FIRE RAZES PAPER FACTORY, INJURES 3 IN QUEZON CITY

Three persons were injured after a fire razed a paper factory in Libis, Quezon on Thursday evening.
A report from Radyo Inquirer said the fire started at 9:03 p.m. and was raised to Task Force Alpha
minutes after, which means more than 20 firetrucks rushed to the area to put out the blaze.
Among the victims were 26-year-old Jeffrey Santos and a fire volunteer who suffered a first degree
burn.
A three-year-old child also sustained a minor injury on his hands while 56-year-old Rodora Apolinario
passed out upon seeing the fire.
The report said no employee of the factory was hurt in the fire incident.
However, ashfall were reported in nearby areas on Friday morning due to the fire.
Ashfall were reported in parts of Quezon City, Pasig City, Makati City, San Juan City, Mandaluyong City
and Nagtahan area in Manila.
5 DEAD IN NUEVA ROAD ACCIDENT
ALIAGA, Nueva Ecija Five people were killed while their driver was hurt when their pickup truck
rammed a tree along the Aliaga-Quezon Road in Barangay La Purisima here on Monday morning, police said.
Senior Supt. Manuel Cornel, Nueva Ecija police director, said the pickup trucks passengers John
Bryan Lopez, 25; Marvin Jimenez, 24; Joel Calderon, 21; Estelito Mendoza, 20; and Sherwin Almazar, 20, died
while being rushed to a rural health facility in this town following the accident at 1:15 a.m.
The driver, Romeo Almazar, 25, was injured and taken to the Paulino J. Garcia Memorial Research and
Medical Center in Cabanatuan City.
Cornel said Almazar lost control of the wheel when the group reached a curve along the Aliaga-Quezon
Road, causing their pickup to hit a tree.
2 DEAD IN BLACK SATURDAY ACCIDENT IN TARLAC
DAGUPAN CITY Two persons died while four others were hurt when a car crashed into a
passenger bus in Tarlac City on Black Saturday, police said on Sunday.
Senior Police Officer 1 Daniel Baaga, Tarlac City police investigator, identified the fatalities as
Joanna Salvador, 21, and Jomar Pacuan, 11.
Injured were Dan Jodzon, 23, Krishaine Pacuan, 11, Diane Pacuan, 27, and another passenger
known only as Tin.
Baaga said the collision happened along the Tarlac-Sta. Rosa Road in Barangay (village)
Maliwalo in Tarlac City at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday.
The victims, who came from the Minor Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag in
Manaoag town in Pangasinan province, were on board a Hyundai Accent sedan and were on their way to the
Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway exit in Tarlac City that would take them home to Caloocan City.
Baaga said the car, which was driven by Jodzon, encroached on the opposite lane, crashing
into a Baliwag Transit bus bound for Tarlac City.
Salvador and Jomar Pacuan died while being taken to a hospital in Tarlac City.
'LAGLAG BALA' VICTIMIZING PASSENGERS IN NAIA

MANILA - A first time tourist was detained for five days by airport police at the Ninoy Aquino
International Airport Terminal 1 for allegedly concealing a bullet in his checked-in baggage.
Lane Michael White, 20, was travelling to Palawan with his father and stepmother when they were
stopped at the X-ray scanner area of NAIA Terminal 4.
White said a security guard pulled out a .22 caliber bullet from the pocket of his luggage after
repeatedly scanning it on the X-ray machine.
He denied that the bullet belonged to him. He told the security personnel he was not aware how it got
inside the luggage.
During their conversation, White alleged that a male security personnel told him that his problem will be
settled for P30,000.
White said he refused to settle with the NAIA personnel and instead insisted that he is innocent.
''God endured the pain when he was being whipped at the cross and if I need to be detained just to
prove my innocence so be it," said White, who belongs to a missionary group.
White is the second person to make such allegations against airport personnel.
Last week, two bullets were mysteriously found at the luggage of a balikbayan, according to a post on
Facebook which has been shared for nearly 70,000 times already.
The wheelchair-bound balikbayan said she paid P500 to the airport security personnel to allow her to
depart the country.
The Office of the Transport Security, the agency that handles airport X-ray scanner operators, ordered
the suspension of the involved personnel pending investigation into the complaint.
The OTS has yet to issue a statement on White's complaint.
White said he already hired a lawyer to answer the charges against him. He is contemplating on
pressing civil and criminal charges against the people who attempted to extort money from him.
Airport sources disclosed that the so-called ''Laglag Bala'' gang was already disbanded by previous airport
managements.

SENATE URGED TO PROBE 'TANIM-BALA' SCAM IN NAIA

Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto is calling for an investigation into alleged extortion
activities at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), including the reported "tanim-bala" (bullet planting)
scam.
In Senate Resolution 1594, Recto said extortion schemes "undermine the efforts made by the
Philippine government in curbing corruption and in maximizing the Philippines potential for business and
tourism."
He cited the cases of a Filipino balikbayan and an American missionary who recently became victims of
the "tanim-bala" scheme, which allegedly involves airport personnel planting bullets in unsuspecting
passengers' luggage so that they could extort money from them.

Past and recent reports of extortion allegedly committed by airport personnel damage NAIAs
reputation, giving an impression that the facility is gradually becoming a major extortion hub of the country,
Recto wrote in his resolution.
Aside from the tanim-bala scam, Recto also mentioned cases of extortion that victimized an official
from the Wild Bird Photographers of the Philippines and overseas Filipino workers leaving for the United Arab
Emirates.
Recto noted that the airport has been earning billions of pesos from toll and terminal fees, landing and
parking fees, rent, and other business and service income sources.
But he added: The thriving aviation industry in NAIA has provided opportunities for unscrupulous
individuals to carry out patently criminal acts.
MMDA PREPARES LANES ON EDSA
MANILA, Philippines - With the countrys hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
leaders summit only days away, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is busy preparing the
special lanes to be used by APEC delegates and the attending heads of state.
The APEC leaders summit will be hosted by the Philippines on November 17 to 20.
As part of the preparations, the MMDA will be installing plastic barriers that would segregate the two
inner lanes of EDSA from the Mall of Asia (MOA) area to Shaw Boulevard in Mandaluyong as APEC lanes.

We are conducting simulations sa mga ruta po natin and if you notice, dito sa EDSA, nandyan na
yung mga plastic barriers that will be used for the APEC lanes. Now, sa tulong po nga ng APEC National
Organizing Committee and Committee on Peace and Order and Emergency Preparedness which the MMDA is
a member, we are ready for the APEC, said MMDA chairman Emerson Carlos.
Carlos also reminded motorists that the stretch of Roxas Boulevard from Manila Hotel to the Airport
Road in Pasay City would be closed to traffic on both directions from November 16 to 20.
Carlos admitted that there would still be traffic-related problems during the APEC meet even though
government has ordered the suspension of school and work in government offices during the APEC summit.
Traffic will still be a concern kahit walang pasok yung mga students at walang government work from
November 16 to November 20 because the private sector is still there. May mga companies siguro na
voluntarily mag-close shop from November 17 to November 20. Meron din naman sigurong mga empleyado na
talagang theyll take the whole week off for a much needed vacation, Carlos said.
Meanwhile, Carlos also advised motorists on EDSA that the southbound portion of the highway from
Shaw Boulevard in Mandaluyong City to the MOA area in Pasay City would be closed to traffic for as long as
30 minutes whenever an APEC head of state would be passing through.
Although the MMDA had earlier designated the two inner lanes of EDSA in both the northbound and
southbound directions as APEC lanes or only for the exclusive use of APEC delegates, it said that for security
considerations, the southbound stretch of EDSA from Shaw Boulevard to MOA will need to be closed to
general traffic if an APEC head of state would be passing.
The two inner lanes of EDSA will be closed. Ito yung APEC lanes natin. Pero like we have been
discussing on and off, talagang magkakaroon talaga ng closure ang EDSA kapag dumaan ang heads of state.
It would be from that portion of Shaw Boulevard all the way to MOA, the southern portion of EDSA, said
Carlos.

According to Cabinet Secretary and Metro traffic czar Jose Rene Almendras, the closure of the
concerned portion of EDSA will not be scheduled for security reasons as he apologized to motorist for the
inconvenience it would cause.
They (APEC heads of state) have their own protocols. They are used to a certain amount of security
and leniency and flexibility. Thereby that protocol is something we have to give to them when they come here
so. I have been saying to media in all of my interviews, we have our APEC lanes to be used by delegates
along EDSA but when a very important person is passing through, there will be absolute closures. So there will
be periods wherein there will be no vehicles will be allowed to move from Shaw Boulevard southbound for
about 30 minutes. We do not know when will that happen, I am sorry di po namin ma pe-predict yun, said
Almendras.
Almendras however said that the closure of the portion of EDSA from Shaw Boulevard to MOA
southbound will not happen often during the APEC meet as only one head of state would be using that route.
Almendras did not identify the APEC head of state.
Now the good news is the frequency of the closure will not be going to be heavy from Shaw Boulevard
because we only have one delegation that will be travelling that route. Now from Makati galing dun sa Makati
going to the APEC zone (Philippine International Convention Center and MOA), there will be a lot more
because you have more people, more heads of states staying in Makati, he said.
I am appealing to all the motorists, all the people. We are hosting a very big event. So many important
people that we need to make sure are going to be safe and can move around normally in a way they are able
to move, so we really like to appeal, if you dont really have to do anything absolutely urgent in these areas,
then wag na lang po, he said.
Meanwhile, the MMDA said most of the EDSA closures would happen on November 17 when majority
of the APEC delegates are expected to arrive for the summit.
The bulk of the delegations will be arriving on the 17th. Meaning marami tayong sasalubungin sa
airport at dadalin sa mga hotel nila and these movements are absolute closures meaning isasara talaga yung
daan para makagalaw itong mga ito, said Almendras.
Almendras again appealed for the understanding of motorists and commuters for the closure of EDSA
and some major roads during the APEC meeting.
It is not about avoiding traffic. It is not about that. These are not ordinary people therefore we need to
afford them the flexibility that they are used to when it comes to movements.
We are not trying to show the world na wala kaming traffic sa Manila, he said.

PHILIPPINES 97% READY FOR APEC

"I think we are 95 to 97 percent ready for APEC. We are just fine-tuning some of the details," NOC
Director General Ambassador Marciano Paynor Jr. said in a press briefing.
Paynor said the security of the leaders has been the greatest challenge in hosting the APEC Economic
Leaders' Meeting this year.
A total of 19 heads of state, including President Benigno Aquino III, and two leaders of economies will
attend the summit in Manila from November 18 to 19.
The Presidential Security Group will take charge in securing the world leaders who will be attending the
APEC summit in the country. Over 7,000 delegates are expected to attend the event.
Paynor noted that the nature of world security has changed since the "9/11" terrorist attack in the
United States back in 2001.

The normal police force of the National Capital Region have been stretched for the upcoming meeting
of world leaders in the country, Paynor said.
"We brought in augmentations from other regions," the ambassador said.
Paynor assured that Aquino is "on top of everything" and directed the organizing council to ensure that
the country's hosting will be a success from all points of view.
Malacaang earlier said that the president wants a flawless and seamless APEC summit next week.