News Briefs: August 29, 2019

‘Tanggal Bulok, Tanggal Usok’ drive takes off

MANILA, Philippines — After being placed in the back burner for a year, the government’s campaign against dilapidated vehicles got a reboot on Wednesday.

The Interagency Council on Traffic (i-ACT) vowed to intensify its program, “Tanggal Bulok, Tanggal Usok,” by procuring a machine that can determine if a vehicle is roadworthy or if it’s a smoke belcher.

The goal of the reboot is to reinvigorate the campaign against smoke belchers, said i-Act public relations officer Denzel Leigh Guzman. —Krixia Subingsubing

Santa Rosa, Laguna, now a legislative district

MANILA, Philippines — Laguna will get an additional member in the House of Representatives after President Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11395 on Aug. 22, creating the legislative district of Santa Rosa.

The law separates Santa Rosa from the province’s first district.  It will, however, continue to be represented by the first district congressman until it elects its own representative in the next election.

The creation of the new district brings to seven the number of congressional districts in Laguna. —Leila B. Salaverra

Recruiters asked to report on status of OFWs in HK

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) has ordered all recruitment agencies to submit a report on the status of workers they have deployed to Hong Kong, which has been gripped by a political crisis since June.

The reports should be submitted to POEA’s Welfare and Employment Office at [email protected] immediately and every Thursday thereafter.

Labor officials have earlier ruled out a deployment ban of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the city that has been wracked by protests over a now suspended extradition bill that would have allowed Hong Kong residents to be sent to mainland China for trial in courts controlled by the Communist Party. —Jovic Yee

Probe on life of ‘Servant of God’ Darwin Ramos starts

MANILA, Philippines — The Catholic Church on Wednesday began its investigation of the life of street child Darwin Ramos as part of the long process for his beatification and canonization.

Testimonies and documents gathered would help determine if Ramos’ virtues lived up to a “reputation of holiness.”

Said Fr. Danilo Flores, who is part of the Church’s investigative panel: “He has something that the Lord wants us to discover.”

Ramos, who died in 2012, was declared “Servant of God” by the Vatican. —Jovic Yee