By RHAYDZ BARCIA MALILIPOT, Albay --- After seven long months in a tent city, joy and relief filled the faces of Mayon Volcano evacuees as they finally packed their belongings and headed home Thursday following the lowering of the volcano’s alert level from 3 to 2. Among those eager to return to a normal life were siblings Adelina “Deling” Bilolo-Francisco, 83, and Domingo Bilolo, 69, residents of Barangay Calbayog in this town, who had endured the longest evacuation of their

By Jason B. Neola A trade fair that seeks to promote local entrepreneurship while highlighting the role of faith in community development will be held in Naga City from September 10 to 21, 2026. The 2026 Bishop Francisco Gainza Trade Fair (BFGTF) will be held at Robinsons Naga under the theme “Ina: Nurturing a Growing Church.” Organized by the Caritas-Caceres (Naga), Inc., the BFGTF aims to provide a venue for local producers, entrepreneurs, farmers, artisans and other commun

By Ernie Delgado LEGAZPI CITY --- After spending seven months in evacuation centers, about 4,800 residents of Albay who had to leave their villages near the danger zone of the Philippines’ most active volcano were finally able to return home on Thursday, August 6. Their return followed the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology’s (Phivolcs) decision on August 5 to lower the alert status of Mayon Volcano from Level 3 (indicating an increased tendency towards hazard

By: Ernie Delgado LEGAZPI CITY --- Bomb disposal experts carried out a controlled underground detonation of a World War II explosive in Albay on Saturday, a local government reported, after it was discovered south of the erupting Mayon Volcano. Nearly 30 operatives from the Regional Explosive Ordnance Disposal and Canine Unit (RECU) cordoned off the site in the town of Camalig, where the 500-kilogram aircraft bomb was first discovered on July 21. Residents of Camalig heard th

By Jordan Domingo BULA, Camarines Sur --- A 40-year-old butcher was arrested after allegedly selling suspected shabu to an undercover police officer during a buy-bust operation in Barangay Inuyonan, Bula, Camarines Sur, Tuesday evening, August 11. Police identified the suspect as alias “Jojo Badiola,” 40, married and a resident of Bula. Personnel of the Municipal Drug Enforcement Unit of the Bula Municipal Police Station, led by Police Capt. Junel S.B. Cea, in coordination wi

By Bobby Q. Labalan SORSOGON CITY --- Two Bicol provinces figured prominently in the malnutrition list of the National Nutrition Council (NNC) for 2025, the agency’s report published in its website revealed. Masbate continuously leads the statistics, ranking highest both at the regional and national levels for wasting children with a 4.49 percent prevalence, matching its 2024 placement. Camarines Sur followed in second place at 1.83 percent, with Sorsogon and Catanduanes clos

THE recent exchange between Malacañang and members of the Duterte family over Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr.’s remarks about “pro-China” public officials highlights a question that should rise above political personalities: Where should the loyalty of Philippine public officials lie? Teodoro’s call for officials who refuse to uphold the country’s policy on the West Philippine Sea to consider resigning may be provocative, but the principle behind it is not difficult to

THE enactment of Republic Act No. 12322 marks an important opportunity to rethink how the country approaches basic education. By giving the Department of Education (DepEd) greater flexibility to determine which curricular approach works best for Filipino learners, the law puts a principle that should have always been at the center of education reform: learning and mastery must come first. For years, the spiral progression approach required concepts to be introduced early and

Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego? More importantly, where in the world is Senator Loren Legarda? According to her office, she’s merely in France on a "pre-scheduled medical leave"—conveniently communicated to Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian right before her departure. Her camp insists this trip was planned well in advance for purely personal health reasons, and definitely not a desperate scramble to dodge any legal proceedings. How reassuring! Official NBI travel rec

Ang acquittal o pagdeklarar na mayong sala an akusado nag reresulta sa pagkakaigwang proteksyon laban sa inaapod na double jeopardy. Ini yaon sa satong Konstitusyon. Gusto sabihon, pag an sarong tawo nakasuhan na sa husgado, nagkaigwa ning arraignment, nagtao nin plea o pag simbag kung may sala o mayo, asin natapos ang kaso sa acquittal o pawalang sala kang akusado, dai na siya pwdeng kasuhan o husgahan giraray para sa parehong kaso. Sa kaso kan dating police officer na si SP

It is not yet a done deal. But another electricity company is challenging the consumer cooperative that has long served Rinconada. Soon, this competitor may enter the territory of CASURECO III, then CASURECO II—as if competition alone could solve Bicol’s power problem. I have written repeatedly about high electricity rates and the burden they put on families, businesses and institutions, especially in Camarines Sur. The solution may still be far away. Competition should never

There is apparently something suspicious about reading a book in public. Put a book on your table at home and nobody cares. Put the same book on the table at a café, and suddenly there is a possibility that you are trying to make a statement. Maybe you’re not even reading it properly. Maybe you’re just holding it there so people can see the title. At least, that’s what someone might think. It is a curious thing about us. We have become remarkably good at assigning motives to

The impeachment trial of the Vice President gave us a window into how the Constitution—and democracy itself—works. What we saw was not always pretty. But perhaps that is the point. DEMOCRACY IS MESSY Democracy is messy. Obstructionist, even. It argues with itself. It moves slowly. It allows people we disagree with to speak—and sometimes win. Sometimes the vote goes against everything you believe. You lose. Your candidate loses. The decision goes the other way. And it hurts. B

As a young lad, I walked on iconic streets, some even date back to the Spanish Colonial Era. Streets, roads, and avenues that existed, when, The City of Naga, was then known as Nueva Caceres. Of course, some are still present and survived but with different names. An example of this is Calle Via Gainza. In modern times, it is popularly known as Peñafrancia Avenue. This historic avenue had taken its name from the illustrious Bishop Francisco Gainza, O.P. — he led the See of Ca

Isa ako sa masugid na nanunuod sa telebisyon ng impeachment trial kahit palagi akong puyat dahil sa magkaibang oras dito sa Amerika at sa Pilipinas. Pinagtiyatiyagaan ko na lang kahit inaantok na ako dahil mahalaga sa akin na malaman at mapag-aralan ang mga dahilan kung bakit dapat ma-impeach si Inday Sara, ang kasalukuyang bise-presidente ng Pilipinas. Nitong nakaraang impeachment trial may halong katatawanan at galit ang naging reaksyon ko sa mga pangalan na binanggit ng pr