The Climate Change Commission (CCC) began the commemoration of the 16th Annual Global Warming and Climate Change Consciousness Week 2023 (CCC Week 2023) with a tree planting and growing activity dubbed ‘Net Zero Challenge’ at the Caliraya-Lumot Watershed in Paete, Laguna on Sunday.

The Net Zero Challenge (NZC) is part of the CCC’s Carbon Neutrality Program in the Caliraya-Lumot Watershed, which aims to offset carbon emissions through nature-based solutions.

This initiative is projected to sequester 75.5 tons of carbon dioxide from 2023 to 2027. The tree planting and growing goes beyond commitments to achieving zero carbon emissions. It also offers advantages in disaster risk reduction, where trees stabilize slopes to minimize the likelihood of landslides and flash floods in the area.

Secretary Robert E.A. Borje, CCC Vice Chairperson and Executive Director, led the activity, which was attended by Paete Mayor Ronald Cosico, Paete Vice Mayor Vergilio Madridejos Jr., and representatives of Laguna Governor Ram
il Hernandez, Laguna 2nd District Rep. Ruth Hernandez, and Kalayaan town Mayor Sandy Laganapan.

In his speech, Borje emphasized the significance of 5Ps: planet, people, plant, partnership and prosperity.

‘We are here for our planet. We are here for the people who are affected the most by climate change. We need to plant more trees, dahil malaki ang naitutulong ng mga puno bilang carbon sinks (because trees play big role as carbon sinks),’ Borje said.

‘Bukod dito, ang mas maraming puno ay nakakatulong sa pagsigla ng ating watershed, nakakatulong din ito sa pagpigil ng baha at pagguho ng lupa (In addition, more trees help revitalize our watershed, it also helps prevent floods and soil erosion). Partnerships with other national government agencies, LGUs [local government units], civil society organizations and communities will give us a better chance of achieving our goal of resiliency and prosperity, lalo na kapag inalagaan natin ang ating kalikasan (especially if protect our environment),’ he added.

Cosico
expressed his support for the CCC’s net zero initiative, emphasizing the need to promote and utilize renewable resources.

‘Sa mga ganitong gawain, ang inyo pong linkgod ay very supportive. Tama talagang dapat na natin pagtuunan ng pansin ang climate change. Iba’t iba na ang nangyayari sa ating bansa. Tayo, sa bayan ng Paete, nararanasan na rin natin (ang epekto ng climate change). Talagang tayo’y kinakailangan nang magtanim, magtanim, at magtanim dito sa ating bayan ng Paete (I really support this kind of activities. We really have to focus on climate change. Different things are happening in our country. In Paete, we are already experiencing the impact of climate change. We really need to plant more trees here in our town of Paete),’ Cosico said.

Together with various organizations and stakeholders, including the Philippine Red Cross and the Net Zero Carbon Alliance, the CCC led the planting of 625 seedlings across a one-hectare expanse within the Caliraya-Lumot Watershed.

In partnership with the National
Power Corporation (NPC) and the Paete Sagip Sigla Palay Farmers Association Inc, the Climate Change Commission, through the NZC, targets to plant 15,625 seedlings across a 25-hectare area in the Caliraya-Lumot Watershed, covering the towns of Lumban, Kalayaan, and Cavinti, Laguna.

This initiative offers disaster risk reduction as well as adaptation and mitigation co-benefits that will reduce the damage caused by natural hazards to lives and livelihoods, and bring positive effects on air quality, biodiversity and greenhouse gas emission reduction.

The CCC works continuously to achieve a carbon-neutral, sustainable future, and hopes to replicate similar partnership and resource arrangements with other national government agencies.

‘We hope to replicate the partnership and resource arrangements with other NGAs [national government agencies] and LGUs. Ito pong (The) cooperation agreement between the National Power Corporation and the Climate Change Commission makes it possible for partnerships with LGUs like P
aete to achieve mitigation targets and build adaptive capacities,’ Borje said.

The 16th Annual CCC Week is a week-long event that underscores the importance of community collaboration and collective action to address climate change.

It runs from Nov. 19 to 25 with the theme “Bayanihan Para sa Klima: Bagong Bansang Matatag.”

Source: Philippines News Agency

Local shares closed the trading weak while peso finished strong on Monday.

After climbing the 6,200-mark last week, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell to 6,183.63, shedding 28.26 points, with All Shares also down by 19.45 points to 3,305.32.

‘Amid a lack of a strong positive catalyst, the local bourse declined,’ Philstock Financials, Inc. assistant research manager Claire Alviar said.

Alviar said SM Investment Corporation’s 3.04 percent drop in this day’s trading exerted additional pressure on the market.

‘Despite the market’s decline, the service and property sectors managed to buck the trend, advancing by 0.42 percent and 0.07 percent, respectively,’ she added.

Net market value turnover for the day stood at PHP3.33 billion.

Majority or 119 of the index members were losers, 66 were gainers while 42 issues remained unchanged.

Meanwhile, for two consecutive trading days, the peso finished strong at 55.55 to a US dollar.

It gained by 0.12 from Friday’s finish of 55.67 to the greenback.

Th
e local currency opened the day strong at 55.54, and traded between 55.45 and 55.56.

The weighted average level for the day stood at 55.49.

Volume of trade increased to USD1.51 billion from USD1.18 billion last week.

Source: Philippines News Agency

A fishery technician of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) on Monday said the appearance of tiny shrimps and megamouth sharks along Leyte and Negros Oriental shorelines has no connection with the 6.8 magnitude quake that struck portions of Mindanao last week.

Johann Tejada, technical assistant of BFAR-Central Visayas, said the washing ashore of crustaceans was a sign that the biodiversity of the coastal water is clean thus complementing the marine life in an area.

Tejada made the comment following videos that went viral on social media showing residents gathering shrimps along the shoreline of Barangay San Vicente in Hindang, Leyte.

‘One reason is the complex dynamics at sea. In general, quality seawater has an impact on marine life. Quality seawater also means food that can make the marine life in an area productive,’ Tejada said in Cebuano.

He also said the emergence of megamouth sharks found washed ashore at District 2 of Silago, Southern Leyte, and Barangay Domolog in Bindoy, Negros
Oriental could not also be associated scientifically with the earthquake that struck Sarangani last week.

Another megamouth shark was washed ashore in Aurora.

Giant fish would usually wash ashore if their navigational sensory organs went dysfunctional and became disoriented while chasing their food such as small fish and shrimps, he said.

‘Marine mammals are the most vulnerable to being washed ashore due to diseases from ingesting garbage at sea,’ he said.

Meanwhile, Tejada said there is no existing red tide ban on Cebu coasts following a negative test result in Madridejos seawater.

He also said that the ‘closed fishing season’ covering sardines, mackerel, and herrings – which took effect on Nov. 15 and will end on Feb. 15 next year – in the Visayan Sea was to allow these species to propagate.

Source: Philippines News Agency

Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez on Monday said the city government is mapping out a sister city agreement with Darwin City in Australia’s Northern Territory.

‘We’re in the process of our sister city agreement with Darwin. It is now with the City Council for their approval,’ he said in a press briefing.

Benitez met with the Australian Embassy deputy head of mission, Dr. Moya Collett, at the Government Center Monday, as she is in the city for a two-day visit to explore trade and investment opportunities and cultural exchanges.

He was joined by Councilors Vladimir Gonzales, Jason Villarosa, Claudio Jesus Puentevella, Simplicia Distrito and Celia Flor.

Benitez said the initial collaboration with Darwin City would be in education, technology and culture.

He said the Australian Embassy wants to increase investments and visits in Bacolod.

‘We discussed a lot of things, among them possible trade missions between Australia and the City of Bacolod. They would like to increase the investment footprint coming from
Australia. They said the Philippines is very near to Australia. In Southeast Asia, we are the closest country to Australia, but the investments are not comparable to the proximity,’ he added.

Benitez said the focus of the Australian government is on agriculture. Since Bacolod is not mainly an agricultural area, the city can tap its neighboring local government units engaging in agriculture for possible initiatives.

He said Collett was ‘very impressed’ with the MassKara Festival dancers who welcomed her at the Bacolod-Silay Airport.

‘I told her there are several invitations for Bacolod from different parts of the world asking for MassKara dancers,’ he added.

Source: Philippines News Agency

The first day of the transport strike called for by the Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (PISTON) on Monday did not paralyze the public transport system in Albay province as two groups opted to shun the protest action.

“Although we sympathize with the sentiments of our friends in the transport sector, we still believe that there are other effective ways to address our grievances,” Alex Bañares, Tabaco-Legazpi Transport Cooperative (TALETRANSCO) president, said in a statement. He added that they would continue to serve the public.

The Bicol Intercity Transport Cooperative (BITCoop) also refused to join the transport stoppage, citing the need to give the public a safe and orderly transport service.

“Bilang isang responsableng organisasyon sa transportasyon, naiintindihan namin ang kahalagahan ng aming papel sa komunidad at nangako kaming siguruhin hindi maantala ang aming serbisyo (As a responsible transport organization, we understand the importance of our role in the community a
nd are committed to ensuring our service is not interrupted) BITCoop said in a separate statement.

Meanwhile, the Police Regional Office-5 (Bicol) is providing free transportation services to the public throughout the planned three-day strike.

“At least 100 Philippine National Police (PNP) vehicles are deployed across the region to transport passengers to their respective destinations. An additional 127 patrol cars are assigned for security and safety operations,” Lt. Col. Malu Calubaquib, PRO5 spokesperson, said in an interview.

“There will be a deployment of personnel on the ground to ensure the safety of the public. These will include foot and mobile patrol, border control, and police presence,” she added.

Calubaquib also said the Civil Disturbance Management Team has been activated, ready to respond promptly to any unforeseen incidents that may arise during the protest action.

Source: Philippines News Agency

The Philippines’ gross international reserves (GIR) at end-October 2023 returned to USD100-billion level after the country logged a surplus in its balance of payments (BOP) last month.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) reported Monday that the country’s foreign reserves increased to USD101 billion as of end-October this year, which means the country has adequate external liquidity buffer equivalent to 7.5 months’ worth of imports of goods and payments of services and primary income.

The GIR level as of end last month increased from USD98.1 billion foreign reserves as of end-September 2023.

The GIR level fell below the USD100 billion mark since July this year.

The improvement in the foreign reserves last month was attributed to the country’s BOP position in October 2023, which posted a surplus of USD1.5 billion, higher than the USD711 million surplus in October 2022.

‘The BOP surplus in October 2023 reflected inflows arising mainly from the national government’s (NG) net foreign currency deposits wit
h the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the BSP’s net foreign exchange operations and net income from its investments abroad,’ the central bank said.

Year-to-date, the BOP surplus reached USD3.2 billion, a turnaround from the USD7.1-billion deficit recorded in January to October 2022.

‘Based on preliminary data, this development reflected mainly the improvement in the balance of trade alongside the higher net inflows from personal remittances, trade in services, and foreign borrowings by the NG (national government). Further, net inflows from foreign direct investments contributed to the surplus, albeit lower during the period,’ the BSP added.

Source: Philippines News Agency