DUTERTE DECLARES STATE OF CALAMITY IN CALABARZON DUE TO TAAL ERUPTIONMANILA- President Rodrigo Duterte has placed the entire Southern Tagalogregion or Calabarzon under a state of calamity due to the risk posed by TaalVolcano, which erupted last month.Duterte, through Proclamation No. 906, signed on Feb. 21 but made publiconly Thursday, said the declaration would hasten relief and rehabilitationefforts in areas affected by the eruption.The state of calamity covers the provinces of Cavite, Laguna, Batangas,Rizal, and Quezon.With the declaration of a state of calamity, an automatic price freeze onbasic goods takes effect as provided under the Price Act.“This declaration, will, among others, afford the National Government, aswell as local government units, ample latitude to utilize appropriate fundsfor the rescue, recovery, relief, and rehabilitation of, and to continue toprovide basic services for affected populations, in accordance with thelaw,” the President said in his written proclamation.The state of calamity will remain in effect for 1 year or unless thePresident lifts it sooner according to the written proclamation.The alert level on Taal Volcano remains in level 2 reflecting "decreasedunrest" since it belched hot steam and gray ash on Jan. 12 and 13,displacing tens of thousands of residents.Set in the center of a lake 60 kilometers south of the capital, Taal leftsome P3.4 billion worth of damage in agriculture and infrastructurefollowing its eruption, said the disaster agency.On early Thursday, state seismologists reported Taal’s moderate steamingcaused by rising magma under the volcano.DTI TAGS RETAIL PRICE VIOLATORSMANILA — The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) yesterday remindedretailers to comply with the suggested retail prices (SRP) for agricultureproducts in Metro Manila as some vendors were found selling at higherprices.In a statement, the DTI said it conducted a joint price-monitoring activitywith the Department of Agriculture (DA), Department of the Interior andLocal Government (DILG) and the Quezon City local government at Mega Q Martand found some vendors selling agriculture products beyond the SRP.As such, letters of inquiry were issued to two market vendors of chicken foroverpricing and to one sugar vendor for the lack of price tags or signage.These vendors have 48 hours to respond to the letters.Should they fail to explain why they are selling at higher prices, thevendors would have to pay penalties ranging from P5,000 to P1 million asprovided under the Price Act.PNP HITS ARTISTS’ GROUP OVER DIGITAL GRAFFITIMANILA — The Philippine National Police (PNP) yesterday deplored theConcerned Artists of the Philippines (CAP) for “digital graffiti” itdisplayed on the walls of Camp Crame on the eve of the 34th anniversary ofthe EDSA People Power Revolution on Monday.PNP spokesman Brig. Gen. Bernard Banac said the image posted on the walls ofthe country’s main police camp, a national historical site of the bloodlessrevolution, was an “expressive attack” made by the artists’ group on theirinstitution.“Although the vandals did not leave any visible mark, the fact that theattack targeted a national historical site on the same day that the countrycommemorates the anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution makes ittotally deplorable,” he said in a statement.By using projectors, the CAP posted digital image of a wanted poster ofPresident Duterte. In a statement on Facebook, the artists’ group said thedigital graffiti is their way of denouncing the various human rights abusesbeing committed under the current administration.A REMINDER FROM POPE FRANCISPope Francis leads the Ash Wednesday mass which opens Lent, the forty-dayperiod of abstinence and deprivation for Christians before Holy Week andEaster, on Wednesday, at the Santa Sabina church in Rome. Pope Francisreminded the Catholic Faithful to spend time reading the word of God anddisconnect from their cellphones and avoid verbal violence online.MATTEO GUIDICELLI BREAKS SILENCE ON WEDDING WITH SARAH GERONIMOMANILA -- Actor Matteo Guidicelli on Wednesday broke his silence on hiscontroversial wedding with pop star Sarah Geronimo.In an Instagram post, Guidicelli thanked everyone who showed their love andsupport as he shared some details of their Christian wedding on February 20."First and foremost, We would like to express the overwhelming joy, love andexcitement we have in beginning our life together. We decided to keepeverything as intimate as possible because of private matters. Each andeveryone of you have been part of our love journey and we want to say, thankyou. Friends, family and everyone on 'social media' have been a source ofinspiration, strength, and most importantly, of love," Guidicelli said.Guidicelli again stressed that he never punched anyone -- contradicting thestory of Jerry Tamara, the close-in security detail of Geronimo who accusedthe actor of hitting him."That evening was almost perfect until some unexpected events took place,but don’t worry I never 'punched' anyone. I will forever stand up andprotect my wife just as how my father would protect my whole family. I wouldlike to say thank you to my family for loving Sarah like a daughter. Ourfamily is growing and we are blessed. Papa and mama, thank you for deeplyloving and welcoming Sarah into our family," Guidicelli added.Guidicelli is hopeful that everything turn out fine in the end."In time, with God’s grace and Love, everything will heal and fall intoplace. We are happy, we are blessed, and we are husband and wife! Let’salways celebrate life and love! Nothing will ever defeat pure honest love,"he said.STAR CINEMA ANNOUNCES 'FOUR SISTERS AND A WEDDING' PREQUELMANILA – The well-loved movie “Four Sisters and a Wedding” is having aprequel.On Thursday, Star Cinema announced that the new movie will be titled “FourSisters Before the Wedding.”The prequel will be headlined by Alexa Ilacad as Bobbie, Gillian Vicencio asAlex, Charlie Dizon as Teddie, and Belle Mariano as Gabbie, while GiselleAndres will direct it.The original movie released in 2013 was headlined by Bea Alonzo, AngelLocsin, Toni Gonzaga, Shaina Magdayao and Enchong Dee.In that film, sisters Teddie (Gonzaga), Bobbie (Alonzo), Alex (Locsin) andGabbie (Magdayao) gather home for a "big event" -- their youngest sibling's(Dee) wedding.However, the four sisters, left with a foul impression after meeting thebride's family, conspire to block the wedding.As they scheme to "save" their only brother, the siblings are also forced toface problems in their family.The prequel will be set 10 years before the beginning of the original movieand it will show how the relationship of the siblings came about.This new movie will be produced by SCX, a sub-brand of Star Cinema.NBA SCORES FEB 25FINAL    1    2    3    4    Tteam logo Hornets 19-38    25    19    11    25    80team logo Pacers 34-24    35    34    25    25    119SCORING LEADERS    M. Bridges CHA17 PTS, 6 REB, 1 AST    D. Sabonis IND21 PTS, 15 REB, 9 ASTFINAL    1    2    3    4    Tteam logo Bucks 50-8    25    25    34    24    108team logo Raptors 42-16    27    25    19    26    97SCORING LEADERSK. Middleton MIL22 PTS, 8 REB, 3 ASTP. Siakam TOR22 PTS, 6 REB, 3 ASTFINAL    1    2    3    4    Tteam logo Thunder 36-22    36    36    19    33    124team logo Bulls 20-39    28    27    38    29    122SCORING LEADERSD. Gallinari OKC24 PTS, 4 REB, 0 ASTZ. LaVine CHI41 PTS, 5 REB, 4 ASTFINAL    1    2    3    4    Tteam logo Pistons 19-41    23    23    26    26    98team logo Nuggets 40-18    29    30    23    33    115SCORING LEADERSD. Rose DET20 PTS, 2 REB, 5 ASTJ. Grant DEN29 PTS, 4 REB, 1 ASTFINAL    1    2    3    4    Tteam logo Pelicans 25-33    26    32    28    23    109team logo Lakers 44-12    30    34    24    30    118SCORING LEADERSB. Ingram NO34 PTS, 7 REB, 4 ASTL. James LAL40 PTS, 8 REB, 6 ASTFINAL    1    2    3    4    Tteam logo Celtics 40-17    28    28    29    33    118team logo Trail Blazers 26-33    24    24    22    36    106SCORING LEADERSJ. Tatum BOS36 PTS, 5 REB, 1 ASTC. McCollum POR28 PTS, 4 REB, 10 ASTFINAL    1    2    3    4    Tteam logo Kings 24-33    33    22    26    31    112team logo Warriors 12-46    22    21    30    21    94SCORING LEADERS    D. Fox SAC21 PTS, 2 REB, 5 AST    M. Chriss GS21 PTS, 10 REB, 3 AST