The Department of Health (DOH) on Thursday clarified that the projected average of 30,000 Covid-19 cases per day in the National Capital Region (NCR) by the end of September is “not cast in stone” and can still change. In a statement, the DOH said changes may happen as local government units (LGUs) implement targeted and granular lockdowns, enhancing active case finding, and fast-tracking vaccination. “Based on a set of assumptions, daily cases in NCR for September 30 may range from 16,000 to 43,000. The assumptions used included mobility, public health and healthcare capacities and system, and the public’s adherence to

Youth group Propelling Our Inherited Nation Through our Youth, Inc. (POINTY) in Surigao del Norte has forged partnerships with different government agencies to provide food relief to an indigenous peoples (IP) community in the province. About 75 IP families belonging to the Mamanwa tribe in Sitio Songkoy, Barangay Mahanub, Gigaquit, Surigao del Norte received family food packs and hygiene kits in a distribution activity conducted on Friday. POINTY also facilitated a feeding program for the children of the Mamanwa tribe in the area. “The food distribution is part of the outreach program of POINTY Surigao del Norte, dubbed as ‘Alay

The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) officially released the results of the 2019 Functional Literacy, Education and Mass Media Survey (FLEMMS) rider questions on access to information. In an effort to institutionalize access to information in the country, the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO), through the Freedom of Information Project Management Office (FOI-PMO), initiated a partnership with PSA in 2018 to include FOI-related questions in the 2019 FLEMMS. “The data results are really valuable to us [FOI PMO] as these reveal public awareness about FOI, and help us plan and recalibrate our efforts on how we conduct our information, education, and

To further strengthen current measures to protect the customers from coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) infections, the Cebu City government is requiring establishments to secure a protocol compliance certificate (PCC). Acting Mayor Michael Rama said on Friday establishments operating in Cebu need to obtain the certification from the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), indicating the venue capacity before the pandemic and the allowable capacity based on the existing quarantine status. On Thursday, Rama issued Executive Order (EO) 138 extending the enforcement of “Oplan “Puyo” (stay at home), in line with the extension of modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ) status in the city

The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is helping its Philippine counterpart strengthen the country’s maritime domain awareness. In a teleconference on Friday, USCG Vice Admiral Michael McAllister said Washington DC wants to give Manila the capacity and the capability “to spend more time beyond their littorals”. The USCG and the Philippine Coast Guard recently concluded joint exercises in the West Philippine Sea but McAllister clarified this does not necessarily mean there was an intention to send a message. “I’m not going to say that activity near the Scarborough Shoals was necessarily intended to send a message; but when you think

A total of 99 new immigration officers (IOs) have been assigned to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to beef up its manpower at the country’s premiere gateway. Lawyer Carlos Capulong, Bureau of Immigration (BI) port operations chief, said Friday the new personnel were recently recruited by the agency. “Our new IOs have started reporting for duty in the three terminals of the NAIA since last week and they are currently undergoing on-the-job training prior to their full deployment in our immigration counters,” he said in a statement. He added that the new immigration inspectors will be rotated on their