Month: May 2023

A 31-year-old Korean fugitive who was about to leave the country, was apprehended at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), the Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported on Monday. According to BI intelligence chief Fortunato Manahan Jr., Ko Daeyun was apprehended at the NAIA 3 terminal last April 25 before boarding a Cebu Pacific flight to Seoul. He was prevented from boarding the flight after an officer at the immigration departure counter noticed that his name is in the bureau’s watchlist of wanted foreign fugitives. The foreigner is reportedly facing a deportation case before the BI legal division where he was charged for undesirability due to his being a fugitive from justice. Korean authorities have reportedly accused Ko of being a member of a telecommunications fraud syndicate that preys on its victims through voice phishing, or using phone calls to gain access to a person’s money and other personal information. It was alleged that Ko enticed a victim to give him his debit card and was able to withdraw more than half a million won, or nearly USD400,000, from October to December 2021 after promising the victim that his money would earn interest in a lending business. The foreign national is detained at the BI detention facility in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City pending deportation proceeding

Source: Philippines News Agency

The local government on Monday decided not to pursue an earlier plan to place this city under a state of calamity after a three-day power interruption affecting Panay and Guimaras islands. In a statement, Iloilo City Mayor Jerry P. Treñas said the city would no longer declare a state of calamity after the restoration of the power supply. ‘Considering that power is 100 percent in all areas in the city up to now, we will place on hold the plan to declare a state of calamity due to the problem with energy,” Treñas said. Treñas also expressed his gratitude to power generators, distribution utilities and the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) for ensuring the restoration of power at ‘full capacity’. ‘It is my hope that this goes on from Tuesday when offices are open and demand is increased,’ he added. The mayor on April 29 announced the option of declaring a state of calamity for the Department of Energy (DOE) to come in and initiate measures that will ensure a stable power supply should there be no solutions in sight. More Electric and Power Corporation (MORE Power), a distribution utility in Iloilo City, relayed that as per DOE update, a total of 274.64 megawatts have been provided by Panay power plants as of 4 p.m. on Sunday. ‘Electricity production of Panay power plants is slowly increasing since this morning, to maintain the stability of the grid, and we reiterate, prevent possible further damage,’ the DOE statement said. It also asked consumers ‘to use electricity wisely and conservatively to keep the grid stable’. The department added that the completion of the Cebu-Negros-Panay 230kV Backbone Stage 3 transmission line project by August as reported by the NGCP and the increased capacity of substations through internal generation within the island are among the identified stable solution leading to the normalcy of the power situation. The Iloilo provincial government, on Sunday afternoon, also announced that power was restored in the service areas of Iloilo Electric Cooperatives I, II, and III operating in the province early morning of April 30. Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr, Uswag Ilonggo party-list Rep. Jojo Ang and Treñas met virtually with representatives of the DOE, NGCP, Energy Regulatory Commission and distribution utilities late afternoon of April 29 where strategies to address the series of power outages in Panay and Guimaras were discussed, said a press statement from the provincial government’s Balita Halin sa Kapitolyo on Sunday afternoon. The local officials called on concerned agencies to ‘fast-track the repair, rehabilitation, and improvement of the country’s transmission infrastructure, especially the Visayas grid,’ the statement added. Panay and Guimaras islands experienced a power failure on April 27 followed by another blackout on April 28 due to a system disturbance affecting the Visayas grid as per report of the NGCP

Source: Philippines News Agency

Two bridges worth PHP74.7 million completed in recent months have made travel easier and safer for residents of remote villages in E.B. Magalona town, Negros Occidental province, according to the Department of Public Works and Highways in Western Visayas (DPWH-6). Connecting communities across the Malogo River, these projects which were completed in January and April this year, include the P24.7-million construction of Sitio Calaptan Bridge and the PHP50-million reconstruction of the Nanca-Cudangdang Bridge. In a statement on Monday, DPWH-6 Regional Director Nerie Bueno said the two-lane Sitio Calaptan Bridge now allows residents of barangays Canlusong and San Isidro to safely cross the river after previously using only an old overflow bridge. Barangay Canlusong, located some 25 kilometers from the town proper, is considered the farthest village in the northern Negros municipality. ‘The new bridge allows motorists and passengers to reach Barangay Canlusong, passing through Barangay San Isidro, leading to various communities in the uplands of E.B. Magalona. This makes travel from far-flung areas to the town proper now easier and more comfortable,’ Bueno added. OIC-District Engineer Dene Baldonado Jr. of the Negros Occidental 1st District Engineering Office said that since the Malogo overflow bridge was already dilapidated, its condition had caused traffic problems during heavy rains and poses great danger, especially for heavily loaded trucks. ‘Malogo River is mostly calm but still poses a hazard during rainy season whenever the river suddenly shifts from low discharge to raging currents,’ he said. Earlier, the Negros Occidental 1st District Engineering Office also completed the reconstruction of the Nanca-Cudangdang Bridge, which reconnected four villages with some 11,000 residents, severely hit and isolated by Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) in 2013. These are the barangays of Nanca and Cudangdang, and the adjacent barangays of Tanza and Tabigue. Bueno said the bridge provides direct access for sugarcane-hauling trucks from these villages to the neighboring city of Victorias, thereby revitalizing economic opportunities for the municipality. ‘The new bridge provides a safer and faster mode of transport in crossing the Malogo River. Previously, it was done through the use of a small barge which puts passengers at risk during heavy rains or typhoons,’ Bueno said.

Source: Philippines News Agency