P600-million in funds for two flyover projects in 2018.

The flyovers were to be constructed at the junction of Maria Clara Lobregat Highway and Governor Camins and Veterans Avenues and at the intersection of the Labuan- Limpapa Gabilan-San Roque streets to ease traffic congestion in these areas.

Funds for the flyover at the intersection of Labuan-Limpapa Gabilan and San Roque streets were reverted due to technicalities.

The second project was stalled after the local government insisted on widening the road leading to the flyover prior to construction to prevent traffic congestion in the area.

Rivera said funds under phase 1 of the project were never used due to the lack of an executive order from Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar ordering the closure of two innermost lanes along the affected street necessary for the project’s implementation.

Meanwhile, funds for another mammoth project, the 36-kilometer bypass road in Zamboanga city, were also reverted to the national government after delays in its completion.

The road project, dubbed as Zamboanga’s superhighway, is envisioned to be an alternative route to link the city’s east and west coasts.

The project, started in the year 2012, is said to be 90% complete but there are sections which are still under repair after being damaged before the project’s completion.

Source: https://mb.com.ph/2022/01/09/funds-for-flyover-reverted-due-to-non-implementation/

It also restricts unvaccinated residents from entering private and government offices, and commercial establishments.

Neither can the unvaccinated access public transportation in Zamboanga Sibugay beginning next week until January 31.

Palma’s order was issued on the same day the Department of Health (DOH) confirmed the first documented COVID-19 Omicron variant case in Mindanao.

Mindanao’s first known Omicron case is a 40-year-old seafarer who traveled from Kenya to Iligan City in Northern Mindanao before New Year’s Day. He arrived via a Qatar Airways flight to Cebu, was quarantined for days, and then proceeded to travel to Iligan via the Laguindingan Airport in Misamis Oriental.

Palma signed the order after he met with members of the provincial COVID-19 task force, which recommended the “no vaccination, no entry” policy in the wake of increasing COVID-19 cases in the country.

Aside from restricting the unvaccinated from entering and transacting in all offices and establishments, and even taking tricycles in the province, travelers will also be required to show RT-PCR test results and vaccination cards.

“I will take full responsibility,” said Palma as he anticipated protests and legal challenges.

Palma said he felt there was a need to take stricter and more proactive measures in the wake of the rising COVID-19 cases in the country.

Homecoming OFW positive for Omicron variant

Zamboanga Sibugay health officials also confirmed that a woman who returned to the province from the Middle East on Christmas Day had tested positive for the COVID-19 Omicron variant while she was in isolation in Cebu City.

The woman, who worked in Dubai, tested positive for Omicron as early as December 16, 2021 – ahead of another Mindanaoan, a 40-year-old seafarer who returned to Iligan City before New Year’s Eve. The Department of Health (DOH) in Northern Mindanao confirmed that the seaman tested positive for the Omicron variant this week, after being quarantined in Cebu City.

Dr. Adnilre Verzon, municipal health officer of Ipil town, confirmed to Rappler that the overseas worker returned to Ipil, her hometown and the capital town of Zamboanga Sibugay province, on Christmas Day.

Verzon said the woman arrived in Cebu City from Dubai on December 10 and was quarantined in a hotel there.

She was swabbed four days after her arrival, and the result came out on December 16, showing that she had the Omicron variant.

Verzon said the overseas worker, who was asymptomatic, was quarantined in Cebu until December 24, and another RT-PCR test on her showed that she was already negative for COVID-19.

“The OFW is a recovered case and there is nothing to worry about,” Verzon said.

Dr. Said Sahi, acting chief of Zamboanga Sibugay Provincial Hospital, said the overseas worker was cleared before she was allowed to travel from Cebu City to Ipil town on December 25.

“She was cleared of COVID-19 before she left Cebu City,” Sahi said.

Zamboanga Sibugay has continued to maintain a relatively low number of COVID-19 cases despite relaxing its public health rules in October 2021.

As of Friday, the province recorded a new COVID-19 infection and a total of nine active cases.

Antonio Manaytay is a Mindanao-based journalist and an awardee of the Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship
Source: https://www.rappler.com/nation/strict-measures-unvaccinated-travelers-residents-zamboanga-sibugay/

areas with higher alert level status than that of the city.

Currently, Zamboanga City is under Alert Level 2 based on Resolution 151-C of the national IATF-EID dated Nov. 29, 2021.

The following are the specific requirements for fully vaccinated travelers from areas with higher alert level status: valid identification card (ID) with authentic vaccine card; authentic negative RT-PCR test result within five days from date of specimen collection or authentic negative Rapid Antigen Test from Department of Health (DOH)-accredited facility 24 hours from the date of the specimen collection; and, Safe, Swift and Smart Pass (S-Pass) application.

Fully vaccinated travelers coming from areas with the same or lower alert level status, the requirements are valid ID with authentic vaccine card; and, S-Pass application.

Non-vaccinated individuals or those who have not achieved fully vaccinated status, the requirements are as follows: valid ID; authentic negative RT-PCR test result within five days from date of specimen collection and must be taken at the point of origin; and, S-Pass application.

Salazar said all the requirements shall be presented to the border personnel upon arrival.

The decision of the local IATF-EID to reimpose the RT-PCR requirement came after President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered to restrict the movements of unvaccinated individuals nationwide as the country grapples with a sudden spike in coronavirus disease 2019 infections.

The mobility restriction directive of the President for the unvaccinated is to ensure the public’s safety, health, and well-being. (PNA)

Source: https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1164893