TACLOBAN CITY – About 3,000 running enthusiasts in Leyte are set to move their running legs on October 21 in four different areas in Leyte and Biliran for the biggest humanitarian run organized by the Philippine Red Cross (PRC).
For PRC-Leyte, its chairman lawyer Miguel Tezon said during the media forum ‘Panginsayod’ of the Philippine Information Agency, the fun run will cover 3-kilometer along designated areas in Tacloban City and in the towns of San Isidro and Isabel.
A similar fun run will also be held in Naval, Biliran.
The advocacy run seeks to draw participation from government, corporate, religious, academic, and athletic institutions to rally their support for the impartial protection of life and dignity, especially of indigent Filipinos in vulnerable situations.
The proceeds of the event will fund PRC’s various humanitarian programs and lifesaving services such as its blood services, disaster management services, safety services, health services, social services, Red Cross Youth and volunteer services.
The fun run, according to Tezon, will reinforce the PRC’s role in the forefront in disasters and calamities, rescuing people, providing life-saving assistance and initiating recovery programs that provide beneficiaries with assistance to help them get back on their feet after each disaster, such as restoring shelter, livelihood, water and sanitation, health service and delivery, and education.
He added that joining the Million Volunteer Run can help the PRC provide more people to be resilient to disasters, bring assistance to the most vulnerable and help the Red Cross to be more prepared to respond to disasters and calamities.
In 2016, PRC Leyte contributed a net proceed of P 200,000 from the Million Volunteer Run.
Runners will be given singlets and join the raffle of prizes.
(AHLETTE C. REYES)

TACLOBAN CITY- There’s nothing wrong with the use of drop boxes in reporting village drug dependents.
Thus said the regional director of the Commission on Human Rights(CHR), lawyer Desiree Pontejos who was quick to say that the mechanism would only violate one’s human rights if names of suspected drug users would be openly announced in the media.
Pontejos said that the use of drop boxes has acquired the system of ‘confidentiality.’ Thus, it could not be considered as violative of one’s human rights.
“We can only consider it as a violation of one’s rights if this will be broadcast or publish. Since this will be coursed through the use of a drop box, there is confidentiality in it,” Pontejos said.
The city office of the Department of Interior and Local Government, through its chief, lawyer Darwin Bibar, had earlier said that drop boxes would serve as one of the mechanisms on the campaign of the national government against proliferation of illegal drugs as well as abuses and corruptions committed by barangay leaders.
Bibar also said that information they obtained from the drop boxes, to be placed in the barangay halls, would still be subjected to verification with the help from the city police and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency if the issue falls on illegal drugs and the Office of the Ombudsman if the matter has something to do with corruption.
He said that through their verification process, any possible abuse could be check.
“All things are susceptible to abuse. But this process is just a verification; it’s just an information. For it to stand a legal leg, there should be an affidavit,”Pontejos said.
But for Bayan-Sinirangan Bisaya, this drop box method is just another form of “intensifying the hysteria over local communities.”
“(This will) prompt a violent and misplaced persecution of the urban poor instead of attacking the root causes of drug proliferation: poverty itself,” said its spokesperson Joshua Sagdullas.
(JOEY A. GABIETA)

CATBALOGAN CITY-Senior citizens in this city are being prioritized by the City Health Office for the flu shot and pneumococcal vaccine.
Mayor Stephanie Uy-Tan earlier issued an order giving the city’s senior citizens needed medicines as they are the most vulnerable to acquire illnesses.
“When a person is getting older, immunity also gets weaker. That is why these vaccines are very important to prevent senior citizens from getting sick,” Aaron Jay Macabare, nurse in-charge for the vaccination, said.
The City Health Office provides the medicines thrice a week or every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
The pneumococcal vaccine comprises two doses: senior citizens aged 60 years old will be given the first dose and will receive the second dose after a 5-year interval.
On the other hand, senior citizens 65 years old and above will receive one dose of the pneumococcal vaccine.
For flu vaccine, senior citizens must have it every year.
The program is offered to senior citizens provided that they have no allergies to egg and chicken, no active infection like cough or colds, and not immunocompromised.
“If they have allergies, we don’t inject them with the vaccine because it may trigger to allergic reactions,” Macabare said.
The services provided to senior citizens are one of the priority health programs of city government under Mayor Uy-Tan in improving the health conditions of the city’s residents.
“To ensure that more residents of this city will benefit the health programs, we are coming up with plans of establishing more health centers and of having an infirmary clinics,” Uy-Tan said.
(ROEL T. AMAZONA)

TACLOBAN CITY- The Philippine Red Cross (PRC) Leyte Chapter only serves as a blood collection unit.
Miguel Tezon, PRC Chapter president, informed that all the facilities used in processing the donated blood were damaged after Leyte was devastated by super typhoon ‘Yolanda’ in 2013, thus from being a blood center, their agency here has been downgraded to just a collection unit.
However, Tezon pointed out that their office is ready to accept blood donations anytime which will then be transported to its office in Ormoc City which serves as its blood center.
Donated blood that undergo processing and ready to be donated stays in Ormoc blood center, he said.
The Leyte PRC Chapter will only have blood stocks enough for a day’s use, Tezon added.
He said that clients who need blood must bring with them doctor’s prescription to determine the kind of blood and unit needed by their patients.
Tezon also said that patients who go to their office needing blood must pay P1,800 for every 400ml.
The reason for the payment is for the processing of blood which needs medicine and chemical reagents.
Tezon informed that to date, PRC Leyte Chapter has an existing agreement with the Department of Social Welfare and Development which shoulders the payment for indigent patients.
The indigent patients must comply the documents requirements set by DSWD before they could issue a guarantee letter for the patients to avail free bags of blood.
The PRC, meantime, issue an appeal for individuals to continue to donate blood for them to help save lives.
Donating blood is a very safe procedure and is not harmful. The donor will be assessed for eligibility by medical personnel before donating blood. The donor must be at least 16 years old and weighing 110 lbs.
(LIZBETH ANN A. ABELLA)

MANILA-U.S. Marines and Sailors with the 3d Marine Expeditionary Brigade, together with their Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) counterparts, successfully concluded the inaugural exercise KAMANDAG yesterday during a closing ceremony at Marine Barracks Rudiardo Brown, Taguig, Philippines.
KAMANDAG, which ran from October 2 to 11, is an acronym for the Filipino phrase “Kaagapay Ng Mga Mandirigma Ng Dagat,” or “Cooperation of Warriors of the Sea.” The name emphasizes the close partnership between the Philippine and United States militaries.
In preparation for KAMANDAG, the service members partnered to complete humanitarian and civic assistance projects. Members of the AFP, Japan Ground Self Defense Force, and U.S. military renovated C.J. Torre Elementary School, Esperanza Elementary School, and Esperanza Daycare Center, in Casiguran. U.S. military medical teams also taught basic lifesaving skills, first aid, disease prevention, and dental hygiene to children and teachers in Casiguran as part of a cooperative health engagement.
During KAMANDAG, U.S. and Philippine service members practiced combat lifesaving techniques, live fire training, maritime search and seizure, urban terrain operations, and aviation support planning. U.S. Marine amphibious assault vehicles (AAV) embarked and launched from a Philippine Navy sea lift vessel, the BRP Tarlac (LD-601), for the first time ever. This success expands both militaries’ operational support capabilities to provide relief during humanitarian disasters, as well as move forces ashore during a terrorist crisis.
“This kind of integrated training prepares the Philippine vessel to carry Philippine Marine Corps AAVs in the future,” said Philippine Marine Corps Public Affairs Officer, Capt. Maria R. Dalmacio. She noted that the Philippine Marine Corps plans to acquire AAVs by 2019.
KAMANDAG increased overall U.S. and Philippine military readiness, improved bilateral responsiveness, and strengthened the working relationships that embody our illustrious decades-long alliance. (PR)