PH marine biological
resources declining

Former Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri is pushing for the immediate revitalization of the rapidly diminishing mangrove cover, saying this would help shield coastal communities from severe storms caused by brutal climate change.

Zubiri said in a press release that the mangrove cover is down to only around 130,000 hectares from a high of 450,000 hectares.

Citing a World Bank study, Zubiri, founder of the celebrity-driven Pilipinas Ecowarriors, that keeps watch over potential violators of environmental protection laws, said the Philippines has been losing mangroves at an alarming rate of 3,400 hectares every year.

He attributed this to aggressive land reclamation, the indiscriminate conversion of swamps into man-made fishponds and salt beds, and other highly destructive fishing and farming activities, the press release said.

Mangroves are tropical plants – various trees up to medium height and shrubs – that thrive in coastal sediment and salt water, and are partly submerged by tides. They provide shelter, breeding sites, and food sources to various groups of fish, birds and other coastal wildlife, it also said.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources should push for the rehabilitation of mangroves as one of the strategies to effectively fight harsh climate change, the press release added.*

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Rhian, Aljur topbill
‘My Kontrabida Girl’

Two of the country’s hottest and brightest stars on the silverscreen – Rhian Ramos and Aljur Abrenica – are brought together as they topbill the romantic-comedy movie titled “My Kontrabida Girl” in theaters this week, a press release from GMA Network said.

In the film directed by Jade Castro, Rhian breathes life to the character of Isabel Reyes, the infamous soap opera villain whom everyone simply loathes as Isabel, the press release added.

But by a twist of fate, Isabel’s life turns upside down when she encounters a near-death accident and the experiences a sudden change of heart and being the top kontrabida of her soap opera, she just couldn’t deliver her heartlessness lines and cruelty in front of the camera. Her over-the-top villainous persona disappears and she finds herself powerless to kick and slap the lead star.

To solve her dilemma, Isabel seeks the help of the biggest kontrabida icon in the country, played by Bella Flores, who says that, for Isabel to get herself back, she needs to find the person who hurt her the most. And that person for Isabel is Chris Bernal, played by Aljur, the press release added.*

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Pledge signed on
disaster preparedness

Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia will sign a pledge of commitment with the Corporate Network for Disaster Response and Smart Communications Inc. supporting the continuing undertaking on risk reduction and disaster preparedness.

The signing will be held after the seminar to be conducted by CNDR March 13-15, in partnership with Smart Communications Inc. and the offices of Councilors Caesar Distrito, Em Ang and Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson, a press release from the office of Distrito said.

The press release said the CNDR and Smart Communications are thankful that the mayor supports the “Noah’s Ark” project that will be beneficial to city residents in terms of responding to and preparing for disaster.

This is also a realization of the vision of Leonardia to have a proper action and coordination among the local government offices and barangays in terms of responding to disaster that might hit the City of Bacolod, the press release said.*CGS

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