Goa, Camarines Sur. A faculty researcher of the main campus of the Camarines Sur State Agricultural College won first prize in the recent Regional Symposium on Research & Development Highlights at the Partido State University here.

NAGA CITY - - SINCE JULY, throngs of poor rural folks from the island municipality of San Pascual in Masbate, converged by groups at the Rizal Park fronting the Land Bank Building at the middle of this city's old commercial district here, to claim their cash subsidy from government.

"The Filipino is worth dying for." But twenty-six years since Ninoy's assassination, we remain a country mired in widespread poverty, endemic graft and corruption, trapo politics, unending civil strife, and worst, abuse of power often unnoticeable in almost all levels of government. Take for example a Makati judge who cited in contempt of court an employee who occupied his parking space.

Roman Catholic bishops in Bikol region are all out against the planned coal mining project in Catanduanes province alleging that it would destroy ecology. Despite strong opposition from church leaders and residents of Catanduanes province to Monte Oro Resources and Energy Inc., the mine still obtained green light from the Department of Energy.

All the brouhaha regarding the one million peso dinner of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her cohorts stem from the fact that millions of Filipinos are starving while she is living the high life and jet-setting around the world trying to sell our country.

Truth to tell, I personally didn't care that much who would be our next president. For as most people tell us when you ask around, "pare-pareho lang sila" (they're all the same), in reference to the presidentiables. It's but a popularity contest as you would have surely seen in their media campaigns and in the various leaders' fora that have since been held.

In 2004, Napoleon Brandy ran an ad campaign with the line "Nakatikim ka na ba ng 15 anyos?" The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines and militant women's groups lost no time to demand for the pull out of the commercial in TV, radio and billboard. The double meaning, according to them, undermines the dignity of women and insults every family. The ad was eventually pulled out.

THEY come like a thief in the night. Small-scale fishers in the San Miguel Bay town of Calabanga in Camarines Sur complain that commercial fishers undermine their only source of livelihood. "Most of the commercial fishers operate at night in more than 20 fishing vessels," said Alex Asagra, 35, who has been fisherman for 10 years in Barangay (village) Bonot-Sta. Rosa.

IRIGA CITY ---- Officials and mass communication students of the University of Northeastern Philippines (UNEP) participated in the 1st International Convention on Media Communication held Saturday, Aug. 8, 2009 at the University of the Philippines (UP) Film Institute in Diliman, Quezon City.

LEGAZPI CITY - - President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo led the inauguration rites of the upgraded facilities of the Legazpi Oil (LegOil) Company Inc. coconut - processing plant in barangay Arimbay here on Thurs. (Aug. 13).