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(GMA News) A number of passengers stayed overnight and waited in long queues for trip tickets to their home provinces at the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX).

Some commuters were unable to rest for the night as they waited for their turn to purchase their passes, according to an “Unang Balita” report by Nico Waje on Thursday.

Most the travelers at the PITX are bound for the Bicol region.

Commuter Larry Contreras, who is headed to Camarines Norte, queued up at the terminal at 3 a.m. for an 8 a.m. bus to Bicol.

Contreras said he has not gone home to Camarines Norte for two years.

Those travelling to Batangas also endured long lines for trip tickets.

Domer Ramirez, who came all the way from Pampanga, was aggrieved as he had been waiting since 7 p.m. on Wednesday for a trip to Batangas.

Ramirez said he refused a van or a taxi ride worth P800-P1,000.

Passengers appealed for online booking for Batangas to avoid long queues at PITX… Read More

(BusinessWorld) KUALA LUMPUR — From deadly Hurricane Ida in the United States to devastating floods in China and Europe, climate change-fueled disasters have cost the world tens of billions of dollars in 2021, with both the poor and the rich hit hard, researchers said on Monday.

Floods, storms, and drought also killed and displaced millions of people across some of the world’s poorest regions, highlighting the rising injustice of impacts as the planet warms, humanitarian charity Christian Aid said in a report.

“The costs of climate change have been grave this year,” said Kat Kramer, climate policy lead at Christian Aid and author of Counting the cost 2021: a year of climate breakdown.

“While it was good to see some progress made at the [UN] COP26 summit, it is clear [we are] not on track to ensure a safe and prosperous world,” she added.

The report identified 15 of the most destructive climate disasters of the year, including 10 that each caused $1.5 billion or more in losses, with damage wrought by wild weather felt everywhere from Australia to India, South Sudan, and Canada.

The financial and human costs of climate change are expected to keep soaring unless governments step up efforts to cut emissions and rein in global warming, the report said. .. Read More

(CNN Philippines) Metro Manila — Experts detected the country’s fourth case of the Omicron variant in a traveler from the United States, the Department of Health said on Monday

Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire said the case involved a 38-year-old woman who arrived on December 10 via Philippine Airlines.

The patient exhibited throat itchiness and colds on Dec. 13 so she had to extend her facility quarantine for 10 days. She was sent home to complete her isolation before the Philippine Genome Center found out she was positive for the Omicron variant. She remains under home quarantine, and will undergo another swab test.

“Ang detection for this fourth case ng Omicron came after when the individual was discharged already. Alam naman natin na if walang detection ng VOC (variant of concern), you follow the existing protocol,” Vergeire said.

[Translation: We follow the existing protocol if there is no VOC.]

The World Health Organization has said it is not yet clear whether Omicron is more contagious or if it causes more severe effects than other variants of concern. But preliminary evidence suggests there may be an increased risk of reinfection with Omicron.

The Philippines is imposing travel restrictions on eight nations to delay the entry of more Omicron cases… Read More

(PhilStar Global) MANILA, Philippines — Beginning Jan. 3 next year, the Medical Assistance Program of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) will be available only in 44 hospitals with Malasakit Centers in Metro Manila, Batangas, Cebu, Iloilo, Laguna and Palawan.

These are public hospitals operated either by the Department of Health or local government units, according to the PCSO.

Of the 44 hospitals, 30 are located in the National Capital Region.

The charity agency said requests for medical aid would be given to indigent patients at the Batangas Medical Center and Batangas Provincial Hospital; Laguna Medical Center; Culion Sanitarium and General Hospital, and Ospital ng Palawan.

In Cebu province, medical assistance will be available in six government hospitals: Cebu City Medical Center, Eversley Child Sanitarium Lapu Lapu City Hospital, St. Anthony Mother and Child Hospital, Talisay District Hospital/Cebu South Medical Center and Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center… Read More

(CNN Philippines) Metro Manila — President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday apologized for the delay in the government’s response in areas devastated by Typhoon Odette and vowed that financial aid for victims will arrive within the next few days.

“Maghingi ako ng tawad na napatagal ang response sa gobyerno,” Duterte said, addressing typhoon survivors during his visit to Puerto Princesa City, Palawan.

“Sa totoo lang, hirap rin kami dito sa itaas because of the so many places scattered around at malalayo, island for island. Pati ‘yung pera,” he added.

[Translation: I apologize that the government’s response took long. The reality is we’re having a hard time here in the [national level] because of the so many places scattered around and are far away from each other, island for island. The money as well.]

As promised, Duterte said his office will release ₱10 billion to help in the relief efforts. The budget is separate from the aid that will be provided by other government agencies, he added.

“One or two days ang sabi ko sana na kung umabot lang ng pasko. Dina-download na ‘yung pera ngayon,” he said. “Pero pag hindi, bigyan ninyo akong konting elbow room… pero magdating ‘yan, within three days nandito na ‘yan.”

[Translation: I said one or two days hopefully in time for Christmas. The money is being downloaded. But if not, give me a little elbow room… but that will come, within three days it will be here.]… Read More

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) Metro Manila — The country on Sunday recorded 203 new COVID-19 infections, the lowest daily case count recorded so far this year, but this excludes data from 45 laboratories.

This is also the lowest single-day tally case since May 23, 2020 with less than 200 infections.

The nationwide tally is now 2,837,577, of which 9,729 are active cases. Of the active cases, 485 are asymptomatic, 3,685 have mild symptoms, 3,379 have moderate infection, 1,800 have severe symptoms, and 380 are in critical condition.

The low case report is due to the suspension of the operations of four laboratories on Dec. 17 and the failure of 41 laboratories to submit data to the COVID-19 Document Repository System, the Department of Health said.

The DOH also said that based on data in the last 14 days, the 45 non-reporting laboratories contribute, on average, 15.4% of samples tested and 1.8% of positive cases.

Of the 203 new cases, 186 occurred within the past 14 days from Dec. 6 to 19. The regions with the highest cases in this period were National Capital Region with 48 cases (26%), Calabarzon with 37 cases (20%), and Western Visayas with 22 cases (12%), the DOH added… Read More

(BusinessWorld) MORE THAN 80 people have been reported to have died as of Dec. 19 from typhoon Odette, with international name Rai, which left unprecedented damage in southern and central parts of the Philippines.

The highest death toll so far was in the island province of Bohol, where the governor confirmed as of Sunday noon at least 63 deaths in 33 of 48 towns.

The national disaster management agency, meanwhile, recorded another 26 casualties in other areas, which are still subject to validation. At least one person has been reported missing while three were injured.

A total of 706,634 persons were affected, including almost 490,000 who were forced to flee their homes as typhoon Odette brought heavy rains and winds moving at 195 kilometers per hour, according to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Agency (NDRRMC).

Recovery and relief efforts by both government and the private sector are hampered by damaged infrastructure, including air and sea ports, as well as limited communication lines… Read More

(CNN Philippines) Metro Manila — The country on Monday listed an additional 360 coronavirus cases, marking the 20th straight day new infections stayed below a thousand.

The Department of Health said the cumulative tally rose to 2,836,803, where 0.4% or 11,083 are active cases.

Its data showed that of the newly confirmed cases, 348 occurred within the last 14 days, with Metro Manila contributing the highest number at 65, followed by Calabarzon and Western Visayas at 32 each.

Broken down into severity of infections, the DOH said 782 of the currently sick have no symptoms, 4,292 are mild cases, 3,662 are moderate, 1,948 are severe, and 399 are critical.

The department also reported 61 new deaths, but it noted that only nine occurred in December. Others were encoded late, including 26 in November, 23 in October, and three in September.

After final validation, it added that 49 cases previously tagged as recoveries were reclassified as deaths.

Nationwide, the total lives lost to the viral illness now stands at 50,341.

Meanwhile, 519 more patients got well, with the recovery count climbing to 2,775,379.

Based on the bulletin, five testing laboratories did not submit their reports on time, while four did not operate on Dec. 11. These nine facilities contributed an average of 1.7% of all samples tested and 0.8% of all positive cases over the past two weeks.

The DOH also said it deleted two duplicate entries from its data, as well as 147 cases found to have tested negative… Read More