News Briefs

DANAO RECALL DEAD

Provincial Commission on Elections supervisor Lionel Marco Castillano said that as far as his office is concerned, they cannot anymore  proceed with the recall process against Danao Mayor Boy Durano.

Saying that while he respects the attempt of the recall petitioner Vice Mayor Ramon “Nito” Durano to exhaust all remedies to finish the recall process, the Comelec in the province has to abide by the en banc ruling not to push through with the 34 pending recall cases before the commission.

“Comelec is a centralized agency. The procurement of election paraphernalia is done by Comelec Manila. It is them who knows best if we would pursue a recall election because it is also their responsibility to prepare the ballots, election returns, and all the other election paraphernalia needed including the documents),” he said.

The verification of the 24,439 signatures in the recall petition of the vice mayor started last Feb. 14, 2012. But before the process could be finished to pave way for the recall election, the Comelec en banc doused the process.

Comelec en banc Resolution 9374 released March 8, 2012 ordered the stoppage of all recall processes citing among other lack of budget to conduct recall elections./Correspondent Carmel Loise Matus

GULLAS SCION TOPS MEDTECH EXAMS

Twenty-one-year-old Vincent Edward Anthony Gullas of Velez College bested 522 passers of the Medical Technology national licensure examinations given by the Professional Regulation Commission on March 6 to 7, 2012 in Manila with a score of 92.5

The topnotcher’s instructors in Velez College said they were not surprised Gullas topped the licensure exams.

“He is very intelligent and very sociable,” said Gemma Belarmino, a clinical instructor.

The magna cum laude graduate of Velez College is a grandson of first district representative Eduardo Gullas.

Velez College got a 93.75 percent passing average this year../Reporter Candeze Mongaya

CEBU’S RESISTANT TB UP 38 PERCENT

Multiple drug-resistant tuberculosis cases in Cebu rose about 38 percent in 2011 compared to 2010, prompting health authorities to intensify disease detection efforts.

Overall, tuberculosis cases increased 2 percent in 2011 compared to the previous year. Multiple resistant drug cases increased to 449 from 326 in 2010 while the overall incidence of the communicable disease increased to 12,461 from 12,208 in 2010.

Multiple drug-resistant TB is caused by TB patients defaulting on their six-month treatment program. Under the government TB DOTS program, the six-month treatment regimen is provided free.

“Our priority is to detect the patient’s condition at an early stage and provide the necessary medication,”  Jocelyn Tabotabo, nurse coordinator of the DOH 7’s TB program told reporters during the Association of Government Information Officers (AGIO) forum at the DOH-7 compound yesterday.

She added that the increase, while a cause for alarm, could also be viewed positively.

“Increased disease detection could be a result of our effective disease detection work and information, education and communication campaigns,” said Tabotabo./Reporter Candeze Mongaya

RABIES UP 10 PERCENT IN CEBU

The Department of Health in Central Visayas is urging local government units to stock up on anti-rabies medicines after incidence of the disease primarily caused by dog bites rose 10.13 percent in 2011 compared to 2010.

Jocelyn Tabotabo, DOH-7 nurse coordinator for rabies prevention and control program, said that most of the LGUs are dependent on their agency for the supplies to treat rabies when they should allocate their own funds for it.

She said that the rate of incident involving rabies infection is increasing from 26,298 last 2010 to 28,963 last 2011 or a 10.13 percent increase.

“LGUs has the funds, our role is only to augment. But it has become the other way around,”  Tabotabo told reporters during the Association of Government Information Officers (AGIO) forum at the DOH-7 compound yesterday.

The government target is the total eradication of the disease./Reporter Candeze Mongaya