Climate Change/Environment

“This is outrageous!”

This was the reaction of Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) chair Sec. Emmanuel Piñol after he learned that illegal mining operations and illegal cutting of hardwood trees were uncovered inside the Mt. Apo Protected Area.

In his FB post, Sec. Piñol said the mining and cutting of trees were uncovered by a team from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) North Cotabato inside the Mt. Apo protected area in B Arangay Don Panaca, Magpet town.

MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday vowed to restore normalcy in Cagayan Valley after the region experienced its worst flooding in 40 years due to heavy rains brought by Typhoon Ulysses enhanced by the tail end of a cold front.

In a situation briefing in Tuguegarao City, Duterte promised that the government will “work hard” to rebuild their lives and will prioritize providing immediate rescue, relief, and assistance.

(UPDATED) MANILA – The death toll for Typhoon Ulysses, which has cut a swathe through Luzon, has climbed to 33 as of 11 a.m. on Saturday.

In a series of Viber messages to reporters, National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) spokesperson Mark Cashean Timbal said 16 deaths were recorded in the Cagayan Valley region, six in Calabarzon, five in Bicol, and six in the Cordillera region.

The number of injured was placed at 22 – three in Cagayan Valley, nine in Calabarzon, eight in Bicol, and two in the Cordillera region.

A lumbering elephant!

After getting confirmation from NDRRMC Usec Ric Jalad that the highway in Lopez, Quezon is flooded, I decided call off my trip to the north and turn back.

The road portion in Lopez, Quezon which is now causing a huge traffic jam involving cargo trucks and private vehicles is the same place which was flooded a month ago.

We were able to get through by taking a long mountain road in the town of Guinayangan.

After that experience, I publicly suggested that an alternate route should be readied in case the flooding happens again.

MAITUM, Sarangani - More Philippine Eagles are inhabiting the Daekol Forest in Maitum town, environment officials here said on Saturday.

On November 4, personnel from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources through the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) of Kiamba noticed the presence of juvenile Philippine eagle in Dakeol Forest— assessed to be declared as Critical Habitat.

The site is in Sitio Angko, Barangay Batian, Maitum, Sarangani Province.

BANTAY BAGYO | #RollyPH intensifies into a Super Typhoon and makes landfall over Bato, Catanduanes.

SULTAN KUDARAT --- Dozens of large trees fell and a number of structures were damaged when a tornado swept through three barangays in the seaside Palimbang town Sunday.

The Palimbang disaster risk reduction and management council, personnel of the Bureau of Fire Protection and members of the emergency reaction group Katiacap have still been clearing the adjoining Barangays Milbuk, San Roque and Libua from debris scattered by the tornado.

GEN. SANTOS CITY - Environment personnel in General Santos City ensured the safety of a Rufous Night-Heron (Nycticorax caledonicus) after it was turned over by a concerned citizen on Sunday, September 27.

Jovelle Mae Dalid said that a boy handed over the bird to her at lunch time on Saturday after the latter found the species near bamboo shoots at Buayan River.

Dalid immediately notified the Gensan Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) to secure the safety of the bird. 

COTABATO CITY – As the proverb saying goes “Don't count your chickens until they are hatched.”

This is how a farmer described his fate while trying to salvage his due for harvest palay that was submerged by flood water following torrential rains that hit Maguindanao.

“We are about to harvest our palay this week, pera na sana,” the teary-eyed said. “This is our only source of livelihood after getting affected by the effects of pandemic.”

COTABATO CITY --- The Bangsamoro government is now reaching out to villagers hit by floods that swept through several towns in Maguindanao and North Cotabato following heavy rains this week.

The Rapid Emergency Action on Disaster Incidence (READI) contingent of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao dispatched teams Wednesday to assess the extent of flooding in villages in the two provinces.