Groups help monitor Mindoro oil spill

CIVIL society groups, affected communities, and concerned organizations have joined hands to assist in monitoring and improving the availability of updates on the oil spill in Oriental Mindoro.

This came two months after the sinking of the MT Princess Empress. Tanker that dumped 800,000 liters of industrial fuel into Mindoro’s coastal waters.

Fr. Edwin Gariguez, lead convenor of Protect VIP (Verde Island Passage) and director of the Social Action Center of Calapan City in Oriental Mindoro, said ‘Bantay Oil Spill’ is a citizen-led initiative that aims to provide affected communities, concerned groups, and individuals a space to report updates, images, stories, and information on the oil spill. “As we mark the second month of this environmental disaster, the Bantay Oil Spill initiative highlights the need to amplify the voices of oil spill-impacted communities seeking justice. 60 long days have passed and with no end in sight still, we aim to let the government and responsible parties know that our communities are active, aware, and united in their fight to seek accountability and action,” Gariguez said.

On its first BantayOilSpill bulletin, Gariguez said the groups highlighted satellite data from SkyTruth, a nonprofit environmental watchdog that uses satellite imagery and remote sensing data to identify and monitor environmental threats. Maricel V. Cruz

Ex-MILF fighters drop nom de guerre, get birth certificates, legal identities

FORMER members of the Muslim separatist group Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) can now drop their non de guerre or war names and use anew their legal identities. This after the erstwhile MILF combatants received their Certificates of Live Birth through the ‘Access to Legal Identity and Social Services for Decommissioned Combatants’ (ALIASDC) Project.

ALIAS-DC aims to resolve legal identity issues confronting the ex-fighters and facilitate their acquisition of Certificates of Live Birth, which is a fundamental requirement for government recognition

USAID funds BARMM ferry facility

n By NASH B. MAULANA

THE United States government supports the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) government’s of a roll-on, roll-off (RORO) shipping service seen to boost local trade and investment in the region by linking Polloc Port in Parang, Maguindanao to Lamitan, Basilan.

A sustainable partnership comes to BARMM through the Regulatory Reform Support Program for National Development (RESPOND) project of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) being implemented by the University of the Philippines Public Administration

Research and Extension Services Foundation, BARMM Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim, represented at the launch by Maguindanao del Norte Governor Abdulraof Macacua, expressed his full support to the initiative which he described as “a manifestation that the peace accord is succeeding.” and provision of services.

The USAID will particularly provide support in the development of the BARMM RORO shipping services by training BARMM officials and staff on infrastructure development and facilitating a series of multi-stakeholder workshops that enables private sector support maritime connectivity in the region from the launch of the project on April 25.

The project is being implemented by the Initiatives for Dialogue and Empowerment Through Alternative Legal Services (IDEALS) Program, and funded by the European Union, Australian Embassy in the Philippines, Japan, and The Asia Foundation.

ALIAS-DC is set to be rolled out in the MILF six-acknowledged camps in Lanao province, Maguindanao and Cotabato.

It is among the commitments made by the Government of the Philippines (GPH) under the Normalization track of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro.

THE government is eyeing to assemble a new team which will focus on addressing the El Niño phenomenon “within 10 days,” Allan Tabel, director at the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said.

Tabel, quoted by ABS-CBN News, said the current El Niño task force previously created must be abolished, as this is currently led by the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA).

Tabel said President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. gave the order to create the new team to avoid the current setup of the task force.

NEDA, based on the President’s discussions with other officials, is focused on rehabilitation and post-impact of the weather phenomenon.

Tabel was also quoted saying that the new team will focus on El Niño to formulate a strategy centered on the phenomenon.

“The directive of the President is to form a new El Niño team to craft strategies,” Tabel said.

The official said the new team will likely be led by the DILG, with the Office of Civil Defense as part of this team, among other agencies. Among those proposed to be included in the team include the Department of Agriculture and a set of experts that could be part of their “support group,” noting the weather phenomenon’s impact in the agriculture, energy, marine, and water resources sectors.

Tabel further said agencies, such as the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), will also be at the forefront of the new team

“These are just discussions. But definitely, this is DILG leading the team, with the Office of Civil Defense as co-lead,” Tabel said.

President Marcos, meanwhile, assured the public that there is ample supply of electricity despite the looming dry spell which might affect the country’s hydroelectric plants.

“We have enough supply to meet the demand. What is lacking is the reserve,” said Energy Undersecretary Felix William Fuentebella in a media forum in Quezon City.

Fuentebella noted that based on the Department of Energy (DOE) forecast, they are seeing a thinning electricity reserve, which means the country already hit the necessary demand but must secure an additional 4% percent reserve on the demand plus the regulating reserve requirement.

Lawmaker eyes dental services under PhilHealth

A PARTY-LIST lawmaker eyes further expansion of the state’s health insurance program to include dental health services.

Anakalusugan Rep. Ray Reyes hinted at a new law amending the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act to mandate the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to include dental health in its package of services.

Reyes, vice chairman of the House Committee on health, stressed the need to bring dental healthcare services closer to people in far-flung areas.

“If there is any takeaway from our dental missions, it is that there is a need for PhilHealth and local government units (LGUs) to focus on the expansion of their regular services and seriously move towards the coverage of the dental needs of our constituents,” Reyes in reference his group’s dental missions in five towns in Antique recently.

Reyes said he realized during the event many Filipinos especially those in the countryside could not access dental services due to prohibitive costs.

He added that dental problems should not be taken for granted as these could have a serious impact on health.

“Dental complaints have serious ramifications on productivity. It cannot be ignored, set aside for later or swept under the rug. If we are to seriously move towards economic recovery and rural development, these must be attended to,” Reyes said.

“We go back to our core advocacy to make use of congressional downtime to bring free health service missions to rural areas where these remain wanting,” he added.

Reyes said more than 500 residents from the towns of Valderrama, Patnongon, San Remegio, Sibalom, and Anini-y availed themselves of dental services, including consultation, extraction, dental filling, and prophylaxis during the medical mission.

Maricel V. Cruz