Cityland seeks SEC nod for sale of debt papers

CONDOMINIUM BUILDER Cityland, Inc. is seeking regulatory approval to sell P900 million worth of short-term commercial papers to pay off maturing loans and partly finance a project in Manila.

In a registration statement submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday, the company said P550 million of the proceeds from the offering would be used to pay loans, while P50 million more would be spent on interest payments.

Cityland said the balance would be set aside for the development cost of The Manila Residences, a 39-floor, mixed-used building on Taft Avenue.

The property developer said the money for the project would be spent in 2010. The project was almost three-fifths complete as of June 30, and would cost a total of P459.6 million to build.

The company plans to sell 70% of the commercial papers to the general public, 30% to institutional buyers, and the rest to small investors. The sale of the debt papers will be distributed evenly over four quarters next year.

The condominium builder again requested for an exemption from getting an underwriter, citing its record of having sold commercial papers on its own in previous years.

The commercial papers, which will be redeemable in 365 days and pay interest based on prevailing rates at the time of the offering, will be sold for a minimum of P300,000.

Cityland said if proceeds of the commercial paper sale fall short of expectations, the company would just borrow from financial institutions or banks, where it has P2.36 billion worth of credit lines available.

As of June 30, the company has sold P716.45 million worth of commercial papers out of P1.15 billion registered in November 2008. Total outstanding loans for the period stood at P1.18 billion.

During the period, the firm recorded earnings of P296.92 million on revenues of P1.33 billion.

The firm is part of the Cityland group, which includes listed firms Cityland Development Corp. and City & Land Developers, Inc. — Don Gil K. Carreon

http://philippinerealestatenews.blogspot.com/

Search: Manila's SM Devt Corp plans $103.4 mln rights offer

MANILA, Sept 9 - SM Development Corp of the Philippines, a company controlled by shopping mall magnate Henry Sy, will issue rights shares worth 5 billion pesos , the company announced on Wednesday.

The issue size, price and rights entitlement will be decided later, the company said in a disclosure to the stock exchange. The funds will be used to acquire more real estate assets and finance other corporate purposes, it said.

The company said BDO Capital & Investment Corp is the issue underwriter.

SM Development Corp is a unit of SM Investment Corp , the holding company of Sy's empire, which includes shopping malls under SM Prime Holdings and banking under Banco de Oro Unibank . (Reporting by Raju Gopalakrishnan; Editing by Rosemarie Francisco and Valerie Lee)

http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4490943140575097366

2010 polls ‘battle between rich and poor’

MANILA, Philippines -- For the Tondo shrimp vendor-turned-real estate billionaire, the 2010 presidential elections is a fight between the poor and the rich and not between good and evil as being espoused by supporters of the latest presidential wannabe, Senator Benigno ``Noynoy’’ Aquino III.

Senator Manuel Villar scoffed at what he described as ``self-righteous’’ and ``elitist’’ groups that have recently gathered around Aquino to impose anew their will on the Filipino people.

``These elitist groups think that they are the only ones who can run this country. They have had their chances to run this country, it’s about time somebody from the masses take the lead,’’ said Villar referring to the Aquino and Arroyo administrations (both were installed by People Power revolutions).

``We have never used competence as a basis for voting our president; it’s always about popularity and pedigree. Does one have to be the son of Cory or the daughter of Dadong (Macapagal) to be the president of this country? What about the son of a shrimp vendor?’’ asked Villar. ``As far as I know, we are a democracy and not a monarchy.’’

But what has further taken Villar’s goat was what he described as the arrogance of the rich to be the country’s moral guardians.

``Who are they to say who is good and who is evil? They are trying to mislead us because this has always been a fight between the poor and the rich,’’ said Villar in an interview at the Inquirer head office Saturday.

Although he recognized the surge in popularity of Aquino, Villar said it remained to be seen whether it was a fluke or not. ``How can you not climb the charts when you are the subject of news stories on television, radio and newspapers?’’ asked Villar.

Although he ranked number one in the surveys, Villar said that he was unlikely to be affected by Aquino’s climb because his popularity was largely concentrated in Metro Manila. ``Other candidates will take a bigger hit than I because their following is in Metro Manila, my strength is in the provinces,’’ said Villar.

While Villar has poured his resources in the last three years to build his popularity, he has likewise transformed the Nacionalista Party into a potent political machinery that could eclipse the Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), the country’s second largest party, or match the strength of the dominant Lakas-Kampi CMD.

``People are doubtful I can organize NP into the country’s biggest political party. That is in fact my selling point to the people who matter,’’ said Villar.

He claimed that he has corralled a substantial number of local government officials from governor to councilor and that he would announce in a month’s time that a big chunk of Lakas-Kampi lawmakers have flocked to his side. He said he deferred making any announcement on the real size of NP because the other parties could pressure their members to change their minds.

Villar said he did not see anything wrong in lawmakers and local government officials changing parties in each change of administration. ``That is the nature of politics in this country. Politicians care about their constituents because all politics is local,’’ said Villar.

``It was KBL (Kilusang Bagong Lipunan, New Society Movement) during Marcos; PDP-Laban (Partido ng Demokratikong Pilipino-Laban, Party of the Filipino Democrat-Fight) during Aquino. Lakas would have been gone after Ramos if it was merged with LAMP (Laban ng Masang Pilipino, Fight of the Filipino Masses) in Estrada presidency. Kampi (Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino, Partner of the Free Filipino) will also be gone after this administration. Whoever wins will be the administration party,’’ said Villar.

When asked who would be his running mate, Villar made this sarcastic remark:``It’s too early to say because anything can happen in two months (referring to the November 30 deadline for the filing of candidacy). Somebody might die and a kin might suddenly decide he or she was fit to run.’’

By Gil C. Cabacungan Jr.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20090913-225062/2010-polls-battle-between-rich-and-poor

Real estate loans up 23% in first half

LOCAL BANKS’ exposure to the real estate sector grew by close to a quarter at the end of the first half, boosted by loans extended in the period despite the tightening of lending standards for residential and commercial borrowers, central bank data showed.

Data released yesterday by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed that total exposure of universal, commercial and thrift banks to the real estate sector reached P377.8 billion at the end of June.

This was a 2.8% expansion from the P367.6 billion recorded at the end of March, and a 23.3% growth over the P306.3 billion in June of last year.

Banks’ exposure to real estate is composed of loans for commercial and residential purposes and investments in securities issued by real estate firms.

http://www.bworldonline.com/BW091109/content.php?id=021&src=2

Company Helps Real Estate Agents Make The Most Of A Down Housing Market

With foreclosures at an all-time high, real estate agents can still be successful with REO work. The Virtual Assistants at VirtuallyAchieved.com register real estate agents with Lenders and Banks around the country who need agents to help sell foreclosed homes.

“Our job is to get agents in the database and make them look good,” said Jerri Palumbo, owner of Virtually Achieved. “We physically register each agent with banks, lenders, and asset managers around the country.”

When homes go into foreclosures, banks and lenders need to sell the homes fast. Since banks don’t employ real estate agents, they have to find local agents in the area to sell the house. By referencing the database of agents eager to work with them, banks find a ready resource listing multiple qualified real estate agents.

Virtually Achieved registers real estate agents with hundreds of lenders and asset managers. Virtually Achieved reviews an agent’s resume, experience, and education ensuring the best information gets to the lenders.

“Agents like to be registered every few months to keep their information at the top of the companies’ databases or try to get noticed by companies that have not contacted them,” said Kim Giraffa, Senior Project Manager at Virtually Achieved.

According to Frank Patrick, founder of REO Renegades, an estimated 8-10 million loans will fall into foreclosure in the next five years. Each of these properties will become a Real Estate Owned property, or REOs; each property needs an agent to sell it. The lenders also need Broker Price Opinions, or BPOs, where a real estate agent estimates the probable selling price of a real estate property or house. Both REOs and BPOs are valuable to real estate agents. BPOs might only net $50-$100 each, but that can quickly add up to major profits.

When a lender chooses an agent to do a Broker Price Opinion, they now have a relationship with an agent and are more likely to choose this agent to sell the same property. The agent lists and sells the property earning a commission.

Virtually Achieved has a history of helping real estate agents grow their business. Giraffa stated, “We have heard many success stories and have had agents get orders before the registration is complete.”

“There are so many foreclosures in the market right now,” Palumbo added. “It’s, unfortunately a hot industry, but for real estate agents it can be gold.”

by Jerri Palumbo

America's Deadliest Jobs

You may have read news reports saying that America's Main Streeters want revenge on Wall Street for the financial meltdown and recession and mortgage foreclosures and lost life savings. That hardly makes fields like finance and insurance hazardous to be in, though. You're much, much likelier to get killed in other lines of work.

Recently released Department of Labor data show that fishermen (and fisherwomen) and other workers in fishing-related professions were the most likely to die on the job in 2008. Of 39,000 fishing workers in the nation, 50 were killed, a rate of 128.9 per 100,000 full-time workers. Rough seas, unpredictable deadly weather and isolation during emergencies all make the job more unsafe than any other. It's no wonder that the industry's perils have given rise to a popular documentary TV series, Deadliest Catch, and a best-selling book and hit Hollywood film, The Perfect Storm.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics' National Census of Fatal Occupation Injuries counted 5,071 fatal work injuries in 2008. That was 7.6% fewer than in 2007, and 13% less than in 2006, which marked a five-year high for workplace fatalities. That's the good news in the numbers.

Logging workers and aircraft pilots have the second and third deadliest jobs. Eighty-two loggers died last year from work injuries, some of them caused by falling trees and malfunctioning cutting equipment. Ninety aircraft pilots died in crashes and other accidents.

Transportation incidents are the most common cause of fatalities, overall. This year, 40.5% of the worker deaths, 2,053 of them, were transportation-related. More than half were highway incidents, which have been the most common killer every year since the Labor Department started tracking workplace fatalities in 1992. Equipment- and objects-related injuries came in a distant second, accounting for 923 fatalities, or 18.2%.

While putting in 57% of the total hours worked by Americans, men made up 92.7% of the workplace fatalities. The relatively few women killed were more likely to die from on-the-job homicide, though: 26% of the female workplace deaths were murders, compared with only 9% of the male deaths. "For several occupations with high fatality rates, including truck drivers and farmers, and several industries with high fatality rates, like construction and mining, men constitute a much larger part of the total employment," Stephen Pegula, an economist with the Bureau of Labor Statistics, explains. "In addition, women are often employed in occupations and industries, like trade and leisure/hospitality, where homicides are more prevalent."

The construction industry suffered the largest number of deaths. Its fatality rate per 100,000 full-time workers was only 9.6, less than a 10th of that of people in fishing, but that added up to 969 deaths in 2008, no less than 19.1% of all U.S. workplace fatalities.

What about those Wall Streeters? People in finance and insurance actually had the lowest fatality rate of any occupation -- 0.3 deaths per 100,000 full-time workers, or just 24 people across the nation.

Top 5 America's Deadliest Jobs

Getty Images/Mary Knox Merrill

1. Fishers and Related Fishing Workers

The Job: Capture aquatic animals in large quantities.
The Dangers: Extreme weather, large equipment, drowning
The Fatality Rate*: 128.9
Total Fatalities in 2008: 50
*per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers

AP Photo/Diether Endlicher

2. Logging Workers

The Job: Cut down and trim trees for sale and transport.
The Dangers: Falling trees, cutting equipment, difficult terrain
The Fatality Rate*: 115.7
Total Fatalities in 2008: 82
*per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers

AP Photo/Gary O'Brien

3. Aircraft Pilots and Flight Engineers

The Job: Operate planes and helicopters.
The Dangers: Testing equipment, emergency response, crashes
The Fatality Rate*: 72.4
Total Fatalities in 2008: 90
*per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers

iStockphoto.com

4. Structural Iron and Steel Workers

The Job: Mold, set and handle metal construction materials.
The Dangers: Heights, heavy materials, welding
The Fatality Rate*: 46.4
Total Fatalities in 2008: 36
*per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers

AP Photo/Mark Wilson

5. Farmers and Ranchers

The Job: Grow and cultivate livestock and crops.
The Dangers: Heavy machinery.
The Fatality Rate*: 39.5
Total Fatalities in 2008: 317
*per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers

by Klaus Kneale

http://finance.yahoo.com/insurance/article/107621/americas-deadliest-jobs.html?mod=insurance-life

Dangerous staph germs found at West Coast beaches

SAN FRANCISCO – Dangerous staph bacteria have been found in sand and water for the first time at five public beaches along the coast of Washington, and scientists think the state is not the only one with this problem.

The germ is MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus — a hard-to-treat bug once rarely seen outside of hospitals but that increasingly is spreading in ordinary community settings such as schools, locker rooms and gyms.

The germ causes nasty skin infections as well as pneumonia and other life-threatening problems. It spreads mostly through human contact. Little is known about environmental sources that also may harbor the germ.

Finding it at the beach suggests one place that people may be picking it up, said Marilyn Roberts, a microbiologist at the University of Washington in Seattle.

"We don't know the risk" for any individual going to a beach, she said. "But the fact that we found these organisms suggests that the level is much higher than we had thought."

She presented results Saturday at an American Society for Microbiology conference in California. Last year, her team reported finding a different type of bacteria, enterococci, at five West Coast beaches. And earlier this year, University of Miami researchers reported finding staph bacteria in four out of 10 ocean water samples collected by hundreds of bathers at a South Florida beach.

Many communities also commonly restrict bathing at beaches because of contamination with fecal bacteria.

In the new study, researchers tested 10 beaches in Washington along the West Coast and in Puget Sound from February to September 2008. Staph bacteria were found at nine of them, including five with MRSA. The strains resembled the highly resistant ones usually seen in hospitals, rather than the milder strains acquired in community settings, Roberts said.

No staph was found in samples from two beaches in southern California.

People should not avoid beaches or be afraid to enjoy them, scientists say.

"It's probably prudent to shower when you come out" to lower the risk of bacteria staying on the skin, said Dr. Lance Peterson, a microbiologist at NorthShore University Health System in Evanston, Ill.

"Make sure you get all the sand off," and cover any open cuts or scrapes before playing in the sand, Roberts added. Digging in the sand or being buried in it seems to raise the risk of infection, she said.

By MARILYNN MARCHIONE

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_med_germy_beaches

Airlines offer lightest fall schedules since 2001

DALLAS – The U.S. airline industry is shrinking to a size not seen since the months after the 2001 terror attacks.

The airlines have been trimming flights for the past two years, matching the falling demand for air travel. Additional capacity cuts are under way at American, the nation's second-largest carrier, and at No. 3 United.

It could get worse.

Most big airlines depend heavily on a relatively small chunk of passengers who pay the highest fares, "and that's generally business travelers," says Robert Mann, an aviation consultant in Port Washington, N.Y. "If business travel doesn't rebound, we're going to see further (capacity) cuts."

Less capacity means consumers will be left with fewer flights to choose from and planes will be crowded. Fewer seats normally means higher fares but that might not happen this time unless the economy begins a true recovery and passenger traffic picks up.

Airlines measure capacity in "seat miles," the number of miles flown multiplied by the number of seats on the planes. Capacity is crucial in the airline industry in the same way that inventories matter to car dealers and retailers. Too much capacity, and airlines have to cut prices, just as a department store stuck with too many suits and dresses will hold a fire sale. Airlines cut capacity by reducing the number of flights or using smaller planes that carry fewer passengers.

The Air Transport Association, the trade group for big U.S. airlines, estimates that carriers will offer fewer than 12.5 billion seat miles in the U.S. in the fourth quarter. That's not much more than the low of 12.1 billion late in 2001, when airlines were reeling from the Sept. 11 terror attacks, and it's down 13 percent from the fourth quarter of 2000.

After such a steep decline in demand, airline executives and analysts are looking eagerly for any signs of improvement. About the best they can say is that things aren't getting much worse. Airline executives say business traffic is a bit better than it was in the spring but still far behind last year's pace.

David Swierenga, former chief economist for the Air Transport Association and now an airline consultant in Texas, said the decline in demands slows with each passing month.

"The economy has bottomed and is beginning to turn around. Carriers will sit tight and go with the (capacity) cuts they've already made," he says.

Hunter Keay, an analyst for Stifel Nicolaus & Co., also doesn't expect dramatic cuts beyond those already announced. If airlines cut more capacity, he says, it will be on international routes favored by business travelers.

Eventually the economy will recover and airlines will consider adding back service. In past recoveries, airlines added capacity quickly as they scrambled for market share. That created a glut of seats, leading to fare wars and more financial problems.

Aviation consultant Mann said that's because airlines are hooked on growth, which helps them spread out fixed costs.

"They always want to be in a growth mode," he says. "The problem is, you can be in a profitless growth mode too."

Darryl Jenkins, an airline consultant in Virginia, says this recovery will be different because the big carriers have been chastened by overly aggressive growth, high fuel prices and the recession. They've cut costs and don't want to undo those efforts by rushing to add back capacity.

This summer the airlines were busy, but weak fall bookings led them to offer deeply discounted fares to fill seats normally taken by business travelers. Southwest ran a sale with some seats as cheap as $30 each way on some routes.

Rick Seaney, the CEO of FareCompare.com, thinks the best of the fall sales are over. With airlines cutting capacity, and having sold many fall seats during the recent promotions, planes will be crowded.

"I can't imagine we'll see anything but firm pricing," Seaney said. "There are still some $99 coast-to-coast deals occasionally, but it's much more random."

During the recession, low-fare airlines such as JetBlue, AirTran and Southwest have done better than their bigger rivals. The discounters set the prices on many routes, and the network carriers generally match them.

Even Southwest, however, is shrinking about 6 percent this year, and has announced a slightly scaled-back schedule for early 2010.

Bill Owen, Southwest's chief scheduler, says the airline has been trimming unprofitable routes, but "If it's full of full-fare business travelers, we're not about to cut that flight."

JetBlue is bucking the industrywide contraction and will add capacity in the second half of the year. The New York-based airline caters to U.S. leisure travelers and has avoided the meltdown in international business travel. It picks targets for growth carefully — it's expanding in the Caribbean while shrinking on cross-country U.S. routes.

In setting capacity, JetBlue of course studies its own traffic but also keeps an eye on what competitors are doing. Robin Hayes, JetBlue's chief commercial officer, insists that the airline doesn't try to forecast the economy.

"These are plans we put in place back in the spring," he says of the expansion now taking place. "We take a long-term view, and we don't try to guess when the recession will end."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090912/ap_on_re_us/us_shrinking_airlines

By DAVID KOENIG

Kanye West Interrupts Taylor Swift's Big VMA Win

NEW YORK, New York -- Taylor Swift's first MTV Video Music Awards win was one to remember.

The country cutie picked up her first Moonman on Sunday night for Best Female Video for "You Belong To Me," but didn't have the chance to finish her speech thanks to Kanye West, who took the stage to interrupt her.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: 2009 MTV Video Music Awards

"Thank you so much! I always dreamed about what it would be like to maybe win one of these some day but I never actually thought it would happen," Taylor said as she accepted the award, choking up. "I sing country music so thank you so much for giving me the chance to win a VMA award."

But before she could continue, Kanye took the stage to praise one of her competitors, Beyonce, who was nominated for "Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)."

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Access' Top 10 Wild MTV Video Music Awards Moments

"Yo Taylor, I'm really happy for you, I'm [going to] let you finish -- but Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time," Kanye said, earning the boos of the crowd as Beyonce looked shocked in the audience.

A source on the scene told Access Hollywood on Sunday night that the rapper, who was photographed on the red carpet with girlfriend Amber Rose earlier in the evening, was kicked out of the ceremony shortly thereafter.

And Taylor didn't just earn support from the crowd.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Country Cutie Taylor Swift

Singer P!nk, also a nominee for Best Female Video and who was spotted smiling when Taylor took the stage, Tweeted, "Kanye west is the biggest piece of s*** on earth. Quote me... My heart goes out to taylor swift. She is a sweet and talented girl and deserved her moment. She should know we all love her."

A number of stars took to their Twitter pages to support Taylor, including Spencer Pratt, who Tweeted, "Pray for Taylor Swift!!! @heidimontag is so upset about evil kanye that she is about to cry for Taylor Swift!"

Former MTV VJ Carson Daly took Taylor's side as well.

"Moments in my days were caused by alcohol not ego. Thy were harmless fun. Taylor's a real pro," he Tweeted. "Whatta bully move."

It wasn't Kanye's first blow-up at an MTV event. At the MTV Europe Music Awards in 2006, he ambushed the stage after losing to Justice and Simian's "We Are Your Friends" in the Best Video category.

Access Hollywood

Let him run, attack - either way he loses, says Pacquiao

SAN FRANCISCO — Manny Pacquiao has already drawn up the scenarios for his Nov. 14 title fight with Miguel Cotto.

As he waited for the nine-hour flight out of San Juan, Puerto Rico to San Francisco via Atlanta yesterday, the Filipino crowd-drawer bared his deeper thoughts on the upcoming fight.

“Magandang laban (Good fight),” said Pacquiao, comfortably seated at the departure area, just after he had finished reading a few pages of the book “Builder of Dreams” by Antonio Meloto.

“Eto, ah, sasabihin ko sa inyo (This, I will tell you),” he continued.

“Tatakbo sa akin yan. If I press the fight I’m sure he would run. At kapag naghintay naman ako, papasok yan (And if I wait, he’ll come in),” said the reigning pound-for-pound champion.

In short, Pacquiao thinks that either way would be to his advantage, considering that he has both the speed, to catch Cotto somewhere along the way, and the power to put him down.

“Ganyan ang mangyayari, tumakbo man siya or pumasok siya, okay sa akin,” said Pacquiao, his pre-game analysis cut short by a line of Puerto Rican fans wanting to take pictures with him.

From fellow passengers to airport personnel and even the police, all of them wanted to be close to Pacquiao. One of them said, “I may be the only Puerto Rican rooting for you. Believe me. You’re a great fighter.”

It was around three in the afternoon, and a couple of hours earlier Pacquiao and Cotto were at the Centro de Bellas Artes de Caguas, right in the heart of the WBO champion’s hometown.

More than a thousand packed the theater, and they cheered wildly as Pacquiao and Cotto made a dramatic entrance, slowly rising through a hydraulic box that had kept them beneath an elevated stage.

Key members of both camps, along with some Puerto Rican officials, were introduced by Top Rank president Bob Arum.

Cotto, in an elegant brown suit, spoke in Spanish and was cheered on, while Pacquiao, more casual in a white shirt, blue jeans and running shoes, spoke in English.

Even the Puerto Ricans cheered him on, and there were even chants of “Man-ny! Man-ny!” as he took the microphone. He said, “I’m sure you will all root for Cotto because he’s your countryman. But thank you for supporting me, too.”

Before their explosive stage appearance, Pacquiao and Cotto held separate interviews in separate rooms with the Puerto Rican media. Cotto came with his lovely wife and four kids, while Pacquiao was with his lean entourage.

At one point, however, they ended up in the same room when they were not supposed to, and Pacquiao sat beside Cotto, shaking hands and again smiling, talking to one another like they were old friends.

Pacquiao and his men checked in at the trendy El San Juan Hotel and Casino past midnight Friday, and checked out of the hotel by the beach before 10 a.m. headed to the press conference and straight to the airport.

A line of black, heavily-tinted Ford Excursions, with burly bodyguards in dark suits, brought Pacquiao and Cotto to the arts center, and the convoy, with police motorcycle escorts, drove swiftly for 45 minutes like it was carrying the President.

Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, did most of the talking during the interview, and faced tough questions on the schedule of their training which won’t start until Sept. 21 in Baguio City, while Cotto has been training for four weeks now.

“No one dictates our time but Manny and me. If they already started I don’t care. I know my job and we know what we’re doing,” said Roach.

“We’ll be in great shape and we’ll be ready to go 12 rounds. We want to take the rounds one at a time and if the knockout comes then it comes. We know he (Cotto) has a good chin but we’re gonna take away his advantage and use ours,” he added.

Pacquiao could only agree.

http://ph.news.yahoo.com/star/20090914/tsp-run-attack-cotto-loses-pacquiao-titl-d685dba.html

'Nando' moves closer to extreme northern Luzon

State weather forecasters on Saturday afternoon placed more provinces under Storm Signal No. 1 as tropical depression “Nando" continued to move toward northern Luzon. In its 5 p.m. weather bulletin, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa) said Nando was last spotted 110 kilometers east-northeast of Casiguran, Aurora. When do we call a storm a storm? State weather forecasters use this guide when classifying weather disturbances visiting Philippine territory. 'Nando' has maximum winds of a tropical depression. Source: PagasaPagasa said the tropical depression maintained its strength as it packed maximum winds of 55 kilometers per hour near the center. Nando also picked up speed and was moving west-northwest at 15 kph. At its speed, Nando was expected to make a landfall in eastern Isabela at dawn Sunday, cross northern Luzon and be at about 40 km west of Laoag City in Ilocos Norte by Sunday afternoon.

Apart from Isabela and Cagayan, eight other areas in northern Luzon were added to the list of places where Storm Signal No.1 was hoisted, namely: • Babuyan Group • Ilocos Norte • Ilocos Sur • Apayao • Abra • Kalinga • Mt. Province • Ifugao Most of the areas under storm alert experienced heavy rains or stormy weather Saturday, reports said.

“It’s raining very hard here. It could cause heavy flooding again," public school teacher Loida T. Hernaez said in a text message Saturday afternoon from Tabuk in Kalinga.

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The storm warning in Aurora province has already been lifted. “This disturbance is expected to enhance the Southwest Monsoon and bring occasional to frequent rains over Western Visayas and the rest of Luzon," Pagasa said.

The weather bureau also advised people living in low-lying areas and near slopes to watch out for possible flashfloods and landslides. Nando is the third tropical cyclone to hit the country in September and the 14th for 2009, according to Pagasa. Around five to six more typhoons are expected to visit the country till yearend. The Philippines is hit by an average of 20 tropical cyclones every year. [See: Prepare for more typhoons, possible El Niňo, agencies told] 3rd in a row Tropical depression “Labuyo" (Dujuan), the first to hit the country in September, approached the Philippines early last week but changed course days later toward Japan, ultimately leaving Philippine territory by Sunday. Click on the table to find out more about the most destructive tropical cyclones ever to hit the Philippines in the last two decades.Three days later, on Wednesday, Labuyo was followed by tropical depression “Maring" (Mujigae), which along with the southwest monsoon submerged several provinces in central Luzon in raging floods. The government said that the death toll from Maring was placed at 11 as of Friday night: eight of them were from central Luzon, two from southern Luzon, and one from Ilocos. At least three remained missing, including two from the Ilocos region and one from Metro Manila. The National Disaster Coordinating Center said "Maring" affected at least 81,186 families or 364,953 people in 347 villages in 31 towns and two cities in Zambales, Pampanga, Bulacan, Bataan, and Laguna. Damage to property rose to P300.041 million, including P63.353 million in damage to infrastructure and P236.688 million in damage to agriculture. - GMANews.TV

http://ph.news.yahoo.com/gma/20090912/tph-nando-moves-closer-to-extreme-northe-ce44f36.html

Blackout cripples NAIA

MANILA, Philippines - A power outage at the airport control tower crippled operations at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), forcing the delay and diversion of all international and domestic flights yesterday.

Airport officials said the power supply of their radar at the control tower broke down at 2 p.m., forcing the diversion of several incoming international flights to other airports.

“The tower cannot communicate with the radar and they cannot guide the airlines to land and depart… so it is a safety issue,” airport general manager Alfonso Cusi explained.

Cusi said some international flights were diverted to Hong Kong while other incoming flights were ordered to land in other airports.

The loss of communication links with air traffic controllers forced some 20 local and international flights already airborne to turn back to NAIA while other flights preparing for take off were ordered grounded.

In the advisory released by airport officials, among the flights ordered to “return to base” were cargo flights from Manila to Taipei and Manila to Bangkok.

The cargo flight from Manila to Taipei (CI 5850) that departed 1:30 p.m. was ordered to return to base because of the radar problem. It was the same problem in flight TG 621 (MNL-Bangkok) that was forced to return to Manila following the power failure.

Other cancelled flights include PR 311 of the Philippine Airlines (PAL) bound for Hong Kong, which was ordered to return to base.

PAL’s PR 432 bound for Narita, Japan and PR 416 bound for Pusan, South Korea were also cancelled.

In the same advisory, international flights TG 620 (MNL-Kansai, Japan); SQ 917 (MNL-Singapore) and CZ 398 (MNL-Canton, China) were delayed at NAIA Terminal I.

At the NAIA Terminal 2, a total of eight domestic flights, were cancelled. Two domestic flights in NAIA Terminal 3 were also cancelled.

In the advisory, among the PAL domestic flights that were cancelled include the PR 177 from Manila to Tagbilaran; PR 178 Tagbilaran to Manila; PR 293 Manila to Dumaguete; PR 294 Dumaguete to Manila; PR 283 Manila to Cagayan de Oro; PR 284 Cagayan de Oro to Manila; PR 849 and PR 850, Manila to Cebu, Cebu to Manila; PR 817 and PR 818, Manila to Davao and Davao to Manila; PR 393 and PR 394, Manila to Tacloban and Tacloban to Manila.

Cebu Pacific’s Manila to Tacloban flight and its return flight 5J 657 and 5J658 were also cancelled.

The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) issued a “notice to airmen” (Notam) around 3:30 p.m., advising all inbound and outbound flights of the radar and power failure at the airport.

The Notam forced several incoming international flights to divert to other airports and return to their point of origin.

With the long range area radar system out of commission due to the power failure, airport officials resorted to using the medium range Manila Approach Radar to guide other incoming flights to a safe landing at NAIA.

CAAP said the sudden loss of electricity should have triggered the standby generators to take over.

However, the generators were not sufficient enough to power the air-to-ground communication systems and the international hotlines connecting CAAP to nearby traffic facilities.

The problem remained even after Elmer Gomez, the chief of the Manila Airways Facilities Complex, reported that all facilities and international communication links had been restored by 3:30 p.m.

But the radar display at the Manila Area Control center remained out of commission.

CAAP then took over and allowed a five-minute departure interval at the airport.

Domestic flight carriers Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific, ZestAir and SeaAir were directly affected by the delays, and some flights to local destinations were cancelled.

On the other hand, the international flights by members of the Airline Operators Council also remain grounded at the NAIA Terminals 1 and 2, waiting for the resumption of normal service.

Marlyn Tolentino of Singapore Airlines said they were advised of the problem two hours after the blackout occurred.

“But we managed to depart our two flights back to Singapore before the power failure,” she said.

An airport official said CAAP was still attending to the radar repairs until last night.

CAAP director general Ruben Ciron said they would expect normal operations to resume at 10 p.m.

“Radar of Manila Air Traffic Control Center encountered technical problem at around 2 p.m. that slowed down all incoming and outgoing flights. My technical people are working on it and expect normal operations by 10 p.m. (last night),” Ciron said in the advisory. – With Rainier Allan Ronda - By Rudy Santos (Philstar News Service, www.philstar.com)

Philstar.com

http://ph.news.yahoo.com/star/20090913/tph-blackout-cripples-naia-domestic-inte-541dfb4.html