UPDATE: The Department of Environment and Natural Resources' Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB) orders mining firm Woggle Corporation to suspend its exploration activities in Dupax del Norte, Nueva Vizcaya amid the community's "sustained" opposition. In a letter address to Woggle that was released by Senator Erwin Tulfo, the MGB wrote that the opposition has resulted in barricades and blockades along access roads leading to the exploration site.

Residents and indigenous groups have opposed Woggle's exploration activities, citing the lack of consultation and the environmental impact of these works.

UPDATE: Mining firm Woggle Corporation questions the Mines and Geosciences Bureau’s (MGB) temporary suspension of its exploration activities in Dupax del Norte, Nueva Vizcaya. 

Woggle noted that images of the MGB’s order were leaked to the public prior to its official receipt on Thursday, February 11. It also questioned whether the disruptions that brought about the suspension justified the suspension.

The MGB temporarily suspended Woggle’s exploration permit due to “force majeure,” citing the barricades and blockades of locals that supposedly blocked key access roads to the exploration site. Woggle argues that the MGB cannot invoke force majeure if the disruptive acts can be attributed to private groups and law enforcement remedies remain available.

Woggle urges the MGB to provide a clear legal basis for the suspension and clarify whether the bureau correctly invoked force majeure.

“The company is currently reviewing all legal remedies available to it, including administrative, contractual, and constitutional avenues to ensure that its rights are protected under Philippine law,” it wrote.

@here Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! On Valentine's Eve (?) I sat down with Oceana CEO Jim Simon and Oceana Philippines vice president Von Hernandez to discuss the Philippines' fisheries sector and what the world can learn from it. Watch the interview later at 6 pm!

https://www.rappler.com/philippines/interview-challenges-fisheries-sector/

Greetings! I have a concern regarding a planned sanitary landfill in Barangay Imok, Calauan, Laguna, which is opposed by residents thereof as well as of neighbouring communities. To whom can I send the details? I collated some info on this, and I wish someone from you may visit the barangay. Thank you!

Mines and Geoscience Bureau director Michael Cabalda said Monday, Febuary 23, that Woggle Corporation sent him a “very strongly-worded” letter asking Cabalda to retract the temporary suspension order he issued following the protests against Woggle’s mining exploration activities in Dupax del Norte, Nueva Vizcaya. 

Cabalda said he issued a temporary suspension order as part of his mandate as public servant, which is to preserve peace. Cabalda speaks on Monday in a Senate hearing probing Woggle Corporation's mining exploration activities and alleged lack of consultations. Locals oppose Woggle's activities citing lack of due process and proper consultations with the communities. What the company passed off as consultation, according to advocates, was an information, education, and communication session.

Representatives from Woggle Corporation are a no-show in today's hearing.

DENR welcomes the appointment of Usec Juan Miguel Cuna as acting secretary, following Raphael Lotilla’s appointment as PH’s ambassador to the Holy See.

Statement here:

Senator Risa Hontiveros filed a resolution urging a probe into the implementation of vessel monitoring system which affects small fishers and their preferential right over town waters. 

“If these systems are not fully enforced or properly coordinated, then they fail in their most important mission of safeguarding the livelihood of municipal fishers and preserving our marine resources,” Hontiveros said in a statement Tuesday, March 3.

The Fisheries Code was amended in 2014 to prevent, deter, and eliminate illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in Philippine waters.  Municipal, commercial, and distant water fishing operators are required to comply with the vessel monitoring measures that seek to monitor vessel location and speed.

Watch out for a total lunar eclipse on March 3, visible in Manila and other parts of the Philippines. The moon will enter totality at 7:04 pm, while the maximum eclipse will occur at 7:34 pm. The eclipse will end at 10:25 pm. @here

Below is the full press statement from PAGASA!

DOST-PAGASA S&T Media Service
23 February 2026
Quezon City

TOTAL LUNAR ECLIPSE
03 March 2026

On March 3, 2026, the Moon will be totally eclipsed in Manila and other parts of the Philippines for about 59 minutes and 24 seconds. This Total Lunar Eclipse will be completely visible over Eastern Asia, Australia, the Central Pacific, and most of the Americas.

Weather permitting, the public is invited to observe the Moon on March 3, 2026. The maximum eclipse happens at 7:34 PM, with the Moon entering totality at 7:04 PM. During the Umbral Phase, the Moon will remain in the Earth's primary shadow until 8:03 PM and leave the Umbral shadow at 9:17 PM. The Moon will rise in Manila at 5:58 PM, already partially eclipsed. These stages will continue until the Moon emerges from the Penumbral shadow at 10:25 PM. [Figure 1 on the attached PDF below]

During the maximum eclipse, the Umbral shadow cast by the Earth will obscure 100% of the Moon's disk. This phenomenon is sometimes referred to as a BLOOD MOON, as it appears red during the eclipse due to the way Earth’s atmosphere filters and scatters sunlight. [Figure 2 on the attached PDF below]

The predicted times of occurrence of the major phases of the Total Lunar Eclipse in different Metropolitan areas of the Philippines on March 3, 2026, are shown in Table 1 (Shown on the attached PDF below).

The Total Lunar Eclipse is very easy to observe. A modest pair of binoculars will provide an excellent view of the Moon's surface, but not required. Contrary to solar eclipses, observing a lunar eclipse is completely safe and does not require any protective eyewear.

"You'll always be my LUNA"

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DSiFcQQDhYi/?igsh=MXFyNjZpang3dmZwaA==

This is interesting @Tsoko! I didn't know Uruguay's power grid is now run mainly by renewables 😲 Sana magaya rin natin