De Leon: Baguio City Council Tourism Chair: The Next Hot Seat

NOW that we finally have Baguio’s newly-elected local government officials, we are anticipating the upcoming assignments of chairmanship in the various City Council committees.

Luczon: DVO x CGY

MY FIRST encounters with Kagay-anon folks were warm and pleasant; people who represented well that Cagayan de Oro is indeed a City of Golden Friendship.

Pangan: Make way for SMEs

WHILE there are proposals, studies and varied suggestions to invigorate SMEs-small and medium-sized enterprises, nothing much has been done to propagate these modest enterprises, foremost of which is the government.

Few approximate the innovative Brahmeen bank initiated by a civic conscious Indian trader, except perhaps CARD-MRI and a few cooperatives which identities are not well known.

Mercado: Pampango Macho Men

THE class of macho men in Kapampangan society is fast becoming a vanishing breed of strong individuals.

I miss the days when young, daring men settled disputes in public fisticuffs, using only their bare hands and grit to resolve a conflict. The fight is called a “square.”

Sapnu: PPPO Thanksgiving Party

ISANG Thanksgiving Party ang ginanap sa Pampanga Police Provincial Office (PPPO) noong Biernes.

Ang nasabing Thanksgiving Party ay isang pasasalamat ng PPPO at Regional Operations Special Task Group (ROSTG) dahil sa kanilang matagumpay an pamamahala noong nakaraang May 13 elections.

Editorial: Stop bullying

BE MORE sensitive to affected but silent students.

That’s a message reinforced by the suicide last March of Kristel Tejada, the University of the Philippines Manila freshman who was prevented from re-enrolling for failing to repay on time a tuition loan.

Wenceslao: Worries about Camotes’s growth

THE Ramon “Nito” Durano III faction of the Durano clan seems to have made the correct move in aligning itself with the Liberal Party (LP) of President Noynoy Aquino. Nito’s son, Rep. Ramon “Red” Durano IV, recently announced the approval by the Senate of its version of the young Durano’s bill seeking reclassification of much of the land in the Camotes group of islands from timberland to alienable and disposable. The House version of the bill was passed months ago.

Nalzaro: Defective units?

MR. JANES “Jay” Zozobrado, a junior executive of Ayala Group, bought a new Ford Focus Titanium from Ford Motors Cebu at Nivel Hills last April 12 with his hard-earned money. The unit cost P1.228 million.

Ford Focus is one of the top of the line units manufactured by Ford Motors. It is designed to meet the high demand of buyers of small cars. It’s fun, attractive, well-equipped but also affordable. It’s in demand in China.

Seares: Graduating senators: when they leave with no goodbye

“I DO not say goodbye. I believe it’s one of the bu..sh..iest words ever invented.

It’s not like you’re given the choice to say bad-bye, or awful-bye, or couldn’t-care-less-about-you-bye. Every time you leave, it’s supposed to be a good one.”

Mongaya: Why settle for trickles?

FOR poor Filipinos, the much-talked about economic growth has not translated into additional food on the dinner table–though many still gather around the food laid down on the floor.

The government’s pangtawid money is just that, pangtawid. It is just additional money to be able to survive until the next payday. And the pay for those with regular jobs–more don’t have regular jobs if they have jobs at all–has not increased much.

Honeyman: The education imbroglio

ONE of the least unsatisfactory aspects of our education system before RA 10533 was the wide range of opportunities open to the 33% of our school leaders who have gained a high school diploma. Attempting to force students to endure a further two years of a mediocre high school curriculum before they can enter the tertiary sector may be the intention of the Department of Education but it will not be accepted by the rest of us and, we hope, the tertiary sector itself. An extra two years of investment before our academically proficient students can obtain a university degree does not make sense.

Sanchez: 4Ps

THERE is good news in the 4Ps, or the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program, better known as the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program, so says the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Region 6.

I joined my local media colleagues with the dialog with the DSWD Region 6 during the Advocacy Forum with Information Officers of Local Government Units, Columnists and Radio Commentators and Bloggers last week.

Editorial: Easy-to-read references

YESTERDAY, Sun.Star Davao's cover story for the Sunday edition was Nabunturan and the areas of this Compostela Valley town that are most susceptible to flooding and landslide.

The report was culled from the 78-page PDF file of the “Results of the Mines and Geosciences Bureau’s (MGB) 1:10,000 Scale Geohazards (Landslide and Flood) Assessment and Mapping of Nabunturan, Compostela Valley” downloaded from the ReliefWeb website (http://reliefweb.int/) as uploaded by the government of the Philippines.

Valle: School woes and blues

SOMETHING's dissonant.

While parents, nay, mothers are wailing to high heavens because not a few among their children can make it back to school, news would have us believe that something is being done.

Mendoza: Back to school for private schools

DIRECTOR'S Cut: (This portion features the thoughts of DepEd 11 Regional Director Gloria D. Benigno, CESO IV to all stakeholders and recipients of the efforts to improve the basic education) "I am your team leader, you are my team mates, together, let us work as a team?

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Bunye: Saving in banks

ONE of the central themes in the Bangko Sentral’s financial education and literacy advocacy is the need for our citizens not just to save - but to save in banks.

Bomogao: A talk show that gets you closer to home

TELEVISION has a great influence in the lives of people .If one looks at the different programs either in local or national television; one can find a talk show with a heart. Life offers variety of social activities that television programs provide.

Capili: Site analysis in property valuation

IN BUYING real properties, one of the most neglected phase in determining its worth is the importance given to the property site. Before proper valuation can be determined on a lot or site, the prospective buyer and the task of the real estate practitioner must consider not only the location of the lot in the community but also the specific features of the lot, including type, size, shape, drainage, view, access and availability of utilities. These features will vary with every lot, since no two parcels of land are exactly the same.

Cayading: Penny

NOWADAYS, there are of plenty of pennies along the street, everywhere, anywhere. People are disregarding them and don’t even bother to pick it up. This article is a reprinted story which was forwarded to my in box. I found to be worth sharing to everyone and give something to think about. For sure it will give meaning and value to your daily walk of life.

Luzano: Warning Panggep iti ginggined... Makaalarma!

NAGBALLAAG ti United Nations itay nabiit a maysa kadagiti mabalin a kakaruan a maapektaran iti ginggined ket Pilipinas. Natural, adu ti naalarma. Imbaseda ti nakuna a warning kadagiti panagadal nga inda inaramid. Ngamin no intay amirisen, itay laeng kallabes, nagsasaruno dagiti ginggined iti Asya. Timmama iti Guam sa sinaruno a dagus ti Hawaii. Ditoy met Pilipinas, arig aggigiddan dagiti nakakapsut a ginggined manipud Mindanao agingga’t Luzon. Nupay di unay napigsa ken di makadidigra dagita a ginggined, mangipasimudaag laeng dagitoy nga adda rumbeng nga intay annadan.

Van Vugt: Our new Pope Francis

IN the past few weeks it has become very clear that Pope Francis is very much different from his predecessors, Pope Benedict and Pope John Paul II.

He has shown that again during the celebration of the Feast of Pentecost in Rome.

Emata: China advances to our territory

CHINA which used to be our good friend for decades has changed its style and attitude and now trying to grab some parts of our land.

It all began in the Spratleys’ island that is being claimed by several countries including the Philippines, Vietnam, China and others. The rivalries among nations was quiet, calm and orderly until lately China has become so aggressive and reportedly installed some structures in the area as if owning it all despite the claims that is allegedly in the international tribunal. Because

Estremera: Consequences

TWO generations or so after a one-child policy, you can imagine two generations of "only child's", people who grew up pampered and provided with the best, and never had to fight with siblings just to get something they want. So don't wonder why this super-power is trying to grab everything within its reach, Bajo de Masinloc and Batanes included.

Custodio: Senior Moments - A Day at Co Su Gian

YOU know how it is, how we have so much regard for family and how we take family responsibilities seriously. We grew up KNOWING that we will be taking care of our parents when they are older. The thought of children putting parents in "homes" was not even thought about. Even now, most people would consider it an alien concept. It would be an act of disrespect and complete disregard. Period.

Gracia: Alang Patugut a Kapamatulusan, Dake 1 (Incessant Speculations, Part 1)

”Nanu mang dapat a gimpanan ning metung a budning tau, ding maluka tutukyan de takbang. At nanu mang pamantayan ing tatalatag na kapamilatan ding dapat a mapanalimbawa, pagdulapan na naman ning laganas a labwad.” ~Dalit ning Kakataskatasang Panginwan, Dangka 3, Sunis 21 (Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 3, Verse 21)

--oo0oo--

Gueco: K to 12 Education

PRESIDENT Aquino signed the ‘K-to-12’ law on May 5, 2013. It provides for the implementation of the Enhanced Basic Education Act of 2013. It formally mandates the kindergarten and a 12-year basic education curriculum, thus, enhancing our Philippine education system. Focusing on our local community in Angeles City, we see this distinguished school with a Latin name.   

Sun.star essay: Time culture

THE last time Cebuana Fil-Am playwright Linda Faigao Hall came back for a short visit to her home city, as much as in the previous times, she couldn’t help but feel the changes of Cebu seen in the eyes of a Filipino immigrant in New York—growing population (and what happened to the trees along Osmeña Blvd.?), lack of breathing space free from carbon dioxide emissions, and the same old sense of time in a people always late.

Mercado: Unpayable ‘IOUs’

(A twin book launch Saturday night honored an outstanding Cebuano editor and his daughter-author. “Canto Voice” compresses, into one volume, columns written by the late Cornelio Faigao for two Cebu dailies, before they were suppressed. “FeMale Heart” is a book by his daughter Linda-Faigao Hall. Here are excerpts from our paper–JLM)

This IOU has been outstanding for over half a century.

Cabaero: Typhoon season

THE heavy downpours the past days make us wonder: After the campaign talk about disaster preparedness last elections, are we better equipped for the rainy season?

Lim: Not funny

RAPE is not a laughing matter and it should never be used as material for humor. I add my voice to the many who have condemned the joke of entertainer, Vice Ganda, about GMA executive and broadcaster Jessica Soho, getting gang-raped.

It was bad enough that Vice Ganda zeroed in on Soho’s size and weight as material for his supposed humorous spiel. It became worse when Vice included rape in the equation.