Rehabilitated Marinduque Airport Reopens to Commercial Flights

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Nearly six years since halting its commercial flight operations, the Marinduque Airport has now resumed commercial service with the completed rehabilitation of its Passenger Terminal Building (PTB) and extended runway.

The development of the Marinduque Airport, located in Barangay Masiga in the municipality of Gasan, was initiated to address the growing demand for commercial aviation service in the Southwestern Tagalog region.

Operating since 2010, the Marinduque Airport had its last regular commercial flight before rehabilitation in May 2013.

Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur P. Tugade led today’s inauguration, expressing that the development of the Marinduque Airport forms part of the Duterte administration’s transport infrastructure campaign to enhance mobility and connectivity throughout the country.

“In making the Filipino life comfortable, as instructed by President Rodrigo Duterte, I want the farthest regions and the farthest provinces to be connected with one another, and integrated to Metro Manila. Maganda 'ho that we put things in the right order,” Secretary Tugade said.

For the airport’s PTB, improvements include the replacement of accordion walls with glass walls, and the installation of air conditioning units, CCTV cameras and X-ray machines, making for a more convenient, safe, and secure airport facility.

Additionally, a more efficient runway comes into play with the completion of its concreting project last 9 November 2018. The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) extended the usable length from what was previously 1,400 meters of asphalt runway into a 1,534-meter concrete runway that will allow the airport to accommodate turbo prop aircrafts such as ATR and Q400.

The newly-rehabilitated Marinduque Airport will further undergo improvement projects until 2020, which will include the provision of a canal, power house, communal toilets, and the construction of a covered pathway and waiting areas.

With a rehabilitated PTB and extended runway, Cebu Pacific officially launched its inaugural flight on 1 April 2019, servicing Manila to Marinduque and vice versa. Flights will operate thrice a week during Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays.

Secretary Tugade added that the DOTr will work closely with the Department of Tourism (DOT) as the development of the Marinduque Airport is seen to deliver a boost to the province’s trade, economy, and tourism.

"Nandito 'ho kaming lahat, ang DOT, maging ang mga kinatawan ng aviation sector para ipakita sa inyo na suportado namin ang programang ito at ipinapakita ang kahalagahan ng Marinduque sa aviation ng Republika ng Pilipinas. Handa kaming makipag-ugnayan nang sa ganon ay matulungan kayo na mamayagpag ang turismo dito sa Marinduque,” the transportation chief said.

Also present in the inaugural ceremony were Marinduque Governor Romulo Bacorro, DOTr Undersecretary for Aviation and Airports Manuel Antonio Tamayo, Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) General Manager Ed Monreal, DOTr Assistant Secretary for Communications Goddes Hope Libiran, DOT Assistant Secretary Myra Paz Abubakar, and CAAP Deputy Director General for Administration Ricardo Banayat.

PHLPost Launches the Filipino Centenarian Special Stamps

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost) has launched the Filipino Centenarian Special Stamp to kick-off the issuance of personalized stamps that will be issued to persons who have lived for a century in celebration of its month-long  27^th Corporate Anniversary held at Manila City Hall.

Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada said that this momentous event gives the City’s oldest and most treasured citizens a chance to be recognized and appreciated with a stamp.

“Living to 100 years old is one of life’s greatest achievements, and definitely a milestone worth celebrating with their own picture imprinted on the postage stamp”, PHLPost Chairman Norman Fulgencio said.  

Mayor Estrada and PHLPost Chairman Norman Fulgencio presented the special stamp frames to living Centenarians endorsed by the Office of Senior Citizens Affairs of Manila namely; Mrs. Sabina Pelayo Santos of Tondo Manila, Mrs. Neriza Castaneda Reyes of Sta. Ana Manila and Mrs. Encarnacion Vinluan Pedroso of San Miguel Manila.

Chairman Fulgencio added that the presentation of personalized stamps to Filipino Centenarians is part of social responsibility to pay tribute to these important persons who are still alive so that they can enjoy the honor accorded to them by PHLPost. 

The basis for the issuance of the PHLPost personalized stamps to Filipino Centenarians’ is Republic Act. No.10868, otherwise known as the Centenarian Act of 2016 which honors and grants additional benefits and privileges to Filipino Centenarians.

PHLPost will start coordinating with Local Government Units (LGU’s) to include in their program the issuance of the personalized Centenarian stamps. This will be the first leg of a nationwide program honoring our Filipino Centenarians.

PHLPost supports the recognition and incentives to Filipino Centenarians especially in view of the observance of the National Respect for Centenarians’ Day, every First Sunday of October and the Elderly Filipino Week from October 1 to 7 of every year.

 “Their collective wisdom and experience is an inspiration to us all. It is only fitting to treat them with appreciation and respect they truly deserve”. Fulgencio said.

DOE Steers Power Industries to Work Together for the Summer Months

Wazzup Pilipinas!

Energy Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi met with Manila Electric Company (MERALCO) officials headed by Meralco President and CEO Oscar S. Reyes yesterday (3 April) to discuss the details of the delivery of power to its customers throughout the summer months.

Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Alfonso G. Cusi has been closely coordinating with the power industry players to address the growing demand and the thinning of power reserves for the summer months.

“The entire energy family should take a pro-active approach towards securing our power supply, especially since it is both summer and election season,” Sec. Cusi said.

The National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP), Independent Electricity Market Operator of the Philippines, Manila Electric Company (Meralco), and the DOE agreed that the power situation should be closely monitored given supply level adjustments brought about by increasing demand and the forced outages of power plants.

Strategies on how to address thinning power reserves were also discussed during a meeting with Meralco officials. This includes the creation of additional power bypass lines, the efficient utilization of available power plants, as well as the application of demand-side management and accurate information dissemination to consumers.

On the matter of the Interruptible Load Program (ILP) as a measure to help enhance power reserves, Sec. Cusi emphasized that “it shall be implemented as a last resort given the additional costs the ILP would bring to consumers.” The ILP serves as an option for Distribution Utilities (DUs) like MERALCO and electric cooperatives to ask their big load customers to serve their own power needs by using their own generator sets to augment power supply capacity in times of Red Alert Status or when power supply reserves are thin.

“We will not wait for a loss of power to occur. The ILP is there as a final option to help us prevent a supply shortage,” Sec. Cusi added.


YELLOW ALERT MONITORING

According to the report of the NGCP, the yellow alert status issued today has been lifted effective at 4:00pm due to sufficient operating reserve brought about by low actual demand.

Earlier today, the NGCP issued a yellow alert notice issued for 1:00pm to 4:00pm today, due to insufficient operating reserve brought about by the high system demand and forced outage of the following plants:

Malaya Unit 2 (350 MW)
Pagbilao Unit 3 (420 MW)
SLTEC Unit 1 (135MW)
Makban Unit 7 (20 MW)
Tiwi Unit 6 (57 MW)
Tiwi Unit 1 (60 MW)
(Total = 1,042 MW)

De-rated Plants:

Masinloc Unit 2@250 (344MW)
Calaca Unit 2@200 (300MW)
Malaya Unit 1@150 (300MW)
SLPGC Unit 2@100 (150MW)

“The DOE and the energy players are closely monitoring the increases in demand and the power plants that are expected to be in,” Undersecretary Felix William B. Fuentebella emphasized in a press conference earlier at the agency’s headquarters.

The other strategies considered by the power industry players include the management of plant maintenance schedules, the optimization of existing hydroelectric power plants, the upgrading of the electricity facilities, the preparation of available generator sets for unforeseen outages, the participation of big establishments in the Interruptible Load Program, as well as the continued call for an energy efficiency lifestyle for electricity end-users. The DOE also emphasized the improvement of the operations of power plants and through the use of renewable energy (RE) and information technology.


DEMAND-SIDE MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES

The DOE through its Energy Utilization Management Bureau (EUMB) reiterated the importance of its SAVE SAVE SAVE energy efficiency campaign, not only to incur more savings, but also to ensure uninterrupted electricity services this summer season.