‘Ramon’ hits Visayas, Mindanao
THE National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said heavy rains brought by Tropical Depression Ramon paralyzed the operations of roll-on, roll-off in various ports in the Visayas, leaving thousands of passengers and cargoes stranded. In Butuan City, Ramon left one miner, Daryl Gales, 20, dead after a landslide buried him while conducting small-scale mining in Barangay Manila de Bagubas, Sta Cruz. A still-unidentified fisherman was also reported missing off the coast of Barangay Cabiran, Palo, Leyte. The NDRRMC said landslides hit barangays Dampoy, Pancho Villa, Kahupian and Olisihan in Sogod, Southern Leyte. Huge waves also destroyed three houses along the shores of Barangay Palengke, Caibiran town in Biliran province. As of 1 p.m. on Wednesday, the NDRRMC recorded a total 6,245 stranded passengers in various ports in Cebu, Leyte, Marinduque, Mindoro, Panay Island, Bohol, Surigao, Siquijor and Negros island. The floods also stopped a total of 304 rolling cargoes, 269 trucks, 80 vessels, 27 cars, 51 buses and 31 motorized bancas. The NDRRMC said floods swept the entire town of Roxas in Capiz. Siargo Island in Surigao also experienced power interruption as Ramon snapped several power lines. The NDRRMC said Ramon affected at least 373 families or 1,700 people from nine barangays, six towns and two cities in Cebu, Misamis Oriental, South Cotabato and Dinagat Island. (Rene Acosta)
Thomas ‘deeply regrets’ comment on trafficking
US Ambassador Harry Thomas Jr. on Wednesday said he “deeply regrets” his comment on human trafficking and sexual tourism in the country as he admitted that he has no strong statistics to support his claim. “Clearly it was not my intent to insult Filipinos, a people who I have come to admire and respect. I should not have said that ‘40 percent of American males come to the Philippines for sexual tourism’ without the ability to confirm those statistics,” Thomas said in a letter to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima. The DOJ chief had described Thomas’s comments “offensive and demeaning” and asked the envoy to provide the DOJ data to prove the accuracy of his statement. De Lima also denied that the DOJ provided Thomas the information. She added that the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking, which monitors such activities, has not made any studies or come up with statistics on the matter. Thomas, in his letter, renewed the commitment of the US Embassy to continue working with the Philippines in the fight against human trafficking. “Again, I offer my profound remorse for any harm my remarks may have caused,” Thomas added. In an interview, de Lima said that with the development, there is no more need to ask Thomas where he got his information. (Joel San Juan)
Crackdown on illegal billboards to resume
THE crackdown on illegal billboards along Edsa resumes on Monday, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) announced on Wednesday. MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino said he has ordered the resumption of the drive after Congress pledged to provide funds to the agency’s campaign. Earlier, Tolentino told senators during the hearing of the MMDA’s budget request for 2012 that it plans to dismantle 424 more billboards along Edsa out of 2,000 such structures for various violations of the National Building Code and others, such as failure to show building permits, certificate of use and location clearance. He said the MMDA could not resume the campaign even after the temporary injunction issued by the Makati Regional Trial Court expired last month because there were no more funds for it. The MMDA gained the support of the Senate to pursue the campaign even after the Outdoor Advertising Association of the Philippines threatened to file another case against the agency. (Claudeth Mocon)
Motorcycle lanes set on Commonwealth, Macapagal
SAYING it would bring discipline to all motorcycle riders, the motorcycle associations on Wednesday expressed support to the plan of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to create motorcycle lanes along the 12.5-kilometer-long Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City and Diosdado Macapagal Avenue in Pasay City. Jojo Medina, a member of a motorcycle association, said, “We also wanted to discipline our fellow motorcycle riders and vowed to help the agency,” after meeting with MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino on Tuesday afternoon. Under the scheme, the fourth lane of Commonwealth Avenue and the rightmost lane of Macapagal Avenue would be designated as motorcycle lanes. Motorcycle riders are banned to ply other lanes, except to make turns. Tolentino said the agency would have a dry run of the program on October 17 and riders who will be caught violating the scheme would be invited to a 15-minute seminar aimed to promote the safety of the motorcycle riders. (Claudeth Mocon)
