Torrential rain relentlessly battered the flood-soaked Philippine capital and surrounding farming areas on Tuesday, raising fears that the toll from monsoons which have killed three this week would climb higher.
Aug 192013
Aug 192013
Flood hits Parañaque as monsoon ravages homes. A resident takes a break from cleaning her house, which was deluged by monsoon rains in Sucat, Paranaque, on Monday, August 19. John Javellana / Reuters Health authorities on Monday warned the public against selling or consuming food or medicines that were submerged in floodwaters. “Discard any water damaged food packed in plastic, paper or carton. Throw screw-capped fluid bottles submerged in flood,” National Epidemiology Center head Dr. Enrique Tayag advised. The Food and Drug Administration, for its part, noted flood waters are “most likely to contain physical, chemical and biological hazards to health.” It added contaminants may include “animal and human feces and other excrements, mainly from overflowing septic tanks and sewage system, and heavy metals, fuel and other chemicals and pesticides from nearby industrial factories, hospitals or clinic, or farms.” “It only takes a small amount of microbial pathogens to make people sick, which can manifest after several days after exposure. ,Infection can be through ingestion of contaminated food and water, penetration of mucous or skin with cut or lesions, and possibly inhalation of aerosol, produced, for example, by playing in flood water.” Sale, purchase The FDA reminded establishments against “selling, offering for sale or use, donating, transporting, and moving or distributing flood water-damaged canned goods and other processed food products, medicines, and cosmetic products.” “All health product establishments shall immediately pull out all damaged health products from the shelves,” it said. It reminded consumers against buying flood water-damaged food products, Read More …
Aug 192013
Amid reports of a pork barrel scam that allegedly pillaged billions of pesos worth of public funds through bogus non-government organizations, President Benigno Aquino III said that the release of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) has been put on hold pending the completion of an investigation into the scam. “Ang statement ni Secretary [of Department of Budget and Management Florencio] Abad, walang ni-release [na PDAF] for the second half,” said Aquino in an exclusive interview with GMA News’ Maki Pulido, aired over “24 Oras”. “Tapusin muna ang inbestigasyon,” added Aquino, “And check kung meron pa ngang loopholes na dapat maisara.” One way government will determine whether there are loopholes is through “performance-based” indicators. “Simpleng bagay lang: may paglalaanan? Ano ang resulta,” the President explained. “Yung budget release nila (mga mambabtas) are based on their performance.” He added that there should also be a “time limit” on the implementation of the project allotted with state funds. If the funds are still unused within a certain amount of time, it would be returned to the government savings. “And savings will realign to those departments that are ready to utilize the said funds,” Aquino said. Abolition Meantime, Aquino argued that the pork barrel should not be abolished, even with allegations that it was misused by lawmakers. He maintained that the PDAF does do some good. “Huwag naman madamay ‘yung mahusay at matino ‘dun sa taong mapagsamantala. ‘Yang PDAF, lalo na sa hard aspect, nakakatulong matugon ng mas mabilis ‘yung pangangailangan ng komunidad,” Read More …
Aug 192013
‘Erratic’ Maring lingers northeast of Batanes. Tropical Storm Maring seemed to make a U-turn over the Pacific Ocean section northeast of the Philippines and east of Taiwan. PAGASA Tropical Storm Maring (international name Trami) intensified Monday night and remained almost stationary off extreme northern Luzon, state weather forecasters said. PAGASA, in its 11 p.m. advisory, said Tropical Storm Maring was estimated to be 600 km east of Itbayat, Batanes as of 10 p.m. Maring was moving northwards at only 7 kph. By Tuesday evening, it is expected to be 560 km east-northeast of Itbayat, Batanes. By Wednesday evening it is expected to be 470 km northeast of Itbayat, Batanes. On Thursday evening, it is forecast to be 595 km north of Itbayat, Batanes or outside the Philippine area of responsibility. Maring packed maximum winds of 85 kph near the center, with gustiness of up to 100 kph. No public storm signals have been raised. Heavy to intense rainfall Maring may bring rainfall of 10 to 25 mm per hour (heavy to intense) within its 400-km diameter. It will also continue to enhance the southwest monsoon, which will bring moderate to heavy rainshowers and thunderstorms over Luzon, particularly over the western section. The enhanced monsoon has been bringing rain over Metro Manila and nearby provinces since Sunday. Meanwhile, PAGASA advised fishermen, “especially those using small seacraft,” not to venture out over the seaboards of Luzon due to heavy seas, also caused by the enhanced southwest monsoon. — DVM, GMA News
Aug 192013
In his Angelus prayer on Sunday, Pope Francis asked the crowds gathered in St. Peter’s Square to pray for the victims of the ferry sinking in the waters off Cebu. “I would like to ask for prayers for the victims of the ferry sinking in the Philippines. Also for their families—so much sorrow,” he said in Italian. The Pope on Saturday sent a telegram of condolence to Cebu Archbishop and outgoing Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines president Jose Palma. Last Friday’s collision of the passenger vessel MV Saint Thomas Aquinas 1 of 2GO Shipping with the cargo ship MV Sulpicio Express 7 of Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corp. resulted in the former’s sinking and has so far claimed 56 lives. — with a report from Reuters/BM, GMA News
Aug 192013
Senator Paolo Benigno “Bam” Aquino IV on Monday said he will not use his P200-million “pork barrel” allocation until charges are filed against those linked to the alleged scam involving these discretionary funds. In a statement posted on his official Facebook page, Aquino said his decision to suspend the use of his pork barrel funds is in response to the “public clamor” against these controversial funds. “People are already getting impatient—and that’s a good thing.The clamor only means that people have come to expect more from their government, and it’s good because it means they’re serious about good governance,” Aquino said. “To show that we’re equally serious about the matter, we’re suspending the use of our office’s own PDAF,” the neophyte lawmaker added. Aquino made this announcement a month after the Philippine Daily Inquirer ran a series of reports detailing how fake civil society groups supposedly used pork barrel funds of some senators and House members to fund ghost projects worth P10 billion. The National Bureau of Investigation and the Office of the Ombudsman are currently conducting separate probes of the alleged anomaly. Last Friday, the COA released its report showing that over P6 billion from “pork barrel” funds went to questionable non-government organizations from 2007 to 2009. Aquino, a first cousin of President Benigno Aquino III, also called for “clearer and stricter” guidelines on the use of the pork barrel fund, formally known as the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF). Earlier this month, President Aquino said he is not Read More …
Aug 182013
By Julliane De JesusINQUIRER.net 10:07 am | Monday, August 19th, 2013 Dr. L. Masae Kawamura, former president of the North American Region of the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, told reporters in press forum on Aug. 15, 2013, about the rising statistics of Filipino patients suffering from TB who are migrating to the United States. She said large proportion of tuberculosis patients in the US are Asians, most of them Filipinos. MANILA, Philippines—A large proportion of tuberculosis patients in the US are Asians, most of them Filipinos, a San-Francisco based medical expert has disclosed. Dr. L. Masae Kawamura, former president of the North American Region of the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, told reporters last week about the rising statistics of Filipino patients suffering from TB who are migrating to the United States. She said Thursday in a press forum that TB is an “outcome of poor public health.” She appealed to the local government and health offices to prioritize early TB screening and bolster treatment in the country. “The Philippines exports more tuberculosis patients than import at this point… TB is a disease of poverty and migration, and urbanization [because] people are moving from the rural countryside to the big cities like Manila,” said Kawamura. Ranking second in Asia, the Philippines recorded high TB mortality rate next to Cambodia based on the World Health Organization (WHO) tuberculosis report. Among tuberculosis-afflicted persons, 59 percent came from Asia, the report said. Kawamura said that tuberculosis can be Read More …
Aug 182013
Aug 19 (Reuters) – The following table shows the position of Asian currencies against the dollar at 0140 GMT. CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR Change on the day at 0140 GMT Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move Japan yen 97.41 97.54 +0.13 Sing dlr 1.2709 1.2703 -0.05 Taiwan dlr 29.931 30.002 +0.24 Korean won 1112.00 1113.60 +0.14 Baht 31.30 31.27 -0.10 *Peso 43.64 43.64 +0.00 Rupiah 10380.00 10380.00 +0.00 Rupee 61.65 61.65 -0.00 Ringgit 3.2750 3.2770 +0.06 Yuan 6.1141 6.1150 +0.01 Change so far in 2013 Currency Latest bid End prev year Pct Move Japan yen 97.41 86.79 -10.90 Sing dlr 1.2709 1.2219 -3.86 Taiwan dlr 29.931 29.136 -2.66 Korean won 1112.00 1070.60 -3.72 Baht 31.30 30.61 -2.20 Peso 43.64 41.05 -5.93 Rupiah 10380.00 9630.00 -7.23 Rupee 61.65 54.99 -10.80 Ringgit 3.2750 3.0580 -6.63 Yuan 6.1141 6.2303 +1.90 * Philippines suspended local financial market trading due to heavy rains and floods. (Reporting by Jongwoo Cheon in SINGAPORE)
Aug 182013
By Elizabeth Lolarga, VERA Files Photos courtesy of Ayala Museum Spidery webs, nets, dots, petals–imagine these harmless images. But they’re out there, crowding one’s field of vision, encroaching on, about to engulf one’s self. These hallucinations continue to visit Yayoi … Continue reading → …
Aug 182013
After enhancing the southwest monsoon that has dumped rain over a wide swath of Luzon in the past several days, Tropical Storm Maring (Trami) is moving erratically and may linger inside the Philippine area of responsibility until Thursday. Large parts of Metro Manila are already flooded, with classes suspended in most areas. PAGASA forecaster Manny Mendoza said Maring is interacting with another weather system outside the Philippine area of responsibility and has repeatedly changed direction. “Medyo mabagal ito, pabago-bago ang direksyon ng bagyong ito. Dati southeast, tapos east, ngayon north-northeast (Maring is moving very slowly, and keeps changing direction. It was moving southeast, then east, then north-northeast),” Mendoza said in an interview on dzBB radio. When asked when Maring will exit the Philippine area of responsibility, Mendoza said their models show it may do so on August 22, Thursday. However, he said there is also a chance Maring may exit the PAR on Friday. Mendoza said their models show Maring appears headed for the southern islands of Japan but may change direction until it heads for Taiwan. Tropical Storm Maring seemed to make a U-turn over the Pacific Ocean section northeast of the Philippines and east of Taiwan. Flash floods, landslides PAGASA said that as of 4 a.m., Maring was estimated at 550 km east of Itbayat, Batanes, with maximum winds of 75 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 90 kph. It is forecast to move northeast at 7 kph. Also, PAGASA said the southwest monsoon Read More …