TACLOBAN CITY-An official of the Eastern Visayas Medical Center (EVMC) assured the public that they have enough supply of medicines to be dispensed under the newly-implemented ‘Project Tambal’ or ‘Take-home Medication Benefit Assistance Link.’

Lawyer Rodolfo Peñalosa, the information officer of the regional hospital based here in the city, thus allayed fears that the project could not be sustained.

“We estimated how many medicines we would need and we also identified the most common medicines that are being prescribed by our doctors from all departments. So as we already know all those information, I believe we have enough take-home medicines to last for at least one year. So, for this 2023, medicines are already secured,” he said during a media forum held Wednesday (Feb.1) held at Fides Hotel, this city.

The Project Tambal, launched last month, is an initiative of the Tingog party-list wherein patients confined at the EVMC are provided medicines after they are discharged from the hospital for free.

Rep. Jude Acidre of the Tingog party-list group has earlier said that the program aims to ease the burden of the patients at the EVMC in finding medicines, either for lack of supply or funds, after they return home.

Acidre said that funding the program may prove to be a challenge but assured nevertheless that Tingog will make sure to sustain it.

Majority of the patients of EVMC are considered poor who could barely buy the needed medicines and other medical supplies. (JASMINE KATE AGOSTO, LNU Student Intern)

ORMOC CITY– A septuagenarian was arrested for illegal possession of firearm and grave threat in Caibiran, Biliran on Monday (Jan.30).

Arrested was Lolito Panes, 74, and a resident of Barangay Asug who was accused to have threatened a neighbor, Michael Masong, 46, report from the local police said.

The two had engaged in a verbal tussle after the victim asked the suspect of cutting his bamboos without asking permission.

But instead of answering the question, the elderly got irked and walked away only to return with a .38 caliber revolver.

This prompted Masong to ask help from village official Felmar Quiñones, who also escorted the suspect to the police station.

Panes did not resist arrest.

Charges for violations of Article 282 of the Revised Penal Code for grave threats and Republic Act 10591, the Comprehensive Law against Illegal Possession of Firearms, Ammunitions, and Explosives were filed at the Provincial Prosecutor against the suspect. (ROBERT DEJON)

MANILA-The United States and the Philippines are proud to announce their plans to accelerate the full implementation of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) with the agreement to designate four new Agreed Locations in strategic areas of the country and the substantial completion of the projects in the existing five Agreed Locations.

The EDCA is a key pillar of the U.S.-Philippine Alliance, which supports combined training, exercises, and interoperability between our forces. Expansion of the EDCA will make our alliance stronger and more resilient, and will accelerate modernization of our combined military capabilities.

The addition of these new EDCA locations will allow more rapid support for humanitarian and climate-related disasters in the Philippines, and respond to other shared challenges.
The United States has allocated over $82 million toward infrastructure investments at the existing five sites under the EDCA, and is proud that these investments are supporting economic growth and job creation in local Philippine communities.

The United States and the Philippines have committed to move quickly in agreeing to the necessary plans and investments for the new and existing EDCA locations.
The U.S.-Philippine Alliance has stood the test of time and remains ironclad. We look forward to the opportunities these new sites will create to expand our cooperation together. (PR)