Category: General

MANILA: The municipality of Mansalay in this province has been placed under a state of calamity after its Sangguniang Bayan (municipal board) concurred with a recommendation by the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

The board said in a social media post on Thursday that it had declared ‘a state of calamity in the whole municipality due to the severe and prolonged drought that it is experiencing.’

‘Resolution No. 2024- 548 was unanimously approved by all members of the Sangguniang Bayan during the special session presided by Vice Mayor Shernan F. Gamol and attended by nine (9) SB Members on Thursday, March 7, 2024,’ it further said in the online announcement.

The council’s concurrence makes the declaration of a state of calamity in Mansalay operational.

‘The Municipal Agriculturist Office reported that there are already 740 rice and high value crops farmers affected with 1,096.92 hectares of damaged crop accounting for 60.40 percent damage to lowland farming areas, including the 435
hectares of unplanted rice land resulting to estimated damage cost of approximately PHP418,348,475.25,’ the municipal board reported.

The same would allow the barangays to utilize their 30 percent Quick Response Fund in response to the impact of the dry spell.

Mansalay is located next to Bulalacao town, which was the first in the country to declare a state of calamity due to the impacts of the El Niño phenomenon.

On Jan. 19, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. signed Executive Order No. 53 to streamline, reactivate, and reconstitute the old El Niño task forces under EO No. 16 (s. 2001) and Memorandum Order No. 38 (s. 2019).

Under EO No. 53, the President instructed the task force to develop a comprehensive disaster preparedness and rehabilitation plan for El Niño and La Niña to provide ‘systematic, holistic, and results-driven interventions’ to help the public cope and minimize their devastating effects.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: Senators denounced on Friday the attack of Houthi rebels on a ship in the Gulf of Aden, resulting in the death of two Filipino seafarers, injured three, and endangered the lives of ten others.

Senator Imee Marcos sent her condolences to the family and loved ones of the victims.

“Filipinos are peace-loving people and the Philippines is not a party to the conflict afflicting the Middle East. There is thus no reason, other than sheer evil, for the Houthi rebels to murder our countrymen,” she said.

Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva urged the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) and other concerned agencies to exhaust all legal remedies in seeking justice for the victims and provide them with immediate assistance.

“We call on the agencies to look into repatriating our seafarers sailing through the Gulf of Aden to avoid a repeat of this horrific incident,” Villanueva said.

He called for the enactment of the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers which is currently un
der review.

The Barbados-flagged M/V True Confidence was carrying 20 crewmembers, including 15 Filipinos, when the Houthi’s missile struck on Wednesday. A total of three were killed.

READ: PH ‘greatly distressed’ by Houthi strike on ship that killed 2 Pinoys

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian also called for a diplomatic engagement to address the matter, saying the safety of Filipino seafarers is a collective responsibility that “transcends borders.”

“Let us stand united in our commitment to protect those who contribute significantly to our maritime industry and ensure the safety of those who continue to serve at sea,” Gatchalian said in a statement.

In November last year, 17 Filipino seafarers, who were among the 25 crewmen, were held hostage by the Houthi rebel group after seizing control of a cargo ship in the southern Red Sea.

This prompted the Senate to hasten the passage into law of the Magna Carta of Filipino Seafarers that will institutionalize the rights and welfare of Filipino seafarers.

Source: Phi
lippines News Agency

DAVAO: Two Davao Region provinces received PHP14.4 million worth of rehabilitation projects for Fusarium wilt-affected banana farmers, the regional office of the Department of Agriculture (DA-11) said Friday.

In a statement, DA-11 said the funding for the projects will be coursed through the respective Quick Response Fund of the provincial governments of Davao del Norte and Davao de Oro.

At least 138.5 hectares of Fusarium-affected banana areas are targeted for rehabilitation, benefiting 225 farmer-beneficiaries in the two provinces.

“The amount will be used to support banana production, which includes the provision of livelihood assistance to banana growers affected by Fusarium wilt or Panama disease in the two provinces,” the statement said.

The project, “Kaagapay sa Malambuong Pagpanaging,” aptly translated as “a companion to prosperous banana farming,” covers production inputs that include 6,648 bags of Ammosul fertilizers, 1,385 bags of Muriate of Potash, 6,648 bottles of disinfectant, and 288,080 pa
cks of Trichoderma, among others.

Fusarium wilt is a soil-borne pathogen that is attracted to banana plants. It can remain dormant for 30 to 50 years. The fusarium fungi clog the plant’s vascular system, depriving it of necessary nutrients and moisture, ultimately causing it to turn yellow and die.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) lauded the contribution of over 1.5 million women volunteers in its community-driven development programs.

‘Malaki ang tiwala ng DSWD sa lakas ng mga kababaihan. Ang kanilang lakas ang nagsisilbing gabay patungo sa isang mapagpalaya, mapagkalinga at progresibong lipunan (The DSWD has great confidence in the strength of women. Their strength serves as a guide toward a liberating, caring and progressive society),’ DSWD spokesperson Romel Lopez said Friday as the world commemorates International Women’s Day.

Lopez cited women’s participation in developing the programs of the agency such as the Kapit-Bisig Laban sa Kahirapan – Comprehensive and Integrated Delivery of Social Services (KALAHI-CIDSS).

Sixty-three percent of KALAHI-CIDSS volunteers are women, according to Lopez, who is also the Assistant Secretary for Stratetegic Communications.

As of February, the KALAHI-CIDSS has more than 1.5 million women volunteers, including the elderly, across
all program modalities.

Mennie Bongcay, 72, of Barangay New Poblacion, Cabusao, Camarines Sur, said her age was never a hindrance in doing volunteerism.

Despite her age, she actively participates in DSWD community projects.

‘Para makatulong at matuto pa din sa iba’t-ibang aspeto ng paggawa ng proyekto ng barangay kahit na nasa ganitong edad na ako, na (To help and to learn the different aspects of conducting a project in our barangay even though I’m at this age), 72 years old,’ Bongcay said.

Her eagerness to help the community inspired her to take on the role of Project Implementation Team head.

She said the program does not discriminate.

‘Even if you have no education or you didn’t finish school, even if you are jobless and no matter what your age and sexual orientation are, you can be accepted as a volunteer in the program. What’s important is the participation and dedication,’ she said in Filipino.

Currently, she is actively engaged in another sub-project — construction of a daycare center in their
community.

Lopez said the participation of women volunteers like Bongcay is the reason why many of their projects progressed.

‘DSWD is very grateful to our women volunteers. Rest assured that we will continue to improve our programs and services to strengthen and give you more opportunities to help your communities to grow,’ Lopez guaranteed.

KALAHI-CIDSS is a poverty alleviation program aimed at empowering poor communities to improve their lives.

The program focuses on enhancing local governance, promoting social inclusion, and fostering sustainable development through active community participation.

Source: Philippines News Agency

Canberra: Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh visited the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) of Australia in Canberra on March 8 as part his official trip to the country.

At a working session with CSIRO leaders, the Vietnamese Government leader expressed his impression on the sound cooperation between Vietnam and CSIRO over the past time, and congratulated the organisation on its valuable research that has contributed significantly to Australia and the whole world.

He particularly highlighted that the organisation has been on the right track with its studies on digital transformation, green transition, innovation and agriculture, among others, which are in line with Vietnam’s development policies.

He suggested CSIRO and its Vietnamese partners make efforts to remove roadblocks in their cooperation, adding the Vietnamese Government will pen mechanisms and policies to ensure that cooperation programmes are carried out smoothly.

The PM asked Vietnamese ministries, sectors and loc
alities to step up cooperation with CSIRO, stressing as collaboration in science-technology, innovation, climate change response, digital transformation and green transition is boundless, they need to fully tap the Australian Government’s 2 billion AUD (1.3 billion USD) finance facility for trade and investment promotion with ASEAN so as to implement practical and specific programmes and projects.

Meanwhile, Australian Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Tim Watts said as sci-tech and innovation cooperation programmes are a pillar in the bilateral relations, which has been elevated to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the Australian Government committed to enhancing the sci-tech cooperation with Vietnam through specific projects.

Minister of Science and Technology Huynh Thanh Dat said that Australia’s innovation programmes managed by CSIRO have helped Vietnam develop its fisheries, plantation and modern production sectors on the basis of the commercialisation of the research results.

For his part,
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Minh Hoan said that cooperation with CSIRO helps Vietnam handle challenges in agriculture that the country is facing.

Vietnam hopes to receive CSIRO’s support to develop low carbon emission tra fish and shrimp farming models, he added.

On the occasion, Dat and CSIRO Chief Executive Doug Hilton exchanged an agreement on sci-tech and innovation cooperation in the presence of PM Chinh.

Established in 1916, the Australian national science agency has been one of the world’s largest mission-driven science and research organisations, with 5,500 staff and 57 establishments across Australia and representative offices in the US, Chile, France, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam.

The organisation has close cooperation ties with the Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology for years. Both sides signed agreements on research support in the fields of CSIRO’s strengths such as agriculture and food, healthcare and bio security, energy, manufacturing industry and land an
d water resources./

Source: Vietnam News Agency

MANILA: The House of Representatives expects the Senate to approve proposed amendments to the constitution’s restrictive economic provisions.

Speaker Martin Romualdez believes Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri will do everything to convince his colleagues to agree to the changes.

‘We understand the challenges, pero (but) the Senate has always lived up to the challenge. Magagaling ‘yung mga senador natin (Our senators god) and I know that they know what is good for our people,’ Romualdez told reporters in an ambush interview during the groundbreaking ceremony of the Philippine Cancer Center in Quezon City on Friday.

Zubiri earlier said that getting the needed 18 votes in the Senate for the economic amendment proposals ‘is a big challenge’ but ‘not impossible.’

The House of Representatives is expected to approve the Resolution of Both Houses (RBH) No. 7 before the Lenten break starts on March 23.

Meawnhile, Bagong Henerasyon Party-list Rep. Bernadette Herrera reiterated full support to amend the economic
provisions.

Herrera cited circumvention through internal arrangements between local and foreign business partners as her main reason.

“In our experience here in Congress, we have conducted hearings and investigations on foreign ownership restrictions, but we also see internal arrangements that do not truly reflect the partnership between foreign and local entities,” she said in a news release.

She said the discrepancy between official regulations and internal agreements often leads to legal disputes.

Source: Philippines News Agency