Philippines Cancels Flights and Alerts Hospitals Over Haze

By: Agence France-Presse

A woman takes a photo from a building of the thick haze, believed to be from Indonesia's forest fires, engulfing the city of Davao on Friday. Smog from the fires on Sumatra island and the Indonesian section of Borneo island has affected several Southeast Asian countries. Photo by Dennis Jay Santos, AFP.

MANILA -- The Philippines cancelled flights and put hospitals on alert on Sunday, as its southern and central islands were covered by thickening haze from Indonesian forest fires.

Smog from Indonesian slash-and-burn farming has choked vast expanses of Southeast Asia for weeks, killing at least 10 people, forcing events to be shut down and schools to close across the region.

International efforts to douse the blazes have done little to clear the air, and Filipino authorities warned ash levels were becoming increasingly dangerous in the southern islands.

"The department of health is advising those who have breathing problems or respiratory diseases to wear face masks in areas covered by haze," presidential spokesman Herminio Coloma told reporters.

Hospitals in the south were ready to receive anyone affected by the haze, he added.

Six flights to central and southern islands were cancelled or delayed Sunday due to the thickening smog, after thousands were left stranded over the past 10 days.

Pilots flying in the central city of Cebu could only see eight kilometers ahead, said government weather observer John Agbay, adding that visibility was also impaired in the western island of Palawan.

Indonesian forest fires are an annual occurence, but dry weather has made them particularly bad this year and Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and Japan have all sent help to fight the blazes.

While the haze in the Philippines has been mild compared to other parts of Southeast Asia, the smoke has been largely unexpected as the islands affected lie thousands of kilometers away from the fires.

Singapore, one of the worst hit, on Sunday urged fellow ASEAN members to take "firm and decisive action" against ahead of a group summit in Malaysia next month.

The city-state issued the call after Singaporean troops and firefighters returned from an international assistance mission in Indonesia's Sumatra island.

Experts say Typhoon Koppu (local name "Lando"), which passed over the northern tip of the Philippines last week, may have contributed to the problem in the archipelago by dragging the smoke across from Indonesia.

© 1994-2015 Agence France-Presse

Professor Files Third Petition vs Poe

By: Pia Gutierrez, ABS-CBN News

A political science professor of the De La Salle University has filed the third case against Senator Grace Poe here at the Commission on Elections since the senator filed her certificate of candidacy for president last week.

Professor Antonio Contreras filed a Petition to Deny Due Course or Cancel the COC of Senator Poe before the Comelec's Clerk of the Commission Tuesday using her residency as grounds.

Contreras believes that the senator is two months and 9 days short of the 10 years minimum residency requirement to run for president.

Compared to the earlier petitioners, Contreras in his petition did not use Poe's citizenship status against her as there is no clear jurisprudence yet on foundlings.

He also did not choose to file a disqualification case against Poe because he believes that she has not committed any election violations when she filed her COC.

He added that his decision to file the petition was to prove that someone without any political backing or dubious motivations could question the qualifications of any candidate, even one who is leading in the surveys like Senator Poe.
Contreras told reporters that he is acting on his own, and that he is using his own money to finance the case, even going against his own mother who he said will vote for Grace Poe.

The Poe camp said the different petitions against the senator are meant to condition the minds of the voters that she will be disqualified.

"In their quest to achieve that malicious objective, the barrage of petitions being filed is already turning the electoral process into a circus. To reiterate, Sen. Poe is ready to answer all these unfounded petitions in the proper forum point per point," the Poe camp said.

The DLSU professor is the third person to file a petition against Poe before the Comelec since last week.
Last Friday, Atty. Estrella Elamparo filed a petition to deny due course or cancel Poe's COC for alleged "material misrepresentation in stating that she is a natural-born Filipino."

Elamparo argued that Poe is not a natural-born Filipino citizen because she is a foundling, and that her adoption did not have the effect of transmitting or conferring upon her the status of a natural-born Filipino.

READ: A foundling named Grace

She also argued that international conventions and treaties on stateless persons are not sufficient to grant Poe the status of a natural-born citizen, and any presumption that the senator is a natural-born Filipino is not sufficient for the residency requirement under the Constitution.

On Monday, former senator Francisco "Kit" Tatad also filed a disqualification case against Poe, saying Poe cannot run for president next year because she is not a natural born Filipino and because she failed to meet the residency requirement for candidates.

Real Change in Emergency Response

Office of the Senate Majority Leader

Alan Peter S. Cayetano

Rm. 603 GSIS Complex Senate of the Philippines Roxas Blvd Pasay City

         

PRESS RELEASE

21 October 2015

 

 

 

CAYETANO CALLS FOR REAL CHANGE IN EMERGENCY RESPONSE: RENEWS CALL FOR CREATION OF EMERGENCY RESPONSE DEPARTMENT

“We need to make real change to make sure our government is ready when disaster strikes,” said Senator Cayetano.

In light of the onslaught of Typhoon Lando that hit several Luzon provinces this week, Cayetano said now is the perfect time for government to create a single, unified department that will spearhead the government’s disaster risk reduction and management efforts. 

“We must learn from our past experiences and create real change now to ensure government does all that it can to help when Filipinos need help the most,” We have not yet fully recovered from the impact of previous calamities that devastated the country in the past years. And now, another one threatened the lives and livelihood of our kababayans in the north,” Cayetano said.

In the aftermath of super typhoon Yolanda two years ago, the senator filed Senate Bill No. 1940 which, if enacted into law, would institute an "Emergency Response Department" (ERD) that will be headed by a Cabinet Secretary, will manage all disaster preparedness and response activities. and allocates more funds for the execution of such tasks.

But Cayetano lamented that the administration has not given priority to the bill since it was filed in November 2013.

“In times of emergencies, we need to make a real change in how government responds, and that means better communication and accountability,” Cayetano explains. “This is not possible when the agency is part-time. Samantalang ang kalamidad sa ating bansa ay full-time,” he added. ###

The Haze is on

WED, OCTOBER 21, 2015 BY THE MINDANAO DAILY MIRROR

EDITORIAL

Davao City’s skyline looks like it came straight out of a surreal painting with the darkened horizon. While everyone wants to believe that this fog-like image came as a result of the cool weather brought about by Typhoon Lando, the experts at Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) were however quick to awaken us from dreamland to tell us that this is all haze straight from Indonesia. Apparently, the monsoon winds have brought us not the romantic air we beget but the haze from Indonesia’s forest fires. The same haze is visible in General Santos City, Cebu and Cagayan de Oro City. Even ASEAN countries like Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore have been under a blanket of haze for quite sometime now, no thanks to the forest fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan in Indonesia.

Forest fires occur because of farmers who engage in slash-and-burn practices when clearing their lands primarily for economic reasons. The El Niño or the long periods of drought or dry season has only worsened the forest fires and unfortunately, the haze. This should be a cause of concern for all of us not only because it is detrimental to our environment. More importantly, this haze could be detrimental to our health especially those suffering from asthma and other chronic diseases. If you find yourself coughing a lot now, or sneezing more than you should be, then you should start to wonder if this is all caused by the haze. It is high time for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources to start measuring air quality in the cities and provinces affected by the haze so we become aware if it is still safe to breathe freely. The Health Department should also come up with a guideline as to the effects of haze on our health, and what we can do to minimize the ill effects if there are.

Indonesia may be thousand of miles away from the Philippines but the haze that we are experiencing now shows that no country is isolated from the outside world anymore. As Joey Ayala’s song “Magkaugnay” goes…

Lupa, laot, langit ay magkaugnay

Hayop, halaman, tao ay magkaugnay

Ang lahat ng bagay ay magkaugnay

Magkaugnay ang lahat.

(C) 2015 by MINDANAO DAILY MIRROR, Davao City

What could be a Christmas gift?

TUE, OCTOBER 20, 2015 BY THE MINDANAO DAILY MIRROR LEAVE A COMMENT

IN MY OPINION
Klaus Doring

Gift gi-ving and receiving and Christ-mas simply but surely go together. Many times it’s incurring our indig-nation. Ma-ny of us defer the most important decision during the most jolliest season of the year. What is the best Christmas gift for our loved ones??? Is it really an important decision, or does it delete the real meaning of Christmas? I am sure, many of us know the real answer.

The giving spirit of the holiday season seems to fade in the light of necessary obligations and finances, along the painful dilemma of giving gifts to those who want to buy for as opposed to those for whom you should buy!

Let’s think about it: To whom are we obligated at Christmas: our boss, our cousins, our parents, our partner or our children and friends as well? What about the children? Should they give presents to people other than family mem-bers? How about the innumerable large families especially in the Philippines, because of economics, resort to name drawing process at Christmas.

For me firstly Christ-mas is spirit. You can always find ways to give gifts without expenses. The most well known and always remembered gift is to do to someone like giving time. In my family we do this mostly during the season holidays.

But if I look more around, mmh, sad to say, that “time as gift” doesn’t satisfy most of all.Well, it’s okay. There are so many ways to use your mind in terms of giving someone other things than putting Peso or Dollar notes. I am sure you know, that home made gifts can be also a very good idea….

Sure, there is etiquette of gift giving at Christmas and also other occasions. Homemade gifts are most appropriate especially as Christmas gifts, according to Stuart E. Jacobson, book author of “The Art of Giving”. Allow me to quote Jacob-son, “Home-made gifts are won-derful. A gift of imagi-nation, a gift of creativity, a gift, that shows (also!) time was put into it. A created time is a wonderful present.”

When considering a homemade gift, instead of tumbling through crowded shopping malls (as I tried again yesterday!) and getting a headache (I really got!)! While stumbling from one mall to the next, I found out again, that the real and whole essence of giving a gift is to bring pleasure to the person receiving it. Jacobson says in his book, “Homemade gifts are also ideal for children to give as presents. Kids can create things because they have unique imagination. Children should feel free to give something to anyone they spend a lot of time with. No monetary value should be placed on what a child should give to someone.”

Very well said. I am just afraid, that it seems more or less impossible nowadays in these modern times….

+++

You can email me: doringklaus@gmail.com or follow me in Facebook or Twitter or visit www.germanexpatinthe philippines.blogspot.com or www.klausdorings classicalmusic.blogspot.com.

The Race for the Philippine Presidency Has Begun

By Mong Palatino

According to the Philippine Commission on Elections, 130 persons have applied to run for president in next year’s election. The majority are unknown aspirants who will likely be disqualified for lacking the means to mount a nationwide campaign. The election itself is set for May 9.

There are four major candidates with both strong party backing and large public following. The administration candidate is former interior secretary Mar Roxas. Opposition leader and incumbent vice president Jejomar Binay also formally registered his bid for the presidency. Neophyte Grace Poe, a senator and the leading candidate based on several surveys, also submitted her certificate of candidacy this week. But the surprise candidate is Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, who declared her intention to run for president only a few days ago.

Roxas is the grandson of a former president and son of a former senator. He topped the Senate race in 2004 and became the leader of Liberal Party, one of the country’s oldest and biggest political parties. He ran unsuccessfully for vice president in 2010.

Binay was a longtime mayor of Makati City, the country’s premier business and financial hub, prior to his election as vice president. Poe is the daughter of Fernando Poe Jr, an actor who ran for president in 2004. Santiago placed second in the 1992 presidential election before becoming senator in 1995.

Roxas has the edge in terms of election machinery, since he is the candidate of the ruling party. President Benigno Aquino III, who enjoys high public confidence based on opinion polls, has also committed to actively campaign for Roxas. But Aquino’s endorsement can also hurt Roxas by turning away voters who are disappointed with the performance of the president.

Binay claims he has the support of the poor, overseas Filipinos, and local government leaders. But his numbers went down after he was accused of being involved in various corruption scandals. Though he insists that these were all politically-motivated, his reputation has already been tarnished.

Poe presents herself as an alternative candidate who has a clean record as a public servant. Tired of the antics of traditional politicians and political dynasties, many urged her to run for higher office. Though she has decided to run, her previous American citizenship was immediately questioned in the court.

Santiago is also seen as an outsider, even though she has been a politician for more than two decades. She is admired by many people – especially the young – who are looking for intelligent and articulate leaders. Santiago’s candidacy was not expected because she has only recently recovered from cancer.

Turning to their running mates, Roxas has teamed up with Leni Robredo, the widow of a respected politician. Binay’s vice presidential candidate is Senator Gringo Honasan. Poe, meanwhile, chose her mentor, Senator Chiz Escudero, to be her vice president. Santiago has reportedly endorsed the vice presidential candidacy of Senator Bongbong Marcos. Marcos is the son of the country’s former strongman, Ferdinand Marcos, who ruled the country for two decades before he was ousted by a popular uprising in 1986.

Campaigning will officially begin next year. But since the candidates are already known, political realignments across the country are expected to reshape the electoral landscape. Political bickering between candidates and parties is also anticipated to intensify.

Luzon and Metro Manila Brace for another Typhoon

By Patricia Lourdes Viray (philstar.com) 

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Typhoon "Lando" is expected to make landfall over Aurora-Isabela area by weekend.  PAGASA

MANILA, Philippines (First published 9:21 a.m.) —  Storm warning signals are raised in several areas in Luzon as severe tropical storm "Lando" has intensified into typhoon, weather bureau PAGASA said on Friday.

A typhoon is an intense tropical cyclone with maximum wind speed exceeding 118 kilometers per hour (kph).

Satellite image of Typhoon Lando (international name Koppu) released by US Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Center as of 6 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 16, 2015.

Public storm warning signals are up in the following areas:

Signal No. 1

• Cagayan
• Abra
• Kalinga
• Mt. Province
• Ifugao
• Benguet
• Ilocos Sur
• La Union
• Pangasinan,
• Bulacan
• Pampanga
• Tarlac
• Zambales
• Bataan
• Rizal
• Laguna
• rest of Quezon
• Camarines Norte
• Camarines Sur
• Catanduanes
• Metro Manila

Signal No. 2

• Aurora
• Isabela
• Quirino
• Nueva Vizcaya
• Nueva Ecija
• Northern Quezon including Polillo Island

Areas under storm warning signals will experience occasional rains gusty winds starting tomorrow.

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PAGASA warned that storm surges are possible in the eastern coast of Isabela, Aurora, Quezon and Camarines provinces.

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At 4 p.m., the typhoon was located 510 kilometers east of Baler, Aurora with maximum sustained winds of 130 kph and gusts 160 kph. It is likely to move west at 15 kph.

Track of Typhoon Lando from the Philippines Crisis Map of Google Crisis Response as of noontime on Friday, Oct. 16, 2015.

Lando is forecasted to make landfall over Aurora-Isabela Sunday and will cross northern Luzon. The weather bureau warned that the typhoon might linger in the Philippine area of responsibility as late as Friday next week.

The estimated rainfall amount is from heavy to intense within the 600-kilometer diameter of the typhoon.

Meanwhile, the northeast monsoon or "amihan" will continue to affect northern and central Luzon. Metro Manila, regions of Cordillera, Ilocos and Central Luzon will experience cloudy skies with light rains.

"Fisherfolk are advised not to venture out over the northern and western seaboards of Northern Luzon, western seaboard of Central Luzon and eastern seaboard of Visayas," PAGASA said.

The German Club Manila

Der Deutsche Klub Manila was formed in January 1906 by German members of its predecessors, the "Casino Union", a loose association of German-speaking expatriates, which dates back to 1880. As such the German Club is the oldest, predominantly foreign, social groupings in the Philippines, with its tradition of excellent dining and impeccable service. After occupying various locations around Old Manila, in 1979 the Club purchased its own prestigious premises in the penthouse of Eurovilla II building at Legaspi City, right in the heart of Makati.

(Photo caption: this writer together with German Consul and Administration and Legal Department Head of the German Embassy Manila, Ulrich Koehler).

With its fine ding facilities, a comfortable bar area and a smoking lounge, members and their guests will surely enjoy dining and relaxing at the Club. Chess, the German game "Skat" and other card games are played regularly. Once a month, their German speaking members also meet for the "Wirtschaftsstammtisch", their regular business discussion. Members also enjoy preferential arrangements with out of town sport facilities for golf and tennis. The Club organizes outings to rural locations of cultural interest or with recreational amenities for members, their families and guests.

Yes, German visitors to Manila are indeed encouraged to contact the Club to arrange privileges for their temporary enjoyment of first-rate dining and bar facilities.

For more news and events of the German Club, please visit

www.germanclub.ph

Why can’t we have this stuff on TV?

By Nick J. Lizaso (The Philippine Star)

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John Arcilla plays the title role in the box-office hit Heneral Luna

MANILA, Philippines - ‘The positive acceptance of Heneral Luna throws a gauntlet on the stage of the entertainment world. The Filipino audience is not intelligence-challenged. It’s time to raise the ante by offering them films and TV dramas that engage them emotionally and intelligently. And who knows, by igniting their brain synapses more frequently, they may start thinking and making decisions with greater discernment, such as in selecting our future leaders.’

When people I knew peppered me with glowing notices and exultant reviews about the film Heneral Luna, I was very skeptical. My past experience tells me that when a Filipino indie film is overly praised, it will turn out to be a big disappointment. I can’t recall how many times I have fidgeted in my seat and even walked out early in the movie. So finally, when I went to see Heneral Luna, I was prepared to be disappointed.

Lo and behold, I sat through the entire movie, without fidgeting. Not only that, I came out of the theater with my hopes raised high regarding the future of Filipino films. The last time I felt this way was when I saw English Only Please. But this time, I felt moved to root for Pinoy filmmakers.

This is a rare film by a Filipino team of filmmakers that knows how to tell its story visually. From script to characterization, production design, lighting, sound and cinematography, I tip my hat off to the director and his team. From the perspective of a film director like myself, I pronounce it as a superbly crafted work. I may quibble with minor details but they are minor and can be overlooked. In short, over all, it’s an unqualified success. Huwag sanang masayang ang talent niya sa pagtanggap na mag-direct ng mga teleseryes.

I am happy to learn from news reports that Heneral Luna has reached over the P200M mark in gate receipts. This should help the producers recover the cost of making it. I am happy for them and I only wish more producers will be encouraged to take risks on films with meaningful topics or subjects.

With the undeniable box-office success of Heneral Luna, who can now categorically say that the Filipino viewer is not ready to see works of this kind? It flies in the face of what major TV network programming executives in effect have been telling their creative teams: Dumb it down, cater it to the taste of themasa, the so-called “bakya” crowd. I have always believed that there are no “bakya” audiences, only “bakya” producers.

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Which brings me to my next point. Why can’t we have similar intelligent fare on television?

TV networks want to play it safe so their choice of content is limited to komik soap opera stories which they believe will maketeleseryes appealing to the masa, and sustain their audience ratings. So what televiewers get is more of the usual: A beautiful lass and her ugly alalay, fair-skinned protagonist versus dark-skinned rival, cliché plotting, sketchy caricaturing of characters, raising-an-eyebrow-and-pouting school of acting, the expected servings of slapping from time to time, sabunutan, the exchange of mahanghang na salita (all of which I am still seeing inteleseryes as recently as yesterday). I have also observed that problems are solved by the young, who seem to know better than their adult mature elders. Why rock the boat and raise the ante? Why try the untried? Why bother coming up with more intelligent fare and lose the ratings game? So let’s just continue feeding them the same old junk content.

Now, our political analysts and commentators don’t have to wonder why our electorate does not make intelligent choices in picking our leaders.

This is probably a long shot but I am hereby proposing another type of teleserye, wherein we dramatize selected and well-known Filipino classic literary works (novels and short stories) by famous Filipino writers such as Nick Joaquin, F. Sionil Jose, Bienvenido Santos, Wilfredo Nolledo, Kerima Polotan, Estrella Alfon, Edgardo Reyes, Rogelio Sikat, Efren Abueg, just to name a few who are at the top of my memory-challenged mind right now. So many great Filipino novels are languishing on shelves of libraries:Dugo sa Bukang Liwayway, Ang Mundong Ito Ay Lupa, The Pretenders, Villa Magdalena, Poon, Woman Who Had Two Navels, The Bamboo Dancers and more. And for crying out loud, why not adapt award-winning Palanca plays, many of which have never been staged or produced? 

Maybe we can dramatize each story to run for a few weeks or months, but let the program be flexible, basing it on the natural and logical progress of the adapted story.

I am sure having a drama program like this will go a long way in bringing these masterpieces to a wider audience, or the new generation, who I understand have been shunning reading these works in favor of handheld mobile devices.

Why not? I’ve been there and I’ve done it decades ago, at ABS-CBN under the late Genny Lopez during the old pre-Martial Law days. The big guns of ABS-CBN then were Jun Hizon, Jimmy Navarro, Ben Aniceto and Frankie Evangelista. I was given the opportunity to direct a program called Obra Maestra, which served as a window or a vehicle for world masterpieces and Filipino literary classics adapted and made accessible to Filipino TV viewers. I remember we dramatized such works as Rashomon, Wuthering Heights, The Visit by Durenmatt, Medea and others. Our acting talents then included Charito Solis, Vic Silayan, Dindo Fernando, Ronald Remy, Nestor de Villa, Nida Blanca, Armando Goyena, Tony Santos Sr. and other greats.

Mind you, that program enjoyed high audience ratings. That was because we did not present them as literary masterpieces to be treated with awe and reverence. Rather, we focused on the stories. That was the key. Ignore the fact that they were written by literary serious artists. Just zero in on the fact that these works have the elements of great and compelling storytelling. Isn’t that what makes any work appealing?

So in conclusion, the positive acceptance of Heneral Luna throws a gauntlet on the stage of the entertainment world. The Filipino audience is not intelligence-challenged. It’s time to raise the ante by offering them films and TV dramas that engage them emotionally and intelligently. And who knows, by igniting their brain synapses more frequently, they may start thinking and making decisions with greater discernment, such as in selecting our future leaders. It could be the key to the bright future we’ve all been wishing for.

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