Seven local chief executives from selected municipalities in the Zamboanga Peninsula recently attended a three-day learning workshop on effective local governance and on “bridging leadership” at a local hotel in preparation for their implementation of the Makamasang Tugon (MT), an offshoot of the revolutionary poverty alleviation program Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan-Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS) of the Department of Social Welfare and Development.

Biofuels may be an effective alternative to fossil fuels, but lower carbon emissions and sustainability must be ensured in the production of these new energies, according to Brazilian specialists.

I don’t mean to sound like a broken record (makulit, in Tagalog), but the fight to get back the regional center must go on. Both our representatives in the House have petitioned in more ways than one Malacanang to have Executive Order 429 recalled. Very recently, it was Mayor Celso Lobregat who asked that the same “execution” order be revoked.

LIVE A LIFE THAT MATTERS: On August 25, 2010, I received an email from Mary Ann San Mateo, a Filipina who is now in the United States, exhorting everyone to live a life that matters. I was awed by the message, and I am sharing it with you today.

“Kawawang cowboy, me baril walang bala, me bulsa walang pera…” a funny song usually sang by drunken neighbors in the corner store seems as appropriate as the theme song in the Aug. 23 horrible scenario at the Quirino Grandstand, Manila.

Every which way any of the four corners of the world viewed the longest 12 hours of suspense packed bloody hostage crisis at the Quirino Grandstand before a stunned inept and helpless law enforcers are of the same opinion of blackeye to the entire Filipino nation. Not only to her bright prospects in the tourism industry but most of all to all her prospects essential to nation building.

I think it’s good that we are trained to be practical always. I remember that as a child, we were taught that we have to move and act always, work and produce results. And so even with our little hands, we were already sweeping the floor, fixing our beds, cleaning the toilets, etc.

A Mindanao-wide projects in the energy sector were among the investment proposals showcased at the Mindanao Investment Forum held in Manila on September 1, as part of the lead-up to the 19th Mindanao Business Conferences.

The Supreme Court (SC) penalized on Wednesday three associate justices of the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan after they were found administratively liable in a complaint filed against them.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo on Tuesday said he has directed the National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM) to speed up investigating and deciding cases against erring policemen.

The Philippine Coalition Against Tuberculosis (PhilCAT), through the Provincial Coordinating Committee (PCC) recently held a 3-day advocacy symposium at Bay Plaza Hotel on August 25-27, 2010 to gather support in the fight towards a “TB-free” Zamboanga del Sur.

Computer Technologies (COMTECH) institute inc. conducted a two-part Opensolaris Installfest on August 7 at COMTECH Creative Technologies and Convergence Center in partnership with the Philippine Society of Information Technologies Students (PSITS)- COMTECH Chapter.

Six countries, including the Philippines, vied for a closer cooperation and mutual undertakings to support the maritime safety enforcement and marine environmental protection endeavors of the regular Coast Guard organizations from which they belong during the round table conference at the National Conference of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary volunteers held from August 26 to 29 at the Camel Back Mountain Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) is eager to take on the role of financial adviser to the proposed multibillion-peso infrastructure fund the national government is putting together to help spur and sustain economic growth for the long-term.