Climate Change/Environment

MANILA – The number of families affected by the magnitude 6.8 earthquake that struck Sarangani, Davao Occidental on Nov. 17 has climbed to 3,696, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said on Tuesday.

In its latest bulletin, the NDRRMC said the total is equivalent to 16,293 persons residing in 51 barangays located in the Davao and Soccsksargen regions.

As of posting time, no evacuation centers are activated, the NDRRMC added.

All but one of nine deaths being confirmed are in Soccsksargen.

KORONADAL CITY - The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) today said the number of reported deaths following the magnitude 6.8 earthquake that rocked southern Mindanao has climbed to eight.

As of 3 p.m., the NDRRMC said they are reports of more death but disater officials are still validating their causes of deaths.

In its latest bulletin, NDRRMC said the the power lines have been restored in quake-hit areas and all affected bridges have been assessed and are now passable.

KORONADAL CITY – Police and disaster officials in the Soccsargen region have reported that at least five persons have been killed and hundreds were injured after the Magnitude 6.8 earthquake that hit the region Friday.

Colonel Nicomedes Olaivar, Gen. Santos City police director, said in a radio interview that a couple in Barangay San Isidro, was pinned to death when a concrete wall collapsed after the 4:14 tremor.

He identified them as Danny Ginung, 26, and his wife Jane, 18, both from Barangay Sinawal but temporarily residing in Amadeo compound in Barangay San Isidro.

GEN. SANTOS CITY - In a remarkable marine life monitoring effort in Sarangani Bay, approximately 60 dolphins were spotted by a team from DENR Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office (PENRO) of Sarangani and the Protected Area Management Office Sarangani Bay Protected Seascape (PAMO-SBPS) on Friday, October 13.

COTABATO CITY - In an ongoing endeavor to curb air pollutants in this city, the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources, and Energy (MENRE) inaugurated the first-ever Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Station (AQMS) here on Oct. 4.
 
Located atop the new MENRE Executive Building, this pioneering AQMS in the region will significantly reinforce Cotabato City's air quality surveillance while bolstering the region's anti-air pollution campaign.
 

COTABATO CITY - In a meeting on Thursday, September 21, presided by SGA Development Authority (SGADA) Administrator and SGA Disaster Risk REduction and Management Council DRRMC Chairperson Butch Malang, the council adopted a resolution declaring a state of calamity in the 63 barangays comprising the SGA.

According the recent data, massive flooding was reported in 27 barangays affecting 25,946 households or approximately 129,730 individuals, 329 hectares of combined rice, corn fields, and other crops. Affected individuals correspond to around 60.21% of the entire SGA population.

Halos 240 na pamilyang apektado ng malawakang pagbaha sa Pigkawayan, nabigyan ng tulong ng Pigkawayan LGU at DSWD.

Personal na binisita ni Pigkawayan town Acting Mayor Niel Jake Casi kasama ang MSWDO Staff sa pamumuno ni Danica Faith Luciano, at MDRRMO staff sa pamumuno ni Romeo Capao-an, EnP. ang sitwasyon ng mga Barangay sa bayan ng Pigcawayan na naapektuhan ng tubig baha dulot ng pag-ulan.

MANILA – Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Rex Gatchalian on Wednesday directed the Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) to immediately dispatch family food packs (FFPs) and other relief goods to flood-affected areas in Mindanao.

“We need to move fast. Deploy the FFPs in batches,” Gatchalian said in a statement as he ordered the DRMG to expedite the repacking of FFPs at the Visayas Disaster Resource Center (VDRC) in Cebu City.

COTABATO CITY - SAMPUNG mga bayan sa Maguindanao del Sur ang naitalang apektado ng pagbaha matapos ang ilang oras na pag-ulan nitong linggo sa Maguindanao del Sur.

Binaha din ang coastal barangays ng Lanao del Sur, partikular ang Malabang at Balabagan na nakaapekto sa mahigit isang libong pamilya.

Sa panayam kay Maguindanao del Sur PDRRM Officer Ameer Jehad Ambolodto, ang 29,338 na mga pamilyang apektado ay mula sa mga bayan ng Datu Hoffer, Shariff Aguak, Pagalungan, Datu Montawal, Datu Anggal Midtimbang, Pandag, Talayan, Guindulongan, Datu Saudi Ampatuan at Datu Unsay.

The Catholic Church’s development and advocacy arm is opposing a proposed bill that seeks to reduce the royalty fee imposed on mining companies.

Caritas Philippines president, Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo, said the measure “is a clear betrayal of the people, especially the communities affected by mining”.

The royalty shares, according to him, are supposed to be provided by mining companies to these communities as reparation for the damage they cause to their natural ecosystems.