El Niño likely to start in 2nd half of ‘23

By Rio N. Araja and Vito Barcelo

AN El Niño episode characterized by below-normal rainfall may persist until 2014.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said El Niño can lead to dry spells and even drought.

El Niño will begin by the third quarter of 2023 or between July and September, and will last until next year but its effects will not be felt immediately.

Ana Liza Solis, PAGASA's climate

Damage...

From A1 other affected barangays as well.”

Ahead of the insurance claims, more than P38.1 million in humanitarian assistance has been given to families affected by the oil spill.

DSWD spokesperson Assistant Secretary Rommel Lopez said aid has been given to families in Oriental Mindoro, in Agutaya town in Palawan, and in Caluya in Antique.

He said the amount covered at least 47,000 family food packs as well as cash aid for some 5,961 beneficiaries. A food pack consists of 6 kilos of rice, 4 cans of corned beef, 4 cans of tuna flakes, 4 cans of sardines, 5 sachets of coffee and 5 sachets of cereal malt.

Oriental Mindoro Gov. Humerlito

Dolor said P&I Club had confirmed in a meeting on Thursday morning that they will begin accepting applications for compensation.

Del Rosario said claimants include individuals, corporations, and local government units affected by the oil spill.

Solon...

From A1

These were 1) that the amendments would be done through a constituent assembly; 2) that they would tackle economic provisions; and 3) the two chambers would vote separately.

“That is the stand of the House. So we agree on all conditions that the Senate wants with regards to constitutional amendments,” Gomez said.

The House of Representatives earlier passed Resolution of Both Houses (RHB) 6 and House Bill (HB) 7325, which both seek to initiate the process of liberalizing the economic provisions of the 1987 Charter.

RHB 6 calls for a hybrid Constitutional Convention (Con-Con)—comprising elected and appointed delegates—to do a makeover of the Charter’s restrictive economic provisions, while HB 7325 is meant to be the implementing law for RBH 6.

ICC...

From A1 its prosecutors to resume their investigation into the “war on drugs” of the Duterte administration.

In its appeal, Manila also sought the suspension of the investigation.

ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan has already asked the ICC’s Appeals Chamber to reject Manila’s request.

Khan said the Philippine government “has not provided any argument substantiating its request.”

The Appeals Chamber said that 90 victims’ sought to present their views and concerns on the Philippine government’s appeal.

The chamber’s decision stated that “war on drugs” victims indicated that questions of whether investigations will be conducted or deferred “has immediate and direct effect on their personal interest.”

“They have not been able to obtain justice and remedies for the crimes committed against their family members,” it said.

The victims group also told the Appeals Chamber that investigations are the premise of prosecution and potential reparations, which they need to “see justice done and obtain remedies for the harm suffered.”

The Pre-Trial Chamber, in allowing

‘Military...

From A1 reported human rights abuses, including abuses by its forces and paramilitary forces. Concerns about police impunity remained given reports of continued extrajudicial killings by police,” the report said.

“Significant concerns also persisted about impunity for other security forces, civilian national and local government monitoring and prediction section head, said the El Niño Watch is meant to lead early preparations.

Meanwhile, a Social Weather Survey (SWS) revealed that 93 percent of adult Filipinos have personally experienced the impacts of climate change in the past three years. The survey showed that 17 percent have experienced severe impact of cli-

The categories of claims are the cost of cleanup and preventive measures, economic loss in fisheries and marine culture, economic loss in the tourism sector and related businesses, as well as property damage.

Claimants are advised to send accomplished claim forms to the designated offices with supporting documents and proof of their loss, which will be reviewed, Del Rosario said.

He added that the computation of claims will vary depending on the claimants and the categories of their claims.

He said, for example, if a fisherman earns P450 a day and stopped fishing for 23 days due to the oil spill, the amount of financial loss will be multiplied by the number of days of his interrupted livelihood. Based on this computation, the fisherman may get about P10,000.

The MT Princess Empress sank near Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, with its cargo of about 800,000 liters of industrial fuel oil, causing a massive oil spill that has reached the provincial capital city of Calapan and that has threatened nearby provinces.

As of Wednesday, a total of 163,508

Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund

Villafuerte has proposed that a meeting between constitutional reform proponents in the Senate and the House of Representatives be held during the congressional break “to keep the ball rolling” on Charter Change."

Villafuerte, president of the National Unity Party (NUP), said the ongoing meeting will help lawmakers decide soon enough on whether to go ahead on amending the 36-year-old Constitution before the year is over.

NUP is the biggest power bloc in the House next to the ruling LakasCMD led by Romualdez, and all 45 of its members had voted for RHB 6 and HB 7325, which had consolidated four bills, including HB 4926, which was authored by Villafuerte.

Villafuerte suggested that the senators led by Sen. Robinhood Padilla and House members led by Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez meet in an open session in the interest of full transparency, and not behind closed doors resumption of probe into Philippines, said that domestic proceedings in the Philippines "do not sufficiently mirror the expected scope of the Court’s investigation, since they only address the physical, low-ranking perpetrators and at present do not extend to any highranking officials.”

In its response, the Philippine government asserted that it is precluded from “scrutinizing the submissions” of other participants. It added that it had not been notified of any filings concerning victim representation.

However, the Appeals Chamber has said that it is not persuaded “that all filings concerning victims should be notified to the Philippines,” and that “there is a need for the Philippines to ‘scrutinize the submissions of victims.”

Nonetheless, the Chamber directed the Registry to notify Manila of all public and confidential filings in the present proceedings.

Solicitor General Menardo Guevarra on Thursday said the ICC should allow the Philippine government to reply to any pleading that may be filed by victims of the war on drugs.

“For as long as the state will be given a fair opportunity to respond to the victims' submissions during the appeals stage, the Office of the Solicitor General will not make any further comment on their involvement,” Guevarra said. (See full story online at manilastandard.net) officials, and powerful business and commercial figures. Officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity.”

Citing government data, the report noted that approximately 15,000 drug war operations were conducted by law enforcement authorities from January to May 2022.

It said “arbitrary or unlawful killings by police” happened during some of the operations.

“Human rights groups continued to express concern about the contribution mate change in the past three years, 52 percent felt moderate impact, and 24 percent felt little impact. Six percent did not experience any impact.

The SWS survey results also showed that most Filipinos maintained an optimistic attitude toward combating climate change.

“The survey also found 88% agreeing (51% strongly agree, 37% somewhat agree) with the statement ‘People like me can do something to reduce climate risk or risks resulting from climate change,’ 10% undecided, and 3% disagreeing (2% somewhat disagree, 1% strongly disagree, cor- people or 34,555 families in Mimaropa and Western Visayas were affected by the oil spill, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said. A state of calamity was declared in 10 cities and municipalities, the agency added. At least 192 people fell ill due to the oil spill. as preferred by Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri. Padilla heads the Senate committee on constitutional amendments and revision of codes, who earlier invited House members led by Rodriguez, who chairs the House constitutional amendments committee, to attend the March 20 meeting of his panel to discuss Charter Change—but the meeting was called off at the last minute.

The Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) on Thursday said the tanker, which was spotted by a Japanese remotely operated vessel (ROV) this week, suffered extensive structural damage after sinking, and oil was seen leaking from eight compartments. It said the remaining oil inside the capsized vessel was as yet undetermined.

The wreckage of the MT Princes Empress was found 7.7 nautical miles away from Balingawan Point in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro by the Japanese vessel Shin Nichi Maru, which deployed an ROV to find it. Insurance representatives were doing the rounds in searching for a service provider to conduct oil patching, bagging, and removal.

Former Senate president Franklin Drilon said the lack of trust is a major hurdle in the push for Charter Change.

“There is no trust in members of Congress. That is the first issue that you have to hurdle – the trust of the people in Congress,” he said.

“There’s a mistrust of politicians. The public feels it’s just a show. However the end is to remove term limits and prolong the term of members of Congress,” he said.

He said there is also mistrust between the two chambers of Congress.

“One of the issues in a (constituent

Teves...

From A1 Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to allow Teves' private jet to land at the Basa Air Base in Pampanga where it would be surrounded by the military, the measure is not enough to secure the lawmaker. "Between landing and the proceedings, a lot will happen. That's what we're trying to negotiate," Topacio said Teves flew to the United States on Feb. 28 for medical treatment, but his travel authority issued by the House expired on March 9.

As this developed, House lawyers are now studying a formal request for the expulsion of Teves.

House Secretary General Reginald Velasco said the wife of the assassinated Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo submitted a letter-request to the House of Representatives asking for Teves' expulsion.

“Pamplona Mayor Janice Degamo said that Congressman Teves is involved in the violent incidents in Negros. But that is just an allegation at this time because the incidents are still being investigated by the authorities.

The House leadership will still study the matter to determine the action that the chamber would take,” Velasco said.

Velasco declined to provide the media with a copy of Degamo's letter of corruption to abuses committed by the PNP and other security forces and noted little progress in implementing and enforcing reforms aimed at improving investigations and prosecutions of suspected human rights violations. The national police’s institutional deficiencies and the public perception that police corruption was endemic continued,” the report said.

The report likewise said the “practice of red-tagging continued under the new administration.” “Government officials or their allies rectly rounded),” the SWS added. The SWS also said 76 percent or three out of four think that humanity could do something to stop or slow down climate change if they really tried. assembly) is, do we vote separately or jointly? Obviously, when you vote jointly, the Senate becomes irrelevant. That is why the Senate has been resisting such a situation because the Senate can become irrelevant,” Drilon said. but said it could be eventually referred to the House Committee on Ethics and Privileges which recommended slapping Teves with a 60-day suspension by an overwhelming 292 votes with zero abstention.

The Fourth Quarter 2022 Social Weather Survey was conducted from December 10-14, 2022, using faceto-face interviews of 1,200 adults (18 years old and above) nationwide: 300 each in Metro Manila, Balance Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao. Face-to-face is the standard interviewing method for Social Weather Stations.

Dolor said that the Japanese salvage vessel should be asked to stay while they awaited the arrival of new equipment. Fishermen from affected communities along the Verde Island Passage called on the government to serve justice and ensure that the livelihood and welfare of affected communities get priority in its disaster response efforts.

The call was made as fishing community leaders from Calapan, Pola, Naujan, Pinamalayan, Bongabong, Bulalacao, Mandalay, Roxas, Bansud, and Gloria in Oriental Mindoro joined together to launch the Koalisyon ng Mangingisdang Apektado ng Oil Spill (KMAOS).

A spokesperson for the group, Dindo Melaya, said each fisherman affected by the oil spill should be compensated at a rate no lower than P500 a day.

The calls were backed by the Bukluran ng Mangingisda sa Batangas (BMB), who expressed solidarity with fishermen in the oil spill’s ground zero in Mindoro and raised the alarm over the trajectories of the slick moving west and northwards to Batangas due to shifts in the wind pattern.

But Drilon said he believes the Constitution needs to be amended.

“It is one of the longest constitutions that we have in the world,” he said.

He added that the 1987 Constitution was heavily influenced by the country’s experiences during the Martial Law years. “Hence, all the restrictions on government found their way into the Constitution because of fear that Martial Law can again be imposed,” he said.

“The difficulty of our Constitution today is it really gives our policy makers no leeway,” he added.

He said Charter Change, however, is not the answer to all the country’s problems, noting that other issues such as corruption and red tape can affect the country’s investment climate.

"Her request is grave – expulsion. But expulsion is also covered by a process. Her letter may eventually be sent to the Committee on Ethics.

We will have to await the decision of the panel on what to do with this new development," he added.

Velasco said Teves' suspension is counted in terms of calendar days,during which the lawmaker would not get his salary and other emoluments.

However, Velasco said the House still has to decide on what to do with the lawmaker's office and his office budget and office staff, noting the unprecedented nature of the lawmaker's suspension.

President Marcos earlier played down supposed threats to Teves' life.

“He is saying there is a threat to his life. On our part, the best intelligence we have is that we don’t know of any threat. Where will the threat come from?” Mr. Marcos told reporters covering the 126th founding anniversary of the Philippine Army in Taguig.

He urged Teves to return to the country as soon as possible and face the charges filed against him. (See full story online at manilastandard.net) often used red-tagging to label human rights advocates, unions, religious groups, academics, and media organizations as fronts for or clandestine members of insurgent and other opposition groups.”

The Country Reports yearly cover 198 countries and territories giving factual reports on the real happenings and events in each country.

The report is meticulously built with the help of different groups such as embassies, NGOs, academics, activists, and journalists, among others.