General

Manila: Negros Oriental’s Provincial Health Office (PHO) is seeking a repeat testing of a three-year-old boy for mpox (formerly monkeypox) amid ‘baffling’ circumstances surrounding the child’s infection. Dr. Liland Estacion, PHO chief, expressed confusion over the case, noting the absence of travel history or symptoms among the boy’s family members. According to Philippines News Agency, the boy was recently diagnosed with mpox symptoms, and test results from the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) in Metro Manila confirmed the viral disease. Estacion mentioned that contact tracing efforts did not reveal any potential source of the infection, leaving the origin of

Manila: The Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) is intensifying its campaign to protect Filipinos from deceptive ‘foreign suitors’ and other cross-border scams who lure them into sham or abusive marriages abroad. In a news release, CFO Secretary Dante Ang II emphasized the development of a watchlist mechanism by the agency to detect red flags, prevent fraudulent unions, and track repeat offenders who exploit Filipinos, particularly women. According to Philippines News Agency, the CFO revealed that it now actively monitors a watchlist encompassing 356 individuals, including 258 foreign nationals, 60 Filipinos, and 38 suspected marriage brokers reported for engaging in illegal

Marawi city: Two suspected gunrunners were arrested and four firearms seized during an entrapment operation in Marawi City on Tuesday afternoon, police reported Wednesday. According to Philippines News Agency, Col. Caezar Cabuhat, Lanao del Sur police provincial director, identified the arrested suspects as Alino Maamor Topaan, 47, and Sadam Sarip Baguan, 38, both residents of Marawi City. They are known dealers of unlicensed firearms. Seized from the suspects were two M14 rifles and two M16 rifles, along with ammunition. Authorities also recovered the marked money used in the buy-bust operation, a vehicle, and various identification cards during the operation. Cabuhat

Manila: The draft circular on nuclear power, set for discussion during a public consultation next week, proposes to offer power distribution utilities (DUs) an additional option to meet energy demand, according to a Department of Energy (DOE) official. DOE’s Energy Utilization Management Bureau Director Patrick Aquino stated that the proposal provides DUs with alternative sources of capacity. According to Philippines News Agency, the proposed circular is not a mandate but is guided by the principles of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA) regarding the least cost. Aquino emphasized that the circular gives electric power industry participants the choice to

Kerrville: The fewer than 100 Filipinos residing in Kerrville City are safe following the catastrophic flooding that ripped through Central Texas last week, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) confirmed Wednesday. ‘Our post has not received any reports of Filipino nationals among the casualties or those adversely affected by the calamity,’ DFA Undersecretary Eduardo Jose De Vega said in a radio interview. According to Philippines News Agency, Kerrville City in Kerr, Texas, is where the worst devastation occurred since heavy rainfall hit the state on July 2, resulting in deadly flash floods when water levels along the Guadalupe River in