Thursday, September 2, 2021

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Petecio gives winning gloves to Davao del Sur

Posted: 01 Sep 2021 07:50 AM PDT

OLYMPIC silver medalist Nesthy Petecio has given her winning boxing gloves she used during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to Davao del Sur Governor Marc Cagas.

On her homecoming on Tuesday, August 31, 2021 the provincial government prepared a warm welcome for her where Governor Marc Cagas personally gave Petecio and her family a cash incentive of P100,000, which was handed over by the governor's wife, Yvonne Cagas.

In exchange, Petecio turned her boxing gloves over to the governor.

Cagas said they will preserve the gloves and will be part of the important history of Davao del Sur, which will be showcased at the Coliseum once it is completed.

Petecio hails from Barangay Tuban in the municipality of Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur.

The provincial government of Davao del Sur also conferred a plaque of commendation to Petecio as the first Filipino boxing medalist in the 2021 Olympics women's featherweight division held in Tokyo, Japan, at the capitol compound in Barangay Matti, Digos City.

"For her perseverance, passion and dedication which brought pride and honor to the province of Davao del Sur," the plaque of commendation cited.

The Davao del Sur local government unit (LGU) has also awarded the boxing medalist a cash reward amounting to P250,000 during the homecoming.

Apart from the cash incentives from the LGU and the governor, Petecio also received a Maxima cargo vehicle from Emcor, Inc. Digos City, which was turned over by the establishment's general manager during the homecoming.

Petecio expressed her gratitude to the local government, Emcor and the people of Davao del Sur for the warm welcome and for the incentives.

She shared with her supporters in the province her favorite motto, saying "Walang hinto, hanggat walang ginto (There's no stopping until we achieve gold)." (PR)

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Governor Generoso gearing up for tourism

Posted: 01 Sep 2021 07:47 AM PDT

CELEBRATING its 73rd anniversary as a town, the once lowly town is now the new go-to place for beach holiday tourism.

Governor Generoso used to be called "Sigaboy" coming from the two words ''siga'' and ''(ba)boy." Legend has it that one day the settlers of the small Island of Sigaboy saw a spirit on fire which the natives call "siga" which means light, with the presence of a pig or "baboy" in Bisaya.

Stunned by the apparition, the settlers kept shouting "Sigaboy." Since then, both settlers and passers-by call the whole area Sigaboy, which was later renamed to the name it has today.

On August 1, 1948, two years after creating the Republic of the Philippines after the Japanese occupation, President Elpidio Quirino issued Executive Order No. 156, Series of 1948, making the Municipality of Governor Generoso in honor of the late Governor Sebastian Generoso. In addition, president Quirino appointed Ramon Generoso, the brother of the late Governor Generoso, the first Municipal Mayor.

Fishing is the primary source of living in Governor Generoso and is considered the fishing capital of Davao Oriental. However, in the past five years, tourism has become a bigger business in GovGen. It now hosts around 40 beach resorts. Recently, GovGen's tourism took a giant leap registering 600,000 a year for tourism with high and middle range resorts that can cater to families and for companies for meetings. Currently, it has become a wedding destination and ideal for pre-nuptials.

The iconic lighthouses in Cape San Agustin are the favorite go-to place of many motorbikers. The experience of motoring through the coastal highways of the town is very scenic with a breathtaking view of the Davao Gulf.

The municipality is a known diving area for many enthusiasts. The Wall is its unique dive site with abundant marine species found in the area. There are at least 10 dive sites within the municipality that have been identified.

With promising developments in the town amidst the pandemic, the local government recently launched its tourism code.

Authored by Councilor Mariolindo Makiling, Municipal Ordinance No. 36 Series of 2020, An Ordinance Codifying the Existing Regulations, and Proposing New Provisions, Establishing the Objectives, Regulations, and Administrative Functions of the Local Government of Governor Generoso, Davao Oriental for the Development of the Local Tourism in the Municipality, is the second tourism code to have been enacted in the province of Davao Oriental.

Gov. Gen continues to be a favorite destination for those who wish to travel far away from crowded cities and much closer to nature. With this, the local government unit (LGU) approved the Environmental User Fee ticket issuance, which collects P10 from visiting individuals to support and cover eco-adventure activities, non-pollutive aqua sports activities, and the general entrance fee of land-based activities.

Recently, Governor Generoso hosted a Mindanao-wide tourism officials' meeting. Despite being limited in number as protocol dictates, the first hosting of GovGen is a validation that the place can indeed host high-profile gatherings with 50-percent capacity. In regular times, the premier resort, El Don Resort, can accommodate 100 overnight guests.

Department of Tourism Mindanao Undersecretary Myra Paz Valderrosa-Abubakar is impressed with the town's development in the easternmost tip and congratulated the LGU for preparing its place for tourism. GovGen is the second LGU in Davao Oriental Province, with Mati City as first, to have passed its Tourism Code last December 2020.

DOT-Davao Regional Director Tanya Rabat-Tan took note of the ongoing tourism development plan and tourism marketing plan of the municipality. It has adopted the tagline "The Paradise of the South." (PR)

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Davao City mayor extends ban on non-essential events for government offices

Posted: 01 Sep 2021 07:44 AM PDT

NON-ESSENTIAL events among government offices, including government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCC) in Davao City, are still prohibited after Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio extended its prohibition until the end of 2021.

Duterte-Carpio issued Executive Order No. 43, prohibiting all barangay, local and national government office events including GOCC events until December 31, 2021.

This is an extension to EO 31 issued on May 24, which lapsed after August 31.

"There is a need to extend the provisions of Executive Order No. 31 series of 2021 to regulate some activities that can contribute to local transmission in the City," the mayor said in her EO.

She also said this is a precautionary measure following the surge of cases in the National Capital Region (NCR) and other parts of the country, and the emergence of new Covid-19 variants.

Duterte-Carpio previously said some government events had been the source of infection.

"Because nakita nato sa history sa atoang contact tracing nga dunay government events nga nahimong source or spread sa infection," Duterte-Carpio said.

(We saw in the contact tracing history that certain government events became the source of infection.)

According to the EO, non-essential activities include face-to-face events including inauguration, anniversary, thanksgiving, ribbon-cutting, blessing, turnover, groundbreaking activity, launching program, salo-salo (gathering), birthday, press conference, oath-taking program, photo opportunity, retirement honors, welcome honors, testimonial program, summer outing, team building, and all other similar events.

The mayor also ordered the suspension of all face-to-face non-emergency essential government activities including training and seminars until the end of the year.

The above events are encouraged to shift to online platforms.

However, offices under non-emergency essential government activities may apply for exemption to the City Mayor's Office.

"The letter must include a comprehensive plan on how to execute their non-emergency essential activity without creating a mass gathering situation," the EO states.

The mayor, meanwhile, allowed all disaster and emergency activities including the distribution of financial, food, and non-food items are allowed.

However, she said the distribution of food and non-food items that are not related to a disaster or emergency event should be done "house to house in the form of contactless delivery by the organizer, or in a distribution system where no mass gathering is conducted."

"These activities include but are not limited to the distribution of livelihood kits, information materials, distribution of government aid, community pantry, food aid, and all other similar activities," the EO said.

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Vaccine bubble not applicable yet in Davao City, official says

Posted: 01 Sep 2021 07:43 AM PDT

THE Davao City Covid-19 Task Force is not keen on implementing the "bakuna (vaccine) bubble," which limits the mobility of the unvaccinated people, as the city has not yet reached the targeted herd immunity.

Covid-19 Task Force Spokesperson Dr. Michelle Schlosser said in a radio interview on Wednesday, September 1, that this has not been discussed as of now considering the limited supply of vaccines allocated to the city.

"Dili na siya applicable because we have not achieved herd immunity yet and then dili pud ample ang atong allocation/appropriation for the vaccine kay daghan man gusto magpa-vaccine unya dili man enough ang atoang allocation at the moment," Schlosser said in an interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio.

(It is not yet applicable because we have not achieved herd immunity yet. There is low ample allocation/appropriation for the vaccine because many people wanted to be vaccinated and yet we do not have enough allocation at the moment.)

The bakuna bubble concept is currently proposed in the National Capital Region, which allows fully vaccinated people full mobility but restricts the movement of those unvaccinated.

Schlosser said this proposed policy is similar to the "no vaccination card, no entry" in establishments, which the City Government also denied implementing.

She added this would be discriminatory, especially to individuals whose priority group is still not open.

"Kung ma-achieve na nato ang herd immunity, it would be sayon buhaton. At the moment, dili siya gina-entertain ," the spokesperson said.

(If we would be able to reach herd immunity, it would be easy to do. At the moment, it is not being entertained.)

According to the data of the Davao City Vaccination Cluster as of August 29, a total of 578,608 individuals were already vaccinated with the first dose and 324,741 were already fully vaccinated with the second dose.

The Davao City Government is targeting to vaccinate around 15,000 individuals per day and is targeting to vaccinate 1.2 million residents to achieve herd immunity.

Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio is hoping the City can vaccinate its target of 1.2 million persons, at least for the first doses, before the end of 2021.

"We hope to open more vaccination sites para ma-achieve nato ang (so we can achieve the) 1.2 million first doses by October or November this year," Duterte-Carpio told media in an ambush interview on Friday morning, August 27, during the sector vaccination for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and their immediate families at the Matina Town Square.

The mayor said the City ramped up its targeted daily vaccination to 15,00 from 10,000 individuals per day in a bid to vaccinate more Dabawenyos.

She admitted there are days that they were able to achieve this. She said this would depend on the days and the number of vaccination sites that are in operation.

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DOH-Davao observes clustering of variant cases in region

Posted: 01 Sep 2021 07:43 AM PDT

THE Department of Health-Davao Region (DOH-Davao) has seen a clustering of cases of Covid-19 variants of concern (VOC), including the highly infectious Delta variant, within households.

"We have really seen clustering of Delta cases among their closed contact, even if itong (our) whole-genome sequencing (WGS), e, parang delayed na 'yung ating mga result, nakikita natin na pag may mga clustering (has delays in the results, we can see clustering of cases)," Dr. Rachel Joy Pasion, DOH-Davao Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit head, said during the DOH-Davao virtual presser on Tuesday, August 31.

Pasion said when there is a clustering of VOCs, the transmissibility of the virus is faster compared to the ancestral variant. She added the infection mode goes faster in gatherings.

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Tuesday that there is now a community transmission of the more contagious Delta variant in the Philippines. WHO also confirmed that the feared variant is now the dominant coronavirus variant in the country based on limited WGS.

Pasion said it is no longer surprising that Delta is the dominant variant in the country due to the variant's characteristic of being more contagious and infecting many people in a short time.

As of August 24, DOH-Davao reported 281 Beta and 124 Alpha variant cases, which were originally detected in South Africa and the United Kingdom, respectively. On August 29, the local DOH reported 22 additional cases of the Delta variant August 29, bringing the total cases of this type to 48.

While the Beta variant is currently the dominant variant in the region, Pasion said based on the WGS from the University of the Philippines-Philippine Genome Center, results are showing more Delta cases.

The official also said there is a high probability that individuals who had close contact with index cases positive with Delta also test positive for the same variant.

DOH-Davao had earlier said the public should already assume that there is already a community transmission of the Delta and other VOCs after the recently confirmed cases did not have any travel history outside the region.

Health authorities, however, said the same minimum health protocols must still be followed to curb the spread of the virus.

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Secretly held religious activity leads to Covid-19 outbreak in Buda

Posted: 01 Sep 2021 07:41 AM PDT

A SECRETLY held religious activity in Barangay Buda in Marilog District, Davao City resulted in a Covid-19 outbreak after nearly a hundred religious members of two different church groups tested positive for coronavirus.

Delfin Galicia Jr., Barangay Buda captain, told SunStar Davao in a phone interview on Wednesday, September 1, that their barangay once recorded zero cases since the start of the pandemic but recently recorded 99 positive individuals.

Galicia said the 99 positives were those who were subjected to be swabbed in the two-round community swabbing after having close contact with a 36-year-old female resident and church member, who succumbed to the disease on August 23.

The barangay official said the deceased patient did not disclose her real health status.

"Og wala kini namatay, wa dayon namo na-determine nga naa diay siyay ginabati. Based man gud sa pag-monitor namo, pinaagi samong health workers, ang ilaha rang tubag kay okay ra daw sila," he said.

(If the patient didn't die, we won't be able to determine that she is feeling ill. Based on the monitoring of our health workers, they only responded that they are okay.)

He added the family is not cooperative with their health workers.

"Ambot wala ko kabalo unsay rason nila pero ako na-determine nga katarungan is tungod sa ilang pagtuo," Galicia said.

(I don't know what's their reason, but we were able to determine that is due to their belief.)

Based on their investigation, church members gathered in a venue where they had their activities. Health protocols were also not observed during the activity.

He added that the venue was in a secluded area where barangay officials cannot monitor them.

Galicia also said the church members are not yet vaccinated.

"Medyo gahi gyud og ulo, dili mutuo [og Covid-19] ug dili magpa-vaccine," he said.

(They are hard-headed. They do not believe in Covid-19 and they refused to be vaccinated.)

Aside from the community swabbing, the barangay is also currently conducting expanded contact tracing to all close-generation contact.

Galicia admitted that he was disappointed with what happened.

"Hapit na mag-two years ang atong pandemic, ang barangay nato is zero ever since. Karon lang siya naing-ani. Medyo subo huna-hunaon kay kung cooperative lang sila, dili unta maing-ani ang kaso," he said.

(It has been nearly two years since the pandemic started, and our barangay has recorded zero cases ever since. We only experienced this right now. It is quite disappointing because if they were only cooperative, this wouldn't have happened in the first place.)

Buda, a highland tourist area in the city, has remained Covid-19-free since the pandemic started in March 2020. However, the barangay started recording cases on August 3, 2021, wherein three residents tested positive for the virus. All of the patients, who were asymptomatic, already recovered.

He said they will further intensify their patrolling and monitoring on non-essential gatherings.

Galicia suspected that the carrier of the virus in their barangay might be from downtown in Davao City or Bukidnon, its neighboring area.

Operations of tourism establishments are currently suspended to curb the spread of the virus in the area.

He also urged residents to report any symptoms for immediate monitoring and medical intervention.

Based on the August 30 to September 4 barangay risk classification, 10 of the 16 critical risk barangays are from far-flung areas.

Dr. Rachel Joy Pasion, DOH-Davao Regional Epidemiology Surveillance Unit head, said during the DOH-Davao virtual presser on Tuesday, August 31, that other far-flung barangays in the region are currently experiencing a gradual surge in cases.

"It's because nakikita naman natin (we can see) how mobile the people are right now," Pasion said.

She added that traveling from one place to another has also been essential especially for those who are essential workers and those with business.

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