Operatives of the Tetuan Police Station arrested on Thursday a 21-year-old man who allegedly shot and killed a criminology student at the Jumbo Bridge, Guiwan exactly a week ago.

The police identified the suspect as Daivymin Napalcruz, 21, single, of Tumaga Porcentro.

Operatives of the Philippine Army and the Philippine National Police last Thursday recovered the body of a slain businessman in Sultan Kudarat who was reported missing a week ago.

Reports reaching Southern Command disclosed that the rescue team of the AFP under the Charlie Company of the Army''s 64th Infantry Battalion and the Sultan Kudarat PNP initiated an immediate rescue operation at Palimbang, Sultan Kudarat after receiving reports that the body of the missing businessman identified as Christopher Lobitorial, 36, of General Santos City was seen by residents in bushes at Barangay Wal.

The Zamboanga City Electric Cooperative (Zamcelco) is investigating an anomaly in its accounting division involving bouncing checks amounting to over half a million pesos.

Zamcelco General Manager Reynerio Ramos has ordered an investigation on the people involved in the bouncing check racket where at least two personnel has allegedly stolen money from the cooperative by using no fund checks.

An army soldier was killed in while three of his comrades including his commanding officer were wounded when their group clashed with communist guerillas in Misamis Oriental yesterday.

Southern Command Public Information Officer Maj. Gamal Hayudini said the group of the Charlie Company of the Army''s 8th Infantry Battalion were on a combat patrol and follow-up operation at Alikawan, Balatukan Complex, when they encountered an undetermined number of suspected NPA guerrillas believed to be under the Front Command, 4th NCMRC Battalion.

A top official of the Bureau of Fire Protection and two of his subordinates were taken by policemen to the City Police Office last Thursday night to answer the complaint of a restaurant owner for alleged rude behavior and creating trouble at the restaurant.

Task Force Kap-Kap chief Insp. Ibrahim Jambiran said he and his men rushed to Alejandra''s Resto Bar near midnight Thursday after receiving a complaint from the management.

Vice Mayor Beng Climaco has cited the continuous assistance and support of the Australian government that helped improve the lot of the thousands of residents of Zamboanga City for years now.

The vice mayor personally expressed the city''s gratitude and thanks to the government of Australia when she represented Mayor Celso Lobregat in the celebration of Australia Day held at the Australian Embassy residence in Makati City Thursday, January 26.

The Civil Service Commission (CSC) announces the calendar of civil service examination for 2006.

CSC Regional Director Rogelio C. Limare said the first examination to be administered on April 2, 2006 will be the Career Service Professional and Subprofessional examinations through Paper-and-Pencil Test (PPT). On the other hand, the Foreign Service Officer Examination (FSOE) and the Local Scholarship Program for Master Degree Course (LSP-MDC) will be conducted on May 14. The Career Executive Officer Examination (CEOE) will be conducted on June 25. Moreover, another Professional and Subprofessional examinations through Paper-and-Pencil Test (PPT) will be conducted on July 30 and October 22.

Simunul, Tawi-Tawi Mayor Benzar Nur Tambut yesterday expressed gratitude to Philippine Coast Guard Commandant Vice Admiral Arthur N. Gosingan, newly promoted Naval Forces Western Mindanao RADM Rufino Lopez Jr., the Department of Foreign Affairs and Philippine Consulate in Indonesia for the help extended and the rescue of M/L Nurhaida which drifted to Indonesia while rescuing a pumpboat.

Tambut said M/L Nurhaida was traveling from Simunul to Sibutu and Sitangkai to rescue a pumpboat. But M/L Nurhaida ran out of fuel and drifted towards Indonesia.

"Who will save us from our saviors?" This was the interesting question of a columnist of one of the national dailies.

The "saviors" in this case are the Magdalo rebels who feel it is their duty to save the country from Pres.

This is true to a large extent by personal and anecdotal experience. As a result, our countrymen''s gifts, their brainpower, skills, tenacity and work ethic are put at the service of a foreign country. Who are left behind are the less competent and less enterprising. No better proof of this can be found in the dismal state of our affairs. (Might not all the politicians decide to leave one day?) The other reason is the development of the countries that absorb migrant labor. The US, being the land of immigrants, is the prime example.

I have a different view of the matter. While I concede the existence of the external conditions that make life so difficult here, that is graft, pollution, politicking, crab mentality, etc., it does not necessarily follow that migration has resulted in a brain drain as passionately argued by nationalists. By this I mean that for every person who leaves, it creates a position or an opportunity for some others. We have enough creative people to fill in the gaps even if working abroad is their main motivation to work hard. There are a constant renewal of human resources development and motivation to inspire people. These do not happen regularly enough in many of our red-tape organizations.

But those who have goodwill in their hearts will be pleased that it is about a subject Pope John Paul II himself dwelt on over and over again. Remember JPII''s many writings about "the civilization of Love" versus "the culture of Death"?

You must read Pope Benedict''s encyclical in full. It offers a wealth of deep theological insights and pastoral counsel. It shows that he is not at all the "German Rotweiller" that his detractors want the world to have in mind when his name is mentioned.

It was not the decision of the Council to scrap NO-El or the agreement to shift to a Parliamentary-Federal system that was the foremost accomplishment of the Council of State Meeting. Rather it was the fact that Malacañang listened and is open to suggestions on how to improve government.

Once again Malacañang has proven that it does not have the monopoly of decision making as to what is good for the country and for the Filipino people. Much to the opposition''s surprise, Malacañang accepted the agreement for NO-EL, thus debunking their long-held stance that it was behind the NO-EL proposal of the Constitutional Commission.

Police yesterday detained two alleged motorcycle thieves while two others were placed under investigation.

A police report identified the two suspects as Harley Castillo, a computer student from Sta. Maria and Abdulhan Hajal of Tumaga.

A woman who survived a brutal attack from her former live-in partner has called on the police to act swiftly and arrest her tormentor who tried to kill her and dumped her amid grasses in Tugbungan last Tuesday.

Maridol Maravilles said her life is in danger for as long as her attacker Elbert Nalzaro is still at large.

Several government agencies were tasked to focus their efforts in converting and developing the Eleven Islands in Zamboanga City''s east coast into a peaceful and progressive community and a tourist attraction in the near future.

This after the GOP-United Nations Multi-Donor Programme (GOP-UNMDP) in partnership with the Mindanao Communicators Network Region 9 Chapter and the Philippine Information Agency 9 unified forces to plann out the possible peace and development programs.