All Editions

Vol. 27 Issue 43 16-23 Mar 2010
Violence Erupts Anew in Masbate Despite Peace Covenant
Two reported killed just two days after covenant signing
PNA
Sunday, March 21st, 2010

PILI, Camarines Sur, March 16 - Incidences of violence continue to happen in the island province of Masbate despite the signing of a peace covenant among opposing political leaders here as two supporters of poll candidates were gunned down in the past two days, a military report said.

Major Harold Cabunoc, chief of the 9ID Public Affairs Office, quoting the report from Special Task Force (STF) Masbate, said that Ireneo Lumahog, 51, a resident of Barangay Tubog, Pio V. Corpuz town, was shot dead by two heavily armed men around 1:30 p.m. on Monday.

Bikol News

PNR Mulls Relocation of Families Along Rail Tracks
Sonny Sales
Monday, March 22nd, 2010

NAGA CITY - MORE THAN 80 barangay captains and dwellers along the railroad localities met with Philippine National Railway (PNR) General Manager Manuel "Ower" Andal during a consultation at the Cam. Sur National High School complex, on the rehabilitation program of the PNR and the relocation of more than 2,000 families of informal settlers along the rail tracks in the adjoining Camarines Sur and Albay provinces.

Kristian Kordero
Bikol Writer to Present Poetics at UP Writers' Workshop
Vox Bikol
Sunday, March 21st, 2010

Bikol writer and Ateneo de Naga lecturer Kristian Sendon Cordero is set to participate as writing fellow for Filipino poetry in the annual Writers' Workshop sponsored by the University of the Philippines' Institute of Creative Writing (UP-ICW) which will be held in Baguio City this April 4-11, 2010.

Gun Ban Drive Yields 100 Violators in Bikol
PNA
Sunday, March 21st, 2010

LEGAZPI CITY, March 19  -- At least 100 people were arrested for violation of the election gun ban in Bicol after the Commission on Election (Comelec) enforced the total gun ban on January 10 this year.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) in Bikol said the number of gun ban violators has reached 100 as of March 15 with the island province of Masbate topping the list, followed by Camarines Sur, Albay, Sorsogon, Camarines Norte and Catanduanes.

Of the number of violators arrested, 77 were charged in court, the PNP data showed.

Albay AIDS Council Pursues Campaign to Combat STI and HIV
Mike dela Rama
Sunday, March 21st, 2010

LEGAZPI CITY, March 18  - The Albay Council on Reproductive Tract Infection Control (ACRTIC) otherwise known as Albay AIDS Council is determined to pursue its campaign to fight the spread of Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) and HIV here.

The council is also set to launch the distribution of free condom in various entertainment establishments. It has urged operators or owners of night establishments to make condom available and accessible.

BFAR Opens Bikol Mariculture Zones to Investors
Danny O. Calleja
Sunday, March 21st, 2010

SORSOGON CITY, March 18  - There are vast offshore areas considered as municipal waters across Bikol developed by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) into mariculture zones that offer favorable investment climate for fin fishes sea cage culture ventures and its ancillary industries in municipalities.

UNEP's Community Extension Program Gains Ground
Vox Bikol
Sunday, March 21st, 2010

Twenty-three (23) kinder pupils from the Tribal Pre-School at Barangay Perpetual Help in Iriga City went up the stage and started to weave dreams and hope, not just for themselves but also for their community.  The significant occasion took place at the Parina Indigenous Cultural Community at Barangay Perpetual Help, Iriga City during the Tribal Pre-School's 5th Commencement Exercise held May 18.

PSALM Sets Bidding for 150MW BacMan Geothermal Plants
PNA
Sunday, March 21st, 2010

MANILA, March 17  -- The Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management (PSALM) Corporation announced the bidding of the 150-megawatt (MW) BacMan geothermal power plant package located in the provinces of Albay and Sorsogon.

PSALM said the sale will include the BacMan I Geothermal Power Plant located in Manito, Albay and the BacMan II geothermal power plants situated in Sorsogon City, Sorsogon.

Prospective bidders have until March 26, 2010 to submit a Letter of Interest, which is a prerequisite for the bidding.

Viewpoints

Editorial Logo
Our Own
Editor
Sunday, March 21st, 2010
It would not be far from the truth to say that the late Emilia Boncodin had been an epitome of the dedicated public servant and government employee. Her passing last 15 March, untimely for someone who was only 55, cannot be but a veritable loss for the government, and ultimately, for the public which she had striven to serve with a quiet passion.
Signos
The Art of Goodbye
Tito Genova Valiente
Monday, March 22nd, 2010

Personally and in terms of calendar, the month of March has already been weeks and days of saying goodbye. Two uncles and a cousin passed away.

The condolences and the decision between a mass card and a flower, a bountiful can of biscuits and a wreath figure wracked my social life. In between these little crises in grief aesthetics and faith, there was the graduation of a niece, a graduation lunch for a friend's daughter, and the interminable invite to listen to a guest speaker in several commencement exercises.

Touring Germany
Seeking Truth - Edith Stein
Karola Klier
Sunday, March 21st, 2010

Last Thursday I attended the second Taizé evening service in St. Anna Parish in Bamberg. Fr. Johannes Trai chose Edith Stein as the saint for the service and the meditation on her delivered by Andrea Borneis struck me as something long known, yet long taken for granted:

Edith Stein was indeed a seeker. What she sought in her life was truth. But what, so we ask, what is truth?

Sato Ini
Ten Constructive Criticisms
Fr. Wilmer Joseph Tria
Sunday, March 21st, 2010

1. Uphold democracy. Ensure checks and balances. Vote for candidates from different political parties. Do not swallow ubos kung ubos.  It is a threat to democracy. It is a symptom of oligarchy because power actually resides only in the Chief Executive.

2. Empower the Naga City People's Council as a watchdog of government. Give it autonomy. It must be financially independent from the city government so it can decide and operate on its own. It must be free from the grip and influence of politicians.

3. Guarantee transparency. Allow citizens to discuss public issues in the public forum without fear of censure, ridicule, and harassment by paid media. The website is not a proof of transparency.  In a poor locality such as ours, how many, in practical terms, have access to the internet? There is transparency when the governed knows how they can participate in governance.

Opposite Poles
Women in Decision-Making
Bernadette M. Gavino-Gumba
Sunday, March 21st, 2010

Since women are not represented in development planning and development councils, their interest and welfare are more often left out or unrecognized in the process. In the end, they do not receive maximum benefits of development efforts and programs, particularly those rendered by the government.

Analysis
Appeals Court Decision on Morong 43 Sets Dangerous Precedent
Benjie Oliveros
Sunday, March 21st, 2010

MANILA - The search warrant was highly irregular: it did not contain the correct name of the owner of the house and the list of items to be searched. There were clear violations of the detainees' rights. They were handcuffed and blindfolded for days and denied their right to counsel and visits. Before they were allowed visits, the military brought in a fiscal who conducted inquest proceedings even if the 43 health workers were not represented by their counsels.

Church News

Set Aside Politics in Naming Chief Justice, Arroyo Told
CBCPNews
Sunday, March 21st, 2010

MANILA, March 17, 2010-A Catholic bishop called on President Arroyo to set aside political interests and be "responsible" in appointing the next Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Bishop Leonardo Medroso of Tagbilaran said there should be no other consideration in picking the next SC chief but "for the good of the justice system and the Filipino people."

"(I hope) that influence and debt of gratitude will not be some considerations in appointing the next Chief Justice," Medroso said over church-run Radyo Veritas.

Love Surpasses Reason in Understanding God, Pope Says
CNA
Sunday, March 21st, 2010

VATICAN, March 17, 2010-- Under a clear blue sky and on a perfect spring day, Pope Benedict XVI hosted the faithful and pilgrims in the open air of St. Peter's Square for today's audience. The teachings of the Holy Father's catechesis once again centered on the figure of St. Bonaventure, with the Pope highlighting the saint's belief that love surpasses reason in entering "more profoundly into the mystery of God."

CamSur PPCRV to Hold Political Fora
F. J. Lagdameo
Sunday, March 21st, 2010

NAGA CITY (19 March ) -- Comelec citizens' arm, the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) in the province, together with church groups and non-government organizations, is set to sponsor a series of candidates' fora on April 10, 12, 14, and 16 at Naga City's Plaza Quezon beginning 6:00 PM.

Fr. Louie Occiano of the Caceres Commission on Communications or CCCom released recently information and guidelines on the said political fora.

CBCP Exec to Presidentiables: Bare Plans on Migration
CBCPNews
Sunday, March 21st, 2010

MANILA, March 19, 2010- An official of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) called on presidentiables to have a concrete platform of governance in alleviating the plight of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).

Fr. Edwin Corros, executive secretary of the CBCP's Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People (ECMI), said that most of presidential aspirants do not show enthusiasm in ensuring the rights and welfare of the OFWs and their families.

Features

Still a Long Struggle Ahead for Women and the Oppressed
Benjie Oliveros
Sunday, March 21st, 2010

MANILA - It has been a century since over 100 women from 17 countries representing unions, socialist and communist parties, working women's clubs, and the first women elected to the Finnish parliament gathered in Copenhagen for the second International Conference of Working Women and declared International Women's Day. Next year would mark the 100th year of the first International Women's Day commemoration when more than a million women and men held simultaneous rallies in Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland to campaign for women's right to work, vote, be trained, and to hold public office, and for an end to discrimination.

Syndicate content