Governor Gwendolyn Garcia has ordered the police force to heighten the enforcement of the transportation protocols against coronavirus disease (Covid-19), particularly the no-overloading and no-air-conditioning rules, for public utility vehicles (PUVs). During a coordination meeting at the Capitol on Wednesday, Garcia asked for the cooperation of all police chiefs to implement Executive Order (EO) 35-B, outlining the additional regulations for PUVs. Garcia directed the police to strictly “flag down” and apprehend erring buses that do not follow the protocols set by the provincial government. She cited the no-overloading and no-air-conditioning policies for PUVs, as among the key measures to prevent

The Cotabato Electric Cooperative (Cotelco), the province’s power distributor, cleared a total of 30 kilometers of distribution lines of obstructions in at least five towns on Wednesday. Cotelco general manager Godofredo Homez said the same clearing activities were held simultaneously with 121 electric cooperatives across the country for the 52nd founding anniversary of the National Electrification Administration (NEA). “The activity aims to suffice the mandate of electric cooperatives to ensure power reliability and support the campaign on climate change mitigation nationwide,” Homez said. During the activity, Cotelco line workers cleared their backbone and lateral lines in Makilala, M’lang, Kabacan, Roxas,

The ICTSI Foundation, as part of the ICTSI Group’s continuing support to the nationwide vaccination program and in partnership with Bloomberry Resorts Corp. (BRC), has donated 68,300 doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccine from their inventory to 12 local government units (LGU) across the country. The vaccine donations were distributed to the cities of Parañaque, Quezon, Dasmariñas, Sta. Rosa, Iloilo, Davao, and Cagayan de Oro; the provinces of Palawan and Ilocos Norte; and the municipalities of Itogon in Benguet, Jose Panganiban in Camarines Norte, and Balayan in Batangas. “We remain firmly committed to the country’s battle against

The Department of Education (DepEd) will set up mobile booths next week in strategic areas here in line with the start of the enrollment for the school year 2021-2022. Kenneth Carisma, spokesperson of DepEd city division office, said Wednesday the negotiations are underway with concerned stakeholders for the establishment of the mobile enrollment booths in public markets and shopping malls here. He said the move is part of their efforts to make the enrollment process more simplified and accessible to local residents amid the continuing coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. The simplified enrollment and survey forms will be made available

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has moved the submission and opening of bids for the public auction of over 81,000 precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines to August 23 from its earlier schedule set on Tuesday. In a notice released on Wednesday, Thaddeus Hernan, chairperson of the Administrative Service Department of the Comelec Disposal Committee, said the activities have been moved to a later date due to the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in Metro Manila. The submission of bids will be at 9 a.m. on August 23 to be followed by the opening of the bids at 10 a.m. “Due

The House Committee on Health approved on Wednesday a measure that would establish a National Patient Navigation and Referral System (NPNRS) for the purpose of strengthening the provision of the health care delivery system. During its virtual hearing, the panel, chaired by Quezon Rep. Angelina Tan, approved House Bill 9633, which would institutionalize and broaden the scope of the One Hospital Command System, which currently conducts health facility referrals in Metro Manila. Tan, who is also author of the bill, said its passage is urgently necessary to bridge the current fragmented health system in terms of service delivery across the