Category: General

Manila: Prison and health officials on Wednesday announced a plan of action to immediately address the incidence of tuberculosis among persons deprived of liberty (PDLs). TB Free Generation Campaign was launched by the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor), in cooperation with the Department of Health (DOH), in celebration of the National Custodial Consciousness Week. In a news release, BuCor Director General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. said this signifies a ‘proactive approach’ of the agency to focus on intervention, early detection and intervention among PDLs, as he acknowledged the challenges posed by congestion and vulnerability of inmates. Under the program, he said

BUTUAN CITY – The Coast Guard District in Northeastern Mindanao (CGD-NEM) reported that 445 passengers remain stranded at ports over the past two days after sea travel was suspended due to Tropical Storm (TS) Kristine. In a statement Wednesday, CGD-NEM said most of the stranded passengers are at ports in Surigao del Norte and the Dinagat Islands, including those in Siargao and the Bucas Grande Islands. ‘These numbers may change as we continue to monitor port conditions through our Coast Guard stations in Surigao del Norte and Dinagat Islands,’ CGD-NEM said. Based on the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services

Manila: The Philippines will encourage its international development partners to invest more in initiatives that would advance women’s participation and role in peace and security, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said Wednesday. Pangandaman lamented that most projects from the country’s development partners do not include women, peace, and security initiatives. ‘If there is one, it’s not that big. The pie doesn’t show a big chunk of the budget on women, peace, and security. So, we would like to push that forward,’ she said during the Kapihan sa Manila Bay. ‘More than anything else, we need the cooperation of the private sector,

MANILA: The Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Field Office (FO) in Bicol Region on Tuesday started assisting individuals and families affected by Tropical Storm Kristine. ‘Following the issuance of a forced evacuation order in the province of Albay, members of the DSWD’s Municipal Action Team in Region 5 were immediately deployed to assist in setting up modular tents and profiling of displaced families in evacuation centers located in the municipality of Jovellar,’ DSWD Disaster Response Management Group (DRMG) Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao said in a news release on Wednesday. Aside from assisting in evacuation centers, DSWD personnel were

The National Irrigation Administration (NIA)-Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) said three big-ticket irrigation projects will further boost the region’s food production capacity. A total of PHP4.25 billion worth of projects for implementation from 2023 to 2027 will boost production and add to the current 113,539 hectares of irrigated land. To date, about 61 percent of the 185,406 has. farmland are irrigated, or a gap of 71,867 has. Engineer Benito Espique, NIA-CAR regional manager, in an interview Wednesday, identified one of the big-ticket projects as the PHP1.493-billion Alfonso Lista Pump Irrigation Project in Ifugao province that will irrigate 2,300 has. and will