Palace appoints career diplomats as new envoys

DEPUTY Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte on Sunday announced the appointments of 17 new ambassadors, all of whom are career diplomats of the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Police shifts security focus on malls, tourist destinations

AFTER ensuring public safety during the Holy Week, authorities will now shift security coverage to tourist destinations, including malls, shopping centers, and other areas in Metro Manila.

4 Filipinas remain with relative of Libya's Muammar Gaddafi

FOUR Filipinas remain confined with Sahal Shareef, a relative of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, the Philippines' Foreign Affairs Department said on Sunday as the US-led coalition threatens to escalate offensives against Libya.

Agency's scholars find jobs in Middle East after completing course

ONE hundred scholars of an agency tasked to upgrade Filipino workers' skills are now bound for various jobs in the Middle East while another 100 workers are expecting to be employed locally after completing their respective technical-vocational courses.

Prayers for peace as Aquino visits tycoon's wake in Davao

PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III wants the country to have lasting peace, his prayers during his first Lent as the country's leader.

In his visit during the wake of lawyer and business tycoon Jesus V. Ayala on Thursday morning, Aquino said he will continue to pray for peace not only during Holy Week but throughout the following days.

JVA a big loss: Aquino

THE death of Davao agri-industrialist and political kingmaker Jesus V. Ayala is a big personal loss for President Benigno S. Aquino III.

Aquino, during his visit at the lawyer's wake on Thursday, said Ayala has been a constant supporter who never fails to come in comfort to the Aquino family.

Foreign teams to compete in Apo boulder challenge

SOME five teams from abroad and 21 Filipino teams are set to participate in the First Mt. Apo International Boulder Face Challenge 2011, the Department of Tourism (DOT) Davao Region bared Wednesday.

DOT Regional Director Arturo P. Boncato, in a phone interview, said teams coming from Belgium, Indonesia, Canada, Germany and Vietnam already confirmed their participation in this year's boulder face challenge while 21 other teams from different part of the country have also confirmed.

Segregation a must by July 1: Environment exec

THE City Environmental and Natural Resources Office (Cenro) in Davao City has been conducting lectures in various communities ahead of the full implementation of "no segregation, no collection policy" starting July 1.

Lawyer Joseph Felizarta, Cenro officer-in-charge, in an interview, said they will make use of the remaining time to conduct education campaigns in various communities in the city to inform the public on proper segregation before it will be implemented.

Tracking system in villages eyed

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Plans to use a tracking system that will monitor Angeles City’s large transient population are under way, a top city official said.

Angeles City Mayor Edgardo Pamintuan said the tracking system will determine the places of origin and the reasons for staying of non-Kapampangans in the city’s villages.

Solid waste management awareness growing

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – The awareness on solid waste management and environmental protection is growing as it began reaching the grassroots level, an official of the provincial environment agency said.

The Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (Penro) conducted recently a four-day consultative dialogue with villagers and officials of San Luis, Candaba and other fourth district towns.

Pampanga bishop to attend Pope John Paul II’s beatification

ANGELES CITY – San Fernando Archbishop Paciano Aniceto is scheduled to attend the beatification of the late Pope John Paul II at the Vatican City, Rome on May 1.

Monsignor Jun Mercado, Lourdes Church parish priest, said many Filipinos would attend the former Pope’s beatification, which is the fastest in the history of the Catholic Church.

Pavia interred on Easter Sunday

FOUNDING general manager of state-run Philippines News Agency (PNA), Jose Leetai Pavia, was laid to rest Sunday at the Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina City.

The veteran journalist was the publisher of the Bulacan-based Mabuhay newspaper and former editor in chief of the then Sun.Star Clark.

Regional tax bureau collects P2.7B

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) in Central Luzon has posted a total of P2.7 billion in revenue tax collection, overcoming its target for the first quarter of 2011.

Capitol to renovate convention center

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – The Provincial Government will rehabilitate and renovate the Bren Z. Guiao Convention Center and Sports Complex.

Extension for delayed passport releases allowed

THE Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has authorized all foreign service posts to extend the validity of machine-readable passports if there are delays in passport delivery.

Immigration personnel warned vs illegal operations

IMMIGRATION agents were warned against conducting unauthorized investigation or operations against a foreigner without a mission order from the office.

Security tightened anew in Basilan

POLICE and military have tightened anew the security in and around the Basilan province after last Friday’s recovery of an improvised bomb in front of a government building, an official said.

Basilan police director Alex Linesis said foot and roving patrols have been intensified as well as the conduct of the mobile and surprise checkpoints in coordination with the military forces.

Custom bureau eyes hike in revenue collection

AN OFFICIAL of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) predicted that the revenue collection of BOC's Zamboanga City district office will further increase in the coming months.

Lawmaker's caravan successful

DEPUTY Speaker for Mindanao Ma. Isabelle Climaco-Salazar has expressed her gratitude to all the institutions, agencies, groups and individuals who have extended help in her two-month caravan in the west coast villages in Zamboanga City.

Salazar, who is this city's first district congresswoman, said the barangay caravan initiated her office aimed to strengthen security, health and education (SHE) initiatives in the first district turned out to be a huge success as thousands of people benefitted from the numerous services provided.

NHA asks City: Justify grant

CITY Hall needs to sort out two questions related to project funds and beneficiaries’ fees, as it tries to plug the backlog in affordable housing.

The National Housing Authority (NHA) asked the Cebu City Government to liquidate its P1.5-million grant, which was used to develop several socialized housing sites.

Commotion before new flyover opening ends in death of snatchers’ pursuer

THE man who went after snatchers of his niece’s cell phone and got shot on the approach to the new flyover in Mambaling, Cebu City died an hour later in a hospital.

“Di ko kadawat aning hitaboa (I cannot accept what happened),” said Veronica Hanggin, 53, on the passing of her husband Arsenio Hanggin Jr., 47.

Allegations of lechon ‘theft’ get Cebu City suppliers’ goat

CEBU City’s lechon dealers denied allegations of a scam in which they supposedly lop off part of the meat in their roasted pigs, even when customers pay the full price.

In a regular meeting with Cebu City Hall’s Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries (DVMF), at least 30 lechon merchants in Cebu City denied a scam alleged by University of the Philippines Cebu City (UPCC) professor Cherry Ballescas.

Clergy promotes morality, values

DURING Good Friday’s Siete Palabras, officials of the Cebu Archdiocese explained Jesus’s last words with modern interpretations, particularly focused on the role of the laity and on issues of morality.

Guv prays for protection of Cebu, continued guidance

GOV. Gwen Garcia visited several churches in the south of the province last Maundy Thursday, as part of her annual visita iglesia.

The governor was accompanied by some Capitol officials and friends.

Hacking deaths, stabbing mar Lenten season

TWO dead men with hack wounds were found in a mountain barangay of Cebu City last Maundy Thursday.

Police identified them as Glenn Parawan, 32, and Manuel Edgardo Parawan III, 17. The victims, who are cousins, were placed inside two sacks.

Talisay council scraps proposed trash fees

THE Talisay City Council’s committee on laws, ordinances and city properties has shot down an approved ordinance of a mountain barangay that seeks to impose permit fees on the use of the city's sanitary landfill, saying it's beyond its taxing power.

The five-man committee chaired by Councilor Richard Francis Aznar said that only the City Government has the authority to collect and impose fines on the operation of the landfill in Barangay Tapul, through a valid ordinance.

MGB urges power firms to snub illegal quarry

THE Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) 7 has asked power-producing companies to require limestone suppliers to submit proof of their mining operations.

MGB 7 Regional Director Loreto B. Alburo called for a technical conference, after a receiving a report from the multipartite monitoring team of Quarry Ventures Philippines Inc. (QVPI) on the ongoing manual extraction of fist- and head-sized limestone slabs in their area.

5T witness City’s Buhing Kalbaryo

ABOUT 5,000 people witnessed last Friday the reenactment of Jesus Christ’s experiences on His road to Calvary to be crucified, during the Buhing Kalbaryo organized by the Cebu City Government.

The reenactment, now on its 14th year, started at the Archdiocesan Shrine of San Nicolas de Tolentino in Barangay San Nicolas Proper and ended in the Archdiocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Barangay Guadalupe, passing through Barangay Calamba.

Burglars ransack judge’s house

ROBBERS broke into the house of a court judge in Barangay San Isidro, Talisay City last Friday and ran off with over P40,000 worth of valuables.

The burglary happened while Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 24 Judge Olegario Sarmiento and his family were in a resort in Talisay City at 2:30 p.m., said P02 Jundave David, the case investigator.

35,000 tourists witness crucifixion rites

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO -- Thousands of tourists trooped to a village here on Friday to witness the reenactment of Jesus Christ's suffering, which some foreigners described as "magnificent and unique".

Ching Pangilinan, senior tourism officer, said they monitored 35,000 visitors based on the tourist registry books and foot traffic.