Bacoleño wins,
keeps world title
AFTER KNOCKING
MEXICAN DOWN 4 TIMES
BY NIDA BUENAFE

Bacoleño Donnie “Ahas” Nietes successfully defended his WBO minimumweight title yesterday, knocking down No. 1 challenger Mexican Erik Ramirez in the first, fifth, ninth, and twelfth round for a convincing unanimous decision victory in Oaxaca, Mexico.

“It was a lopsided fight and the win legitimizes Donnie’s status as a world champion in his category,” Games and Amusement Board commissioner and Negros Amateur Boxing Association president Juan Ramon Guanzon said after receiving a call from ALA Gym’s owner Antonio Aldeguer, who relayed to him the good news.

While it was not a knockout win, Guanzon said the four knockdowns that Nietes scored against Ramirez left the three judges in no doubt of allowing the Filipino champion to keep his title.

The Central Negros Electric Cooperative has not filed any petition for any increase and  will not implement any increase in its distribution charges despite the increase of basic rates granted by the Energy Regulatory Commission to the National Power Corporation recently.

CENECO  director Julius Tamayo said their distribution charges will remain at P1.10 per kilowatt-hour.

On Feb. 16, 2009  the ERC has authorized the National Power to implement a provisional increase in its basic rates by an average of P1.1460 per kilowatt hour for  the Visayas, covering the Feb. 26 to March 29 billing period.

Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero Saturday said that any attempt to curtail press freedom has always been opposed, not only by media but also the people, and history has shown that it will ultimately fail.

“This is not the first attempt to pass a right-of-reply bill in the Senate,” said Escudero, who has taken the lead to oppose the measure sponsored by Sen. Aquilino Pimentel in the Senate and Bacolod Rep. Monico Puentevella in the House.

But Puentevella yesterday said he was confident the right-of-reply bill will be passed into law.