LEGAZPI CITY—Toppled electric poles, fallen tree branches and leaves, and debris littered key streets of the city after Supertyphoon “Uwan” surged past Albay on Sunday on its way to northeastern Luzon. Uwan (known internationally as Fung-wong) unleashed powerful winds and heavy rains that brought floods to neighborhoods, farms and commercial districts in many areas in...
Category: News
Flooding in Barangay District III, San Miguel, Catanduanes —PHOTO FROM MDRRMO LGU SAN MIGUEL FB PAGE
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Supertyphoon ‘Uwan’ batters Bicol as it moves toward Aurora
NAGA CITY—Supertyphoon “Uwan” (internationally known as Fung-wong) pounded the Bicol region with torrential rains and violent winds that brought massive flooding in many areas as it moved toward Aurora early afternoon of Sunday. In Catanduanes, floodwaters swept parts of Virac, the capital town, including Barangay Gogon Centro, VTC (Virac Town Center) near the public market,...
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No word yet from ‘Bato’ on rumored ICC warrant of arrest, Sotto says
Senate President Vicente Sotto III said there has been no word yet from Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa regarding the arrest warrant purportedly issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for his being an alleged co-conspirator in Rodrigo Duterte’s bloody “war on drugs.” Sotto replied in the negative on Saturday when CoverStory asked if Dela Rosa...
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Marcos admin freed up ₱214B in unprogrammed funds for ‘priority’ infra in 2023-2024
The term “unprogrammed appropriations,” or UAs, sounds innocent enough. But to politicians, public works officials and contractors, they are an opportunity for graft. UAs are standby funds sourced from new or excess government revenues and foreign loans. These revenues were not expected and so were not included in the regular budget. In 2023 and 2024,...
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‘Tino’ wreaks havoc in the Visayas; 83 killed in Cebu
CEBU CITY—Irish Piscos from Consolacion town could barely recall how she and her family survived Typhoon “Tino.” Their house was submerged in floodwaters on the morning of Tuesday, Nov. 4, in Consolacion town in Cebu province, forcing them to climb onto the roof and plead for help. She said she still cries whenever she remembers...
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‘Alon’ is a call for public awareness of plastic pollution and marine protection
The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (RMAF), in partnership with the De La Salle College of Saint Benilde (DLS-CSB), has brought the acclaimed exhibit titled “Alon” to the Ramon Magsaysay Center in Malate, Manila. Focused on the issue of plastic waste in the oceans, and with surfers as a central theme, “Alon” is the RMAF’s first...
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The tycoons behind the Philippines’ dirty energy
From brewing beer to burning coal, the food and beer giant, San Miguel Corp. of tycoon Ramon Ang, is now one of the Philippines’ largest power producers. Its energy arm, San Miguel Global Power, is a younger player in the industry. But, flush with cash, it aggressively built, acquired, and expanded power plants over the...
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Kabataan lawmaker says young Filipinos are ‘incredibly agitated’ by the theft of public funds and their future
For Kabataan Party-list Rep. Renee Louise Co, there was nothing performative in the halftime gig on Oct. 19 of the University of the Philippines (UP) Varsity Pep Squad and the De La Salle University (DLSU) Animo Squad in which they joined forces in assailing the massive corruption in flood control and other infrastructure projects. Co described...
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Filipino women walk President Corazon Aquino’s path of courage and integrity
Philippine history is filled with Filipino women accomplishing feats of which they were thought incapable because patriarchy deemed so. They were not called leaders, but heroes: Melchora Aquino (aka Tandang Sora) provided medical care, food, and sanctuary to revolutionaries; Gregoria de Jesús guarded the Katipunan seal and documents, and served as secretary of its women’s...
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In one small town, a coal plant may hold the key to Philippines’ dirty energy exit
Bulk carrier ships dot the coast of Villanueva, an industrial town in Misamis Oriental in the southern Philippines. Flying different flags, they deliver raw materials and industrial inputs—coal from Indonesia among them—to power plants and factories. They are constantly arriving, departing, or docking at jetties that jut from small piers. “The ships arrive regularly. The...