Comelec forms

monitoring panel

 

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) in Zamboanga
city,  in partnership with other government agencies, has organized a committee to monitor campaign violations and guidelines in line with the May 9, 2022 national and local elections.

Lawyer Stephen Roy Cañete, first district election officer, said Wednesday the Comelec campaign committee is composed of representatives from the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) – Zamboanga City Office; the City Health Office, the Philippine National Police; and the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Cañete said the DILG – Zamboanga City has tasked barangay officials to monitor campaign activities such as rallies, meetings, and motorcades.

“They (barangay officials) will be the ones who will report about the conduct of campaign activities in their locality,” he said.

He said the monitoring of campaign activities will include compliance with health protocols.

The public is strongly urged to continue practicing minimum health standards such as the wearing of face masks, hand hygiene, and physical distancing although the city has been placed under Alert Level 1 effective March 1.

Meanwhile, Cañete said they will again conduct Operation Baklas together with the city police office on March 25.

Cañete said all oversized campaign materials will be removed, including those placed outside the Comelec-designated common poster areas.  

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 Zambo City suspends

vaccination of children

 

The Zamboanga City Health Office  has temporarily suspended the vaccination of children aged 5 to 11 due to a lack of supply of vaccines against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).

“Once we receive the additional supply, we will resume our activity,” said Dr. Dulce Amor Miravite, city health officer, on Wednesday.

She noted that a total of 13,548 children have so far received their first dose since the vaccination for the particular age group rolled out on February 9.

Miravite said a reformulated Pfizer vaccine brand has been allocated for the youngest pediatric group.

Meanwhile, she said 621,141 individuals representing 69.30 percent of the target population of 896,200 have been fully vaccinated since the vaccination rolled out in March 2021.

She said 530,164 of the 621,141 fully vaccinated individuals were adults while the remaining 90,977 were children aged 12 to 17.

She added that 73,596 adult individuals have received their vaccine booster shots.

She encouraged all the fully vaccinated individuals to get vaccine boosters for added protection against Covid-19.

“This (vaccine booster) will protect us from the severe form of infection,” Miravite said. 

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 Zambo City installs alarm

system for security vehicles

 

The Zamboanga city government is installing an automatic vehicle locator (AVL) on all mobile assets of its security sector, especially those provided by the local government.

The upgrade comes as part of the emergency dispatch system being installed in the command center of the Security and Surveillance Coordinating Office.

Christopher Mandi, command center head, said Tuesday that the AVL is a high-tech system that will become the backbone of a localized emergency hotline that can be accessed via cell phone through a one-push alert button.

Mandi said they are currently completing the installation of 70 AVL on all vehicles the city government has turned over to the security sector.

He said the purchase of vehicles for the security sector was in line with Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar’s commitment to security.

Mandi said to be installed with AVL gadgets are vehicles of the Zamboanga City Police Office, Joint Task Force Zamboanga, Bureau of Fire Prevention, and Emergency Medical Services.

“With the AVL, the command center will have a dashboard (live map) showing the real-time location of all the security assets, to include motorcycles,” he said.

In the dispatch of emergency services, Mandi said the vehicle nearest to the place of the incident will respond and the system will even suggest the route taking into consideration real-time traffic.

The sophisticated public safety system is only the second one being installed in the country, after Valenzuela City, according to Mandi.

The AVL system is designed for surveillance operations that enable law enforcement units to discreetly track and monitor vehicles.

AVL systems can report vehicle information, such as location, speed, and stops, to investigators by obtaining data from global positioning system satellites. 

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 Zambo City shifts to Alert Level

1, retains RT-PCR requirement

 

 

Amid its shift to Alert Level 1, the city government has retained the negative reverse transcription - polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) requirement for inbound travelers from areas with a higher alert level status.

The city has been downgraded to Alert Level 1 by the national Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases effective March 1 to 15.

Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar said Tuesday the negative RT-PCR test result should come out within 120 hours, and 24 hours for a rapid antigen from the time of specimen collection.

“Fully vaccinated and boosted individuals are exempted from the requirement,” Salazar said. “Children below 18 years old need not undergo RT-PCR or antigen test, if accompanied by fully vaccinated and boosted parents or guardians.”

Children below 18 years old, regardless of vaccination status, shall also be allowed to visit malls, parks, and public places, so long as they are accompanied by fully vaccinated parents or guardians.

In addition, Salazar said fully vaccinated individuals and those who received vaccine boosters against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) are exempted from the imposition of curfew hours.

Organizers of social gatherings and other events are still required to inform the City Tourism Office and submit the participants’ vaccination cards, although 100 percent capacity is already allowed, the mayor said.

Public transport vehicles are allowed to carry full seating capacity while agencies and instrumentalities of government shall adhere to a 100-percent on-site workforce.

Salazar encouraged the public to get vaccine boosters, which improves protection against Covid-19, as this will be a requirement for participation in events come April.

The public is urged to continue practicing minimum health standards and avoid closed spaces, crowded places, and close-contact settings. 

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 Military airstrike hits lair of

DI terrorists in Lanao Sur

 

 

Military officials said Tuesday their troops are relentlessly pursuing members of the Dawlah Islamiya - Maute Group (DI-MG) in the periphery of Maguing, Lanao del Sur after the reported massing up of extremists in the area.

The pursuit operation came after combat aircraft bombarded a lair of the Islamic State-inspired DI-MG terrorists led by Abu Zacharia, in Barangay Ilalag of Maguing town at about 2 a.m. on Tuesday.

Maj. Andrew Linao, Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom) information officer, disclosed that the combat aircraft unleashed a dozen bombs, sending the terrorists scampering in various directions as state ground forces pursued them.

“The offensive was launched after it was confirmed that Abu Zacharia’s group is massing up forces in Barangay Ilalag,” Linao said.

The 103rd Infantry Brigade (103IBde), headed by Brig. Gen. Jose Maria Cuerpo II, said in a statement that the joint military and police law enforcement operation was against the DI-MG in the hinterlands of Maguing.

“Upon reaching on site of the target, close air support was given to protect troops from enemy anti-personnel mines. Troops are still in the area engaging the terrorists in running gun battles,” the 103IBde said in a statement posted on its Facebook page on Tuesday.

It assured locals who were alarmed by the close air support early this morning that the operation was necessary to keep the municipality and the rest of Lanao del Sur safe and free from the threat of terrorism.

This came about as Capt. Mary Jephte Mañebog, 1st Infantry Division information officer, said two DI-MG members were killed in a gun battle that broke out in Barangay Ilalag, Maguing at about 7:50 a.m. on Tuesday.

Mañebog disclosed that a soldier was also killed while another was wounded, based on the report from the 103IBde.

She said the gun battle ensued as the advancing ground troops caught up with about 40 fleeing DI-MG terrorists in Barangay Ilalag.

Meanwhile, Linao allayed the fears of residents of Barangay Ilalag, saying the offensive has an identified target.

“There is a specified target and it is far from the community,” he said. 

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 Zambo City eyes vax sharing

with neighboring provinces

 

 

The local government is eyeing to share part of the city-purchased AstraZeneca vaccines with its neighboring province of Zamboanga Sibugay, and the island areas of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi, which are part of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar said Monday the PHP100-million worth of AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines bought by the city government have started to arrive in batches from Manila.

A total of PHP200 million have been allocated for the purchase of vaccines while the city is still receiving its allocation from the national government.

“We want to share part of these vaccines but subject to the authorization of the city council as the money that was used to purchase the vaccines was from city government funds,” she said.

She said the city is nearing population protection, with 71.42 percent of Zamboangueños partially vaccinated and 69.26 percent fully vaccinated based on the Department of Health's set target of 896,200.

“Being strategically located in the center of BaSulTa (Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi) and Zamboanga Sibugay, we would want to send our tokens of love, care, and compassion to our neighbors,” the mayor said. 

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 DepEd-Zambo City chooses 119

schools for limited F2F classes

 

The Department of Education (DepEd) here announced the selection of 119 primary and secondary schools to join the limited face-to-face (F2F) classes once the alert status of the city is downgraded from Level 3 to 1.

Dr. Rosalio Conturno Jr., governance and operations section chief of DepEd’s city schools division, said Monday only students from Kindergarten to Grades 3, 11, and12 will join in the limited F2F classes.

The national Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) announced Sunday that Zamboanga City will be placed under Alert Level 1 effective March 1 to 15.

Under Alert Level 1, the IATF said there are no restrictions in terms of indoor and outdoor capacities. Everyone can undertake intrazonal and interzonal travel without regard to age and even comorbidities.

“We are ready to conduct limited F2F classes once the alert level status of the city will be downgraded,” Conturno said.

The DepEd started its pilot F2F classes on Dec. 6, 2021 in two elementary schools and one national high school but was suspended when the national IATF placed the city under Alert Level 3.

Meanwhile, Conturno said they fully support the vaccination of children aged five to 17 to achieve population protection against the coronavirus disease 2019.

Some 54 percent of students aged 12 to 17 have received the Covid-19 vaccine in preparation for the limited F2F classes, he said. 

They do not have yet the estimated number of vaccinated children aged five to 11. 

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Sulu roadside bombing foiled

 

Government troops have prevented a roadside bombing as they safely defused an improvised explosive device (IED) in the province of Sulu, military officials announced Monday.

Lt. Col. Domingo Robles Jr., 35th Infantry Battalion commander, said the IED was disarmed around 1:10 p.m. Sunday in Sitio Daan Putih, Barangay Anuling, Patikul.

Robles said the IED was located through the timely information provided to them by concerned residents, which prompted them to deploy troops backed by K9 teams.

“After cordoning off the area and confirming the presence of the IED, it was then subsequently defused and successfully recovered,” Robles said in a statement.

Col. Giovanni Franza, 1102nd Infantry Brigade commander, said the recovered bomb components comprised of three electric blasting caps, a six-meter wire, one-meter detonating cord, one-gallon ammonium nitrate fuel oil, 12 volts motorcycle battery, 128 four-inch common nails, and 37 10 mm two-inch steel bars.

Franza said the IED was aimed to kill government troops and other individuals as collateral casualties.

However, Franza said it was prevented through the cooperation of the residents to the Joint Task Force (JTF)-Sulu.

The IED was turned over to Philippine National Police - Provincial Explosive Canine Unit.

Brig. Gen. Ignatius Patrimonio, JTF-Sulu commander, commended the efforts of the troops and the concerned residents for their vigilance against terroristic attempts and activities.

Patrimonio said they will continue to hunt down the Abu Sayyaf Group which is believed to be behind the roadside bombing attempt.

"We've been tightening our efforts in suppressing this terrorist group. The JTF-Sulu will continue to put an end to terrorism here in this province in the soonest time possible,” he said.

“We will not stop until we zero in on the enemies and their leadership. We will continue to do our mandate and strengthen our capabilities to perform our duties to protect our fellow Filipinos here in the province of Sulu,” he added.

The last recorded bombing incident in Sulu was on Aug. 24, 2020 that resulted in the death of 14 people and injured 75 others after two bombs exploded one after the other in downtown Jolo. 

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Troops overrun DI

lair in Lanao del Sur

 

Troops have overrun the lair of the Islamic State for Iraq and Syria (ISIS)-inspired Dawlah Islamiyah-Maute Group (DI-MG) in the hinterlands of Lanao del Sur, a top military official announced Wednesday.

Brig. Gen. Jose Maria Cuerpo II, 103rd Infantry Brigade commander, said the camp fell into the hands of the government troops following hours of firefight against 60 DI-MG terrorists Tuesday that ended around 4 p.m.

An airstrike conducted by combat aircraft around 2 a.m. preceded the firefight that broke out around 7:50 a.m.

The DI-MG is headed by Faharudin Hadji Satar who carries the aliases of Zacaria, Abu Zacariah, Omar, and Jer Mimbantas, the new emir of ISIS in Southeast Asia, according to Cuerpo.

Zacaria has replaced Owayda Benito Marohombsar alias Abu Dar, who was killed together with three other DI-MG terrorists in a clash with government troops in March 2019.

“We overran their camp yesterday,” Cuerpo said Wednesday over DWDD AFP Radio.

He said the troops have recovered the remains of three slain DI-MG members and several war materials, an ISIS flag, and other personal belongings.

He said the war materials included two .50-caliber machine guns; a .30-caliber machine gun; an AK-47 assault rifle; an M16 rifle; an M14 rifle; a Garand rifle; three rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs); 22 improvised explosive devices (IEDs); hundreds of assorted ammunition; several anti-personnel mines; and bomb components.

A soldier was also killed while four others were wounded in the gunfight, according to Cuerpo.

“Ground troops are now conducting clearing and pursuit operations against the terrorists on the run,” he said.

Cuerpo said they have been tracking the DI-MG terrorists since January.

“They have transferred from the west side of Lake Lanao to the east side,” he said.

He said the group of Abu Zacaria of Lanao del Sur and the Hassan group of Maguindanao have joined forces in the east side of Lake Lanao for training and planning of sabotage operations.

He said Zacaria was involved in several encounters against the government forces in the municipalities of Sultan Dumalondong, Pagayawan, Madalum, Piagapo, and Balindong, all of Lanao del Sur.

He added that Zacaria has standing arrest warrants for kidnapping, serious illegal detention, murder, and frustrated murder.

Maj. Gen. Generoso Ponio, commander of the 1st Infantry Division and Joint Task Force Zampelan, assured the public that the Philippine Army and other security forces on the ground will work together to defeat the terror groups and end the insurgency in the region and the whole of Mindanao.

Meanwhile, Lt. Gen. Alfredo Rosario Jr., Western Mindanao Command chief, urged all the peace-loving citizens of Lanao del Sur to remain calm but vigilant.

“Your armed forces will not allow these terrorists to inflict harm on your respective communities. We will not stop until these lawless elements are completely crushed,” Rosario said in a statement.

“While we continue to operate, we call for prayers for the eternal repose of the soul of our fallen soldier and the speedy recovery of our wounded comrades,” he added.  

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CHED’s UniFAST attains nearly

100% fund utilization for FY 2020

 

 

 

The Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UniFAST), an attached agency of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), posted a 99.67 percent overall budget utilization rate (BUR) of its continuing Fiscal Year 2020 allotment for the programs under Republic Act 10931 or Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act.

This is higher than its previous BURs in FYs 2018 and 2019 despite the restrictions imposed to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.

The UniFAST Central Office achieved a utilization rate of 99.97 percent of its PHP3 billion allotment for the Free Higher Education (FHE) in state universities and colleges (SUCs) and CHED-recognized local universities and colleges (LUCs), and Tertiary Education Subsidy (TES) Program for new grantees while the CHED Regional Offices attained a 99.39 percent utilization rate.

For comparison, the disbursement rate of the national government as a percentage of obligations as of Dec. 1, 2021 stands only at 75.2 percent based on the latest available Statement of Appropriations, Allotments, Obligations, Disbursements and Balances of the Department of Budget and Management.

Meanwhile, UniFAST is determined to utilize its PHP44 billion allotment for FY 2021. By virtue of Republic Act No. 11640, the House of Representatives and the Senate extended the validity of the FY 2021 budget to Dec. 31, 2022.

To date, the UniFAST Central Office has achieved a utilization rate of 99.84 percent of its PHP18.82 billion allotment covering Free Higher Education and new TES grantees.

“CHED and UniFAST had always been compliant with the cash-based budgeting system and I mean not just obligation but actual disbursements. Under the programs of RA 10931, the pandemic did not stop us from continuing our operations in the reimbursements of FHE, as well as the disbursement of TES allowances of our student-grantees,” CHED and UniFAST Board Chairman Prospero “Popoy” De Vera said in a news release on Wednesday.

When lawyer Ryan Estevez took the helm of UniFAST as its officer-in-charge, the agency was able to achieve a very high budget utilization rate by strengthening the Secretariat’s human resource base in the central and regional offices, streamlining program processes, adopting ICT applications to facilitate processing and signing of documents, and crafting of policies based on stakeholder consultation and feedback.

Several partnership projects to promote higher education were rolled out with the Land Bank of the Philippines, Department of Labor and Employment - Overseas Workers Welfare Administration, University of the Philippines Population Institute, Film Development Council of the Philippines, Business Mirror, and REX Education Publishing among others.

During the recent CHED Commission En Banc meeting, UniFAST was commended for its accomplishments.

“In upholding the dictum ‘No student shall be left behind’, we continue to judiciously implement the mandates of RA 10931, which is undoubtedly the most transformative, radical and unparalleled piece of legislation that this administration has passed,” Commissioner Aldrin Darilag said.

Commissioner Ronald Adamat attributed this achievement as a result of the diligence, sacrifices, and hard work of the people in CHED-UniFAST, coupled with the cooperation of HEIs who made sure that students, including those in the marginalized sectors, are assisted during these challenging times. (PR)

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 Solon bucks granting

of legislative

franchises for 'e-sabong'

 

A party-list lawmaker on Wednesday opposed the proposal that Congress should provide legislative franchises to the operators of online cockfighting or e-sabong.

In a statement, Citizens’ Battle against Corruption (CIBAC) Party-list Rep. Bro Eddie Villanueva said taking away the authority from Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) to grant licenses to operate e-sabong and transfer it to Congress instead would make no difference, considering that internet-dispersed gambling is already "wreaking havoc" to society.

"Wherever they prosper, gambling operations galvanize criminality, poverty, and broken families -- this fact is no longer just a scientific observation in other countries; the Philippines is currently its latest victim," Villanueva said.

Villanueva said government leaders and agencies that empower e-gambling are culpable for the "gambling-induced social and moral decay".

He further explained that a congressional license on e-sabong will only deepen a destructive get-rich-quick culture among our people.

"Instead, Congress should not grant legislative franchise to e-sabong operators. It should begin taking action to eradicate the e-sabong infrastructure that is evidently inflicting a scourge of miseries to poor Filipinos who are being enticed into a psychologically and morally destructive ‘past time’ in hopes of bettering their fortune," he said.

He also condemned the e-sabong-linked disappearance of at least 31 cockfighting enthusiasts, who allegedly got involved in "unsavory" e-sabong transactions.

“CIBAC has long been sounding the alarm against e-sabong. It is regretful that it seems our warnings fell on deaf ears and have now become undeniable realities. Fathers, brothers, and sons are dying senseless deaths. Mothers, wives, and children are being needlessly widowed and orphaned just because gambling moguls are being favored over the welfare of the people," he said.

Based on reports, around 31 individuals were reported missing by their relatives and family in the past months after they visited cockpit arenas in Manila and Southern Luzon.

The Senate has initiated its inquiry into the rising number of missing persons allegedly involved in cockfighting and its online version.

Lawmakers have asked Pagcor to suspend licenses of e-sabong operators pending the results of the investigation into the case of the missing cockfighting enthusiasts. 

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 Ex-Cebu mayor, 3 others get 10

years for illegal funds diversion

 

 

The Sandiganbayan has convicted a former Cebu mayor and three other city officials in corruption charges in connection with the anomalous diversion of PHP20 million in public funds earmarked for agricultural development into a private company in 2007.

In a 119-page decision dated February 28, the anti-graft court's Sixth Division found Bogo City Mayor Celestino Martinez III, councilor Crescencio Verdida who was the municipal accountant during the time, former municipal treasurer Rhett Minguez, and former municipal assistant treasurer Julio Ursonal Jr. guilty of violating Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

They were sentenced up to 10 years in prison.

They were also perpetually disqualified from holding any public office and all of their retirement benefits were ordered forfeited.

The case against another accused who remains at large, former municipal budget officer Mary Lou Ursal was archived pending her arrest.

The officials were found guilty of conspiring with one another in diverting PHP20 million in public funds to the Bogo Municipal Employees Multi-Purpose Cooperative (BMEMPC), a private corporation.

The funds were originally from the Department of Agriculture (DA) and for agricultural and livelihood assistance for farmers, fisherfolk, and other members of the marginalized sector under the Ginintuang Agrikulturang Makamasa (GAM) program.

On April 26, 2007, the officials instead turned over the money to BMEMPC by constituting it as a conduit for public funds and making the funds available exclusively to BMEMPC.

The accused availed themselves of huge loans from BMEMPC, along with its other members.

"Corruption has siphoned off whatever meager resources that could have been immensely helpful to alleviate the lives of poor Filipinos," the court said

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Ashes on forehead sign of

God's great love: Advincula

 

 

Manila Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula reminded the faithful that placing ashes on the forehead is a sign of the great love of the Lord.

"The ashes are imposed by making the sign of the cross to remind us that even if we are sinners, there is hope because we have been redeemed by Christ through his life-giving death on the cross," Advincula said in an interview over Church-run Radio Veritas on Ash Wednesday.

The Catholic Church is observing Ash Wednesday this year on March 2, the beginning of the 40-day preparation for the sacrifice, death, and resurrection of the Lord.

Advincula said it was a reminder to humanity that Lent was divided into two important features of the celebration the ‘penitential and baptismal’.

He encouraged the faithful to fast for 40 days of Lent and intensify prayer as a sign of conversion to God.

"The forty days of Lent spent in prayer and penance indicates that a Christian should spend his life in prayer and fasting from evil. There was a time when Lent was a period of preparing public penitents for reconciliation. The Lenten season was observed by all the faithful fasting, almsgiving, and prayers,” the Manila archbishop added.

He said the burning of old palms to be used on Ash Wednesday shows that everything in the world has a limit and a reminder of human sinfulness, therefore, inviting all to forsake evil and turn to God.

"The ashes come from burned old palms reminding us that" all earthly glory fades. The ashes tell us that we are sinners; that there is evil and darkness in the world because there is evil and darkness in our hearts,” Advincula added.

Meanwhile, the archbishop also joined Pope Francis' call for a day of prayer and fasting as solidarity and call for peace in Ukraine.

Earlier, the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines called on the faithful to pray for the reconciliation of the leaders of Russia and Ukraine to achieve unity and prevent the escalation of tensions between the two countries. 

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Solon proposes changes

to oil deregulation law

 

 

 The chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday proposed amendments to the Oil Deregulation Law to enhance competition in the fuel sector, strengthen and institutionalize consumer protection, and protect and promote national economic security.

Albay Rep. Joey Salceda proposed a four-point amendment in response to a request from Malacañang for Congress to amend the law to provide measures against an unmitigated rise in oil prices.

Salceda said the most important component of the proposal is to create a strategic petroleum reserve that the government would stock during periods of abnormally low prices.

He said this would help ensure adequate supply at affordable domestic prices during periods of high world market prices, as well as when price increases are artificial or due to collusion among players.

The other components, he said, would require the unbundling of retail prices of fuel, updating changes in retail prices by all fuel outlets in a central government database for efficient monitoring, and price transparency.

"The database that retailers will update will be made available and presented in an easy-to-navigate format for the consuming public, so that they can make informed decisions about their purchases. That will also help undercut abnormally high prices," he said.

He said his office is now drafting the proposed measure and will submit his version to the House leadership and to the Malacañang for the Department of Energy’s possible adoption as the administration version of the amendments.

“The strategic petroleum reserve will be especially crucial because oil is a very cyclical commodity. When oil prices rise in the global market, there really is very little you can do except release more supply. So, when oil prices are very low, we have to be countercyclical and actually buy more fuel, so that we will have spare supply to release during periods of high prices,” Salceda said. 

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 Isko to push for the use

of renewable energy

 

 

Presidential aspirant Francisco ‘Isko Moreno’ Domagoso said he will push for the use of safer and cheaper renewable energy, and other sources of energy such as gas or coal, in the country.

During his campaign trail in Pilar, Bataan on Wednesday, Domagoso said the country could draw inspiration from The Netherlands that generates its power mostly from renewable sources.

“They are resorting to renewable energy through open space via potable type pero ang ginawa nila agri-potable type source of energy. So, nakaimbento na sila ng way na patuloy pa rin silang magtatanim ng mga pagkain at kung saan tinatanim yung pagkain meron din source na pwede pagkunan ng (but what they did was agri-potable type source of energy. They have invented a way wherein they can continue to grow crops which can also be a source of) clean, renewable energy,” he explained.

He added that he is not convinced about reopening the Bataan Nuclear Powel Plant (BNPP) located in Morong, Bataan due to safety and environmental risks concern.

“Sa ngayon maraming other sources of energy -- renewable, gas, or coal. Hangga’t mayrong teknolohiya at etong mga teknolohiyang eto na available and cost much less. I’m not saying it’s not harmful, but less ang masamang epekto sa kapaligiran. Yun muna ang ipaprayoridad ko (Right now there are many other sources of energy, renewable, gas, or coal. Until we have the technology, and these technologies are available and will cost less. I’m not saying it’s not harmful, but it will have lesser bad effects on the environment, I will prioritize that) especially if there is an opportunity to copy what the Netherlands did,” he said.

According to the website trade.gov, the current energy mix in the Netherlands is natural gas accounting for 38 percent, oil at 35 percent, coal at 11 percent, biofuels and waste at 5 percent, and 11 percent from nuclear, wind, solar, hydropower and geothermal.

“The Netherlands was until recently, ranked 27th out of 27 EU countries in the production of energy from renewable sources. However, according to Statistics Netherlands, renewable energy consumption accounted for 11.1 percent of total Dutch energy consumption in 2020. This was up from 8.8 percent in 2019. The increase was largely due to rising solar and wind power capacity. Consumption of biomass was up as well, particularly co-firing at coal-fired power plants,” the website published.

Domagoso said these are the things that can be duplicated in the country based on the available technologies.

He added that until there are other options, the use of nuclear energy should be considered by the government.

“For the meantime itong Bataan Nuclear Power Plant ay hindi naman na ‘to safe para sa ating mga kababayan dito sa Bataan (this BNPP is no longer safe for our people living here in Bataan),” he said.

The BNPP, the country’s first and only nuclear power plant project, began its construction in 1976 on a 3.57-square kilometer government reservation at Napot Point in Morong, Bataan.

It was completed in 1984.

However, safety concerns in the wake of the Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine in 1986 and corruption allegations led to its mothballing. 

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PH‘s lowest single-day tally

of Covid-19 cases this year

 

 

The Department of Health (DOH) on Wednesday logged 866 new cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), the lowest single-day tally so far for this year.

The figure is higher than the 421 infections reported on Dec. 28, 2021 -- the last time the country saw the lowest three-digit daily new cases.

It pushed the overall tally of confirmed infections to 3,663,920.

The active cases went down 50,827 after 1,622 new recoveries were logged.

About 474 of the active cases are asymptomatic, 45,862 are mild, 2,776 are moderate, 1,417 are severe and 298 are critical.

Meantime, the total recovered cases increased to 3,556,589.

“Of the 866 reported cases today, 757 (87 percent) occurred within the recent 14 days, February 17 to March 2, 2022,” the DOH reported.

The regions with the most cases in the recent two weeks were the National Capital Region with 176 or 23 percent, Calabarzon with 119 or 16 percent, and Central Visayas with 82 or 11 percent.

The death toll has reached 56,504 with 53 new deaths, representing 1.54 percent of overall cases.

“Of the 53 deaths, 23 occurred in February 2022 (43 percent), 2 in January 2022 (4 percent), 1 in December 2021 (2 percent), 2 in November 2021 (4 percent), 10 in October 2021 (19 percent), 5 in September 2021 (9 percent), 2 in August 2021 (4 percent), 1 in July 2021 (2 percent), 2 in June 2021 (4 percent), 1 in March 2021 (2 percent), 1 in February 2021 (2 percent), 1 in November 2020 (2 percent), 1 in July 2020 (2 percent), and 1 in March 2020 (2 percent) due to the late encoding of death information to COVIDKaya,” the DOH said.

COVIDKaya is a digital application used by health care workers to collect and share data about Covid-19 cases.

According to the February 28 data, about 4.7 percent of 23,738 who were tested turned out positive for coronavirus.

About five duplicates were removed from the total case count as three were recoveries.

Meanwhile, 46 cases previously tagged as recoveries were reclassified as deaths after validation.

To date, 25 percent of 3,700 intensive care unit (ICU) beds, 23 percent of 20,400 isolation beds, 14 percent of 14,000 ward beds, and 13 percent of 3,100 ventilators are used by patients with Covid-19 nationwide.

In the NCR, 24 percent of 1,300 ICU beds, 24 percent of 4,600 isolation beds, 22 percent of 3,900 ward beds, and 15 percent of 1,000 ventilators dedicated to patients with Covid-19 are in use. 

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