MANILA – The Quezon City government will expand its network of bike lanes to further promote sustainable mobility and reduce air pollution in its area of jurisdiction. Mayor Joy Belmonte said such a network covers some 93 kilometers of interconnected and protected bike lanes along major roads in the city. “We’re going to do another 81 kilometers next year,” Belmonte said Thursday during the “Stories for a Better Normal” online discussion on urban mobility. The target lanes will still be integrated and protected so bikers using these can be safe and encounter fewer navigational difficulties there, she noted. Four-wheeled vehicles

MANILA – The registration pace of the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) project continues to progress despite quarantine protocols in some areas. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the lead implementing agency of the PhilSys, reported a total of 26,322,999 Filipinos from the National Capital Region (NCR) and other areas in 81 provinces are done with the biometrics process, the second phase of registration, as of Aug. 18. After Step 2, the delivery of the Philippine Identification (PhilID) card by the Philippine Post will follow. The entire application process and delivery are free of charge. The NCR has been downgraded from modified

MANILA – The Taguig Regional Trial Court sentenced on Tuesday 10 members of the extremist Maute Group to up to 40 years imprisonment for the abduction of six saw mill workers, two of whom were beheaded, in Butig, Lanao del Sur in 2016. Among the 10 found guilty of kidnapping and serious illegal detention with murder was Dr. Russell Langi Salic, a physician who was ordered extradited to the United States in 2018 for alleged involvement in terroristic activities. Presiding Judge Marivic Vitor of Branch 266 also sentenced to 20 to 40 years of imprisonment Ominta Romato Maute (alias Farhana),

MANILA – The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) is asking governments worldwide for the “phased reopening” of schools as soon as possible, citing the various effects of missing in-person classes on students. In a report dated August 25, UNICEF Philippines said the country is one of the five in the world that have not started in-person classes since the beginning of the pandemic. “While new variants are causing a rise of infections, UNICEF is advocating for a phased reopening of schools, beginning in low-risk areas. This can be done on a voluntary basis with proper safety protocols in

MANILA – Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua hopes that community quarantine measures next month would be less restrictive to ease the impacts of lockdowns on the economy. During the Manufacturing Summit Thursday, Chua said 54 percent of the economy is currently under modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) which is affecting 15.6 million workers. “We hope to move towards a less stringent quarantine in the coming weeks as we address the Delta variant… We will continue to review the economic and health data so we can move as sooner to a more relaxed quarantine to allow more people to go

MANILA – The country’s Health Technology Assessment Council (HTAC) has yet to give its recommendation for the procurement of the Indian Covaxin Covid-19 vaccine. Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr., Chief Implementer of the National Task Force Against Covid-19 (NTF), said the HTAC’s recommendation is required under the Universal Health Care Law and the Covid-19 Vaccination Program Act. The government’s negotiation with India’s Bharat Biotech, manufacturer of Covaxin, requires engagement with an “intermediary” or mediator, unlike the tripartite agreement with AstraZeneca and Moderna companies. “The question is why do we have to go through intermediaries? It will create a lot of questions