LPA unlikely to escalate into storm but to bring rains in Visayas, Mindanao

By Arlie O. Calalo

January 25, 2023 

THE low pressure area (LPA) off Davao City has a slim chance of intensifying into a tropical cyclone although it will bring moderate to heavy rains over parts of Visayas and Mindanao, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said on Wednesday.

Pagasa weather forecaster Patrick del Mundo told The Manila Times that the LPA, last spotted around 3 a.m. some 575 kilometers east of the city, was unlikely to develop into a tropical depression over the next 48 hours.

"But this weather disturbance will bring moderate to heavy rains over Davao Oriental, Davao de Oro, Dinagat Islands, Surigao del Norte and Surigao del Sur," he said.

Meanwhile, light to moderate with at times heavy rains will be experienced over Zamboanga Peninsula, the rest of Caraga, the rest of Davao Region, Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat, Saranggani, and South Cotabato within 24 hours, the state-run weather agency said.

"Under these conditions, flooding and rain-induced landslides are possible, especially in areas that are highly or very highly susceptible to these hazards," Del Mundo said.

On one hand, the northeast monsoon locally known as 'amihan' will bring overcast skies with rains over Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon and Visayas, he said.

The weather bureau said the localized thunderstorms are affecting the rest of Mindanao and the southern portion of Palawan where partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms will prevail.

Davao del Sur town to boost onion farming

by Keith Bacongco

The local government of Magsaysay in Davao del Sur is planning to boost onion farming along with other high-value crops amid the rising price of the commodity.

FARMERS harvest onions in a remote barangay in Magsaysay, Davao del Sur. (Photo courtesy of MAO Magsaysay)

Municipal Agriculture Office chief Helen Caramptana told Manila Bulletin that the upland areas of Magsaysay are suitable for onion and other high-value crops. 

Over the weekend, pictures of a farmer harvesting onions from Magsaysay made rounds on social media and has prompted netizens to call on the government to support local onion farmers.

Caramptana revealed that onion farming is not new in Magsaysay, adding that some farmers in lowland areas have ventured into this crop sometime in 2010 or 2012.

“However, they did not succeed after the onions were hit by a fungal disease,” she recalled over the phone. “After the failed cropping, they did not plant again.”

A lone B’laan farmer continued to cultivate onions in a borrowed 200 square-meter lot in the hinterland barangay of Bacungan, the municipal agriculturist disclosed. “He is a very hardworking farmer, he persisted and now he’s earning from his produce.” 

Caramptana said the farmer was able to harvest almost 300 kilos of onions after three months.

She added that a buyer from North Cotabato has offered to buy all his onions for a wholesale price of P200 per kilo.

As the town’s climate and soil characteristic are suitable for onion farming and other high-value crops, Caramptana said the local government is encouraging farmers to engage into diversified farming.

Caramptana pointed out that growing onion is very tricky and requires a huge capital compared to other high-value crops.

She cited that the B’laan farmer who also grows ginger and tomatoes spent P10,000 for onion seeds to be planted on the lot. “These are the reasons why only a few farmers are willing to gamble on this crop.”

Amid of these challenges, Caramptana said at least 40 farmers have signified their intention to avail of the free seeds from the Department of Agriculture Regional Office-11 once these will be available next month. 

Ronnie Mahinay, project assistant of the High-Value Crops Development Program of the DA Regional Office-11, said the DA has been supporting onion farmers in towns of Magsaysay and Matanao, also in Davao del Sur.

“We are regularly providing seeds to our onion farmers. But their produce is just enough for the local market or within their municipalities only,” Mahinay bared.

He said the DA has allocated 20 kilos of onion seeds per farmer association. There are three farmer groups in Magsaysay and another in Matanao.

Onion farming is indeed very tricky, he said. “Kailangan bini-baby, very tricky. Last cropping season at least one-fourth hectare of onions were destroyed due to rains.”

Quake hits Davao Occidental province

by Mike Crismundo 

UPDATED: BUTUAN CITY – A 4.8-magnitude earthquake hit Davao Occidental province in Southern Mindanao region early Tuesday morning, Jan. 24, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) said.

In its bulletin, Phivolcs said the earthquake was recorded at 9:10 a.m.

The epicenter was plotted 327 kilometers southeast of Balut Island in the Municipality of Sarangani, Davao Occidental province, the state agency said. 

The tremor had a depth of 28 kms, Phivolcs said.

This one was also an aftershock of the January 18 2023 M 7.0 offshore Davao Occidental earthquake event.

It was the third aftershock recorded for the day in the province.

Around 1:06 a.m. on the same day, Jan. 24, a 4.6-magnitude tectonic earthquake was also registered and its epicenter was traced 299 kms. southeast of the same island and province, with a shallow depth of only 2 kms., the state agency also said.

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A little over an hour later, at 2:17 a.m. to be exact, on the same day, Jan. 24, a 5.2-magnitude earthquake was also felt in the region and its epicenter was traced 264 kms southeast of the same island and province, with a depth of 76 kms., the state agency said.

The three tremors were tectonic in origin, hence the state agency is expecting no aftershocks.

The Office of Civil Defense (OCD) in Southern Mindanao region and Davao Occidental Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (PDRRMC) there reported no damage or injury.

 

BLACKPINK’s Lisa sets 3 Guinness world records in 2022

by Jonathan Hicap

Guinness World Records announced on Jan. 24 that BLACKPINK’s Lisa set three world records in 2022.

According to Guinness, Lisa set the record for being the first solo K-pop winner at the MTV Video Music Awards and first solo K-pop winner at the MTV Europe Music Awards. 

BLACKPINK’s Lisa (Instagram)

“At the MTV VMA’s, Lisa came first in the category of Best K-pop Video; an award which had been exclusively won by BTS since it’s introduction in 2019. BTS were also the previous winners in the Best K-Pop category at the EMA’s in 2021 before Lisa completed a historic double,” Guinness stated.

In addition, Lisa also scored the title of “most followers on Instagram for a K-pop artist with 86.3 million followers as of 19 January 2023.”

Guinness World Records added, “This makes her the 38th most followed account on the platform, with Cristiano Ronaldo being the most followed individual with 538 million followers.”

BLACKPINK, meanwhile, bagged the “Best Metaverse Performance for their performance of new single ‘Ready For Love’ in the video game PUBG [PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds] Mobile, gaining an additional Guinness World Records title for being the first winners of the award.” 

As of January this year, Guinness said, BLACKPINK held records for “most subscribers for a band on YouTube as well as becoming the first K-pop group to reach No.1 on the UK albums chart (female) and the first K-pop group to reach No.1 on the US albums chart (female).”