Tuesday, March 23, 2021

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Davao City launches second bus route

Posted: 23 Mar 2021 05:57 AM PDT

THE City Government of Davao launched the second route of the Interim Bus System (IBS) Project from Catalunan Grande to the central downtown area and vice versa on Tuesday, March 23.

This came more than a month since the first route of IBS was launched -- the Carlos P. Garcia (C.P.) Highway bus route -- on February 4. The C.P. Garcia Highway route will start from the Bypass Road turning right to Davao City-Panabo City Road, then turn around to Philippine Ports Authority and vice versa.

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, who was present during the launching, said the second route will help cater to more passengers, particularly in areas with high-demand for public vehicles.

"We are opening the second route to continue our momentum. This time catering to a fast-growing residential area that is Barangay Catalunan Grande," Duterte-Carpio said.

The IBS, she said, is the precursor of the major project High Priority Bus System (HPBS).

She said IBS and HPBS have a shared similarity as it provides "high-end capacity and energy-efficient utility buses for specific city routes, with dedicated bus stops along each route."

"While we continue to make any roads and progress in our goal in modernizing our public transport system, there is still much left to be done," she said.

Duterte-Carpio thanked the National Government and the private sector for helping the City Government in implementing the project.

Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board-Davao Region (LTFRB-Davao) Director Nonito Llanos III said the launching of IBS is in accord with the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) of the National Government.

PUVMP is a National Government program with the goal of making the country's public transportation system efficient and environmentally friendly by 2020.

"This truly answers the need of the riding public to have a safe and efficient mode of transportation and travel that will provide them ease and comfort," Llanos said.

The newly open route, he said, will improve the transportation system of the city.

LTFRB Chairman Martin Delgra III said the modern amenities of the bus units and the cashless payments among its features.

"Hinay-hinay makita ang kabag-uhan sa (We are slowly seeing a progress in the) level of service in our public transport system diria sa dakbayan sa Dabaw (here in Davao City)," Delgra said.

Metro Shuttle CEO Oyo Uy, whose buses will be servicing the second route of IBS, said the Catalunan Grande route will have 21 bus stops between Catalunan Grande, Elenita Heights, and Ateneo de Davao University in Roxas Avenue.

The IBS is the first phase of the HPBS, which is a part of the Transport Roadmap of the City Government of Davao.

The city said the purpose of the roadmap is to support the improvement of transportation so that it prioritizes modes according to their economic, environmental, and community sustainability.

The HPBS project involves the delivery of a modern bus system for the city, wherein interconnected bus services will be prioritized within the 137-kilometer core network and feeder routes composed of 489-kilometer.

In a previous article, the IBS was supposed to be launched sometime in 2020 but was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

HPBS Manager and Assistant City Administrator for Administration lawyer Tristan Dwight Domingo said in a recent report that the bus project is expected to be fully operational in 2023.

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Archdiocese of Davao foregoes some Holy Week activities

Posted: 23 Mar 2021 05:56 AM PDT

WITH the continuing threat of Covid-19 in Davao City, the Archdiocese of Davao has decided to forego for another year some religious activities this Holy Week.

The decision was relayed by the archdiocese to Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio.

Duterte-Carpio said on Monday, March 23, that masses are still open to the public and will be livestreamed online.

However, there will be no Visita Iglesia (Church Visit) on Maundy Thursday, April 1. Visita Iglesia is a Holy Week practice of visiting and praying in at least seven churches.

She also said that in the Last Supper Mass on the same day, the traditional washing of the feet will not be conducted.

On Good Friday, April 2, there will be no Way of the Cross (Via Crusis) in the morning. Via Crucis refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion and accompanying prayers.

"No kissing of the cross. In the afternoon, isuroy ra ang imahe sa mga Santo inchero pero no crowds (The image of Christ will be processioned by the Santo inchero but there won't be crowds)," Duterte-Carpio said.

She added that there will be no Easter vigil on Black Saturday, April 3, while on Easter Sunday, April 4, there will be no "Salubong" or the traditional encounter.

Salubong is a traditional Catholic event depicting the first encounter of the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ after He resurrected.

"Nananghid ta sa Archdiocese nga maghatag og ing-ani nga announcement, and gihatag nila ilang pagtugot (We already asked permission from the Archdiocese and they allowed us to make the announcement)," Duterte-Carpio said.

In an issued Executive Order 12 series of 2021 on March 12, Duterte-Carpio said religious gatherings will only be allowed up to 50 percent of the seating capacity, provided that religious gathering shall be limited to the conduct of religious worship and/or service.

Vulnerable sector, including person below 15 years old, those who are 65 years old and above, those with immunodeficiency, comorbidity, or other health risks, and pregnant women, including any person who resides with the aforementioned, shall be required to remain in their residences at all times, and are urged to attend masses via livestream.

This is the second time that Holy Week activities will be deferred. In 2020, the city prohibited religious gatherings during Holy Week when the city was placed under enhanced community quarantine (ECQ).

Duterte-Carpio reiterated her call to stay home and only go out for essential purposes as the city is at a threat of a possible "second wave" of the Covid-19 transmission.

She reiterated the public to comply with the minimum health protocol such as wearing face masks and face shields, observing physical distancing, and frequent handwashing of soap and water.

This, after key cities in the country, particularly in Metro Manila and its neighboring provinces and Cebu, are currently experiencing a surge of cases linked to the recent detection of the new Covid-19 variants.

"Makita nato nga kita pirmi (We notice that) we are always in the tailend of surge," she said.

"Most likely, because there is exchange of people, there is travel, duna napu'y possible na second wave mahitabo sa siyudad sa Davao (there is a possibility of a second wave here in Davao City)," she added.

Davao City Police Office Kirby John Kraft also confirmed that there will be no outdoor activities and procession this Holy Week.

Kraft said the Archdiocese already had a meeting with the Public Safety and Security Command Center for the deployment of security personnel within church vicinity to ensure the compliance of minimum health protocol.

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Mayor: Run, Sara, Run campaigners who went to Manila will be quarantined

Posted: 23 Mar 2021 05:55 AM PDT

SOME 44 individuals, including barangay officials, in Davao City who participated in the nationwide campaign urging Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio to run in the 2022 presidential election will be quarantined upon their return to the city.

This was the directive coming from the mayor herself in a radio interview on Monday, March 23.

The mayor said the participants include some former and current barangay captains, kagawad, and their relatives.

Before their flight to Metro Manila on March 17, the mayor said she met with them and discouraged them from going with their caravan due to the rising Covid-19 cases in the area.

"Giingnan nako sila before sila nilakaw nga dili pwede mulakaw kay naga-surge ang Cebu and Manila, and it's very dangerous para sa ila nga muadto didto. Niingon pud ko nga it is very dangerous for the people of Davao City nga muadto mo didto because pagbalik ninyo (I told them before they left to discontinue their travel due to continuing surge of Covid-19 cases in Cebu and Manila. It is very risky on their part, and to the people of Davao City because when they come back), [they] would be the possible carriers of the Covid-19 virus," Duterte-Carpio said in an interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio.

Despite her reminder and appeal, she said the officials still continued with their planned activity.

After avoiding communicating with the caravan conveners, she communicated with one of them, asking them their current situation.

"Magsulay mi og pangita og suporta kung unsa masuporta namo sa inyo because dili nako kaya nga pasagdan nalang sila nga ingon ana (We will find means on how we could support them in their needs because I cannot just leave them behind)," she said, adding that she will try to find assistance for food and gas in their campaign activity.

Recently, the City Government reimposed the mandatory reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test to all air passengers traveling via Francisco Bangoy International Airport, also known as the Davao International Airport.

Based on the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) order, all arriving passengers will no longer be subjected to a 14-day home quarantine.

But Duterte-Carpio ordered the group to go under a 14-day quarantine once they return to the city.

"The only thing na pwede nako buhaton (we can do to them) is quarantine all of them for 14 days para to protect the Dabawenyos sa ilang gibuhat, and para matagam, para next time dili na sila mugawas (from their actions and to serve as a lesson to them so that they will not do this again) because otherwise, i-quarantine nasab sila (we will quarantine them again)," Duterte-Carpio said.

The mayor said she already communicated with the Liga ng mga Barangay to monitor the officials. The Liga official is currently scouting for a separate isolation facility for the officials.

Barangay leaders who are behind the "Run Sara Para sa Bayan 2022" announced Monday, March 15, started their nationwide advocacy campaign on March 17, urging the presidential daughter to run for the presidency next year.

Barangay 23-C chairman Alimoden Usman, the campaign convenor, said they will travel by land and will gather at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila for the grand caravan on March 21.

After the caravan, he said they will continue to go to various parts of the country for advocacy.

Usman, however, assured their group will follow strict health protocols.

Duterte-Carpio had been distancing from the calls for her to run for the presidency.

The mayor even barred her supporters in the city from staging motorcades and ordered for the removal of tarpaulins, posters, and billboards with the text "Run, Sara, Run," mounted by her supporters in some parts of the city.

Despite this, she expressed gratitude to those who are calling on her to run for the presidency in the 2022 elections.

"Once again, I am grateful to all my friends who believe in me and who relentlessly expressed their call for me to run as president," Duterte-Carpio said in a video message forwarded to the media by the Davao City Information Office on Monday, March 1.

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Landslide kills cyclist

Posted: 23 Mar 2021 05:54 AM PDT

THE Davao City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO) advised bikers not to pass by the Mandug-Acacia Bypass Road in Purok Sto. Niño, Barangay Mandug, Davao City as the earth is still soft due to the ongoing road construction.

At past 7 a.m. Tuesday, March 23, a landslide occurred along the bypass road. Witnesses initially said that the landslide buried three persons.

Residents in the area tried immediately to rescue the victims and were able to save a female victim, who was rushed to the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC).

Rescuers from the Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) team of Central 911 rushed to the area and conducted search and rescue operations.

Around noon, one of the victims, identified as Harvey Mar Cipriano Panes of Trento, Agusan del Sur, was recovered but he was already dead.

Photos of the incident show rescuers retrieving the body of Panes, who was in his cycling gear, and his damaged bike.

Rodrigo Bustillo, operations and warning officer of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office, said around 11 a.m. of the same day that he also believed that three persons were buried in the landslide.

Bustillo said this while the search and retrieval operations were ongoing for the third body. But witnesses claimed that another body was buried. These two were believed to be a motorist and their passenger.

Around 3 p.m. of the same day, however, the rescue team terminated the search and retrieval for the victims as those who were believed to be buried alive showed up and informed the incident commander that they were able to pass the road before the landslide happened.

Bikers frequent the area as it is overlooking the city.

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Cops still clueless on ambush in Bajada

Posted: 23 Mar 2021 05:53 AM PDT

INVESTIGATION is still ongoing as police authorities are still clueless on the motive and the persons behind the shooting incident that occurred in the afternoon of Monday, March 22, on J.P. Laurel Avenue, commonly known as Bajada, Davao City.

Based on a police report, the victim, identified as Welhelm Cubelo of Tagum City, succumbed to gunshot wounds while his girl companion is still in critical condition at the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC).

Around past 4 p.m., unidentified men ambushed the Ford Raptor vehicle, bearing plate number LAG 7341, when motorists and pedestrians were busy passing by the street.

According to Davao City Police Office, they are still conducting background investigation about the victim to establish the motive in the crime.

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