ICRC ship arrives, to give aid to folk in Yolanda-hit Samar

 News
Nov 232013
 
ICRC ship arrives, to give aid to folk in Yolanda-hit Samar

(Updated 5:46 p.m.) TACLOBAN CITY – More aid arrived Saturday for residents affected by Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), this time from a vessel of the International Committee of the Red Cross bearing food and health care facilities. ICRC spokesperson Atishay Abbhi said the vessel—whose equipment is for Samar—carried basic health care facilities including a surgical unit and water tank, as well as 20 tons of food. “We are providing relief, health care and we are trying to restore water supply in the areas of Eastern and Southern Samar,” Abbhi said, noting there are already around 60 ICRC personnel including engineers, health experts and a team providing essential household items. He said the ICRC teams are working with counterparts in the Philippine Red Cross. Abbhi said the vessel has a surgical unit heading for Samar, as well as materials for restoring water service to Basey also in Samar. “We have a team proceeding to Basey to help restore thw water networks,” he said. Meanwhile, another ICRC vessel is carrying a basic health care unit for Balangiga. Teams have already provided food items to 54,000 people in Salcedo and Guiuan in Samar, he added. Guiuan was the area where Yolanda first made landfall last Nov. 8. Yolanda left at least 5,000 dead in its wake after ravaging parts of Visayas and Southern Luzon. — VC, GMA News

ICRC ship arrives, to give aid to folk in Yolanda-hit Leyte, Samar

 News
Nov 232013
 
ICRC ship arrives, to give aid to folk in Yolanda-hit Leyte, Samar

TACLOBAN CITY – More aid arrived Saturday for residents affected by Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), this time from a vessel of the International Committee of the Red Cross bearing food and health care facilities. ICRC spokesperson Atishay Abbhi said the vessel—much of whose equipment is for residents in the Samar area—carried basic health care facilities including a surgical unit and water tank, as well as 20 tons of food. “We initially focused on immediate relief. Now our next step is health,” Abbhi said, noting the vessel is carrying teams of engineers, health experts and even forensic experts to help manage the remains of fatalities. He said the ICRC teams will be working with counterparts in the Philippine Red Cross. Abbhi said the vessel has a surgical unit heading for Samar, as well as materials for restoring water service to Basey also in Samar. “We have a team proceeding to Balangiga to help restore thw water networks,” he said. Personnel from the vessel will also Teams will also bring food items to Salcedo and Guiuan in Samar, he added. Guiuan was the area where Yolanda first made landfall last Nov. 8. Yolanda left at least 5,000 dead in its wake after ravaging parts of Visayas and Southern Luzon. — VC, GMA News

Yolanda death toll feared to hit 7,000

 News
Nov 232013
 
Yolanda death toll feared to hit 7,000

TACLOBAN — The number of people dead or missing after one of the world’s strongest typhoons struck the Philippines climbed towards 7,000 on Saturday, as the United Nations warned much more needed to be done to help desperate survivors. The government’s confirmed death toll rose to 5,235, with another 1,613 people still missing more than two weeks after Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) destroyed entire towns across a long stretch of islands in the central Philippines. Yolanda now rivals a 1976 tsunami on the southern island of Mindanao as the deadliest recorded natural disaster to strike the Philippines, which endures a never-ending battle against typhoons, earthquakes, floods and volcanic eruptions. The typhoon has triggered a giant, international aid effort, with dozens of countries and relief organizations rushing to deliver food, water and health services to more than four million people who lost their homes. However UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos, after visiting the disaster zones, warned the world was still not responding fast enough. “Much more needs to be done. Food, clean water and shelter remain the top priorities,” Amos said as a UN appeal for funds was raised from $301 million to $348 million. Amos said huge numbers of people were still exposed to bad weather in the nine provinces ravaged by the storm, as she warned particularly of the dangers for babies, children and mothers. “I am very concerned that some 1.5 million children are at risk of acute malnutrition and close to 800,000 pregnant and nursing mothers need Read More …

CBCP: Yolanda, Magnitude-7.2 quake tests of faith

 News
Nov 232013
 
CBCP: Yolanda, Magnitude-7.2 quake tests of faith

The twin calamities that struck the country in the last two months may be considered severe tests of faith for Filipinos, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines said Saturday. But the CBCP, in a pastoral statement signed by outgoing president and Cebu archbishop Jose Palma, said Filipinos should also learn the lessons from the Oct. 15 magnitude-7.2 quake in Central Visayas and Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). “Indeed the twin calamities have tested severely our faith. Yet, even now, we believe we shall emerge from their situations with more awareness of the pattern of nature and hopefully learn its lessons,” Palma said. “By strengthening the systems and institutions that mitigate the effects of these forces of nature, we can avoid the recurrence of the present tragedy,” he added. The statement came on the eve of the Solemnity of Christ the King on Sunday. Several were killed when the Oct. 15 quake struck Central Visayas while more than 5,000 were left dead in the wake of Yolanda, which battered Visayas and Southern Luzon. Palma said no words can describe the sorrow that many in Bohol, Cebu, Leyte and Samar have suffered. “The calamities have tested our spirit as a community,” he said. Exercising faith However, he said that with the Year of Faith coming to a close, “we have been called upon to exercise our faith by putting our trust in the Lord and reaching out to help each other.” “Once again we treasure the precious gift of faith. It will Read More …

REQUIEM FOR A WELTERWEIGHT

 News
Nov 222013
 
REQUIEM FOR A WELTERWEIGHT

After eight frustrating years, four controversial fights, 42 contentiously scored rounds, with over 500 punches landed from more than 1,800 thrown, after two grueling hours of opportunity under the spotlight, on Dec. 8, 2012, Juan Manuel Marquez finally landed the punch of a lifetime against Manny Pacquiao. READ FULL STORY

US solons urge defense dep’t to airdrop relief supplies in remote areas

 News
Nov 222013
 
US solons urge defense dep’t to airdrop relief supplies in remote areas

INQUIRER.net US Bureau 9:34 am | Saturday, November 23rd, 2013 Rep. Eric Swalwell WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Air Force should air drop humanitarian supplies and food to the most remote and inaccessible areas of the Philippines following Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda, several lawmakers wrote to the US defense secretary and the USAID head. U.S. Representatives Eric Swalwell (CA-15) and Jackie Speier (CA-14) wrote to Department of Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) administrator Raj Shah, requesting the airdrops. The bipartisan letter was signed by 36 members of Congress. The U.S. is currently delivering food to the Philippines primarily through distribution centers and via helicopter and V22-Ospreys; but relief personnel have yet to use airdrops although many areas of the devastated by the storm are remote. Airdrops in a disaster situation are not unprecedented. Following the earthquake in Haiti, the U.S. Air Force dropped over 55,000 pounds of food and water into difficult to reach areas. In their letter, the lawmakers encourage use of an aid deployment strategy developed by the U.S. Air Force at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Livermore, California, called the Tri-wall Arial Delivery System (TRIADS). TRIADS is a proven method, which enables the dropping of food packages from high altitudes without parachutes. Rep. Jackie Speier “Typhoon Haiyan swept through the Philippines, creating unimaginable damage,” said Swalwell. “I’m proud we’ve quickly provided assistance to our friends in the Philippines, but many in remote areas are still in desperate need of basic humanitarian supplies.  I’m Read More …

World Bank doubles disaster aid to Philippines

 News
Nov 222013
 
World Bank doubles disaster aid to Philippines

WASHINGTON – The World Bank on Friday added $480 million in emergency aid to the Philippines, taking to nearly $1 billion its support as the death toll from super typhoon Haiyan passed 5,200. World Bank President Jim Yong Kim made the pledge, added to $500 million committed Monday, in a phone call with Philippine President Benigno Aquino, the development lender said. The new money will be provided through the bank’s existing Community Driven Development Project for the Philippines, which will allow localities to tap the funds for their own rebuilding projects. “The project will empower communities themselves to lead the reconstruction effort, by offering a transparent way for people to identify their own needs,” the Bank said in a statement. The Bank has already deployed disaster specialists to Manila to help the government assess the damages and identify rebuilding priorities in the wake of the storm, which blasted through the center of the country on November 8, flattening entire communities and leaving up to four million people displaced. Early estimates by analysts of the typhoon’s economic cost to the Philippines have been put at around $14 billion. “We have been encouraged by the resilience of the Filipino people and the determination shown by President Aquino and his team as they work to recover from a disaster of unprecedented scale,” Kim said in the statement. — Agence France– Presse

CHED promises to find funding to keep PDAF scholars in school

 News
Nov 222013
 
CHED promises to find funding to keep PDAF scholars in school

The Commission on Higher Education (CHED) assured scholars dependent on lawmakers’ Priority Development Assistance Fund that they can stay in school despite the Supreme Court’s recent decision declaring the multibillion-peso fund unconstitutional. In a statement released Friday, CHED chairperson Patricia Licuanan said the commission is now looking into other possible funding sources for PDAF scholars so their studies will not be affected. Licuanan added CHED asked 111 state universities and colleges (SUCs) in the country as early as October to allow PDAF beneficiaries enrolled for the first semester of this school year to enroll again for the second semester. Some scholars have expressed fears they will have to stop their studies following the Supreme Court’s issuance last month of a temporary restraining order on the release of the second tranche of the 2013 PDAF. Eastern Samar Representative Ben Evardone has warned that over 200,000 scholars will be affected by the order to freeze PDAF use. Licuanan said CHED is currently assessing the situation of PDAF beneficiaries enrolled in private higher education institutions (HEIs) to determine how it can help scholars continue their studies. “Once CHED has assessed the resources needed by former PDAF grantees in public and private HEIs, CHED will tap into its Higher Education Development Fund, funds from the General Appropriations Act and possibly from the President’s Social Fund,” she said. In a 14-0-1 vote, the Supreme Court on Tuesday declared the PDAF, more commonly known as the pork barrel, unconstitutional. The Court declared the PDAF Article in Read More …

Official Yolanda death toll breaches 5k mark, with over 1,000 still missing

 News
Nov 222013
 
Official Yolanda death toll breaches 5k mark, with over 1,000 still missing

More deaths related to Typhoon Yolanda have been validated by disaster officials Friday, bringing the official death toll to 5,209 with 1,611 still missing and 23,404 injured, based on the latest report by the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC). Of the total number of fatalities, 4,919 were from Eastern Visayas, the hardest hit region of the super typhoon, while the rest were from Calabarzon, Mimaropa, Bicol, Western Visayas, Central Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula and Caraga. “These were recovered for the past few days but have to be validated,” said Eduardo del Rosario, NDRRMC executive director, referring too the additional fatalities. Validation was done in coordination with mayors and local heath officers, he added. “We had changes because the official validation and confirmation are slowly coming in from the municipal mayors and municipal health workers,” del Rosario explained. The latest death toll was already more than double than President Benigno Aquino III’s estimate of between 2,000 to 2,500 Chief Superintendent Elmer Soria, the relieved Eastern Visayas regional police chief, had earlier estimated that the death toll could reach 10,000. — KBK, GMA News

UP Diliman grad tops 428 Chemical Engineer Licensure Exam passers

 News
Nov 222013
 
UP Diliman grad tops 428 Chemical Engineer Licensure Exam passers

A graduate from University of the Philippines Diliman topped the 428 examinees who passed the Chemical Engineer Licensure Examination given this month in Manila and Cebu, the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) said Friday. Jasper Powell Samson Esguerra scored 84.60 percentage points, followed by Arniel Lagumbay Belarmino of Xavier University with 82.90. Tied at third place were Fernando Caasi Lit of UP Los Baños and Robert Cesar Bulo Morta of Bicol University-Legazpi, both with 82.80. The rest of the Top 10 are as follows: 4 SUGAR ROA  ESTRADA OF XAVIER UNIVERSITY (82.40)5 MARK JAYSON ARELLANO  PANGANIBAN OF UP-LOS BAÑOS (82.00)6 HYKINEL BON DETERA  GUARTE OF UP-DILIMAN (81.90)7 ALDRINE OGENA  ALMANZOR OF UP-DILIMAN (81.50)RAWLINSON PEÑA  TOLENTINO OF BATANGAS STATE UNIVERSITY-BATANGAS CITY (81.50)8 MARK RIGEL RABANERA  ALI OF SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY (81.30)9 ANGELO GUNIO  MAGNAYE OF ADAMSON UNIVERSITY (81.00)HAZELLE LAGUE  ROXAS OF UNIVERSITY OF MINDANAO-DAVAO CITY (81.00)10 MARCO HERNANDEZ  GARCIA OF MALAYAN COLLEGES LAGUNA (80.90) [Click here for the complete list of passers in the Chemical Engineer Licensure Exam.] A total of 734 examinees took the exam, which was given on November 19. The PRC said the issuance of Professional Identification Card (ID) and Certificate of Registration will be on November 28 and 29, 2013, while the date and venue for the oathtaking ceremony will be announced later. — KBK, GMA News

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