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The United States is contending with too many global humanitarian crises at once, including the aftermath of the Philippines’ devastating typhoon (in photo), to comprehensively fund relief efforts, the State Department told Congress Thursday, urging other nations to step up. AP FILE PHOTO WASHINGTON—The United States is contending with too many global humanitarian crises at once to comprehensively fund relief efforts, the State Department told Congress Thursday, urging other nations to step up. The aid landscape this year looked particularly challenging given the emergencies in South Sudan and the Central African Republic (CAR), where brutal rebellions and ethno-religious violence have left thousands of people dead, displaced millions and pushed countless more to the brink of famine. “Thanks to Congress, we have appropriations to do more this year, but as you know we are contending with too many humanitarian emergencies,” Assistant Secretary of State Anne Richard, who oversees population, refugees and migration issues, told a House hearing on the CAR. Some 2,000 people have been killed and nearly a million displaced since ethnic and religious strife swept the Central African Republic in late 2013, according to the State Department. It is coordinating some $67 million in humanitarian aid for CAR this year, and in mid-April the United Nations called for $274 million to address humanitarian needs in the region related to the crisis there. But the donor community risks its aid being spread too thin on the ground. “Unrest in CAR is happening at the same time as upheaval and violence Read More …

By Allan MacatunoInquirer Central Luzon 4:46 am | Friday, May 2nd, 2014 SUBIC BAY FREEPORT, Philippines—Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) representatives are to meet with Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) officials to discuss expanded access by American troops at the former US Navy base here, an SBMA official said. Zharrex Santos, manager of SBMA’s airport department, said on Wednesday there were plans to use portions of the airport here in connection with the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (Edca) but “no definite details” had been agreed upon yet. The Subic airport has been serving as a jumpoff point for US troops participating in military exercises, he said. Santos said the arrival of the latest batch of American troops in the free port was covered by the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), not by the Edca. About 100 American soldiers landed in Subic on April 23 to take part in the exercises. National security “Some of them were deployed somewhere in the country and might stay for two weeks, while others stayed in the airport area to establish work stations,” Santos said. The US Navy built the airport during the Korean War in the 1950s. It was rehabilitated in 1992 after the US Navy left Subic Naval Base. SBMA Chair Roberto Garcia said earlier that his agency, which manages the free port, supported the new agreement on the military’s use of sections of the free port “as this would strengthen national security.” He said the new agreement had become necessary because of Read More …

Screengrab from www.minda.gov.ph DAVAO CITY, Philippines—The goal for the less costly movement of goods and people between neighboring Indonesia and the Philippines will be realized this month with the opening of the Mindanao-North Sulawesi sea route, according to the Mindanao Development Authority. Luwalhati Antonino, chairman of the Mindanao Development Authority (Minda), said the opening of the Davao-General Santos-Tahuna-Bitung sea route this month would boost trade and economic ties between Mindanao and North Sulawesi. These two areas are among the targeted growth centers under the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-the Philippines economic cooperation treaty. She said before this, consumer items for North Sulawesi area were being brought in from Jakarta. This method jacked up prices, Jakarta being almost a thousand nautical miles from North Sulawesi, she added. In contrast, Antonino said the direct sea route would only cover 350 nautical miles. “We commend the continuous efforts of the private sector in making this route possible, which will significantly cut shipping costs and thereby allow our small and medium entrepreneurs to engage in international trading between these two points in the BIMP-EAGA,” she said. Antonino said the opening of the sea route was covered by the agreement signed in Jakarta on April 11 between the Indonesian line PT Kanaka, the North Minahasa Chamber of Commerce of Indonesia, Philippine-based cargo company ARREE Freight Express and the Davao City Chamber of Commerce. “The sea route has expanded to include Tahuna, a fishing and trading center in Sangir Talaud group of islands in the province of North Sulawesi, situated Read More …

FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—Local authorities are still validating reports three more overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the Middle East had contracted the dreaded Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV). “Our officials are constantly coordinating with health authorities there to determine and monitor the condition of our OFWs,” said administrator Carmelita Dimzon of the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (Owwa) in a media forum on Tuesday. A report over the weekend said at least three more Filipino nurses in Saudi Arabia had contracted MERS-CoV. One of them is reportedly in the intensive care unit of a hospital in Riyadh. The three are supposedly among the 14 new MERS-CoV cases in Saudi Arabia, which include seven in Jeddah, four in Riyadh and three in Mecca. Dimzon said the Owwa had intensified its information and health education drives in the Middle East to explain MERS-CoV to OFWs. “For those preparing to leave the Philippines, we have included MERS-CoV health education in our predeparture orientation seminars,” she said. The Department of Health and Philippine Health Insurance Corp., meanwhile, are finalizing a benefit package for PhilHealth members who may be infected with MERS-CoV. Dr. Lyndon Lee Suy, emerging infectious diseases program manager, said PhilHealth, the government’s social health insurance plan, would shoulder the cost of laboratory tests for patients. The laboratory test to determine if a person is infected with MERS-CoV costs P5,000. The patient may also need to be confined in a health facility while awaiting the results. The government has so far spent over Read More …

Senate President Franklin Drilon on Tuesday dared critics of the new defense agreement between the Philippines and the US to question the pact before the Supreme Court (SC). In an interview, Drilon said only the high court can settle the issue on whether the newly signed defense pact–the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA)–is an executive agreement or a treaty that needs Senate concurrence. “There are various views. Marami po ang nagsasabi na ilegal kapag hinde, marami ang nagsasabi na hinde na kailangan. Sa akin po, dalhin na nila sa Korte Suprema. Whether this is a treaty or a document that would require concurrence or ratification of the Senate, or an executive agreement, that will have to be decided by the Supreme Court,” Drilon said after his speech at the UP College of Law on Tuesday afternoon. The Senate can always ask executive officials to explain the EDCA before the oversight committee on the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), he added. As to whether the crafting of the EDCA was transparent enough, Drilon said the executive “cannot expose positions publicly” during negotiations. On Monday, Philippine and US officials inked the EDCA, which allows for an enlarged rotational presence of American troops in the country. Senators have differing opinions on the agreement–some considering it an implementing guideline of the VFA, with others described it as a treaty. Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, chairperson of the Senate committee on foreign relations, particularly lamented how the chamber was not included in the crafting of the EDCA. Read More …