Manila– From January 13 to 24, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Southeast Asia Training Team (SEATT), in partnership with the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), conducted a multinational Boarding Officer Course in Davao City to boost the capabilities and enhance the cooperation of maritime law enforcement agencies in the region.

Funded by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), the course featured U.S.-trained PCG instructors and instructors from the USCG and Vietnam Customs as they trained participants in safely conducting vessel boardings at sea. Topics covered included maritime law, evidence collection and preservation, safety and risk mitigation, and arresting techniques.

Thirty-two participants attended the training event, including 20 members of the PCG and the Philippine National Police-Maritime Group, as well as partners from the Vietnam Coast Guard, Vietnam Customs Anti-Smuggling and Investigations Department, Vietnam Department of Fisheries Surveillance, and the Indonesia Coast Guard. The Australian Border Force also observed the first week of activities.

“It’s exciting to witness the professional growth and confidence displayed by our multinational instructor group and student participants. We are impressed by their desire to not only master the technical aspects of the course but also to seamlessly interact with and assist one another to optimize the experience,” said USCG Team Lead Lieutenant Dana Schmitt.

“U.S. expertise, resources, and guidance are invaluable in ensuring that we are better equipped to address maritime threats. Together, we reaffirm our commitment to ensuring that our maritime sovereignty remains a zone of peace, safety, and prosperity for all,” said Commodore Rejard V. Marfe, Commander of Coast Guard District Southeastern Mindanao.
This was the first INL-USCG training event held in Mindanao and the first Philippine-hosted SEATT course that featured a Vietnamese instructor.

Previous SEATT maritime law enforcement courses were held in Palawan (May 2023), La Union (November 2023), and Cebu (May 2024).

The SEATT program will continue to convene multiple training events in the Philippines in 2025, while also integrating PCG instructors into courses being co-hosted by partner nations. (PR)

TACLOBAN CITY — Calls for the preservation of the Leyte Sab-a Basin, one of the larger confirmed peatland in the country and the largest water catchment in Leyte Island, was one of the highlights during the Forest Echoes Project launch by Tinker House as the world observed World Wetlands Day on Sunday, February 2.

Government agencies led by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and non-profit organizations such as Forest Foundation Philippines, the provincial government of Leyte, and the media were all in accord in the efforts to stop the land conversion of the Leyte Sab-a Basin Peatland.

They called for its restoration to save what is left after more than half of its vast swamp forest has been turned into agricultural use and the peatland has been found to have reduced its ability to store carbon.

A recent study by the Forest Foundation Philippines on the impact of the land-use conversion in the Leyte Sab-a Basin Peatland (LSBP) revealed that when peatlands are turned into grasslands or agriculture, their ability to act as carbon sinks is reduced. Such conversions also change the peatland on a physical and chemical level, reducing its ability to perform other functions.

Land-use conversion changes the characteristics and properties of the LSBP as the study also found that moisture and the water table decreased from forest to cultivated areas. This ability of the peatland to hold water is essential in flood mitigation. It acts as a sponge during the rainy season and then allowing the water seeps out during the dry season.
DENR 8’s Marissa Solite, chief conservation and development division, said that this ability of peatlands to be water repositories become even more critical as the Philippines experiences more and stronger typhoons.

Earlier, the DENR-8 expressed concern with the expansion of farming activities on the 3,088-hectare Leyte Sab-a Basin Peatland, the largest water catchment on Leyte Island.
Good water management techniques, such as controlled flooding, are needed to prevent peat degradation and maintain high water tables in the peatland, thus preventing peat degradation and carbon emissions, the DENR said.

Forest Foundation Philippines has recommended that there should be an impetus to develop and implement effective conservation and management plans to keep the function of the LSBP as a significant carbon sink, preserve its ecological functions and help communities adapt to climate change.

Apart from developing effective management plans, strengthening the institutional capacities, and awareness, engaging local communities in sustainable and biodiversity-friendly practices is also crucial to peatland’s conservation strategy.
(AHLETTE REYES, PIA-8)

TACLOBAN CITY – The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) reported that the employment rate in Eastern Visayas increased to 96.9 percent in October 2024, up from 95.8 percent in October 2023.

According to PSA data, this employment rate translates to 2.07 million employed persons out of the 2.13 million persons in the labor force in October 2024.

The number of employed individuals in October 2024 was higher by approximately 56,000 compared to the 2.01 million employed persons in October 2023.

This figure also showed an increase of 84,000 from the 1.98 million employed persons recorded in July 2024.

The PSA also reported that the Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in Eastern Visayas stood at 63.6 percent in October 2024.

This translates to 2.13 million persons who were either employed or unemployed out of the 3.36 million population aged 15 years and over.

The October 2024 LFPR remained the same as that recorded in October 2023 but was 1.7 percentage points higher than the 61.9 percent registered in July 2024.

The LFPR in July 2024 corresponded to 2.07 million persons, while that in October 2023 was equivalent to 2.10 million persons in the labor force of Eastern Visayas.

Underemployment, which refers to employed persons who expressed the desire for additional hours of work in their present job, an additional job, or a new job with longer working hours, was reported at 12.6 percent in October 2024.

This represents approximately 261,000 underemployed persons out of the 2.07 million employed individuals. The 12.6 percent underemployment rate in October 2024 was lower by 7.2 percentage points than the 19.8 percent recorded in October 2023 and also decreased by 3.3 percentage points from the 15.9 percent registered in July 2024.

The unemployment rate in Eastern Visayas dropped to 3.1 percent in October 2024 from 4.2 percent in October 2023, according to PSA data.

This translates to 65,000 unemployed persons out of the 2.13 million persons in the labor force in October 2024. The number of unemployed persons in October 2024 was 23,000 lower compared to the 89,000 unemployed persons recorded in both October 2023 and July 2024.

The PSA report highlights the improvement in employment conditions in Eastern Visayas, with a higher employment rate and lower underemployment and unemployment rates compared to the previous year and quarter.

(LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)