By Danny Estacio   TAYABAS CITY, Quezon -Senator Ronald “Bato” de la  Rosa allocated fund to qualified beneficiaries under Livelihood Assistance for Displaced/Disadvantaged (TUPAD) workers from different barangays following  an orientation and contract signing on Thursday, September 12, 2024, this city. City mayor Lovely Reynoso- Pontioso said that the orientation and contract signing of the ten (100) new batch of TUPAD beneficiaries who will work for 10 days and will receive a salary of P5,200 for community service. The lady mayor personally met the beneficiaries and expressed thank to Senator De La Rosa for allocating the fund and she was with councilor Elsa Rubio Public Employment Service Office (PESO) manager-designate Malou Dichoso Montoya, with partner local Department of Labor and Employment -TUPAD coordinator Mark Busar and John Mark R. De Dos facilitated the orientation and contract signing.                            

By: Dante M. Salvaña Subic Bay Freeport – The Bureau of Customs Port of Subic (BOC) and  the Department of Agriculture (DA)  confiscated around P136.58 million worth of smuggled agricultural products and cigarettes on Wednesday September 11 at Subic Port in Subic Bay Freeport Zone. The shipment was consigned to the Betron Consumer Goods Trading and arrived here on August 15, 2024 from China. During the presentation to the media on Wednesday at the New Container Terminal (NCT), Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel and BOC Port of Subic Atty. Ricardo Uy Morales II opened seven 40-footer container vans. The two officials presented the first five containers of 86 metric tons of fresh white onions and 58 metric tons of fresh carrots misdeclared as frozen fish egg balls from China; as well as two containers of smuggled cigarettes misdeclared as tissue from Taiwan.   Each of the three shipping containers of white onions is valued at over PHP4.3 million while the two containers of carrots amounted to over PHP4 million each, with a total amount worth at more than PHP21.08 million for all five containers. The two other 40-footer container vans, consigned to the Subic All N1 Corp., was declared to contain 2,153 packages of tissues. The container vans arrived in Subic Freeport on August 13, 2024, with Taiwan as the country of origin. Collector Morales said that the two container vans actually contained 167 packages of tissues, 993 master cases of Bros Premium Class A cigarettes, and 993 master cases of Commando Filter, Kings Finest, and Virginia Blend cigarettes. Morales said that the total fair market value for the smuggled items were priced at P136,592,591.67, adding that the violations committed by the aforementioned consignee include: no valid Certificated of Registration and Tax Exemption from the SBMA; and expired registration/ accreditation from the BOC since March 20, 2020.  

The United States government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), handed over a mobile storage unit and mobile energy systems worth more than P11.6 million ($208,000) to boost Cagayan province’s disaster risk reduction capacity, on September 9 and 10. USAID Mission Director Ryan Washburn handed over a mobile storage unit that can store 50,000 food packs to Cagayan Provincial Administrator Atty. Maria Rosario Mamba-Villaflor. The mobile storage unit will allow the provincial government to store food and non-food items so they can rapidly deliver life-saving assistance in the immediate aftermath of disasters. “For many years, USAID has dispatched teams to Cagayan and other provinces in Northern Luzon to support local government units in providing life-saving assistance during calamities,” said Mission Director Washburn.  “As your friend, partner, and ally, the U.S. government remains committed to strengthening our partnerships and working with the Philippine government to rebuild and restore lives following disasters.” During the turnover, USAID also formalized a partnership with Cagayan province and the World Food Programme to strengthen Cagayan’s emergency response efforts through the Preparedness and Response Excellence in the Philippines, or PREP, project. This project will help reduce disaster risks by improving irrigation canals, water systems, and water-harvesting facilities; set up community flood-control dikes; introduce climate-resilient crops; construct community evacuation centers; and provide cash-for-work training so communities can bounce back from natural disasters. “People’s empowerment is at the heart of the disaster preparedness and good governance program of the governor,” said Provincial Administrator Mamba-Villaflor.  “The governor extends his gratitude on behalf of the people of Cagayan.” USAID also handed over mobile energy systems (MES) to the municipalities of Lal-Lo and Santa Ana.  The MES units will provide clean and reliable power to support relief operations and essential services in the aftermath of disasters, as well as help restart the power grid. Because the systems are mobile, they can be deployed anywhere they are needed, particularly in remote and off-grid areas.  Unlike traditional generator sets, they only require sunlight to recharge. While in Northern Luzon, Mission Director Washburn also discussed USAID’s work to support Tuguegarao City’s solid waste management system with OIC City Administrator Juanito Calubaquib and city councilors.  He also spoke with Cagayan Vice Governor Melvin Vargas Jr. about USAID’s programs in the region and visited Santa Teresita municipality to see the Emergency Operations Center that USAID helped construct more than a decade ago. Since 2010, the U.S. government, through USAID, has provided around Php19.6 billion ($344 million) in disaster relief and recovery aid, as well as boosted the disaster risk reduction capacity of over 100 cities and municipalities in the Philippines.            

By Rachell Galamay Inihayag ng Department of Health- Cagayan Valley Center for Health Development (DOH-CVCHD) na walang travel history ang naitalang unang kaso ng Mpox(monkeypox) sa Rehiyon Dos. Sa naging pahayag ni DOH Regional Director Amelita Pangilinan sa ginanap na Press Conference ngayong Martes, Setyembre 11, sinabi nitong walang travel history sa labas ng bansa o sa ibang lugar ang pasyente at locally transmitted ang sakit nito. Ayon kay Pangilinan, kusa umanong nagpunta sa pagamutan ang naturang pasyente upang ipakonsulta ang tumubong tila singaw malapit sa kanyang bibig at dito na nakita ang mga sintomas na kapareho ng sintomas na mayroon ang Mpox. Tumanggi namang magbigay ng pagkakakilanlan at karagdagang impormasyon ang kagawaran ukol sa naitalang unang kaso ng Mpox gaya ng pangalan, edad at tirahan nito, ayon sa ahensiya ito ay dahil sa sumusunod lamang sila sa batas na nakasaad sa Data Privacy Act of 2012, ngunit tiniyak naman ng ahensiya na patuloy ang ginagawang monitoring at health preventive measures sa naturang pasyente. Kaugnay rito, siniguro naman ng DOH na nakatutok at kumikilos na ang mga healthcare workers kasama ang grupo ng Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (RESU) sa pagsasagawa ng contact tracing, close monitoring at preventive measures sa mga nakasalamuha ng unang kaso ng Mpox. Bagama’t hindi tinukoy ang pagkakakilanlanlan ng pasyente, tiniyak naman ng ahensiya na sapat ang mga kagamitan sa mga ospital at handa ang bawat establisyimentong gagamitin sa oras ng pangangailangan, bukod dito ay naabisuhan na rin ang mga Local Government Units (LGUs), Rural Health Units (RHUs) at ospital tungkol sa mga dapat na ibabang impormasyon tungkol sa mpox na itinuturing na public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC). Ibinahagi pa ng kagawaran na kanilang ipinagpapatuloy ang best practices na isinagawa noong kasagsagan ng pandemiya na Prevention, Detection, Isolation, Treatment at Reintegration o PDITR sa kasalukuyang sitwasyon ng bansa lalo na sa lalawigan. Maliban dito, hinikayat din ahensiya na kung mayroong nararamdamang sintomas na posibleng kahalintulad ng sintomas din Mpox gaya ng pagkakaroon ng butlig, lagnat, pananakit ng ulo, pamamaga ng lalamunan, pagkakaroon ng skin rash at pananakit ng katawan ay agad na magtungo sa pinakamalapit na pagamutan at huwag mahihiyang ipagbigay alam sa awtoridad ang kalagayan. Iwasan din umano ang close contact sa mga taong may sintomas ng Mpox gaya na lamang ng pakikipagbeso, pakikipagyakap, at paggamit sa mga kagamitan ng pasyente.

Kinumpirma ng Department of Health Region 02-Cagayan Valley Center for Health Development (DOH-CVCHD) ang pinakaunang kaso ng Monkeypox (mpox) sa lambak ng Cagayan. Ayon sa DOH, naka-isolate na ang pasyente at kasalukuyang binibigyan ng atensyong medikal. Hindi naman idinedetalye ng naturang tanggapan ang pagkakakilanlan ng naturang pasyente. Kasalukuyan na rin nagsasagawa ang mga otoridad ng contact tracing sa mga nakasalamuha ng pasyente. By CPIO