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LEGAZPI CITY, Jan. 5 - As Mt. Mayon's seismic activity is gearing up towards normalcy, disaster authorities here are continuing to enforce the "No man's land" rule in designated danger zones surrounding the volcano.

Albay Governor and Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council (PDCC) chairman Joey Salceda directed the Philippine Army (PA) to strictly enforce the ban on any human activity in the permanent danger zone (PDZ).

LEGAZPI CITY, Jan. 5 - The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) hailed Albay's Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council (PDCC) for its recent Mayon volcano eruption disaster preparedness and response strategy.

PILI, CamSur (6 January 2010) --  The Provincial Health Office (PHO) reported that some 11,700 underweight children in some 204 remote and coastal barangays of the province of Camarines Sur have benefited under the LRay Vita Kidz Nutrition Program last year.

The 11,700 children beneficiaries last year brought to a total of 25,574 children beneficiaries since the project was launched in year 2005 by Governor LRay Villafuerte.

PILI, Camarines Sur, Jan. 5- The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Regional Consular Office in Bikol will resume its Mobile Passport Service (MPS) to cater to the passport needs of residents in Camarines Sur who wishes to go abroad for employment or tour purposes.

MPS is an initiative of Camarines Sur Governor LRay Villafuerte, in partnership with DFA Legazpi City RCO, aimed to provide ease and convenience to local populace as they no longer have to travel far to secure their passports.

Instead of lavishly spending the holidays, the Alfelor clan chose to end and start their new year with a spiritual activity. Dubbed as FOAS or the FOAS or Felix Ordas Alfelor Senior (FOAS), the family retreat was held at the Caritas Christi, Concepcion Grande, Naga City on December 29, 2009.

LEGAZPI CITY, Jan. 7 - The provincial government of Albay has released the initial assistance to the remaining evacuees from Barangay Anoling, Camalig town amounting to P3 million for the construction of their core shelters.

Albay Governor Joey Salceda announced Thursday that the remaining 258 families from Barangay Anoling can start building their core shelters (houses) in the lots already given to them by the provincial government of Albay inside the FVR resettlement site.

MANILA, Jan. 9 -Senator Richard J. Gordon is optimistic that millions of employees of delinquent employees could now re-avail of their benefits from the Social Security System (SSS) with the enactment of the SSS condonation law.

Republic Act No. 9903, or the Social Security Condonation Act, would also help ease the burden from non-compliant companies that were facing economic difficulties.

Philippine Veterans Bank (PVB) and long-time partner, PhilHealth, recently signed a memorandum of agreement whereby PVB will be providing PhilHealth Region 3 employees ATM and payroll services including PVB's unique "5-in-1" card that works as a company ID, ATM, timekeeping card, debit card, and discount card . The MOA was signed by PVB President and CEO Ricardo Balbido Jr. (2^nd from left) and PhilHealth President Dr.

At the beginning of the ,  of Caceres issued a pastoral letter entitled "Hope and Wait with Perseverance" which we published in this paper. The Archbishop's letter intends to be a pastor's guide to our local communities as a preparation for the historic and critical 2010 Automated National and Local Elections.

In December 2009 the Act on Economic Growth Acceleration passed the German Parliament. This act is a response to the world economic crisis and the intention is to reduce taxes so that people keep more money to spend on consuming. This - so the idea - should well promote the re-growth of German economy.

Now that the New Year is well underway, it is best we also start defining our action agenda. Our over-arching concern this year, of course, is environment. Hence, we may consider our own muddy experience with Ondoy and other climate change catastrophes across our land vis-à-vis the annual World Development Report 2010 of the World Bank.

"Mayon, the volcano that has destroyed the coast town of Libog, and several neighboring villages in the Philippines, has aroused itself after a slumber of twenty-eight years. The eruption has not come as a surprise to students of volcanoes, because although quiescent, it was known to be active. During the nineteenth century 26 eruptions occurred, with especially violent ones in 1814 and 1897.

FACEBOOK HAS BEEN EATING UP many people's schedules lately. Unlike Friendster which had gone boring and stale as an old loaf of bread, Facebook or FB has gotten people's attention including the bosses and the senior citizens in such large scale that I think every computer in the world has in its cache remnants of logging in to and out of FB. In my experience, this didn't spare the Filipino literary writers.

"...if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it. (Rom 8, 25)

A Pastoral Letter of Archbishop Leonardo Z. Legaspi on the Forthcoming Philippine Elections 2010

Introduction

As we celebrate the motherhood of Mary, we reflect on her faith and how she cooperated with God's plan. As the Mother of God, she is our hope and refuge. Ina, Our Lady of Peñafrancia, is the hope of every Bikolano and every devotee.

MANILA - The Arroyo administration is, hopefully, about to end its term by the middle of next year. Lasting for nine years and a half, it is the longest-running presidency since the Marcos dictatorship. In fact, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is second only to Ferdinand E. Marcos who, for 20 years, held the reins of power the longest in the country's history.

We from Bicol Movement for Disaster Response (BMDR) are saddened by the fact that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her economic spokesperson Gary Olivar are callous to the plight of Mayon residents who have been evacuated due to the volcano's imminent eruption.

With President Arroyo going to Hong Kong to have a vacation while many Albayanos are facing the loss of their lives and property she only showed her true nature and that she does not care for Albayanos or for Filipinos. She only thinks of what can extend her hold to power.

Philippine politics is riddled with fraud, deceit, corruption, bribery, and manipulation. Politicians have been used to capitalizing on the weakness and powerlessness of the poor, and profiting from the silence and poverty of Filipinos. The son and daughter of a dictator mustered the callousness to run for senator and governor. An ousted president has filed his candidacy in a desperate attempt to go back to Malacanang.

MANILA - The Ampatuan massacre last November 23 shocked the nation and the world. It was shocking not only because of its ferocity, claiming the lives of 57 innocent people including passersby, and barbarity, which included the rape of women, desecration of bodies and beheading of some victims, but also because of the brazenness in the commission of such abhorrent atrocities.