TACLOBAN CITY– The City Health Office(CHO) cautioned citizens to practice minimum health standards at all times and refrain from sending children to school if the manifestation of hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) symptoms had been noticed to contain further spread.

This after the Department of Health – Eastern Visayas issued an advisory noting a significant uptick of cases in the region.

HFMD is a viral disease that easily infects school children aged 5-12 years old, according to Dr. Danilo Ecarma, acting local health officer.

“It can be transmitted through direct contact with the infected individual, contaminated surfaces and respiratory droplets,” he said, adding that fever, sore throat, loss of appetite, blisters-like lesions on the tongue, gums, and inside of the cheeks, and blisters commonly found on the hands, feet, or buttocks are among the symptoms of this infectious disease.
However, the official noted that HFMD is a self-limiting disease and requires symptomatic treatment only.

The infection lasts for one to two weeks.
On the monitoring of HFMD data in the city, Dr. Ecarma said they will coordinate with the Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit to track accordingly the confirmed cases.

From the past two weeks, the reports they are receiving came from schools but are tagged as suspected only since these cases are “not yet properly diagnosed.”

“The school nurse from Scandinavian Elementary School notified us they recorded up to 46 possible cases of HFMD,” Dr. Ecarma disclosed.

For the safety of the pupils, classrooms, and surroundings were disinfected by the personnel of the CHO and modular lessons for some of its learners had been implemented following the detection of suspected infections.

The health official reiterated the practice of cleanliness, frequent hand-washing and isolation of the infected person are efficient to prevent the spread of the said disease in the community.

From January to March 4, 2023, a total of 331 cases of HFMD were recorded in the region, which is higher compared to last year’s 261 cases for the same period, per DOH.
(TACLOBAN CITY INFORMATION OFFICE)

TACLOBAN CITY– A lawyer who has been earlier tagged to have shot and killed an architect inside a school campus seven years ago was acquitted by a regional trial court here.

Lawyer Aquilino Mejica was acquitted of the murder charge by the court for lack of probable cause.

The court said that for Mejica to be convicted of the charge against him, not only due to circumstantial evidence but also on direct evidence.

“Be it noted that the accused was convicted not by direct evidence but by circumstantial evidence. Nobody saw the accused killed the victim,” Judge Evelyn Lesigues, the presiding judge of the Regional Trial Court-Branch 43, said on her decision.

Earlier, Mejica was convicted for killing Archimedes Moscare by Judge Alphinor Serrano of the RTC-Branch 6.

The accused, however, filed for inhibition against Serrano resulting in Judge Lesigues handling the murder case.

The murder case against Mejica happened on June 6, 2016 inside the engineering building of Leyte State University.

|”I want to thank God for my acquittal (and) I want to thank Judge Lesigues for being just. She applied the law, rules on evidence and applicable jurisprudence,” he said.

He also expressed his gratitude to his wife and family including their relatives and friends for their ‘unceasing love and support.’

Mejica was detained at the Leyte Regional Prison in Abuyog on April 11, 2019 and was released from prison on May 6,2022.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)

TACLOBAN CITY – The Police Regional Office 8 under the leadership of PB/Gen. Rommel Francisco Marbil, the police regional director, dismantled a drug den which resulted in the arrest of seven individuals during a buy-bust operation in Brgy. 59-A Sampaguita, this city, Monday (March 20).

Marbil said that the suspects were charged for violation of Sections 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, and 15 of Article II of Republic Act 9165 or The Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002.
Joint operatives from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) 8 together with Tacloban City Police Office Drug Enforcement Unit (TCPO-DEU) conducted a sting operation which led to the dismantling of a drug den and the arrest of the following suspects: alias “Encio”, 52, maintainer; alias “Eque”, 54, co-maintainer; alias “Ely”, 34, visitor; alias “Toper”, 37, visitor; alias “Enn-enn”, 36, visitor; alias “Elago”, 21, visitor; and alias “Obet”, 57, visitor.

Marbil added that the operation was carried out after several months of intensive surveillance and tight case build-up.

“We will be relentless in our efforts in stopping the spread of illegal drugs in the region. More importantly, is the dismantling of every single drug den in our AOR and the arrest of those people involved,” he said.

Based on the report, suspects yielded eight pieces of heat-sealed transparent plastic sachets containing a white crystalline substance suspected to be shabu weighing around 15 grams with an estimated market value of P102,000.
(LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)