Surge in remittances expected

 Economy
Nov 252013
 
Surge in remittances expected

MANILA, Philippines – A surge in remittances from Filipinos abroad may be seen in November and December following the destruction caused by Super Typhoon Yolanda, a central bank official said. Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Deputy Governor Diwa  C. Guinigundo said that Filipinos abroad are expected to send more to their families in the Philippines, especially those in hard-hit areas, as they rebuild their homes and businesses. “We might see a strong inflow come November because there are also reports indicating that families who were displaced by the super typhoon have members who are working abroad,” Guinigundo said. “What we would expect is aside from the normal level of remittances that they send, probably they will increase that precisely to cover the extra cost of rehabilitation and rebuilding the homes and their business,” he continued. Yolanda, which ravaged the Visayas region earlier this month, has killed more than five thousand and destroyed billions of pesos worth of infrastructure and agriculture. “We would expect that in November, perhaps even in December, there could be some spikes in terms of remittances,” Guinigundo said. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “We could probably see stronger growth (in remittances) than in the other months of 2013,” he added. Cash remittances hit $16.480 billion in the first nine months of the year, 5.8 percent higher than the $15.571 billion recorded in the first same period last year. Historically, the country sees a jump in the volume of remittances for the month of Read More …

DOT needs to rethink tourism strategy, says travel exec

 Economy
Nov 232013
 
DOT needs to rethink tourism strategy, says travel exec

MANILA, Philippines – The government should rethink its tourism campaign following the damage brought by Super Typhoon Yolanda to parts of the country, according to a hospitality consultancy firm executive. C9 Hotelworks Co. Ltd. managing director Bill Barnett said in an interview that while the Philippines would want to continue to attract tourists to visit the country, the government should rethink how it will undertake promotion efforts following the damage left by Yolanda. “I think for us, the key issue is, what does the Philippines do with its ‘It’s More Fun in the Philippines’?  For us that is really a profound question,” he said. He said that continuing to promote the country as a tourist destination using the ‘It’s More Fun’ slogan may not be appropriate at this time as the country is still assessing the extent of the impact of the typhoon and conducting relief efforts in affected areas. “It isn’t really the right time to start advertising ‘It’s More Fun in the Philippines’ after all these events. We think that is a challenge for the government,” he said. The Philippine government, Barnett said, needs to assess whether the slogan is still relevant and whether it is sending the right message. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “You have to be sensitive to that (disasters)…When things change, you have to change your strategy,” he said. He noted that while other countries which were hit by natural disasters in the past such as Indonesia and Thailand have Read More …

Japan medics bring high-tech fixes to PHL

 Entertainment
Nov 232013
 
Japan medics bring high-tech fixes to PHL

Survivors of Typhoon Haiyan carry fuel, which they bought at double the regular price, on a motorcycle in the typhoon devastated town of Palo, near Tacloban November 16, 2013. (MNS photo) TACLOBAN  (AFP) – Japanese medics working to help victims of the Philippines typhoon 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 AFP at a modern tent medical clinic put up by the Japanese government to help victims of typhoon Haiyan, which crashed through the central Philippines more than a week ago. 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 iPad and to a nearby laptop. With a thumb and a finger, the doctor was able to zoom in for a more detailed view of the problem area. “It looks like Read More …

Most foreign aid not directly given to PHL gov’t – Henares

 Entertainment
Nov 232013
 
Most foreign aid not directly given to PHL gov’t – Henares

A Philippine Air Force helicopter is loaded with water at Tacloban airport, ahead of being deployed to a mountainous area inaccessible for vehicles to the west of Tacloban city, in the central Philippines November 17, 2013. The Philippine and U.S. Air Forces are flying rice, clothes and drinking water into remote areas of the central Philippines, which are unreachable by vehicles. A massive relief effort is finally kicking into gear, nine days after one of the most powerful typhoons on record wreaked havoc across the impoverished area in the central Philippines with monster winds and a deadly storm surge of sea water. Philippine authorities and international aid agencies face a mounting humanitarian crisis, with the number of people displaced by the catastrophe estimated at 4 million, up from 900,000 late last week (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – While foreign governments have pledged millions of dollars in donations for relief efforts in the Philippines, the government is not actually getting its hands on most of the funds. Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) chief Kim Henares clarified that foreign governments usually course their donations through their own aid organizations. “May misconception ang tao na ang laki-laki ng dinonate ng ibang bansa sa Pilipinas. Ang nangyayari ho, ang America mayroon sila donation eh hindi ho nila binibigay ang pera sa gobyerno. Ginagawa nila binibigay nila sa sariling charitable organization nila, like USAID. At yun USAID mismo ang magdistribute (ng relief goods),” Henares told dzMM. For instance, the US government provided $22.5 million worth Read More …

UN: More funds for ‘Yolanda’ victims

 News
Nov 232013
 
UN: More funds for ‘Yolanda’ victims

U.S. Marines provide safe drinking water to typhoon survivors Thursday Nov. 21, 2013 at Tacloban city, Leyte province in central Philippines. Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful typhoons ever recorded, slammed into central Philippine provinces Nov. 8, leaving a wide swath of destruction. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez) MANILA, Philippines – The United Nations appealed for more aid for typhoon victims in the Philippines on Friday, increasing the original amount it sought to raise by $47 million (P2 billion) to $348 million (P15 billion). UN Undersecretary General Valerie Amos, the world body’s humanitarian chief, made the announcement at the UN headquarters in New York after seeing for herself the situation in the hardest-hit areas of the Visayas, including Tacloban City, which she visited twice in two weeks. “A massive disaster like this requires a massive response,” a UN press statement reported Amos as saying at a news conference in New York on Friday. “Much more needs to be done. Food, clean water and shelter remain the top priorities. Vast numbers of vulnerable people are still exposed to bad weather and need basic shelter. Families who have lost their homes will need substantial longer-term support from the international community to ensure they have the means to rebuild their houses,” she added. The UN launched on November 12 an action plan seeking to raise $301 million (P13 billion) from the international community to support six months of relief and recovery operations in Eastern Visayas, including the provision of emergency food, shelter and water Read More …

US military scales down aid efforts in Philippines

 News
Nov 232013
 
US military scales down aid efforts in Philippines

MANILA – The US military has began scaling back its emergency relief operations in the Philippines as work shifts to recovery and rehabilitation in typhoon-hit areas, a US aid agency official said on Saturday. Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), the most powerful storm to make landfall this year, struck the central Philippines on Nov. 8, killing more than 5,200 people, displacing 4.4 million and destroying an estimated P12 billion worth of crops and infrastructure. The US Navy has pulled out its nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS George Washington, but still has ten C-130 aircraft delivering relief supplies. Last week, the United States had 50 ships and aircraft in the disaster zone. Jeremy Konyndyk, director for Foreign Disaster Assistance at the US Agency for International Development (USAID), said the US military had started to reduce its presence to allow civilian aid agencies to step up efforts. “What we have seen, particularly over the past week, is now civilian and private-sector commercial capacity has started coming back up again and that is taking the burden off of the military actors,” Konyndyk told Reuters in an interview. “You don’t want the military playing that role in the long run, they are an interim bridging capacity there, but in the long run, that really needs to be civilian role.” Konyndyk said there had been significant progress in meeting people’s basic needs as more roads and ports opened in the worst-hit Leyte and Samar islands. “Food has been distributed to 3 million people, shelter kits have been Read More …

Yolanda death toll feared to hit 7,000

 News
Nov 232013
 
Yolanda death toll feared to hit 7,000

TACLOBAN — The number of people dead or missing after one of the world’s strongest typhoons struck the Philippines climbed towards 7,000 on Saturday, as the United Nations warned much more needed to be done to help desperate survivors. The government’s confirmed death toll rose to 5,235, with another 1,613 people still missing more than two weeks after Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) destroyed entire towns across a long stretch of islands in the central Philippines. Yolanda now rivals a 1976 tsunami on the southern island of Mindanao as the deadliest recorded natural disaster to strike the Philippines, which endures a never-ending battle against typhoons, earthquakes, floods and volcanic eruptions. The typhoon has triggered a giant, international aid effort, with dozens of countries and relief organizations rushing to deliver food, water and health services to more than four million people who lost their homes. However UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos, after visiting the disaster zones, warned the world was still not responding fast enough. “Much more needs to be done. Food, clean water and shelter remain the top priorities,” Amos said as a UN appeal for funds was raised from $301 million to $348 million. Amos said huge numbers of people were still exposed to bad weather in the nine provinces ravaged by the storm, as she warned particularly of the dangers for babies, children and mothers. “I am very concerned that some 1.5 million children are at risk of acute malnutrition and close to 800,000 pregnant and nursing mothers need Read More …

CBCP: Yolanda, Magnitude-7.2 quake tests of faith

 News
Nov 232013
 
CBCP: Yolanda, Magnitude-7.2 quake tests of faith

The twin calamities that struck the country in the last two months may be considered severe tests of faith for Filipinos, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines said Saturday. But the CBCP, in a pastoral statement signed by outgoing president and Cebu archbishop Jose Palma, said Filipinos should also learn the lessons from the Oct. 15 magnitude-7.2 quake in Central Visayas and Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan). “Indeed the twin calamities have tested severely our faith. Yet, even now, we believe we shall emerge from their situations with more awareness of the pattern of nature and hopefully learn its lessons,” Palma said. “By strengthening the systems and institutions that mitigate the effects of these forces of nature, we can avoid the recurrence of the present tragedy,” he added. The statement came on the eve of the Solemnity of Christ the King on Sunday. Several were killed when the Oct. 15 quake struck Central Visayas while more than 5,000 were left dead in the wake of Yolanda, which battered Visayas and Southern Luzon. Palma said no words can describe the sorrow that many in Bohol, Cebu, Leyte and Samar have suffered. “The calamities have tested our spirit as a community,” he said. Exercising faith However, he said that with the Year of Faith coming to a close, “we have been called upon to exercise our faith by putting our trust in the Lord and reaching out to help each other.” “Once again we treasure the precious gift of faith. It will Read More …

World Bank doubles disaster aid to Philippines

 News
Nov 222013
 
World Bank doubles disaster aid to Philippines

WASHINGTON – The World Bank on Friday added $480 million in emergency aid to the Philippines, taking to nearly $1 billion its support as the death toll from super typhoon Haiyan passed 5,200. World Bank President Jim Yong Kim made the pledge, added to $500 million committed Monday, in a phone call with Philippine President Benigno Aquino, the development lender said. The new money will be provided through the bank’s existing Community Driven Development Project for the Philippines, which will allow localities to tap the funds for their own rebuilding projects. “The project will empower communities themselves to lead the reconstruction effort, by offering a transparent way for people to identify their own needs,” the Bank said in a statement. The Bank has already deployed disaster specialists to Manila to help the government assess the damages and identify rebuilding priorities in the wake of the storm, which blasted through the center of the country on November 8, flattening entire communities and leaving up to four million people displaced. Early estimates by analysts of the typhoon’s economic cost to the Philippines have been put at around $14 billion. “We have been encouraged by the resilience of the Filipino people and the determination shown by President Aquino and his team as they work to recover from a disaster of unprecedented scale,” Kim said in the statement. — Agence France– Presse

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