DAMAGED. A roofless classroom in Southern Leyte damaged by Typhoon Odette last year. The Commission on Elections (Comelec) is building more makeshift precincts in Eastern Visayas, allowing typhoon victims and those from the vulnerable sector to cast their votes.(Photo courtesy of Comelec Region 8) TACLOBAN CITY - The Commission on Elections (Comelec) has assured the completion of all 118 makeshift precincts in Eastern Visayas before election day, allowing typhoon victims and those from the "vulnerable sector" to cast their votes. Comelec Eastern Visayas assistant regional director Felicisimo Embalsado said on Wednesday all temporary precincts are completed in the provinces of Samar, Northern Samar, and Leyte while those in Southern Leyte are still ongoing. "There was a delay for areas affected by Typhoon Odette in Southern Leyte due to limited supply of construction materials, but we are sure that it will be completed before May 7," Embalsado told reporters. Complet
LEGAZPI CITY - The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) in Catanduanes will fund abaca-related research in a bid to help and support the staging of the 6th Abaca Festival on May 24-28 in the province, which was recently declared as the "Abaca Capital of the Philippines". Engr. Marie Grace Molina, DOST-Catanduanes director, in a follow-up interview on Tuesday, said the funding will be received by the winners in the "Search for the Noblest Catandunganon Researcher". "This competition will provide an opportunity for the researchers to present new ideas and concepts related to abaca products and technologies," Molina said. She said the competition is open to all Catanduanes residents. "All proposal entries submitted must be original and anchored to the purpose of Abaca Festival celebration which is to honor and value the culture as well as the abacaleros or abaca farmers," she added. The project proposal concept must be correlated to at least
DISASTER. Residents collect scraps from their homes razed by fire in Village A, Barangay UP Campus, Diliman, Quezon City on Monday morning (May 2, 2022). Eight people died, including three children. (PNA photo by Joey Razon) MANILA - Three children were among the eight killed in a fire that ravaged Village A and Village B in Barangay UP Campus, Diliman, Quezon City on Monday morning. City Social Services Director Fe Macale said in an interview that the local government will shoulder the funeral expenses of the victims and will provide food and financial assistance to the affected families. The victims were evacuated to Advincula Hall. "Ang instruction sa amin ni Mayor (Joy Belmonte) ay ibigay 'yung lahat ng mga pangangailangan ng ating mga nasunugan (The mayor's instruction is to give all the needs of the fire victims)," Macale said. The three minors who died were aged 10, 8, and 3; three are senior citizens aged 79, 69, and 65; and the other two were 57 and 32 years
DISASTER. Residents collect scraps from their homes razed by fire in Village A, Barangay UP Campus, Diliman, Quezon City on Monday morning (May 2, 2022). Eight people died, including three children. (PNA photo by Joey Razon) MANILA - Three children were among the eight killed in a fire that ravaged Village A and Village B in Barangay UP Campus, Diliman, Quezon City on Monday morning. City Social Services Director Fe Macale said in an interview that the local government will shoulder the funeral expenses of the victims and will provide food and financial assistance to the affected families. The victims were evacuated to Advincula Hall. "Ang instruction sa amin ni Mayor (Joy Belmonte) ay ibigay 'yung lahat ng mga pangangailangan ng ating mga nasunugan (The mayor's instruction is to give all the needs of the fire victims)," Macale said. The three minors who died were aged 10, 8, and 3; three are senior citizens aged 79, 69, and 65; and the other two were 57 and 32 years
DRUG HAUL. Police operatives seize PHP408,000 worth of suspected shabu from a female suspect during a buy-bust in Purok Star Apple, Barangay 27 on Tuesday (April 12, 2022). The operation was conducted by personnel of PNP Drug Enforcement Group Special Operations Unit-Western Visayas, Bacolod City Police Station 8, and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-Negros Occidental.(Photo courtesy of Bacolod City Police Office) BACOLOD CITY - Drug enforcement teams in this provincial capital and neighboring Silay City arrested five suspects and recovered PHP1.013 million worth of suspected shabu during a series of sting operations in the past three days, police reports on Wednesday showed. On Tuesday night, operatives arrested suspect Helmar Suspene Bito-on in Matagoy Interio of Barangay Rizal in Silay City. Bito-on, 36, sold a sachet of shabu worth PHP11,000 during the operation at past 6 p.m. He also yielded 14 sachets of the same prohibited substance, weighing 75 grams, with an estimate