THOUSANDS ENTER CEMETERY WITH
UMBRELLAS TO BE NEAR BELOVED DEAD
[PHOTO AT LEFT - By Cecille Suerte Felipe - Thousands enter the North Cemetery in Manila to visit tombs as they commemorate All Saints’ Day yesterday. Inset shows a man having his picture taken inside a pink casket as part of a pre-paid death care company’s promotion campaign. Edd Gumban | MANILA, Philippines]
MANILA, NOVEMBER 2, 2009 (STAR) The traditional observance of All Saints’ Day was generally peaceful, the Philippine National Police (PNP) said yesterday.
As of noon yesterday, the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) reported the confiscation of 63 bladed weapons, one jungle bolo, one brass knuckle, one toy gun, one tear gas canister, one color Gameboy, 20 sets of playing cards and other gambling paraphernalia from people who were about to visit the graves of their loved ones.
PNP chief Director General Jesus Verzosa said field reports reaching his office indicated a peaceful and orderly situation nationwide during the All Saints’ Day holiday.
“This ideal situation of uneventful and orderly holiday celebration is the result of the vigilance of police units and the cooperation of the public,” Verzosa said.
Verzosa commended all police personnel for the “excellent job” of providing security and public safety services to the people even as he expressed gratitude to the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the NGOs, volunteer groups, local government units and other government agencies for extending assistance.
The PNP chief noted that the police units will remain at their posts until today when people troop back to the city.
He also thanked the media for helping the police in informing the public of their safety and security concerns.
[PHOTO AT LEFT - Members of the Aquino family offer prayers at the tombs of former President Corazon Aquino and her husband, former senator Benigno Aquino Jr., at the Manila Memorial Park in Parañaque City yesterday. Manny Marcelo]
Verzosa added that the PNP remains on nationwide heightened alert and is anticipating the surge of motorist and commuter traffic from the provinces back to Metro Manila until today, the last day of the 3-day weekend holiday.
Verzosa said the PNP is looking forward to implementing similar preventive security measures in the coming Christmas season.
Verzosa said the PNP established 4,825 Police Assistance Centers (PAC) in public cemeteries, memorial parks, churches, highways, seaports, bus terminals and resorts in different locations nationwide as part of the PNP’s nationwide security and public safety plan for the Halloween holiday.
PNP spokesman Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina said that except for the perennial vehicular and pedestrian traffic congestion in memorial parks and public cemeteries, there were no major peace and order issues that marred the observance of All Saints’ Day this year.
'ONDOY' 'PEPENG' SPARK CORPORATE
'BAYANIHAN'
(STAR) Face to
face with the gargantuan task of providing food, shelter and potable water to
millions of Filipinos, the entire nation continues to reel in the havoc wrought
by typhoons “Ondoy” and “Pepeng.”
On the plus side, however, the bayanihan spirit has been reignited.
Starting Friday the other week, flooding in the PHINMA-owned University of Pangasinan (Upang) campus in Dagupan was neck-deep. Outside the campus, the strong floodwaters’ current isolated the university until the next day.
Over 300 families ran to UPang and around 1,000 teachers and students also sought shelter in the campus.
“We opened our doors to refugees starting Friday morning, when flooding outside was already waist- deep,” PHINMA Education Network president Dr. Chito Salazar recounted.
“Fortunately, we had some remaining relief goods from our previous operation for the Ondoy victim-communities, but getting clean water for everyone was still a major problem.”
By Saturday afternoon, the ABS-CBN Sagip Kapamilya team made it through, bringing in more relief goods. Araullo University (AU) in Cabanatuan, a member-school of the PEN network, and Ateneo de Manila University also responded, but could not cross the raging floodwaters.
Moreover, roads to Dagupan were in bad condition, making transportation difficult.
When the floods receded the next day, Union Galvasteel Corp. with its Rollforming Plant in Sta. Rosa, Nueva Ecija, a member of the PHINMA Group, responded to the call of PEN.
It arranged with its hauler, RR Trucking, a truck to deliver 200 loaves of bread, 300 gallons of drinking water and 10 sacks of clothing from AU to over a thousand refugees trapped in UPang.
Similarly, AU conducted relief operations in several areas in Nueva Ecija, providing goods for 550 families. Employees and students served hot champorado at the refugee centers.
“We thank the PHINMA Corporate Network and other private and civic organizations for their immediate response. We served a total of 11 communities which was over and above the three shipments of relief goods and P30,000 we were able to collect for the typhoon victims,” Dr. Salazar said.
UPang continues to be the only school serving the affected communities in Dagupan and is recognized as one of that city’s centers of relief operations.
Forming part of the PEN Helping Hands disaster-and-relief assistance program, relief efforts were first activated and mobilized during the height of Ondoy with Victory Liner transporting Helping Hands’ goods to Manila.
Helping Hands shifted operations to Dagupan and Cabanatuan when “Pepeng” struck.
It was moving to the next phase of relief operations: Medical assistance, in tandem with partner-hospital Pangasinan Medical Center. Clothing for distribution will arrive next Tuesday.
South of Manila in Laguna where UGC’s main manufacturing plant is located, a total of 120 families received grocery bags containing rice, noodles, sardines, coffee, milk, sugar and chocolate drink from UGC employees.
Residents were poor farmers from several communities such as Barangays Malinta in Los Baños and Barangay Halang and Bucal in Calamba.
Recently, it was time to dredge and clean up the stream beside UGC which stretches all the way to other industrial companies surrounding the area. The Barangka de Sipit Sagip Ilog Brigade spearheaded the clean-up in cooperation with the Barangay Councils of Real and La Mesa and Laguna Industrial Science Park II.
UGC environmental officer Engr. Mila J.B. Rojas led the effort with 10 UGC volunteer-employees and representatives from other industrial firms and barangays.
“Life can be better” is PHINMA’s mission which it strives to fulfill wherever it is able.
POUNDING RAIN, STRONG WINDS CAUSE MASSIVE BLACKOUT
(STAR) By Donnabelle Gatdula - The pounding rain and strong winds brought by typhoon “Santi” left 35 percent of the 1.6 million customers of Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) in Metro Manila and nearby provinces without electricity since early yesterday.
Meralco said the affected customers were mostly located in Manila, Pasig, San Juan, and the provinces of Rizal, Quezon, Laguna, Cavite, and Batangas, which still had no electricity as of 10 a.m. yesterday.
Meralco spokesman Joe Zaldarriaga said they are making effort to restore power in the affected areas.
At the same time, Zaldarriaga called on the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and local government officials to help Meralco in its cleanup operations to restore power.
“We have to clear the lines of debris and other unsafe obstructions before putting back power to ensure public safety,” Zaldarriaga said.
The National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) said they have focused the restoration activities in Southern Luzon where several transmission lines had been toppled by strong winds caused by the typhoon.
The NGCP said the major transmission lines that were affected included the Labo-Naga 230-kilovolts (kV) line 1, Gumaca-Labo 230-kV line 1, Kalayaan-Gumaca 230-kV lines 1 and 2, San Jose-Tayabas 500-kV line 2, Kalayaan-Calauan 230-kV line, Kalayaan-Makban 230-kV line, Kalayaan-Malaya 230-kV line 1, Sucat-Araneta 230-kV line, and Sucat 115-kV tie line.
Two transformer units at the old Sucat substation were shut down when a portion of the substation was flooded, NGCP officials said.
The shutdown contributed directly to the power outage in Metro Manila during the typhoon.
The NGCP added that four transmission lines rated at 115 kV had tripped while Santi was passing through.
These were the Dasmariñas-Abubot-Rosario, Dasmariñas-Pala-Pala/Tagaytay and Dasmariñas-Ternate 115-kV lines in Cavite, and the Caliraya-Botocan 115-kV line in Laguna.
The affected areas included the towns of Dasmariñas, Rosario, Bacoor, General Trias, Imus, Tanza, Silang, Alfonzo, Amadeo, Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, Indang, Magallanes, Mendez, Gen. Mariano Alvarez, Carmona, Maragondon, Naic and Ternate and the cities of Tagaytay and Trece Martires, all in Cavite, and Botocan town in Laguna.
Several other affected lines with lower voltage rating of 13.8 kV, 34.5 kV, and 69 kV were also reported in Batangas, Laguna, and Quezon.
Of these lines that tripped, three were fully restored. These were the Dasmariñas 34.5 kV Feeder 1 connected to Gavino Maderan, Barangay Bulihan, Barangay Anahaw II, Maguyam, Paligawan, San Agustin, Sampaloc III and Langakaan; Dasmariñas 34.5 kV Feeder 2 connected to the National Highway, Petron Gas, Gen. Aguinaldo Highway, Dasmariñas Service Center, and Amuntay; and Dasmariñas 34.5-kV Feeder 3 connected to Governor Drive, Aguinaldo Highway, Finetex, Robinson, Euromed and SM Dasmariñas.
Officials said 20 percent of the power load to the Gumaca-Hondagua-Tagkawayan 69-kV and Gumaca-Pitogo-Mulanay 69-kV lines has been restored.
The two lines are connected to Quezon Electric Cooperative 1 that distributes power to the towns of Hondagua, Tagkawayan, Calauag, Pitogo, General Luna, Padre Burgos, Unisan Mulanay, San Francisco, Agdamayan, and Del Gallego.
Due to the tripping of NGCP’s transmission lines as well as sub-transmission lines operated by distribution utilities, the current load of the Luzon grid is only around 50 percent, the NGPC said.
Around 7,170 megawatts of capacity is available in the grid, which is more than enough to accommodate the present peak demand of only around 2,480 MW.
The NGCP gave assurance all efforts are underway to restore full power in the affected areas.