China ready to send rescue teams to PHL

 News
Nov 172013
 
China ready to send rescue teams to PHL

BEIJING — China said Sunday it is ready to send rescue and medical teams to the Philippines, in a belated offer coming more than a week after a devastating typhoon struck the island nation. The proposal made in a statement on the Foreign Ministry’s website follows an extremely modest pledge of less than $2 million in disaster assistance made last week. The small offering has been attributed to spite over a festering dispute with Manila over South China Sea islands claimed by both sides. China, which has the world’s second largest economy, claims the entire sea and its island groups and has been enraged by Manila’s robust defense of what it says has long been Philippine territory. Views expressed on the Chinese Internet have argued strongly against aiding the Philippines, despite the potential damage to China’s hopes of being regarded as a responsible regional and possibly global leader. In the statement, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei was quoted as saying Saturday that China was monitoring conditions in the Philippines and the emergency teams would depart for the hardest hit areas “should conditions permit.” There was no immediate indication whether the aid teams were preparing to depart or whether the Philippine government had accepted the Chinese offer. — AP

US military ‘godsend’ to ‘Yolanda’ victims

 News
Nov 172013
 
US military ‘godsend’ to ‘Yolanda’ victims

Residents protect themselves from strong wind created by a US Navy Sea Hawk helicopter from the US aircraft carrier USS George Washington as it takes off upon dropping relief supplies for villagers isolated by last week’s super typhoon Yolanda Saturday Nov.16, 2013 on Manicani island, Eastern Samar. AP ABOARD THE USS GEORGE WASHINGTON — As soon as Navy pilot Matthew Stafford puts his helicopter down in the village of Borongan, he is rushed by dozens of local men who form a line to unload the supplies he has flown in from the USS George Washington aircraft carrier. On the Philippine islands of Leyte and Samar that were shattered by Typhoon Yolanda (international name Haiyan), there is no doubt about it: the US military has been a godsend. “It is awesome to see this,” says one grateful villager. “They are saving us.” Villagers stranded by last week’s Typhoon Yolanda scramble for aid from a US Navy Sea Hawk helicopter from the U.S. aircraft carrier USS George Washington in the coastal town of Tanawan, central Philippines Sunday, Nov. 17. 2013. But while US military support can be critical when disasters like Yolanda strike, staging massive humanitarian relief missions for allies in need isn’t just about being a good neighbor. They can be a strategic and publicity goldmine for US troops whose presence in Asia isn’t always portrayed in such a favorable light — and a powerful warning to countries that aren’t on board. This aerial photo shows the devastation caused by last Read More …

China ready to send medical teams to Philippines

 News
Nov 172013
 
China ready to send medical teams to Philippines

Agence France-Presse 3:25 pm | Sunday, November 17th, 2013 Villagers, isolated by super typhoon Yolanda a week ago, scramble for relief goods being dropped by Philippine Air Force at La Paz, Leyte province in central Philippines, Friday Nov. 15, 2013. AP FILE PHOTO BEIJING, China – China says it is “ready” to send emergency medical personnel to the disaster-hit Philippines after its earlier pledges of financial and material aid were criticized as meager given its economic power. The Chinese government, which has a long-standing territorial dispute with the Philippines, initially offered just $100,000 to help in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Yolanda but raised its offer by a further $1.6 million on Thursday. “In light of the current actual needs of the typhoon-hit areas, the Chinese government is ready to dispatch the emergency medical assistance team on humanitarian grounds,” foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said in a statement posted on the ministry’s website Sunday. He added that private groups, including one under the Chinese Red Cross, have also expressed willingness to travel to the Philippines to assist in disaster relief. Hong said the rescue teams would depart “when conditions” allow but did not provide further details on the contingent. China was in close contact with the Philippine government on the provision of medical assistance, he said. Beijing’s offer of aid has been dwarfed by contributions from the US, which is leading the relief effort, Britain and Japan. Questions over the size of Chinese assistance come as Beijing and Manila are Read More …

New York artists to auction works for ‘Yolanda’ victims

 News
Nov 172013
 
New York artists to auction works for ‘Yolanda’ victims

INQUIRER.net US Bureau 3:08 pm | Sunday, November 17th, 2013 Contemporary realist Orley Ypon will showcase some of his award-winning works. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO NEW YORK–Artists for Philippines is a collaboration of the Philippine Consulate General of New York with some 20 Filipino and American artists who are donating valuable paintings for a silent charity auction to be held on Nov. 25 at the Kalayaan Hall, Philippine Consulate. New York-based painters Mars Custodio, Art Zamora, Jojo Austria, Sam Penaso, Orley Ypon, Lenore Lim, Dulcie Dee, Monica Bauer and Jimmy Garzon, among others are participating in the event. Curating the show is Carol Tanjutco, chair of Roosevelt Art Restoration and Education (R.A.R.E.) Foundation. Special guests from the performing arts will provide musical entertainment. Valuable pieces of art in acrylic, oil and mixed media paintings, of varying styles from realism, surrealism, expressionism to the modern and post-modern style combining abstract with figurative. Proceeds of the silent auction will be donated to victims of super Typhoon “Haiyan/Yolanda.” All U.S. donations are tax deductible through the Philippine Jesuits Foundation, a 501-c(3) corporation, serving the typhoon victims. For more information, visit the site: http://artistsforphilippines.eventbrite.com Follow Us Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free trial. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile.phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, for Globe, Smart and Sun subscribers in the Philippines. Tags: aid , Artists , auction , disaster relief , Features , Global Nation , Haiyan , Read More …

Japan medics bring high-tech fixes to Tacloban

 News
Nov 162013
 
Japan medics bring high-tech fixes to Tacloban

Villagers, isolated by super typhoon Haiyan a week ago, scramble for relief goods being dropped by Philippine Air Force at La Paz, Leyte province in central Philippines, Friday Nov. 15, 2013. Survivors of Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful typhoons ever recorded, have only now begun to receive some aid, a week after their homes and lives were torn apart. AP FILE [HOTO TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines—Japanese medics working to help victims of Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (Haiyan) have deployed wireless mobile X-ray kits using tablet computers, a world first in a disaster zone, a team spokesman said Saturday. The technology, which was developed after the huge tsunami that hit Japan in 2011, allows doctors to take a look inside patients instantly, and even lets them enlarge the image with familiar iPad gestures. Joji Tomioka, coordinator of the Japan Medical Team for Disaster Relief, said the system had been created in response to what doctors needed in the aftermath of the Japanese disaster. “This is the first time that we are deploying it in a disaster situation,” Tomioka told Agence France-Presse at a modern tent medical clinic put up by the Japanese government to help victims of the typhoon, which crashed through the central Philippines on November 8. At the partly air-conditioned clinic in the ruined city of Tacloban on Leyte island, a radiologist placed a camera on the chest of 72-year-old Carlos Llosa as he sat in his wheelchair. The X-ray image was instantaneously transmitted through a wireless router to an Read More …

Empire State Building lights up in blue, red, yellow for ‘Yolanda’ victims

 News
Nov 162013
 
Empire State Building lights up in blue, red, yellow for ‘Yolanda’ victims

By Julliane Love de JesusINQUIRER.net 5:38 pm | Saturday, November 16th, 2013 New York’s iconic Empire State Building bathed in blue, red and yellow in solidarity with the victims of Supertyphoon ‘Yolanda’ in the Philippines. Photo by the Philippine Embassy in the United States MANILA, Philippines—For two consecutive nights, blue, red and yellow colors illuminated the iconic Empire State Building in New York City in solidarity with the victims of Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (Haiyan). The 103-story skycraper rising above the Manhattan skyline began to display the colors of the Philippine flag on Friday (Saturday in Manila), and again on Saturday, New York time. Anabel Madueño, a Cuban from New York City, posted on a photo of the building on Instagram. “Empire State Building raises awareness and support for Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines,” the management of the 82-year-old building said on its website. Each night, ESB’s tower lights take on a new lighting sequence, representing major holidays, iconic milestones and global events. Follow Us Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks and mobile phones; 14-issue free trial. About to step out? Get breaking alerts on your mobile.phone. Text ON INQ BREAKING to 4467, for Globe, Smart and Sun subscribers in the Philippines. Tags: Empire State Building , Empire State colors , Filipinos , Haiyan , lights , New York , Supertyphoon , tribute , United States , Yolanda Factual errors? Contact the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s day desk. Believe this article violates journalistic ethics? Contact the Inquirer’s Read More …

Filipinos abroad seek news, rally aid after ‘Yolanda’

 News
Nov 162013
 
Filipinos abroad seek news, rally aid after ‘Yolanda’

Filipino employees at an express company in Hong Kong pack boxes of donations from overseas workers at a shopping mall before they ship them to the survivors of Typhoon ‘Yolanda.’ AP HONG KONG—They gather in California churches, in Hong Kong shopping malls, at prayer vigils in Bahrain and on hastily launched Facebook pages. Filipino overseas workers, cut off from home after a super-typhoon killed thousands, are coming together to pray, swap information and launch aid drives. Above all, many of the more than 10.5 million Filipinos abroad — some 10 percent of the country’s population — are desperately dialing phone numbers that don’t answer in the typhoon zone, where aid is still only slowly trickling in and communications have been largely blown away. “I call again, and I keep trying and trying and trying but no one answered,” said Princess Howard, a worker at a money transfer business in Hong Kong, of her attempts to reach her 62-year-old grandfather and nine other relatives in the Leyte region that was flattened when Supertyphoon “Yolanda” (Haiyan) hit one week ago. Sending $21.4 billion back home last year alone, Filipino overseas workers are a major part of their country’s economy, with their remittances equaling nearly 10 percent of gross domestic product. Spread out over more than 200 countries, they work as nurses in Europe, sugar cane laborers in Malaysia, housemaids in Hong Kong and construction workers in the oil-rich Middle East. Hong Kong alone has some 133,000 Filipinos, mostly domestic workers who tend Read More …

East Coast Fil-Am communities raise funds for ‘Yolanda’ victims

 News
Nov 152013
 
East Coast Fil-Am communities raise funds for ‘Yolanda’ victims

NEW YORK—Just a few days after Typhoon “Yolanda” (international name: Haiyan) wrought havoc in eastern Visayas, various groups in the New York tri-state area quickly launched fund-raising efforts to raise funds for the typhoon victims. Earlier this week, two fund-raisers happened in the East Village a few blocks away from each other. Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas partnered with Nicole Ponseca of Maharlika/Jeepney for a fund drive for the victims of the typhoon. Among the evening’s guests were Chef Dale Talde, Filipino actress Cherie Gil and Carlos Celdran. They were able to generate more than $8,500 in cash donations. A few doors down, Ugly Kitchen was having its own fundraiser, attended by numerous young professionals. As of press time, they were able to raise $7,941. For two consecutive Sundays starting this weekend, Purple Yam in Brooklyn is sponsoring a prix-fixed brunch for $40. Both events are now sold out. Purple yam owner Amy Besa said she is also organizing a series of about 6-7 dinners in Metro Manila in the next week or so. “The purpose of these dinners is not only to raise money for the people affected by Typhoon Yolanda, but to raise awareness of the effects of climate change, the need to be prepared for future disasters and how we can take control of how our taxes are being spent. The challenge now is how to rebuild what we lost and help restore dignity in the lives of our people in the south and the rest Read More …

200 evacuees from Yolanda-ravaged Tacloban arrive in NCR

 News
Nov 142013
 
200 evacuees from Yolanda-ravaged Tacloban arrive in NCR

Yolanda survivors arrive in Manila. A young survivor who was evacuated from a disaster zone in Tacloban City is carried into an Army truck with her family after they arrived via a military plane at Villamor Air Base in Manila on Tuesday, November 12. Rescue workers are still trying to reach towns and villages in the central Philippines that were cut off by super typhoon Yolanda as relief efforts intensified with the help of US military. Reuters/Cheryl Ravelo At least 200 residents of Tacloban City, which was ravaged last week by Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), arrived in Metro Manila Thursday evening aboard a C-130 plane. The Tacloban residents included the elderly and children who were traumatized by the devastation caused by Yolanda, radio dzBB reported early Friday. Representatives of some government agencies were on hand at Villamor Air Base to assist them at the Villamor Air Base, the report said. Some of the Tacloban residents were quoted in the report as saying their ordeal lasted two to three days as they tried to make sense of what happened to them. An earlier dzBB report said some of the Tacloban residents admitted they do not have a place to stay while in Metro Manila. They are to be temporarily sheltered at the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s facility at Jose Fabella Hospital in Manila, the dzBB report said. Tacloban City was among the areas hit hardest by Yolanda, which ravaged parts of Visayas and Southern Luzon last week. As of Read More …

US carrier starts typhoon relief ops as Aquino comes under fire

 News
Nov 142013
 
US carrier starts typhoon relief ops as Aquino comes under fire

TACLOBAN – A U.S. aircraft carrier “strike group” started unloading food and water to the typhoon-ravaged central Philippines on Thursday, as President Benigno Aquino faced mounting pressure to speed up the distribution of supplies. While relief efforts picked up, local authorities began burying the dead – an important, if grim, milestone for a city shredded by one of the world’s most powerful typhoons and the tsunami-like wall of seawater believed to have killed thousands. “There are still bodies on the road,” said Alfred Romualdez, mayor of Tacloban, a city of 220,000 people reduced to rubble in worst-hit Leyte province. “It’s scary. There is a request from a community to come and collect bodies. They say it’s five or 10. When we get there, it’s 40.” Many petrol station owners whose businesses were spared have refused to reopen, leaving little fuel for trucks needed to move supplies and medical teams around the devastated areas nearly a week after Typhoon Haiyan struck. “The choice is to use the same truck either to distribute food or collect bodies,” Romualdez added. The nuclear-powered USS George Washington aircraft carrier and accompanying ships arrived off wind-swept eastern Samar province, carrying 5,000 crew and more than 80 aircraft, after what strike force commander Rear Admiral Mark Montgomery called a “high-speed transit” from Hong Kong. It is moored near where U.S. General Douglas MacArthur’s force of 174,000 men landed on October 20, 1944, in one of the biggest allied victories of World War Two. “Operation Damayan” started with Read More …

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