(PAGASA 24-HOUR PUBLIC WEATHER FORECAST as of Thursday, 14 November 2024) At 4:00 AM today, the center of Typhoon “OFEL” (USAGI) was estimated based on all available data at 475 km East Northeast of Virac, Catanduanes or 595 km East of Daet, Camarines Norte (14.6 °N, 128.5 °E ) with maximum sustained winds of 120 km/h and gustiness of up to 150 km/h. It is moving Westward at 35 km/h. TROPICAL CYCLONE OUTSIDE PAR AS OF 3:00 AM TODAY TROPICAL STORM TORAJI (2423) [FORMERLY NIKA] LOCATION: 475 KM WEST OF CALAYAN, CAGAYAN (20.0°N, 117.0°E) MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS: 85 KM/H NEAR THE CENTER GUSTINESS: UP TO 105 KM/H MOVEMENT: WEST NORTHWESTWARD AT 15 KM/H TROPICAL STORM MAN-YI (2424) LOCATION: 2,210 KM EAST OF EASTERN VISAYAS (13.2°N, 145.0°E) MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS: 75 KM/H NEAR THE CENTER GUSTINESS: UP TO 90 KM/H MOVEMENT: WEST SOUTHWESTWARD AT 30 KM/H 𝗙𝗒π—₯π—˜π—–π—”π—¦π—§ π—ͺπ—˜π—”π—§π—›π—˜π—₯ π—–π—’π—‘π——π—œπ—§π—œπ—’π—‘: Butuan City, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Dinagat Islands, Surigao del Norte and Surigao del Sur will experience partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers or thunderstorms due to Localized Thunderstorms. Possible flash floods or landslides during severe thunderstorms. 𝗙𝗒π—₯π—˜π—–π—”π—¦π—§ π—ͺπ—œπ—‘π—— 𝗔𝗑𝗗 π—–π—’π—”π—¦π—§π—”π—Ÿ π—ͺπ—”π—§π—˜π—₯ π—–π—’π—‘π——π—œπ—§π—œπ—’π—‘: Light to moderate winds coming from Northwest to Southwest will prevail with slight to moderate seas / (0.6 to 2.5 meters).


Friday, June 4, 2021

Typhoon Auring-affected residents in Butuan City, AgNor continue to receive aid 

BUTUAN CITY, Jun. 4 -- Senator Christopher “Bong” Go continued to help communities that were affected by Typhoon Auring that hit the country in February as he sent relief to hundreds of typhoon victims in Butuan City and the province of Agusan del Norte.

Go’s personnel handed out meals, food packs, masks, face shields, and vitamins to each beneficiary. There were selected recipients who received new pairs of shoes and bicycles that will serve as an alternative for commuters amid limited transportation options. Others received computer tablets that will help their children engage better during classes under the blended learning system.

To ensure the well-being of the 718 beneficiaries while adhering to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) safety and health protocols, his team conducted two simultaneous distribution activities in different venues. Around 502 recipients were in attendance at the Los Angeles Covered Court, while there were around 216 beneficiaries at Agusan PequeΓ±o Covered Court. “Pakiusap lang, magtulungan lang tayo. Sino ba naman ang magtutulungan, kung ‘di tayo lang ding kapwa natin Pilipino. Mayroon pang tinamaan ng baha dahil sa bagyo noong nakaraan buwan na tinamaan ng bagyo. Magtulungan lang tayo at malalampasan din natin itong kinakaharap na krisis ngayon basta magtulungan lang tayo,” Go expressed in his video message.

Several government agencies were also present as they gave additional help to the beneficiaries. The Department of Social Welfare and Development gave financial assistance through their Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation program. The Department of Trade and Industry will do an assessment where qualified recipients can be part of their livelihood program. Furthermore, the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority will evaluate beneficiaries for their scholarship program.

The Senator, then, encouraged the beneficiaries with medical conditions to seek medical assistance at the Malasakit Center located inside the Butuan Medical Center in Butuan City.

Go primarily authored and sponsored Republic Act No. 11463, known as the Malasakit Centers Act of 2019. It aims to reduce to the lowest amount possible the balance of the hospital bills of those who seek its assistance by covering patient services and expenses, such as laboratories, medicines, surgeries, and operations.

The center is a one-stop-shop where Filipinos, particularly poor and indigent patients, can efficiently access medical assistance from agencies, such as DSWD, Department of Health, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, and PhilHealth.

“Salamat sa inyong tulong, mga kababayan, at mayroon rin tayong Malasakit Center dyan sa Butuan Medical center in Butuan City. Ang Malasakit center ay one-stop shop. Lapitan niyo lamang na handang tumulong sa poor and indigent patients,” Go said.

As he continued to extend his efforts to improve access to health care assistance, Senator Go also filed Senate Bill No. 1226, or the proposed DOH Hospital Bed Capacity and Service Rationalization Act of 2019, which aims to authorize the DOH to increase the bed capacity and capabilities of DOH-run hospitals for a more efficient and systematic approach in dealing with health crises.

“Magtiwala lang kayo sa ating gobyerno, mga kababayan ko. Ang importante ay maabot o ma-attain natin ang herd immunity sa community para unti-unti na tayong makabalik sa normal nating pamumuhay,” said Go.

He, then, mentioned several projects he supported, such as the construction of the road connecting NRJ Masao Port Road-NRJ Butuan City-Agusan del Norte Logistical Highway, construction of Levee Road, concreting the road in Barangay Purok K-4 to Purok K-7 Tagabaca Farm-to-Market Road, and many others.

Go expressed his gratitude towards Agusan del Norte Governor Dale Corvera, Butuan City Mayor Ronnie Lagnada, Butuan City Vice Mayor Jose Aquino II, and other local government officials who remain to serve their constituents amid crisis due to COVID-19.

“Kaunting tiis lang po at magtiwala po tayo sa ating gobyerno.  Basta kami ni Presidente Duterte, sa abot ng aming makakaya, handa kaming magserbisyo sa inyong lahat,” Go ended.

On May 27, similar distribution activities were conducted in the town of Tubay where 29 beneficiaries received assistance and Cabadbaran City where they handed out relief to 38 typhoon victims. (OSBG/PIA-Caraga)

World Bank meets AgSur town's banana coop

BUTUAN CITY, Jun. 4 -- The World Bank that primarily funds the Department of Agriculture (DA)-Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) virtually conversed with the Kinabugawan Farmers Producers Cooperative (KIFAPCO) of Veruela, Agusan del Sur, the proponent group (PG) of the PRDP Caraga I-REAP or Enterprise Component.

KIFAPCO Chairperson, Zaldy Gabato shared how their micro-enterprise on Banana Production and Trading Marketing rapidly improved with the help of PRDP.

Apart from the increase in income, Gabato stressed that beneficiaries became more active in planting bananas making their coop expand from a two-hectare planting area to five hectares.

World Bank Consultant, Agnes Deshormes asked KIFAPCO how do the coop foresees growth and its plan to achieve it.

Gabato responded that they envision to strengthen KIFAPCO's marketing strategies which will also improve the lives of the banana farmers. "In our business marketing, we encourage the members to sell their bananas to us so that our income will increase. In every purchase, P0.25 goes to our coop, this little amount will go a long way," he said.

"Someday we can use the coop's income to increase the buying price of our farmers' bananas. This is our way to further develop the coop and help our farmers," added Gabato.

KIFAPCO also narrated that despite the harm brought by the pandemic, the lockdown also served to their advantage.

"Our LGU was very strict during the pandemic. Residents cannot go out even in our barangay. Because of this, residents concentrated in farming specifically banana since it is the notable commodity here. Most untilled lands were now planted and this increased our banana production," Gabato disclosed.

In the end, KIFAPCO and other PGs from Visayas and Mindanao were lauded by the World Bank consultants including Eli Weiss, Maria Theresa Quinones, Tim Hancock, and Agnes Deshormes for their hard work despite the calamities and crisis they have encountered along the way. (DA-RFO XIII, PRDP/PIA-Agusan del Sur)

POPCOM joins UN body calling for women, girls’ rights

By Matt Joe Ian F. Gonzaga

BUENAVISTA, Agusan del Norte, Jun. 4 -- The Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM) launched online the State of the World Population Report in the country managing the global challenge of protecting the rights of women and girls to bodily autonomy by providing quality information and on Family Planning.

According to Dr. Leila Joudane, Philippines’ representative to United Nations Population Fund, the Philippines has 47 births annually per 1000 women aged 15-19 years, higher than the average adolescent birth rate of 44 globally and 33.5 in the ASEAN region.

Dr. Joudane highlighted that in every five girls, one is already a mother by age 19, which triggers the need for education regarding teenage pregnancy and sexuality to adolescents.

Meanwhile, POPCOM Executive Director Dr. Juan Antonio A. Perez III said that unplanned and unintended pregnancy is also considered a global pandemic labeling adolescent pregnancy as a national health emergency.

He underscored the Commission's effort, local government units, and the Department of Education in capacitating adolescents to their full potential by educating them through the right path and disclosing the negative impact of early sex that concludes unwanted pregnancy.

Dir. Perez also urged its regional offices to support the needs of the local government units to family planning services and quality information for the concrete implementation of the Philippine Population Management Program to the grassroots level.

Despite registering encouraging numbers in the level of Filipino women's decision-making on healthcare, as well as their sexual and reproductive health and rights or SRHR, the country's 20 million-plus young people continue to struggle in implementing their gender rights, which still account for the high prevalence of child marriages and intimate partner violence associated with adolescent pregnancies.

Attending the online launching on May 20, 2021, are the focal persons from the United Nations Population Fund, National Economic Development Authority, POPCOM executives, regional officials, and other partner agencies. (POPCOM Caraga)

OIE endorses program to control dog-mediated rabies

BUTUAN CITY, Jun. 4 -- The endorsement of the Philippines' Dog-Mediated Rabies Program by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) on May 27, 2021 certifies that the country’s protocol is in line with international standards.

This is a significant achievement of the Philippines in its continuous efforts to eradicate rabies from the local dog and cat population by 2030.

“We therefore invite the general public and pet owners to support the government's program on the control of this deadly but preventable viral disease. Let us keep in mind to ensure our pets are properly vaccinated against rabies,” said Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture.

BAI said the certification was an outcome of the joint efforts of the DA, Department of Health, Department of Education, Department of the Interior and Local Government, local government units, non-government organizations, the academe and private sector to fight rabies. (DA-BAI/PIA-Caraga)

Responsible parenthood, family planning program intensified in SurSur villages

By Charina May L. Lagunde

MARIHATAG, Surigao del Sur, Jun. 4 -- The local government unit (LGU) of Marihatag, Surigao del Sur has strengthened the Responsible Parenthood and Family Planning (RPFP) Program to its five barangays amidst the pandemic.

In the official RPFP report submitted by said LGU to the regional office of the Commission on Population and Development (POPCOM), population workers and barangay volunteers, observing the minimum standard health protocol, conducted house to house visit in the five barangays of Marihatag, Surigao del Sur, namely Brgy. Amontay, Bayan, Mararag, Alegria, and San Isidro.

The said report showed that a total of 54 couples or individuals participated in which 39 of them expressed their interest in the different family planning methods. Most of them preferred pills as their chosen modern FP method; on one hand, four couples with unmet need for Modern Family Planning were validated, as well as four women of reproductive age were referred and provided with the service to the Regional Health Unit.

POPCOM Caraga together with its partners at the local and community level continues its advocacy to empower couples and individuals to achieve their desired number, timing, and spacing of children in the context of informed choice and responsible parenthood as one of the thrusts of the agency gearing towards “Matatag, Maginhawa, at Planadaong Pamilyang Pilipino.”

POPCOM is the country’s lead organization in population management for well-planned and empowered Filipino families and communities. Its goal is to attain a better quality of life for all Filipinos through the management and maintenance of population-level resources. (POPCOM Caraga/PIA-Surigao del Sur)

Gitukod nga pasilidad para sa COVID-19 sa Tandag, hapit na mahuman

By Raymond Samson Aplaya

TANDAG CITY, Surigao del Sur, Hunyo 4 -- Hapit na mahuman ang gitukod nga Isolation o Quarantine Facility dinhi sa dakbayan. Kini ang gikumpirma ni Engineer Minda Roslinda, District Engineer sa Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) – Surigao del Sur 1st District Engineering Office (DEO).

Sa iyang pakighinabi, gibutyag niini nga iyang nabisitahan ang maong proyekto ug mamahimo na unta kining  i- turn over sunod semana.

Apan gikabutyag nga aduna lang kini ginagmay nga gipausab sa contractor tungod kay diskontento kini susama na sa kurtina nga iyang gipailisan og mas nindot nga klase nga muhaom sa usa ka Quarantine Facility.

Gawas niini, iya usab gipabutangan og tangke sa tubig ang maong pasilidad aron nga aduna’y magamit nga tubig ang mga ikwarentena sa maong lugar.

Sumala pa nga iyang gipaningkamotan nga plastado tanan ang maong proyekto una kini pormal nga i-turn over dinhi sa siyudad aron magamit na alang sa mga pasyente sa COVID - 19 nga mopailawom sa kwarentena.

Mahinumduman nga gisugdan ang konstruksiyon sa nasangpit nga pasilidad niadtong bulan sa Enero niining tuiga, kungdiin gipahimutang kini sa Barangay Telaje dinhi sa siyudad sa Tandag. (RP1 Tandag/PIA-Surigao del Sur)

Senior Citizens sa Agusan Norte kumbinsido magpabakuna batok COVID-19

By Karen Decamotan

DAKBAYAN SA BUTUAN, Hunyo 4 -- Dako ang pagtuo ug paglaum sa mga nabakunahan na nga mga senior citizens nga mamahimong protektado ug luwas sila batok coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) ug kini ang nahimong basehan sa desisyon nga magpabakuna sila.

Usa kanila si Gorgornia Patayon Aca-ac, 74 anyos, lumulupyo sa syudad sa Cabadbaran.

Sumala pa ni Aca-ac aduna siyay allergies apan mituo siya nga inubanan sa pag-ampo ang makasulbad sa pandemya ang pagpabakuna lang. Niini siya mismo ang nag eng-ganyo sa iyang mga anak nga magpabakuna. 

Aminado usab si Acaac nga bisan fully vaccinated na siya dili mamahimo mag kumpyansa ug mo sunod gihapon siya sa mga nag-unang mga protocols nga gipatuman sa mga lokal nga panggamhanan.

Gawas nga maghimo kaniyang protektado gikan sa makamatay nga sakit, ang pagpabakuna alang usab kang Fortunata Abcede sa Buenavista ang pagpabakuna magsilbing pamaagi aron makakuha siyag vaccination card ug magamit kini niya ingkaso adunay mga establismento nga estriktong magpatuman og “no vaccination, no entry”, ug diha sa mga biyahe ug mga emerhensiya diin kinahanglan moadto og ospital.

Base sa datus sa Department of Health Caraga, natala nga ang priority group A2 o senior citizens sa probinsya sa Agusan del Norte ang kasamtangang pinakataas nga percentage rate nga nagpabakuna kung itandi sa A1 ug A3 sa tibuok probinsya.

Daku ang kalipay ni Gobernador Dale B. Corvera niini. Isip senior citizen ug apil usab sa priority group A2, malipayong siya nga taas ang rate sa nagpabakuna nga mga senior citizens. Iyang nakita nga usa ang mga katiguwangan ang huyang ug dali gyod matakdan sa COVID-19 ug nagpasalamat siya nga nagpabakuna gyud kini sila.

“I am happy that our senior citizen sa A2, sa akong tan-aw, nituo sila nga kini nga bakuna, safe para sa ila bisan sa ilang edad. Ikaduha, because ang tanan impormasyon nga niabot kanato, makita nato nga vulnerable gyod ang senior citizen. Kasagaran casualty aning covid, mga senior gyod. In order to be protected, mo-submit gyod sila para duna silay protection,” sumala pa ni Gob. Corvera.

Sa pagkakaron, padayon gipahigayon ang pagpabakuna sa tibuok probinsya sa Agusan del Norte, apil na niini ang second dose sa mga senior citizens. (LGU Agusan del Norte/PIA Agusan del Norte)