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(CNN Philippines) Metro Manila — At least 650 traffic enforcers will be deployed, while the Metro Rail Transit System Line 3 (MRT-3) may add more train sets to aid motorists and commuters who will be affected by the five-day road repairs along EDSA starting Friday night.

“We will deploy at least 650 enforcers starting tonight,” Victor Nuñez, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Director for Traffic Enforcement, told CNN Philippines’ Newsroom Ngayon on Friday.

He said enforcers’ shift will be extended to 12:30 a.m. starting Saturday up to Wednesday.

The Department of Public Works and Highways will begin emergency road works along the stretch of EDSA Busway, from Buendia to Muñoz, from 10 p.m. Friday until 5 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 9.

In a televised public briefing also on Friday, Nuñez urged motorists to avoid EDSA during the “one-time, big-time” repair.

He said those coming from the south can use the Skyway instead “kahit medyo pricey ito [even if it’s expensive] but [it’s] for your convenience.”

Meanwhile, MMDA acting chairman Don Artes said Transportation Undersecretary for Railways Cesar Chavez gave assurance that “the MRT is ready for the anticipated influx” of passengers… Read More

(Interaksyon) HANOI — Vietnam will export two million vaccine doses against African swine fever to the Philippines by October, the government said on Wednesday, one week after it approved domestic use of the world’s first commercial vaccines against the disease.

African swine fever has for years disrupted the $250 billion global pork market. In the worst outbreak in 2018-19, about half the domestic pig population died in China, the world’s biggest producer, causing losses estimated at over $100 billion.

The vaccine to be shipped to the Philippines is produced for commercial use by AVAC Vietnam JSC, the government said in a statement, adding the company has already shipped 300,000 doses to the Philippines since its approval

The shipment “signaled huge export potential”, the government said.

Vietnam late last month approved domestic commercial use of two African swine fever vaccines – NAVET-ASFVAC and AVAC ASF LIVE – co-developed by Vietnamese companies and researchers from the United States… Read More

(Viet Nam News) Philippines’ Secretary for Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo is on a two-day visit to Việt Nam to co-chair the 10th meeting of the Việt Nam-Philippines Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC-10) with his Vietnamese counterpart Bùi Thanh Sơn.

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam and the Philippines on Wednesday agreed to strongly push maritime cooperation and quickly handle sea issues through improved bilateral coordination, during the meeting chaired by the two countries’ foreign ministers in Hà Nội.

Philippines’ Secretary for Foreign Affairs Enrique Manalo is on a two-day visit to Việt Nam to co-chair the 10th meeting of the Việt Nam-Philippines Joint Commission on Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC-10) with his Vietnamese counterpart Bùi Thanh Sơn.

Secretary Manalo expressed pleasure at his first visit to Việt Nam and emphasised that Việt Nam was also the first country he has visited since taking office.

He affirmed that the Philippines always values the consolidation and development of friendly and cooperative relations in many fields with Việt Nam, the Philippines’ only strategic partner in ASEAN.

Minister Sơn said that the visit was of great significance, contributing to further promoting the strategic partnership between the two countries… Read More

(Guardian London) The Philippines was hit with torrential rain over seven days, brought by Typhoon Doksuri and intensified by Typhoon Khanun. Low-lying villages to the north of the country were the worst affected, houses were left submerged in water and residents were forced to travel by small wooden boats and roads were inundated. The Philippines is an archipelago of more than 7,600 islands, vulnerable to high winds and torrential downpours.. Read More

(VOA) MANILA — European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned on Monday that Europe won’t tolerate aggression in Ukraine or the Indo-Pacific as she reaffirmed the EU’s recognition of a 2016 arbitration decision that invalidated China’s expansive claims in the disputed South China Sea.

Von der Leyen spoke at a joint news conference with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. after holding talks in Manila that aimed to bolster trade, economic and security relations. The leaders announced the 27-nation bloc would resume negotiations with the Philippines for a free-trade agreement that stalled in 2017 under Marcos’s predecessor, Rodrigo Duterte.

She stressed the need for security cooperation, citing Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which she said shows how authoritarian leaders “are willing to act on their threats.”

“Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine shakes the foundation of the international order. It is in violation of the U.N. charter and the fundamental principles of international law, such as territorial integrity and sovereignty,” she said… Read More

(RFA) A top rice research center headquartered in the Philippines, a country vulnerable to climate change, says it is developing varieties of this grain and staple of Asian diets that can survive droughts, temperature extremes and flooding.

Scientists at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), in the university town of Los Baños, south of Manila, say they are working around the clock because they believe that “no crop is as vulnerable to global warming as rice.”

The institute and its partners in recent years have come up with rice varieties that can grow amid adverse weather conditions and in soil exposed to high levels of salt – a trend expected to become more frequent and extreme with climate change, experts said.

“We do expect in the coming years, with climate change and with frequencies of typhoons and droughts, that we may be needing more of these varieties,”Alice Laborte, senior scientist at IRRI, told a small group of visiting reporters invited to the institute earlier this month.

Rice is a main source of food for many people in Asia, which is home to five of the world’s 10 most populous countries: India, China, Indonesia, Pakistan and Bangladesh. .. Read More

(CNN Philippines) Metro Manila — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Saturday said the government will provide both cash assistance and housing materials to residents whose homes were damaged by Super Typhoon Egay.

He made the statement during his visit to Ilocos Norte, where he met with local officials from the entire Ilocos Region to be briefed about the storm’s impact on the area.

During a televised situation briefing, Marcos’ nephew Ilocos Norte Governor Matthew Manotoc suggested that the distribution of housing materials be prioritized, saying this will be a faster way to rebuild homes. Financial assistance can come at a later time, he added.”We’ll do both,” the president responded.

“The reason that we give cash very soon after is because there are things that people need that are not included in the relief goods, for example medicines or baby care,” Marcos noted.

He said ₱10,000 will be given to families whose houses were partially destroyed. Those with totally damaged homes will receive ₱20,000.

Marcos first visited Abra on Saturday before his trip to Ilocos Norte. Both provinces are under a state of calamity due to the super typhoon… Read More

(AsiaOne) MANILA – The Philippine coast guard said on Friday (July 28) it will investigate why a passenger boat that capsized in a lake near the capital, killing at least 26, was allowed to sail while overloaded.

Authorities rescued 40 people on Thursday after the vessel sank in strong winds, meaning it was carrying many more passengers than it was designed for, the coast guard said.

“We have called for investigation already, including on our personnel,” coast guard spokesperson Armand Balilo told CNN Philippines television, adding that complaints would be filed against the boat’s captain and operator.

The vessel was designed for roughly 40 passengers but it remains unclear how many people were allowed to board. The manifest showed only 22 names, the coast guard said.

Search and rescue, and retrieval operations are ongoing, Balilo said.

It is the second-deadliest in the Southeast Asian nation this year, after 33 people died in a ferry fire in the southern Philippines in March… Read More