Day: June 26, 2023

The highly contagious African swine fever (ASF) has already spread to this province’s capital town of San Jose de Buenavista. San Jose de Buenavista Mayor Elmer Untaran said he received Monday the laboratory test results from the Department of Agriculture-Regional Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (DA-RADDL) in Iloilo City confirming that two of the seven blood samples taken from Barangay Bugarot on June 23 were positive for ASF. ‘I requested for the testing of the swine in Barangay Bugarot upon knowing about the positive cases in Hamtic,’ Untaran said in an interview. Barangay Bugarot is located on the boundary of San Jose de Buenavista and the municipality of Hamtic, where the index cases came from. Samples were taken by the Antique Provincial Veterinary Office in collaboration with the San Jose de Buenavista Municipal Agriculture Office (MAO) from four hog farms and all those that tested positive came from only one farm. Untaran will be issuing an Executive Order on Tuesday containing measures to prevent the spread of ASF, including the ‘test and destroy’ approach where hogs positive for ASF will be depopulated. Two teams composed of the Provincial Veterinarian and MAO will be formed to conduct the testing. ‘Most of the hogs also in our town have been insured with the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation so the hog-raisers could get their claims,’ he said. He said they have no immediate plan to declare a state of calamity or release financial aid since the hogs are insured. As of June 26, a total of 451 breeders and 1,475 fatteners owned by 256 farmers have insurance coverage, as per the record of the San Jose de Buenavista MAO. Untaran said they are waiting for the results of samples taken from Barangays Maybato Sur, Maybato North, and Bariri that were sent to the DA-RADDL for confirmation on Monday. All three have reported hog mortalities. Meanwhile, as of June 24, the municipality of Hamtic reported 2,051 swine mortalities in 28 barangays with damage amounting to PHP19.19 million

Source: Philippines News Agency

The Task Force Davao (TFD) and the Davao City Police Office confiscated some 1.1 kilograms of shabu from two suspects at a checkpoint on Sunday. In a press briefing Monday, TFD chief Col. Darren Comia said the seized illegal drugs at Barangay Sirawan, Toril checkpoint is the biggest haul so far for the year. Authorities discovered the contraband inside a vehicle from Midsayap, North Cotabato along with suspects as Cresil Jay Lacia, 29, and Antonio Palacios Jr., 30, both residents of New Corella, Davao del Norte. ‘The two suspects were accompanied by two elderlies and three children seated at the back of the vehicle. The reaction of the elderlies dictates that authorities should really check the car thoroughly,’ Comia said. One of the passengers is an aunt of one of the suspects and the other is not a relative of any of the suspects. ‘This has been their modus. They tag along elderlies and others, for them to have an alibi when passing checkpoints,’ Comia said. Comia said one of the police officers “saw in plain view” one small brown envelope with an exposed transparent plastic sachet containing the suspected shabu placed at the front passenger floor. Beside it, he said, were another two transparent cellophanes containing 19 pieces of small brown envelopes with heat-sealed transparent plastic sachets of suspected shabu. When asked, one of the suspects told authorities that the suspected shabu was a type of medicine used by their elderly companion. ‘When asked what kind of medicine, the elderly was not able to answer it. When told to open it, it contains 20 sachets of shabu,’ the TFD chief said. Comia said the driver and passenger of the vehicle were arrested. They are now detained at the Toril Police Station pending the conduct of inquest proceedings for violation of RA 9165 while the seized drugs were turn-over to Davao City Forensic Unit for examination and safekeeping. ‘We have a follow-up operation with DCPO and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency to investigate where these came from and where it will be distributed,’ Comia said. Mayor Sebastian Duterte personally confronted the two suspects hours after they were caught, he added. ‘Mayor Baste commended and congratulated the troops for the accomplishment. He thanked them for the service rendered to the city,’ Comia said.

Source: Philippines News Agency

The Antique provincial board has requested the Department of Education (DepEd) Schools Division of Antique to intensify its awareness campaign against the health hazards and other ill effects of vaping and e-cigarettes. ‘Vape or e-cigarette companies have strategically targeted the youth and turned into manufacturing mint and fruit-flavored vape juices,’ said Board Member Rony Molina, who sponsored a resolution calling for an intensified campaign during their regular session on Monday. Republic Act 11900 or the Vaporized Nicotine and Non-Nicotine Products Regulation Act does not per se prohibit vaping or e-cigarettes as it merely regulates the importation, manufacture, sale, packaging, distribution, use, and communication of vaporized nicotine and non-nicotine products and novel tobacco products, he said. He added that while vaping is often offered as a safer alternative to cigarette smoking, in reality, it also causes health problems. ‘Be reminded that educational institutions play a vital and active role in protecting the students and molding them into better versions of themselves,’ Molina said. In a separate interview with Dr. Hellarose Mendoza-Elisterio of the Antique Medical Society (AMS) and of the Philippine College of Chest Physicians (PCCP)-Northwest Panay Chapter, she said electronic cigarettes or vape just like tobacco smoking could cause cancer, cardiovascular diseases and even death. ‘Vape is enticing for it has several flavors and have a trendy look, but then it could cause addiction,’ she said. She said that most of those who are into tobacco smoking started using vaping even at an early age or during high school.

Source: Philippines News Agency

The global number of drug users has increased by nearly a quarter within a decade, according to a UN report. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Vienna also expressed concern about the spread of synthetic drugs and trouble spots such as Ukraine and Afghanistan in its annual report released Sunday. In 2011-2021, the estimated number of people turning to drugs rose from 240 million to 296 million — a rise of 23 percent. According to the UN agency, only about half of this increase is due to growth in the global population. The number of people with drug addictions or diseases increased by 45 percent to 39.5 million during that period. The UNODC warned about the proliferation of chemical drugs such as methamphetamine, amphetamine, fentanyl, and also the many newly developed substances on the market. “The production of synthetic drugs is cheap, easy, and fast,” it said. This highly flexible sector of the narcotics business is more difficult for authorities to track down because, unlike cocaine and heroin, for example, it is not tied to specific growing areas and growth cycles. UNODC is therefore monitoring the situation in Ukraine in particular, where 79 amphetamine laboratories, the highest number in the world, had been shut down by authorities in the year before the war began. Since the Russian invasion in early 2022, the number of synthetic drug seizures in Ukraine has increased, while the market for such substances in neighboring countries has grown, UNODC Chief Analyst Angela Me reported. “This is a danger that we see as a consequence of the war,” she said. In Afghanistan, UNODC has observed signs of a decline in opium production under Taliban rule. However, UN drug experts pointed out that Afghanistan is not only the world’s top exporter of opium, a heroin commodity, but has also become a major producer of methamphetamine. The UN drug watchdogs are also concerned about the continued growth of the cocaine market. “In the global cocaine market, we are seeing a spiral where demand leads to more supply, and supply leads to more demand,” Me said. A record 2,300 metric tons of cocaine was produced in 2021, he said. However, opioids — natural opiates and their artificial variants — and cannabis continue to account for most cases of addiction and disease, according to UNODC. Nearly 70 percent of the 128,000 drug deaths in 2019 had used opioids, the report said.

Source: Philippines News Agency

The Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) will offer free transportation for fans who want to watch the opening night of the Philippine leg of the FIBA World Cup. As announced on Monday night, fans need not worry about quick access to the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan as shuttle services will be provided in and out of the world’s largest indoor arena for the Aug. 25 doubleheader to start the event. Angola battles Italy in the first game at 4 p.m., while Gilas Pilipinas begins its home stand against Karl-Anthony Towns and the Dominican Republic at 8 p.m. The SBP expects “at least 20,000 ticket holders” to take advantage of the free service as it looks to beat the record attendance of 32,616 in Toronto, Canada during the 1994 final between the United States and Russia. The Philippine Arena has a capacity of 50,000. The pick-up points for the free shuttle service will be announced at a later date.

Source: Philippines News Agency

Vanessa De Jesus introduced herself to the FIBA Asia community with an early explosion, but it was not enough for Gilas Pilipinas as it lost to host Australia in the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup opener, 105-34, on Monday night in Sydney. Australia began the game with a 30-7 explosion in the entire first quarter. De Jesus then led Gilas’ best showing during the second quarter when they scored 16 points, but Australia was too much as the home side still led, 56-23, at halftime. Australia finished the job by holding Gilas to only 11 points in the second half en route to the blowout. Darcee Garbin led Australia with 18 points on 8-for-10 shooting, eight rebounds, and two assists, while Lauren Scherf added 17 points, nine rebounds and five assists. De Jesus also got 18 points, including 14 in the first half, on 7-of-12 field goals and 4-for-5 from long range. The other games saw China crushing Lebanon, 89-44; Japan mauling Chinese Taipei, 94-53; and New Zealand escaping South Korea with a 66-64 win.

Source: Philippines News Agency