BAGUIO CITY – The Department of Health (DOH) in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) said the region is close to vaccinating 80 percent of its target population before achieving herd immunity against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) vaccination. In a message on Tuesday, Dr. Amelita Pangilinan, DOH-CAR assistant regional director, said data from the Regional Vaccination Operations Center shows 77.23 percent of the total target eligible population in the region have received the two doses of different brands of the Covid-19 vaccine. The region’s vaccination program has a target population of 1,144,384 individuals. Pangalinan said the DOH also helps the

ILOILO CITY – Schools affected by Tropical Depression Agaton in Western Visayas are advised to make use of whatever available resources they have to resume classes as the regional and division offices of the Department of Education (DepEd) are coordinating with the central office to replace the destroyed school items. DepEd Western Visayas information officer Hernani Escullar Jr., in an interview on Tuesday, said education officials are also waiting for communication from their division offices if there will be an extension on the number of school days due to the interruption of classes. “The schools division office has to request

MANILA – Philippine Ambassador to China Jose Santiago Sta. Romana has passed away, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Tuesday. He was 74. “The Department of Foreign Affairs offers its sincere condolences to the family and loved ones of Ambassador Chito, to our nation for its great loss. We pray for the eternal repose of his soul,” the DFA said in a statement. The department has yet to provide details about the cause of the envoy’s death, but the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Sta. Romana died “due to an illness” on April 18. The Philippine Embassy in

MANILA – The number of new Covid-19 cases continues to decline nationwide with an average daily case of 224 for the week of April 12 to 18, a health official said Tuesday. The recent average is 17 percent lower than last week’s 271, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said in an online media forum. The country’s total tally of new cases for the same week is 1,571. “Sa kasalukuyang bilang ng ating (In our current number of our) active cases, 18,672 [for] the asymptomatic or has mild symptoms while the number of severe and critical cases has gone down to

TACLOBAN CITY – Access is still limited to five sections of national roads in Leyte province a week after the onslaught of Tropical Depression Agaton, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) reported on Tuesday. In Mahaplag, Leyte, the Hilusig Bridge is only passable to cars after its approach was damaged by flooding on April 11. The bridge forms part of the highway that connects Luzon and Mindanao. “In an effort to open the highway along Mahaplag, Leyte, the DPWH built a temporary steel bridge approach to make the bridge passable to motorcycles and four-wheeled vehicles only,” the DPWH

MANILA – An election watchdog group on Tuesday urged the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to investigate a possible case of election-related violence in Bukidnon. In a statement posted on its Facebook page, Kontra Daya said the poll body should look into the supposed incident on April 19 in Barangay Butong, Quezon, Bukidnon based on the video posted by Leody de Guzman, a presidential candidate “This is unacceptable,” the group said. “Comelec should investigate based on initial information shared on Leody de Guzman’s verified Facebook page.” De Guzman was in a meeting with the Manobo-Pulangiyon tribe when shots were fired. Meanwhile,