Category: General

MANILA: The Manila Electric Company (Meralco) on Thursday said it is targeting to cut in half the number of customers experiencing power interruptions amid the impacts of Super Typhoon Carina and the southwest monsoon. In a press briefing, Meralco vice president and head of corporate communications Joe Zaldarriaga said as of 10 a.m. Thursday, 330,246 customers within its franchise areas are still experiencing power interruptions. The night before, affected Meralco customers were twice as many, with 640,000 as of 6.pm. Wednesday. In Barangay Pantoc in Meycauayan City, Bulacan, some of the households had no power service for eight hours. Zaldarriaga

MANILA: A senior official of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) on Thursday assured that the agency will also assist Typhoon Carina-affected families during the recovery phase. ‘From the Rapid Damage Assessment and Needs Analysis (RDANA), we could determine kung ano pa yung mga maaari natin i-infuse na mga karagdagang interventions because after the response phase, tutungo tayo sa recovery phase na kung saan ay ia-assess natin itong mga naapektuhan ng disaster para maka-recover, masuportahan yung pag-improve ng kanilang well-being after na sila ay maapektuhan ng isang disaster (what additional interventions we can infuse because after the response

MANILA: The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Thursday said there is no reason for rice retail prices to spike despite the onslaught of the enhanced southwest monsoon and super typhoon Carina. “There’s no reason to worry na magtaas iyong presyo ng bigas dahil sa ngayon maganda iyong harvest natin noong (that the prices of rice will increase because our harvest is good during the last) dry season. We have enough harvest. Iyong ating importation, mataas din iyong level (our importation is also on a high level),” DA Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said in a phone interview. As of July

MANILA: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Thursday ordered the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and other concerned agencies to assess the environmental impact of an oil spill from a massive oil tanker that capsized off the coast of Bataan. In a situation briefing on the effects of Super Typhoon Carina and the enhanced southwest monsoon, Marcos called on the DENR, along with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), to lead the assessment and allow the government to prepare for mitigation measures. ‘Can we add an instruction to the DENR to

SEOUL: A trash-carrying balloon sent by North Korea landed on the presidential office compound Wednesday, but nothing dangerous was found, the Presidential Security Service (PSS) said. The PSS said it discovered fallen trash on the grounds of the presidential compound while monitoring the latest batch of balloons flown by the North earlier in the day. North Korea has sent thousands of trash-filled balloons toward South Korea since May in protest of anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets sent by activists in South Korea across the border. “An investigation by the chemical, biological and radiological response team showed the objects did not present a