TROPICAL Cyclone wind Signal no. 4 has been raised over the Subic Bay Freeport, Olongapo City and the whole province of Zambales as of 5pm today, Sunday (Sept. 25) as Super Typhoon Karding (Noru) continues to pack strong winds on its way towards the West Philippines Sea.

According to DOST Pag-Asa (Dept. of Science & Technology Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration), the eye wall of Typhoon Karding is now affecting the Polillo Islands where Typhoon Signal no. 5 is already in effect along with Aurora province, and parts of Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, Tarlac and Pampanga.

Zambales Governor Hermogenes Ebdane, Jr. has activated its Central Command Center and is at the helm of the implementation of the province’s disaster preparedness plan. 

DOST Pag-Asa estimates that Typhoon Karding will directly hit Botolan, Zambales around 2AM or less than 8 hours from now.

Botolan Town Mayor Jun Omar Ebdane has called on his constituents to exercise all precautions as strong winds of the Typhoon, at warning signal no. 4, is strong enough to uproot trees, posing danger to both lives and properties.

In Olongapo City, Mayor Rolen C. Paulino Jr. has ordered the city’s Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (DRRMO) to be on full alert to respond to any eventuality.

“Tayo ay nasa signal no. 4 na po, muli mag-ingat po tayong lahat at maghanda sa pagdating ng bagyo,” Mayor Paulino said.

Classes and work in government offices have been suspended for tomorrow, Monday, Sept. 26, both in Zambales and Olongapo, except for staff of frontline offices that are part of disaster response units.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) Chairman & Administrator Rolen C. Paulino has suspended work in government offices in the Subic Bay Freeport.

He has clarified, however, that the suspension of work only covers government offices, not private companies which, he said have the discretion to suspend work or otherwise in their respective work places.

“Only government offices lang po ang walang pasok bukas… not including private companies,” Chairman Paulino said.

Meanwhile, sea vessels docked at the piers of the Subic Bay Freeport have moved out to the safety of the open sea and avoid the path and strong winds of Typhoon Karding.

USNS Millinocket, a Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport under the United States Navy’s Military Sealift Command left Rivera Pier this afternoon, following the USNS John Ericsson, which already left hours earlier.

The Philippine ship BRP Antonio Luna also left its dock at the former Hanjin Shipyard, part of which is now occupied by the Philippine Navy.

The National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council has already recommended to President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. the suspension of work in government offices, excluding frontline offices, in eight regions, namely Regions 1, 2, CAR, 3, Calabarzon, Mimaropa, and 5 due to Typhoon Karding.

“The same course for action for private companies, offices, schools is left to the discretion of their respective heads,” said Dept. of National Defense O-I-C Jose Faustino, Jr., chair of NDRRMC.

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January 26, 2022 marked an exciting new chapter in Subic, Zambles as the groundbreaking of the first General Hospital took place at Mapanao, Asinan Proper.

“We are here already, we will build this hospital in Subic for our people. It’s high time to start this now because of the growing health concerns in our town and we also need to upgrade our Health care system” Mayor Jon Khonghun said proudly of his plan for the soon to rise general hospital.

The General Hospital is designed to be a two-storey building with 2400 sqm floor area. The hospital will have a 100 bed capacity, fully equipped and complimented with a minor operating room, ancillary area and emergency department with total budget allocation of 100 million pesos to cater with the medical needs of the people of Subic and its neighboring towns.

The project is set to start as soon as the PTC from DOH is released and the timeline is within a year or two from 2022.

The land area of 5,000 square meters was developed and donated by Fiesta Communities led by its President Mr. Wilfredo Tan.

The municipal mayor of Subic Jonathan Khonghun led the groundbreaking ceremony together with Zambales Governer Hermogenes Ebdane Jr., Department of Health ASec Maria Francia Laxamana, Regional Director of DOH Corazon Flores, M.D, MPH, Fiesta Communities President Mr. Wilfredo M. Tan and Vice governor Jefferson Khonghun.

“This hospital will cater to the needs of the people of Subic, its neighboring towns, and neighboring Provinces.” Mayor Khonghun said.

Gov. Ebdane and ASec Laxamana, expressed full support to the needs and required assistance of the Municipality of Subic in order to make sure that this new general hospital will prosper and serve its purpose. (Viviene Gail Delgado)

“Eleven municipalities have so far each identified one quarantine site for the locality, while two others—the towns of Palauig and Sta. Cruz—have two sites each, so all the LGUs have been accounted for,” Ebdane said on Wednesday.

In response to the governor’s urgent call for preparedness, local government units (LGUs) in the 13 towns of Zambales are setting up local quarantine facilities and border disinfection units to strengthen local capacity to combat the spread of the new coronavirus disease (Covid-19). 

 “On top of these, the provincial government is maintaining two other quarantine sites—the President Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Hospital (PRRMH) here in Iba, and the Bahay Pag-asa in Botolan town,” he added.

PRMMH, under Ebdane’s Monday order, was designated for exclusive use of Covid-19 cases. As of Wednesday, April 1, all regular patients have been transferred to the two district hospitals in the province, San Marcelino District Hospital and Candelaria District Hospital. Others, according to the governor, opted to continue treatment at the Kainomayan Community Hospital in Botolan.

“It is important to segregate cases of Covid-19 to prevent possible spread through the sharing of the same facility,” the governor explained.

On Sunday, Ebdane gave all LGU units the order to implement more stringent measures, stressing that preparedness be at the core of the provincial action plan against Covid-19.

“It is very heartening how community leaders and officials eagerly complied,” he said, adding that he has been inspecting proposed quarantine sites since Tuesday.

Among the defense measures now being practiced in Zambales is the disinfection of vehicles going in or out of the province.

A mandatory quarantine is required for all outsiders who wants to enter the province. New arrivals will be held for 14 days at facilities in the border towns of Sta. Cruz and Subic, according to Ebdane. Exempted from this policy are travelers on vital missions like delivery of food and medical supplies, and others provided under the rules of the Enhanced Community Quarantine declared by President Rodrigo Duterte, he clarified.

Ebdane said that some local officials even took this a step further and established their own disinfection stations at the border of their own towns or barangay. 

Meanwhile, other LGUs have begun doing inventory of their current stock of supplies of food and medicine after the governor ordered record-keeping of necessities as part of emergency response.

A number of private doctors and other medical personnel in the locality have also answered Ebdane’s call for enlistment as health “reservist” in their towns. 

“In times like this, cooperation is the most important contribution anyone can make. It would be easier for us to contain, and consequently eradicate the virus if the community acted as one,” the governor said. 

Statistics released by the Zambales Provincial Health Office (PHO) showed that as of March 31, only 4,307 persons under monitoring (PUMs) have remained of the 12,859 that the province had recorded since day one of the Luzon-wide Enhanced Community Quarantine. 

“More than 8,000 had already been cleared, as they did not exhibit any symptom of Covid-19,” Ebdane said, adding that those cleared, however, remain at home under quarantine rules. 

The PHO also indicated that 118 of those 247 tagged as persons under investigation (PUIs) in the province have completed the 14-day observation period without any of the symptoms progressing to require testing. 

Of the remaining 122 PUIs, eight have already tested negative of the disease and six are on hospital care. Three were confirmed positives, and one of them, a 90-year old resident of Castillejos town, has died.

“The numbers here are small compared to other areas in the country, but this does not mean we can relax our vigilance,” Ebdane clarified. “Zambales, in fact, has just stepped-up response to the threat,” he added. ###

CASTILLEJOS, Zambales — TWO DAYS after his death, the test on a 90-year-old male from this town revealed that he was positive for the Wuhan Virus (COVID-19).

“The result of the test was was released today, March 29,” Zambales Gov. Hermogenes E. Ebdane, Jr., head of the Provincial Inter-Agency Task force (PIATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease, said in an official statement, “the victim who died last March 27, is a resident of Castillejos, Zambales, and had no history of travel nor contact with any COVID-19 positive, PUI (Person Under Investigation) or PUM (Person Under Monitoring).”

His body was cremated at the Olongapo Crematorium the day after his death, according to Gov. Ebdane.

Zambales now has 3 confirmed positive cases of the Virus, one confined at the President Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Hospital in Iba, Zambales, another at Baypointe Hospital in the Subic Bay Freeport, and the latest victim from Castillejos, who was also confined at Baypointe Hospital until he passed on Friday.

Olongapo City’s lone COVID-19 positive case to date is also presently confined at Baypointe Hospital, thus, making four (4) the total number of positive cases registered in the Zambales-Olongapo-Subic Freeport area.

Castillejos Town Mayor Eleonor D. Dominguez said the town’s COVID-19 positive case should serve as a warning to her constituents to comply with the implementation of the Enhanced Home Quarantine.

“Ang atin pong pumanaw na kababayan ay hindi nagkaroon ng kahit anong pagkakataon na nakisalamuha sa kahit sino na mula sa labas ng Bayan ng Castillejos, nangangahulugan po na meron na pong local transmission na maaaring dumapo kanino man,” Dominguez said.

In Olongapo City, a PUI from Bgy. Banicain who died last week tested negative for COVID-19, also days before the test result came out. The City Information Office said the cause of death was Pneumonia.

According to City Mayor Rolen C. Paulino, Jr., as of 5pm today, Olongapo City has one (1) COVID-19 positive, 36 PUI and 434 PUM.

“Patuloy po nating panatilihing malinis ang ating pangangatawan at kapaligiran,” Mayor Paulino reminded his constituents, “Atin din pong striktong sundin ang Home Quarantine para sa kapakanan natin, ng ating mga mahal sa buhay at ng ating mga kababayan.” (Louella G. Vizcocho )

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The order came after the Department of Health confirmed recently that two patients from the province are positive of the virus.

“We will be prepared. That is the most sensible direction we have to take in this situation. This is going to be a long battle and we are arming ourselves for it,” Ebdane said.

The provincial strategy, the governor explained, include the establishment of quarantine facilities at the two provincial borders—Sta. Cruz in the north, and Subic in the south where all new arrivals will be detained for 14 days; and extending quarantine monitoring period from 14 to 20-30 days and setting-up quarantine facilities in each municipality for this purpose.

The provincial government will also be strengthening checkpoint capability at the borders, supplying them with complete personal protection equipment (PPEs) and supplies.

Disinfection procedures will also be undertaken on both incoming and outgoing vehicles and cargo and ensuring sufficient supply of food, medicine, funds, and other essentials in the province.

Ensuring sufficient supply in the province of food, medicine, funds, and other essentials, is another strategy Ebdane said should be in place. An inventory of stocks shows that the province can support its citizens for up to three months under the current condition. Funds have been allotted for importations of other needs, but home or backyard food production program will nevertheless be initiated through the barangays, and price monitoring and control will also be implemented stringently.

Ebdane also ordered a census of all medical professionals in private practice to be listed as “reservists” in the event that Covid-19 cases increase and the current medical staff falls short.

He also designated the President Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Hospital in Iba as exclusive for the treatment of Covid-19 positives and PUIs. All other regular and non-Covid cases will be moved to the two district hospitals in the province or to any hospital chosen by the patients.

“We will also be anticipating problems stemming from the above proposed solutions and we must be quick to determine and implement adjustments,” the governor said.

Ebdane also revealed that he received communications from close to a hundred residents who have expressed their desire to come home. Most are students and workers in Metro Manila whose funds are now dwindling.

“While we have encouraged everyone that it would be safer to stay put in their current location, we could not really turn them away if they arrive,” the governor said. Thus measures to prevent further local transmission must be in place at once, he added.

Ebdane also said that just this week, nine residents of Masinloc were intercepted in Botolan town after walking the length of the Capas-Botolan road from Tarlac.

At the same time, Ebdane encouraged his constituents to deal with the Covid-19 emergency as a community, stressing that the more affluent could provide others with food and other necessities and the richer sectors can adopt other communities by donating funds and other resources.

 “We need to be calm, caring and cooperative,” Ebdane said. “Sama-sama tayo sa laban at kakayanin natin ito.” (PIATF)

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