Typhoon Odette has leveled Dinagat Islands to the ground and the damage to the landscape is “reminiscent, if not worse than, when Yolanda hit the province”, Governor Arlene “Kaka” Bag-ao said Friday night. “Dinagat Islands has been leveled to the ground by Super Typhoon Odette. We survived. We have yet to establish communication and access among the 7 municipalities to know the extent of the damage.” Bag-ao said in a communique. She said casualties left by “Odette” still need to be confirmed as there are no data yet from the towns. She added that the early preparations made by the
One of the petitions to declare presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. a nuisance candidate has been denied, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) announced on Saturday. In a seven-page decision, the Comelec 2nd Division said petitioner Danilo Lihaylihay, who is also a presidential aspirant in the May 2022 polls, failed to present proof that Marcos could be considered a nuisance. The poll body said Marcos’ candidacy did not fall under any of the three broad categories of nuisance candidates: one who has filed a candidacy to throw the election process in mockery or disrepute, cause confusion among voters by the
The government is working to ensure that the supply of vaccines against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) in areas of the country struck by Typhoon Odette would not be adversely affected. “In spite of the typhoon in some parts of the country, we assure that they (vaccine supplies) are in safe and secure hands,” Dr. Ma. Paz Corrales of the National Task Force Against Covid-19 told newsmen Friday night during the arrival of 1,164,150 doses of the Pfizer vaccine procured by the government through the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Corrales said in some regions, officials have scheduled another three-day mass
The airlifting of food and medical supplies has begun to help the distressed residents of Siargao Island in Surigao del Norte, one of the areas devastated by Typhoon Odette. In his Facebook post on Saturday, Surigao del Norte 1st District Rep. Francisco Jose Matugas said an airplane carrying five tons of food, including medical supplies, and a team of doctors has left Manila heading for the island. “We expect a regular delivery of five tons of food per day through air transport,” Matugas added. He also confirmed that President Rodrigo Duterte would visit the severely-battered island on Saturday. As of
The country’s active cases went down to 9,924 on Saturday as the Department of Health (DOH) logged 291 new coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) patients and 523 new recoveries. In its latest case bulletin, the DOH recorded 106 new fatalities, raising the death toll to 50,675. The new infections are lower than the 582 daily new cases reported on the previous day. OCTA Research fellow Dr. Guido David warned that the country might face a “serious surge of infections” if the Omicron variant enters the Philippines. But he noted that the slight uptick on DOH’s Friday figures is more likely a
The Department of Health (DOH) on Saturday said all vaccines and even the booster dose give significant protection against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), including the more transmissible Omicron variant. The statement came following a report that a small study in South Africa showed that some patients who previously received their booster dose still tested positive for the Omicron coronavirus variant. “Alam naman natin maraming developments sa disease at saka sa vaccine, pero it does not mean na wala ng proteksiyon ang ating bakuna even with the booster kasi napapangalagaan pa rin iyong ating kalusugan (We know that there are numerous
