By Danny P. Aureus The P60-million new Hall of Justice building inside the Provincial Capitol Complex in Cadlan, Pili, Camarines Sur, that will house four Regional Trial Court (RTC) branches, prosecutors office and Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) remains unused after more than three years after its completion, USec. Marvel Clavecilla, Presidential Adviser for Bicol Affairs told Bicol Mail in an interview recently. Calling it a white elephant, Clavecilla already informed the

These Christmas lanterns are made by detainees or persons deprived of liberty (PDL) at the Naga City District Jail. They were commissioned by GIBO (Group Initiatives for Better Opportunities), a Camarines Sur development NGO founded by the late Atty. Vicente Dante P. Adan. (Photo by Judge Soliman M. Santos Jr. )

By Rhaydz B. Barcia For entering local politics, two clergies in Bicol were permanently suspended to perform their clerical duties. In a statement released by the Catholic Bishop Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), Fr. Granwell Pitapit who served the Libmanan diocese’s social action ministry was suspended permanently and will no longer be allowed to perform clerical duties for seeking public office. Fr. Pitapit will run for the mayoralty post in May 2022 elections in Libman

By Rhaydz B. Barcia LEGAZPI CITY---Some five suspected members of the communist guerillas were killed in an encounter at a far-flung village of Mandaon town in Masbate province on Sunday, Oct. 24 police report said. Police Major Maria Luisa Calubaquib, PNP Bicol regional spokesperson, said the armed encounter happened when operatives served a warrant of arrest for five counts of murder and attempted murder charges on Eddie/Arnold Rosero (alias Ka Star), a rebel leader, at his

By Mavic Conde From a small community that organized relief drives for disaster-affected farmers, Tarabangan sa Bicol, Incorporated (TABI) has become a research farm to mitigate the vulnerabilities of farmers to climate change. How did that happen? Let’s get to know some of its members this Peasant Month. Tom Borjal, TABI’s coordinator for the climate resilience program, said typhoons have become more destructive that relief aids weren’t enough as a response. “We’ve seen it a

By Mar S. Arguelles Sorsogon Governor Francis “Chiz” Escudero on Monday, Oct. 25, said that what the country now needs is a president that could heal the wounds that were ripped by politics that divided the country for so many decades. Escudero said, “what we really need is a healing president that can heal the country from the pandemic but also heal the great political issues that divided the country for so many decades.” Escudero, who is running for Senator in the 2022 nati

By Cet Dematera The Legazpi City government has been recognized by the Department of Health (DOH) as one of the fastest and effective local government units (LGU) in the country in terms of its vaccination program against Covid-19 pandemic, Mayor Noel E. Rosal said recently. Rosal said that 100,338 or 48 percent of the city’s 209,000 total population were already fully vaccinated. “Meaning we only need to vaccinate 22 percent of our population to get our target of 70 percen

The threats of charges and counter charges foisted by contending political camps should be viewed as a welcome development. One side (Villafuerte group) has made it known that libel suits would be lodged against personalities identified with the so called Anduyog Group led by former 1st District Representative Rolando Andaya Jr. On the other hand those claiming to be waging a fight against the alleged abusive and corrupt team Cam Sur, have filed or intend to file charges of c

This may be a minor whim for some people, but it’s annoying when a name is changed. I had been accustomed to riding a jeepney that inexplicably slows down once it turns in front of the UNC’s first gate until it reaches Tabuco Bridge through Igualdad Ave, which became J. Hernandez Ave. I’ve been so used to calling it Igualdad. Then, they added one more syllable to that already long word and made it even longer. (Don’t get me wrong. Sir Jaime Hernandez really deserves to

What is happening beneath Canaman? No one ever thought the day would come when we would ask this question. The curiosity is not about culture nor is it about crime; it is rather about these persistent earthquakes that have been troubling the areas around the said town, including the city of Naga. What is causing these earthquakes? The answer is easy if we would base it upon science. Faults active under the earth are one main reason for the shaking. Even the grade schooler kno

Pistang mga gadan, pistang mga kalag. Arog kan Kristmas, Valentine asin Mother’s Day, dapat an mga pistang ini aro-aldaw. Pero arog kan kina-ugalian lalo na digdi sa Pilipinas an duwang magkasunod na pistang ini, Nobyembre 1 saka Nobyembre 2, pigkokomemorar sa paggiromdom kadtong nagtalikod na sa kinaban arog kan mga padanagt tang paryentes asin partidaryos. Ngonyan na pandemya poon pa kan sarong taon an pistang mga gadan asin pistang mga kalag kabaliktaran lugod huli ta an

Kaidto, tuyong Fiestang Kalag, an ibang mga soltero asin mga daraga, imbes mag duman sa kamposanto, mas ginusto pa an mag duman sa natad tanganing mag bokbok nin linubak. Arog kan pabayle ni Hermana Mayora sa Kapilya, an rulubakan iyo an pinag pupunan nin erelosyonan. Sa pagka aga, mga soltero pig bobotboton si venta sa pinamolinong paroy na saindang pig anihan tanganing ekontribuer nin sentimos para magbakal nin kamoteng kahoy na gagamiton sa linubak. An iba iyo an enkargad

The UNC School of Graduate Studies (SGS), the apex of the University, places a premium on community extension services. SGS Dean who is the concurrent Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA) Dr. Romeo M. Sumayo Jr., together with SGS Assistant Dean, Prof. Michel P. Basister, nurtures the culture of community extension services as a centerpiece drill integral to the academic milestones of lifelong learners. SGS students are accustomed to the “town and gown partnership,” a p

Philippine politics has ebbed and flowed in the past but have never sunk so low as Vice President Leni Robredo’s launching of her presidential campaign. As the incumbent vice president and the titular head of the Liberal Party of the Philippines she was predestined to be the presidential bet of the opposition party for the 2022 presidential election. Which meant that a coronation convention was just a formality. Despite being the opposition leader for the last seven years, Ro

The recent move of the joint leadership of the Senate and the House of Representatives to impose restrictions on the much abused substitution of candidates for the President, Vice-President and Senatorial candidates is a welcome move as it would put a monkey wrench on the practice of candidates filing for the above-noted positions only to be substituted later to accommodate a reserved candidate. A clear example is the last minute filing of the candidacy of Ronald “Bato” dela