FIRECRACKERS BRING SMOG PROBLEMS
MANILA, JANUARY
2,
2012 (STAR) By Helen Flores - Widespread
rains may trigger flashfloods and landslides in parts of the Visayas and
Mindanao over the next three days, the state weather bureau said yesterday.
Robert Sawi, weather division chief of the Philippine Atmospheric,
Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), said mostly
cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms would prevail over the
Visayas and Mindanao, becoming cloudy with widespread rains over eastern and
central Visayas and eastern and southern Mindanao which may trigger flashfloods
and landslides.
Sawi also said a low-pressure area was spotted 410 kilometers east-southeast
of General Santos City at 8 a.m. yesterday.
A wind convergence was affecting eastern Visayas, he added.
The low-pressure area was not expected to become a storm, according to PAGASA
weather forecasters.
Nathaniel Servando, PAGASA administrator, said Luzon will also experience
mostly cloudy skies with light rains due to the northeast monsoon.
One tropical storm is likely to affect the country in January, he added,
although no tropical storm is expected in the first week of 2012.
However, rains will prevail over most parts of the country due to other
weather systems, the agency added.
PAGASA officials had warned that La Niña rains will continue to affect most
parts of the country until May this year.
La Niña refers to the abnormal cooling of the sea surface temperature in the
Pacific and is characterized by excessive rainfall.
Relocation sites for families displaced by tropical storm "Sendong" will be
prepared starting next week, the government said yesterday.
In a telephone interview, executive director Benito Ramos of the National
Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said the relocation
sites are near Barangay Sta. Elena in Iligan City and Barangay Calaanan in
Cagayan de Oro City.
"These (preparations) will begin next week," he said. "There will be ground
preparations. The soil should be flattened first. This is something that they
(affected residents) can probably call their own. They do not need to go back to
the edge of the river."
Ramos said among the areas being eyed as relocation site is a land near Sta.
Elena owned by the National Steel Corp. The property may be acquired through an
arrangement that would allow the company to settle its tax dues to the local
government, he added.
Previous reports said the local government aims to build about 3,000 houses
on the 10-hectare lot.
The other relocation site is the nine-hectare property in Barangay Calaanan
owned by the Cagayan de Oro City government.
Ramos said the construction of the houses may take three to six months.
"The agencies are fast-tracking this," he said. "If they go back to the areas
where they used to live, they would be vulnerable to disasters."
The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) would also provide
financial assistance to the affected families to allow them to rebuild their
lives.
Sen. Loren Legarda called on the government yesterday to prioritize the needs
of some 14,000 children affected by Sendong who are still in evacuation centers.
Citing reports from the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction
(UNISDR), Legarda said children who are in evacuation centers are most
vulnerable, especially when separated from their parents.
"As children continue to face threats, particularly to their health and
safety, even after Sendong had left the country, the government should
prioritize the provision of their basic necessities," she said.
Legarda urged the government to focus on providing food, potable water, basic
vitamins, medicine, and clothing.
Stress debriefing activities are important to help children cope with the
trauma that the devastation had caused them, she added.
Legarda said the DSWD's Child Protection Working Group Program was organized
to protect children from abuse, exploitation and trafficking in evacuation
centers.
"While victims of Sendong are still reeling from the effects of the disaster,
we have to create a sustainable environment that will shield the most vulnerable
citizens of the nation," she said.
"For what will the future hold for our children and the future generations if
the disasters of today are continuously destroying the resources we have?
Disasters threaten our basic human rights - food, potable water, shelter, decent
livelihood and life itself.
"Disaster preparedness is our shield against the risks that natural hazards
may bring to our sources of fundamental needs," she said. - With Alexis Romero, Christina Mendez
Smog diverts flights to Clark By Ding Cervantes
and Rudy Santos (The Philippine Star) Updated January 02, 2012 12:00 AM Comments
(4)
An aircraft flies out of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport
yesterday morning amid thick smog blamed on fireworks used during the New Year's
Eve revelry, like the one shown in lower photo. Rudy Santos/Ernie Peñaredondo |
Zoom CLARK FREEPORT, Pampanga, Philippines – The early New Year's Day smog in
Manila caused the diversion of 12 international and domestic flights to the
Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (DMIA) here.
Joseph Banola, officer-on-duty at the DMIA terminal tower, told The STAR that
a notification received early yesterday morning from the Ninoy Aquino
International Airport (NAIA) in Manila cited "zero visibility" as reason for the
flight diversions.
NAIA air traffic controllers stopped all aircraft movements on the ground and
resumed operations only at around 8:14 a.m. after visibility improved.
A Delta Air flight bound for the United States was pushed back by the control
tower from bay parking at around 5:53 a.m. The plane was able to depart at
around 8:14 a.m.
The diverted flights were those from Cebu Pacific, Air Phil Express, Zest
Air, and Philippine Airlines.
Banola said three of the flights were international and the rest domestic,
although he could not immediately say what countries the international flights
where from.
He said one of the diverted aircraft left for Manila some two hours after
they landed at the DMIA, while the second left at around 9:30 a.m. The rest
followed later.
Banola said this is the first time that flights from the NAIA were diverted
here on New Year's Day.
Clark International Airport Corp. (CIAC) chairman and president Victor Jose
Luciano said the accommodation of the diverted aircraft manifested the
"capability of the Clark airport to absorb air traffic in significant volumes,
and thus also its readiness to become the country's premiere international
gateway."
Former President Fidel Ramos issued an executive order in 1994 declaring
Clark "the future site of the country's premiere international gateway."
"The time has come for this to be realized. As a matter of fact, it has long
been overdue," Luciano said.
The smog was attributed to a high-pressure weather system described as being
" thick with smoke, moisture and pollution from the metropolis of 12 million."
Last Dec. 29, President Aquino signed Executive Order 64 making the CIAC,
which operates the DMIA, an attached agency under the authority of the
Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) with Secretary Manuel
Roxas II sitting as chairman of the board and Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez as
vice chairman.
The President will appoint the Manila International Airport Authority general
manager, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines director general and
seven others as members of the board.
"We see this as a boost to the development of Clark airport into a premiere
international gateway," Luciano said.
The DMIA now hosts foreign and local air carriers since its operations
started in October 2003. Among the air carriers are Asiana Airlines of Korea,
AirAsia Berhad of Malaysia, Cebu Pacific, Southeast Asian Airlines, and Tiger
Airways of Singapore.
"Since 2003, more than three million passengers were processed at Clark and
the number is growing significantly each year," said Luciano.
DOH: Air pollution can cause illnesses
Meanwhile, the Department of Health (DOH) yesterday warned of a possible rise
in the number of respiratory ailments in the next few days due to air pollution
caused by firecracker use.
"I am very sure that that there would be many who would seek medical
consultation or even hospital admission for respiratory ailments because of the
smog," Health Secretary Enrique Ona said.
He said the smog experienced by Metro Manila residents was worse than in
previous years.
Ona said yesterday's weather further worsened the smoke caused by the use of
fireworks during the New Year's Eve revelry.
Smog can trigger difficulty in breathing, teary eyes, dry respiratory
passage, runny nose, chronic bronchitis, and severe asthma attack.
Health Assistant Secretary Eric Tayag said constant exposure to smog or air
pollution can eventually cause lung cancer, thus the need for people to take the
necessary precautionary measures.
Ona said use of firecrackers can cause more than just blast injuries to the
public.
"The smog clearly showed the impact of firecracker use not only to health,
but even to business and transportation industry," he said.
The health chief advised the public to stay at home until the air condition
has improved or use a mask when going out of the house. - With Mayen Jaymalin
[PHOTO - THE MORNING AFTER: Thick smog triggered by the
fireworks and firecracker explosions during the New Year celebration obscures
the Makati City skyline on the first day of 2012. The smog prompted airport
authorities to cancel several flights on Sunday morning. GRIG C.]
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
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