Survivors seek solace in prayer

GUIUAN – Grieving survivors of a monster typhoon that smashed into the mainly Catholic Philippines flocked to shattered churches yesterday, as aid workers intensified efforts to reach desperate survivors in remote communities.

Residents of one isolated village jostled each other and strained their arms upwards against the powerful downdraft from a helicopter as it hovered just feet above them with boxes with food, television footage showed.

The cartons were pushed from the chopper, setting off a frenzied scramble, as the villagers tore apart the packing and scurried away with the contents.

Launch of first GMO
rice in PHL in 2016

MANILA – The first genetically-modified rice to be commercially available could be approved for production in the Philippines in two to three years, researchers said, despite strong opposition from environmental groups.

Officers of both the International Rice Research Institute and the Philippine government's agriculture department said the newly-developed "golden rice" had completed field trials, despite vandalism at one test field.

"Golden rice is coming. That is in the pipeline and a lot of the principal development and research has been completed," said Achim Dobermann, deputy director-general of IRRI. “At the moment, there is no GM (genetically-modified) rice officially released in any country," he stressed.

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