Showing posts with label Zamboanga City. Show all posts

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Scheduled Visit to Zamboanga and Cebulindol-Boholindol Areas

We have scheduled a work-and-fun trip to Zamboanga City and then to Bohol and Cebu to gather actual data on the man-made and natural disasters that occurred in these places.

We will keep you posted on the results of our trip and our findings during these visits.

Here is hoping that we can elicit as much cooperation and kind assist from the locals in these areas. We believe that out of the data we can cull a good number of ideas that will be helpful in the organizing of the Disaster and Environmental Hazards Mapping conference we hope will push through this year or in the year 2014.

It is foreseen by the scientific community that any vestiges of major calamities may occur or be observed during the remaining months of 2013; the next year will be a definite lull and the next period to watch out vigilantly for any solar and earth movements with be 2015. Let us all hope that forecasts and predictions are merely that, forecasts and predictions.

That they will never have to happen at all.

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Potentials of Protracted War in Zamboanga City

It is forecast that the Philippine government is set to gamble on the use of military force without the consideration for striking a settlement with the Moro National Liberation Front - MNLF, in Zamboanga City. The latest situation update from the front as of past noontime, September 22, 2013 are as follows:

Investigators of the local Philippine National Police through constant monitoring of the movements and strength of the MNLF armed group inside Zamboanga City declared that there are over one hundred elements of the Bangsa Moro secessionist movement inside the City. Click here for more of this article.

If the public sector will attempt to strike a more peaceable settlement with the MNLF, a large number of individuals, groups are now prepared and waiting in the wings to help. Most of these entities do not have the right nor the mandate to interject themselves into any formal negotiations. However, these entities can intermediate between the warring government and the MNLF. It is hoped and prayed that government will listen to those that counsel peace, instead of bloodshed and war.

Monday, September 16, 2013

No contest

Feed from Rebus 21:

Zamboanga City Siege: As in many other conflicts, it is glaringly apparent that there is no quarrel between the soldiers on the government side and the fighters on the side of the Moro National Liberation Front - MNLF. As for the volunteer workers who are in the vicinity where the hostilities are, they do not have any ax to grind vs. either the government nor MNLF.

Civilian government officials, particularly from the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process - OPAPP, in particular Hon. Secretary Teresita "Qing" Deles, confessed over the national media that they invited Misuari Nur to the talks but he won't participate.

Hon. Secretary Deles however also said they regret having neglected the MNLF and not giving them enough importance. She and her subordinates at OPAPP did not know the full weight of not wholly involving Misuari, she said.

On the other hand, such oversight if committed without malice, does not really matter. The Honorable Secretary already made it clear that Misuari did not show interest in participation. Read the rest of this article here.

The Distraction brought by fighting Climate Change

After the 2005 Hyogo Conference, scientists urged the United Nations to consider that the various conflicting issues surrounding Climate Change is "distracting governments" from providing solutions to threats of disasters worldwide.

"The current UN focus on "fighting climate change," as illustrated in the Nov. 27 UN Development Programme's Human Development Report, is distracting governments from adapting to the threat of inevitable natural climate changes, whatever forms they may take. National and international planning for such changes is needed, with a focus on helping our most vulnerable citizens adapt to conditions that lie ahead. Attempts to prevent global climate change from occurring are ultimately futile, and constitute a tragic misallocation of resources that would be better spent on humanity's real and pressing problems."

A letter written to UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon ventilated sentiments of scientists and technology experts on the issue of focusing deeper into finding means to adapt to the threat of climate change.

A network of connected hazards

The Global Geohazard System

Crisis Mapping

In 2008 we determined to create a full-function Crisis Mapping project. This was borne out of the persistent eruption of hostilities in Southern Philippines between both communist - Islamist groups on one side and. government on the other side. Fresh from the experience at confronting an incorrigible troublemaker such as the Juma'a Abu Sayyap, or more popularly known as Abu Sayyaf, we resolved to push stakeholders to join in formulating the Philippine conflicts crisis map.

This is modeled after the U.S.-Euro academe's successful crime and peace keeping mapping efforts that had led to wide acceptance and invited broad-based support from as many sectors and as many countries as possible.

After all, the value of life is such that people and institutions, states and combines will pay as high a price as possible for the safety of both individuals and enclaves of people.

Changed Parameters

One year later, the entire universe for the crisis mapping project had changed. It cannot be called a drastic change since the new directions fell within range of long-held advocacies and persistent efforts. We had began such efforts by provoking officials at the Department of National Defense to modernize.

Among the sources for concepts and ideas of our papers given to the department was an executive formerly engaged as part of a service provider group at a Saudi Arabia military base. The Saudi military and government, thanks to their foreign high-tech service providers in the late 80s were already advanced in the use of GIS, the digitization of all documents, exploiting satellite information among many things.

With various other inputs from visiting colleagues, the advocacy for a fully functional satellite research, GPS and GIS-ready system was pushed at defense department, the National Security Council and at the Department of Transportation and Communications through the suggestion of the administrative officer of the defense secretary. More > >

Environment Hazards. Crisis Mapping. Forecasting.

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