Duterte daughter says ‘nothing’ will change her mind about not running for President in 2022
DAVAO City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, daughter of the President, on Monday reiterated that she is not running for the country’s top post in the 2022 elections and that “nothing can change” her mind. “I have already given an answer and nothing can change my decision,” she said over the city-run radio station. “People probably thought because I did not give reasons, so they thought I was not telling the truth. But I already answered before the end of January. Is there a chance that I will change my mind right now? No there is no chance,” she said. Ms. Carpio made the statement in reaction to the display in recent weeks of tarpaulins printed with “Run Sara Run” in Metro Manila and some areas in the Davao Region. “I do not want to enumerate the reasons (why I do not want to run) because it might just prolong the discussion and I don’t want to offend or hurt people,” she said. The mayor also asked that the tarpaulins and other similar signages be taken down. — Maya M. Padillo
Storm Auring displaces almost 50,000 people, but weakened before landfall Monday
MORE than 13,000 families were evacuated in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao over the weekend as storm Auring, with international name Dujuan, dumped rains that caused flooding and landslides, the national disaster management agency reported Monday. Auring, however, weakened into a tropical depression before making landfall Monday morning in the small island of Batag in the central-eastern part of the country, according to the national weather bureau. The storm further dissipated into a low pressure area by the afternoon. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, in its report as of Feb. 22, said 12,825 families composed of almost 50,000 individuals were staying in 308 evacuation centers in the regions of Northern Mindanao, Davao, and Caraga. Another 450 families are taking temporary shelter at relatives or friends’ homes. The council also recorded 16,059 families composed of over 59,000 people who were preemptively evacuated in the regions of Central and Eastern Visayas, Northern Mindanao, and Caraga. Initial assessment recorded 138 affected houses, all within the provinces of Surigao del Norte and Surigao del Sur, with 135 partially damaged and three totally destroyed.
PORTS
At least 40 domestic flights were canceled from Feb. 19-22, while almost 3,000 passengers in various seaports were stranded as of Sunday. The Philippine Coast Guard has lifted most of the “no-sail” notices as of Monday afternoon. The Department of Public Works and Highways reported two national road sections that were still not passable as of Monday. These were the Hubo Bridge stretch in Tandag City, and the K0014+600 section of the Dinagat–Loreto Road in Dinagat Island. Several other segments of national and local highways were blocked due to fallen trees and landslides, but these were already passable after clearing operations by emergency teams. Weather agency PAGASA said moderate to heavy with at times intense rains were still expected on Monday over Bicol Region, and the provinces of Quezon, Marinduque, and Romblon. Light to moderate with at times heavy rains over Aurora, Rizal, Laguna, Northern Samar, and the rest of Mimaropa was also anticipated. By Tuesday, rains are still expected over Camariñes Norte and Camariñes Sur, Quezon, Aurora, Metro Manila, the rest of Calabarzon and Mimaropa Regions, Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Isabela, Cagayan including Babuyan Islands, and Batanes.
Vista Place Campus Tower I declared an IT ecozone
PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte has signed a proclamation designating the Vista Place Campus Tower I in Taguig City an economic zone. Proclamation No. 1102, signed on Feb. 18 and released to the media on Feb. 22, declares a 2,404 square-meters site located along C-5 Road and Levi Mariano Avenue in Barangay Ususan in Taguig City as an Information Technology (IT) Center or Special Economic Zone. The Vista Place building, which has a gross floor area of 25,845 square meters, sits on the property. It is designed to house business process outsourcing (BPO) companies. The building is a property of Villar-led Vista Land and Lifescapes, Inc. — Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza
