TACLOBAN CITY — The Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) reiterated its reminder to the public not to consume shellfish from two Eastern Visayas bays as red tide phenomenon remains.
In its laboratory test last week, BFAR still found the red tide algal bloom in Cancabato and Matarinao bays in Eastern Samar. Shellfish ban has been up in Matarinao and Cancabato since October 2018 and early January 2019, respectively.
BFAR Regional Director Juan Albaladejo, in a mobile phone interview, said Wednesday(Feb.6) this is the longest occurrence of red tide in Cancabato Bay. The bay has a good flushing action due to the strong current in the San Juanico Strait.
This is the third red tide bloom in Cancabato after Super Typhoon Yolanda struck in 2013. The first only lasted three days and the second occurred for three weeks.
“Usually, it is taking so long for Matarinao Bay because the area is enclosed. The longest recorded was in 2010 where it extended for a year. We need strong continuous rains and sustained wave action to flush out the red tide organism,” he added.
The presence of red tide in both shellfish meat and water calls for the prohibition of gathering, trading, and consumption of shellfish from identified areas over the possibility of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP).
According to website of the Washington State Department of Health, PSP is a naturally occurring marine biotoxin produced by some species of microscopic algae. Shellfish eat these algae and can retain the toxin. People can become ill from eating shellfish contaminated with PSP and high levels of the toxin can even cause death.
BFAR conducts weekly monitoring of seawater in bays hit by red tide in the past, but for positive areas, authorities examine water and meat samples three times weekly.
The fisheries bureau advised the public to refrain from eating, harvesting, selling, and buying shellfish products and Acetes sp. (small shrimps) from the affected bays until such time that the shellfish toxicity level has gone down below the regulatory level.
Fish caught in these areas are safe for human consumption provided that these are fresh, washed and cooked thoroughly, the BFAR advisory said.
(SARWELL Q. MENIANO/PNA)
Red tide alert still up in 2 Eastern Samar bays
8 babies died due to measles in the region
DOH: No measles outbreak in EV
GOVERNMENT CENTER, PALO, Leyte- The Department of Health (DOH) in the region expressed their alarm over the high number of children afflicted with measles.
As of this week, the DOH has reported of about eight deaths due to measles, mostly involving babies from six to nine months.
Measles cases in the region, covering the period of January until Feb. 6, has already reached 161, John Paul Roca, DOH regional information officer, said, who was quick to say that they are not declaring yet a measles outbreak in the region .
Last year of the same period, the DOH only monitored two measles cases with no death.
In 2017, overall, there were 241 cases of measles in the region with five deaths.
“This is really alarming. This is preventable which could not lead to death,” Roca said.
But due to the controversy generated by the Dengvaxia issue, parents refused to have their children inoculated, to include the anti-measles vaccine, Roca said.
Based on their records, the eight fatalities were from the towns of Palo,Leyte with 4; Tacloban City (2) and one each from the towns of Pastrana, Leyte and Gandara,Samar.
Roca said that while the number of measles cases in the region has shoot up to almost a 1,000 percent increase, they are not yet declaring any outbreak.
“We don’t have clustering of cases of measles in the region and its still manageable,” he said.
Still, the DOH is appealing to the parents, in particular, not to be carried away with the Dengvaxia scare which resulted for them not to allow their children take any government-supervised vaccination.
According to him, they are in close coordination with the local government units through their health units to help them on their campaign on measles vaccination.
“They should not be afraid. This is also free,” Roca said.
Roca said that they are glad that no less than President Rodrigo Duterte has asked the parents for their children to be vaccinated.
“We laud the effort of the President. This is an effective way as no less than our leader, the President, said that there is nothing harmful in this (vaccination campaign),” he said.
The President made this call on January 29 during the groundbreaking for the construction of a hospital in Malabon City.
Parents were said to have refused their children vaccinated amid the controversy on Dengvaxia, a vaccine intended against dengue fever, as there were parents who claimed that their children died after receiving said vaccine.
The DOH has denied that the immediate cause of death of these children were due to Dengvaxia.
BY: JOEY A. GABIETA/ROEL T. AMAZONA
DPWH-Biliran DEO accomplished 84.62% of its 2018 infrastructure projects
NAVAL, Biliran-The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) – Biliran District Engineering Office (DEO) ended 2018 with an 84.62% accomplishment of its infrastructure projects.
According to district engineer David P. Adongay Jr., Biliran-DEO surpassed the 80.87% planned target accomplishment by 3.75% as of December 31, 2018.
Out of the 60 total projects, 44 were completed and 16 are on-going.
Adongay said that the main reason for the slight delay are the implementation of big ticket projects amounting to P50 million and above.
“Medyo nadedelayed ang aming projects because of the late approval of authority to bid and implement of these projects from the DPWH Central Office pero yung’ mga projects namin na below P50 million ay almost completed na,” Adongay said.
Adongay said that the target completion date for all 2018 projects is on June, 2019.
“Hopefully we can complete this by March 2019,” Adongay added.
Under 2018 Regular Infrastructure Program, Biliran DEO has completed 18 flood control projects, four rehabilitation of bridges, four slope protections, three access roads leading to tourist destinations, three access roads leading to trades and industries and economic zones, two asphalt overlays and one drainage project.
Meanwhile, under 2018 Local Infrastructure Program, Biliran DEO has already completed four multipurpose buildings, one flood control project, one Farm-Market Road (FMR) project, one seawall project, one bay walk/breakwater project and one road concreting project. (PR)
‘Proyekto 25” of E. Samar government yields improve delivery of health services
TACLOBAN CITY-A banner program under the administration of acting Governor Ferdinand Marcelo ‘Dindo’ Picardal of Eastern Samar dubbed as “Proyekto 25” has brought reforms to the operations of health care facilities in the province.
George Erroba, provincial administrator, said that Picardal is “fixing the bureaucracy in Eastern Samar provincial government to better serve the constituents.”
“Gov. Picardal doesn’t like that people have to line up and wait for a long time, so we have put up a mechanism to speed up the transactions,” Erroba said.
Picardal also established a Provincial Governor’s Office (PGO) in the hospitals to “immediately respond to the problems and monitor the needs of the patients” who are confined in the different health care facilities.
The PGO is an initiative of Picardal to provide transparency and good governance in the province following the goal of “Proyekto 25”, Erroba added.
With the full implementation of “No Balance Billing” policy in all hospital establishments and the availability of the medicines and supplies, more people opted to go to government hospitals because of the availability of logistics, Erroba said.
He added that PhilHealth officials across the country have recognized the implementation of “No Balance Billing” in Eastern Samar.
On bed occupancy of the hospitals, Eastern Samar had served around 18, 230 in-patients (admissions) in all of its hospitals with 44 percent or 8, 194 admitted in Eastern Samar Provincial Hospital, as of November 2018.
On the average, the monthly bed occupancy rate is 80 percent.
Also, five out of nine hospitals had more than 85 percent monthly bed occupancy rate.
In 2017, the provincial average of monthly bed occupancy rate was only 48 percent but was increased to 80 percent in 2018.
On its hospital revenue, it showed that there was a 62 percent increase in the hospital income or about P100 million collection. (RONALD O.REYES)
Cleaning up Tacloban’s major ways is everybody’s responsibility, says official
TACLOBAN CITY – Cleaning the bodies of water located within the city should be supported by all.
Thus said Ma. Lumen Tabao, information officer of the Tacloban city government, reacting to posts in the social media referring efforts to clean the Panalaron Bay, in particular.
Tabao said that members of the Fishery Law Enforcement Team (FLET) conduct regular cleanup of the said bay which is located within the city’s main public market.
But the city information officer said that most of the wastes found at the Panalaron Bay were not from the market but those coming from villages along the Mangonbangon Creek and the communities along the bay.
“We cannot control the flow of current especially during high tide. If we really want the bay to be clean, let’s make this as a concerted effort and not only the City Hall that will work because the government is not only the City Hall of Tacloban,” Tabao said.
Tabao added that a single cleanup drive is not enough to clean the Panalaron Bay from all wastes, adding that it would take everyone to be responsible to properly dispose their trash to ensure that this will not end up at sea.
She added that personnel of FLET and the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office have agreed to clean the bay.
“Villages along the waterways and coastline should also help in cleaning the bay by starting within their communities, avoid throwing their trash at Mangonbangon Creek and at the bay so that they will not pollute the sea,” Tabao added.
Tabao, meantime, expressed her support to the An Waray party-list founder Florencio “Bem” Noel who called for volunteers to help them in their upcoming cleanup drive at the Panalaron Bay on February 3.
Noel, in his Facebook account, said that An Waray has accepted the challenge set by President Rodrigo Duterte to take care and protect the environment and clean up the waterways.
His post earned support from the city residents who pledged to support the cleanup drive.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)