PIA Davao Region

Freezer for the vaccines at the Waterfront Insular Davao vaccination site DAVAO CITY- It’s all systems go for Bakuna by the Sea, a vaccination program for Davao City’s tourism sector workers.   The vaccinations will start tomorrow, June 30 at 8 :00 a.m.  with the Grand Pavilion of the Waterfront Insular Hotel serving as the venue of the vaccination site.   An initial 2,000 doses of vaccines will be provided to jumpstart the vaccination of an estimated 7,000 tourism workers and and those working in allied establishments. The site will also accommodate members of the Davao City media for the vaccination.   Dubbed as Bakuna by the Sea (Vaccination by the Sea) the lush seaside tropical garden and coconut grove within the grounds of the Waterfront Insular Hotel will provide a resort-like ambiance to the vaccination.   The tourism sector vaccination is a multi-sectoral partnership between the City Government of Davao, the private sector spearheaded by the Davao Touris...

Healthcare in the Philippines now becomes more accessible with mWell , the country’s first fully integrated, one-stop health & lifestyle app aimed at transforming the way healthcare is delivered through online doctor consultations, health education, wellness programs, online pharmacy services, and more.   Soon to be launched by Metro Pacific Health Tech Corporation ( MPHTC) , a wholly-owned subsidiary of Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (PSE: MPI) , mWell is an all-in-one app designed for every Filipino’s demand for treatment and care during this pandemic where connecting patients with doctors and medical professionals has become very challenging.   PLDT President and CEO, Manny V. Pangilinan states, “Even before the pandemic, Filipinos needed better access to healthcare. Many challenges and limitations hinder medical care and treatment, more so during this COVID-19 crisis. We are truly excited with mWell, the MPIC group’s investment in digital health care." ...

  Alternate Care Site Isolation Facility in Mati City DAVAO CITY, June 29 (PIA) – Department of Health- XI Regional Director Dr. Annabelle Yumang urged local government units to increase quarantine sites, temporary treatment and monitoring facilities, and isolation areas as COVID19 cases continue to rise in the region. This she bared in the weekly DOH virtual presser following such recommendation raised to the Regional Task Force on COVID19. “We also recommended for the LGUs to strengthen contact tracing. Paspason ang tracing nga within 24 hours mamahimo na ang contact tracing sa usa ka nagpositive para mahatagan dayon ug aksyon ug ma-isolate dayon ang nag positive  (We need to speed up the tracing such that within 24 hours, we can immediately do contact tracing on the confirmed positive so we can give appropriate action and isolate that person.),” Dr. Yumang added. DOH data as of June 27 showed that the region now has 40,959 total number of cases; 9,870 are active or admitted...

DAVAO DEL NORTE, June 28 (PIA) – Pedicab drivers and operators in the Municipality of Sto. Tomas have received various assistances from the Local Government Unit (LGU), National Government Agencies (NGAs), and the Office of Senator Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go recently. On June 26 at the Municipal Covered Court, the team of Senator Bong Go distributed food packs, face masks, face shields, and medicine packs to 914 pedicab drivers and operators. Selected recipients also received bicycles, computer tablets while some received pairs of shoes. As well, the Santo Tomas LGU handed out long sleeves, plastic barriers and other COVID-19 related merchandise to the beneficiaries. This was made possible after Santo Tomas Mayor Ernesto Evangelista and Municipal Administrator Atty. Elisa Evangelista-Lapina asked the help of Senator Bong Go to provide financial assistance to the transportation sector which has been significantly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.  
 Furthermore, the Department ...

DAVAO DEL NORTE, June 25 (PIA) – Two COVID19 variants first found in the United Kingdom and South Africa have recently been detected in the province. In a press release dated June 23, 2021, the Department of Health (DOH) has reported that there is 1 case of Alpha and 6 cases of Beta COVID19 variants in Davao del Norte. The Alpha variant is known as the “B.1.1.7” variant first found in the United Kingdom in November 2020 while the Beta variant is the “B.1.351” variant first found in South Africa in October 2020. The Alpha COVID19 case in the province is a 38-year-old asymptomatic male who is currently admitted in one of the province’s isolation facility. For the 6 cases of Beta COVID19 cases, 3 of them are a 28-year -old male who was asymptomatic, a 20-year-old female and a 22-year-old male who both experienced mild symptoms. However, all three have already been discharged. The other three cases are still active: a 40-year-old asymptomatic female, an 84-year-old male with moderate sympt...

DAVAO CITY, July 24 (PIA)- Imagine getting yourself vaccinated amidst the sight of swaying coconut palms and feeling the soothing caress of sea breeze blowing from the Davao Gulf. You are also listening to relaxing piped-in bossa nova music while waiters on the side are ready to serve refreshments.   This concept of a vaccination experience is being realized as the City Government of Davao together with the private sector is readying a seaside vaccination site dubbed as “Bakuna by the Sea” (Vaccination by the Sea) and is intended to serve the tourism workers in Davao City.   “Nag-partner ang private sector plus ang city government of Davao in order to establish the vaccination program for the tourism sector,” Davao City Tourism Operations Office head Generose Tecson said describing the joint effort which has led to a tropical beachside resort themed vaccination site.   The vaccination site is the Grand Pavilion of the Waterfront Insular Hotel Davao. A historical landmark ...

DAVAO DEL NORTE, June 24 (PIA) – The provincial field office of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) is among the agencies which has immediately provided assistance to the rescued Indigenous People (IP) children and their families. This was revealed by Davao del Norte Field Office (DNFO) Community Facilitator, Dave Andrie Villegas, during Kapihan sa DavNor on June 23. He said that after profiling the children and their parents, “ang inisyal dayun nga gihatag ni DOLE is ang food packs and rice assistance (DOLE initially gave food packs and rice assistance).” In addition, the parents of the children were immediately listed as beneficiaries for TUPAD (Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa ating Displaced or Disadvantaged Workers), DOLE’s emergency employment program that goes for 10-15 days with 396 per day salary. For long term, Villegas said that a livelihood program worth P30k was also given to each of the 15 families in order to address their poverty, which has been one of the main factor...

DAVAO CITY, June 24 (PIA)- Health authorities remain confident that no confirmed variant of concern has entered Davao City and in the region.   Dr. Michelle Schlosser, spokesperson of the COVID-19 Task Force bared there’s no confirmed variant of concern in Davao City or Davao Region can be attributed to the surge of COVID-19 cases.   She said the Department of Health XI does not convey this information.   However, Schlosser assured that the people will know from them once the information is available.    Schlosser noticed the surge has greatly affected the working population from age 22 to 39, since they are young adults working for a living and are highly involved in risky behavior like team building, talking to each other and smoking.   She revealed the city’s data on COVID-19 infection remains at 250 to 300 patients noted per day, showing a continuous surge of  COVID-19 cases, despite the strategies put in place to stop the virus.    The D...

Hypochlorinator is now installed at the Pasian Water System Association and its water is  now safe  for drinking. (Photo from LGU Monkayo) DAVAO DE ORO, June 24 (PIA) - - Since bacteria in the water is considered the cause of the diarrhea outbreak in Barangay Pasian, the local government unit of Monkayo installed a hypochlorinator at the water system in the area. Municipal Information Officer Joseph Anthony Crizaldo said that they re-opened the water lines this afternoon, and ‘the water is now safe.’ As of June 23, 2021 1:00PM, the outbreak affected 256 households with 334 cases. Among those cases, four persons are still admitted to the medical facilities, and five person died, including a three days old baby. Provincial Health Officer Dr. Antonio Ybiernas Jr. said in an interview that the hypochlorinator is the safest way of making the water in the area potable, making it the suitable treatment in the diarrhea outbreak. Dr. Ybiernas disclosed that the chemical analysis of the...

DAVAO CITY, June 23 (PIA)- An official of the City Transport and Traffic Management Office bared that one more public hearing is needed by the 19 th City Council before it can craft a full version of the Bicycle Ordinance, the rules and regulation on the use of bicycle lanes.   Dionisio Abude, chief of the CTTMO said cyclists who still traverse outside the bicycle lanes defeat the purpose of the use of dedicated bike lanes for them.   “Cyclists must know their responsibility in using the bike lanes,” he said.   Abude revealed 14 bicycles lanes have been finished throughout the city like the Davao-Cotabato Road, Quimpo Boulevard, Sandawa, Roxas, Quezon Boulevard, Quirino, Jacinto Streets, Dr. Gahol Street, Torres, Inigo, and Porras Streets.    He said the CTTMO mulls of putting an additional bicycle lane in Matina-Aplaya going towards Matina-Crossing.    Abude said citation tickets are issued to motorists especially those who parked at the bicycle lane...

DAVAO CITY, June 23 (PIA) – The Department of Health XI clarified in a letter sent to the Davao Oriental Provincial Government that reported variants specifically from the confirmed cases from the said province are not identified as variant of concerns. This came after a news item  released by the Mati City Information Office citing that variants taken from the confirmed cases from Davao Oriental are B.1, B.1.78 and A.4. “The reported variants are not identified as variant of concerns because current data are insufficient to determine whether the variant will require more appropriate and specific health action,” DOH XI regional director Annabelle P. Yumang wrote in the letter. The Davao Oriental Provincial Task Force COVID19 also issued a press release saying that there is no Brazilian variant detected in the province contrary to the news item released recently Provincial Task Force-COVID19 Action Officer Dr. Reden Bersaldo said that “although there were variants which have...

DAVAO CITY, June 22 (PIA) – The Philippine Genome Center (PGC) – Mindanao along with six other partner sites in Mindanao are set to start the SARS-CoV-2 sequencing project this week in collaboration with the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine (RITM) and the University of Glasgow. PGC-Mindanao center director Dr. Lyre Anni Murao, guesting in One Davao Virtual Presser, announced that the first batch of sequencing will run for about a week after getting needed samples from the different regions in Mindanao. “So far, three laboratories have already submitted samples and we are looking forward to receive other samples from other laboratories,” Dr. Murao said. The PGC Mindanao is one of the seven sites tapped to participate in the genome sequencing. “The importance on having this sequencing is for us here in Mindanao to identify the different variants that will give us an idea on what kind of virus do we have right now.” When asked if the possible presence of new variants is the cause ...

DAVAO City, June 22 (PIA)- The Local Vaccine Czar admitted there are more issues on the registration than the actual vaccination.    Dr. Josephine Villafuerte, Head of the Vaccination Program said the District Health Offices can no longer bear calling one by one those who registered for vaccination.    “Before they gave priority to their first 500 registrants from their district before they accommodated the walk-ins,” she said.    Villafuerte also observed that the SafeDQR system of registration does not have the capability to inform the public as to when their vaccinations would be.    She said the one creating the system assured a solution to the problem but to no avail.  Villafuerte said the Philippine Long Distance Company has offered to help them on the text blasts to inform the vaccinees of their schedule.    She called for understanding from the public.   Villafuerte bared that all vaccination sites in the city administe...