Pacquiao - Dela Hoya | The Fight of The Millenium

August 28, 2008 - Yes its going to happen, the much talked about fight between Philippines "Pambansang Kamao" Manny "Pacman" Pacquiao against Mexico's Oscar "The Golden Boy" Dela Joya.

I have agreed in principle to accept the December 6 fight against [de la Hoya]," Pacquiao said through his lawyer Jeng Gacal.

“This will be the toughest test of my boxing career because of the reach and height advantage of my esteemed opponent aside from his great boxing skills."

Pacquao needs to move up to 145lbs in order to fight dela hoya, a 10lbs difference compared to his previous fight against Diaz. But a weight his trainer Freddie Roach said would still be a comfortable fighting weight for the Filipino champion.

Dela Hoya is much comfortable in this division and plans on stopping the FIlipino hero on devastating his Mexican opponents.

One thing is certain, this gonna be one hell of a fight that expected to revenue more than $100 Million.

Philippine Economy: Peso Increase

July 21 (Bloomberg) -- The Philippine peso may rise 6 percent by year-end as overseas workers send more money home and the central bank raises interest rates, said Jose Sio, chief financial officer at the holding company of billionaire Henry Sy.

The currency will climb as high as 42 per dollar by Dec. 31, said Sio at SM Investments Corp., which owns the Philippines' largest shopping mall operator and its second-biggest local bank. He said that was his own personal forecast. The bank has branches in malls handling some of the $1.4 billion in monthly remittances to the nation from workers abroad.

``There will be more dollars coming in from overseas workers,'' which will boost the peso, Sio said in an interview from Manila. The company will keep building new shopping malls, which include branches of Banco de Oro Unibank Inc., he said.

Remittances from Filipinos working overseas, which account for 10 percent of the economy, increased 15.6 percent in May from a year ago to $1.43 billion. SM's profit grew 13 percent in the first quarter as these inflows, which usually peak in December, helped bolster sales at the company's malls.

The peso lost 7.9 percent against the dollar in the past six months, the worst-performer among the 10 most-active Asian currencies outside of Japan after the Indian rupee, as inflation accelerated to a 14-year high in June. The central bank last week increased its 2008 inflation estimate to a range of 9 percent to 11 percent, which has deterred foreign investors from buying the nation's assets

Remittances

Sio's forecast is more bullish than the median estimate for the currency to reach 44.50 by the fourth quarter, based on 22 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Only four analysts have a more optimistic forecast. The peso was at 44.37 as of 9:59 a.m. in Manila, according to the Bankers Association of the Philippines.

SM Investment raised $350 million two weeks ago for expansion and general expenses by selling five-year dollar bonds at a fixed rate of 6.75 percent. The company is controlled by Sy, the country's second-richest man according to Forbes magazine.

The peso will also rebound as the U.S. currency weakens, said Sio. The U.S. Dollar Index on ICE Futures in New York, which tracks the greenback against the currencies of six U.S. trading partners, has declined 6 percent this year on concern credit-market losses will deepen from the slump in the housing mortgage market. It fell 1.2 percent in the past month.

Philippine policy makers last week increased the benchmark interest rate by more than most economists forecast to quell inflation. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas boosted the rate it pays banks for overnight deposits by the most since 2000 to 5.75 percent on July 17. The rate is 3.75 percentage points higher than that of the U.S., the most since 2005.

``There will be more encouragement to invest in pesos,'' Sio said. The central bank ``bit the bullet with a 50-basis- point increase, instead of a creeping'' gradual rate rise. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.

Inflation

The peso may also gain on prospects sales by overseas investors of local securities will taper off, Sio said. There's been a net outflow of $411 million in foreign portfolio investments this year through June 27, the Philippine central bank said last week. The Philippine Stock Exchange has fallen 34 percent this year.

``The majority of them have already liquidated their investments,'' said Sio, referring to overseas investors. ``Demand for dollars will be reduced.''

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com

Another Fare Increase

July 8, 2008 - MANILA, Philippines -- The National Economic Development Authority has approved the proposed P1 fare increase for public transport, according to Augusto Santos, acting NEDA chief.

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board recommended the increase for jeepneys, taxis, and buses amid the continued rise in oil and food prices.

In a phone interview, LTFRB chairman Thompson Lantion said this would mean that:

• jeepneys nationwide would now be charging P8.50 from P7.50 for the first four kilometers plus P0.25 for the succeeding kilometers;
• ordinary buses in Metro Manila, from P9 to P10 for the first five kilometers plus P0.20 for the succeeding kilometers; and airconditioned buses also in Metro Manila, 20 percent of that being charged by ordinary buses. Reports said this was from P11.50 to P12.50.
• an additional P10 would be added to the fare of taxis nationwide, which won’t be part of the flag down rate.

Lantion added that provincial buses were exempted because they had been granted a provincial increase.

Lantion said the fare increases would take effect either Thursday or Friday this week.

The proposal was approved Tuesday during the NEDA Cabinet board meeting presided over by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net

Philippine News: Sunken Ferry

SAN FERNANDO, Philippines (AFP) — A specialist salvage team Monday began inspecting a sunken passenger ferry in the central Philippines to determine how to remove tonnes of highly toxic pesticide.

The team will try to remove the chemicals, which were illegally carried, before resuming operations to recover hundreds of bodies thought still trapped inside the 24,000-tonne ferry nine days after the disaster.

The ferry is upside-down on a reef, with only part of its hull jutting from the water off the central island of Sibuyan. Carrying 850 passengers and crew, the boat sank in heavy seas after sailing into the eye of a typhoon on June 22.

Only 57 survivors have been found, along with 161 bodies, many of them washed up on nearby islands.

Wetsuit-clad divers circled the upturned bow of the Princess of the Stars at first light on Monday as two tugboats carrying cutting equipment waited nearby, AFP reporters witnessed.

The wreck was ringed by an orange oil containment boom, and the waters have a thin coating of fuel and a pungent smell that stings the eyes and skin.

"We are just laying anchor today before we survey the vessel," Ruben Jeciel, dive supervisor of the team, told AFP before heading out to the ferry.

"We aim to make small holes and get a water sample today. If it tests negative for contamination then we can proceed cutting," Transportation Undersecretary Len Bautista told AFP as she monitored the operation from a tugboat.

Vice President Noli de Castro, who followed from the shore, told reporters a second kind of chemical was also on board "but it's not as dangerous as endosulfan."

If the all-clear is given, the hull will be pried open to remove the container carrying 10 tonnes of the pesticide, whose presence was only revealed days after the disaster.

"If it tests positive, we go to option two -- that is to refloat," Bautista said.

The already slow-moving recovery operation was suspended on Friday after it emerged the vessel was carrying the chemicals, which could threaten marine life and rescue workers if they leaked into the water, officials said.

Philippine coast guard and navy divers, as well as US navy frogmen assisting them, were pulled from the water, amid growing fury among victims' relatives at the delays.

The removal of the containers should be completed by Wednesday, after which the salvage company, hired by the ferry's operators, would also study how to extract fuel on board to prevent an oil spill, the coast guard said.

It was not clear when the grim search for bodies would continue.

The ferry firm, Sulpicio Lines, has had at least three other major accidents since 1987, when its Dona Paz vessel collided with an oil tanker, killing around 4,000 people in the worst peacetime maritime disaster in history.

The government has suspended the company's operations until further notice. A board of inquiry was also conducting hearings on the company's possible liability.

Pacquiao : 4-Time World Boxing Champion

Manny Pacquiao's place among the greats in boxing history might have been secured Saturday night with a well-placed right jab and a solid left hand to the chin of David Diaz.

Before a largely pro-Filipino crowd of 8,362 that wildly cheered their hero's every move at Mandalay Bay Events Center, Pacquiao - now considered boxing's best pound-for-pound champion - won the World Boxing Council lightweight championship by knockout, 2 minutes, 24 seconds into the ninth round of the scheduled 12-round title bout.

The win gives Pacquiao (47-3-2, 35 KOs) his record fourth championship in four weight classes, after previously capturing WBC and IBF belts at flyweight, junior featherweight and super featherweight. He started his career at age 16 fighting at 106 pounds.

Pacquiao, 29, swept every judge's scorecard as well as The Chronicle's, and dominated from the opening bell with his best all-around performance to date, a boxing clinic of jabs, combinations and powerful right hooks and left hands that left Diaz no option but to retaliate, rather than attack.

Pacquiao leveled the bloodied but determined Diaz (34-2-1, 17 KOs) with a short left that was so devastating, the Chicago native landed face-first on the canvas.

"My first concern was for Diaz. I was praying he was all right," said Pacquiao, who opened cuts above his opponent's left ear and the bridge of his nose. But it was a huge gash that appeared above Diaz's right eye in the fourth round that sent blood pouring over his face.

"I tried to help him up," Pacquiao said after sending Diaz to the canvas. With Diaz face down, referee Vic Drakulich indicated the fight was over and Pacquiao climbed onto the corner ropes, prayed and raised his hands in celebration.

Diaz, the likable 4-to-1 underdog who carried the hopes of Chicago with him to Las Vegas, knew he was outclassed.

"It was his speed. It was all his speed. He boxed more than I thought he would box. I could see (despite the cut.) But he was too fast," said Diaz, who had won the lightweight title with a TKO over Jose Armando Santa Cruz in August 2006, then forced Mexican star Erik Morales into retirement in his first title defense a year later.

Both fighters are brawlers, and Diaz had wanted the action to remain in the center of the ring, where he could trade jabs and box.

Going in, there was some concern that Pacquiao - who needed 12 rounds on March 15 to defeat Juan Manuel Marquez by split decision in this same arena - might lose some of his signature speed by moving up in weight.

Not so. Trainer Freddie Roach, who was confident Pacquiao could dominate at his heaviest weight division yet, was thrilled that his pupil stuck to the game plan.

"It was beautiful," Roach said of Pacquiao's performance. "We told him not to stand and trade with this guy because he's too dangerous, but rather, go with your in-and-out boxing - do what you do best.

"We trained to outbox him. Manny did everything we asked."

Pacquiao looked every bit as fast as a lightweight Saturday night.

"I feel much, much stronger, more powerful (at 135 pounds)," he said. " I'm kind of surprised (the fight) wasn't stopped sooner."

"It's hard to fight a southpaw - that's why I was not confident for this fight," added Pacquiao, who called Diaz his toughest opponent. "My game plan was to jab, jab."

Diaz thought his boxing skills would help him score an upset.

"I had seen him on tape and felt I could handle his power," Diaz said. "But he's just too fast. I thought Freddie was in there hitting me, too."

"It was his best performance of his life," Roach said of his fighter. "I'm so proud of Manny's right hand. It's come a long way and is the reason we won tonight."

In the lead fight on the undercard, Humberto Soto (43-7-2, 27 KOs) was disqualified in his bid to capture the vacant super-featherweight world title when referee Joe Cortez ruled he had rabbit-punched Francisco Lorenzo while he was down with less than a minute remaining in the fourth round.

Bleeding profusely from his eye and stunned by a left hand, Lorenzo (33-4, 14 KOs) sunk to the canvas slowly and Soto continued to swing - though replays showed his punches missing.

The bizarre ending drew loud boos from the Mandalay Bay crowd, and the WBC later decided not to award Lorenzo - who finished with blood pouring from his mouth and face - the title vacated by Pacquiao. The sanctioning body called it a draw and ordered a rematch instead, the Associated Press reported late Saturday.

Source: http://www.sfgate.com/

Worst Flood in Iloilo

LOILO CITY—Many residents spent the night on rooftops and desperately cried for help early Sunday as floods spawned by Typhoon “Frank” (international codename: Fengshen) submerged most of Iloilo province and its capital city.

“This is the worst flash flood that the province has experienced,” said Jerry Bionat, executive officer of the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council (PDCC). Almost all of Iloilo’s 42 towns and this city, including those that had not previously experienced flooding, were under water, he said.

Officials said it was the worst flooding experienced in Western Visayas, with the number of fatalities rising to 81. Fifty-two people died in Iloilo province, 15 in Antique, six in Iloilo City, and four each in the provinces of Capiz and Negros Occidental. Still missing were at least 136 others, including 78 in Iloilo and 55 in Antique, according to disaster officials.

The figures were expected to increase as reports trickled in from towns and villages, many of which were still isolated by floodwaters.

The provinces of Iloilo and Capiz and the cities of Iloilo and Roxas are expected to be placed under states of calamity on Monday.

Rescue and relief agencies scrambled to reach the typhoon victims and provide them assistance.

Appeal for help

“We need all the help that we can get,” said Iloilo Mayor Jerry Treñas in a phone interview from Morocco where he is on an official trip. He appealed for donations of ready-to-eat food, potable water and dry clothes.

The mayor said he was cutting short his trip to be able to return immediately to the city.

The City Schools Division of the Department of Education Sunday declared the suspension of classes for at least three days because the schools were being used as evacuation centers. Many students were also among the victims.

Frank’s heavy rains and strong winds battered communities, sweeping houses and toppling trees and electric posts, including transmission lines of the power plant in Dingle town, 42 kilometers north of here.

Water rose so high that officials had to open valves of Dingle’s Moroboro Dam, which supplies irrigation water, to prevent it from overflowing.

Many roads were impassable because of fallen trees and landslides.

Trees and rooftops

Tens of thousands of residents climbed trees and rooftops after waking up on Saturday to floodwaters already inside their homes. While flooding subsided in some areas Sunday, many towns reported continued flooding.

Electricity remained cut off in most parts of Iloilo and Negros Occidental, and in the whole of Capiz, Aklan and Antique. Power restoration could take at least a week in many areas, said Iloilo provincial administrator Manuel Mejorada during a meeting of the PDCC.

Thousands of people were evacuated to gymnasiums in schools from all of Capiz’s 16 municipalities and Roxas City, Gov. Victor Tanco said in a phone interview.

Communication lines were cut off in Capiz and Aklan. Tanco said the typhoon knocked down cell sites, hampering submission of reports and rescue operations.

Most roads were impassable in Capiz, said PDCC action officer Arnold Talabucon.

In Iloilo City, most of the 180 villages were flooded. Trees and giant billboards fell, and cars and other vehicles were swept by rampaging waters, even on major streets. Houses were blown or carried away by winds or floods.

Frantic calls for help swamped rescue and relief agencies and radio stations since Saturday as many residents all over the province and city climbed to rooftops or the second story of their houses when floodwaters reached five feet deep.

Many of the victims, who had been on rooftops since dawn, appealed for rescuers to fetch them with boats.

River confluence

The city and some areas of the neighboring town of Pavia traditionally experience flooding during storms and continuous rains because of their location at the confluence of the Tigum and Aganan rivers, the main tributaries in Iloilo.

But officials were stunned and overwhelmed by the magnitude and extent of the calamity. They were at a loss to explain why areas, which have never experienced flooding before, were submerged in pools of water overnight.

“This is a very sad day for Iloilo. We have never experienced flooding like this before,” said Gov. Niel Tupas Sr. during a meeting Sunday of the PDCC.

According to PDCC’s Bionat, hardest hit were the northern and central towns of Iloilo, including Barotac Viejo, Sara, Maasin, Cabatuan, Pavia and Sta. Barbara.

Rescue personnel and equipment were not enough to reach the number of those needing evacuation.

A family of eight in Barangay Napnapan in Tigbauan town, 24 km north of the city, was swept by waters on Saturday. Their bodies were recovered Sunday, said Mayor James Excel Torres.

Flooded hospital

In Janiuay town, 34 km northwest, patients and staff members of the Janiuay District Hospital swam through the ceiling to escape the waters that rapidly entered the hospital.

One of the 29 patients, Patrocino Defensor, 92, died from heart attack. She was dependent on an oxygen machine that was also destroyed in the flood.

Patients in two other district hospitals were transferred to neighboring hospitals after the flood seriously damaged or destroyed hospital equipment, said Dr. Judy Ann Trompeta-Dumayas, chief of the provincial hospital management service.

“We are overwhelmed. Almost all of our barangays (villages) are under water. We have never experienced this extent of flooding and it pains us to think that we cannot reach and help the victims,” said Mayor Arcadio Gorriceta of Pavia.

Not trained

Sta. Barbara Mayor Isabelo Maquino said that in previous storms, waters reached only ankle-high even if the province was placed under Storm Signal No. 3. “Our people were not trained to handle this kind of calamity,” he said.

Maquino said residents were caught by surprise by how fast the water rose and because it came from in land. “We were monitoring the rise of our rivers and we did not expect that the water will come from the mountains.”

Local government units and agencies did not have enough equipment and personnel to handle distress calls and were not prepared to handle the situation.

In the capital town of San Jose in Antique, 70 families remained trapped as of Sunday in Barangay Dorog, said Zoilo Tubianosa, provincial administrator and acting governor.

Destruction in Boracay

Frank also brought destruction to Boracay Island, the country’s top tourist destination. Boats and billboards were ruined, said resort owner Nenette Graf.

Strong winds and waves rammed the seawall of resorts along the Bolabog Beach at the opposite side of the main white beach.

Air Force helicopters were sent on search and rescue missions, including delivering relief goods to victims in areas not accessible from town centers.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has directed all naval and air assets ready for rescue and relief operations in Western Visayas, according to her regional assistant Raul Banias.

Banias appealed for help from other provinces and international relief and rehabilitation agencies.

Damaged roads and bridges were estimated to reach P500 million, according to the PDCC. Crops worth hundreds of millions of pesos were destroyed by flooding in as much as 70 percent of the farming areas.

Board Member Jett Rojas said the calamity was a “wake-up call” for all, especially officials and agencies. He blamed continued deforestation as the cause of flooding.

Rojas said a portion of the calamity fund should be allocated for reforestation projects and to develop disaster preparedness of local government units.


Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/

Naked Run In the University

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Members of a fraternity at the University of the Philippines held their annual ritual of running naked on campus six months early on Wednesday — by official request — to celebrate the state-run school's centennial anniversary. Hundreds of cheering students lined the main campus avenue, jostling for positions with their digital and cell phone cameras.

The "Oblation Run" — named for the university's iconic symbol of a naked man with outstretched arms that symbolizes his selfless offering of himself to the nation — started in 1977 as a gimmick by the Alpha Phi Omega fraternity to promote the screening of a movie about oppressed plantation workers called "Naked Hero." The film had been banned by the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

Since then, the fraternity has used the stunt to make political statements, from raising AIDS awareness to demanding the resignation of the Philippine president, said Armand Padilla, a fraternity alumnus and organizer of the centennial run.

He said the university's centennial committee requested the fraternity stage the annual nude demonstration as one of the activities to mark the school's 100th foundation year.

The fraternity mustered 100 members and alumni — the largest number of naked runners ever — for the event, he said.

The naked runners, who wore golden masks and wrapped T-shirts around their heads to hide their identities, offered roses to scores of giggling female students who they took their pictures as they jogged about half a mile (1 kilometer) from the student center to the Oblation statue in front of the university's administration building.

A student, who identified herself only as Bang, praised the runners' grit.

"It is not just a show of bodies, but they even carry the principles on the placards they were holding," she said.

Several runners carried placards saying "Serve the People," a rallying call for students of the university, who are called "Scholars of the People" for the state subsidies to their education.

Source: http://ap.google.com/