Climate Change/Environment

MANILA – The Marcos administration has reconstituted the task force that will respond to the looming El Niño, Malacañang announced on Saturday.

The reconstituted task force will be led by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) with other member agencies, Presidential Communications Office Secretary Cheloy Garafil said in a statement, citing Department of National Defense chief Carlito Galvez Jr.'s three-page report submitted to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

MANILA – The Marcos administration has reconstituted the task force that will respond to the looming El Niño, Malacañang announced on Saturday.

The reconstituted task force will be led by the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) with other member agencies, Presidential Communications Office Secretary Cheloy Garafil said in a statement, citing Department of National Defense chief Carlito Galvez Jr.'s three-page report submitted to President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.

COTABATO CITY - The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) has urged Malacañang and the Bangsamoro government to start exploring the natural gas deposits in the 220,000-hectare Liguasan Delta, touted as Asia’s largest.

Studies done by experts from abroad and the national government showed that the bulk of the natural gas deposits in the Liguasan Delta are underneath swamps along towns in Maguindanao del Sur and Maguindanao del Norte that are inside what is now the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, most known by its acronym BARMM.

KORONADAL CITY - A Catholic bishop has challenged South Cotabato’s chief executive to defend the province’s ban on open-pit mining after an appeals court ruled that its application is limited only to small-scale operations.

In a recent letter to Gov. Reynaldo Tamayo, Bishop Cerilo Casicas of Marbel urged the official “to exert his best effort to defend the rights of the people to a balanced and healthy ecology”.

“It is of vital importance that the true meaning and heart of the ordinance is not in any way compromised or defeated,” Casicas said.

MAKILALA, North Cotabato – A farmer in a small village here now has two juvenile female Eastern Grass Owl (Tyto longimembris) nesting on the cluster of Arrowhead Plant or Syngonium podophyllum in a his titled farm lot in the town of Makilala.

Afredo Bas, farmer in Barangay Luna Norte in Makilala, North Cotabato, sought the assistance of the village officials and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in the handling of owl species found his farm lot on Monday (March 20).

COTABATO CITY - A juvenile Pinker's hawk-eagle (Nisaetus pinskeri), rescued by a farmer in Magpet, North Cotabato, had been freed back to the wild on Wednesday.

In a statement, Environment officials said the unidentified farmer found the big bird weak in an open-space farmland In Barangay Amabel, Magpet, North Cotabato on Monday, March 14.

Forester Rosie Camiguing, chief of DENR Protected and Wildlife Unit (PAWU), said the raptor was weak and had lost its ability to fly.

KIDAPAWAN CITY - the DENR PASu called the attention of the two foreign trekkers who happened to climb Mt. Apo last March 11, 2023 without permit and guide, purposely to remind them of the existing policies of the Protected Area Management Board - No Permit No Climb Policy.

The City Tourism Promotions Office and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Protected Area Management Office would like "to impose the strict implementation of our protocols and policies to ensure a safe and memorable experience for our trekkers."

KORONADAL CITY - After the recent operation against a vlogger for alleged wildlife hunting and trading, several residents of Barangay Pangyan in this town voluntarily surrendered their caged wildlife to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Region 12.

KORONADAL CITY - The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Region 12 is preparing a complaint against a vlogger in Barangay Pangyan of this town for alleged wildlife hunting and selling.

Dr. Rosalinda B. Cortez, CENR Officer of Glan, said the team composed of CENRO Glan and PNP Maritime conducted an operation against the vlogger after receiving reports and a week of surveillance.

KIDAPAWAN CITY - A magnitude 6 earthquake rocked Davao region early evening today with its epicenter found in New Bataan, DAvao de Oro, the state volcanology office said.

Ang tremor that came at 6:44 p.m. tectonic in origin and caused minor damages as per reports by various media organizations and the social media. 

Phivolcs said aftershocks were also reported.  About 20 aftershocks were detected as of posting.