Remains of 2 Pinoy fishermen brought home

MANILA, Philippines – The remains of 2 Filipino fishermen who died after their ship sank due to a gas explosion have been brought home to their families in Isabela.

Rodolfo Sadular and Elmer Corpuz were among the 4 Filipinos who died when their ship, F/V Lai Ching, exploded and sank in the Atlantic Ocean last April 28.

“Masama ang loob namin sa nangyari,” said Felizardo Corpuz, Elmer’s father. “Darating sana siya sa June para magpakasal.”

Leonardo Estilon, a survivor of the incident, said that if Rodolfo and Elmer had been quickly brought to a hospital, the 2 men may have survived.

According to Estilon, the ship was on its way to  Taiwan after more than 3 months of fishing in the Atlantic Ocean, when a gas explosion occurred in the ship’s engine room.

Of the ship’s 37 crew members, 10 died, including the ship’s engineer.

Corpuz, Sadular, and Estilon left the Philippines on January 2009. Despite only having tourist visas, the 3 men worked as fishermen in Taiwan. 

Biazon backs Philippines-China venture for Spratlys oil

MANILA, Philippines - Former Marine general and now Muntinlupa Rep. Rodolfo Biazon was among soldiers who were tasked in 1968 by then-President Ferdinand Marcos to occupy the islands in the now-disputed Spratlys.

He said they were able to occupy 8 of the 11 islands in the Spratlys.

Biazon said it was not easy, as they went toe-to-toe with Taiwanese forces that were also bent on conquering as many islands in the area as possible.

He narrated that they encountered Taiwanese vessels during one of their reconnaissance missions.

"We were fired upon by the Taiwanese, but they were not really hitting us, just some sort of a warning, but they fired again," he said.

Marcos told them to exercise maximum tolerance.

Until today, the Armed Forces of the Philippines exerts maximum tolerance in the area despite the presence of larger naval vessels of other countries.

Joint venture?

Biazon said the best way to temper tension between countries claiming the islands is to forge a reasonable joint venture between nations.

Biazon said the Philippines was already extracting around 45,000 barrels of oil every day in Malampaya area alone in the 1970's.

From 2002 up to 2010, the government would have already earned P102 billion from the oil extraction, he said.

More oil exploration projects are being undertaken and countries such as China want to have a slice of the pie, Biazon said.

"There was a time it went to about 12,000 barrels day, pero hindi ibig sabihin kumonti yun. Pag may nakita silang presence of oil, tinatakpan muna nila for future use or exploration," he revealed.

Biazon said the call of China for a joint venture might be reasonable at this time. "I think this is the only way for settling dispute partially, I say partially, because eventually we really have to delineate the different boundaries."

He proposed for the Aquino government to pursue a multilateral action for 6 claiming nations to come to terms under one agreement.

He said, "the first thing we have to do now is to try to get the ASEAN plus 1 (China) to convene para mapag-usapan ito."

Piece of the puzzle

However, Biazon admitted that this is just one piece of the puzzle.

All nations involved in the issue will have to come to the United Nations to resolve the territorial dispute, he said.

"Armed conflict is very very remote, so let's not talk about the military aspect," he added.

Biazon believes that no country in today's generation, including China, will win through the use of military might.

He believes Beijing cannot afford to resolve the dispute by using its armed forces. "No nation can live in a vacuum unless you are North Korea or Cuba."

7 new forest mice species found in Luzon

MANILA, Philippines - American and Filipino biologists have found 7 new mammal species in Luzon, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) said on Wednesday.

The findings reaffirmed the Philippines' status as one of the world's 17 mega-diverse countries in the world in terms of biodiversity, according  to DENR Secretary Ramon Paje.

He said all of the 7 new species are forest mice that live only in a small part of Luzon.

The discovery increased the number of the Luzon's native mammals, excluding bats,  to 49.

The findings were published in the May 2011 issue of Fieldiana, the peer-reviewed journal of the Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH) in Chicago.

The 9 co-authors of the article include biologists from the University of the Philippines, the Philippine National Museum, Conservation International (CI) -Philippines, the Utah Museum of Natural History, and Florida State University.

The species are "wonderful little mice that live in forested regions high in the mountain… often abundant, [yet] they actively avoid humans and rarely cause any harm. They prefer to eat earthworms and seeds on the forest floor," said FMNH's Dr. Lawrence Heaney, project leader and the lead author of the Fieldiana article.

Two of the species live in Mt. Tapulao in Zambales; 2 in Mt. Banahaw; another 2 in the Mingan mountains of Aurora Province; and another in the Sierra Madre mountain range.

"The international community has recognized that our country has among the highest rates of discovery in the world. Filipinos should be aware of such discoveries, to show a collective pride and give a more positive meaning to the expression, 'only in the Philippines,'" Paje said in a press statement.

Need to protect habitat
Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau Director Theresa Mundita Lim said the discovery highlights the need to protect mountain forest habitats. "These animals are part of the rich biological heritage of the Philippines. The forests where they live in are crucial watershed areas for Manila and many other cities," she said.

Danilo Balete, the project's field team leader, said they were excited with the discovery. "It is extraordinary that so many new species of mammals remain to be discovered in the Philippines. In the past 10 years, we've published formal descriptions of 10 other species, while other biologists have described 5 more. And we are nowhere close to the end of our discoveries. The Philippines may have the greatest concentration of unique species of animals of any country in the world," he said.

Dr. Scott Steppan, co-author and head of the laboratory at Florida State University where the DNA of the animals were studied, said scientists should now consider the Philippines as "even better" than the Galapagos Islands. "The Philippines is an ideal place to study the evolution of animal diversity… These animals have been evolving in the Philippine archipelago for millions of years," he said.

Josefa Veluz, a Philippine National Museum biologist and co-author of the study, said the new species found in the Mingan mountains and Mt. Tapulao do not live in protected areas. She cautioned the public on the impact of logging, agricultural expansion, and illegal mining activities on wildlife and watersheds

"Protecting land and marine resources is key to maintaining healthy ecosystems which deliver services such as food, clean water, health, tourism and cultural benefits and a stable climate which are vital to the very survival of every Filipino. Although small in size, these little animals are part of our biodiversity which forms the basic foundation of healthy ecosystems," said Romeo Trono, country executive director of CI-Philippines.

The DENR said the Philippines is considered as one of the world's most threatened hotspots, where increased human activities cause the loss of animals' habitat. 

ARMM polls suspension '50-50,' Escudero says

MANILA, Philippines - Senator Francis Escudero sees a vote in the Senate plenary on the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) elections synchronization bill before Congress adjourns its first regular session next week.

Escudero said the bill is still in the period of interpellations.

"Next week before we adjourn, malamang pagbobotohan ito. Dahil certified measure ito, di na kailangan ng 3 araw. Pwede na tumuloy ito (sa botohan)," he said.

Under Senate rules, a bill passed on second reading must wait for 3 days before approval on third reading.

When asked about the bill's chances, Escudero said, "50-50."

The senator said that while he opposes the bill, he is not going to block a vote.

Escudero said there are schools of thought on the majority needed to approve the measure.

Senator Franklin Drilon reportedly said a simple majority of the quorum is needed. 

Others, meanwhile, think that a 2/3 vote of the chamber is needed since it is an amendment of the ARMM Organic Act.

Escudero noted that the bill's House version was passed by 2/3 of the membership.

He, however, said that he will not join groups planning to question the legality of the measure before the Supreme Court (SC).

Escudero, meantime, defended Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. from accusations he wanted to torpedo the bill.

He said if Marcos wanted to do that, his fellow lawmaker could have just sat on the bill and not send a committee report to the plenary for its consideration.

Escudero said Marcos had 30 session days to discharge a committee report, which he has not consumed.

He added that the bill was an afterthought since it was filed before they went on summer break.

Escudero believes that a special session may be called or the Senate may just stop its legislative clock to give legislators time to vote.

He said that he does not necessarily share the same views with President Benigno Aquino III even if they are allies.

Escudero expressed surprise that Drilon claimed RA 9333 is unconstitutional. Escudero says only the SC can rule a law unconstitutional.

He said that argument should have been raised in the Supreme Court, and not as a basis to pass a bill postponing the elections.

Escudero, meantime, noted that the power of the President to appoint officers in charge (OICs) in the ARMM is being based on his residual power and supervisory power over local government units.

He said there is no clear provision that allows the President to name OICs.

Escudero, however, pointed out that the ARMM law provides for special elections to fill in vacancies.

He proposed that Aquino instead name one of the elected governors, vice governors, and assemblymen as OICs so that they at least still have a mandate.

Escudero said other grounds being used to cancel the elections like reforming the ARMM should have been done in the last year.