Day: April 16, 2024

ILOILO: The Department of Health (DOH) provided an initial 6,000 vials of the pentavalent vaccines to augment the ongoing pertussis outbreak response immunization of the city government here.

‘The vaccines we received came from Region 12, and they (DOH) are still looking for more,’ said Iloilo City health officer Annabelle Tang in a media conference on Tuesday.

Tang said they intend to administer the 6,000 doses, which arrived on Monday, in two-and-a-half days, with their staff working even on weekends to reach the target age group.

As of Tuesday, the city has 11 laboratory-confirmed cases, including one death and 23 probable cases.

In addition to DOH-provided pentavalent, the city government also procured PHP13 million worth of hexavalent of 6-in-1 vaccines and diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis (TDaP) booster vaccine.

The 1,200 TDaP vaccines are expected to arrive on Friday, while the 3,775 doses of the 6-in-1 vaccines are still waiting for release from the factory, said Tang.

The health off
ice medical staff conducts house-to-house vaccination, but the vaccines are also available in health centers to ensure they would be able to reach out to their target priorities –infants zero to 12 months who are deemed vulnerable, those with incomplete vaccination, and pregnant women in their last trimester.

The outbreak response immunization will cover 12 to 59-month-old children and pregnant mothers.

‘As of now, we have administered 21.48 percent for routine and outbreak response. We hope to complete this in two months as long as there is supply. We are going to do this even during weekends,’ she said.

In the same conference, Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas said a travel moratorium is imposed for city health office personnel directly involved in the outbreak response.

‘Travel outside the City of Iloilo for official or personal reasons is prohibited unless expressly authorized by the City Health Officer under exceptional circumstances. This moratorium includes but is not limited to meetings, conferences
, conventions, seminars, training, and non-emergency missions,’ part of Executive Order No. 55, series of 2024 which he signed on Monday, read.

The city mayor also assured that funds are available to purchase vaccines, although the current challenge is the supply.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: A porter at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) turned over USD10,000 (about PHP570,000) which he found at the Terminal 1 arrival extension in Parañaque City over the weekend.

In a news release on Tuesday, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said porter Victor Perez turned over the money to the lost and found section.

The MIAA Media Affairs said Perez found the bundled 100 pieces of USD100 bills on the pavement while he was retrieving pushcarts.

Later in the afternoon, a Korean national claimed the money, which he said fell from his pocket as he was going down the ramp.

The MIAA said a security camera footage confirmed the Korean national as the owner.

The following day, it was the turn of a Terminal 3 security guard to surrender a lost item.

The bag found at Terminal 3’s Bay 7 contained a gold necklace, laptop, and smartphone, which the owner already claimed on Tuesday.

Both workers will be commended during the MIAA’s flag ceremony in May.

Source: Philippines News Age
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MANILA: A porter at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) turned over USD10,000 (about PHP570,000) which he found at the Terminal 1 arrival extension in Parañaque City over the weekend.

In a news release on Tuesday, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said porter Victor Perez turned over the money to the lost and found section.

The MIAA Media Affairs said Perez found the bundled 100 pieces of USD100 bills on the pavement while he was retrieving pushcarts.

Later in the afternoon, a Korean national claimed the money, which he said fell from his pocket as he was going down the ramp.

The MIAA said a security camera footage confirmed the Korean national as the owner.

The following day, it was the turn of a Terminal 3 security guard to surrender a lost item.

The bag found at Terminal 3’s Bay 7 contained a gold necklace, laptop, and smartphone, which the owner already claimed on Tuesday.

Both workers will be commended during the MIAA’s flag ceremony in May.

Source: Philippines News Age
ncy

ANTIPOLO: The Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office (MENRO) of San Mateo town in the province of Rizal has assured that a resettlement area in Barangay Silangan has access to clean water through several artesian wells despite the declining amount of water left flowing from a crucial water source.

In an interview on Tuesday, Elaine de Jesus, officer-in-charge at San Mateo’s MENRO, said they are working to provide the residents a steady water supply, but they would have to investigate first the reason for the drying up of the stream so that the necessary steps to revive it could be done.

The stream flowing through the community along the Old Army Road has almost dried up, alarming its about 100 residents who have traditionally drawn water from it.

De Jesus said that aside from the artesian wells, some parts of this community may also have access to Manila Water’s services.

She assured her office will conduct a scientific study to determine if there are any other causes for the decline in water
aside from the ongoing El Niño dry spell.

De Jesus said another possible explanation behind the stream’s dwindling water is there may have been a build-up of silt and rubbish in certain areas that may be impeding its flow.

‘We will first have to evaluate (why the stream dried up). Oftentimes, there are options for reviving a dead stream. Sometimes, dredging the areas where water is blocked will restore the flow. But such efforts are usually undertaken in collaboration with the DENR (Department of Environment and Natural Resources),’ she told the Philippine News Agency in Filipino.

It was earlier reported that residents of the resettlement area have been urging the San Mateo municipal government to provide them a reliable source of flowing water through arrangements with Manila Water.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The Philippines and Singapore are planning to form a working group that will discuss possible cooperation on carbon credit market, visiting Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said Tuesday.

In a joint press conference at Sofitel Manila, the Singaporean top diplomat said he discussed with Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo the establishment of a framework to trade carbon credits that is compliant with the Paris Agreement.

Balakrishnan is optimistic this future partnership would open up ‘new growth areas and opportunities for the Philippine economy, whilst expanding Singapore’s businesses access to the available carbon credits that will be generated’.

‘I believe this is in the mutual interest of both countries given the global need to transit towards net carbon zero. The Philippines in my view has great potential in this area,’ he said.

Carbon credits are units obtained from entities that remove or reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The United Nations Climate Change said companies or
individuals can purchase and use these credits to compensate for their greenhouse gas emissions or to simply support climate action.

One tradable carbon credit equals one tonne of carbon dioxide or the equivalent amount of a different greenhouse gas reduced.

Stronger economic relations

Meanwhile, Singapore is also looking to expand energy cooperation with the Philippines, including at the regional level.

Balakrishnan said the connection between the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia opens up opportunity for cross border energy trading, similar to the Singapore-Thailand-Malaysia-Lao PDR power integration project.

‘If you put these two networks together, you in fact, get the beginning of a very significant ASEAN power,’ he said.

‘Singapore and the Philippines will also work closely together in other emerging areas of energy. This will be a learning journey for both of us as we transition into the economic and energy transformations,’ he added.

In addition, Balakrishnan said Singapore is keen to explore
collaboration on ‘future-oriented’ areas, including the green economy, smart and sustainable infrastructure, innovation, artificial intelligence, and startups, among others.

He said Singaporean businesses remain confident in the prospects of the Philippines economy and are, in fact, one of the country’s top investors.

‘Certainly, it is a vote of confidence in the Filipino people and the Philippine economy. Our investments from Singapore businesses have included areas like real estate, hospitality, telecommunications, transport, and logistics,’ he said.

Balakrishnan’s visit comes as the Philippines and Singapore mark 55 years of diplomatic relations.

This also follows the successful convening of the 6th Informal Consultations on the Philippines-Singapore Action Plan last February 2024.

Source: Philippines News Agency

TACLOBAN: The local government of Silago in Southern Leyte is proud of its achievement as the only area in Eastern Visayas recognized in the prestigious Tourism Champions Challenge (TCC) 2024.

Mayor Lemuel Honor said he is overjoyed for their third-place finish in the TCC Visayas cluster.

A total of 98 cities and towns nationwide joined the TCC to promote sustainable tourism.

The top two places in the Visayas were awarded to Tubigon, Bohol for Enchanted Ilijan Plug of Tubigon; and Badian, Cebu for Badian Toong Spring Nature Park.

Honor received the award from President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. and Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City on Monday.

“Despite our meager resources, we were able to get third place. I am even more proud to know that among the TCC municipalities and cities finalists, Silago is the lowest in terms of income classification as we are fourth class while our competitors are cities and first-class town
s,” he said in a phone interview.

The town’s entry to the TCC is ‘Silago, Southern Leyte’s Silago Ridge to Reef Eco-Experience Project: Promoting Sustainability through Eco-Heritage Tourism.’

The town received a PHP10-million grant from the DOT and PHP5 million from the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority.

“The DOT family extends its warmest congratulations to Mayor Lemuel Honor and the municipal government of Silago for bringing home a total of P15 million in the form of a tourism infrastructure grant from TIEZA as they won 3rd place (for the Visayas Cluster) in DOT’s Tourism Champions Challenge,” DOT Regional Director Karina Rosa Tiopes said in a statement.

The amount will be used to build a museum and visitor center.

The planned museum, according to DOT, will house the bones of a sperm whale, estimated to weigh 41,000 kilograms and measures around 65 to 70 feet.

It washed up on the shores of Mercedes village in 2001.

“We hope that this achievement of Silago will inspire local govern
ments in the region to propose sustainable tourism projects and vie in the 2nd Tourism Champions Challenge,” Tiopes added.

The DOT launched the TCC in April 2023 to encourage local governments to submit proposals on innovative tourism infrastructure project that aim to foster sustainability, inclusivity, and resilience in tourism development, enhancing our local destinations and communities and most importantly, providing added economic opportunity for our communities nationwide.

Source: Philippines News Agency