Category: General

BACOLOD CITY – As the Bacolodnons celebrate the city’s resilient spirit in the 45th MassKara Festival, which climaxes this weekend, organizers are also reaching out to fellow Filipinos in areas devastated by Severe Tropical Storm Kristine. On Friday night, festival chairperson Jojie Dingcong led this year’s MassKarade Ball dubbed ‘Sapphirus,’ held at Roy’s Hotel and Convention Center, which also served as a fund-raising event for Kristine victims in the Bicol Region. ‘We are one with the nation. The MassKarade Ball ties up with the GMA Kapuso Foundation for the relief efforts in Naga City and Bicol Region,’ Dingcong said in

Manila: The trough of Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (international name Trami) still affects parts of Luzon even though it is already outside the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR), the weather bureau said Saturday. In its 4 a.m. bulletin, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said Kristine’s trough will bring cloudy skies with scattered rains and thunderstorms over Occidental Mindoro and Palawan. Kristine was last spotted at 3 a.m. 630 km. west of Bacnotan, La Union, packing maximum sustained winds of 95 kph near the center and gustiness of up to 115 kph, moving westward at 20 kph.

Manila: University of Perpetual Help defeated Lyceum of the Philippines University, 89-83, in overtime Saturday to boost its semifinal bid in the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Season 100 men’s basketball tournament at FilOil EcoOil Centre in San Juan City. Perpetual posted its biggest lead at 59-51 in the third quarter and was ahead 77-75 when Lyceum’s Jonathan Daileg scored from the left corner with over a second remaining in regulation. What was initially thought as a triple was ruled a two-pointer as Daileg was seen stepping on the arc during video replay, forcing the extra period. Christian Pagaran, Jearico

Manila: A presidential helicopter is being used to deliver essential relief supplies to communities battered by Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (international name Trami), the Philippine Air Force (PAF) said Saturday. The PAF said it mobilized the Bell 412 presidential helicopter on Oct. 26 to support ongoing emergency relief operations in Bicol, upon the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. The helicopter transported goods from Tactical Operations Group 5 in Legazpi to Libon, Albay, facilitating rapid aid distribution to isolated areas impacted by Kristine. A PAF Black Hawk and Huey helicopters were also used in the mission. In a statement,

CITY OF MALOLOS, Bulacan – The Ipo Dam terminated its water-spilling operations on Saturday morning. Josephine Salazar, Central Luzon Director of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA), in a statement, confirmed that as of 9 a.m. on Saturday, the water-spilling operation of Ipo Dam has been stopped. “The local inflow to Bustos Dam coming from its upstream river was monitored at 64 cubic meters per second (CMS) of water,” Salazar said. As this developed, Bustos Dam’s Sluice Gates 1 and 2 were closed at 10 a.m. with its water elevation at 16.91 meters, while its Sluice Gate 3 remains raised at