NCRCom to help PSG, PNP secure 113th Independence Day celebration

By Mario J Mallari
The Daily Tribune, Saturday, June 11, 2011

The military’s National Capital Region Command (NCRCom) will deploy 500 personnel to assist the Presidential Security Group and the Philippine National Police in securing the 113th Independence Day celebration tomorrow.

Armed Forces of the Philippines chief of staff Gen. Eduardo Oban Jr. said aside from the 500 NCRCom troops to be deployed, the AFP also mobilized 300 follow on forces, three Civil Disturbance Management units and two communications teams on stand-by as possible reinforcements.

The AFP was primarily tasked to secure Rizal Park in Manila where a grand parade is scheduled; Monumento in Caloocan City and the Museleo de Veteranos de la Revolucion or the Manila North Cemetery.

“The Armed Forces of the Philippines is in full participation as we rejoice together with the nation in commemorating the 113 years of our independence,” Oban said.

Parading elements composed of one battalion each from the Philippine Army, AFP General Headquarters, Philippine Military Academy (PMA), Philippine Air Force, Philippine Navy and Composite Enlisted Women; two battalions from the Peacekeeping Contingent and 121 personnel from the AFP Band will join the Kalayaan Grand Parade.

More than a hundred military personnel will carry the Philippine Flag and the AFP Colors which consist of the AFP units’ flags. Rear Adm. Orwen J. Cortez will lead as the parading element’s troop commander.

The military component participating in the parade at Quirino Grandsatnd will be comprised of more than a thousand regular troops and cadets from the PMA.

The Philippine Marine Corps Drum and Bugle Team will also stage an exhibition to be followed by the PMA Silent Drill Company of Class 2013 at the Quirino Grandstand.

The AFP will also conduct a free public concert dubbed “Musikalayaan” or music for peace at the Open Air Auditorium in Rizal Park, Manila today to be participated in by the uniformed bands of the Philippine Army and the Philippine Naval Construction Brigade.

“In the spirit of the IPSP Bayanihan, these activities exemplify our expression of great pride of our beloved country and to always bear in our mind the continuous pursuance of protecting the Filipino nation’s freedom and sovereignty,” Oban said.

tribuneonline.org

‘Thank God they wore orange life jackets’

By Donna Pazzibugan
Philippine Daily Inquirer, Saturday, June 11, 2011

Their bright orange life jackets saved them.

Almost a day after they sent out a radio message saying they were sinking, 24 fishermen of the boat F/V 3MS Wolf were plucked out of sea by a passing cargo ship in a rescue operation off Pangasinan province.

The 45-ton Wolf was one of at least four fishing vessels caught in stormy seas off Luzon at the height of Tropical Storm “Dodong.” The storm roared out of the country yesterday.

The 24 fishermen survived a night bobbing in the sea and were rescued yesterday morning after a Philippine Navy search plane spotted their orange jackets, relief officials said.

“Their boat sank. They had no boat. They were just floating. It was a good thing they all wore life jackets. No one died,” Office of Civil Defense Region I Director Andrew Uy said in a phone interview.

Uy said a Navy Islander aircraft spotted the fishermen around noon yesterday 38 nautical miles northwest of Bolinao, Pangasinan.

The Navy asked the nearest ship, the private cargo vessel MV Sea Palace, to pick them up and bring them to the nearest port.

Uy said the fishermen sailed out to Scarborough Shoal on Tuesday and were last heard from around 3:30 p.m. Thursday while “Dodong” was swirling across the sea.

‘We’re about to sink!’

The Wolf was heading for shore when its captain, Dominiano Sentino, was contacted on radio by company operations manager Rodrigo Caranay. Sentino was asking for help, saying his boat’s pump had malfunctioned.

“Lulubog na kami (We’re about to sink)!” Caranay said, quoting Sentino.

Last message

Caranay said he immediately asked for help from town officials, who then contacted the Coast Guard.

“That was their last communication that reached Bolinao. After that, nothing more was heard from them. (The people) believe their boat had sunk,” Uy said.

Fred Castelo, Bolinao municipal administrator, said the Wolf had run into strong winds and was battered by huge waves.

He said the fishing boat had planned to stay at sea for five days after leaving Bolinao.

The Wolf’s two back-up boats were able to return to Bolinao.

3 other boats

Another fishing boat sank 16 nautical miles off Santiago Island on Thursday but the five fishermen on board were rescued by another fishing boat, Castelo said.

Another group of fishermen was rescued in the South China Sea 32 nautical miles from Bolinao’s shores, Castelo said.

Search operations were continuing yesterday for at least three Bolinao fishermen aboard another fishing boat and a raft who were reported missing on Thursday.

As of yesterday, the official death toll from “Dodong” stood at two, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

On Wednesday, a 10-year-old boy was swept away by floodwaters in Barangay (village) Sampaga, Batangas City. His body was found Thursday in a river.

Also on Wednesday, a woman drowned after she was carried away by strong currents while crossing the Kabangan River in Romblon.

Nine other people were missing in different areas as of yesterday afternoon.

newsinfo.inquirer.net

Dodong leaves PH

By AFP
Journal Online, Saturday, June 11, 2011

AT least six people were killed and crew from two local boats were missing at sea as Tropical Storm Dodong (International codename Sarika) headed out of Philippine waters yesterday with many communities still flooded, rescuers said.

Four people drowned in the major southern island of Mindanao earlier this week while a boy died after falling into a swollen creek in Batangas City, and a woman drowned on the central island of Tablas, they said.

A Philippine Coast Guard plane yesterday found a number of people wearing orange life vests floating at sea off the main island of Luzon, said the government’s National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.

The survivors are believed to be among the 26 crew members of a 45-tonne fishing boat that went missing during the storm on its way to its home port from the Spratly islands, said the council’s executive director Benito Ramos.

“The pilots saw some people afloat. We just don’t know how many,” Ramos told reporters. “The understanding is that since the boat was not found, it could have sunk,” he said.

Philippine Navy and Coast Guard vessels have been dispatched to the area off Anda town to pick up the presumed survivors, he added.

In another incident, one crew member of a barge went missing as the vessel, which was carrying agricultural products, ran aground near the town of Sariaya, south of Manila, the council said.

Several hundred people remained at evacuation centers across Luzon early Friday while waiting for floodwaters to recede, the disaster council said in its latest update.

Sarika was heading for southeastern China with peak winds of 65 kilometers (40 miles) an hour, after brushing the west coast of the main Philippine island of Luzon, the state weather service said.

An average of 20 storms and typhoons, some of them deadly, hit the Philippines every year.

Last month, tropical storm Aere left 31 people dead before Typhoon Songda killed another three.

journal.com.ph

AFP, PNP beef up security measures for Independence Day celeb

By Jell E. Guzman
PIA Press Release, Saturday, June 11, 2011

QUEZON CITY, June 11 (PIA) -– The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) is beefing up security measures in preparation for the celebration of the 113th Philippine Independence on Sunday, June 12, 2011.

AFP chief General Eduardo Oban said the whole Armed Forces rejoice with the nation in commemorating 113 years of Philippine independence.

PNP chief Raul M. Bacalzo also directed all police units to intensify police visibility, checkpoint operations, and mobile and foot patrol in accordance with the Police Integrated Patrol System (PIPS).

Around 500 personnel from the AFP’s National Capital Region Command (AFP NCRCOM) will be deployed to complement personnel from the PNP and Presidential Security Group (PSG) to ensure security in Rizal Park, Manila; Bonifacio National Monument, Caloocan; Pinaglabanan Memorial Shrine, San Juan; and Mauseleo de los Veteranos de la Revolucion, Manila North Cemetery.

Aside from the 500 AFP personnel that will be deployed, the AFP has also put on standby some 300 follow on forces, three Civil Disturbance Management (CMD) units, and two communications teams.

On Sunday, June 12, parading elements composed of one battalion each from the Philippine Army, AFP General Headquarters, Philippine Military Academy (PMA), Philippine Air Force, Philippine Navy and Composite Enlisted Women; 2 battalions from the Peacekeeping Contingent and 121 personnel from the AFP Band will join the Kalayaan (freedom) Grand Parade.

Rear Admiral Orwen J. Cortez will lead the troop of more than 100 military personnel who will be carrying the Philippine Flag and the AFP Colors.

The AFP Philippine Marine Corps Drum and Bugle Team will have an exhibition to be followed by a silent drill to be performed by PMA Class of 2013 at the Quirino Grandstand.

Meanwhile, the AFP and the PNP will also hold a free public concert dubbed as “Musikalayaan” or music for peace at the Open Air Auditorium in Rizal Park, Manila on Saturday, June 11.

“In the spirit of the Bayanihan, these activities exemplify our expression of great pride of our beloved country, and to always bear in mind the continuous pursuance of protecting the Filipino nation’s freedom and sovereignty,” said Oban. (AFP/PIA-NCR/RJB/JEG)

pia.gov.ph