News Roundup 29 May 2022
May 29, 2022 • 5 min Read
Term sharing for Senate leadership being eyed? | PHILSTAR.COM – None of the two to four contenders for the post of Senate president has enough votes to be elected and term sharing may have to be the solution to avert a possible split of the majority bloc, Sen. Imee Marcos said yesterday. Marcos said no one among the four senators reportedly interested in succeeding Senate President Vicente Sotto III – Senate Majority Juan Miguel Zubiri and Senators Cynthia Villar, Francis Escudero and Sherwin Gatchalian – has the 13 votes needed to be elected. “No one in the Senate can claim having the ‘super majority’. Nothing is certain yet,” Marcos told dwIZ in Filipino. She said social media posts indicating that Zubiri already has the support of 12 of his colleagues; Villar, eight and Senators Risa Hontiveros, Pia Cayetano, Alan Peter Cayetano and Aquilino Pimentel III as part of the minority are not accurate. “The situation is very, very fluid. These 12, eight, four votes – I think they will still change. So let’s see,” the senator said. She said returning senator Loren Legarda could also be a contender to the top post of the chamber given her seniority as a legislator. But what is most important and what appears to be anticipated by senators is a dialogue between Villar and Zubiri on the matter. “They should talk so that everything’s resolved and we won’t be starting the new administration quarreling in the Senate,” Marcos said. She said term-sharing among whoever are the top contenders was discussed but she does not know the latest on such talks, adding all options should be considered to conclude the race and put an end to intrigue and gossip. “I think no one wants to see the majority bloc divided. That won’t happen. We will do whatever it takes, whether it be sacrifices or compromises, or whatever sharing that should be done so that we form (a bloc),” Marcos said. She also said her brother, president-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr., is not likely going to endorse any senator to lead the chamber, as such would violate the separation of powers.
Gov’t urged to cancel suspended Masungi quarrying agreements | INQUIRER.NET – The Masungi Georeserve Foundation (MGF) is urging the government to cancel “once and for all” recently suspended agreements for quarrying in the Masungi Georeserve and the Upper Marikina River Basin Protected Landscape (UMRBPL). The call comes in the wake of an order by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to suspend the Mineral Production Sharing Agreements (MPSAs) granted to three quarrying companies — Rapid City Realty and Development Corp., Quimson Limestone, Inc., and Quarry Rock Group, Inc. — in the Masungi Georeserve in Baras town, Rizal province. However, the MGF, in a recent statement stressed that the mere suspension of agreements does not guarantee it will not operate again in the future, explaining that it usually goes back to operation after noise and public clamor dies down. “We echo the continued call of experts, communities, and leaders to once and for all cancel the quarrying agreements in Masungi and the watershed, which will show a full and long-term commitment to their conservation,” the MGF said in a statement on Friday. “Non-operation or even a suspension is not a guarantee that quarry operations will not commence in the future. It still gives them a runway to eventually operate, despite the many prohibitions to the same,” it added. It also argued that the agreements were issued within protected areas where “quarrying is clearly prohibited by law.” Even regulators have also stated that the said quarry companies have committed “gross violations constituting breach in their contracts,” said the foundation. The foundation added that it believes the said quarrying companies “miserably failed” to justify the breaches in their contracts. “The logical and necessary next step is to cancel the MPSAs,” said the foundation. It also warned that two of the companies, Rapid City and Quarry Rock, have claimed that “they will not give up in their advocacy to revive the economy,” which is a sign of it returning if the government does not uphold the law against the said companies.
7 Filipino fishermen missing after collision with cargo ship in Palawan | PHILSTAR.COM – Seven Filipino fishermen remain missing after their fishing vessel collided with a cargo vessel in the vicinity waters off Maracanao Island in Agutaya, Palawan on Saturday, the Philippine Coast Guard said. The Coast Guard said Filipino fishing vessel FB JOT-18 collided with Marshall Islands-flagged MV Happy Hiro at around 2:40 p.m. on Saturday. “MRRV 4406 BRP Suluan together with rescue teams from Coast Guard Station Cuyo and Sub Station Agutay in Ilioilo (are) conducting seach and rescue operations,” Coast Guard spokesperson Commodore Armand Balilo said. Fishing boat BAL 5, which was transiting in the area, immediately provided rescue assistance to 13 out of the 20 crew members of FB JOT-18, according to the Coast Guard. The 13 rescued Filipino fishermen were then transferred to MV Happy Hiro, which ferried them to the vicinity waters off Lipata in Culasi, Antique. The Coast Guard’s BRP Panglao (FPB-2402) then brought the rescued fishermen to the shoreline. The 12 of the 13 fishermen obtained scratches while the 13th fisherman had a minor wound on his head, according to McKinley Amante, medical officer of MV Happy Hiro. The fisherman who obtained a minor wound was given first aid and is in stable condition, the Coast Guard added. The Coast Guard’s BRP Panglao (FPB-2402) then brought the rescued fishermen to the shoreline. The 12 of the 13 fishermen obtained scratches while the 13th fisherman had a minor wound on his head, according to McKinley Amante, medical officer of MV Happy Hiro. The fisherman who obtained a minor wound was given first aid and is in stable condition, the Coast Guard added. Majority of the rescued fishermen are residents of Bantayan Island in Cebu. “PCG’s BRP Suluan (MRRV-4406), PCG Station Cuyo, and PCG Sub-Station Agutay in Iloilo continue their operations to rescue the missing fishermen,” the Coast Guard said in a statement.
