Friendster, Inc. through its global social network site, Friendster.com, is supporting the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) in its Voters’ Education campaign in the 2010 national elections, particularly in the recruitment of volunteers. The signing of a memorandum of agreement was held at the PPCRV Head- quarters in Pope Pius XII Center, Manila and was led by (standing L-R) Resti Reyes (President, MediaTrade Exchange, Inc.), Narciso Reyes (Country Sales Manager-Philippines, Friendster, Inc.), Ambassador Henrietta T. de Villa (National Chairperson, PPCRV), Homer Nievera (Director for Business Development, Friendster, Inc.), and Brother Clifford Sorita (Secretary-General, PPCRV).

NOONG una ay mga barangay tanod lamang ang nag-iimbestiga kay David Bunevacz dahil sa kasong pag-wantutri sa chit sa isang night club. Sumunod ay ang NBI at Interpol ang nag- iimbestiga kay Bunevacz dahil sa milyun-milyong pisong kasong estafa na isinampa sa kanya ng kanyang business partners at iba pang mga taong niloko niya dito sa Pilipinas.

Ngayon, ang United States Secret Service naman ang nag- iimbestiga kay Bunevacz dahil sa reklamo ng isang negosyante sa Georgia, U.S.A. Sa bagong reklamong ito laban kay Bunevacz ng isang Gene Hammett,

si Bunevacz ay nag-estafa ng halagang kulang-kulang sa $3 million.

ng SHOOTER ang bagong kasong ito ni Bunevacz ay dahil sa isang

na natanggap ko noong umaga ng Lunes, March 8, mula sa isang negosyante at kumpare ni Bunevacz.

Sinabi ng texter na tingnan ko raw sa internet ang isang lumabas na article sa Seattle Times tungkol kay Bunevacz.

sina Christine Willmsen, Steve Miletich at Kristi Helm, si David Bunevacz, kasama ang kanyang amang si Joseph Bunevacz, ay inireklamo ni Hammett, may-ari ng isang kumpanyang nagbebenta ng mga events tickets, sa U.S. Se- cret Service dahil sa 17,000 na mga tickets para sa nakaraang Vancouver Winter Olympic Games na hindi ibinigay sa kanya ng mga Bunevacz matapos na niya itong bayarang sa halagang mahigit sa $2.9 million.

ng gobyerno sa U.S. para mag- imbestiga ng mga kasong finan- cial fraud.

Ayon sa reklamo ni Hammett, noong January 15, 2010 hindi tumupad sa usapan si David Bunevacz na i-deliver sa kanya sa isang apartment sa Vancouver, Canada ang nasabing mga tick- ets.

kumpanyang Pegazus Sport Tours sa Budapest, Hungary, na kung saan, ayon kay Bunevacz ay may mataas na katungkulan ang kanyang ama.

Ngunit, nang makaugnayan ng Seattle Times si Balazs Kamuti, ang CEO ng Pegazus Sport Tours, sinabi ni Kamuti hindi na konektado sa kanila ang nakakatandang Bunevacz simula pa noong taong 2002 dahil

Napag-alaman din ng Se- attle Times na noong dekada 90, may tatlong magkahiwalay na kaso si Bunevacz sa mga korte sa Los Angeles area. Mga kasong pagnanakaw kung saan siya ay na-convict at nakulong ng panandalian. Sa isa sa mga kasong ito, sinasabing si Bunevacz ay nagnakaw ng halagang wala pa sa $400.

ako magtataka kung isang araw ay maisama ang pangalan at litrato ni Bunevacz sa FBI Most Wanted List dahil sa patung- patong na reklamo mula sa mga U.S. Citizens sa Amerika na naloko niya ng daan-daang milyong dolyar sa kanyang pyramiding scheme.

SEN. Manny Villar may have the biggest budget to spend for his political cam- paign but can he buy that spot on top?

Liberal Party stalwart Sen. Kiko Pangilinan has something to say to Villar: “You can try, but can't buy our spot on top.”

Pangilinan pointed out that the top spender Villar, despite his immense exposure, had been suffering from epic fail in national surveys.

"Despite being the first can- didate to run in the presiden- tial derby, and an unprec-

edented ad buy of over one bil- lion pesos since November of last year, Sen. Villar continues to fall short of his ultimate ob- jective –– that of overtaking Sen. Noynoy (Aquino)," he said.

Pangilinan cited the last four surveys which showed slightly different numbers, but with only one common thread: Sen. Noynoy consistently leads in all of them.

The latest Pulse Asia Sur- vey had Aquino leading Villar, 36-29; the SWS Survey had Aquino up 36-34; the Manila

Standard Survey likewise had Aquino holding on to a 36-34 lead; while the TNS Survey had Aquino enjoying a 41-30 lead.

Except the TNS Survey which was conducted before the end of January, the three others were conducted in Feb- ruary.

"The numbers themselves are rather inconsistent. In one survey Sen. Noy's numbers in Mindanao are double that of Sen. Villar's; in another, Sen. Noy's lead in the same island is

"We are, however, happy to see that our people have not allowed themselves to be swayed by the deluge of Villar ads on TV," Pangilinan stressed.

Villar, according to figures from AGB Nielsen, has spent over P120 million from Febru- ary 9 to March 2 on TV adver- tisements alone.

MARAMI ang nagsasabi na ang krisis sa Mindanao ay artipisyal lamang at suspetsa nila ay may bakas ng kamay ng tao at di ng Panginoon gaya ng naunang pinagbuntunan ng sisi ni Energy Sec. Angelo Reyes. Kung matatandaan, mariing sinisi ni Reyes ang Panginoon na siyang dapat sisihin sa kalamidad na dinaranas natin, bunsod ng El Niño phe- nomenon na nagahahatid ng sobrang init at pagkatuyo ng tubig sa ilog at dams na siyang nagsu-supply ng tubig sa ating bansa.

Bukod sa paninisi ay nauna ng inilutang ni Reyes na dapat lamang na agarang bigyan ng emergency powers ang

upang sulusyunan ang energy crisis na ating kinakaharap particu- lar na sa bandang Mindanao.

Bagaman makatotohanan ang krisis ay lumalabas namang kaduda-duda ang timing ng mga pahayag at mga pangyayari, una na rito ang eleksyon sa darating na Mayo at sa Mindanao pa mismo kung saan ang mga naninirahan sa naturang lugar na nasapol ng El Niño ay nagsasabing normal ang “water level” sa Lanao lake at nataon pa sa pag-exit ng kasalukuyang administrasyon.

Bukod pa rito ay tinatayang may humigit-kumulang na P2 bilyong pisong budget na inilaan ng pamahalaan bilang “temporary solution” sa nasabing suliranin sa enerhiya. Kung uusisaing mabuti ay tila nagmamadali ang Mr. Bright boy ng energy department na agarang ilabas ang naturang bud- get bago abutin ng pagpapalit ng ating Panguluhan.

Ayon kay Senator and Presidential wannabe Richard Gor- don, “the power crisis in Mindanao is artificial and may be part of a sinister plot.” “From what I heard the water level in Lanao lake is normal.

They just opened up a power plant in Cebu and planning to open up a couple more. I don’t know what (crisis) they are talking about.” Dagdag pa ni Gordon.

Hindi biro ang krisis na ating kinakaharap sa power short- age at ito’y banta sa national security ng ating bansa at kinakailangang “transparent” ang pamahalaan dito, dagdag pa muli ni Gordon. Di maiaalis na magduda ang marami sa lalo na ang mga kandidato partikular na si Sen. Dick Gor- don pagka’t di lamang ito nakakaabala sa mga tulad niyang tumatakbo sa pampanguluhan nguni’t gayon din ang mga negosyanteng nag-iisip na ilipat ang kanilang “investments” sa ibang bansa.

Marami rin ang nagsasabi na simula pa lang ng umupo sa pwesto ang kasalukuyang administrasyon ay di na mapuknat-puknat ang kalamidad na ating dinanas, nariyan ang bagyo, landslide, walang tigil na baha, epidemya pati na mga kalamidad na gawa ng tao – walang humpay na korapsyon.

9 na taong walang Diyos ang turan ng mga pilosopo sa ganitong uri ng kalamidad na humahagupit sa bawa’t mamamayang pilit na kumakahig nguni’t walang matuka. Hanggang kelan tayo magtitiis sa ganitong kalagayan? Kayo na po ang sumagot...

tal expenditures on political advertisements from Novem- ber 1 last year to March 2 this year at over P1.3 billion –– an amount almost equal to the total TV ad expenditures of four of his closest rivals.

Former President Joseph Estrada ranked second with P88 million, followed by Sen. Aquino with P87 million and Sen. Richard Gordon with P67.3 million, and Administra- tion party bet Gilberto Teodoro Jr. with P60.4 million TV com- mercials since the start of the

Gordon, a few weeks ago, bared that Villar’s camp even appraoched him and asked him to withdraw from the presi- dential race and that the presidentiable from Olongapo would get reimbursements from the expenses he had al- ready incurred during the cam- paign.

Estrada also sang the same song but never divulged any names on who made the deal, which the former president obviously declined.

Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim presents to the media suspects Jolly Bangsa and Leslie Reyes who were arrested for possession of one kilo of cocaine during a buy-bust operation in Manila. MARVIN BUSTOS

THE Department of Foreign Affairs has advised Filipinos to post- pone all non-essential travel to Thailand as militant groups in the Asian country plan to stage anti-government rallies, particularly in the capital city of Bangkok, beginning Friday.

Those already in Thailand are advised to avoid areas that have been identified as meeting and staging areas for the rallyists, the DFA said.

“In view of protest rallies being planned in key areas of Bangkok starting Friday, 12 March 2010, and for the duration of the rallies, Filipinos are advised to postpone all non-eseential travel to Thai- land “ the advisory said.

The rallies appear to be a show of strength for former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was unceremoniously eased out of office and gone on exile in the Middle East but remains highly popular to many of his supporters to this day.

In late 2008, due to a series of street protests,Thai authorities closed its international airport, leaving thousands of foreign tourists stranded, among them Filipinos.

TWO suspected drug traffick- ers were arrested for allegedly selling P5 million worth of high- grade cocaine to poseur buyer cops in Manila yesterday.

Presented to Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim were Jolly Sorinao, 36, of 16 Casoy, Zone 1 Signal Village, Taguig City and Leslie Reyes, 27, of Barangay Sta. Austina, Dasmariñas, Cavite.

Supt. Ernesto Tendero, Manila Police District (MPD) Station 2, said the suspects were arrested in front of a mall in Tondo at

He said prior to the incident, a police informant called him and reported that a man was offering him to buy cocaine prompting police operatives to hatch a plan on closing the deal with the sus- pects.

Police arrested the suspects after handling the one kilo of co- caine to the poseur buyer cop in exchange of marked money. Both are facing charges of violation of the dangerous drug act of 2002.

Education (DepEd), one of the government agencies actively involved in the May 2010 elec- tions, conducted a voter’s education fo- rum for the employ- ees to better appreci- ate election automa- tion.

DepEd has allot- ted time to conduct this activity to famil- iarize its employees on how the new sys- tem of conducting the electoral

It also allowed the participants to expe- rience the actual shading of the train- ing ballots and the use of the Precinct Count Optical Scan- ner

Training ballots have the same size as the actual ballots that will be used on May 10, however, a differ- ent set of names was used.

The event was among the activities prepared by DepEd’s Staff Development Di- vision (SDD) as part of the celebration of Women’s Month.

part, Comelec said the pur- pose of the auto- mated election sys- tem is to increase ac- curacy in counting and reduce time for canvassing.

PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo yesterday filled up the vacancies in the government bureaucracy due to the resignation of her officials who are running for May 10 elections.

Newly appointed Executive Secretary Leandro Mendoza said Arroyo already appointed Transportation and Communications Undersecretary Anneli Lontoc as the new chief of the Depart- ment of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).

Mendoza said he recommended Usec. Lontoc to replace him at the DOTC post for being well-versed in the DOTC matters, as undersecretary as well as being a career officer of the department.

Mendoza said Mrs. Arroyo also named former Cebu Ports Au- thority general manager Angelo Verdan as the new Maritime In- dustry Authority (Marina) administrator, replacing Elena Bautista who was named new chief of the Presidential Management Staff (PMS).

THE Department of Health (DOH) warned the public against heat stroke and summer diseases as high temperatures continue to scorch the entire country.

Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral said that hotter days are ahead according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and As- tronomical Services Administra- tion (Pagasa) as the summer sea- son officially starts and the El Niño phenomenon brings an earlier dry spell to the country.

Cabral said with hotter tem- peratures predicted this season, the public must be cautious of heat stroke to avoid dehydra- tion.

She said heat stroke cases in- crease in hot and humid weather particularly with people staying outdoors and during vigorous ex- ercise in hot weather.

in Metro Manila with tempera- tures rise through a scorching 36 degrees Celsius. The weather bureau said the heat wave is ex- pected to continue.

The DOH said when afflicted by a heat stroke, the body is un- able to ward off excessive heat through sweating because of de- hydration and/or humid environ- ment.

A person has warm and flushed skin, faintness, dizziness, weakness and headache when he has a heat stroke.

To avoid heat stroke, DOH advised the public to drink lots of water, wear light and comfort- able clothes, avoid exposure to too much sunlight, use an umbrella or sunblock.

The DOH also warned the public against summer diseases like typhoid, diarrhea and skin diseases such as rashes and prickly heat.

FORMER president Joseph Estrada, stan- dard-bearer of Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP), said widespread corruption in the Arroyo administration is the cause of the growing number of poor Filipinos and the widening gap between the rich and the poor.

ang mayayaman at nananatiling naghihirap ang mahirap (wealth distribution is not equal. The rich are getting richer and the poor poorer)," Estrada said.

Estrada cited the result of the study re- leased by the Philippine Institute for Devel- opment Studies (PIDS), a government think tank, which noted "an alarming trend" in data on poverty. The institute said the country's poverty rate increased to nearly 33% in 2006 from 30% in 2003.

"During my administration, poverty rate went down. This means that corruption in the Arroyo administration is widespread and deeply embedded," Estrada said.

The institute validated Estrada's statement, saying there was a downtrend in poverty "during the 1985 to 2000 period." Estrada was elected president in 1998.

The authors of the study, Dr. Celia Reyes and Aubrey Tabuga, explained that "the 2.9- percent increase in the percentage of the poor is equivalent to about 4 million additional poor people. This brings the total to roughly 27.6 million in 2006."

Tabuga and Reyes found out that pov- erty is high in rural areas and that "poverty situation" in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and in Metro Manila "must be addressed differently."

POWER retailer Manila Elec- tric Company is set to increase this month its generation charge as much as P1.40 per kilowatt hours which is being billed to its more than 4 million.

In a petition before the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), Meralco has asked for a cut of 44.46 centavos in the the in- creased generation charges al- lowed to its electricity suppliers for March, from P1.8298 per kWh to P1.3852 kWh.

Meralco, in a move to ease the effects of the abrupt increase in generation cost by its suppliers, proposes that instead of reflect- ing the actual generation charge of P 6.76 per kWh in its March 2010 billing to its customers, it be allowed to implement a lower generation charge of P 6.3154 per

In its petition, Meralco said that for the supply month of February 2010, it incurred a total genera- tion cost of P15.9 billion, which would translate into a generation charge of P6.76 per kWh to its cus- tomers for the March 2010 billing.

"This sharp and sudden in- crease in generation cost is mostly accounted for by the high prices in the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market (WESM), brought about by the shortage in electricity sup- ply, as there were several plants which were either out due to pre- ventive or emergency mainte- nance, or with de-rated capacity because of the "El Nino" phenom- enon. This was aggravated by the increase in demand due to the start of the summer season," Meralco said.