KORONADAL — Commercial rice prices in South Cotabato province will remain expensive until the bulk of palay harvests come in by October, Department of Agriculture (DA) officials said on Tuesday.
Aug 202013
Aug 202013
By Redempto D. AndaInquirer Southern Luzon 10:18 pm | Tuesday, August 20th, 2013 PUERTO PRINCESA CITY—The regional trial court has allowed the 12 Chinese fishers responsible for the grounding of their vessel in Tubbataha Reefs in April to post bail, according to their lawyer. Richalex Jagmis, counsel for the Chinese nationals currently detained at the Palawan provincial jail, said he received the decision on the bail petition he filed Monday afternoon from RTC Branch 51 Presiding Judge Ambrosio de Luna. The court, however, doubled the bail amount recommended by the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office handling the case for the complainant Tubbataha Management Office from P120,000 to P240,000 each, or a total of P2.8 million. It pointed out that the accused need to appear before the hearings on charges of poaching and illegal possession of endangered species. The accused are set to be arraigned for additional cases, including violation of the Philippine Wildlife Act and attempted bribery. The latter complaint arose from a report made by the park rangers of Tubbataha stating that the Chinese had tried to bribe them after the grounding incident. “I don’t know yet what will be the action on the part of my clients. And the order states that they need to appear before the hearings,” Jagmis said. The Chinese vessel’s grounding in Tubbataha came right after a similar incident involving a US Navy minesweeper, which prompted American authorities to dismantle the ship on site. The inspection conducted by Tubbataha park rangers on the Chinese fishing boat Read More …
Aug 202013
In the aftermath of the floods brought by monsoon rains enhanced by Tropical Storm Maring, these provinces, cities, and municipalities have been declared under state of calamity: DECLARED UNDER STATE OF CALAMITY (as of 7:03 p.m. August 20, 2013): Laguna ProvinceBataan ProvinceCavite ProvinceMuntinlupa CityPateros Parañaque CityMalabonTaytay, RizalSan Mateo, RizalSta. Barbara, PangasinanNarvacan, Ilocos Sur Residents ride a bamboo raft to safety in Noveleta, Cavite, on Monday, August 19. Torrential rain paralyzed large parts of Luzon as neck-deep water swept through residential areas. Photo Credit: Jay Directo/AFP —TJD/GMA News
Aug 202013
The United States government is extending the equivalent of P23.65 million in aid for victims of the flooding and monsoon rain in Metro Manila and other parts of Luzon, the United States Embassy said Tuesday. US Ambassador to the Philippines Harry Thomas Jr. said the disaster is of “sufficient magnitude” to warrant a response from the US government. “USAID/OFDA [The US Agency for International Development-Office of US Foreign Disaster Assistance], working with USAID/Philippines, and the US Embassy canvassed relief organizations operating in the area, and determined that the increasing number of displaced families seeking safe refuge from various evacuation centers and vulnerable families needing emergency assistance warranted an offer of assistance from the US government,” Thomas said. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of those who are affected by the floods, those who have lost loved ones, and important possessions. I want Filipinos to know that the United States stands by them in times of need,” he added. A news release from the US Embassy in Manila quoted USAID Philippines Mission Director Gloria Steele as saying the aid will include $50,000 for emergency non-food assistance and $500,000 for warehousing and logistics support (about P23,650,000 in total) from USAID/OFDA. This will be channeled “through a humanitarian agency working in the Philippines to facilitate the immediate delivery of non-food relief items, potentially including jerry cans, household kits, and tarps, to flood-affected communities,” Steele said. Heavy rain from the southwest monsoon enhanced by Tropical Storm Maring pummeled several parts of Luzon. Read More …
Aug 202013
US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel will visit the Philippines later this month as negotiations on the framework of increased rotational presence of American troops in the Philippines continue between the two countries. In a statement, the Pentagon said that Hagel’s visit will cap the series of stops on the Secretary’s upcoming Southeast Asian trip. Hagel will start in Malaysia from Aug. 24 to 26, followed by Indonesia from Aug. 26 to 27, and Brunei from Aug. 27 to 29 In Brunei, Hagel will “meet with defense counterparts from across the Asia-Pacific region,” said the Pentagon. The US official will meet with defense ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries on Aug. 28. The next day, Hagel will participate in the Asian Defense Ministers Meeting-Plus meeting. “Secretary Hagel will conclude his trip in Manila on August 29-30 and return to Washington the evening of August 30,” the statement said. The visit of Hagel will come as Philippines and US officials are negotiating the framework of the increased rotational presence of US forces in the country. The talks between the US and the Philippines began last Wednesday in Camp Aguinaldo. According to officials, at least three more rounds may be held before an agreement can be reached. The next round of negotiations will be held in Washington later this month, said Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Carlos Sorreta, who heads the Philippine government’s negotiating panel. — BM, GMA News
Aug 202013
Cavite residents flee flooded homes, take shelter on street. Residents take shelter from the rain after floodwaters displaced them from their homes in Noveleta, Cavite on Monday. Local government rescue units in Cavite, now under state of calamity, appeared woefully unprepared. AFP PHOTO / Jay Directo For many in Cavite, now under a state of calamity, the past two days have been their Ondoy. A large swath of the province has been submerged as torrential rains have fallen since Sunday night. The rainfall has been at record levels in some areas, particularly in Sangley Point, a part of the provincial capital of Cavite City at the peninsular northernmost point of the province. PAGASA maintains a weather station in Sangley Point, long a naval base. During the Habagat deluge in 2012, rainfall at Sangley Point reached 354.2 mm in the 24 hours ending 8 a.m. on August 7, 2012, according to PAGASA weather division head Robert Sawi. In contrast, rainfall at the same location for the same period on August 20, 2013, reached 475.4 mm. This is even more than the average expected rainfall for the entire month, or 457.4 mm. “Ibig sabihin, mas higit sa isang buwan ang naibagsak na ulan sa loob lamang ng isang araw,” explained GMA News’ resident meteorologist, Nathaniel “Mang Tani” Cruz. The rain intensity at Sangley Point surprised even DOST Secretary Ramon Montejo. “We were also surprised at the rain intensity in some areas, especially in Sangley, Cavite,” he said. The disaster seems far from Read More …
Aug 202013
Eighteen senators from the Senate majority bloc have agreed not to use their “pork barrel” funds for now until stricter guidelines are put in place on the release of these funds, Senate President Franklin Drilon said Tuesday. In a statement, Drilon said this decision would be formalized during the next session in a resolution “expressing the sense of the Senate to cease from availing, accessing and utilizing their pork barrel funds.” “The majority senators’ decision to adopt the resolution is a manifestation of their interest in making the use of the PDAF [Priority Development Assistance Fund] more transparent and open for scrutiny of the public that will help prevent the abuses and inadequacies which were observed in the Commission on Audit (COA) report,” he said. Drilon was referring to a COA special audit report released last Friday stating that PDAF releases from 2007 to 2009 “were not efficiently monitored and tracked, if at all.” The report bared that over P6 billion in PDAF went to questionable NGOs during the period covered by the audit. Drilon said that the majority senators agreed to let the Department of Budget and Management “promulgate stricter and more effective implementing guidelines on the release of the PDAF.” “The government must institute stricter guidelines on the utilization of the PDAF to avoid exposing substantial government funds to untoward risks and ensure that the PDAF is disbursed only in favor of specific and effective pro-poor programs of the government,” he said. Each senator is entitled to P200 Read More …
Aug 192013
By Matikas SantosINQUIRER.net 11:04 am | Tuesday, August 20th, 2013 MANILA, Philippines – Crisis Alert Level 4 has been raised over Egypt which means mandatory repatriation of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) there, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) announced on Tuesday. “DFA Secretary Albert F. del Rosario who is visiting Cairo for the second time in two weeks for the purpose of assessing the security situation of Filipino nationals, raised Crisis Alert Level 4 over Egypt on August 19,” DFA said in a statement. “The marked deterioration of peace and order in Egypt, exacerbated by the ongoing political instability and grave security challenges in that country, make working and living there increasingly difficult and dangerous,” it said. Del Rosario further called on all Filipinos in Cairo to immediately contact the Philippine Embassy there through the following: -Trunk Lines: (+202) 25213062/64/65/51-Direct Lines: (+202) 2516 6217 / 25213045-Mobile Hotlines: (+2) 012 2743 6472 / 012 8247 6554-Fax No.: (+202) 2521-3048-Facebook: Cairo Philippine Embassy-e-mail: cairope@tedata.net.eg, cairo.pe@dfa.gov.ph The mandatory repatriation will be at the expense of the Philippine Government, the DFA said. A rapid response team was already in Cairo since August 17 to assist in the conduct of the repatriation efforts. The civil strife in Egypt intensified after supporters of ousted president Mohhamed Morsi, who were holding a sit-in protest, were violently dispersed by government security forces. The pro-Morsi protesters demanded the reinstatement of Morsi, who was ousted in a military coup last July. Follow Us Recent Stories: Complete stories on our Digital Edition newsstand for tablets, netbooks Read More …
Aug 192013
By Hiyasmin QuijanoINQUIRER.net US Bureau 10:30 am | Tuesday, August 20th, 2013 Various groups gather in front of the City Hall of Long Beach to press for a “language access” policy. PHOTO BY JOY PRIM LONG BEACH, California–After two years of campaigning by various organizations for “language access,” the Long Beach city council adopted a language policy to improve immigrants’ access to the city’s services. Long Beach has an estimated 20,000 Filipinos who are among the city’s nearly 250,000 Latino and Asian residents. Long Beach has a population of roughly 500,000. Some 5,000 Filipinos have limited English proficiency (or speak English less than well). The coalition began a phone campaign to push Long Beach officials to release the language access policy draft, knowing that the most common languages spoken in the city are other than English, namely Spanish, Khmer and Tagalog. Long Beach’s adopted language access policy allows room for refinement through quarterly compliance reporting to the city council at public hearings. The broad coalition is made up of Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles; Building Healthy Communities Long Beach; East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice; Housing Long Beach; Long Beach Immigrant Rights Coalition; Educated Men with Meaningful Messages; Aikona; Filipino Migrant Center; Californians for Justice; United Cambodian Community; and Khmer Girls in Action. “We realized that there was no real promise for language access for Khmer and Tagalog, and we reacted quickly to what these people need,” stated Alex Montances, Filipino Migrant Center staff representative who attended coalition meetings. During citywide budget cuts, Read More …
Aug 192013
By Niña P. CallejaPhilippine Daily Inquirer 9:55 am | Tuesday, August 20th, 2013 Suspect Ericson Mendoza Blacquio MANILA, Philippines—A group of homeowners at the exclusive Hamilton Heights subdivision in Las Piñas City, where an American diver and businessman was killed on Thursday night, has appealed to the suspect, security guard Ericson Mendoza Blacquio, to give himself up to authorities. “We texted him and promised to help him as long as he would face the charges in court. We don’t want to be misunderstood. We condemn what he did but we are convincing him to turn himself in,” Arlene Marie Rodriquez-San Juan, the group’s representative, told the Inquirer Sunday. The killing of Matthew Caldwell, 59, a technical diver who helped search for Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo when his plane fell into the sea off Masbate province last year, shocked residents of Hamilton Heights, an upper middle class subdivision at Barangay (village) Talon V in Las Piñas City. “We know the suspect as a quiet, kind and patient man. But what he did to an unarmed man was completely wrong,” San Juan said. An argument between Blacquio and Caldwell over a subdivision policy turned sour when Blacquio lost his temper and shot dead the American national, police probers said. The disagreement stemmed from an order given by officers of the homeowners’ association that residents who had not paid their monthly contributions would have to lift the boom at the gate of the subdivision themselves, instead of the security guard on duty. The Read More …