President Benigno Aquino yesterday ordered stepped-up security around the country following the killing of Osama bin Laden, while hailing his death as a triumph over terrorism.

"The death of Osama bin Laden marks a signal defeat for the forces of extremism and terrorism," Aquino said in a statement issued by Malacañang.

"It represents the death of the efforts of one man to stoke the fires of sectarian hatred and to promote terrorism on a scale unprecedented in the history of mass murder," he said.

Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. yesterday said he was not only disappointed, he was disgusted with the poor performance of educators in some school districts of Negros Occidental.

Marañon joined the opening of the two-day 2011 Education Summit at the Bacolod Pavillon Resort Hotel attended by key personnel of the 10 Department of Education school divisions in Negros Occidental.

The provincial government has poured in millions of pesos to boost public school education in Negros Occidental yet many of its divisions continue to perform poorly , he told the DAILY STAR.

Three officials of the John Paul II National Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Bacolod City said their close encounters with Blessed John Paul II further inspired them to work hard at propagating his teachings.

JPNISMF director Msgr. Victorino Rivas, Teresa Golez and Fr. Nitodel Soriano yesterday spoke of their experiences with the Blessed John Paul II at a press conference to announce the holding of a concert in Bacolod City Thursday to raise funds for more scholars at the Institute.

Soriano, a JPNISMF professor, said when he was 8 years old he received a papal blessing from Pope John Paul II during his pastoral visit to Tondo in Manila in October 1981.