By Blanche Rivera (
INQUIRER.net (
May 31, 2009 10:48:00)
HONG KONG—Every night in Yuen Long, a far-off area in the New Territories, she rummages through garbage bins for soda cans, cardboard boxes, and other recyclables that can earn her HK$38 (P228.00) on a nice day.
Poverty drove Mildred Perez, 38-year-old Filipina, like 126,000 other Filipinos here, to come and work in Hong Kong as a helper, leaving behind her two children in Bambang, Nueva Vizcaya. But her dream to build a decent life for her family was crushed when her employer, a pastor, sexually assaulted
HONESTY HAS A PRICE. Mildred Perez in Hong Kong: “I couldn’t sleep. That’s money. But my conscience would have bothered me no end if I did otherwise.” PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER/Dante Peralta
MARCIANO RAMOS DE BORJA was born in Pasig in 1966. He is a career diplomat in the Philippine Foreign Service. He obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in History and European Languages (Cum Laude) from the University of the Philippines and his Master of Arts degree in History and Geography from the University of Navarra, Spain through scholarships from the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Fundación General Mediterránea, a private foundation in Madrid. He also studied International Politics at the University of Tokyo as a Monbusho scholar.
There may be more than a few people who know about the association called “toastmasters” but for some who have been through some of its courses, the sacrifices are paying back.
This is true with Jane B. Rolen, the Novo Vizcayano who left the country to stay with his American husband in the U.S. and landed on a job with legal services.
Jane B. Rolen (center), the Novo Vizcayano who has made it to a high-ranking position of the Social Security Administration in the U.S., discusses with fellow “toasmasters” her speeches to be delivered to complete her “communication track.”
After years of perseverance, she has climbed the ladder of success, now Executive Assistant to the Regional Commissioner of the Social Security
Administration in the Atlanta Region and, in 2007, was chosen as one of the“Who’s Who in the Asian-American Communities (WWAC) of the South Eastern USA.
GENERAL INFORMATION
The Province of Nueva Vizcaya is located in the heart of Northern Luzon. It is geographically located at the southernmost part of Region II and is often referred to as "The Gateway to the vast Cagayan Valley Region. It is bounded on the north by Ifugao, in the northeast by Isabela, east by Quirino, west by Benguet and south by Nueva Ecija.
GETTING THERE
Air-conditioned buses (Baliwag Transit, Victory Liner, etc.) bound for Cagayan Valley pass by the province. For independent motorists, take the North Luzon Expressway and exit at Sta. Rita. Nueva Vizcaya is accessible through the Cagayan Valley Road (Daang Maharlika) and is about 268 km north of Metro Manila (approx. 6hrs of travel by land).
GETTING AROUND
Buses and public utility jeepneys ply the routes around the province.
Tricycles are numerous in every town. Van/Car rental services are available with rates depending on the type of vehicles used and the distance traveled.
It was a spectacular scene in the sky that kept spectators gasping with awe when 120 fire balloons soared in the shadowy sky of Nueva Vizcaya last May 21at 6:30 in the evening lighting Nueva Vizcaya firmament with breathtaking spectacle. One after the other colorful fire balloons ascended, glittered and faded in the horizon. Even from afar such was a magnificent display.
One highlight of the 170th Nueva Vizcaya Founding Anniversary with the First Grand Ammungan [or assemblage of its biggest ethno-linguistic concentration in terms of composite distribution, percentage wise as per latest UN funded census, to the overall population of the province], is the formal launching of a symbolic Tribu Biscayano.
This is the unfolding of a historic episode in the annals of the province, the first-of-its-kind provincial tribal consortium of ethno-linguistic group.
Governor Luisa Cuaresma has sustained its commitment to provide financial assistance to the municipalities of the province.
Mike Jubay, provincial planning and development coordinator said P1 million has been committed to the municipal mayors this year under Cuaresma’s Municipal Development Assistance Program (MDAP) which intends to augment the priority projects of the municipal mayors.
Jubay said that during the recent Provincial Development Council (PDC) meeting, the 15 chief executives decided to purchase heavy equipments to fast track infrastructure development in their communities.
“They have decided to buy heavy equipments so that they can complement the efforts of the provincial government on the maintenance of roads and other LGU projects,” Jubay said.
The 275 barangays of the province, Jubay added will also be given P20,000.00 each under the governor’s program to provide financial assistance for the barangays.
The Provincial Accounting Office (PAccO) recently informed employees of the provincial government that the recent assessment conducted by the Bureau of Internal Revenue in Bayombong on tax withheld for CY 2008 showed underwitholding (sic) of their income taxes.
According to Provincial Accountant Dominador Dacumos, this “underwitholding” was a result of a discrepancy in computation by the PAccO with that of the BIR beginning July 2008, the transition period of implementing the increased rate on personal exemptions.
“Tax computation on semestral basis was made by this Office while the BIR used the annualized system following BIR Regulation 9504 of which a copy was furnished this Office at the time (we) proceeded year-end adjustment,” Dacumos said.
He stated further that the PAccO has never been informed about the said regulation nor has the office ever been updated for effective implementation of the same.
Ammungan Festival traces its roots from the Gaddang word "ammungan" and Ilocano term, "ummungan", which means gathering. The Grand Ammungan Festival highlights the gathering of the upland and lowland indigenous peoples groups in the spirit of thanksgiving.
awe when 120 fire balloons soared in the shadowy sky of Nueva Vizcaya last May 21at 6:30 in the evening lighting Nueva Vizcaya firmament with breathtaking spectacle. One after the other colorful fire balloons ascended, glittered and faded in the horizon. Even from afar such was a magnificent display.
Governor Luisa Cuaresma has sustained its commitment to provide financial assistance to the municipalities of the province. 
