PAGASA: Rain expected over north Luzon and Mindanao

 News
May 252013
 
PAGASA: Rain expected over north Luzon and Mindanao

Rainy weather may be expected over parts of northern Luzon and Mindanao on Sunday, even as thunderstorms brought rain to parts of Metro Manila and Luzon Saturday. PAGASA said the diffused tail-end of a cold front is affecting the northern and eastern sections of Luzon while the Inter-tropical Convergence Zone is affecting Southern Mindanao. “The regions of Ilocos, Cordillera, Cagayan Valley, the provinces of Aurora and Quezon, Bicol region, Zamboanga Peninsula, Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and SOCCSKSARGEN will experience cloudy skies with light to moderate rain showers and thunderstorms,” it said in its 5 p.m. bulletin. It added Metro Manila and the rest of the country will have “partly cloudy to at times cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms mostly over the western section.” For Sunday, PAGASA said Metro Manila may expect temperatures of 24 to 34 degrees Celsius while Tuguegarao City may have temperatures of 23 to 32 degrees Celsius. Angeles and Olongapo Cities may have temperatures of 25 to 34 degrees Celsius. PAGASA also said light to moderate winds from the southeast to south will prevail over Luzon and Visayas and coming from the east to northeast over Mindanao. The coastal waters throughout the archipelago will be slight to moderate, it added. Meanwhile, PAGASA’s Twitter account said thunderstorms brought rain over Metro Manila and nearby provinces, including: – Pinatubo and San Marcelino in Zambales – Candelaria, Mayantoc, Masinloc Sn Jose, Botolan, Bamban and Cabangan in Zambales – Quezon, Mandaluyong, Manila, Marikina, Pasay, Taguig, Parañaque Read More …

3.9M families went hungry in March – SWS

 News
May 212013
 
3.9M families went hungry in March - SWS

More Filipinos experienced hunger in March, with about 3.9 million Filipino families saying they had nothing to eat at some point during that time, according to a new survey by pollster Social Weather Stations. In its poll conducted from March 19 to 22 and posted on its media partner BusinessWorld, SWS said that the 3.9 million families or 19.2 percent of Filipino families that experienced hunger was higher than 16.3 percent in December. This was despite a decline in self-rated poverty to 52 percent during March, or some 10.6 million families, from 54 percent in December, the SWS noted. It added hunger increased among both the poor and the non-poor, even as it pointed out March’s figures were still below the record 23.8 percent recorded last year. Moderate, severe hunger The survey showed a rise of nearly three points in moderate hunger, or having nothing to eat once or a few times in the last three months, to 15.6 percent (3.2 million families) from 12.7 percent. It added severe hunger, where families claimed to experience hunger often or always, remained at 3.6 percent or 726,000 families. SWS noted overall hunger increased in all regions but fell in Metro Manila by nearly four points to 21.7 percent (615,000 families) from 25.3 percent. However, hunger went up sharply in Mindanao to 29.2 percent (1.4 million families) from 20 percent. It also rose to 14.7 percent (1.3 million families) in the balance of Luzon (Balance Luzon) and went up 15 percent (580,000 families) Read More …

DOE chief still not keen on reviving BNPP despite blackout

 News
May 092013
 
DOE chief still not keen on reviving BNPP despite blackout

Despite the power outage that hit Luzon last Wednesday, the Department of Energy is not keen on reviving the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant to shore up the country’s energy reserves. Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla on Thursday evening said the BNPP lacks the capacity to meet present-day demand levels for energy, and may have safety problems if it is upgraded. “During that time (1970s), I would say dati (ang power capacity natin) mga 5,000 to 6,000 megawatts. Ngayon itong plant na ito is 400 megawatts. ‘Pag ikaw nagdagdag ng 400 megawatts sa 5,000 megawatts, napakalaking bagay. Ngayon, ang 400 megawatts parang balewala kung 16,000 megawatts ang present capacity, katiting na lang,” Petilla said in an interview on dzBB. Today, figures from the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines shows the demand for energy in Luzon alone is already 8,567 megawatts, more than 20 times the BNPP’s 400 megawatts. Petilla said they are aware of suggestions from some sectors to revive the BNPP, which was mothballed after the 1986 EDSA Revolution. He said the plant had been paid for and needs only the reactors to run. Yet, he said that if it were to be useful, it should be upgraded to have a capacity of 2,000 megawatts. “Ang problema, ang nuclear power plant na ito luma na… So wala nang cost benefit…. Kung 400 megawatts, napakaliit ng capacity at napakalaki ng risk,” he said. The DOE earlier said it is taking steps to prevent a repeat of Wednesday’s power outage, especially Read More …

PAGASA: Thunderstorms in parts of Luzon Sunday, expect more across PHL on Monday

 News
May 052013
 
PAGASA: Thunderstorms in parts of Luzon Sunday, expect more across PHL on Monday

(Updated 7:52 p.m.) While state weather forecasters do not expect the rainy season to arrive until at least late May, thunderstorms brought moderate to heavy rain to several parts of Luzon Sunday. PAGASA, in posts on its Twitter account, said the thunderstorms occurred over parts of Southern Luzon and Ilocos in the afternoon, and Central Luzon in the evening. As of 7:11 p.m. Sunday, PAGASA noted a thunderstorm with moderate to heavy rain affected parts of Mariveles, Limay, Orion and Bagac in Bataan. Light to moderate rain may fall over parts of Mindanao, while Metro Manila and the rest of the country may expect isolated rain showers and thunderstorms on Monday, state weather forecasters said Sunday afternoon. In its 5 p.m. bulletin, PAGASA said easterlies or warm winds from the east are affecting the eastern section of the country. “Caraga and Davao region will have cloudy skies with light to moderate rain showers and thunderstorms. Metro Manila and the rest of the country will be partly cloudy with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms mostly in the afternoon or evening,” it said. Metro Manila experienced a high temperature of 35.6° Celsius Sunday, and may expect temperatures of 25 to 36°C on Monday. Also expected to have a high temperature of 36°C on Monday are Angeles and Olongapo Cities in Central Luzon. For Monday, moderate to occasionally strong winds from the northeast to east will prevail over Northern Luzon and its coastal waters will be moderate to ocassionally rough. Light to moderate Read More …

Rainy Thursday expected in NLuzon, but 36°C heat to prevail in NCR

 News
May 012013
 
Rainy Thursday expected in NLuzon, but 36°C heat to prevail in NCR

Rain from the tail-end of a cold front may affect parts of Northern Luzon while Metro Manila may expect temperatures to zoom up to 36 degrees Celsius on Thursday, state weather forecasters said Wednesday afternoon. PAGASA said the tail-end of a cold front is affecting Extreme Northern Luzon while easterlies or warm winds from the east are affecting the eastersn section of Visayas and Mindanao. “Cagayan valley, Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) and Ilocos provices will experience cloudy skies with light to moderate rain showers and thunderstorms,” PAGASA said in its 5 p.m. bulletin. It added Metro Manila and the rest of the country will be “partly cloudy with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms mostly in the afternoon or evening.” For Wednesday, Metro Manila experienced a high temperature of 35.5 degrees Celsius. PAGASA’s extended forecast indicated Metro Manila may experience temperatures of 25 to 36 degrees Celsius on Thursday. It added Tuguegarao, Angeles and Olongapo Cities may expect temperatures of 24 to 35 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, PAGASA said moderate to occasionally strong winds from the northeast will prevail over extreme Northern Luzon and the coastal waters will be moderate to occasionally rough. Elsewhere, winds will be light to moderate coming from the east to northeast with slight to moderate seas. — TJD, GMA News

DOLE: 400K jobs up for grabs in Labor Day job fairs nationwide

 News
Apr 252013
 
DOLE: 400K jobs up for grabs in Labor Day job fairs nationwide

At least 400,000 local and overseas jobs will be up for grabs in 75 job fairs that the Department of Labor and Employment will set up nationwide on May 1, Labor Day. According to DOLE Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz, 16 of these 75 job fairs will be held in Metro Manila alone, offering up to 171,532 job vacancies. “These 171,532 job vacancies [in Metro Manila] as of today are part of the more than 400,000 vacancies to be offered by employers to tens of thousands of jobseekers expected to troop to the DOLE’s 75 job fairs nationwide,” Baldoz said Thursday. She said the job fairs in Metro Manila will have 726 prospective local employers and 37 licensed overseas recruitment agencies. The job vacancies are in identified key employment generator (KEG) sectors, including: – cyber services– tourism– banking and finance– hotel and restaurant– health and wellness– wholesale and retail trade– automotive– construction The Metro Manila job fairs will be held at SM malls in North EDSA, Fairview, Novaliches, Manila, Sta. Mesa, San Lazaro, Valenzuela, Megamall, Pasig, Marikina, South Mall, Las Piñas, Sucat, Bicutan, Muntinlupa, and Mall of Asia. Baldoz said this year’s Labor Day will have the theme, “Manggagawang Pilipino: Handa sa Hamon ng Makabagong Panahon,” which reflects the government’s confidence on the readiness of the Filipino workforce to meet the challenges of the times. What to bring She advised prospective jobseekers to bring documents to the job fairs, such as:– resume/biodata– copy of diploma– copy of transcript of records– clearances– employment Read More …

Areas of Luzon hit 37°C

 News
Apr 252013
 
Areas of Luzon hit 37°C

While Metro Manila sizzled Thursday at temperatures above 36 degrees Celsius, at least three areas in Luzon recorded temperatures of up to 37 degrees Celsius, state weather forecasters said. PAGASA forecaster Gener Quitlong also said temperatures in various parts of the country may continue to rise until at least the first week of May. “Next week ang pinaka peak hanggang first week ng May, kaya pwede malampasan ito,” Quitlong said in an interview on dzBB radio. Quitlong said the highest temperature recorded at Science Garden in Quezon City was 36.3 degrees Celsius. The highest temperature in Metro Manila so far this year was 36.6 degrees Celsius last April 19. Elsewhere in Luzon, Quitlong said temperatures reached 37.0 degrees Celsius in Tuguegarao (Cagayan), Cabanatuan (Nueva Ecija), and Echague (Isabela). For Friday, PAGASA said Metro Manila and Tuguegarao may expect temperatures of up to 35 degrees Celsius (http://www.pagasa.dost.gov.ph/wb/fcst/pf.pdf). Rain over Mindanao Meanwhile, PAGASA’s 5 p.m. bulletin said parts of Mindanao may expect rain on Friday while Metro Manila and the rest of the country may have isolated rain. PAGASA said the trough of a low-pressure area is extending across Mindanao while easterlies are prevailing over the eastern section of Luzon and Visayas. “Mindanao will experience cloudy skies with light to moderate rain showers and thunderstorms. Metro Manila and the rest of country will be partly cloudy with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms,” it said. It added light to moderate winds from the east to southeast will prevail over Luzon and coming from Read More …

Ratings upgrade not enough

 Economy
Apr 102013
 

After the country got its investment grade rating, what’s next? Simply put, rating upgrade is not enough, its means more work. Of course, congratulations are in order for the whole P-Noy team, especially Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, for keeping their focus and steadfast efforts in steering the economy forward. For the uninitiated, Fitch Ratings last month issued an upgrade of the Philippines’ position from BB+ to BBB-, the three letters signifying investment grade status. Fitch is a global rating company that keeps tabs of a company’s or country’s credit standing. The Philippines relies on three agencies for these periodic ratings, and Fitch is considered to be the least tough. The other two agencies are Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s, both of which have marked the country just a notch below investment grade. Often, it just takes a bit more time before Moody’s and S&P  echo what Fitch had earlier announced. Yet this should not detract our bureaucracy from continuing to get the house in order for that time when investors start pouring in. And there is so much to do. Higher trust Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 This latest investment upgrade, for example, will persuade investors to take a more serious look at the many business opportunities that the government is offering, something that was not given much attention because of a perceived general weakness in the state’s ability to guarantee robust returns. But since P-Noy took over the state leadership in 2010, his Read More …

NBI intensifies manhunt ops vs Rasuman co-accused

 News
Apr 042013
 
NBI intensifies manhunt ops vs Rasuman co-accused

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is stepping up its efforts to locate Cagayon de Oro investment scam ringleader Jachob Rasuman’s co-accused, some of whom are reportedly in Metro Manila. The intensified operations came following the arrest of Rasuman’s wife, Princess Tomawis Rasuman, in Quezon City Wednesday night. “I directed NBI Director Nonnatus Rojas to intensify the manhunt for the other co-acuused of Coco Rasuman kasi wala pa sila. Hindi pa sila nahuhuli,” De Lima told reporters. “Ang balita namin, mukhang dito lang sila (sa Metro Manila) kaya pinapa-intensify ko na iyong manhunt para makuha sila para kumpleto na sila,” said De Lima, insisting that all of the suspects should get arraigned soon. In a counter-affidavit he submitted to the special panel of prosecutors last March, Rasuman asked the DOJ to dismiss the case against him as he denied that he duped supposed investor-complainants, who he said he has never even met before. Rasuman’s camp insisted that syndicated estafa charges should never have been filed, adding that if ever there was a crime, “it’s simple estafa.” Rasuman’s camp also belied accusations he was engaged in a Ponzi scheme, which entices investors to put money in the company in exchange for huge returns in two months. According to Investopedia, a Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investing scam promising high rates of return with little risk to investors. The Ponzi scheme generates returns for older investors by acquiring new investors. Mr. Rasuman claimed he is operating a legitimate business of car trading Read More …

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