MANILA – At least 31 voters were sent home to self-isolate on election day after showing coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) related symptoms, a health official said Tuesday. In an online media forum, Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the 31 individuals were assessed by the doctors assigned in various polling precincts nationwide and were referred to local health centers for further evaluation and management. “Meron po tayong listahan sa mga pasiyenteng ito, but at the end of the day, ‘yung totality po nitong lahat wala naman po tayong nakita na may severe, for example, na mga sintomas na nagpunta doon
DAVAO CITY – The camp of vice-presidential candidate Mayor Sara Z. Duterte has clarified it was school officials who requested that she write something on the school armchair she used after casting her vote on Monday. Mayor Sara’s local political party, Hugpong ng Pagbabago (HNP), said it was compelled to issue a statement on the matter following the fake and edited photos circulated on social media on what she scribbled on her voting precinct’s chair. “I wrote down ‘Mahalin natin ang Pilipinas’. Then I signed my name. Then date,” Mayor Sara was quoted as saying in the HNP statement, issued
ILOILO CITY – The conversion of two Department of Health (DOH)–run hospitals in Iloilo Province means increased bed capacity and more available services soon. President Rodrigo Duterte signed on April 29, 2022 Republic Act 11723 converting the Western Visayas Sanitarium in the municipality of Santa Barbara into a general hospital with a specialty in infectious diseases and renaming it the Western Visayas Sanitarium and General Hospital (WVSGH). The Don Jose S. Monfort Medical Center Extension Hospital in Barotac Nuevo under Republic Act 11725 was converted into a tertiary hospital and renamed Don Jose S. Monfort Medical Center. DOH Health Facility
TACLOBAN CITY – Same clans will hold the key elective positions in Leyte and Biliran provinces in the next three years, as incumbent officials and their family members defeated their less popular rivals. In Leyte, Carlos Jericho Petilla will return as governor, the post he held for three full terms nine years ago. He will replace his younger brother, Leopoldo Dominico, who has been the province’s chief executive since 2013. The family has been reigning in Leyte province since 1992. The clan’s matriarch Remedios, the former Leyte governor and solon, will return as mayor of Palo town, replacing Anne, the
TACLOBAN CITY – This year’s elections saw more members of political families in Samar province beating their opponents. For the Tan family, the number of their clan members holding elective posts has doubled. Incumbent 2nd district Rep. Sharee Ann Tan succeeded in her attempt to swap posts with his younger brother, Reynolds Michael, the current governor. This is Sharee Ann’s return to the provincial government after serving as governor from 2010 to 2019. She defeated Gemma Zosa, the outgoing mayor of Santa Margarita town. Their uncle, Arnold Tan, will be the new vice governor of the province after defeating Board
MANILA – Deputy Speaker Rufus Rodriguez on Tuesday urged the House of Representatives to look into the reported malfunctioning of several vote-counting machines (VCMs) across the country. Rodriguez said defective VCMs and secure digital (SD) or memory cards resulted in the disenfranchisement of thousands of voters. “We owe it to our voters to investigate these reports and recommend remedial measures, either via legislation or administrative sanctions or penalties to be imposed by the Commission on Elections on responsible personnel and/or its automation service provider, Smartmatic,” he said in a statement. Rodriguez urged the poll body to report to the public
