Police nabbed in Tetuan last Saturday a fugitive, who bolted the Siocon Municipal Jail last year.

Arrested was Maximo Taruc, married, of Siocon, Zamboanga del Norte.

Mayor Celso L. Lobregat yesterday said the declaration of the state of national emergency in the country is not really needed as he also expressed apprehension that it could be a prelude to martial law.

"I don''t think that it is really needed. Even former President Fidel Ramos said that the declaration of state of emergency is uncalled for," Lobregat pointed out during his regular weekly press conference at City Hall.

Congressman Erbie A. Fabian yesterday commended the men and women of the Philippine Air Force for their dedication to work and loyalty to the service.

"They (PAF personnel) are great men and women who work hard even in peace time wherein they serve their communities through rescue operations during disasters and civic actions in depressed barangays," Fabian said.

A man wanted for murder was killed during a running gunbattle with policemen in Siayam, Zamboanga del Norte last Friday morning.

A police report identified the slain fugitive as Somel Antigues y Tangop, 38, married, a farmer of Siayam.

Mayor Celso Lobregat yesterday turned over more than P300,000 to the Philippine National Red Cross for the Southern Leyte landslide victims.

The money was generated from the fund raising drive launched by Lobregat last week. It will be used to help the survivors of the Leyte tragedy.

Despite the tight security and strict implementation of the rules and regulations at the local port, thieves are roaming free thereat and continue to victimize port users.

This developed after a female sea commuter who was supposed to leave for Manila was left behind after her shoulder bag containing the vessel ticket was taken by an unidentified thief at the port.

Another batch of South Koreans bringing along their families and relatives arrived in Zamboanga City to play golf at the Zamboanga Golf and Country Club.

The group will stay here for one week to enjoy the game of golf.

Two marine sanctuaries were established in Basilan Island to provide marine life a safe breeding ground.

The Philippine Environmental Governance (Ecogov) through the support of Isabela city government and Lamitan municipal government laid marker buoys to delineate the marine protected areas in barangay Maloong Canal in Lamitan and Lampinigan, an island barangay in Isabela to prevent encroachment.

Let''s just pray. That''s the best advice I can give at this time, now

that we seem immersed again in some political jitters. But let''s not waste time participating directly in the dirty game of unscrupulous politicians and ideologues.

Phnom Penh -- The shells being sold in a sidewalk stall, very common here in Phnom Penh, were being cleaned with the use of pressurized water, much like what is used when the underside of a car is cleaned of mud. This way of cleaning shells was a new idea for me. The woman had the shells, still black with encrusted sand and soil, on a native bilao which was like a sieve. She directed the pressurized water coming out from a hose at the shells until most of the encrustations were taken off and the shells came out

much lighter in color. Dark looking water went through the bottom of the bilao and out into the canal. It

MALAYBALAY CITY -- My companions only halfheartedly invited me to join the trek to sitio Mangasa, a village in Malaybalay City where an eaglet of the Philippine Eagle has been sighted by locals and some foreign birdwatchers. They did not say it, but I knew they doubted my ability to endure the hike given my physical condition after a near fatal accident in 1996, which fractured my left leg and left arm. So a week before the hike, I took out a map to check the topography. An uphill climb but manageable enough. Piece of cake, I assured myself.

The uphill climb started in sitio Damitan, the farthest point from the highway that can be reached by vehicles. Bae Inatlawan, a lumad ritualist who served as our guide, told us to stop as we stepped on the rocks protruding from the belly of Sawaga River. She pulled out a coin and dropped it on the clear waters, a signal for us to do the same thing. She was doing the panghugas, a ritual asking permission from the spirits prior to entering their abode in the mountains in order to avoid accidents and other misfortune.

The Fort Bonifacio standoff uncovered the true colors of some who claim to be leaders of the Filipino people. In a dash, they were at Fort Bonifacio inciting the civilians for a people power. Indeed, they are always in the lookout for a chance to further their vested interests even at the expense of people''s safety and well-being.

Now, the whole world knows that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was right in declaring a national state of emergency. It is clear that there is a conspiracy among some soldiers, the militant groups and some members of the opposition to topple down the duly elected President of the Philippines.

Phnom Penh -- I was watching BBC when the news on the coup attempt in Manila came on. I heard the BBC correspondent in Manila say that the Philippines was well known for frequent coup attempts and people''s

rallies seeking to unseat an incumbent president. I felt a strong pang of shame on hearing my country described this way, regardless of the fact that it is an accurate description.

As we extend our profound condolences to the victims of the catastrophic killer mudslide in St. Bernard, Southern Leyte and to the families who are still frantically waiting for news on the fates of their relatives who remain entombed beneath the mud.

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Mayor Celso Lorenzo Lobregat more often than not, led city and school officials in the inauguration of school buildings cost millions of pesos to build them. If we get it right, there are more projects such as the construction of additional school buildings and rehabilitation of dilapidated schoolrooms. It is likewise expected that the city chief executive would give his blessing and full support especially in the use of local funds appropriated for the school board. What is noticeable and lamentable, the city government has not accorded its concern to have a city schools division office building.

In the neighboring city of Isabela across the channel, the city schools division has a new edifice completed few years past after its office building was gutted down by fire which to this day the culprits are not known. The newly-constructed office building auspiciously stand adjacent to the city playground where the schools division officials and staff headed by the schools superintendent hold their office. The city school superintendent Dr. Abdurahim Kenoh once held office and served in the city of Isabela schools division prior to his transfer to Zamboanga City.