Day: April 11, 2024

MANILA: The city government of Manila will formulate a heat index action plan matrix that will serve as a guide for its response efforts to scorching temperatures as the El Niño phenomenon persists.

Mayor Honey Lacuna said Thursday she has directed the city’s health office, social welfare services, and disaster risk reduction and management office to draft the plan.

‘Manila’s adapted heat index system should indicate when residents shall be required to stay indoors when outdoor activities at school and work shall be suspended, when face-to-face classes and onsite work shall be suspended, and when businesses that use a lot of water should reduce water use or limit their operations at night or temporarily stop operations for the greater good,’ she said in a statement.

Lacuna also asked the Bureau of Fire Protection to provide inputs on improved fire response efforts, amid an uptick in big fire incidents in the city in recent weeks.

On Wednesday, at least three people were hurt while 500 families lost their
homes in a fire that razed a residential area in Purok 3, Isla Puting Bato in Tondo District.

The city must have its own heat index system, Lacuna said, noting that the one being used by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Administration (PAGASA) is “incomplete.”

‘The PAGASA heat index system has alert levels or different temperature levels. Manila should have specific local measures at each alert level,’ she said.

Lacuna, a medical doctor, also cited the need to brace for dry season-related illnesses, such as skin rashes, prickly heat, dehydration, dengue, heat exhaustion, food poisoning, and heat stroke.

‘Manila’s hospitals and health centers should be ready for heart attacks, strokes, and disease outbreaks from water contamination because many thirsty people have higher water demand. There should be first aid training at the barangay level because first aid must be done first before patients are rushed to hospitals,’ she said.

She added that local responders and health centers sho
uld be on high alert in responding to medical emergencies and assist the vulnerable population, particularly the elderly, pregnant women, those with co-morbidities, and persons with disabilities.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The country’s trade deficit went down by 6 percent in February this year, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

Preliminary data released on Thursday showed that the balance of trade in goods or the difference between the value of exports and imports posted a deficit of USD3.65 billion from USD3.88 billion in February last year.

Total export sales during the month grew by 15.7 percent to USD5.91 billion from USD5.10 billion in 2023.

“The commodity group with the highest annual increment in the value of exports in February 2024 was electronic products with USD723.86 million. This was followed by other mineral products with an annual increase of USD79.54 million, and coconut oil with an annual increment of USD44.44 million,” the PSA said.

By major trading partner, exports to the United States comprised the highest export value amounting to USD947.83 million which accounts for about 16 percent of the total exports.

Other major export trading partners include Japan, Hong Kong, the People’s
Republic of China, and Thailand.

The total value of imported goods, meanwhile, amounted to USD9.55 billion, up by 6.3 percent from the USD8.98 billion in the same month last year.

The PSA said imports of metalliferous ores and metal scrap recorded the highest annual increase in the value of imported goods at USD219 million.

This was followed by cereals and cereal preparations, which grew by USD137.23 million, and mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials with an annual increase of USD131.71 million.

China was the country’s largest supplier of imported goods valued at USD2.18 billion, or 22.8 percent of the country’s total imports in February 2024.

Other top sources of imports include Japan, Korea, Indonesia, and Thailand.

“February trade data showed a strong bounce for exports, rising 15.7% YoY (year-on-year), largely on the back of the mainstay electronics subcategory,” ING senior economist Nicholas Mapa said in a comment.

Mapa said the surge in electronics shipments is in line with a similar re
covery enjoyed by regional trading partners, with demand for basic chipsets likely tracking the gains for higher value-added electronics.

“The strong gain for the export sector should help support overall GDP (gross domestic product) performance for the first quarter of the year. Although heavily dependent on the electronics subsector, the stark pickup in outbound shipments helped move the trade surplus into a less pronounced trade deficit,” he said.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The country will continue to experience warm and humid weather due to the easterlies, a weather forecaster said Thursday.

“No tropical cyclone was seen inside the Philippine Area of Responsibility, as well as in the Pacific Ocean,” said Aldczar Aurelio of the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

“As such, the country could expect fair weather,” he added.

The country, however, may experience isolated rain showers or thunderstorms.

Flash floods or landslides could occur during severe thunderstorms, PAGASA said.

Up to 36 °C temperature is forecast in Tuguegarao, and up to 34 °C in Metro Manila, Laoag City, Kalayaan Islands and Davao.

PAGASA expects Dagupan City, Pangasinan to experience a 44 °C heat index on Thursday.

Puerto Princesa City and Aborlan town in Palawan could experience a 43 °C heat index, or what the temperature feels like to the human body when relative humidity is combined with the air temperature.

PAGASA considers 41 °C to 51 °C h
eat index as danger level, wherein heat cramps and heat exhaustion are likely. Continued exposure could also cause heat stroke.

Meanwhile, moderate winds and moderate seas are forecast over the northern and western sections of Northern Luzon.

Elsewhere, winds will be light to moderate with slight to moderate seas.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The Department of Health (DOH) has vaccinated 646,840 children against measles in the country as of April 10.

In a media briefing on Thursday, DOH Secretary Teodoro Herbosa noted the figure translates to 47 percent of 1,381,540 million Filipino children who are eligible for vaccination against measles.

“The eligible population is 6 months to 9 years old. We increased the number because the BARMM [Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao], for a long time already, there are children who have grown up unvaccinated,” Herbosa said.

Of those vaccinated, 91,309 were six to 23 months old; 205,234 were two years old and below five years old; and 350,337 were five to nine years old.

Meanwhile, only three children experienced adverse effects — fever and vomiting — following vaccination.

The DOH immunization campaign in the BARMM was put on hold on April 10, in celebration of Eid al-Fitr. It resumed on April 11.

The DOH has logged about 2,500 cases of measles nationwide, with 1,600 of which coming
from the BARMM as many eligible children there remain unvaccinated against the disease.

On Wednesday, Herbosa said he cannot declare an outbreak nationwide because vaccination rates are high in other places.

He said the DOH aims to end the measles outbreak in the BARMM in four to six weeks.

Nationally, the DOH aims to vaccinate 90 percent of children ages six months to 10 years to control cases of measles.

Measles is a contagious disease that spreads in the air through coughing or sneezing. While it is more common among all children, it affects all age groups.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The United States, Japan, and the Philippines are set to unveil the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII) Luzon Corridor that will usher in new infrastructure projects to connect Subic Bay, Clark, Manila, and Batangas.

The PGII, founded by the G7 countries, aims to mobilize up to USD600 billion by 2027 to help narrow the infrastructure investment gap in partner countries.

A senior US administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity during a teleconference in Washington DC on Thursday said the Luzon initiative would be the first PGII corridor in the Indo-Pacific and would be launched as part of the deliverables of the historic trilateral leaders’ summit between President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., US President Joe Biden, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on April 11.

The investment initiative, the official said, would ‘accelerate coordinated investments in high-impact infrastructure projects, including ports, rail, clean energy, semiconductors, supply chains, a
nd other forms of connectivity in the Philippines’.

After the launch, the governments would set up a steering committee to accelerate the corridor projects.

The US Development Finance Corporation will also open its first regional office in the Philippines as part of the announcement, the official said.

‘When it comes to PGII, we do expect it will take some time for the full suite of investments that we’ve envisioned here to come to pass,” the official said.

“But as I mentioned, we’re standing up a steering committee of high-level US, Philippines, and Japanese government officials to ensure that we are steering private sector investment to exactly the types of projects that this corridor needs to improve, as well as bringing a full suite of US government tools to bear.”

The official noted that the corridor and the recent US Presidential Trade Mission to Manila are testaments that Washington DC ‘take very seriously’ its work to help the country’s clean energy transition and supply chain resilience, among o
thers.

‘More investments’

The administration official said several US companies would also announce new investments in the Philippines, including in areas of undersea cables, logistics, and telecommunications.

Google on April 11 said it would invest USD1 billion in two submarine cable projects, one of which was to create new fiber optic routes between the US, Japan, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and on to Guam.

Google added that its ongoing Taiwan-Philippines-US cable system project would also get an extension to CNMI ‘to increase reliability in the region’.

On top of these, the senior official said the US would launch new aid packages on “humanitarian assistance and disaster response, specifically located around the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) sites”.

‘Including over the next year, you’ll see USAID (United States Agency for International Development) in partnership with DOD (US Department of National Defense) launching a new initiative to pre-position hum
anitarian relief commodities for Philippine civilian disaster response authorities at EDCA sites,’ the official said.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Thursday said it would dispatch vehicles to provide free rides to commuters amid an impending strike by some transport groups next week.

PNP spokesperson Col. Jean Fajardo, in a presser at Camp Crame, said their mobility assets would augment other vehicles to be provided by other government agencies.

‘Habang nagpapatrol yung mga pulis natin sa daan at may matitiyempuhan dyan na kasama kayo sa naapektuhan ng transport strike, parahin niyo lang yung mga patrol vehicles ng PNP at aalalayan at bibigyan kayo ng assistance para makarating doon sa inyong mga patutunguhan (While our police officers are on patrols and they chance upon passengers who are affected by this transport strike, just hail PNP patrol vehicles and these would provide assistance to you in going to your destination),” she said.

She added that they are communicating with transport groups regarding this matter, stressing that the PNP respects their freedom to air their grievances against the govern
ment.

‘This early ay nakikipag ugnayan na tayo sa transport groups para mabigyan din natin sila ng protection at maidentify yung mga possible rally areas nila para hindi naman ito maging cause ng traffic obstruction or traffic congestion. Ibibigay natin sa kanila ang araw na yan but of course we will exercise maximum tolerance para naman hindi magkaroon ng anumang gulo kung darating yung araw na talagang magra-rally sila sa mga kalsada nila (This early, we are contacting the transport groups so that we can also provide them with protection and identify their possible rally areas so that it does not cause traffic obstruction or traffic congestion. We will give them that day, but of course, we will exercise maximum tolerance so that there will not be any trouble on the day when they will actually hold rallies on the roads),” Fajardo said.

On Thursday, transport groups Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (Piston) and Samahang Manibela Mananakay at Nagkaisang Terminal ng Transportasyon (
Manibela) announced a nationwide transport strike next week.

This came a day after President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said the April 30 deadline for the franchise consolidation of public utility vehicles (PUV) under the government’s transport modernization program would no longer be extended.

Marcos assured that the program will not be a burden to the drivers and operators as he noted the government subsidy for modern PUVs.

Under the program, drivers/operators will receive government subsidy, which is between PHP200,000 and PHP300,000 per vehicle, to help them cope financially. They will also be assisted for bank financing transactions.

As of March this year, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board said 80 percent of PUVs in the country have complied with the consolidation policy.

Source: Philippines News Agency