Australia says it will conduct more joint patrols with Philippines in South China Sea

Australia says it will conduct more joint patrols with Philippines in South China Sea
(Interaksyon) SYDNEY — Australia has a security interest in the South China Sea and will work more closely with the Philippines on joint patrols, Australia’s defense minister, Richard Marles, said on Friday as he observed military exercises.

More than 2,000 Australian and Philippine defense personnel are participating in amphibious landing and air assault drills, with two Australian navy vessels, HMAS Canberra and HMAS ANZAC, conducting bilateral exercises with the Philippine Navy.

The joint exercises, a first for the two nations, come amid renewed tensions between the Philippines and China in the South China Sea.

Marles said in comments to ABC radio that there was a “very significantly growing defense relationship between our two countries” and that Australia wanted more patrols alongside the Philippine Navy… Read More

In FIBA World Cup host Philippines, basketball is life

In FIBA World Cup host Philippines, basketball is life
(Cyprus Mail) It may be dwarfed by other nation’s sporting prowess, but the Philippines’ fervour for basketball is gigantic, and enthusiasm for the sport is only intensifying ahead of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup, which opens in Manila on Friday.

Basketball is played everywhere and by almost everyone in the Philippines, which counts the sport as a national obsession along with boxing and beauty pageants.

There is a basketball court of sorts set up near most churches, and whether it is in a cemetery or near a sewer, these places of worship are ubiquitous in this majority Catholic nation of 112 million people which is co-hosting the FIBA world championships from Aug 25-Sept 10 with Indonesia and Japan.

“We are excited since the tournament will happen here. There are many players from the NBA that we are excited to see,” college student James Froilan Almeda told Reuters near championship venue Mall of Asia Arena. The NBA is the U.S. National Basketball Association.

The Philippines might not clinch the 32-nation championship but it can win some games, added Almeda. FIBA ranks the Philippines men’s team 40th globally and the women’s 42nd. Spain and the United States are in the top two spots… Read More

SM’s Hans Sy is the first ever private sector awardee for disaster resilience in the Office of Civil Defense Hall of Fame

SM's Hans Sy is the first ever private sector awardee for disaster resilience in the Office of Civil Defense Hall of Fame
(PRNewswire) – For his outstanding leadership and dedication to climate and disaster resilience, Hans T. Sy, SM Prime Holdings, Inc. Chairman of the Executive Committee, was recently awarded the ‘Dangal ng Pilipino Sa Pag-agapay Sa Ligtas na Sambayanan’ (Filipino’s Honor in Contributing to a Safe Community) by the Office of Civil Defense. He is the first-ever awardee from the private sector.

Hans Sy (middle) receives an award for his outstanding leadership in Disaster Risk Reduction and Management. The award was presented by the Office of Civil Defense Undersecretary Ariel Nepomuceno (left) and Department of National Defense Senior Undersecretary Irineo Espino.

Mr. Sy is also the Co-Chair of the United Nations Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Private Sector Alliance for Disaster Resilient Societies or ARISE Philippines and Co-Chair of the National Resilience Council for the Private Sector.

At SM Prime, 10% of the capital expenditure of every project development is allocated for resilient infrastructure. Examples of these are rainwater catchment basins and other infrastructure for flood prevention, fire prevention facilities, and for avoidance of earthquake impacts. SM Baguio recently launched its rainwater filtration system to aid in water security. Mr. Sy established the SM Resilience Center for centralized monitoring and offered the SM Business Continuity Plan (BCP) to Small and Medium Scale enterprise tenants in the malls. The SM BCP provides free remote data storage for essential documents that can help facilitate recovery of operations in the eventuality of a disaster.

Mr. Sy has guided SM Prime towards the support and implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR), as aligned with the United Nations Sustainability Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement… Read More

Toyota celebrates 35th year in the Phl, donates 35 cars

Toyota celebrates 35th year in the Phl, donates 35 cars
(Daily Tribune) President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday praised Toyota Motor Corporation for its contributions to the Philippines, saying that the company has helped to create jobs, transfer technology, and boost the country’s economy.

In his remarks during his visit to Toyota Manufacturing Plant in Laguna, Marcos said that Toyota had been a “true partner” of the Philippines in its development.

“We are very happy to have them as our partner,  the Toyota Motor Corporation,” Marcos said. “They have helped us to create jobs, transfer technology, and boost our economy.”

Marcos also noted that Toyota has helped to train Filipino employees in the Japanese culture of production, which has helped to make them some of the most efficient manufacturers in the world.

“They have shown themselves to be one of the most if not the most efficient when it comes to manufacturing and high volume production of products,” Marcos said.

Marcos said that he looks forward to continuing the partnership between Toyota and the Philippines in the years to come… Read More

Pacific island countries facing faster sea level rise, UN says

Pacific island countries facing faster sea level rise, UN says
(RFA) The low-lying Pacific islands face severe threats due to rising sea levels, which are increasing quicker than anticipated, while heightened temperatures impact marine habitats, according to a new U.N. meteorological body report.

The Pacific region is experiencing an approximate increase of 4 millimeters of sea level rise annually in certain regions, which is higher than the worldwide average of 3.4 mm per year, the World Meteorological Organization, or WMO, said in its 2022 State of the Climate report released on Friday.

The Pacific islands most vulnerable to this rising sea level include nations such as Kiribati, Tuvalu, the Marshall Islands, and the Maldives. These low-lying nations, often no more than a few meters above sea level, are alarmingly at the forefront of this crisis. Their unique geographies and limited land mass make them especially susceptible to even the slightest increase in sea level, threatening their very existence and the livelihoods of their residents… Read More

Filipino elderly among fatalities of Hawaii wildfires

Filipino elderly among fatalities of Hawaii wildfires
(SunStar) A 79-YEAR-OLD Filipino was among those who perished due to wildfires in Maui, Hawaii, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has confirmed.

DFA Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega identified the fatality as Alfredo Galinato, who hailed from Ilocos but was naturalized US citizen.

De Vega said Galinato’s family, who are all now based in Hawaii, were given assistance by the Philippine consulate.

The Philippine consulate in Hawaii is currently locating all Filipinos affected by the wildfire, which claimed over a hundred lives.

The DFA said there are around 200,000 pure Filipinos residing in Hawaii, in which 60 percent of them are already US citizens.

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. earlier said he is continuously monitoring the situation of affected Filipinos in Hawaii , ensuring the government’s preparedness to assist them… Read More

National Museum of the Philippines backs the Smithsonian’s effort to return Filipino human remains

National Museum of the Philippines backs the Smithsonian's effort to return Filipino human remains
(GMA News) The National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) has backed the initiative of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) to bring the remains of Filipinos back to the country.

NMP released a statement to The Washington Post after they published an investigative report highlighting the work of anthropologist Ales Hrdlicka, who ran the Smithsonian’s division of physical anthropology for about 40 years and accumulated a collection of body parts.

Hrdlicka had a “racial brain collection” and “racial collection of pelvises,” which he used to study and compare races. He ranked people by race and believed that white people were superior.

His theories about the anatomical differences between races have now been debunked.

One of the people that Hrdlicka studied was a Suyoc Igorot named Maura, who was supposed to be displayed at the human zoo at the 1904 World’s Fair in Missouri but died a few days before the event. Hrdlicka took and studied Maura’s cerebellum, along with the brain of an Igorot from Bontoc. The fair featured Filipinos who were members of various Philippine indigenous groups… Read More

Broadway’s ‘Here Lies Love’ to show love for other Filipino stars with Lea Salonga’s departure

Broadway’s ‘Here Lies Love’ to show love for other Filipino stars with Lea Salonga’s departure
(SeattleTimes) As Tony Award winner Lea Salonga prepares to depart the first ever all-Filipino Broadway cast this week, her role will become a revolving door to showcase other well-known talent from the Philippines.

Actor and singer Vina Morales, also beloved in the Philippines, will take over as Aurora Aquino in “Here Lies Love” for a month-long engagement starting Sept. 22, the production exclusively told The Associated Press on Friday.

Producers say they are committed to highlighting the country’s “abundance of talent,” allowing guest performers a Broadway debut… Read More