PHL cuts 2014 import, export targets

 Entertainment
Dec 092013
 
PHL cuts 2014 import, export targets

President Benigno S. Aquino III presides over the Task Force Yolanda Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Plan Meeting at the Aguinaldo State Dining Room of the Malacañan Palace on Friday (November 29). (MNS photo) MANILA  (Mabuhay) – The Philippines on Friday lowered its import-export targets for 2014, citing lingering uncertainties in global demand – particularly from advanced economies led by the United States, a member of the Cabinet-level Development Budget Coordination Committee said. The DBCC, which manages the Philippine macroeconomic program, cut the exports target to 6 percent from 11 percent as originally programmed and brought import goal to 5 percent from 13 percent. The revisions were done after giving the latest demand indicators were given a closer look and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas modified the computations for the balance of payments, said Socio-Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balicasan, who sits on the budget committee. However, Budget and Management Secretary Florencio Abad, who also chairs the DBCC, said government is keeping its 2 percent deficit to GDP (gross domestic product) target for 2014, citing the Philippines’ strong fiscal position and better tax collections. The Aquino administration has enough leeway to absorb additional expenditures to cover post-Yolanda reconstruction while keeping deficit spending within original target, he added. (MNS)

A polarizing figure, Lacson says he will head reconstruction of central PHL

 News
Dec 012013
 
A polarizing figure, Lacson says he will head reconstruction of central PHL

Former senator Panfilo Lacson told reporters Sunday that he will lead reconstruction efforts in areas ravaged by super typhoon Yolanda. “After a series of consultations and briefings from experts in the field of reconstruction and rehabilitation of disaster stricken areas over the weekend, I decided to accept the President’s offer to be rehab czar,” Lacson told reporters in a text message on Sunday night, December 1. The Palace has yet to confirm the appointment. President Aquino reportedly told a Cabinet meeting on Friday that he had decided to appoint Lacson his rehabilitation “czar.” Lacson said he would spend the weekend thinking it over after a lengthy meeting with Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa. The Palace has yet to confirm Lacson’s announcement. It is still not clear why Aquino would choose Lacson, one of the most controversial and polarizing political figures in the last two decades. As a senator for 12 years, his law-making often took a backseat to highly public word wars with fellow senators, especially Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, and ex-President Estrada, his former boss with whom he had a falling out during EDSA Dos in 2001. He was linked to several brutal murders, including those of the well-known publicist Salvador Dacer and his driver. Lacson was eventually cleared by the courts. For more than a year while he was a senator, Lacson was overseas as a fugitive from justice, with Interpol assisting in the search. But as the head of rehabilitation dealing with both national and local government officials each Read More …

PHL to buy 15 ground radars for more accurate geohazard mapping

 News
Nov 302013
 
PHL to buy 15 ground radars for more accurate geohazard mapping

The Mines and Geosciences Bureau expects to buy 15 ground-penetrating radars next year to help map areas prone to flooding and landslides. The purchase is included in the agency’s proposed budget for 2014 and the new radars will be used to produce a 1:10,000 geohazard map by next year, bureau dorector Leo Jasareno said. The new maps are expected to replace the current 1:50,000 goehazard maps distributed to local governments.  The MGB only has one functioning ground-penetrating radar and has had to hire private surveyors to help with the mapping. Mapping across 1,034 cities and municipalities should be completed by the end of the year, leaving 600 more cities and towns to map in 2014. The mapping of geohazard areas in 1,034 cities and municipalities are seen to be completed by by the end of the year while detailing for 600 cities and municipalities are expected to be completed by next year.  The portable radars, which cost around P6 million each and will help engineers see underground, are part of the P400-million mapping project. The bureau will also map coastal areas prone to erosion to define no-build zones. “If people are conscious about geohazard, fatalities in times of natural disasters would be greatly reduced,” Jasareno said. The MGB will also conduct a hydrological assessment project to find aquifers, or underground sources of water. — JDS, GMA News

Justice done in Marcos confidante’s conviction: PHL

 Entertainment
Nov 292013
 
Justice done in Marcos confidante’s conviction: PHL

Beginning in 2009, Vilma Bautista and her two nephews allegedly began trying to sell the Monet water lily, “Le Bassin aux Nympheas,” (shown above) and three other valuable works that the Philippines government was trying to repossess. MANILA  (AFP) – The Philippines said Tuesday that justice was done in the conviction of a confidante of former first lady Imelda Marcos in New York for plotting to sell valuable looted artworks. The special anti-corruption agency tasked with tracing the wealth stolen by the Marcos family said it would now seek to recover the money and artworks confiscated from Vilma Bautista, a former New York-based social secretary of Imelda Marcos. “New York has seen justice done today,” the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) said, as it hailed the US prosecutors for recovering paintings that had been missing since the Marcos family fell from power in 1986. Imelda Marcos, 84, known for her extravagant lifestyle, is alleged to have looted millions from state coffers when her husband Ferdinand Marcos was president from 1965 to 1986. She used this wealth to acquire jewelry, art, real estate and a massive shoe collection. An army-backed popular revolt toppled President Marcos in 1986 and sent him and his family fleeing into exile. But much of their allegedly stolen wealth has not yet been recovered. The PCGG said it had provided key testimony and evidence that led to the conviction of Bautista for conspiring to sell three valuable artworks including a piece by French impressionist Claude Monet. Read More …

FAO: PHL crop damaged by Yolanda worth $110M

 Entertainment
Nov 292013
 
FAO: PHL crop damaged by Yolanda worth $110M

Residents of Tacloban City flock to a public market to buy food items as small entrepreneurs begin setting up shop selling fish, bananas, vegetables and other food stuff. (MNS photo) MILAN (Mabuhay) – The typhoon that hit the Philippines has caused crop losses worth $110 million and inflicted damage to the agriculture sector of more than twice that figure, preliminary estimates from the United Nation’s food agency showed on Tuesday (Wednesday, PHL time). Some 153,495 hectares (has.) of rice paddy, maize and other high value crops such as coconut, banana, cassava, mango and vegetables have been hit by Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan), which killed at least 3,900 people when it struck on November 8. “High winds, heavy rains and localized floods destroyed houses and infrastructure, including irrigation facilities, and resulted in losses of the main staple rice paddy, sugarcane and coconut crops, as well as livestock, poultry and fisheries,” the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in a statement. The forecast for damaged areas included some 77,476 has. of rice crops and 20,951 ha of maize crops, it added. The FAO also said that imports of rice are expected to increase by 20 percent next year to 1.2 million tons. Earlier on Tuesday the Philippines’ National Food Authority (NFA) said it will import up to 500,000 tons of rice from its neighboring countries, possibly before the end of the year, as it replenishes stocks that have been depleted by the ongoing typhoon relief efforts. Because of Yolanda and another typhoon which Read More …

Lawmaker wants next Pacquiao fight in PHL

 Entertainment
Nov 282013
 
Lawmaker wants next Pacquiao fight in PHL

Manny Pacquiao (right) of the Philippines lands a punch on Brandon Rios of the U.S. during their World Boxing Organization (WBO) International 12-round welterweight boxing title fight at the Venetian Macao hotel in Macau November 24, 2013. Pacquiao registered a decisive, unanimous decision win against American Rios to clinch the vacant WBO International welterweight title on Sunday. (MNS photo) MANILA (Mabuhay) – House Games and Amusements Committee chairman Elpido Barzaga wants the next fight of Filipino boxing superstar and Sarangani Rep. Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao to be held in the Philippines, noting the benefits for the economy and tourism. “I wish the next fight (of Pacquiao) will be in the Philippines,” Barzaga said. “If a small country like Macau can host, why not the Philippines? We were able to sponsor the NBA games.” Pacquiao dominated Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios in a 12-round welterweight showdown in Macau on Sunday to stop a two-fight losing streak Barzaga said he intends to discuss the matter with Pacquiao once he returns. “It’s doable. We have big corporations,” he said. The congressman is also expecting a lot of speeches and resolutions honoring Pacquiao for his unanimous decision victory over Rios in Monday’s session. Marikina Rep. Miro Quimbo, who was not among those who watched the fight in Macau, said he does not expect any more congressional awards for Pacquiao since the boxer has already been given the highest awards in the past. Meanwhile, Monday’s briefing of Barzaga’s committee ended with a virtual solicitation from the congressman 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 …

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 …

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