity of the study results, the authors acknowledged. One is the fact that children whose DNA was evaluated had initially undergone genetic analysis for other reasons such as developmental delays, autism spectrum disorders and multiple birth defects. So it's possible that those with many missing gene copies are likelier to have conditions leading to poor growth, the study said, but the replication of results in a more representative population suggests the findings can be generalized to others.

By Maureen Salamon

Lawmakers oppose bill to rename Edsa after Cory

Opposition lawmakers on Wednesday criticized a bill seeking to rename Edsa to President Corazon Aquino Avenue as a distortion of history and held it up as an example of politicians using public works projects to grab credit.

The bill, filed by Bohol Rep. Rene Relampagos, would rename Metro Manila’s main highway in honor of the late President and mother of President Benigno Aquino III.

Relampagos, a Liberal Party member like the President, said in his bill that Mrs. Aquino should be recognized as the country’s first woman President and an icon of democracy after she led the 1986 People Power Revolution.

“She gained the respect and certainly the admiration not only of the citizens of our country, but also of the world. She earned certain citations, and was recognized internationally as a woman who helped pave the way for the restoration of democracy,” the bill says.

“Indeed, one cannot think of the 1986 Edsa Revolution without thinking of Corazon Aquino. Even after her term as President of the republic, she lived her life fighting for democracy.”

Edsa, the main circumferential road and highway of Metro Manila stretching from Caloocan to Pasay City, was formerly known as Highway 54. In 1959 Congress renamed the thoroughfare to honor the noted Filipino historian, scholar, journalist, painter and public servant Epifanio de los Santos.

De los Santos was considered one of the best Filipino writers in Spanish of his time and regarded as a literary genius. He served as an associate editor of the revolutionary paper La Independencia and co-founded other newspapers like La Libertad, El Renaciemento, and La Democracia.

House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone said they supported the renaming of Edsa, and that the late President deserved the recognition.

“It is only fitting to give full meaning to the Edsa Revolution,” Evardone said.

“The rallying point of the Edsa Revolution was Cory.”

But Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño, who has drafted a bill to stop politicians from grabbing credit for projects that were built using the people’s money, said the renaming of Edsa would be a major test case for his measure.

He and Zambales Rep. Milagros Magsaysay said renaming Edsa to Cory Aquino Avenue would be historically problematic.

“The Edsa uprising was not about Cory. It was about our people’s struggle against tyranny,” Casiño said.

“The name Edsa has already been enshrined in our history and collective memory due to the Edsa People Power Revolution. It’s better left that way.”

By Maricel Cruz

Leptospirosis cases increase in Metro Manila

The Department of Health said that the number of leptospirosis cases in the National Capital Region has doubled. According to the Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit’s data a total of 583 leptospirosis cases with 48 deaths were recorded from January 1 to November 12.

It also showed that the current cases were 247 percent higher compared to the same period last year, when the department recorded 168 cases with 13 deaths.

The records said that majority of the cases were male and belonged to the age group from 15 years old to 30 years old.

The Quezon City and Manila remained the top cities with the most number of leptospirosis cases with 103 and 137, respectively, the data showed.

Preventive measure - Dr. Eduardo Janairo, Department of Health regional director for Metro Manila, said that the agency is advising the public to control and suppress rodent infestations to prevent the spread of leptospirosis at home.

“Everyone should avoid contact with rodents, remove their food sources, water, and items that could provide them shelter. Seal holes inside and outside our homes in order to prevent their entry. Keep them outside our homes so that they will not multiply within the household. Let us also clean up potential rodent food sources outside and destroy their nesting sites,” said Janairo.

Leptospirosis is an infection commonly transmitted to humans from water that has been contaminated by animal urine—usually rats—and comes in contact with lesion in the skin, eyes, or with the mucous membranes. It appear four to 14 days after exposure to contaminated flood waters or even mud.

The leptosporosis’ signs and symptoms include fever, chills, and intense headache. In extreme cases, complications like meningitis, renal failure, respiratory distress, may arise and lead to death.

“Rodents such as rats and mice are the primary carriers of the leptospirosis virus. It is important to identify the signs of rodent’s infestation at home. If you regularly see rodent droppings around food packages, in drawers or cupboards, and/or under the sink then your house is infested,” Janairo said.

The health agency also advised the use of traps or rodenticides to remove and eliminate rodents at home. A tracking powder may also be used.

“As a precautionary measure, always place traps, baits and rodent tracking powder in places where children and pets cannot reach them. Use rodenticide products according to label directions and precautions. And also be sure to select traps that are appropriate to the type and size of rodent, such as rat or mouse. Always endeavour to keep our home safe from diseases. Prevention is still the best solution,” Janairo said.

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz

Miss Earth 2011 Pageant happens in Manila on December 3

The 89 candidates for Miss Earth 2011 arrived in the Philippines on Tuesday for the beauty pageant slated to take place on December 3. But before these beauties compete for the coveted crown, they will first embark on a mission to help, protect and save the environment.

Five of them visited the Manila Times office on Wednesday—Miss Panama Marelissa Him Betancourt, Miss Dominican Republic Sarah Feliz, Miss Northern Ireland Alixandra Halliday, Miss Hungary Dora Szabo and Miss Guatemala Ana Luisa Montufar.

According to the beauty queens, they and the other 84 contestants will go on a nationwide tour to plant trees during their two-week stay in the country.

They will be divided and sent into small groups of five or six so that they will cover as many areas in the country as they could, one of the contestants explained.

Aside from the tree-planting activities, the candidates will also visit different schools and teach children the value of Mother Earth.

The five beauties, in particular, believe in the importance of educating children on this issue and although each is involved in different environmental advocacies in their respective countries, all agreed that children are the Earth’s “future.”

Miss Panama, for one, has led a nonprofit organization in her country to find young local leaders in schools or communities. She said that they taught them sustainable ideas and plans that they would, in turn, teach to their communities.

For her part, Miss Dominican Republic said, “I go to schools to talk to children. Unlike adults who don’t listen because they already have their bad habits, it’s easier talking to children because you only need to tell them that it’s bad [for the environment] and they won’t do it.”

Miss Guatemala agreed. “We should start with the education of our children because they are the future,” she said.

The five beauties believe that climate change is the biggest threat that Mother Earth is facing. They said that simple, everyday activities like walking to work instead of driving and segregating and recycling garbage could help address this threat.

The Miss Earth 2011 grand coronation night will take place on December 3 at 7 p.m. at the University of the Philippines Theater. It was originally scheduled to be held in Bangkok, Thailand, but the worsening floods there forced Carousel Productions to move the venue again to the Philippines.

By Euden Valdez

Fire Richie Garcia, Peping Cojuanco et al...

“This poor outcome once more calls attention to the sorry state of Philippine sports… Led by Jose “Peping” Cojuangco, the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), is apparently more preoccupied with politics within its ranks than ensuring that only the best Filipino athletes be supported and allowed to represent the Philippines… It is known that many of the best Filipino athletes are not in the POC accredited associations.”

The Philippine Sports Commission (PSC) failed to meet its 70-gold medals target or at least a third-place finish for the Philippines in the recently concluded 26th Southeast Asian Games (SEAG) in Indonesia. Far below PSC Chairman Richie Garcia’s prediction, the Philippines won only 36 golds (7.4 percent of the total gold medals) and finished sixth in the biennial meet.

Philippine performance this year is even worse than our shameful fifth place finish in the 2009 Games held in Laos.

Our country’s performance in the SEAG this year is worst in the last 10 years.

The SEAG is the lowest of the international sports festivals. SEAG involves only the 10 Asean members plus East Timor. One must realize that we have also been performing dismally in the Asian Games and of course in the Olympics.

This poor outcome once more calls attention to the sorry state of Philippine sports. Reforms are long overdue in the way the stewards are managing our sports.

The problems besieging Philippine sports—disunity caused by politics and turf wars, the lack of an effective and pragmatic sports development program and corruption, among others—are so glaring and well known to athletes and the national sports association leaders.

Why are they not doing anything to reform the situation?

Philippine Olympic Committee

Led by Jose “Peping” Cojuangco, the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), the mother organization of all National Sports Associations (NSAs) in the country, is apparently more preoccupied with politics within its ranks than ensuring that only the best Filipino athletes be supported and allowed to represent the Philippines in international competitions. Those in the know say that only sports associations headed and tightly controlled by people loyal to Mr. Cojuangco and will continue to vote for him in every election for POC boss get POC accreditation.

As a result, there are two or more associations in each sport discipline. The POC-accredited one is that which is loyal to Mr. Cojuangco. Because their leaders became critical of Mr. Cojuangco, some associations in the outs were POC-accredited once but lost their accreditation to a newly formed group.

The damaging consequence of this is that excellent athletes belonging to associations led by persons outside Mr. Cojuangco’s sphere of influence end up being veritably non-existent in official POC-sanctioned domestic contests. Only POC-accredited associations receive support from the government’s Philippine Sports Commission. And in all the sports, only the results of events held under the auspices of the POC-accredited PSA are recognized by regional and international sports bodies which have mostly come to be governed by the International Olympic Sports Federations (IFs).

It is known that many of the best Filipino athletes are not in the POC accredited associations. The athletes in many POC-accredited sport associations are less than capable of excelling in regional and international competitions—as proved by the recent SEAG. Our country has therefore been sending many athletes to international meets who would not win against other Filipinos belonging to non-POC-accredited PSAs.

The majority of Filipino sports officials appear to be more focused on acquiring and preserving their influence than on bringing sporting glory to our country. There is a lot of money in being the chief of a sports association. Not only does a PSA get funds from the Philippine Sports Commission, it also can campaign for donations from the private sector—and from the PAGCOR.

Most PSA officials are not doing for the athletes what must be done to make them champions—and they ignore athletes who are better championship material than they ones in their turf.

Sports development

Aside from training our best athletes to become gold medallists in regional and international competitions, the Philippine Sports Commission and the Philippine Olympic Committee have a moral duty to make sports development a vehicle for the improvement of Filipinos as human beings.

Fitness through sports is not being attended to in our country. In most of our fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) this is a rigorously managed concern.

Philippine Sports Commission

In the light of our pitiful performance in the last SEAG, PSC boss Ritchie Garcia should keep his promise that his agency would evaluate the performance of all NSAs. He said that those who did well in the latest SEAG would receive more funding and those that performed poorly would face severe budget cuts and possible termination of support from the PSC.

We also urge the PSC to demand an honest and mandatory accounting of every centavo spent by each NSA on its programs. The PSC disburses taxpayers’ money and funds from government corporations, like PAGCOR. Those funds should benefit the athletes not fatten some sport officials’ pockets.

While sports officials repeatedly insist that there is a sports development program in the country, the Philippines’ performance in the regional and international sports competitions indicate that the program is not working.

The Palarong Pambansa and other national sports competition badly need a shot in the arm. Grassroots programs aiming to discover new talents should be initiated and sustained. And those who emerge as the best should be given support—never mind if their coaches are affiliated with organizations that have been rejected by Mr. Cojuangco’s POC.

Let us not forget, however, that reforming Philippine sports demands collective effort. While corrupt and self-serving officials are largely to blame for our sports woes, the athletes and the media too have their share of the blame in burying Philippine sports in guano. The athletes must remember that they owe their allegiance first and foremost to their country not to any sports official or politician. They must stand for what is right and not be carried away by the frequent shifting of loyalties within the ranks of Philippine sports associations.

The sports media must not be swayed by patronage and bullying by sports officials. They must perform their role as vanguards of the truth.

(MANILA TIMES)

MOBOCRACY

“Boy Brillantes and Leila de Lima did not get their law diplomas from a department store, but earned them in the finest law school in the entire Mendiola complex... We have developed such a hatred for former president GMA that many of them have turned into a mob—not unlike the French Revolution’s “public” that wildly cheered the decapitation by guillotine of royals and aristocrats during the Reign of Terror..”

MOBOCRACY

It appears that what the Aquino administration has done to former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has the approval of the majority of Filipinos who append comments to news stories and columns published online, who anchor radio and TV news and public service programs and who are radio and newspaper commentators.

The Inquirer’s Amando Doronila, however, thinks “P-Noy’s double kill of GMA sends chills down public’s spine.”

We think Doronila is wrong—if “public” means the majority of ordinary people. We think the majority of the Filipinos, those who consistently give President Benigno Aquino 3rd very high ratings on his performance and his trustworthiness, have developed such a hatred for former president GMA that many of them have turned into a mob—not unlike the French Revolution’s “public” that wildly cheered the decapitation by guillotine of royals and aristocrats during the Reign of Terror

But he is right that many Filipinos worry that Secretary Leila de Lima—supported by the President and egged on by people in the Palace whom Senator Miriam Santiago has called “the movement”—could be, knowingly or not, leading our country to an uncertain and dangerous future.

One of the potential outcomes of these last few days’ events is the total demolition of the Supreme Court in the eyes of those more numerous Filipinos who might want Sec. de Lima to be the Filipino Robespierre.

It is unfortunate that there have been abridgements of due process in dealing with former president Arroyo. And it is even more unfortunate that if the Supreme Court censures Sec. de Lima, the SC Justices will surely reap the ire of that public whose howls for blood might force President Aquino—with his legal eagles’ encouragement—to take extraordinary steps. These steps could include the removal of Chief Justice Corona and the other justices being vilified as members of the “Coronarroyo court.”

If the majority of the members of the House of Representatives continue to be as steadfast in their loyalty to President Aquino as they have been so far, it will not be far-fetched to think that—emboldened by the Robespierrean public high on hatred for GMA—the House would swiftly impeach the entire “Coronaarroyo court.”

Despite the views of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, who has, obviously tempering his opinion, called Sec. de Lima’s treatment of Mrs. Arroyo “unusual,” the Senate could also be swayed by “respect” for the Robespierrean public to hold a quick trial and find the High Court justices guilty.

Then the President would be able to appoint Supremes who would be happy to support him in his campaign to rid the government—and why not also the private sector? — of undesirable officials and smart operators.

Fair trial a must

When the time comes for Mrs. Arroyo, and the others charged with sabotaging the 2007 election, to be tried, the President and Sec. de Lima must ensure that they get a truly fair trial in which due process is genuinely followed.

The state can, of course, use all the heavy but legal means to defeat Mrs. Arroyo’s defense. This should be done transparently. As a bloc of congressmen have suggested, the trial should be televised.

A fair and transparent trial will boost the President’s credibility. The prosecutors must do an excellent job of proving GMA guilty—or there will be hell from the Robespierrean mob.

Saguisag: RTC has jurisdiction re GMA

Perhaps the following opinion of widely respected lawyer Rene V. Saguisag (a Manila Times columnist) will calm the anxious Filipinos who have come to believe one of the most key points made by the lawyers of Mrs. Arroyo. This point is that the Pasay Regional Trial Court that issued the arrest warrant against the former president had no jurisdiction.

Writes former senator and now San Beda professor Saguisag:

“Sec. 268 of the Omnibus Election Code, or Batas Pambansa Blg. 881, vests in RTCs exlusive and original jurisdiction over election offenses. Nothing in R.A. No. 8369 adding electoral sabotage to election offenses says that jurisdiction over such an election offense is to be heard by any other court. It would have made no sense.

“Judicial and administrative economy and symmetry argue against such bifurcation.

“The general law may invest the Sandiganbayan such jurisdiction over high officials. But here, the special law says RTCs [are] for election saboteurs.

“That the special prevails over the general is something we teach in freshman law in San Beda but strange things happen in our Supreme Court.

“Spokesman Midas Marquez should not speak for the SC in cases where opinions are divided, without clearing a priori a written statement agreed on by all Justices concerned. Else, he may just exhibit bias for a certain Justice or opinion, generating heat, not light.

“Boy Brillantes and Leila de Lima did not get their law diplomas from a department store, but earned them in the finest law school in the entire Mendiola complex.”

Meanwhile, the ruling of the Supreme Court on various facets of the GMA case is expected to be made today.

With due respect to the sensibilities of our Muslim fellow Filipinos (who also revere Jesus Christ as one of the four principal prophets and see him as the holy son of the Blessed Virgin Mary but do not believe he is God, the second person of the Holy Trinity), let us pray that Christ the King (whose feast was celebrated last Sunday) rule over the minds and hearts of our officials and our justices so that they always think and act for the common good.

(MANILA TIMES)