CEBU CITY: The Department of Health Central Visayas (DOH-7) on Thursday reiterated its call for the barangays to establish a common area where the people can safely use firecrackers to avoid further increase in fireworks-related injuries.

The advisory was issued after the health agency recorded an increase in the number of persons injured by firecrackers from 14 on Wednesday to 19 on Thursday.

According to DOH-7, the recorded additional cases were three from Cebu City and one each from Negros Oriental and Bohol.

Cebu province still has the highest number of cases at 8, followed by Cebu City (5), Bohol (4), and one each for Negros Oriental and Mandaue City.

A DOH-7 official also asked local government units to help in the information campaign against the use of ‘boga’ – an improvised cannon made from PVC pipe whose use is prohibited.

Dr. Eugenia Mercedes Cañal, head of DOH-7’s Regional Epidemiological Surveillance Unit (RESU), said the health agency has repeatedly warned the public against the use of “bog
a” on New Year’s Eve because of the danger it poses in causing blast or burn injury.

She warned that the continuous use of the improvised cannon would lead to the increase in the number of injuries among children and adults alike.
Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The LRT-2 will offer free rides during select hours on Saturday, Dec. 30, in commemoration of national hero Dr. Jose P. Rizal’s 127th martyrdom.

The free rides will begin at 7 a.m. until 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. until 7 p.m., according to the rail line’s advisory.

The first trains will leave Recto and Antipolo stations at 5 a.m. Last trip schedules at Antipolo station is 9 p.m. and Recto station at 9:30 p.m.
Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The LRT-2 will offer free rides during select hours on Saturday, Dec. 30, in commemoration of national hero Dr. Jose P. Rizal’s 127th martyrdom.

The free rides will begin at 7 a.m. until 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. until 7 p.m., according to the rail line’s advisory.

The first trains will leave Recto and Antipolo stations at 5 a.m. Last trip schedules at Antipolo station is 9 p.m. and Recto station at 9:30 p.m.
Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: The LRT-2 will offer free rides during select hours on Saturday, Dec. 30, in commemoration of national hero Dr. Jose P. Rizal’s 127th martyrdom.

The free rides will begin at 7 a.m. until 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. until 7 p.m., according to the rail line’s advisory.

The first trains will leave Recto and Antipolo stations at 5 a.m. Last trip schedules at Antipolo station is 9 p.m. and Recto station at 9:30 p.m.
Source: Philippines News Agency

TACLOBAN CITY: The local government of Silago, Southern Leyte has issued an executive order declaring a month-long pork holiday in 11 of its 15 villages due to the presence of African swine fever (ASF).

‘There is an emergency situation, and we must protect the hog industry in our town from this dreaded swine disease. The ASF has already reached and affected most of our villages,’ Mayor Lemuel Honor said in his order.

The directive affects the villages of Katipunan, Imelda, Hingatungan, Salvacion, Laguma, Tuba-on, Tubod, Poblacion District 1, Poblacion District 2, Puntana and part of Sudmon. These communities have ASF cases monitored by the municipal agriculture office.

‘Slaughtering of hogs and selling of pork and other pork products from the affected barangay is strictly prohibited,’ the EO read.

Entry and exit of live hogs from affected areas are also prohibited from the declared period of time or until such time that the municipal agriculture office recommends the lifting of the pork holiday.

The loca
l government had set up checkpoints to enforce the mayor’s directive.

In 2021, Silago town was among the local government units in Eastern Visayas with a confirmed ASF outbreak, according to the Department of Agriculture.

ASF is a highly contagious and deadly viral disease affecting swine and hogs and can be transmitted through direct contact with infected animals and non-direct contact like swill feeding, transporting, mating, slurry, and through vectors such as soft ticks and flies.

ASF-affected pigs usually manifest high fever, distinct reddish areas on the skin of the neck, chest and extremities, and bleeding of internal organs that could lead to death within two to 10 days.

Precautionary measures that can be taken to prevent the spread of ASF include disinfecting the vehicles and equipment used to transport the hogs; regularly checking the hogs by an expert to ensure their health; maintaining the sanitation of the surroundings; avoiding swill feeding; and proper disposal of the manure of the infected
hogs.
Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: Over 4,000 workers have availed of the Single Entry Approach (SEnA) program of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in settling their labor disputes with their employers in the first 11 months of 2023, a labor official said on Thursday.

This amounted to about PHP230 million in monetary awards released through SEnA, the administrative approach in providing a speedy, impartial, inexpensive and accessible settlement procedure of labor conflicts through a 30-day mandatory conciliation-mediation.

Lilia Estillore, regional director of DOLE-7, said the amount released covered the settled requests for assistance lodged under the program throughout the Central Visayas region.

The Tri-City field office of DOLE-7 covering the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu registered the biggest settlement amount at PHP199.8 million, benefiting 3,305 workers from January to November 2023.

The Negros Oriental field office awarded PHP16.6 million to 348 workers, while the Cebu provincial field office yielded PH
P6.2 million worth of monetary awards to 304 workers.

The settlement amount of PHP4.5 million was awarded to some 129 workers who processed their request for assistance in the Bohol provincial field office; while a total of 78 workers in Siquijor got PHP876,673.44 worth of monetary awards through the province’s field office.

‘These accomplishments are credited to the settled requests for assistance that were received and handled by the different field offices of DOLE-7. We have our Single Entry Assistance Desk Officers or SEADOs who see to it that settlement be reached by parties involved,’ Estillore told the Philippine News Agency.

She also underscored the advantage of SEnA, saying it is a free, speedy and non-litigious settlement of labor issues which prevent labor issues from ripening into full-blown disputes or actual labor cases.

The concept was first introduced through Department Order 107-10 and later institutionalized through the enactment of Republic Act 10396 in 2013, providing for a 30-day mand
atory conciliation-mediation for issues arising from labor and employment.

With the birth of e-SEnA, any aggrieved party will have the option to file for a request for assistance online by accessing https://sena.dole.gov.ph/.

The SEnA conferences could be done virtually or in a blended platform or the usual face-to-face arrangement.
Source: Philippines News Agency