TACLOBAN CITY – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Eastern Visayas is stepping up its information drive to counter text scams promising relief allowance for older persons and retirees.

DSWD Eastern Visayas regional information officer Jonalyndie Chua sounded the alarm that scammers are using different platforms to dupe unsuspecting seniors, and urged the latter not to entertain text messages about relief allowances.

“We have received a report from a concerned citizen that there is a text message circulating over mobile phone users regarding the alleged unclaimed relief allowances for senior citizens and retired business owners,” Chua said in a phone interview Thursday.
The case prompted the DSWD to double its information drive on the social pension program for senior citizens in the region.

The official clarified that there is no membership fee to become a potential beneficiary of the program. She added that all applicants are potential beneficiaries because they will go through thorough validation if qualified based on the program’s eligibility requirements.
“The validation is done by the staff of the Department of Social Welfare and Development together with our local government and not by authorized persons via text messaging,” she added.

Chua emphasized that no organization is authorized to collect fees for the application to become social pension beneficiaries.

She said the additional PHP500 social pension mandated under Republic Act No. 11916 is not yet implemented pending the issuance of the law’s implementing rules and regulations.
The DSWD encourages senior citizens or their families to inquire from the official page of the DSWD regional office or visit the DSWD provincial offices, city or municipal social welfare and development offices, and local senior citizens affairs offices.

Social pension is additional government assistance in the amount of PHP500 monthly stipend to augment the daily subsistence and other medical needs of indigent elderlies, subject to a review every two years by Congress in consultation with the DSWD.
Indigent senior citizens refer to any elderly who is frail, sickly, or with a disability; without a pension; and no permanent source of income, compensation, or financial assistance from relatives to support his or her basic needs. (PNA)

TACLOBAN CITY– Despite of the detection of the new omicron subvariant, the Department of Health (DOH) is now mulling to place the entire country under the lowest alert classification.

While the XBF was already detected in the country on Feb.16, the region will not impose new restrictions, said disease surveillance officers of the DOH-8, Jay Reles and Hubert Fallorina.

“Parehas la gihap kun ano an aton pag treat hiton coronavirus disease (COVID-19), baga’t parehas man la gihapon hiya. Kun may close contact ka, quarantine. Kun fully vaccinated ka, mas maupay kay mas less tim quarantine. Mga sugad la hiton,” Fallorina said.

Reles, meantime, shared that their central office had even been in talks about declaring the country into the lowest alert level classification, Alert Level 0.

Still, Reles urged the public to continue to observe all the pre-emptive safety measures to ensure that the infection will be further contained.

As of Feb.20, COVID-19 cases in Eastern Visayas stand at 64,714 of which 64,013 or 98. 92 percent have recovered from the deadly virus with nine active cases.

The total number of fatalities of the region stands at 692 with the latest to die due to the COVID-19 infection involved a 36-year-old woman from Tunga, Leyte who died on Jan.15, the DOH reported.
(SAMANTHA JANE B. CRUZ, LNU Student Intern)

Leading digital solutions platform Globe has made significant strides in its network infrastructure in 2022, building 1,702 new cell sites, upgrading over 13,600 mobile sites to LTE, and installing 2,267 new 5G sites across the country.

Its total site builds last year fulfilled its target of besting the 2021 figure, which was at 1,407 in 2021.

These developments are part of Globe’s efforts to connect more consumers and businesses with the accelerated digitalization needs brought about by the pandemic.

“We are proud to have made huge investments in our network infrastructure to provide our customers with the best possible experience. Our goal is to always deliver network reliability and consistency to our subscribers,” said Joel Agustin, Head of Network Planning and Engineering at Globe.

Globe spent record-high levels of capital expenditure (CAPEX) in the past several years with its aggressive builds towards a #1stWorldNetwork, resulting in a significant backbone for its network.

Last year’s CAPEX alone reached P101.4 billion or 9% above the previous year, marking the highest investment ever in Globe’s mobile and fixed network to provide a world-class internet experience for customers nationwide.

In addition to the cell site and 5G network expansion, Globe was also the first in Southeast Asia to deploy the new multi-beam, multiband lens antenna technology. This technology significantly improves the capacity and coverage of 4G and 5G networks, providing better indoor penetration and reach for large outdoor and indoor events, rural areas, and densely populated cities.

Pilot tests showed impressive results, with higher mobile download and upload data speeds and more stable connectivity. Globe plans to deploy this technology in more areas.

Globe’s efforts to improve its network quality and coverage have paid off as it was named the Best Mobile Network Infrastructure Company at the annual Global Business Outlook Awards 2022, following its award for Most Innovative Telecom the previous year.

In addition, the company once again topped the latest report of mobile analytics and insights firm Opensignal on 5G video experience, 5G upload speed, and core consistent quality. This is consistent with Globe’s continuous effort to deliver network reliability and consistency to its consumers. (PR)