NEWSCASTING SCRIPT

Anchor 1 (Jm): Good evening Philippines, This is Jewel Ariar

Anchor 2: (Fel) And it is me, Felicity Vendivel and you are watching The MBN, Marian
Broadcasting Network
(Both Anchor 1 and 2): And we are here to bring you all the fresh and latest news from
all over the Philippines. Here’s our headlines for today, November 9, 2023.

News Headlines:
Anchor 1: Open-pit mining ban lifted in Philippine province of South Cotabato, clearing
way for copper project.
Anchor 2: Strong quake injures dozens, shuts north Philippine airport.
Anchor 1: NPA member yields in Eastern Samar.
Anchor 2: Marcos, wants to restart talks on joint exploration in the West Philippine Sea.
Anchor 1: Weather Update: Low pressure area dissipates but ITCZ still affecting much
of Philippines.
Anchor 2: Travel Vlog News: Summer Capital of the Philippines, Baguio City Visited by
Thousands of Tourists this holiday season.

Anchor 1 and 2: Stay tuned for the News Details only here at The MBN: Marian
Broadcasting Network.

Anchor 1: Welcome Back, Open pit mining ban lifted in south Cotabato, Clearing way
for copper Project. Reporting from Koronadal City we have Earl Robledo. Kindly update
our viewers about this ban lifting.

Earl:
Legislators in the southern Philippine province of South Cotabato moved this week to
overturn a 12- year-old provincial ban on open-pit mining that has for years stalled the
development of a $5.9 billion copper and gold mine.The May 16 decision to lift the ban
came five months after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)
rescinded a nationwide prohibition on open-pit mining put in place in 2017.

Eleven members of the South Cotabato provincial board unanimously approved the
lifting of the provincial ban on open-pit mining, exactly a week after the May 9 national
and local elections. (Four board members were absent for the vote.)The proposal to
amend the landmark environmental code of South Cotabato, including the removal of
the open-pit mining ban, breezed through easily without the board members even
explaining their votes. South Cotabato Governor Reynaldo Tamayo Jr. can still reverse
the decision of the provincial board by vetoing it. But if he signs the decision, or fails to
take any action within 15 days, it will pass into law .Bishop Cerilo Casicas of the
Diocese of Marbel, who called on parishioners to join a solidarity march scheduled for
May 19, appealed to the governor to veto the decision. If Tamayo were to veto the
measure, the provincial board could override it by a two-thirds
vote of the board members.

From Koronadal City, South Cotabato. I am Earl Robledo Reporting for The MBN.
Anchor 2 (Fel) : Thank you Earl Robledo. Meanwhile, in other headlines, A strong
Earthquake rocks Northern Philippines. reporting from Manila City, We have Denreal
Baylon, Kindly give us the details.

Denreal:

A strong earthquake rocked a large swath of the northern Philippines, injuring at least
36 people and forcing the closure of an international airport and the evacuation of
patients in a hospital, officials said Wednesday.The Philippine Institute of Volcanology
and Seismology said Tuesday night’s magnitude 6.4 quake, which was set off by
movement of a local fault, was centered 9 kilometers (5 miles) northwest of Lagayan
town in Abra province at a depth of 11 kilometers (7 miles).

The Philippine Tsunami Warning System said no warning or advisory was issued.The
quake was felt across a wide area of the main northern Luzon region, including in some
parts of metropolitan Manila, more than 400 kilometers (250 miles) south of Abra.At
least 10 people received mostly minor injuries in Abra, mainly from falling debris, and 26
others were injured in Ilocos Norte, the home province of President Ferdinand Marcos
Jr. The international airport in Ilocos Norte’s capital city of Laoag was closed
Wednesday due to damage from the quake and at least two domestic flights were
canceled, officials said. Marcos Jr. said authorities were inspecting roads and buildings.
“Most people are asking for tents because they’re afraid to go back to their houses
because if these have been weakened and an aftershock hits, they may get hurt,” he
said at a news conference in Manila.More than 400 aftershocks have been detected but
only a few were felt by people, officials said.

Reporting from Manila City, I am Denreal Baylon, Reporting for The MBN

Anchor 2 (Fel) : Thank you Denreal Baylon, up next NPA Member yields in Eastern
Samar stay tuned for the details when we come back only here on The MBN.

Anchor 2 (Fel) : We’re back here on The MBN. NPA Member yields in Eastern Samar,
Details of the news we have Jewel Ariar reporting from Tacloban City.

A member of the New People’s Army (NPA) surrendered to the police in Eastern Samar
on Sunday after years of fighting government forces in two Samar provinces.The 2nd
Eastern Samar Police Mobile Force Company (2nd ESPMFC) identified the surrenderer
as 'Regine', 28, of Borongan City, Eastern Samar. He was the vice squad leader of the
NPA platoon operating in Eastern Samar and some parts of Samar province.“With the
help of an advocacy support group, we were able to locate and convince the regular
NPA member to surrender, through intelligence gathering and information campaign,”
Lt. Col. Rolando Dellezo, 2nd ESPMFC acting commander, said on Monday.The former
rebel is now under the custody of the 2nd Eastern Samar Police Mobile Force Company
For documentation and for verification if he has a standing warrant of arrest in court.

Reporting from Tacloban City, I am Jewel Ariar Reporting for The MBN.

Anchor 2 (Fel) : Thank you Jewel Ariar for that report, meanwhile President Marcos and
President Xi Jinping of China wants to restart talks on the West Philippine Sea.
Reporting from Puerto Princesa, Palawan. We have Earl Robledo.
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Chinese President Xi Jinping wish to
resume talks on possible joint exploration in the West Philippine Sea.“Both leaders
expressed their desire to restart discussions and negotiations on oil and gas issues that
would include of course issues like development, and others. It was on a very general
level,” DFA Secretary Enrique Manalo told.Marcos had a bilateral meeting with his
counterpart Chinese President Xi Jinping at the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Thailand this month. In a statement, the Chinese
Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Marcos expressed readiness to engage in active
consultations and “find ways to advance the joint exploration of maritime oil and gas
resources” in the contested waters. To recall, the Duterte administration announced the
termination of joint exploration talks with Beijing. The two countries signed the
memorandum of understanding in 2018, but the Philippines' foreign affairs agency said
the goal of developing the oil and gas resources was not achieved.“Three years on and
we had not achieved our objective of developing oil and gas resources so critical for the
Philippines but not at the price of sovereignty; not even a particle of it,” former Foreign
Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said.A 2016 ruling in The Hague recognized the
Philippines' sovereign rights to areas within its exclusive economic zone and invalidated
China's sweeping claims over the South China Sea.

Reporting from Puerto Princesa, Palawan I am Earl Robledo Reporting for The
MBN.

Anchor 1 (JM): Thank you Earl Robledo, up next Weather update and Travel Vlog
News only here on The MBN.

(Commercial Break: Earl and Denreal)

Anchor 1: Weather update: low pressure area dissipates and ITCZ still affects PH.
Felicity Vendivel, update us on the weather forecast.

Felicity

The low pressure area east of General Santos City dissipated on Saturday, November
19, but the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ) will continue to bring rain.The
Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration
(PAGASA) said in its 4 pm bulletin on Saturday that the following areas will still have
scattered rain showers and thunderstorms due to the ITCZ:

Metro Manila
Calabarzon
Bicol
Mimaropa
Aurora
Visayas
Mindanao

Flash floods and landslides remain possible during periods of moderate to heavy rain.

The ITCZ is a belt near the equator where the trade winds of the Northern Hemisphere
and Southern Hemisphere meet. It is considered a breeding ground for tropical
cyclones.
That’s the latest weather news. Back to the studio.

Anchor 1 (JM) : Thank you Felicity Vendivel. On our travel Vlog News: Thousands of
tourists visit Baguio City this holiday Season.

Hailed as the Summer Capital of the Philippines, Baguio is the top destination to go to if
you want to take a break from the tropical heat in the lowlands. With average
temperatures ranging from 15-23°C, the city rarely experiences temperatures higher
than 26°C even during the warmest parts of the year. Because of this climate, Baguio is
also home to beautiful plants that wouldn’t usually survive elsewhere in the county. Also
nicknamed the City of Pines, you’ll be in for a treat with all the beautiful flowers and
lush vegetation as you enter the vicinity. It will truly feel as if you’re entering a different
world. And because of this, thousands of tourists visit now as the Holiday season nears.

That’s our Travel Vlog News, I am Denreal Baylon, and as the saying goes “ Nothing
develops intelligence like travel.” Back to the studio!

Anchor 1(JM) : And that’s our latest news for the day, your reporter Jewel Ariar,

Anchor 2( Fel) : And again, Felicity Vendivel

Anchor 1 & 2: until next time, only here on The MBN: Marian Broadcasting Network,
God Bless Philippines!