DENR says: Aguirangan Island has no owner
By Paulo DS. Papa The Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) recently declared that the disputed Rose Island, locally known as Aguirangan Island, in Barangay Maangas, Presentacion, Camarines Sur, has no assigned lot number and considered as unclassified public forest. Thus parties who are allegedly claiming ownership or title over the island cannot possess title over it according to the DENR Bi
Campus Journalists, leaders mark Maguindanao massacre
By Zyra Ponce In commemoration of the 12th year anniversary of the Maguindanao massacre, the College Editors Guild of the Philippines (CEGP) in Camarines Sur together with other campus journalists and student leaders lit candles at the Quince Martires in Naga City on Tuesday. Nov. 23. in solidarity and remembrance of the 58 massacre victims. With the theme “Katanudan: A Remembrance and Call for Justice”, the event was participated by campus student publications in Naga City

Naga braces for Jan, Feb Bar exams
By Jason B. Neola An Incident Management Team (IMT) that will respond to any emergency situation that may arise during the conduct of the Bar Examinations has been constituted and activated by the City Government of Naga. Pursuant to Bar Bulletin Nos. 23 and 29, series 2021 issued by Supreme Court Associate Justice and Bar examinations Chairperson Marvic Leonen, the University of Nueva Caceres in J. Hernandez Avenue, Naga City has been designated to be one of the local testin
Aviation Security Group 5 chief charged with frustrated murder
By Cet Dematera The regional commander of the Aviation Security Group (ASG) in Bicol was charged on Monday (Nov. 22) afternoon with frustrated murder before the Legazpi City Prosecutor’s Office by the police non-commissioned officer (PNCO) who lost his right eye in a commotion inside Camp General Simeon Ola a week ago. Police Master Sergeant Ricky Brabante of the Regional Mobile Force Battalion 5, filed the frustrated murder complaint against Police Col. Dulnoan Dinamling J


Comelec urges aspirants to obey health protocols
By Jason B. Neola The Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Naga City called on candidates for the May 2022 polls to comply at all times with the safety and health protocols mandated by the Inter Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF). Lawyer Maico Julia, city election officer, said that his office will be requiring all aspirants in the city to submit an affidavit of compliance with the minimum health standards within 24 hours after the conclusion of any in-p


EDITORIAL: Bitter Pill
The late Senate President Aquilino Pimentel Jr., founder of PDP-Laban, the supposed flag bearer of the super majority must be rolling in his grave. His brainchild is on the brink of disintegration in a very heartbreaking manner, courtesy of those who benefited the most from the party, with President Rodrigo R. Duterte at the lead pack. To think that those who drove the fatal nail and sipped most of the nectar of the party in power have joined the party only for convenience. T


Rest from Restriction
Finally, the drivers have taken down the barriers inside the jeepneys. Sometimes, when I fit my body inside one of those compartments with plastic sheets for walls and another plastic curtain in front of me, being tossed around by the wind and the movement of the vehicle, aggravated by the face mask and face shield, I feel like an inmate in solitary confinement, struggling for air to breathe. It used to be so easy to nudge my butt to move from front to back on a jeepney sea


The Singer and the Songs: An Evening with Carmen Camacho
It is said it is never proper to talk about the age of a woman but there she was on the screen, in her 80s, and not looking it. With that youthful lilt in her voice, Carmen Camacho was again in the limelight. This happened last Sunday in that rare program called Plaka , initiated by Michael Coroza, prize-winning poet and scholar with cultural stalwarts, Prof. Felipe Padilla M. de Leon, Jeannete Job Coroza, and our very own, Sonia Malazarte Roco. The title of the program witti


New Normal sa Midya
Haros aro-aldaw naglalakaw lakaw ako aga saka hapon bako lang magpaganot asin maghorop-horop kundi maghenirib kan mga pigdadangog sa radyo asin pigdadalan sa TV kan mga tao. Kun sa Naga sa sadit na parte kan subdivision na sakuyang pigdadagosan, kun sa banwaan sa palibot kan sitio. Garo man lang random survey an sakuyang sadering estilo kan sakuyang pagdeterminar kan audience share asin radio survey sa lugar na sakuyang piglalakaw lakawan. May darakulang harong, may mga magag

The Senate Line-Up
In our column last week we wrote about the probability of no less than three major presidential and vice-presidential tandem which would slug out this coming May 9, 2022 national and local elections. On the other hand, in the senatorial race records obtained indicate that there are 178 who filed their Certificates of Candidacies (COCs), while only 12 candidates may be voted upon by the electorate, assuming that the voter chooses to vote for all the 12 slates. From experience


Mommy Kap
Siya si former Barangay Captain Teresita Veluz Blaza, Mommy Kap sa mga aki kaidto na ngonian mga magurang naman kan Barangay Bagumbayan Norte, Ciudad nin Naga. Mga taon 80 kan mabantog sa Naga an Mommy Kap ta naguno niya an suporta kan mga jovenes tanganing harayo sa daindatang bisyo. Sa pag inspirasyon kan saiyang mahigos na esposo si Vicente totoy P. Blaza ( died 1994) aldao-bangui naatenderan ni Mommy Kap an trabaho sa Bagumbayan Norte, saro sa matuninong na lugar sa Nag


Losing a Jesuit Friend
Whenever I would email him, he would always respond rather quickly. Last June 15 of this year, I emailed him asking how he was. In my email, I also talked about the current political conditions in the Philippines and in the U.S. to inveigle him to respond. Politics, after all, was like our cup of tea in many of our email exchanges. But, to my surprise, he did not respond. I followed up with another short email on July 2. I wrote, “Are you ok? A one liner from you would make


UNC embeds Coursera in the curriculum
Under the iPeople, Inc., the University of Nueva Caceres, led by the University President, Dr. Fay Lea Patria M. Lauraya, and its sister schools including Mapua University are among the first academic institutions to embrace Coursera in 2018. In Bicol, UNC has been a first mover with Coursera in terms of innovative learning and upskilling for students and employees. UNC continues to leverage Coursera to positively influence the employability outcomes of our graduates. We are


Illiberal democracy needs a strong and experienced leader, Part 3
“Democracy cannot consist solely of elections that are nearly always fictitious and managed by rich landowners and professional politicians.” - Che Guevara The accidental rise to the presidency of Corazon Cojuango Aquino exposed a truism that inexperienced people make mistakes, but what is equally true is that an inexperienced president making such mistakes could have disastrous effects to the country. Cory Aquino’s spite for Marcos and her lack of vision, bad decisions in th


Survey shows need for holistic approach in children’s learning
“Dae po pwede, mayong load, mayong gadget, mayong signal… mayong kakanon, mabuang na ako, Mam,” one parent quite tearfully told me in one meeting at the TBM pilot community in Canaman, Camarines Sur. She responded to the question posed online on Zoom a week after the webinar: “Kaya pa ninyo ang isa pang taon ng modular at online learning?” Her response was straightforward, direct, and spontaneous. The mother’s bitterness is validated by a Bicol-wide survey that TBM conducted