16 foreign armed forces helping PH

 News
Nov 212013
 
16 foreign armed forces helping PH

A FIRST FOR SINO SHIP Peace Ark, a Chinese Navy hospital ship, leaves a base in Zhoushan, east of Shanghai, for a relief mission to the typhoon-devastated Philippines. It is considered the first Chinese Navy ship to enter Philippine waters with Manila’s “consent” since the maritime dispute in the West Philippine Sea between the two countries ensued. AP/EUGENE HOSHIKO Friends in good times and bad. This was how the Australian defense attaché summed up Thursday the Multinational Coordinating Council (MNCC) of the Philippine government and the armed forces of 16 countries working together for faster and more efficient distribution of relief to the survivors of Supertyphoon “Yolanda” in the Eastern Visayas. “Our shared histories with the Philippines go a long way back. Friendship is not just about the good times. Friendship is also about the bad times, too,” Lt. Col. Paul Barta told the Inquirer. The 16 countries on the council are the Philippines, Australia, United States, Japan, Canada, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, Sweden, Vietnam, South Korea, New Zealand, Spain, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel. “Our friendship has been long term. Our commitment remains long term and our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the people of the Philippines. After a formal request from the government of the Philippines, the United States arrived and ready to help along with other nations,” said Tina Malone, spokesperson for the US Embassy. “Our role was to amplify the government of the Philippines’ response by providing extra help in a time Read More …

Petilla threatens to cancel drill contract of Cinco-1

 Economy
Nov 212013
 
Petilla threatens to cancel drill contract of Cinco-1

MANILA, Philippines – Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla has threatened to cancel Service Contract (SC) 55 after its proponents failed to submit a concrete drilling plan for the Cinco-1 well in offshore Palawan. The SC 55 proponents include BHP Billiton, Otto Energy, Trans-Asia Oil and Development Corp. and Energy Development Corp. BHP Billiton, an Australia-based oil and mining firm, earlier withdrew its participation in the Cinco-1 oil and gas project. Cinco-1 is believed to have potential gas reserves, being located near the Malampaya natural gas field in Northwest Palawan, the biggest natural gas find in the Philippines. “If Otto Energy does not find a drilling partner then I’ll just have to cancel it.  Unless they ask for an extension because they are still interested to drill it then we will extend it. Otherwise, if there is no chance for them to drill it then might as well cancel the contract,” Petila said. The energy chief said the DOE had been informed that BHP Billiton might have been experiencing some financial difficulties, thus the decision to pull out of the SC 55 drilling project. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 “Their budget was cut by 35 percent. Not only in the Philippines but even in India they decided to cancel their participation in another contract. I think Otto Energy might file legal actions because BHP Billiton has contractual obligations,” he said. Petilla, however, pointed out that should the remaining members of the consortium opt to continue with the Read More …

Rice import for 2014 will not reach 1.2 MMT: official

 Economy
Nov 212013
 
Rice import for 2014 will not reach 1.2 MMT: official

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) – Despite the extensive damage caused by typhoon Haiyan, locally named “Yolanda,” to rice-growing areas in central Philippines, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said today that the country’s rice imports for 2014 would not reach 1.2 million metric tons (MMT). Agriculture Undersecretary Dante Delima said the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) estimate is “too much.” “The 1.2 MMT of rice which FAO has projected the Philippines will import next year is beyond what the country needs,” Delima said in a text message to Xinhua News Agency. However, he declined to provide the exact volume of rice that the country will import next year. The DA official issued the statement after FAO said in a report that Philippine rice imports would increase by 20 percent to 1.2 MMT in 2014 after 32 percent of rice crops were affected by typhoon Haiyan. FAO said this will cause Philippine rice output to drop to 18 MMT from its earlier projection of 18.9 MMT. Business ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The Philippine government imports rice to beef up the buffer stock of state food agency National Food Authority which provides the staple to areas affected by natural calamities. For 2013, Manila imported 205,700 metric tons from Vietnam under a government-to-government transaction. Based on the latest data from the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), the typhoon destroyed P10.51 billion ($241.5 million) worth of crops and farm infrastructure in central Philippines.

AFP forms coordinating center to institutionalize foreign assistance

 News
Nov 212013
 
AFP forms coordinating center to institutionalize foreign assistance

By Julliane Love de JesusINQUIRER.net 7:40 pm | Thursday, November 21st, 2013 Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Chief of Staff Gen. Emmanuel Bautista. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO MANILA, Philippines—Since foreign aid had been pouring in after the onslaught of supertyphoon Yolanda, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Thursday has decided to institutionalize the military assistance given by 16 countries, particularly the United States, to the Philippines in the form of the Multinational Coordinating Center (MNCC). AFP Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Emmanuel Bautista, in a press briefing at the Office of Civil Defense headquarters in Camp Aguinaldo, officially announced the creation of the MNCC “to coordinate and synchronize military to military operations and facilitate the cooperation between the AFP and the US Joint Task Force in support of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) and the US Agency for International Development (USAID).” As foreign contingents of 61 air assets, 14 naval vessels and seven C-130s fly and dock to the country for relief missions, Bautista said the newly-established council was tasked to ensure that the movements of foreign aid were monitored “perfectly to the general situation of the disaster relief efforts of the national government.” Representing the members of US Marine Corps, Lieutenant General John Wissler said the American forces will continue to provide their relief efforts and augmentation forces for as long as these are needed, noting that the US forces are “simply here to support.” “This tragedy would have brought every nation to Read More …

PHL accepts China’s offer to send hospital ship

 News
Nov 212013
 
PHL accepts China’s offer to send hospital ship

The Philippines has accepted China’s offer to send its naval hospital ship to aid distressed survivors of Typhoon Yolanda that devastated many areas in the Visayas nearly two weeks ago. “We are thankful for the offer of China to send the Peace Ark Hospital Ship to support the relief operations,” Foreign Affairs spokesman Raul Hernandez told a press briefing Thursday. China’s Peace Ark Hospital, reports said, is already bound for the badly-hit Visayas region to provide relief assistance to the victims. “The schedule and other details related to its deployment are now being coordinated with the concerned agencies,” Hernandez said. China’s increased assistance came amid criticisms of its initial paltry donation of $100,000 to the Philippines, a United States ally and Beijing’s rival claimant in the South China Sea territories. Tensions spiked anew between Manila and Beijing this year when the Philippine government sued China before an arbitral tribunal to question the legality of its massive territorial claim. Amid mounting pressure to increase aid, China, the world’s second largest economy, pledged P73 million more. Asked if the US would still push through with an initial plan to deploy its USNS Mercy hospital ship, Hernandez said: “There is an agreement in principle between the Philippines and the US that the USNS Mercy will be deployed at a time when it is needed most based upon the assessment of the needs of the Philippines.” Nevertheless, he said the Philippines is “grateful” for the continued assistance provided by the US in the aftermath Read More …

UN execs: PHL should empower local govts to face disasters

 News
Nov 212013
 
UN execs: PHL should empower local govts to face disasters

Two weeks after Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) left a path of destruction in the Philippines, two United Nations (UN) officials on Thursday advised the country’s leaders to further empower its local government units (LGUs) in facing disasters. Margareta Wahlström, head of the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, said the Philippine government should not easily forget and take for granted the widespread damage caused by the recent super typhoon. “The major obstacle to a disaster preparedness system is that we don’t really take disasters seriously enough. We suffer a lot when they happen and then we forget, but the human cost, the financial cost to society and the political cost is too high,” Wahlström said during a press briefing at the Senate. The UN official was at the Senate for the launch of the “How Safe is Your School?” program, a crowdsourcing initiative being developed by the intergovernmental organization to assess the diaster preparedness of educational structures in the Philippines. Wahlström advised the Philippine government to strictly enforce its environmental laws, and to take disaster preparedness at the local level. “The opportunity now is to use this very tragic year to really enforce the functionality of this system and to ensure that even at the most local level, the municipalities and the provinces, there is enough capacity and attention to the issues of disaster,” the UN official said. At least 4,011 individuals have been confirmed dead after Yolanda ripped through the Visayas and parts of Luzon two weeks ago, based on Read More …

China hospital ship heads for typhoon-hit Philippines

 News
Nov 212013
 
China hospital ship heads for typhoon-hit Philippines

Members of the medical crew stand at the inpatient room inside their Chinese Navy hospital ship Peace Ark before its departure from a navy base in Zhoushan, east of Shanghai, China, on a relief mission to the Philippines, Thursday, Nov. 21, 2013. Hundreds of thousands of people were displaced by Typhoon Haiyan, which tore across several islands in the eastern Philippines on Nov. 8. AP ZHOUSHAN, China—A Chinese hospital ship set sail for the typhoon-ravaged Philippines Thursday, with foreign media given unprecedented access to a navy base as Beijing seeks to promote its aid effort nearly two weeks after the disaster. The Peace Ark, a 300-bed floating navy medical facility, sounded its horn as it set off from a People’s Liberation Army base on Zhoushan island, off the eastern province of Zhejiang. It is expected to take three or four days to reach the Philippines, which is embroiled in a territorial row with China. “With our efforts, we will make great contributions to the relationship between the Chinese people and the Philippine people,” Shen Hao, deputy chief of staff of the East China Sea Fleet and commander of the mission, told reporters allowed on board the vessel before it left. “We will do our utmost to make contributions to the Philippine side.” The deployment of the ship, which was featured on the front page of China’s state-run Global Times newspaper on Thursday, comes as the world’s second-largest economy seeks to counter international criticism of its relief effort. After an initial Read More …

Thomson Reuters Manila wins Top Employer of the Year award

 Economy
Nov 192013
 
Thomson Reuters Manila wins Top Employer of the Year award

Senior Site Officer and Head of Human Resources Peter Buenaseda (right) receiving the award from last year’s winner, Meralco, represented by Mon Segismundo, senior vice president for human resources and corporate services. MANILA, Philippines – Media and information firm Thomson Reuters Manila won the Top Employer of the Year honors at the 2013 Asia CEO Awards held last Nov. 14 at the Solaire Resort and Casino. As Top Employer, Thomson Reuters was recognized for its accomplishments that demonstrate its mixed Filipino/expatriate management and local talent performing at the highest global standards, with superior business results.  Senior Site Officer and Head of Human Resources Peter Buenaseda received the award from last year’s winner, Meralco, represented by Mon Segismundo, senior vice president for human resources and corporate services. Asia CEO Awards is a grand alliance of Philippine and international communities meant to promote the Philippines as one of the world’s premier business destinations. The Asia CEO Awards honors the most accomplished management teams and individuals currently operating in Philippines and the region.

A GRIM, CHAOTIC COUNT

 News
Nov 192013
 
A GRIM, CHAOTIC COUNT

Counting the dead in the Philippines is grim, slow, and frustratingly inexact work. On November 19, the Philippine government put the count at just under 3,982, but no one seemed to believe it would stay there. The United Nations warned that crews have still not reached some remote islands. READ FULL STORY (See related story)

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