Articles

LEGAZPI CITY --- The militant Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) urged the Aquino administration to just distribute the excess rice that are still in the warehouses of the National Food Authority to the more than 4 million Filipinos that according to government data eat less than three meals a day.

LEGAZPI CITY, July 26 --Residents of this city glued to televisions as President Benigno Simeon "Noynoy" C. Aquino III delivered his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday.

As P-Noy's delivers his first SONA, market vendor Janeth Llaguno claps her hands as she watches the president on tv..

Janeth Llaguno said that the president's SONA was a big challenge not just for the president alone but also for every Pilipino.

"As a market vendor I will help P-Noy by giving receipts for the buyers and paying the right amount of tax," she said.

President Benigno C. Aquino III has appointed former Integrated Bar of the Philippines president, Jose Anselmo "Joel" Cadiz, the new Solicitor General. The Office of the Solicitor General is the law firm of the Philippine government. The Solicitor General has the same rank and qualifications as that of a Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeals and will represent the People of the Philippines and the government, including its instrumentalities, in litigations.

Atty. Joel Cadiz was at the forefront of the opposition to the controversial Executive Order 464 issued by former Philippine president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to prevent cabinet members and police and military generals from attending congressional inquiries without her approval. EO 464 effectively softened the senate investigation of alleged military involvement in rigging of the 2004 national elections and the NBN-ZTE deal scandal. Cadiz was one of the petitioners against the said executive order in 2005 and the state of emergency proclaimed by Arroyo in 2006 because of alleged coup attempt lead by General Danilo Lim.

MANILA, July 21, 2010- Election watchdog Kontra Daya denounced the Commission on Elections en banc ruling allowing Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo, son of former President Arroyo, to sit in Congress as representative of Ang Galing Pinoy Partylist (AGP).

Shortly before the elections, militant organizations led by then senatorial bets Satur Ocampo and Liza Maza had filed disqualification cases against Arroyo, claiming he does not represent the security guards, tricycle drivers, and small businessmen AG claims to represent.

MANILA, July 22, 2010- An official of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) called on President Benigno Aquino III to publicly state his position on a measure that seeks to promote birth control.

Fr. Melvin Castro, executive secretary of the CBCP's Commission on Family and Life, said Aquino should clarify his stance on the Reproductive Health bill when he delivers his first State of the Nation Address on July 26.

As the country's new chief executive, he said it would be best if Mr. Aquino lays out his plan regarding family planning.

Legazpi City (23 July) -- Albay's Disaster Risk Reduction Management (DRRM) is an ideal model in building a resilient, safe community during times of disaster events, a research study said.

In a research study by Oxfam, Bicol University and Albay province showed that Albay's DRRM model played a significant role in protecting lives of people and at the same time making communities strong and safe from and catastrophic event that may take place.

In an austere yet momentous occasion, the University of Northeastern Philippines (UNEP) welcomed its new lawyers in a simple but sumptuous banquet.  The activity, which was held over the weekend, was spearheaded by the UNEP College of Law, under the headship of its Acting Dean and concurrently UNEP's President, Atty. Remelisa Alfelor-Moraleda.

Camp Elias Angeles, Pili, Camarines Sur (23 July) -- As if competing with typhoon "Basyang's" death toll, an off-duty militiaman was shot and killed by suspected Special Partisan Unit (SPARU) of the CPP-NPA-NDF in Camarines Norte at 2:00 am yesterday (July 22), a military report said.

Colonel Leoncio Cirunay, commander of the 22nd Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army, has identified the fatality as CAA Jehn Villones, assigned with the 5th CAA Camarines Norte based in Labo town.

He said that many of his CAFGUS have reported about the death threats against them.

Legazpi City (23 July) -- The Department of Health (DOH) in Bicol has declared a malaria epidemic in Camarines Norte after 182 residents of one town in the province were stricken by the mosquito-borne disease.

Camilo Aquino, DOH Bicol Malaria Prevention and Control Program coordinator, bared Malaria cases were recorded in Jose Panganiban town, though the agency has declared an epidemic in the entire province to alert all local officials on the need to take immediate steps to prevent the spread of the disease.

LEGAZPI CITY, July 19 -- The death toll in Bikol due to typhoon Basyang has risen to 17 while 32 are still missing, the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in the region said Monday.

At least 83 people have been rescued even as search and recovery operations continue for over a week now after "Basyang" battered Bikol.

OCD report said elements of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) are continuously conducting search and recovery operations using air, sea and land assets in Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte and Catanduanes.

MANILA, July 18  -- Catholic Church leaders are ready to slug it out with the supporters of the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) Bill when the 15th Congress open later this month.

Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) President Bishop Nereo Odchimar admitted that the number of lawmakers who are backing the bill's passage is outnumbered by those who are siding with the bishops.

"It will be an uphill battle," the Tandag, Surigao del Norte prelate said.