LEGAZPI CITY , May 21- The Department of Health (DOH) will intensify its inspection in all educational institution throughout Bikol region starting 2nd week of June to ensure health school environment. The DoH sanitary inspectors will also conduct strict inspection to canteens and even ambulant vendors.

LEGAZPI CITY, May 18 -- Call it women power, a coincidence or whatever, but come July 1, when the new sets of local officials that won the May 10 elections assume the stewardship of their respective local government units, the province of Albay will see each of its three cities under the administration of lady chief executives.

DARAGA, Albay, May 18 -- Gen. Delfin Bangit, Armed Forces Chief of Staff, directed on Monday the pulling out of the 85th Army Battalion after a successful security operation in the recently held first automated election in the island province of Masbate. Bangit, in a command conference at the Philippine Army 901st Infantry Brigade based here following a visit in Masbate, said the pullout of the Army battalion from the country's contingent to United Nation (UN) peace keeping force in Haiti, headed by Col. Louie Dagoy, would be replaced by another Army battalion from the 9th Infantry Division.

While we may be lulled into concluding that the first automated elections in the country was largely successful because of the amazingly swift results, these latest elections, however, have shown that with the massive incidences of vote buying, technology can only do so much to ensure and facilitate the credible, honest, and peaceful democratic exercise of the people's sovereignty.

After the historic and first ever automated election in our country, we are thankful and glad of the fast outcome of the recent elections. Certainly, we have seen how the advancement of technology can assist the society in shaping the future of our young people with high hopes on those whom we have elected. Although there were some flaws and inconveniences noted, yet each one of us will agree that God has given us this technology to help us improve our life as a nation.

Pili, Camarines Sur (12 May) -- Spectacular sports galore will once again be a major accent of this year's Kaogma Festival to mark the 431st Foundation anniversary of the province of Camarines Sur this May 2010. In keeping with the vision of Governor LRay Villafuerte to transform Camarines Sur into a model of local governance, an information technology center, an investment hub and a world-class tourism destination as well as an international center for sports, an array of various competitions are lined-up for the entire nine-day celebrations of the Kaogma week come May 22 to May 30.

LEGAZPI CITY (12 May) -AN ASSESSMENT of Monday's polls by the PNP regional office here reported that elections were generally orderly in the six provinces of the Bikol region, except for several incidents of intervention by communist rebels in Albay, Catanduanes, Sorsogon, and Camarines Norte provinces. Also a PNP regional spokesman said that massive vote buying with reported apprehension by army troopers, were reported in provinces of Catanduanes, Albay and Camarines Sur.

The Apostolic Nuncio in the Philippines, Archbishop Edward Joseph Adams, has informed the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines that His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, cannot attend the grand quadricentennial anniversary celebration of the University of Santo Tomas that will culminate next year.

MANILA, May 14, 2010-The country's next president and other national government leaders have been told to keep their election pledges. Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo said these include more transparency in the government, solving poverty and eradicating graft and corruption, ending human rights abuses, among others.

ROME, Italy, May 15, 2010--Two Moroccan students who attended a university in the central Italian city of Perugia were expelled from the country last month after it was discovered that they were conspiring to kill Pope Benedict. One of them allegedly said he wished to "earn a place in Paradise."