MANILA, June 4, 2010-The Department of Education (DepEd) will push through with the pilot testing of sex education programs in public schools when classes open on June 15. According to Education Secretary Mona Valisno, "piloting of sex education in selected public schools this coming school year is not suspended."

MANILA, June 3, 2010- Pope Benedict XVI has expressed his thanks for the "thoughtful message of support" tendered by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) to the pope over the news reports of sex abuse scandals involving some members of the clergy recently. The pope described the negative publicity aired in media over the past few months as "purifying trials" which he believes will awaken in all the faithful a deeper thirst for holiness and a more ardent love of the Lord and his Church.

MANILA, June 3, 2010- Catholic bishops on Thursday called on the incoming president to abolish one of the "biggest source" of funds for corruption: pork barrel. The bishops, in a radio interview, said presumptive president-elect Benigno Aquino III should abolish the pork barrel and never allow any form of replacement or compromise.

Women's status in society has improved considerably in the last decade. Many women are well-educated, hold good jobs and enjoy a high standard of independence. Increasingly, many women choose not to marry. Married women with children are overburdened with caring for the home, family and struggle to cope with their careers. Domestic violence is common, however, it is not talked about because of the Confucian culture of "saving face."

I was in Kamakura once more. From Tokyo, you buy a Free Kippu, which literally means "free ticket." The ticket is not free however but discounted. The ticket allows you to take the tram car indefinitely. You can stop at every station and a majestic monastery and temple or shrine will be there.

It is now only less than a month before Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo leaves Malacañang and the Filipino people could not wait to get it over with. Despite the flak that the Commission on Elections and Smartmatic are getting for bungling the automated elections, and even if the old problems of vote-buying - which seems to have become more massive and blatant during the 2010 elections - violence, threats and harassments, and voter disenfranchisement combined with glitches and electronic fraud to mar the conduct and results of the May 2010 elections, the people seem to have accepted that Sen. Noynoy Aquino would, come June 30, take over the reins of government.

Time and again, even beyond the Spanish era, one intermittently sees the importance of a correct family name. Tsinoy families, despite their economic gains, dealt with the derisive Intsik tag once and for all by filipinizing their family names or by appropriating Filipino last names, rechristening with the illustrious last name of the ninong sa bunyag or padrino sa kasal, the baptismal godfather or wedding sponsor. Limaco, a landed gentry of Biñan, Laguna, is the filipinized version of Lim Aco. Such filipinization, to my mind a karmic remuneration of sorts, is seen today in the family names Limjoco, Quizon, Cojuangco, Syjuco. My own family has a number of Tsinoy "sub-branches", kinapotan sa bunyag, baptismal godchild of the Patriarch Carlos and tinubong sa kasal, wedding godchildren of the Propagandist Tomas Arejola during the Spanish era or his brother General Loduvico Arejola during the American Occupation, not related to us by consanguinity but by the affinity and the expressed kinship of our ancestors long ago. The Paccamarras of the Partido area has a similar Tsinoy sub-branch, not related to them by blood but cherished as kin nonetheless.

MANILA, June 1 (PNA) -- The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) together with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) have signed a agreement wherein all three government agencies will work together in identifying sites in the Bikol region that are geologically hazardous.

One innovation introduced in the Kaogma celebrations this year that added color and excitement to the revelry was the downhill bike competition held at the slope of Mt. Isarog last May 29 to 30. The race tested the skills, agility and fortitude of the participants in maneuvering the risky and perilous turns, drops, banks and bumps of the mountain trails at Consocep, in Ocampo, Camarines Sur developed by experts to cater to the demands and discipline of the new extreme sport introduced in CamSur by Gov. LRay Villafuerte.

Naga City ---- Our Lady of Peñafrancia Pilgrimage Foundation and the Tercentenary Cultural Committee, together with People, Events, Promotion and Styles (PEPS UP), launched the first ever exhibit showcasing Our Lady of Peñafrancia's miraculous capes, adoringly called manto by its devotees. The event took place at SM City Naga and was personally graced by His Excellency, Most Rev. Leonardo Z. Legazpi O.P. DD. PEPS UP's versatile and creative president, Biboy Belleza said that the religious event is in line with the celebration of the 300 years of Bikolano's loving devotion to Inang Peñafrancia. "Thesemantos befits the queenship of Ina for it speaks of her enduring generosity for all her devotees," Belleza said in an interview.