Day: April 8, 2024

An Giang: Hundreds of poor households of the Khmer ethnic minority group in the Mekong Delta province of An Giang on April 7 received gifts from the provincial Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee, Loc Troi Group JSC and the Vietnam-Cambodia Business Association (VCBA) on the occasion of their traditional Chol Chnam Thmay (New Year) Festival.

Up to 500 packages of gifts were presented to the disadvantaged households, each worth 600,00 VND (24 USD), comprising 10 kg of rice and 300,000 VND in cash, at a ceremony held in O Lam commune of Tri Ton district.

VCBA Chairman Oknha Leng Rithy said the good deed demonstrates sentiments towards impoverished people in the province, particularly the Khmer ethnic minority group. He also sent his wishes to local Khmer people on the occasion of the Chol Chnam Thmay Festival.

Pham Tuan Khai, Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of the People’s Committee of O Lam commune, extended his hope that the solidarity and and ‘good neighbourliness, traditional friendship, com
prehensive cooperation and long-term sustainability’ between Vietnam and Cambodia as well as between the VCBA and An Giang province will further flourish in the coming time./.

Source: Vietnam News Agency

MANILA: Eight aspiring film directors who are students from different colleges and universities have been named as finalists of “The Manila Film Festival 2024”.

Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna, in a press briefing during the festival’s launch at the City Hall on Monday, said each student would receive a production grant worth PHP150,000 to produce a short film that will run at least 15 to 20 minutes with a theme ‘Manila in Me.’

From full-length movies that were showcased last year, she said the festival would feature short movies that would enable young filmmakers to express a subject within a limited time frame.

The eight finalists are:

–‘Happy (M)others Day!’ by Ronnie Ramos (University of the Philippines Film Institute);

–‘Bahay, Baboy, Bagyo’ by Miko Biong (University of the Philippines Film Institute);

–‘An Kuan’ by Joyce Ramos (Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila);

–‘Threefor100: o ang tamang pormang paguukay at iba pang mga bagay-bagay, I think!’ by Cedrick Labadia (iAcademy)

–‘Ditas Pinamalas’ by
Adrian Reno Espino (Adamson University);

–‘Pinilakang Tabingi’ by John Pistol Carmen (Bicol University);

–‘Una’t Huling Sakay’ by Vhan Marco Molacruz (Colegio de San Juan de Letran)

–‘Ballad of a Blind Man’ by Charlie Vitug (De La Salle University-College of Saint Benilde)

The student directors, meanwhile, thanked the Manila City government for providing a platform to help them showcase and hone their filmmaking skills.

On the other hand, Vice Mayor John Marvin ‘Yul Servo’ Nieto said that based on the request of the mayor and tourism chief Charlie Dungo, the Manila City Council which he heads would pass a measure that would make venues or sites to be used by the filmmakers free of charge.

Nieto said the eight entries will be joined by four movies made by featured directors during the festival.

A total of 69 entries were screened for the competition. This was initially reduced to 15, with only eight making it to the list of finalists.

The festival’s premiere night will be on June 4 and will run from
June 5 to 11. Ticket prices will be announced later.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) announced Monday that electricity rates in its franchise areas declined by nearly PHP1 per kilowatt hour (kWh) in April 2024.

Meralco spokesperson and head of corporate communications Joe Zaldarriaga said in a press briefing in Pasay City that the company reduced their power rate by PHP0.9879 per kWh this month to PHP10.9519 from the electricity rate in March at PHP11.9397 per kWh.

The said adjustment will bring down the electricity rate of a household customer consuming 100 kWh a month to PHP198 for its April 2024 electricity bill.

‘The significant reduction in this month’s overall electricity rate wiped out the increases in power rates for the first quarter of the year,’ Zaldarriaga said.

The increase in Meralco rates for the past three months stood at PHP0.6813 per kWh. With the rate reduction for April, the year-to-date adjustment had a net decrement of PHP0.3066 per kWh.

Lower generation and transmission charges cut the overall rates for this month, whic
h declined by PHP0.3613 and PHP0.4655 per kWh, respectively.

‘Despite the rate reduction, Meralco continues to encourage its customers to continue practicing energy efficiency, especially during summer when consumption historically increases anywhere from 10 to 40 percent due to warmer temperatures,’ Zaldarriaga added.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Monday called on the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) to ensure the timely completion of key power projects to ensure reliable electricity supply across the country.

Speaking at the ceremonial energization of the recently completed Cebu-Negros-Panay (CNP) 230-kiloVolt (kV) Backbone Project in Bacolod City, Marcos underscored the importance of a stable power supply not only in the daily lives of Filipinos but also for regional and national economic development.

‘Power outages are a hindrance to progress. Our power system must be a spark to ignite development,’ Marcos said.

‘The timely completion of critical transmission projects in strategic locations is paramount to avoid power disruptions and to ensure our continued development,’ he added.

Marcos then called on the NGCP to ensure the timely completion of the remaining major transmission projects even as he assured the state-run firm that the administration is one with its mission to bolster
the stability of the power grid.

‘I urge the NGCP to deliver on the expansion commitment in a timely manner. Rest assured that the government will continuously assist you in this shared endeavor. We always consider it that way, it is a shared endeavor,’ he said.

‘It is not the project solely of the NGCP, it is not solely the project of the Department of Energy, it is a joint project and we bring all our resources and all our relevant assets to the problem to build the best system that we can, as cheaply as we can, and as quickly as we can,’ Marcos added.

The President also called on power stakeholders in the Visayas to strategically identify suitable locations to host new energy projects.

Likewise, he encouraged the private sector to invest in the Negros and Panay sub-grids to enable the region to meet its energy demands and ensure energy self-sufficiency in the long run.

The CNP is comprised of 670 transmission towers spanning 442 circuit kilometers of overhead lines, 98.9 circuit kilometers of submarin
e cables with 10 new substations, and the expansion of two existing major substations.

The President said the project will resolve the power supply challenges that have plagued Negros and Panay sub-grids, which have caused ‘very serious economic setbacks for the region.’

‘The CNP will also address the surging energy demands in the area and propel the socio-economic advancement of Regions VI and VII to new heights,’ he said.

‘Hopeful no more power outage”

Meanwhile, electric distribution utilities in Panay and Guimaras expressed elation over the completion of the CNP3’s 230-kilovolt (kV) Backbone Project.

More Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power) president and chief executive officer Roel Z. Castro commended what he called a ‘major milestone accomplishment’ of NGCP.

‘The energization of the full backbone is a big relief for us here in Panay Island, given the current situation when one baseload plant cannot come online by March 30 and at the onset of summer when the demand for all distribution uti
lities in Panay Island is at its peak,’ Castro said in a statement.

He added that while it does not guarantee the highest level of reliability, it ‘is definitely a big step towards better reliability’ for Panay.

Guimaras Electric Cooperative (GUIMELCO) general manager and president of the Electric Cooperatives Association of Region VI Shirley Laurente said the completion and energization of CNP 3 is ‘good news’ because it can minimize the line congestion and it will open the Mindanao and Luzon grid to provide power to the region.

‘If there are congestions in other lines like in Negros, NGCP will have a bigger capacity to deliver power without that line congestion,’ she said in a phone interview.

Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr, in a separate interview, said the province is thankful for the completion.

He, however, said there are other infrastructures they are pushing to ensure reliable power.

‘There are other collateral infra and civil works that need to be completed before we can realize the full be
nefit of that backbone,’ he said.

Iloilo City Councilor Romel Duron, chair of the committee on public utilities, said hopefully, the city will no longer experience the power outage that plunged Panay into total darkness in April 2023 and January this year.

‘We are still praying for more energy investors, particularly on renewable energy,’ he added.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: Australians Stefanie Fejes and Jana Milutinovic outplayed compatriots Jasmine Fleming and Georgia Johnson, 21-19, 25-23, to capture the women’s crown in the Smart Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) Beach Tour Nuvali Open last Sunday at the world-class Nuvali Sand Courts by Ayala Land in the City of Santa Rosa, Laguna.

Fejes and Milutinovic needed 52 minutes to overcome their opponents, who are currently No. 47 in the FIVB world rankings.

‘We knew them very well so we knew it was going to be a good matchup,’ said the 19-year-old Fejes. ‘We fought till the end and we played our game.’

Fejes and Milutinovic beat Suzuka Hashimoto and Reika Murakami, 21-12, 21-18, to reach the final round of the tournament organized by the Philippine National Volleyball Federation (PNVF) headed by Ramon ‘Tats’ Suzara.

Fleming and Johnson, on the other hand, triumphed over Asami Shiba and Saki Maruyama, 21-17, 21-17.

Hashimoto and Murakami prevailed, 21-17, 16-21, 15-12, in the battle for the bronze medal.

Meanwhile
, Iran’s Abbas Pourasgari and Alireza Aghajanighasab stunned Thailand’s Tipjan Pithak and Taovato Poravid, 21-17, 21-15, to capture the men’s crown in the event supported by Foton, Akari, Mikasa, Senoh, Seda, Asics, Cignal, One Sports, One Sports+ and Pilipinas Live.

The Iranians are hoping to qualify for Paris. They have a very good support team for the Asian competition and their quest for an Olympic berth.

‘I’m very happy, this is a big win. I dream of going to the Olympics,’ said Aghajanighasab after beating the world’s No. 44 Thai pair.

Pithak and Poravid survived Australia’s D’Artagnan Potts and Ben Hood, 21-15, 18-21, 15-11, in the semis while Pourasgari and Aghajanighasab conquered Thailand’s Surin Jongklang and Dunwinit Kaewsai, 21-13, 21-17.

Potts and Ben Hood downed Jongklang and Kaewsai to secure the bronze medal, 21-15, 21-14.

Source: Philippines News Agency

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY: The town of Mambajao in Camiguin province has adopted a modern Incident Command System (ICS) with the help of regional government agencies.

In a statement on Monday, Mambajao Mayor Yñigo Jesus Romualdo said the importance of leveraging modern technology is for organized, efficient, and fast disaster management.

“I want to maximize the use of technology where every information is centralized into one system to make an organized and fast response to an incident,” he said.

Romualdo said it is essential that local government personnel become well-versed in disaster response work.

The training is an ongoing project of the Department of Science and Technology, Office of Civil Defense-Northern Mindanao (OCD-10), and the Mambajao local government, focusing on capacity-building needed for an emergency operations center (EOC).

Raquel Ranara, one of the trainers, emphasized the importance of the training for disaster preparedness and resilience, allowing better anticipation and planning to redu
ce losses.

“We need to train and capacitate stakeholders to understand what we will do during disasters and incidents,” she said.

Marlyn Trozo, the OCD focal person, said ICS and EOC effectively complement each other by using the force-provider and force-employer relationship.

“The Incident Command System, as the force employer, manages on-scene response, while the Emergency Operations Center is the force provider that acts as a supporter to the Incident Management Team,” she said.

Source: Philippines News Agency