A lawmaker on Thursday called on the Department of Health (DOH) to increase the funding for the country’s prevention and control of communicable diseases amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic. Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin made the call after finding out about the PHP4.2 billion budget cut, or about 71.21 percent, in the DOH’s disease prevention that has been transferred to the health promotion program. Garin, a former DOH secretary, said the budget slash is a “wrong move” considering that the pandemic is not yet over. “We are in dire need of funds and these funds were transferred
Authorities arrested a wanted person who had been hiding for 17 years, and an alleged child abuser in separate law enforcement operations in the region, police officials said Thursday. Arrested were Alvin Lumonah, 52, the 8th most wanted person in the Zamboanga Peninsula, and Benjamin Siote, 60, who allegedly sexually assaulted his granddaughter last year. Brig. Gen. Neil Alinsangan, Police Regional Office-Zamboanga Peninsula (PRO-9) chief, said Lumonah has been hiding for the past 17 years. He was arrested in an operation around 5 a.m. Wednesday in Barangay Sinaman, Dipolog City, Zamboanga del Norte. Alinsangan said Lumonah,
Troopers from the Army’s 10th Infantry Division (10ID) handed over Thursday to their respective families the remains of five communist New People’s Army (NPA) members who were killed in an encounter in Davao Oriental province. In an interview, Capt. Mark Anthony Tito, the 10ID spokesperson, said the five members of the NPA Guerrilla Front 18 were separately killed in an encounter with the Army’s 701st Infantry Brigade in Barangay Mahayahay in Lupon, and Barangay San Vicente, Banaybanay, both in Davao Oriental, on Sept. 11 and 13. The slain NPA fighters were identified only through their aliases as Buddy,
Two hundred residents of Tandag City, Surigao del Sur, received Thursday some PHP3 million in livelihood assistance from the Department of Social Welfare and Development in the Caraga Region (DSWD-13). In a statement, Mayor Roxanne Pimentel said the financial aid is a big help for the low-income residents who are affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). Each of the beneficiaries received PHP15,000 cash assistance during the activity at the Telaje covered court. “The financial aid will also help our small-scale informal businesses in recovering from economic losses triggered by the pandemic,” Pimentel said. Meanwhile, the
The Philippines and Singapore have renewed their commitment to promote personal data protection through the recent signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the two countries. In a statement on Thursday, the National Privacy Commission (NPC) said NPC Commissioner John Henry Naga and Commissioner Lew Chuen Hong of Singapore’s Personal Data Protection Commission (PDPC) signed the document to reaffirm their agreement to promote exchanges in personal data protection and “facilitate trusted cross border data flows.” The document was signed on Sept. 7 and was jointly witnessed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien
Learners of Tampakan National High School (TNHS) in Tampakan, South Cotabato, have returned anew to online and modular learning following the suspension of its face-to-face (F2F) classes due to cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). This came about after a teacher and five students were found positive for Covid-19. Ma. Teresa Hallegado, Department of Education South Cotabato information officer, said the suspension of in-person classes at TNHS started on Sept. 14 and will end on October 3 as per advice by the Tampakan municipal health office. In an interview Thursday, Hallegado said the virus may have been
