Qi Jiguang's ship sets sail to return to China, ending friendly visits to the Philippines by officers and soldiers | Philippines | Successfully concluded
On the morning of the 17th, the Chinese Navy ship Qi Jiguang successfully concluded its friendly visit to the Philippines and departed from Manila Port. At this point, Qi Jiguang has successfully completed the mission of this voyage and will continue to organize internships and training for students during the return voyage.
At 10 a.m., the Philippine side held a grand farewell ceremony at the dock. More than 300 people, including Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian, Military Officer Li Jianzhong, embassy staff, local Chinese funded institutions, overseas Chinese, international students, and representatives of Philippine Navy officers and soldiers, went to the dock to bid farewell.
During my visit to the Philippines, my mission commander visited the Philippine Navy Commander and attended the Philippine Navy's welcome banquet. I have had professional exchanges and friendly matches in football and tug of war with Philippine Navy officers and soldiers during my visits.
During the berthing period, Qi Jiguang organized a total of 5 ship opening activities, jointly donated disaster relief materials to the affected areas of the Typhoon Maron eruption in the Philippines with the Chinese Embassy in the Philippines, and handed over disaster relief assistance to the Governor of Cagayan Province, Mamba, to help the people affected by the super typhoon.
On the evening of the 15th, Qi Jiguang held a grand deck reception, attended by nearly 300 people from both China and the Philippines. The visiting students brought traditional folk music, dance, martial arts and other performances.
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The most active volcano in the Philippines continues to erupt, causing 20000 people to evacuate
Philippine government officials said on the 16th that Mount Mayon, the most active volcano in the northeastern province of Alba, has been erupting for several days, forcing around 20000 residents to evacuate.
After Mount Ma Rong began emitting thick smoke and volcanic ash last week, the local government forcibly evacuated residents within a radius of 6 kilometers around the crater. On the night of the 11th, Mount Ma Rong began to erupt magma. Governor of Albay Province, Edsel Greco Lagerman, ordered on the 12th to expand the evacuation range to a radius of 7 kilometers.
The Associated Press reported, citing government officials, that so far, the volcanic eruption has been relatively mild and has not caused any casualties, but the eruption may continue for several months or trigger a prolonged humanitarian crisis.
At present, about 20000 residents in Albay Province have been resettled in more than 20 shelters. These shelters are mostly located in classrooms of primary and secondary schools, and over 17000 students in five towns in the province have been affected in class.
Local education official Alvin Cruz said that about 80% of the affected students have switched to remote learning, while the rest are led by teachers and attend classes in village halls, sports arenas, gardens, and under trees.
A primary school in the town of Mariliport accommodated over 2400 evacuated residents, and math teacher Shirley Banzagall moved the classroom to a mango tree as a result. "Despite the volcanic eruption, life has to continue. We are actually in a refugee camp right now, but I must continue to teach my students," she said.
Philippine President Ferdinand Romudez Marcos visited Alba Province on the 14th to offer condolences to the evacuated residents. Marcos told evacuated residents at a shelter that the volcanic eruption may last for three months before it subsides and they can return home.
Deutsche Presse-Agentur quoted the latest report of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology as saying that the current alert level of Mayon volcano is Level 3, which means that the volcano is "relatively unstable".
Mount Ma Rong is about 2460 meters high and is known for its "perfect conical" mountain body. This volcano has erupted more than 50 times in the past 400 years. The last eruption occurred in 2018, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes; The most severe destruction occurred in 1814, resulting in over 1000 deaths.
