Day: April 21, 2025

Manila: Following the confirmation of two mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) cases in Davao City, the Department of Health in Davao Region (DOH-11) has called on residents to remain vigilant against the spread of false and unverified information regarding the virus. According to Philippines News Agency, the Davao City Health Office confirmed the two cases on April 16, based on data from the DOH-Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit. The patients were admitted to an isolation facility at the Southern Philippines Medical Center. One of the patients, who had a severely compromised immune system, died from complications unrelated to mpox. In

Aurora: Over 870,000 tourists visited Aurora province during the Holy Week, the Provincial Tourism Office (PTO) said Monday. In its partial report, the PTO said the province recorded 871,172 visitors from April 12 to 20, of which 243,209 were overnight guests and 627,963 were same-day visitors. According to Philippines News Agency, the PTO attributed the influx to the combined draw of Aurora’s scenic destinations, religious traditions, and improved public safety protocols throughout the annual religious observance. Dipaculao registered the highest number of overnight guests at 127,148, followed by Dingalan with 56,439 and Casiguran with 14,968. On the other hand, Dingalan

Manila: A ranking Philippine Navy (PN) official has denied claims that Chinese maritime forces expelled the BRP Apolinario Mabini (PS-36) during its patrol at Panatag Shoal on April 20. The location, also known as Scarborough Shoal and Huangyan Dao in Chinese, has been a point of contention between the two nations. According to Philippines News Agency, China previously asserted that it had expelled the Filipino naval vessel for allegedly intruding into Huangyan Dao without approval. However, the Philippine Navy has strongly refuted this claim, labeling it as part of Beijing’s “malign information or shaping operations more likely intended for their

Manila: President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has relaxed long-standing travel restrictions for Philippine government officials to Taiwan, aiming to maximize opportunities for the development and expansion of the country’s priority areas of investments. Marcos signed Memorandum Circular (MC) 32 on April 15, reducing the travel limitations that were first imposed under Executive Order (EO) 313 in 1989 during the administration of former president Corazon Aquino. A copy of the memorandum was made public on Monday. According to Philippines News Agency, EO 313 had prohibited all Philippine government officials from undertaking official visits to Taiwan, receiving Taiwanese officials, or conducting any

Manila: A week after implementing significant price rollbacks, oil firms have announced a hike of over PHP1 per liter on pump prices starting Tuesday morning. According to Philippines News Agency, in separate advisories, several oil companies such as Caltex, Cleanfuel, Jetti, Petro Gazz, Seaoil, and Shell disclosed their plans to increase gasoline prices by PHP1.35 per liter and PHP1.30 per liter for diesel. Additionally, kerosene prices at Caltex, Seaoil, and Shell stations will increase by PHP1.10 per liter. Other oil firms are anticipated to follow the same pricing adjustments. Last week, these oil companies reduced gasoline prices by PHP3.60 per