MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Bible Society (PBS) will lead the observance of National Bible Week which starts Monday. Several activities have been lined up, including the observance of National Bible on Sunday, January 29. There will also be a Bible marathon, Bible sale in PBS Bible houses and major bookstores, and the annual public oral Bible reading. This year’s theme, “Pagpapahayag ng Salita ng Diyos Tungo sa Pagbabago ng Bansa” (Proclaiming God’s Word Towards National Transformation) aims to support the government’s goal to abolish corruption and promote the moral development of Filipinos. According to a PBS survey, more than half of Filipinos do not own a Bible. (Christina I. Hermoso)

New appointee

Former deputy executive director of the National Historical Institute (NHI) Dr. Emelita V. Almosara has been appointed as the new Executive Director of the National Commission on Culture and the Arts (NCCA). Almosara replaces Malou Jacob, who was removed last year for lack of civil service eligibility. Jacob is a known multi-awarded writer and director and a veteran administrator. Prior to Almosara’s appointment, Adelina Suemith was officer-in-charge of the NCCA. (Madel R. Sabater)

Davao quake

A magnitude 5 earthquake shook Davao del Sur at 6:50 a.m. Saturday but there was no immediate report of deaths or damage, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said. The earthquake originated 103 kilometers southwest of Sarangani, Davao del Sur. Another earthquake of magnitude 4.6 was recorded in Cagayan Valley 12:38 a.m. Saturday. The tremor’s epicenter was 35 kilometers northeast of Santa Ana, Cagayan. About three hours later, a magnitude 3.3 tremor hit Northern Samar. (Ellalyn B. De Vera)

Arrested

Police said they have busted a gang of kidnappers operating in Metro Manila and nearby provinces following the arrest of the leader and his henchman in a raid in Bacoor, Cavite, on Friday. Director Samuel Pagdilao, head of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), said that aside from kidnapping, the group of Rodel Ledesma is also into illegal drugs, robbery and hijacking in the Southern Tagalog area. A separate police report also implicated Ledesma and his men in gun-for-hire activities. Arrested with Ledesma during the raid in Barangay Zapote 3 is his right-hand man, Gabriel Maligsa. Seized from them were two pistols, a hand grenade, an electronic scale for illegal drugs and five sachets of shabu. Pagdilao said Ledesma was tagged by kidnap victim Benjamin Jaro as among those who abducted him in April last year. Jaro was freed after the suspects agreed to reduce the ransom from P30 million to P5 million. (Aaron Recuenco)

Absentee voting

The registration turnout for overseas absentee voting (OAV) is still far from the one million target, according to the Commission on Elections (Comelec). Commissioner Armando Velasco, chairman of the Comelec – Committee on OAV (COAV), said that as of January 18, the number of overseas Filipinos that have registered for OAV stood at 16,070. Los Angeles has the biggest number of registrants among the Philippine overseas posts worldwide, with 1,760. This was followed by Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with 915, and Tel Aviv, Israel, with 866. Other countries with the most number of OAV applicants are: Milan (866), London (729), Dubai (725), Hong Kong (637), San Francisco (627), Macau (613) and Singapore (517). (Leslie Ann G. Aquino)