Libot: New Beginnings and old starts

DUBBED as the new gateway to Northern Mindanao, the Laguindingan airport promises to be a reinvention from its older predecessor the Lumbia airport. New, larger and a little farther, all of this was in good stride as international ready facilities were supposed to bring excellent service to the passengers coming in and out.

Yet just a few days of operation, a lot of loose ends start unraveling itself, and like a rushed tailored outfit, it hasn't been all fitting for the passengers of Northern Mindanao. It’s been uncomfortable and a little tight on the end.

Vugt: Assisted suicide

WE CAN read in the media that euthanasia is again a burning issue in the Church and in the State. The word euthanasia has many different meanings. In general it means: assisting somebody who is on his deathbed.

Luczon: Where have all the ‘Miners’ gone?

THE quick visit at the family-run Carrasco Law Office was quite a reunion of sorts to the concerned individuals involved in the civic organizations after the elections, but not so much of the little chatter, it went down to business, seeking enlightenment with the legal counsel Evangeline Carrasco on the matters that is about to transpire today.

Editorial: Twister alert

TORNADO (“buhawi”) stories abound in Cebu through the decades, but because tornados strike the province rarely, such stories at times took on a mythical quality. It was not surprising, therefore, that the tornado that struck parts of the coastal areas of Talisay City and Minglanilla town the other day merited much attention.

Roperos: Conflict of creeds

WHEN we come down to it, one cannot really equate the current ideological conflict with loyalty to one’s country.

I am not disloyal to my country simply because I do not subscribe to the government’s policy toward the poor. Many politicians are loud-mouthed on their supposed concern for the impoverished masses, yet their public service does not reflect their concern.

So: Sex for fly

I WANT to go home.

It’s a statement wrought with longing, loneliness, tiredness and desperation. It’s a statement uttered by many overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who have had enough of being away from their country and family at some length.

Malilong: Embassy officials as predators

WE SHOULD not recall the Philippine Embassy officials whom Akbayan Rep. Walden Abello has accused of sexually exploiting abused overseas Filipino workers in the Middle East. They should be tried where the crimes were committed under the laws of the host country.

If you bring these predators to the Philippines, they will most likely get no more than a slap on the wrist. First, we do not have a death penalty. Second, our justice system stinks.

Seares: Battered wives-- and, yes, husbands

WHAT could Malacañang, the President's Palace, contribute to sounds of homage on Fathers Day?

Hardly anything profound or kind since President Aquino is not a father and not likely to become one soon.

Espinoza: When it rains, it overflows

NATIONAL government agencies involved in running after cybersex or cyberporn should seriously consider the suggestion of Cordova Mayor Ady Sitoy to include in the investigation firms that facilitate money transfer.

Cordova, a third class municipality in Mactan Island and one of the 43 towns in Cebu, is now considered the cybersex den of the province. Twice this year, law enforcement agents apprehended parents and their children, who were made to pose naked before the internet camera.

Editorial: Legalize small scale mining now

THE recent deaths of two small scale miners in Itogon opened up another discussion for the legalization of the trade.

Benguet’s backbone of economy relies mainly on agriculture and mining; and almost 50 percent of mining in the province comes from small scale, particularly along Itogon, because of rich mineral deposit in the area.

Macasinag: Reinforcing confidence in others

THE unhappy truth in many schools is that some of your colleagues will be resentful if you do something innovative or expend more energy than the norm in your work. A happier truth is that in these same places, there are always a few soulmates who are energized by their work, catalyzed by someone else's ideas, and ready to take the risk of growth.

Cajucom: Mothersmother Diaries Ep06: Extra challenge

LAST week I was all excited and proud about my little diva finally braving Grade One, feeling victorious after our setback last year at her being accelerated but emotionally unprepared for elementary. I might have spoken too soon.

After the Independence Day holiday last week, Nadine has again started to cry whenever I get ready to leave her in her classroom. Up until now, just this morning, tears streamed down her cheeks as she anticipated my leaving for work.

Kinnud: Ifugao and the Kiangan tag

AS I write this, celebrations are underway in my beloved Ifugao for its 47th Foundation Day. The province marks as its founding the enactment of RA 4695 on June 18, 1966 dividing the old Mountain Province (Montanosa) into four new provinces, the three others being Kalinga-Apayao, Benguet and Mountain Province. Sub-provinces Kalinga and Apayao were later established as two distinct provinces with the passage of RA 7878 on February 14, 1995. The Province of Benguet chose to celebrate foundation day dubbed as Adivay in November. This is in due regard to Act No.

Editorial: Criminal act

THEY'RE at it again. Members of the New People's Army (NPA) struck Monday afternoon, abducting five unarmed soldiers in the hinterlands of Paquibato District in the latest of the communist rebels' unlawful activities.

For a city as peaceful as Davao, the NPA's act naturally disturbs the tranquility that government officials worked so had to attain through the years, and it's no surprise the city's highest official -- Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio -- expressed her displeasure over the incident.

Velez: Davao state of mind

WHAT comes to mind after Mayor Sara Duterte’s State of the City Address was not her misses and accomplishments, but rather how much have changed in Davao for the past 20 years or so, yet much remain the same.

For instance, I remember one community I visited along Bankerohan River a decade ago when it was flooded by the swelling river one rainy season. Some of these folks I talked to said they live in this place since the 1970s or 80s. They are still there, bracing perennial floods that get worse every year, including the one last January.

Ledesma: A night of fright reveals a virtue of Digong

THE heavy downpour last June 5 gave a strong signal that rainy season is around. In fact, it did not come gently. The cloudbursts bathed Davao City with an unusually copious volume of rain that rendered many parts of the city impassable to small vehicles and inaccessible to pedestrians.

Geronimo: The blinding aura of SM Prime Holdings’ position

LIKE movie goers who walk into the theatre long after the screening has began, we will fail to understand the import of the teledrama recently seen between the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and SM Prime Holdings Inc., as developer of SM Aura Premium in Taguig City, unless we step back in time and understand how it was in the beginning.

Sánchez: Faith and development

“RELIGIOUS groups the world over,” wrote Sophie Ayling in the British newspaper The Guardian’s Global Development Professional Network, “over have been trying to improve the welfare of poor communities long before such work became a branch of international development.”

However, secular enlightened thinkers and Marxists pooh-poohed faith-based organizations and the religious elements they employ when dealing with the poorer segments of society. Marx famously described religion as “the opium of the masses,” and many regarded religion as a tool that the elites used to oppress and control the less educated.

Editorial: Schooling our leaders

SENATOR-ELECT Nancy Binay and several other first-timers in Congress are attending short courses to help them prepare for their public duties.

According to an ABS-CBN website report, the week-long course Binay has joined in the University of the Philippines National College of Public Administration and Governance includes such topics as payroll, staffing, budget, congressional committee roles and “how a law is passed.”

Roperos: Crime galore

ONE the frustrating matters that spoils the beginning of your day is when you open the first few pages of your daily newspaper and find that tales of criminality committed in various places in the province have merited enough significance to find print in its prime pages.

Yesterday’s front page headline, of course, already tells us of a case that has alarming ramification to the equanimity of our provincial society.

Wenceslao: CPA’s conflict with City Hall

IS THE Cebu Port Authority (CPA) the monster to Cebu City’s Victor Frankenstein? The CPA was created in 1992 through Republic Act 7621, a law shepherded in Congress by then Cebu City north district congressman Raul del Mar. Its task was to administer ports located in Cebu province.

Nalzaro: Gwen’s return

UNTIL the time I wrote this, no legal impediment has surfaced to prevent Gov. Gwen Garcia from reassuming her position following the six months suspension imposed by Malacañang for grave abuse of authority.

Obenieta: PCOS for barangay elections

FEEL no horror or shame in wearing your wrinkles as if it were a coat of steel. It makes sense, mighty true, to everyone who has survived the slings and arrows of adolescence.

Adulthood, no doubt, can be awful with its challenges lining up like ants. No less risky, however, are the heydays of being both carefree and choked with teen angst.

Carvajal: Big joke

ELECTION cheating continues, this time with the SECE or Statement of Election and Campaign Expenses. Comelec rightly makes no big deal with the deadline for filing of the SECE because it’s such a big farce. It knows as well as everybody else that candidates who won and candidates who were cheated (remember, nobody loses in our elections?) all spent in excess of what the law allows.

Barrita: PCOS for barangay elections

THE Commission on Elections (Comelec) is planning to use the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines in the coming barangay elections on Oct. 28.

Cebu City is among the first areas identified for the use of the PCOS machines whose use in the last elections was praised by the winners and maligned by the losers.

Mercado: Man of Steal

THE MAN of Steel also known as Superman has a counterpart in the Philippines.

The Pinoy superman is called the Man of Steal.

Gonzales: On parent involvement

PARENTS of children with disabilities usually feel like being thrown in a strange world full of uncertainties and fears, right on the day of diagnosis of their child. Initially, parents may feel helpless and hopeless but experience would tell that the first things we need to know are the facts about the disability and how to deal with the situation.

Ledesma: Meaningless statistics

POVERTY in the sea of plenty. This is a sublime irony of our time. Our economy grew by 7.8 percent but unemployment rate is catching up with this rosy statistics. Last week, almost a billion dollars left our shores. These are hot money placed in the stock market.

They come in a rush and left in a huff. To assuage public apprehension Malacañang Palace tells us that the economic fundamentals are strong.

Editorial: The SECE

ARTICLE XI, Section 1 of the Constitution states: "Public officers must at all times be accountable to the people." And according to the Laws and Rules Governing Election Finance published by the Lawyers' League for Liberty or Libertas iterates, "The accountability of elective public officers commences when they present themselves to the people during election campaigns. Candidates must be transparent as to the sources of their campaign money and the true extent of their election spending as this would impact directly on the candidates' governance upon their assumption to office."

Cariño: Baguio-Bengue Integrity initiative

THE Makati Business Club (MBC) breezed into town recently and challenged Baguio and Benguet businessmen to implement their own integrity initiative to support the growing clamor for ethical reforms in the private sector. Peter Perfecto, MBC executive director, urged members of the local chapter of the Phil. Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) to audit their business process and squeeze in their own brand of ethics.