By Ryan Mostar For more than two decades, Ateneo de Naga High School Batch ‘99 has quietly extended help to families, students, and community partners—small acts of service that, over the years, have grown into a shared commitment. That long-standing spirit of generosity now comes together under a unified initiative: Project Paglaom, inspired by the Bicolano word for hope. “Project Paglaom is our way of giving hope to those who need it most,” said Batch ’99 president Von Karl

By Rhaydz Barcia LEGAZPI CITY --- Albay Governor Noel Rosal reopened the controversial Peñaranda Park as he lit a giant Disney castle-inspired Christmas tree on Friday night, braving intermittent rain to officially welcome the Christmas season. Rosal, whose first term as governor was cut short on December 1, 2022 following a disqualification case, was joined by Albay lawmakers Krisel Lagman (1st District) and Carlos Loria (2nd District), former governor and now Tabaco City V

By Rhaydz Barcia LEGAZPI CITY --- Former Albay Representative Joey Sarte Salceda has denied any involvement in the controversial fund insertion in the 2024 national budget, after retired senior Supreme Court Associate Justice Antonio Carpio named him as the alleged architect of the measure. Carpio, in a Facts First podcast hosted by Christian Esguera, claimed Salceda was the “main architect” of the fund insertion, saying: “The idea came from former Congressman Joey Salceda, w

By Connie Calipay LEGAZPI CITY --- Police arrested a 71-year-old suspect in a shooting incident in Bacacay, Albay that injured two female victims on Sunday. In a report, PRO-5 acting Regional Director Brig. Gen. Erosito Miranda identified the suspect as alias “Pilay”, a resident of Bacacay and was arrested without resistance in a mountainous area of Barangay Pigcobohan. Initial investigation showed that an ongoing land dispute between the suspect and the victims escalated int

By Connie Calipay LEGAZPI CITY --- New Bicol Police chief, Brig. Gen. Erosito Miranda, on Friday committed to ensuring that the quality of police services is felt and appreciated to promote peace and security in the region. In a command turnover ceremony at the Police Regional Office 5 (Bicol Region) grandstand at Camp Simeon Ola, Miranda pledged to make the PRO-5 a dependable ally of the local government units, other government agencies, the private sector, and the general p

By Ernie Delgado LEGAZPI CITY --- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) partnered with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to conduct the December 2–4 Counter-Trafficking in Emergencies training in Legazpi City. The training enhanced the operational skills of law enforcement officers and DSWD personnel in the Bicol region to address and prevent the increase in human trafficking in the aftermath of natural disasters. The IOM, a United Nations a

By MANUEL T. UGALDE The plunder of public works funds in the Bicol region began as early as the presidency of Corazon Aquino. This was the opinion of a high-ranking public works official who reacted strongly to the recent Bicol Mail reports on the infrastructure scandal that has already led to the imprisonment of a Bicolano bureau director and the suicide of a district administrative officer, following the creation of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) in Jul

By Paulo DS Papa The Naga City Police Office has activated a Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) to focus on the rape-slay of 18-year-old Rosalie Muceros of Zone 4, Barangay Panicuason. On Thursday afternoon, November 27, Muceros’ lifeless body was found in a grassy lot in Zone 6 of the same barangay. She was discovered with her torso exposed and her pants pulled down. Police Capt. Gil III Guban, officer-in-charge of Naga City Police Station 4, said in an interview that t

By Rhaydz Barcia TIWI, Albay --- Mother and son Kerzy Cirujales, 30, and her two-year-old son Kyzer from Barangay Naga were among the more than 600 participants who joined the 10th Run to Save the Sea Turtles held here over the weekend. Kyzer, the youngest participant, ran alongside Kerzy in the 3-kilometer category. The oldest runner was 77 years old. Both were among participants from all walks of life who took part in the decade-old campaign pioneered in this town to advoca

LEGAZPI CITY --- A Bicol University student miraculously survived a tragic road crash that killed 11 of the 12 passengers of a UV Express van plying the Nabua, Camarines Sur–Legazpi City route on Wednesday, November 26, 2025. Among the fatalities was a 49-year-old navy officer. In a press briefing on Thursday, Camalig Mayor Carlos Irwin “Caloy” G. Baldo Jr., together with responding agencies, confirmed the grim toll. Police Major Karlo Dy, chief of the Camalig Municipal Polic

By Ryan Mostar NAGA CITY — The Universidad de Sta. Isabel de Naga, Inc. (USI) has once again demonstrated its stature as one of the country’s premier nursing institutions after its Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program recorded an outstanding 99.43% passing rate in the November 2025 Philippine Nurse Licensure Examination (PNLE), earning 8th place nationwide. This latest accomplishment reinforces USI’s identity as a beacon of excellence in nursing education. As the firs

By Ryan Mostar DAET, Camarines Norte — What started as a modest kitchen experiment decades ago has blossomed into one of Bicol’s most cherished bakeries. In the early 1970s, Arlene A. Vergara crafted simple sugar cookies using just six eggs, a pinch of flour, and the few ingredients her family could spare. Selling them in small batches from their apartment, she could hardly have imagined that these tiny creations would become the seed of a business legacy spanning generations

The City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) on Monday opened a 3-day Basic Incident Command System (ICS) Course and 1-day Emergency Operations Center Executive Training Course (EOC-EC) with 40 participants from the city government and the city’s 27 barangays. CDRRMO head Raynor Rodriguez said the training aims to equip barangay volunteers and LGU personnel with a clear understanding of how the Incident Management Team (IMT) and the Emergency Operations Cen

By Rhaydz Barcia LEGAZPI CITY --- To help ease the burden of Bicolanos affected by a series of calamities, particularly Typhoons Tino and Uwan, the Pag-IBIG Fund has allocated ₱1,774,571,000 for emergency and calamity loans targeting more than 60,000 members across the Bicol Region. Nelson Ibarra, acting branch head of the Pag-IBIG Legazpi Branch, said qualified members may borrow up to 90 percent of their total savings. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier placed the entir

By Benilda Recebido SORSOGON CITY --- At least 160 members of the New People’s Army (NPA) took an oath of allegiance to the government in Sorsogon City. Sorsogon Provincial Administrator Franco Eric Ravanilla announced on Thursday (Nov. 21) that these former communist rebels, who have surrendered, came from various towns in Sorsogon. Police Major Irvin Bellen of the Provincial Intelligence Unit of the Sorsogon Police Provincial Office (SorPPO) said that those who took the oat