BACOLOD CITY: The Western Visayas International Open Water Swim Circuit that will be held in Sipalay City, Negros Occidental on Feb. 18 will boost local tourism while highlighting the importance of coastal conservation and protection, an official said Thursday.

In an interview, supervising tourism officer Jerick Lacson said the activity, which is expecting some 200 local and international swimmers and hundreds of visitors, will be a big boost to the city’s economy.

‘It will help accommodation establishments, local businesses, souvenir shops, transport operators as well as food producers like farmers and fisherfolk,’ he told the Philippine News Agency.

‘Part of the program is a showcase of the local culture and tradition of Sipalay through singing and dancing presentations, cultural trade fair and local delicacies,’ Lacson said.

Spearheaded by the Department of Tourism-Western Visayas (DOT-Region 6), the open water swimming competition also aims to connect people to nature and emphasizes the importance of
preserving the coastal communities.

Lacson said that through the activity, they intend to educate the participants on the importance of coastal conservation and protection, which is an advocacy of Sipalay and contained in its presentation of the best practices in sustainable tourism.

Participants will also pay the environmental fee being used for the environmental protection and conservation efforts of the city, he said.

He added the race venue, which is the Campomanes-Ballo Marine Reserve and Sanctuary, is a marine protected area itself.

According to DOT-Region 6, participants will experience stunning coastal and underwater views and meet fellow swimmers passionate about protecting the oceans and cities.

‘This also support the Sustainable Development Goal 11 mission for sustainable cities and communities. Participants will witness how Sipalay City embraces sustainable practices,’ it said in a statement.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: Magnolia booked the first seat in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals after eliminating TNT, 109-94, in their quarterfinal showdown on Wednesday night at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.

The Hotshots blasted off in the fourth quarter, dropping 32 points on the Tropang Giga even as the Purefoods franchise held off the PLDT club’s comeback late in the period.

Tyler Bey, one of three imports who made the quarterfinals while playing for the entire conference, led Magnolia with 41 points on 11-of-21 field goals including 3-of-4 from long range and a perfect 16-for-16 free throws, 13 rebounds, two assists, three blocks, and five steals while holding Rahlir Hollis-Jefferson, the current frontrunner in the Best Import of the Conference race after explosive numbers in his first two games as TNT replacement import, to only 27 points with eight turnovers.

Mark Barroca added 17 points on 7-of-13 field goals including 3-of-5 from deep, two rebounds, three assists, and two steals off the bench.

The Hotshot
s will take a breather over the weekend as the Meralco Bolts forced a rubber match in their quarterfinal series against the Phoenix Fuel Masters with a 116-107 triple-overtime win in the first game.

The Bolts completed a comeback from 15 points down in regulation as the Fuel Masters lost steam in the third extension and failed on their first try to return to the semifinals.

Down 77-62 with seven and a half minutes left in the fourth quarter, Meralco finished the regulation on a 22-7 run capped by a buzzer-beating triple from Chris Newsome to force the first overtime.

Phoenix opened the first extension with five straight points, but Meralco quickly recovered and even took the lead a 93-92 lead with 59 seconds left in the period.

Tyler Tio gave the Fuel Masters the lead again, 95-93 with a triple, but Aaron Black responded with a mid-range jumper off a jump ball situation to knot the count anew, 95-all, with 23 seconds left in OT 1.

Johnathan Williams had his first chance to close out the game for Phoenix,
but Meralco’s smothering defense forced him to two misses down low as a second overtime was called.

Williams had a golden opportunity to win it for the Fuel Masters at the free-throw line after Shonn Miller fouled him while going for a layup with 8.2 seconds left in the second overtime, but Williams missed two charities, although their defense forced Aaron Black to throw a tough right-handed teardrop that he missed badly.

However, the Bolts began the third overtime with a 10-0 run to take a 113-103 lead with 1:48 left.

RJ Jazul and Ken Tuffin kept Phoenix alive with back-to-back baskets, but Bong Quinto iced the game with a booming three with 37 seconds to go.

Cliff Hodge led Meralco, which canceled Phoenix’s twice-to-beat advantage and forced a sudden-death game on Sunday, with 20 points, 10 rebounds, one assist, and one steal before leaving the game with a right ankle sprain.

Quinto added 19 points, two rebounds, and four assists, while Newsome, Miller, and Allein Maliksi each chipped in 18 markers wit
h Miller also grabbing 20 rebounds.

Williams, who only rested for 38 seconds, finished with 24 points, 24 rebounds, six rebounds, three blocks, and one steal to lead the Fuel Masters.

Tio and Jason Perkins each put up 20 markers.

Source: Philippines News Agency

Mindoro: Hog farmers are appealing to concerned government agencies to impose sanctions on pork traders and middlemen allegedly spreading disinformation about the severity of the African swine fever (ASF) outbreak in this province to drive down farm gate prices.

In an interview on Thursday, Michael Madriaga, board of director and manager at the Occidental Mindoro Hog Raisers Agriculture Cooperative (OMHRACO), said that unscrupulous traders are manufacturing false reports saying ASF has already spread across the province, even if confirmed infections have so far only been confined to a few backyard piggeries in San Jose and Santa Cruz towns.

‘They want to scare small piggery owners into selling their pigs at a loss. Backyard farmers end up selling their hogs at extremely low prices just to get rid of them right away. They are duped into believing that the government is coming in to cull their pigs to arrest the spread of ASF. But most of the towns here are not even affected by ASF,’ he told the Philippine Ne
ws Agency in Filipino.

Madriaga revealed that OMHRACO has formally requested the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) and Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) to revoke the business licenses of pork traders participating in the disinformation campaign that is leading to ‘panic selling,’ because they are causing huge losses to the province’s hog industry.

He said that the cooperative is currently compiling evidence against traders and other middlemen buying pork for as low as PHP130 per kilo from the farm, intending to charge them for violating Republic Act 7581 (The Price Act), which protects consumers as well as producers.

Meanwhile, Madriaga insisted that ASF infections in the province have only been recorded in backyard piggeries owned by indigenous peoples (IPs).

He explained that hogs owned by IPs are usually ‘free range’ and are fed swill (kanin baboy), and do not benefit from any sort of biosecurity protection.

The OMHRACO official said they are looking into reports that ASF was brought to Occidental Min
doro by tribesmen who crossed the border from Oriental Mindoro, bringing with them infected pork that was consumed as part of a native ritual.

Madriaga maintained that there is still no indication that any of the large commercial piggeries in Occidental Mindoro have been penetrated by ASF, as all of them adhere to strict biosecurity protocols.

‘Even if ASF is already present in the province, we can still sell our production as long as we follow BAI rules, and tighten biosecurity in our respective piggeries,’ he added.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The eastern section of Mindanao will experience cloudy skies with scattered rains showers and thunderstorms due to the shear line, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said Thursday.

In its 4 a.m. advisory, the weather bureau said possible flash floods or landslides due to moderate to at times heavy rains might occur over Caraga, Davao Region, and Northern Mindanao due to the shear line.

Cagayan Valley and Aurora will have cloudy skies with light rains due to the northeast monsoon or ‘amihan.’

Partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated light rains will prevail over Metro Manila, Visayas and the rest of Luzon also due to the amihan.

The rest of Mindanao will experience partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms due to localized thunderstorms.

Strong winds heading northeast to east and rough coastal waters will prevail over the northern and eastern sections of the country.

The rest of the country will have moderat
e to strong winds and moderate to rough seas.

The temperature ranges between 22.1 °C and 29.7 °C.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MONKAYO: Seven persons died, another severely injured, while five others remain missing in Mt. Diwata, Monkayo town in this province due to the landslide on Thursday.

In an interview, Monkayo information officer Jergrace Cabag said five out of the seven fatalities were kids, including the injured victim.

All dead victims were already transported to a local funeral home, she added.

Cabag said the victims were attending a prayer meeting in the residence owned by the Gumatin family when the tragedy struck.

‘Along with other members of their religious group, they were conducting a prayer meeting in that house,’ Cabag said, adding they received the incident report past noontime on Thursday.

Cabag said that rescue and retrieval operations for the five other missing persons were temporarily halted due to heavy downpours.

Aside from the continuous rain, she said one of the factors as to why the soil in the area became swollen was due to the 5.7 magnitude quake in Hinatuan, Surigao del Sur on Wednesday night.

G
overnor Dorothy Gonzaga has assured burial assistance to the families of the dead victims.

Meanwhile, Monkayo Mayor Manuel E. Zamora ordered a forced evacuation Thursday afternoon of residents near the landslide area, citing the continuous downpours and the ongoing threat of more landslides in the mountainous village.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has directed the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) to standardize the Philippine maritime operations and practices to be on par with global standards, Malacañang said Thursday.

Marcos gave the directive in a meeting at Malacañan Palace in Manila on Wednesday, as he stressed the importance of standardization of the maritime sector, Presidential Communications Operations (PCO) Secretary Cheloy Garafil said.

‘President Marcos said the problems and challenges cited by MARINA necessitate the standardization of operations and practices in the maritime industry so that proper programs are put in place,’ Garafil said.

During the meeting at Malacañang, MARINA chief Sonia Malaluan sought Marcos’ approval of the updated Maritime Industry Development Plan (MIDP) 2028.

Garafil said the MIDP 2028, a roadmap for the integrated development of the country’s maritime industry, aims to build a strong and reliable Philippine Merchant Fleet to address the sea requirements of the co
untry in support of the national development agenda.

The core programs of the MIDP 2028 include modernization and expansion of the Philippine domestic shipping, promotion and expansion of the Philippine overseas shipping, modernization of the Philippine shipbuilding and ship repair industry, and promotion of highly-skilled Filipino and competitive maritime workforce.

Marcos, however, said many of the rules and operations in the maritime sector are obsolete because of the lack of a unified system governing the industry.

He said it is imperative to first provide a standardized system in accordance with international systems before the proposed programs could be implemented.

‘These are all promotion, modernization but let us first standardize our systems and at the same time we undertake this like promotion of a highly-skilled Filipino maritime workforce. ‘Yung (The) ship building and ship repair, we haven’t done much to promote that. The rest are for further development,’ Marcos told MARINA, as quoted by th
e PCO.

‘So, let’s standardize our practices so that we will be the same as our international counterparts. We have to fix our house first. Because we have to compete and in order to do that we should have an even playing field and then we should gain an advantage,’ he added.

Marcos also looked into the high cost of shipping in the Philippines compared to other countries, as he observed that it is cheaper to ship cargos from overseas than locally.

MARINA told Marcos that domestic shipping is relatively expensive compared to others because of several factors, which include vessel size, the imposition of excise tax on fuel and vessel quality.

The agency said vessels with international routes are huge and thus enjoy economies of scale that reduce travel cost and fares.

‘In terms of excise tax, any ship that travels internationally is not subject to excise tax on their fuel. In the Philippines, domestic shipping carries the burden of additional tax on fuel,’ Garafil said, citing MARINA’s reason.

‘One of the
issues is vessel quality, with the Philippines having old fleets making them inefficient, MARINA said, adding there is also lack of interest from investors to put money in the local shipping industry,’ she added.

Garafil said MARINA stressed the need to change the current maritime policy, considering that the government still allows 20-year-old passenger ships to operate and 25-year-old vessels to haul freight.

Created in June 1974, MARINA is mandated to integrate the development, promotion and regulation of the Philippine maritime industry.

MARINA’s primary goal is to lead a progressive maritime administration that ensures safety and security of life and property at sea, protection of marine environment and global competitiveness of the Filipino maritime workforce.

By virtue of the Maritime Industry Decree of 1974, MARINA is directed to prepare and annually update the MIDP that reflects the rational and integrated development of the industry.

The updated version of MARINA’s MIDP 2028 presented to Marcos
features three overriding programs, four core programs and one enabling program.

Source: Philippines News Agency