TROPICAL Cyclone wind Signal no. 4 has been raised over the Subic Bay Freeport, Olongapo City and the whole province of Zambales as of 5pm today, Sunday (Sept. 25) as Super Typhoon Karding (Noru) continues to pack strong winds on its way towards the West Philippines Sea.

According to DOST Pag-Asa (Dept. of Science & Technology Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration), the eye wall of Typhoon Karding is now affecting the Polillo Islands where Typhoon Signal no. 5 is already in effect along with Aurora province, and parts of Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac and Pampanga.

Zambales Governor Hermogenes Ebdane, Jr. has activated its Central Command Center and is at the helm of the implementation of the province’s disaster preparedness plan. 

DOST Pag-Asa estimates that Typhoon Karding will directly hit Botolan, Zambales around 2AM or less than 8 hours from now.

Botolan Town Mayor Jun Omar Ebdane has called on his constituents to exercise all precautions as strong winds of the Typhoon, at warning signal no. 4, is strong enough to uproot trees, posing danger to both lives and properties.

In Olongapo City, Mayor Rolen C. Paulino Jr. has ordered the city’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (DRRMO) to be on full alert to respond to any eventuality.

“Tayo ay nasa signal no. 4 na po, muli mag-ingat po tayong lahat at maghanda sa pagdating ng bagyo,” Mayor Paulino said.

Classes and work in government offices have been suspended for tomorrow, Monday, Sept. 26, both in Zambales and Olongapo, except for staff of frontline offices that are part of disaster response units.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman & Administrator Rolen C. Paulino has suspended work in government offices in the Subic Bay Freeport.

He has clarified, however, that the suspension of work only covers government offices, not private companies which, he said have the discretion to suspend work or otherwise in their respective work places.

“Only government offices lang po ang walang pasok bukas… not including private companies,” Chairman Paulino said.

Meanwhile, sea vessels docked at the piers of the Subic Bay Freeport have moved out to the safety of the open sea and avoid the path and strong winds of Typhoon Karding.

USNS Millinocket, a Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport under the United States Navy’s Military Sealift Command left Rivera Pier this afternoon, following the USNS John Ericsson, which already left hours earlier.

The Philippine ship BRP Antonio Luna also left its dock at the former Hanjin Shipyard, part of which is now occupied by the Philippine Navy.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council has already recommended to President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. the suspension of work in government offices, excluding frontline offices, in eight regions, namely Regions 1, 2, CAR, 3, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, and 5 due to Typhoon Karding.

“The same course for action for private companies, offices, schools is left to the discretion of their respective heads,” said Dept. of National Defense O-I-C Jose Faustino, Jr., chair of NDRRMC.

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It was designed by violinist Coke Bolipata in 1993 for children in the fishing village after the devastation of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991 to address the need for an educational and training program to develop community-based support for an arts center.

The program trains local talents primarily in stringed orchestral instruments and the visual arts in conjunction with a residency program that offers young Filipino artists opportunities to perform and exhibit.

The program has since expanded its reach to include gifted students from other parts of the country including Manila, Pampanga, Baguio, Pangasinan, Samar, and Davao.

SBMA Chairman Wilma T. Eisma said these will be released to the eight neighboring LGUs next week.

The LGU shares are broken down as follows: P32,859,441.37 for Olongapo City; P21,145,468.61 for Subic, Zambales; P16,883,070.73 for San Marcelino, Zambales; P12,831,070.73 for Castillejos, Zambales; P11,968,060.18 for San Antonio, Zambales; P17,509,805.94 for Dinalupihan, Bataan; P15,003,180.96 for Hermosa, Bataan; and P12,402,469.66 for Morong, Bataan.

The shares, which are sourced from the five-percent taxes paid by business locators in the Subic Bay Freeport, are meant to promote parallel development in communities near the Freeport and enhance LGU projects in tourism, infrastructure, education, peace and order, health, and livelihood generation.

Eisma said the new allocation is 18 percent smaller than the LGU shares released in August last year, which totaled P166.16 million, but surpassed by more than 12 percent the P123.1 million total distributed in February 2021.

The LGU shares for the first half of the year is released in August, while that for the second half is released in February the next year.

Eisma said, however, that the SBMA will do away with the usual check-releasing ceremony as a precaution in face of the recent surge of Covid-19 cases nationwide, including in local communities.

“For the first time, I won’t be releasing the checks personally because I want to avoid crowding in pursuit of health protocols that we are enforcing in the Subic Bay Freeport. So, we advise LGU representatives to please claim their checks at the SBMA Treasury instead,” Eisma said.

According to SBMA records, the Subic agency has now distributed a total of P2.83 billion in LGU shares since 2011 when the SBMA started releasing shares directly to the LGUs. Previously, the distribution of LGU shares were coursed through the National Treasury.

The LGU shares are computed according to population (50%), land area (25%), and equal sharing (25%).

The biggest LGU beneficiary ever since is Olongapo City, which received a total of P672.73 million since 2011. It is followed by Subic, Zambales with P427.35 million; Dinalupihan, P353.89 million; San Marcelino, P341.03 million; Hermosa, P293.12 million; Castillejos, P255.68 million; Morong, P246.28 million; and San Antonio, P245.6 million.

IBA, Zambales — The war against COVID-19 goes beyond stopping the spread of the virus, and well into everyone’s survival in what is now known as the “new normal”.

“While we continue with our programs in the war against Covid-19, we now have to establish programs that would help generate income for the thousands of displaced workers, including returning OFWs,” said Gov. Hermogenes E. Ebdane Jr. over the weekend in a public briefing, recognizing the concomitant problems brought about by the Pandemic.

As Zambales eases down to General Community Quarantine (GCQ) status starting tomorrow, Monday, Ebdane said the province is embarking on several projects to stimulate the local economy and provide jobs and food security, as well as income to the government.

He said these include several agri-fishery recovery and assistance projects targeting farmers and fisherfolk, as well as micro and small enterprises, and a dredging program designed to shore up local revenue.

“The transition from ECQ and MECQ to GCQ was made not because there is no more virus but because of the need for the economy to recover,” Ebdane said, citing information from the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) which estimates that the economy lost some P1.1 Trillion in the first 45 days of the Pandemic alone.

As Zambales must rely more on its own resources to boost its finances, Ebdane said the provincial government will prioritize the dredging project that now presented two opportunities to Zambales — a solution to flooding, and an income-generating project that would stimulate the pandemic-stricken local economy.  

Ebdane said the river-dredging project has already been approved by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) late last year, leading to the issuance by DENR of Department Administrative Order No. 13 (DAO 13) and the screening for qualified operators early this year.

DAO 13 approved the immediate “river restoration through dredging” and the restoration of the “natural state and water flow” of Bucao, Maloma, and Sto. Tomas-Maculcol rivers, which had become the channels for billions of cubic meter of Mt. Pinatubo lahar sand deposits on their way to the sea.

“Every year, the river beds rise by one meter. And periodically, the province and the DPWH had to raise the height of the dikes that border these rivers to protect the outlying barangays,” Ebdane pointed out. 

Accordingly, the dredging operators will collect the lahar sand that accumulated at the mouth of the three rivers, thus clearing the delta for a more efficient draining of river water into the sea. The collected materials will be sold to buyers, from which the Provincial government, the Municipalities, and the Barangays, as well as the national government, will all earn revenues.

The governor added that the provincial officials and local mayors have agreed to share part of the provincial income from this project to other towns not affected by the project, and for host municipalities to share part of the income to other barangays as well.

In the same briefing, the Provincial Agriculture Office outlined programs geared towards revenue generation in the agriculture and fishery sectors. These included backyard food production program, rice resiliency project, food accessibility and affordability measures, and cash assistance and aid for marginalized farmers and fisherfolk.

These would ensure the availability, accessibility, and affordability of food for Zambaleños during the quarantine period, Ebdane said. 

As of the end of the MECQ, Zambales has recorded a total of 24 confirmed Covid-19 cases, with 20 recoveries, one fatality and three active cases.

Ebdane urged his constituents to continue stringent health measures like home quarantine, wearing of mask, sanitizing and disinfecting, and social distancing.

“Even as we transition from MECQ to GCQ, we will continue to enforce border controls and curfew from 8 pm to 5 am,” Ebdane also said. 

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ZAMBALES, still under Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) status upon the request of Governor Hermogenes Ebdane, Jr., has become the only province in Central Luzon (Region 3) to have registered a “zero COVID19-positive case” in the past two weeks, according to the Dept. of Health (DoH) records.

In an announcement over the weekend, Gov. Ebdane, Jr. said that of the total 21 COVID19 positive cases since the month of April, all but one (1) have already recovered, the fatality having died early on during the Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) lockdown.

“Mayroon pa tayong magandang balita… sa araw na ito ay zero case na tayo dito sa Zambales insofar as confirmed case of COVID19 is concerned,” Ebdane said as he revealed the release from the Pres. Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Hospital (PRMMH) of the last four (4) patients afflicted with the virus.

However, Gov. Ebdane clarified that despite the encouraging development, he clarified that Zambales is not necessarily COVID19 free, adding that the public should continue to follow protocols and practices that are in place to prevent the spread of the virus.

“Hindi po natin pwedeng i-declare ang Zambales na COVID19 free kasi magmula noong mag-rapid test tayo ay na-testing natin lahat-lahat ay 23,830 at ang nag-“react” sa rapid testing ay 506,” Ebdane said, ” ang ginawa natin ay kinon-fine natin sila sa ospital.”

A second rapid test on those that had “reactions”‘ yielded negative results, saved for 73 still awaiting final results on their swab samples, now classified under “suspect case.”

Ebdane said the release of those that already tested negative from the 172-bed PRMMH has boosted the hospital’s capacity to accommodate more patients, if necessary.

In Olongapo City, Mayor Rolen “Lenj” C. Paulino, Jr. was ecstatic in the release of the last COVID19-positive patient from the James L. Gordon Memorial Hospital (JLGMH).

“Iyong ating no. 12 po na confirmed case ay nag-negative na rin po, officially recovered na siya,” Mayor Paulino said.

The city had a total of 12 positive cases since the first was recorded during the ECQ.

He, too, warned that the fight against the virus is not over yet. “Hindi pa po tayo tapos. Lahat ng dapat nating gawin, lahat ng precautions kailangan tuloy-tuloy pa rin po,” said Paulino.

While Olongapo has been on a more relaxed status of General Community Quarantine (GCQ) already, as of today, the city still has 47 “suspect cases” awaiting test results, 12 recoveries, and nil probable case.

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WITH the continuing transmission of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) and the risk of a second wave of infections, Governor Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. wants the extension of Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) in Zambales province, at least until the end of the month May.

“The health of our residents remains our primary priority,” Ebdane said in a letter request to Director Julie J. Daquioag, chairperson of the Central Luzon Regional Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (RIATF), “local transmission is still increasing and our hospital capacity will not be able to accommodate the surge of patients once the restrictions are lifted.”

Zambales has been placed under General Community Quarantine (GCQ) and classified as moderate-risk of Covid-19, but according to Ebdane, local health officials still see a high prevalence of Covid-19 transmission in the province, thus, his request for ECQ extension in the province.

He pointed out that while the bed capacity at the President Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Hospital is only 235, there are already 158 patients admitted with 130 of those still awaiting the results of their polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. “What we are really concerned about is a more severe second wave if we fail to isolate COVID-19 patients,” Ebdane added.

He said that local officials had recommended the extension of ECQ “with the hope that the situation will improve in another 15 days so we can fully shift to a GCQ.” Zambales, which has a population of 590,848 in the 2015 census, has reported 18 confirmed Covid-19 cases, as well as a total of five recoveries and one death as of May 13.

Figures from the Provincial Health Office (PHO) indicated that nine of the 13 Zambales towns had confirmed cases while the four northernmost towns had none. Residents attributed this to strict quarantine measures implemented by the provincial government.

Ebdane had earlier said that the Covid-19 situation in Zambales “had been properly managed” following the implementation of what he called the “7-14-14” program. This involved seven days “sweeping” with rapid testing and confirmatory tests; 14 days of treatment and follow-up contact tracing; and 14 days of convalescence and recovery.

The provincial government also enforced strict health protocols for returning residents, among them overseas workers, students, and laborers employed elsewhere. “Our target was to get to the summit, or the peak of the curve, before April 30 so we can have a ‘cliff’ after that,” Ebdane said.

However, with rapid testing, it was found out that were a number of frontliners and LGU personnel probably afflicted by Covid-19, Ebdane said. “These had to undergo confirmatory tests,” he added. Prior to Ebdane’s request for extension of ECQ, the Association of Municipal Health Officers (AMHO) in Zambales had called for similar extension “for us to be assured that the spread of Covid-19 is totally halted.”

“We do not want all our collective efforts (against Covid-19) to be put into waste. We cannot afford the emergence of a second wave,” the health officers said in a letter to Ebdane.

At least two other provinces – Bataan and Bulacan – in Central Luzon have requested for ECQ extension for similar reasons.

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CASTILLEJOS, Zambales — Zambales II Electric Cooperative Inc. (ZAMECO II) will give discount to all residential consumers, while free electricity will be granted to their lifeline consumers.

ZAMECO II General Manager Alvin Farrales said all residents deserve the discount due to the implemented Enhanced Community Quarantine.

“Electric bills for both April and May of all residential consumer accounts will be deducted by one peso per Kilowatt-hour [KWh],” he said in an interview.

As of March 2020, power rate for residential is PhP9.88 per KWh but Farrales said it may be even lower for the month of April.

Moreover, lifeline consumers or those who will consume 25 KWh or less will not be paying electricity charges for the two month billing period.

“This will cost us around PhP1.2 to PhP1.5 million but we have already allocated budget for this,” Farrales disclosed.

The general manager revealed that they have realigned suspended activities which will not affect their operations to subsidize for the discounts.

He explained that the initiatives are in support to the Pantawid Liwanag project of the Philippine Rural Electric Cooperatives Association Inc. and National Association of General Managers of Electric Cooperatives.

“Even before the project was announced, we came up with these initiatives to help residents to cope up with the crisis aside from the relief distribution we’ve conducted,” he furthered.

Moreover, about 200 employees and officers from the electric coop committed to donate PhP5,000 of their monthly salary as addition to subsidize the discount and free charges for consumers.

“With this, we want our member-consumer-owners to feel that this cooperative is theirs,” Farrales stressed. (PIA 3)