By Ephraim Aguilar, A17
Legazpi City
THREATENING A MULTIMILLION-PESO TOUR-ism jewel, a submarine cable planned to be installed by a giant telecommunications firm in Donsol, Sorsogon, the whale shark capital of the world, is eyed with suspicion.
Seeking to expand its network, Globe Telecom plans to install this year a 164-kilometer underwater cable from Donsol town to Calbayog, Northern Samar.
Local tourism officials are worried that this network expansion project would affect the safety of the butanding.
“We cannot risk the whale shark habitat in Donsol to some foreign object planned to be installed there,” Maria Ong-Ravanilla, Bicol tourism regional director, says.
Globe, in a letter addressed to Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano, said the project is part of a five-segment cable from Southern Luzon to Northern Mindanao, which will improve the reliability and availability of the country’s mobile communication technology.
The cable’s jump-off point from the tip of Southern Luzon to Visayas is Barangay Dancalan in Donsol. This village serves as jump-off point for tourists who engage in whale shark interaction.
Ong-Ravanilla says Globe has asked for an endorsement from the Department of Tourism so it can get an environmental compliance certificate (ECC) from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
She says the DOT will issue an endorsement for Globe if it gets an approval from the Donsol mayor and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), an agency protecting whale sharks in the town.
“What we need from Globe is an environmental impact assessment report,” she says.
Construction materials
She says Globe has been summoned by the Sorsogon provincial board for an inquiry but none of its local managers are authorized to speak for the company.
Ong-Ravanilla says there have been reports from residents in Barangay Dancalan that Globe had already delivered construction materials there.
“The villagers saw PVC pipes, which they said, were owned by Globe. What we do not want to happen here is for (Globe) to start its construction before the issuance of an ECC,” she says.
The WWF, an agency implementing whale shark conservation guidelines in Donsol, is cautious about Globe’s expansion project.
David David, lead coordinator of the whale shark tracking project of WWF in Donsol, said they are researching for the specifics of the project to determine the possible effects of the submarine cables on whale shark habitat.
In the 2008 season, WWF recorded 114 whale sharks through its photo-identification technology, which determines whale sharks individually by means of their spots, he says.
The spots of whale shark are unique to every creature, just like human fingerprints, he says.
Tourism industry
Jay Christie, project director from the Ericsson Telecommunications, one of the project contractors, says that the company has taken note of the tourism activities in Donsol and will fully coordinate with tourism officials.
Donsol is one of the country’s top three ecotourism sites. Based on WWF data, Donsol’s butanding interaction contributes more than P50 million to the economy annually.
The town’s attraction was declared as the “best animal encounter in Asia” by Time magazine in 2004.
Tourism in Donsol has also pulled the town from being a fifth-class to a third-class municipality.
Butanding interaction activities in Donsol cover eight villages and tourists number more than 10,000 a season.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Mayon trail run tackles global warming
By Ephraim Aguilar, page one
Inquirer Southern Luzon
LEGAZPI CITY—SOUTHEAST Asian Games gold medalist Allan Ballester looked straight at Mayon Volcano’s amazing peak as he treaded a trail.
Ballester, 34, is one of those who took part in the first Mayon Trail Run (MTR) in Albay yesterday. The event was part of an awareness campaign against global warming.
More than 150 runners negotiated a shaggy hill laden with manmade obstacles, a river crossing, and a pile of volcanic rocks in the 5-kilometer fun run and 18-km adventure foot race.
The race was organized by the Junior Chamber International (JCI) and Northface, an international brand of sports apparel and outdoor equipment. JCI is a worldwide federation of young leaders and entrepreneurs whose members are more popularly known as Jaycees.
Even for the most experienced runners, some of them holding national and international titles, the MTR was one of the most grueling and unusual races.
The race started from the Peñaranda Park in the city to the top of Ligñon Hill in Daraga town, then down to a newly created back trail traversing the Yawa River to the Bonga Gully, one of the main pathways of volcanic debris swept by heavy rains.
Reaching the lava front, the racers made a U-turn and climbed back to Ligñon.
In his 14-year running career, Ballester said it was only in the MTR that his race plan became erratic.
“In my past races, I would stick to one race plan till finish. But here, I had to change it because the trail was packed with unexpected challenges in every segment,” he said.
The race also required great endurance and the application of different skills, he said.
“I just kept looking at Mayon’s peak as it felt like the sandy and rocky trail never ended. We had to climb rough terrain and slippery wooden stairs, and cross a river,” Ballester said shortly after he crossed the finish line.
Winners
Ballester said most of the runners were used to road races on smooth and flat pavements, making the MTR really different.
The winners, who came from different running teams, were—Male: 1st, Elmer Sabal (1:09:30); 2nd, Allan Ballester (1:10:08); 3rd, Cresenciano Sabal (1:10:35).
Female: 1st, Leszl Gitarueles (1:32:26); 2nd, Merlita Arias (1:45:07); 3rd. Ellen Tolentino (1:49:08).
The oldest runner was 71-year-old Vicente Caurez of Los Baños, Laguna, who was well-applauded when he finished the race standing strong.
Trail running as an adventure sport is more popular in Europe, according to Ballester. He said Albay’s trail run opened doors for the promotion of this endurance sport.
Provincial tourism officer Joe Briones said the trail run could be held annually and could draw more tourists.
These days, many tourists are looking for new sites for ecotourism and adventure sports. Briones said it would be good to have them both.
Yves Eli Yu, MTR project chair and vice president of JCI-Legazpi, said the trail run also sought to promote awareness of climate change.
Global warming
He said runners in the event and the spectators were made to realize the effects of global warming by making them experience nature.
“Taking part in this trail run is like touching Mayon’s soul. Your run toward its lava front reminds you of the lahar that killed and displaced over a thousand people at the height of Supertyphoon ‘Reming,’” Ballester said.
With the damage and floods caused by Reming on Nov. 30, 2006, Albay officials linked the disaster to the changing climate.
A2C2 campaign
After the tragedy, the provincial government launched the “Albay in Action for Climate Change” (A2C2) campaign, a pioneering local climate change adaptation in the Asia Pacific.
Yu said the JCI-Legazpi was jubilant that the MTR took place a day after 10 lawmakers from Asia, Europe, Africa and South America signed the Manila Declaration on Climate Change, which calls on rich nations to create a global fund to help reduce disaster risks brought by rising sea temperatures.
The five-page document, titled “The Manila Call for Action of Parliamentarians on Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation,” was issued at the close of a two-day consultative meeting at Makati Shangri-La Hotel.
Yves said that for developing countries like the Philippines, it would be a big help to start small through awareness campaigns like the MTR.
Inquirer Southern Luzon
LEGAZPI CITY—SOUTHEAST Asian Games gold medalist Allan Ballester looked straight at Mayon Volcano’s amazing peak as he treaded a trail.
Ballester, 34, is one of those who took part in the first Mayon Trail Run (MTR) in Albay yesterday. The event was part of an awareness campaign against global warming.
More than 150 runners negotiated a shaggy hill laden with manmade obstacles, a river crossing, and a pile of volcanic rocks in the 5-kilometer fun run and 18-km adventure foot race.
The race was organized by the Junior Chamber International (JCI) and Northface, an international brand of sports apparel and outdoor equipment. JCI is a worldwide federation of young leaders and entrepreneurs whose members are more popularly known as Jaycees.
Even for the most experienced runners, some of them holding national and international titles, the MTR was one of the most grueling and unusual races.
The race started from the Peñaranda Park in the city to the top of Ligñon Hill in Daraga town, then down to a newly created back trail traversing the Yawa River to the Bonga Gully, one of the main pathways of volcanic debris swept by heavy rains.
Reaching the lava front, the racers made a U-turn and climbed back to Ligñon.
In his 14-year running career, Ballester said it was only in the MTR that his race plan became erratic.
“In my past races, I would stick to one race plan till finish. But here, I had to change it because the trail was packed with unexpected challenges in every segment,” he said.
The race also required great endurance and the application of different skills, he said.
“I just kept looking at Mayon’s peak as it felt like the sandy and rocky trail never ended. We had to climb rough terrain and slippery wooden stairs, and cross a river,” Ballester said shortly after he crossed the finish line.
Winners
Ballester said most of the runners were used to road races on smooth and flat pavements, making the MTR really different.
The winners, who came from different running teams, were—Male: 1st, Elmer Sabal (1:09:30); 2nd, Allan Ballester (1:10:08); 3rd, Cresenciano Sabal (1:10:35).
Female: 1st, Leszl Gitarueles (1:32:26); 2nd, Merlita Arias (1:45:07); 3rd. Ellen Tolentino (1:49:08).
The oldest runner was 71-year-old Vicente Caurez of Los Baños, Laguna, who was well-applauded when he finished the race standing strong.
Trail running as an adventure sport is more popular in Europe, according to Ballester. He said Albay’s trail run opened doors for the promotion of this endurance sport.
Provincial tourism officer Joe Briones said the trail run could be held annually and could draw more tourists.
These days, many tourists are looking for new sites for ecotourism and adventure sports. Briones said it would be good to have them both.
Yves Eli Yu, MTR project chair and vice president of JCI-Legazpi, said the trail run also sought to promote awareness of climate change.
Global warming
He said runners in the event and the spectators were made to realize the effects of global warming by making them experience nature.
“Taking part in this trail run is like touching Mayon’s soul. Your run toward its lava front reminds you of the lahar that killed and displaced over a thousand people at the height of Supertyphoon ‘Reming,’” Ballester said.
With the damage and floods caused by Reming on Nov. 30, 2006, Albay officials linked the disaster to the changing climate.
A2C2 campaign
After the tragedy, the provincial government launched the “Albay in Action for Climate Change” (A2C2) campaign, a pioneering local climate change adaptation in the Asia Pacific.
Yu said the JCI-Legazpi was jubilant that the MTR took place a day after 10 lawmakers from Asia, Europe, Africa and South America signed the Manila Declaration on Climate Change, which calls on rich nations to create a global fund to help reduce disaster risks brought by rising sea temperatures.
The five-page document, titled “The Manila Call for Action of Parliamentarians on Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation,” was issued at the close of a two-day consultative meeting at Makati Shangri-La Hotel.
Yves said that for developing countries like the Philippines, it would be a big help to start small through awareness campaigns like the MTR.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
3.9-strong quake jolts Legazpi, Sorsogon
By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 16:58:00 10/18/2008
INQUIRER.net
LEGAZPI CITY, Albay -- A 3.9-magnitude earthquake shook Legazpi City and
Sorsogon City at 7:21 a.m. Saturday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.
In a bulletin, state seismologists said the earthquake, which was tectonic in origin, was located 50 kilometers northeast of Sorsogon City.
No damage or aftershocks were expected, Phivolcs said.
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 16:58:00 10/18/2008
INQUIRER.net
LEGAZPI CITY, Albay -- A 3.9-magnitude earthquake shook Legazpi City and
Sorsogon City at 7:21 a.m. Saturday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said.
In a bulletin, state seismologists said the earthquake, which was tectonic in origin, was located 50 kilometers northeast of Sorsogon City.
No damage or aftershocks were expected, Phivolcs said.
Friday, October 17, 2008
‘French Survivor’seen behind 2,000% Bicol tourism hike
ATN
LEGAZPI CITY—FRENCH TOURIST ARrivals in the Bicol region rose by 2,229 percent from 912 in the first two quarters of 2007 to 21,247 over the same period this year, the Department of Tourism here said.
“This is an astounding leap,” said Maria Ong-Ravanilla, Bicol tourism regional director. She said the filming of the French edition of the popular reality game show “Survivor” early this year in Caramoan, Camarines Sur, was a major factor.
France was fifth in terms of tourist influx in Bicol in 2007 but it suddenly climbed to the top spot, placing United States second with 11,847, Japan with 5,032, Germany with 2,844, and Australia with 2,385.
In 2007, she said the Bicol region ranked sixth among other regions with total tourist arrivals of 897,680. Bicol was seventh in 2006 and ninth in 2004 and 2005.
Top tourist attractions in Bicol are Donsol town’s whale shark interaction in Sorsogon, Albay’s Mayon volcano, and the Camarines Sur Water Sports Complex in Pili town.
Ravanilla said for the first two quarters of 2008, the tourism industry earned a gross income of around P305 million and has generated a total of 198,539 jobs.
“Our gross receipts amounted to around P443 million for the whole of 2007, but now, for only the first two quarters of 2008, we have already earned 69 percent of that,” Ravanilla said.
The “French Survivor” started airing in the first week of July and has been viewed by some 10 million viewers from French-speaking countries in Europe and Canada.
Caramoan Peninsula, which was only known to backpackers before it found fame on French Survivor, boasts of virgin, powdery white sand beaches with crystal blue waters, rock formations and rich flora and fauna. Ephraim Aguilar, Inquirer Southern Luzon
LEGAZPI CITY—FRENCH TOURIST ARrivals in the Bicol region rose by 2,229 percent from 912 in the first two quarters of 2007 to 21,247 over the same period this year, the Department of Tourism here said.
“This is an astounding leap,” said Maria Ong-Ravanilla, Bicol tourism regional director. She said the filming of the French edition of the popular reality game show “Survivor” early this year in Caramoan, Camarines Sur, was a major factor.
France was fifth in terms of tourist influx in Bicol in 2007 but it suddenly climbed to the top spot, placing United States second with 11,847, Japan with 5,032, Germany with 2,844, and Australia with 2,385.
In 2007, she said the Bicol region ranked sixth among other regions with total tourist arrivals of 897,680. Bicol was seventh in 2006 and ninth in 2004 and 2005.
Top tourist attractions in Bicol are Donsol town’s whale shark interaction in Sorsogon, Albay’s Mayon volcano, and the Camarines Sur Water Sports Complex in Pili town.
Ravanilla said for the first two quarters of 2008, the tourism industry earned a gross income of around P305 million and has generated a total of 198,539 jobs.
“Our gross receipts amounted to around P443 million for the whole of 2007, but now, for only the first two quarters of 2008, we have already earned 69 percent of that,” Ravanilla said.
The “French Survivor” started airing in the first week of July and has been viewed by some 10 million viewers from French-speaking countries in Europe and Canada.
Caramoan Peninsula, which was only known to backpackers before it found fame on French Survivor, boasts of virgin, powdery white sand beaches with crystal blue waters, rock formations and rich flora and fauna. Ephraim Aguilar, Inquirer Southern Luzon
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Food poisoning downs 31 in Masbate
By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 12:46:00 10/15/2008
INQUIRER.net
LEGAZPI CITY -- At least 31 residents of a village in Masbate were rushed to a district hospital there due to food poisoning after eating fish bought from the public market, a police official said Wednesday.
Chief Inspector Salvador Retuermo, Cataingan chief of police, said the victims, who are residents of Barangay (village) Poblacion in Cataingan town, complained of severe stomach ache and vomiting.
The victims ate fish noontime Tuesday and were rushed to the hospital late afternoon of the same day, Retuermo said.
Retuermo said there were more than 31 people who ate fish from the same source but not all showed symptoms of poisoning.
He quoted the municipal doctor as saying that the assorted fish (tangigue, rumpe and malasugi), which vendors said came from Tagapul-an, Samar, were possibly contaminated with formalin.
The victims are under observation in the hospital while police are investigating.
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 12:46:00 10/15/2008
INQUIRER.net
LEGAZPI CITY -- At least 31 residents of a village in Masbate were rushed to a district hospital there due to food poisoning after eating fish bought from the public market, a police official said Wednesday.
Chief Inspector Salvador Retuermo, Cataingan chief of police, said the victims, who are residents of Barangay (village) Poblacion in Cataingan town, complained of severe stomach ache and vomiting.
The victims ate fish noontime Tuesday and were rushed to the hospital late afternoon of the same day, Retuermo said.
Retuermo said there were more than 31 people who ate fish from the same source but not all showed symptoms of poisoning.
He quoted the municipal doctor as saying that the assorted fish (tangigue, rumpe and malasugi), which vendors said came from Tagapul-an, Samar, were possibly contaminated with formalin.
The victims are under observation in the hospital while police are investigating.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
‘Survivor’ boosts Bicol tourism
By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 17:44:00 10/14/2008
INQUIRER.net
LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines -- French tourist arrivals in the Bicol region grew more than 20 times, from 912 in the first two quarters of 2007 to 21,247 during the same period this year, thanks to the filming there of the “Survivor” reality TV show, the Department of Tourism (DoT) here said.
"This is an astounding leap," said Maria Ong-Ravanilla, Bicol tourism regional director, attributing this to the filming of the French edition of the popular reality game show early this year in Caramoan town in Camarines Sur.
France was fifth in terms of tourist arrivals in Bicol in 2007 but suddenly climbed to the top spot, placing the United States second with 11,847, Japan with 5,032, Germany with 2,844, and Australia with 2,385.
Ravanilla said the breakthrough in tourist arrivals is expected to secure a spot for Bicol as one of the country's top tourist destinations.
In 2007, she said the Bicol region ranked sixth among other regions with total tourist arrivals of 897,680. Bicol was seventh in 2006 and ninth in 2004 and 2005.
Top tourist attractions in Bicol are Donsol town's whaleshark interaction in Sorsogon, Albay's Mayon Volcano, and the Camarines Sur’s Water Sports Complex in Pili town.
Ravanilla added that for the first two quarters of 2008, the tourism industry earned a gross income of around P305 million and generated a total of 198,539 jobs.
"Our gross receipts amounted to around P443 million for the whole of 2007, but now, for only the first two quarters of 2008, we have already earned 69 percent of that," Ravanilla said.
The French Survivor started airing in the first week of July and has been viewed by some 10 million viewers from French-speaking countries in Europe and Canada.
Caramoan Peninsula, which was known to only to backpackers before it was used as a location for Survivor France, boasts powdery white sand beaches and crystal blue waters, rock formations and rich flora and fauna.
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 17:44:00 10/14/2008
INQUIRER.net
LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines -- French tourist arrivals in the Bicol region grew more than 20 times, from 912 in the first two quarters of 2007 to 21,247 during the same period this year, thanks to the filming there of the “Survivor” reality TV show, the Department of Tourism (DoT) here said.
"This is an astounding leap," said Maria Ong-Ravanilla, Bicol tourism regional director, attributing this to the filming of the French edition of the popular reality game show early this year in Caramoan town in Camarines Sur.
France was fifth in terms of tourist arrivals in Bicol in 2007 but suddenly climbed to the top spot, placing the United States second with 11,847, Japan with 5,032, Germany with 2,844, and Australia with 2,385.
Ravanilla said the breakthrough in tourist arrivals is expected to secure a spot for Bicol as one of the country's top tourist destinations.
In 2007, she said the Bicol region ranked sixth among other regions with total tourist arrivals of 897,680. Bicol was seventh in 2006 and ninth in 2004 and 2005.
Top tourist attractions in Bicol are Donsol town's whaleshark interaction in Sorsogon, Albay's Mayon Volcano, and the Camarines Sur’s Water Sports Complex in Pili town.
Ravanilla added that for the first two quarters of 2008, the tourism industry earned a gross income of around P305 million and generated a total of 198,539 jobs.
"Our gross receipts amounted to around P443 million for the whole of 2007, but now, for only the first two quarters of 2008, we have already earned 69 percent of that," Ravanilla said.
The French Survivor started airing in the first week of July and has been viewed by some 10 million viewers from French-speaking countries in Europe and Canada.
Caramoan Peninsula, which was known to only to backpackers before it was used as a location for Survivor France, boasts powdery white sand beaches and crystal blue waters, rock formations and rich flora and fauna.
Fishing ban around ferry wreckage lifted
By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 15:32:00 10/14/2008
INQUIRER.net
LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines -- The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has lifted the five-kilometer-radius fishing ban it imposed around the sunken MV Princess of the Stars off Sibuyan Island in Romblon after tests detected no chemical residue in the waters.
Water samples were taken and analyzed by the National Pesticide Analytical Laboratory after the last drum of the highly toxic pesticide endosulfan was removed from the wreckage.
A total of 402 containers of endosulfan have been recovered from the sunken vessel.
"No contamination of the toxic chemical was found," said Juvy Barillo, hazard inspector of BFAR-Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan) in phone interview.
In an advisory released Monday, BFAR chief Malcom Sarmiento Jr. declared fish at the wreckage site and around the rest of Sibuyan Island safe for human consumption.
San Fernando Mayor Nanette Tansingco earlier said fishing outside the five-kilometer fishing ban radius entailed great fuel costs for the Sibuyan residents.
For months, she said, people would not buy marine products from Sibuyan, fearing these were contaminated.
Engineer Rey de Juan, deputized civil defense coordinator in Romblon, said retrieval of bunker oil from the sunken vessel is ongoing while the retrieval of bodies will start next week.
The Princess of the Stars, owned by Sulpicio Lines Inc., capsized and sank off Sibuyan Island in Romblon on June 21 when the ferry sailed into the path of typhoon "Frank" with more than 800 passengers and crew.
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 15:32:00 10/14/2008
INQUIRER.net
LEGAZPI CITY, Philippines -- The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has lifted the five-kilometer-radius fishing ban it imposed around the sunken MV Princess of the Stars off Sibuyan Island in Romblon after tests detected no chemical residue in the waters.
Water samples were taken and analyzed by the National Pesticide Analytical Laboratory after the last drum of the highly toxic pesticide endosulfan was removed from the wreckage.
A total of 402 containers of endosulfan have been recovered from the sunken vessel.
"No contamination of the toxic chemical was found," said Juvy Barillo, hazard inspector of BFAR-Mimaropa (Mindoro, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan) in phone interview.
In an advisory released Monday, BFAR chief Malcom Sarmiento Jr. declared fish at the wreckage site and around the rest of Sibuyan Island safe for human consumption.
San Fernando Mayor Nanette Tansingco earlier said fishing outside the five-kilometer fishing ban radius entailed great fuel costs for the Sibuyan residents.
For months, she said, people would not buy marine products from Sibuyan, fearing these were contaminated.
Engineer Rey de Juan, deputized civil defense coordinator in Romblon, said retrieval of bunker oil from the sunken vessel is ongoing while the retrieval of bodies will start next week.
The Princess of the Stars, owned by Sulpicio Lines Inc., capsized and sank off Sibuyan Island in Romblon on June 21 when the ferry sailed into the path of typhoon "Frank" with more than 800 passengers and crew.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Wed ex-priest favors family planning bill
By Ephraim Aguilar, page A7
Inquirer Southern Luzon
DARAGA, ALBAY--Rafael Triunfante, a married former priest, has come out in favor of the controversial reproductive health bill and criticized the Catholic Church for trying to stop its passage in Congress.
The Rome-educated Triunfante said the Church’s hard-line stance against modern birth control methods and sex education, which the bill would promote, showed a lack of compassion for the problems of married couples and the poor.
The bill, authored by Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, is being debated in the House of Representatives. Influential Catholic bishops are lobbying for its rejection, saying it goes against Church doctrine.
Triunfante was ordained a priest in 1968 but he left the ministry after 11 years. Now 63, he has been married 28 years and has two children.
Both methods
One of the pioneers of the Philippine Federation of Married Priests Inc. (PFMP), Triunfante admitted having used both natural and artificial means of birth control.
He said most people wanted to plan their families but they did not have the resources—information, services and money. This is what the bill seeks to address.
He also lamented the lack of reproductive health services for the people.
With its rigid stance against the bill, the Church may have lost a “ministry of compassion,” he said.
After he left the priesthood, Triunfante said he felt he had climbed down from a pedestal and was better able to feel the pulse of the people.
“When you’re a priest, people put you on a pedestal. People always want to serve you rather than you serve them. I knew something was wrong with this,” he said.
Dialogue
Triunfante said other PFMP members were hoping the Church would at least be open to a dialogue with them on the reproductive health bill.
“But the Church would not even want to listen,” he said, adding that this was also how the Church treated many priests who still wanted to serve God, even though married.
“We were isolated. The Church was not open,” he said.
He said the PFMP, which promotes the dignity of marriage and family life, was founded in 1972 and now has a membership of over 500 couples nationwide.
Triunfante said that his open stand on the reproductive health bill was not influenced solely by his married life.
He said he believed in the “theology of liberation,” which teaches that knowing the issues of the people and living with them makes ministry more effective.
Triunfante said he felt frustrated and isolated from the people.
“I felt like my life was not normal anymore, especially my sex life. There were realities that could not be ignored,” he said.
Granted a scholarship, he studied Philosophy and Theology in Rome, where he was exposed to the Vatican Council’s discourse on the celibacy of priests.
“This imbibed in me the spirit of reformation,” he said.
Inquirer Southern Luzon
DARAGA, ALBAY--Rafael Triunfante, a married former priest, has come out in favor of the controversial reproductive health bill and criticized the Catholic Church for trying to stop its passage in Congress.
The Rome-educated Triunfante said the Church’s hard-line stance against modern birth control methods and sex education, which the bill would promote, showed a lack of compassion for the problems of married couples and the poor.
The bill, authored by Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, is being debated in the House of Representatives. Influential Catholic bishops are lobbying for its rejection, saying it goes against Church doctrine.
Triunfante was ordained a priest in 1968 but he left the ministry after 11 years. Now 63, he has been married 28 years and has two children.
Both methods
One of the pioneers of the Philippine Federation of Married Priests Inc. (PFMP), Triunfante admitted having used both natural and artificial means of birth control.
He said most people wanted to plan their families but they did not have the resources—information, services and money. This is what the bill seeks to address.
He also lamented the lack of reproductive health services for the people.
With its rigid stance against the bill, the Church may have lost a “ministry of compassion,” he said.
After he left the priesthood, Triunfante said he felt he had climbed down from a pedestal and was better able to feel the pulse of the people.
“When you’re a priest, people put you on a pedestal. People always want to serve you rather than you serve them. I knew something was wrong with this,” he said.
Dialogue
Triunfante said other PFMP members were hoping the Church would at least be open to a dialogue with them on the reproductive health bill.
“But the Church would not even want to listen,” he said, adding that this was also how the Church treated many priests who still wanted to serve God, even though married.
“We were isolated. The Church was not open,” he said.
He said the PFMP, which promotes the dignity of marriage and family life, was founded in 1972 and now has a membership of over 500 couples nationwide.
Triunfante said that his open stand on the reproductive health bill was not influenced solely by his married life.
He said he believed in the “theology of liberation,” which teaches that knowing the issues of the people and living with them makes ministry more effective.
Triunfante said he felt frustrated and isolated from the people.
“I felt like my life was not normal anymore, especially my sex life. There were realities that could not be ignored,” he said.
Granted a scholarship, he studied Philosophy and Theology in Rome, where he was exposed to the Vatican Council’s discourse on the celibacy of priests.
“This imbibed in me the spirit of reformation,” he said.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Married priests support RH bill
By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 17:46:00 10/11/2008
INQUIRER.net
DARAGA, Albay -- Will the stand of the Catholic Church on the controversial reproductive health bill differ if priests, who are bound to a vow of celibacy, were allowed to marry and not denied of a sex life?
Rafael Triunfante was ordained priest in 1968 and had been active in the ministry for 11 years, but at 63, he has been happily married for 28 years with two children.
Triunfante admitted having used both natural and artificial means of family planning, the latter being the subject of discourse as the bill authored by Albay Representative Edcel Lagman still pending approval in the House of Representatives.
Also known as House Bill 5043, the measure requires government hospitals to include contraceptives in their supply purchases and would require mandatory reproductive health education in schools, which are both opposed by the Catholic Church.
The Church hierarchy has been dodging the passage of the bill, even by the use of the pulpit, saying the bill “promotes a culture of death and immorality.”
Triunfante said most people want to plan their families but they do not have the resources -- information, services and money -- which the bill seeks to address.
He said the lack of information available on family planning restricts people's choices.
He also lamented the lack of reproductive health services for the people which should ideally be made available both by the Church and state.
With its rigid stance against the bill, Triunfante said, the Church may lose its “ministry of compassion.”
Triunfante, who has been ostracized by the Church after he quit the ministry, was wary of being vocal about his stand on the reproductive health bill because, he said, it would be easy for people to judge him as a “sour grape.”
But, he said, after he decided to leave his “pedestal” to be more immersed in the community, he learned to heed the people's needs and to take side with their voice.
“When you're a priest, people put you in a pedestal. People would always want to serve you rather than you to serve them. I knew something was wrong with this,” he said.
Triunfante, one of the pioneering members of the Philippine Federation of Married Priests Inc. (PFMP), said even the group was hoping that the Church would at least be open to a dialogue.
“But the Church would not even want to listen,” he said, adding that this was also how the Church treated many priests who still wanted to serve God even after they married.
“We were isolated. The Church was not open,” he lamented.
The PFMP, which promotes dignity of marriage and family life as one of its objectives, was founded in 1972 and has now a membership of over 500 couples nationwide.
But Triunfante clarified that his open stand on the reproductive health bill was not solely influenced by his married life.
He said he had always believed in the “theory of liberation,” which teaches that knowing the issues of the people and living with them makes ministry more effective.
In 1980s, Triunfante reviewed his life with the help of a Jesuit spiritual adviser.
“I felt like my life was not normal anymore, especially my sex life. There were realities that could not be ignored,” said Triunfante, who recounted having lived a very secluded life in the seminary as young as 11 years old.
He studied Philosophy and Theology in Rome, Italy through a scholarship, where he was exposed to the Vatican Council's discourse on celibacy as an option for priests.
“This imbibed in me the spirit of reformation,” he said.
After having been an active priest for 11 years, Triunfante took a leave of absence from the ministry for one year and lived in an urban poor community to see how it felt to be near the people before he decided to get married in 1980.
“I was no longer happy because of my frustrations. I felt I was isolated and far from the people,” he said.
“Now, the Church and the state can sit down for a while and discuss things that can be agreed upon, especially on providing a better life for the people,” he added.
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 17:46:00 10/11/2008
INQUIRER.net
DARAGA, Albay -- Will the stand of the Catholic Church on the controversial reproductive health bill differ if priests, who are bound to a vow of celibacy, were allowed to marry and not denied of a sex life?
Rafael Triunfante was ordained priest in 1968 and had been active in the ministry for 11 years, but at 63, he has been happily married for 28 years with two children.
Triunfante admitted having used both natural and artificial means of family planning, the latter being the subject of discourse as the bill authored by Albay Representative Edcel Lagman still pending approval in the House of Representatives.
Also known as House Bill 5043, the measure requires government hospitals to include contraceptives in their supply purchases and would require mandatory reproductive health education in schools, which are both opposed by the Catholic Church.
The Church hierarchy has been dodging the passage of the bill, even by the use of the pulpit, saying the bill “promotes a culture of death and immorality.”
Triunfante said most people want to plan their families but they do not have the resources -- information, services and money -- which the bill seeks to address.
He said the lack of information available on family planning restricts people's choices.
He also lamented the lack of reproductive health services for the people which should ideally be made available both by the Church and state.
With its rigid stance against the bill, Triunfante said, the Church may lose its “ministry of compassion.”
Triunfante, who has been ostracized by the Church after he quit the ministry, was wary of being vocal about his stand on the reproductive health bill because, he said, it would be easy for people to judge him as a “sour grape.”
But, he said, after he decided to leave his “pedestal” to be more immersed in the community, he learned to heed the people's needs and to take side with their voice.
“When you're a priest, people put you in a pedestal. People would always want to serve you rather than you to serve them. I knew something was wrong with this,” he said.
Triunfante, one of the pioneering members of the Philippine Federation of Married Priests Inc. (PFMP), said even the group was hoping that the Church would at least be open to a dialogue.
“But the Church would not even want to listen,” he said, adding that this was also how the Church treated many priests who still wanted to serve God even after they married.
“We were isolated. The Church was not open,” he lamented.
The PFMP, which promotes dignity of marriage and family life as one of its objectives, was founded in 1972 and has now a membership of over 500 couples nationwide.
But Triunfante clarified that his open stand on the reproductive health bill was not solely influenced by his married life.
He said he had always believed in the “theory of liberation,” which teaches that knowing the issues of the people and living with them makes ministry more effective.
In 1980s, Triunfante reviewed his life with the help of a Jesuit spiritual adviser.
“I felt like my life was not normal anymore, especially my sex life. There were realities that could not be ignored,” said Triunfante, who recounted having lived a very secluded life in the seminary as young as 11 years old.
He studied Philosophy and Theology in Rome, Italy through a scholarship, where he was exposed to the Vatican Council's discourse on celibacy as an option for priests.
“This imbibed in me the spirit of reformation,” he said.
After having been an active priest for 11 years, Triunfante took a leave of absence from the ministry for one year and lived in an urban poor community to see how it felt to be near the people before he decided to get married in 1980.
“I was no longer happy because of my frustrations. I felt I was isolated and far from the people,” he said.
“Now, the Church and the state can sit down for a while and discuss things that can be agreed upon, especially on providing a better life for the people,” he added.
Thursday, October 09, 2008
5.5-magnitude quake rocks Bicol, Samar
By Ephraim Aguilar
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 10:48:00 10/09/2008
INQUIRER.net
LEGAZPI CITY -- A 5.5-magnitude earthquake shook Bicol and Samar areas at dawn Thursday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology reported.
State seismologists located the 3:09 a.m. earthquake, which was tectonic in origin, 46 kilometers east of Sorsogon and was felt strongest in Legazpi City, Sorsogon City, and Irosin, Sorsogon.
It was also felt in Panganiban, Catanduanes; Catarman, Northern Samar; Catbalogan, Western Samar; and Borongan, Eastern Samar; Naga City, and at the Ligñon Hill in Daraga, Albay.
Phivolcs warned the public against the possible occurrence of aftershocks.
On Monday, a 4.8-magnitude earthquake also rocked Bicol and Eastern Visayas shortly after midnight.
Southern Luzon Bureau
First Posted 10:48:00 10/09/2008
INQUIRER.net
LEGAZPI CITY -- A 5.5-magnitude earthquake shook Bicol and Samar areas at dawn Thursday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology reported.
State seismologists located the 3:09 a.m. earthquake, which was tectonic in origin, 46 kilometers east of Sorsogon and was felt strongest in Legazpi City, Sorsogon City, and Irosin, Sorsogon.
It was also felt in Panganiban, Catanduanes; Catarman, Northern Samar; Catbalogan, Western Samar; and Borongan, Eastern Samar; Naga City, and at the Ligñon Hill in Daraga, Albay.
Phivolcs warned the public against the possible occurrence of aftershocks.
On Monday, a 4.8-magnitude earthquake also rocked Bicol and Eastern Visayas shortly after midnight.
RH bill debates should involve sex workers, STD victims, says NGO
A14
LEGAZPI CITY—HUNDREDS of nameless people vulnerable to HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases should also be heard in the heating up debates on the passage of the Reproductive Health Bill, an official of a nongovernment organization said.
Cristita Triunfante, executive director of the Mayon International Development Alternatives and Services Inc. (Midas), said she lamented the seemingly “myopic” view that some people had on the controversial bill.
Current debates are only centered on whether population control will alleviate poverty or whether the legislation is moral or immoral, she said.
“But these are not only the important aspects. Critics of the bill need to have a holistic view by looking into all other elements of reproductive health,” she said.
Midas is a nongovernment organization partnering with the Global Fund AIDS project in preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS and other STDs through education and policy advocacies.
It reaches out to three groups most vulnerable to sexually transmitted infection (STI)—people in prostitution, male having sex with male persons, and migrant workers—by educating them on HIV/AIDS and other STDs and giving them contraceptives.
From January to September, Midas has reached out to 2,223 people in four areas in Bicol with high incidence of STI—the cities of Tabaco and Legazpi in Albay, and Sorsogon City and Matnog town in Sorsogon.
Triunfante, who also chairs the Bicol Integrated Reproductive Health Alliance, noted an increasing trend in the number of people vulnerable to STI.
“Victims are becoming younger. More youths are now engaging in prostitution than before, even males as young as 12, due to poverty,” she said.
But she added that government programs and policies were not leveling up to address the problem.
Nongovernment support is also limited, she said.
Midas has been working with local governments to come up with ordinances creating an AIDS council in the localities that will monitor the spread of the disease and will educate people on prevention.
“Once the RH bill is passed and signed into law, there will be more comprehensive reproductive health services for the people, which includes the proper management of STI cases and prevention,” Triunfante said.
She said that in her experiences at work, not all health offices in towns and cities had personnel trained in handling STI cases.
There is also a lack of social hygiene clinics equipped with enough facilities, she added.
The legislation, also known as House Bill No. 5043, requires government hospitals to include contraceptives in their supply purchases and would require mandatory reproductive health education in schools, which is both opposed by the Catholic Church.
It would also require local governments to employ enough midwives or attendants for a ratio of one for every 150 deliveries per year; to have an emergency obstetric care and maternal death review; and to provide mobile health care services. Ephraim Aguilar, Inquirer Southern Luzon
LEGAZPI CITY—HUNDREDS of nameless people vulnerable to HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases should also be heard in the heating up debates on the passage of the Reproductive Health Bill, an official of a nongovernment organization said.
Cristita Triunfante, executive director of the Mayon International Development Alternatives and Services Inc. (Midas), said she lamented the seemingly “myopic” view that some people had on the controversial bill.
Current debates are only centered on whether population control will alleviate poverty or whether the legislation is moral or immoral, she said.
“But these are not only the important aspects. Critics of the bill need to have a holistic view by looking into all other elements of reproductive health,” she said.
Midas is a nongovernment organization partnering with the Global Fund AIDS project in preventing the spread of HIV/AIDS and other STDs through education and policy advocacies.
It reaches out to three groups most vulnerable to sexually transmitted infection (STI)—people in prostitution, male having sex with male persons, and migrant workers—by educating them on HIV/AIDS and other STDs and giving them contraceptives.
From January to September, Midas has reached out to 2,223 people in four areas in Bicol with high incidence of STI—the cities of Tabaco and Legazpi in Albay, and Sorsogon City and Matnog town in Sorsogon.
Triunfante, who also chairs the Bicol Integrated Reproductive Health Alliance, noted an increasing trend in the number of people vulnerable to STI.
“Victims are becoming younger. More youths are now engaging in prostitution than before, even males as young as 12, due to poverty,” she said.
But she added that government programs and policies were not leveling up to address the problem.
Nongovernment support is also limited, she said.
Midas has been working with local governments to come up with ordinances creating an AIDS council in the localities that will monitor the spread of the disease and will educate people on prevention.
“Once the RH bill is passed and signed into law, there will be more comprehensive reproductive health services for the people, which includes the proper management of STI cases and prevention,” Triunfante said.
She said that in her experiences at work, not all health offices in towns and cities had personnel trained in handling STI cases.
There is also a lack of social hygiene clinics equipped with enough facilities, she added.
The legislation, also known as House Bill No. 5043, requires government hospitals to include contraceptives in their supply purchases and would require mandatory reproductive health education in schools, which is both opposed by the Catholic Church.
It would also require local governments to employ enough midwives or attendants for a ratio of one for every 150 deliveries per year; to have an emergency obstetric care and maternal death review; and to provide mobile health care services. Ephraim Aguilar, Inquirer Southern Luzon
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Edcel: Bill backers, not Church, have numbers
REP. EDCEL LAGMAN YESTERDAY SAID the supporters of the reproductive health bill had the numbers to pass the proposed population-control legislation.
Lagman, a leading proponent of controversial House Bill No. 5043, said the measure’s co-authors now numbered 108 out of 238 congressmen.
Based on the “normal quorum” of 150 in the House of Representatives, he said, the bill’s supporters constituted a majority.
The Albay lawmaker also corrected media reports that “misquoted” him as saying that the bill was “12 votes shy of the approval of the House.”
Lagman’s statement contradicted the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) claim that the proposed Reproductive Health, Responsible Parenthood and Population Development Act of 2008 had lost the support of congressmen.
Jaro Archbishop and CBCP president Angel Lagdameo had earlier said that a survey conducted by Catholic Church-owned Radio Veritas showed that out of 177 congressmen interviewed, 111 were against the bill, 43 in favor and 23 were undecided.
HB 5043 needs 120 votes to be approved on second reading in Congress.
The proposed law would make artificial contraception more accessible to the public through health programs and calls for sex education in schools, both of which the Catholic Church opposes.
The Catholic Church, meanwhile, tried to downplay an emerging rift with other religious groups over the controversial bill.
“The people should not conclude that the debate over the RH (reproductive health) bill is a war of religion, as some members of the media have tried to portray it,” Lagdameo said in an interview over Radio Veritas on Friday.
“This is not a war of religion because each [group] has its own position on the RH bill. The Catholic Church’s position is clear that [the bill] is against the teachings of the Church and should not be made into law,” he said.
The Iglesia ni Cristo and Jesus is Lord Movement have endorsed the bill, along with some Protestant and Muslim leaders.
The bill requires government hospitals to include contraceptives in their supply purchases and would require mandatory reproductive health education in schools.
At present, local governments make contraceptives available in barangay health centers.
The bill would also require local governments to employ enough midwives or attendants for a ratio of one for every 150 deliveries per year; to have an emergency obstetric care and maternal death review; and to provide mobile health care services. Dona Pazzibugan; Ephraim Aguilar, Inquirer Southern Luzon
Lagman, a leading proponent of controversial House Bill No. 5043, said the measure’s co-authors now numbered 108 out of 238 congressmen.
Based on the “normal quorum” of 150 in the House of Representatives, he said, the bill’s supporters constituted a majority.
The Albay lawmaker also corrected media reports that “misquoted” him as saying that the bill was “12 votes shy of the approval of the House.”
Lagman’s statement contradicted the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) claim that the proposed Reproductive Health, Responsible Parenthood and Population Development Act of 2008 had lost the support of congressmen.
Jaro Archbishop and CBCP president Angel Lagdameo had earlier said that a survey conducted by Catholic Church-owned Radio Veritas showed that out of 177 congressmen interviewed, 111 were against the bill, 43 in favor and 23 were undecided.
HB 5043 needs 120 votes to be approved on second reading in Congress.
The proposed law would make artificial contraception more accessible to the public through health programs and calls for sex education in schools, both of which the Catholic Church opposes.
The Catholic Church, meanwhile, tried to downplay an emerging rift with other religious groups over the controversial bill.
“The people should not conclude that the debate over the RH (reproductive health) bill is a war of religion, as some members of the media have tried to portray it,” Lagdameo said in an interview over Radio Veritas on Friday.
“This is not a war of religion because each [group] has its own position on the RH bill. The Catholic Church’s position is clear that [the bill] is against the teachings of the Church and should not be made into law,” he said.
The Iglesia ni Cristo and Jesus is Lord Movement have endorsed the bill, along with some Protestant and Muslim leaders.
The bill requires government hospitals to include contraceptives in their supply purchases and would require mandatory reproductive health education in schools.
At present, local governments make contraceptives available in barangay health centers.
The bill would also require local governments to employ enough midwives or attendants for a ratio of one for every 150 deliveries per year; to have an emergency obstetric care and maternal death review; and to provide mobile health care services. Dona Pazzibugan; Ephraim Aguilar, Inquirer Southern Luzon
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
‘Pablo’ strands 1,758 passengers in Bicol
01 October 2008, ATN
TROPICAL STORM “PABLO” HIT EASTERN Samar yesterday, dumping rain over several provinces in the Visayas and Luzon.
President Macapagal-Arroyo was forced to cancel her Cabinet meeting in Guiuan, Eastern Samar, and chose to travel to Tacloban City in Leyte for an emergency meeting of the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council later in the evening.
Pablo, packing peak winds of 65 kilometers per hour and gusting up to 80 kph, was expected to make landfall between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., forecasters said.
In Bicol, 1,758 passengers were stranded, the Coast Guard reported at 4 p.m.
A total of 35 trucks, 20 cars, 46 buses, and four sea vessels were forced to stay in the ports in Pasacao, Camarines Sur; Tabaco City, Albay; Virac, Catanduanes; and in the towns of Bulan, Matnog and Pilar in Sorsogon.
Port authorities in Matnog suspended all vessels going to Allen port in Samar on Monday midnight, leaving over a thousand passengers stranded there, according to SPO2 Narciso Juntereal of the Highway Patrol Command.
In its morning bulletin yesterday, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) raised Signal No. 2 over the Samar provinces, Leyte and Biliran island.
Signal No. 1 was hoisted over Catanduanes, Albay, Sorsogon, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Masbate, Ticao Island, Burias Island, Romblon, southern Quezon, southern Leyte, Capiz, Aklan, northern Iloilo, northern Negros, northern Cebu, Surigao del Norte, Siargao and Dinagat Islands.
“These areas will experience stormy weather. It’s rainy with strong winds,” forecaster Joel Jesusa said in a phone interview. “People in these areas should expect rain and gusty winds, from 30 kph to 60 kph,” he said.
At 10 a.m., the storm was swirling over the Philippine Sea some 140 km east-southeast of Guiuan. Moving west-northwest at 15 kph, it was forecast to be near Catbalogan, Samar, today.
Pagasa alerted people living in low-lying areas and mountain slopes against flash floods and landslides, and those living in coastal areas under signal No. 2 against big waves and storm surges.
The rest of Luzon, including Metro Manila, will be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rains and thunderstorms.
The President attended the 107th Balangiga Encounter, considered the biggest single victory of the Filipinos during the Filipino-American War, as planned. She is the first President to ever grace the commemoration of the historic event.
On Sept. 28, 1901, hundreds of native fighters, mostly wielding bolos, surprised soldiers of Company C, 9th US Infantry Regiment in an attack meant to free 80 men being used for forced labor.
Speaking during the commemoration, Ms Arroyo recognized the tourism potentials of Western Samar, Eastern Samar and Northern Samar.
The tourism industry of the three provinces still lag behind their neighbors due to the lack of infrastructure and tourism-related facilities, as well as the insurgency problem, she said.
The President said she had directed the Department of Public Works and Highways to pave the major roads and highways of the Samar Island so that it would become accessible.
She revealed plans to rehabilitate the old but unused airport in Guiuan to serve as a gateway to the island.
“These roads and airports are expected to boost both the local and foreign tourism,” she said.
Ms Arroyo said she had instructed National Security Adviser Secretary Norberto Gonzales to create the Leyte-Samar Peace and Security Council to address the peace and order problem in the area. Ephraim Aguilar and Roy Gersalia, Inquirer Southern Luzon; Joey A. Gabieta, Inquirer Visayas; and TJ Burgonio in Manila.
TROPICAL STORM “PABLO” HIT EASTERN Samar yesterday, dumping rain over several provinces in the Visayas and Luzon.
President Macapagal-Arroyo was forced to cancel her Cabinet meeting in Guiuan, Eastern Samar, and chose to travel to Tacloban City in Leyte for an emergency meeting of the Regional Disaster Coordinating Council later in the evening.
Pablo, packing peak winds of 65 kilometers per hour and gusting up to 80 kph, was expected to make landfall between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., forecasters said.
In Bicol, 1,758 passengers were stranded, the Coast Guard reported at 4 p.m.
A total of 35 trucks, 20 cars, 46 buses, and four sea vessels were forced to stay in the ports in Pasacao, Camarines Sur; Tabaco City, Albay; Virac, Catanduanes; and in the towns of Bulan, Matnog and Pilar in Sorsogon.
Port authorities in Matnog suspended all vessels going to Allen port in Samar on Monday midnight, leaving over a thousand passengers stranded there, according to SPO2 Narciso Juntereal of the Highway Patrol Command.
In its morning bulletin yesterday, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) raised Signal No. 2 over the Samar provinces, Leyte and Biliran island.
Signal No. 1 was hoisted over Catanduanes, Albay, Sorsogon, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Masbate, Ticao Island, Burias Island, Romblon, southern Quezon, southern Leyte, Capiz, Aklan, northern Iloilo, northern Negros, northern Cebu, Surigao del Norte, Siargao and Dinagat Islands.
“These areas will experience stormy weather. It’s rainy with strong winds,” forecaster Joel Jesusa said in a phone interview. “People in these areas should expect rain and gusty winds, from 30 kph to 60 kph,” he said.
At 10 a.m., the storm was swirling over the Philippine Sea some 140 km east-southeast of Guiuan. Moving west-northwest at 15 kph, it was forecast to be near Catbalogan, Samar, today.
Pagasa alerted people living in low-lying areas and mountain slopes against flash floods and landslides, and those living in coastal areas under signal No. 2 against big waves and storm surges.
The rest of Luzon, including Metro Manila, will be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated rains and thunderstorms.
The President attended the 107th Balangiga Encounter, considered the biggest single victory of the Filipinos during the Filipino-American War, as planned. She is the first President to ever grace the commemoration of the historic event.
On Sept. 28, 1901, hundreds of native fighters, mostly wielding bolos, surprised soldiers of Company C, 9th US Infantry Regiment in an attack meant to free 80 men being used for forced labor.
Speaking during the commemoration, Ms Arroyo recognized the tourism potentials of Western Samar, Eastern Samar and Northern Samar.
The tourism industry of the three provinces still lag behind their neighbors due to the lack of infrastructure and tourism-related facilities, as well as the insurgency problem, she said.
The President said she had directed the Department of Public Works and Highways to pave the major roads and highways of the Samar Island so that it would become accessible.
She revealed plans to rehabilitate the old but unused airport in Guiuan to serve as a gateway to the island.
“These roads and airports are expected to boost both the local and foreign tourism,” she said.
Ms Arroyo said she had instructed National Security Adviser Secretary Norberto Gonzales to create the Leyte-Samar Peace and Security Council to address the peace and order problem in the area. Ephraim Aguilar and Roy Gersalia, Inquirer Southern Luzon; Joey A. Gabieta, Inquirer Visayas; and TJ Burgonio in Manila.
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