Photo Credit: Kiko Ribleza

MANILA, Philippines – The government is planning to use modern tools to resolve the decades-old pollution problem of Manila Bay.

During the kickoff of the “Battle for Manila Bay” on Sunday, January 27, Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar said his agency will procure boat skimmers exclusively for the bay’s cleanup.

Boat skimmers can gather solid waste materials from bodies of water. Some models even have the ability to clean up oil spills.

Meanwhile, Acting Information and Communications Technology Secretary Eliseo Rio Jr said they will be installing sensors that will monitor pollution levels in Manila Bay.

Both Villar and Rio did not elaborate on specific figures or timelines for these projects.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources said the rehabilitation will have 3 phases.

Photo Credit: Kiko Ribleza

Phase 1 will focus on cleanup and water quality improvement. Government agencies will clean designated waterways and reduce fecal coliform levels which rose due to houses and establishments.

The first phase will also focus on providing temporary sanitation facilities to informal settlers living along waterways and shorelines, pending their relocation.

Phase 2 will focus on rehabilitation of old sewer lines in Metro Manila. The government is also set to relocate informal settlers.

This stage will also focus on ensuring that projects of Maynilad and Manila Water will be finished by 2022.

Photo Credit: Kiko Ribleza

Finally, Phase 3 focuses on education and sustainment, as well as ensuring the early completion of the sewerage system in Metro Manila by 2026, instead of the initial target of 2037.

Manila Bay covers 8 provinces and 178 local government units in the 3 regions of Metro Manila, Central Luzon, and Calabarzon.

The bay’s coastline measures some 190 kilometers. It has 17 principal river systems draining into it

Source: rappler.com

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ORION, Bataan — Fire razed hundreds of houses, affecting more than 800 families in a fishing village here Tuesday morning.

Barangay Capunitan chairman Ernesto Delona said initial reports indicated that children playing with a match caused the fire that started at 9 a.m. He added, however, that they are still waiting for the official report of the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP).

Delona said no one was hurt in the blaze that was put under control past noontime.

“Our assessment is ongoing. What is important is that the fire was already contained. We called all the firefighters in Bataan. The big fire was so frightening,” the village head said.

Firetrucks that responded to the scene came from 11 towns and one city in Bataan. One or two came from the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.

Delona said the affected families were evacuated to the Capunitan Elementary School.

Most of the burned houses located in Sitio Depensa, a fishing area in the barangay, were made of bamboo and other light materials, the village chief said.

Nenita Franola, one of the victims, could only look helplessly at her burning house from a distance.

“Wala kaming gamit na naisalba. Inuna ko anak ko (We were not able to save things. I prioritized my child),” she said.

Source: ptvnews.ph

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A TOTAL of 47 establishments has been closed down in Bulacan and Bataan since Friday for non-compliance with environmental laws and polluting the river system leading to the Manila Bay.

Lormelyn Claudio, Region 3 Environmental Management Bureau chief of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), said the establishments were found violating environmental laws and most have no environmental clearance certificates.

Sixteen of the establishments are located in the City of Meycauayan, 24 in Obando town and three in Marilao, all in Bulacan, while four are in Mariveles, Bataan.

Claudio said 15 establishments were served with notices of violations and cease and desist orders on Friday, while 32 were served with notices on Sunday

The businesses found with violations in Meycauayan include those engaged in leather and jewelry production, fishpond operators in Obando, and a beach resort, hotel and manufacturing plants in Mariveles, Bataan.

These establishments would be monitored closely and would remain closed until they comply with necessary requirements, Claudio added.

Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu in a media briefing earlier, said that aside from closing the establishments, the violators have to pay a fine from P20,000 to P200,000 per day until they have fully complied with the measures against polluting the environment.

On Sunday, various government agencies and other sectoral groups joined the simultaneous massive cleanup and rehabilitation efforts to Save Manila Bay that was held in Barangay Tawiran in Obando, Bulacan.

Source: manilatimes.net

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THE Philippine representative, Karen Gallman, was crowned as the 47th Miss Intercontinental making her the first filipina to win the prestigious title.Gallman bested more than 80 delegates from around

THE Philippine representative, Karen Gallman, was crowned as the 47th Miss Intercontinental making her the first filipina to win the prestigious title.

Gallman bested more than 80 delegates from around the ground. Mexico’s Veronica Vallejo crowned Gallman at the SM Mall of Asia Arena Saturday evening.

Costa Rica was hailed as the first runner up, while the Slovak Republic as second runner up. Colombia finished 3rd, Vietnam at 4th and Ethiopia finished 5th.

Gallman is a Filipino-Australian who hails from the province of Bohol.

The Philippines hosted the international pageant for the first time.

Source: ph.news.yahoo.com

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Photo Credit: nidec-shimpo.com

Nidec-Shimpo Corporation (Japan) yesterday launched a new line at its Subic Freeport factory for the mass production of robot components.

Nidec-Shimpo is a leading innovator of precision-gearing solutions for robotics and industrial automation.

Nidec-Shimpo First Senior Vice President Hitoshi Inoue said the wholly-owned company of Japan’s Nidec Corp. and sister-company of Nidec Subic Philippine Corp. will initially build speed reducers for high-precision motion control applications at the rate of 10,000 to 25,000 units per month.

He pointed out that the Subic factory’s monthly product capacity is greater than the combined capacity of Nidec’s plants in Kyoto, which was at 30,000 units in 2018, and in Ueda, which is expected to reach 50,000 units in 2019.

But the plant’s target production is expected to increase to 100,000 units per month at the end of this year, and to 120,000 units per month by March 2020, he added.

The Subic-made products will be exported to Spain, the United States and Germany, he added.

Inoue stressed that the gearless component parts to be produced in Subic are an entirely new product line that has not been manufactured elsewhere in the world. He described them as “super silent, and with zero backlash and smooth rotation.”

The launch of Nidec-Shimpo operations was attended by Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Koji Haneda, Senator Richard Gordon, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman and Administrator Wilma T. Eisma, and Assistant Secretary Rafaelita Aldaba of the Department of Trade and Industry.

Haneda said Nidec’s expansion “demonstrates the continuing Japanese investor confidence in the Philippines’ business potential (and) shows the rigorous effort of Nidec to take advantage of opportunities and take on challenges to break new ground.”

Source: business.mb.com.ph

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