MANILA, Apr 17 (Mabuhay) – Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy in Manila Brian Goldbeck on Wednesday expressed his country’s appreciation of the Philippine commitment to stand-by with America should tensions with North Korea rise further. “Now we know it’s a two way street. As (DFA) Secretary (Albert) Del Rosario has stated at […]
Over 100 hurt in Texas fertilizer plant explosions. A wrecked vehicle is seen near the burning remains of a fertilizer plant after an explosion in the facility in the town of West, near Waco, Texas early Thursday, April 18. The deadly explosion ripped through the fertilizer plant late on Wednesday, injuring more than 100 people, leveling dozens of homes and damaging other buildings including a school and nursing home, authorities said. Reuters/Mike Stone Following a deadly explosion at a fertilizer plant in the US, the Philippines’ Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (FPA) on Thursday assured the public that stringent regulations govern the operations of fertilizer shops and plants in the country. Also, according to a report aired on GMA 7’s “24 Oras”, the FPA noted distributors, processors, importers, exporters and plant operations of fertilizer and pesticide companies are currently under going inspections. The government agency also provided photos of those inspection visits to prove that they were made. The explosion and subequent fire at the West Fertilizer Co. plant located in Texas on Thursday (PHL time) took at least 15 lives and hurt more than 160 others as it razed the facility and nearby establishments. Since 2002, the FPA noted, the use of ammonium nitrate and potassium nitrate had been banned in the country. Besides as a component for making fertilizer for fruit-bearing trees, the chemicals could also be used to make improvised explosives. “Ang napagkasunduan as per resolution, banning the importation of ammonium nitrate,” Gabino Barlin, FPA executive director, said Read More …
As the government awaits developments in its case against China in connection with Beijing’s alleged excessive claim over the South China Sea, a fishing town in the province of Zambales has been feeling the brunt of the territorial dispute. According to Mayor Desiree Edora of Masinloc town, the local fishermen’s livelihoods have been “paralyzed” as a result of the continued presence of Chinese ships at the Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal, a disputed area. “Actually naga-attempt silang pumunta kaya lang itinataboy sila ng mga Chinese,” Edora said in a recent interview. “Marami na nakapaikot na mga malalaking barko. So itong mga fisherman na ito, ano naman ang kakayahan nila para lumapit nga e nakaharap sa kanila, baril. So ang ginawa nila, umalis na lang sila.” Mario Forones, a local fisherman, said ever since the standoff at the Panatag Shoal a year ago, he and his companions have to do their fishing in small boats to avoid detection by Chinese vessels. “Parang nakaw-nakaw na lang sir ang pagpupunta dun. ‘Yung bangka kong malaki lalayo, tapos yung maliliit na bangka na ganyan, [na] hindi gaanong pansinin, yan ang nangingisda doon,” he said. Edora said they have received complaints that local fishermen were being driven away by Chinese ships stationed at the Panatag Shoal’s lagoon entrance — an allegation that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) denied as early as last year. In May last year, the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) declared a fishing ban around Panatag Shoal, located about 124 nautical Read More …
MANILA, April 6, 2013 (AFP) – The Philippines will ask the United States to pay 58 million pesos ($1.4 million) in compensation for damage caused by a US warship to a protected coral reef, the manager of the reef said Saturday. The amount is based on studies by Philippine agencies including the coast guard that […]
MANILA, Apr 8 (Mabuhay) – For the second year in a row, the entire country was strike-free for the first three months of 2013, said National Conciliation and Mediation Board Executive Director Reynaldo Ubaldo Monday. In his report to Labor Secretary Rosalinda Dimapilis-Baldoz, Ubaldo said: “We did this through the provision of timely, efficient, and […]
Washington will deploy this week a dozen F/A-18 fighters to the Philippines, the first time it has sent so many of the aircraft there, to take part in annual military drills with a close security ally amid rising tension in the Asia-Pacific region. The presence of the warplanes is not connected to tensions on the Korean peninsula, a Philippine army spokesman said. “These exercises were planned more than a year ago, well ahead of what is now happening in the region,” Major Emmanuel Garcia said. The United States plans to send a missile defense system to protect Pacific island Guam, where it has a large military base, after North Korea threatened to launch nuclear attacks on the North American mainland over disagreements on its atomic programme. The bilateral military activities will begin on Friday with 8,000 American and Filipino troops staging mock battles and simulating disaster responses, army spokesman Garcia said. The war games are being held to test the two allies’ defense plans based on the Mutual Defence Treaty, an important link in Washington’s chain of security alliances in the Asia-Pacific region. The U.S. has similar military arrangements with South Korea, Japan, Singapore and Australia. “There will be table top exercises on how the militaries of the two countries would respond to a destructive typhoon as well as in the event of a major ship collision on the high seas,” Garcia said, adding the combat aspect would showcase the capability of the U.S. Navy’s multi-role fighters. The Philippines lost Read More …
MANILA, March 31, 2013 (AFP) – The Philippines Sunday welcomed the removal of a US minesweeper that had been stuck on a protected coral reef for 10 weeks, but stressed that compensation must be paid for the environmental damage. Salvage crews contracted by the US Navy Saturday extracted the last remaining piece of the USS […]
International visitors to the Philippines for the first two months of the year closed at another record high of 854,187 or a double-digit growth The post Foreign tourism arrivals achieves back-to-back record growth appeared first on Good News Pilipinas. You might also like: PHL sets tourism record with 4.2 million foreign visitors in 2012 Foreign tourist arrivals in Phl on course to reach 4.5M in 2012 It’s More Fun in the Philippines booth tops Thailand Travel Fair
Although the Philippines is surrounded by water and experiences at least 20 cyclones in a year, it is still far from achieving water security, according to the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Based on the National Water Security Index, the Philippines comes out of level two out of five, said Wouter Lincklaen Arriens, ADB’s water resources specialist. “It means it still has some quite a way to go,” Arriens said. The index contained in the Asian Water Development Outlook 2013 measures the water adequacy of 48 countries in Asia and the Pacific region. Although institutional arrangement and levels of public investment has been increasing, a level two in the index means that the Philippine government had “inadequate” legislation and policy toward securing water. Focus on PHL According to the latest study, the Philippine lagged in urban water security index, which gauges water services and management in cities. The country scored one out of five. Urban water security also gauges the country’s public infrastructure and utilities, especially wastewater treatment. To this, Arriens noted: “Much has to be done, especially in cities which is an area of serious concern.” The fastest increase in water demand now comes from industries and cities, ADB revealed. “Cities occupy 2 percent of the world’s land, [but] uses 75 percent of its resources.” The city’s wastewater was often released into rivers and lakes with only a fifth or 22 percent of discharges being treated, the study showed. The study added that 80 percent of Asia’s rivers are in Read More …
( United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations) The Philippine Government has received confirmation from the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations that 21 Filipino peacekeepers assigned to the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Golan Heights have been detained by an armed group. All Filipino peacekeepers are reported to be unharmed and that negotiations are underway to secure their safe release. The Government is likewise coordinating closely with the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations on the matter. The Philippine Government is calling for the immediate release of 21 Filipino peacekeepers who are part of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Golan Heights. “The main concern of the Philippine Government at this time is to ensure the safety and well-being of our peacekeepers. We wish to reiterate that UNDOF’s freedom of movement and safety and security must be respected by all parties in the area,” Secretary of Foreign Affairs Albert F. del Rosario said.