MALOLOS CITY, Bulacan — Governor Wilhelmino M. Sy-Alvarado has awarded 89 dedicated employees of the Provincial Government of Bulacan (PGB) during the Gawad Pagpapahalaga sa Matapat na Paglilingkod held at the Capitol Gym the other day. Out of the 89 loyal awardees, 25 employees have completed at least 20 years of continuous service in the capitol, 27 awardees in a span of 30 years, three were recognized for 40 years in service; 32 are retirees and two posthumous awardees. Prior to this, the capitol employees have already received their additional P20,000 bonus for their performance evaluation sheet (PES) incentive. (Freddie C. Velez)

CAVITE HAS 1.7 MILLION VOTERS

TRECE MARTIRES CITY, Cavite — The total number of qualified voters in Cavite is 1,789,438, making the province the No. 1 virtual vote-populous in Region IV-A or the Calabarzon (Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon) area and the country’s No. 2 after Cebu. Thus, declared Lawyer Juanito V. Ravanzo Jr., Cavite Commission on Elections (Comelec) supervisor, as he confirmed the official total number of voters in his turf for the 2013 mid-term elections. Cebu, Cavite and Pangasinan reigned as the top three provinces with the biggest voting population in the country in the last three elections years, said Ravanzo, basing national Comelec records. (Anthony Giron)

BATAAN AID

BALANGA CITY, Bataan — To help the severely typhoon-affected victims in New Bataan, Compostela Valley, Governor Enrique “Tet” Garcia sent yesterday P2.5 million as cash donation of the province. Recovering from a stroke last year, Garcia said that the amount could somehow help the lamentable situation of the victims of typhoon Pablo in New Bataan and other affected areas. Figures from the National Risk Reduction and Management Council put the death toll past 1,000 while a total of 841 were still missing in the worst calamity that hit Mindanao in recent years. (Mar T. Supnad)

300 NEEDY KIDS GIVEN TREATS

ANGONO, Rizal — More than 300 children from poor families of this town known as the Art Capital of the Country received Christmas treats and entertainment from a foundation recently. This came as the Orange Foundation, distributed goodies to some 300 kids during its “Pamaskong Handog” held recently at Angono Elementary School. Other groups and volunteers including the CCF Singles and KKK Volunteers assisted Mayor Gerardo Calderon and the officials of the Orange Foundation in handing out their Christmas treats to the kids following an entertainment number provided by Jollibee. (Nel B. Andrade)

SM DISTINCTION

BATANGAS CITY/CALAMBA CITY — SM City Lipa won first place in the search for “The Most PWD Friendly Establishment in the Province of Batangas.”  The award was given to SM City Lipa during the celebration of the Volunteer Workers Day at the Provincial Sports Complex last Monday. Provincial social worker officer Grena Perez said the criteria for judging the said search are Budgeting, Programs and Services, PWD employment, signages, and physical building accessibility requirements. Meanwhile, SM City Calamba will hold a special event called “Handog ng SM Para sa OFWs” on December 21 at 3 p.m. for all members of SM Global Pinoy and Banco De Oro (BDO) Asenso Kabayan. SM City Information Officer Ems Mabasa said the event is the biggest and merriest gathering that the company has prepared for the country’s modern heroes and their families. (Ferdinand F. Castro)