PERHAPS, I'M JUST LUCKY to have a munchkin for nephew. Let's say it makes everything different. It makes leaving in the morning a little funnier than when we were just three adults in the house. Phone calls are always interrupted by reminders of the much awaited úbong (guess what it means). Arrival in the evening are welcomed with a fanfare of jubilation. That's why the úbong should never, never ever be forgotten; a child will appreciate anything from three pieces of chocolate krinkles to a twenty-peso worth plastic toy to a rubber octopus filled with water.

Both Philippine and American media have reported about the dinner splurges of Gloria Arroyo and her entourage in the July US visit. One dinner was at Le Cirque, a posh French restaurant in Manhattan , New York , where the group had caviar, bottles of champagne and a big meal worth $20,000 or P960,000. Another one was at Bobby Van's Steakhouse in Washington D.C. where the assemblage got one of the restaurant's private rooms and was served lobsters, steak and fine wine costing $15,000 or P720,000.

Last week I went to celebrate my sister in law's 50th birthday. As many times on such occasions, like on weddings, baptisms or other anniversaries, one gets to meet people from beyond one's usual circles. People, strangers in fact, who one suddenly shares stories to and gets to hear stories from.

On September 1, 2009, the Tercentenary Committee of the Archdiocese of Caceres, through various religious groups, will conduct Harubay, Para ki Hesus asin Ki Ina, to mark the beginning of September as a pilgrim's month. The activity will commence with a motorcade through the major thoroughfares of Naga City and culminate with a Eucharistic Celebration at the Peñafrancia Basilica.

LEGAZPI CITY, Aug. 18 -- Albay province will host the National Livestock Summit set on September 16 to 18 this year at the Albay Astrodome, this city, a provincial agricultural officer said on Tuesday. The three-day summit with a theme "Coping with Emerging Challenges to Livestock and Poultry: Climate Change, Global Trade, Emerging Diseases and Food Security," will be a joint project of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the provincial government of Albay.

LEGAZPI CITY, Aug. 19 - Albay governor Joey Salceda has urged all local government units throughout the province to strictly integrate climate change adaptation and proofing in the municipal and city plans.

MANILA, August 20, 2009- Amidst plans to revive the peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, a Catholic bishop asked the government peace panel to avoid the same mistake it did in the past.

MANILA - Followers of El Shaddai Catholic Charismatic movement are divided on whether or not to support the presidential bid of their leader, Bro. Mike Velarde. Velarde admitted that his 2010 political plans is one issue that somehow rocks the unity of his followers due to their varied perceptions about him leaving the pulpit to politics.

MANILA, August 19, 2009-Archbishop Oscar Cruz said the party list system is already losing its relevance with the entry of "dubious" organizations seeking for congressional seats.

Even if seriously implemented, the Cheaper Medicines Law would still fail to bring down the prices of medicines because it did not break "the monopoly control of transnational corporations on all aspects" of the drug industry. This monopoly is the main reason why drug prices in the Philippines are among the highest in Asia.