Stop devastation,
four bishops urge
SAY ST. BERNARD
TRAGEDY A WAKE-UP CALL
BY CARLA GOMEZ

The four bishops of Negros yesterday called on President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to prevent further devastation in the lives of the people, such as the St. Bernard tragedy, by putting a stop to large-scale mining in the Philippines and its imminent proliferation in Negros Island.

Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra, San Carlos Bishop Jose Advincula Jr., Dumaguete Bishop John Du and Kabankalan Bishop Patricio Buzon jointly launched their mining advocacy campaign to oppose the promotion of large scale "environmentally destructive mining in our land."

"It can only result in the incalculable and irreversible damage to our bio-physical environment from whence we draw life and sustenance as well as in subjecting to even greater threat the already precarious state of human security amongst our communities," the bishops said.

Cops nab 'producer'
of counterfeit bills
BY DONALYN GUERRERO & CHRYSEE SAMILLANO

CGS photo

Bacolod police director Pedro Merced and Police Precinct 9 commander Adonis Rosales (l-r) inspect the counterfeit bills recovered from Ronie Boy Esnaldo (center) of Brgy. Sum-ag.*

The Bacolod Police yesterday nabbed a 32-year-old Bacoleño for allegedly producing counterfeit bills in Brgy. Sum-ag, Bacolod City at about 5:30 p.m. Sunday.

Ronie Boy Esnaldo of Purok Kapawa, Brgy. Sum-ag, was apprehended in his residence and recovered from him were paraphernalia that included a calculating checking machine with magnet indicator, bottle and tubes of paste, assorted pencil and pen, toothpicks, lampshade, paint brushes and fake P500, P200, P100 and P50 bills amounting to about P5,050 based on police reports.

Edsa 1 unfinished
business: prelates
BY CARLA GOMEZ

Negros Occidental bishops yesterday called the bloodless EDSA 1 People Power revolution unfinished business that must be rekindled.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is set to lead the wreath-laying rites at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Libingan ng mga Bayani in Fort Bonifacio Taguig City tomorrow signaling the start of the celebration of the 20th anniversary of EDSA 1.

Dumaguete Bishop John Du said EDSA 1 is unfinished business. "There are still a lot of things to be done to attain the government we dreamed of 20 years ago," he said.