High-powered firearms seized in Masbate clash with NPA
By Connie Calipay LEGAZPI CITY --- Several high-powered firearms of the New People's Army (NPA) were recovered after an encounter early this week with government troops in Masbate province. A social media post of the 9th Infantry Division (9ID) on Wednesday said the encounter occurred in the towns of Baleno and Aroroy in Masbate on Monday. Based on the report, the troops acted on civilian information that armed men were monitored in the vicinity “conducting extortion activiti
City lays out 2023 plan on new roads, parks
By Jason B. Neola IMAGINE a multimodal tree-lined road alongside the Bicol River where one can go biking or jogging safely early in the morning or just before sunset. Think also of a large open park with families and groups of friends leisurely spending their time and children socializing in playgrounds surrounded by bike and jogging lanes not too far from a well-maintained open-air concert ground and football field. This scene will no longer be a figment of one’s imagination
State university’s research on IP wins nat’l, international awards
By Sonny Malate GOA, Camarines Sur --- A research on indigenous people (IP) living in this town by a team from Partido State University has reaped awards and recognitions from the reputable institutions in the country and abroad. The research delved the critical aspect of health dynamics in the context of poverty and development of IPs – the Agta Isarog and Agta Tabangnon – at the Mount Isarog in Southern Luzon. Titled “Evaluating Poverty and Promoting Development through Hea
NEA favors Albay Electric Coop conversion
By Manuel T Ugalde LEGAZPI CITY --- The National Electrification Administration was considering in principle the shifting of the problem of the Albay Electric Cooperative (ALECO) to a Cooperative to Cooperative operation after a failed privatization under a concession agreement with the giant San Miguel Corporation during the past 8 long years. The failed SMC owned Albay Power and Energy Corp (APEC) management control of ALECO was rejected by the ALECO consumers during the Se
Bicol’s calibrated swine repop nearing completion
By Lovella P. Guarin THREE months after the last active African Swine Fever (ASF) case in Bicol was contained, the Department of Agriculture in Bicol is halfway through with its calibrated swine repopulation program. The Livestock Program has targeted to distribute 4,275 piglets to the hog raisers previously affected by ASF to propel the hog industry towards complete recovery. According to Dr. Marissa Guillermo, Livestock Program regional coordinator, a total of 3,345 piglet
EDITORIAL: Capability versus Capacity
The recurring problems in governance, aside from centralized policies, is the lack of CAPACITY to analyse and make effective decisions by and of local leaders from LGUs, the CSOs and most of our social and economic aggrupation. This is a result of old and conventional forms of CAPABILITY building training, which development institutions failed, and refuse to address. There is big difference between this two apparently simple human resource development terminologies. CAPABILI
What is a Weather Disturbance?
Well, I looked it up and according to PAGASA, it is An area of low-pressure in which storm conditions occur. Let’s dissect that. It is an area of low-pressure which I suppose, would be the same as a low pressure area (which we are more familiar with). In this low pressure area, storms occur. There are storms in this low pressure area. Last week, weather reports have relayed that there has been a low pressure area east of Surigao. So, there really has been a low pressur
Settling for the Shortcut
The recent call of DILG Secretary Benhur Abalos for the resignation of 955 Officers of the Philippine National Police, supposedly “to make a fresh start and cleanse their ranks,” is undoubtedly a way of evading a more transparent investigation into the involvement of the police in illegal drugs. Such a call was heeded and upheld by no less than the President of the Republic, causing an upheaval in the PNP. Rather than achieving the purpose it is meant to achieve, what it does
A perspective on angels and demons, Part 1 of 2
“Our Father, who art in Heaven… Creator of heaven and earth… Thy will be done… he descended into hell … He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father almighty.” From the Lord’s Prayer and Apostles’ Creed Are angels and demons real? How do we interact with them consciously or unconsciously in our everyday lives? Why are they here? These questions and more are probably questions we’ve entertained before at some point but have overcome, ignored or disproven
Minsan Kaidto sa Kalye Lourdes
Dai ko nanggad nalilingawan an sakuyang buhay sa Kalye Lourdes, sarong sadit na kalye sa Pasay City na iyo an sakuyang inot na pig istaran sa Manila. Duman ko na experiencia an ejemplo nin buhay sa Manila na pinag halo an marangya asin pobreng pagbuhay. An Lourdes Street, masusumpungan sa katahawaan kan F.B Harrison asin ini minabagtas sa Roxas Blvd anas sakop kan Ciudad nin Pasay. Taon 1976, premiro kong pagtungtong sa Manila lunad sa PNR abot sa Paco Station, nakidagos ak
Sa Pagbasa an Pag-asa
Segun ki Gabby Bordado kadto kan siya pa an Senior Consigliori sa Naga City Hall dakul nang taon an naka-agui, nasa pagbasa an pag-asa. Si Cong. Bordado na midbid na parasurat nin libro, artikulo, column asin rawit dawit, debatista, orador asin iskolar poon sa Calabanga Pilot School, Ateneo de Naga High School, UP Los Baήos asin UP Diliman. Pigdadangog an saiyang mga hulit bako lang sa politika kundi sagkod sa media asin agrikultura. Nadagdagan pa na pareho sindang mag-agom n
Haikus Through the Years
Haiku is a short Japanese poem. Traditional Japanese haiku is about nature; it’s unrhymed consisting of 17 syllables arranged in three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively. But modern haiku can also be about anything – love, death, relationship, pain, commitment, social awareness, family, etc. It was the late Fr. James J. O’Brien, SJ, who taught our high school class at the Ateneo de Naga how to write haikus. Since I am not a poet, longer poems are difficult for me to
The Launch: Social Entrepreneurship Development Project
Last year, I wrote a series about MSMEs, micro-small and medium enterprises, and social enterprises. It was the period of re-opening, as schools started their face-to-face classes, and business slowly returned to the entire operation. The Department of Trade and Industry and the Tabang Bikol Movement joined in October to spearhead the Regional MSME Summit in Legazpi City to aim for a rebound of the economy. The TBM joined DTI’s Orgullo Kan Bicol (OKB) Trade Fair at Mega Mall
Our Life’s Purpose
In ten years or so, I will be pushing fifty. I will be half a century old. Not yet a senior citizen though, but considerably old. Simply put, what is old? Death in the family will make you think about your own life. The past year, five family members and friends passed away. Old and young. Honestly, I surmise that for them there would no longer be reflections about life. However, for us we have a life to live. The daily routine devours our thoughts, our feelings, and, our t
.jpg)
.jpg)