Battling HIV amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Cebu
CEBU CITY, Philippines – When lockdowns lingered during the first half of 2020, volunteers from non-profit group LoveYourself – Cebu introduced new ways for patients to sustain their medications needed to treat sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). And like most organizations and businesses, these were done through the internet. […] The post Battling HIV amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Cebu appeared first on Cebu Daily News......»»
‘Pork holiday’ looms in Metro Manila
MANILA, Philippines — An agricultural group has pressed the Department of Agriculture (DA) for support to hog raisers battling steep production and transport costs amid calls by traders and vendors for a “pork holiday” to protest price ceilings on pork and chicken in Metro Manila starting Monday. “Transport costs have ballooned, with the pork coming […] The post ‘Pork holiday’ looms in Metro Manila appeared first on Cebu Daily News......»»
JG Summit core profit soars in 2023
Core earnings of conglomerate JG Summit Holdings Inc. soared in 2023 following a significant turnaround in its airline business, with Cebu Pacific returning to full-year profit for the first time since the pandemic......»»
‘Serenade of the Seas’ arrival restarts Subic cruise tourism program
The arrival here of GTS Serenade of the Seas, a 12-decker cruise liner operated by Royal Caribbean International, is expected to resurrect Subic’s cruise tourism program, which had gained momentum before being halted by the COVID-19 pandemic three years ago......»»
Cebu Pacific receives fuel-efficient A321 aircraft
Gokongwei-led Cebu Pacific continues to ramp up its commitment to advance sustainability and strengthen its operational resiliency amid the rising demand in air travel as it received another Airbus A321neo last Thursday......»»
Extreme Heat as a ‘New Pandemic’: Thousands in PH Cancel Classes During ‘Hottest Year’
(Part 1 of 2) CEBU CITY, Philippines — The decades-old Gabaldon building of Leyte National High School in Tacloban City has narrow hallways, high and dark ceilings, and overcrowded classrooms. On hot and humid days, the rooms can feel stuffy and suffocating, prompting students like Dwight Lebrea, a 17-year-old Grade 12 student, to find ways.....»»
Teen centers in Cebu City pushed amid rising teen pregnancy cases
CEBU CITY, Philippines — In response to the alarming rise in teenage pregnancy cases across Cebu, a local legislator penned a resolution urging the establishment of local adolescents and teen centers in Cebu. City Councilor Rey Gealon stipulated in the resolution the importance of providing essential support and education to empower young individuals in making.....»»
Hong Kong, Philippines work to enhance relations
Filipinos are slowly beginning to travel back to Hong Kong following continued efforts by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office to woo tourists from the Philippines, as well as renew and improve trade and economic ties between the two nations following the COVID-19 pandemic......»»
Rama calls for removal of CBRT manager Imbong amid ‘crisis’
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama wants the project manager of the Cebu Rapid Bus Transit to be removed from his position, citing mismanagement as the reason for the replacement. “I have enough of Imbong,” said Rama, who was referring to CBRT Project Manager Norvin Imbong and that he was recommending to.....»»
Rama on Garcia as tandem in 2025, CBRT dispute: ‘I’m an independent mayor’
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama “is an independent mayor.” This was Rama’s answer when questioned about his political relationship with Vice Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia amid the ongoing controversy surrounding the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (CBRT). In an interview on Friday, March 1, Rama mentioned that he was still assessing their.....»»
No one to hug on Valentine’s Day? Try hugging trees!
CEBU CITY, Philippines – As Valentine’s Day graces our calendars with its presence, a different kind of love story unfolds—one that blossoms not in the exchange of roses and chocolates, but in the silent rustle of leaves and the sturdy arms of ancient trees. Amid the whirlwind of romantic air, the Department of Environment and.....»»
Sinulog’s origins: Tracing the roots of Cebu’s iconic festival
Amid the debates about which Cebu town or city started the Sinulog, an official said they see the annual celebration not as a competition with other Sinulog festivities but as a sincere tribute to the Holy Child Jesus.....»»
Health and Wellness Products are Booming in Cebu Amid Post-Covid Scenario
The sale of health and wellness-related products is booming in Cebu as the country continues to reel from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic some three years ago. And this is why an exporter couple from Cebu invested in these products diversifying their existing business into a retail market for health equipment. Owners Paul and […].....»»
Cebu Needs More Power Plants Amid Thinning Reserves, Says NGCP
Power demands in the Visayas specifically Cebu are drastically increasing and new power plants are needed now even more, officials from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) told reporters in an interview. Although Cebu has enough power supply, the reserves are getting thin and the demand is rising as more industries and business […].....»»
Nearly 29,000 people flee southern Lebanon
Nearly 29,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon amid deadly exchanges between Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters and the Israeli army, a United Nations agency said Friday. A total of 28,965 people have been displaced, mainly in the country’s south, the International Organization for Migration said in an update, adding that the figure had risen by 37 percent since 23 October. Some have found refuge with family members elsewhere in the country, while those who can afford it have been able to rent apartments on a short-term basis. But with Lebanon in the grips of an economic crisis that has plunged most of the population into poverty, many are living in makeshift shelters in the south’s larger towns. Since Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out an unprecedented attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip on 7 October, Lebanon’s southern border has seen tit-for-tat exchanges between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah, a Hamas ally. At least 58 people have been killed in the cross-border exchanges of fire, most of them Hezbollah fighters but also including at least four civilians, one of them Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah. Soldiers and volunteers on Thursday were battling a blaze on Lebanon’s southern border caused by Israeli bombing overnight, local officials said. Mayor of the border village of Alma al-Shaab, Jean Ghafari, said fire broke out after Israeli bombing late Wednesday. “The blaze reached the edges of the village after midnight” and is still burning, he told Agence France-Presse, adding that it “has come close to houses.” The municipality said some 70 percent of the village’s population had fled due to Israeli attacks. The post Nearly 29,000 people flee southern Lebanon appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Cebu Pink Paddlers make waves in US dragon boat scene
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The breast cancer survivors-turned dragon boat racers from the Cebu Pink Paddlers continue to make their presence felt in the United States after bagging a gold medal in the 2023 Nevada International Dragon Boat Festival in Henderson, Nevada, United States on Saturday, October 14, 2023. The Cebu Pink Paddlers ruled the 200-meter breast cancers survivor race category and earned the bronze medal in the 200m women’s championship division. It came less than a week after they also claimed a gold and a silver medal in the Santa Fe Dam Dragon Boat Festival 2023 in Irwindale, California. This time, the Cebu Pink Paddlers topped the 200m breast cancer survivor category with a time of one minute and 2.51 seconds to earn the first place. Warriors on Water came in second with a time of 1:02.63, followed by Dragon Divas of Minnesota at 1:02.85. The fourth and fifth placers were the Pink Phoenix (1:03.56) and the Pink Paddlers (1:06.98) in the 200m breast cancer survivor category. Meanwhile, the Cebu Pink Paddlers finished third in the 200m women’s championship division with a time of 57.44 seconds. They were behind silver medalist Tilikum Dragons who clocked in 56.97 seconds, while Catch 22-Tsunami topped the race in 55.97 seconds for the gold medal. One of Cebu Pink Paddlers’ goals of competing in the United States is to inspire more women, especially breast cancer survivors, that there is so much to life after battling the dreaded disease. They showcase this by competing not just in an average dragon boat race, but in an elite level. RELATED STORIES Cebu Pink Paddlers Dragon Boat team to compete in US next month Cebu Pink Paddlers bag silver in Malaysia competition Cebu Pink Paddlers hold photo exhibit to raise breast cancer awareness.....»»
CAAP intensifies airport security amid bomb threats
The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines on Thursday said that it has heightened the security of all its 42 commercial airports after the Air Traffic Service received a warning via email that planes leaving Manila for Puerto Princesa, Mactan-Cebu, Bicol, and Davao International Airports are about to be detonated by a bomb. Following the information, all airports were immediately ordered to intensify security measures while verification process is under way. CAAP Security and Intelligence Service assistant director general II retired MGen. Ricardo Banayat and all CAAP airports and area centers should augment appropriate security personnel to meet the anticipated high volume of passenger and vehicle traffic. Stringent access control procedures for both personnel and vehicles will be implemented, accompanied by thorough inspections of passengers and cargo. CAAP-CSIS personnel are also collaborating closely with the Philippine National Police Aviation Security Group and military authorities, intensifying intelligence and monitoring operations with other security units. Continuous foot and mobile patrols are also being conducted within both the airside and landside areas of the airport complex. Meantime, Airport Security Coordination meetings will also be convened with all relevant stakeholders to ensure the strict implementation of security measures aimed at preventing any unlawful interference with civil aviation. In order to avoid any difficulty, they also advise international travelers to get to the airport at least three hours prior to their departure as CAAP also urged the general public to comply fully with security agents and to exercise caution when visiting the airport. “Our primary priority continues to be safety and security, and these steps are being taken to protect everyone who uses our airports,” CAAP said. Meantime, the Manila International Airport Authority assured the traveling public that it had instituted measures to ensure the safety of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport passengers, flights and facilities. Foot and mobile patrols are in place, and K9 units are doing the rounds of the terminals as added measures to their already established day-to-day protocols. The MIAA is also in close coordination with the PNP-AVSEU and pertinent government law enforcement units tasked with validating any threat to national security. The post CAAP intensifies airport security amid bomb threats appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Wildfire on Spain’s Tenerife forces 3,000 people to evacuate
A wildfire raging on Spain's holiday island of Tenerife amid unseasonably hot temperatures forced the evacuation on Wednesday of around 3,000 people from their homes, local officials said. Firefighters backed by six water-dropping helicopters were battling the blaze which broke out on Wednesday afternoon in an area of steep ravines in the northeast of the island that was badly ravaged by a huge wildfire in August, the regional government of Tenerife said. Some 2,400 people were evacuated from the town of Santa Ursula, and another 600 from La Orotava, as a precaution, Lope Afonso, the vice president of the regional government of Tenerife wrote on Facebook. Television images and videos posted on social media showed smoke rising from a hill close to houses in a remote neighborhood and helicopters dropping water on flames. Popular tourist areas on Tenerife, part of the Canaries archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, have so far been unaffected and its two airports have been operating normally. The seat of the fire "has been stabilized, we are seeing how it evolves to determine if in a few hours residents can return to their homes," Blanca Perez, the island's councilor in charge of emergencies, told local radio. The outbreak of the fire comes as Tenerife and the neighboring island of Gran Canaria are under a heat alert, with temperatures soaring above 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) across much of the island, levels normally seen during the height of summer. The seven-island archipelago is located off the northwest coast of Africa and southwest of mainland Spain. At their nearest point, the islands are 100 kilometers (60 miles) from Morocco. As global temperatures rise due to climate change, scientists have warned that heatwaves will become more frequent and more intense. The post Wildfire on Spain’s Tenerife forces 3,000 people to evacuate appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Famed environmental warrior graces RC Manila assembly
The Rotary Club of Manila had a brilliant, unique guest speaker at its last weekly members’ meeting at the Manila Polo Club — the famed, internationally acclaimed author, lawyer, environmental activist, and recipient, in 2009, of what is regarded as the Nobel Prize of Asia, the Ramon Magsaysay Award (non-category), Antonio Oposa Jr. For about an hour and a half last Thursday, 21 September 2023, RC Manila members, officers and guests at the MPC’s Turf Room alternately stood up to sing along and listen to Oposa’s telling of “good stories,” his way, he said, of promoting and creating awareness for his advocacies and his passion for the environment. Oposa earned a law degree from the University of the Philippines College of Law. For a short time, he worked in a law firm, until he realized that his heart was not in the practice of law but rather with nature and the environment. He traveled to Norway and enrolled in a course on energy and the environment at the University of Oslo’s summer program and afterwards, to Boston, where he pursued and later obtained his LLM at the Harvard Law School in 1997. [caption id="attachment_188497" align="aligncenter" width="525"] Valiant environmental warrior Antonio Oposa: ‘My biggest achievement is that I have turned some of my adversaries into co-advocates. And what could be more inspiring now than to see their own children out there, protecting the sea?’[/caption] In 1993, Oposa made global headlines for the landmark case, Minors Oposa v Factoran where the Supreme Court ruled that the 43 children counseled by Oposa, who filed legal action against the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, seeking cancellation by the agency of existing timber license agreements and stopping the issuance of new ones, ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. “The case was brought to court amid the government’s then granting over 90 logging companies permits to cut down nearly four million hectares of old-growth forest when only 850,000 hectares remained. And forests were being logged at a rate of some 200,000 hectares per year! I told the Court how my son, only three at that time, would no longer see these forests by the time he was 10. I couldn’t help thinking, that if this wasn’t stopped not a single old-growth forest would remain for him and future generations to enjoy,” Oposa said. The case had initially been dismissed in trial court on the ground that there was no legal personality to sue. Oposa elevated the case to the Supreme Court, and in a much-hailed case of intergenerational responsibility, the Supreme Court upheld the legal standing and right of the children to initiate action on their behalf and on behalf of generations yet unborn. What was so remarkable about the case is that Oposa sued on behalf of generations yet unborn and today that milestone case is known in Philippine and global jurisprudence as the “Oposa Doctrine.” For its part, the Philippine Supreme Court, too, carved a permanent niche for itself in environmental law with its promulgation of Oposa v Factoran. It secured its place in history, earning praises from the international environmental community and a reputation as a champion of the right to a healthy environment. Oposa also recounted at this talk at the RC Manila meeting last Thursday another epic landmark case involving the legal tussle he waged against 11 government agencies for the cleaning up of severely polluted Manila Bay. In December 2008, a decade after he filed that case, the Supreme Court issued a decision in his favor. In a continuing mandamus ruling, the Supreme Court ordered all defendant agencies to implement a time-bound action plan that would clean up Manila Bay and to give the Court a progress report on the matter every three months. Oposa talked about the Island Sea Camp he organized in 2001 in Bantayan Island where he gave children lessons on coral reefs, snorkeling and sustainable practices. In 2003, 2004, while holding weekend training camps for children in the Sea Camp “we noticed the rampant illegal fishing going on. Dynamite fishing and commercial fishing intrusions into prohibited coastal zones went unchecked. Something had to be done,” related Oposa. Thus, was born the Visayan Sea Squadron. “I organized a strike team with crack enforcers from the National Bureau of Investigation, Navy, fishermen, sea watch volunteers, lawyers, law students and even a few foreigners. The target was not small fishermen but crime syndicates and operators behind the sale of blasting caps and dynamite powder. Seizures and raids followed,” he said. Operations were so effective that word went out that his friend Jojo de la Victoria, the fearless Cebu City Bantay Dagat (Sea Watch) chief, and Oposa were targets of assassination. A local newspaper interviewed De la Victoria, revealing an intelligence report about illegal fishing operators putting up a P1-million bounty for him and Oposa. In 12 April 2006, 48 hours after he was interviewed, De la Victoria was felled by a hired gunman outside his house in Cebu City. “Jojo’s life was not in vain. After his funeral, a core team met for dinner to regroup. The tide of illegal fishing started to turn. Exploits of the Visayan Sea Squadron — and the courage and synergy of the men and women who made it happen — became known far and wide,” Oposa said. He continued, “Four years after Jojo died, Visayan Sea Squadron co-founder Alfredo Marañon was elected governor of Negros Occidental province. He gathered the other governors in the region to begin a restorative plan for the Visayan Sea which encompasses an area of over a million hectares. The governors passed a landmark joint resolution declaring the entire Visayan Sea a marine reserve.” For his valiant work as an environmental warrior, Oposa has been the recipient of many award in recognition of his valiant work as an environmental warrior. Aside from receiving the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2009, he was given the equally prestigious Center for International Environmental Law Award in 2008. Earlier, in 1997, he was conferred the United Nations Environment Programme Global 500 Roll of Honor, the highest UN honor in the field of the environment. Asked if there was anything about his attainments that gives him the most satisfaction, Oposa said, “My biggest achievement is not that I caught this violator and that violator when we were busy with our Visayan Sea Squadron operations; it is that I have turned my adversaries into co-advocates. Some of those who had opposed me are now supporting me in my advocacies. And what could be more inspiring than to see their own children helping us out there, protecting the sea?” The post Famed environmental warrior graces RC Manila assembly appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
IMF board approves $300-M loan for Burkina Faso
The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) executive board approved a $300 million loan agreement for the West African nation of Burkina Faso to help bolster its economy and reduce poverty. The landlocked country has had two military coups since January last year, while contending with a deteriorating security situation and multiple economic shocks, including the war in Ukraine and the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The four-year loan agreement worth around $302 million, should "create fiscal space for priority spending, strengthen resilience to shocks while reducing poverty, and bolster fiscal discipline, transparency and governance," the IMF announced in a statement. Burkina Faso saw its fiscal buffers eroded "substantially" last year, along with a sharp decline in economic growth, according to the IMF. "Burkina Faso faces a challenging macroeconomic outlook amid large development and security needs, compounded by acute food insecurity and long-standing fragility," IMF Deputy Managing Director Kenji Okamura said. "For the country’s long-term development process, it remains essential to sustain structural reforms to foster economic growth and diversification as well as to reduce poverty," he added. Burkina Faso has been battling a deadly jihadist insurgency since 2015, a spillover from the conflict in neighboring Mali which has also affected its eastern neighbor Niger. All three countries have had military coups since 2020. More than 40 percent of Burkina Faso's population lives in poverty, according to the IMF, while the UN refugee agency estimates that more than two million people are internally displaced as a result of "persistent insecurity." The post IMF board approves $300-M loan for Burkina Faso appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»
Morocco medics face flow of quake victims with limited resources
The hospital in Amizmiz caring for Moroccans injured in the earthquake is now a tent pitched on asphalt under a blazing sun, and it has only around a dozen beds. When one bed becomes free, it is immediately filled again as the flow of victims from the disaster keeps on coming from villages at the foot of the Atlas mountains. Three days after Friday night's quake, the strongest ever to hit the North African country, relief workers are battling to cope in the aftermath. Patients are now being cared for under the large grey tent because of fears that the hospital building itself may be vulnerable to aftershocks. An ambulance brings the latest victim, 81-year-old Lhoucein Barouj whose leg is fractured. The old man has a haggard look, his mouth open. Relatives said he was seen by a traditional osteopath, but this will be the first hospital treatment he has received in three days. He has not had any pain relief either. "We had to carry him out of the house ourselves in a blanket and carry him for kilometers (miles)," said his daughter Habiba. Then "we waited in a field" for helpers, who came eventually to their village, Ait Mbarek. As in other mountainside villages hit by the 6.8-magnitude quake, landslides have blocked access, and a shutdown in communications has also delayed treatment for many of those affected. Basic care The quake struck southwest of the tourist center of Marrakesh, killing more than 2,800 people and injuring a similar number, according to the latest official figures. Most of the victims were in Al-Haouz province, where the epicenter was. On Monday, some arrivals seeking medical help looked exhausted and disoriented, among them a little girl in a Bugs Bunny T-shirt, her head bandaged as she lay cradled in her father's arms. The hospital at Amizmiz is local, and can handle basic medical care. But "we can't treat everything here", said ophthalmologist Doha Hamidallah. "We handle primary treatment such as sutures and fractures. But more serious cases are sent to Marrakesh University Hospital" some 50 kilometers (30 miles) away, she said. Hamidallah, who is in her 30s, arrived from Casablanca on Sunday to help along with "dozens of other doctors of all kinds from all over the kingdom". They take it in turns to triage patients. Tired and overwhelmed nurses deal with the flow of new patients arriving in private, public or military ambulances amid the clatter of helicopters above. Others distribute medicine to those who need it, mostly people with diabetes. "We also have to treat patients who were not injured directly by the quake, but who've been unable to get their medicine," said Christophe, a carer with the Moroccan Red Crescent. The first hours after the quake were difficult in the small hospital. "In terms of coordination, we could only go with the flow," said Dr Hamidallah. Mobile teams A voice is raised behind her, adding to the hubbub. "We need someone local who knows the area. Anybody?" A team is being formed at short notice to head out to houses in Anougal which have been cut off. "We send out mobile teams with doctors to the isolated villages," explained Christophe. Soldiers have also set up a field hospital nearby, and some 35 kilometres further east the authorities are putting up a temporary clinic with prefabricated buildings. This is at the entrance to Ouirgane, parts of which have been badly affected. Another military hospital was deployed on Monday morning in Asni village. More than 300 patients have already been admitted, military doctor Colonel Youssef Qamouss told AFP. Organising care has been complicated, but vital to manage stocks of the medical equipment available. John Johnson of the French group Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), awaiting a green light from the authorities to help, said the Moroccans are coping well. "They have everything they need for primary care, but some things are lacking for trauma patients" such as anti-tetanus shots and painkillers, he said. There will also be a need for mental care in the days and months to come, he added. A few streets away, life has come to a standstill. One man stands with his arms crossed, staring at what used to be his home. The post Morocco medics face flow of quake victims with limited resources appeared first on Daily Tribune......»»