TACLOBAN CITY – The newly elected Congressman Sergio Apostol (2nd District, Leyte) said he will prioritize infrastructure projects for his district. Apostol told media here that his term of office will focus on construction of needed infrastructure projects for the benefit of his constituents. He said most likely, he will use 80 percent of his pork barrel for such projects. He said his decision to give set aside more funds on infrastructure projects is because his district needs additional roads. Apostol said his district needs roads because its main livelihood is basically agriculture and roads are needed to transport agricultural products to the market. The solon clarified however that prioritizing infrastructure does not mean that other projects designed to improve living conditions in his districts will be sacrificed. (Restituto A. Cayubit)

FIRST IMAX THEATER IN CEBU OPENS

CEBU CITY – The movie goers in Cebu will have something in common with Metro Manila with the recent opening of the first IMAX theater introduced by mall giant SM City Cebu here. “The market for movie goers in Cebu has become more sophisticated in taste. They are now adapting to new digital technologies. We are confident that the SM IMAX theater here will be a big hit,” said Allan Florendo, SM Cinema Assistant Vice President for Sales and Marketing. The theater’s grand opening in Cebu, to be marked with the showing of the movie, “Avatar,” will be on July 9. The movie will run for a week. IMAX is one of the world’s leading digital entertainment and technology companies. Its theaters deliver cinematic presentations using proprietary technology displaying crystal-clear images on large screens. In early 2008, SM Prime Holdings signed a deal with IMAX Corp. for the opening of additional IMAX theaters, following the success of the country’s first IMAX theater in SM Mall of Asia (MOA).

OFW SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION ON

ILOILO CITY - The regional office of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) is still accepting applications for its Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) Dependent Scholarship Program for school year 2010-2011. OWWA 6 Overseas Workers Welfare Officer III Noel Chavez said a total of 72 slots or 12 scholars for each of the six provinces in the region are allotted for Western Visayas under the program. Launched this year, the OFWDSP is part of the agency’s continuing thrust to expand its educational scholarship program so as to make it more accessible to poor but deserving dependents of overseas Filipino workers. Chavez said the OFWDSP is open to dependents of OFWs receiving not more than $400 monthly salary. Qualified OFW dependents are those who are single and not more than 21 years old, at the time of the application; high school graduate or about to graduate from high school, or already enrolled in college; physically, mentally and morally fit; and must pass the qualifying or entrance examination conducted by an OWWA-partner state college/university or any CHED recognized and accredited educational institution.