The trough of a low-pressure area (LPA) is seen to affect Mindanao on Saturday while the northeast monsoon or “amihan” will reign over northern and central Luzon. In its 4 a.m. weather bulletin, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) forecast cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms in Mindanao brought by the trough of an LPA. Metro Manila and the Ilocos, Cordillera, Cagayan Valley, and Central Luzon regions will have partly cloudy to overcast skies with isolated light rains brought by the “amihan”. The Visayas and the rest of Luzon will likewise have partly cloudy to

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) 7 (Central Visayas) has provided a PHP500,000 livelihood assistance for the marginalized communities in Biliran. “The fund is intended to support the livelihood development, food sufficiency, and nutrition projects of the town under the Community Empowerment through Science and Technology Program of DOST,” Secretary Fortunato de la Peña said in a taped report aired on Friday afternoon. The amount was turned over to the local government of Naval, Biliran on February 9. As a counterpart to the project, the Biliran Province State University will provide supplies and materials amounting to PHP100,000, while the

The City Health Office reported Saturday it has so far registered 26,690 individuals who have beaten the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), representing a 93.67-percent recovery rate although the confirmed cases of infections continued to increase. The City Health Office has recorded 28,492 cumulative cases of Covid-19 since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, with 26,690 recoveries, 616 active cases, and 1,186 deaths. The health office said that 607 or 98.53 percent of the 616 active cases were acquired through community transmission. It said that five of the active cases were Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) personnel;

The University of San Carlos (USC) in Cebu City and the Max Planck Institute of Chemistry (MPIC) in Mainz, Germany, are currently working to develop a low-cost ventilator system for tropical indoor environments to curb further spread of airborne viruses. In a taped report aired on Friday, Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Fortunato de la Peña said the project aims to redesign the low-cost ventilator system, in collaboration with its inventor Dr. Frank Helleis of MPIC, and modify this to fit indoor tropical environments in the Philippines. The project is supported by the DOST-Philippine Council for Health Research

Three victims of human trafficking in the Zamboanga Peninsula have been given a chance to rebuild their lives through the “Kabuhayan (livelihood)” starter kits from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). The livelihood support is composed of grocery items and sacks of rice that the beneficiaries could use to start sari-sari (retail) stores. The livelihood project, under the DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program, is in partnership with the Philippine National Police Women and Children Protection Center (PNP-WCPC) in Region 9. “It is unfortunate that some of our OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) have fallen victims to human trafficking. We hope that

Authorities will accompany to Butuan City the doctor arrested in San Juan City on Friday morning for kidnapping and serious illegal detention and identified as a Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) official. However, no details have been released yet on the transfer of Maria Natividad Castro, 53, who was nabbed in Barangay San Perfecto based on a warrant of arrest issued on Jan. 30, 2020 by Fernando Fudalan of the Regional Trial Court Branch 7 of Bayugan City, Agusan del Sur. No bail was recommended for Castro (alias Yam/Agi/Kyle/Prim), No. 7 regional level communist terrorist group (CTG) priority target