The Comelec justified the denial of the petition for accreditation of “Ang Ladlad,” a party-list group for gays and lesbians, that it is unconstitutional and uncalled for since it grossly violates the separation of Church and State, Senator Pilar Juliana Cayetano said Thursday night.

Cavite Governor Ayong S. Maliksi is running for congressman in the newly-reconstituted Imus District.

An organization expressed opposition to a bill in Congress that would divide and reclassify the Hundred Islands National Park, saying that such a move is “a grave threat to the country’s eco-biodiversity and an assault to our cultural heritage.”

The Sangguniang Panlalawigan of Aklan finally approved the draft ordinance on children on Thursday morning.

A public inquiry on the alleged extrajudicial killings in the island of Samar was held Friday at the Centennial Pastoral Center initiated by the Commission on Human Rights.

The expansion of the call center locator at the Leyte ICT Park in Palo, Leyte is expected to generate some 600 additional jobs for Leyteños.

The Visayas Community Medical Center, a tertiary and training hospital located in this city, has again received another 40-foot container vans loaded with medical equipment due to the efforts of the Hawaii Gospel Rescue Mission.

Both the Government of the Republic of the Philippines and the MILF reacted positively to the offer of Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki to help in the Mindanao peace process.

At least 15,000 cc of blood was donated by Army soldiers during a blood letting activity, said Capt. Emmanuel R. Garcia, chief of Public Affairs Office of the Army’s 10th Infantry Division, on Friday.

Some 150 artists and cultural and peace workers convened here on Friday in a concerted effort to help bring peace to Mindanao through culture and the arts.

The Department of Agriculture recently turned over a P10-million Tissue Culture Laboratory to the Western Mindanao State University’s College of Agriculture.

The municipal government of Tadian, Mountain province will shell out at least P4 million from its local funds to jumpstart the rehabilitation of the so-called “killer mountain” in Kayan East.

The Rizal provincial government announced that it has allotted some P12,040,000 which will help cover scholarship grants to some 1,358 poor but deserving province-based students.

Local officials of Baguio City and the nearby province of Benguet are now engaged in a series of mudslinging over how to solve the worsening garbage problem in the city for over a year now.

The younger brother of Mayor Genaro “Aro” Mendoza will continue the development program for Tarlac City after the mayor completed his three-term as chief executive of this component city through his younger brother, Manuel Marco Malvar Mendoza.

The Energy Development Corporation (EDC) during its recent investor’s briefing in Cebu City, offered P12 billion worth of fix-rate bonds to potential investors.

The Philippine Social Security System (SSS) is contemplating an increase in present maximum income ceiling contributions of P15,000, a move foreseen to benefit members when they retire.

Nine Iloilo City math wizards have been chosen to represent the country in the Philippine International Mathematics Competition 2009 slated November 28 to December 2 in Iloilo City.

With the popularity of poker in the country, poker clubs are optimistic this sport will draw volumes of tourists who are enthusiasts of the classic card game.

An P8.5 million worth of television (TV) station project is set to rise in progressive land-locked province of Agusan del Sur, it was learned on Wednesday.