Day: April 26, 2024

BUTUAN CITY: Thirty-seven professional anglers from South Korea, Canada, Sweden, Hungary, the United States, and the Philippines are battling it out in the 14th Siargao International Game Fishing Tournament in the Surigao del Norte island.

Booths with displays of agricultural products are also showcased within the event area, where local products are for sale.

Department of Tourism-Caraga (DOT-13) Director Ivonnie Dumadag recognized the pivotal role of the international market toward diversification and the development of industry in Siargao Island and the rest of the region.

‘The DOT supports the efforts of the local government unit (LGU) in sustaining the conduct of the international game fishing tournament despite the setbacks experienced in the past years,’ Dumadag said in a statement Friday.

DOT provided PHP1 million in financial assistance to the Pilar local government to help defray expenses.

‘The four-day tournament is expected to gather avid anglers and game fishing enthusiasts both local and fr
om all over the world’ Dumadag said.

The Police Regional Office in the Caraga Region (PRO-13) has assured the safety and security of anglers and visitors during the duration of the event, which kicked off Thursday, by providing 350 security forces in Pilar and other strategic locations in Siargao Island.

Of the total number of security forces, 216 are from the Surigao del Norte Police Provincial Office and 134 are from the Philippine Army.

‘We maximize the deployment of personnel to safeguard domestic and foreign anglers, as well as the local and international tourists who will be witnessing the event and exploring the beautiful Siargao Islands,’ PRO-13 Director Brig. Gen. Kirby John Kraft said in a statement Friday.

Source: Philippines News Agency

DUMAGUETE CITY: A Negros Oriental Heroes Wall is set for construction this year in this provincial capital to honor the fallen veterans who fought alongside allied forces during World War II.

Veterans Federation of the Philippines’s Sons and Daughters Association Inc. (VFP-SDAI) district president, retired Judge Rafael Crescencion Tan, made the announcement Friday during the city’s commemoration of the 79th Liberation Day from Japanese occupation at the Quezon Park here.

‘The Negros Oriental Heroes Wall will be built on the left side of the Col. Roman T. Yap old building at the Silliman University ball field and will serve as a memorial and testament to the bravery and courage of our local war veterans,’ Tan said.

Over a thousand names of local WWII veterans were provided by the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) by Assistant Secretary Restituto Aguilar for etching on the wall, he said.

Tan hopes the design for the Negros Oriental Heroes Hall would be shouldered by the city government, costing some
PHP 600,000.

Tan said they hope to finish the Heroes’ Wall this year or early next year, before the city’s 80th liberation day anniversary.

According to Tan, At least nine WWII veterans are still alive and currently living in the province.

Jesus Cacas Dagonton, 92, the oldest living war veteran in this capital, was present and was among those honored last year in a separate activity by the PVAO.

His eldest child, Arcily Dagonton Roda, who accompanied him, said his father had served with the allied forces in Korea.

Dagonton is now facing functional disabilities such as loss of hearing and memory, but sometimes would still be able to recount some of his experiences during WW II, his daughter said.

‘The liberation of Dumaguete City was a significant event in the history of the province and the country, as it secured the southern parts of the Philippines and cut off the enemies’ supply line. The victory marked the end of a dark period of oppression and violence in the Negros Island,’ PVAO said on its websit
e.

Source: Philippines News Agency

ILOILO CITY: Patients seeking treatment for cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases are assured of quality services at par with the Philippine Heart Center (PHC) with the opening of the Western Visayas Medical Center (WVMC) Heart and Lung building on Friday.

‘As we inaugurate the cardiovascular and lung care center, we affirm our role as a Regional Apex hospital in the region. By consolidating heart and lung subspecialty services under one roof, we are not only streamlining patient care but also raising the standard of excellence in cardiovascular and pulmonary care,’ said heart center head Dr. Mae Dagooc in a media conference.

For cardiovascular care, the center offers a comprehensive range of services, including diagnosis and treatment of heart conditions, interventional cardiology procedures, and cardiothoracic surgeries, while services available for pulmonary care are diagnosis and management of lung diseases; pulmonary function testing, bronchoscopy, and advanced imaging services; and treatment modalitie
s.

The hospital has been conducting open heart surgery with the assistance of the PHC since 2016. Starting in 2020, the WVMC, with its own specialists, has been conducting surgery every Tuesday and Thursday even with limited intensive care units.

From 2021 to 2023, the hospital served 3,878 in-patients, performed 310 cardiovascular surgeries, and 1,462 cardiac catheterization procedures.

‘We have patients from Palawan, Mindoro, and Bacolod travel to Iloilo to avail of angioplasty or angiogram,’ said Medical Center chief Dr. Joseph Dean L. Nicolo.

He said that the presence of the center is a big help, financially, to patients because they pay less compared to private hospitals, or in some cases, they can avail of the no balance billing under the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation.

Nicolo said that with the presence of three medical schools in Iloilo, the WVMC is well-equipped in terms of human resources.

Iloilo City Lone District Rep. Julienne Baronda pushed for the realization of the center when sh
e was still working with the office of Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito. She said during her visits in 2015, 2016, and 2017, she saw the sad state of the hospital where other patients had to bring with them their folding beds and stay in hospital hallways to get medical care.

‘This is a result of our collaboration and partnership to bring about a better medical facility that is at par with the best hospitals in Iloilo City or the entire Western Visayas. The miserable conditions I witnessed years ago propelled me to push Sen. JV, who was my boss then and chair of the Senate Health Committee at that time, to help improve the biggest public hospital in Panay,’ she said in her message.

Thus, the funding support of PHP449 million was secured for Phase 1 of the building.

When elected as House representative, Baronda authored Republic Act 11496, increasing the bed capacity of the hospital from 425 to 700. She also announced her plan to raise the bed capacity to 1,200.

Senator Ejercito said the establishment of specia
lty centers is aligned with the Universal Health Care.

The statement of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. during his State of the Nation Address prioritizing the establishment of specialty hospitals has added an extra boost since there is already a PHP10 billion budget for that purpose, he said.

Simultaneous with the inauguration, the hospital also held a groundbreaking for its six-story cancer care center with a PHP300 million fund support under the Health Facility Enhancement Program of the Department of Health.

Health Undersecretary Gloria Balboa said there is a need to decentralize the services of heart, lung, and cancer to regional areas to make them accessible to patients.

‘If they go to Manila, there is additional expense. In regional areas, we really plan to at least one per region, so access will be addressed,’ she said.

Source: Philippines News Agency

DAVAO CITY: A system to track violence against women (VAW) has started operating this week, compiling cases to ensure the rights and welfare of victims.

In a press conference here Friday, officials said the Davao City’s Integrated Gender Development Division (IGDD) said the VAW Tracking System (VTS) is a digital database created to consolidate, record and efficiently track VAW cases.

IGDD chief Lorna Mandin said they are actively coordinating with partner agencies, including the Davao City Police Office (DCPO), the City Social Welfare and Development Office (CSWDO), and the Department of Education Davao City Division to consolidate reported VAW cases in the city.

VTS aims to protect women’s rights and welfare by serving as a data management system where the status of VAW cases in the city can be monitored, and ensure that the clients receive the right services from agencies concerned, Mandin said.

‘During our soft launching, we tested the system using the data from IGDD. Since the system is working, we ar
e now interfacing with partner agencies to track real-time updates on the cases,’ she added.

VTS also helps ensure that there are no duplicate reports or cases, she said, adding that they have started consolidating and encoding the cases from different partner agencies in the city.

Mandin also encouraged Dabawenyos to report cases of gender-based violence, abuse, discrimination, and harassment.

‘Along with our partner agencies, we continue to provide services and interventions to victims and survivors of violence against women or gender-based violence cases. Dabawenyos may file reports of VAW through the Davao City Reports or the Kean Gabriel Hotline; they may also report cases to people with authority in schools; through the VAW desks in every barangay; or to the nearest police station,’ she added.

Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: A court sheriff has been dismissed from the service by the Supreme Court (SC) for asking money from parties and causing delays in implementing court orders.

In a ruling published on April 24, the high court dismissed Sheriff George Clemente Paniqui, Tarlac and fined him PHP215,000 for gross neglect of duty and gross misconduct.

The SC also forfeited Clemente’s retirement benefits.

He was named in a complaint filed by lawyer Sotero Rambayon, who represented the plaintiffs in a civil case related to the writs of execution.

In its ruling, the SC noted that Clemente ‘unduly delayed’ the implementation of the writ of execution in the civil case and failed to submit the sheriff’s report on time; and also delayed the execution of a judgment in another civil case for one year and eight months.

‘A sheriff’s long delay in the execution of the judgments and the failure to accomplish the required periodic reports demonstrate gross neglect and gross inefficiency in the performance of official duties,’ the Cou
rt said.

The SC also held Clemente liable for asking for a ‘police escort fee’ and ‘mobilization fee’ from the parties in the case.

It noted that the court sheriff did not deny demanding the fees from the litigants without court approval.

‘He is not cleared just because the litigants were willing to pay the amount, or because he eventually returned the money,’ the SC said.

It stressed that sheriffs are not authorized to receive payments from a winning party, and any amount paid to execute the writ should be deposited with the Clerk of Court, who would be the one to release the amount to the sheriff.

The SC noted that Clemente was aleadt disciplined by the court for the third time in the recent case Sagun v. Clemente, where he was found guilty for gross neglect of duty for unjustified failure to implement a writ of execution and submit a report.

He was also suspended for one year and warned that he would face more severe penalties for repeating a similar offense.

‘It is evident that he never learned fro
m his previous infractions, and he deliberately ignored the stem warnings from the Court. Having tarnished the good image of the judiciary, he should not be allowed to stay a minute longer in the service,’ the SC said.

Source: Philippines News Agency

NAGA CITY: The Police Regional Office in Bicol (PRO5) through its Anti-Cybercrime Unit is urging the public, particularly parents with minor children, to always check and monitor their kids’ online activities.

In an interview on the sidelines of the ‘The Impact of Cyber and Emerging Technologies on Public Safety’ symposium in Naga City on Friday, PRO5 Anti-Cybercrime Unit Chief Capt. Angelo Babagay said they noted a five-percent increase in filed cybercrime cases in the region during the first three months of the year compared to the same period in 2023.

“Kung minsan ang mga malimit na nabibiktima ay mga minors. Akala nila may mga website na hindi nila alam mga predator ‘yun. Minsan yayayain mag-model, mga ganon ang mga nangyayari. (Sometimes the most frequent victims are minors. They go to websites which they don’t know have predators. Sometimes they would be invited to go into modeling. That’s what happens),” he said.

Babagay said that filed cybercrimes cases in the region include identity theft, cyberli
bel, cyberbullying, online threats, online scams and anti-photo-video voyeurism.

‘Halos araw-araw may nagrereklamo sa amin opisina. Hindi bumababa ng 10 kada araw (Almost everyday, someone complains at our office. Not less than 10 per day),’ he added.

He said they conduct school visitations to make students aware of cybercrimes and also talk with school and village officials.

He urged those who might experience cyber-related crimes to report to the police station.

The symposium was sponsored by the Information Sharing and Analysis Center at the Summit Hotel here.

Source: Philippines News Agency