Culture: Million of Filipinos reuniting and partying with the dead in tombs and graves

Millions across Philippines visit their dead

Millions across the Philippines visited cemeteries Thursday to pay respects to their dead, in an annual tradition that combines Catholic religious rites with the country's penchant for festivity.

At Manila's Loyola Memorial Park, one of the city's biggest private cemeteries, families had camped overnight, pitched up tents and brought in food for a day-long All Saint's Day picnic by the graves and tombs of their dead.

In crowded public cemeteries elsewhere across the city of 15 million, police confiscated alcoholic beverages and banned gambling to maintain peace and order.

Hundreds of medics and volunteers also set up field clinics to provide medical assistance. Radio reports said many had fainted due to the extreme heat in densely packed cemeteries.

"This occasion serves as our family reunion," said Fely de Leon, a retired 80-year-old businesswoman as she laid out an assortment of food on small tables around the plots of her late father and brother.

"We will be here for the rest of the day, and we expect more or less 30 family members to arrive."

Nearby, loud music blared from a portable karaoke machine -- singing is a national past time -- as a family ignored appeals from the Catholic church to keep the occasion solemn.

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) meanwhile warned the public against fake priests roaming the cemeteries and reciting prayers for unsuspecting families in exchange for monetary donations.

And for millions of Catholic Filipinos overseas who could not come home to visit their dead, the CBCP said it had put up a special portal (www.undasonline.com ) where they could log on and request special prayers and masses.

The site also offers podcasts on the significance and liturgical meanings of All Saint's Day, it said.

MSN

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Philippines offers ₱10.3 Million Aid for victims of Superstorm Sandy in the United States

This photo provided by 6abc Action News shows the Inlet section of Atlantic City, New Jersey, as Hurricane Sandy makes it approach, Monday. AP/6abc Action News

The Philippine government has offered ₱10.3 Million ($250,000 USD) to help the victims of Superstorm Sandy which wreaked havoc in the US east coast.

"Thank you government of the Philippines which will donate ₱10.3 Million ($250,000 USD) to the American Red Cross to help victims of Hurricane Sandy. True partners and friends!," US Ambassador Harry Thomas said in his official Twitter account late Wednesday.

Sandy, the worst storm to hit the US region, has claimed more than 60 lives and left billions of dollars in damages.

The Philippine embassy in Washington in a statement urged Filipino victims of the super storm to remain vigilant and take necessary precautions as the dangers posed by the disaster were not over.

Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Cuisia noted that although Sandy weakened since making landfall Monday evening, the "on-going disaster" continued to bring rains and strong winds that could pose serious threats to populated areas while making its way towards Canada in the next two days.

"We would like to remind our kababayans, particularly those in New Jersey and New York, to remain in their homes until such time that authorities say that it is safe for them to venture out," Cuisia said, warning that affected populations face risks from flood waters and downed trees and power lines.

He added that members of the Filipino Community in the affected areas should wait until basic services such as power and transport had been restored before leaving the safety of their homes.

The embassy and the Philippine Consulate General in New York also said they did not receive any reports of Filipino casualties in the region, but that an undetermined number of Filipinos were evacuated in Atlantic City, Jersey City, New Milford and other areas in New Jersey as well as in City Island and Staten Island in New York due to flood waters.

Consul General Mario de Leon, meanwhile, noted that reports from the leaders of the Filipino community also indicated that a large number of Filipinos were among the 8.5 million people in 13 states that suffered from power outages.

He said there were also reports several Filipinos sustained some damage to their homes in Nassau and Queens Counties in New York as well as in Hamden and Stamford in Connecticut as a result of violent winds and storm surges.

In Connecticut and Long Island, some Filipinos were also reported to be running low on potable water while many others in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut, had no internet, telephone or cellular phone connectivity, said De Leon.

The embassy and the Consulate General in New York said they continued to monitor the situation on a 24-hour-basis and had placed teams on standby to assist Filipinos.  The two posts also remained in touch with leaders of the Filipino community in the affected areas.

The Philippine Consulate General in Chicago headed by Consul General Leo Herrera-Lim has also urged the Filipinos in Ohio and Michigan to make the necessary preparations as the storm continues to move towards the Great Lakes region and Canada.

Inquirer 

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Holcim Philippines will expand US$450 Million Cement manufacturing plant on strong Demand & 20% sale increase

Holcim Philippines Incorporated (PSE: HLCM) is a publicly-listed company that engages in the business of manufacturing, selling, distributing cement and clinker. Holcim Philippines is part of the Holcim Group. It is one of the largest cement manufacturers in the Philippines and one of the world's leading suppliers of cement. It is the first in the Philippine cement industry to receive ISO 9002 certification (Quality Management System Standards) from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). Additionally, all of the Holcim Philippines' four plants are ISO 14001 certified (Environment Management System Standards) and OH&S 18001 (Occupational Health & Safety Management) certified.

Holcim Philippines to boost cement capacity

Holcim Philippines has announced that it is planning to invest US$350m-450m in a new 2Mta cement plant to meet long term domestic market needs.

Speaking at a press briefing, Holcim Philippines COO Roland van Wijnen said that the company has been in the process of increasing its capacity in line with recent strong gains in local consumption. It has begun reactivating its idle facilities beginning with its terminal in Calaca, Batangas last year and its grinding plant in Mabini will be operational by 3Q13.

 "What follows would be to build a new cement plant, and we hope to be able to take the first important step next year," he explained adding that "we are now in the midst of preparing a proposal for a new cement plant to be submitted for Board approval in the first half of 2013," said van Wijnen.

Holcim incoming president Eduardo Sahagun said the plant will be built in Bulacan with a capacity of 2Mta. This will boost the firm's capacity to about 9.5Mta when it is completed in 2016. Van Wijnen said they looking at a brownfield project which would take less than three years to complete.

Higher sales offset by rising costs

The company, however, reported a 17 per cent drop in third-quarter net profit as a double-digit growth in sales was offset by higher production and other costs as it tries to keep up with market requirements. This company usually uses the rainy season as time for maintenance and repair. But, as demand exceeded expectations it had to import clinker to prevent insufficient supply.

Sales in the third quarter increased 20 per cent on year to ₱ 6.39 Billion  (US$155 million), getting a boost from better prices, increased construction activity and more government projects. But sales growth was offset by a 27 per cent jump in cost of sales to ₱ 5.18 Billion due to higher sales volume and production costs.

In the nine months to September, Holcim Philippines posted a net profit of ₱2.53 Billion, up 23 per cent from the ₱2.07 Billion recorded in the year-earlier period. Sales climbed 23 per cent to ₱20.21 Billion from ₱16.50 Billion.

Van Wijnen remains confident though that the company expects to achieve double-digit volume growth this year and expects better performance in the months ahead, especially as the plants achieve full efficiencies following the completed maintenance and repair initiatives.

Consumption accelerates

For the first six months of 2012, cement consumption rose 20 per cent YoY to 9.45Mt, according to the Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (CeMap). The increase was attributed by CeMap president Ernesto Ordoñez to higher infrastructure spending comprising new infrastructure projects for 2012 and pent up demand from the year before.

For the remainder of this year, cement sales are expected to remain robust, according to Cemap, with the prevailing good investment climate seen further boosting construction activities in the country. Holcim continues to have an optimistic outlook on the industry, and is confident that growth will carry over to 2013 given the positive economic climate and as the impact of the Private-Public Partnership projects begins to be felt.

Lafarge and Cemex have also announced plans to increase their respective capacity in the Philippines. Cemex is to raise capacity at its plant in APO by 1.5Mta through an investment of US$65 million. The project is expected to be operational by 2014. Meanwhile, Lafarge Republic plans raise capacity by 1Mta through a revamp a its Danao grinding plant in Cebu and debottlenecking its Norzagaray plant's mill in Bulacan. By the first quarter of 2013, Lafarge hopes to supply an additional 0.2Mta of cement to Luzon, 0.65Mta to Visayas and another 0.1Mta to Mindanao.

Cemnet 

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