NDRRMC chief: No order to suppress Yolanda body count

 News
Nov 222013
 
NDRRMC chief: No order to suppress Yolanda body count

The head of the country’s disaster risk reduction council tasked to collate data on the effects of Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) on Friday denied receiving orders to stop releasing the death toll from the recent calamity. “Let us settle that. Merong accusations na pinipigil or merong order na huwag ilabas ‘yung figure. Wala pong katotohanan,” National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) executive director Eduardo del Rosario said at a press conference. He explained that the death toll was stalled at 4,011 during the past two days because the NDRRMC is still waiting for reports from the ground. “Hinihintay ‘yung official report na isa-submit ng mayor, duly signed by the mayor and the health officers of the municipalities and cities concerned,” del Rosario said. He added that official data from local government units affected by the typhoon will likely reach the NDRRMC central office within the day. “Kino-collate na ngayon, and you will know today. Hopefully this afternoon, you will know a more concrete figure,” the NDRRMC chief said. The official death toll from Yolanda slightly increased on Friday morning to 4,015.  The massive typhoon whipped through the Visayas and parts of Luzon two weeks ago. In a separate briefing later in the day, Interior and Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas said the death toll has climbed to 4,919. Days after the super typhoon hit the country, conflicting estimates on the number of individuals killed during Yolanda’s onslaught came out in the media. President Benigno Aquino III earlier estimated that Read More …

16 foreign armed forces helping PH

 News
Nov 212013
 
16 foreign armed forces helping PH

A FIRST FOR SINO SHIP Peace Ark, a Chinese Navy hospital ship, leaves a base in Zhoushan, east of Shanghai, for a relief mission to the typhoon-devastated Philippines. It is considered the first Chinese Navy ship to enter Philippine waters with Manila’s “consent” since the maritime dispute in the West Philippine Sea between the two countries ensued. AP/EUGENE HOSHIKO Friends in good times and bad. This was how the Australian defense attaché summed up Thursday the Multinational Coordinating Council (MNCC) of the Philippine government and the armed forces of 16 countries working together for faster and more efficient distribution of relief to the survivors of Supertyphoon “Yolanda” in the Eastern Visayas. “Our shared histories with the Philippines go a long way back. Friendship is not just about the good times. Friendship is also about the bad times, too,” Lt. Col. Paul Barta told the Inquirer. The 16 countries on the council are the Philippines, Australia, United States, Japan, Canada, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Sweden, Vietnam, South Korea, New Zealand, Spain, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel. “Our friendship has been long term. Our commitment remains long term and our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the people of the Philippines. After a formal request from the government of the Philippines, the United States arrived and ready to help along with other nations,” said Tina Malone, spokesperson for the US Embassy. “Our role was to amplify the government of the Philippines’ response by providing extra help in a time Read More …

AFP forms coordinating center to institutionalize foreign assistance

 News
Nov 212013
 
AFP forms coordinating center to institutionalize foreign assistance

By Julliane Love de JesusINQUIRER.net 7:40 pm | Thursday, November 21st, 2013 Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Emmanuel Bautista. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—Since foreign aid had been pouring in after the onslaught of supertyphoon Yolanda, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Thursday has decided to institutionalize the military assistance given by 16 countries, particularly the United States, to the Philippines in the form of the Multinational Coordinating Center (MNCC). AFP Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Emmanuel Bautista, in a press briefing at the Office of Civil Defense headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, officially announced the creation of the MNCC “to coordinate and synchronize military to military operations and facilitate the cooperation between the AFP and the US Joint Task Force in support of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID).” As foreign contingents of 61 air assets, 14 naval vessels and seven C-130s fly and dock to the country for relief missions, Bautista said the newly-established council was tasked to ensure that the movements of foreign aid were monitored “perfectly to the general situation of the disaster relief efforts of the national government.” Representing the members of US Marine Corps, Lieutenant General John Wissler said the American forces will continue to provide their relief efforts and augmentation forces for as long as these are needed, noting that the US forces are “simply here to support.” “This tragedy would have brought every nation to Read More …

Interpol forensic experts scheduled to fly to Tacloban

 News
Nov 212013
 
Interpol forensic experts scheduled to fly to Tacloban

By Tetch Torres-TupasINQUIRER.net 6:47 pm | Thursday, November 21st, 2013 AFP FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—Forensic experts from the International Police (Interpol) are scheduled to fly to Tacloban City to help in identifying the victims of monster typhoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan). Justice Secretary Leila De Lima told reporters that she has already met with the Interpol’s Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team which will assist the NBI in the huge task of identifying thousands of cadavers. “This weekend, they will go to Tacloban to make an initial assessment to be able to make a proposal on how to go about the DVI given the magnitude of the casualties,” De Lima said. “Of course, Interpol has a lot of experience already not only competence, not only expertise in that area but experience in dealing with this situation on all types of disasters,” she added. The Interpol team is composed of experts from Canada, United Kingdom, Cameron, Jordan, Bosnia and South Africa. “That’s the initial team and depending on the exact process, I think more experts from the Interpol will fly to the country,” she said. De Lima believed that Interpol’s assistance in the DVI operations would be very helpful, citing the same help extended by the international body during the “Princess of the Star” tragedy off Romblon in June 2008. She also said that the integrity of the whole process of identifying the casualties will be ensured with the help of the foreign forensics experts. The first batch of NBI experts flew Read More …

PHL accepts China’s offer to send hospital ship

 News
Nov 212013
 
PHL accepts China’s offer to send hospital ship

The Philippines has accepted China’s offer to send its naval hospital ship to aid distressed survivors of Typhoon Yolanda that devastated many areas in the Visayas nearly two weeks ago. “We are thankful for the offer of China to send the Peace Ark Hospital Ship to support the relief operations,” Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez told a press briefing Thursday. China’s Peace Ark Hospital, reports said, is already bound for the badly-hit Visayas region to provide relief assistance to the victims. “The schedule and other details related to its deployment are now being coordinated with the concerned agencies,” Hernandez said. China’s increased assistance came amid criticisms of its initial paltry donation of $100,000 to the Philippines, a United States ally and Beijing’s rival claimant in the South China Sea territories. Tensions spiked anew between Manila and Beijing this year when the Philippine government sued China before an arbitral tribunal to question the legality of its massive territorial claim. Amid mounting pressure to increase aid, China, the world’s second largest economy, pledged P73 million more. Asked if the US would still push through with an initial plan to deploy its USNS Mercy hospital ship, Hernandez said: “There is an agreement in principle between the Philippines and the US that the USNS Mercy will be deployed at a time when it is needed most based upon the assessment of the needs of the Philippines.” Nevertheless, he said the Philippines is “grateful” for the continued assistance provided by the US in the aftermath Read More …

PNoy ready to certify supplemental budget if needed

 News
Nov 212013
 
PNoy ready to certify supplemental budget if needed

If needed, Malacañang said President Benigno III will certify as urgent the measure seeking a supplemental budget. “Kung kinakailangan po ‘yun ay gagawin po ‘yun,” Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) head Herminio Coloma Jr. said during a press conference on Thursday. He was pertaining to Senate Bill 1938, filed a day after the Supreme Court declared the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) unconstitutional, which proposes a supplemental budget that will divide the PDAF among seven government agencies for reconstruction efforts in the wake of recent calamities that hit the country, including the deadly Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). On Thursday, Coloma said the executive branch is working with Congress and that they are “willing to do what is needed to get the job done.” “Kailangan lang malaman iyong magiging daloy ng prosesong ito sa magkabilang Kamara. We do not want also to preempt dahil po kinikilala natin iyong independence ng Kongreso,” he said. On Wednesday, the death toll from Yolanda breached the 4,000 mark. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said the number of fatalities stood at 4,011, with 18,557 injured and 1,602 still missing. —KG, GMA News

UN execs: PHL should empower local govts to face disasters

 News
Nov 212013
 
UN execs: PHL should empower local govts to face disasters

Two weeks after Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) left a path of destruction in the Philippines, two United Nations (UN) officials on Thursday advised the country’s leaders to further empower its local government units (LGUs) in facing disasters. Margareta Wahlström, head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, said the Philippine government should not easily forget and take for granted the widespread damage caused by the recent super typhoon. “The major obstacle to a disaster preparedness system is that we don’t really take disasters seriously enough. We suffer a lot when they happen and then we forget, but the human cost, the financial cost to society and the political cost is too high,” Wahlström said during a press briefing at the Senate. The UN official was at the Senate for the launch of the “How Safe is Your School?” program, a crowdsourcing initiative being developed by the intergovernmental organization to assess the diaster preparedness of educational structures in the Philippines. Wahlström advised the Philippine government to strictly enforce its environmental laws, and to take disaster preparedness at the local level. “The opportunity now is to use this very tragic year to really enforce the functionality of this system and to ensure that even at the most local level, the municipalities and the provinces, there is enough capacity and attention to the issues of disaster,” the UN official said. At least 4,011 individuals have been confirmed dead after Yolanda ripped through the Visayas and parts of Luzon two weeks ago, based on Read More …

DOH ordered to take over health ops in Yolanda-hit areas

 News
Nov 212013
 
DOH ordered to take over health ops in Yolanda-hit areas

President Benigno Aquino III has ordered the Department of Health (DOH) to take over health operations of local government units in areas devastated by Typhoon Yolanda. Memorandum Order No. 61, issued Nov. 18, directs the DOH “to temporarily assume direct supervision and control over health and sanitation operations of LGUs affected by Typhoon Yolanda if deemed necessary, based on an assessment of the needs and in consultation with such LGUs.” At a press conference Thursday, Malacañang explained that the memo was issued so LGUs can focus on the disaster management. “Yung DOH na muna ang aagapay sa kanila doon sa healthcare aspect. Yun lang po ang reason para doon,” said Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) head Herminio Coloma Jr. He said the DOH will augment the health resources of LGUs with its personnel, including medical practitioners and paramedics. The department will also handle health-related aid coming in from the private sector. “DOH na po ang mago-orchestrate nito in order to enable the local governments to focus on relief and rehabilitation efforts,” Coloma said. The order was issued on the same day Aquino said the LGU’s handling of Yolanda is subject on an investigation. The next day, however, the President said the probe was not a priority, citing the need for cooperation between LGUs and the national government. Mobilize govt employees Aside from this order, Aquino, through Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, also issued last Nov. 15 Memorandum Circular 57, which seeks to mobilize the country’s 1.3 million-strong bureaucracy to help in Read More …

China hospital ship heads for typhoon-hit Philippines

 News
Nov 212013
 
China hospital ship heads for typhoon-hit Philippines

Members of the medical crew stand at the inpatient room inside their Chinese Navy hospital ship Peace Ark before its departure from a navy base in Zhoushan, east of Shanghai, China, on a relief mission to the Philippines, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2013. Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced by Typhoon Haiyan, which tore across several islands in the eastern Philippines on Nov. 8. AP ZHOUSHAN, China—A Chinese hospital ship set sail for the typhoon-ravaged Philippines Thursday, with foreign media given unprecedented access to a navy base as Beijing seeks to promote its aid effort nearly two weeks after the disaster. The Peace Ark, a 300-bed floating navy medical facility, sounded its horn as it set off from a People’s Liberation Army base on Zhoushan island, off the eastern province of Zhejiang. It is expected to take three or four days to reach the Philippines, which is embroiled in a territorial row with China. “With our efforts, we will make great contributions to the relationship between the Chinese people and the Philippine people,” Shen Hao, deputy chief of staff of the East China Sea Fleet and commander of the mission, told reporters allowed on board the vessel before it left. “We will do our utmost to make contributions to the Philippine side.” The deployment of the ship, which was featured on the front page of China’s state-run Global Times newspaper on Thursday, comes as the world’s second-largest economy seeks to counter international criticism of its relief effort. After an initial Read More …

PH wins seat in World Heritage Committee

 News
Nov 212013
 
PH wins seat in World Heritage Committee

By Matikas SantosINQUIRER.net 3:22 pm | Thursday, November 21st, 2013 A passenger jeepney passing by the old Aduana (customs) building in Intramuros, Manila. AFP FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines – Getting the second highest number of votes, the Philippines won one of 12 seats in the prestigious World Heritage Committee that decides what locations and properties are included in the World Heritage List. Receiving 116 from the total 173 votes, the Philippines will serve a four-year term. The rest of the elected countries – Croatia, Finland, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Republic of Korea, Lebanon, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Turkey and Viet Nam – will join the nine incumbent members of the committee. “This was a clear indication of States Parties’ support for and belief in the country’s capabilities to perform the important mission of the Committee,” the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement Thursday. The elections, held during the 19th Session of the General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention, have been described by Ambassador Cristina Ortega as “happy news for my country.” The World Heritage Committee’s primary task is to identify places anywhere in the world that have important cultural or historical value. More than 900 World Heritage Sites have so far been listed including the Great Pyramids of Egypt, Great Barrier Reef in Australia and Taj Mahal in India. The Committee is also the one that allocates funds from the World Heritage Fund, sourced from all member states through contributions, to countries that requests for financial Read More …

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