A soldier and an Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) bandit have been killed in a series of clashes in the province of Sulu, a top military official disclosed Tuesday. Maj. Gen. William Gonzales, the Army’s 11th Infantry Division commander, said the first clash, which lasted for about 15 minutes, ensued around 9:20 a.m. Monday in Barangay Bangkal, Patikul, Sulu. Gonzales said the second clash ensued around 9:50 a.m., and the third around 10:40 a.m. as the troops pursued the ASG bandits fleeing from the site of the first clash. Gonzales, who is also the Joint Task Force (JTF)-Sulu commander, identified the

Despite the easing of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) restrictions to Alert level 2 in the National Capital Region (NCR) starting Tuesday, the Quezon City government still limits the movement of unvaccinated and partially vaccinated individuals. The city’s shopping malls and other businesses will allow entry only to the fully vaccinated who must present a proof of inoculation and a valid identification (ID). Even shoppers just loitering in the mall may also be randomly asked for their vaccination cards, according to the city guidelines. Partially vaccinated or unvaccinated persons may only purchase essential goods or avail of essential services like medical

Health authorities here on Tuesday urged unvaccinated residents to get their coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) jabs after the city confirmed its first cases of the Omicron strain. Dr. Fidel Peñamante, Philippine Medical Association (PMA) local chapter president, said Tuesday most of the city residents who had contracted Covid-19 were unvaccinated, including children. Peñamante made the appeal after the city government announced on Saturday the detection of the first two documented cases of the Covid-19’s Omicron variant here. The city public information office said specimens sent to the Philippine Genome Center showed those infected were a 26-year-old pregnant woman and a

The Bacolaodiat Inc., organizer of the Lunar New Year events in this city, has expressed optimism on Bacolodnons overcoming the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic as the local Filipino-Chinese community welcomed the Year of the Water Tiger on Tuesday. This is the second year Bacolod has missed the grand celebration of the Bacolaodiat Festival after the onset of the global health crisis in early 2020. In a statement, Bacolaodiat Inc. chair Oddette Ong-Gomez said they cannot let the people’s spirit be dampened by the challenges brought by the pandemic and hoped the new year brings healing and hope to everyone.

Most of the infected personnel of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) have gone back to work and are ready for the influx of tourists once the quarantine requirement is waived starting February 10 for the fully vaccinated. Returning overseas Filipinos (ROF) are also exempted from quarantine starting Tuesday as long as they have the complete vaccine doses against Covid-19 and a negative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test result taken within 48 hours before departure from the country of origin. As of Monday, 401 BI workers, majority of whom are assigned at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, have recovered from

At least a million individuals in Eastern Visayas are being targeted in the three-day vaccination campaign of the Department of Health (DOH) to end on February 2. With this vaccination drive, the DOH expects that almost 100 percent of the region’s population will receive at least one dose of the vaccine against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19). “The simultaneous implementation of the said vaccination drive in all six provinces aims to vaccinate at least one million individuals in three days; facilitate the vaccination activities and expedite vaccination of individuals with zero doses, those with due/missed second doses, and booster doses by