Day: April 2, 2024

MANILA: The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has suspended all Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) applications for projects located in protected areas (PA).

In a press briefing after visiting the Mount Apo Natural Park in Digos City, Davao del Sur on Tuesday, DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga announced that all ECC applications will be reviewed first before approval by the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB).

‘We have issued a memo on all the regions that has PAs, suspended muna ang mga (we suspend for now the) processing of any ECCs, and any future ECCs now for the PA will have to be escalated to central office,’ Loyzaga said.

‘Part of that is no ECCs can be processed without the Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) giving its approval,’ she added.

During the visit with Senator Ronald Dela Rosa and Presidential Assistant for Eastern Mindanao Leo Magno, Loyzaga said two resorts built inside the protected area of the natural park were found to have incomplete documents and
permits for operation.

The DENR has not issued any closure order while evaluation is ongoing.

Loyzaga issued the memorandum dated March 26 to DENR regional offices and field operations nationwide, as well as to the bureau directors of the EMB and the BMB.

The memorandum contains directives on the strict monitoring of existing structures and the approval of ECCs for projects within protected areas.

DENR regional offices were directed to conduct an inventory of existing structures within PAs and evaluate compliance with environmental regulations and standards.

They were also directed to comprehensively review all ECCs issued for projects within PAs.

Loyzaga said the directive is consistent with the objective of the Republic Act 11038 or the Expanded National Integrated Protected Area System (ENIPAS) recognizing the critical importance of protecting and preserving the ecological integrity of all natural, biological, physical diversities and unique features of the environment within PAs.

For ECCs of enviro
nmentally critical projects, the memorandum states that clearance of the DENR Secretary or her duly authorized representative shall still be required.

Loyzaga issued the memorandum after a photo of a resort within the famous Chocolate Hills, a protected area in Bohol province, went viral in social media in February.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The Department of Environment and Natural Resources has suspended all Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) applications for projects located in protected areas (PA).

In a press briefing after visiting the Mount Apo Natural Park in Digos City, Davao del Sur on Tuesday, DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga announced that all ECC applications will be reviewed first before approval by the Environmental Management Bureau (EMB).

‘We have issued a memo on all the regions that has PAs, suspended muna ang mga (we suspend for now the) processing of any ECCs, and any future ECCs now for the PA will have to be escalated to central office,’ Loyzaga said.

‘Part of that is no ECCs can be processed without the Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) giving its approval,’ she added.

During the visit with Senator Ronald Dela Rosa and Presidential Assistant for Eastern Mindanao Leo Magno, Loyzaga said two resorts built inside the protected area of the natural park were found to have incomplete documents and
permits for operation.

The DENR has not issued any closure order while evaluation is ongoing.

Loyzaga issued the memorandum dated March 26 to DENR regional offices and field operations nationwide, as well as to the bureau directors of the EMB and the BMB.

The memorandum contains directives on the strict monitoring of existing structures and the approval of ECCs for projects within protected areas.

DENR regional offices were directed to conduct an inventory of existing structures within PAs and evaluate compliance with environmental regulations and standards.

They were also directed to comprehensively review all ECCs issued for projects within PAs.

Loyzaga said the directive is consistent with the objective of the Republic Act 11038 or the Expanded National Integrated Protected Area System (ENIPAS) recognizing the critical importance of protecting and preserving the ecological integrity of all natural, biological, physical diversities and unique features of the environment within PAs.

For ECCs of enviro
nmentally critical projects, the memorandum states that clearance of the DENR Secretary or her duly authorized representative shall still be required.

Loyzaga issued the memorandum after a photo of a resort within the famous Chocolate Hills, a protected area in Bohol province, went viral in social media in February.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has ordered the creation of a national organizing council (NOC) for the country’s hosting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit meetings in 2026.

In his Administrative Order (AO) 17, Marcos said, ‘It is imperative to constitute a National Organizing Council to organize, manage, and supervise all major and ancillary programs, activities, and projects related to the hosting of ASEAN 2026 in the country.’

Marcos signed AO 17 on March 22, a copy of which was posted in the Official Gazette on March 31.

Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin will serve as the ASEAN NOC Chairperson, and Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo as Vice-Chair for ASEAN Political Community, Trade and Industry Secretary Alfredo Pascual as Vice-Chair for ASEAN Economic Community, and Social Welfare and Development Secretary Rex Gatchalian as Vice-Chair for ASEAN Socio-cultural community.

Members of the ASEAN NOC include the Secretaries of the Department of the Interior and
Local Government (DILG), Department of National Defense (DND), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), Department of Transportation (DOTr), Department of Tourism (DOT), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), and the Presidential Communications Office (PCO).

Local chief executives of localities selected to serve as sites for the ASEAN 2026 hosting may also be invited as special members of the ASEAN NOC, Marcos said in his order.

The ASEAN NOC is mandated to formulate and submit to the President a master plan to ensure the orderly and seamless hosting of the ASEAN 2026.

Likewise, the order mandated the creation of the Office of the Director-General for Operations under the Office of the President which will serve as the implementing arm of the ASEAN NOC and head of the NOC Executive Committee.

The ASEAN NOC will have seven committees, namely, the Security, Peace and Order, and Emergency Preparedness and Response Committee to be led by the DILG; Infrastructure Committee to be led by the DPWH; Tra
nsport and Telecommunications Committee to be led by DOTr and Department of Information and Communications Technology; Tourism Hospitality, Tours, Social Events and Site Enhancement Committee to be led by DOT; Finance, Budget and Procurement Committee to be led by DBM; Business and Investment Promotion to be led by DTI; and Media Affairs and Strategic Communications to be led by the PCO.

During the 43rd ASEAN Summit in Jakarta last year, the President accepted the regional bloc’s request to be the ASEAN chair in 2026, or a year earlier than scheduled.

The ASEAN chair is responsible not just for the leaders-level summits but all the other gatherings for the bloc.

Source: Philippines News Agency

ANKARA: Vontae Davis, former cornerback of NFL team Buffalo Bills and Miami Dolphins, was found dead on Monday at his home in South Florida, according to police.

Police said that no foul play is suspected in the death of the 35-year-old.

The cause of death has yet to be ascertained.

“We are saddened to learn of the passing of Vontae Davis. We are thinking of his friends, family, and loved ones during this difficult time,” wrote the Buffalo Bills on their official X account.

The Miami Dolphins also published a message of condolences, saying: “We are heartbroken by the sudden passing of former Dolphins CB Vontae Davis and extend our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones during this difficult time.”

Davis had 22 interceptions, 97 passes defended and 395 tackles in 121 career games in 10 seasons.

Source: Philippines News Agency

JERUSALEM: The Knesset on Monday passed the so-called ‘Al Jazeera Law’ authorizing the Prime Minister to shut down the activities of the Qatari-owned network.

‘There will be no freedom of speech for the Hamas trumpets in Israel. Al Jazeera will be closed in the coming days,’ said Communications Minister Shlomo Karai, who spearheaded the legislation, which passed by a vote of 71-10.

The bill states that if the prime minister is convinced that a foreign channel is harming the country, the minister of communications, after receiving at least one security opinion and with the approval of the government or the Cabinet, can take action against that channel.

The measures will enable Al Jazeera’s press credentials to be revoked and its transmitters confiscated.

Efforts to ban Al Jazeera gained momentum in February after reporter Mohamed Washah was exposed as a Hamas commander. Soldiers recovered his laptop in northern Gaza and discovered he played a prominent role in the terror group’s anti-armor missile systems.

In October, Al Jazeera was accused of endangering Israeli soldiers by exposing details of where forces were assembling, prompting the Cabinet to approve emergency regulations to temporarily shut down Al Jazeera operations in Israel. While that move received across-the-board support from the security and diplomatic establishment, it was never implemented as Qatar emerged as a mediator between Israel and Hamas for a hostage swap.

At least 1,200 people were killed and 240 Israelis and foreigners were taken hostage in Hamas’s attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on Oct. 7. Of the remaining 134 hostages, Israel recently declared 31 of them dead.

Source: Philippines News Agency

ILOILO: The provincial government has allocated PHP9 million for swine dispersal as a response to El Niño, initially targeting 15 municipalities situated in areas not affected by the African swine fever (ASF).

‘We want to have a program that is El Niño-oriented. The assistance, instead of farm inputs, we will disperse animals that are not too dependent on the rain and the like,’ Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. said in a press conference on Tuesday.

Defensor said it is another adjustment of the provincial government, aside from the existing program in agriculture.

‘The swine approach is an adjustment. We turn to the animal industry,’ he added.

The scheme is also one way of helping the swine industry increase its inventory amid the ASF.

The PHP9-million budget covers the PHP6.93 million for the purchase of swine and PHP2.07 million for feeds.

Provincial Agriculture Office chief Dr. Ildefonso Toledo said the province will download the funds to municipalities that will identify recipients.

Each recipie
nt is expected to get two piglets for fattening.

Losses due to drought per PAO-validated data reached PHP526.61 million, covering 9,528.18 hectares of high-value crops, rice, and corn and the fishery sector affecting 10, 292 farmers and fisherfolk from the 17 municipalities of the province.

Defensor said the cost of damage may increase as the El Niño progresses until May.

‘Our projection is until May. We will continue to implement our measures and extend as much as we can,’ he added.

Source: Philippines News Agency