TACLOBAN CITY-Health officials in the region are alarmed over the increasing trend in the reported cases of confirmed People Living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (PLHIV).
Based on recent surveillance data, the region recorded a total of 20 new confirmed cases on August 2022, accounting for a total of 1,536 cases since the first recorded case in 1984.
Department of Health (DOH) also documented a total of 95 HIV-related deaths this year, with three deaths reported on August 2022.

“This increase is 150 percent higher compared to the cases noted on July 2022 and 60 percent higher than the cases of the same time period of the previous year,” DOH-8, in a statement, said.

Amid the increasing HIV cases, Eastern Visayas only has 12 HIV treatment hubs and one primary HIV care clinic (PHCC).

“All of which are affected with high patient load due to the alarming trend of cases for HIV in Eastern Visayas,” the health department added.

As this developed, health officials have called for support from the local government units (LGUs) in their call to decentralize the access to HIV treatment care and support services.
“This process provides accessibility, a system, and a mechanism to ensure a well-coordinated delivery of comprehensive services not only in the provision of the clinical case but also in support and prevention services, hence cutting the stigma on HIV,” said Analiza Balila, regional coordinator of National HIV, AIDS, and STI Prevention and Control Program (NASPCP) of the region.

“There is no cure for HIV infection to date. However, with increasing access to effective HIV prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and care, including treatment for opportunistic infections and advanced AIDS condition, HIV infection has become a manageable chronic health condition, enabling people living with HIV to lead long and healthy lives,” the DOH said.
The health department maintained that “strengthened partnership” among LGUs all over the region is vital in the agency’s vision for more comprehensive strategies and response efforts for the region’s current HIV situation.

Meanwhile, the NASPCP of DOH-8 recognized the concerted effort behind the establishment of a state-of-the-art PHCC in Ormoc City.

“This sets a good example in leading the development of a productive, resilient, equitable, and people-centered health facility in the region that serves one of the most vulnerable population- the People Living with HIV,” it said.
(RONALD O. REYES)

TACLOBAN CITY– The city government here has set the last week of this month as the deadline for registration for those who wanted to avail of the free civil mass wedding program in the city.

Tacloban City Civil Registrar Imelda Roa said the city government will sponsor the mass wedding on November 17, 2022.

About 50 couples are expected to join the mass wedding ceremony which will be solemnized by Mayor Alfred Romualdez at the Pacific Point Events Place and Resort in the city.

“The initiative seeks to legitimize the union of indigent unwed couples, minimize the number of illegitimate children and establish a strong foundation of couple and family life,” the City Information Office (CIO) said.

To register, the following documents have to be submitted to the City Civil Registrar Office (CCRO): a birth certificate (or baptismal certificate) of the couple; if widowed, a copy of the death certificate of the spouse is needed; a Certificate of No Marriage (Cenomar); and an affidavit of cohabitation (from a lawyer).

The couple will also need to have two witnesses, according to CIO.

Citing the Family Code, the city government said that interested couples must be of legal age and have a child who is at least five years old.

Before the mass wedding, the couples will also attend a pre-marriage seminar, which will be conducted by the CCRO.

The registrants are advised to visit CCRO or CCRO Tacloban Facebook page for further information. (RONALD O. REYES)

Mobile leader to provide hassle-free, secure, and inclusive registration system

Globe, the leader in mobile, has begun preparations to ensure a credible and customer-friendly rollout of the SIM Registration Act, a colossal undertaking that entails getting over 87.4 million customers to register their SIMs within six months.

As mandated by law, the National Telecommunications Commission last Friday started consultations with relevant government agencies and various stakeholders including telcos for purposes of crafting the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the law, which was signed on October 10.

Once the IRR is approved and published, Globe shall commence the registration of all existing users of SIMs, including physical SIM cards and e-SIMs on mobile devices.
“We intend for our SIM registration process to be as seamless and painless to our customers as possible. Our goal is to stay true to the spirit of the law in carrying out its provisions, while ensuring that the conduct of SIM registration will be secure, inclusive and convenient for our customers,” said Globe Group President and CEO Ernest Cu.

Globe is looking at international best practices in designing its SIM registration platform. It is also leveraging its suite of best-in-class digital solutions to deliver an easy but secure registration system.

“We’d like to assure our customers that their data will be protected even as we give them a hassle-free registration process. We wish to effectively roll out this landmark law,” said Cu.
The Philippines’ SIM Registration Act is envisioned to address escalating cybercrime in the country, including the proliferation of smishing and other forms of scam and spam messaging aided by the anonymity afforded by prepaid SIMs.

These scam and spam SMS have been affecting mobile phone users, and Globe has taken several steps to curb these disruptive messages through proactive blocking, threat intelligence partnerships with financial institutions, a customer reporting portal, and an awareness and education campaign to help customers protect themselves.

From January to September this year, Globe has deactivated 16,215 mobile numbers and blacklisted 19,343 more for involvement in scam and spam messaging. It also blocked a total 1.3 billion spam and scam messages within the same period.

In recent comments, Camarines Sur 2nd District Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte urged government agencies such as the NTC and the Department of Information and Communications Technology not to rush the crafting of the IRR for the SIM Registration Act, saying they should work closely with telcos to ensure a secure and future-proof registration system. (PR)

TACLOBAN CITY– Work and classes across Eastern Visayas were suspended as the region was placed under storm signals due to tropical depression ‘Paeng’ on Friday (Oct.28).
The incessant rains dumped by Paeng resulted in some areas to experience flooding like in Maasin City, Southern Leyte, and here in Tacloban City, Leyte which reached up to the gutter level.

Tarpaulins displayed in several establishments in Tacloban City were rolled down as work and classes in all levels were canceled by Mayor Alfred Romualdez.

The governors of Southern Leyte, Northern Samar, and Eastern Samar also cancelled works and classes while several mayors in Samar and Biliran also made the same move to ensure the safety of their constituents.

In Northern Samar, about 1,324 passengers at its three ports, namely, San Isidro, Dapdap, Balwhartico, and Santa Clara, and all bound for Luzon and 88 passengers in Southern Leyte ports of Liloan and San Ricardo bound for Mindanao were stranded as the Coast Guard cancelled se travel due to Paeng.

In Eastern Samar, a major road located in the municipality of Taft was temporarily closed by the Department of Public Works and Highways for all types of vehicles due to possible occurrence of landslide.

In Hilongos, Leyte, minor landslide incidents were reported in the villages of Taguipa and Tagnate. Preemptive evacuation was also enforced by the local government in some areas identified to be flood and landslide prone areas in the town.

Emergency power interruptions were also enforced in several towns in Leyte like in Inopacan and Matalom to ensure safety of the residents.

The Regional Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (RDRRMC), meanwhile, asked all local government units to activate their respective disaster councils ‘to conduct proactive actions to prevent any eventualities.’

“Those who are living in areas identified to be highly or very highly susceptible to these hazards are advised to follow evacuation and other instructions from local officials,” the RDRRMC said on its advisory.
(JOEY A. GABIETA/LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)

The city just marked its 75th Charter Day

TACLOBAN CITY-President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong” Marcos Jr. was all praises to city officials of Ormoc City following its economic growth.

The President made his remark during his attendance at a program held last October 22 as the city was marking its 72nd Charter Day celebration.

In his speech, Marcos hailed the progress of the city through the leadership of Leyte 4th District Rep. Richard Gomez and Ormoc City Mayor Lucy Torres-Gomez, saying the commemoration “is a testament to the collective resilience and good character of the Ormocanons.”

He cited the city’s implementation of the Local Climate Change Action Plan 2016-2025, adding it brings help to the executive branch of government “to deliver our mandate, to boost civic engagement, and to raise public awareness.”

“It is noteworthy that, alongside conserving and taking care of our natural resources, you also give importance to interventions for the development of families. I applaud this and your partnership with the Commission on Population and Development to implement your Social Protection Program for Adolescent Mothers and their Children,” the President said.
Mayor Gomez, for her part, maintained that “the best is yet to come.”

“While we have achieved significant milestones, we realize that there is so much more for us to do. Ormoc City and the Ormocanon people have high aspirations to be a healthy blue zone city, to be a city of beautiful spaces and deep cultural appreciation and development. This is of course, side by side our economic goals, and one of our priorities is to become the organic food basket for the Visayas, serving all Filipinos nationwide,” she said.

Ormoc was formally inaugurated as a city on October 20, 1947, exactly three years after the Leyte Landing, by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 42 signed by Pres. Manuel Roxas. (RONALD O.REYES)

NAVAL, Biliran-Six sachets containing of suspected shabu with an estimated value of P6,000 were recovered by drug operatives led by the Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit (PDEU) of Biliran Police Office, PDEA and the local Station Drug Enforcement Team (SDET) during a buy-bust operation about 11:45 pm on Tuesday (Oct. 25) at Barangay SMO Rosario, of this town.

Police Major Chambeline Ludevise, the chief of police of Naval town, identified the suspect as Harold Ang, 43, identified by the authorities as a newly-identified drug peddler in Naval.
Recovered from the possession of the suspect was one sachet containing of suspected shabu procured by an operative in the amount of P1,000.

During the conduct of a body search in front of a barangay official and representative from the Department of Justice (DOJ), the searching cops fails to recover illegal items from the suspect.

However, when the sling bag of the suspect was opened, the operatives recovered a small cut plastic that contained P1,000 bill and a folded paper that once poured out five more plastic sachets containing the same white crystalline substance suspected to be shabu with an estimated street value of P5,000.

The searching cops also recovered a black wallet that contained cash money amounting P7,070 in different denominations and one disposable plastic lighter.

Charges of violations of RA 9165, otherwise known as the Comprehensive Law against Illegal Drugs of 2002 was filed against the suspect who is currently detained at the Naval police lock-up facility.
(ROBERT DEJON)