No one was injured in the attack Saturday night along a highway in Gingoog City, 795 kilometers south of Manila, said Lt. Col. Francisco Simbajon.

"The rebels directed all the bus passengers to immediately disembark with their personal belongings, then they set the vehicle on fire," he said.

Simbajon said the owners of the bus had refused to pay protection money to the rebels.

Last Wednesday, 20 people were injured when suspected extortionists bombed a passenger bus at a terminal in Digos City, Davao del Sur.

Authorities, however, have yet to identify who were behind the Digos bombing.

The collection of revolutionary taxes has been a major source of funds for the NPA, who have been fighting the Philippine government since the late 1960s. (DPA)

"Quezon City is the best governed city in the world today.’’

Thus said House Speaker Jose C. de Venecia Jr. in a visit during the 45th executive staff meeting at the Quezon City Hall Bulwagan.

De Venecia said the country’s 115 city mayors, 79 provincial governors, 1,700 municipal mayors, 35,000 barangay captains, and the people acknowledged and said that "Quezon City is the best-governed city in the whole of Asia and the world.’’

He said that the national leadership of the pro-administration party Lakas noted Quezon City’s well-run government and added that Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr., aside from being a successful mayor, is the executive vice president of Lakas.

De Venecia urged Quezon City officials to write a book on how to run a city for distribution to local and national officials.

Before Belmonte took over Quezon City, it was a financially distressed city. It has made several great strides to become the country’s best managed and most financially stable city in the past three years. (Sel A. Baysa)

The month of April has been declared as Cancer in Children Awareness Month to create public awareness on pediatric cancer and on the need to provide psychological and emotional support to children with cancer to help them cope with their illness.

According to the Philippine Cancer Society (PCS), an estimated 3,500 children get afflicted with cancer every year with almost 50 percent of the cases specific to leukemia.

"Studies show that children with cancer are not really bothered with the illness but more on its consequences like having to spend less time with friends, skipping school, and fear of being deprived of play. Feelings of frustration, anger, and fear about their condition are best expressed through play. Psychological and emotional support to pediatric cancer patients are very important," said Fatima Garcia, executive director of Kythe, a non-government group providing psycho-social assistance to cancer-affected children.

Kythe’s Child Life Program which is available in various government hospitals provides developmental, educational, and therapeutic interventions for children and their families under stress to help them cope and adjust to their illness.

Medical play is integrated in the program which involves the use of medical toys like syringe, stethoscope, and even a mini-CT scan machine to help familiarize the children with hospital equipment. (Christina I. Hermoso)

Foreign funding for development projects in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao started pouring in last week as international donors of the World Bank (WB)-administered Mindanao Trust Fund pledged increased financial assistance to the region as an incentive for the government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to sign a peace agreement by this year.

The governments of Australia, Canada, and New Zealand signed last Thursday their administrative agreements for financial contributions to the first phase of the Mindanao Trust Fund-Reconstruction and Development Program (MTF-RDP) which will lay the groundwork for the future implementation of foreign-funded projects in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao.

Australian Ambassador to Manila Tony Hely announced the Australian government’s contribution of 0,000 Australian dollars to the first phase of the MTF-RDP which aims to "build the capacity of local government units, community groups, and the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA) to ensure that mechanisms exist for effective and accountable use of trust funds."

The second phase of the project will begin after the signing of a peace agreement between the government and the MILF, which the government expects before the end of the year. The second phase will cover the full implementation of the MTF-RDP during which financial contributions from several international donors will be pooled to ensure efficient and effective use of limited international funding. (David Cagahastian)