MANILA: A party-list lawmaker on Thursday urged the Department of Justice (DOJ) to prioritize the elderly, sick, and persons with disabilities (PWDs) in recommending the grant of executive clemency to persons deprived of liberty (PDLs).

Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan made the call as he lauded the jail decongestion efforts of the DOJ.

He pointed out that the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) has facilitated the release of more than 11,000 PDLs since the start of the Marcos administration as part of the government’s jail decongestion program.

Yamsuan said his request is in line with the resolution issued by the Board of Pardons and Parole (BPP), which states that ‘PDLs who are 70 years old and, even if they are considered high-risk, if they have already served 10 years of their sentence, shall now be considered for executive clemency, especially if they are suffering from old age, being sickly, or terminal or life-threatening illnesses or other serious disability.’

The BPP has defined executi
ve clemency as “reprieve, absolute pardon, conditional pardon with or without parole conditions and commutation of sentence as may be granted by the President of the Philippines.”

‘We urge the DOJ and the BPP to consider giving priority to elderly, frail PDLs and those suffering from critical illnesses and disabilities in recommending the grant of executive clemency to President (Ferdinand) Marcos (Jr.),’ Yamsuan said.

He also expressed hope that the President would act on these recommendations for humanitarian reasons.

“Christmas is a time for mercy and compassion. It is also a time that should be spent with one’s family. PDLs who are old, disabled, or in poor health should be given the chance to spend time with their loved ones,’ he added.

As for the other PDLs qualified for release either through pardon, parole, or have served their maximum sentence, Yamsuan said they should be given the proper training and assistance so that they could start to rebuild their lives and become productive individuals.

H
e noted that freed PDLs were given skills training by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) through the BuCor’s Reformation and Release Program.

Providing appropriate interventions to PDLs to prevent them from becoming repeat offenders is another strategy to help decongest the country’s overpopulated penal and detention facilities, he said.

DOJ spokesperson, Assistant Secretary Mico Clavano, earlier said the agency expects to recommend ‘close to 1,000’ PDLs to Malacañang as possible beneficiaries of the presidential grant of pardon and executive clemency.
Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: Cases of leptospirosis have increased in Northern Samar weeks after the massive floods that hit the province last month, the Department of Health (DOH) reported on Thursday.

From just eight cases from January to the first week of December 2023, the number rose to 22 cases in the second week as more patients sought consultation for symptoms of the bacterial disease.

‘The number has increased as more people manifested symptoms and sought medical attention in our health facilities as a result of heavy flooding in the province last month,’ DOH Eastern Visayas regional information office Jelyn Lopez-Malibago said.

In anticipation of further weather disturbances, DOH earlier prepositioned antibiotics in Northern Samar to combat the illness and sent more drugs in the last week of November as part of the agency’s post-disaster response.

As a result, no one died from leptospirosis in Northern Samar, Malibago said.

Leptospirosis is a disease contracted when floodwaters, vegetation, or moist soil are contam
inated with the bacteria called leptospira, commonly spread through the infected urine or feces of rats.

Symptoms include fever, chills, red eyes, jaundice, muscle pain, a severe headache, and little urine production.

In the Eastern Visayas region, the DOH has recorded 113 leptospirosis cases in six provinces with nine deaths. Mortalities were recorded in Tanauan, Leyte, Jipapad, Eastern Samar, Calbayog City, Catbalogan City, Pagsanghan, and Basey in Samar province.

The DOH said leptospirosis can be prevented by avoiding contact with animal urine or body fluids, especially if there are cuts or abrasions of the skin, and by wearing protective clothing or footwear near soil or water that may be contaminated with animal urine.

Other preventive measures include the consumption of boiled water, especially during the rainy season; avoiding swimming or wading in muddy ponds and slowly moving streams, especially those located near farms or stagnant water; and controlling rats and mice around the home on a regular
basis.
Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: Cases of leptospirosis have increased in Northern Samar weeks after the massive floods that hit the province last month, the Department of Health (DOH) reported on Thursday.

From just eight cases from January to the first week of December 2023, the number rose to 22 cases in the second week as more patients sought consultation for symptoms of the bacterial disease.

‘The number has increased as more people manifested symptoms and sought medical attention in our health facilities as a result of heavy flooding in the province last month,’ DOH Eastern Visayas regional information office Jelyn Lopez-Malibago said.

In anticipation of further weather disturbances, DOH earlier prepositioned antibiotics in Northern Samar to combat the illness and sent more drugs in the last week of November as part of the agency’s post-disaster response.

As a result, no one died from leptospirosis in Northern Samar, Malibago said.

Leptospirosis is a disease contracted when floodwaters, vegetation, or moist soil are contam
inated with the bacteria called leptospira, commonly spread through the infected urine or feces of rats.

Symptoms include fever, chills, red eyes, jaundice, muscle pain, a severe headache, and little urine production.

In the Eastern Visayas region, the DOH has recorded 113 leptospirosis cases in six provinces with nine deaths. Mortalities were recorded in Tanauan, Leyte, Jipapad, Eastern Samar, Calbayog City, Catbalogan City, Pagsanghan, and Basey in Samar province.

The DOH said leptospirosis can be prevented by avoiding contact with animal urine or body fluids, especially if there are cuts or abrasions of the skin, and by wearing protective clothing or footwear near soil or water that may be contaminated with animal urine.

Other preventive measures include the consumption of boiled water, especially during the rainy season; avoiding swimming or wading in muddy ponds and slowly moving streams, especially those located near farms or stagnant water; and controlling rats and mice around the home on a regular
basis.
Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: Cases of leptospirosis have increased in Northern Samar weeks after the massive floods that hit the province last month, the Department of Health (DOH) reported on Thursday.

From just eight cases from January to the first week of December 2023, the number rose to 22 cases in the second week as more patients sought consultation for symptoms of the bacterial disease.

‘The number has increased as more people manifested symptoms and sought medical attention in our health facilities as a result of heavy flooding in the province last month,’ DOH Eastern Visayas regional information office Jelyn Lopez-Malibago said.

In anticipation of further weather disturbances, DOH earlier prepositioned antibiotics in Northern Samar to combat the illness and sent more drugs in the last week of November as part of the agency’s post-disaster response.

As a result, no one died from leptospirosis in Northern Samar, Malibago said.

Leptospirosis is a disease contracted when floodwaters, vegetation, or moist soil are contam
inated with the bacteria called leptospira, commonly spread through the infected urine or feces of rats.

Symptoms include fever, chills, red eyes, jaundice, muscle pain, a severe headache, and little urine production.

In the Eastern Visayas region, the DOH has recorded 113 leptospirosis cases in six provinces with nine deaths. Mortalities were recorded in Tanauan, Leyte, Jipapad, Eastern Samar, Calbayog City, Catbalogan City, Pagsanghan, and Basey in Samar province.

The DOH said leptospirosis can be prevented by avoiding contact with animal urine or body fluids, especially if there are cuts or abrasions of the skin, and by wearing protective clothing or footwear near soil or water that may be contaminated with animal urine.

Other preventive measures include the consumption of boiled water, especially during the rainy season; avoiding swimming or wading in muddy ponds and slowly moving streams, especially those located near farms or stagnant water; and controlling rats and mice around the home on a regular
basis.
Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: Cases of leptospirosis have increased in Northern Samar weeks after the massive floods that hit the province last month, the Department of Health (DOH) reported on Thursday.

From just eight cases from January to the first week of December 2023, the number rose to 22 cases in the second week as more patients sought consultation for symptoms of the bacterial disease.

‘The number has increased as more people manifested symptoms and sought medical attention in our health facilities as a result of heavy flooding in the province last month,’ DOH Eastern Visayas regional information office Jelyn Lopez-Malibago said.

In anticipation of further weather disturbances, DOH earlier prepositioned antibiotics in Northern Samar to combat the illness and sent more drugs in the last week of November as part of the agency’s post-disaster response.

As a result, no one died from leptospirosis in Northern Samar, Malibago said.

Leptospirosis is a disease contracted when floodwaters, vegetation, or moist soil are contam
inated with the bacteria called leptospira, commonly spread through the infected urine or feces of rats.

Symptoms include fever, chills, red eyes, jaundice, muscle pain, a severe headache, and little urine production.

In the Eastern Visayas region, the DOH has recorded 113 leptospirosis cases in six provinces with nine deaths. Mortalities were recorded in Tanauan, Leyte, Jipapad, Eastern Samar, Calbayog City, Catbalogan City, Pagsanghan, and Basey in Samar province.

The DOH said leptospirosis can be prevented by avoiding contact with animal urine or body fluids, especially if there are cuts or abrasions of the skin, and by wearing protective clothing or footwear near soil or water that may be contaminated with animal urine.

Other preventive measures include the consumption of boiled water, especially during the rainy season; avoiding swimming or wading in muddy ponds and slowly moving streams, especially those located near farms or stagnant water; and controlling rats and mice around the home on a regular
basis.
Source: Philippines News Agency

MANILA: Cases of leptospirosis have increased in Northern Samar weeks after the massive floods that hit the province last month, the Department of Health (DOH) reported on Thursday.

From just eight cases from January to the first week of December 2023, the number rose to 22 cases in the second week as more patients sought consultation for symptoms of the bacterial disease.

‘The number has increased as more people manifested symptoms and sought medical attention in our health facilities as a result of heavy flooding in the province last month,’ DOH Eastern Visayas regional information office Jelyn Lopez-Malibago said.

In anticipation of further weather disturbances, DOH earlier prepositioned antibiotics in Northern Samar to combat the illness and sent more drugs in the last week of November as part of the agency’s post-disaster response.

As a result, no one died from leptospirosis in Northern Samar, Malibago said.

Leptospirosis is a disease contracted when floodwaters, vegetation, or moist soil are contam
inated with the bacteria called leptospira, commonly spread through the infected urine or feces of rats.

Symptoms include fever, chills, red eyes, jaundice, muscle pain, a severe headache, and little urine production.

In the Eastern Visayas region, the DOH has recorded 113 leptospirosis cases in six provinces with nine deaths. Mortalities were recorded in Tanauan, Leyte, Jipapad, Eastern Samar, Calbayog City, Catbalogan City, Pagsanghan, and Basey in Samar province.

The DOH said leptospirosis can be prevented by avoiding contact with animal urine or body fluids, especially if there are cuts or abrasions of the skin, and by wearing protective clothing or footwear near soil or water that may be contaminated with animal urine.

Other preventive measures include the consumption of boiled water, especially during the rainy season; avoiding swimming or wading in muddy ponds and slowly moving streams, especially those located near farms or stagnant water; and controlling rats and mice around the home on a regular
basis.
Source: Philippines News Agency