Climate Change/Environment

GENERAL SANTOS CITY – Around 94 baby turtles “made their way home” to the Sarangani Bay on Wednesday afternoon after hatching at a protected nesting site in a coastal village in Glan town, Sarangani province.

Forester Abdul Cariga, head of the Community Environment and Natural Resources Office (Cenro) in Glan, said the Olive Ridley sea turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) were found by a concerned resident early Wednesday crawling in the shores of Purok Islam, Barangay Glan Padidu.

KORONADAL CITY  – Hundreds of whales and dolphins were spotted in Sarangani Bay during the Feb.2-5 marine mammal monitoring in the protected seascape by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in Region 12 and its partners.

Joy C. Ologuin, protected area superintendent (PASu) of Sarangani Bay Protected Seascape (SBPS), said that food hunting and nursing of calves are the possible reasons why the whales and dolphins were in the bay.

KIAMBA, Sarangani - Another Philippine eagle was rescued by Mang Ganang in Sitio Wata, Barangay Ticulab, Maitum, Sarangani. The said eagle is now under the custody of the Philippine Eagle Foundation for observation.

On January 9, 2021, CENRO Kiamba came to see the rescued raptor and met Mr. Ganang.

Accoding to him: “I saw a big bird trying to catch a monkey in the portion of the forest, near the Salagbanog Falls. After a quick swipe on its prey, the raptor fell from the tree and was trapped in the thorny vines of rattan.”

GEN. SANTOS CITY - Another fish kill hit Lake Sebu in South Cotabato on Friday, forcing tilapia fish cage operators to launch a massive emergency harvest.

Lake Sebu Mayor Floro Gandam confirmed in a radio interview on Saturday the latest fish kill has affected fish cages in three barangays surrounding the 354-hectare mountain lake.

He said the affected areas were portions of the lake’s waters in barangays Poblacion, Bacdulong, and Takunel.

“The emergency harvests are ongoing to save the remaining tilapia,” the mayor said.

COTABATO CITY - THE Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has turned over all government documents and resource maps pertaining to protected areas located in the component provinces of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

Effectively, the BARMM’s Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Energy (MENRE) now officially oversees protected areas, following the official turnover by DENR Undersecretary for Enforcement, Mining and Muslim Affairs Jim O. Sampulna to BARMM Executive Secretary Abdulraof A. Macacua.

LUPON, Davao Oriental – A family of the critically endangered Philippine eagle has recently been spotted in the forests of Lupon, Davao Oriental.

Official photographer of the Provincial Information Office, Eden Jhan Licayan, who took the photos and some video footage of the rare sightings, said he spotted a total of three Philippine eagles during the assessment of potential tourism sites in the area on December 7-10.

Licayan said he first spotted a young Philippine eagle perched on a tree near its nest while emitting a powerful call.

“This is outrageous!”

This was the reaction of Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) chair Sec. Emmanuel Piñol after he learned that illegal mining operations and illegal cutting of hardwood trees were uncovered inside the Mt. Apo Protected Area.

In his FB post, Sec. Piñol said the mining and cutting of trees were uncovered by a team from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) North Cotabato inside the Mt. Apo protected area in B Arangay Don Panaca, Magpet town.

MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday vowed to restore normalcy in Cagayan Valley after the region experienced its worst flooding in 40 years due to heavy rains brought by Typhoon Ulysses enhanced by the tail end of a cold front.

In a situation briefing in Tuguegarao City, Duterte promised that the government will “work hard” to rebuild their lives and will prioritize providing immediate rescue, relief, and assistance.

(UPDATED) MANILA – The death toll for Typhoon Ulysses, which has cut a swathe through Luzon, has climbed to 33 as of 11 a.m. on Saturday.

In a series of Viber messages to reporters, National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) spokesperson Mark Cashean Timbal said 16 deaths were recorded in the Cagayan Valley region, six in Calabarzon, five in Bicol, and six in the Cordillera region.

The number of injured was placed at 22 – three in Cagayan Valley, nine in Calabarzon, eight in Bicol, and two in the Cordillera region.

A lumbering elephant!

After getting confirmation from NDRRMC Usec Ric Jalad that the highway in Lopez, Quezon is flooded, I decided call off my trip to the north and turn back.

The road portion in Lopez, Quezon which is now causing a huge traffic jam involving cargo trucks and private vehicles is the same place which was flooded a month ago.

We were able to get through by taking a long mountain road in the town of Guinayangan.

After that experience, I publicly suggested that an alternate route should be readied in case the flooding happens again.