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MANILA, Philippines — Tropical Storm Leon (international name: Kong-

rey) slightly intensified over the Philippine Sea and is expected to develop
into a severe tropical storm in the next 24 hours, the state weather bureau
said on Sunday.
In its 5 p.m. bulletin, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and
Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Leon “may reach
severe tropical storm category tomorrow and typhoon category on
Tuesday” and it “may also undergo rapid intensification.”
__________________________________________________________________
______________________

MANILA, Philippines — Not only are people severely affected by

calamities like storms, but even pets suffer greatly. Some are
even tragically separated from the families that care for them
during disasters.
In the aftermath of Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (international
name: Trami), the Philippine Red Cross (PRC) rescued three dogs
stranded on the roof of a house submerged in floodwaters in
Camarines Sur.
“The dogs were very hungry when they approached the rescuer
while wagging their tails. They also showed fondness and
tenderness as if they were thanking the rescuers,” the PRC wrote
in Filipino in a Facebook post on Sunday.
Facebook user Rygene Aquino, in the comments section,
identified himself as the dogs’ owner.
He explained that he had to leave the three dogs behind during
previous rescue efforts because the rescue boat was already full.
“Thank you to the Red Cross. I am the owner of the dogs. I have
six dogs, and during the height of the storm, I insisted on going
home to bring them, but we were trapped as well. When we were
rescued, we pleaded to take them all, but due to the weight of the
boat, only three were allowed. It was heavy on our hearts to leave
the other three behind with a sack of their dog food. Thank you,
Red Cross, and see you soon, doggies!” he wrote in Filipino.
According to the latest report of the National Disaster Risk
Reduction and Management Council, Kristine has affected over
five million individuals nationwide.
Severe Tropical Storm Kristine exited the Philippine area of
responsibility on Friday evening.
As of posting, the state weather bureau is monitoring Tropical
Storm Leon (international name: Kong-rey), which is projected to
remain far from the Philippine landmass.
__________________________________________________________________
_______________________

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines entered into another

trilateral cooperation with the United States and Japan last week
to work against economic coercion by third-party countries.
According to the US Department of State on Friday, delegations
from the three countries held an “informal trilateral discussion” in
Manila on the same day.
The discussion revolved around building each other’s economic
resilience independently to counter “economic coercion” done by
other countries.

The state department, however, did not mention any countries

they claim to be doing “economic coercion” to Manila,
Washington or Tokyo.

“The participants shared their concern over and strong opposition

to economic coercion and a commitment to building economic
resilience,” US state department spokesperson Matthew Miller
said in a statement.

“They also affirmed that the three countries intend to cooperate

to raise awareness of this issue among the international
community and enhance their resilience to and response
capabilities to potential economic coercion,” Miller added.

The dialogue was chaired by Ma. Corazon Halili-Dichosa,

executive director for Industry Development Services at the Board
of Investments of the Philippines.
The US delegation was led by Jonathan Fritz, chief of staff to Jose
Fernandez, the undersecretary for economic growth, energy and
the environment at the state department.
The Japanese delegation was led by Mochizuki Chihiro, director for
economic security policy at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The cooperation comes a week after the three allies also went
into a cybersecurity operation on Oct. 18 on the sidelines of the
9th Singapore International Cyber Week.
In this dialogue, trilateral cooperation in cyberspace was
discussed such as civilian cybersecurity capacity building,
cybersecurity workforce development, maritime cybersecurity
and information sharing.
__________________________________________________________________________________
_______

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Tourism (DOT) reported

529 tourists stranded due to inclement weather brought by
Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (international name: Trami).
As of 12 p.m. on Friday, October 25, the following areas recorded
stranded tourists:

 Surigao del Norte (264 tourists)

 Batanes (179 tourists)
 Oriental Mindoro and Marinduque (33 tourists)
 Maasin, Leyte (25 tourists)
 Mauban, Quezon and Lobo, Batangas (16 tourists)
 Boracay (12 tourists)
DOT added that it monitored 14 tourist sites in Sorsogon,
Masbate, Batangas and the Dinagat Islands that sustained
damage during the storm.
The department said in a statement, “to ensure the safety and
well-being of affected tourists, the DOT, through its regional
offices, is working closely with accommodation establishments to
provide temporary shelter.”
__________________________________________________________________________________
______

Eight foreigners—seven Chinese and a Vietnamese—were

arrested in a series of raids inside the exclusive Ayala Alabang
Village in Muntinlupa City for alleged involvement in scamming
activities linked to Philippine offshore gaming operators
(Pogos), according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
“The operation confirms the trend that from larger Pogo scam
hubs composed of several buildings, they have reduced their
operation to pocket groups in residential areas,” the agency said
on Wednesday.
The DOJ, working with the National Bureau of Investigation, acted
on intelligence reports gathered from residents, the police and
local authorities. Arrest warrants for some of the foreign
nationals, and a mission order from the Bureau of Immigration
(BI) led to the coordinated operations.
According to the department, the first target identified was a
house where a “Pogo boss” from Porac, Pampanga, had
reportedly moved in. Three Chinese occupants were arrested here
—two of them had passports but were already overstaying in the
country, while the third could not provide any travel documents.
“Upon entry, there was a live computer operated by a Chinese
individual. When read by an interpreter, the screen showed
scripts used in a standard phishing scam,” the DOJ said.
Phishing is a type of online scam targeting consumers by sending
them an e-mail that appears to be from a reputable source such
as an internet service provider or a bank. It asks the unsuspecting
consumer to provide personal information, such as bank details,
that the scammers use to steal the victim’s money.
The DOJ also reported the suspects’ use of voice-over-internet
protocol equipment, which enables users to make voice calls
using a broadband internet connection instead of a regular phone
line, making detection more difficult.
At another raided location, which was the subject of a mission
order from the BI, four Chinese and a Vietnamese were arrested.

Lacking proper documentation, they were listed in the mission

order as illegal aliens, with one of the Chinese suspected of
serving as the facilitator of their unlawful stay in the country.
The DOJ noted that the shift from larger scam hubs to smaller,
more discreet operations in residential areas had emerged as a
“natural trend” following President Marcos’ order in July to ban
Pogos and have them wrap up their operations by the end of the
year.

“However, the department also sees this as the Pogo companies’

desperate last effort before leaving the country,” it added.
An inter-agency body created after the ban was announced, the
Pogo Closure Task Force, earlier clarified that after the issuance
of the President’s order, Pogo activities would be limited to selling
their office assets, settling bills and paying taxes.
Any other business operation that continued beyond that point
was thus illegal, the DOJ said.
Last week, following the arrest of 17 foreign nationals in a raid on
a suspected scam center in Makati City, NBI chief Jaime Santiago
noted that Pogos have scattered into smaller groups to avoid
detection.
Fifteen Chinese nationals, a Malaysian and a Taiwanese, were
caught engaging in online scamming in Barangay Tejeros after
the NBI enforced a warrant to search, seize, and examine
computer data on the premises.
“In our initial investigation, those who were arrested were part of
the communications group. They are the ones who entice and
chat with victims,” NBI agent Terence Lomas-e said. “There is
another group, which is remotely located, who receives the
money..
Having different units for finance, communications, and
administrative tasks is one of the strategies Pogos employ to
continue operations so that even when one gets caught, the rest
can continue, said NBI Cybercrime Division chief Jeremy Lotoc.
__________________________________________________________________
_______________________

MANILA, Philippines — A total of 12,622 individuals in 163

barangays in the National Capital Region (NCR) were evacuated
due to the effects of Severe Tropical Storm Kristine (international
name: Trami), according to the Metro Manila Disaster Risk
Reduction and Management Council (MMDRRMC).
In a report on Sunday, the council said the affected individuals are
taking shelter in 41 evacuation centers, 38 of which are schools.

An evacuation center is located in Caloccan, 13 in Pasay, one in

Taguig, four in San Juan, two in Valenzuela, and 20 in Marikina.
The MMDRRMC also said, “the Mines and Geosciences Bureau
confirmed that there are currently no barangays listed as being at
risk for flooding or landslides, with this status valid until
November 1, 2024.”

Following this development, the council received a

recommendation to downgrade NCR’s status from Blue Alert Level
to White Alert Level at 5 p.m. today.

Kristine exited the country’s area of responsibility over the

weekend, but it affected over five million people nationwide.

The state weather bureau is monitoring Tropical Storm Leon

(international name: Kong-rey). It is expected to remain far from
the Philippine landmass.
No wind signal was raised over any part of the country, but the
weather agency said Leon may affect Extreme Northern Luzon.

Signal No. 1 may also be hoisted over Cagayan Valley and the
northeastern portion of the Bicol Region by Sunday night.
Leon was last monitored 1,075 kilometers east of Central Luzon.

__________________________________________________________________
______________________

MANILA, Philippines — Nagtungo si Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. sa mga

evacution centers sa Bula,Camarines Sur para personal namamahagi ng tulong sa
mga biktima ng bagyong Kristine.

Dala ng Pangulo ang pinansyal na ayuda na galing sa Department of Social Welfare

and Development (DSWD).

“Pinuntahan ko lang [po kayo] para makita ko na maayos naman ang pag-alaga sa
inyo,” pahayag ni Pangulong Marcos.

Bukod sa pinansyal na ayuda, nagpadala rin ang Pangulo ng dagdag na food packs.

Nangako naman si Pangulong Marcos sa mga biktima ng bagyo na hahanapan ng

paraan ang napakalaking tubig na dumaan sa Bula na hindi gumagalaw ang tubig
kaya hanggang ngayon ay lubog pa rin sa baha ang mga residente doon.

“Ngunit para sa ngayon ay asahan ninyo basta’t nandito ang pamahalaan tuloy-tuloy
ang aming pagtulong sa inyo. Sabihan niyo lang. Nandito si Mayor, nandito si
(DSWD) Secretary Rex (Gatchalian), nandito ‘yung mga ibang Cabinet secretary
para marinig mula sa inyo kung ano ‘yung mga pangangailangan ninyo,” sabi pa ni
Marcos.
Siniguro naman ng Pangulo na patuloy na aayudahan ng pamahalaan ang mga
nasalanta ng bagyo hanggang makarekober ang mga ito.

___________________________________________________________________

MANILA, Philippines — Sakay ng Philippine Airlines (PAL) lumuwas na umano ng

Maynila si dating Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte kasama ang anak na si Kitty upang
dumalo sa pagdinig ng Senate blue ribbon committee ukol sa ‘drug war’ sa Lunes,
base sa kumalat na impormasyon.

Kasabay nito, kinumpirma rin ni Senador Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa ang nasabing
pagharap ni Duterte sa pagdinig ng Senado sa Lunes.

Ito ay matapos mag-post si Dela Rosa ng larawan sa Facebook noong Biyernes,

kasama ang dating pangulo, ang kanyang partner na si Honeylet Avanceña, at ang
dating speaker na si Pantaleon Alvarez sa isang dinner.

Sinabi ni Dela Rosa, na tiniyak sa kaniya ni Duterte na dadalo ito sa imbestigasyon

ng Senate blue ribbon committee.

Una nang sinabi ni Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III noong
Huwebes na hindi sigurado ang presensya ni Duterte sa Lunes dahil
nagdadalawang-isip umano ito.

Sinabi ni Pimentel, na sisimulan sa Lunes, Oktubre 28, ang imbestigasyon ng

Senado sa mga pagpatay na nauugnay sa war on drugs ng dating administrasyon.
Nauna nang hiniling nina Dela Rosa at Senator Christopher “Bong” Go sa Senado
na magsagawa ng probe na gagawin parallel sa imbestigasyon ng House Quad
Committee (Quad Comm).

Bukod kay Duterte, imbitado rin sa imbestigasyon ng Senado sina retired Police
Colonel Royina Garma, dating National Police Commission commissioner Edilberto
Leonardo, dating Senador Leila de Lima, Kerwin Espinosa, at ang mga pamilya ng
mga biktima ng drug war.

__________________________________________________________________
_____________________

LUCENA CITY, Philippines - Dahil sa lawak ng pinsalang iniwan ng bagyong Kristine

partikular sa sektor ng agrikultura, tuluyan ng isinailalim sa state of calamity ang
buong lalawigan ng Quezon.

Ang nasabing hakbang inaprubaahan ng Sangguniang Panlalawigan ng Quezon sa

kanilang Special Session via Zoom, kamakalawa, Oktubre 25, 2024 pamamagitan
ng Provincial Resolution No. 2024-274, “A Resolution declaring the Province of
Quezon under a State of Calamity due to the widespread flooding, landslides, and
damages caused by Severe Tropical Storm “KRISTINE” (International Code Name
“TRAMI”).

Sa pamamagitan nito, mas mapapabilis ang paglalaan ng pondo mula sa Calamity

Fund o Quick Response Fund ng pamahalaang panlalawigan para sa pagsasagawa
ng relief operations at mapabilis ang paghahatid ng tulong sa mga apektadong mga
mamamayan.

Nabatid na maglalabas ng P20 milyon ang pamahalaang panlalawigan para tugunan

ang pinsalang idinulot ng bagyo.

Naunang nagdeklara ng state of calamity ang mga bayan ng Mulanay, Tagkawayan,

General Luna at Lucban gayunman nang makumpleto ang ginawang assessment ng
PDRRMO sa kabuuan ng lalawigan ay lumabas ang malawak na pinsala ng
nakaraang bagyo.

__________________________________________________________________
____________________

Mababa na umano ang suplay ng langis sa Bicol Region dahil sa epekto ng Bagyong
Kristine matapos hindi madaanan ang ilang mga kalsada kaya walang makapaghatid
ng langis.

Ito ang ini-report kay Pangulong Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. sa situation
briefing sa Naga City noong Sabado kasunod nang pagbisita ng Pangulo sa ilang lugar
sa Bicol na sinalanta ng bagyo.

Sa report ni Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro sa Pangulo, mababa na ang supply ng

langis sa mga depots kaya kinausap na ng Department or Energy ang mga kompanya
ng langis at sa Philippine National Police na gawing prayoridad ang pagdadala ng
langis sa Bicol Region.

“I just talked to the OCD that the fuel supplies are going low on the depots. So, Usec.
Wimpy Fuentebella is talking to the oil companies now and the PNP to prioritize the
trucking of the fuel here,” ani Teodoro.

Dahil dito, magbibigay ng fuel assistance ang gobyerno sa Camarines Sur at sa Naga
ng kabuuang 10,000 liters para maipamigay sa mga pinakanangangailangan nito.
Binilinan ng Pangulo si Teodoro na unahing bigyan ang mga ospital, ang mga first
responder at mga opisina at ahensiyang tumutugon sa pangangailangan ng mga
biktima ng Bagyong Kristine.

“We will talk to the Vice Governor and the Mayor how best to distribute. We have to
ration it and we have to priotize it,” dagdag ni Teodoro. (Aileen Taliping)

___________________________________________________

Pumalo sa mahigit 4,000 ang bilang ng mga nasirang classroom dahil sa

hagupit ng Bagyong Kristine.

Ayon sa Department of Education, 2,700 classroom ang totally damaged o

ganap na nasira ni “Kristine” habang 1,361 ang nagtamo ng partial damage o
bahagyang pinsala.

Mahigit 800 paaralan naman iniulat na sinalanta ng baha at landslides o

pagguho ng lupa.

Iniulat din na mahigit 38,000 eskuwelahan sa buong bansa ang nagtamo ng

P3.3 bilyong halaga ng infrastructure damage.

Mangangailangan umano ng P2.7 bilyon para muling itayo ang mga

classroom na nasira ng bagyo at panibagong P680 milyon para naman sa
pagkukumpuni. (IS)
_____________________________________________________

Nais ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. na magkaroon ng pangmatagalang

solusyon sa mga pagbaha sa Bicol region upang maiwasan ang malawakang
pinsala sa buhay, ari-arian at mga pananim.

Inihayag ito ng Pangulo sa kanyang pagbisita sa Naga City nitong Sabado

kung saan personal na tiningnan ang kalagayan ng mga biktima ng bagyong
Kristine pati na rin ang lawak ng pinsala sa mga lugar sa buong rehiyon.

Sinabi ng Presidente na mayroong Bicol River Basin Development Project

noong 1973 na hindi natapos at pagsapit ng 1986 nang magpalit ang
administrasyon ay nawala ang proyekto.

“We have to find a long-term solution. Pinag-aralan ko ito and I found that in
1973, there was the Bicol River Bason Development Project. Despite some
challenges mukha namang malaki ang naitulong. Iyon lang hindi natapos in
1986 when the governmeny changed, nawala na iyong project, so bastat
natigil,” anang Pangulo.

Dahil dito sinabi ni Pangulong Marcos Jr. na muling titingnan ang project at
may ginagawa na aniyang pag-aaral ang Department of Public Works and
Highways (DPWH) at na-update na ito noong Hulyo.

Sinabi naman ni DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan na natapos na ang pag-

aaral kasama na ang feasibility study ng BRBD project para sa flood control
program at sa susunod na taon ay gagawin na ang detalyadong engineering
design nito.
“Including the feasibility study for the flood control program, Mr. President.
By Early next year, we will be doing the detailed engineering design,” ani
Bonoan.

Sinabi ng kalihim sa Presidente na nangako ang Eximbank ng South Korea na

tutulong sa pagpopondo para sa nabanggit na proyekto. (Aileen Taliping)