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IN MET R MANILAO
VOL. XXXVIII • NO. 21 • 3 SECTIONS 12 PAGES MARCH 3, 2024
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OCD: 50 MORE PROVINCES TO EXPERIENCE DROUGHT BUT NO NEED TO PLACE PH UNDER CALAMITY STATE YET By Maricel Cruz
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HE Office of Civil Defense said it is not yet recommending placing the entire country under a state of calamity even as more than 50 provinces are expected to experience severe drought in the coming month due to the El Niño phenomenon. “Our biggest challenge is that it is only March, and based on PAGASA’sforecast, things will worsen in April. As of now, at least 20 provinces are experiencing drought or severe dry spell,” OCD Administrator
Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno said during his visit yesterday to Oriental Mindoro. The town of Bulalacao in Oriental Mindoro declared a state of calamity due to El Niño last Monday.
“Come April, more than 50 more provinces will experience severe dry spell. And we only have 82 provinces —so that means almost the entire country will be hit,” Nepomuceno added. The OCD chief, however, said he will not recommend to the President placing the entire country under a state of calamity due to drought. “The situation varies per province,” he said. The Department of Agriculture said the government will provide credit and insurance assistance to farmers and fisherfolk affected by the dry spell.
“The government is allotting P500 million for credit assistance. This is P25,000 per affected farmer and fisherman. And then for the insurance claims, about P1.8 billion was allotted at a maximum of P20,000 to be distributed,” Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said. The Department of Social Welfare and Development also earmarked more than P1.4 billion to fund projects geared toward easing the effects of the El Niño phenomenon, including the Local Adaptation to Water Access (Project Lawa) and Breaking Insufficiency through Nutritious Harvest for the Impoverished (Project BINHI).
HISTORIC SURRENDER. President Marcos witnesses the destruction of surrendered loose firearms in Sumisip town in Basilan on Saturday, March 2, 2024. PPA Pool
DEVELOP BASILAN, CONFLICT AREAS IN MINDANAO–PBBM By Charles Dantes PRESIDENT Marcos on Saturday ordered concerned government agencies and local government units to develop further Basilan and former “conflict areas” in the region as he made history for being the first Philippine President to witness the decommissioning of some 400 illegal firearms seized in the province. “Although the ceremonies that we have here are really very simple, it is symbolic of a very important day because this is a testament to the commitment of all stakeholders to peace,” Mr. Marcos told reporters in an ambush interview in Sumisip town. “I’m the first President to be able to come here because this was ground zero in the time of the fighting. And so, it is a very clear landmark on the progress we have been making in bringing peace to the southern Philippines,” he added. He said the government and its stakeholders are continuing their efforts to convince rebels to return back to the fold of the law. “We will continue to support everything that they need in terms of housing, in terms of livelihood, in terms of schools, in terms of infrastructure. That’s the role that we will play,” the commander-in-chief added. The President said the development of Basilan and other regional areas would be a huge milestone for the administration.
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NAIA REVIEWS PEST CONTROL AFTER BED BUG, RAT VIDEOS NEWS | A2 CRACKED LAND. A 62-year-old farmer, Gaudencio Sico, looks at his crack farmland which used to be a plantation of watermelons in Imus, Cavite on Saturday, March 2, 2024. Danny Pata
2 CHINESE VESSELS SPOTTED AROUND BENHAM RISE—US ANALYST By Charles Dantes TWO Chinese research vessels were seen loitering around Benham Rise on the north eastern side of Luzon, an American maritime security analyst reported over the weekend. On his X account, former United States Air Force official Ray Powell said the Chinese vessels left from Longxue Island in Guangzhou before moving through Benham Rise, which is inside the Philippines’ exclu-
sive economic zone. “As of 1 March they are loitering east of Luzon in the NE (Northeast) corner of Benham (Philippine) Rise,” Powell said. In the satellite image posted by Powell, the two vessels were identified as Haiyang Dizhi Liuhao and Haiyang Dizhi Liuhao. Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) Commander Lt. Gen. Fernyl Buca said they are still verifying the objective of the vessels.
Philippine Coast Guard spokesman Rear Adm. Armand Balilo said an investigation would be conducted on the foreign ships’ agenda. The Philippine government designated the resource-rich rise as a “protected food supply exclusive zone” in May 2017. Chinese maritime intrusions typically occur in the disputed South China Sea, covering parts that are within the West Philippine Sea, but the presence of the two Chinese vessels happened
north east of the Philippines. Earlier, President Marcos told members of the Australian parliament that Beijing’s recent actions in the West Philippine Sea were “worrisome,” in particular the deployment of Chinese Navy boats. “It’s worrisome because there are two elements to that: one is that previously only China’s Coast Guard was moving in our area. Now, also its Navy and fishing boats,” Mr. Marcos said.
US DESIGNER, STYLE ICON IRIS APFEL DIES AGE 102 WORLD | A4
DA CHIEF TELLS 2 NFA EXECS IMPLICATED IN RICE FIASCO TO GO ON LEAVE By Othel V. Campos and Charles Dantes
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr.
AGRICULTURE Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. asked two officials implicated in the rice fiasco at the National Food Authority to temporarily step down while the investigation is still ongoing. “Of course, we have to presume in-
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nocence. We have to be impartial. Until proven guilty, everyone is innocent. But this internal investigation is very important so let’s give it time. This internal investigation is just a first step,” he said. “Whoever is involved here must give the investigating party a chance to do their work properly, without any hindrance. So the best thing to do, and I
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strongly advise them, is to take a leave of absence, at least the heads - the accused and the accuser,” Tiu Laurel added. An NFA official earlier accused several agency executives of improperly disposing of rice buffer stocks without going through a bidding process, and at a price allegedly disadvantageous to the government.
Tiu Laurel issued the order on Friday for NFA Administrator Roderico Bioco and Assistant Administrator for Operations Lemuel Pagayunan to take a leave of absence to ensure a fair and impartial probe, DA spokesperson Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said. The NFA executives denied any wrongdoing, saying the sale followed established procedures.
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