by magnolia_eic | Mar 1, 2010 | Headlines, National News
The prolonged dry spell is forcing the private sector to import a large volume of feed wheat from Thailand, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Thursday.
Agriculture Undersecretary Salvador Salacup said that since January, local livestock producers and feed millers have been having a hard time sourcing corn, the main ingredient in livestock feeds.
Corn has been one of the crops that have been hardest hit by the El Niño weather phenomenon.
He said that 700,000 metric tons of feed wheat would be imported by the private sector until June this year. Of the 700,000 metric tons, 300,000 metric tons have come in, Salacup said.
He clarified that unlike sugar, the importation of feed wheat by the private sector has no government restriction but the importers have to pay about 7-percent tariff as stipulated under the Asean Free Trade Agreement (AFTA).
On Tuesday, the Agriculture department announced that the dry spell has caused damage to crops amounting to P3.77 billion, with corn being the worst hit at P2 billion, followed by palay (unhusked rice) with P1.7 billion. (PIA-Bohol)
by magnolia_eic | Mar 1, 2010 | Election 2010, Headlines, National News
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the Commission on Elections (Comelec) have started finalizing preparations for some 589,830 overseas Filipino workers to cast their votes in this year’s automated elections, as absentee voting starts April 10.
In line with this, personnel from the DFA Overseas Absentee Voting Secretariat (OAVS) and the Comelec Committee on Overseas Absentee Voting will hold a training at Heritage Hotel in Pasay City from Feb. 24 to 26, according to DFA.
DFA-OAVS Chairman and DFA Undersecretary Rafael Seguis said the training is the first and the biggest to be conducted before the start of the OAV component of the May elections.
Expected to attend are over 100 representatives from the foreign service, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, which have recommended the adoption of personal voting.
Also attending are Philippine ambassadors-designate to six countries who will be assuming their posts soon, and two incoming heads of consular posts in the United States.
“They will serve as members of the Electoral Boards in the Foreign Service Posts they represent. These boards are the Special Ballot Reception and Custody Group (SBRCG), the Special Board of Election Inspectors (SBEl), and the Special Board of Canvassers (SBOC),” the DFA said. (PIA-Bohol)
by magnolia_eic | Mar 1, 2010 | Headlines, National News
Malacañang has signed two executive orders extending the duty-free importation of milling wheat and cement for another six months, Trade Undersecretary Zenaida C. Maglaya said.
Executive order numbers 862 and 863 were released yesterday morning by the Palace and will be published today. This is the second extension on the zero tariffs for both commodities.
Ric Pinca, executive director of the Philippine Association of Flour Millers, said with the EO, millers will not raise the prices of flour next month from the present price of P970 to P990 per bag. This would also assure stable prices of bread products.
Pinca said the zero duty lifts the pressure on the prices of wheat in the world market which had been fluctuating in the past days.
Tariff on wheat is supposed to be 3 percent and translates to about P20 per bag.
Duty on cement meanwhile was supposed to be pegged at 5 percent, the lowest in the region compared to 35 percent of Vietnam and 10 percent in Thailand.
The zero duty on cement is seen to stabilize prices of locally-produced cement at current prices of P205 to P210 per bag.
Ernesto M. Ordonez, president of the Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines, said manufacturers are wary of raising prices during a zero-tariff regime or they will compete with cheaper-priced imports. (PIA-Bohol)
by magnolia_eic | Feb 28, 2010 | Headlines, National News
Davao City, Philippines — Hundreds of residents in the east coast of Malita in Davao del Sur, Mati City in Davao Oriental, and Tandag in Surigao del Sur moved to higher grounds due to tsunami alerts issued by the Phivolcs after the quake in Chile.
Big waves have hit the village of Kidalapong, forcing at least a hundred people to evacuate to higher grounds.
Mati City Mayor, Michelle Rabat said residents as well as the coast guard have been put into alert. Rabat added that a number of citizens along the white sand beaches of the Village of Dahican have also moved to higher and safer grounds after seeing a rise in the water level.
In Tandag, Surigao del Sur, hundreds of coastal residents evacuated to the municipal hall on Saturday night.
Click here for full article from Inquirer.net
by magnolia_eic | Feb 27, 2010 | Headlines, National News
According to DFA spokesperson Eduardo Malaya, none of the 89 Filipinos in Chile have been reported to be among the 64 casualties of the huge wave that reached a populated area in the Robinson Crusoe Islands. The 8.8-magnitude quake that hit Chile morning of Saturday, has generated a tsunami.
“So far, we’ve not received any reports that anyone (Filipinos) has been hurt during the earthquake.” Embassy staff are now trying to reach out to know their situations.
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by magnolia_eic | Feb 27, 2010 | Headlines, National News
Manila, Philippines — Authorities from the Philippine Government has warned coastal communities along the eastern side of the archipelago Saturday, to prepare for possible evacuation after a powerful quake in Chile triggered a tsunami.
According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that struck in the Pacific Ocean near the coast of Chile early Saturday could generate a destructive tsunami that could hit coastlines on the western Pacific.
Although there are yet no evacuation orders in effect, the government has advised communities along the east coast of the country to wait for further information and to prepare for possible evacuation.
Monitoring the sea levels now are the Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii.
Click here for full article from Inquirer.net
