Mining commission head elected Philippine Bible Society president

MANILA, Philippines - Sorsogon bishop Arturo Bastes was elected Saturday as chairman and president of the Philippine Bible Society (PBS), the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines said Sunday. A statement on the CBCP Web site (www.cbcpnews.com) said Bastes chairs the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Biblical Apostolate (ECBA). It added Bastes is the first Catholic bishop to get elected to this post. Bastes also chaired a fact-finding body that investigated in 2006 the controversial polymetallic mines in Rapu-Rapu, Albay, and recommended the cancellation of the operation permit of Lafayette Philippines, Inc. The Philippine Bible Society is a non-profit, non-stock inter-confessional Christian organization aimed at promoting the Bible by providing people "with Scriptures in the language they understand, in formats they prefer, and at prices they can afford." PBS is an affiliate of the United Bible Societies, a society of more than 137 Bible Societies operating in 200 countries and territories worldwide. - GMANews.TV