Day: June 12, 2023

The Philippine Army (PA) has bolstered its humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) preparations as Mayon Volcano has now been placed under Alert Level 3 due to its increasing unrest. Army spokesperson Col. Xerxes Trinidad, in a statement over the weekend, said this was done through the activation of the Camarines Sur-based 9th Infantry Division of its Task Force (TF) Sagip which is also partnering with other government agencies with the same mission, “TF Sagip which is geared towards possible HADR operations, has coordinated with the Office of Civil Defense 5, provincial disaster risk reduction and management council, and local government agencies in Albay and nearby provinces which might be affected by the ongoing magmatic eruption of Mayon Volcano,” he added. Meanwhile, Trinidad said the 9th Civil Military Operations Battalion of the 9th Infantry Division has continued to coordinate and make coordination with different sectors, including the 504th Community Defense Center and 5th Regional Community Defense Group for mobilization of the reserve force. “Moreover, the 903rd Infantry Brigade, which covers the provinces of the 2nd district of Albay, Sorsogon and Masbate, mustered its Emergency Response Team while the 31st Infantry Battalion, 9th Infantry Division started to facilitate the mandatory evacuation of residents within the six to eight-kilometer radius danger zone,” he added. Trinidad said the PA leadership lauds the HADR preparations of the 9th Infantry Division that aims to ensure that all Bicolanos who will be affected by the volcanic eruptions are safe from danger. This, as the unit works closely with different government agencies, local government units, and non-government organizations to multiply the effort and expand the range of coverage in much lesser time.

Source: Philippines News Agency

The southwest monsoon (habagat) will bring rains over most parts of the nation on Independence Day. In its 5 a.m. weather bulletin, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said the Ilocos Region and the provinces Zambales and Bataan will experience monsoon rains. Cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms will prevail over Metro Manila, Batanes, Babuyan Islands, Abra, Benguet, the rest of Central Luzon, Calabarzon, Occidental Mindoro and Northern Palawan including Calamian and Cuyo Islands, due to the southwest monsoon. The rest of the country will experience partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms due to the southwest monsoon and localized thunderstorms. Meanwhile, Severe Tropical Storm Chedeng (international name Guchol) has already left the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR). As of 4 a.m. Monday, it was tracked 1,550 east northeast of extreme Northern Luzon. Moderate to strong winds are expected over Northern and Central Luzon while coastal waters will be from moderate to rough. Meanwhile, moderate winds will blow over the rest of the country while coastal waters will be moderate.

Source: Philippines News Agency

Department of National Defense (DND) Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. lauded the DND Proper’s efforts for the continued certification of its quality management system (QMS), the Defense System of Management (DSOM), under the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001:2015 standards. Teodoro noted that the certification is crucial to his vision of a stronger defense organization. “The Defense Chief congratulated the officials and employees (of) the department for passing the first surveillance audit, and attributed the result to the commitment and hard work of the One Defense Team to sustain the Department’s QMS,” DND spokesperson Arsenio Andolong said in a statement over the weekend. Teodoro also thanked external auditors from the SGS Philippines consisting of Gemma Gimenea, the lead auditor and Joel Portugal, team member, who conducted the surveillance audit on June 9 for their expertise and professionalism throughout the engagement. “Both auditors discussed their findings during the closing meeting attended by the DND officials, concluding that the DND QMS has systematically achieved the requirements of the audit standard. Consequently, they will be submitting a recommendation for the agency’s continued certification,” Andolong added. Meanwhile, Defense Undersecretary Angelito de Leon, DND Quality Management Representative, thanked the process owners who diligently prepared for the audit that was done on-site, unlike previous third-party audits from 2020 to 2022 that had to be conducted remotely due to the pandemic. ‘Our shared dedication and commitment to excellence have fostered an environment that promotes innovation, efficiency, and accountability. Let us inspire the One Defense Team to institutionalize a culture of continuous improvement that will positively impact our organization and most importantly, the people we serve,’ he said.

Source: Philippines News Agency

K-pop boy group Stray Kids has claimed No. 1 on U.S. Billboard’s main albums chart for the third time in their career with their third studio album “5-Star.”

The 12-track album debuted atop the Billboard 200 chart for this week with 249,500 equivalent album units earned in the United States, Billboard said in a chart preview Sunday (U.S. time). The latest chart will be released Tuesday.

This made the group the second K-pop act to record more than two No. 1s on the chart after BTS. “Stray Kids first entered the chart in March with the EP “Oddinary” and then again in October with the EP “Maxident.”

Source: Yonhap News Agency