(PAGASA 24-HOUR PUBLIC WEATHER FORECAST as of Monday, 14 July 2025) The Southwest Monsoon (Habagat) continues to affect Mindanao. FORECAST: The Zamboanga Peninsula will experience cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms due to the Southwest Monsoon. These conditions may lead to possible flash floods or landslides, especially during moderate to occasionally heavy rainfall. The rest of Mindanao will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rain showers or thunderstorms also influenced by the Southwest Monsoon. Winds will be light to moderate from the southwest, with slight to moderate seas (wave height between 0.6 to 2.1 meters).


Wednesday, August 4, 2021

AgSur town mayor bares ongoing efforts vs COVID-19

By Jennifer P. Gaitano

BUTUAN CITY – The local government unit (LGU) of Talacogon, Agusan del Sur led by Mayor Pauline Marie Masendo revealed initiatives and efforts of the LGU and various stakeholders in the fight against the transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), during the Network Briefing News hosted by Secretary Martin Andanar of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO).

As part of its preventive measures, the LGU has strengthened its information dissemination in the barangays, letting the locals know more about the virus and how to prevent it. “We have a strict implementation of our ordinance on health protocols and issued local executive orders to ensure that all are guided and will not be violating any rules,” she said.

“Our BHERTs are functional. We also remind our barangay officials of their functions, at the same time we remind our constituents that the Delta variant is different and not all COVID tests detect the highly transmissible Delta variant because it carries a distinctive biological matter,” added Masendo, who is also a registered nurse by profession.

For those Returning Overseas Filipino Workers (ROFWs), Masendo appealed for their understanding that a negative RT-PCR test result is not a guarantee that they can safely go home in the municipality. "The respective LGUs of destination are allowed to have local protocols so we enforce our protocol on quarantine," she said.

When asked about the vaccination rollout in the municipality, the lady mayor said that vaccination target is 28,410 and they are now at 17.44% accomplishment of that figure. “We try to convince our Indigenous Peoples Mandatory Representatives (IPMR) and tribal leaders for them to get immunized first, and we are receiving positive feedback from them,” she said. 

Meanwhile, Sec. Andanar encouraged Mayor Masendo to bring their issues and concerns and request for assistance to Senator Bong Go, as the latter has been reaching out to the provinces of Caraga region and providing services and assistance particularly on the medical needs of the people during this time of COVID-19 pandemic. 

Mayor Masendo also shared that she is thankful to the support already extended by Sen. Go in the municipality, as well as the recent launching of the 131st Malasakit Center at the D.O. Plaza Memorial Hospital, wherein he provided financial assistance, groceries, vitamin supplements, face masks and face shields, among others. 

“Last Saturday, the 131st Malasakit Center was inaugurated here in Agusan del Sur and I personally thanked Senator Bong Go for his assistance, especially for COVID because last year he also gave P10 million and this year, we received P3 million in the first quarter which we used to buy equipment and create structures for our vaccination sites,” said Masendo. (JPG/PIA-Agusan del Sur)

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