The local government of Calinog, Iloilo has been training its first responders in far-flung upland barangays to become a disaster-resilient town. In an interview Friday, Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management (MDRRM) officer Rodolfo F. Valencia said they have the training to capacitate barangay tanod (village security) and officials of mountainous barangays on basic life support (BLS). “Since they are in far-flung areas, they should have first responders,” he said. The town has 59 barangays, 13 of which are in remote and mountainous areas. The town’s farthest barangay is around 30 kilometers away from the town proper. He said all

The Philippine Red Cross (PRC), together with the Nabunturan Emergency Response Team, successfully extracted a miner trapped after a tunnel collapsed in Brgy. Bukal, Nabunturan, Davao de Oro. The rescue operation, which lasted for more than 24 hours, ended on July 9, with the patient transported to Davao de Oro Hospital. The PRC sent a four-man ambulance team and five rope rescue trained volunteers. The chapter quickly dispatched the team after receiving a call from the local response unit asking for back-up. Upon arrival, they were informed that Alvin Bermaba, 28, has been buried in chest-deep mud and debris since

At least four attached agencies of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) have received the highest audit rating from the Commission on Audit (COA) for their 2020 financial statements. The COA, in its 2020 annual audit report, gave the News and Information Bureau (NIB), Bureau of Broadcast Services (BBS), Bureau of Communication Services (BCS), and the Presidential Broadcast Staff – Radio Television Malacañang (PBS-RTVM) an “unqualified opinion” on the fairness of presentation of their respective financial statements for Fiscal Year 2020. The NIB, which supervises the Philippine News Agency, earned the highest audit rating for four consecutive years. In its

A member of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) was killed as Army elite forces overran an encampment of the terror group in the hinterlands of Sulu, the military reported on Saturday. Maj. Gen. William Gonzales, Joint Task Force (JTF)-Sulu commander, said the troops overran the encampment following a clash that broke out at about 12:20 p.m. Friday while they were checking on the reported presence of ASG bandits in Bud Daho, Barangay Lumping Pigi Daho, Talipao. “Immediately, troops of (the) 5th Scout Ranger Battalion who are operating nearby proceeded to the location. Then and there, they fought with more or

The short shelf life of Covid-19 jabs should not be a cause for concern as the vaccines will be used before the expiry dates. National Task Force (NTF) Against Covid-19 Chief Implementer Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said with the government ramping up the utilization of the jabs, no vaccines will expire unused. “There is no issue on the vaccines that have shorter shelf lives because we can administer them immediately. We have no problem with that,” Galvez said in a statement on Saturday. He said local government units (LGUs) increase their vaccination rate upon receipt of supplies. “This was the

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) does not collect any fees from entry exemption document (EED) applicants, except the visa fee paid to the issuing Philippine embassy or consulate abroad. The DFA made the clarification Friday amid reported scams targeting foreign nationals who seek exemption from the current suspension of visa issuance. “Foreign nationals and their sponsoring entities in the Philippines are advised to be wary of individuals, groups, establishments or companies that offer facilitation services or sponsorship letters for a fee for the issuance of EEDs,” it said in an advisory. The department disavowed any connection with such entities