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NAGA CITY-Even the downpour brought by a brewing storm did not dampen the piety that was also trickling on Friday as thousands of Bikolanos kicked off the nine-day festivities in honor of their "Ina" (mother), the Our Lady of Peñafrancia, through the traditional traslacion, a foot procession.

The procession, which dates back to the 17th century, transferred the image of Mary and the Divino Rostro (Holy Face of Jesus) from the Peñafrancia Shrine to the Naga City Metropolitan Cathedral.

PILI, Camarines Sur, Sept. 9- The Bicol Association of Magsasaka Siyentista (BAMS) is seriously pushing for the modified rapid composting (MRC) technology for environment-friendly and cost-effective farming.

Gerardo Canoy, a farmer leader, said MRC generates savings of about P5,000 on fertilizer costs for every hectare of rice farm.

Canoy is an implementer of the science and technology (S&T)-based demonstration farm here under the Techno Gabay Program of the Department of Agriculture (DA) Regional Field Unit (RFU) for Bicol based in this provincial capital.

LEGAZPI CITY, Sept. 9 -- The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) has announced Wednesday that mobile personnel were dispatched since August this year to Hong Kong.

PhilHealth said this is to provide access and information to Filipinos on the agency's membership updates and renewal, claims and benefits, and premium remittance concerns.

Pili, Camarines Sur (8 September) -- Bikol now ranks first among the regions in the entire country in palay production growth rate based from the report of the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics (BAS).

Bikol posted a 17.3% palay production growth rate in the first semester of 2009 compared to the first semester of last year, the highest among the rice producing regions.

LEGAZPI CITY, Septembet 11 - - WITH THE ANTICIPATED INCREASE in the volume of motorists and vehicles plying the stretch of the Maharlika National Highway in the provinces of Camarines Sur, Albay and Sorsogon , as the regional Peñafrancia festivity starts on Friday  (Sept. 11), motorists' assistance centers have been fielded by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) regional office to assist travelers from Sept. 11 to 21, this year .

IRIGA CITY ----  The University of Northeastern Philippines (UNEP) Chorale was awarded the prestigious 2009 Sumagang Award for Outstanding Achievements in Music and Culture by the Iriga City government as part of the highlights of the celebrations of the city's 41^st Charter Foundation anniversary on Sept. 3 at the ceremonial grandstand here.

The Philippine Association of University Women (PAUW) - Naga City and Camarines Sur Chapter, will hold its Annual Regional Oratorical Contest on September 25, 2009, 1:00 p.m. at the Auditorium of the Naga College Foundation, Naga City.

The contest is an annual activity of the organization, participated in by female college students from invited schools, colleges and universities in the Bicol Region. The contest is also endorsed by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

LEGAZPI CITY, Sept. 9 -- The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) has announced Wednesday that mobile personnel were dispatched since August this year to Hong Kong.

PhilHealth said this is to provide access and information to Filipinos on the agency's membership updates and renewal, claims and benefits, and premium remittance concerns.

Last July, we criticized the Naga City government's plan of staging its own festival that was parasitic of the Peñafrancia Fiesta given that a joint agreement had been reached earlier. Even then, we feared that the City government's "Viva Naga, Viva Bicolandia" exploited the devotees' cry of "Viva la Virgen" and sought to literally cash in on the Peñafrancia Fiesta to which it clearly alluded.

Viva la Virgen! Viva!

Viva la Nuestra Señora de Peñafrancia! Viva!

These are the words we all proclaim as we celebrate Ina's feast every September of the year.

Yes, Viva!

Last Friday, the city woke up to a whole day of "Traslacion." The day and the week promise - or threaten - to bring about more changes to old practices. Some of these acts and gestures gathered through accretion, some by introduction from outside, and other by sheer power of local or native culture.

Fr. Miguel Robles de Covarrubias was within his first decade of priesthood when he changed the course of history.  His story is a classic example of how a man's personal convictions can influence 300 years and a world beyond his wildest dreams. His life's work is a perfect proof of the wisdom of God's ways.

In the middle of dishonesty, fraud and cheating that plague the present national government, I long for sincerity and truthfulness. Amid extravagance and squandering by government officials from the illegitimate president and her cabinet  to the congressmen and women down to the barangay captains, I long for decency and prudence. In the midst of self-enrichment and wealth accumulation of politicians, I long for simplicity and self-sacrifice.

We are living in times of recession and we all try to make do with the reduced resources we now have. In Germany the government worked hard and made many an effort to not hand down to the voters the full consequences of the global economic depression.