Del Rosario: A balanced life

DO YOU remember playing the seesaw (teeter totter) when you were young? Do you remember feeling bored or maybe even irritated, when you and your playmate were on equal level in the seesaw, and nothing seemed to happen? And do you recall excitement when either of you had put more pressure or weight on your side of the seesaw?

Did you try standing in the middle (fulcrum) of the seesaw as your friends on either side tried to unbalance you? Do you remember how tricky it was to stay standing?

Dumaguing: Facts about drowning

THERE has been a rash of drowning incidents reported in the news especially during the Holy Week, sad to note that most of the victims are children and young adults, eager to have clean fun after a grueling school year. The news apparently had caused some kind of panic among our readers that, they texted the author to deal with the issue o0f drowning.

Padilla: Runners go for it in Sunday’s Kennon Global Marathon classic

WHO will be the 1-2-3 podium stars in the First Kennon Global Marathon which fire’s off on Sunday morning along challenging Kennon Road? Our local track aces will surely give the foreigners a run for their money. For one, familiarity of the uphill terrain is definitely one big advantage for our Cordillera marathoners, both in the men’s and women’s divisions of the featuring the 21k, 9k, 5k and 3k runs.

Balweg: Some revelations by an OFW about UK life

BING was an appreciated high school teacher in her home town, in Northern Philippines, some five years ago. But to her estimate, because she was adept in computer programming, she could earn to attain a more financially convenient life if she would try her luck abroad.

Speak Out: Spring

By Mylene Alvaro

A BABY in the womb once said “Mother I want to come out now” that is my mom’s opening whenever she tells a story about me. I was born two weeks earlier than the predicted or prescribed time. Probably that is the reason why I have this behavior. During my childhood, I always complain when my mom told me to wait but I love to be late.

Speak Out: Jeepney ride

By Cherry Mae Lacbawan

EVERY day is always a busy day for commuters and drivers alike: it’s always traffic during rush hours on schooldays and workdays. It’s hard to hitch a ride on these times.

Sánchez: Bailouts

WE HAVE in Bacolod a case of government bailouts of losing businesses. Recently, the city’s three public markets and the Manokan Country appealed to the City Council to immediately enact the ordinance condoning the surcharges, interests, penalties and arrearages on the rental obligations of stall, table and block occupants of the markets.

Our honorable councilors Caesar Distrito Em Ang, El Cid Familiaran, Al Victor Espino, Roberto Rojas, Dindo Ramos, Mona Dia Jardin and Cárlos José López drafted the ordinance.

Pacete: Zootomy of local politics

TUESDAY, 10 a.m.: I was enjoying a cup of Fresh Start Kanlaon brewed coffee at the Panaad Stadium food court when a scholarly-looking man (around 75 years old) took a seat in front of me. He ordered a cup of brewed coffee also, without sugar. My attention was caught by the book he was holding, The Highly Selective Thesaurus for the Extraordinarily Literate.

Speak Out: Lagrana: Let the battle begin...

IF YOU think that graduation is the end of everything hardships that you made when you are in college, well think again the battle is just to begin. The real life outside the portals of the alma-matter is different to the real world.

Sungduan: A speaker, a leader

TALKING in front of many people is one of the things some people fear about. This is maybe because of the lack of confidence which is also a barrier in becoming a good leader in the community. But why succumb to these hang-ups in life when there is one significant group that will help you finally break out from your shell.

Baguio Professionals Toastmasters Club (BFTC) is there to help you improve your speaking skills and your leadership as well in a learn-by-doing workshop conducted every meeting. It is an amazing experience wherein the members will not be feeling any pressure at all.

Llanes: Christ-like charity

THINGS are now heating up between the "Save 182" group and the management of SM Baguio as the process of earth-balling of some 182 pine trees begins.

Valdez: Hypertension

ACCORDING to the Joint National Committee 7, hypertension is defined as a blood pressure (BP) more than or equal to 140/90 taken for two times on two separate occasions. It is classified as either primary (no obvious underlying medical cause) or secondary (caused by other conditions).

Baquirin: Fighting on

I HAVE had sadness, rejection and despair in my life. None as painful as this; knowing that there are people who have power to help people and they refuse to do what they can, refuse to make a difference, refuse to do what is right. Nothing hurts more than when someone you put your trust in betrays you. In love as in governance, this holds true. The people of Baguio, as a sign of their trust voted people into office, to be their representatives, to be their voices.

Editorial: Towering challenges

THEY may not welcome the attention now, but developers of the Horizons 101 project are lucky. First, because the collapse of a portion of its retaining wall did not cause any deaths or more serious destruction, apart from the damage done to eight houses.

Roperos: Bullish economy

IF WE are to believe business reports that came out in this daily recently, we could confidently say that our island province is facing a truly wholesome economic future over the coming dozen or so months. The indicators for this assumption are quite heartening. First, there is the report that four condominium towers, which are undergoing construction, have been “sold out to foreigners even before completion.”

Wenceslao: Scarborough Shoal

I WAS initially more amused than worried when I read the news about the standoff between Philippine and China troops at the Scarborough Shoal.

Malilong: Defending the islands

THE BRP Gregorio del Pilar is the largest warship in the entire Philippine Navy.

Acquired from the US Coast Guard as part of our country’s defense modernization program, it was commissioned last Dec. 14.

Seares: Targeting Jojo Binay

HIS enemies want to take him out so he won’t become president. Jejomar “Jojo” Binay, as all vice presidents are, is literally a heartbeat away from the presidency.

If President Noynoy Aquino, God forbid, dies on bed, at work, in a high-speed car, or in the excitement of a Grand Theft Auto game, or is toppled by people power or otherwise can no longer govern, Jojo is the successor, unless the military opts to install a general instead.

Libre: New warden

P100 sways fisherman to tie whale shark.

As a punishment, tie the fisherman to the shark.   ***

Editorial: A Very Important Summit

PRESIDENT Benigno Simeon Aquino III will be in Davao City today to preside over an all-important gathering that will determine how serious Malacañang is in addressing the power crisis in Mindanao. The Mindanao Power Summit, which is set to take place at the Waterfront Insular Hotel Davao, will give stakeholders the opportunity to express their sentiments and offer their own solutions in solving the power problem besetting the region.

Ledesma: Binaying and Discipline

FINALLY I had the opportunity to interview the Vice President of the Philippines Jejomar "Jojo" Binay.

Ever since he beat Mar Roxas, front runner in the vice presidential derby and the unico hijo of the landed Roxas family of Iloilo and Quezon City, the former mayor of Makati remained to be an enigma to me. He came from behind, 2% in the early straw polls against the former's comfortable and incredibly high advantage of 54%.

Millan: Battleship

THE heat is on, not just due to the summer sun, but also due to the midterm elections next year.

Amigo: Works both ways for VP Binay

IT’S funny but it seems to be working both ways for Vice President Jejomar Binay.

First came the high trust rating courtesy of a paid or not survey and when it started to whittle down on the public’s consciousness, came an alleged text blast messages highly obnoxious or unacceptable to the second most powerful government official of the land.

Limlingan: Defeating the purpose

SINCE early this year until this month, Gov. Lilia “Nanay” Pineda has been distributing barangay patrol tricycles to various villages all over the province of Pampanga.

The three-wheeled vehicle is composed of a heavy duty motorcycle installed with a sidecar painted in white and bearing the logo of the province.

Pangan: Realignment

THE buzzword nowadays is which political party will dictate the tempo of next year's midterm elections. Reports have it that prominent candidates, incumbents and uncommitted, are now being shortlisted to form what the propagandists call winnables.

Peña: Important developments we missed

TWO important environmental events happened just before the long Holy Week break. As such, not much media attention was given to them. Let me highlight these developments for us to appreciate their importance.

First is the Earth Hour which took place last Saturday, March 31, 2012 at 8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.

Cortez: Christ Lives

EASTER brought us the greatest news ever told -- Jesus is alive; he resurrected from the dead, and he lives forevermore! “Well, that happened more than 2,000 years ago,” someone may say, “what meaning does it have to me in this post-modern world?”

The answer is “A lot,” and here in our limited space let us explore some of them.

Ombion: Another US-engineered hysteria to bully a small nation

ANOTHER classic US-triggered mass hysteria against a small country that has resisted to submit to US hegemonistic rule.

On 16 March 2012, North Korea announced that it would launch an earth observation satellite named Kwangmyongsong (Lodestar) 3, aboard an Unha carrier rocket sometime between the hours of 7 am and noon on a day between 12 and 16 April, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of its state founder, Kim Il Sung, and the attainment of "strong and prosperous" status by the country.

Pacete: Attention visitors

A CYNOSURE was on top of my table last Tuesday morning. "Are tourism officers aware that we confiscate Philippine rare, threatened, and endangered species at the airport?" That note came from my friend, Buddy. He is working at the cargo division of the airport in Silay.

Editorial: North Korea’s rocket launch

PREPARING for the worst” is a good guide when it comes to bracing for disasters, but being objective is better. That point is best tossed to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), which seems to be whipping up some frenzy over the planned launch of a rocket by North Korea between April 6 to April 12.