MANILA, Philippines (2nd UPDATE) – Actor-comedian Redford White passed away Sunday morning at his home in Caloocan City after losing his battle with cancer.

According to a certain Edwin Ringo of Barangay 177 in Maligaya Park Subdivision, Novaliches, White, who died at 6:47 a.m., had a brain tumor.

“Ayon sa ating tanod, namatay [siya] dahil sa sakit sa tumor sa utak,” Ringo told radio dzMM.

Singer-composer Jim Paredes, a close friend of the comedian, said White had been sick since February.

“I saw him yesterday (Saturday) to bring him Tita Cory's rosary given to her by Sr. Lucia of Fatima. We hugged the last time, exchanged 'love you, 'pre', had one good laugh, a few tears and an 'ingat 'pre' before I turned around and left his room,” Paredes said.

Born Cipriano Cermeno, the comedian, 54, was last seen on television in the ABS-CBN primetime programs “Kokey” (2007) and “Palos” (2008).

He was last seen on the silver screen in the 2008 Metro Manila Film Festival entry “Iskul Bukol: 20 Years After (The Ungasis and Escaleras Adventure).”

Incidentally, his first television appearance in 1977 was in the “Iskul Bukol” television series.

He was also known as “Sol” in the comedy program “Buddy en Sol” where he starred alongside Eric Quizon. Their successful TV tandem also headlined the movies “Buddy en Sol (Sine ito)” and “Buddy en Sol: Praybeyt depektibs.”

The comedian also starred in various films such as “Tar-San,” “Ala eh... Con Bisoy! Hale-hale-hoy!: Laging panalo ang mga unggoy,” “Haba-baba-doo! Puti-puti-poo!” and “I Do, I Die (Diyos ko Day).”

His earlier films include “Hee-Man: Master of None,” “Billy the Kid and the Sunshine Gid,” “Wrong Rangers,” “Rambo Tan-go,” “Darakula,” and “Tartan.”

Writer Woodrow Serafin said his body will lie in state at 139 Sto. Niño de Maligaya Shrine, Maligaya Subdivision, Novaliches.

‘Honest and good man’

In a text message to ABS-CBN News, Quizon described White as “a good friend, a wonderful father, a loving husband and a faithful son of God.”

“Today is one of the saddest days of my life. A truly honest and good man has passed away. Red was my partner. My sol. We were One. I was the body, he was the soul. I was the vessel, he was the spirit,” he said, adding:

“He was a man who believed in the craft and valued his work. He was a professional and dedicated actor that everybody admired…. He is now one with his creator. We love you Red. We will miss you.”

Quizon, along with Leo Martinez, visited White at his home last Tuesday before he was brought to a Quezon City hospital.

Paredes, on the other hand, said the actor-comedian had taught him many things including “simplicity, generosity, kindness, lightness of spirit, good humor, pure friendship and love.”

“Bahala ka na sa akin sa taas. My tears are welling as I write this. It's been a great wonderful life you have led. I will see you again. I know that. Ingat, p're!” he said.

When President Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" Aquino III draws his first salary as President this month, he will be getting nearly 65 percent more than what his predecessor received when she was still in power.

President Aquino’s monthly salary is pegged at P95,000/month – quite a jump from P57,750/month, which was former President and now Pampanga 2nd District Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s last salary as the country’s chief executive.

In a way, PNoy has former President Arroyo to thank for his bigger pay. It was the latter who, just days before her term ended, signed Executive Order No. 900 implementing an increase in the basic pay in all government salary grades, including the President’s.

The President’s salary is equivalent to Salary Grade 33 (SG 33) – the salary grade exclusively assigned to the highest position in the Philippine government as per the Compensation and Position Classification Act of 1989 (Republic Act 6758).

Despite the raise, the President’s salary remains a paltry sum compared to the compensation of top-level executives in private firms who can earn several times more.

A check of the annual report of the publicly-listed Ayala Corporation shows that its highest-ranked officers take home salaries averaging P1.3 million a month, excluding allowances.

According to the Finance Office of the Office of the President, the chief executive’s salary is also subject to mandatory deductions such as withholding tax, Philhealth, Pagibig, and GSIS life and retirement insurance premiums.

EO 900 was the last of a string of issuances on compensation adjustments signed by Arroyo during her term (see table). But being the incumbent President at the time they were ordered, the pay hikes did not apply to her – only to her successor, in this case President Aquino.

The 1987 Constitution explicitly states that when it comes to the President’s salary, “no increase in said compensation shall take effect until after the expiration of the term of the incumbent during which such increase was approved."

The first of Arroyo’s pay hike orders came five months after EDSA II installed her to the Presidency. Executive Order No. 22, signed in June 2001, granted a five percent increase on basic monthly salaries of government personnel. SG 33 as per this salary schedule was pegged at P57,750/month. Arroyo adopted this figure as her monthly salary when she won a full six-year term in 2004.

In March 2007, Arroyo approved Executive Order No. 611 further increasing the basic monthly salaries of government workers by 10 percent. Under this issuance, SG 33 increased to P63,525/month.



Another 10% increase came the following year through Executive Order No. 719. This brought up SG 33 to P69,878/month.

Last year, Congress passed the Salary Standardization Law III (SSL III) authorizing the President to carry out salary adjustments for government personnel in four yearly tranches.

The first tranche took effect in July 2009 by virtue of then President Arroyo’s Executive Order No. 811. SG 33 under this issuance is equal to P82,400/month.

EO 900, the basis of PNoy’s salary, prescribes the second tranche.

The third and fourth tranches fall within PNoy’s term. By the time the last installment is carried out, SG 33 will be equivalent to P120,000/month. – HS, GMANews.TV

MARRIAGE

When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her hand and said, I've got something to tell you. She sat down and ate quietly. Again I observed the hurt in her eyes.

Suddenly I didn't know how to open my mouth. But I had to let her know what I was thinking. I want a divorce.. I raised the topic calmly.

She didn't seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me softly, why?

I avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw away the chopsticks and shouted at me, you are not a man! That night, we didn't talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find out what had happened to our marriage. But I could hardly give her a satisfactory answer; she had lost my heart to Dew. I didn't love her anymore. I just pitied her!

With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement which stated that she could own our house, our car, and 30% stake of my company.

She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. The woman who had spent ten years of her life with me had become a stranger. I felt sorry for her wasted time, resources and energy but I could not take back what I had said for I loved Dew so dearly. Finally she cried loudly in front of me, which was what I had expected to see. To me her cry was actually a kind of release. The idea of divorce which had obsessed me for several weeks seemed to be firmer and clearer now.

The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing something at the table. I didn't have supper but went straight to sleep and fell asleep very fast because I was tired after an eventful day with Dew.

When I woke up, she was still there at the table writing. I just did not care so I turned over and was asleep again.

In the morning she presented her divorce conditions: she didn't want anything from me, but needed a month's notice before the divorce.
She requested that in that one month we both struggle to live as normal a life as possible. Her reasons were simple: our son had his exams in a month's time and she didn't want to disrupt him with our broken marriage.

This was agreeable to me. But she had something more, she asked me to recall how I had carried her into out bridal room on our wedding day.

She requested that everyday for the month's duration I carry her out of our bedroom to the front door ever morning.. I thought she was going crazy. Just to make our last days together bearable I accepted her odd request.

I told Dew about my wife's divorce conditions.. . She laughed loudly and thought it was absurd. No matter what tricks she applies, she has to face the divorce, she said scornfully..

My wife and I hadn't had any body contact since my divorce intention was explicitly expressed. So when I carried her out on the first day, we both appeared clumsy. Our son clapped behind us, daddy is holding mummy in his arms. His words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to the sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her in my arms. She closed her eyes and said softly; don't tell our son about the divorce. I nodded, feeling somewhat upset. I put her down outside the door. She went to wait for the bus to work. I drove alone to the office.

On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on my chest. I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that I hadn't looked at this woman carefully for a long time.. I realized she was not young any more. There were fine wrinkles on her face, her hair was graying! Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a minute I wondered what I had done to her.

On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt a sense of intimacy returning. This was the woman who had given ten years of her life to me.

On the fifth and sixth day, I realized that our sense of intimacy was growing again. I didn't tell Dew about this. It became easier to carry her as the month slipped by. Perhaps the everyday workout made me stronger.

She was choosing what to wear one morning. She tried on quite a few dresses but could not find a suitable one. Then she sighed, all my dresses have grown bigger. I suddenly realized that she had grown so thin, that was the reason why I could carry her more easily.

Suddenly it hit me... she had buried so much pain and bitterness in her heart. Subconsciously I reached out and touched her head.

Our son came in at the moment and said, Dad, it's time to carry mum out. To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had become an essential part of his life. My wife gestured to our son to come closer and hugged him tightly. I turned my face away because I was afraid I might change my mind at this last minute. I then held her in my arms, walking from the bedroom, through the sitting room, to the hallway. Her hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held her body tightly; it was just like our wedding day.

But her much lighter weight made me sad. On the last day, when I held her in my arms I could hardly move a step. Our son had gone to school. I held her tightly and said, I hadn't noticed that our life lacked intimacy.

I drove to office.... jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door. I was afraid any delay would make me change my mind...I walked upstairs. Dew opened the door and I said to her, Sorry, Dew, I do not want the divorce anymore.

She looked at me, astonished, and then touched my forehead.. Do you have a fever? She said. I moved her hand off my head. Sorry, Dew, I said, I won't divorce. My marriage life was boring probably because she and I didn't value the details of our lives, not because we didn't love each other any more. Now I realize that since I carried her into my home on our wedding day I am supposed to hold her until death do us apart.

Dew seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then slammed the door and burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove away.

At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet of flowers for my wife. The salesgirl asked me what to write on the card. I smiled and wrote, I'll carry you out every morning until death do us apart.

That evening I arrived home, flowers in my hands, a smile on my face, I run up stairs, only to find my wife in the bed - dead.

The small details of your lives are what really matter in a relationship. It is not the mansion, the car, property, the money in the bank. These create an environment conducive for happiness but cannot give happiness in themselves. So find time to be your spouse's friend and do those little things for each other that build intimacy. Do have a real happy marriage!

If you don't share this, nothing will happen to you.

If you do, you just might save a marriage.

FIFTEEN passengers were killed on the spot as the bus they were riding rammed into a concrete fence near a school in Landing, Toledo City yesterday afternoon.

At least 49 injured passengers were brought to the Toledo City District Hospital. Among the survivors was an unidentified boy, about one year old, whose parents died in the crash.

“Wa na may brake. Wa na ko’y kapaingnan. Paglusad na, nakabantay ko wa na’y brake (We lost the brake. I had no choice. While going downhill, I noticed the brake wasn’t working anymore),” said Diosdado Requiso, 48, who has been driving the bus for over a year.

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Bus operator Corominas Bros. said it is double-checking all its units “to ensure the safety of the riding public, most of whom we’ve known and served well for more than three decades.”

In a statement, it said it will wait for the official findings of investigators and will take responsibility for the casualties and injuries.

Hours before the accident, parishioners put up a decorated arch at the site, near the Uncrona chapel and the Don Andres Soriano National High School, in preparation for a fiesta. The bus crushed the arch, as well as the gate of a house. Among those killed on the spot was a two-year-old child.

The bus was going downhill when it lost its brakes. It fell on its right side after hitting the gate, which caused many passengers on the right side to be crushed. Some were thrown off.

Wall

The accident happened two weeks before the barangay fiesta and less than two kilometers from where a trailer truck crashed and killed four people on the eve of another fiesta last June 21.

The front and right side of the V&JA bus (GVG-145) were destroyed when it hit the wall around 5:45 p.m.

The bus left the Cebu City South Bus Terminal for Tuburan at 4 p.m.

All of the casualties were brought to St. Francis Funeral Homes in Poblacion, Toledo City. Among those identified were Alfredo Pasillos, 55, of Barangay Bato, Toledo City; Flordeliz Benting, 37, of Barangay Colonia, Tuburan; her son Cyril Benting, 10, and adopted son Sian Vincent Bazarte, 15; and Maximo Agsoy, 55.

Witness Laurencia Silgas, 31, was on her way to a store to buy noodles for dinner, when the bus nearly sideswiped her.

She said the bus moved fast, but zigzagged.

Requiso, a driver for 12 years, said in a radio dySS interview he was frightened that more people were ahead, so he opted to let the bus hit the wall, to stop it.

Full

The bus can seat 53 passengers, but there were more than 60 at the time of the accident, as people were rushing home for the weekend. Most of the passengers lived in Balamban, Tuburan and Asturias.

He said it was his first accident. He always made sure the engine and brakes were okay, and he found nothing wrong before yesterday’s trip.

“Nasubo gyod ko sa akong kaugalingon (I’m devastated),” he said.

Now detained at the Toledo City Police Station, he will most likely face a charge of reckless imprudence resulting to multiple homicide.

Requiso survived with nothing but minor wounds on his legs. He was wearing a seatbelt. A motorcycle driver drove him to the nearest police sub-station.

The Land Transportation Office (LTO), according to a radio dyAB report, suspended the operation of the Corominas Bros. buses, which will be tested for roadworthiness. Their bus drivers will have to undergo a seminar.

PO3 Julius Sanchez of Traffic Division said the site is accident-prone.

There is a sign telling drivers to slow down, near the elementary and high schools at the foot of the slope.

Uncroan chapel president Ringo Starr Acuman said that before the ambulance and policemen came, he and some neighbors helped some 30 passengers get out of the wrecked bus.

Among those they found was a boy, about one year old, who is now with the Toledo City police.

Hurt

The 49 injured passengers that were brought to the Toledo District Hospital were identified as Edilberto Alferez, Elemar Jurado, Evelyn Belio, Francisco de la Cruz, Julemar Andevor, Fe Tundag, Ronald Atillo, Concepcion Omandac, Rolando Dolina, Bernando Enario, Felipe Enting, Criselda Narvasa, Antonio Plameran, Rolando Edima, Alan Resgonia, Beranardo Baliguat III, Mildred Curay, Roger Molde, Neron Undalok, Willie Baselis, Hermeniano Benita, Rogelio Caro Jr., Pobito Permacio Jr., Alfredo Paselos, Maurecio Repdos, Abel Paisano, Estrella Ababon, Juan Gargar, Berlito Rebalde, Cerinaico Salondait, Triffon Jay Villamor,  Alquin Baring, Jerry Waskin, Leizalda Ababon, Antonio De Gracia Jr., Emelito Ortega, Antonio Tugbong, Luzviminda Tugbong, Luciano Buro, Gomer Galriate, Jerry Romero, Neil Benting, Roger Dakay, Pitra Dakay, Joneveb Cases, Roy Bangkok, Bonifacio Mangara, Juanito Batolan and Herminiano Guinita.

Car A/C (Air Conditioning) MUST READ!!!
Please do NOT turn on A/C as soon as you enter the car.

This info came from my friend that works for a Chemical company in the research department..

Warning on Car Airconditioning

No wonder more folks are dying from cancer than ever before. We wonder where this stuff comes from but here is an example that explains a lot of the cancer causing incidents. Many people are in their cars first thing in the morning and the last thing at night, 7 days a week. As I read this, it makes me feel guilty and ill. Please pass this on to as many people as possible. Guess it’s not too late to make some changes

Car A/C (Air Conditioning) MUST READ!!!
Please do NOT turn on A/C as soon as you enter the car.

Open the windows after you enter your car and turn ON the AC after a couple of minutes.

Here’s why:

According to a research, the dashboard, sofa and air freshener emit Benzene, a cancer-causing toxin (carcinogen – take time to observe the smell of heated plastic in your car).

In addition to causing cancer, Benzene poisons your bones, causes anemia and reduces white blood cells.

Prolonged exposure will cause Leukemia, increasing the risk of cancer.

Can also cause miscarriage. .

Acceptable Benzene level indoors is 50 mg per sq. ft. A car parked indoors with windows closed will contain 400-800 mg of Benzene.

If parked outdoors under the sun at a temperature above 60 degrees F, the Benzene level goes up to 2000-4000 mg, 40 times the acceptable level.

People who get into the car, keeping windows closed will inevitably inhale, in quick succession, excessive amounts of the toxin.

Benzene is a toxin that affects your kidney and liver. What’s worse, it is extremely difficult for your body to expel this toxic stuff.

So friends, please open the windows and doors of your car and give time for the deadly interior air to clear out before you enter.

Thought:

‘When someone shares something of value with you and you benefit from it, you have a moral obligation to share it with others.’