(PAGASA 24-HOUR PUBLIC WEATHER FORECAST as of Tuesday, 19 March 2024) Easterlies affecting the country. Butuan City, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Dinagat Islands, Surigao del Norte and Surigao del Sur will experience partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms due to Easterlies / Localized Thunderstorms. Possible flash floods or landslides during severe thunderstorms. Light to moderate winds coming from Northeast to North will prevail with slight to moderate seas (0.6 to 2.1 meters).


Monday, August 1, 2016


Surigao Norte guv activates crisis management committee

By Susil D. Ragas

SURIGAO CITY, Surigao del Norte, Aug. 1 (PIA) - Surigao del Norte Governor Sol F. Matugas activated recently the Provincial Crisis Management Committee through Executive Order No. 027 series of 2016 for the safe release of the three police officers and one non-uniformed personnel.

Governor Matugas activated the said committee after the said persons were abducted on July 24 at the vicinity of Barangay Cagtinae, Malimono town.

She said that it is imperative to save the precious lives of those who were abducted by more or less ten New People’s Army (NPA) rebels clad in military uniform.

Governor Matugas explained that there is a need to activate the provincial crisis management committee under the Provincial Peace and Order Council to address the situation.

Meanwhile, Provincial Administrator Atty. Premolito Plaza during the first meeting of the local crisis management committee emphasized the marching order of the governor which is to stop the military or hot pursuit operation and go for negotiations for the safe release of the abducted persons. (SDR/PIA-Surigao del Norte)


Feature: Caraga’s growth slows down in 2015

The economy of Caraga decelerated from 9.4 percent in 2014 to 4.2 percent in 2015. The region’s growth decelerated as Agriculture, Hunting, Forestry and Fishing (AHFF) declined while Industry and Services slowed down.

Services remained to account for the largest share in the region’s total economic output with 45.7 percent. Industry followed with 37.2 percent while AHFF chipped in 17.1 percent.

The overall performance of Services slowed down from 9.2 percent in 2014 to 5.3 percent in 2015 due to the decelerated growth of four sub-industries. Transportation, Storage and Communication (TSC) recorded the biggest deceleration from 16.4 percent in 2014 to 4.2 percent in 2015. Trade and Repair also slid from 8.0 percent in 2014 to 7.5 percent in 2015. In the same manner, Financial Intermediation (FI) slowed down from 5.7 percent to 5.6 percent in 2015 and Public Administration and Defense (PAD) decelerated from 4.4 percent to 1.3 percent. Meanwhile, Real Estate, Renting and Business Activities (RERBA) recorded an accelerated growth from 5.4 percent in 2014 to 7.4 percent in 2015 and Other Services (OS) expanded from 4.6 percent in 2014 to 7.0 percent in 2015.

Industry decelerated to 9.9 percent in 2015 from 14.8 percent in 2014. The slowdown was attributed to the slowdown in Mining and Quarrying (MAQ) and Manufacturing. MAQ, which accounted for the largest share in the Industry, decelerated from 14.7 percent to 5.0 percent in 2015. Likewise, Manufacturing slowed down from 12.7 percent to 2.6 percent in 2015. However, Electricity, Gas and Water Supply (EGWS) cushioned the big decelerated growths of the first two sub-industries as it rebounded from negative 5.8 percent in 2014 to 24.1 percent in 2015. Likewise, Construction further improved its performance by accelerating from 20.6 percent to 22.7 percent in 2015.

AHFF suffered a reversal from 1.3 percent in 2014 to negative 8.5 percent in 2015. This was due to the contraction of Agriculture and Forestry by 9.6 percent in 2015 from a positive 1.4 percent in 2014. Fishing, at the same time, also contracted by 2.3 percent in 2015 from 0.8 percent in 2014.

Industry and Services contributed 3.5 percentage points and 2.4 percentage points to the region’s total growth for the year, respectively. On the other hand, AHFF pulled down the growth by 1.7 percentage points. (PSA-Caraga/PIA-Caraga)