Provinces under northern luzon

Amid recent attacks from violent extremist groups and incidents of conflict exacerbated by Covid-19 and the ongoing recession in the Philippines, a program funded by the European Union (EU) and supported by the Kofi Annan Foundation (KAF) was launched with the aim of training young Filipinos to promote peace and prevent violent extremism (PVE). Entitled Extremely Together (ET) Philippines – Panaghiusa, the program is locally led by non-profit organization KRIS and is part of a larger project to strengthen the capacities on peacebuilding of youth and civil society organizations (CSOs) in South and Southeast Asia. “According to the Global Terrorism Index 2020, the Philippines is 10th in the list of countries affected most by terrorism. It’s a problem that has been going on for the past decades and will continue to affect the lives of millions of Filipinos if left unchecked,” said Arizza Nocum, President and Co-Founder of KRIS. “Through Extremely Together Philippines, what we aim ... » Learn More about EU funds training for young Filipino peacebuilders

Hotels in the northern province of Chiang Mai have been forced to cut their rates by up to 90%, in a desperate bid to attract more domestic tourists. According to a Bangkok Post report, La-Iad Bungsrithong, from the northern chapter of the Thai Hotels Association, says with tourists mainly favouring the southern beach destinations this month, hotel operators in the north of the country are preparing for the forthcoming low season. The resurgence of Covid-19 late last year meant that in December, only 1,000 Chiang Mai hotels, offering between 20,000 and 30,000 rooms, stayed open. This month, occupancy rates have plummeted to less than 3% and are not expected to rise beyond 5% during the Songkran holiday next month. La-Iad says traditional target markets such as China are currently off-limits due to the Chinese government placing restrictions on citizens travelling out of the country. “Even though vaccine distribution has started globally, the target markets for Chiang Mai such as ... » Learn More about Chiang Mai hotels slash prices amid ongoing slump in tourism

Good Day! Here are the top stories of The Manila Times for Wednesday, March 3, 2021. READ: More cases of Covid variants detected Thirty new cases of B117, or the so-called United Kingdom variant of the coronavirus disease 2019 or Covid-19, have been detected in the country alongside the first six cases of the B1351 or the South African variant, the Department of Health said on Tuesday. READ: Metro Manila virus surges worrying ‒ Octa According to the March 1 monitoring report of academe-based Octa Research Group, the rise in the number of cases in some cities in Metro Manila has become a “serious case for concern.” READ: Vaccines key to ‘new normal’ Vaccinating “ambitiously” against Covid-19 is critical in attaining sustained economic recovery, economist-lawmakers at the House of Representatives said. READ: Companies want to buy vaccines for employees A growing number of employers and business establishments around the country have expressed their ... » Learn More about KUWTT: More cases of Covid variants detected | Mar 03, 2021

Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director for the New York-based group Human Rights Watch (HRW), has condemned the series of police operations against suspected left-leaning individuals in Calabarzon Region. Robertson said HRW is “seriously concerned about reports of raids conducted by law enforcement authorities that resulted in activists’ deaths in the provinces of Laguna, Cavite, Batangas and Rizal.” Calabarzon groups the four provinces, together with Quezon province. “The Philippine government should act now to investigate the use of the lethal force in these raids, stop the mayhem and killings that have gone hand in hand with the practice of Red-tagging, and respect of Filipinos to exercise their civil and political right and dissent,” he said in a statement. Robertson believed that the simultaneous operations were “clearly part” of the Philippine government’s “increasingly brutal counter-insurgency campaign,” with the administration’s ambitious bid to end the 52-year-old ... » Learn More about Watchdog condemns Calabarzon killings

MANILA, Philippines — As President Rodrigo Duterte was wrapping up a situation briefing in typhoon-hit Camarines Sur, he poked fun at a local official for having “plenty of women.” After over 40 minutes of discussing the government’s response to Typhoon Ulysses which wreaked havoc in parts of Luzon, Duterte’s briefing ended with jokes laced with sexual innuendos that were exchanged with one of the local officials present. Duterte said the Camarines Sur local official was his classmate in law school. “Classmate kami. Classmate ko ito sa law school. Brod ko pa. Pero naubos ang panahon niya sa ano. Medyo tumanda na. Nakakatanda talaga yan. Sobrang babae? Nakakatanda yan,” the President quipped. But in response, the local official said that he was actually “undersexed” supposedly according to Camarines Sur Rep. LRay Villafuerte, who was also present during the briefing. “Sabi nga po ni Cong. LRay, undersexed daw po ako. Undersexed. Kaya kung pwede po gawin mo na akong secretary ... » Learn More about ‘Sobrang babae’ or ‘undersexed?’ Duterte wraps up typhoon briefing with jokes

Some 380 workers from different electric cooperatives (ECs) in Luzon and the Visayas have been deployed to help restore electricity in typhoon-hit provinces, the National Electrification Administration (NEA) reported. NEA Administrator Edgardo Masongsong said the line workers and support personnel equipped with 35 boom trucks and 53 utility vehicles from 54 participating ECs in Regions 1, 2, 3, 4A and 4B, 6, 8 and the Cordillera Administrative Region had been dispatched to assist with the power-restoration efforts. ECs from Region 6 are assigned to help their counterparts in Occidental and Oriental Mindoro provinces; those from Regions 2 and 4B, to Marinduque; those from Regions 1, 3 and 4A, to Camarines Sur province; and those from Region 8, to Albay. Teams will also be dispatched to help in restoring power in Catanduanes province. These workers form part of the power restoration rapid deployment’ task force kapatid, a special unit of technical workers from power co-ops strategically ... » Learn More about Over 300 EC workers sent to aid in power restoration efforts

San Miguel Corporation (SMC) is expediting work on the Skyway Extension project that will make the Skyway System even more accessible to motorists from the south as the company announced road closures to usher construction works at the southbound section that started midnight on February 20. Skyway management said that as work on the southbound section is about to enter the advanced phase, motorists are advised to take alternative routes, with the closure of the Alabang southbound exit toll plaza, beside the Alabang viaduct. The alternative routes are as follows: Class 1, 2 and 3 vehicles bound for Alabang, Putatan, and National Road may take the Susana Exit Toll Plaza, turn right at Susana Heights Ave., and turn either left or right on the National Road to their respective destinations. Motorists can also expect heavy traffic in the area because of the construction work, which will include the installation of girders, coping beams, and pre-cast slabs. “We’re again appealing ... » Learn More about SMC accelerates work on Skyway Extension

Wong Fei-hung is the most famous of all the exponents of southern-style Chinese martial arts, and his exploits have passed into legend. There have been around 100 films about him, 77 of which feature actor Kwan Tak-hing, who became synonymous with Wong during the 1950s and 1960s . Radio plays, pulp novels, newspaper story serialisations, and television series have been devoted to his life. At one point, no less than seven newspapers were running serialised novels about Wong at the same time. The martial arts master became known to international audiences in the 1990s when he was played by Jet Li Lianjie in Tsui Hark’s supremely successful Once Upon a Time in China film series . In spite of his status as a folk hero, very little is known about Wong and his life. Indeed, much of Wong’s history has been coloured by the fictional exploits attributed to him. As a line in American director John Ford’s The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance goes, “When the legend becomes the fact, print ... » Learn More about Played by Jet Li and Jackie Chan, who was Wong Fei-hung for real? Tracing the life of the martial arts legend

Over January and February, the country also spent more than US$1.3 billion importing plastic products, up 30.8 percent from the same period last year, according to the ministry. In 2020, Vietnam imported over 6.6 million tons of plastic totaling more than US$8.3 billion, up 3.5 per cent and down 7.7 per cent respectively from the previous year. Its largest suppliers of plastic and plastic products included China, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and the United States, official data showed. Meanwhile, Vietnam's Ministry of Health on Monday started a Covid-19 vaccine inoculation campaign, the country's largest vaccination campaign in history, with over 100 million injections expected to be conducted nationwide, Vietnam News Agency reported Monday. The first doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine began to be given at 8am local time Monday to health workers directly treating Covid-19 patients in the Vietnamese capital Hanoi, the southern Ho Chi Minh City and the northern Covid-19 epicentre Hai ... » Learn More about Vietnam: Country’s plastic import value surges in 2 months as Covid-19 cases come under control

WITH local Covid-19 outbreaks being brought under control, the northern province of Hai Duong will lift some restrictions in certain areas after 15 days of stringent province-wide lockdown measures. Since Jan 27, the province has recorded over 600 local infections, becoming the largest outbreak in the country since the pandemic began early last year. Pham Xuan Thang, secretary of the Hai Duong Party Committee, said on Monday that the outbreaks in the province were gradually being brought under control. The committee said the anti-pandemic measures must cause the least possible disruptions to socio- economic development, the flow of goods and business activities. Authorities agreed to divide the localities in the province into two groups under different restrictions depending on the Covid-19 risk. Four high-risk localities, including Hai Duong City, Kinh Mon township, Cam Giang District and Kim Thanh, will be placed under the government’s Directive 15, the highest level of ... » Learn More about Hai Duong starts to ease curbs