Climate Change/Environment

COTABATO CITY - The Sangguniang Panlalawigan in Basilan placed the entire province under a state of calamity in a session on Wednesday due to the devastating effects of the now two-month drought in the province spawned by the El-Niño phenomenon.

Basilan Gov. Hadjiman Salliman and Vice Gov. Yusop Alano separately confirmed to reporters on Wednesday the SP's had placed the entire province under a state of calamity during a session where provincial lawmakers discussed the immediate need for it, based on multi-sector recommendations.

Idineklara na ang state of calamity sa bayan ng Surallah, South Cotabato.

Ito ay sa pamamagitan ng resolusyon na inaprubahan ng Sangguniang Bayan.

Layon nito na magamit ang quick response fund ng lokal na pamahalaan na pantulong sa mga mamamayan na apektado ng El Nino Phenomenon.

Ayon sa SP abot na sa higit P71 million pesos ang danyos ng El Nino sa mga pananim at palaisdaan sa Surallah.

Nakaapekto naman ito sa 1,178 na mga magsasaka at mangingisda.

KORONADAL CITY - An adult plumage Gray-faced Buzzard that was rescued recently by a fisher folk has returned to its natural habitat after it was freed on March 19, by the personnel from DENR Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (CENRO) of Kiamba.

CENR Officer Felix Robles said that the migratory raptor was turned over to his office by a concerned citizen of Barangay Lomuyon, Kiamba, Sarangani Province, after a fisherman found it floating in the sea.

Patuloy na mararanasan ng mga taga Cotabato City ang lubhang mainit ng temperatura hanggang sa mga susunod na araw.

Batay sa Forecast Heat Index ng Bangsamoro READi posibleng pumalo ng hanggang 41 degree celsius ang init ng panahon ngayong araw hanggang bukas na posibleng umabot sa 40 degree celsius.

Kaugnay nito, pinapayuhan ang lahat na maging mas maingat sa mga banta na dala ng di-pangkraniwang init ng temperatura tulad ng pagkahilo at heat stroke.

MANILA – Task Force El Niño on Wednesday warned that about 80 provinces may experience the adverse effects of the weather phenomenon, sparing only two provinces in the country.

This is as the number of provinces currently affected by El Niño has already increased to 51 from the previous 41, as of Feb. 25, Task Force El Niño spokesperson, Communications Assistant Secretary Joey Villarama, said during the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon Program aired on state-run PTV-4.

KORONADAL CITY - A juvenile male Dugong (Dugong dugon) was found lifeless on Sunday morning (Feb. 11) around 20 meters off the shores of Barangay Tango in Glan, Sarangani Province.

Cirilo A. Lagnason, Jr., protected area superintendent (PASu) of the Sarangani Bay Protected Seascape (SBPS), said local resident Eddie Garcia spotted the dead dugong, who immediately notified the incident to the authorities.

DAVAO CITY – The Eastern Mindanao Command (Eastmincom) reported Wednesday that out of the 86 employees of the Apex Mining Co. initially reported trapped, 45 have been rescued and 41 are still missing.

Lt. Col. Rosa Ma. Cristina Rosete-Manuel, Eastmincom spokesperson, said that of the 45 rescued persons, three are in critical condition requiring urgent air evacuation while 42 others remain in an evacuation area.

COTABATO CITY - Police personnel in six provinces of the Bangsamoro region simultaneously planted on Friday some 10,000 forest and fruit tree seedlings in open fields in support of the government’s environment-protection thrusts.

Brig. Gen. Allan Nobleza, director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, led the tree planting activities around their headquarters in Camp SK Pendatun in Parang, Maguindanao del Norte.

The Cotabato Light and Power Company (Cotabato Light) employees have safely turned over a captured Philippine Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus), locally known as "Musang,” to the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Energy (MENRE) in the Bangsamoro region.

MONKAYO, Davao de Oro – Seven persons died, another severely injured, while five others remain missing in Mt. Diwata, Monkayo town in this province due to the landslide on Thursday.

In an interview, Monkayo information officer Jergrace Cabag said five out of the seven fatalities were kids, including the injured victim.

All dead victims were already transported to a local funeral home, she added.

Cabag said the victims were attending a prayer meeting in the residence owned by the Gumatin family when the tragedy struck.