I RECEIVED AN EMAIL from Nabua Forum about the demolition of the Gabaldon in Nabua, Camarines Sur. I can attest to the truth of the matter since I saw during my last week’s visit to Nabua that a temporary fence—to give way to the construction of an LCC Mall—has surrounded the former site of the building. I am a Nabueño and I am concerned about what happened to this historical building. What disturbs me more than the building is the lack of a sense of history of elected municipal officials whose primary concern is business opportunity and personal interest.

On Robredo’s “Transparency at Work,” which is actually “Transparency at Worst,” I cited last week COA’s findings of unliquidated cash advances for year ended Dec. 31, 2007: “Cash advances amounting to P1,896,885.55 were granted without first settling or a proper accounting thereof was made of the previous cash advance, while cash advances totaling P8,168,269.61 were not liquidated within the prescribed period, contrary to Sections 4.1.2 and 5.1 of COA Circular No. 97-002, respectively. These defects created doubts on the validity and regularity of the grant and liquidation thereof.”

RAPU-RAPU, ALBAY (Nov. 14) – Dr. Emelina Regis of Ateneo de Naga University's Institute for Environmental Conservation and Research (INECAR), along with three of the institute's staff went to Rapu-Rapu island in Albay to conduct preliminary investigations into the reported fishkill from Oct. 28 to Nov. 2.

Hindi na bago ang karanasan ng pagtula para sa atin. Natuto tayong magmakata simula ng mapansin natin ang pinakamarubdob na emosyon, ng kagandahan ng sarili o kaya ng iba pang kapuwang. Gusto kong isiping vice-versa ang prosesong ito— ang sarili patungo sa kapwa, at ang kapwa patungo sa sarili.

NAGMOMOTÔ-MOTÒ NA NAMAN an kadakol na Pilipino ngunyan huli man sa sinurat ni Chip Tsao dapit sa pagigin “nasyon nin mga oripon (country of servants)” kan Pilipinas. Mala ta haros magbilog na si Sen. Pia Cayetano nin bill tanganing isikwal kan bilog na nasyon si Chip huli sa saiyang ‘racial remark.’ Nangyari ini huli sa pagkaongis ni Chip dara ka diringkilan kan Pilipinas asin Tsina sa isyu kan Spratlys.

We need darknes. A National Geographic essay talked about how many countries and many cities in the world have started to kill the line between night and day so that “most city skies have become virtually empty of stars.” We are diurnal animals, meaning that our eyes are built to receive the light of the sun. For us, therefore, as it is differently to the nocturnal ones, the difference between light and darkness is not simply a moral binary but a physical element in our life. What happens when night is as bright as day?

IT’S HOLY WEEK AND MANY people are looking forward to a few days of vacation with families and friends. It has been observed that many Filipinos associate Holy Week with the suffering and death of Jesus Christ without giving much emphasis to His Resurrection, which completes the Paschal Mystery.

Here is a translation of the homily Benedict XVI delivered April 2 at the Mass to mark the fourth anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s death, held in St. Peter’s Basilica.

The kidnapings by the Abu Sayyaf (ASG) seem unstoppable. A 2005 US Department of State report cites a number of major kidnappings by the ASG thus: In April 2000, an ASG faction kidnapped 21 persons, including ten Western tourists, from a resort in Malaysia. In May 2001, the ASG kidnapped three US citizens and 17 Filipinos from a tourist resort in Palawan, Philippines. Several of the hostages, including US citizen Guillermo Sobero, were murdered. A Philippine military hostage rescue operation in June 2002 freed US hostage Gracia Burnham, but her husband Martin Burnham and Filipina Deborah Yap were killed.

Calabanga, Camarines Sur--Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap urged the over 220 graduates of the Camarines Sur State Agricultural College (CSSAC) here to keep alive the entrepreneurial spirit and to be job generators, engaging in any enterprise in line with their field. He urged the graduates never to stop learning, find their own niche, be always cheerful and to always keep faith in God.