Here are the latest news as of Thursday, April 18.
Cebuanos can anticipate a significant impact on Metro Cebu’s economy following a substantial investment increase by a unit of Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. (MPTC) in constructing the Guadalupe ramp.
This ramp will connect the Cebu Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) to Barangay Guadalupe.
Initially projected at P1 billion last year, CCLEX Corp. (CCLEC) President and General Manager, Engineer Allan Alfon, now estimates the ramp project will cost between P5 to P6 billion.
“Construction will start mid-year and is expected to complete by the end of 2026,” Alfon said.
Upon completion, the ramp will allow travelers to bypass the lengthy stretch of the Cebu South Coastal Road on the South Road Properties.
Alfon noted that approximately 18,000 to 20,000 vehicles pass through the CCLEX daily.
Three cities in the Philippines ranked among the cleanest in terms of air pollution levels in Southeast Asia, according to a 2023 international report on air quality.
The Swiss air-monitoring company IQAir’s 2023 World Air Quality Report provides a global review of air quality, citing PM2.5 air quality data from 7,812 cities spanning 134 countries, regions, and territories for 2023.
According to the study, Calamba City in Laguna ranked sixth in Southeast Asia for having the safest air quality in the country, with an 8.2 micrograms per cubic meter (μg/m³) average of PM2.5.
This makes Calamba City the least air-polluted city in the country.
Carmona City in Cavite also landed on the list with 8.9 μg/m³ average PM2.5, while Balanga City in Bataan ranked 11th with 9.2 μg/m³ average PM2.5.
Dubai’s giant highways were clogged by flooding, and its major airport was in chaos as the Middle East financial center remained gridlocked on Wednesday, a day after the heaviest rains on record.
Tailbacks snaked along waterlogged, six-lane expressways after up to 259.5 millimeters (10.2 inches) of rain, the most since records began 75 years ago, fell on the desert United Arab Emirates on Tuesday.
At least one person was killed, a 70-year-old man who was swept away in his car in Ras Al-Khaimah, one of the oil-rich country’s seven emirates, police said.
As sunny skies returned on Wednesday, a day after torrential downpours and rolling black clouds, stories emerged of residents stuck in cars and offices overnight.
“It was one of the most horrific situations I had ever experienced,” said one Dubai resident in his 30s, who did not want to give his name, after his 15-minute commute turned into a 12-hour ordeal on flooded roads.
Three Central Visayas Regional Athletic Association (CVIRAA)-bound teams took part in a one-day friendly tune-up volleyball tournament in Danao City, north Cebu, last Wednesday, April 17.
The Northeastern Cebu Colleges, Inc. in Danao City hosted the mini-friendly tournament billed as the Pre-CVIRAA Friendship Games 2024.
It served as a tune-up tournament before May 2-10’s CVIRAA meet, which Cebu City will host.
According to one of the organizers, Calvin Cempron, the director of Volleyball Friends, having a tune-up tournament before the regional meet is crucial to these teams’ preparations.
“I feel that having tune-up games is paramount. They should serve as a means to improving the mental and emotional strength of players,” said Cempron. “You only get better at volleyball by playing volleyball. And with friendly tune up games, a rising tide lifts all boats,” he added.
