Answered prayers. It was a sincere prayer for rain from a people reeling under the dry spell. The rains came, but uniformly watered both farms and cities. Most of Metro Manila awoke to flooded streets, such as Dr. A. Santos Avenue in Parañaque City, when heavy rains poured almost overnight, starting at dawn of Wednesday. Story on Nation. --NONIE REYES

PRESIDENT Arroyo on Wednesday sacked Insurance Commissioner Evangeline Escobillo, whose tough reforms had earned her many detractors along with several graft charges, by accepting her courtesy resignation.

CHALK up one more casualty to climate change: the harmonious relations between agencies regulating power and water, now in conflict over how to allocate water supply amid Luzon’s dry spell, mitigated by rains only in the past few days.

THE Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) will investigate claims that the National Power Corp. (Napocor) had bilked consumers by charging for undelivered power supply and other services.

A GROUP of cable television providers expressed apprehension over the mobile television service offered by the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) group, saying industry regulators should have issued the necessary guidelines before allowing the service offering.

THE rich get richer at a pace much faster than the poor are improving their lot in many developing countries in Asia, like the Philippines, according to Key Indicators 2007, the latest report from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

SINGAPORE—He shows no slides and plays no video. He doesn’t croon or prance like his rock- star fans. But Al Gore, 45th vice president of the United States and once the country’s former next-president, has perfected his pitch as chief warrior in the fight against global warming.

Migrant philanthropy slowly transforming provinces, study shows

PAMPANGA’S low poverty incidence may partly be attributed to the high levels of money that President Arroyo’s province gets from overseas Filipinos, a recent study by a nonprofit group indicated.

Oillink paying BOC soon

A COMPANY whose oil depot was shut down after it failed to pay taxes has sent feelers to the Bureau of Customs that it will settle its obligations within the week.

PRCI majority insists Dulay has it all wrong

LAWYERS of the majority directors of the Philippine Racing Club Inc. (PRCI) on Wednesday maintained that the planned property-for-shares swap with its own subsidiary was a “pure and simple business decision.”

DOJ chief set to take over the PCGG

SENATE Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr., citing alleged secret deals with the Marcoses over sequestered ill-gotten assets, insisted on Wednesday  that the Presidential Commission on Good Government  (PCGG) should have been dissolved, voicing misgivings over Malacañang’s move to simply transfer supervision over the PCGG from the Office of the President (OP) to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

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Dry spell pushes up veggie prices A man carries a load of assorted vegetables for distribution to the local market in Baguio City, as news reports say that the prices of highland crops have risen due to the reported decline in vegetable production, resulting from the dry spell being experienced nationwide. --MAURICIO VICTA