Let’s HANGOUT in Iloilo City and join the Annual International Coastal Cleanup!

The Ocean Conservancy is inviting everyone to join the Annual International Coastal Cleanup held on 2nd or 3rd weekend of September. This is a global effort to clean-up the coastline, rivers and lakes of trash and recording them for future references and studies.

The 2008 International Coastal Cleanup campaign gathered 400,000 volunteers from around the world and collected 6.8 million pounds of trash. The Philippines has been actively participating since 1994 in this annual global effort with 2,625,284 volunteers throughout the country.

There is no specific data about the clean-up activities in Iloilo city and province. But to give us some idea, here is the 2007 Ocean Conservancy Summary Report for the Philippines by ICC Coordinator Geronimo P. Reyes and Samuel Umandap:

In Philippines, 50,526 volunteers participated in the ICC, removing 250,973.9 pounds of trash and debris from 217.2 miles of shoreline. In addition, 721 volunteer divers participated in underwater cleanups, removing 6,999.8 pounds of debris from 31.5 miles of seafloor. 65.9 percent of the debris found in Philippines came from land-based activities like picnics, festivals, sporting events, and beach outings. Litter washed from streets, parking lots, and storm drains also contributed to this category.

Ocean and water-based activities offshore such as boating and fishing accounted for 17.9 percent of Philippines’s debris. Globally, 6.3 percent of collected debris came from ocean and waterway-based activities

Smoking-related products (cigarette filters, cigar tips, and tobacco packaging) accounted for 13.6 percent of the debris found in Philippines. Worldwide, these items comprised 33.6 percent of the six million pounds of debris collected.

Plastic bags top the list of debris collected.

To illustrate further some coastal area conditions in our country, here is a couple of pictures I grabbed from my friend’s facebook. These were taken during a bird population census last January of 2007.

photo source: kaakbay

Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup has thousands of volunteers and supporters. HANGOUT in Iloilo and  help clean-up Iloilo River and Coastal areas! 
To register: http://www.oceanconservancy.org

Areas already identified for clean-up in Iloilo and nearby provinces:

Parola-Quirino Bridge, Fort San Pedro-Ortiz, Sto. Nino Sur in Arevalo,

Nogas Island, Boracay Island

Brgy. Sampirit in Negros, Punta Ballo also in Negros

(Article and photo sources: oceanconservancy.org, apps.facebook.com)

A mass was offered by the Illongos for former President Corazon Aquino this day at Iloilo Provincial Capitol grounds. The death of Corazon Aquino not only brings pain in the hearts of Filipinos but also tells all the Filipinos to join hands and still fight for the democracy that she has fought for the Filipino people.

City Mayor Jerry Treñas joins the entire Filipino in mourning the death of former President Corazon Aquino. “Ninoy and Cory gave the Filipino models of courageous leadership based upon self-sacrifice and commitment to democracy,” Treñas said.

The former president became politically active after her husband Benigno (Ninoy) was assassinated on the tarmac of the Manila airport, now Ninoy Aquino International Airport, in 1983. Ninoy was gunned down while returning from exile to challenge the country’s longtime leader deposed President Ferdinand Marcos. Marcos stayed in power for almost 20 years.

Mrs. Aquino was considered as a “democratic icon” after she toppled the late dictator. Her presidency was punctuated by seven coup attempts most staged by the same clique of officers who had risen up against Marcos.

Treñas sent a letter of condolence to Mrs. Aquino’s son Senator Noynoy Aquino.

“We will all be eternally indebted to President Cory for the restoration of democracy in our country and the exercise of our freedom that we now all enjoy,” said Treñas.

Treñas first assumed as OIC councilor during the term of President Aquino when most of the government appointments are only considered as officer-in-charge before he became the mayor of the city.

Mrs. Aquino, 76, died at the Makati Medical Center on Saturday following a battle with colon cancer. She was diagnosed with the disease last year and underwent operation and chemotherapy sessions. Her cancer was already in the fourth stage when discovered. She was given three months to live but was stayed until she had a cardio respiratory attack. Novena masses were offered to the former president when her health condition was made public.

The death of Corazon Aquino, yellow ribbons were tied in buildings to show support and concern to the former president. Her body now lies in state at the Manila Cathedral until her funeral on tomorrow where she will be buried beside her late husband at the Manila Memorial Park.

( Source: The News Today )

ILOILO CITY, July 21 (PNA) – An airport emergency preparedness drill will highlight the three-day lecture on roles and responsibilities of stakeholders at the New Iloilo Airport of International Standards on July 27-30.

Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines Civil Security and Intelligence Unit investigator Art Parreño said the lecture will be handled by representatives of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

He said that there will simulation activities such as plane crash at the airport runway with an ambulance responding to the incident and if needed they will also request choppers from the Philippine Air Force (PAF).

Parreño added that it will be their first time to conduct a drill at the new airport although they used to hold similar activity at the old airport in Mandurriao district.

Nonetheless, he stressed that in case of emergency CAAP-Iloilo is always ready to respond because they have a Crash, Fire Rescue Unit (CFRU) and an Airport Emergency Disaster Plan that was approved by the ICAO.

The drill will be participated in by rescue groups in the province, Iloilo airport personnel, district hospital of Cabatuan, Iloilo Doctors Hospital, Western Visayas Medical Center (WVMC), Philippine National Police (PNP), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Philippine Air Force (PAF), representatives from various medical groups, surrounding local government units such as Maasin, Sta. Barbara and Cabatuan, airline companies and members of the tri-media.

He added that the activity is still in line with the celebration of the National Disaster Awareness Month this July. (PNA)
LAP/PGLena/vlo

( Source: Philippines News Agency )

How do I know if I have influenza A(H1N1)?

ILOILO City – The 32 confirmed cases of Influenza A(H1N1) in Western Visayas have fully recovered, the Department of Health 6 (DOH-6) said.

In Manila, the director of DOH’s Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Dr. Yolanda Oliveros, revealed yesterday two more Filipinos who died due to the A(H1N1).

The 32 confirmed cases in Region 6 were part of the 102 cases under observation (CUOs) that became positive; 44 have negative results. Twenty-six have pending results.

Ten new cases were confirmed by the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) Friday last week while nine new CUOS were also reported.

Of the 32 cases, 10 were from Bacolod City; seven from Iloilo City; six from the province of Iloilo; three each from Capiz and Roxas City; and one each from Kalibo and Negros Occidental.

Oliveros said the total confirmed A(H1N1) cases in the country have risen to 2,658 as of yesterday.

The two recent deaths brought to three the swine flu-related fatalities in the country. Oliveros said they were a seven-year-old girl and a 74-year-old man.

The country’s first fatality was a staff of the House of Representatives – a woman in her 40s.

Oliveros did not say if the girl and the old man were related. She said all persons who had contacts with them are already on quarantine.

Oliveros also said that 95 percent of A(H1N1) patients in the country have fully recovered./PN

(Source: Panay News)

How can I protect myself from catching H1N1?

Aside from the prevention of H1N1, another problem that Iloilo City is facing today is the problem against the increasing Dengue cases in Iloilo City.

To prevent Dengue outbreak, Mayor Jerry Treñas yesterday asked for the cooperation of different sectors including the Church and schools here. The number of dengue deaths already reached to 13, while West Visayas State University suspended classes starting yesterday following the increase in number of students experiencing symptoms of Dengue fever.

Treñas has called for the participation of the religious sector and schools aside from the Association of Barangay Captains here. He has reiterated his memorandum order to the 180 punong barangays in the city to implement clean-up activities especially in dengue-stricken barangays.

He also stressed the importance of proper information dissemination and clean-up activities in the fight against dengue. He wants a search and destroy scheme to get rid of the mosquito breeding places. Dengue is more dangerous when compared to A(H1N1), Treñas said. “There is no vaccine for dengue unlike with influenza A(H1N1).”

He said the people must do something to eradicate the spread of dengue-carrying mosquitoes. Stagnant water and dark places are the favorable places for the dengue carrying mosquitoes to procreate. Emptying of containers and cleaning of drainage are highly recommended to kill the wrigglers.

Proper information regarding Dengue would help the people initiate preventive measures like the importance of cleaning the surroundings and seeking immediate medical assistance as soon as the person manifest the symptoms of Dengue. Direct communication with the people is seen as effective channel in relaying the information to the people.

Earlier, the City Health Office designed an action plan dubbed “4S” in order to address the increasing number of dengue cases in the city. The 4S refers to: search and destroy breeding places of mosquitoes, self-protection by wearing proper clothing, seek early consultation and say no to indiscriminate fogging.

Fogging is discouraged as it brings risks to individuals suffering from asthma while the CHO recommends the use of larvicidal in large open areas with water to kill the wrigglers of the dengue-carrying mosquitoes. The fogging operations for four consecutive weeks in areas considered as dengue hotspots is only suggested if necessary.

Treñas said he has sent letters to the different parishes here requesting the priests to include in their homilies the information on dengue and its corresponding preventive measures. He expects a positive response from Church since it would be a big help to its parishioners not to catch the virus from Aedes aegypti (Aedes Mosquito).

The mayor also sought the help of the Parents-Teachers Community Association (PTCA) for the campaign against dengue. Clean up activities must be implemented in the different schools. Elementary pupils are mostly the victims of Dengue cases in Iloilo City.

( Source: The News Today )