Naga to vax czar Galvez: Give us more vaccines
By Jason B. Neola The Naga City government has requested the country’s vaccine czar, Sec. Carlito Galvez, Jr., for bigger quantity of vaccine for its residents as well as those living in neighboring towns in Camarines Sur. In a letter dated June 17 to Galvez, the chief implementer of the National Task Force Against Covid-19, Mayor Nelson Legacion said that the 6,670 doses of vaccines that the city had received from DOH were good only for 3,335 residents or 1.4 percent of th
Legazpi IATF wants city under MECQ
By Mar Serrano The Legazpi City Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) wants the city to be placed under a modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) status due to a continuous spike in Covid-19 cases. The city’s IATF chairperson, Mayor Noel Rosal, in an interview on Tuesday, June 22, said they are awaiting the response of the Bicol IATF to their request for an MECQ declaration. He said they made the request based on the proposal

REEF BALLS
Some of the 2,203 reef balls and 29,273 coral fragments deployed by Phil Gold Processing & Refining Corporation in the marine protected area (MPA) of Colorada Point in Tigbao, Aroroy, Masbate are now the home of various marine life like turtles, lobsters and colorful fish. The project started in 2017 in partnership with the local government unit of Aroroy is intended to rehabilitate the coral reefs that were destroyed due to dynamite fishing in the area and other illegal fish
CamSur gov’t orders LGUs to comply with GCQ rules
By Ana-Liza S. Macatangay THE Camarines Sur provincial government has ordered all local government units (LGUs) in the province to strictly comply with the guidelines of the general community quarantine (GCQ) based on Executive Order No. 06, s. 2021 issued on June 17 by Governor Migz Villafuerte. With the imposition of GCQ, the provincial government has imposed stricter border control where Incident Management Team (IMT) personnel are instructed to conduct necessary inspect

CSCCI to host 30th SOLABC
By Ana-Liza S. Macatangay THE Camarines Sur Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (CSCCI) and the Provincial Government of Camarines Sur will host this year’s 30th South Luzon Area Business Conference (SOLABC) on Friday, June 25 from 9:00 AM – 3:00 PM and on June 26 from 9:00 AM to 12:30 PM. The two-day virtual event aims to respond to the region’s most compelling issues in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, specifically centering the discussions on how businesses can navi

Philippine Eagles donates bikes for livelihood project
By Jason B. Neola NAGA City Mayor Nelson Legacion thanked the Fraternal Order of Eagles in the Bicol Region during the formal turnover on Monday, June 21, of the 15 mountain bikes the group donated in support of the Naga’s Bikes for Food Delivery Livelihood Project. The donated bikes will benefit 15 heads of indigent families who are engaged in the home delivery of food and other essential products. “These bicycles are intended to those who wish to work as food delivery rider
Police nab female teacher for murder
By Cet Dematera A teacher who was arrested the other day for murder was also one of the individuals included in the complaint filed before the Masbate City Prosecutor’s Office for the killing of football player Keith Absalon and his cousin Nolven last June 6, this year, a police report said. In an official statement issued by Police Regional Office 5, it said that Mariel Suson,22, was already charged with two counts of murder, frustrated murder and other charges for the killi

Shepherdville College
YOUR SUCCESS IS OUR MISSION The Shepherdville College (SvC) is the first in Partido to offer Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology (BSMT) and Bachelor of Science in Radiologic Technology (BSRT) courses. This school year 2020-2021, it opens another medical-allied course, the Diploma in Midwifery (DiM), which adds strength in the College of Health. The SvC opened the BSMT course in 2012 with only ten (10) freshmen students. A year after, the BSRT course was also offered. To

EDITORIAL: Prison or Vaccination
The latest pronouncement of President Rodrigo Duterte that he will send people to jail if they refused to get vaccinated is considered by many as another inane statements from the man who joked his way to the presidency. Two weeks before that, the country’s chief executive, who prefers to be addressed as mayor instead of president, said it is “possible” to file murder charges against individuals who are fully aware that they are Covid-19 positive, yet still wandered arou

When Preachers don’t Practice
How am I going to get a haircut now? Maybe I should call Fred. Maybe we can arrange something. If MECQ rules would be seriously implemented, his barbershop should be close now. I know someone who has been doing odd jobs for quite some time. There was a time that he taught in one of those schools with Montessori in their names. But he probably got laid off because of the current situation of the schools; or maybe his contracted ended. But when the crisis hit, he’s been d

Years of Christianity: Battle of the Sword and Cross in Mactan, Part 10
“Leaders Of The Church Have Often Been Narcissus, Flattered And Sickeningly Excited By Their Courtiers. The Court Is The Leprosy Of The Papacy.” – Pope Francis One of the most consequential outcomes of the 16th century Council of Trent was establishing the supremacy of the Papacy. With such edict, the Vatican City officially became a country of its own with the pope as Bishop of Rome, the de facto leader of the monarchy who is cloaked with the mantle of infallibility. It is a

A Voyeur History: Pacifying the Natives (Part I)
Histories can be exciting when they allow us to see –either by the chronicler’s candor or openness – snippets of our histories and cultures that have otherwise been covered by colonial perspectives. In many accounts, we often would encounter this line: “The Gospel only came really upon the definite establishment of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi and his men in 1565.” I found that statement and more from a small but highly engaging book called Lucban (A Town the Franciscans Built). I

Milaor Politics
Saditon na banwaan na may 20ng barangay pero apat sagkod limang maoorag na taga-Milaor an maralaban-laban para alkalde sa eleksyon sa 2022. Dati one-on-one lang an ralaban sa banwaan na in ikan mga naka-agui apuera kun may pan-tolong binabalahan kan sarong kampo na makwarta para daogon sa boto an pighuhunang mas makusog na kandidato. An banwaan na Milaor poon maglaog an naka-aguing siglo may hilom na dinastiya na pugol kan mga Nationalista. Pambihira lang an maka-lusot na Dem
How to End Child Labor
By Shay Cullen It was a massive international solidarity march in 1999 along the streets of Geneva. Thousands of children and supporters from all over Europe and Asia were there to encourage and support the approval and signing by the world’s nations of the document, “Worse Forms of Child Labor Convention 1999.” I was there with other NGO representatives giving voice to our deep concern for all children and especially the Filipino children that were enslaved in unjust, exploi

Political Bed-Fellows
Last week when news reached the print and broadcast media that Mayor Sara Duterte is running for President with her father President Rodrigo Duterte as her Vice-President, we wrote that “it would be a twist of faith” if this should happen. Mayor Sara however was fast in debunking the idea, and flatly denied that she intends to seek the Presidency. This morning (Wednesday, iJune 23) when the media reported the tandem of Mayor Isko Moreno and VP Leni Robredo partnering for a pr