REGIONS Briefs: February 23, 2019

Measles outbreak declared in 4 Cagayan Valley provinces

TUGUEGARAO CITY — Local health officials have raised the alarm over the 102 cases of measles recorded in Cagayan Valley since January. The number represented an increase of about 800 percent from that of the same period last year. Dr. Rio Magpantay, regional health director, said the measles outbreak had been declared in Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya and Quirino provinces. Based on regional Department of Health records, 35 measles cases were recorded in Cagayan, 42 in Isabela, 17 in Nueva Vizcaya and 11 in Quirino. Quirino recorded one fatality. From Jan. 1 to Feb. 20 last year, only 11 measles cases were recorded in Cagayan Valley. Magpantay said health workers had been deployed to the affected towns and cities to monitor and help contain the disease. —VILLAMOR VISAYA JR.

P6.8-M ‘shabu’ seized in Lanao del Sur drug bust

COTABATO CITY—Agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) seized P6.8 million worth of “shabu” (crystal meth) during a drug bust in Wao town in Lanao del Sur province on Friday. Juvenal Azurin, PDEA director in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said government agents arrested Amarodin Allan Bantog during the buy-bust operation at Barangay Eastern in Wao. Recovered from him was a bag that contained 1,000 grams of shabu, drug paraphernalia, identification cards and mobile phones. —EDWIN O. FERNANDEZ

DPWH vows to solve flooding near Loakan airport

BAGUIO CITY—Clogged drains will be cleaned and improved to prevent a repeat of last year’s floods at Loakan Airport here and a nearby barangay that is separated from the runway by a wall. The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP)and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) said government work crews would begin clearing drains along an access road outside the airport fence in March, while it prepared the upgrade of the airport. CAAP will review a DPWH plan to build additional drainages along the runway wall as well as a plan to puncture the concrete fence where water can exit in case of heavy rain. The airport is undertaking a repair and rehabilitation project to prepare it for commercial flights. —VINCENT CABREZA