by magnolia_eic | Aug 23, 2011 | Headlines, National News
TAGBILARAN CITY, Aug. 22 (PIA) –SUKWAHI sa pahayag sa mga biktima ug kaanak sa namatay sa gitawag nga Manila hostage-taking incident, gipahayag sa usa ka miyembro sa gimugnang Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC) nga duna nay nadawat nga
kompensasyon ang mga pamilya sa biktima gikan sa Pilipinas.
Matud pa ni IIRC panel member Teresita Ang-See nga tungod usab sa paningkamot sa gobyerno, nakatigom ang pribadong sektor og igong salapi isip “solidarity token” sa mga pamilya sa mga biktima.
Sigun pa sa opisyal, unom sa walo ka mga biktima ang midawat sa maong kompensasyon.
Pasabot sa opisyal, giinggong angay usab sabton sa mga survivors nga ang maong lakang pagpakita og pagpakabana sa gobyerno sa mga biktima.
Bisan wala gibutyag ang kantidad nga nadawat sa pamilya sa mga biktima, giseguro ni Ang-See nga dili “makaulaw” ang maong kantidad.
Gitakdang makig-hinabi kang Department of Justice (DoJ) Sec. Leila de Lima ang mga kaanak sa mga survivors karong adlawa. (PIA-Bohol/ecb)
by magnolia_eic | Aug 23, 2011 | Headlines, National News
THE Filipino people express their sympathy with the families of the victims of the Quirino Grandstand hostage-taking incident in last year as well as the people of Hong Kong, a Palace official said on
Monday.
“We recognize the grief that continues to burden the relatives of the victims and we remain committed to reforms and improvements that will move relations between our peoples forward,” Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said in his statement on the eve of the the Quirino Grandstand hostage-taking incident.
Lacierda said that concerned private citizens have also established a Solidarity Fund for the families of the victims, in keeping with the deep solidarity Filipinos feel for the victims and their families.
“The Philippines has undertaken the investigations into official culpability: resulting in a dismissal and the filing of administrative charges against four police officials,” he said.
Lacierda said the Aquino administration has improved the capability and equipment of the Special Action Force (SAF) and established a Tourism Police to ensure the safety of visitors.
“Officials of the government will be meeting with some of the families of the victims and with a Hong Kong legislator to share updates on progress in the year since the tragedy took place,” Lacierda said.
The survivors and relatives of the slain hostage victims arrived on Sunday from Hong Kong to seek justice and support from the Philippine government. (PCOO)
by magnolia_eic | Aug 23, 2011 | Headlines, National News
MALACANANG on Saturday expressed elation over the US State department’s report noting a continued decline of the terrorist activities in the Philippines.
Deputy Spokesperson Abigail Valte said that the government will consider the report as an indication to further improve its counter terrorism efforts.
“We are very happy about this development and we will take this as an indication to further our counter terrorism efforts,” Valte said.
The US State Department, in its “Country Reports on Terrorism 2010,” reported that the terrorist activities in the Philippines declined in the past year.
“The ability of terrorist groups, such as Abu Sayyaf, Jemaah Islamiyah and the New People’s Army, to conduct terrorist activities inside the Philippines continued to decline,” the report said.
“The Philippine government, with US support, has kept constant pressure on terrorist groups even as their security services were stretched thin by other demands such as carrying out humanitarian assistance and disaster relief and providing security for the national election in May,” it added.
The US State Department also lauded the Philippine law enforcers for their “vigorous efforts to arrest terrorists and eliminate safe havens, and closely coordinated efforts with US law enforcement officers.”
(PCOO)
by magnolia_eic | Aug 22, 2011 | Headlines, National News
INDISCRIMINATE fumigation is not an effective method to combat dengue-carrying mosquitoes, the Department of Health said on Thursday.
“We are not saying that fogging is prohibited. What we are saying is that it should be done only when there is an outbreak or if an area is a hotspot for dengue,” said Dr. Lyndon Lee Suy, DOH dengue control and prevention program manager.
Lee Suy said fogging requires timing to make sure that more mosquitoes are eliminated.
“It should be done two hours after sunrise and two hours before sunset because these are the peak biting time of mosquitoes,” he said. “It should not be done if there is rain or if the wind is strong because you will not be able to target the mosquitoes.”
He said indiscriminate fogging might cause mosquitoes to develop resistance to insecticide.
To effectively kill the mosquitoes and the larvae, four cycles of fumigation should be done in the same area for four consecutive weeks. Lee Suy said the most effective way to curb the spread of dengue is to search for breeding sites of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes and then destroy them.
He added that doing routine fogging is not advisable because this would only make the community complacent. (DOH)
by magnolia_eic | Aug 19, 2011 | Headlines, Health and Medicine, Local News / Bohol Balita
IN a bid to prevent the spread of dengue cases in the country, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse M. Robredo on Wednesday called on all governors, city and municipal mayors, barangay chairmen, including local health officers to conduct clean-up activities in their respective localities.
In a directive, Robredo enjoined local officials to conduct search and destroy operations of all potential breeding places of dengue-carrying mosquitoes in their areas of jurisdiction.
Local officials were also urged to enforce environmental sanitation such as dredging of clogged canals, esteros and other waterways; prune thick bushes or tree branches; remove or drain receptacles containing stagnant water; and conduct massive information drive on environmental control of breeding sites especially in endemic areas.
Robredo issued the directive amid reports from the Department of Health (DOH) that dengue cases in the country, from January 1 to July 23, 2011, has reached to 38,876 or 25.85% lower compared to 52,428 cases in 2010. Also, this year’s recorded number of deaths is at 226, wherein victims are mostly children.
He asked local chief executives (LCEs) to undertake the clean-up drive for two consecutive weekends: on August 20 & 21 and August 27 & 28, 2011 to stop the spread of the disease.
Robredo ordered members of the DILG Regional Management Coordinating Committee to ensure that their field officers actively participate in the clean-up efforts within their areas of jurisdiction.
He also directed all DILG regional directors to closely monitor and submit reports of LGUs’ compliance with the directive, a week after the conduct of said activity.
