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PNS — ENGAGING kausap si Gaby de la Merced, former Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Season 2 housemate. Guess what? She doesn’t look her age at all. She just turned 25 on June 10.
    
Because of her unique sport, car racing, Gaby gained a big following during her stay sa Bahay ni Kuya, enough for her na magkaroon ng sariling show sa ABS-CBN, Gaby’s Extraordinary Files, right after she won third place sa PBBCE2.
   
Sayang nga because the show had to end after 13 weeks for lack of materials na pawang imported.
   
“But the experience was good enough,” ani Gaby, who also used to host a sports show on Q-11.
   
She wouldn’t mind, though, venturing sa pag-aartista. In fact, after lumabas siya at kinausap ni Malou Santos, Star Cinema managing director, nag-suggest ito for Gaby to submit to a workshop.
   
She and talent manager, GR (Girlie Rodis), are open to the idea.Rica (as in, rich) ang family ni Gaby. But she is not the type who would flaunt her social status. In fact, napaka-down to earth niya.
   
When she recently met with select members of the press, mostly GR’s friends, Gaby came with hardly any make-up on. She was garbed in a rugged shirt and pants.
   
It was her car, which she uses ’pag nakikipag-compete sa racing, which made heads turn nang pumasok siya sa Annabel’s Restaurant where the press were waiting for her.
   
“Six years old pa lang ho ako when my passion for cars was developed,” ani Gaby. “Nasa car business kasi ang father ko.”
   
Gaby’s family owns the Delta Building on West Avenue corner Quezon Avenue. It used to be the display center for Toyota cars.
   
Another building which Gaby’s family owns (take note, family, ha?) houses a mall in Guadalupe, Makati.
   
“But I was 16 when my father finally gave me a car, a Rav-4. Hand-me-down ’yon, since nagamit na niya ng kung ilang taon.
   
“That was also the reason kung bakit nagkaroon ako ng interes sa car racing,” pahayag niya.Gaby is one of the few Filipinas who has dominated the Asian Formula 3 circuit.
   
Siya rin lang ang Filipina who competed in the series’ full season and her efforts placed her first runner-up sa Philippine National Formula.
   
Aside from racing, Gaby is a bonafide sports enthusiast. She plays flag football and ultimate disc when she has time.
   
She regularly trains in capoera (Brazilian Martial Arts) as well.
     
Asked if she has a hand sa pagiging partial sa kasalukuyan ni Diether Ocampo sa car racing (na-link sila sa isa’t isa, ’di ba?), Gaby said, magkaibigan (lang, ha?) sila.

At kapag nagkakausap sila, they naturally talk about racing.

PHILIPPINE NEWS SERVICE — President Arroyo yesterday promised P14 billion worth of social programs for soldiers as she urged graduates of the Philippine Military Academy to stay loyal to the values of the Armed Forces and to do their part to end the communist insurgency by 2010.

“The people are tired of the politics of division and despair. They want you to keep our nation safe, secure and moving forward,” the President told the 220 graduates of the Baghawi class.

“We have set 2010 as the deadline to win the war against insurgency. As of last year, we had succeeded in halving the number of active insurgents.. . You have to help the graduates before you in meeting this deadline,” she said. Continue reading ‘P14b extra for pay increase, housing of soldiers’ »

PHILIPPINE NEWS SERVICE — THE government will ask China and Vietnam to team up with Filipino firms in exploring and expropriating any mineral deposits found in the Spratlys, an official said yesterday.

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez said once the Philippines approved the next stage of the Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking with China and Vietnam in the area, it had no choice but to follow the provisions of the 1987 Constitution when closing it. Continue reading ‘Minority stakes in Spratly firm for China and Vietnam’ »

PNS — NEWLY-ELECTED Lakas-CMD president Speaker Prospero Nograles described his ascension to the helm of the country’s most dominant political party as the “passing of the party into new hands.”
    
“The Party is moving on, building on the historic achievement of the generation that created this party and that led this nation on the path to economic development,” the new ruling party chief said, adding that he was humbled by his partymates’ confidence in his ability to lead the organization that has spawned great men and women.
   
Nograles, who last February became the fourth highest ranked official of the land in a dramatic election victory in the House of Representatives that ended former Speaker Jose de Venecia’s 12-year reign, said the leadership change did not come in midstream.
   
“It came as a natural consequence of our desire to keep the party strong, relevant, forward-looking and in control of its destiny,” Nograles said before an overflow crowd of virtually a who’s-who of the political spectrum at the Manila Hotel.
   
He also praised De Venecia, who as co-founder of Lakas helped chart the political growth of the party that successfully catapulted Fidel V, Ramos to the presidency in 1992.

PHILIPPINE NEWS SERVICE — THE Chinese government has expressed strong objection to a House of Representatives bill which seeks to define the territorial boundaries of the Philippines, consequently emphasizing its claim over parts of the Spratly group of islands.
    
Central to Beijing’s opposition to the bill entitled “Defining the Baselines of the Territorial Sea of the Philippines” is the international dispute over the island group which is claimed partly or wholly not only by the Philippines and China but other neighboring countries.
   
This was disclosed by Cebu City Rep. Antonio Cuenco, chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, as he showed to media a copy of a “note verbale” from the Chinese government expressing its objection to the proposal of the Philippine Congress.
   
Cuenco made the revelation amid the controversial projects and agreements that the government has entered into with Beijing, such as the ZTE-NBN deal and the Spratlys deal.
   
“China is shocked by and gravely concerned with this negative development. We request the clarification from the Philippine side,” the letter said.
   
Cuenco recalled that the letter was sent to Philippine Ambassador to Beijing Sonia Cataumber Brady last December 2007. Brady then sent a copy to Cuenco.
   
The solon said he refused at first to believe the letter since there was no signatory and it was not written in the form of a note verbale.
   
However, a month after receiving the letter, China Charge d’ Affaires in the Philippines visited him  and talked to him about the issue in the same tenor as the note verbale. Cuenco only recalled the name of the official as “Deng.”
   
“They (Chinese) are not interfering pero sa tono ng letter, galit sila and they don’t want the Senate and the House of Representatives to pass the bill,” Cuenco stressed as he vowed to present the letter and appeal of the Chinese Charge d’ Affaires to the Committee on Foreign Affairs for consideration.
   
Based on the letter, the Chinese is objecting to the bill as this will put Scarborough Shoal and some other Nansha reefs and islands or the Kalayaan Island inside the baseline of the Philippine territorial sea.
   
“If the Philippine side forcefully puts Scarborough Shoal and some other Nansha reefs and islands inside the baseline of Philippine territorial sea, it will not only be not conducive to the stability in the South China Sea but also disturb China-Philippine cooperation in the area, exerting negative impact on the healthy development of our bilateral relations,” the letter warned.
   
“We sincerely hope that the Philippine side strictly abide this issue by the utmost prudence. We request that the above-mentioned draft not be submitted to the plenary of Senate and House of Representatives,”   it added.
   
House Bill 3216 which would set the baseline territory of the country has been passed on second reading but has not been calendared for third reading.
   
Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño said the bill should be approved because it is a vital measure that sets the nation’s territory and national boundaries. 

PNS — A top Chinese government official yesterday said it is the  policy of its government for  Chinese firms to abide by the laws of the countries they operate in.  

Senator Mar Roxas said this was relayed by Liu Hongcai,  International Department Vice Minister, during their “frank and cordial discussions” on the NBN-ZTE deal and the Spratlys issues.

Roxas, who is the Liberal Party president,  and several other senior LP leaders had breakfast with Liu’s delegation at the Hotel Sofitel yesterday.

“Vice Minister Liu’s statement is fair and timely, katulad ng pagrespeto ng ating mga kumpanya sa kanilang mga batas kapag pumasok sila sa Tsina,” he said.
 
“They understand very well our LP position that we must hold our own government officials accountable for anomalies or incompetence attendant to the NBN-ZTE and Spratlys controversies,” he said.

“Naiintindihan nila na mahalaga para sa atin na malaman ang katotohanan sa likod ng NBN-ZTE deal. Sa kanila ang ZTE ay isang komersyal na transaksyon lamang, na hindi dapat makasira sa relasyon ng Pilipinas at Tsina,” he added.

During the meeting, Roxas said it was “unfortunate” that China had been put in a “difficult situation” due to the alleged  graft and corruption committed by certain Filipino officials involved in the scrapped NBN-ZTE transaction. 

“We in the Philippines appreciate the help and goodwill of China, but we must make sure that our own domestic procedures are done properly. We cannot allow our officials to act to the detriment of our people and in the process erode the positive views and warm sentiments of Filipinos towards China,” he said.

Roxas also noted efforts in China to fight corruption in all aspects of government, which its  President Hu Jintao has said is one of the biggest threats to the legitimacy and survival of the Chinese Communist Party. .

On the matter of the territorial dispute on the Spratlys group of islands, Roxas informed the Chinese official that  the LP supports the principle that the South China Sea must be a “zone of prosperity and harmony”.

“As there are other claimants in the area, our interest is to live together like good neighbors, coexist peacefully and find mutually beneficial solutions to our problems,” he said.

PHILIPPINE NEWS SERVICE — SENATE witness Rodolfo Lozada Jr. yesterday admitted that it was his voice that appeared to be asking for P200,000 from Jose de Venecia III in a wiretapped conversation that is now accessible through the Internet.

But Lozada said the conversations were spliced in such a way that it would appear he was asking for that much money in exchange for his cooperation in the ongoing Senate inquiry into the multi-million- dollar deal between the government and a Chinese firm for a national broadband network.

In an interview, Lozada said that former Commission on Elections Chairman Benjamin Abalos Jr. and the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines were behind the recorded conversations. Continue reading ‘Lozada admits taped talks with JdV son’ »

PHILIPPINE NEWS SERVICE — FORMER President Fidel Ramos has asked Jose de Venecia Jr. to resign as Lakas-CMD president, but the ousted speaker seems determined to slug it out during a key leadership meeting on March 10.

At an executive committee meeting yesterday, Ramos suggested that De Venecia take on the titular position of president emeritus of the ruling party, after he came under increasing criticism for his attacks on President Arroyo.

De Venecia, speaking through his lawyer Raul Lambino, said he would decline Ramos’ offer, arguing that the Lakas-CMD party president is elected to a fixed term.

“Neither the national executive committee nor the national directorate of the party has the power to remove De Venecia as party president,” Lambino said. Continue reading ‘JdV vows to fight Lakas ouster’ »

PHILIPPINE NEWS SERVICE — PRESIDENT Arroyo repeated her promise to finish her term in 2010, and to keep on setting up reforms to leave the country to her successor in a much better shape.

She made the statement in a speech before signing a law creating the Civil Aviation Authority in Malacañang, and she made it before Vice President Noli de Castro, lawmakers and businessmen.

“I will uphold the Constitution and my personal decision to step down from my office when my term ends in 2010,” she said.

“Until that day, we will continue to strive in putting down reforms so we can leave a strong country for the next leader.” Continue reading ‘GMA to finish term on 2010’ »

PHILIPPINE NEWS SERVICE — THE SENATE should end its probe of the $329-million national broadband contract with ZTE of China, which was canceled last year over allegations of high-level bribery and corruption, Senator Edgardo Angara said yesterday.

“I think we should wind up,” Angara said, noting that the Senate had already conducted lengthy hearings on the case, which is now before the Office of the Ombudsman and the Department of Justice.

Angara also complained that the latest witness in the Senate hearings, Dante Madriaga, offered mostly hearsay.

“In the past, we would normally cut off that kind of testimony. In fact, the staff of the Blue Ribbon committee should have vetted his [Madriaga’s] testimony [to weed out hearsay],” Angara said. Continue reading ‘Angara wants end to ZTE hearings’ »