Last week, netizens were treated to the spectacle of supporters of both Gov. Patrick Alain Azanza and Cong. Eulogio Rodriguez claiming credit for the release of ambulances for Catanduanes by the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).
It may be recalled that before he assumed office, Azanza had already visited PCSO General Manager Mel Robles and announced on social media that he had already secured 10 ambulances for use of the LGUs.
During the official turnover of the units, no less than President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. indicated that he had directed the PCSO to provide Patient Transport Vehicles (PTVs) to all cities and municipalities within the year and that all 149 cities and 1,493 municipalities should have at least one PTV.
The PCSO had already given one unit last year to the capital town of Virac so only 10 needed to be issued to the other 10 towns.
There was no need to claim credit, as it all belonged rightfully to PBBM and PCSO.
But one could forgive Gov. Azanza for crowing about his convincing GM Robles to give Catanduanes two more ambulances. He deserved it.
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The Tribune tried to write a story about the two people who were reportedly prevented by the Virac police personnel from killing themselves out of desperation.
This paper’s aim was not to publicize the twin incidents but to shed light on what the government is doing about the increasing number of suicides on the island and whether the current interventions are working.
Unfortunately, our attempt barely made headway.
Our reporter did not manage to get relevant information from the officer in charge of the matter, especially on whether police officers have been trained on how to respond to such incidents or if they had established protocols in place.
On the same day of the Tribune visit, the families of the two individuals involved requested the police to remove the post regarding the twin incidents.
In photos posted on its Facebook page, the Virac police made sure the faces of the individuals were blurred and that they could not be identified.
However, neighbors and close acquaintances could probably make a good guess by looking at their clothes as well as the layout of the house interior seen in the post.
Far from addressing the reason for the persons’ despair, the unwanted attention may have worsened their situation.
The police’s intervention makes one wonder if the hotline established by local health authorities for thosr who feel depressed or suffering from mental or psychological stress is really working, since there has been no report about it.
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In a recent post, the DICT trumpeted its Free Wi-Fi for All Project which reportedly deployed over 2,500 free Wi-Fi sites in 873 key locations in provincial, city, and municipal governments comprising about a third of Bicol’s 3,471 barangays.
The installations include 617 fiber optic connections, 250 Starlink units for geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas (GIDAs), and numerous LTE routers, which serve far-flung barangays where fiber connectivity is not yet feasible.
The connected sites or their barangays were not identified in the report.
On the other hand, it urged the public to download and use the eGovPH mobile app that can be used for online transactions with government agencies such as job searches, access to public records, business permit renewals, and locating tourist spots and government offices.
Unfortunately, in Catanduanes, only 18,607 have done so, a reflection of a lack of confidence in its promise to make LGUs more responsive to its clients.
A check of the internet will show that of the 11 towns here, only four – Virac, Viga, San Andres and Bato – have functioning websites.
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ROUTINE SURGERY. A guy is about to undergo surgery.
Just as the anesthesia is about to be administered, he hears the doctor surgeon speaking,” Don’t worry Bill. This is just a routine operation. There’s absolutely nothing to worry about.”
The guy looks over and says, “Thanks, but my name isn’t Bill.”
The surgeon says, “I know. I’m Bill.”