Saturday, July 05, 2008 (Philippines)

Editor-in-chief Pachico A. Seares (second from right) receives the UP Gawad Plaridel Award from (from left) UP College of Mass Communication dean Dr. Elena Pernia, UP Diliman Chancellor Sergio Cao and UP Vice President for Academic Affairs Amelia Guevarra at the Cine Adarna at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City. Seares was recognized for his commitment to community journalism. His award comes during the centennial celebration of the country’s prime educational institution. He is the fifth UP Gawad Plaridel Awardee and the first from outside Metro Manila. (Sun.star photo/Alex Badayos) A THREE-MONTH wait for their loved ones to be identified proved too long for some families, who now plan to head for Burias Island and start their own search. They began to organize after public viewing of 172 retrieved bodies was stopped, and after authorities announced a three-month break in the search, as they try to refloat the mv Princess of the Stars and keep a cargo of toxic pesticides from seeping out. It was early yesterday afternoon when Larry Montecalvo, 34, broke the silence at the Action Center at the Cebu City Sports Complex. [full story]