Singer Klarisse de Guzman (right) and host-actress Shuvee Etrata are the final duo for the 'Pinoy Big Brother Celebrity Collab Edition.' Screenshot from Pinoy Big Brother
Kathleen A. Llemit - Philstar.com
June 8, 2025 | 12:27pm
MANILA, Philippines — "Academic rivals" Ralph de Leon and Shuvee Etrata have chosen their “unexpected” final duos for the upcoming finale of the reality show "Pinoy Big Brother: Celebrity Collab Edition."
Tagged as “academic rivals” by fans for their consistent competitive streaks and frequent top finishes in house tasks, Ralph and Shuvee were granted the privilege of choosing their final duos for the show's big night.
This edition’s format allows the public to vote for the winning pair, with one star from ABS-CBN and one from GMA-7 emerging as the “big winners.”
It also marks the first time that "Pinoy Big Brother" features GMA-7 talents, as the reality show celebrates its 20th anniversary since premiering on ABS-CBN.
ABS-CBN and Star Magic talent Ralph surprised fans by choosing Will Ashley as his final duo, instead of AZ Martinez, the GMA-7 star widely paired with him in a love team.
“'Di pa nagkakaroon ng opportunity to become a duo with Will. Naka-duo na si AZ before,” Ralph said during his interview with Big Brother or Kuya in the confession room.
Like the fates of former evictees in past “PBB” editions, Ralph successfully re-entered the house with the help of his fans and online polls after exiting it briefly in May. The other housemates who were evicted but were given a chance to enter the house in past editions included Paco Evangelista and Wendy Valdez.
GMA-7 and Sparkle artist Shuvee Etrata also surprised fans as she picked her final duo as the Top 2 of the final duo formation task.
Jerry Donato - The Philippine Star
June 10, 2025 | 12:00am
Kiana V has released Falling Out, which is about breaking free from a bad cycle and discovering the importance of self-worth. It is based on a personal experience and quiet confessions of those around her. The singer-songwriter says the tune is quite similar to previous releases and still in the R&B space.
Kiana V has recently revealed her latest recording output, titled Falling Out, signaling also the release of other tunes that comprise a forthcoming studio album.
In a virtual group chat, attended by media outlets including The STAR, Kiana talked about the nitty-gritty of Falling Out, from the inspiration for its main theme to the description of the song’s sonic aspect.
“I would say in terms of genre, it is still quite similar, it’s still in the R&B space,” said she, comparing Falling Out to previous releases. “Musically, with the instruments, we had a few more live instruments on this one and in terms of concepts, I don’t know, guys, if you listen to a lot of my music but I’ve found that I like exploring this problem of letting go of a bad cycle.”
The persona in the song, as one may put it, is in a dilemma whether to stay in a challenging relational and romantic situation or walk away from it.
“But I think that I’ve been more honest with this one. I’m speaking directly, like as the singer, I’m speaking directly to whoever, you know, I’m directing the lyrics to and I’m just being honest,” shared she. “Like, let’s look at the situation for what it is, let’s not try to sugarcoat it and just end it here before we make a bigger mess.”
Her voice is a representation of a particular kind of woman who needs some time for introspection.
Kiana said she was inspired by the women portrayed on ‘90s television, encompassing their difference to today’s women.
“If you’re treated poorly and we respect our own boundaries, and we’re out. We’re like, you know what, I don’t have time for this,” said Kiana about the common thread that connects Falling Out to the soon-to-be-released songs on the album. “I’m gonna go but the women in ‘90s movies and television, they’ve kinda stayed a little hopeless (romantic) and like the hopeless romantic side of it.”
“So, I’m quite intrigued by how they’re always so consumed by like this man and then the next man, and who is the next man and all of this. So, I think that’s really what is going to keep, like what connects all the other tracks on this album,” added she.
Since she’s married, this story that she has been pursuing “may shift over the next two years,” said the artist, and a new one will come into view that reflects bits and pieces of her life and those who surround her.
“That’s kind of really the vibe that I wanna go far,” said Kiana of the Falling Out chilling road trip feel during the press conference. “I wanted this to mirror that feeling of when you’re hanging out with all your friends and you’re just talking and you’re sharing stories because a lot of my friends are still single, and they’re dating and there was a point when we were all, you know, making tsika and making tsismis and they were talking about situations of theirs that mirrored something that I had gone through in the past, like almost exactly the same and I found that so interesting and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, we’re all in different phases of our lives now, and it’s so crazy that we shared this story even if it’s with different people.’”
“So, that’s what really inspired me and that’s when it hit me that just this group of girls, we’ve all been through the same thing and I felt like I had to write a song about that moment, and with that realization.”
Aside from the fact that it should get the attention of a listener, a lead single sets the tone or feel of an album and this piece of information from her publicity team may somehow hint at what to anticipate from it.
They say that Falling Out is “rooted in personal experience and quiet confessions from those around her” and it “offers a raw and honest reflection on the cycles we often find ourselves in when self-worth is neglected. It’s a poignant introduction to what promises to be Kiana’s most introspective and evolved body of work yet.”
The creative life of singer-songwriters like Kiana is also enriched in doing collaborations with fellow artists.
For her, there’s a long list of artists she would love to work with in Manila. “No. 1, of course, would be Kyla. I grew up listening to her music and I used to copy all of her runs and I always make a joke that she’s like one of my vocal coaches just because of how much I listened to her,” said she.
“Moira, she’s a very good friend of mine and I love her songwriting and there’s also Denise Julia, whom I love her music, Jason Dhakal, Juan Karlos, there’s so many. Manila is like booming and that makes me so happy, but just to name a few,” concluded she.
(Please listen to Falling Out on Spotify, Apple Music, deezer and Amazon Music.)
Regnerisch starteten die Pfingstferien in Bayern vielerorts. Die Temperaturen wurden dem Juni am ersten Wochenende nicht gerecht. Jetzt steht die Wetterwende kurz bevor.
München – Die Pfingstferien in Bayern starteten nass und alles andere als sommerlich. Mit Höchstwerten von nur bis zu 20 Grad präsentierte sich das Wetter in Bayern deutlich kühler als im langjährigen Mittel, wie der Deutsche Wetterdienst mitteilte. Immer wieder zogen Regenwolken über den Freistaat, die regional sogar Gewitter mit sich brachten.
Wetterwende in Bayern steht kurz bevor: Sommerliche 30 Grad kommen
Das soll allerdings nicht die ganzen Ferien so bleiben. Sommerfans können sich auf eine Wetterwende freuen. Am Sonntag traf die Wüstenluft bereits Spanien und sorgte dort im Süden des Landes für Temperaturen über 40 Grad. Mit im Gepäck: Saharastaub. Die Staubwolke breitet sich im Laufe der Woche weiter aus, wie Meteorologe Jan Schenk von The Weather Channel in seiner neuesten Prognose erklärt. „Richtig starke, richtig heiße Sahara-Luft kommt zu uns“, ist sich Schenk sicher. Diese sorge für Hitzewellen bereits ab Donnerstag.
Auch der DWD sagt ab Donnerstag Temperaturen zwischen 25 und 30 Grad für Bayern voraus. Das „sommerliche Niveau“ scheint sich endlich durchzusetzen. „Nur an den östlichen Mittelgebirgen bleibt es noch etwas kühler“, so die Experten.
Reicht es für eine Hitzewelle? „Zum Wochenende verlagert sich der Hochdruckschwerpunkt voraussichtlich etwas weiter nach Osten. Damit nimmt auch allmählich die Gewittergefahr wieder zu“, so DWD-Meteorologe Nico Bauer. „Vor allem am Freitag und Samstag häufig schweißtreibende Höchstwerte von über 30 Grad zu erwarten.“ Im Südwesten sogar bis 36 Grad.
Danach würden erneut Unwetter über Süddeutschland ziehen. Dadurch gehen die Temperaturen zum Montag wieder zurück, das „Hitzeintermezzo“ scheint laut Bauer demnach nur von kurzer Dauer zu sein.
(PHOTO: PAGASA FACEBOOK PAGE)
By Jel Santos
Published Jun 6, 2025 11:25 am
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Updated Jun 6, 2025 02:08 pm
A low pressure area (LPA) entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) early Friday morning, June 6, and may develop into the first tropical cyclone of 2025 within the next 24 hours, state weather bureau Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said.
“Nakapasok na po ng Philippine Area of Responsibility yung ating mino-monitor na low pressure area dito sa may Pacific Ocean as of 2 a.m. (The low pressure area we’ve been monitoring over the Pacific Ocean entered the Philippine Area of Responsibility as of 2 a.m.),” PAGASA weather specialist Benison Estareja reported.
As of 3 a.m., the agency said the system was spotted 945 kilometers east of the Visayas.
Etareja noted that the chance of it intensifying into a tropical depression is now “moderate.”
“Base sa ating latest analysis po, kung kahapon ay mababa pa ‘yung tyansa na ito ay maging isang ganap na bagyo, ngayon ay moderate na po yung tyansa o katamtamang tyansa (Based on our latest analysis, if yesterday the chance of it becoming a full-fledged storm was low, today the chance is moderate),” he said.
Should the system develop into a tropical depression by Saturday or Sunday, it will be named “Auring”—the first named storm of both June and the year 2025.
Rain expected in multiple regions
Estareja said the LPA is expected to move closer to the Bicol Region and Eastern Visayas on Friday, and approach land by the weekend.
“So possible pang mabago ang scenario na nakikita natin for this weather disturbance pero ang sure tayo magpapaulan ito in many areas of Bicol Region, Visayas, and CARAGA Region (The scenario for this disturbance may still change, but what’s certain is that it will bring rain to many areas in the Bicol Region, Visayas, and CARAGA Region),” the weather specialist said.
He added that as the system moves closer to land, it will enhance the southwest monsoon or habagat, bringing rains not just to Luzon but also to western portions of the Visayas and Mindanao.
Monsoon rains in Metro Manila, Luzon
“Ngayong araw po, dahil sa epekto ng southwest monsoon at trough of the low pressure area, mataas ang tyansa ng ulan sa Metro Manila, CALABARZON, Bicol Region at MIMAROPA (Today, due to the effects of the southwest monsoon and the LPA’s trough, there is a high chance of rain in Metro Manila, CALABARZON, Bicol Region, and MIMAROPA),” Estareja said.
PAGASA said light to moderate rains, occasionally heavy, are expected especially in Oriental Mindoro and Occidental Mindoro, where residents are warned to be alert for possible flooding and landslides.
Meanwhile, the bureau said Northern and Central Luzon will experience partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated thunderstorms.
“May tyansa pa rin po ng mga pulo-pulong pag-ulan at pagkidlat, paglukog dulot po iyan ng habagat at wala namang kinalaman sa low pressure area (There’s still a chance of isolated rain and thunderstorms due to the southwest monsoon, and these are not related to the low pressure area),” the weather specialist clarified.
MUSLIMS gather at the Joaquin Enriquez Memorial Sports Complex in Zamboanga City for their congregational prayers in celebration of Eid’l Adha or the Feast of Sacrifice on June 6. (City Hall PIO)
By Liza Jocson
Published Jun 6, 2025 03:04 pm
ZAMBOANGA CITY – Thousands of Muslim residents celebrated Eid’l Adha or the Feast of Sacrifice by participating in community prayers and visiting family and relatives here on Friday, June 6.
A big group trooped to the Joaquin Enriquez Memorial Sports Complex in the morning to participate in congregational prayers.
Similar gatherings were held in hundreds of mosques all over the city.
In his message, Mayor John Dalipe asked all Muslims to also honor the diverse traditions being celebrated in Zamboanga City as they mark this significant occasion in the Muslim religious calendar.
“May this occasion bring peace, prosperity, and unity to our beloved city,” Dalipe said.
Republic Act 9849 declares the 10th day of Zhul Hijja, the 12th month of the Islamic calendar, a national holiday for the observance of Eid’l Adha.
SIQUIJOR Gov. Jake Villa discusses the power crisis in the province during a press conference at the Provincial Capitol on Thursday, June 5. (Calvin Cordova)
By Calvin Cordova
Published Jun 5, 2025 08:20 pm
CEBU CITY — A state of calamity has been declared in Siquijor due to the power crisis that the province is currently experiencing.
Gov. Jake Villa announced that the declaration of state of calamity was unanimously approved during the regular session of the provincial board on Tuesday, June 3.
“We want the public to know, especially the Siquijodnons, that the challenge has become unbearable. We have been experiencing daily blackouts for almost a month already,” Villa said in a press conference at the Siquijor Provincial Capitol on Thursday, June 5.
Villa lamented that for the past month, the province has been experiencing blackouts from four to six hours a day.
He said among the reasons for the power supply problem in the province was the malfunctioning six generators of Siquijor Island Power Corp. (SIPCOR).
SIPCOR, the island’s power provider, is under the Prime Asia Venture Inc. (PAVI) and joined Siquijor in 2015 through a 20-year deal with the Province of Siquijor Electric Cooperative (Prosielco).
Villa said some generators need overhaul.
With some generators not functioning, the province is experiencing two megawatts short of their total demand of 9.4 megawatts of power supply.
These generators are diesel-operated, independent, and are not connected to the grid, which means that other provinces cannot augment their power deficits.
“We are off-grid, we are dependent on the generator itself,” Villa said.
With the declaration of the state of calamity, the province will be able to release calamity fund to address the power crisis
The province has a calamity fund of P14 million.
Villa explained that the immediate measure that the province could take following the state of calamity declaration is the rental of two generators from Cebu.
The province needs to shell out P2.8 million to rent to generators for two months.
The two generators have a capacity of two megawatts, enough to address the province’s power crisis, said Villa.
The governor’s press briefing was interrupted by a blackout.
Prosielco has purchased a generator with a capacity of two megawatts from Palawan.
Villa said the state of calamity will be lifted once the power supply becomes stable.
As a long-term solution, Villa said Prosielco will conduct a competitive selection process by inviting more power players to the province.
A solar power plant is being constructed in the town of Maria that is expected to augment additional power supplies in the coming years.
Fortunately, Villa said, the province’s hospital is not affected by the power crisis as it has its own generator and solar panels.
Villa explained that the power crisis has to be addressed immediately as it might affect the province's economy, especially tourism.
Tourism has been a vital player in the province’s economy.
“Last year, our tourist arrivals hit 1.3 million,” Villa said. “If we lose our tourists because they are not satisfied with the services of the establishments, this would interrupt and disrupt our economy. It is tantamount to economic sabotage.”
Without elaborating further on economic sabotage, Villa said that the province is looking into the possibility of taking legal action against SIPCOR.
The power crisis may also affect the province’s peace and order situation, Villa said.
The governor said he is being unfairly blamed for the province’s unstable power supply.
“People are blaming me. In fact, I have been receiving threats through text messages because the power crisis is being blamed on me,” said Villa.
By Jel Santos
The rise in Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) cases among young Filipinos is driven by high-risk sexual behavior, including unprotected sex, online pornography, and dating apps, Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said Thursday, June 5.
As of the first quarter of 2025, the health department has recorded an average of 57 new HIV cases per day.
“Tumaas ang risky behavior. So, number one, easy access to pornography online; number two, mga dating apps; number three, hindi gumagamit ng protection, unprotected sex (Risky behavior has increased. First, easy access to online pornography; second, dating apps; third, lack of protection, unprotected sex),” Herbosa said during a media briefing, when asked about the reasons behind the rise in HIV cases.
Such behavior, he noted, makes testing and prevention more difficult, especially among adolescents.
Per Herbosa, the youngest reported HIV case is a 12-year-old child from Palawan who is already sexually active.
The DOH chief also raised concerns about the impact of social stigma on testing uptake.
“Napansin ko, tumataas iyong HIV kasi mataas pa rin ang stigma sa atin (I’ve noticed HIV cases are rising largely because of the stigma),” said Herbosa.
To improve access, he said the DOH has lowered the age of consent for HIV testing to 16.
However, Herbosa pointed out that treatment still requires parental consent, which remains a barrier for minors who test positive.
“Ang problema, kailangan din namin ng parental consent ng start of treatment, so, that’s another legislation na kailangan namin (The problem is we still need parental consent to begin treatment, so that’s another law we n
According to Herbosa, addressing the rise in youth infections will require not just medical services, but legislative reforms, funding, and public education.
“Kita ninyo na to battle HIV ay kailangan ko ang legislation, kailangan ko ang funding, kailangan ko ng information campaign (You can see that to battle HIV, I need legislation, I need funding, and I need an information campaign),” he said.
Meanwhile, Herbosa emphasized that HIV is no longer a death sentence and can be managed like any chronic condition if diagnosed early and treated consistently.
“Hindi na po death sentence ang HIV sa panahon ngayon… Maintenance lang ang kailangan po, katapat niyan para na lang siyang high blood or diabetes (HIV is no longer a death sentence nowadays… It only requires maintenance, like hypertension or diabetes),” he noted.
The DOH chief said they have already intensified efforts to expand access to free anti-retroviral (ARV) medication and streamline patient services in public hospitals.
By Francis Allan L. Angelo
The Philippines experienced a historic onslaught of tropical cyclones in 2024, a stark indicator of the escalating climate crisis that is reshaping life across the South-West Pacific, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization.
The “State of the Climate in the South-West Pacific 2024” report, released Thursday in Geneva, warned that the region endured its hottest year on record, with sea levels rising faster than the global average and marine heatwaves affecting an oceanic area the size of Asia.
Nowhere was the dual reality of vulnerability and resilience more visible than in the Philippines.
From September to November 2024, the country faced 12 tropical cyclones—more than double its seasonal average—impacting 13 million people and displacing more than 1.4 million across 17 of its 18 regions.
Typhoons Trami, Kong-rey, and Man-yi brought torrential rains, flash floods, and storm surges that battered infrastructure, homes, and farmlands.
Preliminary estimates place total damage at $430 million (roughly PHP 25 billion), affecting thousands of households and straining emergency services.
Yet amid the destruction, the Philippines demonstrated a critical edge: preparedness.
The report cited the country’s early warning systems and anticipatory action protocols as instrumental in saving lives and securing livelihoods.
In one highlighted case, coastal communities received emergency cash and warnings in time to evacuate and protect fishing boats ahead of Super Typhoon Man-yi’s landfall in November.
“This anticipatory action is not just about speed. It’s about dignity, community empowerment, and resilience,” said a spokesperson from the Food and Agriculture Organization, which coordinated relief operations with local agencies. sh transfers and mobilize coastal evacuations, demonstrating the value of proactive climate response models.
The initiative aligns with the Philippines’ National Adaptation Plan, submitted in 2024, which forecasts fewer storms in future decades, but warns that those that do form will be significantly more intense.
The WMO’s findings underscore how climate change is amplifying weather extremes in the South-West Pacific, home to some of the world’s most climate-vulnerable populations.
Driven in part by the lingering 2023–2024 El Niño, average land temperatures in the region rose 0.48 degrees Celsius above the 1991–2020 average.
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The Philippines, Brunei, and Singapore recorded their hottest years on record.
In April 2024, Metro Manila hit 38.8 degrees Celsius—its highest temperature ever—fanning fears of a heat-related public health crisis and exposing gaps in urban heat resilience.
The record-breaking heat was mirrored beneath the waves.
Ocean heat content in the South-West Pacific reached near-record levels, tying with 2021 and 2023 and just behind the record set in 2022.
Sea surface temperatures also broke historical records.
Marine heatwaves stretched across 40 million square kilometers—more than 10% of the global ocean—impacting biodiversity, fisheries, and food security.
“2024 was the warmest year on record in the South-West Pacific region,” said WMO Secretary-General Prof. Celeste Saulo. “Ocean heat and acidification combined to inflict long-lasting damage to marine ecosystems and economies. Sea-level rise is an existential threat to entire island nations.”
For Pacific island states, sea-level rise has become a slow-moving catastrophe.
The report documented that the region’s sea level is rising faster than the global average, pushing low-lying communities toward relocation.
In Fiji’s Serua Island, two decades of erosion and flooding have made parts of the village uninhabitable.
In 2024 alone, seawater breached homes, destroyed crops, and inundated graveyards.
“On two separate occasions, the island experienced such extreme flooding that it was possible to cross it entirely by boat,” the report noted.
Despite government offers of relocation, many residents resist leaving Serua due to the Indigenous Fijian concept of vanua—a deeply spiritual bond with ancestral land.
Elsewhere, environmental changes are transforming once-stable ecosystems.
Indonesia’s last tropical glacier in Papua continued its rapid retreat in 2024, losing 30–50% of its area since 2022.
Scientists project the glacier will disappear entirely by 2026, if current melting rates persist.
The disappearance of such glaciers removes a crucial source of freshwater and disrupts regional climate patterns, according to WMO experts.
The region also saw major flooding and landslides in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
Meanwhile, drought conditions plagued southern Australia and northern New Zealand, and rainfall was erratic across the rest of the Pacific.
In the Philippines, weather disruptions extended beyond typhoons.
Northern provinces recorded extreme precipitation, while other areas suffered flash floods due to oversaturated soils and urban drainage failures.
The WMO report frames these extremes as symptomatic of a deepening global climate emergency, but also highlights avenues for adaptation and resilience.
It praised the Early Warnings for All (EW4All) initiative as a “tangible, effective measure that can save lives now.”
The Philippines’ case study is central to that argument.
By using risk-informed early warnings and integrating climate data into community-level action plans, the country minimized fatalities during one of its worst storm seasons in history.
The success is also rooted in longstanding international collaboration.
Through support from the Green Climate Fund, the Philippines has expanded its disaster forecasting network, trained local emergency responders, and upgraded critical communications infrastructure.
“These investments pay off,” said Clare Nullis, WMO media officer. “This is what adaptation looks like in practice. It’s not abstract—it’s boots on the ground, alerts sent out, boats moved, money in hand before the storm.”
Still, the report cautioned that the gap between climate risk and response remains dangerously wide across much of the South-West Pacific.
Island nations face mounting pressure to decide between staying and relocating, between cultural preservation and physical survival.
The United Nations estimates that 50,000 people across the Pacific face displacement every year due to climate-related threats.
“The sea is not just rising—it is claiming lives, economies, and identities,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres during a 2024 Pacific tour that included a visit to Tonga. “This region is on the frontlines of the climate crisis. It is also on the frontlines of humanity’s moral responsibility.”
With over half the South-West Pacific population living within 500 meters of the coast, the consequences of inaction could be catastrophic.
The WMO called for major investments in mangrove restoration, integrated coastal management, and the inclusion of Indigenous knowledge in adaptation planning.
In the Philippines, local governments are beginning to respond.
Several coastal barangays in Quezon, Leyte, and Bicol have begun piloting “green dike” projects that use vegetation buffers and natural barriers to reduce storm surge impact.
In Eastern Samar, where Typhoon Man-yi made landfall, some municipalities are experimenting with community-based relocation programs that keep cultural practices intact while reducing exposure.
“Building resilience is not just a technical project—it’s a social contract,” said the Climate Change Commission of the Philippines in a statement accompanying the release of the WMO report. “Our adaptation strategies must be rooted in local realities, supported by science, and empowered by the people.”
A couple plants a mangrove tree in San Jose town, Palawan province, western Philippines, February 14, 2010. (Reuters/Romeo Ranoco)
MANILA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) — Often battered by typhoons and floods, protecting the coastline is a priority for the sugar-producing Philippines province of Negros Occidental.
But instead of man-made defenses, local leaders have turned to reviving natural barriers with 100-metre-wide strips of vegetation, including coastal mangroves and beach forest species to counter erosion and protect from storms.
Negros Occidental began setting up its “coastal greenbelt” network in 2022, the first of its kind in the Philippines.
It led to the establishment and protection of more than 1,000 hectares of mangroves, beach forests and wetlands across Negros Occidental, which now serve as living buffers against typhoons, coastal erosion and saltwater intrusion, directly contributing to the province’s disaster risk reduction strategy.
The Negros Occidental coastal greenbelt could become a model for the country’s thousands of miles of coastline, which are threatened by climate change, urban expansion and deforestation.
“Local government units are already aware of the benefits of coastal greenbelts in terms of saving lives and properties from destruction,” Gloria Estenzo Ramos, vice president of ocean conservation group Oceana Philippines.
More than 90 local government units have since passed their own policies or ordinances designating parts of their areas as greenbelt zones, according to her organisation.
Negros Occidental is also home to the 89,000-hectare Negros Occidental Coastal Wetlands Conservation Area, which hosts several endangered species, such as turtles and dolphins, and was declared as wetland of international importance in 2016.
A 100-metre strip of mangrove can reduce the energy of waves, by up to 66%, a 2012 study by British scientists said.
With 60% of Filipinos living in coastal areas and vulnerable to climate disasters, wetland experts are now pushing for a similar measure nationwide and lawmakers have introduced legislation to establish national coastal greenbelt zones.
The House of Representatives unanimously passed a coastal management bill in 2023 that would require coastal towns and municipalities across the country to create 100-m greenbelt zones similar to Negros Occidental.
But the bill is still waiting approval by the Senate as it has not been considered a priority for debate.
Millions of Filipinos benefit from coastal ecosystems like mangroves, seagrasses, mud flats and corals in both rural and urban communities, according to Wetlands International Philippines.
But these coastal protections have suffered for decades.
By the 1990s, Philippines had already lost nearly half of its 450,000 hectares of mangroves. Kisha Muana, policy and advocacy offer of Wetlands International Philippines, said mangroves had been cut down due to “destructive projects along the coasts like reclamation”.
Muana said the bill would help the government monitor where the current greenbelts are and identify areas it could restore.
“There are areas in the Philippines where the stretch of mangroves from the coast to open waters do not reach the 100-metre requirement to block wave energy, so the law can compel territories to supplement them with beach forests,” she said.
Julie Ann Bedrio, the provincial environmental officer of Negros Occidental, said proposed developments in coastal areas such as land reclamation and wind power projects had a bigger impact than individuals cutting back vegetation.
“Cutting mangroves wasn’t really our biggest concern, but the conversion of mangrove areas to fishponds and infrastructure that are being proposed in the mangrove areas without proper planning,” Bedrio told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Aside from development projects, Bedrio said coastlines had also suffered from weak enforcement of coastal laws and pollution from marine litter, including plastics that wrap around mangrove stems and trunks.
Bedrio said establishing a network of greenbelt zones in Negros Occidental also helped encourage dialogue among local leaders, NGOs and environmental experts to monitor, and block if needed, projects that could harm the coastal environment.
As early as 2007, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, a conservation group, recognised the importance of greenbelts as a natural solution for some coastal problems, including sea and wind erosion.
In disaster-prone Philippines, the proposed national policy would mandate the designation of coastal greenbelts based on vulnerability to storm surges, tsunamis and other threats, as well as creating a plan to protect coastal biodiversity.
As the Senate sessions resume in June, Oceana’s Ramos said she was confident the bill would be passed soon, with Oceana invited to the technical working group that would look at the current version of the bill.
With local governments using their own limited funding to implement coastal greenbelt policies, Bedrio said it would help them sustain the initiative if the national government supported them with funding or technical assistance.
Still haunted by the thousands killed by the 2013 super typhoon Yolanda, or Haiyan, the environmental officer hopes coastal greenbelts will become a priority for legislators.
“We don’t want another Yolanda to happen again and waste lives of Filipinos living in coastal communities because we failed to protect them by putting up greenbelt zones,” said Bedrio.
—Reporting by Mariejo Ramos. Editing by Jack Graham and Jon Hemming
First, some statistical data:
So, bratwurst is not as popular as people from other countries may think. And the consommation of bratwurst is shrinking.
Bratwurst is historically documented in Germany for about 800 years. It is a tasty way to make use of the lesser parts of the pig. It is a tasty way to eat considerable amounts of fat (which was important in former times when food was scarce and people were working hard). It is cheap and filling.
Today, bratwurst is a popular snack and also a favourite at BBQs. It is not so much something that we would make for dinner. This includes currywurst which is bratwurst with a tomato-based sauce with curry powder.
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By Fr. Roy Cimagala
Chaplain
Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE)
Talamban, Cebu City
Email: roycimagala@gmail.com
THAT’S how the cookie crumbles. If we choose to follow Christ as consistently as possible, we should expect suffering along the way and at the end. In fact, suffering would be an abiding companion in our life.
We can draw this conclusion from that gospel episode where Christ asked Peter three times if Peter loved him. (cfr. Jn 21,15-19) After Peter professed his love for Christ in a most fervent way after being asked for the third time, Christ told him what would happen to him.
“Amen, amen I say to thee, when you were younger, you girded yourself, and walked where you wanted. But when you shall be old, you shall stretch forth your hands, and another shall gird you, and lead you where you would rather not go,” Christ told him. “And this he said, signifying by what death he should glorify God. And when he had said this, he said to him: Follow me.” (Jn 21,18-19)
What can immediately come to mind is that to be truly in love with Christ and to follow him as we should, we should not be surprised if suffering would come our way. In fact, we have to expect it and be prepared for it, understanding it as the clearest sign of love, of being with Christ. A love without suffering is not true love.
And this suffering comes in the first place from our own selves, from our own wounded flesh that would always try to go on its own way and law even if it goes against our very own nature and against God’s law. This predicament will always be with us all the way to our death, no matter how determined we are in trying to live a holy and chaste life.
Besides, we have to contend with the many problematic things in this world—a lot of misunderstanding, persecution, injustice, etc. And there’s also the devil who will never take a break from tempting us. He will always cling to us like a leech.
We need to be clear about this truth of our faith. If we really want to truly love, we should be willing to suffer out of love for God and for all souls. We need to realize that the willingness to suffer is the ultimate proof that our love is genuine. Love should not just be a matter of goodwill, of benevolence, of doing some good to others. It has to go all the way to an eagerness to suffer for the others.
This is what Christ has done for us and has commanded us to do. Being both God and man, Christ should be seen by us as the epitome of true love which is the very essence of God that is also meant for us since we are supposed to be God’s image and likeness.
In showing us that love where the willingness to suffer is highlighted, St. Paul made this description of Christ: “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.
“Rather, he emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Phil 2,5-8)
We have to be willing to suffer the way Christ suffered for all of us. That is what true love is. No wonder that Christ himself said: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (Jn 15,13)
