Philippine Navy spot 26 missing fishermen, rescue ongoing

By Xinhua, Friday, June 10, 2011

Navy and Coast Guard ships have been deployed in the northern coastal province of Pangasinan to rescue 26 Filipino fishermen who were earlier reported missing due to a tropical depression after venturing into fishing in the South China Sea, officials said Friday.

"It's ongoing," National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) executive officer Benito Ramos said of the rescue mission, "Our ships from the Navy and Coast are on the way."

Ramos said the last radio contact with the fishermen's fishing boat was 3 p.m Thursday, about three and a half hours before its expected arrival in Pangasinan. Ramos surmised the boat's radio bogged down or the ship sank.

"There's a progress on the (incident)...Aircraft pilots spotted the 26 floating," said Ramos, adding a helicopter spotted the fishermen before 11 a.m. Friday west of Anda town, Pangasinan.

"My understanding is that since they (pilots) were not able to see the boat, it probably sank. They saw them (fishermen) in orange life vests. We just don't know how many of the 26 are alive," he said.

Xinhua.net

Senators bring to plenary bill fixing AFP chief’s term to 3 years

By Christian V. Esguerra, Friday, June 10, 2011

Senators belonging to the committee on national defense have unanimously endorsed a bill seeking to slam shut the “revolving door” policy that allowed military chiefs of staff to serve even for just a few months before retiring.

The report prepared by Sen. Panfilo Lacson, committee chairman, fixes the term of a chief of staff to three years, regardless whether the official reaches the mandatory retirement age of 56 before the term expires.

Senate Bill No. 2869, which consolidated three related measures, was submitted for plenary deliberations in time for the congressional break sine die, which began on Thursday.

The so-called revolving door policy has long been criticized given that it barely allowed for any meaningful program to be implemented by a chief of staff who served for just a few months.

Former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo appointed a total of 11 chiefs of staff during her term from 2001 to 2010.

“(The bill) grants security of tenure to ensure continuity of programs that (are) free from patronage and geared only toward good performance,” Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago said in the explanatory note for her previous version of the bill.

Santiago’s brother Benjamin Defensor himself benefited from the revolving door policy when he served for a little over two months as chief of staff of then president Arroyo. His was the shortest term in the Armed Forces so far, from Sept. 10 to Nov. 28, 2002.

The consolidated bill also sets a minimum term of two years for heads of the major services – the Philippine Army, Navy, and Air Force. The fixed term will be “without prejudice” to an official’s appointment as chief of staff.

The only restriction is that an officer cannot be appointed as a major service commander if he or she has less than two years to go before retirement.

Only the chief of staff will enjoy the possibility of a term extension but only “in cases of war or national emergencies as Congress may declare.”

SB No. 2869 defers the “statutory compulsory retirement of the chief of staff” until the three-year term is completed.

But the official may be “removed by the President as commander in chief for loss of confidence at any time before the end of the term of three years.”

Inquirer News

26 fishermen missing off Pangasinan

By Sunnex, June 10, 2011, Friday

PANGASINAN (Updated 9:57 a.m.) -- The national disaster council on Friday said 26 fishermen went missing after venturing into the Spratly’s area.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) said the fishing boat F/B 3MS WOF owned by Leo Caranay may have encountered stormy seas on Thursday afternoon.

"Said vessel ventured out into the sea on June 7, 2011 and stayed in the vicinity of the Spratly’s island to fish and they were believed to be returning back to Bolinao (Pangasinan) when the incident happened," the NDRRMC said.

On Thursday afternoon, Pangasinan was placed under storm signal number 1 due to Tropical Depression Dodong, which intensified into tropical storm Friday.

The NDRRMC said the Office of the Civil Defense in Ilocos Region coordinated with the Philippine Navy and the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) for possible search operation.

However, due to bad weather condition, the operation was not possible as of late Thursday.

It added, once the sea will calm down, rescue boat of PCG and the Philippine Navy will proceed to the area immediately.

Sun Star Pangasinan

Storm leaves Philippines after 5 dead, 26 missing

by the Associated Press, Friday, June 10, 2011

The Philippine navy is searching for 26 fishermen reported missing in a tropical storm that has drowned at least five people in chest-deep floods.

The fishermen's boat failed to return from the South China Sea. Several days of heavy rains delayed the search operation until Friday, when the weather started to improve.

The national disaster council says a 10-year-old boy drowned in Batangas city south of Manila and a woman died on central Romblon Island. At least three other people died earlier in floods in the southern Mindanao region.

Tropical Storm Sarika is packing winds of up to 40 miles (65 kilometers) per hour and is forecast to make landfall Saturday in China's Fujian province as a tropical depression.

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