Author: malaysiang

MANILA: Defending champion Cignal goes for a sweep of the preliminaries against Maverick on Friday in the Spikers’ Turf Open Conference’s rare triple-header at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig.

The HD Spikers are on a seven-game roll, the last three were five-setters. They played the D’Navigators last week and the VNS-Nasty Griffins last Wednesday minus Bryan Bagunas, who left for Taiwan to honor a previous commitment with the Win Streak club.

‘Aayusin namin yung laro namin para sa last game namin ng elimination round. Para ‘pag dating ng semifinals, maayos yung maging performance namin (We will give our all for our last game of the elimination round. So that when the semifinals come, our performance will be good),’ Cignal coach Dexter Clamor said.

Joshua Umandal, Madz Gampong and John Paul Bugaon will banner the HD Spikers when they meet the Hard Hitters at 2 p.m. in the opening game.

Meanwhile, Savouge Aesthetics will try to stay in the hunt for the last two semis berths when it faces powerhouse Criss C
ross at 6 p.m.

The Spin Doctors are seeking their sixth win to force a tie for the fourth and final spot for the next round.

In case of standoffs, the tiebreak system will decide the last semis entry, as PGJC-Navy and D’Navigators, both with 5-2 slates, will clash for the final game of eliminations.

Savouge head coach Sammy Acaylar is keeping a positive outlook on their chances.

‘Actually, pinag-aralan na namin yan. Running kami na makapasok sa apat, so we need to watch the game of Criss Cross para mapag-aralan namin. Malay natin, bilog ang bola, hindi natin alam (Actually, we have already studied that. We are running to get into the final four, so we need to watch the game of Criss Cross to study it. The ball is round, we don’t know),’ Acaylar said.

VNS and Philippine Air Force will try to improve their respective records in the other game at 4 p.m.

Source: Philippines News Agency

GUA MUSANG, The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has opened a new branch here since Jan 2, in an effort to expand its services in the district.

MACC said that the opening of the branch office at Level 1, Bangunan Persekutuan Gua Musang, will facilitate the local community’s affairs.

‘The Gua Musang branch is officiated by MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Sri Azam Baki today,’ it said in a statement.

It said that the office is equipped with, among others, a statement recording room, in addition to a workspace to house a total of five MACC staff.

Members of the public are welcome to channel any information related to corruption or abuse of power by contacting the branch at 09-912 7623.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

MANILA: Department of Energy (DOE) Undersecretary Rowena Cristina Guevara said there are at least 4,164.92 megawatts of new power supply that will come online this year to address the growing electricity demand in the country.

In a virtual press briefing Thursday, Guevara said half of the new supply will come from solar power projects and the rest will come from conventional power infrastructure.

‘To date, 161.2 MW of the 2024 committed projects are in full commercial operation while 835 MW are under test and commissioning. So, even though they are under test and commissioning, they are injecting power to the grid,’ she said.

Guevara said 4,030 MW of these projects are in Luzon, 80.25 MW in Visayas, and 52.50 MW in Mindanao.

The DOE expects that 1,224.66 MW will come online this quarter, 1,352.17 MW will come in the third quarter, and 1,571.15 MW in the fourth quarter of the year.

Power plants with biggest committed capacities include the four units of 150 MW Mariveles Coal-Fired Power Plant, with total
capacity of 600 MW, while the three units of 440 MW Batangas Combined Cyle Power Plant of Excellent Energy Resources Inc. (EERI) has a combined capacity of 1,320 MW.

The Mariveles power plant’s Unit 1 commenced commercial operation last month, while the remaining three units are under testing and commissioning. They are expected to be on full commercial operations by the third quarter of 2024.

The EERI facility will come online by the last quarter of the year.

Guevara said at least 590 MW of battery energy storage system will also augment the supply this year, of which, 32.42 MW are already online.

She added the country’s power generation growth has surpassed economic expansion.

‘(It’s) an 18 percent increase from the 2022 generation. If you look at our economic growth, which is 6 percent per year, we can show that the number of projects coming online in 2024 is greater than the expected economic growth of the country,’ the energy official said.

Peak demand forecast breached early

In the same briefing,
Electric Power Industry Management Bureau Assistant Director Luningning Baltazar reported that the Luzon grid has exceeded the peak demand forecast of 13,917 MW for this year on April 24.

On Wednesday, actual power demand reached 14,016 MW, or 99 MW higher than the forecast demand.

Also, the Luzon grid has not only surpassed the peak demand for this year but also exceeded the level at an earlier period.

Based on the DOE’s demand projection for 2024, the peak power demand will be hit around Week 20 of the year, or the third week of May. However, it was already exceeded during Week 17 of the year.

DOE Assistant Secretary Mario Marisagan said the increasing temperature due to lingering effects of El Niño has pushed higher demand for electricity.

With the current situation, Guevara said yellow alerts in the Luzon grid will persist, with the possibility of red alerts until mid-May.

DOE Secretary Raphael Lotilla said the higher temperature due to El Niño is also causing further ‘stress’ to power plants that c
ould affect their operations.

Lotilla added the El Niño phenomenon poses many challenges not only in the energy sector but also other sectors.

‘It remains a challenge. If we look at the impact of El Niño-and the El Niño phenomenon has created problems not only in the energy, but also in agriculture, water, health, and education. So these are indications of a natural calamity, and therefore the local government units in many areas have already declared such. So we are recognizing that as a fact,’ he said.

‘It’s a calamity and we are responding to it as needed,’ the energy chief added.

Source: Philippines News Agency

BALING, Twenty-one houses around Mukim Siong, Tawar, Pulai, Bakai and Mukim Teloi Kanan were damaged in a storm yesterday.

However, no casualties were reported, according to Baling district Civil Defence Force (APM) officer Lt (PA) Mohd Faizol Ab Aziz.

He said that they were alerted to the incident at 6 pm, following which 15 personnel were dispatched to the scenes.

‘The incident is believed to have occurred around 5 pm, affecting three houses in Mukim Siong, eight houses in Mukim Tawar, three houses in Mukim Pulai, two houses in Mukim Bakai, and five houses in Mukim Felda Teloi Kanan.

‘Clean-up work and the operation to remove trees uprooted by the storm will continue today,’ he said in a statement today.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

MANILA: The offices of an immigration consultancy firm were simultaneously padlocked by the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) on Thursday for illegally offering jobs in Canada to Filipino nurses, caregivers, nursing aides, and welders.

DMW Officer in Charge Undersecretary Hans Leo Cacdac led the closure operation against Dream Pathway Education and Immigration Services in its head office in Mandaluyong City, while the DMW’s Migrant Workers Protection Bureau (MWPB) conducted the closure of its three branches in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija; Apalit, Pampanga; and Lipa City, Batangas in coordination with local police and government units.

‘Dream Pathway is among the unauthorized entities taking advantage of Canada’s immigration programs, which are being used as a doorway to Canada for temporary work before reaching permanent residency,’ Cacdac said.

Aside from charging exorbitant processing fees to hopeful applicants, Dream Pathway does not have a proper license from the DMW, he added.

Surveillance operati
ons earlier conducted by the DMW-MWPB showed that the firm charges PHP110,000 as professional fee for various jobs in Canada under the Atlantic Immigration Pilot (AIP) program.

‘Filipinos bound for Canada under AIP must undergo contract verification and documentary processing by the DMW, as legal documentation as OFWs, whether through direct hire processing or a licensed Philippine recruitment agency,’ Cacdac said.

Illegal recruitment charges will be filed against Dream Pathway, and the DMW is urging victims to get in touch with the department for assistance in filing cases against the consultancy firm.

Dream Pathway’s officers and personnel will also be included in the DMW’s “List of Persons and Establishments with Derogatory Record” and will be permanently banned from participating in government overseas recruitment programs.

On April 12, the DMW issued Advisory 9, which provides guidelines and processes governing the documentation of Filipinos under Canada’s immigration program.

The advisory requires
Canada-bound Filipino workers to pass through the DMW verification process to prevent illegal recruitment and trafficking of persons.

Cacdac also reminded OFWs planning to apply for work in Canada of the ‘no placement fee policy.’

Source: Philippines News Agency

KUALA LUMPUR, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir has ordered all programmes and activities scheduled to be attended by a foreign lecturer believed to be pro-Zionists at Universiti Malaya (UM) to be cancelled immediately.

He said the Higher Education Ministry (MOHE) viewed seriously the actions of the lecturer, whose statement has sparked controversy and disrespected the sentiments of the community.

The university has also been asked to investigate the matter and report further details as soon as possible.

‘I would like to remind every agency and institution under MOHE to be alert and conduct thorough background checks before inviting anyone to events or programmes organised.

‘Every decision made must take into account sensitivities, and align with the government’s policies and stance,’ he said in a statement here.

Zambry said that although higher education institutions are given autonomy to decide on intellectual programmes, it does not mean they have the complete freedom to disrega
rd the sensitivity of Malaysia’s majority.

‘If someone’s scholarship is clouded with various controversies and questionable academic values, why should they be brought in as a scholarly visitor? There needs to be a fair assessment before making a decision,’ he said in a post on X today.

The presence of Bruce Gilley at a programme in UM went viral on X yesterday after it was uploaded by the political science professor himself.

However, it received a backlash from Malaysians before the post was deleted by Gilley, who also informed that he had departed from Malaysia today.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency

LAOAG CITY: The town of Solsona in Ilocos Norte has been placed under the state of calamity for authorities to address further the worsening situation caused by the El Niño phenomenon.

‘We are now under state of calamity because of drought. By placing the entire municipality, the barangays (villages) can now use their calamity fund to address urgent intervention against El Niño,’ Vice Mayor Jonathan De Lara said in a media interview on Thursday

Initial damage to crops and livestock are placed to have reached around PHP7 million so far, and local government estimates show that around 186 farmers have already lost livelihood due to water scarcity.

Solsona information officer lawyer Alfonso Jeziel delos Reyes told the Philippine News Agency that the declaration was made on April 22 but was only announced during the day.

He said the municipality has a quick response fund of around PHP2.5 million.

“Since (the municipality has been) declared as (under the) state of calamity, we can use this amount to address (
the impact of the) drought,” he added.

Delos Reyes said several interventions are already being implemented such as water rationing to affected villages.

He said the municipality also plans to purchase water filters to ensure that drinking water is safe.

The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) is rationing water to villages in elevated areas experiencing water shortage due to the dry spell.

‘In a day, our firetrucks make rounds for about 15 times rationing water to at least three barangays in need of water for residential use. We start as early as 6 a.m. and finish around midnight to reach out remote areas with no access to water supply,’ Fire Officer 2 John Bumanglag said in a phone interview.

He said the rationing was in response to the request of the Solsona government.

The BFP in Solsona town has two firetrucks ready for use in the water rationing. Another one is on standby in case of emergency.

‘This is the worst drought we have experienced so far. Even our water pumps used for farming are hard up to
pump out water,’ Macon Dawey, a resident of Barangay Maan-anteng told the Philippine News Agency.

Barangay Maan-anteng is among the 15 of the 22 municipal’s villages that have been hit hard by the dry spell.

Source: Philippines News Agency