Day: September 27, 2024

Manila: The Department of Health (DOH) on Friday said cases of influenza-like Illness (ILI) from Jan. 1 to Sept. 14 are 15 percent lower at 117,372 compared to the same period last year. Cases recorded for the same period last year were 137,980, DOH data show. A total of 126 deaths due to ILI were logged from Jan. 1-Sept. 14, also lower than the 142 recorded during the same period in 2023. “While the nationwide decline in flu-like cases is a positive sign, we must remain proactive. We cannot afford to be complacent,’ Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said Friday. He

Manila: The number of rabies cases nationwide increased by 23 percent or a total of 354 from Jan. 1 to Sept. 14, the Department of Health (DOH) said Friday. The total was higher than the 287 cases logged during the same period in 2023. Data also showed that in August, an increase in rabies cases was observed in the National Capital Region, Ilocos Region, Cagayan Valley, Bicol Region, Central Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Davao Region and Soccsksargen. Rabies is preventable through vaccination of pets and persons. Individuals bitten by animals should seek immediate medical attention and if

Manila: A Muntinlupa court has ordered the release of Jimmy Fortaleza, an inmate-witness in the August 2016 execution of three Chinese drug lords inside the Davao Penal Colony which is currently being investigated by Congress. In a statement Friday, Bureau of Corrections Director General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. said Fortaleza was ordered released after the court granted his petition for habeas corpus. In a 14-page decision dated Sept. 23 by presiding judge Gener Gito of the Regional Trial Court Branch 206 of Muntinlupa, the court granted Fortaleza’s petition for habeas corpus with prayer for computation of special time allowance for

Manila: The House of Representatives Quad Committee (Quadcom) on Friday asserted that its order to transfer Philippine offshore and gaming operators (POGO) person-of-interest Cassandra Li Ong to the Correctional Institute for Women (CIW) was by the law. “We want to make it clear: Ms. Ong’s transfer to the Correctional Institute for Women is legal. The Quadcom has followed all necessary protocols, and the decision is rooted in the rule of law,’ the Quadcom co-chairpersons said in a joint statement. Quadcom co-chairpersons include Surigao del Norte Rep. Ace Barbers, Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr., Abang Lingkod Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano, Sta.

Manila: Residential real estate prices of various types of new housing units in the Philippines continued to increase in the second quarter of the year but at a slower pace than the expansion in the same period last year. Residential Real Estate Price Indices (RREPI) data released by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) on Friday showed a 2.7 percent increase in the second quarter, slower than 14.1 percent seen in 2023. It was also lower than the 6.1 percent growth in the first quarter of the year. On a quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) basis, however, housing prices grew faster at 1.8