MM to experience drought in April and May – Pagasa

By J.Lo

“By end of April or May, Metro Manila will be under what we call meteorologically drought condition, it will experience a prolonged dry spell which already started last month and will continue next month. Few rains are expected in Metro Manila so there will be a big reduction in rainwater,” Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) Climate Monitoring and Prediction Section head Ana Lisa Solis

Metro Manila will experience a “meteorologically drought condition” in April and May, amid the current strong El Niño phenomenon in the country, according to the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA).

Meteorologically drought condition occurs when there is a big reduction of rainfall for three to five consecutive months, PAGASA Climate Monitoring and Prediction Section head Ana Lisa Solis said in an interview.

Solis added that the light rains experienced in Metro Manila yesterday were brought by the northeast monsoon but have no significant impact.

“Northeast monsoon will continue to affect the extreme Luzon area, including Metro Manila. These areas will experience cloudy to isolated rainshowers brought by amihan (northeast monsoon) but then we won’t see a significant impact,” Solis added.

At the same time, Solis asked the public to conserve water to preserve the elevation of Angat Dam.

“Although (the water level of) Angat Dam remains at above rule curve but then we see a prolonged reduction of rains, so it is better to conserve water,” Solis said.

“Even if it’s hot, we should not make it a habit to take a bath three times a day. There are other ways to be refreshed so we need to conserve water,” she noted.

As of 6 a.m. yesterday, the water level of Angat Dam decreased by 0.27 meters after it reached 206.45 meters compared to its previous level of 206.72 meters. It was 8.12 meters below its normal high water level of 212 meters.

Angat Dam supplies more than 90 percent of Metro Manila’s potable water needs and provides for the irrigation needs of 25,000 hectares of farmlands in Bulacan and Pampanga.

DA allows milk imports from Thai, Russia, SoKor, Libya

By Nidz Godino

“These are considered safe commodities and are not included in the temporary restriction, subject to the Philippines’ import terms and conditions,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. has allowed the importation of milk and milk products from Thailand, Russia, South Korea and Libya after he had previously ordered a ban on the entry of live cattle and buffalo from the four countries amid the threat of lumpy skin disease (LSD).

Laurel issued Memorandum Circular No. 6 amending Memorandum Order No. 6, stating that only live bovines, water buffaloes, semen and embryos are covered by the prohibition.

In an amended directive, Laurel said that the importation of skeletal muscle meat, casings, gelatin, collagen tallow, hooves and horns is allowed.

Aside from milk and milk products, meal and flour from blood, meat and other skeletal muscle or bones, hides and other products from cattle and water buffaloes can also be imported from the four countries as long as importers can secure a veterinary certificate from the country of origin that these were subjected to pasteurization, according to the agriculture chief.

He emphasized that the ban on live cattle and buffaloes from Thailand, South Korea, Russia and Libya was necessary to prevent the entry of LSD to the Philippines and protect the health of the local cattle and buffalo population.

“LSD is a disease of economic importance as it causes temporary reduction in milk production, temporary or permanent sterility in bulls, damage to hides and, occasionally, death,” Laurel said.

“The LSD virus is also remarkably stable, surviving for long periods at ambient temperature, especially in dried scabs, as they are very resistant to inactivation,” he added.

Thailand, Russia, South Korea and Libya have reported ongoing cases of LSD as shown in the World Organization for Animal Health’s World Animal Health Information System.

“The virus can still potentially spread through the movement of animals and animal products,” Laurel said.

TODAY’S GOD’S MESSAGE

1 John 4:9

⁹ This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.

Holocaust survivor came back to horrors of Nazi genocide

By Nidz Godino

“I stand here today in front of you to tell you, Hitler did not win,” more than eight decades after the mass murder of six million Jews during World War 2, an 86-year-old survivor of the Nazis under Adolf Hitler can still recall the horrors of the genocide.

Both  embassies of Israel and Germany in Manila have partnered to commemorate the International Holocaust Remembrance Day through the Zikaron BaSalon, an informal gathering in a living room to hear the story of a survivor.

After graduation in New York, she immigrated to Israel and established her life. She considers having two children and seven amazing grandchildren as a victory against the Nazi regime.

The Zikaron BaSalon was held on Feb. 13 at the residence of the German Ambassador and was attended by the diplomatic community, Jewish community and some local government officials.

Holocaust survivor Dorcas joined via Zoom from Israel and recalled the nightmare she went through at the age of five when the Nazis and Hitler ruled.

After the Nazis invaded Poland, the Jews were persecuted and Dorcas along with her parents, had to move to the ghetto, as all Jews were ordered, and suffer terrible conditions, torture and hunger.

 “I stand here today in front of you to tell you, Hitler did not win,” she proudly said in her narration of what she went through during World War 2.

She shared how she spent most of her childhood hiding in different places with her beloved doll , staying quiet while hiding in cabinets where she couldn’t even see daylight.

Dorcas’ father was killed by the Nazis in the ghetto while she and her mother managed to escape soon after through the sewer.

The survivor shared that they moved to Paris after the war but Dorcas was orphaned as a teenager and moved to live with extended family in Peru.

“I thank Dorcas for her moving testimony. Irene’s message is clear – our job is to pass this testimony on, because there aren’t many of them left to tell their story,” Israel Ambassador Ilan Fluss said.

“It is our collective and personal responsibility to make sure that there is no place that is not safe for Jews to be in. Especially in today’s reality, that anti-Semitism is alarming and Jews feel unsafe to be identified as Jews again,” he added.

Fluss also remembered the atrocities of the Hamas Group on Oct. 7, 2023, which he said brought back the nightmare of the Holocaust.

He thanked German Ambassador Andreas Pfaffernoschke for partnering with the Israeli embassy to continue the annual Holocaust Remembrance Day commemoration.

The Holocaust was an unprecedented genocide perpetrated by Nazi Germany where six million Jews or one third of the Jewish population were murdered just because they were Jewish.

NAIA 4th worst in Asia, M E for business travel

By Nidz Godino

Fourth  worst gateway in Asia and the Middle East by business class travelers, Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) has been named as the, trailing its Southeast Asian counterparts that were adjudged as some of the best in the continent.

In a list drawn up by BusinessFinancing.co.uk, NAIA obtained a score of 2.78 on a scale of one to 10, with 10 being the highest.

Noi Bai International Airport in Vietnam and Changi Airport in Singapore have been ranked as the world’s best and second best, with respective
 averages of 6.8 and 6.63.

The list also named Hong Kong International Airport in China and Hamad International Airport in Qatar as some of the best in the continent. The best airports in Asia for business travel also included Narita International Airport and Haneda Airport, both in Japan.

Meanwhile, Kuwait International Airport crashed to the bottom of the list, the only gateway that averaged a score of below two.

The Middle East’s Almaty International Airport and King Abdulaziz International Airport in Saudi Arabia were named second and third worst, respectively.

In scoring the airports on the list, BusinessFinancing.co.uk collated passenger reviews across the world from Airline Quality, developed and managed by aviation specialist Skytrax.

From there, BusinessFinancing.co.uk filtered the reviews down to those classified as business class travelers, and ranked the airports by country first and by continent after.

In 2023, travel specialist Casago ranked NAIA as the eighth worst gateway in Asia for passenger queuing times.

Southeast Asian airports like those in Singapore, Cambodia and Vietnam made it to the good side of the list, as travelers appreciated their fast processing periods.

NAIA, however, has a chance to redeem itself in the near future, as it would be rehabilitated and operated by a private sector group led by diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC), which recently bagged the 15-year concession to operate and maintain the airport.

The contract, extendable by 10 years depending on improvements, would require SMC to invest a minimum of P122.3 billion, or P4.89 billion a year, to upgrade the airport.

The SMC group aims to elevate the passenger capacity of NAIA to at least 62 million per annum.

It is also setting up facilities designed to enhance passenger experience. 

TODAY’S GOD’S MESSAGE

Proverbs 14:22

²² Do not those who plot evil go astray?
    But those who plan what is good find^[a] love and faithfulness.

Footnotes

1. Proverbs 14:22 Or show

TODAY’S GOD’S MESSAGE

Romans 13:9-10

⁹ The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,”^[a] and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”^[b] 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

Footnotes

1. Romans 13:9 Exodus 20:13-15,17; Deut. 5:17-19,21
2. Romans 13:9 Lev. 19:18

Marcos upgraded SUCs

By Nidz Godino

 President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.has created under Republic Act (RA) 11978, or An Act Establishing the Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University-South La Union Campus-College of Medicine, the institute will primarily offer a Doctor of Medicine program, including an Integrated Liberal Arts and Medicine Program.

The program will consist of basic science and clinical courses using a learner-centered, competency-based and community-oriented approach, with the goal of “develop(ing) a corps of professional physicians to strengthen the healthcare system of the country.”

It is also aimed at responding to the human resource development needs of the province of La Union and the Ilocos Region, and is mandated to undertake research and extension services and provide progressive leadership in these areas.

Marcos has also signed RA 11977, which established the Pampanga State Agricultural University (PSAU)-Floridablanca campus in Floridablanca, Pampanga.

The PSAU-Floridablanca campus will offer short-term, technical-vocational, undergraduate and graduate courses within its areas of competency and specialization.

Also signed was RA 11979, which converted the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) in Parañaque City into a regular campus.

Under the law, the PUP-Parañaque City campus will offer short-term, technical-vocational, undergraduate and graduate courses within its areas of competency and specialization.

Meanwhile, Marcos signed RA 11980, or the Revised Bulacan State University Charter to enhance the capability of the BulSU in providing accessible quality education.

RA 11980 aims to further strengthen BulSU by expanding its curricular offerings and the composition and powers of its governing board, developing the competencies and encouraging the specialization of its constituent units and engaging in conventional or alternative instructional techniques, among other functions.

All laws will take effect 15 days after their publication on the Official Gazette, or in a newspaper of general circulation.

TODAY’S GOD’S MESSAGE

Proverbs 17:9

⁹ Whoever would foster love covers over an offense,
    but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.

PhilHealth backs better benefit packages

By Jlo

“We are one with Speaker Martin when he says we have to aggressively and continuously increase the case packages of PhilHealth across the board,” Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) president and chief executive officer Emmanuel Ledesma Jr. said executives have thrown their support behind the call of House Speaker Martin Romualdez for the state insurer to enhance their service and benefit packages for members and their dependents.

Ledesma gave the assurance when the agency briefed the House committee on health about its benefit packages.

Earlier, Romualdez issued a directive to review PhilHealth’s charter to expand patients’ benefits, including early detection of cancer and provide a more comprehensive health care coverage for patients.

The Speaker particularly wanted an increase in benefits to cover at least 50 percent of costs in private hospital wards and the provision of free examinations for the early detection of deadly diseases, such as cancer.

Ledesma said that, as part of PhilHealth’s prime mandate, they would have to increase the benefit packages to make things easier for Filipinos to avail of health care services.

He acknowledged that while they are increasing the coverage rate of most of PhilHealth’s benefit packages starting last Feb. 14, additional increases are “warranted.”