Getting serious at the barangays   A NEW set of barangay officials are now in place, some re-elected, others on their first time and those who are on a comeback. Apart from the usual tasks that elected village leaders are expected to perform, their three-year term, which took effect last…

Drug disaster   IN the scale of calamities, illegal drugs would rank among the top man-made disasters there are. As such, it will take a committed and organized multi-sectoral effort to combat proliferation and, ultimately, eradicate it. The provincial government has taken initiative but Gov. Amado Espino Jr.’s campaign to…

Lessons from Yolanda and Pablo   LESS than one year ago, in December 2012, Typhoon Pablo (international name: Bopha) whipped through the eastern part of Mindanao island, flattening many lands and flooding even areas that have never, ever previously known a storm. A state of national calamity was proclaimed then….

More prepared   A ZERO-casualty target was a bold and highly optimistic statement by the President as the country braced for the landfall of Typhoon Yolanda (international name: Haiyan), categorized as one of the strongest storms to hit the planet. Can’t fault our government leaders for positivity, but hope and…

The hard part   NOW that the electorate has decided on their barangay leaders, now comes the hard part.  How to make them accountable for their barangays’ funds as may be shown by their adopted projects… or absence of projects. When barangays elections used to be boring and hardly considered…