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Nov. 2-8, 2015
Rebels violate international law CA GA YAN DE OR O CIT Y – The H uman Rights Watch has CAGA GAY ORO CITY Human said that the communist rrebel ebel gr oup N ew P eople my group New People eople’’s Ar Army violated the inter national humanitar ian law for the international humanitarian killing of a P hilippine to wn may or and his son in the Philippine town mayor restiv e rregion egion of M indanao estive Mindanao indanao.. The rebels seized Dario In a statement on Otaza, 53, mayor of Loreto October 25, the NPA took town in Agusan del Sur responsibility for the twin province, and his son Daryl, killings – calling their 27, and executed them on execution “revolutionary October 19. justice.” NPA fighters,
posing as agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), raided the Otaza home in nearby Butuan City and eventually killing them. Authorities found the bodies of the two men the next day with multiple gunshot wounds. Continue on page 3
Jesus Miracle Crusade celebrates 20th year in Zamboanga Despite the heavy rains, distance and attempts of the scout rangers of the AFP to prevent the people from attending, more than 15,000 people attended the Peace Consultation and Celebration of the 46th anniversary of the CPP in Marihatag, Surigao del Sur (Photo from the website www.philippinerevolution.net)
Villagers protest militarization
Protesters stage a rally outside the Eastern Mindanao Command in Davao City and demanding an end to militarization and human rights violations by government troops in the southern Filipino region. (Photo by Kilab Multimedia) DAVAO CITY - Villagers and human rights advocates and have staged a rally outside a military base in Davao City in southern Philippines and protested continued militarism in the countryside. Members of the women’s group called Gabriela also joined the protest and accused the military of violating human rights of civilians, including indigenous people in the region. Other human rights
groups also accused security forces as behind extrajudicial killings of tribesmen tagged falsely tagged as supporters of communist rebels. “Majority of the victims of state fascism are Lumads,” said Mary Ann Sapar, of Gabriela. She said just recently a school for indigenous people - Fr. Fausto Tentorio Memorial School - run by the Mindanao Interfaith Services Foundation in Kitaotao town in Bukidnon province, was forcibly
padlocked by village officials who were accompanied by army soldiers. “Students and their teachers have suffered trauma from the closure of the school,” Sapar said. Dozens of students were affected by the closure of the school. Soldiers accused the parents and relatives of students as either members or sympathizers of the New People’s Army rebels, an allegation strongly denied by the students and their teachers. (Mindanao Examiner)
ZAMBOANGA CITY – The energetic and soft-spoken Minister Wilde James Almeda has led the celebration of the 20th founding anniversary of the Jesus Miracle Crusade International Ministry or JMCIM in Zamboanga City in southern Philippines. Hundreds of JMCIM members flocked to the village of Divisoria to hear Minister Wilde James speak about the long historic and miraculous stories of faith and strong convictions of the influential and one of the Philippines’ biggest religious groups. Minister Wilde James was also accompanied by Brother Danny Cuarteros and other prayer warriors
in the celebration that was also attended by Zamboanga Mayor Beng Climaco and other local government officials. Mayor Climaco, herself a religious woman, also met and spoke with Minister Wilde James and praised the JMCIM for its steadfast promotion of peace not only in Zamboanga City, but the entire country. Minister Wilde James also thanked Mayor Climaco and her group for their strong support to the JMCIM. Having been exposed to the crusades of JMCIM founded by his father Pastor Wilde Estrada Almeda, Minister Wilde James said he started
young as a member of a band that went out to different areas in the country and played gospel music. “I remember it was 20 years ago when we had our first crusade here in Zamboanga and I was 20 then. I grew up really sa crusade in the church, so we go everywhere in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. And now we have more than 1.5 million members in the country and it’s steadily growing and this is aside from memberships we have around the world,” he told the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner. Continue to page 5
Minister Wilde James Almeda (Mindanao Examiner Photo)
Oxygen found on comet in Rosetta mission: 'Most surprising discovery ... so far' SCIENTISTS from the Rosetta mission have found oxygen in the atmosphere of comet 67P/ChuryumovGerasimenko, a discovery that could change our understanding of how the solar system formed. The molecular
ARMM
oxygen (O2) was detected by the ROSINA mass spectrometer, one of a suite of instruments aboard the Rosetta spacecraft that has been traveling with the comet since August 2014. The revelation came as quite a shock. "The first time we saw
it, we all went a little bit into denial because molecular oxygen was really not expected to be found on a comet," said Kathrin Altwegg of the University of Bern in Switzerland, the project leader for ROSINA, the Rosetta Orbiter
Eastern Mindanao
Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis. "It does not sound that spectacular, but it is actually the most surprising discovery we have made so far on 67P," she said of the comet, which is about to pass the orbit of Mars.
Western Mindanao
Molecular oxygen is common on Earth, but it is rarely seen elsewhere in the universe. In fact, astronomers have detected molecular oxygen outside the solar system only twice, and never on a comet. Oxygen is highly reactive, meaning it likes to
Cebu
bond to other kinds of atoms. Therefore, it was previously thought that all the oxygen present at the dawn of the solar system would have combined with the abundant hydrogen present at the time to form H20, or water. Continue to page 4
Manila
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The Mindanao Examiner
Nov. 2-8, 2015
Figaro Coffee Company Soars On Its 22nd Year AS FIGAR O C OFFEE C OMP ANY celebr ates 22 yyears ears in the specialty coffee FIGARO COFFEE COMP OMPANY celebrates industr y, the company is also adv ancing in business dev elopment. industry advancing development. The year 2015 is Media Center in Medical Center in indeed a great year for Mandaluyong City were Valenzuela City. Figaro as it reaches its added to the long list of Furthermore, the target to open 100 stores. Metro Manila stores that Figaro Coffee Company is Eleven new stores were opened this year alone. intensifying its aggressive already opened as the Aiming to be the expansion in key cities third quarter ends and 9 coffee choice of doctors, and provinces in the more shops here and medical representatives Philippines, and also abroad are expected to and medical students; overseas to cater to its open soon. Figaro’s new niche is in the growing clientele. Hence, Figaro branches in hospitals as it opened new Figaro franchise GSIS Building; San shops in Delos Santos stores are now sited in the Antonio Paranaque; at Medical Center, Manila Municipality of Sto. Tomas Solemare, also in Medical Center and in in Batangas province and Paranaque; and at TV5 front of Fatima University another branch in
Batangas City; and also at Felcris Centrale Mall in Davao City in Mindanao; and at Camaya Coast in Bataan. And soon to brew the goodness of Figaro coffee are stores in Urdaneta in Pangasinan; in San Fernando in Pampanga; and another in Davao, and also in Iligan; in La Union; in Kalibo; and in Antipolo. Figaro Coffee is also opening branches in Qatar and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
Apart from the increasing number of Figaro coffee shops, the company is also managing a pizza chain - Angel’s Pizza; and has acquired Tien Ma’s, a popular Taiwanese restaurant and making Figaro now a group of companies. These development strategies of Figaro Coffee Company continue to draw investors to be part of its growing business. Promising positive returns to its stakeholders and
business partners, Figaro Coffee Company is certain to be well-known in the international coffee industry today and the years to come. For more details about Figaro, please visit www.figarocoffee.com. And for franchise inquiries, please e-mail franchise@figarocoffee.com or call telephone numbers (02) 632-1526, (02) 635-5047 local 124 and text or call cell phone number 0917-5237864.
DSWD-ARMM conducts forum on Pantawid program COTABATO CITY - The Department of Social Welfare and Development in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao ( D S W D - A R M M ) conducted a forum in Cotabato City which aims to raise awareness on the government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps). More than a hundred beneficiaries in Maguindanao and representatives from civil society organizations attended the forum. Hja. Meriam Abdulkasan, Regional Deputy Program Manager of Pantawid program, said the activity is an initial step to determine the possibility of the 4Ps’ institutionalization through collaborative efforts with the stakeholders. The program is the national government’s flagship pover ty alleviation initiative, which provides grants to the poorest households in order to improve health, nutrition and education of children aged 0-18. The DSWD-ARMM as the lead government agency of the 4Ps is conducting the National Housing Targeting
System for Poverty Reduction or “Listahan” to determine other poor families in the region. In 2015, the national government released P3.6 billion in cash grants that ser ves 418,030 family beneficiaries in ARMM. The program operates in five provinces, two cities and 116 municipalities in the region. Prince Sean Soledad, the program’s regional monitoring and evaluation officer, said this would serve as an investment for the future of the Bangsamoro and could help eradicate extreme pover ty and hunger, achieve universal primar y education, reduce child mortality, and improve maternal health care. The Pantawid program provides beneficiaries cash grants of P500 per month per household for health and nutrition expenses and P300 per child each month for educational expenses. Households with three qualified children would receive P1,400 monthly. To get state subsidies, five-year old children beneficiaries must attend day-care or pre-school classes and must get regular preventive health checkups and vaccines
while those six to 14 years old must be enrolled in elementary, or high school with 85% attendance and must receive de-worming pills twice a year. Pregnant women beneficiaries must avail themselves of pre- and post-natal care, while parents are required to attend family development sessions, which include topics on responsible parenting, health, and nutrition. “Nagpapasalamat po ako ng sobra kasi kung hindi dahil sa 4Ps hindi makaka pagtapos sa pagaaral ang dalawa kong anak (We’re thankful to the government considering without the 4Ps, our two children would not be able to finish school),” Fatima Buat Nanding, a single parent and one of the 4Ps’ beneficiaries in Maguindanao said during the forum. Nanding’s two children are currently working as teachers at Hja. Datu Saydona Pendatun Foundation College in Maguindanao. She reiterated that the gover nment must sustain the implementation of the program to help other poor families. (Bureau of Public Information)
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The Mindanao Examiner
Nov. 2-8, 2015
Rebels violate international law Continued fr om page 1 from “The killing of the Otazas – like other NPA executions – is just plain murder. The NPA’s actions and claims of revolutionary justice handed down by people’s courts are flagrant violations of international law,” said Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. The NPA accused the Otazas of working for the Philippine military and masterminding the killing of at least three people. They also accused the victims of taking part in attacks on and the forced displacement of indigenous peoples in the province, torturing children, attempted murders, and arson, among other crimes. Throughout its fourdecade insurgency, the rebel group has frequently executed people found
“guilty” by its so-called people’s courts, which do not meet basic fair trial standards. As a party to an internal armed conflict, the NPA is obligated to abide by i n t e r n a t i o n a l humanitarian law, including common article 3 to the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and its Second Additional Protocol of 1977 (Protocol II), to which the Philippines is party, according to the Human Rights Watch. It said international humanitarian law prohibits killing civilians, mistreating anyone in custody, and convicting anyone in proceedings that do not meet international fair trial standards. Article 6 of Protocol II specifies that criminal courts must be independent and impartial, and the accused shall have “all
necessary rights and means of defense,” among other guarantees. Those tried by people’s courts are typically convicted in absentia, thus denied the right to be tried in one’s presence before an impartial court, it added. Claims by the NPA that defendants receive a fair hearing during its people’s court proceedings are not supported by the facts, Human Rights Watch said. Otaza, a tribal member, was also a former NPA rebel, who was actively helping the government’s antiinsurgency campaign in his province. Philip Alston, the former United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions who investigated extrajudicial killings in the Philippines in 2007, described the people’s courts as “either deeply flawed or simply a sham.”
The NPA has long admitted to killing government officials and civilians whom the NPA deems to have engaged in acts “against the people.” They have also killed allegedly traitorous NPA or Communist Party members. On April 21, 2014, NPA rebels shot and killed Mayor Carlito Pentecostes Jr. of Gonzaga town, Cagayan province. On July 27, 2012, they killed Datu Causing Ogao, a leader of an indigenous people’s group, in Davao City. On February 28, 2011, they killed Jeffrey Nerveza, a civilian, in Albay, Bicol. On August 19, 2011, the NPA killed Raymundo “Monding” Agaze in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental. And on July 13, 2010, NPA members shot and killed Mateo Biong, Jr., a former mayor of Giporlos town, Eastern Samar. That
It’s a clear, sunny sky in Mindanao
Haze covered much of Zamboanga City in southern Philippines and it was so thick that mountains in the background literally disappeared from sight as workers continue from their daily routine at this construction site in this photo taken on October 23, 2015 and the latest picture taken October 27, 2015 shows a beautiful sunny sky free from haze. (Mindanao Examiner Photo) ZAMBOANGA CITY – The air quality in Zamboanga has improved on Tuesday, a week after toxic haze from forest fires in neighboring Indonesia reached much of Mindanao Island in southern Philippines. Dr. Rodel Agbulos, head of the Zamboanga City Health Office, said the quality of air has largely improved and is now on normal level compared to last week that prompted him to warn residents, especially those with asthma and respiratory diseases, to stay indoors and avoid the haze. “Our air quality now is now in normal level and the sky is clear,” he said, adding, the health of residents are no longer under threat from pollutants brought about by the haze.
Other areas in Mindanao, including Cagayan de Oro and Davao cities, also reported good weather conditions. The Indonesian haze had enveloped the mountainous areas in Zamboanga Peninsula and because of poor visibility several commercial flights had been diverted or cancelled in some cities. Agbulos said pollutants from haze could trigger asthma attacks, especially people with respiratory or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Even facial mask, Agbulos said, will not help protect residents from haze. The toxic haze, a mixture of smoke and other pollutants from fires that are ravaging six provinces in Indonesia – Riau, Jambi,
South Sumatra, West Kalimantan, Central Kalimantan and South Kalimantan – since June this year have affected Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Cambodia. The Indonesian National Board for Disaster Management had declared a state of emergency in the provinces due to the haze. The fires, believed to have started from illegal farming practises such as slash and burn method, triggered widespread concern over the public health and carbon emissions in the Southeast Asian region. Pollutants in the haze are so small that it can stay in the air longer and travel farther, and can pass through the body’s smaller airways deeper into the
INVIT ATION T O BID INVITA TO Construction of Covered Court Bidding starts on Oct. 26, 2015 and onward dates Time - 1:00 PM Amount: P1.5-M Purok 3 Taglawig, Maco, Conval Province Contact: Gelyn M. Duran CP No.: 0930-3174801
lungs, leading to respiratory and circulatory diseases, cancers and brain damage. (Mindanao Examiner)
same month, they shot and killed Sergio Villadar, a sugar cane farmer, in Escalante City, Negros Occidental. All of these people, the NPA claimed, had been found guilty by its people’s courts. In its October 25 statement announcing the deaths of the Otazas, the NPA said it is waging a “people’s war” and it “has been pursuing revolutionary justice by meting appropriate capital punishment against war criminals to remove the continuation of the human rights violations and render justice.” The NPA killings may worsen the human rights situation in Agusan del Sur and other provinces in the southern Philippines, where the military and its paramilitary forces have been implicated in extrajudicial killings and forced displacement, particularly against indigenous peoples, Human Rights Watch said. Human Rights Watch has documented several of these abuses and has called on the Philippine government to bring perpetrators to justice. “By resorting to vigilantism in the name of justice, the NPA is only serving to harm its own demands for justice for victims of military human rights violations. The NPA should end this charade of unjust ‘people’s courts’ and cease all executions,” Robertson said. Rev olutionar y JJustice ustice evolutionar olutionary In a separate statement sent to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner, Rigoberto F. Sanchez, a spokesman for the NPA Southern
Mindanao Regional Command, said the “masses rejoiced in achieving revolutionary justice in the punishment of the most despotic Lumad mayor in Mindanao.” Sanchez said rebels posing as NBI agents raided the Otaza residence in the village of Baan in Butuan City, subdued the politician’s security details and confiscated 4 bushmaster rifles, two .45-caliber pistols and two 9mm automatic pistols. He said the rebels also found in Otaza’s possession of some P25,000 in cash and shall be returned to the family through a third party in the soonest possible time. “Over the last four years, the Otazas have strengthened their fascist rule as staunch lapdogs and implementors of the USAquino Oplan Bayanihan, despite repeated warnings by the revolutionary movement and appeals by the suffering masses to stop their atrocious acts,” he said. “In refusing to rectify to return to non-violent civilian governance, they continue to employ and arm paramilitary and Bagani troops to secure and fortify their oppressive rule and b u re a u c r a t - c a p i t a l i s t interest. Hence, the Otazas made themselves legitimate targets by the NPA,” he added. Sanchez said in waging the people’s war, the NPA has been pursuing revolutionary justice by meting appropriate capital punishment against war criminals to remove the continuation of the human rights violations and render justice. (Mindanao Examiner)
ARMM officials, pupils demonstrate proper handwashing in global celebration day COTABATO CITY Hundreds of officials and employees of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) as well as elementary school pupils demonstrated proper handwashing with soap as part of the region’s celebration of the 2015 Global Hand-washing Day at the ARMM Compound here. The region’s Department of Education (DepEd-ARMM), together with the Department of Health (DOH-ARMM), led the celebration. Dr. John Magno, DepEd-ARMM secretary, said handwashing with soap is a low-cost but effective intervention to prevent hygiene-related illnesses among school children in the region. “Hand-washing with soap is a ‘do-it-yourself vaccine’ that prevents infections, and saves lives,” Dr. Magno said. In the Philippines, diseases related to lack of hygiene, such as diarrhea and respiratory infections, are still the leading causes of illnesses and death among children. The hand-washing
day bears the theme “Raise a hand for hygiene”, and was aimed at promoting hand-washing and raising awareness on how to prevent hygiene-related illnesses. Since 2011, the ARMM government, specifically the DepEd-ARMM, together with nongovernmental organizations, has been implementing Essential Health Care Program in 400 schools across the region, which focuses on daily group hand-washing with soap, daily group tooth-brushing with fluoride toothpaste, and the bi-annual deworming. Ten million students in the Philippines, including those in ARMM, underwent de-worming in July 29 this year during the National De-worming Day. The de-worming, which is conducted every six months, will be administered in 400 schools in January 2016. Dr. Kadil Sinolinding, DOH-ARMM Secretary, stressed that “de-worming tablets are safe, but may cause adverse effects including nausea, weakness or diarrhea”
because the body would be getting rid of the worms. In ARMM, nearly four in 10 children are infected with intestinal worms. Children with worms have poor performance, almost always weak and tired, and have impaired mental and physical developments, as well as lack nutrients in their bodies. “In the past decade, the parasite prevalence among children in ARMM has decreased from 75% to 38%. However, the momentum must continue to rid our children of worms,” Dr. Magno added. The DepEd-ARMM, DOH-ARMM and the PhilHealth-ARMM signed on Monday a memorandum of understanding that rekindles the strategic mutual understanding among the agencies in the protection and promotion of children’s right to health. Ronnie Liang, a Filipino balladeer, was chosen as the Handwashing Ambassador for ARMM. (Bureau of Public Information)
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The Mindanao Examiner
Nov. 2-8, 2015
Survey shows significant improvement in ARMM’s basic literacy rate COTABATO CITY – The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) registered a significant increase in its basic literacy rate to 86.1% in 2013 from 81.5% in 2008. This was based on the 2013 Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS) conducted by the Philippine Statistics Authority which started in 1989 and is currently conducted every five years. Basic literacy is used for the “initial learning of reading and writing, which adults who have never been to school need to go through.” The region’s functional literacy rate also increased to 72.1 % in 2013 from 71.6 % in 2008. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization defines functional literacy as the person’s ability to “engage in activities in which literacy is required for effective functioning of his group and community and also for enabling him to continue to use reading, writing and calculation for his own and the c o m m u n i t y ’ s development.” FLEMMS is a nationwide survey that presents comprehensive statistics on the latest status of literacy, education, and mass
media exposure of Filipinos. It “brings together a wide range of information that serves as a guide for government policy makers, program planners, and decision makers in providing a much broader scope of action and more focused program intervention on the target beneficiaries of development plans.” Marjuni Maddi, ARMM’s Education department (DepEdARMM) assistant secretary for academics, said the increase was associated to efforts of the agency in solving literacy-related problems. DepEd-ARMM is currently implementing ‘Abot-Alam’, a national program that aims at relocating “the out-ofschool youth (OSY ) nationwide who are 15 to 30 years old and who have not completed basic/ higher education or who are unemployed, and to mobilize and harmonize programs, which will address these OSYs’ needs and aspirations.” Furthermore, the agency is also engaged in other interventions such as the Alterative Delivery Mode (ADM), a joint program with Basic Education Assistance for Mindanao-ARMM. ADM is being implemented by
BRAC Philippines. The program established learning centers in poor, conflictaffected, and d i s a d v a n t a g e d communities in the region to give out-of-school children access to basic education. It provides catch-up opportunities for young children in remote and deprived communities of the region where regular public education is not easily accessible. The project already built 1,220 learning centers across ARMM including seven floating learning centers in coastal areas in the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. These learning centers cater to 38,084 students from kindergarten to Grades 1 to 3. Maddi encouraged everyone to take part in promoting the importance of education. “Education is everybody’s business. We should not leave it to our teachers,” he said. The 2013 FLEMMS survey covered about 26,000 sample households in 1,600 barangays in the country. About 1,200 sample households were taken from ARMM. (Bureau of Public Information)
Oxygen found on comet in Rosetta mission: 'Most surprising discovery ... so far'
The senior Scouts during the national jamboree in Tagum City. (Mindanao Examiner Photo – Jayson Mag-usara)
National jamboree sa Tagum City tagumpay TAGUM CITY – Umani ng malaking papuri ang Tagum City sa matagumpay na pagdaraos ng 16th National Jamboree ng doon na dinaluhan ng napakaraming scouts mula sa ibat-ibang bahagi ng bansa. Dumating rin dito si Vice President Jejomar Binay at Rep. Manny Pacquiao at iba pang mga opisyal ng pamahalaan. Lubos rin nagpapasalamat si Mayor Allan Rellon sa pagdalo ng mga bisita sa jamboree ng Boys Scouts of the Philippines (BSP). “Marami pa ang humabol sa aktibidad nating ito na umabot na ng
21,146 na mga nagparehistro National at International, and this is one of the largest records in the history of BSP, gaya ng Palarong Pambansa we will do our best,” ani Mayor Rellon. “Pinagpilian talaga ito, may mga nag bid rin sa Luzon at Visayas, ngunit nagbigay sila ng daan upang dito maisagawa, na kung saan mas nakapaghanda tayo, we submitted the requirements, we made sure that we followed the world standards of this said event, malapit na rin ang ASEAN Meeting, hopefully sana mapabilang sa listahan
nila na makapagsagawa ng ibang event dito sa Tagum City, and if they ask us to host a big event, we will submit,” dagdag pa ni Mayor. Pinasalamatan rin ni Mayor Rellon ang publiko sa suportang ibinigay sa jamboree at gayun rin sa ibat-ibang mga grupo at awtoridad na tumulong sa pagdaraos nito. Sinabi rin ni BSP Acting Secretary General Wendel Avisado na “malawak at wellorganized ang area, meron itong mahigit 20,000 na ektarya na kayang makapag-manage sa Jamboree na ito.” (Jayson Mag-usara)
Continued fr om page 1 from Even if some pure oxygen managed to make it out of the primordial cloud of dust and gas from which our solar system emerged, computer models suggest that in the 4.5 billion years since then, the oxygen would have had ample opportunity to be reprocessed, especially in the chaotic early days of the solar system formation. "All the models say it shouldn't be there and it shouldn't survive for such a long time," said Andre Bieler, who studies cometary science at the University of Michigan. But instead, the ROSINA instrument found that oxygen is the fourth most abundant compound in the gaseous coma of 67P after water, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. "It is not only that we have oxygen, we have a lot of oxygen," Altwegg said. To make sure the O2 readings were not caused by an instrumental defect, the team checked oxygen levels at different distances from the comet. The closer to the comet the spacecraft flew, the more oxygen it detected. As it flew farther away, it detected less. One way that molecular oxygen can form in space is through a process called radiolysis. This occurs when energetic particles coming off the sun break up the bonds of water ice. Experiments have shown that hydrogen can diffuse out of this process, leaving the oxygen with no other
molecules with which to react, Bieler said. Like all objects in the solar system, comet 67P has been hit with this highenergy radiation for billions of years, but it is unlikely that radiolysis can explain all the oxygen in the comet, the researchers said. Highenergy particles from the sun would penetrate only a few meters into the comet's surface. Yet each time the comet orbits the sun, it sheds between one and 10 meters from its circumference. In a Nature paper describing the discovery, the researchers note that the ratio of water to oxygen in the comet's atmosphere remained the same over the many months that ROSINA was collecting measurements. This suggests that the oxygen is present throughout the body of the comet and not just at its surface, Bieler said. And if that's the case, the next logical conclusion is that molecular oxygen was present at the time the comet formed. "Observing molecular oxygen anywhere in nature is rare because it is so reactive," said Christopher Snead, who studies comet dust at UCLA and was not involved with the paper. "The implication that this is primordial material is very interesting. It starts to give you a peek into the environment in which the solar system formed." The findings lead to two puzzles for computer
modelers to tackle. The first: What conditions were necessary for molecular oxygen to get trapped in the icy crystals of a comet like 67P? The second: How did that oxygen remain in its pure state for so long? "This work tells us that the building process of our solar system had to be very gentle for those ice grains to never have really been heated up or reprocessed," Bieler said. Another implication of the finding is that looking for molecular oxygen on distant bodies may not be the best way to look for extraterrestrial life. "As far as we knew the combination of methane and O2 was a hint that you had life, but on our comet we have both methane and O2, but we don't have life, so it is probably not a very good bio-signature" Altwegg said. But comet scientists say they are thrilled to have more evidence that the objects they study have preserved ancient materials that predate even our solar system. "The cometary community has always said that comets are some of the least-processed bodies in the solar system," Bieler said. "Now we have evidence that at least a significant part of this comet survived the whole formation of our solar system." That makes it a very pristine object indeed. (Deborah Netburn, LA Times)
The Mindanao Examiner
Nov. 2-8, 2015
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SULU PICTURES IN THE NEWS
Sulu Provincial Women's Council headed by its Chairwoman Nurunnisah Tan and assisted by barangay officials distributed relief goods to victims of a recent fire in Jolo town. (Photos by Nickee Butlangan)
Jesus Miracle Crusade celebrates 20th year in Zamboanga
Continued fr om page 1 from Minister Wilde James, who is based in San Francisco in California, said after Zamboanga, their next crusade would be in South Korea. From San Francisco, the group of Minister Wilde James regularly holds services in at least 8 outreach missions in Canada; and the Middle East, among other countries. “We’ll just continue to spreading the gospel, sharing the gospel at kagaya ng ginagawa ng aming mahal at beloved Pastor Evangelist Wilde Estrada Almeda na ipangaral ang ebanhelyo ng kaligtasan kasi maraming tao talaga ang nangangailangan ng kaligtasan, lahat talaga tayo kailangan ng kaligtasan,” he said. Just recently, the JMCIM also launched for the second time this year, the “Yes for Peace” at the University of the Philippines in Quezon City. Peace advocates, including the police and military and government officials have praised the launching of this and renewed support to the JMCIM. Last March, the JMCIM led by Evangelist Pastor Wilde Estrada Almeda, launched “Yes for
Peace – Bayanihan para sa KKK (Kapayapaan, Kaunlaran at Kasaganahan)” in support to President Benigno Aquino’s peace efforts. Minister Wilde James is also actively involved in the advocacy and Yes for Peace campaign in the country. “We launched this Yes for Peace because this is part of the gospel, ang kapayapaan ay para sa lahat ng tao and ultimately buhay na walang hanggang,” he said. The Yes for Peace, an unfunded, nongovernment initiated peace education and advocacy campaign, is being supported by Department of Education; the Philippine Postal Corporation, the P r e s i d e n t i a l Communications Operations Office; the Philippine Information Agency; the Philippine News Agency; and the National Printing Office, among other groups. The JMCIM also celebrated recently the 15th anniversary of the miraculously successful Talipao Peace Mission led by Pastor Almeda along with Brother Cuarteros, an ordained preacher and one of the 12 so-called
prayer warriors who helped JMCIM founder to convince the Abu Sayyaf rebels to free 21 mostly European holidaymakers they kidnapped in Sabah in 2000 and brought to Sulu province. Tens of thousands of people joined the anniversary celebration held at the Amoranto Stadium in Quezon City. It was Pastor Wilde Almeda who led the prayer warriors in successfully fasting, praying and negotiating for the release, without ransom, of the hostages. The incredible survival and strong faith in God of Pastor Wilde Almeda’s group that led them to freedom and the miracle that also changed the hearts of many Abu Sayyaf members and their leaders is also in a book “Miracles in Moroland” written by American author and evangelist Sam Smith. The book was launched this year by evangelist couple Luke and Annalissa Smith together with Brother Cuarteros and Hermie Limpin, who was also with the group of Pastor Wilde Almeda, when Abu Sayyaf rebels seized them in Talipao town during the historic peace mission. (Mindanao Examiner)
Minister Wilde James Almeda, of the Jesus Miracle Crusade International Ministry, leads the celebration of the 20th founding anniversary of the JMCIM in Zamboanga City in southern Philippines. The event was attended Mayor Beng Climaco and local government officials.(Mindanao Examiner Photo)
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The Mindanao Examiner – FOREIGN
Nov. 2-8, 2015
Patricia shows need for better hurricane forecasting – CNN THE SYMMETRY would have been pleasing to the eye if we didn't know what it meant. Hurricane Patricia before landfall, presented a perfect doughnut shape with a precisely circular eye. As a rule, that clean, textbook appearance means deadly. That rule was right in this case, and we knew it as soon as it happened. But we hadn't seen it coming. Better than satellitebased estimates of hurricane intensities are the direct observations we get when a s c i e n t i f i c a l l y instrumented airplane flies right into the center of the storm. In the Atlantic and eastern Pacific, our Air Force's "Hurricane Hunters", and sometimes scientists from the National Oceanic and A t m o s p h e r i c Administration (NOAA, the parent agency of the National Weather Ser vice), make such flights into all hurricanes that pose a threat to land. They flew into Patricia a number of times before landfall. So when the winds reached that unprecedented 200 mph, the National Hurricane Center's advisories and forecasts immediately reflected the extreme danger the storm posed. Not before that, though. When a major hurricane approaches, preparation is essential. But there was not much time for the Mexican towns in Patricia's path to prepare. While the NHC had been forecasting a landfall in roughly the right place since the storm formed on Tuesday, and had anticipated the possibility of "hurricane conditions" at landfall, there was no indication that the storm might become the recordbreaking, ultra-intense monster that it did. Until it did. Not quite at the last moment, but close to it. Patricia went from tropical storm, the lowest category in the SaffirSimpson scale by which we rate hurricanes, to Category 5, the top of the scale, in about a day. Then it kept going, exceeding the Category 5 threshold by 45 mph and breaking the intensity record for any Eastern Pacific or Atlantic
Hurricane. Some scientists argue that the scale should be extended for rare storms like this -- that we should add a category 6 or even 7. If this sounds like a science fiction disaster movie to you, you're not wrong; it is one. When a tropical cyclone's winds strengthen by 35 mph in 24 hours, it is said to have undergone "rapid intensification." Rapid intensification is a wellknown, serious problem for forecasters. The models they use often fail to predict it. And rapid intensification within a day of landfall is the truly frightening scenario. Patricia intensified not just by 35 mph, but by over 120 mph in 24 hours. That's not just rapid intensification; that's mild-mannered Bruce Banner turning into The Hulk in just moments. And Patricia completed the transition less than 24 hours before landfall, which is like Banner turning green while standing in downtown Manhattan. Could forecasters have somehow seen it coming? Not with today's science. None of the models came close to predicting Patricia's explosive intensification. Remedying this has been recognized for some time as a top science priority. A major NOAA research initiative, the Hurricane Forecast Improvement Project (HFIP), has been underway since 2008. Its goal is to develop the capability to do better in exactly this situation. Its funding was dramatically cut earlier this year. (Full disclosure: while I do research in broadly related areas, I have never received any funding from HFIP.) As the climate warms, the science consistently tells us that tropical cyclones will get stronger. And most storms that reach categories 4 or 5 do so by undergoing at least one episode of rapid intensification. So it's plausible to expect more extreme rapid intensifiers in a warmer climate. On top of this is the certainty of continued growth worldwide in population and infrastructure on vulnerable coastlines. Plus sea level rise, which
increases coastal flood potential even apart from any changes in storms. So any intense storm that makes landfall without adequate warning will be likely to cause more damage in the future than it would have in the past. (From reports so far, it seems Patricia produced much less of a disaster than it might have. But that's due to great luck. It made landfall on a relatively unpopulated stretch of coastline, far enough from the two nearest cities with sixfigure populations to spare them the worst.) There are a lot of things we should be doing about all this, but I'm not writing about climate change mitigation or adaptation today. Now, right after Patricia's landfall, is a good time to talk about our inability to predict storms that do what Patricia did. But the issues are connected. We would need good hurricane forecasts even if the climate weren't warming. But given the increasing risks, the need for better forecasts will only increase. Patricialike storms, ultra-rapidly intensifying ones, are the scientific frontier where the need is most acute. The U.S. has for many years now been underinvesting in scientific research, infrastructure and other public goods. After seeing Patricia play out, the decision to slash HFIP looks as egregious an example as any. (Adam Sobel)
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Hurricane Patricia approaches the Pacific coast of Mexico in this photo that astronaut Scott Kell tweeted from the International Space Station. Patricia is the strongest hurricane ever recorded at sea, with sustained winds of 200 mph. (CNN Photo)
Saudi prince held over record Beirut airport drug bust A SAUDI prince and four other people have been detained in Lebanon in the largest drug seizure in the history of Beirut airport, a security source has said. Prince Abdel Mohsen Bin Walid Bin Abdulaziz was among those detained by airport security while allegedly “attempting to smuggle about two tonnes of Captagon pills and some cocaine,” the security source said. “The smuggling operation is the largest one that has been foiled through the Beirut International Airport,” the source told the AFP news agency on condition of anonymity. Captagon is the brand name for the a m p h e t a m i n e phenethylline, a synthetic stimulant. Manufacturing of the substance thrives in Lebanon and war-torn Syria, which have become a gateway for the drug to the Middle East and particularly the Gulf. The UN Office of Drugs and Crime said in a 2014 report that the amphetamine market is on the rise in the Middle East, with seizures mostly in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria accounting for more than 55 percent of amphetamines recovered worldwide. The security source said the drugs had been packed into cases that were waiting to be loaded onto
a private plane that was headed to Saudi Arabia. Lebanon’s state news agency said the private plane was to head to Riyadh and was carrying 40 suitcases full of Captagon. The five Saudi citizens were still in the airport and will be questioned by
Lebanon’s customs authority, the source added. In April 2014, security forces foiled an attempt to smuggle 15 million capsules of Captagon hidden in shipping containers full of corn from Beirut’s port. (Aljazeera)
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TECH TIPS: How to overclock Android: turbo charge your device NO MATTER how fast our phones are, we always want them to be a little bit faster. Fortunately, Android lets you do just that. The process is called overclocking and it simply means forcing your CPU to run a bit faster than it normally does. The process is surprisingly easy and can give you as much as 30 percent more power. Here's how to overclock your Android phone for an instantly supercharged phone. Befor e yyou ou star t: rread ead this efore start: First I need to give you the standard warning. Overclocking your phone CPU comes with some risks. Increasing the clock speed of your CPU generates more heat and drains more power. It isn't likely to set your phone on fire or kill your battery, but excess heat production can create instability and affect your battery life. The key is to take your time. Don't try to jump to a 30 percent increase in clock speed straight away. Take it slowly and evaluate how stable the system is with each increase. If Android runs fine, your phone's heat and battery life are acceptable and there are no crashes or odd behavior, you can try increasing your clock speed further. If things get weird, back off to the last stable clock speed. Getting the rright ight ker nel kernel for o ver clocking ov erclocking Happy with that? Let's proceed. The only thing you need to tweak the CPU settings of your Android phone is a kernel that supports overclocking. Overclocking is a staple of the modding community, so there is no shortage of good kernels to choose from. You just need to get the right kernel for your particular phone model. First, find the model number of your phone. Go to Settings > About Phone and take a look. You'll also want to make a note of the version of Android you're running. Your phone will also need to be rooted in order to overclock your CPU. For more info on what is root on Android, check our guide. Naturally, this process is not covered under warranty, so proceed at your own risk. You'll also need a custom recovery installed. More on that below. Replacing the kernel and overclocking takes no time at all, but it's worth investing some time into finding the right kernel. Sites like XDA Developers are an awesome place to start. There are four things you're looking for in a kernel: that it supports overclocking, that it's compatible with your phone model, that it works on your current Android version and that it has a good reputation. The more popular a kernel is the easier it will be to get help from the community if you need it or to track down some suggested settings (if you'd rather learn from others' efforts rather than do the figuring out yourself). The
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Nov. 2-8, 2015
more feedback there is on a kernel, the more informed a decision you can make. Ov er clocking softwar e Over erclocking software for yyour our ker nel kernel Some kernels come with dedicated software that's tailored to helping you get the most out of the kernel. This can involve a simple overclocking slider, CPU governor settings, undervolting options and more. If the kernel you choose has a companion app, use it. If it doesn't, search around the Play Store for a generic overclocking or CPU manager app with a good rating and positive comments. Once you've got the kernel for your particular model of phone, and have ensured it works with your version of Android and supports overclocking, you're good to go. For this tutorial we're overclocking a rooted Nexus 6 running stock Android 6.0 Marshmallow using the ElementalX kernel. Many custom ROM kernels already support overclocking however, so if you are using a custom ROM, read up on it to see if you even need to change your kernel. How to o ver clock yyour our ov erclock Andr oid phone Android Your phone needs to be rooted in order to flash a custom kernel. You'll also need a custom recovery installed (because you can't flash kernels using stock recovery). If you need help with this, follow our guide on how to install a custom recovery. The guide at the link is for a Nexus 5 but the same process applies. 1. Make sure you have a backup of your data. You can do this through your custom recovery or with any number of apps or PCbased solutions. If you need help with this, follow our guide on how to back up everything on Android. 2. Once you've chosen the kernel you want to use, download it (and any software it might have come with) onto your Android (you can leave it in the Downloads folder). You can also download the kernel to your computer and copy the zip file to the root directory of your phone if you prefer, but it's just as easy to just do it on your phone through recovery. 3. Turn off your phone and enter fastboot. This is usually achieved by pressing Power and Volume Down but some manufacturers have a different button combination. 4. On the fastboot screen, use the volume buttons to highlight Recovery mode and press the power button to select it. 5. You will now enter your custom recovery. We're using TWRP. 6. Tap the Install button (or 'Install zip' in CWM recovery) and navigate to the location where you saved the kernel zip file. 7. Flash the kernel zip
file and wait for a success message. Some kernels (like Elemental X in our example) will run you through a series of screens like the Install Wizard on your computer. Some kernels will allow you to set the CPU clock speed during installation. You can make changes then and there or later through the CPU manager app you installed. See below for instructions on the latter. 8. Wipe the cache once the kernel has been flashed successfully. 9. Go to the Advanced settings in recovery and tap 'Fix Permissions'. 10. Reboot your system. Changing yyour our CPU clock speed If you didn't change the CPU settings during installation of your custom kernel you can now launch your CPU manager or kernel app. If you haven't already installed compatible software for your kernel you'll need to find an app in the Play Store. There are plenty that work well, but I'm using a free app called Kernel Adiutor. You'll need to grant your kernel app root permission and you might be required to install BusyBox as well (which will also require root privileges). Look for the settings that control CPU clock speed. Depending on the app you're using, you can choose a max CPU speed from a drop down menu or use a slider. Remember, take it slowly and try each clock speed out for a while to see how it affects stability, battery life and heat. Start at around 10 percent more than your current clock speed and work your way upwards. Don't be surprised if your CPU speed doesn't instantly jump up to that new setting. What you're doing when you overclock is changing the CPU's maximum speed, so it will be able to deliver higher performance when necessary. While you can also change the minimum clock speed, that just puts unnecessary strain on your processor and battery. After all, there's no need to be maxxing out your CPU just to read emails. If you encounter any instability with your new settings just go back and drop your max clock speed a little and see how you go. If you encounter any problems that seem out of the ordinary, hit the forums or the place you grabbed your kernel from and read through the entries to see if anyone else has already solved your problem. If not, ask for help from the community. If all else fails you can simply re-flash the original kernel your device came with. Let us know how you got on, and how much better your overclocked Android is now. (Kris Carlon, AndroidPIT)
HEALTH: Almoranas: Ano Ang Lunas? Payo ni Dr. Willie T. Ong ANO ang almoranas? Ito’y mga ugat at laman na luma-la-bas sa puwit. May mga ugat sa loob ng puwit, at sa ka-tagalang pag-iire, puwede itong lumalabas, maipit at dumugo. Ang sintomas ng almoranas ay ang pagsakit at pagdurugo (pulang dugo) kapag dumudumi. Makakapa rin ang almoranas sa puwitan. Mga sanhi (o risk factors) ng almoranas: 1. Namamana ang almoranas sa ating magulang. 2. Ang pagtitibi at pag-iire ang pangunahing sanhi nito. Kumain nang maraming gulay at prutas para lumambot ang dumi. 3. Ang pag-ire sa panganganak ay nagpapaalmoranas din. Solusyon sa almoranas at sugat sa puwit: 1. Palambutin ang dumi. Kumain ng mga prutas tulad ng papaya, pakwan at ubas na nagpapalambot ng dumi. Damihan ang pagkain ng gulay (mataas ang fiber ng mga ito) at bawasan ang karne. Uminom din ng 8-12 basong tubig. Huwag umasa sa gamot na pampadumi tulad ng bisacodyl tablets dahil lalo ka lang magtitibi pagkatapos ng epekto nito. 2. Huwag umire sa banyo. Ang pag-iire ang talagang nagpapalala ng almoranas. Huwag piliting makadumi kung ayaw pang lumabas
Dr. Willie T. Ong ang dumi. Subukan muna na maglakad-lakad at magehersisyo para bumilis ang galaw ng bituka. 3. Huwag magbasa ng diyaryo, magasin at komiks sa kubeta. Umupo lamang kapag malapit nang lumabas ang dumi. 4. Gumamit ng petroleum jelly. Kung matigas ang iyong dumi, puwede mong pahiran ng petroleum jelly ang loob ng puwit. Ayon kay Dr. Edmund Leff, isang colorectal surgeon, nagpapadulas ito sa paglabas ng dumi. 5. Gumamit ng basang tissue paper o tabo ng tubig pagkatapos dumumi. Huwag gumamit ng tuyong tissue dahil baka magasgas lang ang almoranas. 6. Huwag magbuhat ng mabibigat na bagay. Ang stress ng pagbubuhat ay katumbas na ng pag-iire sa banyo. Magpatulong sa iba. 7. Huwag umupo o tumayo nang matagal. Nagdudulot din ito ng almoranas. Kailangan ay papalit-palit
ang puwesto natin para hindi ma-pressure ang almoranas. 8. Magbawas ng timbang. Kapag mataba ka, tumataas din ang pressure sa iyong baywang at binti. Dahil dito, puwede kang magkaroon ng almoranas at varicose veins. 9. Kung buntis, humiga sa kaliwa. Ayon kay Dr. Lewis Townsend, isang obstetrician, puwedeng maipit ng luma-laking matris ang ugat ng almoranas. Humiga sa iyong kaliwa ng 20 minutos bawat 5 oras. Makatutulong ito para hindi maipit ang almoranas. 10. Magpahid ng cream. May mga gamot para sa almoranas tulad ng Proctosedyl o Ultraproct ointment. Hindi mawawala ang almoranas pero mababawasan ang sakit nito. Kailan dapat kumunsulta sa doktor? 1. Kung biglang sumakit ang almoranas. 2. Kung may bagong bukol na makapa sa puwitan. Baka pigsa ito o kulugo. 3. Kapag hindi naghilom ang iyong sugat sa puwit. 4. Kung may pagdurugo sa dumi, huwag isiping dahil lamang sa almoranas. Magpakonsulta muna sa isang surgeon na doktor. May mga simpleng operasyon na para sa almoranas.
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Philippines begins harnessing potentials, says Aquino A FEW months before stepping down from power, President Aquino said his administration has laid the ground work that future administration could build on to further harness the country's potentials. "Looking back on everything that has happened over the course of my administration, I tell you today the best news of all: we’ve only just begun," Aquino said in a speech during the 41st Philippine Business Conference held recently in Marriott Hotel. "While we have already achieved so much, I submit that we have not even scratched the surface of what the Philippines has to offer, which is why we have to nurture these beginnings," he added. According to Aquino, there's a need to protect the successes that the Filipino people have made and the country must continue to build on them. Sustained good governance likewise means sustained good economics, he told businessmen. And if it's when bolstered by a depth of experience and ironclad integrity, it accelerates inclusive growth, he added. At the same time, he said he is confident that
like the rest of his countrymen all over the world, local businesses will do their part to ensure that the Philippines rises to greater heights. "The world has already begun witnessing what the Filipino is capable of, and I am convinced that, if we continue working together, we can show them even more of our boundless potential, and ultimately prove that nothing is impossible to a united Philippine nation," Aquino said. He said he already directed his Cabinet Secretary to prepare the appropriate response to some of the issues raised by the business sector although many of those concerns are now being addressed by the government. "We’d like to tell you that a lot of it is already being addressed, and we’d like to tell you what to expect in the last eight months of our administration," he said. Among the successes mentioned by Aquino include the rapid growth of the country's gross domestic product, with an average rate of 6.2% in the last five years of the administration. This is the fastest five-year average growth in nearly four decades. From 2010 to 2014, he said, the country
increased net foreign direct investments by almost sixfold. The Philippines also recorded the lowest unemployment rate in a decade. The Philippines also received 22 positive credit rating actions, with the most momentous ones coming in 2013, when Moody’s, Fitch, and Standard & Poor’s all declared the Philippines investment grade, Aquino further boasted. The government, he added, has also vastly expanded the Conditional Cash Transfer Program, with around 4.4 million household beneficiaries receiving cash stipends. It has also implemented the K to 12 reforms to ensure that Filipino youth have a strong foundation for further learning or employment, he said. "Technical and vocational education has perhaps never been stronger, especially now that our Technical Education and Skills Development Authority is working more closely with the private sector to implement training programs," Aquino said, adding, state universities and colleges are also implementing reforms to become truly relevant to the needs of communities they serve and the demands of the job market.
Adhere to product standards, exporters told THE DEPARTMENT of Trade and Industry (DTI) through the Bureau of Philippine Standards (BPS) appealed to all exporters to conform to product safety and standards when exporting non-food products to Canada. One consideration in exporting to Canada is product certification. Products which must display the mark of an accredited certification body include product categories under electrical safety, signal and security, fire fighting, protective equipment, tanks and piping for flammable fluids, and gas/fuels -all that are regulated, according to DTI. It is also stated that regulated building products with non-
ARMM
mandatory certification, proof of compliance with codes and standards are needed. Canadian importers may also insist on contractual conditions that impose liability on foreign exporters for noncompliant products and provide for refunds in the case of banned or recalled merchandise. Foreign exporters are obliged to start implementing compliance strategies while exporters must ensure that the products exported to Canada do not have potential to cause harm and injury. Also, exporters must make sure that product packaging and labeling indicate no misleading claims relating to product safety. Implement record
keeping system to ensure information is available if requested by Canadian importers and review agreements with suppliers and manufacturers and consider inclusion of conditions that shift liability up the supply chain in cases of defective products. The law, however, allows non-compliant products to enter Canadian market if it is not to be sold to the general public; intended only for exhibition and participation in trade shows; is brought into compliance after entry into Canada; or is exported for further manufacturing and subsequent re-export. DTI stressed that Filipino exporters of goods must abide by the trade law being implemented in Canada. (Amor Saludar)
Eastern Mindanao
The Provincial Government of Cebu in coordination with the Local Government Unit of Borbon distributed relief assistance to El Niño affected families. A total of 995 individuals for the entire 19 barangays in Borbon received assistance. (Photo from Cebu City Government)
Climate Adaption Fund now ready THE CLIMATE Change Office is now ready to accept climate adaptation project proposals for funding under the People’s Survival Fund (PSF). “The PSF is a locally funded effort of the Philippines to meet this investment challenge, enabling communities under threat of climate change to adapt and live sustainably. We look forward to seeing every peso in the fund count towards more climateresilient communities. This is an investment for the future that we hope will expand fur ther,” Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said. The PSF was created by virtue of Republic Act 10174 to enable the government to address the problem of climate change. It has mandated the allocation of a P1 billion fund to be accessed by local government units and c o m m u n i t y organizations to finance their climate change adaptation projects. Under the law, the Climate Change office (CCO) of the Climate Change Commission will serve as secretariat of the board and will receive and evaluate the proposals to be approved by the board which is headed by Purisima himself. Citing data from the Global Commission on the Economy and
Western Mindanao
Climate and the World Economic Forum, Purisima described the dire need for both domestic and international funding to combat and adapt to climate change. Up to 2030, about $90 trillion in infrastructure investments and over $4 trillion in incremental investments for low carbon technologies are required to deliver on the 2 degree Celsius goal. Further, some $5 trillion of infrastructure funding is required annually up to 2020 but $700 billion in incremental resources is needed to make it sustainable. According to Joyceline Goco, Deputy Executive Director of the CCO, the implementation of the PSF augurs well for the government as it undertakes efforts to tackle the adverse effects of climate change. “ With the fund support coming from the PSF, local government units will now have the means to realize the plans they have set up to insulate their constituents against climate change-induced disasters and even exploit the benefits that climate change may bring,” Goco said. The fund is intended for adaptation activities that include water resources management, land management, agriculture and fisheries,
Cebu
health, among others, and serve as guarantee for risk insurance needs for farmers, agricultural workers and other stakeholders. It will also be used for establishing regional centers and information networks and strengthening of existing ones to support climate change adaptation initiatives and projects, for setting up of forecasting and early warning systems against climate-related hazards, support to institutional development such as preventive measures, planning, preparedness and management of impacts relating to climate change, including contingency planning for droughts and floods. The other members of the Board are the vice chairperson of the Climate Change Commission, secretary of the Department of Budget and Management, director general of the National Economic and Development Authority, secretar y of the Department of the Interior and Local G o v e r n m e n t , chairperson of the Philippine Commission on Women, representative from the academe and scientific community, business sector, and nong o v e r n m e n t organizations.
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